Detroit, MI

Dreamz Two Reality basketball game to showcase Detroit’s hoop talents – WDET 101.9 FM

Published

2 years ago

May 2, 2024

Press Room

Dreamz Two Reality basketball game to showcase Detroit’s hoop talents – WDET 101.9 FM

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For some, basketball is just a fun sport to play. But for others, it’s a ticket to a better future.

Several Michigan high school athletes have already signed up to play college basketball next year. But before that time comes, a few of them will get the chance to play against each other.

Dreamz Two Reality, an independent recruiting platform for student athletes in Michigan, will host its first All-American basketball game at 4 p.m. this Saturday, May 4, at Detroit Catholic Central High School in Novi. Dreamz Two Reality owner and founder Roy Jackson joined The Metro on Thursday to discuss the game and what it could mean for the students.

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Jackson says he played basketball professionally overseas for seven years and is thinking about the next generation of hoopers.

“I always want to give back to the kids because I know how hard it is nowadays,” Jackson said. “And I got a lot of kids hitting me up all over the Midwest. And I’m just like, let me just create a platform that had been missing for a while, that would give kids the opportunity to display their talent.”

For players, Jackson says, it can be hard to get the attention of basketball programs.

“Michigan, we got talent, and I feel like it needs to be displayed,” he said. “We got 14 Division One Signees that didn’t make it to the Jordan Brand [Classic] or the McDonald’s All American, but they still are all Americans. And I’m like, I’m from Michigan, so let me bring this platform here. Two, three, four years from now you never know how big you might get.”

Use the media player above to hear the full interview with Dreamz Two Reality Basketball owner and founder Roy Jackson.

More headlines from The Metro on May 2, 2024:

If you’re not a fan of trillions of flying bugs, you’ll probably want to avoid parts of Michigan this year. A wave of cicadas are expected to emerge this spring across Illinois, Missouri and southern parts of Michigan. To teach us more about the emerging cicada broods, we were joined by Hannah Burrack, professor and chair of the Department of Entomology at Michigan State University.
A new version of the popular board game Settlers of Catan, “Catan: New Energies,” introduces energy production and pollution into the gameplay. NPR’s Nate Rott spoke with journalist Emily Kwong about the new board game, which hits shelves this summer.
This Saturday at Hamtramck’s Book Suey, urban planner and commentator Idrees Mutahr will be giving a talk on how the Detroit economy influenced the thinking and writing of celebrated journalist and urbanist Jane Jacobs. Mutahr joined the show to talk about the event.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer recently announced a new initiative aimed at training 5,000 new infrastructure workers by 2030, using a portion of federal funding coming to the state. To help us understand the goals of the new initiative, Brookings Metro Fellow Joe Kane joined the show.
From 2008 to 2015, Michigan had tax incentives for commercials, television, and movie production. Major studio pictures like the Transformers films and “Batman v Superman” were shot here. But Republicans – with the help of then-governor Rick Snyder – stopped providing the incentives, citing a lack of return on the investment. Now, with Democrats in control in Lansing, the Michigan Film Industry Association (MFIA) hopes to revive the tax credits. Bill Latka, board member on the MFIA’s legislative action committee, spoke with WDET’s Russ McNamara about those efforts.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 11 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

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Detroit, MI

Detroit Fire Department brings Christmas joy to family who lost everything in house fire

Published

9 hours ago

December 19, 2025

Press Room

Detroit Fire Department brings Christmas joy to family who lost everything in house fire

DETROIT (WXYZ) — Christmas came early for a Detroit family of 10 after the Detroit Fire Department surprised them with a truck full of gifts, nearly a year after they lost their home and all belongings in a devastating fire.

On Jan. 6, Raychelle Womack and her family were living in their home on Santa Rosa Drive near Fullerton Street when it caught fire. All their possessions were destroyed in the blaze.

Watch Demetrios Sanders’ video report below:

Family’s Christmas saved after fire

“You try buying everything for a new baby and then you lose it all, on top of the other seven kids that you’ve got — that’s everything,” Womack said.

As the family continued recovering from the fire, questions remained about what Christmas could look like this year.

“Whatever we could make happen, that’s what we’re going to make happen,” Womack said.

WXYZ

That worry disappeared when the Detroit Fire Department and community partners visited the family’s new east side home with a truck full of Christmas gifts.

“To lose everything and then slowly but surely gain everything, it means a lot,” Womack said.

This marks the fourth year the Detroit Fire Department has brought Christmas cheer to families in need during the holidays.

“We know people lose everything in these fires, so if we can do anything to make their lives better, to make their lives easier, especially around the holiday season, we’re willing to do it,” said Chuck Simms, executive fire commissioner with the Detroit Fire Department.

Simms said the effort is driven by donations and brings joy not only to the families impacted but also to the first responders who participate.

“It’s just a great thing and nice thing for us to do,” Simms said.

With a Christmas tree now surrounded by gifts, Womack’s children are definitely looking forward to Christmas.

“It was nice and we appreciate it,” one child said.

For Womack, only one challenge remains.

“Now it’s making sure everything (gifts) stays closed until Christmas,” Womack said.

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This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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Detroit, MI

Near 500 saves, Kenley Jansen joins Detroit Tigers without closer role

Published

21 hours ago

December 19, 2025

Press Room

Near 500 saves, Kenley Jansen joins Detroit Tigers without closer role

Kenley Jansen is destined for the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The 38-year-old right-handed reliever is fourth on the all-time saves list, first on the active saves leaderboard, 24 saves away from the 500 milestone and just signed a one-year contract that guarantees $11 million.

But he hasn’t received the closer role from the Detroit Tigers for the 2026 season.

“Will we label Kenley the closer?” Tigers president baseball operations Scott Harris said Wednesday, Dec. 17, deferring to manager A.J. Hinch. “I don’t know. That’s going to be for A.J. to figure out. I’m just going to try to give him as many options as possible.”

Entering 2026, Jansen – a four-time All-Star in his 16-year MLB career – trails only three relievers on the saves list, all three of which are Hall of Famers: Lee Smith (478), Trevor Hoffman (601) and Mariano Rivera (652).

Before signing Jansen, the Tigers connected him with Hinch for an important phone call. For context, Hinch hasn’t named a full-time closer since left-hander Gregory Soto in 2021-22, instead favoring a bullpen that operates without defined roles.

Early signs suggest Jansen has already embraced the Tigers’ approach.

“From that conversation, we learned Kenley is all about winning,” Harris said of Jansen, who won the 2020 World Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers. “He’s willing to pitch in any spot. He just wants to be in a winning environment. And he was really attracted to Detroit as a destination, which is a huge step forward for this organization.”

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With three more saves, Jansen will move into sole possession of third place.

He has secured at least four saves in each of his 16 seasons, along with 25 or more saves in each of the past 13 full seasons, not counting the coronavirus pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign.

“We liked a lot of things,” Harris said. “First of all, he’s one of the best to ever do it. I’ve admired him from afar – and up close for a few years. He brings a ton of success in the highest-leverage moments of games in the regular season and postseason.”

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In 2025, Jansen registered a 2.59 ERA with 19 walks and 57 strikeouts across 59 innings in 62 games for the Los Angeles Angels, racking up 29 saves in 30 opportunities.

His 8.1% walk rate ranked in the 46th percentile, while his 24.4% strikeout rate ranked in the 63rd percentile.

Many indicators foreshadow regression coming soon – most notably the lowest strikeout rate of his career, driven by his third-worst in-zone whiff rate and worst out-of-zone whiff rate over the past four seasons – but the Tigers believe in their future Hall of Fame reliever.

“The cutter still really plays,” Harris said. “He also has a two-seamer that misses bats, as well as a curveball. We think he’s going to miss plenty of bats for us. We think there are some things that we can do with sequencing and refining some of the shapes of his mix.”

The Tigers have pursued Jansen several times.

There was interest during the 2024-25 offseason, when he ultimately signed a one-year, $10 million contract with the Angels, then at the 2025 trade deadline, when the Angels opted not to move him, and once again in the 2025-26 offseason, when the Tigers finally signed him to a one-year, $9 million contract, which includes a $12 million club option for 2027 (with a $2 million buyout).

“I’ve admired him from afar and up close,” Harris said.

With Jansen, the Tigers now feel confident using four relievers in save situations. The other three: right-hander Kyle Finnegan, right-hander Will Vest and left-hander Tyler Holton.

Of those four relievers, three of them produced more than 20 saves during the 2025 season, led by Jansen’s 29 and followed by Finnegan’s 24 and Vest’s 23.

“I think it was really important for us to add to the bullpen and be able to protect the leads that we know we’re going to get,” said Harris, who re-signed Finnegan on a two-year, $19 million contract earlier this month. “Whether we can find other opportunities to make our bullpen better, I’m not quite sure yet, but I like the bullpen as it is right now.”

For Jansen, his sights are set on reaching 500 saves.

It’s likely to happen in 2026.

But Jansen isn’t the Tigers’ closer.

Not yet.

“It’s going to be A.J.’s call on that,” Harris said.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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