The Grizzlies have played the best defense in the NBA this month. Can they keep it up when Ja Morant returns?

Pralines, milk punch and Frank Grisanti’s tiramisu recipe all delivered this week; Melissa Cookston’s Southaven BBQ store has opened; McEwen’s opens next week. Why, Merry Christmas!

Bert Smythe and John Littlefield talk about the 21 months they spent remodeling McEwen’s, which is reopening Dec. 20.

What to do with shuttered big box stores, and an update on the planned mixed-use development at the former Union Avenue police station.

Gov. Bill Lee bumped up the starting annual salary for corrections officers from $32,500 to $44,500.

Linebacker JJ Russell was named the Memphis MVP on Sunday, Dec. 12. 

When Tyler Harris hit a 3-pointer to put the Memphis Tigers up by 19 on No. 6 Alabama, FedExForum erupted in air-shaking joy. It was a win that saved a season. And felt just like old times.

Sibling trio, Girl Named Tom, is The Voice’s Season 21 winner. Wendy Moten comes in second.

It marked the end of the four-game losing streak, and was the Tigers’ first win against a top-10 team since March 2014 against Louisville. 

Related stories:

How a players-only meeting might’ve just saved the Tigers’ season

Box score: Memphis 92, Alabama 78

Kyle Anderson and Tyus Jones have shown their value when the Grizzlies needed to plug holes.

Linebacker Thomas Pickens said the time off is the best thing after a rough, injury-filled season.

“It was very important for (the board) to show appreciation for our folks in what has been a very difficult year,” Superintendent Gary Lilly said.

A special Memphis City Council meeting called to resolve a labor contract impasse was settled before the 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 14, start of the session.

All-metro teams and coaches of the year for boys and girls golf announced.

The Grizzlies guard’s résumé fits the criteria for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award. But who are his challengers?

During a “high-pressure season,” the Binghampton Development Corporation’s annual “Greatest Gift” Christmas store offers families toys at heavily discounted prices. 

Renaissance has designed several shopping centers in Collierville, plus Fire Station No. 5 and the Fire Administration Building on Peterson Lake Road. 

Criminal Court Judge Paula Skahan took under advisement Tuesday, Dec. 14, two days of testimony in a hearing that will determine whether Pervis Payne serves two life sentences concurrently or consecutively for the 1987 murders of Charisse Christopher and her 2-year-old daughter, Lacie, in Millington

Former PGA Tour winners will be enshrined during ceremonies in February at Ridgeway Country Club.

The seven-year-old venue beneath a manmade hill on Tom Lee Park’s north end is a separate project from the $61 million renovation of the park. 

Memphis needs one of its veterans to step up in a big way against Alabama.

A proposed lake off Mud Island would be north of I-40 and the Hernando DeSoto Bridge. 

The proposed new majority owner of the merged companies, Rentokil, “supports us and our team and leadership,” a Teminix spokesman says.

Spirit Airlines becomes the ninth airline serving Memphis International, and the first new airline to service the Bluff City since 2017.