Detroit, MI

Bills Mafia invades Detroit ahead of potential Super Bowl preview

Published

1 year ago

December 15, 2024

Bills Mafia invades Detroit ahead of potential Super Bowl preview

Hundreds of football fans in downtown Detroit were wearing blue, and it wasn’t just the Lions’ Honolulu Blue. It was a royal blue. Buffalo Bills Blue.

They are the Bills Mafia, a cheeky, self-given name for Buffalo Bills fans. The Mafia came in droves to Detroit Sunday, anxiously awaiting a matchup between the Lions and Bills, two likely SuperBowl contenders. In parking lots all around Ford Field, hordes of Bills fans were bearing the cold, wet weather and enjoying the camaraderie of fandom, anticipating the showdown of high-speed offenses at Ford Field.

The Bills Mafia has become infamous for their pregame antics, which often go viral on social media. Among their many hijinks, the Bills Mafia is perhaps most known for jumping from high places onto foldable white tables — the Bills Mafia table slam.

And at the corner of Gratiot Avenue and Brush Street, the Bills mafia congregated to do just that. At a large tailgate hosted by Fans of Buffalo — a group that advertises itself as the “premier Buffalo sports travel group” — white, plastic tables were getting crushed all day.

From a distance, it might have looked like an act of violence when Alex Cauley, a big, burly Buffalo fan in Bills-themed Zumbas overalls, threw Ryan Petras, a Lions fan, through a table from atop a concrete block. But they’re friends, they said, and were partying downtown and having a good time regardless of who might win.

Petras, 31, is from Troy. Cauley, also 31, is from Kansas City. The two met years ago while working together and linked up to tailgate before they game. They both plan to be groomsmen at each other’s weddings.

“He’s a good guy, even though he’s a Bills fan,” Petras said before getting thrown through the table.

Ceremoniously, Buffalo fans gathered around the table while Cauley led them in a chant before launching Petras (and himself) through the table, crashing to the ground and laughing — wincing with a little bit of pain, too.

“I’ll feel that tomorrow,” Petras said.

This season, the Bills mafia has brought a considerable presence to all of their away games. The goal is to make every game for the Bills feel like a home game, even if they are hundreds of miles away.

Kym Eiss, a Bills fan born in Buffalo, now living in Toledo, was out early for the tailgate in all of her Bills gear. Her reason for coming out?

“It’s the Mafia. What do you mean?” Eiss said. “I bleed red, white and blue, my whole family is from Buffalo.”

Eiss said she has some respect for the Lions, saying that she expects this game to be a preview of this year’s Super Bowl. But, of course, her faith was behind Josh Allen and Buffalo’s high-powered offense.

“The Bills, Josh (Allen), they look good. There’s no other way to put it,” Eiss said.

On the same strip of tailgaters on Mechanic Street, DJ Myers, a 29-year-old Lions fan from Troy, said there were simply “too many” Bills fans in Detroit, but he wasn’t intimidated by their presence.

“(Lions) fans this year have been as good as ever and you’ve seen the blue wave from the Lions in Arizona and Green Bay,” Myers said. “Our noise is so important to the product we put out on the field.”

Myers has been to every Lions home game this season, and he traveled to Arizona in week three to see the Lions beat the Cardinals. Lions fans are just as dedicated as the Bills Mafia, Myers said.

“That’s why this is the most expensive ticket in the NFL this year,” Myers said. “It’s not by accident,”

Liam Rappleye covers breaking and trending news. He can be reached at LRappleye@freepress.com

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Detroit, MI

Handgun, credit cards stolen from truck on Detroit’s west side, police say

Published

4 hours ago

March 7, 2026

Press Room

Handgun, credit cards stolen from truck on Detroit’s west side, police say

Nick Lentz

March 7, 2026 / 5:53 PM EST
/ CBS Detroit

Police in Detroit are asking for the public’s help after they say an individual stole a handgun and credit cards from a truck on the city’s west side last month.

According to investigators, the suspect, identified as a male of undisclosed age, broke into a GMC Sierra between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. on the 1400 block of Holden Street on Feb. 15. He stole the gun and a black bag, which contained medications, eyeglasses and the credit cards, officials said.

Police in Detroit are looking for a male suspected of breaking into a truck on Holden Street and stealing items from it on Feb. 15, 2026.

Detroit Police Department

Police said the male then left the scene in a white Chevrolet Tahoe.

Anyone who recognizes the male, the Chevrolet or has any information about the incident is asked to call the agency’s 3rd Precinct at 313-596-1340 or Crime Stoppers of Michigan at 1-800-773-2587, or submit a tip here.

This is a developing story.

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Detroit, MI

Detroit Mercy basketball two wins away from NCAA tournament bid

Published

16 hours ago

March 7, 2026

Press Room

Detroit Mercy basketball two wins away from NCAA tournament bid

UDM is two wins away from its first NCAA tournament berth since 2012.

Calling what Detroit Mercy basketball has done this season a resurgence may be an undersell.

UDM (16-14, 12-8 Horizon), the No. 3-seed in the Horizon League Tournament, is playing No. 2 Robert Morris (22-10, 13-7) in the conference semifinals at Corteva Coliseum in Indianapolis on Monday, March 9. The game is scheduled to tip off at 9:30 p.m. ET and will be televised on ESPN2.

For a team that went 8-24 in the 2024-25 season, and a program-worst 1-31 in 2023-24, that the Titans are just two wins away from an NCAA Tournament appearance represents nothing short of a rebirth. That possibility looked distant even on Jan. 24, when a 95-87 loss to rival Oakland brought the Titans to 8-12 overall.

Watch Horizon League tournament on Fubo

But UDM responded by winning seven of its last nine regular-season games, including a 95-89 win against Oakland at the O’Rena to secure the team’s first 16-win season since 2016.

“We all found out who we were as players and as people. So now we know what positions to put the right people in at the right time,” said Titans senior point guard Orlando Lovejoy of the team’s late-season surge. “Once we figured that out, it was game on.”

The Detroit native Lovejoy has put up exceptional numbers in his senior season with the Titans, putting up a career-high 33 points in a 74-70 win over Green Bay on Feb. 22 and 29 points on 13-for-16 shooting against Oakland in the regular-season finale.

“He scores in phases. He can score on the fast break, he can post up, he can get to his spots,” said UDM coach Mark Montgomery. “He also brings the, ‘Gimme the ball in the biggest moments, and I’ll take over.’”

Lovejoy might have to take over more than usual against a tough Robert Morris team. The Colonials are the defending Horizon League champions and have beaten the Titans twice this year, with an 85-77 win in Detroit on March 2 and a 73-62 win at home on Feb. 25.

“We turned the ball over in key moments in those games, and then we have to keep them off the offensive glass,” said Montgomery of the Colonials. “We’re gonna get down to Indy, we’re going to enjoy a day, and then we’re going to lock in and know it’s one-and-done time.”

As for Lovejoy, who only gets four tickets to give to friends and family for the upcoming game, he expects to have a big travelling crowd to support him and the local team.

“I don’t know who I’m not bringing to Indianapolis,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of people coming to support as they did ever since I started playing basketball.”

Detroit Mercy basketball time vs Robert Morris in Horizon League semifinal

Date: Monday, March 9.
Time: 9:30 p.m. ET.
Location: Corteva Coliseum, Indianapolis.

UDM is looking for its fourth conference tournament win and first since 2012.

Detroit Mercy basketball channel vs Robert Morris in Horizon League semifinal

Tipoff: 9:30 p.m. ET.
Channel: ESPN2.
Streaming: Fubo.

Monday’s Horizon League semifinal game featuring UDM and Robert Morris will be televised on ESPN2 and can be streamed on Fubo, which carries ESPN channels.

Watch Detroit Mercy-Robert Morris on Fubo

Horizon League tournament results

Play-in: No. 11 Cleveland State 101, No. 10 IU Indianapolis 93.
First round: No. 5 Green Bay 64, No. 6 Purdue.
First round: No. 1 Wright State 90, No. 10 Cleveland State 61.
First round: No. 2 Robert Morris 68, Youngstown State 53.
First round: No. 3 UDM 84, No. 8 Milwaukee 63.
First round: No. 7 Northern Kentucky 85, No. 4 Oakland 84.
Sunday, March 8, Second round: No. 5 Green Bay vs No. 7 Northern Kentucky, 3:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+).
Monday, March 9, Semifinal: No. 1 Wright State vs TBD, 7 p.m. ET (ESPNU).
Monday, March 9, Semifinal: No. 2 Robert Morris vs No. 3 UDM, 9:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2).
Tuesday, March 10, Final: TBD vs TBD, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN).

Detroit Mercy NCAA tournament history

UDM hasn’t made the NCAA tournament since the 2011-12 season and has only made the tournament six times in program history..

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You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.

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Detroit, MI

Multiple tornadoes reported in Southwest Michigan amid severe weather

Published

1 day ago

March 6, 2026

Press Room

Multiple tornadoes reported in Southwest Michigan amid severe weather

Updated on: March 6, 2026 / 7:42 PM EST
/ CBS Detroit

At least two tornadoes were reported in Southwest Michigan on Friday amid severe weather, according to CBS Detroit’s Chief Meteorologist Ahmad Bajjey.

Two of the tornadoes were reported in Union City and Three Rivers, while a possible third tornado may have been in St. Joseph County. Bajjey says the tornadoes caused significant damage. According to Consumers Energy, more than 3,200 customers are without power as of 7:40 p.m. on Friday.

Official reports of fatalities or injuries are unknown, but CBS-affiliate WWMT in Kalamazoo reports that the Branch County medical examiner is on scene in Union City.

The Michigan State Police Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division says Gov. Gretchen Whitmer activated the State Emergency Operations Center in response to the storms in Branch, Cass and St. Joseph counties. The department says the center will be supporting local requests for assistance.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

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