Grind City Media

Lane Kiffin

Weekend Guide 🎬 Friday, September 11

The Lane Train is a bumpy ride

Fri-Day! Yes! And as you roll into the weekend, here’s a quick guide with a few things worthy of your precious free time…

In His Lane

As a fervent observer of the SEC, I’ve seen a lot of weird things through the years, but I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anything quite like the circus Lane Kiffin and LSU have engaged in over the last few months.

Kiffin entered last season at Ole Miss as a refreshed man, newly centered and eager to put past controversies behind him. He did hot yoga! He had fun on Twitter! He even got a pet dog! Most importantly, Ole Miss was really good, so as their star rose, so did Kiffin’s. Kiffin got so much attention that, even as Ole Miss won enough games to make it to the College Football Playoff, Kiffin left Oxford high and dry for pastures with more green (cash), down in Baton Rouge.

While Kiffin ingratiated himself at LSU, he also ticked off the rest of the SEC, which culminated last week when he tried to sign a couple of players away from NFL Training camps. Were they technically eligible to play college football? Sort of. Did the SEC schools agree they wouldn’t roster these players? Yes.

But Kiffin has always seemed to believe that the rules should be different for him, and with LSU backing him, Kiffin employed some brinkmanship against the SEC, threatening to play these former NFL guys in Week 1 against Clemson.

It took the SEC filing a lawsuit and floating the idea of kicking LSU out of the conference to convince Kiffin to back down. Which is a wild thought when you really consider it. Would the SEC have actually ejected LSU? Probably not, because for all the headaches and chaos that Kiffin creates, there’s one big problem at the moment: LSU is really, really good. Kiffin seems to have the most talented roster he’s had in years, maybe ever, and despite all the noise, LSU destroyed Clemson in Week 1, posting almost 500 more total yards than Clemson.

These days in the world of sports, it’s easier than ever to get to know our favorite people. Everyone has social media accounts and podcasts and streaming channels, and we can spend more time with them than ever before. Sometimes it’s a fun surprise, such as finding out that someone like former NBA star Michael Redd is a curious and interactive guy.

And then sometimes you find out someone is exactly who we thought they were. Lane Kiffin has always seemed like doing whatever was best for Lane Kiffin was his top priority. And maybe that was correct. Lane Kiffin is who we thought he was. (By the way, turns out the dog might not have been Kiffin’s, anyway.)

I like that Lane Kiffin has embraced being the villain. Hate him? That’s cool. But the only way to really get the best of him is to beat him. And with the way LSU came out of the gate this season, that might be easier said than done.

Get In DAZN

Hopefully by now you’ve seen the announcement, but yesterday word dropped that the Grizzlies have a new broadcast home: Starting this fall, Grizzlies basketball lives on DAZN.

If you don’t know, DAZN is a worldwide leading sports streaming service, and they’re currently making a significant push into the United States by partnering with several NBA teams.

How does it work? Well, have you ever used Netflix? It’s just like that: you sign up, download the app, sign in, and then watch the Grizzlies.

Since this is the Grind City Media newsletter, it’s probably worth pointing out that not only will you be able to watch the Grizzlies games on DAZN, but all your favorite GCM content—including the critically acclaimed “The Warm Up Show”—will also be available on DAZN.

When you sign up for DAZN, you can get a couple of free tickets, and if you’re an MVP season ticket holder, you can get a free sub to DAZN. There will also be 15 games on the air here in Memphis free on local television, the most available in decades. There’s plenty to read about all of this here.

I’m one of those people that’s been late to cord-cutting, clinging to my cable TV account even as I accumulate streaming service subscriptions like infinity stones. But I understand the media world is changing. And I’m glad the Grizzlies can be a part of that new world.

Subscribe to dazn

Never Forget

I remember exactly where I was 25 years ago today, on September 11, 2001. I woke up that morning in my apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, and the first thing I saw on the morning TV news was that a plane had just flown into the World Trade Center, a couple of miles south of my building.

Everyone initially assumed it was just a random accident, so I got dressed and headed out to work via the 1 train at 86th and Broadway. As I neared the station, people were gathered around cars pulled over along the curbs, listening to the car stereos to hear about the second plane flying into the second tower. (Remember, this was before cell phones could double as computers, so there was no easy way to get quick information.) I turned around and walked back home, where by that afternoon, I could see the plume of smoke rising from Lower Manhattan. By the time night fell, an acrid burning scent had wafted uptown.

Twenty-five years later, it still seems surreal to have lived through the terrorist attack. I remember it all vividly. There were stages to those next few weeks: fear; anger; resilience; pride. And those of us living in New York City went through it all together. For a huge city that often seemed almost too busy to feel connected, those next few weeks united New York in a way I had never felt before.

Some people left NYC right after 9/11. I stayed another 15 years before I returned to my native South and settled here in Memphis. Twenty-five years later, 9/11 remains the single largest loss of life from a terrorist attack on American soil. It shook us, and it shaped us. There are plenty of lessons to take away, and even though many years have passed since that day, it’s important to keep those memories, and those lessons, fresh in mind. Which is why I will never forget.

Odds and Ends…

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Lang Whitaker

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