Sports
Detroit Pistons Are Firing on All Cylinders Once Again
Back when the Detroit Pistons were merely a season or two removed from their most recent playoff series victory, a parody tourism video and T-shirt needled the Motor City.
“Cleveland,” its slogan began, “We’re Not Detroit.”
Someone wearing such apparel around an NBA fan today might be in line for comeuppance. No, the Pistons aren’t quite the NBA-leading Cleveland Cavaliers, but with both teams riding separate eight-game winning streaks, there’s no one enjoying a comparable heat wave.
The same Pistons franchise that lost a franchise-record 28 successive games last season entered Thursday one game out of the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. A jelling blend of youth and veterans is on Detroit’s side, of course, yet home-court advantage might also be a helpful harbinger as the Pistons aim to capture a playoff series for the first time since 2008.
Both attributes boosted Detroit to its latest win, Wednesday’s 117-97 home rout of the shorthanded defending NBA champion Boston Celtics.
Malik Beasley led the Pistons with 26 points, while the young duo of guard Cade Cunningham (21 points, 11 assists) and center Jalen Duren (13 points, 11 rebounds) both notched double-doubles.
“They’re well-coached,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “You’ve seen the rise of Cade Cunningham, his ability and his shot quality has increased a ton. You used to be able to bait him into lower shot quality possessions, but he’s done a much better job at finding high-quality possessions from a shooting standpoint. [Jalen] Duren’s gotten better, just his overall development.
“They’ve won, what, eight out of 10? I think a lot of it has to do with their ability to take care of the [defensive end]. It starts with those guys, but you got [Malik] Beasley, [Tim] Hardaway. … They’re well-coached and well-balanced.”
And even-keeled.
“I told whoever asked me before the game if it’s a big game, I said, ‘It’s another game for me,’” Beasley said. “At this point of our journey we’re all about ourselves, and I think that’s what’s taken this to another level. … For us to get this win is huge.”
Even with a crowd of 20,062 roaring its approval as the final seconds ticked down Wednesday, the Pistons maintained composure, viewing the ovation only as a short-term reward. Boston, which had won 10 of 11, played without multiple key pieces of its rotation, including second-leading scorer Jaylen Brown (left quad).
The second-seeded Celtics hope to be more whole when they welcome the Cavaliers on Friday night.
The Pistons, meanwhile, will host the Western Conference-contending Denver Nuggets in a bid to avoid their first loss since a three-point defeat against Cleveland on Feb. 5.
“We’re just focused on the process of it all,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “We’re not focused on tonight, what we’ve done in the past. The only thing we’re focused on is every night, being the best version of ourselves. And [Wednesday] I thought we were pretty close.”
No, Detroit might not yet be Cleveland in the NBA landscape, but its Pistons certainly are charging.
Sports
Report: St. Louis City signing Carlo Holse on $6M transfer fee
Jul 16, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Sporting Kansas City forward Capita Capemba (7) is congratulated after scoring against St. Louis CITY SC in the first half at Energizer Park. Mandatory Credit: Joe Puetz-Imagn Images Aiming to boost a struggling offense, St. Louis City are bringing in Danish attacker Carlo Holse for an approximate $6 million transfer fee, The Athletic reported Wednesday.
Holse, 27, will be a designated player when St. Louis City and Holse’s club, Samsunspor, finalize the deal.
Only five MLS clubs have scored fewer than St. Louis’ 19 goals, so Holse will be a welcome addition. St. Louis (5-6-4, 19 points) sits 10th in the Western Conference, just one point behind the Los Angeles Galaxy for the final playoff spot with 19 matches remaining. The clubs face off Wednesday night in Los Angeles.
Holse posted eight goals and four assists in the Turkish Super Lig last season and has scored at least eight goals per season with Samsunspor since 2023. In 10 appearances in the UEFA Conference League, he contributed two goals and five assists in the club’s run to the round of 16.
Holse, who has one cap for Denmark’s national team, can join fellow attacker Marcel Hartel in St. Louis’ dual No. 10 slots in head coach Yoann Damet’s 3-4-2-1 formation. Holse is capable of contributing as a scorer or goal creator, having posted 16 assists in one season for Norwegian side Rosenborg.
Over nine professional seasons in Denmark, Norway and Turkey, Holse has 42 goals and 36 assists in 242 matches.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Stefano Mazzoli accepts PGA Tour membership
Italy’s Stefano Mazzoli won the 2026 Puntacana Championship. Stefano Mazzoli officially accepted his PGA Tour membership on Wednesday, one day before he was set to compete in the 3M Open in Blaine, Minn.
Mazzoli was added to the field at TPC Twin Cities on Monday after winning the Corales Puntacana Championship in just his third start on the PGA Tour. The 29-year-old Italian drained a 24-foot birdie putt on the final hole Sunday to win by one stroke in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
Since he was not a member of the PGA Tour at the time of his victory, he received a one-year exemption on the Tour. He also is eligible to compete in the 2027 Players Championship and 2027 PGA Championship.
A rookie on the DP World Tour, Mazzoli earned his promotion from the HotelPlanner Tour just last year.
“It’s been a rollercoaster, this past year,” Mazzoli said after his maiden PGA Tour victory.
South Africa’s Casey Jarvis also accepted Special Temporary Membership on the PGA Tour and is eligible for unlimited sponsor exemptions for the remainder of the season. Jarvis, 22, has two wins on the DP World Tour this season and reached the threshold for the Special Temporary Membership with his tie for sixth at The Open Championship.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Chiefs unveil renderings of new $3B stadium schedule to open in '31
The Kansas City Chiefs’ new enclosed stadium is scheduled to open in Kansas City, Kansas, in 2031. Though the exact location of the Kansas City Chiefs’ new stadium in Kansas has not been finalized, the team on Wednesday revealed the first renderings of the $3 billion, fully enclosed dome set to open for the 2031 season.
Paying homage to Arrowhead Stadium, the team’s home since 1972, the dome will feature a symmetrical, curved exterior, including a scalloped upper deck in both end zones. It will also feature a ceiling of translucent ethylene tetrafluoroethylene panels and be surrounded by 20,000 parking spots.
The stadium will have 70,000 seats and fulfill the request of several season-ticket holders of amplifying crowd noise, club owner Clark Hunt said in a team statement. Arrowhead regained the Guinness world record in 2014 for loudest stadium at 142.2 decibels.
“From the beginning, our goal has been to build something that (improves) the gameday experience for every single fan,” Hunt said in the statement. “This new stadium will do just that. It’s spectacular. It honors the rich legacy of this franchise while setting a bold course for the future of Chiefs Kingdom.”
Hunt added that he and his family will commit $1 billion in additional development to the stadium and the mixed-use district, which includes the team’s new training facility. Kansas lawmakers voted unanimously in late December to allow for sales tax and revenue (STAR) bounds to be issued to cover up to $70% of the cost of the entire project.
“I’ve been thrilled with what I’ve seen,” Hunt said in late March. “It’s very, very exciting. Our fanbase is going to get an incredible stadium, something that’ll be iconic and serve the community well for a minimum of 30 years — and hopefully closer to 60.”
As for the location, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly said the dome would be in Wyandotte County. The Chiefs have shown interest in having it built near the Kansas City Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas, which is also near The Legends – a retail and entertainment district. That area also features Children’s Mercy Park, where the MLS club Sporting Kansas City calls home.
When the new dome opens, the Chiefs plan to bid to host their first Super Bowl, among other major sporting events, including the World Cup and College Football Playoff games.
“When the World Cup comes back (to America) in 25 or 30 years, the field will be designed so that we don’t have to do the work that we had to do to (expand the field’s width) on Arrowhead in order to host the World Cup,” Hunt said during the NFL draft. “We’ll plan on bidding on Final Fours, College Football Playoff games, bowl games and, of course, a Super Bowl. The construction of the stadium is going to coincide with the construction of several other new NFL buildings, so we are going to have some competition.
“I’ll make sure that the Chiefs and Kansas City put their best foot forward in that process.”
–Field Level Media
Report: St. Louis City signing Carlo Holse on $6M transfer fee
Stefano Mazzoli accepts PGA Tour membership
