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.
Caitlin Clark hit in throat during WNBA loose-ball scramble, sparking backlash and game suspension
WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark was hit in the throat during a loose-ball scramble, sparking outrage and a one-game suspension for Alyssa Thomas. Fox News’ Garrett Tenney reports on the ‘absolutely unacceptable’ incident and the coach’s reaction. Political analyst Gianno Caldwell discusses Clark’s immense impact on WNBA viewership, including a $2.2 billion deal, and the role of gender and race in the controversy.
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Phoenix Mercury All-Star Alyssa Thomas is the latest villain to Caitlin Clark fans after punching Clark in the throat during a game on Wednesday night.
The referees missed the punch in real time, but fans and the league office did not.
A viral clip of the punch in slow motion spread across social media, pouring gasoline on the ongoing culture war surrounding Clark’s physical treatment by opposing players, which has been a controversial issue dating back to Clark’s rookie season in 2024.
And Less than 24 hours after the incident, the WNBA slapped Thomas with a one-game suspension for what was deemed a “reckless” and “non-basketball act.”
Who is the woman behind the punch?
If Thomas wasn’t in the WNBA, she says she would go pro in combat sports
In a 2019 interview with Nike PLAYlist, Thomas answered what sport she would have gone pro in if she didn’t go pro in basketball.
“Either boxing or MMA,” Thomas said.
If Thomas never went pro in any sport, she said she would have gotten into dentistry.
“Since I was a kid, I loved going to the dentist. I just was fascinated with teeth and still am. I’m passionate about that whole process of cleaning,” according to a profile on WNBA.com.
The first time Thomas stepped on a basketball court, she threw a ‘hissy fit’
Thomas was signed up to try basketball for the first time at the age of five by her mother, Tina, per the WNBA.
Thomas said she “Threw myself all down the stairs, down the hallway,” while her mom said “She just threw an absolute hissy fit.”
WNBA SUSPENDS ALYSSA THOMAS FOR ‘RECKLESSLY’ HITTING CAITLIN CLARK IN THROAT DURING SCRAMBLE
Her parents didn’t let her win a popular board game
Thomas’ parents never took it easy on her when they played “Candyland” as she was growing up.
“We weren’t the parents that were just going to let you win,” Tina said, per the WNBA.
“In life, you have to fight, and how are you going to fight if you don’t teach your kids to fight? So if she fell over, ‘get up, you’re alright,’ and if she didn’t get up, you knew something was wrong.”
It was a parenting tactic also used by the father of New York Yankees legend Derek Jeter, who famously never let Jeter win in board games or card games when he was growing up, to instill harsh competitiveness at an early age.
Thomas added that her mom was especially hard on her and helped develop her toughness.
“By no means was it easy, and it’s still not easy,” Thomas said.
Thomas plays more physically because shoulder issues hinder her shooting ability
Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas scrambles to get up over Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark during a game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on June 24, 2026. The Phoenix Mercury defeated the Indiana Fever 111-109. (USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect)
Thomas currently plays basketball with torn labrums in both of her shoulders.
The injuries are so severe that she completely lacks the structural integrity to lift her arms and shoot a traditional, fluid jump shot. Instead, she is forced to use a rigid, one-handed pushing motion from her chest just to get the ball to the rim.
Because she cannot rely on outside shooting, Thomas adapted by leaning entirely into her physical frame. She drives directly into the teeth of opposing defenses, absorbing heavy contact in the paint to score closer to the basket.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark shown after falling in the lane while Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas watches the ball at Gainbridge Fieldhouse Indianapolis, Indiana on June 24, 2026. (Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
That brutal, driving style requires her to initiate intense physical collisions on nearly every single possession.
Despite the mechanical limitations and constant pain, the tactical shift worked. She transformed herself into a six-time All-Star, three-time First-Team All-WNBA, an Olympic gold medalist and the undisputed triple-double queen of the WNBA.
Thomas has been the center of immense criticism this week
The throat punch on Clark ignited a fierce wave of backlash.
Indiana Fever Head Coach Stephanie White led the charge, completely unloading on Thomas and the league’s officials during her postgame press conference.
“We have a generational talent and a WNBA superstar who had two cheap shots right there that weren’t called,” White said, pointing directly at Thomas’s actions. “Absolutely unacceptable.”
White argued that Thomas regularly crosses the line from playing physical defense into inflicting dangerous, non-basketball contact.
“It’s absolutely egregious and utterly disrespectful,” White continued to fume to reporters. “The fist in the throat is crazy. It’s crazy. It’s dangerous.”
On Thursday, Fever President Kelly Krauskopf released a statement praising the decision to suspend Thomas.
“Player safety should be paramount in our league. We appreciate the WNBA’s review of last night’s incident and the action taken. Right now our focus is on Caitlin and our entire team as we prepare for Saturday,” Krauskopf wrote.
Former Minnesota Vikings captain and prominent conservative activist Jack Brewer said the punch would be considered a “hate crime” if the roles were reversed.
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“This would be considered a hate crime if it were the other way around,” Brewer told Fox News Digital.
Other critics have expressed their own outrage on social media.
Sports
Parents of ex-NFL player Doug Martin allege excessive force by Oakland police in wrongful death suit
The parents of Doug Martin filed a wrongful death lawsuit alleging that police officers used excessive force in trying to subdue the former NFL running back while he was “experiencing a mental health crisis” last October.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the Northern District of California, also claims that paramedics contributed to Martin’s death by failing to “provide timely medical care.” The city of Oakland, several police officers and emergency medical service provider Falck USA/Northern California were named as defendants.
Martin died Oct. 18 in a hospital following his arrest by officers responding to reports of a break-in at a residence. He was 36. His death remains under investigation by Oakland police.
According to the Alameda County coroner’s office, Martin’s autopsy reports still are being finalized. Martin family attorney John Burris told the Athletic that an independent pathologist told the family that Martin potentially died from restraint asphyxia.
“Plaintiffs allege, on information and belief, that Decedent Martin died from restraint asphyxia caused by Oakland police officers and the FALCK NORCAL paramedics’ failure to provide timely medical care,” the lawsuit states.
The Oakland Police Department and Falck Norcal did not immediately respond to messages from The Times.
According to the complaint, Martin was “experiencing a mental health crisis” when his mother called for paramedics. He then fled and hid in a neighbor’s basement, where officers found him.
“After a brief struggle, defendant police officers physically restrained him,” the complaint states. “During the restraint, decedent Martin was placed face down while one or more officers pressed on his back. After a period of time, defendant Officers turned him onto his side.
“When they did so decedent Martin was unresponsive seemingly unconscious; However, the defendant officers initially believed he was sleeping or pretending to be sleep. When decedent Martin remained unresponsive, an officer requested medical assistance.
“Plaintiffs are informed and believe that decedent Martin did not receive immediate medical attention. Falck paramedics arrived over 15 minutes after the call for service and, and when they arrived, did not promptly provide medical care.”
A Stockton native, Martin was a first-round pick by Tampa Bay in the 2012 draft. He played six seasons for the Buccaneers, making the Pro Bowl in 2012 and 2015, before spending his final season with the Oakland Raiders in 2018. In his career, Martin rushed for 5,356 yards and 30 touchdowns.
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With 48 teams competing and a grueling path through the knockout stage, reaching the semifinals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be an accomplishment in itself.
Only four nations will survive the tournament’s first 100 matches and earn a spot in the final four, putting themselves within two victories of lifting the most coveted trophy in sports.
Let’s take a look at the latest odds to reach the semifinals at FanDuel Sportsbook as of June 26.
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To Reach Semifinals
Argentina: +100 (bet $10 to win $20 total)
France: +110 (bet $10 to win $21 total)
Spain: +120 (bet $10 to win $22 total)
England: +165 (bet $10 to win $26.50 total)
Portugal: +210 (bet $10 to win $31 total)
Brazil: +270 (bet $10 to win $37 total)
Netherlands: +300 (bet $10 to win $40 total)
Germany: +330 (bet $10 to win $43 total)
USA: +380 (bet $10 to win $48 total)
Norway: +550 (bet $10 to win $65 total)
Colombia: +600 (bet $10 to win $70 total)
Belgium: +700 (bet $10 to win $80 total)
Morocco: +750 (bet $10 to win $85 total)
Switzerland: +800 (bet $10 to win $90 total)
Mexico: +850 (bet $10 to win $95 total)
Japan: +1200 (bet $10 to win $130 total)
Croatia: +1300 (bet $10 to win $140 total)
Ecuador: +1600 (bet $10 to win $170 total)
Canada: +1700 (bet $10 to win $180 total)
Austria: +1900 (bet $10 to win $200 total)
Here’s what to know about this oddsboard:
The Top 10: Argentina, France, Spain, England, Portugal, Brazil, the Netherlands and Germany — all considered powerhouse countries — stand at the top of the board, with each nation listed at +330 or better to reach the semifinals. But right after that group? The USA and Norway. The Americans have never made it to the semifinals of the World Cup, and this is Norway’s first appearance in the tournament since 1998.
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