Detroit, MI
Roundtable: Are Lions League’s Most Popular Team?
1.) Are the Detroit Lions the brand new model of “America’s Group”?
Vito Chirco: No. First off, the nationwide media could not care much less concerning the Lions. Second, they have not earned the respect of the media.
Bear in mind, Detroit has by no means made a Tremendous Bowl, and hasn’t received an NFL championship since 1957.
If something, the Lions are the NFL’s lovable losers, as a result of they’re clearly not “America’s Group.”
Adam Strozynski: That is humorous. Actually, I laughed out loud. No, they aren’t. I feel individuals need them to do effectively, as a result of they’ve a “loveable loser” really feel to them. However, they are going to by no means be America’s No. 1 rooting curiosity.
2.) Will Aidan Hutchinson have a greater NFL profession than Chris Lengthy?
Chirco: It is clearly laborious to venture long run. However, at this level, I will say sure. Whereas I do not see the Michigan product being a ten.5-sack-a-season man, he does not need to be with a purpose to have a greater profession than Lengthy. I feel Hutchinson is extra more likely to be a 7.5-9.5-sack-per-season participant, which remains to be higher than the 6.4 sacks a season that Lengthy averaged over his 11-year profession.
Now, Lengthy did file a 13-sack season, adopted by an 11.5 one in back-to-back campaigns (2011-12). Perhaps Hutch won’t ever attain the 13-sack plateau in a single season. Nonetheless, on a constant, season-to-season foundation, I feel the previous standout Wolverines EDGE shall be a extra productive professional.
Strozynski: I feel so. Relying on how lengthy Aidan Hutchinson performs, he solely has to common 33 complete tackles and 6.5 sacks a season to outpace Chris Lengthy’s season-by-season common.
3.) Which extensive receiver can have probably the most touchdowns in 2022?
Chirco: If it weren’t for Jameson Williams recovering from a torn ACL as he prepares for his rookie marketing campaign within the NFL, I might say him. Nonetheless, with that being taken under consideration and never figuring out when he will be cleared to play, I will go together with fellow offseason acquisition DJ Chark being the receiver to file probably the most touchdowns for the Lions in 2022. I see the previous Jacksonville Jaguars wideout main the way in which with six touchdowns, whereas second-year professional Amon-Ra St. Brown finally ends up with 5 for a second straight 12 months and Williams grabs 4.
As for the league as an entire, I will go together with Cincinnati Bengals extensive receiver Ja’Marr Chase. He recorded 13 reception TDs a season in the past, and I feel he’ll proceed to place up prolific numbers so long as he is catching passes from former Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow.
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Strozynski: I am going to go together with the Buffalo Payments’ Stefon Diggs. He isn’t a sleeper, however one other 12 months with a top-10 quarterback, in an offense that may explode down the sphere and has no downside placing up factors, I feel Diggs is a protected wager to be sitting on the high when the 2022 season is over.
4.) How a lot ought to tight finish T.J. Hockenson’s yearly wage be?
Chirco: Properly, Hockenson clearly is a tier under the Travis Kelce’s and the George Kittle’s of the world, each of whom make $14-$15 million a 12 months.
A extra correct participant comp for “Hock” is New England Patriots tight finish Hunter Henry. Henry signed a three-year cope with the Patriots an offseason in the past that pays him round $12.5M a season.
Hockenson does not have as huge of a observe file of productiveness as Henry, however he’s youthful than the previous Charger (Hock shall be 25 in 2022) and is anticipated to make an even bigger affect than Henry as a pass-catcher over the long run.
For these causes above, I feel Hockenson deserves to be paid $12M on a yearly foundation.
Strozynski: That is robust, as a result of the market will dictate that he needs to be incomes $14-$15 million. However, I feel he is price extra like $10-$12.5 million a season. You’ve a man like Darren Waller incomes lower than $8 million a season, and he’s a greater tight finish proper now than I feel Hockenson will pan out to be.
5.) Do you suppose Romeo Okwara is part of the Lions’ long-term plans?
Chirco: With the Lions’ current additions of Hutchinson and Josh Paschal by way of the draft, I really feel that it is much less and fewer probably. Bear in mind, the soon-to-be 27-year-old additionally wasn’t introduced in by the current Lions regime. I feel these components all contribute to Okwara ultimately having his position lessened with Detroit.
Strozynski: One other good query. At this level, I might say no. Nonetheless, if he returns to that 2020 stage of manufacturing, he can have a spot on any workforce within the NFL. I do not suppose we’ll see that, although. Coming back from a torn Achilles is difficult sufficient, and never having the identical explosiveness he as soon as needed to make performs actually caps his ceiling.
Detroit, MI
President Joe Biden speaks to Detroit NAACP dinner: How to watch
President Joe Biden is getting set to speak Sunday evening at the Detroit Branch NAACP’s annual Fight for Freedom Fund dinner at Huntington Place in his first visit to the city this campaign season.
Because it’s being considered a campaign event, the White House website won’t be carrying the event live, but there are a couple of places you can watch it, including here on freep.com, courtesy of a link from C-SPAN.
You can also watch it online at cspan.org and WYXZ Channel 7 will be carrying it live on its website, wxyz.com.
The speech to the annual dinner comes at a crucial time in Biden’s campaign for reelection with several swing state polls showing him trailing former President Donald Trump in a rematch of the 2020 election. Michigan is expected to help determine which man gets reelected in November.
Meanwhile, Biden is trying to shore up support among Black voters, who are vital to his reelection hopes. Earlier Sunday, Biden delivered the commencement address at Morehouse College in Atlanta, a historically all-male Black institution, before traveling to Michigan.
Come back to freep.com for more coverage of Biden’s visit to Detroit.
Contact Todd Spangler: tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @tsspangler.
Detroit, MI
Megan Thee Stallion brings swagger and spice to LCA in first Detroit headlining show
Megan Thee Stallion signs distribution deal with Warner Music Group
Megan Thee Stallion has signed a distribution deal with Warner Music Group but will retain her independence as an artist.
Bang Showbiz
She may be just three shows into her first-ever headlining tour, but Megan Thee Stallion looked all the part of a seasoned star onstage Saturday night at Little Caesars Arena.
Five years after breaking big with “Hot Girl Summer,” the Grammy-winning rapper has embarked on a transatlantic arena tour of that same name, with Detroit an early stop on the run.
A sellout crowd was there to greet the 29-year-old Houston hitmaker for what was a girls-night-out kind of affair, with many fans arriving at LCA in their own variations of the curvaceous body suits and flesh-baring monokinis Megan Thee Stallion would embrace onstage.
It was a night writhing with snake imagery, sexual bravado and near-nonstop booty shaking. The show was as much about Megan’s confident, assertive presence as it was her ever-growing repertoire of kinky hits — a salvo that started Saturday with her latest chart-topper, “Hiss,” and its barrage of cleverly barbed celebrity shade.
Joined by eight dancers who at one point joined the star for a synchronized twerking number, Megan Thee Stallion kept the pace upbeat and the downtime minimal. The only extended pause for breath came with a mid-show segment in which she invited groups of excited fans — her Hotties — onto the stage for their own personalized dancing exhibitions.
Amid the extravagant raunchiness that often bordered on camp, that was a touch of come-one, come-all togetherness and accessibility, much like the assorted selfies she snapped on audience members’ mobile phones throughout the night.
As a rapper, Megan Thee Stallion is formidable — she built a name via her electrifying freestyles, after all — and her rapid-fire rhymes accentuated songs such as “Sex Talk,” “Kitty Kat” and “Stalli.” Elsewhere, numbers like “Thot S—” rode high on catchy hooks, with the likes of “Big Ole Freak” becoming arena-wide chant-alongs and “BOA” serving up her distinctive brand of side-eye.
After reported technical glitches on the tour’s opening nights, Saturday’s mix was crisp and full, and the star’s mouth-twisting vowels and spicy wordplay were only occasionally lost in the sonic boom.
Megan Thee Stallion’s trademark, defiant swagger did give way to a little vulnerability with the recent single exploring her battles with depression, “Cobra,” which wrapped up the concert’s opening segment.
“Wanna Be,” with guest Glorilla, and the 2020 Cardi B smash “WAP” helped the show start a crescendo that finished with the biggest hit of Megan’s career, the Beyoncé-featuring “Savage.”
For all the night’s energy — and props to the likable Megan, that rarely flagged — the show threatened to become a monotonous affair, offering few variations in sound, movement or expression. At a crisp 85 minutes, it clocked out probably exactly when it needed to.
Rising rapper Glorilla had kicked off the evening with a 45-minute set of Memphis-fueled hip-hop and her own brand of self-empowerment.
Contact Detroit Free Press music writer Brian McCollum: 313-223-4450 or bmccollum@freepress.com.
Detroit, MI
Motown Museum to host annual Founder’s Day celebration on May 19
DETROIT, MICH (WXYZ) — The Motown Museum is welcoming the community to its annual Founder’s Day celebration from 12-5 p.m. on Sunday, May 19, 2024.
Community vendors, performances from Hitsville NEXT program participants and appearances by special guests will be highlights of Founder’s Day, which is a Motown Museum tradition. Entertainment on the museum’s immersive Rocket Plaza will culminate the day of celebration and give the local Detroit community the opportunity to experience the Motown magic together.
Founder’s Day is an annual, free and open to the public celebration hosted by Motown Museum in honor of Esther Gordy Edwards, Motown Museum’s late founder who made commemorating the Motown legacy in Detroit a reality for the world. The event will kick off the 2024 summer performance series on Rocket Plaza, which will be packed with captivating concerts and unique community gathering events that will make Rocket Plaza and Motown Museum the place to be for live music and outdoor entertainment in Detroit.
Two-for-one Motown Museum tours will also be available on Founder’s Day. Interested participants should plan to purchase Motown Museum tours through the box office on the day of the event. Motown Museum Campus Rocket Plaza (in front of Hitsville U.S.A.) is located at 2648 W. Grand Blvd., in Detroit, MI (48208).
For more information on Motown Museum, visit http://www.motownmuseum.org
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