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Michigan Panthers showcase stability in kicking off 2025 training camp

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Michigan Panthers showcase stability in kicking off 2025 training camp


In a league that’s heavy on turnover, the Michigan Panthers have found some stability entering the 2025 season.

More than 60% of the projected roster is made up of returning players, and the entire coaching staff is back, including third-year head coach Mike Nolan. That made things a bit easier Monday as the Panthers hit the field for the first practice of training camp, ahead of the March 30 United Football League season opener at Memphis.

The return of the entire coaching staff, including offensive coordinator Collin Bauer and defensive coordinator Marcel Bellefeuille, is a big benefit, if an overlooked one, especially since training camp is about a week shorter than last season, when the United States Football League and XFL merged operations.

“It’s better than putting in a new system on a short training camp,” Nolan said after practice Monday. “I would say it’s good. Our players obviously that are returning will know the language, so you don’t have an entire football team learning a new language. That’s a little bit of, I will use the word, advantage. That’s the biggest thing.

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“The players are the ones that benefit, the fact the coaches are all back. It’s easier for the returning players to kind of pick it up and just start playing football. Because of that, that also helps the new guys learn that much quicker.

“I really enjoy our coaching staff. They like doing this and so do it. It’s a good deal.”

The Panthers had near-full participation during a shortened practice Monday, including from the team’s three quarterbacks, returners Danny Etling and Bryce Perkins and newcomer Rocky Lombardi (Michigan State), a sign that contract talks between the UFL ownership and players is going well. The league’s 24 quarterbacks signed a letter holding out of a mini-camp last week amid contract negotiations over salaries and health care.

The Panthers, like with all eight UFL teams, are practicing in the Arlington, Texas, area, and will continue to travel each week to all 10 regular-season games, including five home games at Ford Field in Detroit.

The Panthers made the playoffs each of the last two seasons, in the USFL in 2023 and the UFL in 2024. Michigan was 7-3 last season, a year most-known for the emergence of future Detroit Lions kicker Jake Bates. Several other Michigan Panthers from 2024 got looks from NFL teams, a big reason, Nolan believes, why the roster stability is so strong.

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“They know they have a shot to get back in the NFL,” said Nolan, a former head coach of the San Francisco 49ers.

Nolan said he expects two areas to see significant competition this spring: the secondary and offensive line. He also is intrigued by the receivers in camp. Running back Jaden Shirden, of Monmouth, made a strong impression Monday.

The Panthers have 61 players in training camp, including eight with local ties: Lombardi, offensive lineman Brian Dooley (Eastern Michigan), offensive lineman J.D. Duplain (Michigan State), defensive back Gemon Green (Michigan), defensive back Keni-H Lovely (Western Michigan), running back Nate McCrary (Muskegon; Saginaw Valley State), tight end Gunnar Oakes (Eastern Michigan) and defensive end Kenny Willekes (Rockford; Michigan State).

The rosters will be cut down to 50, with 43 active (including a third, emergency quarterback) on game days. The Panthers open the season on the road, before playing three straight home games, starting Friday night, April 4, against Birmingham at Ford Field.

“We’re always trying to get better,” Nolan, 65, said following the introductory practice Monday. “The energy was really good, the guys are obviously eager to get out there and run around. I thought there was a little more athleticism out of some of the guys, the new guys.

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“It’s a good group.”

Michigan Panthers schedule

March 30: at Memphis, noon (ESPN)

April 4: vs. Birmingham, 8 (Fox)

April 13: vs. San Antonio, noon (ABC)

April 18: vs. Memphis, 8 (Fox)

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April 26: at St. Louis 7 (ESPN)

May 4: vs. DC, noon (ESPN2)

May 10: at Arlington, 1 (Fox)

May 17: at Houston, 1 (Fox)

May 24: at Birmingham, 3 (ABC)

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May 31: vs. Houston, 3 (ESPN)

tpaul@detroitnews.com

@tonypaul1984



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Birmingham police say massive pool party should have been shut down sooner

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Birmingham police say massive pool party should have been shut down sooner


Police in Birmingham, Michigan, say officers should have shut down a massive pool party in a residential neighborhood sooner last weekend. 

More than 100 people showed up for a party in the 300 block of Westchester Way on June 13, when city officials say a private residential pool was rented out to a third party, violating zoning regulations.

“While officers shut the party down and issued multiple citations, the department acknowledges the party should have been shut down earlier,” said Birmingham police Chief Scott Grewe in a social media post. “Protecting public safety and preserving the quality of life in Birmingham neighborhoods remain top priorities. Should an event require intervention in the future, there will be police supervision to ensure the orderly and safe dispersal of attendees.

Homeowners on Westchester Way told CBS News Detroit that the street was filled with cars and some intoxicated partygoers.

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“Women, I don’t even know if they were wearing anything, thong bikinis on top of vehicles, twerking,” said homeowner Brian Homer.

Birmingham police confirmed the individual who rented the backyard over the weekend was a promoter. Police say the homeowner and the person who rented the pool were among those who received citations. 

Residents told CBS News Detroit that the house has been hosting parties for years and that its pool is listed on Swimply for rent.

“This isn’t the first time; this has been ongoing. This is just the first time he got caught,” said a resident who shares a fence with the homeowner who is renting their pool.

During a Birmingham City Commission meeting Monday night, Birmingham Mayor Clinton Baller said that the city had failed in this case. 

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Homeowners who spoke with CBS News Detroit said they are concerned about their safety, given that the neighborhood is filled with children.

In April, three men were arrested and later charged in connection with a shooting at a short-term rental in the 1400 block of East Lincoln Street. According to police, a party was advertised at the rental home, and three 18-year-old men drove up to the property, where other teens were gathering, when an argument ultimately led to a shooting. 

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Skateboarding legend conquers California, revisits Michigan roots

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Skateboarding legend conquers California, revisits Michigan roots


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Warren — Skateboarders flew through the air at Macomb County’s Eckstein Skatepark, launching off concrete ramps as spectators looked on from the surrounding rows of vendor tents.

Punk rock music from a band on the Creative Grind Fest stage echoed across the park as veteran skateboarders — and a legend in the sport — stood alongside the youngest, offering help and encouragement. Among them was 4-year-old Nikky Bukobich, who said the first thing he learned on a skateboard was “to fall.”

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Bill Danforth, a Grosse Pointe South High School graduate, surveyed the scene. With buzzed silver hair, limited edition Danforth Vans sneakers and a white T-shirt, the 60-year-old skateboarding trailblazer talked with fans and signed boards.

“Young skateboarders are the future of the sport, and will be able to carry it on long after we are not,” Danforth told The Detroit News. “You’re never done with skateboarding. But after we slow down, they got to keep that tradition going.”

Danforth returned to Metro Detroit last weekend as one of the newest inductees into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame, making appearances at Royal Oak’s Modern Skate & Surf — which Danforth credits with keeping skateboarding alive in Michigan — and Warren’s Creative Grind Fest. As the skateboarding industry continues to grow, Danforth’s induction offers a look back at the figures who helped shape the sport’s early years.

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Grosse Pointe meets California

Danforth was drawn to skateboarding as a Grosse Pointe youth when he realized it allowed him to express his creativity like no other sport did.  

“I played organized sports when I was a kid. I played hockey, I played baseball, I played golf,” he said. “Skateboarding was unique, and it had no rules. We created our own groove.” 

Danforth started skating wherever he could: “Most of it was at schoolyards or loading docks. This is before we were even building ramps.”

Then, in 1978, Detroit’s Endless Summer Skatepark opened in Roseville and Danforth began competing through the Great Lakes Skateboarding Association. These competitions drew attention to Danforth and other Midwest skaters from some of the largest industry groups on the West Coast, earning Danforth a sponsorship from Madrid Skateboards. 

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“We started getting recognized by California,” Danforth said. “All of a sudden we were sponsored by California companies — we’re getting free skateboards, we’re getting free wheels and we’re getting free components.” 

‘Style is faster, more charged’

Art director and brand manager for Madrid Skateboards, Eagle Barber, said that Danforth stood out from others in the way he skated.  

“His style is faster, it’s more charged. He was never an apprehensive, laid-back skater,” Barber said. “He was always going faster and bigger, and he had a very certain air of intimidation about him.”  

Michigan professional skateboarder Garold Vallie, a close friend, added that Danforth was known for skating anything and everything.

“He could skate big halfpipes, but he could skate street,” Vallie said. “He could skate anything. He had his own style, and people gravitated towards that.”

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Jerry Shirts, a skater and artist selling his spraypainted road signs at the festival, had often been inspired by Danforth’s tricks on the board, he said: “He was a big influence on me when I first started skating. I had seen him in the mags and such, and then realized he was from Michigan, so he was my favorite local skater. I copied all his tricks.”

Danforth was also unique simply for being a Michiganian. Todd Huber, founder and CEO of the Skateboarding Hall of Fame, said Danforth emerged from a region rarely associated with professional skateboarding. 

“He wasn’t from California, and California kind of got the spotlight. He was from Detroit, no spotlight was on him,” Huber said. “He was cut from a different cloth, and he did things differently.” 

Growing up in Michigan forced skaters like Danforth to be resourceful: “We had to fight a lot of issues just to be a skateboarder in Michigan. Nothing was given to us; we earned it out of our own blood, sweat and tears. We were skateboarders without attitudes in the Midwest. California was a bunch of attitudes with skateboards.” 

‘The American Nomad’

The same determination that helped Danforth break into the sport also took him far beyond Michigan. Danforth flew, drove and hitchhiked across the world, skating any terrain he could find and earning him the nickname “The American Nomad.”

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His journeys included a trip to Tahiti in the 1980s. Intended as a skateboarding clinic and demonstration tour, the trip turned into what Danforth called an unexpected adventure when political unrest erupted on the island. Danforth evacuated before continuing his travels through New Zealand and Australia.

Stories like these helped make him one of skateboarding’s most recognizable figures during the 1980s. 

“He had the number one-selling board in the United Kingdom. He had one of the number one-selling boards in America,” said George Leichtweis, founder of Royal Oak’s Modern Skate & Surf. “And he would go anywhere with anybody in skating, and that’s a level of respect to the core of skateboarding.” 

Memorabilia, renewed demand

Today, one of Danforth’s signature boards is part of the Smithsonian’s collection, alongside a copy of “Street Survival,” an instructional VHS video starring Danforth that helped teach a generation of skateboarders. 

“He was definitely a really influential skater of the ’80s,” said Jane Rogers, a curator with the Smithsonian. “His board had a lot of cool elements — the graphic and the way the board was shaped. The circle of skulls definitely represents that time.”  

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Madrid Skateboards recently reissued several of his signature boards as part of a limited-edition collection. Only 200 of each design were produced, and the company said Danforth’s boards were the strongest sellers in its Gold Reissue Series.

Danforth has his own board company, American Nomad, where boards cost upwards of $95. Reissues or originals of Danforth’s signature boards can sell for hundreds or thousands of dollars, according to industry experts.

Such demand was visible during Creative Grind Fest. There, the Modern Skate & Surf tent reported strong interest in Danforth’s Hall of Fame commemorative deck, selling for $119, and his Madrid Misfit reissue boards, priced at $84.

“A big percentage of people are buying these things for the collectability aspect of it,” Barber said. 

For many collectors, the boards represent more than a piece of equipment, skateboarding industry expert Iain Borden said: To some extent, people are buying back the youth that they had.

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“A lot of people in their 40s, 50s, 60s who can’t skate anymore, they’ve got injuries, they’re too heavy, they’re out of practice, but they still have this relationship to skateboarding that’s been a central part of their life. Board collecting is a way of keeping up that relationship.”

‘People can relate to Bill’

Danforth’s influence isn’t measured solely by the value of his memorabilia. Those who know him often point to his impact off the board as his most lasting contribution.

Danforth has spent decades mentoring younger skaters and supporting Native American skateboarding programs and Michigan skateparks, saying it is important to “share our knowledge with everybody”.

“People love Bill because people can relate to Bill,” said Creative Grind Fest organizer Bridget Harrington Renteria. “He’s great with kids, and he’ll talk to anybody. He’s got time for everybody.”

Among those eager to meet Danforth was 9-year-old Junior Wilie, whose admiration for the skateboarding pioneer was evident. With a photo of Danforth hanging on his bedroom wall, Wilie was excited to get his skateboard signed by him and other Michigan professionals. Wilie toted his skateboard around the park, darting in and out of vendor tents with his parents to find the perfect items.

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Wilie wasn’t the only one eager to attend. Miguel Lynn rode his skateboard down into the concrete bowl before accelerating back up and over the rim. Lynn, who has been skateboarding for more than 20 years, said he was excited to learn Danforth would be attending the festival.

“He’s awesome. I look up to that guy,” Lynn said. “He’s been skating for so long, being that old, being able to skate, it’s amazing.”

Vallie was among the skateboarders mentored by Danforth. What began with drawing pictures of Danforth in class as a child eventually led to years of skateboarding and traveling alongside him.

“I think the term legend gets thrown around too much,” Vallie said. “But I do think he embodies every part of what that word encompasses — not only from his skateboarding accomplishments, but bringing skateboarding back to Michigan and helping kids.” 

atisch@detroitnews.com

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Detroit Bar Misses James Beard Award, Leaving MI Without Any Winners

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Detroit Bar Misses James Beard Award, Leaving MI Without Any Winners


Chartreuse Kitchen and Cocktails is best known for its farm-to-table American cuisine. It has earned numerous accolades, including Yelp’s No. 1 Detroit restaurant in 2017 and 2018.

Freya, known for its prix fixe tasting menus typically served with wine, has also earned high praise, including a spot in the New York Times’ most exciting restaurants list.

The 20 chefs will headline events in their hometowns as part of the foundation’s Taste America culinary tour, which begins Sept. 16 in New Orleans and continues in cities across the country through March 2027.

The foundation said the chefs were selected not only for culinary talent but also for their work beyond the kitchen, including efforts such as supporting sustainable agriculture, investing in restaurant teams, elevating quality ingredients and advocating for a stronger food system.

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Chefs in Houston, New York, Detroit, Washington, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Atlanta, Miami, Phoenix, Los Angeles and New Orleans are among the 20 to watch.





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