Michigan Panthers (4-2) vs. D.C. Defenders (3-3)

Kickoff: Noon Sunday.

Where: Audi Field in Washington.

TV: ESPN.

Streaming: Check out the Michigan Panthers on Fubo (free trial).

THE JAKE BATES SHOW: Bates hits another game-winning field goal in Michigan Panthers’ 28-27 win

BOX SCORE

Game notes: The Michigan Panthers can virtually clinch a United Football League playoff berth — and the franchise’s first .500-or-better record in three seasons — with a victory today. Memphis’ loss Saturday afternoon eliminated the 1-6 Showboats, and 1-5 Houston faces 4-2 San Antonio this afternoon at 3 p.m.. D.C.’s playoff hopes are on the edge, as they enter the day trailing St. Louis (which won Saturday) by 2½ games and San Antonio by a game with three weeks to play after today.

This should be a good matchup for the Panthers, who entered the weekend with the No. 2 rushing offense in the league, averaging 108.2 yards a game on the ground. The Defenders, meanwhile, are doing anything but; D.C., led by notorious ex-NFL defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, is next-to-last in stopping the run, at 112.5 yards a game, and stopping the pass, at 200.7 yards a game.

The Panthers have won two straight with backup QB Danny Etling under center; the former Purdue and LSU standout is completing 63.1% of his passes for 482 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Etling might not get the start vs. the Defenders however, with reports suggesting former Michigan State QB Brian Lewerke is now atop the Michigan depth chart. The Panthers’ top target has been the do-everything Marcus Simms, who has 19 catches for 385 yards — No. 2 in the league — and three touchdowns while also delivering seven kickoff returns for 201 yards; he’s fifth in all-purpose yards.

There’s also likely to be a shuffle among the Panthers defenders, with star linebacker Frank Ginda — last season’s USFL Defensive Player of the Year — potentially out for the season. Ginda was tied (with Kai Nacua) for the team lead in tackles with 35 (21 solo).

D.C., meanwhile, features former Lions practice squadder — they’re all over the place — Jordan Ta’amu at quarterback. The former Ole Miss star — and the XFL’s Offensive Player of the Year last season — is completing just 53.6% of his passes, but is third in yards (1,067) and second in TDs (eight). He’ll be looking for Kelvin Harmon, who has 338 receiving yard on 25 catches — more than twice as many as any other Defenders option.

After today, the Panthers return home for their Ford Field finale against the Showboats at 4 p.m. Saturday. (They wrap up the season with a visit to Houston on May 26 and a stop in Birmingham, Alabama, on June 1.) The Defenders, meanwhile, hit the road for two weeks — first at St. Louisin May 19 and Memphis on May 26 — before closing things out at home against Arlington.

Contact Ryan Ford at rford@freepress.com. Follow him on X (which used to be Twitter, y’know?) @theford.

The family of a Black man who was killed after he was hit by an unmarked police car in Michigan spoke out on Saturday after body camera footage of the incident was released by investigators.

Michigan State Police said it handed over its investigative report and all evidence to the state attorney general’s office concerning the April 17 death of Samuel Sterling, who was being pursued by officers in Kentwood for outstanding warrants.

Sterling, 25, allegedly fled when officers approached him at a gas station and was hit by an unmarked Michigan State Police car after officers converged on him at a parking lot of a nearby Burger King, police claim. He died later in the day at the hospital.

The body camera footage released Friday showed officers rushing to Sterling on the ground after he was hit moaning in pain and claiming he did not have a gun. The unmarked police vehicle is seen up on a curb next to the restaurant in front of Sterling.

Attorney Ven Johnson, an attorney representing Sterling’s family, said in a statement to ABC News that they were “stunned and appalled to see the MSP trooper deliberately drive over a curb – onto a sidewalk – and violently take Samuel’s life by striking him with an unmarked police car.”

“No one person should be able to appoint themselves as judge, jury and executioner, yet deaths from police brutality and excessive force continue to occur too often,” Johnson added.

Officers are seen putting handcuffs on Sterling and telling firefighters who responded to the scene to keep the cuffs on.

The footage released Friday came from three agencies who were part of the fugitive task force — Michigan State Police, Grand Rapids Police Department and Wyoming Police Department — and included footage from four sources, three officers’ body camera footage and one dash camera from a police vehicle, Michigan State Police said.

“I assure the Sterling and Cage families and the communities we serve that we will continue to be transparent in this investigation and will fully cooperate with the Michigan Department of Attorney General as they begin their review,” MSP director Col. James F. Grady II, who met with the family Friday, said in a statement.

The state police trooper who was driving the vehicle that hit Sterling was not wearing a body camera and his vehicle did not have a dash camera “due to his assignment on a federal task force,” Michigan State Police said in a statement.

The state police launched an investigation into the incident and suspended the trooper — whose identity has not been revealed because of the probe — without pay.

Marc E. Curtis, the attorney representing the trooper, told ABC News in a statement that his client is cooperating with the investigation.

“We would like to express to the family and community that we know you are grieving the death of Mr. Sterling. The Trooper involved is heartbroken at the loss of Mr. Sterling’s life and wants the family to know that he had no intention of purposely harming Mr. Sterling,” Curtis said in a statement.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel will review the police report and evidence and decide if any charges are warranted.

“My public integrity unit has investigated dozens of police-involved incidents and is dedicated to providing a thorough and just review and resolution in each one,” Nessel said in a statement last month.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement Friday that Sterling’s death was “unacceptable” and called for the termination of the officer if charges are issued.

“I have full faith that her office will work quickly to arrive at a fair and just decision as to whether criminal charges are appropriate,” the governor said of Nessel.

ABC News’ Sabina Ghebremedhin contributed to this report.

Within two weeks of entering the transfer portal, Geno VanDeMark has found a new home.

The former Michigan State offensive lineman has committed to Alabama, telling On3 Sports of his decision Saturday.

The 6-foot-5, 320-pound VanDeMark started six of the eight games he played at right guard last season for the Spartans. He missed his team’s other four games in 2023 with an undisclosed injury.

At Alabama, he’ll be reunited with former Michigan State offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic, who now holds the same role with the Crimson Tide under new coach Kalen DeBoer. Kapilovic was one of VanDeMark’s primary recruiters to the Spartans, who he committed to as a three-star recruit in the 2021 class.

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His verbal pledge to Alabam is the latest development in what has been a back-and-forth, will-he-or-won’t-he process.

VanDeMark originally entered the transfer portal Dec. 4, shortly after Jonathan Smith was unveiled as Michigan State’s new coach, replacing Mel Tucker. About three weeks later, though, he withdrew his name from the portal and returned to the Spartans.

On April 30, following Michigan State’s spring practice and its spring showcase, VanDeMark once again entered the portal, doing so on the final day it was open for new entrants this spring.

He was one of four Spartans players to enter the portal that day, a group that included fellow offensive lineman Ethan Boyd. Boyd, an East Lansing native, has since committed to Colorado and coach Deion Sanders.