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Tacos at a Memphis barbecue competition? It may sound odd, but some of the best tacos you'll ever have are being cooked in Tom Lee Park this week.

Crowd favorite Mexico BBQ Team is back for its eighth year at Memphis in May, and they are once again cooking up authentic Mexican fare to share with contest attendees.

It is the “World” Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest after all, so it’s no surprise there are international teams in the competition.

At this year’s competition, there are teams from 22 states, Puerto Rico and three foreign countries. Rusty’s Smoke BBQ from Canada and The Norwegian National Barbeque Team from Norway are the other two international teams.

The 20-person Mexico BBQ Team travels all the way from its home base of Monterrey, Mexico, every year to compete.

Team captain Alejandro Gutiérrez runs the largest grilling competition in Latin America.

He founded Grill Master HEB in 2012 to create a contest like he had seen in other parts of the world. What started as a competition featuring 13 teams with 700 attendees has grown into an event with 100 teams and an expected 35,000 attendees during the Aug. 19-20 event this year.

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He said they come to Memphis every year to get experience to make their Grill Master HEB competition better.

“We learn by competing here," Gutiérrez said. "We stand in the shoes of the competitor."

He may be learning about how to host a barbecue competition, but it’s obvious he also knows how to cook barbecue — even Memphis-style barbecue.

In 2021, Mexico BBQ Team placed second in the shoulder division and received the International Hospitality Award for its team spirit and generosity serving festival attendees. Last year, the team placed third in the “Anything But – Beef” category.

For the WCBCC competition, the Mexico BBQ Team sticks to Memphis-style barbecue. But for their friends and fans, it’s all about their home country’s fare.

Each day, the team serves up authentic Mexican tacos. This year, the fare includes tacos stuffed with slices of tender pork cheek garnished with a “drunken” salsa verde made with beer and pickled red onions, as well as a “noodle” taco stuffed with fideo noodles and chorizo.

What keeps the team coming back each year is the comradery of the Memphis in May contest.

“It’s because the friends we have made here now are family,” Gutiérrez said. “The name of our website is ‘Fire Unites Us.’ That’s our mantra and what brings us all together.”

Jennifer Chandler is the Food & Dining reporter at The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at jennifer.chandler@commercialappeal.com and you can follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @cookwjennifer.

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Caleb Love is looking for a new home and Memphis basketball coach Penny Hardaway is still looking to add players.

Could the former North Carolina guard soon be a Tiger? The odds don't seem to necessarily be in Hardaway's favor.

According to BetMissouri.com, Mizzou is the favorite to land Love (6-4) with a 22.2% chance. He initially chose the Wolverines over Mizzou. Indiana is next with a 20% shot, while Memphis, Illinois and Texas are each tied at 12.5%.

On Wednesday, Love decommitted from Michigan after an admissions issue related to credits transferring cropped up sometime during the last month, according to multiple reports. The St. Louis native was set to the make the move to Ann Arbor, Mich., after three seasons with the Tar Heels. Love averaged 16.7 points at North Carolina last season. He also put up 3.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.

Memphis still has at least two open scholarships available. The Tigers signed 5-star combo guard Mikey Williams in November 2022, and picked up former Florida State combo guard Caleb Mills in April. But Williams' future with the program is unclear following his arrest last month on six felony gun charges. He has pleaded not guilty and his preliminary hearing is set for June 29.

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While Hardaway also landed a commitment from former UCF point guard Jayhlon Young on May 3, he has remained active in his pursuit of more backcourt players. Most recently, Memphis has reportedly expressed interest in Vanderbilt transfer guard Tyrin Lawrence and Seton Hall transfer guard Femi Odukale.

The Tigers are expected to return just two players from the 2022-23 roster: guard Jayden Hardaway and forward Chandler Lawson. In addition to Williams, the team has also formally signed incoming freshmen JJ Taylor (forward), Ashton Hardaway (wing) and Carl Cherenfant (wing). Mills and Young are in line to be joined by fellow transfers Jonathan Pierre (wing), Teafale Lenard Jr. (wing) and Nick Jourdain (forward).

Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @munzly.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) -Animal advocates need your help tonight finding the person or people responsible for starving a dog and throwing it in an apartment dumpster.

One volunteer at MAS says she works with some of the most severe cases of neglect at the Shelter but the case of Anakin, the abused pup, completely broke her. She’s now worried that if the people responsible are not caught this could happen again.

Anakin is a 4-year-old mixed breed Pitbull. Last Wednesday, Staff members at Hickory Farms apartments in Hickory Hill found him in a wire crate in a dumpster.

“He was a special plea to the rescue community. He was severely emaciated. He had a body score of 1 out of 9. He was very skinny, the skinniest dog I have ever seen in my life,” said Anne.

Anne, who only wants us to use her first name, has been a volunteer at the shelter for over a year. Anne decided to take Anakin home to nurture him back to health.

“I fed the dog every two hours a few bites of food. He was in really bad shape; he couldn’t stand on his own. He was so weak, and he had open sores all over his body,” said Anne.

Along with being starved for years, Anne believes the previous owners cut off his ears with scissors. Anakin had a bottle cap stuck in his teeth stopping him from closing his mouth, and they even found wooden sticks in his stomach.

" He was somebody’s dog. The poor shape he was in, the poor condition that did not happen overnight. That is something that happened over years and years and years,” said Anne.

In hopes of saving Anakin, a rescue group called “Believe in Buster” drove all the way from Virginia to Memphis to help save him. The rescue even footed the $3,000 vet bill.

“It is just an example of what happens so often in this community. The Memphis animal shelter gets swamped with dogs who are in this condition. Rescues try to help but end of in thousands of dollars in vet bills,” said Anne.

MAS director, Alexis Pugh, said officials at Hickory Farms are fully cooperating with this investigation. She is hoping that someone recognizes Anakin and does the right thing.

“That kind of action by an individual, don’t think that they’ll stop at that. They will commit acts of cruelty again and that act of cruelty could happen to a human, if they were willing to do that to an innocent animal,” said Pugh.

Unfortunately, the apartment complex did not have cameras pointed at the dumpster that could have caught whoever is responsible. If you recognize Anakin you can call 528-cash and leave an anonymous tip.

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Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant said he takes “full accountability” for his actions after he received intense criticism for his presence in a social media video that appeared to show him flashing a gun for the second time in a little over two months.

“I know I’ve disappointed a lot of people who have supported me,” the 23-year-old said in a statement Tuesday night. “This is a journey and I recognize there is more work to do. My words may not mean much right now, but I take full accountability for my actions. I’m committed to continuing to work on myself.”

His statement came shortly after NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said he was “shocked” by Morant’s behavior. In an ESPN interview from the NBA draft lottery, Silver said he and Morant had talked “directly about the consequences” after a March live stream on Instagram showed Morant at a Denver-area nightclub briefly holding up a gun in video that was clipped and shared on other social media platforms. That incident resulted in an eight-game suspension for Morant.

“The consequences there, an eight-game suspension, was pretty serious and something that he — at least to me — seemed to take incredibly seriously in that time. I mean, we spoke for a long time about not just the consequences that could have on his career but the safety issues around it. [He] could have injured, maimed, killed himself, someone else with an act like that. And also the acknowledgment that … he’s a star, he has an incredibly huge following, and my concern — and I thought he shared with me — that millions, if not tens of millions, of kids globally would see him as having done something that was celebrating in a way that act of sort of using a firearm in that fashion. And so I at least was left with the sense that he was taking this incredibly seriously.

“Honestly, I was shocked when I saw this weekend that video,” Silver added. “Now, we’re in the process of investigating it, and we’ll figure out exactly what happened to the best we can. Again, the video’s a bit grainy and all that, but I’m assuming the worst. But we’ll figure out exactly what happened there.”

Morant, who was not criminally charged after the first video, sought counseling during his suspension. The second video landed in an Instagram live stream Sunday and Morant was immediately suspended from team activities, though the Grizzlies’ season ended last month with a first-round playoff loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. There has been no further punishment yet as the NBA continues to investigate the incident.

“Honestly, I was shocked when I saw this weekend — that video. Now, we’re in the process of investigating it."NBA Commissioner Adam Silver spoke on Ja Morant after his latest video. pic.twitter.com/W0lX4E2fa4

— ESPN (@espn) May 16, 2023

The stakes for Morant are significant on and off the court. He is at the forefront of the new generation of NBA stars as a two-time all-star only four years into his career. He has a deal for a signature sneaker with Nike, which has not commented on the second video, and became the face of Powerade in March. Powerade, which is owned by Coca-Cola, quickly pulled an ad featuring him after the release of the first video. Morant’s first suspension cost him more than $668,000 in lost salary, but he also missed out on roughly $39 million in future salary because he wasn’t named to an all-NBA team this season.

In March, Silver deemed Morant’s behavior in the first video to be “irresponsible, reckless and potentially dangerous.” As he prepared to return from the suspension, Morant said he was “in a better space mentally” and committed to being a “better me” following sessions at a Florida counseling center.

Morant sought the counseling, he told reporters, partly because he believed his “stress level had been becoming a problem” before the nightclub incident. “I had considered [seeking help], but I was back and forth,” he said. “I was pretty much afraid to leave the team. I felt that it was needed, and it helped me out a lot.”

Before returning to the court, Morant denied having “an alcohol problem,” said his stress management was an “ongoing process” and acknowledged that attending less than two weeks of counseling “doesn’t mean I’m completely better.”

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - A major development is coming to Southaven that city leaders are calling a ‘game changer’ when it comes to tourism.

The city has landed its first ever full service hotel in DeSoto county.

Tuesday night, DeSoto county board of supervisors approved the design of a brand new hotel and convention center in Southaven.

City leaders say they hope major conventions will choose Southaven rather than the traditional options like the Gulf Coast or Tupelo.

The development will be right next door to The Lander’s Center.

There are several businesses nearby ,such as Sidecar Café, where there is chatter about the new hotel development.

“I think it’s great for DeSoto county. It is the overflow from Landers Center is really going to pack the house here,” said Danny Shell who is in charge of entertainment at the restaurant.

Shell says that business almost doubles on nights of concerts. He can only imagine what business will do when major conventions start booking the new convention center.

The hotel will be a 7-story, 240 room hotel, sitting on six acres on Pepper Chase and Venture Roads.

“I call it “Project Sky” and the reason I call it that is it’s going to change the skyline of Southaven so I’m extremely excited about it,” said Southaven Mayor Darren Musselwhite.

Musselwhite says he’s been working on this project since 2017.

He, along with many others, is hopeful that the hotel will become a mainstay.

The development will include a 275,000 square foot expansion of the convention center with a skywalk to the hotel outfitted with a resort-style pool with a lazy river. Not to mention a high-end restaurant with plenty of dining space.

“When you have conventions that may be going to other locations now the fact that you can have a hotel where people can stay on site, they go to their convention, maybe a concert at the Landers center that night, eat dinner at the restaurant and they never get in their car,” said Musselwhite.

Musselwhite says it’s his understanding that this project will be the first in the state.

This will officially be the first convention center in Mississippi to have a hotel attached.

Construction is scheduled to begin later this year.

Both the convention center and hotel will hopefully be complete by 2025.

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