Detroit, MI
Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings odds, expert picks, how to watch: A marquee NFC North matchup
The NFC North delivers a marquee matchup when the unbeaten Minnesota Vikings host the Detroit Lions. This is a significant early game in the Black and Blue Division, as the Lions are only a game behind the Vikings in a crowded race. Coming off a bye week, Minnesota is favored by a few points in this matchup.
To maintain a hot start, Minnesota needs to refine its offense. Quarterback Sam Darnold developed an instant connection with star receiver Justin Jefferson. Finding a consistent secondary receiver hasn’t been as easy. Receiver Jordan Addison is unpredictable this season and trusted tight end T.J. Hockenson remains sidelined.
The Vikings rely heavily on lead back Aaron Jones — who is also the team’s second-leading receiver. Jones exited Week 5’s win in London with a hip injury and remains questionable heading into Week 7. Minnesota traded for Houston back Cam Akers during the week — further fueling speculation about Jones’ health. If Jones can’t consistently contribute, Ty Chandler will be thrust into the Minnesota backfield.
Detroit’s defense provides elite pass coverage with a ball-hawking unit that is sixth in interception rate. But Aidan Hutchinson’s injury diminished a Lions pass rush that was 17th in defensive sack percentage when the NFL’s sack leader was healthy.
Blowout wins over Seattle and Dallas have the Lions offense playing with maximum bravado. The NFL’s top-scoring offense spreads the ball around with a top-four rushing and passing attack. David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs form the league’s top backfield tandem. Quarterback Jared Goff has strong connections with receivers Jameson Williams and Amon-Ra St. Brown.
Minnesota needs the NFL’s No. 2 rushing defense and its turnover-producing secondary (No. 1 interception rate) to make plays and slow down a confident Detroit offense.
All odds from BetMGM. Looking for NFL tickets? Find them here.
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Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings odds
How to watch Lions vs. Vikings
- Venue: U.S. Bank Stadium — Minneapolis
- Time: 1 p.m. ET
- TV: Fox
- Streaming: Fubo (try for free)
Expert picks for Lions vs. Vikings
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(Photo of Justin Jefferson: Nic Antaya / Getty Images)
Detroit Tigers fans get pictures with tiger statue at Comerica Park
Detroit Tigers fans get their picture taken with the tiger statue outside Comerica Park on April 3, 2026 for Opening Day.
To many people, it makes no sense. Here was the seventh game of a 162-game baseball season, the Detroit Tigers had lost four of the six already played, yet seemingly the entire city converged on downtown Friday, April 3, to get into the stadium, or sit outside the stadium, or just hang around the stadium.
They stuffed bars and restaurants. They drank beer despite the early hour. They wore orange or blue clothing and caps with an Old English “D.” There is no way to count how many total people swarmed the streets, or how many of them had called in sick to their jobs to be here.
We call it Opening Day, and in Detroit it is virtually a holiday. Not elsewhere. Other cities don’t make this fuss. To many of them, going wild for the seventh game of the season makes no sense.
And that’s OK.
In fact, it’s perfect.
Far from the only nonstandard tradition
Opening Day made me think about how many things we do around these parts that are uniquely ours, traditions that we cherish but which don’t necessarily travel.
The Dream Cruise. It began as a charity event, and is now is a fixture on the August calendar. But if you tell someone in Boston or San Diego that thousands of people sit in lawn chairs along a busy boulevard to watch old cars drive past, you’ll get laughed out of the room.
The Independence Day Fireworks. Yes, other cities have them. No, they don’t have them in late June. We do. Supposedly we do this because of our proximity to Canada, which celebrates on a different schedule. Of course, Canada Day is July 1, and America’s holiday is July 4, so someone should explain how June got in there.
But, hey, maybe they shouldn’t. It’s our tradition. And that’s what’s important.
Sweetest Day. Hate to break this to area lovers, but that’s not really a thing in the most of the country.
Paczki Day – yes, it’s a way to celebrate Fat Tuesday, but it’s much bigger here in the Midwest than in other regions.
The Charity Preview at the Detroit Auto Show. That’s like the Motor City’s Met Gala, but it doesn’t exist elsewhere. And auto shows in general are not the must-see events they are in our town.
Traditions like throwing octopi at hockey games, singing “born and raised in South Detroit!” chanting “Onward Down the Field” when the Lions score or yelling “DEEE-TROIT BAS-KET-BALLLLLL!” are things you will not witness anywhere else.
And it may be a hot dog everywhere else, but it’s a coney here.
If all of this makes us quirky, well, quirky we should be. Because in a world of increasing homogenization, local traditions are in peril.
A taste for tradition
Consider what the internet and multinational corporations desire. Everyone on the same page at the same time.
Apple wants the whole world to line up at a given hour for the new iPhone. Taylor Swift wants the whole world hanging on her latest release. Local coffee shops get swallowed by chains. Local eateries surrender to fast food.
As someone who travels for work, I can tell you, decades ago when you went to the South, you heard different music on the radio. You went out West, you saw different retail outlets. You felt like an outsider. You felt like you were someplace new and wondrous.
Today, Nashville looks like Austin looks like Raleigh looks like Phoenix. There’s your P.F. Chang’s next to your Cheesecake Factory. There’s your Best Buy alongside your Costco. The goal of global economies is scale, big numbers, national – even international – audiences. Everyone wants to be the Super Bowl.
But what of the joy of regional customs? Local traditions? The food you can only get here, the music you can only hear there. As the internet shrinks our distance, it also fades our individuality.
When I was a kid in Philadelphia, they had a parade every New Year’s Day, where string bands marched and people wore these crazy costumes, painted their faces, and competed in different categories. It was called the Mummers Parade, and in my youthful naivete, I thought every city did this. Later I realized it was unique to Philly, and in fact, many outsiders found it silly.
Well, as Paul McCartney sang, it isn’t silly at all. Local color shades who we are. Local activities give us a sense of identity. Local traditions bind us to our hometowns, and our shared memories with neighbors.
So we can ask “Did you go to Opening Day?” around here and people know what we mean. There’s something precious about that. In an age of everyone buying from Amazon and eating at McDonald’s, we should fiercely protect what makes us unique.
So yeah, wearing a “Trammell” jersey or telling your friends, “I’ll meet you at Mario’s before the game for the lobster buffet” may make no sense to outsiders. Good. It’s not supposed to.
Contact Mitch Albom: malbom@freepress.com. Check out the latest updates on his charities, books and events at MitchAlbom.com. Follow @mitchalbom on x.com.
Alex Avila: Detroit Tigers’ Justin Verlander is leader as teammate
On “Days of Roar,” former Detroit Tigers catcher Alex Avila shares how legendary pitcher Justin Verlander has matured in his clubhouse leadership.
Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander has been placed on the 15-day injured list with left hip inflammation.
Keider Montero will be called up and is expected to start Sunday, April 5, against the St. Louis Cardinals at Comerica Park.
It will be retroactive to April 1, so the earliest Verlander will be eligible to return is April 16.
Verlander has already pitched once this season, although his first start was forgettable. He gave up five runs off six hits in 3⅔ innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He struggled with his command, throwing 80 pitches (53 for strikes) while recording one strikeout with two walks. Since then, he has worked on his mechanics.
“Head position,” he said Saturday. “Trying to be a little more deceptive and stay in line a little bit longer.”
The Diamondbacks hit Verlander hard, making contact with seven balls that featured an exit velocity over 100 mph.
“It wasn’t good enough,” Verlander said. “I hope it’s not like last year … months trying to find it. Hopefully I find it a little quicker than that. But yeah, you know, I think talking to analysts and those guys and the stuff is actually pretty good, so not too far away. I hope.”
Verlander, 43, signed a one-year deal with the Tigers this offseason, returning to the franchise he spent his first 13 seasons with. He made 29 starts in 2025 for the San Francisco Giants.
And he was expected to start Sunday night against the Cardinals in Comerica Park in front of a national audience on “Sunday Night Baseball” on Peacock, NBC’s streaming service.
Montero was optioned to Triple-A by the Tigers on March 4, with the franchise planning on him as their No. 6 starter in the rotation.
“We’ve got to protect our rotation,” Hinch said when Montero was sent to Toledo. “For him, defining the role where we felt like he can help us the most was going to be, at some point, in our rotation. Whether that’s getting called up as a sixth starter, or god forbid anything happens, he’s equipped to handle that, and the only way to do that is get him going and building him as a starter.”
In 2025, Montero registered a 4.37 ERA with 31 walks and 72 strikeouts across 90⅔ innings in 20 games (12 starts) for the Tigers. He also logged a 5.91 ERA across 42⅔ innings in 10 games (eight starts) for Triple-A Toledo.
Montero has made one start for Toledo, throwing four scoreless innings against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs on March 29. He struck out three with one walk.
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on X @seideljeff
Detroit, MI
‘Downtown Takeover’ in Detroit leads to several teens being detained, dozens in the streets
Crowd of teens out past curfew detained downtown
The incident was not random, as ‘Ceasefire Detroit’ announced that there were talks of a “Downtown Takeover” involving kids and teens. Throughout Friday evening, videos from social media showed large groups of teens running around in the downtown area past curfew.
DETROIT (FOX 2) – Dozens of teens swarmed Downtown Detroit, leading to a heavy police presence in the area.
What we know:
The incident was not random, as ‘Ceasefire Detroit’ announced that there were talks of a “Downtown Takeover” involving kids and teens. Throughout Friday evening, videos from social media showed large groups of teens running around in the downtown area past curfew.
Detroit police say a gun was fired during the commotion but no one was hurt. Police are working to determine who fired the shot. Police sources also told FOX 2 that officials have been tracking the kids and teens around the city all night.
Meanwhile, officials have been detaining teens, but due to the large number of people, they have been placed on buses.
What we don’t know:
It is unknown if anyone got hurt or how many people were detained/arrested. FOX 2 will update this report when we learn more.
Watch FOX 2 Detroit LIVE:
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