Geoff Calkins
Calkins: Worry about the Liberty Bowl? Nah. But about that new deal for the Grizzlies ...
Save your fretting for the Grizzlies. That’s where there is work to be done.
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 1039 articles by Geoff Calkins :
-
December 2023
-
Premium
Geoff Calkins -
Premium
Geoff CalkinsCalkins: Mike Norvell got shafted by the system? Memphis knows exactly how he feels.
“Mike Norvell and Florida State got left out? Memphis fans understand how that feels. The entire system of college sports is based on leaving universities out, no matter how deserving. Fairness has nothing to do with it.”
-
-
November 2023
-
Premium
Geoff CalkinsCalkins: Wait, why all the fuss about streamers? On a strangely wonderful night for the Grizz.
The Grizzlies won a home game for the first time in 218 days Wednesday. So when the streamers fell, people scrambled to collect them as if they had never seen them before. On a night of joy and relief at FedExForum. Which will just have to do, for now.
-
Premium
Geoff CalkinsCalkins: Fred Smith and family ride to the rescue (with $50 million) to forge a stunning stadium deal
“Who put an end to the stadium fracas? Fred Smith and family, of course.”
Related story:
FedEx founder to help fund Liberty Stadium renovations; U of M could control stadium
-
Premium
Geoff CalkinsCalkins: How Brooks Monaghan built a women’s soccer power in Memphis — and what it can teach the rest of us
The University of Memphis women’s soccer program isn’t just the most successful athletic program at the university — it’s one of the most successful organizations in the city, period. How did head coach Brooks Monaghan do it? And what lessons can the rest of us learn?
-
Premium
Geoff CalkinsHow a young doctor came to love Memphis and St. Jude. And, along the way, changed the world.
Dr. Justin Baker never intended to stay nearly 20 years in Memphis. But he came to love both the city and his work at St. Jude Children’s Research hospital. Now he’s is leaving for Stanford — but not before sharing some lessons he learned along the way.
-
Premium
Memphis Tigers BasketballCalkins: These Tigers will be awesome! (And it better be soon).
The Memphis Tigers have loads of talent. They showed it again as they opened their season with a 94-77 win over Jackson State. Now all the Tigers have to do is mold that talent into an elite team. By Friday, would be best.
-
-
October 2023
-
Premium
Geoff CalkinsCalkins: She’s 107. She still lives alone. The secret? It’s not what you think.
Martha McAnespie celebrated her 107th birthday over the weekend. Yes, her 107th. And she still lives alone. The Daily Memphian got her story and her secret, too. It’s not what you might think.
-
Premium
Geoff CalkinsCalkins: Yep, the Grizzlies lost another opener. But you should have seen the happy tears.
Sure, the home team lost another opener. But there were actual happy tears at the game. Why? Because the Memphis Grizzlies are back for their 23rd year.
-
Premium
Geoff CalkinsCalkins: He was held up at gunpoint — and he can’t imagine working anywhere else.
“There is a lot of negative press about this city. But there’s good stuff happening, every day,” says Cody Behles, director of innovation and research support at the University of Memphis.
-
Premium
Geoff CalkinsCalkins: Rocks, alligators and umbrellas. The continuing saga of Ja Morant.
The most important part of ESPN’s story on Ja Morant isn’t anything in the story. It’s the impact it could have on Morant. A column about alligators, rocks and umbrellas — and what they all may mean.
-
Free Access
Geoff CalkinsCalkins: A new mayor and a new dog, too? Things are looking up!
Paul Young will be the new mayor of Memphis. And you should feel optimistic about that. Yes, optimistic. It may have gone out of fashion. But Young just might bring it back.
-
Premium
Geoff CalkinsCalkins: The Rendezvous is 75! There’s a lesson in that for Memphians.
The Rendezvous opened 75 years ago. Its success is a lesson in determination, authenticity — and putting down stakes (or ribs!) where you are. So have a cheese and sausage plate to celebrate. It’s a Memphis ribiversary!
-
Premium
Geoff CalkinsCalkins: Fifteen years later, Derrick Rose is back in Memphis — as a better version of himself
After 15 years, Derrick Rose is returning to Memphis as “a different Derrick.” But can this version rub off on Ja Morant?
-
-
September 2023
-
Opinion Calkins: Pickleball is coming to Beale Street! And FedExForum, too.
Yes, pickleball is coming to Beale Street. And to FedExForum after that. It’s brought to you by two Memphians who started Pickleball 901 on the theory that — as one of them put it — “pickleball’s a beast.”
-
Geoff Calkins Calkins: Danny Smith died on his bicycle. But his secret was how he lived.
Danny Smith, 47, collapsed and died leading a bicycle ride last week. The Memphis cycling community was stunned. Smith wasn’t just an increasingly accomplished cyclist. He made the city a better — and more connected — place.
-
fifth anniversary
OpinionCalkins: Hey, look! The Daily Memphian is 5! (But it wasn’t a piece of cake).
“Who starts up a newspaper these days? What a preposterous thing to do. But in just five years, The Daily Memphian has become one of the things that binds this city together. That’s worth pausing to celebrate.”
-
fifth anniversary
MetroThe Daily Memphian writers share their favorite stories
The Daily Memphian celebrates its fifth anniversary by asking long-term writers to share a few of their favorite stories. Here are those stories and why the authors chose them, in their own words.
-
Geoff Calkins Calkins: Wes Smith’s murder was random and cruel. The family’s response? It’s love.
Wes Smith was murdered in an act of random cruelty. He’ll be buried in Memphis Saturday. The family’s response is to celebrate the remarkable life their son led — and to shower his friends and community with love.
-
Premium
Geoff CalkinsCalkins: What to think about that new stadium proposal? Let’s hope the Grizzlies don’t hold a grudge.
“The city’s proposal to fund stadium renovations is now out there for all he world to see. How should Memphians think about that? They should hope that Robert Pera and the Grizzlies don’t hold a grudge.”
-
Premium
Geoff CalkinsCalkins: It’s a moment of truth for Memphis, not just the Tigers or the Grizz.
University of Memphis athletic director Laird Vearch said this a “moment of truth” for the Tigers. But it’s more than that. It’s a moment of truth for a city that wants to keep its major-league status.
-
Geoff Calkins Calkins: Once again — this time on 901 Day — Memphians will Finish Liza’s Run
“In a perfect world, we would have a Memphis where we didn’t have to run scared. But I don’t think that day is here yet. And I don’t think we will get there if we quit.”
-
Geoff Calkins Calkins: A year later, Richie Fletcher talks about Liza: ‘She would be the first to forgive.’
Richie Fletcher on his wife, Liza: “We would have late-night talks about Memphis. We could have been far away, without any worries in the world. I was always like, ‘We need to get out of here.’ But she didn’t want to leave.”
-
Premium
OpinionCalkins: Tom Lee Park is now officially open — and it’s spectacular
Nearly every good thing in Memphis has had to overcome fierce opposition. See Shelby Farms and the Grizz. So it’s no surprise that change didn’t come easy for the new Tom Lee Park. But the new place looks spectacular.
-
-
August 2023
-
Premium
Geoff CalkinsCalkins: Fund the stadium? Sure! But not if it risks losing the Grizz.
Should the city move forward with funding for the Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium? Of course. But only as part of a larger agreement that keeps the Grizzlies in town.
Related story:
U of M president on realignment: ‘We are a well-kept secret and we should not be’
-