Part 2

Well I am a week late on part two of my discussion of the Memphis Grizzlies but I lost total interest in this post. It is spring time hear in Memphis and there are too many other things to do besides sitting inside watching basketball. The next sporting event that I look forward to watching is the Kentucky Derby presented by Yums Brand, i.e. KFC. I understand why Yums Brand would want to be associated with the Derby but why would the Derby sell it's sole to KFC. To me this ranks up there with the idea of the Master's having a title sponsor. As a person who educated in the field, of sports marketing, I still beleive that there are a handfull of events that are sacred and the tradition is more important naming rights. The Derby is one of those events, as is the Super Bowl, World Series and the Master's. When you think about the Derby do you think about fried chicken? No, you think about mint juleps, people dressed to the nines, and the fine horses that make it all possible. What is next The Master's presented by Wal Mart? Why not John Daly is sponsored by Hooter's.

The Memphis Grizzlies and Their Attendance Problem

It has been discussed ad nausium this season as to why the Memphis Grizzlies are not drawing fans to the game and I have the answer. Pundits want to blame the median household income and the fact that the majority, of the city proper, residents live below the poverty line; while this might play a small role in the low turn out it is not the main reason. The reason why they do not have a larger fan base is due to thier poor branding efforts. What? When the Grizzlies moved from Vancouver it took team management 3 seasons to change their logo and colors. To some this might be a trival matter but it helps when the team looks like it belongs in a certain city. Teal, red, white and brown do not reflect the city of Memphis. when the team did roll out a new logo and colors they did it in a manner that was simplistic and trite. They tried to link the new colors with the musical past and heritage of the city by calling the blue Beale St. blue. Which leads me to the next problem thier advertising campaign in which the team arbertrariliy intertwined images of music with the Grizzlies without making a deeper link with artists that came from the city. They threw something together and hoped it would stick and it really hasn't. Thier marketing strategy is the equivilent of throwing darts in the dark, just throw it and hope it gets close. Tomarrow I will have part 2 of my analysis.

Where in the World is Catholic Packer Fan?

Can anyone tell me what happened to the Catholic Packer Fan? I have tried to go to his site but it is now a gardening site. Is this a joke?

A Tragic End To A Tragic Story

Today Logan Young was found brutally murdered in his home, here in Memphis. They haven't been able to identify the body because of the state in which the body was found. A forensic autopsy will have to be done to proove that it really is Logan Young.

Logan Young is responsible for the pay for play scandle involving Albert Means, Lynn Lang, and the University of Alabama. He was covicted and sentenced last year for several federal charges surrounding this incident. A truly sad ending to a sad life.

West Signs A New Contract

Along with Cal getting more money the Tigers spent even more when they increased Tommy West's salary and increased the spending for his assitant coachs' salaries. West signed a deal that will increase the length of his deal until 2010.

Memphis 1 NC State 0

Diamond Dave once sang " I've been to the edge and I stood and looked down..I've lost alot of friends there baby" well that is what happened today to the University of Memphis. Calipari and NC State took the Tigers to the edge but instead of jumping over Lovers Leap Coach Cal pushed the Wolfpack off the cliff. Despite the bad blood that developed between Cal and RC Johnson the alumni stepped up and generated enough money to make a competitive offer to Coach Cal. The bad blood developed when Cal was offered a $100,000 raise which would have raised his base pay to $1.3 million. RC was playing hard ball thinking that he didn't have any competition for Calipari's services, this belief came to bite him in the ass. NC State took a big bite of RC's ass, when they offered Cal $2.2 million to be the next Wolfpack coach. I don't blame Cal in this circumstance I blame RC Johnson because Cal's deal could have been done 2 weeks ago.

Act 2: NC State

I am not going to set here and say that NC State is being a bit underhanded in thier pursuit of John Calipari. I will say this that NC State AD will no longer be welcome back here in Memphis. the good will that he built by be an assitant coach, under Dana Kirk, is over. So what do we know? Not much but rumors, such as the erroneous info Andy Katz was peddling today on ESPN.com. Cal did not fly to Raliegh today but then this is a minute detail. What the real issue is where are we going to get another high profile coach that can generate the brand awareness that Cal has done. I said, a couple of weeks ago, that Nolan Richardson would be a good choice but after thinking about it I was wrong. He is too old and doesn't bring the energy that Cal has. A good example of this is that Cal was a co host of the Best Damn Sports Show on Fox Sports. Nolan could never do this. We have crossed that line in which we can no longer look back. Memphis fans have always wanted respect and to truly be a national program. Cal has begun to take us there and we can't go back. If Cal leaves we have to find someone with as big a persona that he has created. Today there have been names thrown about that would be an insane choice suchh as Steve Lavin or Rick Majerus. Now if either one of these guys is hired I promise you that heads will roll. A.D. R.C. Johnson will lose his job and the program will take ten steps backward. The problem that we face is that it is a little late in the year to find a coach willing to leave thier program. If Cal leaves expect some of our recruits to decommit and for Darius and Shawne to goo pro. We won't be able to recover from this for a couple of years. I hope that the meeting that was held today, with the boosters, generated enough money to keep him here. The sad thing is that this could have all been avoided if R.C. didn't try and play hard ball. Thanks R.C. I hope that the coaching search goes smoothly because your every move will be under the microscope. I hope that you get it right because your job is truly on the line. Next time you want to play hard ball go to the batting cages.

The Hangover has Finally Worn Off!

It has taken me week and a half to get over the Tigers loss to UCLA. I was so disappointed that I found it really hard to watch any more basketball after that game. I heard that the Gators won the National Championship last night but I maybe watched five minutes of it. I found, last nights, Yankee blowout more entertaining. With that said I would like to say a few words to Billy Packer. You are a pompose ass and it was given a strong kick in it when George Mason made the Final Four. They were one of the only reasons people tuned into the Final Four games. I better leave it at that because I feel my heartrate rising.