Positive Thinking

A sunny-side view of the Memphis sports landscape.

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Memphis sports headlines in 2023 have not all been, shall we say, celebratory. Nonetheless, there is so much to cheer in this town when it comes to the games people play. Here are merely 10 examples.

Kicking Grass and Taking Names

There was a time 901 FC was the new kid on the Bluff City sports block. Well, that was almost five seasons and two playoff runs ago … with a third postseason all but surely in the mix this fall. Under new coach Stephen Glass, “the Beale Street Boys” reeled off a franchise-record 12-game unbeaten streak that had them tied for second in the USL Championship’s Eastern Conference standings at the end of June. The club’s goal-differential (+14) was second in the entire 24-team league.

The “Block Panther” Rises.

Injuries and off-the-court troubles plagued the 2022-23 Memphis Grizzlies, but the team nonetheless won its second straight Southwest Division title and entered the playoffs as the Western Conference’s second seed (just like the 2022 postseason). That standard of success is largely thanks to Jaren Jackson Jr., the 23-year-old power forward who led the NBA in blocked shots (again, a repeat of the previous season) and became only the second Grizzly to earn the league’s Defensive Player of the Year honor. Jackson played in the 2023 All-Star Game, his first but certainly not last appearance on basketball’s biggest one-night stage. With five seasons now under his belt, Jackson will be expected to wear the leadership shoes for a franchise still seeking its first NBA Finals appearance.

Your Serve or Mine?

Since the Racquet Club of Memphis closed in 2019, there’s been a void in the Mid-South when it comes to a facility that can attract high-level tennis. That’s about to change, and dramatically. A $24 million expansion of the Leftwich Tennis Center (on Southern Avenue, just east of Goodlett) will deliver 12 indoor courts and no fewer than 24 outdoor courts for those who get their kicks with a racket in hand. The City of Memphis and the University of Memphis have partnered with nonprofit Tennis Memphis to create not only a new home facility for the Tigers, but a venue to host state, regional, and national tournaments. (The Memphis Open was last played in 2017.) The new Leftwich makes its debut this fall.

Golf Played Right

Say what you will about the earth-shaking merger between the PGA Tour and Saudi-backed LIV Golf. It’s a discussion heavier on politics and international relations than sports and competition. But here in Memphis, we have TPC Southwind. Even better, we have a home to the finest in professional golf that dates back to 1958, long before the first tee was planted at Southwind. We have longtime sponsor FedEx. (Players who compete in August’s FedEx St. Jude Championship have qualified for the first of three tournaments in the FedEx Cup Playoffs.) From the “Hush Y’all” signs carried by an army of volunteers to the caddie bibs featuring art by St. Jude patients, the FESJC is, in many ways, the best professional sports can be. And distinctively Memphis.

Let the Kids Play!

Memphis is a basketball town. Hard stop. But for the longest time — for generations — youth teams had to travel well beyond the Mid-South for the highest levels of competition. No more. The Memphis Sports and Events Center (MSEC) opened last fall in a corner of the Fairgrounds once occupied by Libertyland, and the facility has, you might say, liberated the lifestyles of young Memphis athletes. Home to 16 basketball courts that can be converted into as many as 32 volleyball courts, the facility hosted Nike’s Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) in May, merely one highlight on a year-round schedule that will attract thousands of people (and not incidentally, millions of dollars) to Memphis. Basketball town, indeed.

Football Festivals

For decades, the beginning and end of the college football season has featured a major event — more than merely a football game — at what’s now known as Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium. Since 1990, the Southern Heritage Classic has matched a pair of HBCU programs in early September. The weekend includes a Friday-night concert (at the Landers Center in Southaven), a pregame parade in Orange Mound that could stand alone as an annual event, and a high school battle of the bands at Whitehaven High School. This year’s contest (September 9th) will feature Arkansas-Pine Bluff for the first time as the Golden Lions face longtime participant Tennessee State.

Memphis also hosts the eighth-oldest bowl game in college football. Played here since 1965, the AutoZone Liberty Bowl Classic features a team from the hallowed SEC and another from the Big 12. Among the game’s MVP honorees are Heisman Trophy winners Doug Flutie and Bo Jackson and current Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. This year’s game will be played on December 29th.

Cut Down the Nets (and Hang a Banner?)

On March 12, 2023, at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, the Memphis Tigers checked off a pair of historic firsts for the basketball program. In beating the Houston Cougars, 75-65, Memphis won its first American Athletic Conference tournament since joining the league in 2013. Better yet, the Tigers beat the country’s top-ranked team (Houston won the AAC’s regular-season crown) for the very first time. Led by a pair of all-conference players, Kendric Davis and DeAndre Williams, Memphis won 26 games, the most in five seasons under coach Penny Hardaway. There’s chatter about a banner to honor the 2022-23 team for its singular achievement. Here’s hoping it soon hangs from the rafters at FedExForum.

The ’Boats Are Back!

What’s a 38-year gap between seasons? The USFL’s Memphis Showboats returned to the very gridiron — now called Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium — where they first thrilled spring football fans during Ronald Reagan’s presidency. The uniform colors are new and, alas, there’s no Reggie White on the defensive line, but the 2023 Showboats provided a fun ride. The ’Boats enjoyed a five-game winning streak that had them in playoff contention, but alas, three losses to open the season and two to close it left Memphis with a 5-5 record and fourth place in the league’s South Division. Wide receiver and return specialist Derrick Dillon led the USFL in all-purpose yards.

All-Stars at AZP

When Tampa Bay outfielder Randy Arozarena was named to the American League All-Star team in June, it continued a remarkable streak for our Triple-A Memphis Redbirds. A player who once performed at AutoZone Park has appeared in every major-league All-Star Game since 2003, when Albert Pujols made his first appearance in the Midsummer Classic. So visit our Downtown ballpark to cheer on the home team, but go home with the knowledge you likely saw at least one future big-league hero.

A Marathon That Matters

For more than two decades now, the first weekend in December has meant a form of lockdown for Downtown and parts of Midtown. Streets are reserved, you see, for thousands of runners doing that 26.2-mile thing, and for a cause — St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital — impossible to top. I’ve merely run the 5K (the weekend also includes a half-marathon and 10K), but few courses in the world will inspire a runner like a trot through the St. Jude campus, with patients, doctors, and staff cheering on those of us who spend the rest of the year cheering on them.