SCIAA sets schedules for high school football jamborees

In less than a month high school football will be back. Or at least a reasonable facsimile thereof.

Central High's Crump Stadium will be the venue for this year's SCIAA Jamboree, which will take place on Aug. 9 and 10. Admission is $8 each night and the action begins at 6 p.m., with running-clock games going off every 27 minutes.

Thursday's action begins with BTW taking on Raleigh-Egypt followed by Manassas-MLK Prep; KIPP-Hamilton; Middle College-Trezevant; Kingsbury-Melrose; Craigmont-White Station; East-Douglass and MAHS-Central.

Westwood and MASE open Friday's play followed by Oakhaven-Overton; Wooddale-Hillcrest; Germantown-Sheffield; Mitchell-Bolton; Fairley-Germantown; Freedom Prep-Southwind; Cordova-Ridgeway and Whitehaven-Kirby.

Former Tiger's Wimbledon run ends in semis

Although he came up short of the ultimate goal, this year's Wimbledon was one to remember for former Memphis Tiger Joe Salisbury.

Salisbury, a 26-year-old native of London, advanced to the semifinals with doubles partner Frederik Nielsen before falling to the 13th-seeded team of Raven Klaasen and Michael Venus 7-6(6), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 Friday. Salisbury became the first former Tiger to advance past the third round of Wimbledon doubles.

Former Tiger Mel Purcell reached the quarterfinals as a singles player in 1983.

Redbirds duo in Futures game

Redbirds pitcher Dakota Hudson and outfielder Randy Arozarena will take part in Sunday's SiriusXM All-Star Futures game, which will be held at Nationals Park in Washington.

Hudson, who was named to the U.S. squad, was also voted to play in the PCL All-Star game and led the league with 12 victories and a 2.42 ERA heading into the break. A 2016 draft pick out of Mississippi State, Hudson is ranked as the third-best prospect in the Cardinals' organization, according to MLB Pipeline.

Arozarena, who will play for the World team, has split time between Memphis and AA Springfield in 2018 and is hitting .267 with eight homers and 34 RBIs. The native of Cuba is the No. 7 prospect in the organization and was signed as a non-drafted free-agent in August 2016.

Hudson and Arozarena are the 16th and 17th Redbirds who have been named to the Futures game, which is now in its 20th year. The game will be broadcast on the MLB Network and streamed live on MLB.com beginning at 3 p.m.

Local hoops legend appointed to NBA board

Grizzlies owner and chairman Robert Pera has appointed Elliot Perry to serve as the alternate governor for the NBA's Board of Governors. In that role, Perry will continue and expand on the work he has done to create educational opportunities for children and families in the Memphis area.

Perry graduated from now-closed Treadwell High and starred at the University of Memphis before playing 10 years in the NBA, including a final season with the Griz in 2001-02. He's a member of the Grizzlies local ownership group, does color commentary on the team's radio broadcasts and serves on the board of seven organizations throughout the city.

As chairman of the Grizzlies Foundation Board, Perry works closely with students at Grizzlies Prep, the only charter school in the nation branded by an NBA team. The school serves 300 boys in grades 5-8 and ranks in the top 5 percent academically among all Tennessee middle schools.

In other Grizzlies news, David Crewe has been hired as the team's head trainer. The Wisconsin native has spent the last eight years with the Minnesota Timberwolves and was honored as the league's top assistant trainer following the 2016-17 season.

Tigers volleyball adds assistant

New University of Memphis head coach Sean Burdette has named Alexa Wharton as his assistant and recruiting coordinator, Wharton also served as an assistant for Burdette at Green Bay in 2017.

“Alexa was an integral part of my staff and success last year at Green Bay, where we had one of our most successful seasons," Burdette said in a statement. "She has a unique ability to identify talent and find various ways to connect with prospective student-athletes.”

Before joining the Green Bay staff, Wharton served two seasons as assistant at Division III power Wisconsin-Whitewater, which made NCAA Tournament appearances in 2015 and 2016.

The Tigers open the season with the Memphis Invitational, Aug. 24-25 at Elma Roane Fieldhouse.

Graeter tabbed to lead Hall of Fame in 2021

Harold Graeter, who serves as the associate executive director for the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, has been voted vice-president and president-elect for the board of the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. Former vice president John E. Simmonds, the president and CEO of Southeast Financial in Nashville, will serve as president through 2020.

Graeter, a native Memphian who also serves as the Hall's West Tennessee representative, has been a board member since 2009.

Saluqi scholars earn honors

Several Southwest Tennessee athletes have been recognized by the National Junior College Athletic Association.

Soccer player Kristin Crocker earned first-team honors thanks to her 4.0 grade-point average while softball players Anna Beth Willoughby and Hannah Hurdle, baseball players Brayden Green and Ben Kirby, basketball player Donnie Malone and soccer player Katie Smith made the third team.

Willoughby, Hurdle, Destinie Grace and Sydney McLarren were recognized by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.