It’s being reported that Derrick Rose will declare for the NBA draft. I can’t say I blame him since he’ll be the 1st or 2nd pick.

As painful as it was last Monday night for Tigers fans we should realize that we just watched the Tigers have a very, very special season. I don’t want to sound too obvious but if you play in the last game of the season then you had a great year. In the end, seeing my new granddaughter come to life last Friday and spending a couple of days playing on the floor with my 4-year-old grandson made me put things in perspective.
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On Monday night, Pete Aviotti Jr., invited me to join him for the monthly meeting of the Whitehaven Wildlife Gourmet Club. This is a club that was founded in 1965.

They meet on the second Monday of every month at the Boiling Point restaurant in Southaven and enjoy a variety of wild game dishes.

This month, they had frog legs for the opening course and boiled crawfish for the main course.

Man, I think I could eat that particular meal every night.

Frog legs are great - and no, they don’t taste the least bit like chicken. They taste exactly like frog legs.

Crawfish are a lot of work for a little bite of meat. But it’s certainly worth the effort.

In addition to talking with Pete, the special assistant to Mayor Willie Herenton, I chatted with local conservation officer Andy Tweed, Avery Outdoors pro-staffer David Carrington and several new folks who were just as welcoming as they could be.

There’s nothing like being in a room full of people with similar interests - and when you add good food to the mix, it makes for a fantastic night.

Last night, word leaked out of agent circles that Derrick Rose is ready to sign with Arn Tellem and was reported by CNBC’s Darren Rovell. I have no reason to believe this report is false.

However, it should also be noted that as of Monday, Rose had not officially informed anybody at Memphis that he is entering the NBA Draft.

What does this mean? Nothing. Rose is leaving. That much has been known since he stepped on campus. There has never been any pretense that he would come back for a second season. None of us would turn down the financial opportunity Rose has right now to essentially snap his fingers and make $10 million.

But obviously, he’s not quite ready to say it publicly or else it would have been done today.

Well, it shouldn’t shock anybody that Ronnie Capps and Steve Coleman of Tiptonville, Tenn., won Saturday’s Crappie USA tournament on Wilson and Pickwick Lakes.

I mean, honestly, don’t they always win on Pickwick?

They won last year in dismal, frigid weather, and they won this year’s Semi-Pro Division with a mind-blowing weight of 14.92 pounds (seven fish). They told Crappie USA officials that they started their day near Pickwick Dam, but eventually wound up in Bear creek. They caught most of their fish using minnows over man-made cover in 18-25 feet of water.

In the amateur division, Ralph Dillard and Scott Watson of Paris, Tenn., won with 11.09 pounds. If you recall, Dillard and Watson also won the Crappie USA tournament held March 29 on Kentucky Lake.

Maybe those guys should consider switching to the Semi-Pro Division.

Click here for the complete results from the Wilson/Pickwick event.

So Marquette loses Tom Crean and settles on Buzz Williams after failing to attract a pool of marquee candidates. Providence fires Tim Welsh and gets turned down by both Jim Larranaga and Travis Ford. Syracuse has missed the NCAA Tournament two years in a row. St. John’s has practically surrendered.

Is there anything more inevitable at this point than a major shift in the Big East some time in the near future? How much more evidence do you need that something isn’t working?

No matter how good the TV money is, there has to be some long-term concern about the recent Big East developments. Word is, the Marquette coaching search simply came down to the fact that the administration had a hard time attracting quality candidates because none of them wanted to get involved in the ultimate meat grinder the Big East has become. And this is a school that has great facilities, is located in a big city and was paying Tom Crean more than $1.5 million, according to reports. Providence has now been turned down by coaches in the Colonial and the A-10. That can’t be too comforting for administrators in that league. At some point, a lot of these presidents have to be wondering whether it’s better to be struggling for survival in this mess of a league or to figure out a different way to do business.

The University of Memphis closes its 15-session spring practice with Saturday’s Blue Gray Scrimmage. (And, yes, it’s a scrimmage, not a game).

Tiger coach Tommy West said after Friday’s workout at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium that a rash of injuries might limit the length of the scrimmage.

Receiver Duke Calhoun (knee), running back T.J. Pitts (ankle) and linebacker Tommy Phelps (chest) were among the higher-profile players who didn’t participate in spring practice because of injuries. Linebacker Josh Weaver (shoulder) and offensive lineman Dominik Riley (knee) were injured during the spring. None of the five will play in the scrimmage.

“We’re still banged up a little bit,” West said. “If it gets too bad, we just won’t be here very long.”

As for those who will play and what to watch for:

***The Quarterbacks: Arkelon Hall, the junior college transfer, and Matt Malouf, the sophomore-to-be, have been competing from the start the competition will resume in August. Hall owns a quick release and throws from various arm angles, mostly sidearm. Malouf is emerging as an accurate thrower and, as most know from watching him a year ago, is an adept runner.

***The Running Backs: Pick up a roster sheet that U of M sports information staff will provide. There’s no Joe Doss (he completed his eligibility) and there’s no T.J. Pitts (see injury list above). That leaves junior college transfer Curtis Steele, who sat out last season as a redshirt; Jeremy Longstreet, a converted linebacker; and Mike Davis, a freshman from Franklin, Tenn. Steele is the speediest of the trio, Longstreet has made strides since making the switch last month and Davis has the potential to be a powerful back.

***The Defense: Even with Weaver and Phelps out, this unit has been the story of the spring behind first-year coordinator Tim Walton. It’s been an aggressive, attacking unit not afraid to play press-man coverage.

As you may have read in today’s paper, We’re looking for lots of fishing photos that we can show off on The Memphis Edge.

Starting with the photo of Zack Ranson and Will Jerry in today’s paper, we’ll be running one photo with the Friday fishing reports each week. Then we’ll be running dozens more here on the Edge.
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