Welcome to SubTsakalidis!

Before I dive into any specifics of this Substack, I do want to acknowledge and appreciate the Grizzly Bear Blues team. Working with GBB gave me the opportunity to cover the Memphis Grizzlies at a level I never would have imagined would be possible. It opened doors I never thought would be there. It’s also led me to friendships that mean tons to me.

I want to thank Joe Mullinax for bringing me in as a college student eager to write about any possible angle with the Memphis Grizzlies, and for granting me the opportunity to represent GBB at Grizzlies games and events.

I also want to thank Mark King, Kenny Stubblefield, and Zach Thomas for bringing in GBB after the mass exodus of team blogs earlier this year – making sure GBB can stay alive and well with Bluff City Media.

I also want to thank the many staff members I’ve worked with over the years – Brandon Abraham, Shawn Coleman, Nate Chester, Bryson Wright, Brendan Smart, Andrew Katz, Chip Williams, and many more – for their friendship and making me a better basketball mind and content creator.

Thank you as well to the many people that have supported, shared, or given feedback on my work; it’s something that’s always encouraged me in this journey, so keep it up.

I will never be a stranger, and I hope you aren’t either.

So now, SubTsakalidis.

For one, what’s “Tsakalidis?” This is a shot-in-the-dark attempt to use a Grizzlies pun. However, the name is inspired by my first favorite end-of-the-bench Grizzly, Jake Tsakalidis. First-grade Parker thought that his name was cool, and that it was a giant flex on his teachers and classmates when he spelled his name right. Always acknowledge that 14-game span in 2006 where he averaged 10.2 points and 7.9 rebounds when he stepped in as a starter for a wee bit. Hopefully long-time Grizzly faithful will appreciate this one.

Secondly, if that’s a mouth full for you, I’ll also refer it to “SubTsak” for short.

Third, if you’re wondering if it’s going to be behind a paywall. Not exactly. Obviously, Substack has subscription tiers on their website. My plan is to make my content free.

At the same time, any money I make here will be donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

For those unfamiliar with her story, my wife Allie was diagnosed with brain cancer at 14 then relapsed with it again at 16 — receiving 2 brain surgeries and 66 rounds of brain and spine radiation. Because of the brilliant work of St. Jude and the grace of God, she defied the odds and graduated high school, college, got married, and got her dream job. They were also able to use the research from her cancer and treatment to diagnose other children.

The move to Substack is one to align myself with my goals. I’ll keep all but one close to my chest. Obviously I want to use this platform to talk about the Memphis Grizzlies, but I really want to raise money for St. Jude, and help my wife Allie met her fundraising goal. Her St. Jude team – Allie’s Allies – has a fundraising goal of $66,250, up from her annual $50,000 target, ahead of the St Jude Marathon Weekend, where I’ll be running the half-marathon. That number is a third (⅓) of her first 33 rounds of radiation, as her 66 rounds of radiation cost $397,500. Because of the donations from St. Jude, her family wasn’t billed a single penny for her treatment.

So, if you choose to be a paid subscriber, your money each month (or year) will be going directly to St. Jude. And I’ll likely do something like a monthly mailbag or subscriber’s choice just for fun. Everything else, FREE – and I’ll also have a donation link for St. Jude at the button of each article, if you want to donate on your own accord.

I’m pumped to use this platform to not only continue posting my Memphis Grizzlies opinions for everyone to see. You’ll see content on players 1-18, cool things that catch my eye on the basketball floor, player development, team-building, and more. At the same time, I’m incredibly ecstatic to raise money for a cause that means the world to me and my family. I’ll absolutely share updates on the fundraising.

Let’s have some fun, let’s brew something special here.

If you choose to support my Substack, SubTsakalidis — aka “SubTsak” — follow this link to my St. Jude fundraiser page for my wife’s fundraising team, “Allie’s Allies.” If you choose to subscribe, all proceeds will go towards St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.