Check this out: The 2002 Official Electric Football Super Bowl and Convention will be held at the Memphis Marriott East Hotel over on 2825 Thousand Oaks Blvd from Friday, January 18- Sunday, January 19.

Electric football? Yep. You remember the idea. Little toy men with magnets on their feet, a big football field with a metal surface, a motor under the field that vibrates the whole thing, and that loud buzzing sound to infuriate parents, and anyone else in a 12-mile radius.

Oh, but the sweet poetry of watching your running back stutter step past the defenses linebackers, or maybe trip his way into the endzone. The speed, the glory, the sarcasm!

But seriously, these guys do take their game. The convention goes through set up on Friday, and on Saturday, preliminary rounds for the childrens and

womens rounds are played. Saturday will also feature a clinic for kids under ten on the art of electric football, and also exhibits on Electric football memorabilia, collectibles, and hand-painted figures.

On Sunday, the Women finalists battle it out in the Buzz Bowl for Women, and the children finalists find out whos best in the Spark Bowl for Kids. And then, the real party begins with the mens tourney and the AFC & NFC championship games. The action ends with the finale: Electric Football Super Bowl 8, at 1:30 p.m.

Admission is free to all who are interested in seeing the convention, participating in the game, or participating in a number of raffles happening

throughout the weekend.

And who says that Memphis cant draw “real” sports?

ODDS & ENDS

    NOTABLE

  • Kudos to UM forward Kelly Wise. The senior was just named as C-USA Co-Player of the week, along with Marquettes Odartey Blankson. Wise scored an average of 20 ppg, and pulled down an average of 14 rpg in the Tigers two road wins over TCU, and Tulane. With his double-double-double performance (say that three times fast), Wise became the C-USA’s all-time leader in double-doubles for a career with 36. Wises numbers on the year: 13 ppg, 11.6 rpg, with .592% shooting, and 1.53 blocks per game.

  • In their last ten games, the Grizzlies are 5-5, with a recent three game winning streak. That streak is only the third of its kind in franchise history.

  • Since December 2, Grizzlies forward Pau Gasol has led the team in rebounding 17 times.

  • When Grizzlies rookies Pau Gasol and Shane Battier attend the NBA Rookie game on All-Star weekend, theyll see a familiar face on the sideline: Chuck Daly, the teams special assistant, and coach of then back-to-back NBA champions, the Detroit Pistons.

  • Cortez Stigger, a forward for Southwest Tennessee Community College, is currently fifth in the nation in scoring, with 24.4 ppg in Division 1 of the National Junior College/Community College Athletic Association.

      • QUOTABLE:

  • “We suck.” Jason Williams on his team after its loss to the Seattle Sonics. “I think everybody heard me, including myself. I changed a little bit of my game and we all just stepped up another notch to get a big win. We got to step up to get a big win like this.” Jason Williams on how his comments might have affected his team’s play.