First off, here are the game stories from the Cincinnati perspective and the Memphis perspective of the Tigers’ 79-69 win.

It was a good experience for the Tigers to play a road game like this one with foul trouble, emotional swings, and the whole bit. I never felt Memphis was in danger of losing, but certainly there were opportunities for the Tigers to melt down.

Several good things stood out:
– Derrick Rose, obviously, is just lights out when he’s making 3-pointers. 5-of-8 will do just fine.
– Antonio Anderson is playing like himself again.
– Doneal Mack was pretty effective in his 14 minutes and didn’t try to jack up the 3-pointer every time he got the ball.
– Jeff Robinson did some good things in his 7 minutes and won a couple loose balls that could have gone either way.
– The Tigers’ ball movement against the zone was way better. They only committed 13 turnovers, and they took high-quality 3-pointers.

Several not-so-good things stood out too:
– Chris Douglas-Roberts, obviously, is in a funk. Just three shots? The Tigers can’t win the big games on their schedule with him playing that way.
– Cincinnati shouldn’t have out-rebounded the Tigers, but they did, 33-32.
– Memphis had a double-digit lead early but couldn’t put the game away. That’s the next step in this team’s growth.
– Some of that was because the Tigers missed 15 free throws. In the first 10 minutes of the game, they were up 11 points and had already missed 5 free throws.

If you know my wife tell her I am so appreciative for letting me go to all the football games.

I’m trying to figure out Wednesday night’s game. I know Cal had to be upset with the officiating and I don’t blame him. Joey got beat down right before Cal got the tech. I guess the refs figured two wrongs do make a right.

The Tigers have shown over the past 5 games why they are one of the best teams in the country. There has been a different leading scorer in each game. Rose lead the way tonight with 26 tonight, Dorsey, Dozier and Taggart each had 11 against MTSU, Dozier lead the way with 13 in the USC victory, CDR dropped 23 on APSU and Willie Kemp went off for 22 against Arkansas State. Teams that don’t depend one guy night in and night out are less likely to have off nights.
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A few notes and observations from New Orleans, where the Tigers are awaiting Friday’s bowl game against Florida Atlantic:

Temper, temper After spending Tuesday getting acclimated with the French Quarter, the Tigers resumed practice.

And for the first time since the U of M began preparations for the bowl, Tiger coach Tommy West lost his patience. He stopped practice to admonish the team for its lack of concentration. He said he’ll turn today’s walkthrough at the Louisiana Superdome into a normal practice, a rarity before game day.

Several who attended the workout, and weren’t familiar with West’s practices, asked if the blowup was legitimate. West isn’t known for playing such games. He was serious and upset with the offense’s lack of timing.

Extra, extra read all about it In a city that will play host to an intriguing Sugar Bowl (Georgia vs. Hawaii on Jan. 1) and the BCS title game (LSU vs. Ohio State on Jan. 7), one would expect the local newspaper (The Times-Picayune) to give the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl scant attention.

Yet Wednesday’s paper devoted a front page story (on Florida Atlantic linebacker Cergile Sincere) to the game and a full inside page, which included an article on U of M special teams player Turner West, son of Tiger coach Tommy West, and several note items. Tuesday’s sports section had a story on former Memphis QB Danny Wimprine, a New Orleans native and a quarterback for the city’s Arena Football League franchise.

A Grand Slam The U of M practiced at Tulane, which has recently rebuilt its on-campus baseball stadium. The facility, located next to the football practice field, is an impressive 4,000-seat stadium, built at a cost of more than $10 million. The stadium was damaged during Hurricane Katrina andhad to be rebuilt.

Seeing Blue in the Big Easy Or expecting to see it. Longtime Tiger fan and Highland Hundred member Perry Short called after reading Tuesday’s story on the expected low turnout among U of M fans. I wrote that Tiger AD said nearly 4,000 tickets had been sold through the Memphis ticket office.

Short said he’s predicting the Tiger contingent will surpass 5,000. He said a number of fans bought tickets through TicketMaster and not through the U of M.