Detroit, MI
Detroit Lions give back through custom cleats to support their favorite causes
DETROIT – When the Detroit Lions take on the New Orleans Saints this Sunday, you’ll see the charities and organizations the players hold close to their hearts.
It is a rare opportunity that many Lions players will use in hopes of raising funds for good causes.
Detroit native Anthony Pittman will highlight two different charities, one of which is F.A.R.M, Family Assistance for Renaissance Men. The second is a surprise, but both groups, he says, aim to help men better themselves for themselves and their families.
Frank Ragnow will be wearing cleats displaying Rags Remembered, a charity in honor of his father, who passed away from a heart attack when Ragnow was a junior in college.
The charity helps kids grieving the loss of a parent or loved one by providing them special access to nature and the outdoors.
“Me and my dad, he was my best friend, and to be able to honor him in any way I can is a blessing, and to be able to help a young kid see that a football player is grieving too, I’d love to help,” said Ragnow.
Tracy Leonard Walker III highlighted the Stefanie Spielman Fund for Breast Cancer Research.
“I’ve had two aunts who battled with breast cancer,” said Walker, who is looking forward to the opportunity to spread awareness.
Ifeatu Melifonwu is showing his love for the Coach Frank Ortega Foundation, which pays registration and equipment fees for kids who otherwise would not be able to cover the cost of playing sports.
“It really hit home with me because I was one of those people when I was growing up, either family friend or coaches would pay for my equipment,” said Melifonwu.
The Lions will match donations made to these charities up to $100,000.
Click here for a full list of the charities Lions players will be represented on Sunday.
Players cleats can be seen below:
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METRO DETROIT — More than 35,000 were without power Sunday night after severe storms rolled through the area, according to DTE Energy.
The utility’s outage map showed the outages scattered across the region with the highest concentrations in western Oakland County, Ann Arbor and southern Wayne County.
Officials said DTE crews are working hard to quickly restore power to impacted customers.
Detroit Tigers signed Manuel Margot. Scott Harris explains why
Detroit Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris talks to reporters March 24, 2025, about signing outfielder Manuel Margot.
- Veteran outfielder Manuel Margot signed with the Detroit Tigers on their final day in Florida.
- He went 3-for-5 in the two games he played against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Tigers’ opening series.
LOS ANGELES — Manuel Margot still doesn’t know all of his teammate’s names on the Detroit Tigers.
Still doesn’t know all the coaches and support staff.
And he doesn’t even have a Tigers bat bag.
His old Milwaukee Brewers bag was on a cart outside the clubhouse, stacked with all the Tigers ones.
Sunday marks Margot’s time on the Tigers at a week — he signed with the Tigers on their last day of Grapefruit League play in Florida — but he has already made a strong first impression.
“I feel good,” he said Saturday night after the Los Angeles Dodgers finished a three-game sweep of the Tigers with a 7-3 victory Saturday night.
Margot has been one of the bright spots in a Tigers offense that struggled to produce in clutch moments against the defending World Series champions. Margot played in two games in this series, going 3-for-5, while knocking in a pair of runs.
“Try to see the ball and swing at strikes,” he said. “I try not to chase.”
OK, so he might not know everybody, but he’s already speaking the Tigers’ language.
Unfortunately, here’s the harsh truth about this three-game series: Far too many of his teammates were not able to follow his lead.
The good news: The Tigers put runners in scoring position 32 times against the Dodgers, setting up a ridiculous number of opportunities to do something amazing against the team with five wins already this season.
The bad news: The Tigers came through in the clutch just four times. Ugh. Completely unacceptable.
“When you look back, we could have won some games because of how many opportunities we gave ourselves,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “So you want to look at it positively? Keep giving yourself as many punches as you can. If you want to be frustrated, look at the results. Because it wasn’t great with how it ended, how those at-bats ended.”
Here’s the other good news: Hinch doesn’t see any panic in his team.
But he is also realistic about what his team needs.
“We’re going to need the big hit obviously,” he said. “We’re not doing anything wrong. We’re not pressing. We’re not worked up about it. But it’s our reality.”
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Strange days indeed
In some ways, this series felt historic. It was the first time in franchise history the Tigers opened the season against the Dodgers, on a weekend they celebrated their World Series championship — gee, thanks MLB.
And it was the first time the Tigers have opened their season on the West Coast in 25 years.
Also, lost in the moment was how so many Tigers have never experienced this before. This was the first time that six Tigers have been on an Opening Day roster: right-handers Beau Brieske, Brenan Hanifee and Jackson Jobe; left-hander pitcher Brant Hurter; infielder Trey Sweeney; and catcher Dillon Dingler.
So, all of this is still so new to them. Just being part of this.
But there were some high marks.
Consider Spencer Torkelson.
On Opening Day, he reached base safely in all five plate appearances, with a solo home run and four walks. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Torkelson became the seventh player in Tigers history to walk four times and homer in the same game. (The others? J.D. Martinez, Roy Cullenbine, Jason Thompson, Rob Deer, Travis Fryman and Cecil Fielder.)
Torkelson’s four walks tied for the most by any player on Opening Day in American League history — that dates back to 1901.
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And when presented with Hinch’s good news/bad news approach to putting so many runners in scoring position, Torkelson found the positive side.
“I think that’s pretty encouraging, especially against this caliber of a team,” he said. “There’s not a single hole in their lineup. There’s not a single arm in the ‘pen or starting pitcher that you can take for granted. They’re a really good team. We had opportunities and, couple pitches every night going our way, we’re winning this series. So that’s encouraging.”
So, that’s the state of the Tigers after the first series.
Encouraging signs.
Disappointing results.
“But still,” Torkelson said, “it sucks to get swept.”
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on X @seideljeff.
SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN — Severe storms are expected across southeastern Michigan on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.
All of southeastern Michigan is under a slight risk (2/5) for severe weather Sunday.
The storms are expected to move into the area between 4 and 11 p.m. Sunday when highs climb into the low 70s, according to the weather service.
Forecasters warned the storms could produce heavy downpours, large hail up to 1 inch in diameter, strong winds reaching up to 60 miles per hour and isolated tornadoes.
Colder air will then move into the region Monday with highs topping out in the low 50s, according to the weather service.
The cold air will stick around Tuesday before another warm-up on Wednesday when another round of showers and thunderstorms could move into the region. Forecasters warned those storms could also become severe.
Here is the full forecast for southeastern Michigan:
Sunday: Storms; High 70, Low 45
Monday: Cloudy; High 52, Low 30
Tuesday: Sunny; High 43, Low 33
Wednesday: Storms; High 64, Low 53
Thursday: Rain; High 64, Low 42
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