Decades-Long Weeks

The Pamphleteer -

Good afternoon, everyone.

Global developments are afoot with the Dow Jones shaving 1,000 points and nearly $2 trillion in value vanishing from the stock market.

Over in the UK, tensions simmer as anti-immigration protests sweep the country in the aftermath of the brutal murder of three young girls by the son of Rwandan migrants.

Iran has threatened to launch an attack against Israel in retaliation for the murder of Hamas and Hezbollah political leaders in Tehran and Beiruit respectively.

The President-elect, Joe Biden, has announced he won’t run for re-election and, in the midst of all this turmoil, is nowhere to be seen. 

And just weeks ago, former President Donald J. Trump was nearly killed in a botched assassination attempt that brings into question the competency of the organization commissioned to protect the nation's most powerful people.

It certainly feels as if a lot is happening, but this is your periodic reminder that the best place you can direct whatever latent political energy such events stir up within you is into your local area. In our case, Nashville.

Onward.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your final Monday before Titans football is back! The games may not count and the points certainly don’t matter, but I can say without hesitancy, “We don’t flippin’ care.”

This Saturday’s preseason matchup with the league’s most notorious runners-up, the San Francisco 49ers, will kickoff at 6 p.m. local time at Nissan Stadium. Starters will undoubtedly have a limited role in the game as this is the time for the coaching staff to evaluate reserves fighting for the opportunity to make the final fifty-three man roster. So, sure, the quality of play will also be diminished, but football is football.

Following the high intensity situations driven by Pro Bowl defensive lineman Jeff Simmons in his confrontation with Titans reporter Buck Reising and on-field fight against rookie JC Latham, fans are grinding their teeth for the opportunity to witness him unleash his frustration on opposing offenses. But they’ll have to wait until Week 1 on September 8th in Chicago.

Last week, all-everything wideout DeAndre Hopkins suffered a knee injury in practice that is projected to sideline him for 4-6 weeks. At this juncture, it remains to be seen if he will be available for the first regular season game against the Bears. We pray this is not a bad omen for things to come in 2024, but considering the Titans’ bad luck year after year, there’s certainly a cause for pause.

The good news is General Manager Ron Carthon went to work this offseason in free agency, signing stud receivers like Calvin Ridley and Tyler Boyd to add weapons for young quarterback Will Levis. Nevertheless, Tennessee will need Hopkins back ASAP to have a shot at the postseason. First-year head coach Brian Callahan has much to prove, but word around town is he is already getting the buy-in he needs from his locker room.

Development of an inexperienced, and truthfully underskilled, offensive line will make or break this year’s squad. This is what makes the Callahan & Family hire so pivotal. He and his father’s proven record of miraculous o-line turnarounds gives hope, but simply must be done once again.

Titans insider Wes Wisley has reported tremendous improvement already from the offense in the opening days of training camp. To start the sessions, the defense expectedly dominated the offense. However, the young offensive core has since gained ground each day to the point they are winning most segments and drills. In Hopkins absence, Westbrook-Ikhine and Treylon Burks need to step up to allow for the unit to continue to roll. 

More reps can lead to more growth. If they take advantage while the offensive line develops and the defense meshes, the Titans will surprise everyone this season. After getting our first glimpse Saturday, the two-toned blue will have another home game on August 17 against the Seattle Seahawks before wrapping up the preseason on the road in NOLA on August 25th. The season opener in Chicago on September 8th will kick off at Noon CT, with the first home game coming the following Sunday, the 15th, versus the New York Jets. MILES HARRINGTON



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🚌 Transit Numbers Don’t Lie? The ballot language for Freddie’s Choose How You Move transit referendum approximates the plan’s “capital cost” to be just under $3.1 billion, with annual operating and maintenance costs estimated at $111 million. But do these numbers add up? Not according to anti-tax activist Ben Cunningham, who appeared on NewsChannel5 to explain why the math ain’t mathin’. 

In May, Metro conducted an independent audit of the plan, finding its total construction cost to be over $6.9 billion in “future dollars.” This includes an estimated $3.26 billion in revenue generated by the sales tax, and $2 billion generated from revenue bonds over the next 15 years. During his segment, reporter Jason Lamb explained why O’Connell’s administration decided not to include the full price tag on the ballot: “The mayor’s office says its single number of three billion dollars on the ballot is simpler, complies with federal law, and lays out the plan in plain English.” MEGAN PODSIEDLIK

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🥇 Nashville’s Golden Girl On Saturday, Music City's own Gretchen Walsh stood alongside her teammates at the center of the Paris Olympics podium, her first gold medal around her neck for the 400-meter mixed medley relay. The next day, she got to do it all over again: the Harpeth Hall graduate received another gold after helping the US women's 4x100-meter medley relay team to victory, setting a few new records along the way. Not only did Team USA set new world records during both races, Walsh also beat her own previously held world record for the 100-meter butterfly during her leg of Sunday’s race. MEGAN PODSIEDLIK

DEVELOPMENT

  • TriStar Plans Freestanding Emergency Room In East Nashville (Now Next)
  • California firm plans 550-unit apartment expansion (NBJ)
  • Illinois beer distributor pays $63.5M for riverfront site (NBJ)
  • WeGo Star improvements will take more than just Nashville to fund (Post)
  • Ex-Pancake Pantry owner sells west side building (Post)
  • Post parent company relocates to East Nashville (Post)

THINGS TO DO

View our calendar for the week here and our weekly film rundown here.

📅 Visit our On The Radar list to find upcoming events around Nashville.

🎧 On Spotify: Pamphleteer's Picks, a playlist of our favorite bands in town this week.

👨🏻‍🌾 Check out our Nashville farmer's market guide and yearly festival guide.

TONIGHT

🎸 Washed Out @ Brooklyn Bowl, 8p, $41+, Info

🎸 O.A.R. w/ Dispatch @ Ascend Amphitheater, 7p, Info

🎸 Open Mic Mondays @ Tennessee Brew Works, 6p, Free, Info

🪕 Val Storey, Carl Jackson, Larry Cordle & New Monday @ Station Inn, 8p, $20, Info

💀 Grateful Monday @ Acme Feed & Seed, 8p, Free, Info

🕺 Motown Monday @ The 5 Spot, 9p, $5, Info