Detroit, MI
Detroit Lakes suffers crushing loss to Willmar shutting door on 2024 campaign
DETROIT LAKES
— The final chapter of the Detroit Lakes softball team’s 2024 season closed in their elimination bracket loss to No. 7 Willmar at Snappy Park.
The Thursday contest ended with the Cardinals (2-20) trouncing the Lakers 17-4 in five innings and living to see another day. Willmar put up 11 runs in the opening frame and Detroit Lakes was forced to play from behind right from the jump.
“A couple of errors in the first inning really killed us,” head coach Emma Mejia said. “We gave up too many runs. Pitching, we did as well as we could today but just gave up a few too many hits today.”
Madi Norsten launched a grand slam in the top of the first after the first five Willmar batters reached base. The Lakers managed to get their first out seven batters but the Cardinals were ahead 7-0. After the second out of the opening frame, Hannah Magnuson hit a two-out, three-run bomb and Willmar led 9-0.
Nick Leonardelli / Detroit Lakes Tribune
Detroit Lakes’ Sidney Borgmann was called off the mound after nine runs, two walks and seven hits in two-thirds innings pitched. Amelia May came in for relief and got the final out but the Lakers trailed 11-0 after a half-inning of play.
The Cardinals tacked on one run in the second and five more runs in the top of the third. Willmar ended the afternoon with 17 hits and 16 RBIs.
“You got to give some credit to Willmar,” Borgmann said. “I mean, they really hit the crap out of the ball. I think we really needed to cut down on errors but we just couldn’t pull it out today for some reason.”
Detroit Lakes made a comeback attempt with two runs in the second and third innings but it was too little too late. The Lakers managed to secure five hits but had zero RBIs. Detroit Lakes sent three pitchers to the mound with hopes of slowing down the Cardinals.
Nick Leonardelli / Detroit Lakes Tribune
Shea Thomas pitched the final two and one third innings allowing one hit, one walk and punching out four.
The Lakers were bested 17-2 against No. 3 Hutchinson in the opening round of the Section 8AA tournament. The last couple of days for the Lakers have been tough but that doesn’t take away from the growth the team saw since the first pitch.
“To be honest, it was disappointing because neither one of them should have been as bad as they were,” senior Ella Okeson said about the last two games. “But from our first game against Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton to here, there was lots of improvements, so you can’t be mad about that.”
After the game following the Lakers’ final gathering, Mejia and the other coaches gathered to talk with their three seniors – Isabelle Hansen, Borgmann, and Okeson.
Nick Leonardelli / Detroit Lakes Tribune
“We’re going to miss them, of course, but we’re going to miss their positive leadership and the way they embodied our culture,” Mejia said. “Coming in as juniors with new coaches and having different coaches every year, they really truly embodied and bought into our family dynamic and the team that we’re trying to build. They embodied everything we needed, and we appreciate that on a daily.”
The Lakers added two more wins from last season and finished with a 5-16 overall record. Mejia concluded her second season as head coach and the ex-Laker softball player is excited about the direction the team is headed.

Nick Leonardelli / Detroit Lakes Tribune
“Our main goal coming in this year was bring fun back into it, get better every practice, every game,” Mejia said. “We’re going to continue to do that every time. So that’s all I can ask for.”
And Borgmann sees that the program is in good hands with Mejia.
“I think it starts young, and I think we’ve definitely started to build up from there,” Borgmann said. “I think we have a lot of young talent, and I believe that they can go far, far places. They just need a little bit more time to develop.”
WILLMAR 17 DETROIT LAKES 4
WIL – 11 1 5 0 0 X X – 17
DTL – 0 2 2 0 0 X X – 4
DETROIT LAKES BATTING – Okeson: 1-3, R; Johnson: 1-2, R; Borgmann: 1-2; Chilton: 1-2, R, BB; Peterson: 0-1; Thomas: 0-1; Hansen: 1-2; May: 0-2; Larson: 0-2; Lyman 0-2
WP: Etterman (WIL); LP: May (DTL)
Nick Leonardelli / Detroit Lakes Tribune
Nick Leonardelli / Detroit Lakes Tribune
Nick Leonardelli / Detroit Lakes Tribune
Detroit, MI
Detroit Lions Sign QB Teddy Bridgewater To Backup Jared Goff in 2026
The free agency tampering period has begun for the NFL, and the Detroit Lions are among the active teams acquiring players as they try to get back to the playoffs after they did not meet their own standard for last season.
On Monday, it was revealed that 2025 Lions backup quarterback Kyle Allen was heading to Buffalo, leaving another hole in the roster to fill. Nearly 24 hours later, that hole has been filled, as veteran quarterbackTeddy Bridgewater is heading back to Motown.
Bridgewater spent the 2023 season with Detroit, in what initially was going to be his final season in the league.
However, after coaching Miami Northwestern Senior High School to a state championship in Florida during the 2024 season, he announced he was planning to unretire, and Detroit picked him up for their push towards the top seed in the NFC.
Bridgewater then resigned as head coach at Miami Northwestern and signed with Tampa Bay to backup Baker Mayfield last season.
He appeared in four games last season, throwing 15 passes for the Buccaneers, which were his first NFL pass attempts since 2022.
Bridgewater is a safe option at backup quarterback in Detroit, as the former Rookie of the Year has had a steady career since entering the league with Minnesota out of Louisville in 2014.
Bridgewater returns to back up Jared Goff under new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, as this is a situation where Detroit stuck with a player they knew. For Petzing, this is not the first time coaching Teddy Bridgewater, as he was an offensive assistant with Minnesota when they drafted Bridgewater in 2014.
A leg injury derailed his career after a Pro Bowl season in 2015, but he has started 37 games since the injury as a journeyman. Bridgewater left Minnesota and Drew Petzing and would overlap with Dan Campbell when the quarterback played for New Orleans in 2018 and 2019. In addition to Minnesota, New Orleans, Tampa Bay, and Detroit, Bridgewater has also played for Carolina, Denver, and Miami.
Detroit stuck with a safe and familiar option in Bridgewater, as a majority of their offense, alongside most of their offensive staff, have worked with the quarterback before. If Bridgewater is turned to in any situation, there will be full confidence in the Louisville product to make the right play.
NFL Draft Implications
This puts Detroit in a unique position when looking ahead towards the NFL Draft, as a popular mock draft pick for Detroit was taking a quarterback, with Cole Payton, Luke Altmyer, and Taylen Green all being among the names mentioned.
Bridgewater is an excellent mentor alongside Goff, but having three quarterbacks on the Lions roster after injury-riddled campaigns in the last two seasons may not be the wisest allocation of a roster spot.
For the time being, Detroit has their backup quarterback for the season, and there is not a better option than Bridgewater when it comes to familiarity and adaptability. While the former Pro Bowl quarterback has yet to throw a pass in Detroit, he has the familiairity and trust of the coaching staff to be a backup entering a pivotal year.
Detroit, MI
Detroit ‘Sloppy Chops’ restaurateur\u00a0killed: What to know
How to anonymously submit a tip to Crime Stoppers of Michigan
Here are the three ways to submit a tip to Crime Stoppers of Michigan safely and anonymously: by phone, online, and through the P3 Tips mobile app.
Mourning continued and no suspects were in custody a week after the fatal shooting of Detroit restaurateur and nightlife figure Mikey “Mike B” Brown at the end of February.
Brown was the beloved figure behind the “Sloppy” brand of restaurants, and remembrances have been rolling in online since his death.
Here’s what to know:
Shooting outside cocktail bar
“Mike B” Brown, 51, and two others were shot about 4:30 a.m. Feb. 28 in the area of 15789 Schaefer, police previously said.
The two others were found in front of the location, and Brown was found across the street, police said.
Police have asked those with information on the shooting to come forward.
There were no suspects in custody and no further updates in the case as of Monday, March 9, according to a statement from the Detroit Police Department.
Updates on the conditions of the two other individuals shot were also not provided.
Who was Mikey ‘Mike B’ Brown?
Brown was a husband, a father of five and a restaurateur.
He opened Sloppy Chops Restaurant, a steakhouse, in 2020 on West McNichols off the Lodge Freeway and later opened a seafood restaurant called Sloppy Crab, which was renamed the Crab Sports Bar, on East Jefferson Avenue near the Renaissance Center. Brown previously had two clubs, as well.
His downtown dining spot served as an answer to questions on offerings for Black diners in the city’s renaissance. His other “Sloppy” location showcased successful reach beyond downtown and into the city’s neighborhoods. Brown was also a cultural figure in not only the world of dining, but in the nightlife, the Free Press reported.
When are funeral services for Mikey ‘Mike B’ Brown?
A family hour was set for 9 a.m. March 13 and a funeral was set for 10 a.m. March 13, both at Triumph Church –North Campus at 15600 J.L. Hudson Drive in Southfield.
What’s been the fallout since Mike ‘Mike B’ Brown’s death?
Outside of the community hurt, there’s also been calls for a crackdown on establishments that stay open into early morning hours in residential areas, ClickOnDetroit reports.
How to report tips on Mikey ‘Mike B’ Brown’s shooting
Those with information tied to the triple shooting can contact the Detroit Police Department’s homicide unit at 313-596-2260 or submit anonymous tips through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-Speak-Up or DetroitRewards.tv.
Detroit, MI
Detroit Lions need backup QB as Kyle Allen to sign with Bills
Former Detroit Lions QB Hendon Hooker reflects on his time in Detroit
Former Lions QB Hendon Hooker joins to discuss his time in Detroit and Amon-Ra St. Brown’s skill on the basketball court.
The Detroit Lions will need to find a new backup quarterback. Kyle Allen, the 30-year-old ninth-year veteran, will reportedly sign with the Buffalo Bills for two years and $4.1 millions, according to ESPN, reuniting him with his former coordinator Joe Brady.
Allen, who came to the Motor City a year ago after inking a one-year deal, appeared in just three games and attempted two passes this past season as starter Jared Goff logged 98.5% of the team’s offensive snaps at quarterback.
Allen’s greatest contribution came in the preseason, when he forced the organization to give up on its experiment with Hendon Hooker.
In the competition for the No. 2 job, Allen outperformed Hooker and made the former 2023 third-round pick expendable by bringing his stunted development into sharp relief. While Hooker struggled to move the offense when he was in command, Allen thrived in his four auditions, spearheading one productive drive after another for the Lions. He completed 79.5% of his attempts, throwing for 401 yards and five touchdowns with two interceptions. All the while, he exhibited a good understanding of the Lions’ timing-based passing game, giving management the confidence he could – if needed – relieve Goff in a pinch.
“I feel very comfortable with him,” Campbell said last August.
But as it turned out, the Lions were never forced to call upon Allen. Goff, who hasn’t missed a start since Week 17 of the 2021 season, remained reliably present.
The Lions hope Goff’s iron-man streak will continue.
But if it for some reason ends, Allen is no longer there to replace him.
Contact Rainer Sabin at rsabin@freepress.com. Follow him @RainerSabin on X.
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