Detroit, MI
Flo Rida joined by Flavor Flav, White Boy Rick in a different sort of Detroit Auto Show gala
A party-priming performance by Flo Rida capped the Detroit Auto Show’s Charity Preview gala Friday night at Huntington Place.
The rapper’s set was likely the wildest 1 hour and 15 minutes of entertainment in the auto show’s decades-long history, featuring hordes of fans dancing onstage, tequila shots doled out to attendees in the front row, and champagne sprayed onto an audience decked out in deluxe suits and gowns for the evening.
Honorary Detroiter Flavor Flav was a surprise guest, popping up early to perform a bit of Public Enemy’s “911 Is a Joke” and then sticking around to play hype man for the rest of the high-energy set by Flo Rida and his crew, which included a pair of sidemen rappers and two female dancers.
Flo Rida’s show was packed with the hook-heavy songs that made him a radio favorite and club staple during his prolific 2008-2015 mainstream run: The Miami native kicked things off with “In the Ayer,” part of a festive, crowd-pleasing set featuring “Low,” “Whistle,” “Wild Ones,” “Right Round,” “Good Feeling” and other hits.
At a downtown gala where Detroit Lions playoff buzz featured prominently from the ribbon-cutting ceremony onward, Flo Rida was fittingly introduced by fellow Sunshine State native and Lions safety Kerby Joseph. The newly minted All-Pro selection took the stage to Eminem’s “Lose Yourself,” following a video highlight reel showcasing his NFL-leading season of interceptions.
Another unbilled guest was urban hero White Boy Rick, the onetime teen drug dealer and FBI informant born Richard Wershe Jr., who hoisted a drink and captured selfie video onstage during Flo Rida’s “G.D.F.R.”
Former Detroit City Council member Monica Conyers was among the throng of female fans who took up Flo Rida’s invitation to clamber onstage for a group dance on “Low” — and she was also among those who turned to get a quick booty tap from the pop-rap star.
Flo Rida was a rare hip-hop booking for the auto show, a Detroit institution that may be looking to inject a new shot of energy while evolving into its next chapter. As Friday’s concert moved into its final minutes, Flo Rida and Flavor Flav hopped offstage and into the audience for “Good Feeling,” pausing for selfies and fist-bumps with fans, before wrapping up the festivities with a high-spirited “What a Night.”
For some attendees, the upbeat vibes didn’t last long: Out in the Huntington Place lobby, they faced a congested, hours-long scene at the coat check tables, where police officers stepped in to manage what became an increasingly frustrated crowd waiting to head out into a snowy night.
The Detroit Auto Show will open to the public Saturday and run through Jan. 20 at the Huntington Place convention center in downtown Detroit. Tickets are $10-$20. More details here.
Contact Detroit Free Press music writer Brian McCollum: 313-223-4450 or bmccollum@freepress.com.
Detroit, MI
Spotlight on the News: Inside the “red hot” Detroit Lions & the Michigan State Police
WXYZ DETROIT — On Sunday, January 12, Spotlight on the News will look inside the Detroit Lions’ winning season with Ann Arbor fan Barry Schumer, author of I Don’t Believe It…We’re Good? The New Detroit Lions. How does he rank this year’s team as they rest up for the NFL Playoffs? We’ll also have an insightful conversation with Colonel James F. Grady II, the 20th Director of the Michigan State Police. What are his plans for growing and diversifying the MSP?
Spotlight on the News, now in its 59th season, is Michigan’s longest-running weekly news and public affairs television program. It airs every Sunday at 10:00 a.m. on WXYZ-TV/Channel 7 in Detroit, is streamed live on wxyz.com and broadcast at 11:30 a.m. on 23.1 WKAR-HD in East Lansing.
Detroit, MI
Michigan native’s home in California destroyed in wildfire
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
Detroit, MI
Detroit Tigers avoid arbitration with all nine eligible players for $26.76 million in 2025
Tarik Skubal on track for ‘recording-setting contract’ in free agency
USA TODAY Sports MLB columnist and insider Bob Nightengale breaks down the hefty pay day Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal could demand in free agency.
The Detroit Tigers agreed to terms with all nine of their arbitration eligible players.
Their salaries are locked in for the 2025 season.
Seven players signed one-year contracts before MLB’s deadline Thursday to avoid arbitration: left-hander Tarik Skubal, right-handed reliever Jason Foley, outfielder Matt Vierling, catcher Jake Rogers, right-hander Casey Mize, right-handed reliever Will Vest and right-handed reliever Beau Brieske.
The Tigers already agreed to terms in late November with two additional arbitration eligible players: infielder/outfielder Zach McKinstry at $1.65 million and infielder Andy Ibáñez at $1.4 million.
Teams and arbitration-eligible players were required agree to salary figures by 1 p.m. Thursday. For those who didn’t reach an agreement, there was another deadline at 8 p.m. Thursday to exchange salary figures in preparation for an arbitration hearing to be scheduled within the next month. During the hearing, a panel of arbitrators selects either the team’s proposed salary or the player’s proposed salary.
The Tigers, under president of baseball operations Scott Harris, operate as a “file-and-trial” club, which means there would have been no further negotiations on one-year contracts after Thursday’s salary-exchange deadline.
However, the Tigers and their players will avoid arbitration hearings altogether in 2025, as all parties agreed to terms, extending the Tigers’ streak without an arbitration hearing to six years.
The most notable news from Thursday’s deadline: Skubal — the 2024 American League Cy Young winner who previously turned down a contract extension offer — settled with the Tigers at a $10.15 million salary for 2025, earning a $7.5 million raise from his $2.65 million salary in 2024.
Skubal, 28, will be eligible for salary arbitration for the third and final time after the 2025 season. He is scheduled to become a free agent after the 2026 season.
Aside from Skubal’s raise, Rogers settled at $2.64 million — up from $1.7 million last year — in his second year of arbitration and Mize settled at $2.34 million — up from $830,000 last season — in his second year of arbitration. Both Rogers and Mize, like Skubal, are set to reach free agency after the 2026 campaign.
The other six eligible players are in their first year of salary arbitration: Foley at $3.15 million, Vierling at $3.005 million, McKinstry at $1.65 million, Vest at $1.4 million, Ibáñez at $1.4 million and Brieske at $1.025 million.
Players must have at least three years of service time — or qualify for Super Two status — to be eligible for salary arbitration, then players become free agents after six years of service time. Therefore, most players are arbitration-eligible for a total of three years, but a Super Two qualifier — such as Ibáñez and Brieske — receives four years of arbitration eligibility.
In 2025, the Tigers will pay $26.76 million to nine arbitration-eligible players.
Here’s the full breakdown, listed in order of salary: Skubal ($10.15 million), Foley ($3.15 million), Vierling ($3.005 million), Rogers ($2.64 million), Mize ($2.34 million), McKinstry ($1.65 million), Vest ($1.4 million), Ibáñez ($1.4 million), Brieske ($1.025 million).
The Tigers are also on the hook for another $68.5 million to five players on free agent or longterm deals: SS Javier Báez ($25 million), RHP Alex Cobb ($15 million), 2B Gleyber Torres ($15 million), RHP Kenta Maeda ($10 million) and 1B Colt Keith ($3.5 million). The remainder of the Tigers’ 26-man roster, including players such as DH Kerry Carpenter and RHP Reese Olson, will make the league-minimum salary, set for $760,000 in 2025.
[ MUST LISTEN: Make “Days of Roar” your go-to Detroit Tigers podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple,Spotify) ]
For now, Skubal is the fourth-highest paid player on the Tigers’ roster in 2025, trailing only Báez, Cobb and Torres. Keith, who signed a contract extension before his MLB debut, checks in at sixth on the leaderboard.
Skubal made the All-Star Game for the first time in his five-year MLB career en route to winning the Cy Young in 2024, posting an 18-4 record with a 2.39 ERA, 35 walks and 228 strikeouts across 192 innings in 31 starts. He led the AL in wins, ERA and strikeouts to secure the first AL pitching Triple Crown in a full season since 2011.
When next offseason rolls around, Skubal is all but guaranteed to surpass $15 million (and could reach $20 million) for his 2026 salary in his third and final trip through the arbitration process before free agency.
The Tigers haven’t had an arbitration hearing with a player since Michael Fulmer in 2019, with Fulmer losing to the Tigers. Before Fulmer’s case, there hadn’t been an arbitration hearing involving the Tigers since 2001.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
Listen to our weekly Tigers show “Days of Roar” every Monday afternoon on demand at freep.com, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.
-
Business1 week ago
These are the top 7 issues facing the struggling restaurant industry in 2025
-
Culture1 week ago
The 25 worst losses in college football history, including Baylor’s 2024 entry at Colorado
-
Sports1 week ago
The top out-of-contract players available as free transfers: Kimmich, De Bruyne, Van Dijk…
-
Politics1 week ago
New Orleans attacker had 'remote detonator' for explosives in French Quarter, Biden says
-
Politics1 week ago
Carter's judicial picks reshaped the federal bench across the country
-
Politics6 days ago
Who Are the Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom?
-
Health5 days ago
Ozempic ‘microdosing’ is the new weight-loss trend: Should you try it?
-
World1 week ago
Ivory Coast says French troops to leave country after decades