Photo courtesy of www.grizzlies.com

The entire Grizzlies basketball team will be helping out at the event. The first 1000 fans to contribute to the toy drive will have the chance to meet and get autographs from Grizzlies players.  All fans will have the opportunity to take a picture with the Grizzlies mascot, Grizz, the Grizz Girls, and the Grizzlies Street Team. All attendees will enjoy music and prize giveaways.

So if you are looking for away to help out the community and have some fun as well, then head over to the Hilton on December 10^th from 6-8 p.m. This event is just a small part of what the Memphis Grizzlies Foundation does to help out the Memphis Community. Look out for more exciting information on the Memphis Grizzlies Foundation to come.

The Hilton Memphis is located at:
939 Ridge Lake Boulevard
Memphis, TN 38120

Photo courtesy of Commericial Appeal, Nikki Boertman

The Tigers hit a jackpot this past week when they officially received two letters of intent from Memphis grown student athletes Joe Jackson and Chris Crawford and a letter of intent from top 20 recruit Jelan Kendrick. Head basketball coach Josh Pastner happily stated that “having Chris Crawford and Joe Jackson is humongous for this program.” The signing of Kendrick further demonstrates the effectiveness of Pastner’s recruiting. After a verbal commitment from Hippolyte Tsafack, Memphis now has seven players on the path to becoming Tigers. The Tigers have until November 18 to sign more student athletes, otherwise they will have to wait until the spring signing period. Pastner hopes to add another guard or wing and a big man to this years signing class.

Pastner is working diligently to continue to remake Memphis basketball to his standards. Memphis fans can look forward to a good 2009/2010 season and years to follow as Pastner continues to put an incomparable amount of hard work and devotion into the program.

For more information about the fall signings, check out the Commercial Appeal article here.

On Wednesday, October 7th at 7:00 p.m., WKNO premieres their first local high definition documentary on Shelby Farms Park. The documentary, titled “Shelby Farms: America’s Great 21st Century Park”, is produced by Emmy-winning producer Kip Cole. It will look at the park’s history and future while highlighting the park’s changes as it transitions from a government owned park to a park owned by the nonprofit organization, Shelby Farms Park Conservancy.

Shelby Farms Park is located just east of Memphis and is a great getaway from the busy city of Memphis. The park is filled with bike trails, hiking paths, and fishing areas. Other activities that can be done at the park include horseback riding, disc golf, bird watching, canoeing, sailing, boating, running, walking, and in-line skating.

More information can be found at the park website and at the documentary website.

By now everyone in Memphis has heard about the NBA star, Allen Iverson, coming to play for the Memphis Grizzlies. There has been plenty of debate on the possibility that his addition is just a stunt to increase ticket sales. Iverson, however, is not concerned with such banter. He came to Memphis to win.

“I didn’t come here to cause any problems. I didn’t come here for any selfish reasons. I came here to win basketball games. I didn’t come here for money. I’ve made enough of that in my lifetime. I came here because it was a good situation for me.” – Allen Iverson on coming to Memphis at his introductory press conference.

This attitude, which Memphis seems to lose down the stretch of the season, is precisely what the team and the city needs. Imagine the Memphis Grizzlies, playoff bound. Memphis needs this kind of hype, enthusiasm and leadership. David Stern, the commissioner of the NBA, said himself that Iverson offers “veteran leadership,” to a young team. Often, a professional team can be a rallying point for a city. Imagine all of Memphis supporting the Grizzlies to the NBA playoffs.

What I want to know is what you think. Do you think Iverson brings the opportunity of a playoff race to the Grizzlies? Do you think the Grizzlies can provide a leadership to the city that has not yet been filled by any professional sports team?

Photo courtesy of OktayOe’s flickr