It would not be unfair to call the professional sports situation in Detroit a case of riches to rags.

It was only a few short years ago that Motown was billing itself as the “City of Champions.”

After all, the Red Wings had a couple of Stanley Cup championships under their belt. The Pistons had won a NBA title.

The Tigers were in a couple of World Series (albieit failing ones) and captured AL pennants. And the always futile Lions were at least finishing above the .500 mark.

That’s all changed.

It’s hard to find a winner anywhere in Detroit, unless you call the Detroit Vipers a pro franchise.

Where did all these successes go?

In the case of the Red Wings, their stars got old and were not replaced.

The team that made a lot of friends at the Hockeyville event in Calumet just a couple of months ago, doesn’t resemble that now.

Their defense has been non-existent for the most part and goaltender Jimmy Howard is showing his age. Dylan Larkin and Anthony Mantha are emerging stars, but have little help.

The Pistons are an average team at best, even with players like Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond. They can hold their own with the weak sisters in the NBA (read Atlanta, Phoenix, Indiana, etc.)

But against the upper echelon or just below, they’re vastly outclassed. The Bucks demolished them in the playoffs last year and have doing that again this year.

What can you say about the hapless Tigers, who lost 112 games this past season?

They are a minor league team masquerading as a major league team. There’s a few bright spots in pitcher Matthew Boyd and outfielder JaCoby Jones, but not enough to approach .500.

But while other teams have signed quality players, the new Illitch braintrust settled on pitcher Jordan Zimmerman, he of the 1-13 record and 6.92 earned run average in 2019.

The Lions can only make you scratch your head in wonderment.

They’ve led in every game this season but have won just three games. Quarterback Matthew Stafford could at least keep them close, but now he’s done for the season, leaving the team in the hands of inexperienced and erring QBs.

Maybe signing Colin Kaepernick (just kidding) would provide a spark or at least make more headlines.

It’s enough to make a born-in-Michigan sports fan reach for the aspirin bottle … or the maybe just a bottle.