Detroit, MI
Rampant OTA holdouts prove Detroit Lions are doing things right
![Rampant OTA holdouts prove Detroit Lions are doing things right](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/2P1HxIXb7rKvlbf2tJzSQ0b2a8Q=/0x0:2400x1257/fit-in/1200x630/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23947218/usa_today_18763274.jpg)
Wednesday brings another day of Organized Team Activities (OTAs) across the NFL and another report of the beginnings of a holdout. Late on Tuesday, it was revealed that San Francisco 49ers receiver Brandon Aiyuk is skipping out on OTAs while he awaits a new deal from the team.
Ayuik is far from alone in “holdout.” Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson, Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb, Bengals receiver Tee Higgins, Broncos receiver Courtland Sutton, and Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward are just some of the big names who have opted out of the start of OTAs.
While we haven’t had the opportunity to take attendance at Detroit Lions OTAs yet, they are unlikely to have this problem. In the past month, the Lions have gotten all of their big contract negotiations out of the way, inking quarterback Jared Goff, receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, and offensive tackle Penei Sewell to long-term deals. Not only does that allow Detroit to get ahead of what is always an ever-increasing market, but now the Lions players can focus on one thing: football.
Sure, OTA participation isn’t the end-all, be-all. We’re talking about practice without full pads and no live contact. But the Lions are a team that has focused on acquiring players who just want to play, and while rules limit what you can do during an OTA practice, it is undoubtedly an opportunity for these players to develop chemistry and get better.
Even though it is considered voluntary, the Lions have always put a high emphasis on OTA attendance. In Year 1 of the Dan Campbell era—in the midst of the COVID pandemic—the Lions had over 80 players on their 90-man roster show up to OTAs.
“To me, that sends a message loud and clear that at least they’ve taken the first step,” Campbell said back in 2021. “They’ve taken the first step and that tells us as coaches, like, they are committed.”
In 2022, the Lions were only missing a handful of players to open OTAs, and in 2023, they, again, reported with well over 80 players present.
So while from the outside looking in, missing OTAs may not seem like a big deal, the Lions clearly emphasize the importance of these practices. And credit to players like Goff, St. Brown, and Sewell for getting these deals done before they become distracting headlines.
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Detroit, MI
Relief from heat heading to Metro Detroit behind storms
![Relief from heat heading to Metro Detroit behind storms](https://res.cloudinary.com/graham-media-group/image/upload/f_auto/q_auto/c_thumb,w_700/v1/media/gmg/OIWH43D3UJDNZEA4GSX5NBOKM4.jpg?_a=ATAPphC0)
The hot, humid, and stormy weather has taken a toll on Metro Detroit families, but we will get some relief from the heat. The chance of showers and storms will last longer.
There is the chance of an isolated strong to severe thunderstorm Saturday night, but the odds are low over Southeast Michigan. The main concerns would be gusty winds and heavy rain. The heavy rain could lead to localized street flooding.
It will be mostly cloudy with the chance of showers and thunderstorms through the overnight hours. Lows will range from 70 to 75 degrees. Winds will be out of the southwest at 8 to 13 mph with gusts up to 25 mph.
Sunday
The heavier rain will move out of the area by 6 a.m. Sunday as a cold front sweeps across the area, but a few showers will be possible through the morning. In the afternoon and evening, a few more spotty showers and a stray thunderstorm may develop. Otherwise, it will be mostly cloudy and noticeably cooler. Highs will be near 85 degrees in Detroit, lower 80s around Monroe, Ann Arbor, and Metro Airport in Romulus. It will be around 80 degrees in Pontiac, Flint, and Port Huron. Winds will be out of the west at 12 to 16 mph with gusts up to 25 mph.
Sunday night, expect partly cloudy skies and lows in the lower to mid 60s.
Monday
The weather looks to be ideal for outdoor activities on Monday, including the 66th Ford Fireworks. A high-pressure system will provide Southeast Michigan with mostly sunny skies, and afternoon temperatures will only peak in the lower 80s.
Monday night, it will be mostly clear and comfortable around 10 p.m. as the fireworks show begins. Overnight, it will become partly cloudy with lows in the lower to mid 60s.
Tuesday
The rain chance will return on Tuesday with highs back in the upper 80s. The high temperatures are forecast to be in the lower to mid 80s through the workweek.
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Detroit, MI
Alex Lange emotional ahead of surgery to end his Detroit Tigers season
![Alex Lange emotional ahead of surgery to end his Detroit Tigers season](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/authoring-images/2023/08/23/PDTF/70655406007-usa-20230822-sns-kd-7-198-jpg.jpg?auto=webp&crop=3599,2033,x0,y183&format=pjpg&width=1200)
Detroit Tigers right-handed reliever Alex Lange wiped tears from his eyes in the clubhouse Friday, just four days before Tuesday’s season-ending surgery in New York to repair an avulsion in his right lat (a tear in the large muscle covering the back) with Yankees head team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad.
Lange won’t pitch again until the 2025 season, but will miss his teammates more than anything.
“I’m looking forward to watching ball this summer,” Lange, 28, said at Comerica Park. “I watch every game. When you’re away from the boys, it’s tough. You become such like a family. It’s tough. I want to get back and get healthy and help. It’s been pretty cool to be a part of this family. I’m going to miss it.”
And his teammates will miss him.
“He’s a huge part of our bullpen, and he’s a nasty pitcher,” catcher Jake Rogers said. “He’s got literally the best pitch in baseball. It’s a tough loss for us. I’m praying for him. I know he’ll be back even better than before, which I’m excited to see.”
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Lange, diagnosed with a right lat strain, suffered the injury while pitching June 14 with Triple-A Toledo. He was trying to work his way back to the Tigers after getting sent down May 23 because of continued problems with his command and his curveball.
Lange lost his job as the closer with a 4.34 ERA, 17 walks and 21 strikeouts across 18⅔ innings in 21 relief appearances with the Tigers this season. (He notched 26 saves in 32 opportunities in 2023.)
“When you pitch as poorly as I was, you gotta accept your option, go down there and work on some stuff,” Lange said. “We had stuff to clean up. I was giving it up pretty good and costing the boys. To go down there and get right, I felt like I was ready, and then obviously unfortunate events happened.”
Lange took the mound June 14 for the Mud Hens in the seventh inning. He felt pain upon throwing a 96.5 mph sinker — his second-to-last pitch of the season — to the second batter he faced in his ninth outing with Toledo. Lange then struck out John Rave, a 26-year-old in the Kansas City Royals’ organization, with a curveball, but after throwing that pitch, immediately signaled to the dugout for medical attention.
“The heater, I felt it snap off the bone,” Lange said. “The tendon just pulled off the bone. I was like, ‘Uh oh, that’s not good.’ With the time of the pitch clock and everything, I wanted to test it to see what happens. I threw a breaking ball, swing and miss, and knew something was wrong, so I called the trainers out.”
The swing-and-miss curveball for a strikeout of Rave marked the final pitch of Lange’s season.
“The tendon pulled off the bone and retracted five and a half centimeters down the lat,” Lange said. “Go in there, sew it back on, a little duct tape, a little glue.”
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Dating back to June 4, 2023, Lange posted a 4.92 ERA with 51 walks (18% walk rate) and 66 strikeouts (23.3% strikeout rate) across 60⅓ innings in 64 games.
At the time of this year’s May 23 demotion, Lange’s 18% walk rate since last June 4 ranked 46th among 46 relief pitchers with at least 60 innings during that span, while his ERA ranked 44th. He struggled to throw strikes for far too long.
“I feel for him,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “He was working on the things that we asked him to work on, which is finding his breaking ball and throw more strikes. The curveball was hit or miss. He was throwing a few more strikes. When he got hurt, it was a punch in the gut for him and for us.”
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His curveball has the potential to be one of the best breaking balls in baseball because of the swing-and-miss profile, but his curveball hasn’t fooled opponents as often recently because it doesn’t fall off the table like it used to.
Simply put, his curveball lacks downward movement.
It averaged minus-0.1 inches of induced vertical break in MLB and plus-1.7 inches of IVB at the Triple-A level this season. Three years ago, it averaged minus-7.4 inches of IVB in MLB.
Fixing the curveball will have to wait.
“All we can really focus on is getting him healthy and getting him back and having him factor in whenever that is,” Hinch said. “But it was good to see him and see his determination to tackle this part of his career with the intensity that all of us would expect of him.”
Lange will rehab from season-ending lat surgery in Houston — which is where he lives in the offseason — as he aims to report healthy to spring training in 2025.
He sounds confident about his chances of bouncing back.
“It’s a pretty big muscle,” Lange said. “We’ll start with reattaching it to where it’s supposed to be and getting that tendon strong back to that bone. As far as the plan, we’re just going to execute. We’ll deal with those obstacles as they come. I’ll be all right. I’m not too worried.”
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, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.
Detroit, MI
2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic field is set; here’s who’ll be at Detroit Golf Club
![2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic field is set; here’s who’ll be at Detroit Golf Club](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2023/06/28/PDTF/67714c25-c0e3-4564-b75a-cad05d3f56d4-celebscramble_062723_AR001A.jpg?auto=webp&crop=2047,1152,x0,y0&format=pjpg&width=1200)
Watch: Crowd goes wild as Rickie Fowler makes winning putt at Rocket Mortgage Classic
Crowd at Detroit Golf Club reacts as Rickie Fowler sinks birdie putt on No. 18 to win three-man playoff at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, July 2, 2023.
Jenna Malinowski, Detroit Free Press
The field for the 2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic is almost set, with 151 spots accounted for as of Friday night. There’s a bit of everything for Detroit golf fans: 10 of the top 50 in the World Golf Rankings, seven major winners, three previous Rocket Mortgage Classic winners and a pair of precocious youngsters.
The tournament, returning to Detroit Golf Club for the sixth time, will be held from June 25-30, with the first round teeing off on Thursday. Among the top ranked golfers coming to town are Cameron Young (No. 23 in the world ranks), Tom Kim (No. 26), Chris Kirk (No. 30) and, of course, Rickie Fowler, who is ranked No. 49 and the defending Rocket Mortgage Classic champ after last year’s epic three-way playoff victory.
Other previous winners returning to Detroit include Cam Davis, who took the trophy in 2021, and Nate Lashley, who won it as the third alternate in 2019, leading wire-to-wire.
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The Rocket Mortgage Classic will also feature several major winners, in Stewart Cink (2009 British Open), Jason Dufner (2013 PGA Championship), Zach Johnson (2007 Masters, 2015 British Open), Francesco Molinari (2018 British Open), Webb Simpson (2012 U.S. Open), Jimmy Walker (2016 PGA Championship) and Gary Woodland (2019 U.S Open).
On the other end of the experience spectrum, Detroit Golf Club will welcome 15-year-old Miles Russell on a sponsor’s exemption for his PGA Tour debut. The high school freshman from Jacksonville Florida finished 20th at the LECOM Suncoast Classic on the Korn Ferry Tour in April. Also making his PGA Tour debut will be Neal Shipley, who has already finished as low amateur at the Masters and the U.S. Open this year. The 2023 U.S. Amateur runner-up turned pro this week.
The final five spots will be up for grabs on Sunday and Monday, with one spot available through the John Shippen National Golf Invitational, a 36-hole tournament at Detroit Golf Club on Saturday and Sunday, and the final four settled through Monday’s qualifiers.
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The 2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic field
(as of Friday night)
Albertson, Anders
Alexander, Tyson
Baddeley, Aaron
Barjon, Paul
Barnes, Erik
Berger, Daniel
Bhatia, Akshay
Blair, Zac
Bramlett, Joseph
Brehm, Ryan
Bridgeman, Jacob
Bryan, Wesley
Buckley, Hayden
Campillo, Jorge
Campos, Rafael
Cauley, Bud
Champ, Cameron
Cink, Stewart
Clanton, Luke +
Cole, Eric
Coody, Parker
Coody, Pierceson
Crowe, Trace
Dahmen, Joel
Davis, Cam
Dougherty, Kevin
Dufner, Jason +
Dumont de Chassart, Adrien
Duncan, Tyler
Dunlap, Nick
Echavarria, Nico
Endycott, Harrison
Fishburn, Patrick
Fowler, Rickie
Fox, Ryan
Furr, Wilson
Garnett, Brice
Ghim, Doug
Gotterup, Chris
Greyserman, Max
Griffin, Ben
Griffin, Lanto
Gutschewski, Scott
Hadley, Chesson
Hale, Jr., Blaine
Hall, Harry
Hardy, Nick
Higgo, Garrick
Highsmith, Joe
Hisatsune, Ryo
Hodges, Lee
Hoey, Rico
Hoffman, Charley
Højgaard, Nicolai
Hossler, Beau
Hubbard, Mark
Jaeger, Stephan
James, Ben +
Johnson, Zach
Kim, Chan
Kim, Michael
Kim, S.H.
Kim, Tom
Kirk, Chris
Kisner, Kevin
Kizzire, Patton
Knapp, Jake
Knowles, Philip
Kohles, Ben
Koivun, Jackson +
Kuchar, Matt
Laird, Martin
Lashley, Nate
Lee, K.H.
Lee, Min Woo
Lindheim, Nicholas
Lipsky, David
List, Luke
Lower, Justin
MacIntyre, Robert
Malnati, Peter
Martin, Kyle #
McCormick, Ryan
McNealy, Maverick
Meissner, Mac
Merritt, Troy
Mitchell, Keith
Molinari, Francesco
Montgomery, Taylor
Moore, Ryan
Moore, Taylor
NeSmith, Matt
Noren, Alex
Norlander, Henrik
Norrman, Vincent
Novak, Andrew
Olesen, Thorbjørn
Pan, C.T.
Pendrith, Taylor
Pereda, Raul
Phillips, Chandler
Rai, Aaron
Ramey, Chad
Reavie, Chez
Riley, Davis
Rodgers, Patrick
Russell, Miles +
Ryder, Sam
Schenk, Adam
Schmid, Matti
Shelton, Robby
Shipley, Neal +
Sigg, Greyson
Silverman, Ben
Simpson, Webb
Skinns, David
Sloan, Roger
Smalley, Alex
Snedeker, Brandt
Spaun, J.J.
Springer, Hayden
Stevens, Sam
Streelman, Kevin
Suh, Justin
Svensson, Adam
Tarren, Callum
Taylor, Ben
Teater, Josh
Thompson, Davis
Thorbjornsen, Michael
Todd, Brendon
Tosti, Alejandro
Trainer, Martin
Tway, Kevin
Valimaki, Sami
van Rooyen, Erik
Vegas, Jhonattan
Villegas, Camilo
Walker, Jimmy +
Wallace, Matt
Whaley, Vince
Whitney, Tom
Wilkinson, Tim
Woodland, Gary
Wu, Brandon
Wu, Dylan
Young, Cameron
Young, Carson
Yu, Kevin
Yuan, Carl
Zalatoris, Will
+ denotes Sponsor Exemption
# denotes Section Champion
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