(female announcer)
  Production funding
  for Sports Files is made

possible in part by...

(male narrator)
  Infiniti of Memphis has
  moved to Germantown

road just half mile north of
  Wolfchase Galleria and is proud

to support WKNO for its quality
  broadcasting and service

to our community.

Quality and service --
  No wonder Infiniti of Memphis

feels at home on WKNO.

- My guest today on Sports Files
is Memphis Grizzlies Guard

Mario Chalmers.

[theme music]

The Memphis
Grizzlies just passed the

quarter mile pole of the season,
and after an extremely slow

start that saw the team lose
six of their first nine games,

the Griz have righted the ship.

Now by no means is
the team at peak level,

but since acquiring guard
Mario Chalmers from Miami,

things are on the upswing.

Chalmers has added quickness and
outside shooting to the suddenly

prospering Grizzlies second unit
and has even logged important

minutes alongside starting
point guard Mike Conley.

The eight year NBA veteran was a
second round draft pick of the

Minnesota Timberwolves in 2008
but was acquired by the Miami

Heat later that summer.

Two NBA titles later Chalmers
had become expendable with the

Miami Heat and was
dealt to the Grizzlies.

Chalmers played his
college ball at Kansas,

and as every Memphian knows,
pierced the hearts of this

community with his game tying
three-ball in the 2008 NCAA

title game which sent their
battle with the Memphis Tigers

to overtime.

Subsequently won by KU.

Well, today it's Mario Chalmers
on the nerves he felt the first

time he took the
court in Memphis,

his career resurgence and his
upbringing in the frozen tundra

of Alaska.

And it's all next
on Sports Files.

[country music]

Mario, thank you
so much for joining us.

We appreciate your time.

- Thanks for having me.

- Appreciate it.

Alright, let me go way back to
your days growing up in Alaska.

What was that like?

- It was different.

You know, my dad
was in the military,

Air Force background.

So, that's how we got to
Alaska from North Carolina.

And, you know, it was cold.

But it was a lot of fun growing
up and a great experience

for me.

(Greg)
  And, of course, you were
  able to make a name for yourself

playing high school ball.

Some terrific games and terrific
  teams that you played on.

And even in
  Alaska, way up there,

they find good players.

And obviously they
  found you in Kansas.

- Yeah, definitely.

You know, we had a couple
of earlier guys come out.

Those guys went to Duke.

So, it was kind of out the
norm for me to go to Kansas,

something different.

(Greg)
  Alright, we'll get back to your
  days at Kansas in a moment.

But you're here in Memphis.

You haven't been here long.

You've made quite
  the impact already.

What's it been like for you?

- It's been a good transition.

You know, coming to a
team that accepted me early.

You know, a lot of
players look to me,

you know, to bring that
championship experience and

bring a different
type of leadership.

So, I'm just trying to
fit in where I can get in.

(Greg)
  You had a great
  run at Miami obviously.

Two NBA titles.

Did so much to help the
  Heat win those championships.

When you had found out the news
  and you were going to Memphis,

what were your
  original thoughts?

- I was shocked actually.

I didn't know
anything about the trade.

I kind of found
out through Twitter.

So, that was a different
experience for me going through

my first trade.

But, you know, I'm
happy to be here.

(Greg)
  When you get here, I know
  that I read that you said you

were worried about how the
  reaction of the fans would be

with the history of
  Memphis and Kansas.

It wasn't bad.

It was very, very good.

So, tell us about that and as
  you've moved along so far in

your early stint
  here in Memphis,

what the fan
  reaction has been to you.

- It was a warm welcome,
which was surprising to me.

It was something I
wasn't expecting at all.

But, you know, the
fans in the community,

they accepted me right away.

Made we feel right here at home.

So, you know, it makes me
feel good to come here after the

history that we have and just
lay everything out on the line

I have.

You know, just try to
bring a winning attitude

and keep it going.

(Greg)
  What do you
  think about this team?

- I think it's a great team.

Like I said, Marc Gasol
  is one of the best centers

in the league.

We got Mike Conley,
  the great point guard.

Zach Randolph.

You know, got Tony Allen as a
  great defensive style player.

You know, we got a lot of
  vets on this team who have been

through, you know, a lot of
  play-off games and Vince Carter

and Matt Barnes.

I think we have all
  the pieces, you know,

to grind it out and,
  you know, go all the way.

(Greg)
  How do you look in
  your role with this team?

(Mario)
  Um, right now I'm
  still trying to figure it out.

Being the new guy, I'm still
trying to learn the offense,

learn the defense.

But, you know, I just come
in and try to be energy guy.

You know, bring championship
experience to the team.

And, you know,
whatever I see on that night,

that's what I'm able to do.

(Greg)
  As the playing time and
  the minutes diminished in Miami

here and the move was made, now
  you come back and you know that

you're a steady rotation
  player, that you're going to get

minutes, even minutes in key
  situations because you've played

alongside Mike.

You've played on the
  court obviously without Mike.

That has to be a good feeling
  to know how much you're wanted,

how much you're needed
  and that you're going

to get that consistent PT.

- Definitely.

I mean, that was one of the
first things that Coach told me

when I first got here.

It was be prepared for anything.

You know, we had a couple of
games playing alongside Mike and

just learning
different things from him.

And, you know, he's learned
different things from me.

So, we just try to work together
and make us a whole group.

- Well, around here, we think
Mike Conley is one of the most

underrated players in the NBA.

What do you think of Mike?

- I agree with the same thing.

You know, been going against
Mike for the last seven years in

my NBA career.

It's always been a
battle between me and him.

So, it's good to be on the other
side and be on the same side

with him and, you
know, pick his brain.

And hopefully he gets the
credit that he deserves.

(Greg)
  Injuries have
  hurt this team early on.

Brandan Wright's
  been out a long time.

Jordan Adams hasn't
  been able to get it going.

The rookie Jarell Martin hasn't
  been obviously healthy to even

contribute to this team.

With that said, new players
  like yourself and Matt Barnes,

trying to get
  this all integrated.

Has that been smooth?

Has it been
  rough, bumpy at times?

When I look at the first
  20 games of the season or

thereabouts, you've
  won some good games.

You've also gotten
  beat up some times,

some pretty good competition.

So, again, I'm trying to figure
  out where this team stands right

now a quarter of the
  way through the season.

- Um, you know, we just
got to put it all together.

You know, coming from Miami,
actually we dealt with a lot of

injuries of Chris
Bosh being out.

So, coming from that
background, you know,

it's going to
take a little time.

But, you know, it's
still early in the season.

And I'm sure once we get
everybody back and everybody

healthy, we're going
to be a scary team.

- Well, you had a chance to play
with three superstars in Miami,

one of them being Dwayne Wade.

When you were traded to Memphis,
I recall on Twitter Dwayne

coming out and saying best
of luck to my little brother.

I know he meant an
awful lot to you.

So, talk about that
relationship with Dwayne.

- He's meant a lot
to me, you know.

He's one of my big brothers.

You know, he's the guy that
when I first got to Miami,

he took me under his wing
and taught me the ropes,

you know, taught me everything
about how to be a pro,

how to be
successful in this league.

So, you know, it's just one of
my closest friends that I can

always count on for anything.

And that's just the relationship
that me and D Wade have.

(Greg)
  And LeBron, your
  relationship with him.

- Same thing with LeBron.

You know, when LeBron
first got to Miami,

it was just like we
clicked right away.

Kind of got
similar personalities,

always like to laugh and joke.

But when it came to
playing basketball,

you know, we took it seriously.

And that's the thing about
LeBron that a lot of people

don't know about him.

When he steps on the
court, it's all about business.

And that was something
I learned about him.

But I learned a lot of off
the court stuff from LeBron,

too, about being a business man
and different things like that.

So, I owe a lot to
those two guys right there.

(Greg)
  Being in Miami, you only
  played Memphis twice a year.

But what was the perception of
  the Grizzlies and the Grizzlies

organization from afar?

- Grind out team.

You know, we had some battles.

I remember a couple
of years ago playing,

Rudy Gay hit a
game winner on us.

They came to Miami.

They blew us out.

So, there's always been a
battle playing against Memphis.

You know, to be on this side now
is grind out mentality still.

(Greg)
  You've won
  everywhere you've been.

You're a winner.

That's your label
  is you're a winner.

Let me go back to the college
  days and back to sore moments

for our viewers out there.

I was there.

I saw it.

I was right there on the
sideline on media row.

When you took the shot,
did you know it was in.

- I did.

It was one of those moments
where the coaching staff and my

teammates had all the confidence
in the world in me for me to

take that shot.

So, me getting the ball with my
hands and getting that release,

it felt like a practice shot.

- Memphis fans believe
you were fouled before.

Were you fouled?

- Nah, I was never touched.

- Never touched?

- Never touched.

- Was there
anything about that game,

the way it ended, the
situation with Memphis,

again, that was whether or
not they should have fouled,

did they foul..

A lot of controversy
around here for years to come.

I would imagine that you could
imagine something like that.

But was there something that you
look back at that game and go,

you know, if this happened
here, we don't win it

or anything that..

Obviously you
wouldn't change anything.

You won a national championship.

But anything that comes to mind?

- Nothing at all.

We won.

We got the title, 2008.

One of the best
moments of my life.

(Greg)
  Did you know once you got
  into overtime you were winning?

- We definitely did.

We just felt the
momentum swing our way.

And we could see the
defeat on their faces.

So, we just went for
the kill after that.

(Greg)
  You're not the first
  though from that team to play

for the Grizzlies, which is
  crazy for Memphis fans

around here.

Darrell Arthur, of
  course, was the first.

So maybe he's the way for you
  to make your way into Memphis.

- I hope so.

You know, funny thing about DA,
that was my roommate in college.

You know, we're very close.

I still talk to
him all the time.

But, you know, it's just a great
moment for all of us in our

college careers and helped
us get to the next level.

(Greg)
  We talked
  earlier about the perception,

your perception of this
  team how good they can be.

You said, "Hey, they
  can go all the way."

When you look around the league
  and you see what Golden State is

doing, how good San Antonio is
  with the veteran players and now

they young guys like Aldridge.

And, of course, what Cleveland's
  assembled with LeBron,

how does a Memphis,
  an OKC, a Houston,

all these other good teams,
  how do they get to that level?

- You know, with those teams,
they've been together for a

while, especially Golden State.

They've been
together a couple of years.

With Cleveland, once you
get a taste of the finals,

you know you're always hungry to
go back more and that's what we

experienced, you know my first
year or 2010 when we lost to

Dallas with Miami.

So, for us, it's just, you
know, keep grinding out.

You know, take each day
and get better as a team.

You know, everybody brings their
individual games and get better

and keep improving.

And then when that
time comes, you know,

be willing to lay everything
on the line and go for it.

(Greg)
  What has Dave
  Joerger, Coach Dave Joerger,

said to you and what do you see
  in him as a coach in this short

time you've been in Memphis?

- He's a good coach.

He's a player's coach.

You know, he's a guy that is
going to always relate to his

players and, you know, make
sure they're feelin' okay,

make sure they
know what's going on.

And, you know, to play
for a coach like that

is a great opportunity.

(Greg)
  What was it
  like with Erik Spoelstra?

- Kind of like the same thing.

You know, with Spoel, it's kind
of different because me

and him came..

Our first rookie
years was together.

His first year as coach and
my first year in the NBA.

So, been with
Spoel my whole career.

Learning from Spoel,
learning together,

it was a great experience.

(Greg)
  And, of course, in
  Miami, you also were able to,

I'm sure, lean on Pat
  Riley, one of the legends.

- Oh, definitely with Pat.

One of the legends there as
he's been through everywhere.

Another guy that's
won almost every level.

So, it was good to pick
Pat's brain and learn from him,

too.

(Greg)
  Alright, so where are those NBA
  World Championship rings?

- They're in Miami
right now in a safe.

So, I got to get those
and bring them out here.

(Greg)
  Do you have the NCAA
  championship ring

alongside that?

- They're all
sitting there together,

all in a little case.

(Greg)
  So, what is
  the plans, I guess,

when you settle
  down, get the home,

put the, you know,
  hopefully here in Memphis.

You'll be here for a
  few years to come.

You're going to put a nice
  little display in the home or

you're just going to keep
  it in a safety deposit box?

- I don't know.

I'm still thinking about it.

But I'm a definitely keep them
around just so I can show my

kids about them.

And I just show them
what winning's all about,

tell them what you
get from winning.

(Greg)
  Your goals individually
  for the rest of this season.

(Mario)
  Um, you know, be
  the best player I can be.

Do all the little things for
  the team and show them how to..

You know, not show them but help
  lead to an NBA championship or

help lead to the
  Western Conference Finals.

You know, just do all the little
  things and get my feet wet here.

- Toughest player to guard
in the NBA would be who?

- Uh, probably Steph Curry.

- How about the most physical
player you have to go up against

in the NBA?

- Um, most physical..

(Greg)
  Because Curry is
  unbelievable but he's not the

physical player.

- He's not a physical player.

(Greg)
  Step back, boom, knock
  down three from anywhere.

Where is a guy
  who's just go to, man,

you have to rev up the
  physicality because that's the

way they play?

- Um, I might say Eric Bledsoe.

He's one of the physical
point guards out there that,

you know, when we
play against each other,

it's always a
bang-bang situation.

So, I might have to
give that to him.

(Greg)
  Trash talking,
  who does the most?

- Nobody..

(Greg)
  Nobody?

- ..really trash
talks directly to me.

But the person who has a lot
of antics would probably

be Westbrook.

(Greg)
  Does he yaps a lot?

- I mean, he don't
really yap a lot.

But, you know, his
antics when he scores and,

you know, he's a
very emotional player.

(Greg)
  You've come out
  and have shown fans,

first of all, you haven't
  lost a nanosecond of your speed.

Second of all, you've
  been knocking down threes.

You've been hitting that shot.

What are you working on when
  people don't see you and you're

at practice and
  before practice and after,

shoot arounds?

What are you trying
  to do to get better, Mario?

- You know, try to get
stronger, get my legs stronger.

You know, keep working on that,
keep working on my shooting and

ball handling.

You know, just the little things
that's going to help with my

speed and
quickness and, you know,

being able to get to where
I want to get on the court.

(Greg)
  Alright, you're off the
  hot seat but we like to end all

our interviews with something
  we call Five for the Road.

It'll be a simple question,
  first thing that comes to mind.

Okay.

Your favorite
  professional sports team.

You cannot say the Grizzlies and
  you cannot say the Miami Heat.

Any sport.

- Carolina Panthers.

(Greg)
  Why?

- Because I'm kind
of from Carolina.

You know, I was in Charlotte
when they established that

Panthers team.

So, all my family
is from Charlotte.

So, that's why I stick
with my hometown team.

(Greg)
  Okay, favorite
  pro athlete of all time?

- Michael Jordan.

(Greg)
  Music.

What's your favorite
  music or genre or artist?

What do you like to listen to?

- Favorite artist of all
time would probably be Jay-Z.

(Greg)
  Jay-Z.

Do you like to listen to a
  lot of music before a game?

- Yes, all the time.

You know, I got to listen to
music before the games just to

get me in my zone.

(Greg)
  On the bus and
  things like that as well?

- Yeah, definitely.

(Greg)
  Just really
  gets you focused.

- Yeah, I'm a big music guy.

So, I love music.

That's something I'm
always doing in my off time is

listening to music and
finding new things to do.

(Greg)
  Have you thought
  about doing something?

Can you play in instrument?

Can you sing?

Do you have a good voice?

- Nah, I don't do any of that.

[laughter]

I just listen to music.

(Greg)
  Okay,
  favorite movie of all time.

- Life.

(Greg)
  Life?

- Mhm.

(Greg)
  Who stars in that?

- Eddie Murphy and
Martin Lawrence.

(Greg)
  How do I not know that?

I'm a big fan of Eddie
  Murphy and Martin Lawrence.

If it was a sports
  movie, what would it be?

- Um..

I say either Space Jam or
When the Game Stands Tall.

(Greg)
  Okay.

And finally your
  favorite television show.

- Martin.

(Greg)
  There you go.

A big Martin fan.

We're a big fan of yours, Mario.

Thank you so much
for joining us.

We'll take a break.

Overtime is next.

[country music]

The last time we spoke,

the Memphis Tigers were deciding
on a new head football coach to

replace Justin Fuente.

I said the school likely had
their new guy but it was after

our deadline to
tape last week's show.

Well, I was right.

The Tigers have a new
head football coach.

But let's make this clear,
after Barry Odom turned down the

opportunity to come to Memphis,
nobody had a clue who the next

choice was.

The school put a
lid on the leaks,

and when the
announcement finally came,

it was 34-year-old Mike
Norvell landing the gig.

The graduate of Central Arkansas
was working most recently as the

offensive coordinator
at Arizona State,

where he was highly respected
for his high octane offense and

tireless recruiting ability.

Needless to say there were some
happy folks on hand during last

week's introductory
press conference.

- I thank you.

It is a thrill to see
all of you here today.

But I have to tell you, I am
thrilled to see everyone here.

But who I'm really excited about
being here is this young man

right there.

I'd like to thank the Memphis
community for their tremendous

support of Tiger football.

As you know, the last two
years have simply been historic.

We have every expectation that
the trajectory of this football

program will continue to
be remarkably positive.

I'd like to take a second and
thank our advisory committee

including Tom Kadien,
Kate Johnson,

Brad Martin, Willie
Gregory and Mike Bruins.

They have been invaluable.

I'm going to get out of the way
and let you get to the people

you really want to hear from.

Tom, come on up and
introduce our coach.

- Good afternoon.

I want to thank y'all for being
here today and remember seven

days ago or six
days ago when we met,

the promise that we would get
together and build a search

process that would find the
sense of urgency and a sense of

the right fit and the perfect
person to be a Memphis Tiger.

I, too, want to thank our
committee in leadership,

especially Alan Graft, Brad
Martin and Willie Gregory and

Mike Bruins.

- Thank you, everyone.

And I really appreciate
everybody coming out.

This is a special day.

To stand in front of you today,
words really cannot describe how

excited and how honored I am to
be introduced as head football

coach here at the
University of Memphis.

This is a day
I've dreamed about.

This is a day that, you know, by
no stretch did I get here alone.

So, I'd like to start off and
it would only be right for me to

give thanks to people that have
helped get me to this point.

I'd like to start
off to my wife, Maria.

[applause]

The sacrifice, the long hours,

the commitment, all those things
have helped get to this point,

to this place.

And we sit here and
we talk about fit.

I can tell you that the most
important things for me are fit

and family.

And as I was going
through this process,

I was able to sit through.

And I knew..

I've known this university.

I've known this city.

I played college
football about two hours away.

So, I've spent a lot of
time here at Memphis in May.

I'm a big fan.

I enjoy it.

But there's been a group of
people that every time that I've

come here and got a chance to
spend any amount of time in this

great city, it's
always been the same thing.

It's a family feel.

It's a tremendous community.

It's a community that welcomes
you with open arms and always

makes you want to come back.

And I'm so proud today to be
able to stand in front of you

with this position.

It's another opportunity, it's
another time for me to be able

to give back, to
serve, to sacrifice,

to sacrifice for
a football team,

to sacrifice for a community, to
help put a product on the field

that's going to
make everyone proud.

I'd like to take a moment to
thank Coach Fuente and his

staff, the
incredible job that they did.

But even more on the
lines of this support staff,

the academic groups that
we have with Bob Baker,

Ash, Lauren.

Everybody that works and touches
our student athletes here.

I'd like to thank them
for their contribution.

Because what I found here at
the University of Memphis,

why I'm standing in front of
you today is because now at this

time we have a
culture of winning.

We have a culture of
winning in every area.

We have a culture of
winning academically.

We have a culture
of winning socially.

We have a culture of winning
with how we play this game.

And that's what makes me so
proud and so honored to stand

before you today
because now it's my job,

it's my responsibility to
help take the next step.

And now to the future.

This is the perfect time and
this is the perfect place.

You know, there's a lot of
opportunities that have been

discussed in my coaching career
of places that I could have

gone, of people that I
could have went and led.

But I was in such a great
situation that it had

to be right.

It had to be all about the
fit and all about the family.

And it took about two hours
sitting with the administrative

staff here, you know, talking
to the people that are closest

to me.

After that two hour meeting of
talking about what's in place

here, the people,
the commitment,

the young men,
there was no doubt.

This is the perfect fit.

This is the perfect place and
I'm excited about where we're

going to go.

Looking forward
with this community,

okay, and this program, the
thing that's always really

inspired me is about one
vision, one way of doing things,

a pursuit of perfection.

And when I came and I've
listened to so many people,

I got a chance to meet so
many great people in just such a

short period of time, there is
one clear and concise vision.

It's to win in every area.

It's to win every day.

It's to strive for perfection,
to strive for excellence.

And I was able to meet with
the team about 30 minutes ago.

And when I stood
in front of them,

I knew that I had
made the right decision.

I looked into their eyes.

I saw the hunger.

I saw the fire.

And we talked about
one thing, to go finish.

To go finish, finish what they
began this year and then get

ready for the future.

And its a tremendous, tremendous
group that I was able to stand

in front of to talk a little
bit about what we're going

to be about.

We're going to be about family.

We're going to be
about core values.

We're going to put a product on
the field and a product within

this community that you are
going to be proud of with how we

play, with how we go to
school, with how we are

in the community.

This is a team that
you're going to want to back.

And we're going to continue to
build on the great successes

that we have already had
and continue to take this

into the future.

Our football team,
we're going to play smart.

We're going to play fast.

We're going to play physical
and we're going to be passionate

about finishing in
everything that we do.

We're going to be
passionate about that.

And we're going
to do it together.

We're going to do
it as a family.

We're going to do it
through adversity,

when times might
not go well for us.

It's all going to be about the
finish and finishing together,

finishing successfully,
finishing on top.

I'm so very excited
to be the head coach

at the University of Memphis.

I'm so very excited for this
opportunity and I can't wait to

get out there and shake
everybody's hand and get a

chance to meet
everybody that's associated.

But I can tell you
there are great days ahead.

Thank you very much.

[applause]

- And here at Sports Files,

we welcome coach Norvell
and his family to Memphis.

And that will do it for now.

Next week our Saturday
4:30 airing returns,

along with the rest of our
normal weekly airings

of Sports Files.

Until then have a great week
and we'll see you next time.

[theme music]

(female announcer)
Production funding for

Sports Files is made
possible in part by...

(male narrator)
Infiniti of Memphis has
moved to Germantown road

just half mile north of
Wolfchase Galleria and is proud

to support WKNO for its quality
broadcasting and service

to our community.

Quality and service --
No wonder Infiniti of Memphis

feels at home on WKNO.