Sports
Granderson: Thanks to former Ram Jared Goff, it's finally Lions fans' turn to dream big
When it comes to power, Jerome “The Bus” Bettis had plenty.
Over the course of 13 seasons, the legendary Pittsburgh Steelers running back used his 5-foot-11, 250-pound frame to punish would-be tacklers all the way to the Hall of Fame. The highlight of his career was winning Super Bowl XL in his hometown of Detroit back in 2006.
During Super Bowl player introductions, Bettis sprinted out in front believing his teammates were behind him. However, they decided to stay in the tunnel so Bettis could receive the bulk of the cheering solo. It was a tremendous gesture by the players, one that was rewarded with a 21-10 victory.
“I played this game to win a championship,” he said afterward. “I’m a champion and I think The Bus’ last stop is here in Detroit.”
And for years and years that Bettis Super Bowl win felt like it belonged to all Lions fans.
That is, until Matthew Stafford won Super Bowl LVI with the Rams in 2022.
After 12 seasons of playing for Detroit — sacrificing his body, the constant losing — Stafford was traded from the Lions to Los Angeles in exchange for Jared Goff and draft picks. The former Lion immediately found success — hence the “Detroit Rams” T-shirts that vendors had a difficult time keeping on the shelves after the Super Bowl victory.
Those shirts were that popular after the Rams won because it felt like we won as well. And Lions fans were hungry for any kind of success. Even success that really wasn’t ours.
Not fully, anyway.
That’s why Stafford was booed so viciously on Sunday.
The former franchise quarterback didn’t do anything wrong. It’s just that, according to native Detroiter Marissa Johnson, “we’re done cheering for other players and he’s over there now.”
“Even after he was traded, you still saw his jersey everywhere in the city,” said Johnson, who blames her mother for raising her to be a Lions fan. “But it’s really different now. We’re a good team with Goff, so Matthew is like any other enemy, even though we still love him.”
Maybe for other NFL franchises that level of pettiness and passion is nonsensical. But having legitimate rivals is a new sensation in Detroit.
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff walks off the field after the Lions defeated the Rams 24-23 in the NFC wildcard game at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
We’re usually the team that finds a way to lose. Or get blown out. Certainly not the team opponents circle on the calendar at the beginning of the season.
Why would they? Not only had we not won a division title in 30 years, we only had won one playoff game in the modern NFL era.
Besides, we were the team that celebrated Stafford after he was traded. We celebrated The Bus just for being born in the city. We did not have legitimate rivals because we were not a threat to take anything away from anyone.
That is until Goff showed up.
Now we have an enemy.
For Detroit is no longer the franchise that’s just happy to be here. When the city hosted the Super Bowl in 2006, it was the first and only postseason game played at Ford Field, which opened in 2002. That’s a long time to be rooting for players who were kind of ours once. That’s a long time to build a diet off of wins that really didn’t belong to us.
But Sunday?
Sunday was ours. All ours. No sharing. No hand-me-down victories. No flow chart needed to justify why a certain win matters to the city. For the first time at Ford Field, it was truly the lion’s den. And while Stafford wasn’t mauled, he certainly wasn’t comfortable either.
“I can’t wait to go home to watch it all over again,” a lifelong fan departing Ford Field told me after the Lions beat the Rams. “I haven’t been this excited since Barry [Sanders] was playing.”
Former Detroit Lions running back Barry Sanders chats on the field before the Lions hosted the Rams during an NFC wildcard game at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
That name came up a lot. Not only was the greatest of the Lions in the building, he very much remains a part of Detroit’s heart. As does The Bus.
And as does Stafford. There were boos in the stadium, but no hate for our Super Bowl surrogate. It’s just our expectations have changed. In the past, a talented player coming to the franchise in free agency was enough to get a statue. But now there’s a postseason win. A Detroit Lions win. And now all has changed.
“They went to every game,” Bettis said of his family the day he won the chip. “They had seen all the successes and all the failures. I won a championship, but we all won a championship.”
That’s such a beautiful sentiment. One that used to provide the city sustenance. But not anymore. Detroit doesn’t want anything to do with winning championships vicariously anymore.
On Sunday, as the final seconds ticked away, the crowd chanted the name of its new hometown hero: “Jared Goff, Jared Goff,” as Stafford and company exited.
Keep your moral victories, NFL. Detroit is ready to have a championship ring of our own.
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For the first time in more than two decades, the Illinois men’s basketball team will still be dancing when the Final Four tips off.
Iowa’s underdog run in the NCAA Tournament ended Saturday with a 71-59 loss to a dominant Illinois team. Before Illinois could cut down the nets at Houston’s Toyota Center, a buzzer malfunction caused a loud, roughly 10-minute delay.
The buzzer initially sounded signaling the end of a media timeout with just under eight minutes remaining in the first half. The horn continued blaring for about another seven minutes.
A referee talks with the scorer’s table during an official’s timeout due to a broken shot clock horn during the first half of an Elite Eight game between Iowa and Illinois in the NCAA Tournament Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Houston, Texas. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Players stood on the court ready to play for a couple of minutes before both teams started to warm up as the buzzer continued to sound.
It was finally silenced, to cheers from the crowd, but then the main scoreboard and video screen that hangs over the middle of the court went dark.
The game ultimately resumed with the big scoreboard still off. Two smaller scoreboards at each end of the arena were working.
Freshman guard Keaton Wagler scored 25 points to help secure Illinois’ first Final Four berth since 2005.
Keaton Wagler (23) of the Illinois Fighting Illini dribbles against Isaia Howard (23) of the Iowa Hawkeyes during the first half in the Elite Eight of the 2026 NCAA Tournament at Toyota Center March 28, 2026, in Houston, Texas. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
This will be the sixth overall trip to the Final Four for Illinois, which has never won a national title. The Fighting Illini will face either Duke or UConn next week in Indianapolis.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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BASEBALL
CITY SECTION
Palisades 2, North Hollywood 1
South Gate 5, Sun Valley Poly 4
SOUTHERN SECTION
Alta Loma 5, Schurr 3
Anaheim Canyon 6, Segerstrom 4
Beaumont 13, San Jacinto Valley Academy 3
Bethel Christian 15, United Christian Academy 1
Brea Olinda 8, Tustin 2
Buena Park 5, Savanna 3
Cajon 9, Granite Hills 5
Claremont 13, Littlerock 2
Compton 12, Compton Centennial 3
Covina 9, San Marino 6
El Segundo 13, Palos Verdes 4
Ganesha 13, Santa Ana Foothill 3
Golden Valley 9, Lancaster 8
Hesperia 8, Miller 7
Katella 6, Canyon Springs 3
La Serna 5, Alhambra 2
Linfield Christian 10, Woodbridge 0
Long Beach Cabrillo 17, Hawthorne 1
Montclair 2, Vista del Lago 0
Moorpark 16, Foothill Tech 11
Oxford Academy 7, Century 6
Rancho Mirage 1, Indian Springs 0
Rancho Verde 9, Riverside Poly 5
San Dimas 13, Irvine 2
Santa Monica Pacifica Christian 14, HMSA 11
Sonora 7, Long Beach Wilson 6
St. Paul 5, El Modena 3
Troy 5, Hacienda Heights Wilson 2
Valley View 16, Carter 10
Whittier Christian 9, Estancia 3
INTERSECTIONAL
Dominguez 13, King/Drew 2
Downers Grove 11, Santa Ana Calvary Chapel
Downtown Magnets 12, Long Beach Jordan 5
Inglewood 10, Stella 0
Layton 5, Schurr 4
Kentucky Trinity 5, St. John Bosco 0
Murrieta Valley 10, Galena 7
Orange Lutheran 7, Florida Venice 6
Santa Barbara 14, Douglas 6
Santa Monica Pacifica Christian 16, Collins Family 1
St. Bernard 7, San Diego University City 5
Tonopah 23, Lone Pine 8
SOFTBALL
CITY SECTION
San Fernando 5, LA Roosevelt 3
San Pedro 11, Legacy 1
Sun Valley Poly 8, LA Roosevelt 2
SOUTHERN SECTION
Alemany 9, Canyon Country Canyon 1
Burbank Burroughs 2, Rosary Academy 1
California 16, Whittier Christian 13
California 7, San Clemente 1
Camarillo 4, Chaminade 3
Camarillo 18, Rio Mesa 0
Capistrano Valley 9, Beckman 3
Chino Hills 15, Chino 3
Corona 10, Ridgecrest Burroughs 0
Crean Lutheran 11, Avalon 2
Crean Lutheran 13, Avalon 2
Edison 7, Crescenta Valley 5
Edison 2, Vasquez 1
Irvine 7, Long Beach Wilson 5
JSerra 2, Capistrano Valley 1
Leuzinger 11, Hawthorne 0
Marina 2, Los Alamitos 1
Mater Dei 10, Redondo Union 0
Mira Costa 9, Newport Harbor 3
Palos Verdes 2, Los Altos 1
Paraclete 11, Saugus 1
Rancho Mirage 14, Cathedral City 6
Rosary Academy 7, Fountain Valley 2
San Clemente 7, Whittier Christian 2
Simi Valley 7, West Ranch 1
Simi Valley 5, St. Bonaventure 5
St. Genevieve 7, Sacred Heart of Jesus 4
St. Paul 6, Warren 2
St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy d. Hoover, forfeit
Thousand Oaks 8, Rio Mesa 0
United Christian Academy 13, Bethel Christian 5
Vasquez 4, Woodbridge 0
Warren 5, La Serna 0
Westlake 4, St. Bonaventure 2
Westlake 0, Chaminade 0
Westlake 4, St. Bonaventure 2
West Ranch 10, Thousand Oaks 4
West Torrance 6, Hart 0
INTERSECTIONAL
Alemany 11, Arleta 1
Arleta 10, Canyon Country Canyon 8
Downey 6, Legacy 0
Downey 10, San Pedro 0
Granada Hills 8, La Serna 5
Muir 8, San Fernando 4
Muir 12, Sun Valley Poly 3
San Luis Obispo 7, Torres 6
St. Paul 8, Granada Hills 4
Sports
‘Quad God’ Ilia Malinin avenges Olympic disappointment with backflip for third straight world title
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It seems like Ilia Malinin, the “Quad God,” has done a nice job of moving on from his Olympic heartbreak.
Last month, the 21-year-old Team USA star was the overwhelming favorite to bring home the gold in the men’s free skate. But the unimaginable happened as he fell twice and dropped all the way to eighth place.
However, he has begun to avenge the loss and is now a three-time world champion.
Ilia Malinin from the United States competes during the men free skating at the Figure Skating World Championships in Prague, Czech Republic, Saturday, March 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Malinin shouted and punched the air with relief after finishing a skate that showed he had achieved his desire to “move on” from the Olympics after days of being tormented by his mistakes.
Malinin scored 218.11 in the free skate for a total of 329.40, far ahead of silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama of Japan on 306.67. Another Japanese skater, Shun Sato, was third on 288.54.
Malinin was blunt about his Olympic performance when speaking to NBC afterward, saying simply, “I blew it,” and said it was a clear mental hurdle from start to finish.
“I just had so many thoughts and memories flood right before I got into my starting pose, and almost, I think, it maybe overwhelmed me a little bit. I’ve been through a lot in my life, a lot of bad and good experiences,” Malinin told reporters.
Gold medalist Ilia Malinin from the United States waves to spectators after the medal ceremony after the men’s free skating at the Figure Skating World Championships in Prague, Czech Republic, Saturday, March 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
LINDSEY VONN KEEPING RETURN TO SKIING ON TABLE DESPITE INJURIES: ‘I DON’T LIKE TO CLOSE THE DOOR ON ANYTHING’
“So, I just feel like it’s the pressure of especially being that Olympic gold medal hopeful. It was just something I can’t control now. The pressure of the Olympics, it’s really something different, and I think not a lot of people understand that. They only understand that from the inside and going into this competition, especially today, I felt really confident, really good,” he added. “But it really just went by so fast I did not have time to process.”
But with some pressure off, Malinin was able to show who he truly is on the ice.
Gold medalist, Ilia Malinin from the United States waves before the medal ceremony after the men’s free skating at the Figure Skating World Championships in Prague, Czech Republic, Saturday, March 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Malinin becomes the first skater to win three consecutive men’s world titles since fellow American Nathan Chen, who achieved the feat in 2018, 2019 and 2021 after the 2020 event was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fox News’ Jackson Thompson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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