News@noon: Lions up in flames, new-look firehouses
Today is Monday, Sept. 19, 2016, which means it's a long way until Friday and, for the Lions, an even longer way to be taken seriously as a playoff contender. Again.
The Lions coughed up a fourth-quarter lead Sunday in a 16-15 loss to the Titans, thanks to plenty of self-inflicted mistakes, namely penalties and dropped passes.
Is this more of the "Same Old Lions," or is this just a hiccup in their season? Let us know in the comments below.
Here's what else is happening today to start another work week:
TV legend passes away
John Kelly, a fixture on WXYZ (Channel 7) news for decades, died Saturday after a long illness, according to family. He was 88.
Kelly was Detroit TV royalty, getting his start as a newscaster at WJBK (Channel 2) — now Fox 2 — in August of 1965.
“I’ll tell you one thing, the one thing that he would want,” stepson Dean Turner said Monday. “He always said ‘I was here, I had a great run, I had fun, and when I pass, I want it to be a celebration.’ He had the old Irish in him and he was always talking about how his life was blessed, and when he passed, he wanted everyone to have a drink and have a celebration.”
New look for old firehouses
Former Detroit firehouses are finding new life in a city that sold them to help solve its financial crisis.
Six buildings have become hot properties. Three have been sold, and two others are under contract, which means final details are being negotiated between buyer and seller. The last one for sale, former Engine Company No. 49 on Grand River, is listed for $45,000 and has multiple interested buyers, officials said.
'Leading from the front'
Detroit police are mourning the death of one of their own, as Sgt. Kenneth Steil died Saturday at the hospital from complications from a gun wound suffered Sept. 12, developing a blood clot that killed him.
“He was an American hero,” Chief James Craig said Saturday. “He and his team were fighting to keep Detroit safe. They knew they were going after an armed suspect."
Also, from around metro Detroit:
* A plan to create a community gathering space for civic events in Berkley is drawing some concern from merchants worried about access to their businesses.
* The church has no dogma, rituals, precepts, sacraments or theology. What this Lansing congregation does have is a deep, abiding faith that begins and ends with marijuana.
* State regulators who last week cited the Detroit Medical Center for lax training failed to find problems with dirty surgical instruments during an inspection last year — even as surgeons were complaining to hospital officials about them, records show.
The revelation comes as some industry and community leaders question the breadth of the state’s investigation into the DMC following a Detroit News series documenting 11 years of internal complaints about dirty instruments that complicated operations from brain surgeries to spinal fusions, kept patients under anesthesia unnecessarily and led to cancellations of dozens of operations.
About those Lions ...
They won their season opener, but returned to familiar form in Sunday's 16-15 loss to the Tennessee Titans, writes columnist Bob Wojnowski.
For more on the Lions' loss, you can check out Justin Rogers' grades from the game, as well as injuries that decimated the linebackers and Golden Tate's case of the dropsies.
But, hey, at least they have cheerleaders.
Tigers get one back
After dropping the first two games of a three-game series, the Tigers defeated the Indians on Sunday in a chippy finale. The Tigers are off Monday, before opening a three-game series in Minnesota. The Tigers (79-70) are seven games behind the Indians in the American League Central race, but just two games behind the Blue Jays for the second wild-card spot.
Detroit News at noon is a daily roundup of the most talked-about stories on detroitnews.com. For more anytime, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter, Instagram (@detroitnews), Snapchat (Search for "Detroitnews") and LinkedIn.