Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium will have reduced capacity, according to new plans
Memphis athletic director Ed Scott said the new capacity for Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium will be 42,000-44,000 — not the 50,000 that was originally planned.
Geoff Calkins
Columnist
Geoff Calkins has been chronicling Memphis and Memphis sports for more than two decades. He is host of "The Geoff Calkins Show" from 9-11 a.m. M-F on 92.9 FM. 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 1062 articles by Geoff Calkins :
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January 2025
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Memphis Tigers Football -
Geoff Calkins Calkins: Ed Scott on realignment, Penny, the NCAA investigation, attendance and more
Memphis athletic director Ed Scott has been on the job for six months. Here’s what he has to say about realignment, the ongoing NCAA investigation, Ryan Silverfield, Penny Hardaway and the university’s plans for paying players.
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: Leaving Memphis makes Nick Walker ‘tear up.’ Here’s why.
Nick Walker, the Memphis parks director, is leaving for North Carolina. He has some thoughts before he goes about why he loves the city, what bothers him about Memphians and what he’d like to see change.
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: He just turned 102! And he’s got stories you might not believe.
T.K. Tanner just turned 102. He’s got stories you won’t believe. And, yes, I asked him the secret to a long life. It’s not what you might think.
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: Want to feel better about MSCS? I give you Ollie Liddell and his fabulous band.
Hundreds of high school jazz bands audition from all over the world to be invited to the Essentially Ellington contest in May. Only 30 bands make it — and guess where one of them is from.
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: How did it end for Feagins? In chaos, of course.
“The decision to fire Memphis-Shelby County Schools Superintendent Marie Feagins was chaotic but predictable. It felt like the fix was always in.”
Related content:
Marie Feagins ousted as MSCS superintendent
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: Five board members want to oust Feagins. They’re making her a martyr instead.
Geoff Calkins: Whatever you think of the job Feagins has done, it can’t possibly be as bad as the job the board has done in trying to fire her. Instead of persuading the community that Feagins has to go, they have rallied the community to her side.
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: Sure, Taylor Jenkins screwed up. But that’s not what you should worry about.
Taylor Jenkins took the blame for the loss. It was nice of him to say. But the Grizzlies real problem may be their inability to handle the best in the West.
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: The one thing Memphians must resolve to do in 2025 (and it’s not lose weight)
Hey, Memphians. It’s time to resolve to have fun again in 2025. Go to a Tigers game. Go to a Grizzlies game. Get off your couch and do something.
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December 2024
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Memphis Tigers BasketballCalkins: Memphis smashes Ole Miss to wind up 2024. (And 2025 could be fun.)
After the Memphis Tigers smashed Ole Miss Saturday, Penny Hardaway called this the “most satisfying” nonconference season of his coaching career. Who are we to disagree?
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: The jolliest place in Memphis this season? It might be this UPS Store.
He may not be Santa, but Thermon Knighten runs the jolliest packing and shipping store this side of the North Pole. Not only that, he does weddings. At The UPS Store. How jolly is that?
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: Feagins survives for now. But what an embarrassing mess.
Grant Wells, a teacher, joined hundreds of others in support of Memphis-Shelby County Schools Superintendent Marie Feagins Tuesday night. His explanation for the entire fiasco? “This is Memphis stuff,” he said.
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Geoff Calkins Calkins: The St. Jude Memphis Marathon isn’t just a race. It’s a lesson for us all.
Some 22,500 people will be running through Downtown Memphis on Saturday. How did it happen? That’s a story worth telling all your friends.
Related content:
Hope ahead: St. Jude kicks off Marathon Weekend in Downtown Memphis
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: Enjoy this moment in Memphis sports. It’s never happened before.
The basketball Tigers are ranked. The football Tigers are ranked at the same time. When has that happened during a Grizzlies playoff season? Never. These are heady times.
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November 2024
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: 901 FC is gone. Could the Redbirds be next?
If Memphis doesn’t find the money to make needed repairs, Geoff Calkins says, there could be an empty ballpark at B.B. King Boulevard and Union Avenue before long.
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Spirit of MemphisCalkins: For 50 years, Ron Olson has been keeping us laughing
Ron Olson celebrated 50 years in Memphis radio at the beginning of November. How has he done it? By making us laugh.
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Geoff Calkins Calkins: Derek Clenin was ‘one of a kind.’ A story about rivalry, friendship, life and death.
Twenty-two years ago, Derek Clenin blocked an extra point to lift MUS over CBHS. Clenin died Oct. 8. Now, the quarterback of that CBHS team, Carter Giovannetti, plans to run the St. Jude Marathon in his friend and rival’s name.
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Geoff Calkins Calkins: Gene Brady is gone. The world needs more Gene Bradys.
Gene Brady, 89, died in a single-car wreck last week. Maybe you didn’t know him. But if you’re lucky, you’ve known people like him. We could use more of them today.
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: It’s a pivotal year for Penny Hardaway — and us
“This certainly isn’t the most anticipated season of the Penny Hardaway era. But it’s the most pivotal. What lies ahead for Hardaway and the Memphis Tigers? It all begins tonight.”
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Geoff Calkins Calkins: Hundreds of students will be working the polls Tuesday. So be nice!
If you’re voting Tuesday, don’t be surprised if you’re checked in by a high school student. More than 250 have signed up to work the polls this week. So be on your best behavior, people.
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October 2024
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Memphis GrizzliesCalkins: On opening night in Memphis, Grizz fans got everything they wanted
After a season of misery, Memphis fans got everything they wanted in Saturday’s home opener. Including the return of Ja Morant, the debut of Yuki Kawamura — and an unexpected hero in a Hufflepuff shirt.
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: As NBA season tips off, FedEx’s Richard Smith says it’s a ‘desperate’ moment for Downtown
FedEx exec Richard Smith says this is a critical moment for Downtown Memphis — and the Grizzlies, FedExForum and Beale Street may be the key.
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: Richard Smith on crime, conference realignment and how the Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium gift happened
Richard Smith was as surprised as anyone when Fred Smith, his father, decided the family would give $50 million to help renovate the stadium. Here’s Smith on crime, Ja Morant, conference realignment and how that gift came to be.
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: It was a joyous night of basketball for Memphis. Let’s hope it’s just the start.
“Could not be any better,” said Richard Shadyac Jr., the president and CEO of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness arm of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. “And next year, we’ll take it to the next level.”
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: This Memphis restaurant owner went to the police. You might be surprised by what he found.
Rick Spell, who owns three Memphis restaurants, had a recent meeting with the police. And he came away impressed.
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