Lions News: Sam LaPorta gets blessed by new Pope

It’s fairly common to come across an athlete’s post on social media with the caption “blessed,” likely referencing their successful career or family and friends, but it’s fairly rare that the term is meant so literally.

Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta posted photos this week of receiving a blessing by Pope Leo XIV at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, alongside his new wife Callahan. The pair posted photos of their beautiful wedding June 14, including an image of the two with their heads bowed before the new pope.

“Thank you to a very busy man for blessing me and my bride,” he wrote. “A special moment we’ll never forget.”

Chosen as the new pope this past May, Pope Leo is a native of Chicago (LaPorta hails from Highland), and he’s made several headlines for wearing a White Sox hat at the Vatican.

Could this be LaPorta’s best season yet? I *believe* so. ;-) Congrats to the happy couple!

And onto the rest of your notes.

• The latest in the Lions’ get-to-know-the-rookies series:

• From the Bills winning the Super Bowl to Joe Burrow becoming league MVP, NFL.com’s Jeffri Chadiha makes some way-too-early bold predictions for the season and none of them predict the Lions’ success, if you care to read.

• Peep Jack Fox and Jake Bates on the list, too!

• Former Lion Ndamukong Suh launched his new show “No Free Lunch” for The Athletic, which is described as a discussion with “the sharpest minds across the world of sports, investing, and entrepreneurship to discuss their personal success journeys and explore the latest business and finance ideas.” Sounds cool!

• Some Lions-related posts on social media I thought you might like:

• Our friend Mike Payton at A to Z Sports with a very important message these days — don’t believe everything you read, there’s quite a bit of false, AI-generated Lions content floating around.