Detroit, MI
Detroit Lions among oddsmakers’ top favorites to win next year’s Super Bowl
ALLEN PARK — The Detroit Lions are fresh off a historic season. They won their first division title in over 30 years and multiple playoff games for the first time in the Super Bowl era while making the conference title game.
Brad Holmes, the team’s general manager, said this season was no cute Cinderella story, and they’ll be back on this stage. Head coach Dan Campbell reportedly told star pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson in their exit interview that the Lions are going to the Super Bowl next season.
And oddsmakers seem to agree with that thinking, with the Lions among the six favorites to win next year’s Super Bowl. Caesars Sportsbook has the Lions with the sixth-best odds (+1300) to win it all next year. FanDuel is the highest, as the Lions have the fourth-best odds (+1200). DraftKings has them fifth (+1200).
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FanDuel has the four teams from this year’s conference title games as the favorites, with the San Francisco 49ers considered the top option. Caesars has the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals joining them in front of the Lions, while DraftKings just has the Bills in front of this year’s reigning NFC North champs.
The hype surrounding the Lions and their future chances certainly makes sense.
Dan Campbell has established himself as one of the NFL’s top head coaches. And no matter what Brad Holmes thinks people are saying, the general manager has hit home run after home run in his first three drafts around these parts.
The Lions have one of the five youngest rosters in the league. They are among the five teams with the fewest snaps to pending free agents. And coordinators Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn are back to run the offense and defense, with Jared Goff ready to roll after another borderline elite season under center.
They have young cornerstone stars on both sides of the ball who continue to improve in Penei Sewell, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Aidan Hutchinson. The Lions got stud rookie showings from Sam LaPorta, Jahmyr Gibbs and Brian Branch, with linebacker Jack Campbell getting much better down the stretch, too.
And the Lions were 30 minutes of competent football from reaching this year’s Super Bowl. They led 24-7 over the 49ers at halftime of the NFC title game, then watched that slip away in a hurry, with bounces off facemasks, uncharacteristic fumbles and failed fourth-down attempts dooming them.
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“Look, it’s only going to get better. OK? We’re only going to get better, all right? I don’t want anybody to think this was a one-shot, Cinderella, magical journey that just happened,” Holmes said after the season ended. “No. It’s real. This was — This is exactly what was supposed to happen. I understand that based on history, from what’s happened in the past, like I understand that you have a season like this, it’s easy to feel like this was kind of a one-shot, magical, lucky, cute story — which I’m tired of hearing. It was none of that. It’s easy to think that.
“But, no. Every move that me and Dan make, it has been made to sustain what we are building. Every single move, and I would say every single move we make and every single move we do not make, is to sustain what we have been building. It’s real. Look, it’s all to normalize what we’re doing. This is to normalize it.”
Detroit, MI
Murder charge filed in aftermath of altercation outside Detroit bar
Murder and two related charges have been filed against a Detroit man in the aftermath of an altercation that left one man dead and his brother seriously injured.
Michael Alan Harris, 42, of Detroit was arraigned Tuesday in 36th District Court of Detroit on charges of first-degree murder, felony firearm and resisting and obstructing a police officer, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said.
The charges are related to the fatal shooting of Jalen Coats Stevens, 28, of Detroit, Worthy said. Stevens was pronounced dead at the scene of an altercation early Sunday in the 15900 block of Grand River Avenue.
During the altercation, Stevens’ brother, Glenn, was stabbed over a dozen times but survived. He has been in the hospital since. Hundreds of people gathered for a vigil hosted by the Stevens family Tuesday night outside of Chita’s Nefertiti bar. The brothers were celebrating a work promotion for Jalen Saturday night before the altercation erupted.
While it was known by Tuesday night that one person was in custody, the family asked the public and police to continue working on the investigation, as the person who had stabbed Glenn had not been located.
In the meantime, Harris is scheduled for a probable cause conference Jan. 14, and a preliminary exam is set for Jan. 21.
The above video originally aired Jan. 6.
Detroit, MI
The first Detroit Lions OC candidate has emerged
Blough is only two years into his coaching career after retiring from playing after the 2023 season. He has spent the last two seasons as the Washington Commanders’ assistant quarterbacks coach, helping young quarterback Jayden Daniels emerge as a strong franchise player for Washington. Late in the 2025 season, Commanders quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard took the Stanford head coaching job, leaving Blough to serve as the interim quarterbacks coach for the rest of the season.
While backing up Jared Goff in Detroit, Blough was often described by the coaching staff as an excellent backup and strong offensive mind.
“I love the kid, if I’m being totally honest with you,” Campbell said back in 2021. “He’s just a little football player. And when I say that, I mean that in the highest regard. Look, he’s smart. He’s extremely smart. He knows where to go with the football, I love his timing. He knows how to command the huddle, he communicates well and on top of that, he’s a hell of a dude, by the way. He just is. So, he has not disappointed. He’s doing a good job. He’s out there competing with the rest of those guys.”
As of now, this is the only known candidate for the Lions’ offensive coordinator position, but it’s still early in the process. When more candidates emerge, we’ll have a tracker so you can see all of the names in one place.
Detroit, MI
Popular Detroit sports columnist announces stage 4 cancer diagnosis
Longtime Detroit sports radio host and columnist Pat Caputo has been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer, he announced Monday.
Caputo, a host on Detroit’s 97.1 The Ticket, last published a column on Nov. 7. On Monday, he explained the reason behind his absence.
“For those wondering where I’ve been: I have been diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer, commonly referred to as a “death sentence” and had two other serious ailments which put me in ICU for several days,” Caputo wrote in a post to X. “It was sudden. I’ve literally been on my back for weeks. Bless you all.”
Caputo, 66, became a well-known personality in Detroit sports media during his time as an award-winning columnist for The Oakland Press from 1983-2020, according to the Detroit Free Press. He also was previously part of WXYT’s “Evening Sports” broadcast, and is an official voter for the Baseball Hall of Fame and college football’s Heisman Trophy award, according to his X bio.
Caputo is nicknamed “The Book” for his impressive memory retaining sports stats and information, according to FOX 2 in Detroit, where he has been a regular guest on its “Sports Works” broadcast.
Caputo’s social media announcement regarding his health drew support from fellow sports media professionals, including Brad Galli, sports director at WXYZ Detroit, and ESPN’s Dan Wetzel and Dave Pasch.
“Pat, we’re praying for [you],” Galli wrote. “Awful awful awful to read this, man. God bless you.”
“Legend. Stay strong my friend. So much support out here for you,” Wetzel posted.
“Book, praying for you my friend. So sorry to hear this,” Pasch wrote.
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