As tends to happen with greetings and sendoffs, one was positive (Pastner is undefeated as a head coach), the other not so much (West remains a victory shy of 50 with the Tigers). Sports are transient, particularly the college variety. Last weekend will stick, though, for Pastner and West.

“After the game, Mr. R.C. Johnson came and gave me the game ball,” said Pastner to a contingent of media after the Tigers beat Jackson State, 82-53. As if the coaching wonder-boy needed to further enhance his innocent-as-a-choir-boy image, he actually referred to the U of M athletic director as “Mr. R.C. Johnson.” [image-1]

“I took the ball and I told him — and I mean it — this has nothing to do with me. It’s about the players. The players win the games. This will never be me. Credit goes to the guys. They stepped up, gutted it out, and found a way.”

He may be new to the gig, but Pastner has his victory cliches polished and packaged. And what he’s missing, to this point, is that the 2009-10 basketball season is very much about him. The first legitimate roar in FedExForum this season came during the pregame video intro, when a gleaming face above a sparkling white shirt — that would be Pastner’s — appeared behind the rotating basketball-as-globe, the theme from “2001 a Space Odyssey” filling the arena’s sound system. He will not score a point this winter, nor dish out an assist or grab a rebound. But don’t doubt that Josh Pastner is the star of his team. (The news Saturday that yet another recruiting gem — Atlanta’s Jelan Kendrick – is on his way to Memphis only cements this region’s devotion to The Pastner Way.)

The atmosphere was considerably more subdued when West met the Memphis media one last time Saturday afternoon, after his Tigers fell to UAB, 31-21. (On the list of things West will not miss about his career as Memphis coach, press conferences in the back of what was once the visitors’ locker room at the Liberty Bowl must be near the top.) Unlike his emotional statement on November 9th, though, West had a firm grip on his comments, and sense of humor.

“I’ve got strong emotions,” he said. “But I’m not going to go into a tirade today. If that’s what you’re waiting for, I’m not going to do it. I took four Xanax before I came in here.

“Nine years is a long time. I’m going to miss being here, I really will. This is a good place, and there are good people here. This happens, it’s our business. You hate it for the seniors that you’re having this kind of year. A sour year. I’m not worried about myself. But most of those players won’t play again. I’m gonna coach some more, so it’s not about me. I hate it for them. I’d like to have seen them go out at home the right way.”

West described the calls he’s received from his peers in Conference USA, and managed a chuckle in recollecting the chats. “Everybody likes you this year, because they beat you,” he said.

On an idyllic, 70-degree afternoon for football, I counted a solitary sign in the Liberty Bowl that acknowledged West’s pending departure. Not exactly poetic, it read “W the Coach.” The letter will always stand for “West.” Sadly this year, it can’t be said to stand for “win.”]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

My introduction to Spain’s preeminent hoops export came in the form of an interview for a profile in the Grizzlies’ inaugural-season game-day program. I expected a wide-eyed, eager athlete trying to find his way with English, let alone his back-to-the-basket skills. Instead I found a confident — cocky, even — young man playing where he expected to play, in the world’s greatest basketball league. “You have to be confident,” he said, “if you’re going to be able to do things on the court. I’m very ambitious. I want to be one of the best, ever.” He took particular umbrage with the label most European players have been tagged with upon their arrival in the NBA. “You cannot be soft and play in the NBA,” he stressed. “There are more and more [Europeans] playing in the NBA, and we’re doing what we have to do.”

Gasol went on to lead the Grizzlies in scoring (17.6 ppg), total rebounds (730) and blocked shots (169). Despite Memphis winning only 23 games, Gasol was named the league’s Rookie of the Year (the first European to earn such honors). Among the players he topped for the trophy: San Antonio’s Tony Parker, Golden State’s Jason Richardson, and Utah’s Andrei Kirilenko. [image-1]

Gasol averaged 19.0 points and 8.8 rebounds in 2002-03, the season Hubie Brown took over as coach. The following season remains the Grizzlies’ finest to date: 50 wins and the franchise’s first playoff berth (where they lost to San Antonio in the first round). Gasol topped the team in scoring in 34 games. Lacking the flash of point guard Jason Williams or the off-the-court charms of swingman Shane Battier, Gasol was merely an efficient difference-maker at both ends of the court. Ironically, this was the only season as a Grizzly that Gasol did not shoot higher than 50 percent from the field (48.2). He paced the team in scoring in the playoffs, too (18.5 ppg), but was unable to thwart a sweep at the hands of the Spurs.

Gasol was the centerpiece for playoff teams again in 2005 and 2006, but found himself twice more on the wrong end of series sweeps. He averaged a career-high 20.4 ppg in 2005-06 and earned the first All-Star nod in Grizzlies history. Playing for a Western Conference squad that featured fellow-Europeans Dirk Nowitzki and Tony Parker, Gasol failed to score but grabbed 12 rebounds in 14 minutes of action. The shaggy beard Gasol sported during the 2005-06 campaign added a dose of personality to his game. But despite becoming the hairy face of the franchise, he never gained unqualified devotion from Grizzly fans. An 0-12 playoff record will do that to a star.

Despite missing 23 games with a broken foot, Gasol led the 2006-07 Grizzlies in scoring (20.8) and rebounding (9.8). But the club fell off the playoff wagon rather violently, losing 60 games. With the team on its way to another 60-loss season, Gasol was shipped to the Los Angeles Lakers on February 1, 2008. (Along with a pair of future draft picks, the trade brought the rights to Gasol’s younger brother, Marc, to Memphis.) Gasol left the Grizzlies as the franchise’s career leader in points (8,966), rebounds (4,096), blocks (877), and games (476).

In less than two full seasons as Kobe Bryant’s new sidekick, Gasol has played twice in the Finals (earning a championship ring last June), played in a second All-Star Game, and earned third-team All-NBA honors. Whether or not his path leads to the Hall of Fame, though, Gasol will always be the first big-league star Memphis could call its own. Worthy of Athlete of the Decade honors. Almost.

[The countdown is almost complete. After Stubby Clapp (5), Danny Wimprine (4), Chris Douglas-Roberts (3), and Pau Gasol (2), only one slot remains to be identified. Memphis’ Athlete of the Decade will be profiled here in December.]]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

If West is indeed dismissed, though, athletic director R.C. Johnson and university president Shirley Raines had better have a candidate who personifies improvement in mind. This would seem to make common sense: don’t let go of a known quantity — however he may be struggling — without a better option behind the curtain. The last time Johnson dismissed a football coach (Rip Scherer, after the 2000 season), he had West — with credentials from his days running the Clemson program — behind that curtain as Scherer’s defensive coordinator. Due respect to current coordinators Clay Helton (offense) and Kenny Ingram (defense), neither is remotely buzz-worthy. And neither would sell an extra ticket if named head coach.

The Tiger football program has so many leaks, on such a large scale, that a head-coaching change would be merely a sponge on a listing ship. A new coach cannot shrink the Liberty Bowl. (4,117 fans may look small in a stadium that seats 30,000, but in the 60,000-seat Liberty Bowl?) Boosters line up to give money to the the school’s basketball program (which is reflected in salaries like the one John Calipari enjoyed for nine years). The football program is in the hands of a smaller group of diehards, with pockets not as deep. And while a basketball team can be made with four or five top recruits, a football team’s two-deep roster requires 44 capable players recruited in the heart of SEC country. Sound like a job you’d get in line for?

You won’t find in this space suggestions for a successor to Tommy West. Unless you know the names on Johnson’s speed dial, coaching candidates are speculative at best, random rumor at worst. And either way, entirely unfair to the man still challenged with winning four football games this year.

Empty seats scream in a football stadium. As Johnson and Raines respond to those screams, we’ll see how mindful they are of a one-man fix being nothing short of fantasy.

• The closing of Memphis Motorsports Park by Dover Motorsports is a disturbing development, and not just for Mid-South race fans. There’s a Darwinian quality to sports entertainment in the new economy, just like any other industry. But sports facilities are especially susceptible, as they rely almost entirely on the two words – long companions — that have come to be somewhat of an oxymoron: discretionary income. As recently as 2006, MMP was thriving, with total attendance in excess of 600,000. But despite hosting an annual event on NASCAR’s second-tier circuit (currently the Nationwide Series), the park’s business model collapsed under dwindling profits. And consider the facility was run with fewer than 30 employees. Current Sprint Cup drivers Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, and Carl Edwards all won in Memphis, but star quality simply doesn’t sell like it once did. Certainly not enough to fund a yearlong operation like MMP.

The next local litmus test will be AutoZone Park, where the front-office has been turned inside-out and overhead reduced dramatically in the hopes of closing the gap between dwindling revenue and operating expenses. As much as summer baseball — like race weekends — feels like a given in our community, the enterprise is a matter of business. Here’s hoping the new management team at Third and Union has a tighter grip on profitability than Dover Motorsports did at MMP.

• I find the St. Louis Cardinals’ hiring of Mark McGwire as hitting coach to be especially dubious. Consider: the Cardinals are entrusting the tutelage of their hitters — including the best steroid-free (to this point) hitter in the game, Albert Pujols — to a former player who is on the Mt. Rushmore of the game’s “Steroid Era.” McGwire has been a virtual hermit since his retirement after the 2001 season, his biggest splash being the embarrassing testimony he delivered before Congress on St. Patrick’s Day in 2005. Now, all of a sudden, he’s prepared to face cameras and writers, day-in and day-out, for seven months, with questions about steroid use filling every thought bubble in every ballpark where the Cardinals play?

McGwire has built a reputation as a hitting guru from his home in California, and you’d like to think this will be a reunion with a happy ending. But with Pujols climbing the home run chart — and closing in on free agency — you have to wonder if proximity to a former player held guilty in the court of public opinion for cheating the game is healthy for either party.]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

A World Series game has not been played in the afternoon since Game 6 of the 1987 series. (That game was played in the Metrodome in Minneapolis, so even then there were no natural shadows on the field.) Games start in “prime time” on the east coast, often not ending till well past midnight — past the bedtimes of millions of kids from Maine to Miami.  

In the name of children coast to coast (and in the interest of our national pastime, clinging to relevance in many pockets of the country), the time has come for National Baseball Day. For a country obsessed with spectator sports, how is it that no federal holiday has been proclaimed to celebrate what so many millions do so often? And with no break between Labor Day and Thanksgiving, late October is ripe for a day with no school, no mail, no screaming alarm clock before the sun has risen.  

Here’s how the holiday would unfold: On the Wednesday that coincides with Game 1 of the World Series, the aforementioned schools and offices would close. Most importantly — pay attention, Fox — the game would start at 3 pm eastern time (noon on the west coast). Every child in the entire country with an interest in the game would be able to watch all nine innings, and before dinner. The television fat cats aiming to maximize ad revenue with prime time slots are missing a critical opportunity here: kids are a demographic, too. They — and more often, their parents — spend money. Maybe not on cars and beer, but certainly on video games, snacks, movies, and fast food. And when National Baseball Day is marketed the way it should be — for the kids! — smart-thinking sponsors will line up to be part of the outreach.  

I’ve interviewed professional baseball players who have little memory of the World Series from their childhood. They happened to develop skills in a sport that they watched considerably less than the NFL or NBA. (The latter has the good sense to televise national matinees throughout the winter and spring, even in the playoffs!) Major League Baseball, though, is compromising much of its future market by ignoring it when the Fall Classic is played. Remember the walk-off homers at Yankee Stadium during the 2001 World Series, only a few weeks after the horror of 9/11? Not if you’re under the age of 20 today. Derek Jeter and Scott Brosius did their thing after the witching hour in the Big Apple.  

Since a third round of playoffs was added in 1995, the Series has crept closer and closer to November. Now with the adjusted schedule, at least one game of the World Series will be played during the same month as Thanksgiving ... and that’s without any rain-outs (or snow-outs). With colder, wetter weather a part of the mix, wouldn’t daytime baseball make sense, simply for the brand of baseball we all want to see from the sport’s two best teams? (Baseball hats designed with earmuffs are an abomination.)  

Baseball isn’t for everyone, and there will be no obligatory viewing on National Baseball Day. Take your kids to a park or movie. If you don’t have kids, spend some bonus time with someone you love, maybe a special friend you need to catch up with. Or chill out and start some leisure reading you’ve been meaning to do. Just remember it was baseball that got you there.]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

(To keep this as simple as possible, I’m going with NFL rules and regulations. We can discuss subtle differences in the college game when my head stops spinning.)

• The play clock exists to keep the game moving, 40 seconds from one play to the next. Watching a team huddle or send signals from sideline to quarterback is about as exciting as watching the line move at the DMV. But what happens when the 40 seconds expire, you on the edge of your seat to finally see a play? A whistle is blown and the referee crosses his arms (best signal in football): “Delay of game.” And the game is delayed ... further. Seems like punishing a talkative student by asking him to recite the alphabet.

• Every man playing tackle football is required to wear a helmet. But if you happen to drop that helmet a fraction in making a tackle — using it as a “weapon” — it’s an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. What gives? Why not remove the helmets from the equation? Now that would deter head-to-head tackles rather quickly. And now, with the new horse-collar penalty, a player cannot be tackled by the back of his shoulder pads. The message is clear: tackle if you must, but do it gently.

• Football is a game of contact like few others. When the ball is snapped, men collide. But only until the quarterback throws the ball! At that point, it becomes competitive dance: which man downfield can contort himself mid-stride and grab the airborne pigskin without making contact with another player. There is no more subjective ruling in the land than “pass interference.” (Well, unless it’s “holding.”) With the possible exception of a batter hitting a baseball, no greater sense of timing is required by an athlete than a defensive back tackling a receiver. And the fact is, those safeties and corners who do this best are called for interference a lot more than the dancing d-backs (i.e. the great Deion Sanders) who prefer downfield ballet. Next time you run into a cornerback in a restaurant, give him a hug. (Just don’t lower your helmet.)

• Speaking of Sanders, the future Hall of Famer once said that when he’s returning a punt, he wished his teammates would simply lie down and let him run. Because as often as not, a blocker for a lengthy punt return is going to deliver an illegal block, bringing the most exciting play in football back as though it never happened. What’s worse, the offending penalty is likely to be 20 or 30 yards away from the returning ball-carrier, meaning whether or not the coverage player got planted on his face from behind had nothing to do with an athlete dodging seven or eight other would-be tacklers on his way to pay-dirt.

• The most egregious antidote to action in this hallowed game, of course, is the replay appeal. Whether initiated by a coach who disputes a call that his tailback fumbled before his knee touched the ground or a “booth review” that comes late in a game (or half), this is where millions of football fans get to do the same thing accountants (and too often, journalists) do 40 hours a week: sit and wonder. The NFL may have the right intent: getting the call correct, beyond human error. But what happens if a disputed play occurs after an official — a human — has blown his whistle? The play is beyond review. Human error, meet vicious cycle.

• Finally, we have the NFL’s “blackout rule.” Mandated for television broadcasts, this stipulates that a game that does not sell out will not be televised locally. Consider the logic here. If the Detroit Lions or Jacksonville Jaguars can’t market themselves enough (or win enough) to sell every last ticket to a home game, those fans not willing or able to buy a ticket aren’t allowed to see what they’re missing. It would be like a magazine refusing shoppers to buy its product on newsstands if they don’t subscribe. Pro football and television are the perfect marriage. But every bit as dysfunctional as the game itself.

Can’t wait 'til next Sunday.]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

He arrived from Detroit with an oddly hyphenated name, a member of the 2005 recruiting class that included Antonio Anderson, Robert Dozier, and Shawne Williams. He took the floor wearing a t-shirt a size too big under his jersey, and was hardly a smooth end-to-end offensive dynamo like Derrick Rose or Tyreke Evans. But Douglas-Roberts was a scorer, in the mold of Hall of Famer Adrian Dantley. He could shoot (37 percent from three-point range for his career), but he was best with the ball in traffic, inside ten feet. Off balance, on the wrong foot, odd angles . . . it never mattered with CDR. He was in scoring position when the ball reached his hands.

CDR started 25 games as a freshman on a team loaded with the likes of Rodney Carney, Darius Washington, Joey Dorsey and his own talented classmates. He led the Tigers in scoring (23 points) in just his fifth game, a blowout win over Lamar at FedExForum. He was a key contributor for a team that went 33-4 and won its first Conference USA tournament title.

The 2006-07 season saw CDR emerge as the team’s top scoring option. He averaged 15.4 points per game and seemed to embrace the spotlight, canning a game-winning bucket at Gonzaga in February and earning C-USA tournament MVP honors as the Tigers defended their title in March. He fouled out of the season-ending loss to Ohio State in the NCAA tournament, the first such disqualification of his career.

CDR opened the 2007-08 season (add an asterisk here, if you must) by appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated and ended it playing a central role in the heartbreak of a championship that seemed stolen at the time. In between, he merely led the Tigers in scoring 19 times, was the hero in a late rally at UAB that extended the Tigers’ season-opening winning streak to 25 games, catapulted his team to the top ranking in the country, and pushed the U of M to its first Final Four appearance in 23 years. He became the third Tiger to earn C-USA Player of the Year honors and finished his career ranked ninth in scoring. (Among those ahead of CDR, only Keith Lee and Larry Finch scored more points in their first three years.)

Then came April 7, 2008, in San Antonio. The Tigers held a nine-point lead with less than three minutes to play in the national championship game against Kansas, only to see the Jayhawks drop in one field goal after another, as the Tigers missed free throws that would have clinched the title. Having shot 72 percent from the stripe over his college career, Douglas-Roberts missed three of four attempts during this late-game collapse, allowing the game-tying heroics of Mario Chalmers at the buzzer. (He had made nine of 11 against UCLA in the national semis and drained his first five against Kansas.) We tend to like our athletic heroes to prove they’re human at times. CDR just did so on the brightest stage of his young career.

Douglas-Roberts was chosen by the New Jersey Nets in the first round of the 2008 NBA draft and averaged 4.9 points over 44 games in a rookie season hampered by injury. When he made a midseason appearance at FedExForum for a Tiger game, though, and was introduced to the throng of Memphis fans who will never forget him, the chants of “CDR!” were loud enough to emanate well beyond the current decade.]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

But the fact is, St. Louis will be underdogs as the playoffs open this week. (The Cardinals will play Game 1 Wednesday in Los Angeles.) The defending champion Philadelphia Phillies have the best lineup, top to bottom, not wearing pinstripes. The Dodgers were wire-to-wire winners of the National League West and feature a balance of young hitting and pitching, not to mention a guy pretty familiar with championship flags in the dugout (manager Joe Torre). As for the wild-card Colorado Rockies, they merely went 74-42 since Jim Tracy took over managerial duties from Clint Hurdle. The Cardinals’ record against the three other NL playoff teams: 7-12 (with five of those wins coming against the Dodgers).

The concern for Cardinal Nation is that the team peaked too soon. Following the acquisition of Matt Holliday on July 24th, St. Louis went on a 32-11 run that buried the favored Chicago Cubs in the NL Central. But over the season’s last three weeks, the Cards were a pedestrian 7-14. Even Pujols has gone 21 games without homering. A reflection of a team on cruise control heading toward the postseason, or a sign of potential leaks in the ship?

As superior as Pujols is and as valuable as Holliday’s bat has proven to be since the big trade with Oakland, there are three names that will determine how far the 2009 Cardinals go this month: Wainwright, Chris Carpenter, and Ryan Franklin.

No team survives the first round (a best-of-five series), much less three rounds of playoffs without at least two horses on the mound. Wainwright (19 wins, 2.63 ERA, 212 strikeouts) and Carpenter (17, 2.24, 144) give St. Louis a one-two starting punch the equal of any possible NL opponent. The games these two start will be especially critical, though, as the Cards’ third starter — Joel Pineiro — has stumbled of late, losing four of his last five decisions (and looking especially vulnerable last week in Cincinnati). As for Franklin, he had one of the finest seasons by a closer in Cardinal history (38 saves, 1.92 ERA), but was roughed up in September. (I sat in Busch Stadium and watched him cough up a game to the Atlanta Braves on September 12th.) Franklin’s not a conventional closer, with a single overpowering pitch. If he’s not hitting spots — outside the middle of the strike zone — the Cardinals’ postseason will be a short one.

• No previous Cardinal playoff team has been as Memphis-centric as the 2009 bunch. Five of the eight starting position players — Yadier Molina, Skip Schumaker, Brendan Ryan, Colby Rasmus, and Ryan Ludwick — spent significant time as Redbirds at AutoZone Park. (A sixth — Pujols — was the Redbirds’ playoff hero in 2000.) Among those five, only Molina played for the 2006 world champs.

• Parity, thy name is National League. Since 1998 (a span of 11 seasons, not including the current one), 10 different teams have represented the Senior Circuit in the World Series. Only the Cardinals have reached the Fall Classic twice over this period. For an 11th team in 12 years, the Dodgers would have to win this year’s pennant.]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

“We are not a good enough offensive team to win football games now,” said West after the game. “Pour on top of that poor special teams, and you have a disaster.”

Marshall averaged a staggering 25.5 yards on four punt returns, one of which was returned 52 yards late in the third quarter to set up the visitors’ game-clinching touchdown. “We outkicked our coverage on a couple of those,” West admitted.

Down 11 points with just over eight minutes to play and the ball on the Herd eight-yard-line, the U of M faced fourth down with a yard to go. The Tigers tried to draw the defense offsides, but wound up burning the second of three timeouts before Matt Reagan kicked a 25-yard field goal. The ensuing kickoff went out of bounds and Marshall chewed up a short field to eat up all but 1:56 of the game’s balance.

“Offensively ... this is my responsibility,” said West. “Two motion penalties ... that lack of discipline is on me.” And the conservative play-calling near the game’s end? “I just don’t trust our power game,” said West. “Your offensive line has to take the load on their shoulders.” The coach acknowledged that star tailback Curtis Steele was missed (and that Steele is expected back next week against UCF). Backup T. J. Pitts was also sidelined in the fourth quarter, contributing to the decision to take a sure three points instead of gamble a single play in an effort for seven.

Sophomore quarterback Tyler Bass, starting his first game against Division I-A competition, passed for 232 yards (141 of them to Duke Calhoun) and led the Tigers on the ground with 64 yards. A pair of interceptions, though, were momentum-killers, particularly one in the Marshall end zone late in the first half. “He played against a veteran defense,” said West. “For the most part, I think he read coverage decently. He made a mistake in the red zone that we just can’t make.”

The Tigers will next travel to UCF to face a Knight squad that has lost its first two C-USA games, so the loser will take a stranglehold on the East Division cellar. The Tigers started the 2007 and 2008 seasons 1-3, then rallied to qualify for a bowl game. If they’re to do the same this fall, new difference-makers will have to emerge.

“I’m disappointed with where we are now,” West acknowledged. “We’re talented enough. I have to get our offensive line to rear up.” Too much season lies ahead for West and his staff to expect anything less.]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

You’ve been hand-delivered the most priceless marketing tool in sports: a championship. Don’t miss the singular opportunity to sell the 2009 Pacific Coast League champions as you plan on filling more seats in 2010. [image-1]

Over the last nine seasons, only diehard Redbird fans — familiar with AutoZone Park’s lone red seat — could point to an indication that another championship was won by the home team, “way back” in the ballpark’s inaugural season of 2000. (Fans going to the suite or club levels, however, saw permanent reminders that the likes of Kurt Russell, John Elway, and Michael Jordan “also played,” though never for a Memphis team.) The 2009 PCL champs deserve a permanent display for making a piece of history at AutoZone Park, as do the 2000 champs of Stubby Clapp, Lou Lucca, and Albert Pujols. Professional baseball is a business, but the teams play for championships. And championships can help the bottom line.

The Redbirds averaged 4,943 tickets sold for their three playoff games this month at AutoZone Park. Prep football on Friday, the 11th, and rainy conditions for the first two games of the Pacific Coast League Championship Series certainly limited the walk-up traffic. But regardless of the mitigating factors, to sell less than 5,000 tickets for championship baseball in the ballpark voted the best in the minor leagues is pitiful. The few hundred who actually attended — it was less than 1,000 for the two championship-series games — saw crisp, terrific baseball, each game won by the Redbirds by a single run. The players, needless to say, could hear every syllable of their cheerleaders (or hecklers). Consider the challenge the Redbirds new management team — Global Spectrum, out of Philadelphia — has on its hands. If championship baseball isn’t a hook, can battling mascots and dollar-beer-nights be far behind?

Here’s a radical suggestion. The PCL Championship Series could be played in the stadiums of the teams’ parent clubs. In this year’s case, the games would have been played at Busch Stadium in St. Louis and Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. If the big-league clubs happen to be home, the PCL game could be played during the afternoon as part of a split doubleheader. This would be a considerable reward for players aspiring to make the major leagues (many of whom will not) and would certainly draw more than 5,000 fans to see its team’s top minor-league affiliate play for a championship. Proceeds from the gate and concessions would be split between the parent club and the Triple-A franchise. Ask Global Spectrum how that might boost its bottom line.

Such a move would be counter to any longtime baseball fan’s perception of a postseason rewarding fans as well as players. Had you been at AutoZone Park on September 15th, however, you’d recognize how few longtime baseball fans there are left in Memphis.

• A football coach’s job security can be measured in direct proportion to the performance of his quarterback. After two losses to open the 2009 season, Memphis Tiger coach Tommy West took the keys for his offense from senior Arkelon Hall and turned them over to dual-threat sophomore Tyler Bass. In Saturday night’s game against UT-Martin — the Tigers’ annual beat-down of Football Championship Subdivision (a.k.a. I-AA) competition — West made a point early about what the transition might mean for the Tigers’ season.

In the first quarter against the Skyhawks, Bass carried the ball as many times (5) as did tailbacks T.J. Pitts and Lance Smith combined. On the Tigers’ first touchdown drive of the game, Bass accounted for 74 of 81 yards (51 passing, 23 rushing). In the first half alone, Bass accounted for a Tebow-esque 86 percent of his team’s total offense. Just as telling, Bass re-entered the game after being replaced by Hall in the third quarter, West not comfortable upon UT-Martin closing their deficit to 17 points. Bass quickly added his fourth touchdown pass of the game, finishing the 41-14 rout with 293 yards through the air and 81 more on the ground.

Next Saturday’s tilt with Marshall at the Liberty Bowl will open C-USA play for both teams. (The Thundering Herd beat Bowling Green last weekend and will enter the game 2-1.) Bass will still be playing on a tender knee, but with an offense very much in his hands. Also in the signal-caller’s hands, it would appear, is Tommy West’s future on the Tiger sideline.]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

“I don’t think Danny gets enough credit,” says his former coach, Tommy West. “He’s thrown for double what anyone else had thrown for here. Are you kidding me? I think the reason is that he played with DeAngelo Williams. I hope as the years go by, his numbers stand out more. Danny led us to a bowl victory when DeAngelo didn’t play. Unfortunately, DeAngelo was so great, he took away from Danny.”

As a redshirt freshman in 2001 — West’s first as head coach in Memphis — Wimprine took over from senior Neil Suber and passed for 1,329 yards and 14 touchdowns, with only four interceptions in nine games. But the Tigers struggled mightily, losing four of their last five games after starting the season 4-2. The next year was even worse in terms of the team’s record (3-9), but Wimprine broke the school record for single-season passing yardage (2,820) and touchdown passes (23).

Everything changed in 2003, when Williams took over full-time duty at tailback, and Wimprine became merely a complementary record-breaking quarterback. But even as Williams churned out weekly 100-yard-rushing games — and quite often, 200-yard games — Wimprine managed to exceed 300 yards through the air twice in 2003 and four more times in 2004. Better than numbers, though, were the wins that started coming with Wimprine under center.

After starting the 2003 season 3-3, the Tigers enjoyed their first five-game winning streak in 11 years, topping 35 points in four of the wins and ending a three-game losing streak to Cincinnati in the other. A final record of 8-4 earned the U of M its first bowl berth since 1971, a game the Tigers would be forced to play North Texas without an injured Williams. Wimprine completed 17 of 23 passes for 254 yards and was named the game’s MVP, the Tigers winning 27-17.

Before his senior season of 2004, I interviewed Wimprine for a cover story in Memphis magazine. He knew he’d be remembered most for what he did last as a Tiger. And he was up to the challenge of having to meet a new standard. “I want to be in the position where I can take control of the game, where I can go out and win the game. We now have the weapons here — especially on offense — where we can take control by scoring points. So my biggest challenge ... is to limit my mistakes.”

Wimprine opened his senior campaign by leading Memphis to a victory over Eli Manning and Ole Miss at the Liberty Bowl. If there was a signature game to the season, though, it actually was a Tiger loss: the epic, nationally televised 56-49 defeat at the hands of 14th-ranked Louisville in the Liberty Bowl. Wimprine passed for 361 yards and four touchdowns, a nice supplement to 200 yards rushing by Williams. Alas, the Cardinals scored with 37 seconds left in the game for the win. The ’04 Tigers went on to win eight games, falling to Bowling Green in the GMAC Bowl (despite 324 yards and four more touchdown passes from Wimprine).

Brief stints in the Canadian Football League (with the Calgary Stampeders in 2005) and the Arena Football League (with his hometown New Orleans VooDoo in 2008) were hardly what Wimprine envisioned upon completing his college career. He’ll have to settle for being merely the finest quarterback the University of Memphis has ever seen.]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

A key to the ’Birds playoff chances may be the left arm of Jaime Garcia. One of the top pitching prospects in the Cardinals’ system, Garcia returned to the mound recently after a year spent recovering from surgery. He gives Memphis a third starter with the ability to eat seven innings and keep his offense in the game. Postseason baseball in the minors is much like the big-league variety: few pennants are won without dominant starting pitching.

The Redbirds will open their best-of-five series with the Albuquerque Isotopes in New Mexico Wednesday. The Redbirds were 6-10 this season against the Dodgers’ top affiliate (2-6 in Albuquerque). Game 3 will be Friday night at AutoZone Park, with Games 4 and 5 to follow over the weekend if necessary.

The Memphis Tiger football coaching staff has one of the most challenging weeks of the season on its hands. Having spent a month preparing to open at home in front of 45,000 against a Top 10 opponent from the mighty SEC, the Tigers now get five days to lick their wounds from a 45-14 drubbing and prepare to face Middle Tennessee in Murfreesboro, a team not even favored to win the Sun Belt Conference. However disappointed the Tiger players may be after the season-opening loss on ESPN, a second-straight defeat to the Blue Raiders (who won in the Liberty Bowl two years ago) would be an ugly commentary on how little growth the team has made. Motivation, rest assured, won’t be a problem for Middle, as the U of M will be one of the biggest foes on its home schedule. Can the Tigers play with the sense of purpose necessary to level the emotional playing field?

A few numbers I’d be concerned with if I were Tommy West:

174 — Rushing yards accumulated by Ole Miss. The Tiger secondary will be exposed on occasion this season (though they played above themselves in limiting the Rebels to 175 passing yards). But the U of M front seven has to hold firm. When a team chooses to run the ball 39 times, it’s telling you your defensive front can be beaten.

7 — Penalties drawn by the Tigers. The drive-killing dead-ball penalties have to end. With a young offensive line, Memphis will likely improve in this area as the season unfolds.

10 — Average yards per reception by the tandem of Duke Calhoun and Carlos Singleton. The Tigers need this figure to be between 15 and 20 yards. A tender ankle hindered Singleton against Ole Miss. So again, this number should see improvement.

1 — Number of teams in Conference USA’s East Division that lost its opening game of the season. Whether or not the games were league contests, it’s no fun looking up at the rest of the division before Labor Day.]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

* Forget Sunday’s game. Win by a little or lose by a lot, the much-anticipated annual opening with Houston Nutt’s Rebels has no bearing whatsoever on the C-USA race. The game will do wonders for clarifying strengths (or exposing weaknesses), as Ole Miss will be the most talented team Memphis faces this fall. It’s a hard concept for longtime Tiger supporters to grasp, but in the scheme of this program’s development, the Marshall game (September 26th) is more important than the Ole Miss affair.

* Hold serve at home. Let’s presume Conference USA’s East Division won’t be won with more than two losses in the league. The Tigers have their work cut out for them, with the top three teams from the West Division (UTEP, Houston, and Tulsa) added to their schedule in place of the West’s bottom feeders (SMU, Rice, and Tulane). And Memphis has to travel to Houston and Tulsa in late November to finish its regular season. The Tigers simply have to win their four league home games (Marshall, UTEP, East Carolina, UAB). The Tuesday-night showdown (on October 27th) with the Pirates could be the game of the year. Having lost three straight to ECU, the Tigers will face a team — on national television — with four defensive players on the preseason all-CUSA team. A division title could hang in the balance.

* Split on the road. November will be a month from hell for the Tigers. It starts with a visit to Knoxville on the 7th, then is followed by a home tilt against UAB, a trip to Houston, then a trip to Tulsa (the day after Thanksgiving). The 2009 season won’t so much wind down as heat up, and if the U of M isn’t healthy and in contention for a bowl appearance (at least), the season will get ugly well before your turkey is out of the oven. The goal should be to win two of the four road games against C-USA competition. And the most likely victims may be the first two: Central Florida (October 3rd) and Southern Miss (October 17th).

* Get experienced, fast. The offensive line has one returning starter (Dominik Riley). The secondary is packed with athletes competing for four spots (five for the frequent nickel packages). But is there a game-changer among these units? (D.A. Griffin is a preseason all-conference selection, but as a kick returner.) The Tigers’ media guide lists 16 defensive backs on the team’s depth chart. Exactly two of them — Deante’ Lamar and Alton Starr — are seniors. If a team can’t protect the quarterback or defend the pass, scoreboards start smoking. Watch these units and you’ll know early on how far the 2009 Tigers will go.

* Lean on the running game. Few Tiger teams have had the one-two threat at tailback that this year’s squad will have. Curtis Steele (1,223 yards last season) and Wisconsin transfer Lance Smith should eat up chunks of yardage if the offensive line develops under assistant coach Rick Mallory. And the best way to protect a team’s weakness — I’m looking at you, secondary — is to keep it off the field. With a senior quarterback and a pair of senior wideouts playing big roles this fall, the tendency at times will be to sling the pigskin downfield and see what happens. The smarter, big-picture approach for the 2009 Tigers will be to let the threat of Carlos Singleton (or Duke Calhoun) supplement the rushing of Steele and Smith. Check your stat box at game’s end. If Memphis runs more than it passes, you’re likely to be celebrating a victory.]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

One class (Spanish) shy of a degree from Cal-Berkeley, Craig isn’t your boilerplate minor-league prospect. He was drafted in the eighth round of the 2006 draft and entered this season ranked 26th in the St. Louis system by Baseball America.

Craig’s numbers reflect a metronomic rise up the Cardinals’ farm chain, with each of his three full seasons played at a higher level than the year before. In 2007 at Class A Palm Beach, Craig hit .312 with 21 home runs and 77 RBIs. The next year at Double-A Springfield, the numbers were .304, 22, and 85. Through Sunday this season for the Redbirds, Craig is hitting .314 with 22 homers and 67 RBIs. With the team’s roster volatility, Craig is a chief reason the Redbirds remain in contention for their first playoff berth in nine years.

What’s Craig’s secret to adjusting, one level after another? “I wouldn’t say it’s been a smooth transition,” he says, “because I struggled early on. Every year you move up, there’s something different, and you have to change . . . sometimes things you already changed the year before.”

The pitching at Triple-A is a craftier version of what a player sees at lower levels. Keeping up with the head games has been among Craig’s primary challenges. “They throw a lot more off-speed pitches up here, and you have to be ready for that,” he says. “They have better stuff, and they’re smarter. There are a lot of veteran pitchers who have played in the big leagues. They’re not just going to give you a 3-1 fastball.”

Craig spent the majority of his professional career at third base before arriving in Memphis, where Wallace arrived early this season and recent playing time has been eaten up by David Freese and the rehabbing Troy Glaus. Craig has started more than 40 games at first base and leftfield, adjusting to new positions without allowing any disorientation to impact his production at the plate.

“I finished my senior year in college at shortstop,” says Craig, “and I played a lot of leftfield my junior year. I feel comfortable playing third, first, or left. I don’t really have a preference; whatever gets me to the big leagues. One of my goals this year was to show that I could play the outfield, that they could be comfortable putting me out there.”

If a player can hit, clubs will find a position for him. Craig knows this, and he continues to fine-tune his approach in the batter’s box. “I widened my stance,” he explains, “and I’ve tried to be shorter to the ball, a little quicker. Not trying to do too much, or hit it too far.” He has a bat-waving trigger mechanism that is a mild version of Gary Sheffield’s stance. “I started that in college,” he says, “reminding myself to use my hands as much as my body. I’m not trying to hit home runs. They usually come when you least expect it.”

Third base will be a question mark this winter for the Cardinals. Glaus’s contract expires, as does that of DeRosa, either of whom would be considerably more expensive than Freese, should his ankle woes be behind him. (With re-signing Matt Holliday a priority, bargain-hunting at other positions will be a task for Cardinal general manager John Mozeliak.) If past performance is a clue, though, and steady hitting a prerequisite for a player’s last, biggest promotion, Allen Craig may find himself in the conversation next spring. Needless to say, he’ll have his outfielder’s glove nearby.]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]