Back on top. The last time Detroit held the title of The Sporting News’ Best Sports City was 1998. 9 years later and legitimate claims to the top teams in three of four major sports, a fan base that sticks by the NFL’s worst team and franchise; all of that was enough to land Detroit back at the head of the class.

Yes, it’s still Hockeytown, same as it was when Detroit was our Best Sports City in 1998. Yet on an unseasonably warm Saturday in April, with the Wings facing the Flames in the playoffs at The Joe, you were as likely to see an old English “D” on a cap in downtown Detroit (the Tigers were playing the White Sox) as you were a winged wheel on a red sweater.