A cage is not a place of comfort. It is a place that confines and holds and traps living things. Its steel is unforgiving; the metal shaped to imprison. In professional and amateur fighting such as mixed martial arts or kickboxing, cages are used symbolically. Two men enter as equals, but one leaves a winner and one leaves defeated. Though cages made for fighting do not hold anyone against their will, they can be just as uncomfortable and unforgiving to the people fighting inside.

We’ve all been there: that moment when we realize we’ve taken our local government for granted and quite frankly have no clue who to call. No matter how vigorously our local leaders keep watch over our city, there will always be the occasional pothole, confusing terms, and roadkill in your driveway to put a damper on your day. But dealing with those issues and a dozen other shouldn’t be a hassle. That’s why we’ve created this “Who’s Who?” guide to twelve of our city’s most important departments.

Raised in Leland, Mississippi, by her enlightened and encouraging grandmother, Rochell Staten knew from a young age that she could do and become anything she wanted. “My grandmother wanted nothing but the best for me, and she made sure that education was a priority,” Rochell says. “Her believing in me […] made me believe in myself even more.” As a senior in high school, earning good grades and with only one year of track and field under her belt, Rochell landed a full four-year athletic scholarship to Mississippi Valley State University.

Blares of music echo throughout the Harris Sports Performance building as members enter through the silver steel door. Familiar with the daily bootcamp routine, they huddle around owner Nicholas Harris, prepared to stretch before the intense workout. Harris’ tenacious voice magnifies as he briefs his clients on the selected workout, pumping up the team. “Whatever your 100% looks like, give it!” he says. “Like always, we are here to work hard and give our best, so let’s get it!”

Courtney Vandiver walked toward the tall, off-white credenza in the corner of the studio, above which hung two loose coloring sheets with pink crayon streaks bleeding from the bold, black outlines of butterfly wings. About eight feet of blue masking tape formed an “L” shape around the credenza. Before the class began and the girls were still giggling and adjusting their leotards, Courtney told me she had placed the tape there one stressful day, warning her students not to cross the line.

As the weather gradually warms up this month, we’re all eager to get out of the house and find unique ways to spend our weekends. This March is full of exciting events, new and old, and many of which are as fun for kids and they are for adults. Check them out!

What comes to mind when you think of a gym? Is it bulging biceps, wrenching pain, or maybe an excuse to consume more calories? Going to the gym may give you a dream physique, sore muscles, or justification eating sweets, but Brick House Strength offers more than just a physical workout. “We are a grass roots women's fitness movement,” owners Melissa Stanfill and Natalia Santiago affirms. “Our mission is to help all women build stronger foundations, brick by brick.”

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, y’all! Jackson has so much family fun for you this holiday season, so check out these five favorite events happening this December.

My dad had a Jeep when I was very young. Riding in it was one of my earliest memories. I don’t remember the model or the color (it could have been brown) or if there was a lift on it. I only remember that it didn’t have a top and that the wind would blow in my face as he drove. The sky was over my head, the clouds directly above me. I knew that I liked the feeling of having nothing blocking my senses. Light poured in. The breeze slapped us silly. We could see everything above and around us.

It is one of the most tense places in the world. A tightly packed geographic meeting of three major religions and a nervous geopolitical flashpoint, the area sits within the inner circle of major foreign policy decisions for most countries. Needless to say, the Old City of Jerusalem does not regularly serve as an exhibition stage for fringe outdoor sports. On May 2, 2016, however, visitors to the Tower of David on the western edge of the Old City saw something unique.

There is something so freeing about riding a bicycle, whether with adrenaline pumping for a race or a nice, relaxing ride down country roads. With the weather warming up, many of you may consider adding cycling to your exercise routine, and Jackson has a gem of a local business to help you get started. Hub City Bicycle Co. opened in March 2011 when owner Adrian Parchman saw a need in Jackson for a shop offering high-end bikes and repair services.

With Mother's Day, Cinco de Mayo, and Memorial Day all on the horizon, we've got plenty of ways to celebrate in this perfect spring weather. From farms to food trucks, hot air balloons to how-to's, we've got your May weekends covered.

A 1994 Jackson Central-Merry graduate and basketball standout, Dion Thornton attended Union University on scholarship. She helped the Bulldogs reach the NAIA finals in 1996 and 1997 and was named to the TransSouth All-Conference team twice. She transferred to Kennesaw State in Georgia and was named the top woman’s basketball player in Georgia. After college, she played semi-professional women’s basketball and had two offers to play overseas in professional leagues.

The air hovers thick. It’s almost too heavy with moisture to breathe in. The field is still green with summer’s gift of abundant rain and sunshine, but the leaves on the nearby trees are starting to shrink up, dry out, turn brown. Fall is coming soon, bringing with it the growing anticipation of a new cross country season.The year is 2009, and I’m in high school at Trinity Christian Academy. It’s another oppressively hot August, but most people don’t notice too much since they’re properly air conditioned.

I am convinced that every young person dreams of leaving their hometown, going to a larger city, and making it “big.” That was definitely a dream of mine. Born in Memphis, I moved to Jackson with my family at the age of four. Jackson is my mother’s hometown. This is when my understanding of what made living in Jackson special began.My siblings and I were in a childcare program, and Jackson Parks and Recreation’s summer program is where I met many friends.

As I walked into the bustling and brightly colored waiting room of Pat Brown’s dance studio, I was immediately hit by a rush of memories from my days in leotards and tights. I heard the combinations being called out with extreme zeal in the studio, an extremely familiar sound for the sixty dancers who make up the Ballet Arts of Jackson troupe. The older group of dancers were hard at work rehearsing a routine to Thriller for a Halloween event while younger girls peeked in from the hallway.

The year was 1968. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, Jackson City Hall had separate drinking fountains for "colored" people and "white" people, and Union University and Lane College were still neighbors downtown.It was a crisp fall night in the middle of basketball season. Camille Long was one of only four African-Americans in the bleachers of the Union University gym, including the fellow Lane College student she'd dragged with her.

It’s the Wednesday after Labor Day, and Jerry Mercer, senior director of Mercer Brothers Funeral Home, assures me his desk doesn’t always look like this. “But getting ready for the appreciation [day]…” he says, shuffling through the stacks of papers and documents in manila file folders and opened envelopes on his desk. The fax machine emits a whiny cry that reminds me of time spent in the 1990s waiting on dial up Internet, and the office phone rings continuously.

2017 is not even a week old yet. The taste of black eyed peas and turnip greens may still linger in your mouth. The ink on that list of “resolutions” is barely dry. Thoughts of a future dance in your head as you sneak that last bit of Christmas candy from the aluminum foil-wrapped plate from your in-laws’ house. Maybe you’re not a candy person but a leftovers kind of guy. I mean, who wants to waste food, right?

I was never a baller. I wanted to be one, though. The grace and fluidity with which truly great basketball players move is unparalleled in any other sport. I was jealous. I’m tall and used to be pretty thin, but I never had the grace the true athletic players seemed to have. Gravity appeared to have a stronger hold on me than it did my teammates and my opponents. Sure, I was able to dunk a ball for a period of time in my 20’s and early 30’s, but it was off one foot and more of a “rim grazer” than a true “flush.”

On Sunday afternoons during the months of September through January, odds are, someone you know is watching football. In fact, in the fall of 2015, twenty-six of the twenty-seven most-watched shows on television were football games. The one exception was the Republican primary, which was the thirteenth most-watched show over that time span. Football is, unquestionably, the king of all sports in America right now. One could argue that it is the most popular form of viewing entertainment, period.

In the middle of what to some could be considered poetic chaos, there is a disarray of hotel bookings, bus scheduling, vendor organization, food and beverage orders, and official players rosters yet to be released. All those are made by one man. I sat down with Jason Compton, General Manager of the Jackson Generals, who is now in his seventeenth season with the team. The Major League Baseball season has already begun, but the Generals begin on April 7.

I still remember my last day of high school. I remember leaving the parking lot and listening to the Dave Matthews song “Number 41,” and I still remember the lyrics that were blaring from the speakers of my Nissan Maxima. “I will go in this way, and I’ll find my own way out. . . .” They seemed poignant at the time, though I’m not sure in what way exactly. As a matter of fact, I’m not really sure that I even liked Dave Matthews. I think I wanted to like Dave Matthews because all my friends liked Dave Matthews.

People hate to exercise because they don’t have fun doing it. The idea of exercise being fun may sound so morbid to you that you laughed as soon as you saw "exercise" and "fun" in the same sentence. Let’s face it: if you live a sedentary lifestyle (e.g. you have been compared to the likes of a potato, Netflix asks you more questions than real people do, or your family has put you on a soda budget), you could be at risk for a chronic disease that’s easily preventable.

Caleb Hall, a student and basketball player for the JCM Cougars, won the Lane College Slam Dunk Contest at the Oman Arena Tuesday during a break between the sixteen different high schools battling in out in Area Relief Ministries’ third annual HUB Classic Basketball Tournament. JCM joined teams from North Side, Liberty, Trinity, and Madison from Jackson.

Much to the chagrin of all Grizzlies fans, the first West Coast trip of the season has arrived, and of course the Grizzlies will be playing the Warriors the first game of the trip. Other than having to stay up late to watch the whole game, the game itself should set the precedent for how well the road trip’s going to go. Steph Curry is as hot behind the three-point line as he has ever been.

Summer league is a solid indicator of which free agents, development league players, or rookies have the best chance of getting a bench spot during preseason or even regular season. This summer’s MVP for the Grizzlies was easily point guard Russ Smith, but Jordan Adams also performed extremely well. The Grizzlies won the 2015 Orlando Pro Summer League Championship against the Orlando Magic on an off­balance shot by Russ Smith during the second overtime of the final game.

Somewhere in my house there is a large photo album. Real, physical pictures fit into narrow plastic sleeves, telling my family’s story. If you look at one of the earlier pictures, you can see a small boy at a football game, wearing a much-too-big t-shirt and an oversized ball cap. It's Friday night, the lights are out. The boy stands at the rail, midfield, taking in the scope of the scene. His father stands beside him.

When most people in the south, let alone Tennessee, hear the word “football,” suddenly there’s raving excitement and chants of “Roll Tide,” “VFL,” or anything SEC- or college football-related. Yet for others the term “football” will more than likely resonate with a different pastime from across the pond. Futbol, or soccer as we predominately call it in the States, has been a rising entity throughout the years and has rapidly been reaching its peak in popularity.