The People Have Spoken...

And given the choice between four top-notch opponents to battle with the Tigers, 54% of pollsters want the Tigers to butt heads with Loserville, while UNC follows with 44%.

Honestly, I'm a little surprised that more people didn't select Kansas as their desired opponent. I feel that those numbers suggest that no one sees Kansas as a true rival. However, common sense would dictate that a team who finished #2 would always like another go at #1.

Could it be that no one wants to play the Gayhawks again? That Memphis is scared of another loss? I think not. We stand behind Cal when he says the Tigers will play "anyone, anywhere." Therefore, I feel that the lack of enthusiasm for a Memphis-Kansas matchup is because... Tiger fans don't feel that Kansas is a worthy-enough opponent.

In talking to most Tiger fans, reading countless articles and listening to as many interviews as I could, the great majority of Tiger fans don't feel that Kansas really won The Game of Which We Will Not Speak. While the score of the game may run contrary to that statement, these fans all agree that the Tigers did almost everything they could to lose it in the last few seconds. That is why most Tiger fans feel the end of last season was so rough. That is why talking about Kansas evokes few feelings of contempt. The indifference that Memphis fans feel toward Kansas is not a sign of defeat, but one of indifference, and it stems from knowing that on that day, we were a superior team that just came up a little bit short.

VooDoo, Recruits and The Chinese...

You ain't never gonna get nowhere smokin' a pipe! Get away from the drugs! Get away from the in-crowd! Apparently, Cal thinks his players need a chance to get their minds right, as well.

On Monday, Cal invited sports psychologist Bob Rotella to speak to the players and coaches as a team and on an individual basis. Rotella made an appearance last year to sprinkle his magic on the team early in the season and that turned out pretty well. Cal says, "He just gets you to do things different."

What're the odds we see the team storm out in tribal paint and jerseys made of animal hides and feathers?__________

CJ Henry is progressing faster than expected. He is expected to start more rigorous training next week, such as running, jumping and begging his brother to come to Memphis.

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Meanwhile, Nolan Dennis is expected to sign his letter of intent tomorrow. Tiger fans should be excited to get this guy not only for his skills, but his attitude. In a recent interview, he spoke of his desire to "build a dynasty" at Memphis. He's doing his part by recruiting John Wall to join him at Memphis next year.

John Wall(l) will be visiting Memphis this weekend, along with NJ shooting guard recruit Dominic Cheek(r).



If you see these guys at the game on Saturday, holla at ya boys and let them know how much we want them here! Actually, bring a good looking lady to the game with you and have her holla at Wall and Cheek.

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We're being invaded! The Chinese are taking over Memphis! Actually, Cal is taking part in an exchange program with the Chinese Basketball Association in which two Chinese coaches observe and assist with the Tiger basketball program. Welcome to Zheng Wu and Hu Wei Dong. May you reap great benefits from this experience, sow the seeds of your appreciation in China and send the next Yao Ming to Memphis.

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Lastly, just a slight ranting deviation from the norm. Has anyone been watching the Grizz this season? They look so much better than anyone imagined. Their defense (bolstered by, wait for it... Marc Gasol) has been much better, Rudy Gay is playing at an All-Star status and it's safe to say OJ Mayo is the second best rookie in the league after DRose (Mayo actually has better numbers and may actually be the best rookie at this point, but DRose is playing the toughest position a rookie can play and he's a Tiger).

My issue here is with the coach, Marc Iavaroni. The Grizzlies took the Suns down to the wire last night. Down by 1 with about 25 seconds to go, Grizz have the ball coming out of a time-out. At this point, Gay has 20 and Mayo has been lighting it up with 33 points so far. Who does Iavaroni sun a play for? Quinten Ross! Sure, he had 11 and he's a veteran and blah, blah, blah, but you have Mayo and Gay! What're you thinking?

Ross drives to the basket and loses the ball out of bounds. To his credit, he was clotheslined by that fool Amare Stoudamire, but of course it's a no call cuz Ross is a nobody. Foul or not, why do you run a play for Ross when Mayo has been taking it to the hole all night? And did you not remember Rudy burying Orlando with a last second shot a few games ago?

I blame that loss on coaching.

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Last but not least... I hate Kevin Garnett. He is the most annoying athlete on the planet. Calderon should've lunged up and bit his Mutumbo-Wannabe finger right off.

Aaaand... We're Back.

After a weekend in which Memphis evened their football record at 5-5, Tennessee lost to 28-point underdog Wyoming to tie their worst season loss number in history (7; as a Memphis fan, I'm slightly peeved that 7 games is the most they've ever lost in one season), and roughly 1.2 million ladies began having second-thoughts about conceiving an Obama-baby a few nights ago, the Tomb of Doom is back.

Collegehoops.net ranks the Tigers at #8 to start the season. I was with these guys until they suggested the Pierre Henderson-Niles would give the team another option on the perimeter. Maybe I misread that... or maybe the team has been hiding Niles' progress and he's gone from Batman to The Machinist.
Gross.

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Rush the Court has the Tigers at #8, as well. They also give a sweet run down of the CUSA, some nice stats and big games to watch. Thanks to Randy McClure for the heads up on this one.

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Congrats to Dozier for being named to the 2008-09 John R. Wooden Award preseason top-50 list. He's following former Tigers CDR, DWash, Carney and Sean Banks in this preseason honor. Those are big steps to follow. We know Dozier can make it happen!

And if not, he can follow in another teammates footsteps and make it rain at Plush.

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Speaking of Dozier, I hope he can keep his mind on his game instead of his legacy. He has a lot looming in front of him.

Dozier is 97 points away from joining Memphis' 1,000-point club. On top of that, if Dozier can secure 66 more rebounds, he'll join the ranks of Keith Lee, Forest Arnold, Kelly Wise, Ronnie Robinson, David Vaughn and Don Holcomb as the only Tiger players to reach 1,000 points and 750 rebounds.

I'm guessing 8 games for Dozier to reach this status. The rebounds will be what lags. There are some powder puff games early on, so he should have a good shot sooner than later.

Dozier is also joined by Anderson in a quest to become the winningest NCAA men's basketball players of all time. Since Dozier and Anderson have joined the Tigers, the team has won 104 games. The current record is 133, held by Shane Battier and the Dukies starting back in 2000. When the Tigers win their 30th game this year, Anderson and Dozier will have sole possession of that place in history. The Tigers will need their veteran leadership this year. Go Tigers!

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SI.com is pitting the winner of the Memphis/USC semifinal in Puerto Rico against Xavier in the final. Why is Memphis even playing USC in the semis, rather than setting them up for the final? Most likely, it's to save USC the embarrassment of being crushed by Memphis in a tournament final on national television... You know, since everyone loves USC...

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Don't be fooled by his nickname. Foxsports writer "Hoops" Weiss wrote a decent article about Memphis being the next UNLV (a good thing) and reflected with Coach Cal vaguely about The Game of Which We Will Not Speak. Other than a weird Wesley Person reference, the article is decent.