Category: Articles
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MikeCheck: Two takeaways from the season-opening loss at Indiana and a look ahead to Friday’s home opener against the Hawks
MEMPHIS – As perplexing as the Grizzlies were on both ends of the court in their season-opening loss to the Pacers, at least one of the quick fixes doesn’t seem very complicated. Marc Gasol needs to be much better. And Mike Conley must be far more aggressive.
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MikeCheck: Time to take mid-season inventory as HBCU football season gears up for stretch run
Eight weeks have passed since the first full college football Saturday kicked off, so there’s no better time than now to take inventory and hand out the 10 MikeCheck Mid-season HBCU Superlatives.
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MikeCheck: Grizzlies must regain footing quickly to keep pace in relentless Western Conference
As the two remaining ‘Core Four’ members from the Grizzlies’ original Grit and Grind era, Mike Conley and Marc Gasol have endured their share rugged battles in the Western Conference.
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Lang’s World: Amid college football chaos, Crimson Tide consistently rises above fray
Last weekend was a wild one in college football. Six of the top sixteen teams caught an L, which included four of the top eight teams. This traditionally means a big shakeup among the top 25, and this week’s rankings are no different, with several teams rocketing up the standings, while the losers settle into…
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MikeCheck: Answering key questions that the Grizzlies, Western Conference face on NBA opening week
Did a healthy Mike Conley and rejuvenated Marc Gasol show enough promising signs to build confidence that a strong start to the season is on the way? Where does Jaren Jackson Jr. stand among the impact rookies in the ultra-competitive Southwest Division? And who will be the surprising players and teams to keep a close…
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Lang’s World: MUSCLEWATCH 2018
It’s a tradition unlike any other: MUSCLEWATCH. It began almost two decades ago, when my friend Matt and noticed each season that some player would report to NBA training camp having added “15 pounds of muscle.” For whatever reason, it was never 12 pounds, never 17 pounds, but always 15 pounds of muscle. Which always…
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MikeCheck: Tennessee State draws strength on Abercrombie’s progress from critical head injury
On several nights over the past two weeks, no matter how physically and emotionally draining times have been, Rod Reed’s work day has ended with a trip to Vanderbilt Medical Center.
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Lang’s World: Sending my (un)official application for Oklahoma’s defensive coordinator vacancy
I would like to throw my hat in the ring to be the defensive coordinator at Oklahoma. If you missed it, Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley dismissed Sooners defensive coordinator Mark Stoops over the weekend, not long after the Sooners gave up 48 points to the Texas Longhorns.
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MikeCheck: HBCU bragging rights in tradition rich Tuskegee-Morehouse Classic extend to Memphis
The days leading into the annual football showdown between Tuskegee and Morehouse – two of the nation’s most tradition-rich Historically Black Colleges and Universities – send shockwaves of pride through the country. And they reverberate to Memphis, where both schools have solid alumni bases.
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Lang’s World: Kentucky among those atop SEC standings – in football – is just so, uh, weird
The Kentucky Wildcats enter Week 6 undefeated, at 5-0. They’ve won all five games by double digits, are 3-0 in the SEC (including wins over Florida and South Carolina) and haven’t really shown any signs of looking troubled. In a land of high-speed spread offenses