sports

Detroit City Football Club are National Champions!

Posted on July 7, 2021 by farlane

A belated congratulations to the Detroit City Football Club who are the 2021 National Independent Soccer League champions following a 1-0 victory over the LA Force! The team is a local favorite & a real success story for the power of community in sports:

Founded in 2012, Detroit City FC has established itself as one of the most talked about soccer teams in North America. Our club motto, Passion for Our City, Passion for the Game, evokes the three ideas the grassroots organization was built upon: to satisfy the demand for soccer in downtown Detroit, represent the city in a positive light, and build community through “the beautiful game.”

In an era when sports teams are defined by billionaire owners and millionaire players, we are a team founded by a group of young Detroiters. Detroit City FC has developed into a minor league soccer success story, with one of the most exciting match atmospheres in North America, consistently sold-out games and passionate supporters.

Head over to their Facebook or Instagram for photos.

MSU launches EverGreen student-athlete marketing

Posted on July 1, 2021 by farlane

MSU vs Wisconsin by Matt Hallowell

The State News has a feature on their new EverGreen image & likeness program to inform student-athletes about building a personal brand, making informed decisions and positioning themselves to maximize their earning power:

“Our goal is to provide our student-athletes the tools for success — on the field of competition, inside the classroom and beyond MSU,” Michigan State Vice President and Director of Athletics Bill Beekman said in the press release. “Name, image and likeness legislation will offer new opportunities for our student-athletes and EverGreen will prepare and position them for these changes.”

…This is the first action by Michigan State to help its athletes profit while competing in college. The road opened up after the state of Michigan passed legislation in Dec. 2020 allowing athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness and the Supreme Court ruling this week that struck down parts of NCAA’s amateurism restrictions for student-athletes.

Matt shared this photo of MSU standout & NBA champion Draymond Green back in 2011. See more in his Sports Portfolio gallery on Flickr.

Detroit Pistons get the #1 pick! #DetroitUp

Posted on June 23, 2021 by farlane

Ben Wallace, Number 1 Pick

Last night the Detroit Pistons secured the #1 draft pick in the NBA Lottery. As Duncan Smith writes, their 2020-21 “Fade for Cade” has paid off spectacularly with their first #1 overall pick since Bob Lanier:

The 2020-21 Detroit Pistons lost a lot of games and their 20-52 record produced the fifth-worst winning percentage (.278) in franchise history. But they did it by design, and grit, accountability and hard work were more important than anything else. For a young team building the foundations of what is hopefully meant to be a great franchise in the future, the building blocks were in place.

Now, fast-forwarding a bit, the Pistons and their hard, painful work over the past year have been rewarded. There won’t be anything easy about this, but teams don’t win anything of import without generational and transformational talents. Time will tell if Cade Cunningham is this, but we know right now he might be.

Indeed he might & if you’re a Pistons fan like me (or Big Ben) you gotta be over the moon right now!!

Return to Suicide Hill

Posted on February 11, 2021February 11, 2021 by farlane

126 Suicide Jumps by PhotoYoop

I thought I’d bring back this photo from February of 2013 when Cory attended the 126th annual ski jumping tournament at Suicide Bowl in Ishpeming, where skiers have been jumping annually since 1887! Suicide Hill is run by the Ishpeming Ski Club. You can get more photos including shots from last weekend’s USA Nordic World Cup weekend on their Facebook!

Here’s a feature by Bob Garrett of Seeking Michigan about the history of Ishpeming’s Suicide Hill from a on Michigan in Pictures.

See more of Cory’s ski photos on Flickr & Be sure to follow him at PhotoYoop on Facebook too!

More skis and skiing on Michigan in Pictures.

Surf’s Up in Michigan!

Posted on November 25, 2020 by farlane

Surfs Up by Julie

While it seems crazy, winter, particularly November & December, are Michigan’s best surfing season. If you take a look through our photos of Michigan surfing, you’ll see that the biggest waves are the ones that come with snow & cold.

Julie took this on Sunday in Charlevoix when the temperature was a balmy 37 degrees. Head over to her Flickr for a shot of all five surfers who were out and see lots more in her Lighthouses gallery on Flickr.

Big Ten Takes the Field

Posted on October 22, 2020October 23, 2020 by farlane

Band…Take the Field! by Paul McKenney

Big Ten college football returns to the Great Lakes State this weekend as the Michigan State Spartans kick off their 2020 college football season on Saturday at noon against Rutgers in Spartan Stadium. The University of Michigan Wolverines will Minneapolis for a 6:44 PM date with the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Paul shared this photo with me, writing “Since long before my freshman year at Michigan Law, the P.A. announcer began after the traditional Band….Take The Field!” This fall for the first time since the Band initially performed at football games in 1898, the Band did not take the field in Ann Arbor in September. They’re back & here’s hoping that season is without incident!

You can see more of Paul’s work at McKenney’s Light.

Go inside the Lion’s Den with the 2020 Detroit Lions

Posted on August 20, 2020August 20, 2020 by farlane

Season Finale by Mark Swanson

Pride of Detroit writes that one of the best video series the Detroit Lions have been producing over the past few years is their “Inside the Den” documentary (video below):

In year’s past, the video series has done their best to mimic popular HBO series “Hard Knocks” to give fans a behind-the-scenes look at training camp and the personal lives of certain Lions players. Despite all of the disruptions this offseason from COVID-19, the series is continuing this year, and on Thursday night, Episode 1 of the series dropped.

This year, the series may be more interesting than in previous seasons, seeing as media coverage of the team is severely limited right now. Episode 1 focuses heavily on the team’s preparations for the COVID-19 virus, the players arriving at the team facility for the first time this offseason, media day, head coach Matt Patricia making his appearance on “Good Morning Football,” and, of course, the Lions finally taking the field for conditioning drills and practice.

It’s really a pretty enlightening episode. From watching all of the preparation the team is doing to keep the facility safe—including spraying down pads between reps for players—to seeing signs just about everywhere in the facility indicating which personnel are allowed where.

Mark took this photo at Ford Field at the final game of the 2019 season. See more in his awesome Detroit photo album.

Here’s the video:

Play Ball! Detroit Tigers start the season today

Posted on July 24, 2020 by farlane

Comerica Park, Detroit by Kevin Povenz

The Detroit Tigers open the season against the Cincinnati Reds TONIGHT at 6:10 PM at Great American Ballpark. The home opener (at an empty Comerica Park) is Monday night. It will definitely be a strange season (with a 16 team playoff), but I for one welcome a slice of summer that’s been missing.

Kevin took this photo last summer. See more in his Landscape album on Flickr.

Remembering Mark “The Bird” Fidrych

Posted on April 14, 2020April 14, 2020 by farlane

Mark “The Bird” Fidrych courtesy Mark Fidrych Foundation

Mark Fidrych reminded you of your childhood, no matter how old you were when he pitched. This was his charm, his curse, his legacy. He personified athletic innocence.
-Michael Rosenberg, Detroit Free Press

I’m a lifelong Detroit Tiger fan & without question one of the most magical summers was the summer of ’76 when The Bird tore up the majors with his talking to the ball, mound grooming antics en route to a 19-9 season, winning AL Rookie of the Year honors (and finishing runner-up for the Cy Young), and leading the league in ERA.

He died unexpectedly 11 years ago today, and it still hurts to lose a bright light light like him so young. My dad had a Michigan sports show on TV that year, and I actually got to meet Mark. I don’t remember what he said to me, but I do remember how clear & in the moment he was and above all, what a truly nice human being he was.

More about this weird and wonderful character can be found at BaseballReference.com’s page for Mark Steven Fidrych and definitely watch this interview with Fydrich for a look at this Detroit Tiger original!

Remembering Mr. Tiger, Al Kaline

Posted on April 7, 2020 by farlane

Al Kaline takes a swing courtesy Baseball Hall of Fame

“I owe everything to baseball. Without it, I’d probably be a bum.”
-Al Kaline

Yesterday, the Detroit Tigers Detroit Tigers and all of us lost #6 Al Kaline. From his playing days in the 50s & 60s to a broadcasting career that spanned decades, “Mr. Tiger” was a fixture, bringing dedication and a simple love of the game in good times and bad.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame entry for Al Kaline says in part:

The 18-year-old Kaline came to the Tigers in 1953 directly from high school, having never spent a day in the minors, and by the next season established himself as one of the game’s bright new talents. By 1955, at age 20, he became the youngest player to win a batting title when he hit .340. That same year the youngster became only the fourth American League player to hit two home runs in a single inning.

Offensive consistency became Kaline’s hallmark over the years, hitting at least 20 home runs and batting .300 or better nine times each. A superb defensive outfielder with a strong throwing arm, he also collected 10 Gold Glove awards. In the 1968 World Series, Kaline’s only appearance in the Fall Classic, he batted .379, hit two home runs and drove in eight to help Detroit knock off the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.

“You almost have to watch him play every day to appreciate what he does,” said veteran pitcher and former Tigers teammate Johnny Podres. “You hear about him, sure, but you really can’t understand until you see him. He just never makes a mistake.”

By the time Kaline’s 22-year big league career ended in 1974, the lifelong Tiger and 18-time All-Star had collected 3,007 hits, 399 home runs and a .297 career batting average.

“People ask me, was it my goal to play in the majors for 20 years? Was it my goal to get 3,000 hits someday? Lord knows, I didn’t have any goals,” Kaline once said. “I tell them, ‘My only desire was to be a baseball player.’”

Read more in the Hall of Fame and please share memories or links to articles you enjoyed in the comments!

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