With the Detroit Lions’ 2026 draft now nearly a full week in the rear-view mirror, it’s time for the Pride of Detroit staff to take inventory of what transpired. We’ve had time to read the scouting reports, listen to what Lions general manager Brad Holmes had to say about each pick, and do our own dive into the college film.
Detroit, MI
Detroit getting pro women’s hockey team? What we know about the rumors
What is the PWHL playoff format?
USAT’s Sam Cardona-Norberg breaks down all the rules you need to know for the start of the 2026 PWHL Playoffs.
Sports Seriously
Is a professional women’s hockey team coming to Detroit?
The answer is not fully clear yet, but the buzz for Hockeytown to get a Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) team very soon is real.
Denise Ilitch, who’s family owns the Detroit Red Wings, the Tigers and Little Caesars Arena (her brother Christopher Ilitch runs the day-to-day operations), predicted the PWHL was coming to Detroit earlier this year.
“I believe we’ll be getting a team in Detroit soon, which really excites me,” Ilitch said on her “Denise Ilitch Show” podcast on March 31.
Ilitch also serves on the Board of Regents at the University of Michigan and has been a strong advocate for a U-M women’s hockey team in recent years.
Media reports from the New York Times and The Hockey News also indicate that Detroit may be next in line for an expansion team, after the league added two teams last month in Seattle and Vancouver. The league is looking to 2-4 teams by 2026-27.
The PWHL has made tour stops to Detroit four times in the last three years and some of the best women’s hockey players in the nation are from Michigan, including Megan Keller, who was the hero for Team USA women’s hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
During the 2023-24 season, 13,736 hockey fans set an attendance record at the time for a professional women’s hockey game in the United States.
The PWHL, which celebrated its first season in 2023-24, has gained extra interest since the 2026 Winter Olympics.
If Detroit got a PWHL team, some fans hope that could push the University of Michigan and Michigan State University to eventually add Division I women’s hockey programs.
The league’s last appearance in Detroit on March 28, 2026, featured a 3-1 Montreal Victoire win over the New York Sirens in front of 15,938 fans at Little Caesars Arena.
The Free Press reached out to officials with the city of Detroit, but they did not immediately provide comment.
Free Press reporter Helene St. James contributed reporting.
Jalen Williams is a trending reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at jawilliams1@freepress.com.
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Where to watch Detroit Pistons vs. Orlando Magic Game 6 NBA playoffs: Live stream, start time, TV channel, odds for Friday, May 1
The Orlando Magic will try to close out the Detroit Pistons in Game 6 of their first-round series. The Magic lead the series 3-2 but lost Game 5. Detroit is favored by 3.5 points. The total is set at 209.5 for this Eastern Conference matchup.
How to watch Detroit Pistons vs. Orlando Magic
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Time: 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT
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Where: Kia Center, Orlando, Florida
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Odds
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Spread: Orlando Magic +3.5
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Moneyline: Orlando Magic +137 (40.5%) / Detroit Pistons -163 (59.5%)
Series results, schedule (all times Eastern)
Game 1: Magic 112, Pistons 101
Game 2: Pistons 98, Magic 83
Game 3: Magic 113, Pistons 105
Game 4: Magic 94, Pistons 88
Game 5: Pistons 116, Magic 109
Game 6: Fri., May 1, at Orlando (7 p.m., Amazon)
*Game 7: Sun., May 3, at Detroit (time and network TBD)
*if necessary
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Detroit Lions NFL Draft roundtable: Favorite pick
So over the next week, our staff will be sharing their thoughts on the Lions’ draft class in a roundtable-like discussion. To kick the series off, we’re going to talk about our favorite pick from the Lions’ NFL Draft.
And as a fun exercise, I’m going to include a link to last year’s answers to see how wrong/right we were.
2025: Best Detroit Lions draft pick discussion
What was your favorite pick from the Lions’ 2026 NFL Draft?
Ryan Mathews: Blake Miller
Miller was easily my favorite pick of the draft. Holmes didn’t have to sacrifice any future capital to bolster an offensive line that desperately needed to be improved after last season’s noticeable step back. Instead, he let the board come to him on Day 1, and when it did, Holmes drafted a player who fits in terms of both football character and play style.
Brandon Knapp: Blake Miller
Despite the rumors of the Lions liking Kadyn Proctor, he thankfully was off the board. For me, Miller was my 1B to Francis Mauigoa as my top twoo options in the first round. The OT spot was the most important position that needed to be addressed and the team taking one at 17 was music to my ears. I wanted the experience and consistency Miller brought.
John Whiticar: Blake Miller
There was some thought (fear?) that the Lions might get cute and pass on tackle in the first round. Instead, not only did the Lions get a perfect culture and scheme fit, they also did so without trading up from pick 17. Miller will technically battle Larry Borom for the right tackle spot, but it would be a major surprise if he doesn’t win it outright. For a team that just parted ways with Taylor Decker, adding Miller to the roster is just about a perfect way to replace—and potentially improve upon—the veteran. It was an easy and obvious choice, and the Lions went for it.
Erik Schlitt: Blake Miller
I haven’t been shy about my desire to see Miller in Honolulu Blue, as I believe he was a perfect combination of skill set, character, and need for the Lions at pick No. 17 in the first round. I firmly believe that the Lions have found the ideal replacement for Taylor Decker; a starting tackle who can deliver reliable production for the next 10 years.
Jeremy Reisman: Miller/Keith Abney
I discussed this earlier in Sunday’s Question of the Day. But in short: Miller was the most logical pick, and I’m glad the Lions stayed relatively patient and took him without spending extra draft capital—even if they tried. But more impressively, they may have gotten their future starting nickel in Abney all the way in the fifth round. For a team with minimal draft capital, landing a potential starter that late in a “thin” draft class should be considered a huge triumph. If the Lions are going to stay competitive long-term, it’s not just imperative they hit on the early picks, but they’ll need to find late-round steals and that’s exactly what Abney is.
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‘He went on an adventure’: Detroit bus driver, police praised for reuniting missing 9-year-old with family
DETROIT – April 10 was an adventurous day for 9-year-old Kyari Harris.
Harris, who goes by the nickname “King”, started his day at Nichols Elementary School on Detroit’s east side, and it ended at a McDonald’s in Lincoln Park.
It was the quick thinking of a DDOT bus driver and a group of Detroit police officers, who were honored on Thursday (April 30) morning by Mayor Mary Sheffield, that made sure he got back home.
“King got in trouble at school, and he knew he would be in trouble when he got home, so he just decided not to come home,” Mary Wynn, Harris’ mother, said on Thursday. “He went to what he would call his adventure.”
That “adventure” started that afternoon when he got off his normal school bus, cut through an alley, then hopped on a second DDOT bus that took him to the Rosa Parks Transportation Center in downtown Detroit.
“He’s never done this before,” Wynn said. “This is my only child. It was like a heart attack.”
“It was something kind of off on this, you know, I was just saying, like, why this kid is getting on my bus and by himself,” asked Thomas Burgan.
Burgan, who has driven for DDOT for six years, was driving the bus when he saw Harris board.
Surveillance footage from inside the bus shows Harris sitting in the back as the bus rolls along.
It starts to empty out as it heads to its last stop, where he spots Harris in the back, confused and holding a clear backpack.
That’s when word went over the radio to be on the lookout for a missing child.
“I said, ‘Man, that’s the kid,’” Burgan said. “He’s sitting in the back. I’m glad that he stayed on the bus until the end.”
Burgan can be seen asking Harris where he’s going. He quickly exits the bus and starts walking toward the nearby McDonald’s.
The bus cameras, along with Burgan’s cell phone, captured him walking away.
“When I took that last picture, I got back on the bus, and I called it in,” Burgan said. “I said, ‘Hey, this is the kid.’”
Harris eventually stopped at McDonald’s, where he was quickly arrested by police and returned to his mother.
While she was not happy about his little adventure, she was thankful to have him back.
“Thank God he was hungry, because if he wasn’t, there’s no telling how far, how much further he would have gone,” Wynn said. “I’m grateful for [Burgan]. I’m grateful that there were cameras on the bus.
“I never paid attention to the fact that there’s cameras on the bus,” Wynn added. “I thank the bus driver for going over and beyond.”
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