Detroit, MI

Metro Detroit must look forward, not back. Maybe it’s time to let our icons go. | Opinion

Published

1 year ago

December 2, 2024

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Metro Detroit must look forward, not back. Maybe it’s time to let our icons go. | Opinion

Nancy Derringer
| Guest columnist

A friend forwarded an email a while back, the daily come-and-click pitch from the other newspaper in town, touting a front-page feature on one of the two Boblo boats, the Ste. Claire, losing its National Historic Landmark designation.

“SINK THE BOBLO BOAT,” he wrote, adding a knife emoji so I wouldn’t miss his point.

I didn’t. He’s a millennial and I’m a boomer, but we’re in agreement on this one. Sink the Boblo boat. Drive the last muscle cars off a cliff. Stop playing Motown everywhere, all the time. Tear Detroit’s eyes away from the rearview mirror, and try looking through the windshield.

Nostalgia is a poison, and we need a good detox.

Our Maurice salads are killing us

It’s a Rust Belt thing, not confined to Detroit, but I’d argue we have the worst case of nostalgia poisoning I’ve yet seen. It’s understandable, given the city’s last 70 years of history, but that doesn’t make it right. There’s honoring history, and being mired by it. Sometimes a sharp break with the past is absolutely what the doctor ordered. Our Maurice salads, literal and figurative, are killing us.

Looking back, and not forward, leads to laughable episodes like 2023’s Growing Michigan Together Council, tasked with finding strategies to reverse the state’s abysmal rate of population growth (49th in the nation) and attract more Gen Z residents. The council’s co-chairs were both septuagenarians. When Gov. Gretchen Whitmer added three youngsters in midsummer, it dropped the council’s average age to … 52.

Beyond the comedy of those numbers, imagine what it says to those few young people who might be considering settling here, to hear over and over that the good ol’ days are gone for good, that you shoulda been here when the Tigers played at Michigan and Trumbull, when you could see Jack White at the Gold Dollar for five bucks.

Like most people in Metro Detroit, I live in the suburbs, where you can find people who once lived in Detroit, moved away during the middle-class diaspora, but can’t stop complaining about it. They drive back to the old neighborhoods to scowl and disapprove and mutter, as though merely sneering will somehow shame the city into pulling up its socks and fixing itself.

Miss Havisham is a character in Charles Dickens’ “Great Expectations.” Jilted at the altar, she spends the rest of her life lurking in her dark mansion in her wedding gown, the cake uneaten and moldering on its table.

She’s a tragic figure; don’t we understand that?

Sometimes ‘classic’ just means ‘old’

I’m also convinced much of the rancor aimed at boomers is due to our generation’s coining of the term “classic rock,” which kept the genre mired in yesterday, replaying Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones for decades. I like oldies as much as the next girl, but damn, when I was a teenager my parents weren’t constantly playing Benny Goodman and the Andrews Sisters in the house and car, as many of us subjected our own kids to.

Nostalgia poisoning kept Tiger Stadium standing years past when it should have been imploded to rubble. Other teams manage to move to new fields and not look back; why was Detroit so fixated on an ugly, crumbling pile that grew uglier and crumblier by the year? But-but-but, Ty Cobb! Ernie Harwell! Mark Fidrych! I used to go there with Grampy! The limb had long ago turned gangrenous, but still we resisted amputation.

I was at the North American International Auto Show the year GM announced it was resuscitating the Chevy Camaro. The concept rolled onto the Cobo floor at the end of a parade of classics from the model’s golden era in the ’60s and ’70s, while a screaming crowd swooned.

A friend, not a Detroiter and unexcited by this news, told me about the last Camaro he owned, a car that didn’t so much wear out as decompose, shedding parts at a standstill in his driveway. It was, he said, a car defeated by gravity. When the roof liner fell gently onto his head one morning, he put it up for sale.

I thought a lot about what he said, and about the gearheads who lined up to drool over the concept Camaro at the auto show, every one of them at or past AARP’s automatic-membership threshold. Three years later, the Camaro landed in showrooms, a gorgeous car, but I never saw anyone under 50 driving one, if you don’t count Shia LeBoeuf in “Transformers.”

These days, I’m interested in the future

At this point I have to stop and reassure angry readers that of course I respect history. No one’s advocating we tear down the Penobscot Building. I mourn the lovely old buildings cleared for more parking lots in the central city. If someone offered me a ride in their ‘69 Camaro, I’d say thanks, and get in. Saving Michigan Central Station? A triumph.

But I’m done with the Dream Cruise. If you insist on playing Motown, it better be deep cuts, or we’re gonna have words. Hudson’s isn’t just gone, department stores in general are on their last legs. The future arrives every day, right on schedule, and that’s what interests me these days.

And yes, it’s time to give up the Boblo dream. The park’s been closed for 30 years, and that boat isn’t worth saving. Tow it to Lake Erie, push it over Niagara Falls. Then let’s all move on.

Nancy Derringer is a mostly retired journalist living in Grosse Pointe Woods. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters.

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Detroit, MI

Lions fan says DK Metcalf swung at him after he used star’s full name

Published

6 hours ago

December 21, 2025

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Lions fan says DK Metcalf swung at him after he used star’s full name

Pittsburgh Steelers star wide receiver DK Metcalf took a swing at a Detroit Lions fan at the game at Ford Field on Sunday, Dec. 21.

In the second quarter, CBS cameras caught Metcalf getting into an altercation with a Lions fan holding some Steelers attire while hanging over the ledge.

It’s not clear what led up to the incident, but Metcalf eventually threw a punch in the direction of the Lions fan. It wasn’t a direct hit, but there was some contact.

The Free Press tracked down the fan in the stands, who said he was “a little shocked. Like everyone’s talking to me. I’m a little rattled, but I just want the Lions to win, baby.”

“My words don’t matter because it was on camera,” they added.

When initially asked what his name was, the fan said, “My name is ‘Biggest Detroit Lions Fan Ever that got attacked by DeKaylin Zecharius Metcalf.’”

After getting further pressed, the fan said his name was Ryan Kennedy and that he’s from Pinckney, Michigan.

“What, my full name isn’t is DeKaylin Zecharius Metcalf,” Kennedy said. “He doesn’t like his government name. I called him that and then he grabbed me and ripped my shirt. I’m a little shocked. Like everyone’s talking to me. I’m a little rattled, but I just want the Lions to win, baby.”

The fan was not thrown out of the game, per the Lions. Lions officials talked to him about the incident.

The NFL said in a statement it cannot intervene for an ejection of Metcalf.

“There was no flag on the field, so New York cannot weigh in with regard to a potential disqualification,” the NFL said in the statement.

CBS sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson was watching the area when the incident happened.

“He came over because the fan in the stands was holding a ‘4’ Pittsburgh jersey, he went over and the fan said something to him,” Wolfson said on the broadcast. “Obviously, Metcalf did not like what he said and you saw the swipe there. No Steelers came over to him and mentioned anything, we’ll see if the league takes action, guys.”

After the Lions scored a touchdown in the second quarter, CBS rules official Gene Steratore said referees can’t do anything to remove Metcalf from the game or penalize him.

It’ll be “delivered to compliance,” which could potentially suspend or fine him in the future.

Free Press Lions reporter Dave Birkett contributed to this reporting.

Andrew Birkle is an assistant sports editor for the Free Press. Contact him via email at abirkle@freepress.com.

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Detroit, MI

Detroit Tigers drop young hitter to make room for bullpen signing

Published

18 hours ago

December 21, 2025

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Detroit Tigers drop young hitter to make room for bullpen signing

DETROIT — When the Detroit Tigers formally added right-handed reliever Kyle Finnegan to the roster on Saturday, it prompted a tough decision: Who would get dropped in the corresponding move?

Less than halfway through the winter, the Tigers are running out of easy cuts.

The Tigers elected to designate for assignment Justyn-Henry Malloy, a popular young designated hitter who was consistently excellent in Triple-A and had bursts of success in the big leagues.

Although the Tigers can keep Malloy in their system if he clears waivers, it’s far more likely that he’s claimed or traded in the coming days.

Finnegan’s contract is a two-year deal worth a guaranteed $19 million.

He’ll earn $8.75 million in 2026 and $8 million in 2027. There’s a mutual option for 2028 worth $10 million that can be bought out for $2.25 million.

Finnegan was acquired by the Tigers from the Washington Nationals at the trade deadline and rattled off 14 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings, striking out 19 and walking just three. After a brief stint on the injured list, he was less effective upon his return in late September, striking out only three of 30 batters he faced in the postseason.

Finnegan, 34, was born in Detroit but grew up in Texas. He had spent his entire big-league career with the Nationals before the trade in July.

Drafted by the Oakland Athletics out of Texas State in 2013, Finnegan never reached the majors in that organization. He signed with Washington as a minor-league free agent before the 2020 season and posted a 3.66 ERA over 329 innings with 108 career saves with the Nats.

Malloy, who turns 26 in February, hit .322 with a .955 OPS in 329 plate appearances with Toledo in 2025, but never got on track during sporadic big-league opportunities.

Most notably, he hit only one home run in 127 MLB plate appearances in 2025, compared to eight in 230 in 2024.

His lack of power, lack of a defensive position, and the emergence of Jahmai Jones as a right-handed platoon bat all combined to make Malloy expendable.

Malloy’s outfield defense has always been a question mark, so the Tigers gave him extra work at first base in spring training. But the resurgence of Spencer Torkelson closed off any opportunity at that position, and Malloy remained largely a DH and pinch-hitter in 2025.

Malloy was acquired from the Atlanta Braves in the Joe Jimenez trade after the 2022 season. The New York native was a sixth-round draft pick out of Georgia Tech in 2021.

TIGERS’ 40-MAN ROSTER (40)

Left-handed pitchers (6): Tyler Holton, Bailey Horn, Brant Hurter, Jake Miller, Tarik Skubal, Drew Sommers.

Right-handed pitchers (15): Drew Anderson, Beau Brieske, Kyle Finnegan, Jack Flaherty, Sawyer Gipson-Long, Brenan Hanifee, Kenley Jansen, Jackson Jobe, Ty Madden, Troy Melton, Casey Mize, Keider Montero, Reese Olson, Dylan Smith, Will Vest.

Catchers (4): Dillon Dingler, Thayron Liranzo, Jake Rogers, Eduardo Valencia.

Infielders (9): Javier Báez, Trei Cruz, Jace Jung, Colt Keith, Hao-Yu Lee, Zach McKinstry, Trey Sweeney, Spencer Torkelson, Gleyber Torres.

Outfielders (6): Kerry Carpenter, Riley Greene, Jahmai Jones, Parker Meadows, Wenceel Pérez, Matt Vierling.

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Detroit, MI

Lions place Kerby Joseph on IR, make 2 OL moves for Steelers game

Published

1 day ago

December 20, 2025

Press Room

Lions place Kerby Joseph on IR, make 2 OL moves for Steelers game

The Detroit Lions have finally placed safety Kerby Joseph on injured reserve, effectively ending the All-Pro defender’s season.

Joseph has been dealing with a knee injury for essentially the entire season, but there was some brief hope he’d be able to return to the field. After suffering a setback during a recent practice, Joseph has been sidelined, and Detroit finally decided to end his season after he had missed the past eight games. Technically, Joseph would be eligible to return to the field if Detroit advances to the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs, but that seems unlikely. Joseph’s season ends with 18 tackles in six games and three interceptions.

Additionally, the Lions have made several offensive moves to address current injuries. Notably, they have activated guard Christian Mahogany, who has been on injured reserve for six weeks after suffering a leg fracture against the Vikings. It’s quite possible he’ll return to his starting position at left guard, although coach Dan Campbell offered some caution on Friday.

“Yesterday, I thought he looked pretty good. Wasn’t perfect, but I thought he looked pretty good,” Campbell said. “And some of it’s going to be, I know he’s a little sore today, and how he feels in today’s practice. That’s what a lot of it’s going to come down to.”

The Lions have also elevated offensive lineman Kingsley Eguakun from the practice squad. That could be a bad sign for the availability of starting center Graham Glasgow. He’s been dealing with a knee injury that caused him to miss two practices this week and landed him with a questionable designation. The Lions now have several options at center, including Eguakun, Trystan Colon (who is dealing with a wrist injury of his own), and Michael Niese. Campbell said the team has been exploring all options in practice this week.

“We’ve obviously worked Colon because he’s been there. I know he’s got the wrist, but he was out there working with it yesterday,” Campbell said. “Just trying to get Graham off his feet. But I mean, we’ve worked Niese, we’ve worked Kingsley. We’ve kind of just hit all around, and we’re rolling the guards, too. So, it’s really been a little bit of a revolving door trying to get a number of guys ready because there’s a lot of flex going into this game right now.”

Lastly, the Lions also elevated tight end Giovanni Ricci from the practice squad for the second straight week as the Lions continue to be short-handed at tight end in the wake of injuries to Sam LaPorta and Brock Wright.

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