Detroit Pistons fans can win a new Jeep

2020 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon - Photo by FCA US LLC

Detroiters will have a chance to experience the new Jeep Gladiator Rubicon at five upcoming Detroit Pistons home games. This will include a complementary gift as well as a chance to win $70,000 towards the purchase of a new Jeep.

The first of these five events will be on Thursday, October 24 when Blake Griffin, Andre Drummond, and the Detroit Pistons will host John Collins, Trae Young, and the Atlanta Hawks.

Fans will be able to experience the all-new 2020 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon, the most off-road-capable mid-size pick up ever, at five Detroit Pistons home games during the 2019-2020 season. Also, at the Jeep brand space near the Meijer entrance, they will be able to speak to an experienced product specialist and enter to win autographed Detroit Pistons merchandise while supplies last.

Detroiters who complete a vehicle tour and visit the Jeep brand space will receive a complimentary gift while supplies last and enter for a chance to win the 2019 FCA US LLC Sweepstakes where one grand prize winner will receive a vehicle credit in the amount of $70,000 valid toward the winner’s choice of an FCA US LLC vehicle from the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram Truck or Fiat brands.

After next Thursday, the next time when fans will have this opportunity will be on December 1 when the Detroit Pistons take on Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon, Terrance Ross, and the Orlando Magic at the Little Caesars Arena followed by:

• Marques Bolden, Kevin Love, and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday, January 9, 2020;
• R.J. Barrett, Julius Randale, and the New York Knicks on Saturday, February 8, 2020; and
• Klay Thompson, D’Angelo Russell, Draymond Green, Stephen Curry, and the Golden State Warriors on Saturday, March 22, 2020.

Promotions like this, of course, are only one of the main reasons for fans to go watch the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena. The main, of course, is always some Detroit basketball.

Go Pistons!

Rouge Park offers 2 for 1 golf special for Detroit residents

Golf - Stock hoto by C. Flark

From now until October 13, residents of Detroit can enjoy 2 for 1 golfing at the Rouge Park Golf Course (11701 Burt Rd.). This offer is valid anytime except weekends before noon and includes both cart and green fees.

This is a great opportunity to explore the Rouge Park Golf Course, which is one of the great underappreciated gems of the Warrendale area and Detroit as a whole. There is also a similar deal at Chandler Park Golf Course for eastside neighbors.

In order to collect on this offer, Detroiters will have to present their drivers license or government-issued identification to confirm their residency. Only one of the two golfers needs to be a city resident for both to enjoy this 2 for 1 special.

For those who don't live in the city of Detroit, don't worry. The Rouge Park Golf Course has you covered as well. There is a $5 off coupon that is available on their website for our suburban neighbors.

Golfers can reserve their tee time by visiting this website. When you get to the course, please be sure to mention that you heard about this from the Warrendale Detroit Blog.

Now that there's this 2 for 1 special going on, I suppose this means all that's left for me to do is to somehow convince Paige Spiranac to join me on this golf outing.

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Had a blast at the @rocketclassic the last couple days! First time in Detroit and I loved it. I’ve never seen so many people so proud of their city and so passionate about this event. Thanks to all the people I’ve met who were so nice! I will definitely be coming back! @rocketmortgage @pgatour

A post shared by Paige Spiranac (@_paige.renee) on Jun 27, 2019 at 11:53am PDT

I know it's an incredible long shot for me to convice Paige Spiranac to join me on a golf outing. However, she has retired from professional golf and she did say how much she enjoyed visiting Detroit this past summer.

I know, long shot but a man can dream. Until then, I still have my discount on cart and green fees.

One more reason to build a municipal speeedway in Detroit

Ferrari 458 Spider - Photo by Toby Parsons/Pixbay

In May of last year, I published an article that argued for five different reasons why the Detroit Grand Prix should be moved off Bells Isle and over to a municipally-owned speedway. Those reassons boiled down to money, more money, even more money, still more money, and Detroit's image.

I still stand behind every one of those reasons. They are just as true and just as important today as they were in 2018, if not more so. Regardless, I would like to add one more reason why Detroit should build a municipally-owned speedway and move the Grand Prix to it: saefty on our residential streets and in the parks.

If there's one thing that everyone soon realizes living outside of the more gentrified neighborhoods of Detroit, it's that this city has a huge problem with thrill-seeking speeders. Whether they are in cars, on motorcycles, or anything else that moves, there is a large section of the (almost always) male population in Detroit who have a strong desire to drive really, really fast.

Right now, those individuals drive through our residential streets or, ocassionally, through Rouge Park and some of the other larger parks in Detroit. In doing so, these thrill-seeking motorists not only put themselves in danger but also everyone else who share those same roads. Plus, they create one heck of a nuisancee as they tear through neighborhoods at all hours of the night.

If there was location where they could safely do all of this - like, for example, a municipally-owned speedway - then they would have a much better alternative to speeding through residential streets in Detroit. The speedway could charge them few bucks for the privilledge to cover their costs. I'm sure most of these guys would rather pay a few bucks to some speedway than risk having to pay a few hundred dollars in fines for reckless driving; not to mention having their ride impounded by the police.

And with them elsewhere, the residents of Detroit's neighborhoods can enjoy a quieter, safer community.

So, there it is.

My now six reasons why Detroit should move the Grand Prix off Belle Isle and over to a municipally-owned speedway are money, more money, even more money, still more money, Detroit's image, and safer neighborhoods.

Warrendale resident plays in the NFL

Desmond King of the Los Angeles Chargers - Photo by Jeffery Beall/Wikimedia

I learned today, thanks to a Google news alert, that Desmond King grew up in the Warrendale neighborhood in Detroit. King is currently a cornerback for the Los Angeles Chargers where he wears the number 20.

All of this means that it will be a homecoming of sorts when the Los Angeles Chargers take on the Detroit Lions at Ford Field this Thanksgiving. According to published news reports, more than 100 of King's family and friends are expected to be in attendance to watch him play that day.

I would probably be even more excited about this if King played for the Detroit Lions. However, I' have learned to take my happiness where I can find it.

Besides, I think everyone can agree that Desmond King has a better chance at getting a Super Bowl ring playing for the Los Angeles Chargers than he ever would playing for the Lions.

Desmond King of the Iowa Hawkeyes - Photo by Jeffrey Becker/USA TODAY Sports

In his teen years, Desmond King played for the East English Prepartory Academy in Detroit. It was there that he set a Michigan high school record with 29 interceptions. He also set a school record for career rushing yards. He had 2,360 yards during his senior year alone.

Desmond King played for the University of Iowa during his college career. He had 263 tackles in 53 games as a Hawkeye. This was in addition to 14 interceptions.

He was named an All-American during his junior year and received the Jim Thorpe Award in 2015 as the best defensive back in all of college football. This, of course, led to Desmond King being drafted by the Los Angeles Chargers in 2017.

It's always been a dream of mine to watch the Detroit Lions play in the Super Bowl. I will happily settle, though, for watching a player from Warrendale on the NFL's biggest stage.

Open Streets comes to Rouge Park

Detroit Grand Prix exhibit car - Photo by Frank Nemecek

An estimated 1,400 people came out for the inaugural edition of Open Streets Rouge Park this past Saturday. A three-mile loop of roads was closed inside Rouge Park from 1 - 5 p.m. to allow a coalition of non-profits, government agencies, and businesses to showcase all that the largest park in Detroit has to offer.

This included everything from tours of the newly redeveloped Scout Hollow as well as:

• Archery demonstrations from Elite Archery, which is the company that maintains the Rouge Park Archery Range;
• Lacrosse demonstrations from Detroit City Lacrosse;
• Hiking on the miles of park trails;
• Bike rentals from Wheelhouse Detroit and cycling events; and
• Race car exhibit by the Detroit Grand Prix.

All of this was in addition 28 other events, displays, and information tables.

Bike rentals by Wheelhouse Detroit - Photo by Frank Nemecek

"There are so many wonderful amenities in Rouge Park, and this was a great way to highlight the natural beauty that exists in Detroit’s largest park," explained Lisa Nuszkowski, one of the event organizers. "We hope that Open Streets gives more Detroiters the opportunity to experience the city’s public spaces on foot and by bike."

5 Reasons to move the Detroit Grand Prix

Helio Castroneves races in Detroit
Photo by Nic Redhead/Flickr

The Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix will return to Belle Isle this weekend. This year, like every year, there have been protests from those who want to the island park to be a more tranquil refuge.

While I love the Grand Prix and all that it contributes to Detroit, I believe that the best of course of action is to build a permanent, municipally owned facility for auto racing within the city of Detroit. The Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix should, of course, remain on Belle Isle while a new facility is being designed and constructed. However, there should be no doubt that it is time for the race to move.

I have five reasons for why I believe this should be done.

Reason 1: Money

Red Bull Rallycross on Belle Isle
Photo by Frank Nemecek

The Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix brings an impressive amount of money into Detroit. However, I believe that we are getting a tiny fraction of its potential from a permanent racing facility.

We have the Grand Prix for three days each summer. However, Detroit is no longer a stop on the Red Bull Global Rallycross series, at least in part due to the challenges of having another temporary racetrack on Belle Isle during the summer months.

In addition, Detroit is not a stop on the MotoAmerica racing circuit for motorcycles nor do we have any snowmobile racing events here in the winter.

It's almost impossible to have temporary facilities for all of these races. By opting to only have a temporary racing facility on Belle Isle, we are missing out on the potential revenue from having multiples races on several different weekends throughout the year in a permanent facility.

Reason 2: More Money
Weddings are currently a $72 billion dollar industry in the United States, according to industry data. Belle Isle is already a somewhat popular destination for weddings. The Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory, the Belle Isle Casino, and the Detroit Yacht Club are all popular wedding venues. The Detroit Boat Club has also hosted weddings in recent years and, with more renovations, has the potential for even more.

Wedding Cake - Photo by Cleiton Isoton

Moreover, May and June are two of the busiest months for weddings. This is important because the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix keeps much of Belle Isle tied up for most of May and June. Sometimes, the teardown for it even stretches into early July.

May, June, and July, by the way, are peak wedding season.

I, therefore, have to ask the question: why in the world would anyone in their right mind want to keep a popular wedding destination tied up during the busiest time for weddings?

This is like owning a toy store and closing it in November and December when everyone is looking for Christmas presents for their kids.

This is like owning a costume shop and closing it in October when everyone is looking for Halloween costumes.

This is like owning a bar and closing it down when Charlie Sheen comes to town.

Okay - that last one might actually be a good idea. Charlie Sheen does have a reputation for getting a little too wild when he drinks.

Anyway, the point here is that weddings are a $72 billion industry, Belle Isle is a popular wedding destination, and we're closing it during peak wedding season. All of that money, therefore, has to be spent elsewhere and it's usually not within the Detroit city limits.

And forcing people to spend lots of money outside of Detroit is simply not a good idea.

Reason 3 - Still More Money

Music festival - Photo from Pixabay

When a permanent racing facility isn't hosting a race, it is routinely used to host music festivals and other events - all of which generate more money for the local economy. The Daytona International Speedway hosts the Country 500 Music Festival on Memorial Day weekend. The Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan hosts the Faster Horses Country Music Festival in July. The Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California hosts the HARD Summer Music Festival in August.

The list goes on and on. Hosting a music festival at a speedway is an established business model that event producers have down to a science. All of these events pump large amounts of cash into the local economy, with attendees traveling from out of state or even from outside of the country to attend.

As a related sidenote, now that the WYCD Hoedown has abandoned its traditional location in downtown Detroit for the DTE Music Theatre in Clarkston, I would love to see something like a speedway lure them back.

Regardless, the point stands: a speedway is a well-established location for a music festival. Detroit is missing out on yet another driver for our local economy.

Reason 4 - Did I mention money?

Beach volleyball - Photo from Pixabay

By keeping Belle Isle tied up with the Chevrolet Grand Prix for so much of the year, not only are we as a community missing out not only a significant slice of the wedding industry, we are also missing out on the opportunity to have other, smaller events on the island during that time period as well. Purely from a logistical and operational standpoint, it's extremely difficult to have other events on the island when half of it is taken up for the race.

We are missing out on a chance to have beach volleyball tournaments on the Belle Isle Beach. Even smaller tournaments will bring in a few thousand dollars. Larger ones, like any of the AVP Beach Volleyball Tournaments, have an economic impact that rivals the grand prix.

We are missing out on a chance to re-open the Remick Band Shell and have a series of smaller concerts there.

We are missing out on fishing contests at the island's South Fishing Pier and elsewhere.

We are simply missing out on so many other events that could happen on Belle Isle during those months.

Reason 5 - Detroit's Image
I mentioned above that moving the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix to a municipally-owned speedway would allow for more than just one race per year. This, I believe, is important for Detroit's image.

Detroit is a city that is synonymous with the automobile. We aren't called the Motor City for nothing. And one of the best ways to show off cars is by racing them.

Auto racing - Photo from Pixabay

In spite of this connections between cars and racing, the city built on cars only has one auto race per year. Meanwhile, Atlanta, Georgia; Kansas City, Kansas; and St. Louis, Missouri all have multiple professional auto races every year. Besides not having an obvious connection to the automobile industry, each of those four cities also has a smaller population than Detroit, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

I don't mean any disrespect to any of these communities. I'm just going to say that if you went to any place in the world and asked random people what was that they associate with Kansas City, Kansas, there aren't very many people who would say "cars."

In spite of that, Kansas City, Kansas (population 151,709) can put together three professional auto races every year in comparison to Detroit, with its population of 672,795 car-loving people, which can only pull off a measly one race per year.

This is embarrassing.

Embarrassing.

This is why, I believe, Detroit needs to build a municipally-owned speedway.

Rouge-A-Thlon returns to Detroit

Tour de Troit's second annual Rouge-A-thlon will return to Rouge Park in Warrendale tomorrow to raise funds for the Friends of Rouge Park. The event is a duathlon, which combines running and cycling into one race.

Proceeds from this event go towards Friends of Rouge Park to maintain its active infrastructure. Registration includes the duathlon, which is chip-timed, as well as a beer provided by Batch Brewing Company, Amicci's Pizza that will be baked on site, and a finisher medal.

Registration and additional information is available at http://www.tour-de-troit.org/rouge-a-thlon

Wendy Hilliard returns to Detroit for National Gymnastics Day

Children learn gymnastics through the Wendy Hillard Gymnastics Foundation - Press photo

World-class gymnast and Detroit-native Wendy Hillard is returning to Detroit to celebrate National Gymnastics Day with a special event at the Joe Dumars Field House (1120 W State Fair) on Saturday, September 16 from 10 am until noon. Hilliard was the first African-American to represent the United States in rhythmic gymnastics in an international competition, including three World Championships (1979, 1981, and 1983).

At this event, aspiring local youth will experience a free gymnastics lesson from elite athletes, parents can sign their children up for the new classes, and attendees can hear from Wendy Hilliard about her experience as a gymnast. These free and low-cost gymnastics lessons are presented for urban youth by the Wendy Hillard Gymnastics Foundation.

Brenda Jones, President of the Detroit City Council, will also attend this event. She is expected to present Hillard with the Spirit of Detroit award.

National Gymnastics Day is an annual celebration of the sport that is currently in its 19th year. It is sponsored by Gymnastics USA. It is also celebrated in Australia, the Philippines, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates.

Editor's note: This post is a part of this blog's semi-regular Friday Focus series, which endeavors to highlight news and opinions that, in my opinion, don't get as much attention as they deserve.