Detroit, MI

Rocket predictions: News ‘experts’ pick their favorites, dark horses and winners

Published

1 year ago

June 24, 2024

Rocket predictions: News ‘experts’ pick their favorites, dark horses and winners

Detroit — The Rocket’s back.

The PGA Tour returns to Detroit Golf Club this week, for the sixth playing of the Rocket Mortgage Classic, which has struggled at times to put together a star-studded field, but hasn’t struggled in producing the drama.

Every Rocket has had its fair share of story lines, and drama. The tournament has had two playoffs, including Rickie Fowler’s triumph over Collin Morikawa and Adam Hadwin, last year. And the tournament’s had its fair share of marquee winners, including Tony Finau in 2022 and Bryson DeChambeau in 2020.

Who will it be this year?

The News’ resident golf “experts” weigh in, before the action gets under way at Detroit Golf Club on Thursday.

Tony Paul, reporter

▶ Favorite: Tom Kim has to be the popular pick this week in Detroit, given his performance at the Travelers, where he led almost the entire tournament until late on Sunday, when Scottie Scheffler passed him by (no shame in that) and eventually won in a playoff. Kim knows how to go low, and he’s done it in Detroit. Cameron Young will be atop a lot of folks’ list, too, after his 59 on Sunday, and his tie for second in Detroit in 2022, but if the rough is thick, Young and his erratic driver could have some issues.

▶ One to watch: I’m extremely curious to see how 15-year-old Miles Russell handles his first appearance in a PGA Tour event, in the tournament on a sponsor’s exemption. He did just swell in his Korn Ferry Tour debut, becoming the youngest player ever to make the cut on that circuit. He played Detroit Golf Club earlier this year, and apparently tore the place up (and he also swung by Oakland Hills, shooting 67-68 from the tips).

▶ Dark horse: Neal Shipley. He joined the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Phil Mickelson, Viktor Hovland and a handful of others in earning low-amateur honors at both the Masters and U.S. Open in the same year. He since has turned professional, and projects to be one of those quick-to-the-winner-circle fellas.

▶ Winner: Rickie Fowler. The Rocket hasn’t had a repeat winner, but I’ll say that ends this year. He’s struggled since his breakthrough win in Detroit a year ago, but turned it on the Travelers, just in time for one of his favorite stops.

John Niyo, columnist

▶ Favorite: Cameron Young is the highest-ranked player in the field, and he’s coming in hot, fresh off firing a 59 on Saturday at the Travelers. But with his combination of power and touch, he’s also a perfect fit for this Donald Ross course, as he proved with a runner-up finish to Tony Finau in 2022

▶ One to watch: Chris Kirk is a horse for this course, no doubt. His tie for 14th here last year was his fourth straight top-25 finish, a run that includes a dozen rounds in the 60s.

▶ Dark horse: J.J. Spaun has made the cut in every RMC — no one else can say that — and last year’s T33 was his worst finish to date. Recent results aren’t great, but a Motor City visit might be just what he needed.

▶ Winner: Taylor Pendrith followed up a runner-up finish here in 2022 with another top-15 last year at DGC. After notching his breakthrough win at the Byron Nelson this spring, I’m picking him to double up this week in Detroit.

More: The News’ tee-to-green coverage of the Rocket Mortgage Classic, all right here

Craig Yuhas, assistant sports editor

▶ Favorite: Tom Kim. Without a star-studded field, Kim stands out as someone that should have a great chance after finishing second at Travelers Championship. The biggest problem is how much gas do some of the better players, including Kim, have in the tank? Kim is playing his ninth event in a row, and many will be playing their fourth or fifth tournament in a row this week. He seems to be handling it the best right now.

▶ One to watch: Rickie Fowler. His win at last year’s RMC was a big breakthrough as he embarks on the second half of his PGA Tour career. His play has been steady but not spectacular since. He will have a big following, as he always does, when he’s here. Maybe that is the jolt his game needs to get back rolling to finish off the season.

▶ Dark horse: Adam Schenk. He’s had a up-and-down year, but when he’s good, he’s really good. Schenk finished seventh last year here and maybe this is the week the Purdue alum breaks through for his first career victory.

➤ Winner: Akshay Bhatia. After winning the Texas Open the week before the Masters, Bhatia struggled for a minute before putting it together and is trending in the right direction — T22 at Memorial, T16 at U.S. Open and T5 at the Travelers. I like him to win, but I wonder how he holds up. This will be his eighth tournament in a row.

tpaul@detroitnews.com

@tonypaul1984

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Detroit, MI

What are Detroit Lions’ NFL playoffs odds? Latest playoff picture

Published

1 hour ago

December 14, 2025

Press Room

What are Detroit Lions’ NFL playoffs odds? Latest playoff picture

The Detroit Lions needed some help from an AFC rival to improve their playoff odds before their Week 15 matchup, but they didn’t get the outcome they desired.

The Lions (8-5, 3rd in NFC North) are facing off against the NFC’s top-seeded Los Angeles Rams (10-3, 1st in NFC West) on Sunday, Dec. 14, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. As the NFC’s No. 8 seed, the Lions entered the day with a 54% chance to make the playoffs per NFL Next Gen Stats, but those odds fell with the result in Chicago.

With the No. 7-seeded Chicago Bears hosting the 3-10 Cleveland Browns, Lions fans were hoping for a Browns upset to drop the Bears to 9-5 and allow the Lions to move into a playoff position with a win, since a 9-5 Lions team would own a tiebreaker over Chicago (thanks to their Week 2 victory). However, the Bears took care of business on a frigid day at Soldier Field, beating the Browns, 31-3, to improve to 10-4.

With the Bears beating the Browns, the Lions playoff odds have now lowered to 52% ahead of their game against the Rams (4:25 p.m., Fox). Here’s a look at what the rest of the NFC playoff picture looks like, including how a Lions win can help improve their position.

Lions playoff scenarios

Here’s the latest info on how the Lions can make it into the NFL playoffs, how they could miss out and what their playoff odds are.

What are Lions’ odds to make NFL playoffs?

According to NFL Next Gen Stats, the Lions have a 52% chance of making the playoffs. If they beat the Rams, they will have a 73% chance to make the postseason, but those odds drop to 40% with a loss.

NFC playoff standings

Only the top seven teams make the playoffs in each conference. Here are the NFC standings entering the Lions Week 15 game against the Rams, with playoff odds from NFL Next Gen Stats:

Rams: 10-3, 97%
Packers: 9-3-1, 92%
Eagles: 9-5, 95%
Panthers: 7-6, 47%
Seahawks: 10-3, 97%
Bears, 10-4, 68%
49ers: 9-4, 93%
*Lions: 8-5, 52%
*Buccaneers: 7-7, 54%
*Cowboys: 6-6-1, 8%

*Currently out of the playoffs

How Lions can make NFL playoffs

The Lions still control their own playoff destiny despite currently being out of the playoff picture as the No. 8 seed. However, if the Lions lose any of their four remaining regular-season games, they will need additional outcomes to break their way in order to make it to the postseason.

If the Lions go 4-0 in their remaining regular-season games and finish 12-5, they will make the playoffs no matter the outcome of any other game (and have an outside shot of grabbing the No. 1 seed in the NFC).
If the Lions go 3-1 in their final four games and finish 11-6, they will still make the playoffs if the Bears go 1-2 in their final three games and one of those two losses is to Detroit. An 11-6 Lions team could also theoretically overtake the San Francisco 49ers for a wild-card spot, but that would require the 49ers to lose three of their last four games.
If the Lions go 2-2 in their final four games and finish 10-7, they will have a very difficult time of making the playoffs, especially if one of those losses is to Chicago. In that scenario, either the Rams or 49ers would need to lose all four of their remaining regular-season games for the Lions to make the playoffs.
If the Lions go 1-3 in their final four games and finish 9-8, they will have virtually no shot at making the playoffs unless that one win is against the Bears – and Detroit’s playoff odds would still be minute even with a win in Chicago.
The Lions will be eliminated from playoff contention if they go 0-4 in their final four games and finish 8-9 on the season.

Lions schedule: Next game, final stretch

Week 16, Sunday, Dec. 21: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, 4:25 p.m., CBS.
Week 17, Thursday, Dec. 25: at Minnesota Vikings, 4:30 p.m., Netflix.
Week 18, Saturday/Sunday, Jan. 3-4: at Chicago Bears, TBD.

Bears schedule: Next game, final stretch

Week 16, Saturday, Dec. 20: vs Green Bay Packers, 8:20 p.m. ET, Fox.
Week 17, Sunday, Dec. 28: at San Francisco 49ers, 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC.
Week 18, Saturday/Sunday, Jan. 3-4: vs Detroit Lions, TBD.

When do NFL playoffs start?

The wild-card round is Jan. 10-12.

NFL playoffs schedule

Wild-card round: Jan. 10-12.
Divisional round: Jan. 17-18.
Conference championships: Jan. 25.
Super Bowl 60: Feb. 8.

Need to catch up on the news during your lunch break? Sign up for our Sports Briefing newsletter to get daily summaries of Detroit sports!

You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.

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Detroit, MI

EPA wrongly found Detroit area safe for smog, judge rules in split decision

Published

13 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Press Room

EPA wrongly found Detroit area safe for smog, judge rules in split decision

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was wrong to determine Michigan met federal health and environmental standards for ozone pollution or smog in the Detroit area in 2023, a federal appeals court judge has ruled.

U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Helene White on Dec. 5 issued a split decision in a case about how environmental regulators measured Detroit air quality in 2022, when wildfire smoke drifted over Detroit and affected the air quality monitor readings for a few days in June.

Michigan considered those days “exceptional events” because of the wildfire smoke and didn’t include the high ozone pollution readings in its calculation to the EPA.

With those days tossed, the state was able to argue in 2023 that Michigan met federal air quality standards for ground-level ozone pollution. The seven-county Metro Detroit region had previously been out of compliance with the ozone standards.

The Sierra Club sued, arguing the wildfire smoke did not meaningfully change ozone readings and that the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy failed to analyze how local pollution sources contributed to the ozone levels on those days. The environmental advocacy group also challenged the EPA’s finding that the region met federal standards for ozone pollution.

White determined the exceptional events designation was appropriate, siding against the Sierra Club in deciding the EPA and EGLE correctly analyzed the smoke’s impact on ozone readings in June 2022.

She sided against EPA in deciding the EPA was wrong to put Michigan back into attainment for ground-level ozone without Michigan adopting control measures that would cut volatile organic compounds, which contribute to ozone pollution.

EPA determined the Detroit area was out of attainment for ground-level ozone on April 13, 2022. Michigan regulators did not impose control technologies for ozone-causing pollutants by the deadline in early 2023. Instead, they asked EPA to redesignate the area as in attainment with the air quality rules.

Michigan was obligated to implement control technologies even though it had submitted a redesignation request, White said in her order. Control technologies include efforts to reduce volatile organic compounds from being released from manufacturing plants and industrial sources, according to EPA documents.

Sierra Club member and Detroit environmental justice activist Dolores Leonard cheered the outcome of the case.

“Without this victory, EPA’s decisions would have let Michigan avoid the rules needed to reduce pollution and keep the air we breathe safe,” Leonard said. “At a time when asthma rates are rising in Detroit, especially in Black communities, that’s unacceptable. With the backing of this federal court decision, our community will continue to push the state of Michigan to take much-needed action to relieve ozone pollution in this area.”

The Clean Air Act requires those pollution control measures to be implemented even after the EPA puts an area back into attainment to ensure the air quality remains healthy, said Nick Leonard, executive director of Great Lakes Environmental Law Center, which argued the Sierra Club’s case.

White’s order means the EGLE will have to reapply for the attainment of the ozone standard, Leonard said.

“At the very least, I would say they have to correct the legal deficiency, which was that they didn’t enact the pollution control rules that are typically required for areas that are in non-attainment for this long,” he said.

The EPA is reviewing the decision, its press office said. The office did not respond to a question about whether it would ask Michigan to adopt volatile organic compound control measures as a result of White’s decision.

The EGLE also is reviewing the ruling, spokesman Dale George said.

“While EGLE was not a party to the case and is not able to speak in detail about the legal outcome, we were encouraged that the court supported the use of exceptional events demonstrations and acknowledged the sound science behind EGLE’s determination that the Detroit area met the health-based ozone standard,” George said.

Leonard said he was disappointed but not surprised that White ruled against the Sierra Club’s arguments that EGLE and the EPA did not correctly account for wildfire smoke’s impact on ozone readings in 2022.

That issue is going to plague communities as climate change causes northern wildfires to become more common and kick smoke into Michigan, he predicted.

“If we start to essentially cut out bad air quality days because of the claim they were partially influenced by wildfire smoke … , you create this disconnect between the regulatory systems that are meant to protect people and the actual air pollution that people are breathing,” Leonard said.

ckthompson@detroitnews.com

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Detroit, MI

Active saves leader Jansen joining Tigers on 1-year deal (sources)

Published

1 day ago

December 13, 2025

Press Room

Active saves leader Jansen joining Tigers on 1-year deal (sources)

The Tigers’ bullpen revamp for 2026 now includes an unusual feature for the A.J. Hinch era: A veteran closer. Detroit has reached agreement on a one-year contract with four-time All-Star and 16-year veteran Kenley Jansen, sources told MLB.com.
The deal, which is pending a physical and has not been confirmed

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