Bill Shea
The Athletic HQ
Detroit, MI, United States
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Past articles by Bill:
Super Bowl vs. World Cup: What the ratings say about the U.S. and global TV kings
In two massive events, two months apart, the Super Bowl and World Cup reiterated their dominance in the U.S. and global TV landscapes. → Read More
Rose Bowl between Penn State and Utah draws lowest viewership in game history
Monday’s Rose Bowl game between Penn State and Utah drew a TV audience of 10.2 million viewers on ESPN, making it the least-watched ever. → Read More
Spencer Turnbull and the rising tide of no-hitters are a big boon for baseball card giant Topps
It sure looks like the year of the no-hitter in Major League Baseball, which blends nicely into the ongoing Year of Trading Cards. → Read More
Inside the boom for Tom Brady, Luka Doncic and more sports cards – The Athletic
$1.32 million for a Tom Brady card. $4.6 million for a Luka Doncic. The sports card industry is making a huge comeback. But can it last? → Read More
How Inauguration Day Bernie Sanders became a Topps card
Sanders' photo from Inauguration Day went viral and ended up as a Topps trading card. → Read More
How the billion-dollar sports card industry collapsed and then rebounded – The Athletic
The industry once hurt by overproduction is making a comeback, as parents with disposable income want to introduce their kids to cards. → Read More
I watched the XFL so you don’t have to (but you should!): 12 quick takeaways – The Athletic
Vince McMahon reportedly plans to spend up to $500 million to stage a professional product, and on Saturday, it showed. → Read More
MM3QB: Last call, and a new beginning
It's 5:30 a.m. Monday morning. Birds are starting to chirp in the trees outside my second-story window at home, but otherwise my world is nearly silent. Even my keyboard-tapping is quiet at this hour, nothing like the banging clatter it can be on a looming deadline or under the strain of breaking news as I struggle to lash together words and facts in a sprint to beat the competition. I don't… → Read More
How Quicken Loans lured the PGA to Detroit — and why Tiger Woods still matters
Organizers of the inaugural Rocket Mortgage Classic PGA Tour tournament still don't know if Tiger Woods will play the event whose opening round begins June 27 at the Detroit Golf Club, but they remain firmly optimistic about the field. That's their job, of course, to evangelize. It costs millions of dollars to sponsor and stage such an event, so everyone behind it is going to preach the gospel… → Read More
How Quicken Loans lured the PGA to Detroit
Despite indications from Tigers Woods that he won't play in the inaugural Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit later this month, organizers of the PGA Tour tournament at the Detroit Golf Club remain firmly optimistic about the field. That's their job, of course, to evangelize. It costs millions of dollars to sponsor and stage such an event, so everyone behind it is going to preach the gospel of… → Read More
Report: Lionel Messi and FC Barcelona to play Italy's Napoli at Michigan Stadium in August
Lionel Messi apparently is bringing his enormous soccer talents to the Big House this summer. The Spanish superstar plays for powerhouse FC Barcelona, which has reportedly added a preseason friendly against Italy's Napoli on Aug. 11 at Michigan Stadium, according to the Spanish newspaper Sport. "I am unable to confirm anything at this time," Kurt Svoboda, associate athletic director at UM and… → Read More
4 Detroit pros make Forbes list of world's top-paid athletes
Detroit was represented by four professionals on the latest Forbes list of the world's highest-paid athletes, led by Detroit Pistons forward Blake Griffin's $39.1 million, which ranked 31st in the rankings. A handful of others with Michigan connections also made the 100-person list, which Forbes said is based on prize money, salaries and endorsements between June 2018 and June 2019. Griffin, 30,… → Read More
Little Caesars Arena tabbed for LEED Silver certification for green construction, operation
Detroit's Little Caesars Arena, the sports and entertainment venue that opened in September 2017, has earned the third-highest green building certification, its operator said Tuesday. The 20,000-seat taxpayer-subsidized sports and entertainment arena was awarded the silver level Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating, better known as LEED, from the nonprofit Washington, D.C.-based… → Read More
Tigers' rebuild has attendance sliding further
If game attendance is the proverbial canary-in-the-coal mine for a team's popularity with fans, then the bird is gasping and wheezing in Detroit. The Tigers, a team slogging through a rebuilding process and on pace for its third consecutive 98-loss season, are averaging nearly 4,000 fewer fans per game after 30 games at 41,083-seat Comerica Park this season. That's a decline of nearly 20 percent… → Read More
Quick Lane Bowl title sponsorship extended; MAC to replace ACC as primary tie-in
The Detroit Lions on Tuesday said that Dearborn-based Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center has extended its naming rights deal for the Quick Lane Bowl at Ford Field for three years, through 2022. Additionally, the bowl will pair the Mid-American Conference beginning in 2020 instead of the Atlantic Coast Conference with an opponent from the Big Ten Conference, the Lions said. The MAC, which has held… → Read More
Tigers opt for power-hitting prospects rather than pitchers in MLB draft's opening rounds
The rebuilding Detroit Tigers opted for power over pitching on Monday in the opening rounds of the 2019 MLB First-Year Player Draft, taking Florida high school outfielder Riley Greene with the fifth overall pick and then University of Arizona third baseman Nick Quintana with the second round's 47th pick. Detroit, which is in its third year of a rebuilding process, had taken pitchers with their… → Read More
A chat with new Detroit News Editor and Publisher Gary Miles
Gary Miles is a busy man whose life has just become a bit more complicated. For six of the past 19 years he was managing editor of The Detroit News — one-half of the city's two-newspaper loyalty war that's been waged for the eyeballs and dollars of Detroiters for generations — and on May 10 was named its top editor and publisher to replace the late Jon Wolman. Miles' new role comes amid ongoing,… → Read More
Ilitch still considering own regional sports network for Tigers, Red Wings
The Ilitch family, owners of the Detroit Tigers and Red Wings, still may launch its own regional sports network to air their teams' games. "We are still evaluating and studying that," said Christopher Ilitch, president and CEO of Ilitch Holdings Inc., during a sit-down interview with Crain's on Wednesday. The Ilitch organization announced last year that it was mulling such a move because… → Read More
Reports: Michigan offers Juwan Howard men's basketball coach job
A member of Michigan's "Fab Five" that reached the NCAA Final Four in 1992 and 1993, Howard was a power forward and post player who went on to play 19 seasons in the NBA before becoming an assistant with the Heat. Miami won the NBA championship in 2012 with Howard as a player and 2013 with him as an assistant. The Chicago-born Howard, 46, has never been a head coach, so being a de facto college… → Read More
University of Michigan hires Juwan Howard as men's basketball coach
The University of Michigan has turned to a familiar face to become its next men's basketball coach: Miami Heat assistant coach and former Wolverines star Juwan Howard. The university announced in a posting on its athletics website that the former "Fab Five" great will become its 17th head men's basketball coach. "We have found someone with high integrity, great character and a coach who has… → Read More