Detroit, MI
Fans chant ‘U-S-A!’ while George Strait honors law enforcement at Ford Field concert
The country music legend performed Saturday night in Detroit.
Chants of “U-S-A! U-S-A!” broke out Saturday night during George Strait’s concert at Ford Field, as the country legend introduced “The Weight of the Badge,” his tribute to law enforcement from his 2019 album “Honky Tonk Time Machine,” just hours after the apparent assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania campaign rally.
On stage, the 72-year-old stalwart was thanking law enforcement for their hard work during the lead up to the song. “We appreciate you very much,” Strait said, adding, “especially after today.” That sparked a roar from the crowd, as Strait paused and let the moment take hold.
News of the shooting had spread slowly through the Ford Field crowd during the lead up to opener Chris Stapleton’s set, as some fans flashed headlines to one another on their phones. Strait never mentioned Trump by name, but at the conclusion of the song he held his hand over his heart, as photos of Bradley Reckling, the Oakland County deputy killed last month in what was described as an ambush, flashed on the stage’s video screens at the close of the song.
Those were heavy moments in what was otherwise a jovial celebration of Strait’s 40-plus year career in country music. It was his first local concert since a 2014 visit to the Palace of Auburn Hills, and it’s not necessarily his last in the Motor City: While he put a bow on his touring career a decade ago, he’s been touring steadily since his return to live music over the last few years, and he played to a packed audience of 47,065 fans on Saturday night.
His 30-song set, which lasted two hours and 10 minutes, included classics from his catalog, covers of songs by country music Mount Rushmore candidates Waylon Jennings (“Waymore’s Blues”), Merle Haggard (“Are the Good Times Really Over (I Wish a Buck was Still Silver)”), Willie Nelson (the Merle Haggard duet “Pancho and Lefty”) and Johnny Cash (“Folsom Prison Blues”), and songs from his forthcoming new album “Cowboys and Dreamers,” which is due in September.
Then there was a song dedicated to the tequila brand Strait is invested in (“if it’s not your favorite, you just haven’t tried it,” Strait told the audience prior to “Codigo”) and a piece of Jimmy Buffett-adjacent vacation-baiting (“MIA Down in MIA”), so it was even a little crass, but Strait stood his ground and gave Detroit a serenade to remember.
“Ooh, what a crowd!” Strait said early in the show, following “The Fireman.” “I love Detroit. I’m thinking about moving up here maybe, I don’t know!” It’s a nice sentiment, but Strait is a Texas guy through and through, and on stage in his black hat, blue jeans and tucked in button up shirt, he looked like he was still in Texas. (Strait is so Texas that eight of the 11 members of his backing band also hail from the Lone Star state; give him credit for staying on brand.)
Strait, who hit the stage at just before 9 p.m. and was introduced to the stage as “MCA recording artist George Strait,” which gave him the feel of a rookie artist just getting his legs underneath him. He kicked things off with “Stars on the Water,” his cover of the Rodney Crowell song from his 2001 album “The Road Less Traveled,” and he then rolled through a list of crowd pleasers — “I Got a Car,” “Here for a Good Time,” “Check Yes or No,” “Run” — that were comfortable and familiar, and fit like a favorite coat.
He was joined by Stapleton for a trio of songs, and the pair went back and forth with each other before launching into “Honky Tonk Hall of Fame,” a Stapleton-penned song from Strait’s upcoming album. “I’ve been trying to get you to cover it for 15 years,” Stapleton told Strait, to which Strait replied, “the only reason I did is because you sang it with me.” “Fair enough!” Stapleton said. Earlier in the evening, the country Southern rocker blazed through his own 80-minute set, ripping through his hits “Nobody to Blame,” “Starting Over” and “Tennessee Whiskey” and showing off his electrifying blend of rock and roll, soul and blues.
Strait’s sound is more classically country, and he plays the troubadour role on songs like “I Can Still Make Cheyenne” and “Amarillo by Morning,” songs which invoke images of lonely cowboys, dusty highways and broken hearts. Strait hasn’t lost a step in his delivery and he sells these stories with conviction, the same way he still lands the punchline at the close of “All My Ex’s Live in Texas”: you know it’s coming, but you can’t wait until it gets there.
Strait’s production on the massive stadium stage included a couple of giant video screens on either side of the stage, and a couple of video screens behind him and his band. Nothing fancy, but then neither is Strait. He’s straight down the middle.
While working Haggard’s “Are the Good Times Really Over,” Strait did manage to get a dig in on Ford, in the stadium that bares the company’s name, no less. “I wish a Ford and a Chevy would still last ten years, like they should,” Strait sang, adding a bonus zing at the end, “… and maybe run on gasoline.” Strait isn’t trying to rock the boat, he just calls ’em like he sees ’em, and it’s gotten him this far, so there’s no sense stopping now.
agraham@detroitnews.com
But we also can’t ignore the drastic fall-off from the Dolphins’ offense. Partially because of injuries to Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill over the past two seasons, the Dolphins have finished 22nd and 25th in scoring offense in 2024 and 2025, respectively. Injuries can be used as an excuse, but the greatest coordinators find a way through the adversity.
Beyond that, there are questions about his philosophical and schematic fit. While the Lions have built their offenses on grit and physicality, McDaniel seems to favor speed and finesse. But maybe that’s exactly what the Lions need. Detroit has two speedy players in Jameson Williams and Jahmyr Gibbs, who could probably be utilized more creatively, and it’s hard to imagine anyone better than McDaniel to do so.
McDaniel also has a very long coaching history with a lot of different coaching influences and schemes—including his closest coaching guru: Kyle Shanahan. The 49ers head coach has a scheme that is both more congruent with what the Lions do and much more adaptable.
On this EMERGENCY PODCAST, our crew debates the fit of McDaniel in Detroit, along with our thoughts on the Lions’ other known candidate: Commanders quarterbacks coach David Blough.
Before that, Erik Schlitt, Ryan Mathews, and I discuss our biggest takeaways from Lions general manager Brad Holmes’ end-of-season press conference, including the future of David Montgomery, whether Holmes really took accountability for his mistakes, and our confidence in him moving forward.
You can catch our discussion in the embedded podcast below or on any podcasting platform you’d prefer. Just search “Pride of Detroit.”
You can also catch video of the show over on our YouTube pages. Here are the links:
Will Tigers trade Tarik Skubal before free agency? MLB insider speaks
USA TODAY Sports baseball insider Bob Nightengale joins “Days of Roar” podcast to answer several questions about Detroit Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal, who can become a free agent after the 2026 season.
The Detroit Tigers and left-hander Tarik Skubal did not agree to terms on a one-year contract for the 2026 season before the 8 p.m. deadline Thursday, Jan. 8, to exchange salary figures in the arbitration process.
Skubal filed at $32 million; the Tigers filed at $19 million.
It’s a difference of $13 million.
An arbitration panel will review the case during a hearing scheduled for late January or early to mid-February. The arbitrators must determine whether Skubal is worth more or less than the $25.5 million midpoint. If he’s worth more, they will select his $32 million proposal; if less, they will select the Tigers’ $19 million proposal. The panel isn’t allowed to choose a salary in between $19 million and $32 million.
The Tigers operate as a file-and-trial club in salary arbitration under president of baseball operations Scott Harris, meaning there won’t be further negotiations with Skubal regarding a one-year contract. A multi-year contract could still be negotiated, but it’s highly unlikely.
Skubal – represented by agent Scott Boras – reaches free agency after the 2026 season. The 29-year-old is positioned to become the first pitcher in MLB history to receive a $400 million contract.
If the two sides were to reach an agreement before a hearing, it would likely be a one-year contract with a player option, thus maintaining Skubal’s path to free agency in the 2026-27 offseason.
The reigning back-to-back American League Cy Young winner was projected by MLB Trade Rumors to receive $17.8 million in his third and final year of salary arbitration. He previously earned $2.65 million in 2024, then $10.15 million in 2025.
Why couldn’t the Tigers and Skubal agree on a salary for 2026?
The arbitration case for Skubal is unusually complex, thanks to a rarely used provision highlighted by ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Because Skubal has more than five years of MLB service time, he isn’t limited to comparing himself only to past arbitration-eligible players. Instead, he can compare himself to any player in baseball.
Those unique rights allow Skubal – who has five years, 114 days of service time – to point to MLB’s highest-paid pitchers (such as Max Scherzer’s $43.3 million per year from 2022-24 or Zack Wheeler’s $42 million per year from 2025-27), arguing that his elite performance warrants a salary in that range – not in the $17.8 million range, as projected by MLB Trade Rumors.
That’s what pushed the Tigers and Skubal to an arbitration hearing.
[ MUST LISTEN: Make “Days of Roar” your go-to Tigers podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) ]
The current record for the largest one-year arbitration contract belongs to outfielder Juan Soto, who agreed to $31 million with the New York Yankees for the 2024 season.
If Skubal wins the arbitration hearing, he will surpass Soto and claim the new record with his proposed $32 million salary. If Skubal loses, then he will earn the $19 million salary proposed by the Tigers.
There are two other arbitration records on the line.
The highest-paid arbitration-eligible pitcher belongs to right-hander David Price, who earned $19.75 million with the Tigers in 2015 – his fourth year in the arbitration process as a Super Two qualifier. The largest raise for an arbitration-eligible pitcher belongs to right-hander Jacob deGrom, who surged from $7.4 million to $17 million – an increase of $9.6 million – with the New York Mets in 2019.
Those records for pitchers will belong to Skubal – but only if his proposed $32 million salary is selected by the arbitration panel. He will fall just short of the records if the panel selects the Tigers’ proposed $19 million.
Skubal is the best pitcher in baseball.
More notably, he is on a Hall of Fame trajectory.
In 2025, Skubal registered a 2.21 ERA with 33 walks (4.4% walk rate) and 241 strikeouts (32.2% strikeout rate) across 195⅓ innings in 31 starts. He made the All-Star Game for the second time in his six-year MLB career.
Skubal became the first back-to-back AL Cy Young winner since right-hander Pedro Martínez in 1999-2000, leading the AL with a 2.39 ERA in 2024 and a 2.21 ERA in 2025.
The Tigers haven’t been to an arbitration hearing since right-hander Michael Fulmer in 2019.
Fulmer lost the case, receiving the Tigers’ proposed $2.8 million salary rather than his requested $3.4 million. Before that hearing, the Tigers hadn’t participated in an arbitration hearing since 2001 – and the Tigers haven’t lost a case since 2000.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
Listen to our weekly Tigers show “Days of Roar” every Monday afternoon during the season and Tuesday afternoon during the offseason on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.
DETROIT — Former Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen has signed a one-year, $8 million contract with the Colorado Rockies.
It’s the first signing of the offseason for the Rockies under new president Paul DePodesta. The deal includes a $9 million club option for 2027.
It’s the fifth straight winter that Lorenzen has signed a one-year deal following a seven-season tenure with the Cincinnati Reds.
Lorenzen, who turned 34 this week, signed a free-agent deal with the Tigers before the 2023 season. He made 18 starts and was selected for his first appearance in the All-Star Game before being dealt to the Philadelphia Phillies at the trade deadline for infield prospect Hao-Yu Lee.
After a strong start with his new team that included a no-hitter, Lorenzen was moved to the bullpen and pitched sparingly in the postseason.
He found a quiet reception on the free-agent market, agreeing to a discounted one-year deal with the Texas Rangers before the 2024 season. He was traded to the Royals at the deadline and pitched well down the stretch, going 2-0 with a 1.57 ERA in 28 2/3 innings with his new team.
He re-signed with the Royals in 2025 and put together another solid season, posting a 4.64 ERA in 141 innings with 127 strikeouts and 39 walks.
Colorado is known as an unforgiving home for pitchers, and the Rockies lost a league-worst 119 games in 2025.
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