Great Lakes Linkblog, April 5
Fights, rice, and ice
Week of April 5, 2025
When I was a kid, Mitch Albom was my favorite sportswriter. My favorite columns of his were a recurring series called "The Live Albom," where he riffed with humor on a bunch of different small topics.
Here’s a modern homage, a Michigan-flavored linkblog filled with news, nonsense, and notes from the week.
⚾️ Pitching phenom Jackson Jobe had a solid debut for the Tigers in a loss to the Mariners:
Jobe’s Stuff+ rating of 117 is tied for ninth among MLB starters so far this season, up there with some of the best pitchers in the league. He had plus grades on his fastball, sinker, cutter and changeup.
By my addled math skills, I count four good pitch types there. But “Stuff+” sounds like a subscription box service I would cancelled in 2018 still mysteriously keep getting billed for.
💰Michigan’s “Tipped Minimum Wage” law is confusing, controversial, and beset by delays. But what does does the Tipped Minimum Wage law do?
The tipped minimum wage in Michigan is currently $4.74, or 38 percent of the standard minimum. […]
Under the new law, each year on February 21 until 2031, the rate will rise by 2 percent until it reaches 50 percent of the standard minimum wage.
And yes, we’re still expected to tip. But when we put a chapstick down on the CVS counter, can we not swing an iPad around for a tip? Seems we’ve crossed a line here somewhere.
🏀 The B1G is without a Final Four team in the men’s tourney, but the conference still went home with cash and prizes:
With 14 teams in the tourney and 22 wins, the SEC has helped the South rise again. Remember when the Big East and ACC were tourney kings? Money changes things faster than Venmo transaction for a rising mid-major point guard.
🥶 Northern Michigan was crushed by an ice storm this week, with power still out to tens of thousands of customers. The state published a new web page this week with resources for those affected, which, fun fact, they can’t access unless their laptops are powered by Yankee candles.
🦆 The rough spring weather is even messing with bird migrations. These days, even having your own wings can’t protect you from flight delays.
🍚 Did you know Michigan has indigenous wild rice? It’s disappearing, and the Michigan Wild Rice Initiative is looking to save it. We don’t want Michiganders to be the grainkillers (although that would be a great name for a rock band).
🏀 The Detroit Pistons, who, notably, are not terrible this year, recently got in quite a brawl with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Whether it was Bill Laimbeer and The Bad Boys, or “The Malice at The Palace,” peaceful conflict resolution has never been a franchise strength.
Piston basketball: if the crossover move doesn’t get you, the right-cross will.
That’s this week’s Great Lakes Linkblog — wild fights, wild rice, and too much ice. See you next time, unless I get swept up in a late bird migration.
The right cross will! Detroit vs Everybody! Respect.