For those watching the World Cup the past couple weeks, many of the stadiums are quite familiar (sans sponsor names, of course). 11 of the 16 venues are in the United States, with all of the American venues currently home to NFL franchises: Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles x2, Miami, New England, New York x2, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Seattle.
Michigan
2025 four-star CB Alex Graham puts Michigan on top-seven list
Good news arrived on the recruiting front earlier this week when four-star Alex Graham, a defensive back in the 2025 class, released his top seven. Michigan was among the teams that made the cut along with Alabama, Georgia, Oregon, Penn State, Colorado, and Utah.
The 6-foot-1, 185-pounder plays at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. If the name rings a bell, it’s because Graham is a Michigan native and previously played high school football for Detroit Cass Tech.
Prior to transferring, Graham finished his sophomore season with 25 tackles, six pass breakups and five interceptions after missing seven games due to injury. He also helped lead Cass Tech to the Michigan Division I playoff semifinals. At IMG, Graham plays defensive back and wide receiver, and has also run a 10.9 100-meter dash in track.
It’s also noteworthy the hometown Wolverines were the first to offer Graham at the dawn of his recruitment. The Detroit Native spoke to EJ Holland of On3 after his most recent visit on Feb. 7 and offered rave reviews.
“The visit went well,” Graham said. “I was able to have a great conversation with (head) coach Sherrone Moore. He’s a really great guy. I feel as if the program is in great hands and is going to remain a top contender in college football with him leading it.”
Michigan is largely considered the favorite to land Graham. On3’s RPM model gives the Wolverines a 92.5% chance to land him, while 247Sports’ Allen Trieu has already logged a Crystal Ball prediction in favor of the Maize and Blue.
Graham would be a great addition at a position of need for Michigan in the 2025 class. A highly ranked — No. 159 overall on 257Sports’ composite — hometown kid would fit right in with what Sherrone Moore has going on in Ann Arbor.
Michigan
WNEM Morning Extra: Lane closures begin across mid-Michigan for bridge inspections, road work
SAGINAW, Mich. (WNEM) – Lane closures begin today across mid-Michigan for bridge inspections on M-13 and US-23 and ongoing road work on M-71 in Owosso and Smith Road in Argentine Township. Owosso Public Schools will ask voters Aug. 4 to approve a $38 million bond for building upgrades. Plus, volunteers will paint homes, repair roofs and plant trees along three Saginaw streets this week as part of the 13th annual One Week, One Street program.
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Michigan Democratic House members have introduced three bills that would create a commission to study reparations, establish a state office and track data for descendants of enslaved Americans.
The proposed legislation, identified as the Reparative Justice Package by the Michigan House Democrats and the Michigan Legislative Black Caucus, was presented to the chamber on Thursday. State Rep. Donavan McKinney, who is sponsoring all three bills, says they “take important steps toward understanding Black history and building a stronger future for Michigan.”
House Bill 6111 would create the American Freedmen reparations commission, a group of four state lawmakers and five governor-appointed experts that would “study and develop reparations proposals that provide reparations to American Freedmen,” according to the legislation’s text.
The commission would need to submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the Legislature within 18 months of its first meeting.
The second piece of legislation, House Bill 6112, would establish the office of Freedman affairs, which, according to the proposal, would “advocate, coordinate, research, and make policy recommendations on matters affecting American Freedmen” living in Michigan.
The governor would appoint a director who would serve as head of the office for five years.
Under House Bill 6113, state agencies collecting demographic information from an individual would be required to include the following subcategories for Black, African or Caribbean categories:
- A descendant of an individual who was enslaved in United States, American Freedmen.
- Not a descendant of an individual who was enslaved in United States, American Freedmen.
- Descendant status is unknown or individual chooses not to identify.
“Michigan has always been at its best when we are willing to confront challenges with honesty, listen to one another, and build institutions that serve the people,” Democratic state Rep. Helena Scott, who is also sponsoring all three bills, said in a written statement. “This package continues that tradition by creating transparent processes, encouraging public participation, and strengthening the relationship between government and the communities it serves.”
State Rep. John Roth is the only Republican sponsor of the bill to create the reparations commission.
CBS News Detroit has reached out to the Michigan Republican Party for comment on the bills, but has yet to hear back.
As a fun fact, Michigan has played games in a few of these stadiums, including the Peach Bowl loss to Florida in Atlanta, a couple season openers in Dallas, multiple Orange Bowls in Miami, and — of course — the 2024 College Football Playoff National Championship Game in Houston.
How about the reverse? The Big House is not amongst the 11 U.S. World Cup locations, but it has hosted four different soccer matches over the past 12 years. All of these were preseason friendlies, with most involving some of the biggest brands in the entire sport. In honor of the current soccer craze, we briefly revisit these four fixtures.
2014: Manchester United 3-1 Real Madrid
Unsurprisingly when these two clubs share a pitch, but the inaugural soccer match at Michigan Stadium set the record for attendance in U.S. soccer history with a crowd over 109,000. An Ashley Young brace helped the English side win the contest, with Gareth Bale the lone goal scorer for Madrid; Cristiano Ronaldo was recovering from an injury, but he did make a cameo.
Hosting the biggest Premier League brand and the reigning Champions League winners was exactly the splash Michigan wanted to make. This is probably the greatest of the four friendlies in terms of prestige, with world-class talent filling both XIs.
2016: Real Madrid 3-2 Chelsea
Madrid returned to Ann Arbor a couple years later, again coming off a Champions League title — and on its way to win its second of three straight. Marcelo was the one with the brace this time, with Eden Hazard scoring twice late for the Blues, who came up just short of the win.
Chelsea was reeling from a horrendous domestic campaign that saw the 2014-15 champions fall all the way down to 10th place the following season. It was an immediate bounce back, however, as the London side would reclaim the crown in 2016-17, perhaps inspired by the friendly defeat to Madrid??
2018: Liverpool 4-1 Manchester United
It was an all-English affair in 2018, with the Premier League runner-up, Manchester United, taking on the Champions League runner-up, Liverpool. These historic rivals were both heading into the season with strong expectations, but it was the Reds who ended up meeting the task, falling a point short of Manchester City domestically, but winning the Champions League.
In terms of the match on campus, it was all Liverpool as well. A pair of penalties was enough for Liverpool, as four different players got on the scoresheet such as Sadio Mane and Daniel Sturridge. It was also a third-straight crowd of over 100,000 in the Big House.
2019: Barcelona 4-0 Napoli
The fourth and final European contest at Michigan Stadium was the second leg of something called the 2019 La Liga-Serie A Cup. Barcelona was the reigning La Liga champion and cruised to a 4-0 victory thanks to goals from superstars Luis Suarez (x2), Antoine Griezmann, and Ousmane Dembele.
Napoli is certainly the “smallest” brand to play at the Big House, but are far from obscure. The Italian side has won Serie A twice since its contest in Ann Arbor, and ended up winning the Coppa Italia in the season following this friendly.
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