It’s been an eventful year for sports in Memphis. From UFC, to Allen Iverson (who?), to a quick dose of reality for Tiger basketball. There have been shake-ups in Memphis sports media and even a case of life imitating art when Lionel Hollins gave Jarvis Greer a #thundastick during a post-game press conference.

And in the 2010 M Awards, we have a little bit of it all — repeat winners who don’t look like they’re going anywhere, new winners who will probably hold the crown as long as they never bolt for Kentucky and a few new winners that are tough to swallow.

A number of winners this year join an exclusive club — not one of these 4-time winners have ever lost their respective categories. Prince Mongo, heir to the throne of Zambodia, has transported himself in to bless the M Awards with his presence. Prince Mongo wanted to make some out of this world comments on these “grand slam” winners. So we obliged his highness. Without further ado, the winners of the 4th Annual M Awards winners.

The always entertaining and often controversial Price Mongo gave his first major interview since the 2009 election LIVE in studio on the Tuesday, June 29, 2010 edition of Memphis Sport Live (MSL). As part of his appearance, Mongo took phone calls and answered questions from fellow “spirits.” Listen to the full audio of the interview at Memphissport.net and tune in to MSL with Kevin Cerrito and Marcus Hunter every Tuesday at 6:00 PM on Sports 56 WHBQ.

Most Memorable Moment And by “memorable,” we’re sure you all mean: “holy-canola-oil-we’re-glad-that-slimeball-Calipari-lost.” But we’ll stick with “memorable.” Yeah, that’s it.

Kentucky Losing  in the NCAA Tournament (March 27, 2010) – 32.94%
Tommy West Farewell Press Conference (November 9, 2009) – 21.24%
UFC comes to Memphis (December 12, 2009) – 14.21%

Moment We Would Most Like To Forget Embarrassing and hilarious, Allen Iverson was labeled a “bench player” before he even got to Memphis. He would never play a game in Memphis.

Allen Iverson’s short Grizzlies career – 27.91%
The nationally televised and low attended Memphis vs. ECU game in the rain – 19.27%
Tigers losing to Ole Miss in the NIT – 15.95%

Favorite Concessions

Barbeque nachos, beer, hot dogs, hummus, veggie dogs, paninis and bruschetta. The variety in AutoZone Park’s concessions dwarfs all of its competitors combined. You can go vegetarian for the first half of the game, dive into some Memphis barbeque in the second half and top it off with soft serve before you leave — and you still won’t even be close to having tried it all.

AutoZone Park – 46.96%
FedExforum – 33.5%
Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium and LP Field (tie) – 5.91%

Favorite Place to Tailgate We’re using the term “tailgate” loosely, but, a world-famous cobblestone street decorated with various watering holes, and overflowing with intoxicating spirits does sound a little bit better than a parking lot in Orange Mound.

Beale Street – 24.7%
Highland Hundred Parking Lot – 21.61%
The Grove – 16.47%

Favorite Race Memphis’ best-attended race is the most popular. That is, unless you’re one of those downtowners who can’t get out of your garage because someone’s cramping and eating an orange in the middle of the street.

St. Jude Marathon – 42.69%
Race for the Cure – 22.89%
Redbirds Jumbotron Red, Blue and Green Car Race – 10.33%

Best Game Kobe dropped 44 and became the leading scorer in Laker history, hometown product Lester Hudson had 11 in the third quarter, and Kobe even deferred on the final possession. In the end, Rudy Gay hit the big 3-pointer and helped the Grizzlies to a big home win.

Grizzlies Beat The Champs – Grizzlies 95, Lakers 93 (February 1, 2010) – 28.93%
Memphis wins over St. John’s in the NIT (March 14, 2010) – 22.84%
Tigers 55 vs. Kansas 57 (November 17, 2009) – 22.17%

Favorite Sporting Venue Not only is it the best venue in the city, but it’s one of the better venues in all of basketball. The beer’s not cheap and the pro team needs to improve, but it’s so much more comfortable than the Pyramid. Now if we can just get someone over there to stop making them check upper-level tickets for Monday night games between the Grizzlies and the Pacers…

FedExForum – 54.53%
AutoZone Park – 25.04%
Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium – 7.08%

Favorite Annual Event There was standing room only outside the FedExForum before the doors opened. Once they did, we all watched Yo Gotti teach first-year coach Josh Pastner how to look for a five-star chick.

Memphis Madness – 37.31%
St. Jude Championship – 19.9%
Redbirds 4th of July Fireworks Game – 14.76%

Best Place to Stock Up for the Big Game Grab the beer, brats and charcoal… and maybe an Ice for your bros.

Kroger – 41.22%
Buster’s Liquor – 25.51%
Schnucks – 13.51%

Favorite Local Sports Bar/Restaurant Seat yourself, watch a game and woof down a Huey Burger. A greasy slice of heaven. The steak fries are grossly underrated.

Huey’s – 37.91%
Brookhaven Pub – 18.52%
TJ Mulligan’s – 12.69%

Favorite National Sports Bar/Restaurant B-Dubs. BWW. Buffalo Wild Wings. Whatever you call it, gotta love the cheap wing nights at this grand slam winner. With joints all over town and (hopefully) at least one cheap beer special going on, B-Dubs is the voters’ choice.

Buffalo Wild Wings – 36.58%
Flying Saucer – 22.74%
Fox and Hound – 18.46%

Best Place to Eat Before/After the Game Huey’s is pretty much a staple when it comes to sports, food and booze.

Huey’s – 30.09%
The Kooky Canuck – 21.54%
Rendezvous – 21.71%

Best Place to Take the Team after a Victory Something about Midtown and East Memphis just scream thin crust.

Memphis Pizza Café – 35.9%
Mellow Mushroom – 17.34%
Garibaldi’s – 14.89%

Favorite Bowling Alley Once again, Billy Hardwick’s bowls a perfect game.

Billy Hardwick’s All Star Lanes – 36.98%
Cordova Bowling Center – 19.49%
Bartlett Lanes – 16.58%

Favorite Place to Play Cards Nothing like topping off a hot streak in blackjack with a walk down to Paula Deen’s buffet.

Harrah’s Tunica – 29.47%
Horseshoe Casino & Hotel – 27.31%
Gold Strike Casino – 14.93%

Favorite Golf Course Why’d you have to go and take over the game like that, Justin Timberlake? He’s got the other courses “crying him a river.” Get it?!?

Mirimichi – 23.21%
TPC Southwind – 21.47%
The Links at Galloway – 19.54%

Favorite Golf Store Dick’s narrowly takes home the title for “store where you most like to kill time and go play with the new putters on the artificial greens.”

Dick’s Sporting Goods – 30.1%
Edwin Watts Golf – 28.08%
Double Eagle Golf – 13.94%

Favorite Sporting Goods Store Big box takes the cake. Best place to putt, suit up in catcher’s gear and roller skate across the store.

Dick’s Sporting Goods – 42.93%
The Sports Authority – 20.67%
Bass Pro Shops – 16.08%

Favorite Sports Apparel Store They’re close to one in the same, but the Tiger Gift Shop takes the title. Perhaps thanks to Dave Woloshin’s commercials.

Tiger Gift Shop – 31.93%
Tiger Book Store – 25.26%
College Station – 12.46%

Favorite Healthy Store Vegetarian? Fresh food snob? A lot better at being healthy than the rest of us? Those who are head to Whole Foods Market.

Whole Foods Market – 33.89%
Fresh Market – 30.02%
Smoothie King – 13.63%

Favorite Martial Arts Facility Memphis Judo and Jiu-Jitsu dominated this category. This was a TKO in round one.

Memphis Judo and Jiu-Jitsu – 34.27%
USA Karate – 18.08%
Midtown Taekwondo – 11.74%

Favorite Bike Shop The Peddler once again takes the yellow jersey in the Tour de M Awards.

Peddler Bike Shop – 34.16%
Midtown Bike Co. – 20.7%
Outdoors, Inc. – 15.53%

Favorite Place to Spend a Nice Afternoon For an afternoon stroll with the pooch or alongside the bison, voters prefer Shelby Farms.

Shelby Farms – 30.52%
The Memphis Zoo – 29.54%
The Bluff at AutoZone Park – 19.93%

Favorite Workout Facility You could stand in the lobby and do the dance or probably even sign up for a class and do it with 100 other people at the same time.

YMCA – 29.43%
Germantown Athletic Club – 15.85%
ATC Fitness – 12.08%

Best Local Sports Twitter Despite a relentless campaign by the runner-up, Memphis’ own national columnist took home the award in commanding fashion. A nice recovery after falling short in a number of other categories.

@GaryParrishCBS – 34.11%
@FantasyTillery – 18.22%
@cdouglasroberts – 14.19%

Best Local Sports Blogsite Nowhere can you find more in-depth information about Tiger basketball recruiting. Be it this year’s class, next year’s or several years down the line, Memphis Roar has it all.

Memphis Roar (memphisroar.com) – 28.9%
Chris Vernon’s Blog (chrisvernon.blogspot.com) – 19.65%
The Memphis Edge (thememphisedge.com) – 18.69%

Favorite Sports Radio Personality Just listen to Memphis basketball coach Josh Pastner — Chris Vernon should be an NBA general manager. Vernon is the longtime most outspoken, grand slam-winning radio personality in Memphis, offering advice and commentary to Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace from himself and his listeners on a regular basis. He’s withstood multiple lineup and station shake-ups and is still voters’ choice for favorite sports radio personality.

Chris Vernon, The Chris Vernon Show – 33.51%
Gary Parrish, The Gary Parrish Show with Geoff Calkins – 27.21%
“Boat” Woloshin, Sportime and Sportstime Extra – 15.86%

Favorite Sports Radio Program Utterly hilarious guests (read: Sonny Vaccaro) make the afternoons from 3-6 p.m. all the more enjoyable. But what’s gotten the Chris Vernon Show to grand slam status is consistent quality. The show brings to the table and breaks more Grizzlies news than your average afternoon radio show. But don’t tell him that. He might go on full segment-long rant about it and use it to explain why OJ Mayo should start at point guard.

The Chris Vernon Show – 35.96%
The Gary Parrish Show with Geoff Calkins – 27.9%
Sportstime with George Lapides and “Boat” Woloshin – 9.18%

Favorite Sports Television Personality Jarvo isn’t afraid to ask Lionel Hollins tough questions or to receive the subsequent #thundastick to the dome. Heck, he even got Hollins to apologize to him. From the windmill-finger point combo at the end of his sports segment to the smile that never goes away, Jarvo has no competition on the sports television airwaves. And for that, he’s all but untouchable in this category.

Jarvis Greer, Action News 5 Sports Director – 31.15%
Jerry “The King” Lawler, Monday Nght RAW – 20.77%
Greg Gaston, FOX 13 Sports Anchor – 15.30%

Best Uniforms Though they’re painfully difficult to read and look more like silk bed sheets, they’re one of the bigger Grizzlies marketing successes since Allen Iverson. Oh wait…

Grizzlies Beale Street Blue Alternates – 34.74%
Tennessee Titans Oiler Throwbacks – 25.14%
Redbirds Blue Jerseys – 17.66%

Best Hair Unless you’re from Memphis, you probably can’t read what’s written in Doneal Mack’s hair. And unless you’re from Memphis, you probably think it’s pretty stupid. But we are from Memphis, so it’s awesome. Even better than Gary Parrish’s ensemble.

Doneal Mack, UofM Basketball – 23.69%
Gary Parrish, The Gary Parrish Show – 22.01%
RC Johnson, UofM Athletic Director – 21.83%

Favorite Mascot The mascot for the city’s most popular team. Stunning. But did you know this — Chris Douglas-Roberts still has a photo of Pouncer as the screensaver on his iPhone.

Pouncer, UofM – 26.58%
Grizz, Memphis Grizzlies – 24.12%
TOM III, 22.54%

Favorite Spirit Squad Makes you wonder — what really goes into being the “favorite” spirit squad? Gotta be the personality.

Memphis Tigers Dance Team – 37.55%
Memphis Tigers Cheerleaders – 16.25%
Memphis Tigers Blue Crew – 11.73%

Favorite Fighter or Wrestler The King still gets in the ring, doles out gratuitous numbers of piledrivers and pulls the strap down when it comes time to defend the crown.

Jerry “The King” Lawler, WWE Commentator and Wrestler – 46.39%
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson – 31.19%
Dustin Starr, Local Wrestler – 10.53%

Favorite Golfer Good ol’ boy John has a lock on this one with Timberlake right on his heels. Who would have thought that Tiger Woods would take over John’s mantle as the bad boy of golf this year.

John Daly, PGA Tour – 27.7%
Justin Timberlake – Mirimichi owner – 25.54%
Loren Roberts, Champions Tour – 14.99%

Favorite Football Player DeAngelo’s going to take this one to the grave, it seems. With one of the more overwhelming victories of the awards, the grand slam winner is still the most recognizable and beloved football player in the city and probably the most famous and successful Tiger football player ever. Why his number isn’t retired remains a mystery.

DeAngelo Williams, Carolina Panthers – 52.55%
Chris Johnson, Tennessee Titans – 14.96%
Michael Oher, Baltimore Ravens – 11.86%

Favorite Basketball Player All-Star, charitable citizen, accused drug kingpin and a walking double-double all in one. How can you not like Z-Bo?

Zach Randolph, Memphis Grizzlies – 21.31%
OJ Mayo, Memphis Grizzlies – 19.85%
Joe Jackson, White Station High School – 18.58%

Most Hated Rival Though you’ve gotta give kudos to Kentucky from coming out of nowhere (thanks to you-know-who), there’s still nothing that sucks quite like a big orange.

Tennessee Volunteers – 41.81%
Kentucky Wildcats – 24.38%
Ole Miss Rebels – 16.9%

Favorite Athlete He’s on the radio. He’s on magazine covers. He’s still the face of the college football team even though he’s off scoring touchdowns in Charlotte, N.C.

DeAngelo Williams, Carolina Panthers – 35.99%
Zach Randolph, Memphis Grizzlies – 16.88%
Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls – 13.36%

Favorite Coach Is it a reach to say Pastner’s got this one on lock for, um, ever? At least until he leaves for Kentucky? Put a boyish look with top recruits as the face of Tiger basketball, and you might as well be the mayor of this town.

Josh Pastner, UofM Basketball – 63.77%
Jeff Fisher, Tennessee Titans – 12.08%
Tommy West, UofM Football – 4.8%

Favorite Team Leading candidate for the “Let’s Just Name the Category After Them” award — the Memphis Tigers basketball team. Who else would nearly sell out conference games against Tulane while players make it rain at the Plush Club across the street? No, but really. The Tigers have this city and the voters on lock. Just like it’s fun to hate Tennessee, it’s even better to love the Tigers.

UofM Basketball – 57.69%
Memphis Grizzlies – 11.71%
Tennessee Titans – 7.87%

Compiled by Memphisport, Comments by Brandon Harris, Photo by Chase Gustafson.