DETROIT ― Parker Meadows could be getting close to returning to the Tigers. Matt Vierling, well, time will tell.

Meadows was in the Tigers’ clubhouse before Monday’s game against the New York Mets, continuing his rehab work while the Toledo Mud Hens had a day off. Meadows, out with a right quad strain, played consecutive games in center field on his rehab assignment for Toledo on Saturday and Sunday, a positive sign in his progress toward rejoining the Tigers, manager AJ Hinch said Monday.

Meadows was hitless with three strikeouts Sunday, but just getting through a second game in a row on defense was what the Tigers wanted to see.

“Parker’s been pretty good. He said this is the best his body’s felt,” Hinch said before the opener of a three-game series with the New York Mets at Comerica Park. Meadows, arguably the biggest key to the Tigers’ magical run to the playoffs a year ago, has been out since late July. “He’s played back-to-back days. He got up to eight innings (Sunday). We’ve got to get his timing back.

“We’re going series by series, but he’s playing with freedom. I talked to Gabe Alvarez (Toledo manager) this morning, and he says he’s getting after it on defense, which is really the telltale (sign) that he’s feeling good.”

Meadows, who’s had two stints on the injured list this season, will play for Toledo on Tuesday and Wednesday, and the Tigers have an off-day Thursday. There’s at least a chance he could return to the Tigers for this weekend’s series at home against the Chicago White Sox.

On his latest rehab assignment, Meadows, 25, is 3-for-16 with a triple and an RBI, but also eight strikeouts. He did draw a walk Sunday against a left-handed pitcher.

As for Vierling, who’s out with a left oblique strain, Hinch described his progress Monday as “slow but surely.” He was continuing to work out in Detroit on Monday, and he’s been taking swings on the indoor batting cage. The Tigers are using a very cautious approach with his rehab work.

“Given the time of year and the nature of the injury, where a setback would likely end his season, we have to be very careful,” Hinch said of Vierling, who’s been out since Aug. 10, just two days after he hit a late-game home run (his only homer of the season) to lead the Tigers to a key comeback win over the Los Angeles Angels. “He’s just not full-go yet.”

The Tigers on Monday recalled Justyn-Henry Malloy, who gives them some more depth, at least in the corner outfield spots, while Meadows and Vierling continue to work their way back.

Also in the clubhouse Monday was veteran starter Jose Urquidy, whose rehab with Toledo has been extended as he continues to work his way back from Tommy John surgery. Hinch said Urquidy, a right-hander who pitched for him in Houston, is flashing some good stuff with Toledo, but that the command is a little off, as he’s allowed seven earned runs in his last 8.2 innings with Toledo.

Hinch also said veteran reliever Paul Sewald (right shoulder strain), acquired from the Cleveland Guardians at the trade deadline and eligible to come off the IL next week, has been throwing live batting practice in Lakeland, a positive sign that he could pitch for the team before the postseason.

Right-hander Sawyer Gipson-Long also was in Detroit on Monday, and will be activated to start Tuesday’s game. Fellow right-hander Chase Lee was promoted before Monday’s game, giving the Tigers extra help in the bullpen for the series opener, which saw Detroit use five pitchers (but not Lee) in a 10-8 loss.

“A lot of moving parts,” Hinch said.

It’s been nearly nine months since Matt Drinkall was named new head football coach at Central Michigan. This week, he makes his game-day debut for the Chippewas. Is he ready?

“S—,” Drinkall said with a laugh, speaking the other day over the phone. “I hope so.”

Drinkall was hired away from Army, where he spent six years on the staff in a variety of jobs coaching the offense, to replace Jim McElwain, who retired after 40 years in coaching, including 12 as a college coach.

Drinkall takes over a Central Michigan team that hasn’t made a bowl game in four years, and last season was 4-8. In the Mid-American Conference preseason poll, CMU ranks last among the state’s teams, picked to finish ninth. Maybe they will, maybe they won’t, but the effort will be there on the field, Drinkall has promised. That’s pretty much all Drinkall has promised, bringing his service-academy mentality to Mount Pleasant.

CMU opens on the road for the first three weeks of the season, starting at San Jose State at 10:30 Friday night, followed by trips to Pitt and Michigan.

“(The key) to me is us being really at being Central Michigan, being really good at the things we can control, that we are responsible for,” Drinkall said. “You can play really well and another team can win a jump ball or kick a field goal and beat you, and that doesn’t mean you’re bad or you’re a loser. It’s (about) the effort and penalties and alignment. I want our team to line up and show that they play their absolute butts off and love each other and play as a team.

“That’s the stuff I want us to do well.

“And beat Western and Eastern, always.”

The defense might be the better unit for Central Michigan, led by linebacker Jordan Kwiatkowski (Sterling Heights Stevenson), who made the preseason Butkus Award watch list, and redshirt senior lineman Michael Heldman, two unicorns in college athletics today in that they’ve spent their entire careers at one school.

CMU actually returns a fair number of players from last year. After the season, when McElwain already had announced his retirement, 16 players entered the transfer portal. After Drinkall was hired, all 16 of them came back.

Among the players back are redshirt senior quarterback Joe Labas, who came over from Iowa before last season and played six games before going down with a shoulder injury, and redshirt senior running back Nahree Biggins.

Kwiatkowski, Heldman, Labas and Biggins are the captains of a team that Drinkall believes has a fair amount of depth.

“We don’t go out and try to buy individual players and then have big holes on the roster,” Drinkall said. “So we really think if you’re on our 72-player travel roster, we expect you to contribute and help us (in that game).”

The roster also leans toward experience, with plenty of senior leadership, Drinkall said.

McElwain made two bowl games in his first three years with CMU, but none in the last three, with the last two seasons marred by the belief that somebody on his staff let then-Michigan staffer/sign-stealer Connor Stalions on the sideline to scout the season opener against Michigan State in 2023. Central Michigan has been under investigation for two years, and some form of punishment could be looming from the NCAA. The NCAA, in releasing its findings against Michigan, confirmed that it was Stalions on the sideline, and he was there to help CMU as well as scout for Michigan. Central Michigan officials have said little on the topic, other than saying they’re discussing a resolution with the NCAA.

The focus for Drinkall, 42, is on the current team, of course, and the season starts with a challenge against a San Jose State team that has made three straight bowl games and is coached by former Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo.

“I’m just excited to get going and find out where we’re at,” Drinkall said. “My guess is, everybody wishes you had more time and were a little bit healthier. Did you do everything? Get all the boxes checked?

“We feel great, we feel confident. I know how hard our kids have worked. Now it’s an issue of, go out and execute.”

CMU opens conference play Sept. 27 at home against Eastern Michigan. The game against Western Michigan will be on the road, in Kalamazoo on Nov. 1, as the rivalry game finally shifts back to a Saturday.

Eastern Michigan

For all the turnover in college sports today ― and EMU has 51 players on the roster ― the Eagles do have stability in the coaching ranks, with Chris Creighton the eighth-longest-tenured head coach in FBS. This is his 12th season, and he’s led Eastern Michigan to six bowl appearances. But EMU missed out last year, finishing 5-7.

There’s hope in Ypsilanti for a bounceback season, with a roster that Creighton and Co. consider one of the deepest in his tenure at EMU, which began with the 2014 season.

There is significant optimism on offense, particularly with the running-back room, which features the return of graduate student Dontae McMillan, who broke his leg during the game at Washington in 2024, and the addition of senior running back Tavierre Dunlap, who transferred from Michigan, as well as James Jointer Jr. from Liberty. Junior Joey Mattard (Hartland), who played in 10 games for the Eagles last season, also is back in the mix.

At quarterback, there are three players in the mix, led by graduate student Noah Kim, who previously played at Michigan State, and transferred in this season from Coastal Carolina.

Kim, senior Jeremiah Salem and junior Cameron Edge, a transfer from Maryland, all are in the mix, though Creighton wasn’t willing this week to make public his starter for the season opener at Texas State on Saturday.

“My comment to our whole team out the quarterback situation is, it’s as deep of a room as I can remember, in terms of our comfortability,” said Creighton, who is 57-75 at Eastern, and is second in wins at the school, behind the legendary Elton Rynearson (114), for whom the football stadium is named. “They each have their strengths, things that they do best, but it’s a good room, and it’s a deep room. … The three have different styles.

“We feel we’re in great shape there.”

Kim played 10 games at MSU, including five as the starter in 2023.

EMU’s other nonconference opponents are Kentucky on the road, and Long Island Universtiy and Louisiana at home, before opening MAC play at Central Michigan. The Eastern Michigan-Western Michigan game is Nov. 25, in Ypsilanti.

The Eagles were picked to finish eighth in the MAC in the preseason poll.

Western Michigan

This is the third season for head coach Lance Taylor, whose team improved from 4-8 his first year to 6-6 last regular season, before falling in the bowl game.

In his third season, Taylor already is working with a fourth defensive coordinator ― Chris O’Leary came from working as the safeties coach under Jim Harbaugh with the Los Angeles Chargers. O’Leary and Taylor worked together on the Notre Dame staff several years back.

And the defense has a chance to make a marked improvement, after finishing ninth in the MAC in points allowed last season. Edge-rushing seems to be a major area of growth, with the addition of transfers Nadame Tucker (Houston), a redshirt senior, and Kershawn Fisher (Louisiana Tech), a graduate student, and linebacker Sefa Saipaia Jr., a redshirt senior from Division II national-champion Ferris State, transferred in, too. Sapiaia broke four facemasks this spring.

On offense, where WMU was second in the MAC in points last season, there were many departures for a team that this season counts 33 new players who came from the transfer portal.

There’s a quarterback battle, too, with redshirt sophomore Broc Lowry, an Indiana transfer, and junior Brady Jones, a JUCO transfer, set to split the duties in the season opener at Michigan State on Friday night. Both can run.

“It really is still a competition,” Taylor, 44, said earlier this week. “We want to continue to evaluate them with live game, live reps. Both of these guys could be our starter. I feel comfortable with either one being our starter and playing the full game. Both of them have earned the right to play for us on Friday night.

“We don’t have to tailor the offense to one or the other depending on who’s in, which I think is an added bonus.”

Western Michigan’s nonconference schedule also includes a road game at Illinois, and home games against North Texas and Rhode Island. It opens MAC play Sept. 20 at home against Toledo, the preseason pick to win the conference.

The Eagles were picked to finish seventh in the MAC in the preseason poll.

MAC preseason poll

First-place votes in parentheses

1. Toledo (7)

2. Miami (3)

3. Ohio (3)

4. Buffalo

5. Northern Illinois

6. Bowling Green

7. Western Michigan

8. Eastern Michigan

9. Central Michigan

10. Ball State

T11. Akron

T11. UMass

13. Kent State

Note: The MAC championship game is Dec. 6 at Ford Field in Detroit.

DETROIT ― Following weeks of uncertainty surrounding the future of the Michigan Panthers, including speculation about possible relocation out of the state, the United Football League’s new co-owner said Monday that he’s “trying” to find a solution that could keep the Panthers from moving.

Mike Repole, who joined the ownership group of the UFL at the end of July, posted on X on Monday that the Panthers’ current venue, Ford Field, is the biggest obstacle for the franchise, and said he is monitoring the situation with Detroit City FC’s new stadium as a potential solution down the road.

Detroit City FC is spending $150 million to build a 15,000-seat stadium, which is scheduled to open in southwest Detroit in 2027. The soccer club released renderings and the stadium’s name earlier this month.

“I’m a big fan of Michigan Panthers and the @USFLPanthers,” Repole wrote on X on Monday night, in response to a fan asking about the future of the franchise. “Attendance was up this season but the venue remains the biggest obstacle in the market. Michigan is a passionate football state with a loyal fan base, but the current stadium options create too many challenges.

“That’s why I keep coming back to AlumniFi Field (the new DCFC stadium). I need more info. This is the exact type of venue I have in mind for the future of the (UFL). I’m trying.”

Messages to Detroit City FC officials weren’t immediately returned Monday.

The Panthers have played at Ford Field, also home of the Detroit Lions, for the last three seasons, first as part of the United States Football League, and then as part of the UFL created by the merger of the USFL and XFL. The Panthers survived the merger, which made an eight-team league out of 16 teams from the previous two leagues.

The ownership group of the old USFL liked the prestige of playing at Ford Field; it gave the league some credibility. But the challenges are numerous, including the game-day cost for the league, which is reported to be among the most expensive in the league, if not the most expensive. The optics are another issue. Even though Panthers attendance has been among the best in the league, and has been increasing, that still leaves a lot of empty seats in 65,000-seat Ford Field, which doesn’t look great on television.

The Panthers drew more than 10,000 fans for four of its five home games in 2025, including 16,014 for its last home game, which was Jake Bates bobblehead day. They averaged almost 11,681 fans per home game in 2025, making Michigan the only UFL team to see an increase in attendance last season.

Yet, there have been reports and speculation about the future of the Panthers, whose roots date to the early 1980s and the old UFL. Panthers general manager Steve Kazor and head coach Mike Nolan, among the only remaining employees with the franchise after ticket and marking staff was let go after the season, said they have heard nothing definitive yet about the Panthers’ future. The UFL has declined to make Repole available to The News.

Michigan Panthers fans have started petitions to keep the franchise, and they hope to see the same fate as the Birmingham Stallions, who also were reportedly on the chopping block but have now been confirmed for play in 2025.

The UFL has confirmed at least one new city will be hosting a team in 2025, in Columbus, Ohio. The league website continues to list the eight franchises from 2024, including Michigan.

The Panthers went 6-4 in the regular season in 2025, before losing in the UFL championship game.

Relope, 56, who has a strong background in branding and marketing and also co-founded multiple beverages that sold to Coca-Cola for a combined $10 billion, joined the UFL ownership group that also includes Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Fox, Redbird Capital Partners and Dany Garcia. He’s been tasked to get more fans in the stands and eyes on the broadcasts for a league that’s already bucked the odds in lasting longer than most attempts at launching pro spring football leagues. TV ratings also were down 20% in 2025, from 2024, despite airing on ESPN and Fox platforms.

The product on the field has caught the attention of the NFL, though, with hundreds of UFL players signing some level of contract with NFL teams, 67 this year alone, including Panthers quarterback Bryce Perkins. The MVP in the UFL in 2025, Perkins signed with the Carolina Panthers. Bates is one of the UFL’s best success stories, becoming the Lions’ starting kicker in 2024, after he went viral earlier in the year with his booming kicks for the Panthers at Ford Field.

A long-time and well-known member of the Michigan golf-media scene has had his credential revoked by LIV Golf ahead of this week’s team championship at The Cardinal at Saint John’s Resort in Plymouth Township.

Bill Hobson, host of the syndicated television show “Michigan Golf Live” and a podcast personality, was initially approved for a credential for the tournament, set for Friday through Sunday. But after he recorded an interview with former LIV Golf player and current broadcaster Pat Perez, and then published the podcast, LIV Golf informed him Tuesday afternoon that he was no longer getting access to media-designated areas during the championship.

Hobson said LIV Golf was not happy with two of the questions he asked Perez during the 20-plus-minute podcast, including about the controversy behind the 4-year-old tour’s funding ― which comes from the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, a nation notorious for human rights violations and, notably, a history of disdain for a free press. Hobson also asked Perez about the tumultuous tenure of original LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman, the World Golf Hall-of-Famer who was replaced earlier this year.

Perez engaged on both topics, which made up a small percentage of the entire podcast, which focused mostly on Perez’s experience with LIV Golf, and its maiden voyage into Michigan this week.

“It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy, talking about the lack of freedom ― talking about the lack of tolerance, all of the things that regime is known for plays a factor in what just took place,” Hobson told The Detroit News in an interview Tuesday. “And it’s super unnecessary. You talk about unforced errors, goodness gracious.

“In 26 years, I’d like to think that I’ve developed a reputation for being very fair. I’m probably overly bland more than I am controversial. … I had no desire whatsoever to have anything come out of this except for a fun conversation with a guy I find interesting, and that’s what I thought we had.

“When I do screw up, I’m pretty quick to say, ‘Hey man, I’m sorry.’ That didn’t happen here.”

LIV Golf did confirm that Hobson, 57, a broadcaster since his teen-age years who lives in the Saginaw area, did have his media credentials revoked. LIV Golf and Hobson confirmed that LIV Golf offered him free grounds passes for the week ― LIV Golf termed it “revising” Hobson’s access, he said ― but those passes would essentially be fan tickets with no media access to ask questions of tour officials or players, like Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson, Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka. Hobson declined those passes; he won’t be attending the tournament.

LIV Golf, which has revoked media credentials in the past, declined to say who in the organization decided to pull Hobson’s credentials. Media access begins Wednesday, and top players will speak to the media Thursday.

When asked about Hobson’s credential being revoked, LIV Golf did provide a statement to The News:

“LIV Golf values open and honest dialogue with media partners and has welcomed a wide range of perspectives since our inception. We are committed to working with journalists who approach interviews with fairness, integrity, and respect for the players and the sport.”

Sent a follow-up question from The News, Ilana Finley, chief communications officer for LIV Golf, responded: “We’ve shared all that we plan on providing on this topic.”

The issues between Hobson and LIV Golf seemed to stem from early June, when LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neill addressed the Detroit Economic Club at The Cardinal. LIV Golf made O’Neill available for a short interview with Hobson, who was hosting a radio show for WJR 760-AM. Hobson asked O’Neill multiple questions, including one about the controversy surrounding LIV Golf’s funding.

Still, LIV Golf approved a credential for Hobson to cover the team championship, arguably its crown-jewel event.

Then, last week, Hobson secured an interview with Perez, known as a funny and affable personality, through a request with Outlyr, a public-relations firm contracted by LIV Golf to help with the team championship media obligations. Hobson has long known the Outlyr rep, who also works LPGA tournaments in Grand Rapids and Midland.

Perez did the interview Friday, over the phone from Indianapolis, site of last week’s LIV Golf tournament. A short while later, Hobson said, the rep from Outlyr called, concerned with some of the topics Perez talked about. Hobson edited the interview slightly, to remove some profanity by Perez, but posted the podcast Sunday morning to his “Fore Golfers Network” platform.

Hobson said he then began fielding a flurry of texts and calls from Outlyr and LIV Golf officials, who asked him to edit out those questions. He refused. They then, Hobson said, offered to get him another guest if he pulled down the podcast. He refused. They then, Hobson said, demanded the podcast come down, and suggested credentials could be revoked if he didn’t. Again, Hobson declined. His credentials were officially revoked Tuesday. Denying media credentials is not uncommon; revoking them after they are granted is much more rare.

“LIV (Golf) has a history of contentious dealings with journalists that don’t often make sense in terms of the bigger picture of access to the golfers and the tour,” said Joanne Gerstner, a professor of sports journalism at Michigan State who worked at The Detroit News for 10 years and has written for PGA Magazine. “Obviously, (LIV Golf is) a private entity. They can credential who they want.

“But they don’t have a right to go back and demand journalists remove content or tailor content to the way the tour wants. That’s not journalism. That’s public relations.”

Hobson has a unique job, in that it’s part journalism and part not. For his “Michigan Golf Live” TV show, which is in its 26th year and features course reviews from throughout the state and airs on FanDuel Sports Network Detroit, Chicago Sports Net and on YouTube, he does receive payment from the courses. Earlier this year, he did an episode from The Cardinal, with Saint John’s paying him for the exposure.

Hobson’s other work, including the podcast, is considered to be more journalism, as he regularly talks to newsmakers in the industry. He was not paid by LIV Golf to do the Perez podcast, nor would he have accepted payment had they offered, he said. Asked what he considers himself, Hobson said “media member,” not journalist.

Still, he has covered more than 100 professional golf events throughout the state and country, and this is the first time he’s ever had a credential revoked, he said.

Hobson said he was given some suggestions on topics to talk about with Perez, and he hit on all of those, he said. But Hobson said he never agreed on a pre-approved list of questions. (A sampling of questions from media members to PR reps isn’t uncommon; agreeing to stick to said topics is considered a no-no for the media.) Hobson said there was nothing off-topic.

Hobson even texted with Perez after LIV Golf began asking for the podcast to be turned down. Perez responded in a text, before Hobson’s credential was revoked: “It’ll be fine. I don’t think you were antagonizing in any way. You are entitled to your opinions and thoughts.”

Hobson has been a long-time critic of LIV Golf, mostly because of the funding source ― players who defected from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf for huge paydays have been loudly criticized, given Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who controls the purse strings for the PIF, is widely believed to have ordered the assassination of Washington Post journalist and Saudi Arabia government critic Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

Hobson said he felt it was a responsibility to make his stance clear to Perez during the podcast, for fear of being labeled hypocritical by anyone who already knew his admitted negative stance on the rival golf league. Hobson also told Perez he was looking forward to seeing LIV Golf in person, because that’s the only way to fairly assess the league’s merits, Hobson said. Now, he’s not going.

“I’m kind of the most harmless guy with a microphone in the business, I think,” said Hobson, whose podcast on average gets a few hundred views, with the most popular creeping into the thousands ― modest figures for sure, he acknowledged. “Now, on a podcast that normally is heard by not very many, they are treating it like it’s Joe Rogan or Adam Carolla. It goes to the overall paranoia to the whole thing.

“I encouraged people to go to the tournament and see for themselves what it’s like, and this is how they react.

“I have no interest in being another PR arm for the LIV tour.”

Instead, Hobson now plans to take his grandson to the zoo this weekend.

“Which will be slightly less wild,” said Hobson, “than what’s happening this week (at The Cardinal).”

On page 2 of its four-page media accreditation policy, LIV Golf states: “Editorial Independence: For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in the present terms and conditions (or in any other document referred to herein) is intended to be, or shall be interpreted as, undermining or in any way restricting the editorial independence of Credential Holders or the party or parties on behalf of whom they are covering LIV Golf League events, or restricting or preventing the exercise of normal journalistic activities in respect of those events, including expressions of views or comments.”

BLOOMFIELD HILLS ― The question was pretty simple: Do you miss broadcasting?

The answer, well, that’s more complicated.

“I mean, I enjoyed some of the things, but I didn’t fit,” said Kirk Gibson the other day in an interview with The Detroit News, his first public comments about his departure from the Tigers’ TV team since the press-release announcement went out in March. “All things considered, I did what was right.

“One thing I learned through many people, mentors of mine along the way, was to take the high road … going back to Sparky (Anderson, former manager). He called me out when I was young and said, ‘Can you take it!?’ I said, ‘Take what?’ He said, ‘Can you take it!?’ I said, ‘What are you talking about?’ He said, ‘Can you take it?’ … ‘Yeah, bring it on, I can (bleeping) take it.’ He gave me many examples of taking it, just keeping your mouth shut for the team.”

Gibson, 68, spent 15 years on the Tigers’ television broadcasts, first from 1998-2002, shortly after his retirement as a player, working with Josh Lewin and then Mario Impemba.

He then returned to the booth in 2015, working as an analyst to Impemba, Matt Shepard and, last year, Jason Benetti.

In February, the Tigers announced Gibson would be part of the Tigers’ television team on FanDuel Sports Network Detroit in 2025, working alongside Benetti, the play-by-play man, and fellow analysts Andy Dirks and Dan Petry, among others.

But in mid-March, less than two weeks before the season, the Tigers and Gibson issued a joint statement saying Gibson would not return to the broadcast booth. At the time, it was portrayed as a mutual decision.

Shortly after Gibson began his second stint as a Tigers broadcaster in 2015, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, and he’s made his fight against the degenerative disease very public ― including on the air, broadcasting more than half the regular-season games for a decade ― even as it clearly took its toll physically. Where his delivery at times might have suffered, the quality of his preparation and analysis did not.

When the announcement was made in March, the Tigers and FanDuel Sports Network Detroit said in a joint statement: “Gibby is a shining example of what we all embody. His grit, tenacity, and dedication to the Olde English ‘D’ are unmatched qualities that have connected him so deeply with generations of Tigers fans.”

The Tigers declined comment on Gibson’s remarks this week.

Gibson remains an adviser to Tigers president Scott Harris and continues to watch almost every Tigers game, though his appearances at Comerica Park have dwindled. He was at Comerica Park in April when the Tigers held Parkinson’s Awareness Day, and he was there in June when he was presented a lifetime achievement award by the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association. The Tigers continue to support Kirk Gibson’s Foundation for Parkinson’s; each ticket sold through his foundation’s website earns a donation to his foundation.

Stepping away from the broadcast booth has allowed Gibson more time to focus on his foundation, which in October will officially open the Kirk Gibson Center for Parkinson’s Wellness on Northwestern Highway in Farmington Hills.

Of his former broadcast partners, Gibson called Lewin “a genius” (they were affectionately known as Gibby and the Geek), “Mario was good, too,” and “nobody tried harder” than Shepard.

Before the 2024 season, Shepard was fired and replaced with Benetti, who came over from the Chicago White Sox. Benetti, like the Tigers, declined to comment.

“Things change over time, you know? You get older, you’ve gotta change if you’re going to be partners. You’ve gotta change if you’re going to make it work,” said Gibson, who is arguably the most popular living former Tiger. “I’ll just leave it at that.”

On if he wishes he still was in the booth, Gibson added, “If things are right, you do it. It wasn’t a good fit.”

DETROIT ― The last time the Tigers played on ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball” was Aug. 18, 2024. By that point, they already had been sellers at the trade deadline, and they entered the “Little League Classic” game against the New York Yankees in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, with a 60-64 record and still buried in the playoff chase.

Before that game, ESPN’s longtime baseball insider, Buster Olney, talked to The Detroit News about the need for the team to build for the future.

Like everyone else, he didn’t expect a bright future to come so quickly.

“You can run back my quotes, and I told you they would go on to to be the best team in baseball. You don’t have those at the ready? I can refresh your memory on how I predicted everything like this,” Olney said with a laugh this week.

“Really, it’s amazing. It’s just astonishing.”

The Tigers won that game last August against the Yankees, 3-2 on a walk-off, and went on to make a stunning trip to the postseason, beating the Houston Astros in the wild-card round before falling to the Cleveland Guardians in five games in the American League Division Series.

Starting with that win, the Tigers a major-league best 78-44 (after Saturday’s 10-5 win over the Minnesota Twins), including 52-32 this season, as they lead the AL Central by a whopping 10.5 games.

Olney spoke to The News again this week, about what’s transpired and about the road ahead for the Tigers, who are among the World Series favorites just past the halfway point of the season. Here are the highlights of our conversation, ahead of the Tigers’ first appearance on “Sunday Night Baseball” since that thriller of a game last August, with some light editing for clarity and brevity:

Question: How did the Tigers get here?

Answer: It’s neat to see, and you start with (Tarik) Skubal, and he’s become this aircraft carrier that every team would love to have at the front of the rotation. The surprising thing is the offense. Earlier in the year, I was texting with AJ (Hinch, Tigers manager) and I just mentioned to him, I kind of wondered if they would have trouble scoring runs, and he said, ‘No, we’re going to hit.’ … (That was even) after they had some injuries in spring training, especially with their outfielders, it’s impressive what they’ve built.

Q: So you didn’t see this coming in 2025, even after how 2024 finished?

A: I think when they we went into spring training and they asked for our picks, I think … I might’ve picked Kansas City to win. (ESPN’s baseball-writing staff went with Kansas City, by a slim margin over Detroit.) I definitely did not think of the Tigers as a juggernaut, especially following those injuries in spring training. … I was wrong about the Tigers last August, and I was wrong about the Tigers before the year started. They just keep on surprising.

Q: What do you make of the Javier Báez resurgence? He could start the All-Star Game?

A: I thought for sure at the time they called up the guys (in August 2024) … I thought for sure he was going to get released. It only made sense at the time that they would just say, ‘You know what, it hasn’t worked out. We’ll eat the money and move on and focus on developing younger players,’ because it was so bad. … It makes me happy that you have stories like this in baseball, because he goes from where he was last August (placed on the injured list shortly after the Yankees series, and done for the year with a hip injury), and now he’s one of the top vote-getters (among AL outfielders). Who would’ve guessed that? Isn’t that crazy? Who knows what Aaron Boone (Yankees manager, and the AL manager) is gonna do … but can you imagine if we get to the All-Star Game and there are four Tigers starters (Skubal, Gleyber Torres, Riley Greene and Báez)? That would be a stunner.

Q: The big talk here is, what do the Tigers do at the trade deadline next month?

A: On the face, because I think they’re sitting in such a great position, there’s nothing that Scott (Harris, Tigers’ president) has to do. They’ll run away with the division. I think if you were to draw up a spectrum of which teams are run through gut feel, Scott probably leans more toward the analytics side, which would suggest that they would be less likely to do something, because they don’t have to. However, in some respects, I think the answer to your question was the winter time, when they pursued Alex Bregman. You do wonder if in some form and fashion, with the Red Sox so absolutely going in the tank (since trading Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants), if that all of a sudden it becomes more of a reality (that they’d trade Bregman, too). … And why not go to the team with the best record in the American League and play for your former manager (Hinch, who managed Bregman in Houston).

Q: Bregman signed a three-year contract for $120 million with the Red Sox, and he can opt out after 2025. Hard to believe the Tigers would give up a ton for a guy who can opt-out, unless there are assurances he’ll stay in Detroit beyond the end of 2025.

A: Everyone would have to understand … that he was going to opt out at the end of the year. And that would be tough (to make a trade), but I think the Tigers are so good and it’s been so long since they won a World Series, maybe that’s one of the deals they make. … Remember the Cubs in 2016 when they were run by an analytically driven front office and they’re the team that made the choice, ‘You know what, we need a finishing piece. (Closer) Aroldis Chapman. Let’s go get him.’ They wouldn’t have won the World Series that year without Chapman.

Q: And, interestingly, the Red Sox have Chapman, too, and the Tigers need relief help.

A: Maybe you do a two-for one.

Q: If there’s one team that could run down the Tigers in the AL Central, who is it?

A: It’s funny; I’m ready to put the pin in the division race, because Cleveland has struggled so badly offensively, and Kansas City’s offense is a mess. Kansas City, there’s a chance they follow the model of the Tigers last year and they trade a Seth Lugo, and the way (Jack) Flaherty was moved, and they begin to spin it forward a little bit. And the Twins … they kind of go as those big three go, with (Royce) Lewis, (Carlos) Correa and (Byron) Buxton. … If I’m going to choose one of those three teams, it’s Cleveland, but I don’t think they’re close.

Q: How do the Tigers stack up in the American League?

A: Tampa Bay, they are the freight train that’s coming in the American League. … They looked good against (the Tigers, taking two of three recently). … They look like they’re going to be the toughest out for the Tigers.

Q: Let’s look toward the World Series. The National League seems so much better than the AL this season. Is the champion coming from the NL?

A: It’s significantly better and it has a lot more depth, but I would say if your rotation starts with Skubal and you have Flaherty with his experience in the postseason at No. 2, that’s pretty good. I don’t think there’s any question the (NL) is better, but in an individual series, I can’t rule out either Tampa Bay or the Tigers. … I think the Yankees would have a really tough time in a (seven-game) series. … That’s the advantage (the Tigers have) when you have the best pitcher on the planet.

Q: Skubal (who starts Sunday night, as he did or the Tigers-Yankees Sunday-night game last August), that’s the elephant in the room. He’s under contract through the end of 2026, and nobody believes the Tigers can pay the suggested $400 million it might cost to keep him.

A: I would agree with you. … Enjoy the time you have left together.

DETROIT ― There are few bigger boosters for Detroit on the national scene than NBC Sports’ Mike Tirico, who was at Detroit Golf Club this month to preview the seventh playing of the PGA Tour’s Rocket Classic.

The News caught up briefly with Tirico, 58, the network’s lead host for golf coverage who lives in southeast Michigan, to talk about the success of the Rocket and the future of the tournament, which is under contract through 2026 with Rocket holding an option for 2027.

Here are the highlights of that interview, which has been edited lightly for length and clarity:

Question: What have you seen from the Rocket since it debuted in 2019?

Answer: Events take a while to figure it out, right? And this event had it figured out a lot better than most from the start. I keep leaning back on 2020, the COVID year, to be able to pull the event off, that was a very Detroit-centric moment for this event, ‘We’re going to make it through here.’ And it has stayed true to its creation, and stayed very true to the people of Detroit, which is really cool. And along the way, the best part to me, Tour players have come here and loved it. The guys who come here love being here. They love playing here. You get a lot of repeat customers. That says a lot about how this event is run. I can’t give enough credit to Dan (Gilbert) and all the Rocket folks. I mean, what they have put into this is more than most sponsors put in, and Detroit, again, has benefited from their efforts.

Q: You’ve been around the country (and the world), seen a lot of events. What do you make of how this event puts its city on display, as compared to other events?

A: Look, you have and you will again go to the suburbs when Oakland Hills hosts the U.S. Open (in 2034 and 2051) and all these USGA championships. … This has a different feel because it’s in the city limits. This has a different feel because there’s a city vibe. When you look at the gallery here, it looks different from the gallery that you see at most PGA Tour events. It’s just a fact. And I think that texture to this event makes it really unique and really cool. If you had the same event 35 weeks in a row, the (PGA) Tour would be monotonous and boring. I think the … ability to have that kind of feel to it really adds to this. And I love the fact it’s Detroit, and it’s stayed uniquely Detroit.

Q: It remains a weird time in golf, with the PGA Tour and LIV. They’re still trying to figure things out, and the Rocket still doesn’t have an extension. What kind of void would it be if the tournament went away?

A: I think it’d be a void for the Tour. I really do. I think the fact that so many events look alike, and this one has something special to it. It’s what the Tour needs. They need more events like this, more (than just) non-signature events that are the same 50 guys playing against each other. This allows brand-building, great stories, to develop guys who change the course of their careers (for example, inaugural Rocket Classic winner Nate Lashley). In addition to getting big names here, you look at it, there’s no tournament in Chicago. You have no tournament in Cleveland. A lot of the big cities in the Midwest don’t have the PGA Tour on a regular basis. I think being here is something that should be a priority for the Tour, and (something) they should put a little more attention on. And I think if it wasn’t here, it would be a shame. And I hope we don’t have to talk about that day.

 

Rocket Classic

When: June 26-29

Where: Detroit Golf Club

TV: Thursday-Friday: Golf Channel, 3-6 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday: Golf Channel, 1-3 p.m., CBS, 3-6 p.m.

Defending champion: Cam Davis

Tickets: Starting at $73; details at RocketClassic.com

With just a single season in the books, the indoor golf league created by legends Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy already is expanding.

TGL announced plans for a new franchise Tuesday, and the league is welcoming Detroit into the fold. TGL announced that the Motor City Golf Club will start play in Season 3 in 2027.

The Detroit ownership group is led by Detroit Lions principal owner Sheila Ford Hamp and her sons Michael Hamp and Peter Hamp. Rob Walton, owner of the Denver Broncos, also is part of the ownership group, as are additional partners from the sports and Detroit community.

Michael and Peter Hamp were early investors in TGL.

“This is a great moment for Detroit sports and a proud moment for me personally,” Michael Hamp, co-owner of Middle West Partners and team governor for Motor City Golf Club, said in a statement. “My grandfather, William Clay Ford Sr., was an avid golfer, and I believe bringing a new format of the game he loved would make him really proud. I’m incredibly grateful for our partners at MGCC.

“It’s an honor to build this team together. Detroit’s fans are the most loyal in sports, and we’re excited to represent our city in TGL and build a team that Detroit fans will be proud to support.”

Other members of the Detroit ownership are Jordan Rose, president and founder of the Rose Law Firm; Kevin Kelleher, also of Middle West Partners; and Jay Farner, former CEO of Rocket Companies.

Player commitments for the Detroit franchise weren’t immediately announced Tuesday.

Season 1 of TGL, played in state-of-the-art, high-tech SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, featured six franchises: Atlanta Drive Golf Club, Boston Common Golf, Jupiter Links Golf Club, Los Angeles Golf Club, New York Golf Club and The Bay Golf Club. Featured players included Woods, McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay, Hideki Matsuyama, Max Homa, Tom Kim, Collin Morikawa, Rickie Fowler, Xander Schauffele and Ludvig Aberg.

Inaugural franchise owners included Venus and Serena Williams, Stephen Curry, Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank, the owners of the Boston Red Sox, and New York Mets owner Steve Cohen.

Each TGL franchise has a four-player roster, with three competing in each match ― the matches are broken up into sessions of alternate-shot format and head-to-head match play. Players hit tee shots and approach shots into massive simulator screens, while they play their shots around the green, including bunker shots, chips and putts, on a green surface that rotates and adjusts for each hole, depending on the hole’s layout.

The Atlanta Drive, led by Thomas, Cantlay, Billy Horschel and Lucas Glover, won the championship for Season 1 of TGL, which aired its matches on ESPN platforms. The league debuted in January 2025. Matches, which aired on Mondays and Tuesdays, averaged a little more than 500,000 viewers, modest numbers, though numbers that outpaced the programming in similar time slots on ESPN platforms in 2024.

TGL was created by TMRW Sports, the brainchild of Woods and McIlroy, as well as sports executive Mike McCarley, in partnership with the PGA Tour. Jason Langwell, who ran the Rocket Classic, Detroit’s PGA Tour stop, from 2019-24, joined TMRW Sports as chief revenue officer in July 2024, shortly after the completion of that year’s Rocket.

“Detroit is a fantastic sports town. The city has a championship legacy and Detroit fans are passionate about their teams and they’ll let you know it,” McCarley, CEO of TMRW Sports, said in a statement Tuesday. “The ownership group for Motor City Golf Club will utilize their deep ties to the community, and extensive expertise as NFL team owners to forge a TGL team that embodies Detroit’s culture for sprots and the region’s golf of golf. TGL’s inaugural season generated extensive interest in its expansion process and we’re proud to welcome Motor City Golf Club and its ownership group as we build on the league’s continued momentum in the years to come.”

TGL is continuing to explore expansion into additional markets, including possibly Chicago and Dallas.