Detroit, MI
Heck yes, Detroit Tigers rooting for Pistons: ‘Proud to be part of the fabric of city’
This is an amazing time for sports in Detroit. Not just for fans.
But the players.
Late Monday night, after a Tigers victory over the San Diego Padres, the TVs in the Tigers clubhouse in Comerica Park were tuned to the NBA playoffs, as the Pistons played the New York Knicks in Game 2 in Madison Square Garden.
Justyn-Henry Malloy, the Tigers outfielder, sat on a leather couch, facing the TVs, nerves twisting in his gut, knowing what it feels like to play in the postseason, knowing what it feels like to have that kind of pressure.
Against the wall, Kerry Carpenter was at his locker, head turned, watching intently, and he screamed with excitement as Dennis Schröder hit a 3-pointer with 56.3 seconds left to give the Pistons the lead, 97-94.
“Give him the ball!” Carpenter screamed, walking toward the TVs, looking like, well, just about any sports fan in the Motor City.
“Bang!” Malloy yelled.
Malloy exhaled and started celebrating, as the Pistons hung on for the 100-94 victory, their first playoff win since 2008, snapping a 15-game playoff losing streak.
“I was pumped,” Malloy said Tuesday afternoon.
The good news for the Tigers?
They have an off day on Thursday and several players, as well as Tigers manager A.J. Hinch, plan to go to Game 3 in Little Caesars Arena.
“I love where Detroit sports is at and it’s a blast being a part of a number of teams who are bringing thrilling sports moments to the city,” Hinch said on Tuesday. “This city deserves it, these fan bases – the majority of them overlap, in different seasons and different times of year, all get to enjoy these thrilling moments.”
And yes, these pro athletes become fans.
“We quickly become Lions fans, Pistons fans and Wings fans when we joined the city, and I love that our players are all in on it,” Hinch said. “They’re all making plans to go on Thursday. We have an off day. We’ll have a strong contingency there. I’m going to be there because when you’re all in on the city, these moments matter. These moments are remembered by fans and by players and these experiences stand out, specifically here in Detroit, because of how cool of a sports town this is.”
Yes, Hinch saw it last fall when the Tigers played in the playoffs at the same time the Lions were having a fantastic season on the way to the playoffs.
Now, as the Tigers are playing some great baseball, the Pistons are playing in the postseason.
“I’ve seen it now firsthand because we played in playoff games,” Hinch said. “But I feel it in the winter, during the Lions season. I’m feeling it during the Wings season. I’m feeling it during this Pistons run and I’m pretty proud to be part of the fabric of this city.”
Part of the fabric of the city.
That’s what these players have become. That’s what these teams are.
It’s like one giant rebirth.
“It’s awesome,” Carpenter said. “I’m a huge die-hard sports fan in general. So, it’s pretty cool to be an adopted Detroit sports fan now.”
Malloy has been to about six Pistons games this season – some in Detroit, one in Atlanta.
“I’m a big NBA fan; I’m a big Pistons fan, and it’s just cool to watch,” Malloy said.
There is a part of him that watches as a fan.
But there is another side of him.
“You can kind of relate in certain ways with those guys,” Malloy said. “Obviously, it’s a different sport, but you relate to the work and you relate to the atmosphere. I played in a playoff atmosphere last year. I know the emotions, the anxiety, the excitement that goes with that type of game. So it’s almost like I’m riding right there with them, knowing how it feels, knowing all that stuff.”
But there is something more. It’s something that ties these teams together.
It’s the Lions grit. And it’s these gritty Tigers, who made an improbable run last season. And it’s this Pistons team that has climbed from the cellar, an improbable journey of its own.
“What I love is the resilience of that group,” Malloy said about the Pistons. “It’s very similar to kind of what we went through, going through some struggles, but to see them turning a corner and struggling one year and then having real success the next year, I can relate to that from a personal level and on a team level.”
Yes, that’s the part that unites all of them.
Understanding what it takes to go from the struggle to the success.
“Being able to kind of see that their growth from last year to this year, and to see the city’s growth too, with all those sports, it’s kind of like a sports revival in the city,” Malloy said. “So it’s cool to be here.”
So, yes, the Tigers will be rooting for the Pistons on Thursday night.
Because they are all part of the same fabric.
Cut from the same cloth.
Gritty. Resilient. And wanting to win for the D.
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on X @seideljeff
The Detroit-set detective series from creator and star Diarra Kilpatrick debuted in 2024.
Diarra is coming back to Detroit.
“Diarra From Detroit” will return for its second season on July 29 on Paramount+, the streaming network announced Wednesday.
The eight-episode season will debut with two episodes and will follow with new episodes every Wednesday through Sept. 9.
Diarra Kilpatrick, half-sister of former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, is the creator, writer, executive producer, and star of the series, which follows her adventures as Detroit detective Diarra Brickland.
From the official show description:
“Season two finds Diarra Brickland trying — unsuccessfully — to have a hot girl summer without getting wrapped up in yet another deeply unserious and extremely dangerous Detroit mystery. This time around, what starts as a seemingly harmless furniture recovery mission quickly spirals into a triple homicide investigation, a citywide treasure hunt and another trip deep into Detroit’s criminal underbelly. As Diarra attempts to sort out her messy relationship status, she instead finds herself going undercover with a secret society, starring in a Tubi movie, chasing urban legends, dodging gang warfare, and uncovering secrets buried beneath the city itself. Because of course she does.”
Alongside returning stars Kilpatrick, DomiNque Perry, Bryan Terrell Clark, Jon Chaffin, Shannon Wallace, Phylicia Rashad and Harry Lennix, the new season will feature guest stars Cliff “Method Man” Smith, Morris Chestnut, Glynn Turman, Bokeem Woodbine, Amber Riley, Lil Rel Howery, Skilla Baby, Icewear Vezzo, Chris “CP” Powell and more.
The show originally debuted on BET+ in March 2024. The show was filmed in New Jersey, which stood in for the Motor City.
At the time, Kilpatrick told The Detroit News she was inspired by the detective shows she watched growing up with her grandmother.
“I watched ‘Perry Mason’ and ‘Columbo’ with my granny, and I think that structure is in my bones,” she said. “Even though they’re White shows, because of my grandmother’s commentary on them, she made them Black shows.”
She said the show follows in the lineage of those shows she grew up loving.
“I have nostalgia for these highly entertaining procedural shows,” she said. “This one is edgier, it’s sexier, it’s raunchier — it’s definitely an adult show — but I want people to talk to their friends at brunch or call their friends and say, ‘I think she should go back with the husband!’ I love when people get involved in storytelling that way, and if I can reveal the humanity of Detroiters in the process? I feel like I’ve won.”
“Diarra From Detroit’s” first season is currently available to stream on Paramount+.
agraham@detroitnews.com
Police say one person is dead and another is in custody following a shooting Tuesday evening in Detroit.
At about 6 p.m., officers responded to the 19300 block of Strasburg Street, initially for a double fatal shooting. However, further investigation determined that only one person had died and the other suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Officer Jalon Nelson said the survivor is currently in police custody while recovering in the hospital. It is unclear what led up to the shooting, but Nelson says it was an isolated incident.
The names and ages of both individuals have not been released.
“Our condolences go out to the families of both involved parties. One life lost is one too many in our city,” Nelson said.
Nelson says the investigation is ongoing.
The Detroit Tigers have been talked about heavily with the trade deadline just around the corner, but when they’re discussed, it revolves around back-to-back AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal. As of right now, the Tigers have told teams that Skubal is off-limits as Detroit looks to claw back into the standings.
That being said, the Tigers could still find trade packages this season, especially if things go south as they did in May. While Skubal is the biggest name in Detroit’s system to get moved at the trade deadline, one MLB.com analyst believes there could be another player who could be packing his bags.
Could This Tiger Get Traded This Summer?
Since Scott Harris has taken over as President of Baseball Operations for the Tigers, mixed emotions have come from how he handles trades at the deadline. Detroit was one of the best teams in the American League last season and was a buyer at the deadline, but Harris only brought in one player who remains on the MLB roster, resulting in backlash given their standing.
According to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, one player that the Tigers could trade this deadline is former first overall pick, first baseman Spencer Torkelson. Torkelson has been an interesting case for Detroit, showcasing power every other season.
Feinsand listed Torkelson as a trade candidate who could get traded this deadline, who needs a change of scenery. While the thought is there, given how many years are left under team control, it doesn’t feel like a move that the front office would do… this season.
“The Tigers have 21-year-old Josue Briceño (MLB Pipeline’s No. 64 overall prospect) working his way toward the Majors, giving Detroit a potential replacement for 2027. If the disappointing Tigers decide to reset at the Trade Deadline, Torkelson could be a risk-reward acquisition for a club seeking a power bat,” Feinsand wrote.
Sure, Torkelson hasn’t been the Miguel Cabrera power replacement some had hoped for, but he has been a key asset to the offense over the last few seasons. When he’s sending the ball out of the ballpark, he’s at his best, and he might be starting to tap into that side of himself again.
If Detroit is telling teams that Skubal, a player on an expiring contract set to hit free agency at season’s end, is off limits, it’s hard to believe that they would find a trade involving Torkelson and banking on Briceño for the future.
Over the last two weeks of action, Torkelson is hitting .250 at the plate with two home runs and five RBIs, but he has 11 hits in total. A.J. Hinch has been wanting Torkelson to find productivity that isn’t just a home run or a walk, and he’s started to live up to the assignment.
Since the Tigers aren’t true sellers at the moment, despite their fourth-place standing at 27-39 ahead of a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins, fans shouldn’t lean too much into the thought of Torkelson getting traded until there’s a true direction for the franchise.
As of June, Detroit has a record of 5-1 this month, with most of its remaining games set to be played at Comerica Park.
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