ELISSA NADWORNY, HOST:
And now it's time for sports.
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NADWORNY: In Detroit, Lions fans are roaring. Major League Soccer crowns a new champion. And boxing legend Manny Pacquiao enters the Hall of Fame. Michele Steele of ESPN joins us now. Good morning, Michele.
MICHELE STEELE: Hi, Elissa.
NADWORNY: So let's talk about those Lions. They're the best team in the NFL so far this season - 12 wins, one loss. They're plagued by injuries, but they seem to manage a way to come on top every week. You were in Detroit for Thursday's game against the Green Bay Packers. The Lions won 34-31. What's the Detroit Lions experience been like so up close?
STEELE: Yeah, well, it's very exciting, especially if you're a Lions fan. What struck me most about being there and talking to players, especially, is just the value of good coaching, especially when they have so many injuries, like you said. They have almost 20 players, which is a lot considering...
NADWORNY: Wow.
STEELE: ...There's only 53 guys on the roster...
NADWORNY: (Laughter).
STEELE: ...Who are out for extended time. You know, how do these players find the will to play at a high level when so many of their teammates are down? Well, you know what? It's the value of classic bulletin board material. One of their top coaches, defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, sat them down before the game and showed the players all the talking heads and all the football pundits doubting them.
NADWORNY: (Laughter).
STEELE: And he said, guys, people don't think you can do your job.
NADWORNY: (Laughter).
STEELE: Well, that was all some of them needed to hear, and their patchwork defense got it done.
NADWORNY: Amazing. So, OK, the Lions have basically had this reputation for not being very good for a long time. How are the team and the fans managing all these big, new feelings?
STEELE: Yeah, I would describe it as just a really humble - just a quiet humility.
NADWORNY: (Laughter).
STEELE: No, not at all. Not at all. Detroit is embracing this - every little bit of swagger that they can get through the Lions.
NADWORNY: (Laughter).
STEELE: My ears are still ringing, I think, Elissa, from the game. Every time that Jordan Love and the Packers had the ball, people were screaming their lungs out.
NADWORNY: Amazing. OK, so let's go to soccer. The MLS Cup final is this afternoon. The LA Galaxy hosts the New York Red Bulls. The Galaxy last won the cup in 2014. The Red Bulls - they've never won it. Who has the edge today?
STEELE: Yeah, big game. We've got a New York-LA kind of match up, just like the World Series we saw.
NADWORNY: Right.
STEELE: The Galaxy here is the juggernaut, right? They've won five titles already. Now, they will be without their big star, Riqui Puig. He went down with an ACL in the Western Conference final. But the Red Bulls are the underdogs in this contest. And so you would think, maybe they - you know, they've got that je ne sais quoi...
NADWORNY: (Laughter).
STEELE: ...That sometimes you need in games like this. But they're the ones who have to travel to California to play this game. They've been outshot in every playoff match so far, which is remarkable and speaks to the strength of their goaltender. But I just don't think they can survive having that happen against a more talented Galaxy team, so I'm taking the Galaxy.
NADWORNY: All right. OK, so finally, boxing great and Filipino legend Manny Pacquiao is being inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame - hardly a surprise, given his incredible career, right?
STEELE: Yes, and no.
NADWORNY: OK.
STEELE: You know, the fact that he had this kind of career is maybe the biggest surprise in itself. He was 122 pounds, Elissa...
NADWORNY: Wow.
STEELE: ...When he walked into trainer Freddie Roach's gym in 2001. Now, by that point, he was a cult favorite in the Philippines, but it was really under Freddie Roach that he became a true legend in this game. He won world titles in eight weight classes. In 2019, he became the oldest welterweight champion at the advanced age of 40 - very old for a fighter - when he defeated Keith Thurman. And he joins George Foreman as the only fighters to have won titles basically 20 years apart. I think when you're talking about the Mount Rushmore of boxers...
NADWORNY: (Laughter).
STEELE: ...In the pay-per-view era, it's him, Mike Tyson, Floyd Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya, and that's it. And for me, you know, for such a punishing fighter, what always struck me the most about Manny Pacquiao, every time that he would come out or cut a promo or something, he was always smiling.
NADWORNY: Yeah. Love it.
STEELE: He always seemed to be in a really great mood. So I'm happy for him. I'm happy for the Philippines. I'm happy for all of his fans that he's going to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
NADWORNY: That's ESPN's Michele Steele. Thanks, Michele.
STEELE: Sure. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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