MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- Memphis junior forward Shawn Taggart has submitted his name for the 2009 NBA draft.
Feeling Sweet, Hoopheads? Of course you are. It's our time of year, and this is another week to soak it up. I'm sure devoted readers of this space are not surprised the Sweet 16 includes all the number 1, 2 and 3 seeds for the first time in tournament history. I've been writing for weeks that, for all the tumult at the top of the polls, this was still a very top-heavy season in college basketball. It's too bad there aren't more Cinderellas to spice up the dance, but there's a payoff ahead as we get a weekend full of games played by the most powerful and recognizable brands in college basketball.
He is a senior without a ring, the most desperate of NCAA tournament players, driven one last time to punctuate his career with a net draped around his neck and confetti in the air. Four and a half years have passed since A.J. Price's life was interrupted. One day he was greatness in waiting; the next he was fighting for survival. As a freshman at Connecticut in the fall of 2004, he became gravely ill from a congenital abnormality in the blood vessels of his brain. He spent his 18th birthday in the intensive care unit of a Hartford hospital, disconnected from basketball in the most terrifying manner.
MORE RESETS: South | Midwest | East
SI.com: Memphis looked a little better today, eh?
SI.com caught up with Seth Davis, who's serving as a CBS studio analyst during the tournament, to get his impressions of Thursday's first-round action.
Happy Brackets, everyone! I'm sure we're all glad the speculation about bubbles and seeds is over, and we can get down to talking hoops. My own bracket picks are here. I've gone through each of the four regions and have offered up a few Hoop Thoughts below to explain why I filled it out the way I did. Feel free to follow my advice on your own brackets, but remember my No. 1 rule: No blaming!
Alabama prep standout DeMarcus Cousins has committed to Memphis, SI.com has confirmed.
The life of Sir Allen Stanford, the cricket and polo-loving financier who is being investigated for a potential Ponzi scheme, is a case study in how to buy respectability and influence.
1. Does Memphis deserve a No. 1 seed? This could be the debate that dominates Selection Sunday. Three of the No. 1s -- UConn, Pitt and North Carolina -- are close to being locked in. But the fourth spot is still up for grabs, and a majority of bracketologists consider Oklahoma to be the best candidate, partly under the assumption that the NCAA selection committee will cut the Sooners slack for the two losses they suffered while Blake Griffin was out with a concussion (and blazered up). If OU doesn't win the Big 12 tournament, though, it opens the door for Memphis, Michigan State, Louisville or even Duke to hop up to a No. 1. The Tigers have the weakest nonconference résumé of that crew -- Tennessee and Gonzaga are their only decent wins -- and the Spartans, Cardinals or Blue Devils would, in my mind, have a more rightful claim to a top seed if they were to win out from now 'til the brackets are built. Memphis' case would be built mostly on momentum; it hasn't lost since Dec. 20, and
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- Memphis junior forward Shawn Taggart has submitted his name for the 2009 NBA draft.
Feeling Sweet, Hoopheads? Of course you are. It's our time of year, and this is another week to soak it up. I'm sure devoted readers of this space are not surprised the Sweet 16 includes all the number 1, 2 and 3 seeds for the first time in tournament history. I've been writing for weeks that, for all the tumult at the top of the polls, this was still a very top-heavy season in college basketball. It's too bad there aren't more Cinderellas to spice up the dance, but there's a payoff ahead as we get a weekend full of games played by the most powerful and recognizable brands in college basketball.
He is a senior without a ring, the most desperate of NCAA tournament players, driven one last time to punctuate his career with a net draped around his neck and confetti in the air. Four and a half years have passed since A.J. Price's life was interrupted. One day he was greatness in waiting; the next he was fighting for survival. As a freshman at Connecticut in the fall of 2004, he became gravely ill from a congenital abnormality in the blood vessels of his brain. He spent his 18th birthday in the intensive care unit of a Hartford hospital, disconnected from basketball in the most terrifying manner.
MORE RESETS: South | Midwest | East
SI.com: Memphis looked a little better today, eh?
SI.com caught up with Seth Davis, who's serving as a CBS studio analyst during the tournament, to get his impressions of Thursday's first-round action.
Happy Brackets, everyone! I'm sure we're all glad the speculation about bubbles and seeds is over, and we can get down to talking hoops. My own bracket picks are here. I've gone through each of the four regions and have offered up a few Hoop Thoughts below to explain why I filled it out the way I did. Feel free to follow my advice on your own brackets, but remember my No. 1 rule: No blaming!
Alabama prep standout DeMarcus Cousins has committed to Memphis, SI.com has confirmed.
The life of Sir Allen Stanford, the cricket and polo-loving financier who is being investigated for a potential Ponzi scheme, is a case study in how to buy respectability and influence.
1. Does Memphis deserve a No. 1 seed? This could be the debate that dominates Selection Sunday. Three of the No. 1s -- UConn, Pitt and North Carolina -- are close to being locked in. But the fourth spot is still up for grabs, and a majority of bracketologists consider Oklahoma to be the best candidate, partly under the assumption that the NCAA selection committee will cut the Sooners slack for the two losses they suffered while Blake Griffin was out with a concussion (and blazered up). If OU doesn't win the Big 12 tournament, though, it opens the door for Memphis, Michigan State, Louisville or even Duke to hop up to a No. 1. The Tigers have the weakest nonconference résumé of that crew -- Tennessee and Gonzaga are their only decent wins -- and the Spartans, Cardinals or Blue Devils would, in my mind, have a more rightful claim to a top seed if they were to win out from now 'til the brackets are built. Memphis' case would be built mostly on momentum; it hasn't lost since Dec. 20, and
Top seed Andy Roddick edged out Lleyton Hewitt in a battle of the former world number ones to reach the final of the Memphis Open.
Lleyton Hewitt continued his fine run in the ATP tournament in Memphis by beating fellow-Australian Chris Guccione to reach the quarterfinals as his comeback gathers pace.
Former world number one Lleyton Hewitt stepped up his comeback after injury by upsetting third seed James Blake in the opening round of the ATP tournament in Memphis.
A bicycle with a sticker advertising a Florida punk-folk band forced the evacuation of a Memphis, Tennessee, airport terminal late Monday afternoon, authorities said.
Even the FBI thought at first there must have been a conspiracy behind the murder of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
LOS ANGELES -- It's easy to knock the ESPYs. Just the self-serving name deserves to be mocked like a "McLovin" fake ID. Factor in the slew of corporate sponsorships, the parading of on-air personalities on stage as if they were celebrities and the four-day tape delay and you're talking about a target as easy as Paris Hilton trying to sing.
$300 million initiative seeks to improve the quality of health care and to eventually provide models for national health reform
In late January, the Jeannette (Pa.) High basketball team was searching for a gym to practice in a day before the Jayhawks, who featured star football prospect Terrelle Pryor, were scheduled to play in the Primetime Shootout at Villanova University. By way of a friend, Lamont Peterson, a trainer with nearby American Christian School (Aston, Pa.), tournament director Jeff Hewitson found a temporary practice spot at the Tri-State Sports fitness center, which serves as American Christian's home court.
Read Luke Winn's Five Reasons Memphis Will Win here.
SI.com caught up with Seth Davis, who's serving as a CBS studio analyst during the tournament, to get his impressions of Saturday's Final Four action.
SAN ANTONIO -- Five things we learned while being stunned that Curtis Shaw got to referee the Memphis-UCLA game:
UCLA (35-3) vs. Memphis (37-1) Saturday, 6:07 p.m., CBS Alamodome (44,000)
My love for University of Memphis basketball is completely irrational. I never went to school there and have no affiliation with the university. But I bleed Tiger blue.
A friendly bit of advice for the hoards of Bruins, Jayhawks, Tar Heels and Tigers fans and others who might be contemplating a trek to San Antonio this weekend: Unless you're holding a ticket already, don't go. Take it from a frequent visitor -- save yourself the effort this one time.
Four seconds. That's all it took. Four seconds for UCLA freshman forward Kevin Love to bury Xavier for good after the Musketeers had mounted a comeback with an 11-2 run in the second half of last Saturday's West Regional final. Four seconds for Love to snatch the ball out of the net, take one step out-of-bounds -- his right foot planted, his left foot inches above the floor -- and snap an immaculate, 70-foot chest pass to teammate Russell Westbrook for a layup and a 14-point lead. Four seconds to crush Xavier with basketball's answer to a 60-yard touchdown throw. For one glorious, fleeting moment the old-school chest pass was as sexy as a Dwight Howard slam dunk. "I love hearing the oohs and aahs you get from the crowd," Love says, "because you rarely ever hear them for a pass. You usually just hear them for a dunk."
Five things we learned while feeling lame about taking our laptop into a sports bar:
The Memphis native gives to the Memphis Rock 'n' Soul Museum and the Memphis Music Foundation
Bump up your curb appeal with these surefire tips
Whoever killed six people in a Memphis, Tennessee, home may still be on the loose, police said Tuesday. They asked the community for help in solving the slayings.
Six people were killed, including two children, and another three children wounded in a shooting Monday in Memphis, Tennessee, authorities said.
SI.com's Richard Deitsch checks in every Monday with the latest doings in TV, radio and the Web.
American James Blake pulled out of the Memphis ATP/WTA tournament on Monday, complaining of a knee injury.
Tyreke Evans, the nation's top unsigned recruit, is expected to touch down at Graceland Airport in Memphis shortly before 10 p.m. Friday and will watch Saturday night's sold-out battle between top-ranked Memphis and No. 2 Tennessee at the FedEx Forum.
Sports Illustrated came out with five regional rivalry covers for the college basketball preview back in November; in retrospect, we probably would have been fine printing just one: Memphis-Tennessee. In 2007-08, no regular-season game has mattered -- or will matter -- as much as the one that will take place on Saturday night at FedEx Forum.
I love reading bracket projections as much as the next hoops geek, but even the folks who do them would concede that it is still very early. With so much basketball left, we're a good three weeks from being able to see what will be revealed on Selection Sunday.
I am currently employed but looking for other opportunities within my field. Recently, I received a phone call for a position, that if I receive it, would call for me to relocate to Memphis, which is not a problem. However, during the conversation, the person asked me what salary I make at my current job. Now, at first these seemed odd, but since I have my resume on different Internet sites, a direct salary question like this has become the norm. I was taught not to mention salary until the other guy brings it up - only then is it open for discussion. I told him what I made.
An oppressive two-week heat wave in the Southeast and Midwest has killed at least 44 people, many who were elderly and living in homes without air-conditioning.
The night before I went outwith friends and my momand dad and I had a greatmarinated rib eye. We wentback to the house and went to bedprobably around 10:30 or so. I wasstaying with some people whom I'dmet through a friend in Memphis. Mywife hadn't made the trip because oursecond child was due in a few weeks.
You could make a strong argument that the high point of the history of professional sports in Memphis was when Andy Kaufman and Jerry "the King" Lawler staged a series of professional wrestling matches there in the 1980s that have become part of pop culture legend.
SAN ANTONIO -- Back in September, Ohio State coach Thad Matta called a team meeting and handed out a packet to his players. Along with a training schedule and a manual about academic standards, there was a picture from a Final Four pamphlet. "We put it in there and said, 'hey, if we work, this is what we will be working for,'" said Matta.
As swimsuit locations go, Memphis rocked.
Both teams are spiraling out of control, taking wonderful monthlong respites between wins, running with abandon, losing with aplomb, stinking up the joints.
Also in this column: • Who are the most-improved teams? • Development League filling a need • The next star from Argentina
Scientists and residents alike are focusing on the devastating San Francisco earthquake 100 years ago. But some researchers also want to bring public attention to seismic events in a region where strong earthquakes just don't make a lot of scientific sense.
Seeded American pair Robby Ginepri and James Blake slumped to straight sets defeats in the first round of the ATP event in Memphis on Tuesday.
A man accused of posing as a firefighter to enter a woman's apartment and then sexually assaulting her on Halloween has been arraigned and ordered held without bond, the Manhattan district attorney's office said.
A man suspected of posing as a firefighter in order to gain entrance to a woman's home where he sexually assaulted her arrived in New York Monday evening after waiving extradition from Tennessee earlier in the day.
Sports Brand Meat Branding Iron, $30 Sure, you can wear your favorite team's logo, but now, thanks to Topeka entrepreneur Ed Shamburg, you can eat it too. Similar to a cattle brand, his stainless-s...
An 18-wheeler left idling in a parking lot in downtown Memphis rolled into the front of a fast-food restaurant, injuring three people, two of them critically, police said Wednesday.
--DEATH BY BOREDOM A University of Texas study found that people who don't use decision-making abilities in their jobs have a 43% higher mortality rate than those who do.
What has a drummer, four congas, three saxophones, two bassists, a piano, an organ, 12 guitars, a half-dozen wailing vocalists--and more energy than the midnight express out of Memphis? Answer: the...
When the Vancouver Grizzlies announced they were looking for a new home, Tricon Foods and the city of Louisville offered the owner $100 million to change the team's name to the Kentucky Colonels an...
Lonnie Mack is best known for his one hit--an instrumental version of Chuck Berry's "Memphis" that appeared in 1963. That led to his first album, The Wham of That Memphis Man, on which "Why" origin...
Places to Stay
Boosters of Memphis will tell you that in their town, compared with the rest of the United States, the music's sweeter, the barbecue's smokier, and the unemployment rate's lower. What they won't br...
Readers who wrote in about MONEY's ninth annual ranking of U.S. cities ("The Best Places to Live Today," September) were generally in a combative mood. A major point of contention was the sudden ri...
It seems there are more people selling the blues these days than singing them. According to the Memphis-based Blues Foundation, the number of U.S. blues clubs has grown 52% since 1990, to 1,360. Th...
Forget the Super Bowl. The National Football League's real big-money game took place recently when representatives from ten cities opened their play books to the league's expansion committee in hop...
When you give to a charity, you want to make sure that your hard-earned dollars will be used to help the causes that concern you -- the homeless, saving the whales or finding a cure for cancer -- r...
Hospitals have a big garbage problem. States are tightening dumping regulations, disposal costs are going up, and largely because of AIDS, the amount of medical waste from hospitals reached 360,000...
''This is the place,'' declared Brigham Young as he gazed at the spectacular site of Salt Lake City in the 1840s. In the 1990s increasing numbers of FORTUNE 500 companies may make the same choice a...
''I just don't understand this market,'' says Susan Todd, 45, who with her husband Bill, 60, has been trying to sell their dream house for the past 18 months. ''Everyone tells us how beautiful it i...
MEMPHIS -- A group of atheists and agnostics is asking major hotel chains to supply them with Bible-free rooms, saying the Bible makes for ''gruesome bedtime reading'' . . . Annie L. Gaylor, editor...
THE ECONOMY/ Cover Stories
AS THE SERVICE SECTOR continues to outshine manufacturing, as tomorrow's technology replaces today's, U.S. cities are fast learning to adapt. Some have emerged from the process as veritable boomtow...
In Memphis everybody knows the story of the local boy, Frederick W. Smith, and the company he made famous: Federal Express, the hugely successful overnight package delivery service. Each evening ab...
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