I have been glued to my TV this afternoon over coverage of the small airplane which struck an apartment in NYC. I am now in shock as I read the plane was owned by Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle & he was killed in the accident.

Wow...

It's back to work today to get a little rest! After rolling in off the roadtrip from Birmingham somewhere around 3:30 a.m. Sunday, I slept too late & never really got all 8-cylinders going for the day.

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I do like short roadtrips, except for the last hour. Those miles take forever. Add to it I am not a coffee drinker & I no longer smoke, so I cannot rely on the caffeine or nicotine kick.

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A 1-4 start for the Tiger football team is disappointing, frustrating & very surprising. I am still having a hard time trying to even write about it here. Please come by or listen to the Coach Tommy West Show tonight at 7 p.m. on NewsRadio 600 WREC.

Man, it's a long drive from Birmingham to Memphis after a football loss. I made the decision earlier this week to drive down & back in one day. The anger & frustration after the game at least made it easier to stay awake, as I finally pulled into my drive a little after 3 a.m.

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Instead of commenting on the game (or the aftermath) right now, I'll wait.

Brian Davis wants to buy a NBA team. His college buddy Christian Laettner will co-own, along with others.. He has the Grizzlies in his sights.

Davis wants to keep team president Jerry West involved with the team. Davis told reporters he will offer "The Logo" a lifetime contract. Good move.

Davis says he won't move the team from Memphis, as he plans to make this home to his family. Again, sounds good & time will tell. I learned long ago never say never.

Pardon me if I proceed with cautious optimism. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is... but Davis says the right things & has done nothing for me (at least today) to question his credibility.

Davis & Laettner will invest $40 million apiece, plus be joined by two "major institutions," two high-net-worth individuals, plus add two or three local minority owners. Eventually, Davis wants to make a $500 million to $1 billion investment in the area surrounding FedEx Forum.

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I am hesitant to write much about the pending sale of the Memphis Grizzlies basketball team since the gritty details are not public yet. That happens this morning at 10 a.m.

It's been heavily rumored for months that a group headed by former Duke player Brian Davis was negotiating to purchase Michael Heisley's 70-percent share in the team. But long before those rumors, it was whispered long ago the Chicago businessman wanted out. And there were various things that happened which pointed to it as well.

Again, while trying to withold judgement until the final details are released, I find quite a bit disturbing about this story. The obvious red flag is the Commercial Appeal's report that the first casualty of the purchase would be team president Jerry West.

Ok, enough said, er, uh, typed. Listen to NewsRadio 600 WREC for all the details.

Tennessee beat Memphis yesterday, 41-7... more on that in a moment.

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From the CA: Anticipated roadway nightmare of game and fair averted

Huh? Ok, I cannot speak for anywhere else but Southern because that is where I sat in the same spot for nearly an hour (7:30 to 8:30 am). And to be fair the article claims that is where most of the problems were. And maybe the probs were isolated there & traffic can be deemed a success. But what I witnessed was chaos. The right lane was backed up as people wanted to turn right into the Coliseum parking lot. But folks driving in the left lane sped up to beat all the right lane traffic & then promptly cut-in... that's called impeding traffic, but nobody stopped it.

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Also from the CA, Tennessee overwhelms toothless Tigers

Toothless Tigers? Ok, hard to argue with that one. What I will argue with are a couple of claims made on my postgame radio show yesterday afternoon.

1) The team & coaches gave up: I call BS on this one. I promise you that was a statement made from a fan that gave up by leaving at the end of the third quarter. The TD at 3:44 in the 4th wasn't from a team that gave up. I think this caller had confused exhaustion with giving up.

2) The Coach ain't worth the money he is paid: everytime a game is lost the first thing disgruntled fans do is point to the $$$. Here's where you are wasting time with that argument... what a coach is paid is irrelevant because you still expect the same result, right? And that would be wins, whether he makes $100,000 or multi-millions. And ultimately, high-priced coaches get their results or they don't keep their job.

3) Why aren't we recruiting (insert high school name here): perception is reality, whether it's the truth or not. NCAA coaches cannot specifically talk about who they are recruiting, so some disgruntled fans assume we just don't recruit them.

Finally, if you have questions about playcalling, recruiting, giving up, salaries, schemes, etc., Tommy West will talk to you about it. Yup, I guarantee it. I am yet to see the man run from one single question. His radio show is tomorrow night at 7 p.m. on NewsRadio 600 WREC. The number is 1-866-489-7043.

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Ok, about the game itself... I am very disappointed. I was expecting it to be closer & more competitive. It seems after the bogus offsides call which negated an interception-returned-for-touchdown, things started spiralling downwards. Would things have been different had that not been called? Probably not. But you never know & BS calls shouldn't dictate the flow early in what was still a competitive football game.

Folks, let's be honest. Things are scary right now. Next Saturday's trip to UAB is as big as they come & Memphis hasn't beaten the Blazers since 1999. But the good news to all of this is there are eight games left to play & this season could take a positive turn. Fans are just down & worried because they did not see a glimmer of hope through yesterday's loss.

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Just to totally change the subject, but one of the worst-kept secrets in the city has come to light: Michael Heisley is sharing his stake in the Memphis Grizzlies to a group led by Brian Davis.

Several news outlets have reported since the spring that a deal is imminent. Well, add the Commercial Appeal to the mix, as they quote sources in the NBA in this morning's edition.