Sports
RHP Justin Verlander returning to Tigers on 1-year, $13M deal
Sep 17, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; San Francisco Giants pitcher Justin Verlander (35) watches from the dugout after pitching 7 innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images Three-time Cy Young Award winner and 2011 American League MVP Justin Verlander is returning to where the right-hander’s highly decorated career started, agreeing with the Detroit Tigers on a one-year contract worth $13 million guaranteed, the team announced on Tuesday.
Verlander, who turns 43 on Feb. 20, will receive $11 million in deferred payments starting in 2030 as part of the deal.
A nine-time All-Star, Verlander pitched last season for the San Francisco Giants in his lone campaign on a National League team. After a 0-8 start with a 4.99 ERA, he finished 4-11 with 3.85 ERA, 52 walks and 137 strikeouts in 152 innings over 29 starts.
For his career, Verlander is 266-158 with a 3.32 ERA, 1,004 walks and 3,553 strikeouts in 3567 2/3 innings over 555 regular-season games (all starts) for the Tigers (2005-17), Houston Astros (2017-20, 2022, 2023-24), New York Mets (2023) and Giants (2025). He missed the 2021 season after having Tommy John surgery in September 2020.
In 13 years with the Tigers, Verlander was 183-114 with a 3.49 ERA, 766 walks and 2,373 strikeouts in 2,511 innings over 380 regular-season games. He was the AL Rookie of the Year in 2006 and swept AL MVP and Cy Young honors in 2011.
Verlander is MLB’s active leader in wins (266, 37th all-time), complete games (26), losses (158), games started (555), strikeouts (3,553, eighth all-time), innings pitched (3,567 2/3), walks (1,004), hits allowed (3,046), earned runs allowed (1,317) and batters faced (14,607).
He has a playoff record of 17-12 with a 3.58 ERA, 74 walks and 244 strikeouts in 266 innings over 38 games (37 starts) with one shutout. He was on World Series championship teams with the Astros in 2017 — when he was voted American League Championship Series MVP — and 2022.
Verlander collected Cy Young Awards in 2011 with Detroit, and 2019 and 2022 with Houston. He made the AL All-Star team in 2007, 2009-13, 2018-19 and 2022.
Only Verlander and Hall of Famer Don Newcombe have won Rookie of the Year, MVP and Cy Young honors.
Detroit selected Verlander with the second overall pick of the 2004 MLB Draft out of Old Dominion University.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Atlanta Falcons Bet Big on James Pearce Jr. — and Lost
The Atlanta Falcons should be ashamed of themselves.
Over the weekend, Falcons first-round pick James Pearce Jr. was arrested after an alleged dispute with a WNBA player. While he maintains his innocence, the No. 26 overall draft pick is facing five felony charges.
Pearce’s football future is understandably up in the air.
As a result, it’s fair to question why the Falcons did this to themselves in the first place.
While Pearce is innocent until proven guilty, the pass rusher out of Tennessee had character flaws before the NFL Draft. It’s what caused him to slide into the late first round despite being one of the most disruptive players in his class.
But the Falcons decided to trade their 2026 first-round choice to move back in so they could select Pearce. Pairing Pearce with fellow first-round pick Jalon Walker out of Georgia gave the Falcons a revamped defense for new head coach Raheem Morris.
The Falcons convinced themselves they could take advantage of a weak NFC South with two capable quarterbacks in Michael Penix Jr. and Kirk Cousins, along with a newly hired defensive-minded coach and two premier pass rushers.
They were hilariously wrong in their calculations.
Instead, the Falcons finished in third place. Penix suffered yet another injury, and Cousins was so ineffective that the team is planning on releasing him. The organization fired Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot following the disappointing eight-win season.
The Los Angeles Rams now own Atlanta’s first-round draft pick, No. 13 overall. Certainly, the Falcons would like to have that selection back — as the player they traded for might be out of the league entirely by the time April’s draft arrives.
New head coach Kevin Stefanski is no stranger to big messes. He endured three consecutive seasons without a first-round pick during his time with the Cleveland Browns after the infamous Deshaun Watson trade.
Watson played just 19 total games, and the Browns roster was so depleted that Stefanski was fired after winning only eight games over the previous two seasons.
For Stefanski’s sake, hopefully history does not repeat itself. He’s starting his tenure behind the eight ball, as the team’s first-round selection from last season will be unavailable.
In April’s draft, the Falcons have only five total selections, with just two inside the top 100.
Fontenot put Matt Ryan and Stefanski in a very difficult position. Pearce’s actions off the field have only made the situation worse.
Sports
US takes bronze in combined skiing; Mikaela Shiffrin misses podium
Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics – Alpine Skiing – Women’s Team Combined Victory Ceremony – Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre, Belluno, Italy – February 10, 2026. Bronze medalists Jacqueline Wiles of United States and Paula Moltzan of United States celebrate after the Women’s Team Combined CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Austria’s Ariane Raedler and Katharina Huber won women’s team combined Olympic gold on Tuesday as overwhelming U.S. favorites Breezy Johnson and Mikaela Shiffrin missed out on the podium in a major shock.
Germany’s Kira Weidle-Winkelmann and Emma Aicher took the silver, 0.05 behind, and Jacqueline Wiles and Paula Moltzan finished third for the United States on a slalom piste set by the Austrian coach.
World and Olympic downhill champion Johnson and dominant slalom skier Shiffrin finished fourth — missing a medal by 0.06 of a second — after looking set to repeat their 2025 world championship win.
Johnson was fastest in the downhill leg but Shiffrin, winner of seven out of eight slaloms this season and the most successful World Cup skier of all time, was only 15th in the slalom run on Cortina d’Ampezzo’s Olimpia delle Tofane piste after losing the advantage early on.
Shiffrin arrived at the 2022 Beijing Games as favorite to win a fistful of medals but left empty-handed. She has two more chances in giant slalom and slalom.
The fourth place also ended Johnson’s hopes of a “double double” — holding both the world downhill and team combined titles and adding Olympic golds in both.
The silver was Aicher’s second of the Games after she finished runner-up in the downhill. Remarkably, the German skied the slalom leg on Tuesday.
–Reuters, special to Field Level Media
Sports
Former Lions DE Tracy Scroggins dies at 56
Detroit LIons Tracy Scroggins exchanges words with Green Bay Packers Marco Rivera after a play during the second quarter of their game Sunday, December 10, 2000 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis.(Milwaukee Journal Sentinel photo by Dale Guldan) Tracy Scroggins, who spent his entire 10-year NFL career with the Detroit Lions, died Monday. He was 56.
The Lions announced the passing of the former defensive end but did not provide a cause of death.
His family issued a statement to TMZ, however, that blamed football, saying they believed he suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. That can be diagnosed only after death.
Scroggins was among the thousands of former players to sue the NFL over concussion-related symptoms. The case was settled in 2015.
“Playing in the NFL gave Tracy the opportunity to pursue his lifelong dream and to rise from poverty,” the family statement read. “However, unfortunately, the NFL was also ultimately the cause of his untimely demise. Tracy spent every moment of retirement courageously battling the devastating effects of CTE. While our hearts are heavy, we find comfort in knowing that he is finally at peace.”
Scroggins appeared in 142 games (89 starts) with the Lions from 1992-2001. The team selected the Oklahoman in the second round of the 1992 NFL Draft out of Tulsa.
He retired with 60.5 sacks, 321 tackles (23 for loss), eight forced fumbles and seven recoveries, and an interception.
–Field Level Media
Atlanta Falcons Bet Big on James Pearce Jr. — and Lost
US takes bronze in combined skiing; Mikaela Shiffrin misses podium
