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Speak Up! Memphis

Memphis Tigers Return Home After NCAA Championship

 

MEMPHIS, TN - The Memphis Tigers men's basketball team returned to Memphis from San Antonio, Texas early Tuesday afternoon, April 8, 2008 - after their disappointing loss to the Kansas Jawhawks in the NCAA National Championship game. The Tigers were defeated in overtime 75-68, after Kansas' Mario Chalmers hit a three-point shot at the end of regulation.

Thousands of Tigers fans gathered at Memphis International Airport to greet the team and coach John Calipari. The Memphis Fire Department used two fire engines to spray a celebratory arch of water over the plane as it pulled in.

The players stepped off the plane and gathered on a makeshift stage and one by one, thanked the City of Memphis for their support during their 38-2 season. Senior Joey Dorsey became emotional as he thanked Tigers fans, saying the love he got from Memphis has meant a lot to him over his past four years in the city.

The team's leading scorer, Chris Douglas-Roberts, also thanked the crowd, saying he was proud to represent Memphis, even though he is from Detroit, Michigan. Freshman phenom, Derrick Rose, also showed his appreciation, and apologized for not winning Monday night's game. Players Antonio Anderson and Robert Dozier let the crowd know how much they are appreciated and all Tigers players stressed that they played their hardest for not only the team, but for the City of Memphis.

The crowd screamed and chanted throughout the speeches, at times, yelling, "one more year" in reference to the strong possibility that Douglas-Roberts and Rose may decide to enter the NBA.

Coach Calipari reiterated that he had a "dream team," and said there are "no regrets."

What do you think? It's your turn to Speak Up! Memphis.
Published Tuesday, April 08, 2008 1:48 PM by APhillips

Comments

 

East Memphis said:

They are the class of the NCAA.  That game was taken from them by 1st half officiating.

GO TIGERS AND THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE FOR THIS CITY

(Anyone who says that CDR choked or that Calipari choked not getting them to foul on the last play needs to get out from behind the computer and do a better job)  This was a dream team.
April 8, 2008 2:13 PM
 

mnshadow53 said:

LOL I believe East Memphis in his most subtle way (sarcasm in case you don't recognize it) was referring to me.  

Way to go Memphis Tigers!  We are proud of you.  It's not all about winning, it's about playing with heart.  You guys never gave up and for that you should be proud of yourselves and your accomplishments.  After all, you had the best record!  You made people realize that Memphis is not a second class team from a second class conference.  Good Job!  
April 8, 2008 2:38 PM
 

tigergrl42 said:

As a Tiger alum I have nothing but pride for these young men. Although I am selfish in saying that I hope to see Chris Douglas-Roberts and Derrick Rose in a Tiger uniform next year, I pray that they will be successful in any endeavor they choose to pursue. Thanks for the hard work Joey. You are a star. You All are stars! Luv ya Tigers!!!!
April 8, 2008 2:48 PM
 

TRUEBLUETIGER said:

How do you begin to thank these young men for all they have done for Memphis?  

These young men have nothing to be sorry for!! You gave us a great season! You set a NCAA record and won the Division Championship. You played unselfish basketball all season.  You are our CHAMPIONS!!!!  

I am also selfish and hope to see Derrick Rose and CDR in our Memphis Tigers uniforms but if not, it is very understandable.  I want to thank you guys for a wonderful and exciting season. JOB WELL DONE!!!  Joey Dorsey thank you for blessing us with your talent, many blessing in your future.
April 8, 2008 3:07 PM
 

LkChrst34 said:

My heart hurts for these young men.  To see their faces with the disappointment written all over makes me weap with sadness for them.  Yes a win would have been nice for the "DREAM TEAM",  but they are more than winners in my book.  They have done something that no one has been able to do for the city of Memphis in a long time.  We united as one.  It was beautiful to see everyone come together for our TEAM!!!  From the bottom of my heart, a big thank you to these fine young men for their hard work and dedication.  You are our home town heros, now and forever.  I hope and PRAY that we get a chance to see CDR and Rose again next year.  God does answer prayers.  Hold your heads up high, men, and take pride in what you have done.  Memphis couldn't have picked a finer group of men to represent us in the NCAA.  God bless you all.  Much love to you.  May God pour out His many blessings on you.  Andre Allen, my prayers are with you as well.  You are as much as part of this team as anyone else.  You made a mistake, but it is time to move on.  God bless you and your family as well. We all love you and thank you all for being the winners that you are.  
April 8, 2008 3:50 PM
 

East Memphis said:

"mnshadow53 said:
LOL I believe East Memphis in his most subtle way (sarcasm in case you don't recognize it) was referring to me."
____________________________________________________________

It's all about you mnshadow53!  (I love that part of the Omen).

And no there are a lot of people saying they choked - that is BS.  

Maybe Calipari choked by not having them foul after CDR missed his foul shots and we were three ahead, but hey they could have hit one rebounded the second and hit a two or three point shot.  

If ifs and buts were ho's and $luts we'd all have fun!  All I can say is they did the best they could and if we had gotten the calls (or lack thereof) they got in the first half we'd have blown them out.

PRAY for CDR this kind of thing can mar a young man's psyche.  He is a class act all the way and has put in the hard work and time - he deserves good things in my book.
April 8, 2008 4:20 PM
 

Naynay said:

I am so proud of each and everyone of you that played this year's season, Hold your heads up high because you guys are still # 1 in Memphis, I am proud of the BLUE< WHITE< GREY!!!!!!!
April 8, 2008 4:25 PM
 

East Memphis said:

"LkChrst34 said: . . . . . "
LkChrst34 said great things.
April 8, 2008 4:44 PM
 

Mandingo said:

Whining about officiating, especially when Memphis got away with a ton of stuff also is as WEAK as it gets. Don't stain a great effort by Memphis and Kansas with such pathetic excuses. Memphis had an achilles heel, free throw shooting. It jumped up and bit 'em at the worst possible moment. Enjoy the great season the Tigers had and quit with the whiny, loser-mentality "we were robbed" stuff. There's already enough victim mentality in this town. Great season and congrats TIGERS!
April 8, 2008 5:09 PM
 

ZANE14 said:

Well everrybodys sad now i mean memphis tigers had great season i mean who could do 38-2 but on the other hand the refs were on kansas side when derrick rose shot 3 they counted that as a 2 But Gongrats TIGERS!
April 8, 2008 5:23 PM
 

Mandingo said:

Uh, ZANE14 it *was* a 2. Should the refs just allow a 2 to be called a 3? I guess rules only matter for everyone else eh? Your post really is a microcosm of Memphis. Gimme, gimme, gimme! I didn't earn it, but GIMME! I'M OWED!
April 8, 2008 5:29 PM
 

East Memphis said:

"   Mandingo said:
Whining about officiating, especially when Memphis got away with a ton of stuff also is as WEAK as it gets."
_________________________________________________________________

The first half officiating sucked.  It was worse than bad.  It was a Kansas three on one slapfest.  It is pretty easy to get "turnovers" when those are not called.  There was about 2 clean one on one steals by Kansas the whole game.  They did however shut down our inbound passing.

Even Billy Packard was noting some of the non calls and when he says something like that it is out of control.  The refs came out from half time and called a decent game from then on.  It was fairly even handed and not calling CDRs outburst was almost sane.
April 8, 2008 7:01 PM
 

shasha96 said:

I LOVE the Tigers.I grew up in a family who love them.Even tho they didnt win theyre still the best .They almost won if it wasnt for that 3 pointer at the end.I LOVE them and always will.I cant wait to go to college there.GO BLUE!!!!!!!!!!!
April 8, 2008 7:59 PM
 

rwe38133 said:

i think that it is pretty sad that grown people getting more involved in a sport then getting involved in the affairs of their city or state or country.
grown able bodied people running off to a different state to watch a ball game but not able bodied enough to write or call a congressman or senator.
a ball game is not going to change the price of a gallon of milk or gas. a ball game is not going to change a tax rate. a ball game is not going to change the fact that people are loosing their houses or jobs. a ball game is not going to stop thousands of jobs deported to another country.
it is also very sad to me that people truely do not care about nor take pride in their neighborhoods and would rather sitting in front of a tv and watching people win or loose a ball game while thier yards and streets look like ghettos.
if they would have won, what would that have done for memphis? would all the crime stop. would our politicians suddenly started to look out for my best interest? would my property taxes go down? would my company suddenly decided to not outsouce jobs? would all of the trash and filth in the streets and yards disappeared? would willie stop bashing white people?
i don't think that any one of these things would have happened, win or lose.
April 8, 2008 8:54 PM
 

kellz20 said:

It doesnt matter that you guys lost, its about the fact that you all  did your best. You guys make a great team & I think you can do it again next year. Derrick Rose, I hope you will return also.
April 8, 2008 9:32 PM
 

funlady said:

MEMPHIS IS A DREAM TEAM AND I HATE TO SEE THE SEASON END! I WILL MISS JOEY. IF THE GRIZZLIES WANT TO INCREASE THEIR ATTENDANCE DRAFT JOEY. JOEY MAY NOT BE FROM MEMPHIS BUT HE DEFINITELY OUR FAVORITE SON!!!!
WAY TO GO TIGERS!!!!!
April 8, 2008 10:35 PM
 

funlady said:

NO MATTER HOW MUCH WE LOVE THE TIGERS, IF DERRICK AND CHRIS HAS CHANCE OF GOING IN THE FIRST ROUND, MY HATS OFF TO THEM BUT THEY CERTAINLY WILL BE MISSED. THE TIGERS MADE MY YEAR AND THEY ARE OUR CHAMPIONS. I CAN'T REMEMBER WHEN THERE WAS THIS MUCH EXCITEMENT IN MEMPHIS.
April 8, 2008 10:38 PM
 

brymack said:

A big THANK YOU to coach cal, rose, dorsey, cdr, anderson, dosier, tag ... the whole team.  Thank you for where you took our Tigers and being, at least in my opinion, a class-act all around.  
April 8, 2008 10:56 PM
 

TheNewMrsH said:

Wouldn't it be great if our city only saw Tiger Blue all the time and not black and white!!!!  It was so heartwarming to see our city pull together for these fine young men!  Yes, a few have had problems, but we all do in life.  These guys took our city to new heights and made us proud!!!  I only hope these feelings continue to surround this city and these young men.  They have represented us with pride and committment.  Now is the time for the city to support them more than ever!!!  I can only imagine the disappointment they feel in not winning the championship.  We need to let them know that they are champs in our eyes and hearts and #1 to us.
April 9, 2008 2:18 AM
 

East Memphis said:

"grown able bodied people running off to a different state to watch a ball game but not able bodied enough to write or call a congressman or senator.
a ball game is not going to change the price of a gallon of milk or gas. a ball game is not going to change a tax rate. a ball game is not going to change the fact that people are loosing their houses or jobs. a ball game is not going to stop thousands of jobs deported to another country. "
___________________________________________________________________
Our government is bought and paid for.  It is over.  Vote for Hillary McCain err I mean John Clinton - well whatever.  

BTW the price of  a gallon of milk or gas or people losing their jobs is not related to who is in office - between the Fed, IMF, NAFTA, GATT who both canidates are owned by we are toast.

"He's dead - Jim"

The gas companies don't need to be investigated anymore than the bread companies, the egg companies etc.  

Look at the dollar instead and the government doesn't have ANYTHING to do with the value of it.
April 9, 2008 6:14 PM
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