Memphis Local, Sports, Business & Food News | Daily Memphian | Geoff Calkins

Calkins: Why is the PGA Tour's decision so heartbreaking? Ask any volunteer: It's because of the kids.

gcalkins@dailymemphian.com (Geoff Calkins) — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 06:10:07 -0500

The PGA Tour is not including Memphis or St. Jude in its Championship Series after 2027. That’s a blow to the thousands of tournament volunteers who “do it for the kids.”

Calkins: Memphis needs more gang members. (The spandex kind.)

gcalkins@dailymemphian.com (Geoff Calkins) — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 09:51:02 -0500

Collierville Alderman Charles Hall touched a nerve recently when he called cyclists “the spandex gang.” Hall says he didn’t mean anything by it. But Geoff Calkins says Memphis — and the world — would be a better place if it adopted the principles of the spandex gang.

Calkins: It's nearly football season in Memphis again. Let's hope that this one is a 'show-stopper.'

gcalkins@dailymemphian.com (Geoff Calkins) — Sun, 9 Aug 2026 07:06:54 -0500

Memphis welcomed fans to take a look at its new-and-improved stadium Saturday. At the end of another tough week in Memphis sports, it is worth remembering what community can do.

Calkins: It's the end of an era for the Memphis golf tournament

gcalkins@dailymemphian.com (Geoff Calkins) — Wed, 5 Aug 2026 20:14:52 -0500

“For nearly seven decades, the best golfers in the world have played in Memphis. Starting in 2028, that will no longer be the case.”

Calkins: Attorney Ted Jones wrote some of the best obits in Memphis. He deserves one of his own.

gcalkins@dailymemphian.com (Geoff Calkins) — Tue, 4 Aug 2026 06:31:10 -0500

Ted Jones took it upon himself to write miniature, elegant obituaries on Facebook, celebrating the lives of attorneys and judges and anyone else he knew in the legal profession who had died. Jones, 67, died July 29.

Calkins: It's time for SpaceXAI to live up to its promise to Memphis kids

gcalkins@dailymemphian.com (Geoff Calkins) — Tue, 28 Jul 2026 06:39:10 -0500

A year ago, SpaceXAI committed to give Memphis-Shelby County Schools a gift a local pastor called “game-changing.” So far, MSCS has little to show for it. It’s time for that to change.

Calkins: Fred Smith and family ride to the rescue (with $50 million) to forge a stunning stadium deal

gcalkins@dailymemphian.com (Geoff Calkins) — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 16:27:25 -0500

“Who put an end to the stadium fracas? Fred Smith and family, of course.”

FedEx founder to help fund Liberty Stadium renovations; U of M could control stadium

Calkins: Midtown has a beaver problem. It's not as funny as it sounds.

gcalkins@dailymemphian.com (Geoff Calkins) — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 04:00:11 -0500

There is a beaver on the loose in Midtown. It’s big, it’s brown — and it’s not going to be easy to move.

It was a big night for tennis in Memphis. And there's a whole week of tennis yet to come.

gcalkins@dailymemphian.com (Geoff Calkins) — Sun, 26 Jul 2026 19:57:33 -0500

Saturday’s exhibition at Leftwich Tennis Center was a soggy celebration, a rain-delayed shindig to mark the start of the Memphis Classic, the Women’s Tennis Association tournament that will be in town all week.

Calkins: Jordan Devey's family wants you to know he took his own life — and that he is making it possible for many others to live.

gcalkins@dailymemphian.com (Geoff Calkins) — Sun, 26 Jul 2026 14:59:32 -0500

Former Memphis Tiger Jordan Devey took his own life last week. Sunday, a surgical team will transplant his organs so others can live.

Calkins: Can Memphis basketball be Memphis basketball again?

gcalkins@dailymemphian.com (Geoff Calkins) — Fri, 24 Jul 2026 04:00:00 -0500

“Why did Memphis open basketball practice to the media in the middle of July? To ‘get people back with Memphis basketball,’ said Penny Hardaway. It’s a worthy task.”

Calkins: Elvis Presley lives! Or his sign does, anyway.

gcalkins@dailymemphian.com (Geoff Calkins) — Tue, 7 Jul 2026 22:02:35 -0500

“The bold, metal sign in front of the Visitor Center no longer says ‘LVIS PRESLEY BOULEVARD.’ But who fixed it? A quintessentially Memphis institution, of course.”

Calkins: He's a 102-year-old American hero. And he bakes cookies, too.

gcalkins@dailymemphian.com (Geoff Calkins) — Sun, 5 Jul 2026 17:53:11 -0500

Luke McLaurine is a World War II veteran who’s lived through 40% of America’s 250 years. He’s a survivor of Nazi prison camps, flies a flag at his house and says daily doughnut consumption is the key to longevity.

Calkins: The Ja Morant era is finally over. Why did it come to this?

gcalkins@dailymemphian.com (Geoff Calkins) — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 13:26:35 -0500

“The Grizzlies have finally traded Ja Morant, the biggest star they may ever have. But by the end they just wanted him gone.”

Calkins: A Little League team raised $50,000 for St. Jude. And the story gets even better.

gcalkins@dailymemphian.com (Geoff Calkins) — Mon, 29 Jun 2026 06:25:09 -0500

A Florida Little League team traveled to Memphis to deliver the money they’d raised, and play a game against Memphis Little League. Then they learned one of the opposing players was a St. Jude patient.

Calkins: The Grizzlies get Cam Boozer — and a night of authentic joy

gcalkins@dailymemphian.com (Geoff Calkins) — Wed, 24 Jun 2026 08:51:33 -0500

Opinion: After a season of misery, the Memphis Grizzlies gave their fans a night to celebrate. It included Cam Boozer, Karim Lopez and honest-to-God hope.

Calkins: The new board managing Memphis schools opens for business — in Nashville.

gcalkins@dailymemphian.com (Geoff Calkins) — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 08:25:46 -0500

The new board overseeing Memphis-Shelby County Schools convened for the first time Thursday — in Nashville, with little notice, at 8:45 a.m. If the hope was to win over conflicted Memphians, this was a bizarre way to start.

Calkins: The Memphis Art Museum will be the next great place in the city — because of Barbara and Pitt Hyde.

gcalkins@dailymemphian.com (Geoff Calkins) — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 16:26:13 -0500

Pitt and Barbara Hyde didn’t want their name on the new Memphis Art Museum. That didn’t stop Memphis mayor Paul Young from highlighting the couple’s astounding work. “For a generation you have led with generosity and vision,” Young said. “And your mark on the city — on Downtown in particular — is everywhere.”

Q&A: More from the Hydes on Downtown, the Grizzlies, AutoZone Park and the future of Memphis

gcalkins@dailymemphian.com (Geoff Calkins) — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 09:15:58 -0500

The Daily Memphian’s Geoff Calkins sat down with Barbara and Pitt Hyde to talk about the new museum, their hands-on approach to civic projects and why Memphis continues to be — in their words — their “big bet.”

Calkins: Otis Sanford tells his story — and it's one that you should hear.

gcalkins@dailymemphian.com (Geoff Calkins) — Sun, 14 Jun 2026 11:52:39 -0500

When Otis Sanford was growing up in Mississippi, his father would ask him, “What’s in the news?” Answering that question has taken Sanford to places neither of them could possibly have imagined. Now he’s captured the journey in a new book.

Memphis Local, Sports, Business & Food News | Daily Memphian | Geoff Calkins

Calkins: Why is the PGA Tour's decision so heartbreaking? Ask any volunteer: It's because of the kids.

Calkins: Memphis needs more gang members. (The spandex kind.)

Calkins: It's nearly football season in Memphis again. Let's hope that this one is a 'show-stopper.'

Calkins: It's the end of an era for the Memphis golf tournament

Related content:

Calkins: Attorney Ted Jones wrote some of the best obits in Memphis. He deserves one of his own.

Calkins: It's time for SpaceXAI to live up to its promise to Memphis kids

Related content:

Calkins: Fred Smith and family ride to the rescue (with $50 million) to forge a stunning stadium deal

Related story:

Calkins: Midtown has a beaver problem. It's not as funny as it sounds.

It was a big night for tennis in Memphis. And there's a whole week of tennis yet to come.

Calkins: Jordan Devey's family wants you to know he took his own life — and that he is making it possible for many others to live.

Calkins: Can Memphis basketball be Memphis basketball again?

Calkins: Elvis Presley lives! Or his sign does, anyway.

Calkins: He's a 102-year-old American hero. And he bakes cookies, too.

Calkins: The Ja Morant era is finally over. Why did it come to this?

Related content:

Calkins: A Little League team raised $50,000 for St. Jude. And the story gets even better.

Calkins: The Grizzlies get Cam Boozer — and a night of authentic joy

Calkins: The new board managing Memphis schools opens for business — in Nashville.

Calkins: The Memphis Art Museum will be the next great place in the city — because of Barbara and Pitt Hyde.

Related content:

Q&A: More from the Hydes on Downtown, the Grizzlies, AutoZone Park and the future of Memphis

Calkins: Otis Sanford tells his story — and it's one that you should hear.