Links: Darko vs. Detroit, Rudy as "The Clean-Up Hitter", Tarence Sighting

There are a few good articles out there on the intarweb today regarding the Memphis Grizzlies.

First up is the requisite "Darko faces former team" piece by the Commercial Appeal's Ron Tillery. However, rather than taking the standard "revenge" stance, Ron dug a little deeper and found that Darko holds no grudges about his time in the Motor City and his former teammates all wish him the best of luck. Good job Ron!

"Stuff happened to me (in Detroit) that never happened before," said Milicic, who will face the Pistons tonight for the first time in a Grizzlies uniform. "I can't say it's anybody's fault. If anything, it was me. I went there, and it was tough on me. I lost the feeling for the game.
"But they're all good guys. ... (team president) Joe Dumars is a great guy. When he traded me, he wished me well, and he said I'll be a good player."

Then we have a great spotlight feature on Rudy Gay by SI.com's Ian Thomsen who seems to be following the Grizzlies closely this year as this is only one of many articles focusing on the Boys from Beale Street. There are some great quotes from Rudy who is looking to prove that his critics were wrong when they labeled him "passive" and said that he "lacked heart".

Six months before the draft, Gay was widely projected as the No. 1 pick. He has no difficulty remembering the anonymous criticisms from NBA scouts that caused him to plunge.
"How could I forget it: He's inconsistent, he's soft, things like that,'' said Gay, now 21. "I think that's what kept me going. That's one thing that motivates me during the summer. These guys say I can't do this, so why not work on it?''
The most damning criticism was that Gay played because he had a talent for it, and not because he loved it.
"I wouldn't be here if I didn't love the game,'' he said. "People like that get exposed. I want to be here night in, night out. After the draft, I was in the local gym shooting. I love this game, and hopefully more people understand that.''

"He's a guy who wants the ball in his hands and he's going to make a play, he's going to make something happen,'' said Iavaroni, who emphasizes that he didn't design the offense to make Gay the leading scorer. Instead, Gay has seized the opportunity

That's the kind of stuff that you want to hear from the guy that many project to be the Superstar-level talent for the Grizzlies going forward.

Our final news of note is that Tarence Kinsey posted on his blog yesterday after a month-long hiatus and seems to be dealing with his limited playing time very well so far. He respects the coaching staff and their decisions to this point and hopes that he can earn some PT as the season progresses. Keep your chin up TK.

Website/Blog of the Day: Give Me the Rock