Detroit, MI
Ranking Lions Roster: 52-40
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The Detroit Lions are officially in game week.
At long last, the countdown to game day has reached less than a week in Detroit. The offseason is over, and the most anticipated Detroit Lions season in recent memory will commence on Sunday when they take on the Los Angeles Rams.
As training camp is concluded, the Lions have whittled down their roster to the final 52 players. There is still an open spot on the roster as they enter game week, one that could be filled quickly.
Here is the first in a series evaluating the Lions’ roster, ranking the players based on impact they will have on the team’s success in 2024. Up first, players ranked 52 through 40.
52.) OT Giovanni Manu
Manu has exciting potential, but his adjustment curve is steep. As a result, he may spend most of the year as an inactive on game days and be little used in action. His practice reps will be vital to his development, and he could get a chance to serve in a depth role later in the year as he continues to grow.
51.) LS Hogan Hatten
Hatten beat out Scott Daly for the long snapper role in training camp and has clear athleticism. He will have a huge part in the efficiency of the field goal and punt teams and has intriguing ability as an overall athlete.
50.) QB Hendon Hooker
Hooker’s value to the team would skyrocket in the event of an injury, so continued development is important. He did enough in the preseason to unseat Nate Sudfeld as the backup, but has flaws within his game that can be corrected with improvement on the practice field.
49.) S Loren Strickland
An undrafted rookie out of Ball State, Strickland showed plenty of physicality throughout the preseason. He’s at the bottom of the defensive depth chart, but should see plenty of time on special teams.
48.) OL Michael Niese
The Lions elected to hold onto 10 offensive linemen at final cuts. With the returning depth, Niese must compete with Kayode Awosika to be utilized in a backup role at the guard position. He took some first team reps in training camp, though, and could wind up being a valuable depth piece down the road.
47.) LB Trevor Nowaske
The Lions brought Nowaske back on waivers after losing him last season to the Arizona Cardinals. He has special teams value along with some traits against the run and in coverage that could be useful.
46.) WR Isaiah Williams
Williams clearly showed his playmaking ability throughout the preseason, both as a receiver and a returner. Detroit has Kalif Raymond as the incumbent in the return game, so it’s uncertain how much action Williams will get in that area.
With Detroit also likely to elevate one of their plethora of wide receivers from the practice squad on game days as well, targets could be limited for the undrafted free agent. That said, it would be no surprise for the Lions to have some plays dialed up to get the Illinois product involved.
45.) S Brandon Joseph
A 2023 UDFA who spent all of last year on the practice squad, Joseph had a strong training camp and earned a job. He had an interception in the preseason opener and forced a fumble in the second game against the Chiefs.
For Joseph, there could be rotational opportunities for him to get snaps on defense. However, with Kerby Joseph, Ifeatu Melifonwu and Brian Branch all in the mix at the position, he may be limited to special teams barring injuries elsewhere at the position.
44.) CB Khalil Dorsey
Dorsey started a pair of games for Detroit late in the year last year, but his biggest value comes on special teams. He’ll be a big part of the Lions’ kickoff and punt units, with the potential to line up as a gunner on the punt team.
43.) TE Parker Hesse
Hesse’s blocking ability earned him a spot. He’ll likely hold the fullback responsibilities as the third tight end. With only 14 career receptions, he may not be aksed to contribute much as a receiver. However, his blocking will be important for Detroit’s run-first attack.
42.) RB Sione Vaki
Like Williams, Vaki showed he’s capable of being a playmaker with the ball in his hands. However, he also faces an uphill climb for reps with Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery and Craig Reynolds ahead of him on the depth chart.
The Utah product is still learning the position after being a predominately defensive player in college. However, he clearly has instincts that could make him an asset in certain situations.
41.) LB Ben Niemann
Niemann is a journeyman who has plenty of special teams experience. He’ll be valuable depth on defense and likely will also be a core special teamer who can contribute a variety of ways in that area.
40.) DT Mekhi Wingo
Early in the year, Wingo’s role may depend on whether or not nose tackle DJ Reader is available. He has versatility to slide around the defensive line, though, and he could wind up getting plenty of snaps.
Wingo struggled at points in the preseason and is undersized, so time will tell what his immediate impact is. However, there’s plenty to like about his potential within Aaron Glenn’s defense.
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Detroit, MI
Warren police investigating shooting that left 1 in critical condition
![Warren police investigating shooting that left 1 in critical condition Warren police investigating shooting that left 1 in critical condition](https://assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2024/06/19/761a80b3-690c-468f-bd53-c0f81def2f65/thumbnail/1200x630/16cea8a3fac8dce9a76cf826b5bae360/gettyimages-1889004791-1.jpg?v=25685eaa472b1a5dbb5bd46ae506d232)
(CBS DETROIT) — An investigation is ongoing after a shooting at a Warren park that left a man in critical condition.
Warren police say officers were called to Veterans Memorial Park Saturday around 7:40 p.m. after getting reports of shots fired.
Responding officers found a man shot multiple times in the arm and lower body. He was taken to the hospital and was listed in critical condition Sunday night.
Officers spoke with several witnesses who said two men were talking to people in a white sedan. Police say an altercation took place and occupants in the sedan fired several shots at the two men. It’s unknown how many people were in the sedan or how many people were shooting.
Officers couldn’t find the man who was with the victim and it’s unknown if he was shot.
Police say officers found a handgun and several shell casings at the park.
If you have any information about the shooting, call Detective Daniel Rose at 586-574-4793 or email him at drose@warrenpd.org.
Detroit, MI
Hurter deals, Torkelson and Greene homer as Tigers clinch series over Red Sox
Detroit — The crowd in Comerica Park felt something brewing.
After being held without a baserunner for the first four innings of Sunday’s rubber match against the Boston Red Sox, Kerry Carpenter opened the bottom of the fifth with a walk, ensuring the Tigers wouldn’t be victims of a perfect game in their own stadium.
Relieved with that — and after Boston lefty Rich Hill got Jace Jung to strike out — the announced crowd of 30,173 in attendance popped at the sound of Spencer Torkelson’s bat sending a second-pitch curveball over the wall in left field and into Detroit’s bullpen.
Torkelson had no doubt, moseying his way out of the batter’s box to admire his work, as he gave the Tigers a lead they’d never relinquish on the way to a series-clinching 4-1 win.
Detroit entered Sunday five games back of the Minnesota Twins for a wild-card spot. But it made up ground on the Red Sox, who are currently the first American League team out and sit just a half-game ahead of the Tigers.
It was a two-homer day for Detroit, as Riley Greene turned on a 92 mph cutter left over the middle of the plate in the sixth inning and smoked a line drive that snuck inside the right-field foul pole. Greene’s shot was also of the two-run variety, scoring Parker Meadows from first base.
Greene has a team-high 20 home runs, the most of his three-year career, and is up to 58 RBIs, which also leads the Tigers. Torkelson now has eight home runs on the season.
For as good as Boston starter Cooper Criswell was — no hits or walks allowed to go along with five strikeouts through four innings — Tigers lefty Brant Hurter kept Detroit in it. Hurter scattered six hits over five innings, allowing one run in the fifth before stranding two runners by forcing a groundout to second base.
Hurter also got the Tigers out of danger in the second frame. After Beau Brieske, who started the game, surrendered back-to-back one-out walks, Hunter was called out of the bullpen and induced an inning-ending double play on his first pitch.
It’s the sixth appearance of Hurter’s career, and the first in which he pitched at least five innings and allowed one or fewer runs; he’s gone for five or more innings on three other occasions, giving up two, two and three runs in outings against the Los Angeles Angels, New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants, respectively.
Will Vest and Jason Foley combined to pitch a scoreless 2⅔ innings to secure the win. The Tigers, who finish their home stand with a 4-2 record, will now head to California for a six-game road trip against the San Diego Padres from Sept. 2-5 and the Oakland Athletics from Sept. 6-8.
rsilva@detroitnews.com
@rich_silva18
Detroit, MI
5 memorable visits to Detroit by presidential candidates on Labor Day
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What to know about Labor Day and its history
Labor Day is more than just barbecues, shopping sales and a long weekend. Here’s what to know about the federal holiday.
Vice President Kamala Harris is a political trailblazer as the first Black woman and first person of South Asian descent to win a major party’s nomination for president.
But she follows a decades-old tradition of Democratic presidential candidates when she visits Detroit this Labor Day, a holiday marking the end of summer and, historically, the day presidential campaigns launch into overdrive for the fall stretch.
Big union cities such as New York, Chicago and Pittsburgh have also attracted big-name politicos on the first Monday in September but no city has been more closely associated with the American labor movement than Detroit. Combine that with Michigan’s status as a battleground state and the appeal for Democrats to visit Detroit on Labor Day is clear.
Though Detroit has celebrated Labor Day since the late 1800s, it’s only in about the last 75 years that Labor Day has drawn presidential candidates to the city.
Until after World War II, “labor in its contemporary form hadn’t risen to the level that it has now,” said Marick Masters, a professor emeritus of business at Wayne State University in Detroit. “As it grew in power, particularly in the Democratic Party, Democratic politicians wanted to pay allegiance to the labor movement” by making holiday visits to Detroit and other union strongholds, he said.
More: Kamala Harris to return to metro Detroit on Labor Day
More: Michigan State Fair returns with circus, new farmer’s market, more: Here’s what to expect
Here are five notable Labor Day visits to Detroit by past presidential candidates.
Harry S. Truman, 1948
Harry S. Truman visited Detroit as an incumbent president but a political underdog.
He would go on to defeat Republican New York Gov. Thomas Dewey in what was seen as one of the greatest political upsets in U.S. history, and considered Detroit his “lucky city,” the Detroit Free Press reported at the time.
That’s because he had also campaigned in the Motor City on Labor Day in 1944, as a candidate for vice president to Franklin D. Roosevelt, who that November won an unprecedented fourth term.
The local AFL and CIO affiliates, which sometimes competed to organize the same workers, had made a joint invitation to Truman at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. That was viewed as a healthy sign for labor unity, though the entities would not merge until 1955.
“A free and strong labor movement is our best bulwark against communism,” Truman, who was accompanied by his daughter Margaret, told a large crowd in Cadillac Square in Detroit.
At the time of Truman’s visit, union members were still outraged by the 1946 passage — over Truman’s veto — of the Taft-Hartley Act, which took effect in 1947 and banned wildcat strikes, closed shops, and mass picketing, among other restrictions on union activities.
Taft-Hartley “is only a foretaste of what you will get if Republican reaction is allowed to grow,” Truman told the crowd in Detroit.
Inflation was an election issue then, as it is today. Truman in 1946 had vetoed a bill to extend price controls, introduced under Roosevelt, saying he did not believe the legislation would prevent prices from rising.
Adlai Stevenson, 1952
Not every Democrat who campaigns for president in Detroit on Labor Day goes on to win.
Adlai Stevenson, who lost to Republican Dwight Eisenhower, is a case in point.
As reported in the Detroit Free Press, the crowd of 25,000 gave “cheers of anticipation” when Michigan Gov. G. Mennen “Soapy” Williams introduced Stevenson, the governor of Illinois, as “a great friend of labor.”
But those cheers “became much milder as Stevenson expounded his views on labor relations,” and the crowd “began disintegrating,” the newspaper reported.
“You are not my captives and I am not yours,” Stevenson told the largely pro-union audience. “I intend to do exactly what I think right and best for all of us — business, labor, agriculture, alike. You, too, will do exactly what you think best at the election.”
Though he called for changes to Taft-Hartley, Stevenson rejected unionists’ labeling of it as a “slave labor” law, the Free Press reported.
“We cannot tolerate shutdowns which threaten our national safety,” Stevenson said. “The right to bargain collectively does not include the right to stop the national economy.”
Stevenson returned to Detroit on Labor Day in 1956, launching another unsuccessful campaign for the White House.
John F. Kennedy, 1960
The crowd in Cadillac Square was estimated at 60,000 when the charismatic senator from Massachusetts, on his way to a razor-thin victory over Vice President Richard Nixon, launched a withering attack on the Eisenhower administration.
John F. Kennedy said that stagnant growth under the Republican president had cost each American $7,000.
As reported in the Free Press, Kennedy said the labor movement “is people,” and the enemies of labor are the enemies of “all progress.”
“The two cannot be separated,” Kennedy said. “The man and the party who opposes a decent increase in minimum wage is not likely to be more generous toward a badly underpaid school teacher.”
Democratic State Chairman Neil Staebler called Kennedy “the best campaigner to hit Michigan since Franklin D. Roosevelt,” who had visited Detroit, but never on Labor Day.
Lyndon B. Johnson, 1964
Michigan Democratic delegates generally, and union members specifically, were vocally unhappy with Kennedy’s selection of Lyndon B. Johnson as his running mate at the 1960 Democratic National Convention.
But both labor activists and Johnson — who didn’t visit Michigan once during the 1960 campaign — were willing to put those memories behind them when Johnson came to Detroit as president, less than one year after Kennedy was assassinated.
Reporters marveled at the willingness of Johnson, accompanied by his wife, Lady Bird, to mingle with the huge crowd outside what was then the Sheraton Cadillac Hotel, shaking as many hands as possible, amid high security and understandably nervous Secret Service agents, the Free Press reported.
In a bipartisan gesture, Detroit labor leaders invited Republican Gov. George Romney to join Johnson on the speaking platform.
“Hospitality is not limited to those with whom we share all our views, as this occasion, and the visits of other presidential candidates, will bear out,” Romney said.
Barack Obama 2011
President Barack Obama’s Labor Day visit to Detroit was unusual in that it did not occur during an election year.
With another year still to go in his first term, Obama visited Detroit amid persistent high unemployment to celebrate his 2009 stimulus package that included an $81 billion federal rescue of General Motors and Chrysler, which is now known as Stellantis.
He was drumming up support for a major jobs plan he was about to present to Congress, where the U.S. House was Republican-controlled.
Speaking at a GM parking lot next to the Renaissance Center in Detroit, Obama credited the auto industry with the creation of the middle class in Michigan and across the nation.
“Our economy is stronger when workers are getting paid good wages and good benefits,” Obama said. “Having a voice on the job and a chance to get organized and the chance to negotiate for a fair day’s pay … is the right of every man and woman in America, not just the CEO in the corner office, but also the janitor who cleans that office.”
Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on X, @paulegan4.
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