Detroit, MI

Devin: How a stranger helped a Detroit woman keep her home after paying a fake landlord

Published

2 years ago

July 19, 2022

Devin: How a stranger helped a Detroit woman keep her home after paying a fake landlord

I’m nonetheless surprised by the unusual and delightful flip of coincidences that put me sq. on the intersection of June Walker and Jerry Gumbert.

June is a latest acquaintance. She labored like a lady possessed to show a rundown shack with no door, no plumbing and a water-filled basement into a house for her and her two grandchildren. For almost 4 years she poured {dollars} and toil into making a long-running dream come true. And that was solely after a protracted journey of homelessness and drug use earlier than she pulled her life along with a singular deal with by no means being homeless once more. And but simply after making what she thought was the final fee, she was threatened with eviction. The man who she’d been paying all that point was no extra the proprietor than she was and he was gone.

Jerry Gumbert I’ve identified for ages. We first met in Tyler, Texas when he was the impartial producer of a documentary on the New London College Explosion of 1937. He requested me to be the reporter and author on it and it began a friendship that has lasted all this time. We labored collectively at KLTV in Tyler after which KFOR in Oklahoma Metropolis earlier than Jerry grew to become the top of Viewers Analysis and Growth (ARD), one of many largest tv analysis and consulting corporations within the nation. Jerry was born in Jackson, Michigan and raised within the Detroit suburbs and he will get again right here fairly usually to see his beloved Wolverines play soccer. And as luck would have it, one Sunday morning sitting at dwelling in Ft. Value, Texas, Jerry got here throughout an NBC Information story about June Walker and her horrible plight. As Jerry completed studying, he was wiping tears from his eyes on the horrendous unfairness of all of it. And just about on the spot, he determined to do one thing about it.

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Simply concerning the time that NBC reported that an nameless Texan was stepping ahead to pay for the home and provides it to June, I used to be in Texas at a kids’s ebook convention and acquired collectively for dinner with Jerry. Finally, the dialog got here round to June and Jerry’s resolution to pay the $45,000 in order that June might hold (and personal outright) her home.

I couldn’t imagine it. The nameless Texan was the man I had identified since our days in Tyler, Texas?

I actually understood his want to be nameless. Actually, if I hadn’t occurred to be in Ft. Value and we hadn’t occurred to be sitting there at Mi Cocina, I doubt Jerry would have even talked about it to me. However as we sat and talked concerning the day that he would ultimately come to Detroit to satisfy June in particular person, I questioned if he would possibly have the ability to do some extra good by not remaining nameless. Jerry will let you know that life has been good to him, that he’s been blessed. However he’s by no means beloved giving cash to foundations or huge charities as a result of it made it actually laborious to see his items at work. He’d by no means carried out it earlier than however it appeared to Jerry this was a way more direct method of giving, a way more focused and particular method at drawback fixing, and I imagined that others to whom life has been good may be moved by Jerry’s gesture to behave in comparable trend.

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So after dispatching the concept of blurring his face or altering his voice and hiding his id, Jerry Gumbert got here to Detroit to satisfy June and see the house that he owned for just a bit whereas in turning it over to her. (This makes it sound far simpler than it was; the paperwork and coping with the precise (company) proprietor of the home in Florida took months, particularly as the worth appeared to leap as phrase unfold {that a} donor was stepping in. Humorous how that works, isn’t it?)

However I’m grateful to Jerry and grateful to June for giving me an exquisite afternoon. Watching them embrace on the sidewalk in entrance of June’s home put tears in my eyes, which suggests I assume I had lastly caught as much as Jerry.

I don’t get to cowl sufficient tales like this one. June and her grandchildren have their home, and she or he informed Jerry simply earlier than he left that his present would imply that someday these two lovely children can be going to varsity. That’s a present that retains on giving. And I’m hoping that others will likely be impressed not by the scale of Jerry’s present, however by his method.

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Generally the easiest way to resolve an issue is to resolve the issue.

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Detroit, MI

How to Watch Orlando Magic vs. Detroit Pistons on Saturday, November 23

Published

6 hours ago

November 23, 2024

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How to Watch Orlando Magic vs. Detroit Pistons on Saturday, November 23

ORLANDO, Fla. – After a three-game west coast trip, the Orlando Magic have returned home. They’re set to square off with the Detroit Pistons Saturday night for a one-off home game before again hitting the road. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET inside the Kia Center.

The Magic went 2-1 out west, with wins over Phoenix and the LA Lakers sandwiching a loss to the Clippers Wednesday night. Franz Wagner’s game-winner sealed a signature 119-118 win over the Lakers last time out, bringing a Hollywood ending to his 37-point, 11-assist night.

Detroit is no stranger to a thriller either. Their last time out, the Charlotte Hornets took them to overtime and, with the help of Brandon Miller’s 38 and LaMelo Ball’s 35, defeated the Pistons 123-121.

Who: Orlando Magic (10-7) vs. Detroit Pistons (7-10)
What: NBA regular season game
When: Saturday, November 23, 7 p.m. ET
Where: Kia Center, Orlando, Florida
TV: FanDuel Sports Network Florida, FanDuel Sports Network Detroit, NBA League Pass
Radio: 104.5 The Beat, Magic Audio Network, SiriusXM
Point Spread: Orlando -10.5
Last Meeting: Orlando 113, Detroit 91 on March 3, 2024

Orlando Magic

Detroit Pistons

Jamahl Mosley, Orlando Magic: Mosley tipped off his fourth NBA season as a head coach this season, all of which having come with the Magic. He’s 113-150 in the regular season all-time, and 3-4 in the playoffs. Before Mosley was named the head coach of the Magic, he was an assistant with Dallas, Cleveland, and Denver. He’s a Colorado alum, and played four years of professional basketball in Mexico, Australia, Finland and South Korea.

J.B. Bickerstaff, Detroit Pistons: Bickerstaff is in his first season as the Pistons head coach after being let go by the Cavaliers at the end of the 2023-24 season. He got four full seasons with the Cavaliers and led Cleveland to two consecutive playoff appearances in his final two. He also had part of a fifth season after taking over as interim coach during the 2019-2020 season. Throughout his coaching career, he’s been a head coach in Houston and Memphis, as well as an assistant in Cleveland, Memphis, Houston, Minnesota and Charlotte. He;s won 262 games as a head coach in the NBA.

Follow ‘Orlando Magic on SI‘ on Facebook and like our page. Follow Magic beat reporter Mason Williams on Twitter/X @mvsonwilliams. Also, bookmark our homepage so you never miss a story.

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Detroit, MI

Detroit Tigers Ace Breaks Down Unconventional Path to Postseason

Published

14 hours ago

November 22, 2024

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Detroit Tigers Ace Breaks Down Unconventional Path to Postseason

The Detroit Tigers were able to have an incredible season in 2024, and arguably the most impressive feat for them was the performance of their ace all season long.

It was an incredible 2024 campaign for the Tigers, as they snapped a lengthy playoff drought and won the American League Wild Card Series against the Houston Astros.

In the middle of the summer, it didn’t look like either of those things were going to happen. At the trade deadline, Detroit traded away most of their talented impending free agents as most teams who are out of contention generally do.

However, the Tigers went on to be one of the best teams in baseball in the second half of the season, and rode that momentum right into the playoffs.

One of the main reasons for the success down the stretch was the performance of Tarik Skubal. The American League Cy Young award winner was simply phenomenal every time he got the ball to start a game, and he was the clear choice for the award.

Recently, the southpaw spoke about how the team playing better in the second half of the year helped him win the award. Also, he spoke the unconventional way Detroit went about managing their pitching staff around him.

“That was a blessing. When I was given the ball every fifth day, I think everyone expected to win,” Skubal said to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. “and that’s something I take a ton of pride in. I’m trying to be the same guy and put my team in a position to win every fifth day, and we’ll figure out the other three, four days in between. I think it speaks to what we did. We were able to do those things and probably gave A.J. (Hinch, manager) some long nights, but he was good for it.”

Skubal finished up the season with a 18-4 record, 2.36 ERA, and 228 strikeouts, which led the league.

From start to finish, it was a great campaign, as in his worst month of the season, he only posted a 3.05 ERA.

The southpaw is very much a team player and really passes all the credit along to those around him. Now, after a great run into the playoffs, the Tigers will be hoping to do that again and get even further in 2025.

With their talented lefty leading the way, they know that they will be a favorite to win against pretty much anyone when he is on the mound.

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Detroit, MI

‘We hate the Lions’: Why sportsbooks are scared of a Detroit Super Bowl win

Published

22 hours ago

November 22, 2024

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‘We hate the Lions’: Why sportsbooks are scared of a Detroit Super Bowl win

The Detroit Lions’ Week 11 52-6 dismantling of the Jacksonville Jaguars, combined with the Kansas City Chiefs’ 30-21 loss to the Buffalo Bills, vaulted the Lions into a unique position. For one of the few times in the history of the franchise, they became the consensus Super Bowl favorite at around +325 odds. In fact, by the account of several oddsmakers, it’s likely the first time the team has been favored to win the Super Bowl in 70 years. After all, the Lions have only made the playoffs 18 times since 1935.

That status has also positioned the Lions as the team most likely to keep those oddsmakers up at night after roaring to a 9-1 start this season. After last season’s inspiring run to the NFC Championship Game, the money has poured in on Detroit, which could cost sportsbooks significantly in payouts to bettors if the Lions were to win Super Bowl LIX.

“They’re by far our biggest Super Bowl liability and pretty much our only one at this point,” BetMGM trader Christian Cipollini told The Athletic. “Anything inside of 10-1 [odds] we don’t tend to build crazy liability that we’re worried about, but everybody has been on them. At this point, the Lions winning the Super Bowl would be a huge problem for us. If I could remove them from futures, I would.”

Adding to the growing liability on Detroit, fans tend to favor their home team with their wagers, and Michigan is one of the 38 states with legal sports betting (and the 10th-largest by population). The Lions opened the offseason in the 12-1 range to win the Super Bowl, but those odds have dropped significantly to just over 3-1 since. The betting money has followed that success.

“The betting momentum in favor of Detroit started prior to the season as they attracted a large number of Super Bowl future wagers,” said Brad Bryant, general manager at Mohegan Sun FanDuel Sportsbook, noting the Lions have been one of the Mohegan Sun’s “top-wagered teams on a weekly basis.”

At DraftKings Sportsbook, 31 percent of bets (No. 1 among NFL teams) and 31 percent of total dollars wagered (also No. 1) were on Detroit to win the Super Bowl earlier this week. The Lions are third in ticket count for Super Bowl futures at The Borgata in Atlantic City, where sportsbook director Thomas Gable noted Detroit has the most total dollars wagered to win the Super Bowl “by a pretty good stretch.”

“We hate the Lions,” Cipollini said, adding that the number of bets on the Lions is the first thing that he looks at every week. “I haven’t seen something like this in my time at BetMGM. Every single week, they’re our worst team. I think something like 95 percent of the bets last week [vs. the Jaguars] were on Detroit.”

With an NFC-best 9-1 record and winners of eight straight games, the Lions have vaulted from a top-five preseason power rating among oddsmakers to the consensus No. 1 team in the league. Out of 10 oddsmakers The Athletic polled, nine of them had the Lions as their highest power-rated team. (One had the Baltimore Ravens slightly above Detroit.)

The Lions also have the NFL’s best record at 8-2 against the spread, and bettors placing a moneyline wager or standard six-point teaser on Detroit have cashed that ticket in nine of 10 weeks.

And the action isn’t only in Michigan. Bookmakers noted the increased interest in betting the Lions at several sportsbooks from Mississippi to Las Vegas.

“That’s 100 percent true,” Ed Salmons, vice president of risk at The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, said. “Weekly bets on Lions point spread, moneyline, teasers and game over and Lions team total over.”

Several other oddsmakers agreed, noting they’d seen an increase in betting on the Lions compared to previous seasons and that the public was regularly tossing Detroit in moneyline parlays and teasers. In the upcoming Week 12, Lions at -7.5 is currently the most-bet Week 12 side by both total money and tickets at BetMGM and DraftKings.

“[The public] will include Detroit in parlays and tease the spread down,” The Borgata’s Gable noted. “We opened [with] the Lions -8 against the Colts [in Week 12] and took respected money right away against the Colts. Now it’s 7.5.”

It’s easy to see why the public is in love: The Lions are a ridiculous 41-16 ATS (72 percent) in their past 57 games since the middle of the 2021 season. That includes a 22-8 ATS mark in the first half since the start of last season. Double-digit favorites in the NFL are 5-0 ATS this season, and the Lions are responsible for two of those covers — the 52-6 laugher vs. Jacksonville as a 14-point favorite and a 52-14 demolition of the Tennessee Titans as a 13-point favorite. It’s one thing to cover a 14-point spread; it’s another to have it be a rocking-chair win.

Looking ahead to a potential title matchup, when six oddsmakers were asked to make a spread on a Chiefs-Lions matchup on a neutral field, their responses were:

Lions -4.5
Lions -2.5
Lions -2
Lions -1.5
Lions -1
And one pick-em

The oddsmaker framing the matchup as a pick-em explained, “One concern I have is the coach. When you talk about Detroit vs. the Chiefs and Andy Reid, there’s a big difference there. And the Lions haven’t gotten [to the Super Bowl] yet. The Chiefs have been there.”

As the Lions keep steamrolling through teams, oddsmakers are certainly rooting against a Detroit Super Bowl victory. And history might be on their side.

Several of the oddsmakers contacted by The Athletic, who have worked in sports betting since the 1970s, could not recall a time when Detroit had been favored to win pro football’s championship. Per Pro Football Reference, however, the Lions were favored by three points 70 years ago in the 1954 championship game against the Cleveland Browns … who obliterated the favorites by a score of 56-10.

(Top Photo: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)

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