Art On Tap - Friday, September 7

Art On Tap, one of the best events in Memphis, is coming up on Friday, September 7 from 6-9pm. Ticket prices vary depending on your membership status at the Dixon Gallery. The cost is worth it when you factor in the all of the great beers you get to sample, the food and the people watching. I encourage everyone to get there early, because this event will be packed.

Wear Your Colors On Friday

With the start of the major college football season this weekend, everyone is encouraged to participate in the third annual National College Colors Day celebration on Friday, August 31, 2007. Per College Colors Day, the oragnization strives to promote higher education through increased awareness and celerates achievements of higher eduction in the United States.

Whether your cheer for Rhodes College, Morehead State or Memphis, be sure to wear your favorite college gear this Friday.

2007 Court Square Concert Series Kicked Off Today

Velvet Revolver & Alice In Chains Coming to Snowden Grove

Concert Announcement: Pnuma Trio at Newby's September 14th

Memphis Lagniappe's Fabled College Football Pre-Season Playoff Predictions

Memphis Lagniappe's Fabled College Football Playoff Predictions will return for another college football season. Click here to see last season's final predictions.

Memphis Lagniappe's Fabled College Football Playoff Predictions are published weekly on Monday afternoons to show a possible college football playoff format. Similar to the NCAA basketball tournament, 11 conference champions receive automatic bids. 5 additional spots are available for at-large bids.

Round 1 games would be hosted by the higher ranked seeds. Rounds 2 - 4 would incorporate the bowl system with host cities/bowls bidding to host the games. The "Big 4" BCS bowls would be permanent playoff hosts on a round-rotating basis (Championship, semi-finals and 1 round 2 game).

The pre-season playoff field for the 2007 season is:

1. USC (PAC 10 Champion)
2. LSU (SEC Champion)
3. West Virginia (Big East Champion)
4. Michigan (Big 10 Champion)
5. Texas (Big 12 Champion)
6. Virginia Tech (ACC Champion)
7. Florida (At Large SEC)
8. Wisconsin (At Large Big 10)
9. Louisville (At Large Big East)
10. California (At Large PAC 10)
11. Ohio State (At Large Big 10)
12. TCU (MWC Champion)
13. Hawaii (WAC Champion)
14. Southern Miss (CUSA Champion)
15. Central Michigan (MAC Champion)
16. Troy (Sunbelt Champion)

Number Of Teams by Conference:
Big 10 (3), Big East (2), Pac 10 (2), SEC (2), ACC (1), Big 12 (1), CUSA (1), MAC (1), MWC (1), Sunbelt (1), WAC (1), Independent (0)

Match ups round by round assuming higher seeds win.

Round 1
(16) Troy vs (1) USC
(9) Louisville vs (8) Wisconsin
(12) TCU vs (5) Texas
(13) Hawaii vs (4) Michigan
(11) Ohio State vs (6) Virginia Tech
(14) Southern Miss vs (3) West Virginia
(10) California vs (7) Florida
(15) Central Michigan vs (2) LSU

Round 2
(8) Wisconsin vs (1) USC
(5) Texas vs (4) Michigan
(6) Virginia Tech vs (3) West Virginia
(7) Florida vs (2) LSU

Round 3
(4) Michigan vs (1) USC
(3) West Virginia vs (2) LSU

Championship Game
(2) LSU vs (1) USC

Just In Time For Football Season - National Bourbon Heritage Month

The United States Senate has voted to declare September 2007 as "National Bourbon Heritage Month." The Senate may not do many things right, but this declaration is a much needed boost for bourbon brand awarness.

As regular season football season begins in September remember to have several glasses of your favorite bourbon. ML recommends Maker's Mark and Old Grand Dad.

Hey hosers, its Canada Day

To celebrate Canada Day, the Big Foot Lodge will have $2 Canadian drink specials all day. I've already had the traditional pancake breakfast, so I guess I'll paint my face red and white and head Downtown for some fun. Hopefully the McKenzie brothers will be there.

Big Music Fun In Southaven

Looks like Southaven is going to have a few good concerts this summer. Poison and Ratt seems like a fun throwback show and the White Stripes will be a must see.

Happy Hour At Los Compadres

It appears that Los Compadres is adding a patio to its outside seating. This should fit in perfectly with their new happy hour specials. 2 for 1 domestic beers on Monday/Wednesday and 2 for 1 margaritas on Tuesday/Thursday. I think I'll have to stop by Los Compadres this week.

Flying Fish Lands In Downtown Memphis

The Flying Fish, a causal seafood restaurant, has opened in Downtown Memphis. The menu is loaded with catfish, shrimp, crawfish, oysters and more. The food it pretty good and is reasonably priced. You can also buy buckets of domestic beer for a little over $2 per beer.

I believe they have daily specials, with my favorite being $.25 raw oysters on Sundays.

Check this place out. Its great place to grab a bite to eat and have a beer when you are Downtown.

Memphis International Film Festival March 22 - 25

Memphis' premiere film event will kicks of tomorrow at Malco's Paradiso and Studio on the Square theaters. Along with feature films, The Memphis International Film Festival will also present documentaries, shorts and more.

I've never been to the festival, but I've heard its a good time.

March Madness Is Here, Memphis Tigers Headed To New Orleans

The Memphis Tigers have earned a #2 seed in the NCAA Basketball Championship Tournament. The Tigers open tournament play on March 16 in New Orleans. I encourage Memphis fans to support the Tigers and take the trip to the Crescent City for the food, festivities and one of the best St. Patrick's Day celebrations in America.

Here's how I see the tournament shaking down.

Sweet Sixteen
Florida vs Maryland
Oregon vs Wisconsin
Kansas vs Southern Illinois
Pittsburgh vs UCLA
North Carolina vs Texas
George Washington vs Georgetown
Ohio State vs Virginia
Texas A&M vs Memphis


Elite Eight
Florida vs Wisconsin
Kansas vs Pittsburgh
Texas vs Georgetown
Ohio State vs Memphis

Final Four
Florida vs Kansas
Texas vs Ohio State

Championship
Kansas vs Ohio State

Champion - Kansas

2007 Beale Street Music Festival Lineup Announced

Memphis In May has announced the 2007 Beale Street Music Festival lineup. This year's festival will be held May 4 - May 6, 2007. Visit MemphisInMay.org for more information.

Friday, May 4: The Allman Brothers Band, Three 6 Mafia, Koko Taylor, Gym Class Heroes, Gov’t Mule, Social Distortion, Richard Johnston, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chevelle, Hubert Sumlin & Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, Plain White Ts, The Derek Trucks Band, North Mississippi Allstars, Popa Chubby.

Saturday, May 5: Steely Dan, Godsmack, George Thorogood, Bobby “Blue” Bland, The Bar-Kays, Wolfmother, The Ohio Players, Walter Trout & the Radicals, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Taking Back Sunday, Taj Mahal, Ryan Shaw, Kelley Hunt, Old Crow Medicine Show, Jack’s Mannequin, The John Butler Trio, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Eddie Floyd, Hawthorne Heights, Keller Williams, David “Honeyboy” Edwards, One Less Reason, The Duhks, Daddy Mack Blues Band.

Sunday, May 6: Counting Crows, John Legend, Hinder, Elvin Bishop, Barenaked Ladies, Corinne Bailey Rae, Daughtry, Tab Benoit, Guster, Edwin McCain, Project Pat, Backdoor Slam, Umphrey’s McGee, Ann Peebles, Papa Roach, Watermelon Slim, Billy Lee Riley, Egypt Central, The Lee Boys, James “Super Chikan” Johnson.

Conference USA Basketball Tournament Returns To Memphis This Week

The 2007 C-USA Men's Basketball Championship Presented by Aéropostale will be held at the FedEx Forum beginning Wednesday, March 7. This tournament may be more competitive than most fans think. Memphis has struggled in their last few wins and with a ticket to the NCAA tournament on the line, everyone will bring their A games.
Great seats are still available.

Wednesday, March 7

(7) Rice vs. (10) UTEP Noon

(6) Southern Miss vs. (11) SMU 2:30p

(8) Marshall vs. (9) UAB 6:00p

(5) Tulsa vs. (12) East Carolina 8:30p


Thursday, March 8

(2) UCF vs. Rice/UTEP (CSTV) Noon

(3) Houston vs. No. Southern Miss/SMU (CSTV) 2:30p

(1) Memphis vs. Marshall/UAB (CSTV) 6:00p

(4) Tulane vs. Tulsa/East Carolina (CSTV) 8:30p


Friday, March 9

*Semifinal # 1 (CSTV) 3:30p

*Semifinal # 2 (CSTV) 6:00p


Saturday, March 10

Championship (CBS) 10:35a


*highest remaining seed entering the semifinals will play at 3:30 p.m.

All Times Central

Looking for some family fun this weekend in Memphis

If the weather holds up this weekend, I recommend catching some baseball at the innagural Autozone Classic at Autozone Field in Downtown Memphis. The tournament will be hosted by the Memphis Tigers baseball program. Other teams participating will be Eastern Illinois, Indiana and Northern Iowa. Action begins on Friday and continues through Sunday.

The 15th Annual Porter-Leath Rajun Cajun Crawfish Festival

I've been going to this event for a couple of years now. Its always a good time.

Kick off spring with Rajun Cajun on the banks of the Mighty Mississippi. One of Memphis' most popular events returns Sunday, April 22nd for the 15th year with something for everyone. The festivities start with 500 pounds of FREE crawfish given away at Noon.

Rajun Cajun is bigger and better than ever featuring 2 stages with Cajun and Zydeco music – the ever popular "Lafayette's Bayou Boys" and "Terry and the Zydeco Bad Boys" straight from Lafayette, Louisiana.

The Gumbo Cooking Contest is sure to be a sellout once again! Over $1,000 in prize money will be awarded.

In addition to over 10,000 pounds of crawfish, the event hosts a variety of food vendors selling food, drinks, art and more!

Zany Cajun contests are back – crawfish races, a crawfish eating contest, crawfish toss and the real crowd pleaser – the crawfish bob.

Join us for food and fun on Wagner Place between Union and Beale St. Admission is free as always, with all proceeds benefiting the 10,000 children and families served by Porter-Leath. No outside beverages or coolers allowed. Sorry, no pets.

Free Family Fun at the Lichterman Nature Center on Saturday, March 10

Memphis' Lichterman Nature Center will host a free family fun day on Saturday, March 10. The day of family-friendly activities includes puppets shows, animals, crafts, nature walks and more.

Sounds like a perfect day for a picnic with family and friends.

1st Wednesdays at the Brooks Museum: Eat, Drink & Be Merry On March 7

The Brooks Museum will continue its 1st Wednesday series on March 7. There will be cocktails, art, music by Lynn Cordona, wine classes and a screening of "EAT," a film that follows the lives of three Memphis restaurant employees.

The fun begins at 6 p.m. Admission is free for Brooks Museum members and $6 for non-members.

1st Wednesdays at the Brooks are usually a good time. This will be a good way to kick off the spring season.

Farewell To Sleep Out Louie's

For those of you that are going to Downtown Memphis tonight, be sure stop by Sleep Out Louie's. They are closing their doors after years of serving Downtown employees and residents food and adult beverages. A steakhouse is rumored to be the next operator in the Sleep Out Louie's location.