Memphis can cash in on Calipari
Ky.’s Sweet 16 arrival to bring windfall to city
Malik Monk blocked one shot, Bam Adebayo blocked the next, and just as Kentucky players began to celebrate their victory, my phone dinged. It was a text. From Don DeWeese, owner of Gibson’s Donuts.
“My business will be booming this week with WILDCATS!” it said.
So here’s to John Calipari and Kentucky.
I never thought I’d type those words.
But this will be fun, won’t it? Or lucrative, at the very least?
John Calipari is returning to Memphis. He’s bringing his Kentucky Wildcats to FedExForum for the Sweet 16.
Kentucky beat Wichita State Sunday 65-62 to put the finishing touches on what is shaping up as old home week around here.
Former Memphis coach Josh Pastner will be in Oxford on Tuesday night, as Georgia Tech takes on Mississippi in the NIT.
Former Memphis shooting guard Avery Woodson will be back at FedExForum for the Sweet 16 as a member of his new team, the Butler Bulldogs.
And Calipari will coach a game at FedExForum for the first time since March 14, 2009, when he led the Memphis Tigers to a 64- 39 win against Tulsa in the Conference USA title game.
Back then, Memphians loved the man. A month later, not so much. And while this is not the time to get into the nuances of the city’s continuing grudge against Calipari — we have all week for that — any thoughts that the grudge has disappeared completely were smashed a year and a half ago, when the University of Memphis announced plans for a dinner in Calipari’s honor.
“Will be a great homecoming,” tweeted University of Memphis President David Rudd. Hahahahahaha. Rudd was so overwhelmed with negative reaction that, within days, the dinner was canceled.
“Although I was surprised by the depth of and intensity of conviction, passion and distress, it was my responsibility to understand and weigh this in advance,” Rudd wrote.
And then Rudd threw in a notso-veiled shot at the former coach.
“I live a life driven by values and lead a great institution that has those same values,” Rudd wrote. “We need to reflect those values for all of our students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members.”
In other words, John: No soup for you.
But nobody can cancel this Sweet 16 homecoming, and no- body should want to, either.
Because one thing Calipari does represent — and has always represented — is an appreciation of cold hard cash.
Small wonder that Kevin Kane was pulling for Kentucky on Sunday afternoon.
Kane is head of the Memphis Convention and Visitors Bureau. When Wichita State had a couple chances to win or tie the game late, Kane would have liked to have blocked the shots himself.
“That was incredible,” he said. “But I’m over the moon. This is huge for Memphis. Now we can’t lose.
“Based on history, we say that the NCAA tournament gives us 8,500 hotel room-nights. With Kentucky, it’ll be 12,500 room-nights.”
As sportswriter-turned-city employee Kyle Veazey tweeted: “Government has changed me. My first thought upon learning Kentucky is coming here this weekend had to do with hotel/ motel tax revenues. My second thought was the $1.15 per seat surcharge to pay off the FedExForum bonds.”
Jason Wexler, the Grizzlies president of business operations, then chimed in with a tweet of his own: “And along w/ full hotels comes full restaurants & bars & shops. FedExForum going to help drive a lot of business in Memphis this weekend.”
So here’s to Calipari and his Wildcats. Here’s to their money, at least. Here’s to a week that should be wild and colorful and good for the city Calipari once called home.
In the words of the donut man, DeWeese: “I’m getting some extra blue and white sprinkles in.”