i) Pat Caputo

Outspoken, opinionated and definitely not afraid to say what he honestly thinks, Oakland Press columnist Pat Caputo co-hosts, Caputo and Fithian on 97.1 The Ticket.

Pat is also not afraid to laugh at himself, either. He is also known for bringing a different perspective and insight with nuance, to not only sports, but life in the Detroit area.

Caputo has been a fixture in the Detroit media for more than two decades, first as the Tigers beat writer, then as the Lions beat writer, for The Oakland Press. He has been a columnist since 2003, and has been named the top sports columnist in Michigan by both the Associated Press and the Michigan Press Association, the top sports columnist in Metro Detroit by the Detroit Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, and one of the Top 10 sports columnists in the nation by the Associated Press Sports Editors. A versatile broadcaster, Pat has hosted Inside Hockeytown, Inside Tigertown and Lions Gameday for The Ticket.

His broadcasting career began on television, on the Tigers pre-game round table on WDIV, Channel 4 during the late 1980s, and on PASS on the Tigers pre-game show during the 1990s with Caputo’s Corner. He began hosting radio shows in 1996 and joined WXYT in 2001.
Pat has covered, on a beat basis, every major professional and college team in this state, and has a unique understanding of the Detroit sports scene. He also teaches sports reporting at Oakland University, and is well-versed in Detroit-area issues and pop culture.

Caputo was born in Detroit and raised in the suburbs (St. Clair Shores and Birmingham). He is a graduate of Birmingham Groves High School, where he played football and baseball, and of Michigan State University, which Michigan fans never let him forget about despite his self-proclaimed title as The Archduke of Objectivity.