Columnist
Geoff Calkins has been chronicling Memphis and Memphis sports for more than two decades. Calkins has been named the best sports columnist in the country five times by the Associated Press sports editors, but still figures his best columns are about the people who make Memphis what it is.
There are 1155 articles by Geoff Calkins :
A week after blowing a 19-point lead to lose to Houston, Memphis blew a 17-point lead to lose to East Carolina. This is becoming a dispiriting — and damning — trend.
Vols fans in West Tennessee have it rough. On this massive weekend for Tennessee football, a local fan named Catherine Davenport will celebrate by putting on a bright orange prosthesis. That’s right, she has a Tennessee leg.
Six more years of Penny Hardaway? Yes, it’s true. Hardaway signed a new deal with Memphis that runs through 2028. Here’s what it means. Memphis, Penny Hardaway agree to contract extension through 2027-28Related story:
John Varlas — who covers preps for this publication — has done something that should inspire the rest of us Memphians. He’s lost 143 pounds.
Ja Morant and the Grizzlies assembled at FedExForum for media day. It’s the team’s 22nd season in Memphis. And it should be a blast.
Memphis had a win probability of 99.9% Friday night. Incredibly, Memphis still lost. Will the collapse define Ryan Silverfield? On a grand night that somehow went wrong.
The Big 12 picked Houston in its last round of expansion. Memphis never had much of a shot. But that doesn’t change the reality that the Memphis program has a higher ceiling than Houston. Here’s what the Big 12 failed to see.
Being 4-1 means never having to say you’re sorry. And the Tigers are 4-1. On a strange, sputtering, but ultimately triumphant day for Memphis football. (Did we mention that the Tigers are 4-1?)
Something was different when the Memphis Tigers gathered for their annual open practice Friday night. What was it? “There’s no cloud,” said Penny Hardaway. With IARP ruling behind them, Tigers are ‘locked in’ ahead of seasonRelated story:
The IARP’s decision was stunning vindication for Penny Hardaway and for Memphis. So go ahead, celebrate.
Nearly three years after James Wiseman played three games for the University of Memphis — and despite the NCAA dissolving the IARP going forward — the university will learn its penalty.
Twenty years after starting “Live at 9,” Marybeth Conley has found love, God and a new mission with a childhood crush — who happens to have served time for robbing a bank.
Memphis fans waited in long lines to get into the stadium Saturday night. But in the end, their bedlam helped clinch the win over Arkansas State. “How sweet is it?” said Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield, who credited the crowd with the victory.
For two shows, Pete Pranica will transform into Mark Twain. Call him Big Twain, maybe? It’s all for the benefit of the Tennessee Shakespeare Company. And it’s just the latest evidence that Pranica is a great Memphian.
They didn’t let fear stop them. Exactly one week after Eliza Fletcher’s abduction and death, more than a thousand Memphians turned out at 4:20 a.m. to finish the run that Eliza could not.
Volunteers at the FedEx St. Jude Championship will be given purple ribbons to celebrate the life of Will Drennan — a former volunteer who died saving a child from a sudden flood Tuesday night.
When you’ve got Seth Henigan, who needs a running game? The Memphis Tigers won their first game of the season — and their first road game in exactly a year— by letting Seth be Seth.
When Fred Jones asked the Tigers coach to give a keynote address, Hardaway wasn’t quite sure what to say. But at Friday’s Southern Heritage Classic luncheon, Hardaway sure said a lot.Related story:
It is the most serious crisis facing the city in decades. What are Memphians to do?
Danielle Heineman, a runner, knew she had to do something in response to the abduction and murder of Eliza Fletcher. So she is inviting women to join her at 4:20 a.m. Friday to finish Eliza’s run.
More than 2,000 women have expressed an interest in a Friday morning run to honor Eliza Fletcher. Here’s what you need to know.
The Memphis Tigers were as lousy as the weather in losing their opener to Mississippi State. Now they have to beat Navy next week. Or else.
How excited is Jackson Hughey for Memphis football? He’s postponing chemotherapy to go to Starkville Saturday. It hasn’t been the easiest offseason for college football fans. But finally, game day is back.
New Memphis president Bill Hardgrave believes that an elite tier of 60 or 70 teams will soon dominate college sports. Will Memphis be one of those teams? And what’s the future of Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium? We asked. Calkins: Bill Hardgrave could dunk! But can the new president elevate Memphis sports?Related story:
Bill Hardgrave wouldn’t be president of the University of Memphis — and wouldn’t have gone to college — without basketball. What impact will it have on the future of Tiger athletic programs? Memphis fans will soon find out. New Memphis president Bill Hardgrave discusses conference realignment, Simmons Bank Liberty StadiumRelated story: