What a mess. ML Elrick is late, Marc is annoyed, Shawn is resigned, and Brandon McAfee gets promoted to substitute Elrick as the Soul of Detroit crew starts the show without its alleged leader.

The basement brain trust talks Lions expectations, whether anybody should care about alternate uniforms, the Tigers’ disappearing act, baseball’s money problem, the pitch clock, dynasties, the WNBA and several other subjects that probably weren’t on the rundown.

Then ML finally wanders in with an actual journalism excuse involving Detroit City Hall, the Board of Ethics and a potential conflict-of-interest mess.

Just another perfectly organized episode of ML Elrick’s Soul of Detroit.

STRAIGHT DOPE

ML Is Missing. The show begins without Elrick, who is trapped on an important work call while Marc slowly progresses from concern to irritation.

Brandon McAfee takes ML’s chair and discovers the intoxicating power of pontificating into someone else’s microphone.

Are the Lions Really Super Bowl Favorites?

Shawn Windsor talks about the strange new reality of Detroit football: expectations. The crew debates the Lions’ new rivalry uniforms, preseason football, injuries, the offensive line and why being a lovable up-and-coming team eventually turns into being a team that’s actually expected to win.

What Happened to the Tigers?

Football is arriving, the Tigers have cooled off, and Detroit sports fans are doing what Detroit sports fans do: looking for the next thing to worry about.

Sean explains what the numbers tell newspapers about Lions, Tigers and Michigan football readership — and why baseball still has a surprisingly strong hold on the audience.

Baseball Might Actually Be Getting Better

The pitch clock shortened games, balls are being put back in play, ratings have shown some life and baseball may have finally remembered that three-and-a-half-hour games aren’t mandatory.

The crew also reaches one of sports television’s eternal truths: everybody claims to hate dynasties right up until they start watching them.

UConn, Paige Bueckers & a Trip Completely Off the Rails: A discussion of a UConn women’s basketball documentary becomes a conversation about Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd, leadership, the WNBA and — somehow — imagining Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen as a couple.

GEEK OF THE WEEK:

ML arrives and explains that his tardiness involved something considerably more important than the nonsense happening in the basement: questions surrounding Detroit’s Board of Ethics, the city Law Department and possible conflicts involving Corporation Counsel Conrad Mallett.

Le Rouge Keeps Rolling: Detroit City FC knocks off the first-place Tampa Bay Rowdies, 1-0, with Carlos Herrera recording another clean sheet.DCFC sits in second place with ten regular-season games remaining and heads to Louisville City FC next.

Soul Night Recap:

The Soul Mates invaded the Cadieux Cafe for feather bowling, drinks, questionable athletic performances and music from Smiths United.The weather cooperated, nobody appears to have been permanently injured, and plans are already being floated to do it again next summer.

ROOM 7609:

Better Live Than in the Studio.  Listener Todd submits a 1982 live recording of Ministry performing “America” at Clutch Cargo’s — from an era when Ministry sounded considerably different and Al Jourgensen was apparently still pretending to be British.

That leads naturally to memories of St. Andrew’s, mosh pits, chipped teeth and the comforting realization that going down to retrieve a lost shoe in an ’80s mosh pit could legitimately make you wonder whether you were about to die.

FEEDBACK: Did Detroit Media Ignore a Horrific Murder? A listener challenges the show over what he believes was inadequate local coverage of the killing of a 57-year-old woman, allegedly by a 15-year-old boy, after surveillance footage spread widely online. ML pushes back against the idea of a media blackout and explains the realities of shrinking newsroom resources, the difference between TV breaking-news coverage and deeper newspaper reporting, and why readers who want strong local journalism eventually have to help pay for it.

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