It was a very crowded Finch Center on Monday. ESPN cameras were there, taping an all-access show about the Tigers. Jay Bilas was there for ESPN. Dick “Hoops” Weiss from the New York Daily News also was in town taking in the practice. ESPN the Magazine is working on a story about Derrick Rose, and their photographers were there taking pictures of the freshman. After practice, Rose did some posed photos, and his teammates were having a good time with that.

Other observations:

– Robert Dozier (right) had the best day of any Tiger. He was really effective on the drive and was knocking down 3-pointers.

– Coach John Calipari has been telling Hashim Bailey that he doesn’t need to hack away at teammates. At nearly 7 feet and 270 pounds, all he needs to do is put his hands up and lean his chest into somebody, and he can alter shots without fouling. The last two days, Bailey has gotten the hang of it and is making an impact in practice.

– It wasn’t Rose’s best practice this season, but when you watch him, one of my favorite adages comes to mind: Speed never has a bad day.

– Don’t expect too much from Shawn Taggart right away. When it comes to playing at the speed he’ll need to play for Memphis, he still has a ways to go. Though Taggart will be fine when it’s all said and done, he simply isn’t used to the pace. Everything’s going so fast for him right now, it’s hard to do what he does best, which is make baskets. Eventually, he’ll catch up, but it won’t be the first few games.

After taking Sunday to rest and recuperate, the Grizzlies returned to practice today with fresh legs and renewed spirit. Figure that Pau Gasol, Damon Stoudamire and Mike Miller will be named captains soon.

But the practice attitude clearly starts at the top with head coach Marc Iavaroni.



By the way, no longer are Grizzly practices merely about access for the accredited media. Under Iavaroni, practices actual reveal more than just the pathetic free throw shooting media members saw in the past.

Sure, the entire practice isn’t open. But the 30-90 minutes the media is allowed to see on any given day is beneficial, and worthy of attending. Hubie Brown, Mike Fratello, etc. were always lauded for their “teaching.”

“If you could only see one of their practices,” former Griz president Jerry West used to say often.

Yada. Yada. Yada.

All the media ever saw from Brown and Fratello was cussin’ and fussin’ — about everything.

It’s a new day because you don’t have to hear Griz general manager Chris Wallace say “If you could only… yada, yada, yada.” Monday was another example of being able to witness Iavaroni actually TEACH!

The best example happened near the end of the workout.

Forward Stromile Swift pulled up to attempt a 10-foot shot but saw an opening. So Swift fired a bullet pass to an unguarded Brian Cardinal, who missed the layup.

Cardinal spent the next few moments cursing the air in front of him.

“That’s OK,” Iavaroni said, “everyone misses a layup. Don’t worry about it.”

Then, Iavaroni required everyone to literally walk through the play and move exactly as they did when it happened fill speed. It didn’t take long for everyone to see the defensive breakdown. He explained why it happened, what he wants to see happen and asked if there were any questions.

No fussin’. No cussin’. Just effective teachin’.

If only you could see an Iavaroni practice.

The Marc Iavaroni Show, hosted by Ronald Tillery and Eli Savoie, is your chance to talk directly with Coach Iavaroni on Sports 56 (WHBQ-AM) every Thursday at 5:30 p.m. You can email questions to Iavaroni at any time by sending them to coach@sports56whbq.com.

During the recent monthly meeting of the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission, commissioners approved a fish health regulation to protect the state’s waterways from viral hemorrhagic septicemia.

The frightening disease has already caused massive fish kills Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Because many of the fish susceptible to the virus are gamefish, it has the potential to wreak havoc on major waterways, killing the very pecies people enjoy fishing for the most.

Arkansas’ new regulation will require that all live fish and fertilized eggs being shipped from VHS-positive states meet guidelines set by the World Health Organization for Animal Health Standards. Drivers hauling such fish will be required to carry documentation that proves those guidelines have been met.

Permits for transporting fish from these areas will be $200.

After watching the Heat-Grizzlies pre-season game Saturday night I can safely say that Penny Hardaway should retire. He has no lift, not a great shot and is simply too slow to play the game. It was painful seeing his skills decrease to the extent they have. Penny was a super player in his youth and could have been a great player in his prime if injuries hadn’t gotten in the way. Right now Penny is so far past his prime that he shouldn’t be on the court. I can only hope someone at Miami realizes and let’s him go before he embarrass himself over a full season.

Other than seeing Penny decline and Earl Barron nearly foul out in the first half the game wasn’t unenjoyable. Rudy Gay was nearly perfect…literally. He was 6-6 from the line, 5-5 from the arc and 5-6 from the line. 22 pts, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and a blocked shot. Something or someone has lit a spark under Rudy and he is playing sensational. When Gasol returns we will have 3 legitimate shooters on this team (Mike Miller being the 3rd). They just need time to get comfortable with each other and comfortable within the system. The problem is still that while Memphis has 3 legitimate scorers I don’t know if we have a go to player in crunch time yet.
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THE BIG STORY

Tennessee backup tailback Montario Hardesty rushed for 146 yards against Mississippi State and Georgia, UT’s two games before Saturday’s 41-17 loss to Alabama. Against the Crimson Tide, despite being healthy, he didn’t play a snap.

After the game, he expressed his displeasure to Volquest.com. “”(Expletive) you tell me,” Hardesty (right, playing against Mississippi State) told the website when asked why he did not have a carry against the Crimson Tide.

On Sunday, Hardesty did not show up for the team’s practice Sunday night. UT coach Phillip Fulmer told the Knoxville News-Sentinel he did not know why the sophomore tailback missed UT’s hour-long practice inside the Neyland-Thompson Sports Center.

“You know, I’m not sure what’s going on with Montario,” Fulmer said following practice. “His roommate doesn’t know where he is. We’ll find out and deal with it.”

Hardesty is UT’s second-leading rusher this season with 184 yards and two touchdowns on 41 carries, despite missing two games with an ankle injury. Tennessee rushed only 19 times against Alabama. When asked why Hardesty did not play, Fulmer said Saturday that LaMarcus Coker and Arian Foster were better fits for the three-wide receiver sets UT ran because of its ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. He echoed those comments again Sunday night. UT running backs coach Kurt Roper said Saturday he “didn’t do a good job of getting (Hardesty) in there.”

Fulmer said Sunday that Hardesty’s lack of carries against Alabama was not for disciplinary reasons. Fulmer said he spoke with Hardesty briefly after Saturday’s game, but did not share details of that conversation.

“He wasn’t very happy,” Fulmer said. “But this isn’t the right way to make that presentation. It’s disappointing, yeah. He should be here with his teammates.”

A look at the league:
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