DETROIT (AP) — With the Lions, Tigers and Pistons — oh my — the Motor City finally has some winners to cheer for in the pro leagues.
“There's definitely a buzz,” suddenly slugging first baseman Spencer Torkelson said Thursday after Detroit beat the San Diego Padres 6-0 to win a three-game series. “Winning is contagious, just like hitting is contagious.
“When you see another team in the city doing well and grinding and showing heart and working their butt off to obtain success, that motivates you even more to get the job done because you see how well this city rallies behind guys and teams.”
The Red Wings, historically the most successful franchise in Michigan, are mired in a franchise-record, nine-year playoff drought.
That fact is not spoiling the party this spring in the Motor City.
The Cade Cunningham-led Pistons will host the New York Knicks in Game 3 of their first-round series that is tied at one game apiece on Thursday night, when Little Caesars Arena will be the home of a playoff game for the first time since it opened in 2017.
“Last time I was in the playoffs with Detroit, we were in Auburn Hills,” said forward Tobias Harris, who was drafted by the Pistons in 2011 and chose to return as a free agent last summer in one of the pivotal moments of the team's unprecedented turnaround.
Before beating the Knicks in Game 1 and ending a league-record, 15-game playoff losing streak, the Pistons had not won a postseason game since the 2008 Eastern Conference finals at the Palace of Auburn Hills, where the franchise won NBA championships in 2004, 1990 and 1989.
The Lions, a league laughingstock for generations, won a franchise-record 15 games last season one year after earning two playoff victories in one postseason for the first time since winning the 1957 NFL title. A year ago, Detroit drew the largest crowd to attend the NFL draft.
The Tigers closed last season with a 31-13 surge to end a decade-long postseason drought and won a series in the playoffs for the first time since 2013.
Picking up where they left off last year, the Tigers are leading the AL Central with a 15-10 record.
The Tigers have the day off Thursday and manager A.J. Hinch, American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal along with Torkelson said they plan to be in the Little Caesars Arena crowd with most of the team for Game 3.
“I love where Detroit sports is at,” Hinch said. "It’s a blast being a part of a number of teams who are bringing thrilling sports moments to this city. The city deserves it. The fan base deserves it.
“These experiences stand out, especially here in Detroit because of how cool a sports town this is.”
When people tune in to watch Games 3 and 4 or visit, they will see a city on the rise.
There are new hotels, high-end restaurants and bars along with a skyscraper that is nearing completion. The long-abandoned Michigan Central Station has undergone a renovation to transform the 18-story, 113-year-old train depot from an eyesore into a gem.
And now, the Pistons are part of the feel-good story.
“The way this city is reacting, it means a lot because all the stuff we do for the community is so much better when you win,” Pistons owner Tom Gores said. "It just really means a lot to see it all — kids, grown adults getting excited.
“We represent a comeback.”
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Detroit Tigers' Spencer Torkelson reacts after hitting a three-run home run off Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Seth Lugo during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Saturday, April 19, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)
Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) and forward Tobias Harris (12) high-five at the end of Game 2 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the New York Knicks, Monday, April 21, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.
Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.
Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”
Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”
Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”
He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”
Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.
In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.
Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”
Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.
“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.
The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.
The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.
Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.
In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)
