Archive for March, 2009
John Calipari. Memphis Tigers? Kentucky Wildcats?
John Calipari - Memphis Head Coach (photo by Nikki Boertman-Commercial Appeal)
Is John Calipari posturing to receive more from the University of Memphis, or is he ready to kiss Memphis good-bye? There has been so much buzz today in the sports world, locally and nationally. Will John Calipari stay at the University of Memphis or will he take the coveted position of head basketball coach at the University of Kentucky? This will be updated as information becomes available.
Last Friday when Calipari returned from the loss to Missouri in the sweet sixteen in the NCAA Tournament, the Commercial Appeal quoted Cal, “Memphis is where I want to coach. . . When we win, and everybody loves to win, players go to the pros, and there are people that will come at me,” Calipari said Thursday night after his team’s 102-91 loss to Missouri in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16. “That’s just how it is. I’m happy, happy with the program, happy with the people. I love Memphis. And like I said, I just need to kick back and hide from everybody for a couple days.”
A WREG story states, “former WREG TV sports Director George Lapides says Johnson said Calipari is still a U of M coach but asked if he will be at the end of the day, Johnson reportedly replied “No”.
Another story from WPTY says, “University of Memphis Head Basketball Coach John Calipari is sounding like he will follow the money to the University of Kentucky. That is the statement made to MyEyewitnessNews.com by a member of this year’s Tigers team following a team meeting with the coach. “Yes, we met with him. He was talking like he was going to leave,” was the quote from the player who attended this morning’s meeting.”
And the Commercial Appeal reports, “While Calipari did not say explicitly what he planned to do, some players left the meeting convinced that Calipari would take the job, according to a source. Calipari told the team that Kentucky was the Notre Dame of basketball.”
WMCTV.com says , “A source close to situation tells Action News 5′s Jarvis Greer that University of Memphis basketball head coach John Calipari will leave the Tigers to take the job of head coach at the University of Kentucky.” It goes on to say, ”Players Wesley Witherspoon and Roburt Sallie are expected to transfer to Kentucky along with Calipari. Willie Kemp and Pierre Henderson-Niles will stay with the Tigers. Shawn Taggart will pass up his final year of eligibility and will graduate in May.”
WPTY reports from the UK student newspaper, “Apparently, Calipari could not resist the lure of what he calls ‘the Notre Dame of college basketball.’ He has rejected the counter offer from Memphis and will sign on and be introduced as the new Wildcats’ head coach as soon as late this afternoon. The contract is rumored to be worth about $40 million over six years, an NCAA-record $6.67 million per anum.”
Update: 3/31/09 11:15am: According to this Commercial Appeal story, John Calipari was seen this morning with friends at Gibson’s Donuts in Memphis. Calipari said, “In addition to Kentucky, Arizona came after him over the weekend offering not a salary but a blank check. Calipari said, “No thanks.” And went on to say, “He loves Memphis but is drawn to the history and prestige of Kentucky. Calipari said it’s one of five programs — along with North Carolina, Duke, UCLA and Kansas — any coach would have to consider.”
“Things will be OK here,” he said. And also “Taking the job is the easy part of the decision. Leaving here is the hard part.” The story says, “He said he hadn’t made up his mind. He was going to drive around Memphis today and decide this afternoon.”
Update: 4/1/09 9:00am: Done deal! John Calipari is the new head coach at the University of Kentucky. Calipari said several times how emotional and difficult the decision to leave Memphis was. He’ll be back in Memphis at noon to have a press conference with the University of Memphis. Memphis will be kissed good-bye! Good luck Cal!
John Calipari is Kentucky's new Head Coach
Tags: basketball, Commercial Appeal, George Lapides, John Calipari, Kentucky Wildcats, Memphis Tigers, University of Kentucky, University of Memphis, WPTY, WREG
Tom Prestigiacomo Moves to Mornings – WKIM 98.9
There’s a new line-up at WKIM-FM 98.9. Tom Prestigiacomo has moved from afternoons to mornings with Dr. Susan Murrmann to host the Memphis Morning View. According to the WKIM website, the Memphis Morning View is ”a morning show for women and the people who care about them.” The Morning View airs from 6am-10am.
On Air with Ryan Seacrest will fill Tom’s previous afternoon slot from 3pm-6pm Monday-Friday. Seacrest has a nationally syndicated show that airs on numerous stations nationwide.
John Tesh‘s nationally syndicated show airs Midday on WKIM-FM from 10am-3pm.
Tags: 98.9, Dr. Susan Murrmann, John Tesh, KIM-FM, media, Memphis, radio, Ryan Seacrest, Tom Prestigiacomo, WKIM, WKIM-FM
Memphis Tigers – 2009 NCAA Tournament TV Ratings
John Calipari - Memphis Head Coach (photo by Nikki Boertman-Commercial Appeal)
Update 3/27/09: The University of Memphis Tigers ended their NCAA Tournament run last night with a loss to the Missouri Tigers. It looked like a large number of fans attended the game in Glendale, AZ, and according to Nielsen Media, a huge number of Memphis Tiger fans watched the broadcast of the game on WREG in Memphis. In fact, WREG points out that their “broadcast of the Memphis vs. Missouri game was the number 1 metered market game of the day, including all prime games.” Here’s the updated chart with the local WREG overnight household ratings.
| Overnight Household Ratings for Memphis Tigers 2009 NCAA Tournament games on WREG in Memphis | ||||||
| Day | Date | Opponent | Starting Time | Final Score | HH RTG | Share |
| Thurs. | 3/19 | Cal St. Northridge Lost | 11:25am | 81-70 | 16 | 33 |
| Sat. | 3/21 | Maryland lost | 2:20pm | 89-70 | 22.9 | 37 |
| Thurs. | 3/26 | Missouri won | 8:49pm | 102-91 | 34 | 47 |
| From Nielsen Media | ||||||
Antonio Anderson / Memphis Tigers (Photo by Mark Weber/Commercial Appeal)
Original Post 3/24/09: The University of Memphis Tigers are making their run to the Final Four. And the hometown Tiger fans are watching. The first 2 games of the 2009 NCAA Tournament that were broadcast on WREG, the Memphis CBS affiliate, proved to be winners in the local ratings race. However, these numbers do not reflect group viewing in offices and public places, which would make the Thursday 3/19, lunch time game ratings substantially higher if it was measured.
See chart above….
The next game on Thursday, 3/26, the Memphis Tigers will play the University of Missouri Tigers in Glendale, AZ at 8:37pm. This prime time game on WREG should exceed the Nielsen ratings from Round 1 and 2 and be the Thursday night prime time winner, in Memphis. Go Tigers Go!
Tags: Antonio Anderson, CBS, John Calipari, Memphis, Memphis Tigers, Missouri Tigers, NCAA Tournament, nielsen ratings, Television, TV, WREG
The Ultimate Twitter Guide for Everything Twitter
Webdesigner Depot has published the Ultimate Twitter Guide for Everything Twitter. It is a great resource for new tweeters or people interested in learning more about Twitter. As I just learned, it’s twitterific! It’s worth bookmarking for quick reference in the future. These are some of the subjects covered:
Twitter Basics How to Get More Followers
Twitter History Twitter Etiquette
Twitter Glossary Twitter in the News
Twitter Rank Blogs & News Sites to Follow on Twitter
Twitter for iPhone How to Add Twitter to Everything
Twitter Website Tools Twitter Resources
And if you want to follow me on Twitter, I’m at http://twitter.com/bethgraber . Happy Twittering!
Tags: Everything Twitter, Twitter, Twitter Basics, Twitter Etiquette, Twitter for iPhone, Twitter Glossary, Twitter History, Twitter Rank, Twitter Resources, Utlimate Guide to Twitter
Memphis Tigers – Behind the Scenes in Kansas City at NCAA Tournament
Memphis Tigers Refuse to Lose Bus (Luke Winn/SI)
Roburt Sallie (Orlin Wagner, Associated Press / March 19, 2009)
The University of Memphis Tigers won the first round game of the NCAA Tournament with Roburt Sallie scoring a career high 35 points…not just a career high, but the most points ever scored by a Memphis Tiger in an NCAA Tournament game. Sallie’s 35 points included 10 3-pointers. The Tigers beat Cal St. Northridge Matadors 81-70.
Tags: basketball, Luke Winn, Memphis, Memphis Tigers, NCAA Tournament, Roburt Sallie, University of Memphis
Elvis Presley & Dale Earnhardt Themed Guitar & Die-Cast Collectible
photo by Beth Graber
photo by Beth Graber
photo by Steve Marcus
Tags: Dale Earnhardt, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Dale Jr., Die Cast Car, Elvis Presley, Flying Elvi, Gibson Guitar, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Memphis, NASCAR, Shelby 427, Sprint Cup
2009 CLIO Awards Honorees: Barry Manilow, Matthew Weiner, Mark Cuban
2009 marks the 50th Anniversary of the CLIO Awards. “The CLIO Awards are one of the world’s most prestigious international advertising and design competitions honoring creative excellence and innovation in the industry.”
““To celebrate 50 years of excellence in advertising, design and interactive, the CLIO Awards are honored to recognize Barry Manilow, Matthew Weiner and Mark Cuban for their distinguished contributions to the industry,” said Wayne Youkhana, director of the CLIO Awards. “We’re thrilled to present honorary awards for the 50th Anniversary CLIO Awards to individuals who have each created bodies of work that have evolved into cultural phenomena acknowledged around the world.”
Barry Manilow will be recognized for his memorable and award winning television and radio advertising jingles. Matthew Weiner will be recognized as one of the most powerful storytellers to ever tackle the rise of advertising in America through a critically acclaimed original television series, Mad Men. Mark Cuban is being recognized as a digital media thought leader who helped pave the way for the industry by launching and investing in many successful online ventures and cutting-edge technologies including Broadcast.com and HDNet.
The 2009 CLIO Awards will be held May 12-14 in Las Vegas at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
And what do these 3 honorees have in common, except being incredibly talented and successful in their specific fields? Each one would receive an enthusiastic Mazel Tov from me!
Tags: advertising, Barry Manilow, CLIO Awards, Mark Cuban, Matthew Weiner
2009 Memphis in May Beale Street Music Festival Lineup
Memphis in May has just released the lineup for the 2009 Beale Street Music Festival, May 1-May 3, 2009. According to the Memphis Flyer, here is the full lineup:
Friday, May 1st: The All-American Rejects, The Steve Miller Band, Ben Harper & Relentless 7, Tommy Castro, Katy Perry, The Cult, G. Love & Special Sauce, Jack’s Mannequin, Rise Against, Ronnie Baker Brooks, Matt Nathanson, Medeski, Martin, & Wood, Lurrie Bell, Bonnie Bramlet.
Saturday, May 2nd: Al Green, Korn, George Clinton & Parliament-Funkdelic, John Lee Hooker, Jr., Shinedown, Elvis Costello, The Roots, Curtis Salgado, Saving Abel, Los Lobos, Michael Burks, The Bar-Kays, Thriving Ivory, Susan Tedeschi, Julian Marley, Cedric Burnside & Lightnin’ Malcolm, Chancho En Pierdra, Muck Sticky, Green River Ordinance, Hubert Sumlin, Shane Dwight, Jump Back Jake.
Sunday, May 3rd: James Taylor, 311, Fall Out Boy, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, Hinder, Bonnie Raitt, Snoop Dogg, Guitar Shorty, Theory of a Deadman, Jerry Lee Lewis, Three 6 Mafia, Sherman Robertson, Chancho En Piedra, Amos Lee, Prosevere, Damon Fowler, Dead Confederate, Reba Russell Band.
Tags: Al Green, Beale St. Music Fest, Beale Street Music Festival, Bonnie Raitt, Elvis Costello, Fall Out Boy, James Taylor, Jerry Lee Lewis, Katy Perry, Memphis, Memphis Flyer, Memphis in May, music, Snoop Dogg, Three 6 Mafia