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A journalist who has been on the job here a month wants crowdsourcing help for a Detroit News story:
Currently writing why #Detroit is better than #Cleveland. Taking suggestions...
— Stephanie Steinberg (@Steph_Steinberg) April 15, 2016
The features writer, a graduate of North Farmington High and the University of Michigan ('12) who came back from Washgington, D.C., is setting the stage for NBA Eastern Conference playoffs between the Pistons and Cavaliers that start Sunday afternoon at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. Detroit won the season series against its rival from across Lake Erie by 3-1, but the Cavs enter the playoffs as the top seed in their conference.
Beyond the basketball court, The News' newbie -- who hasn't visited Cleveland -- wants to contrast the two Midwestern cities that are 170 miles apart by land.
Early replies at Twitter mention our coneys, musical heritage, sports championships and -- cheap shot alert -- the fact that the Detroit River never caught fire.
In a Reddit thread on the topic, one post questions the value of comparing "Gilbert North vs. Gilbert South" and another suggests: "Aspiring to be better than Cleveland is not exactly setting a high bar."
Points taken, but we want to give the Metro Detroit returnee a friendly welcome home from Deadline and our readers. So we answer Stephanie Steinberg's request for suggestions and invite you to join:
► Only one of the two cities has a Museum of African American History.
► Only one has a 982-acre state park on an island not far from downtown.
► Only one has Justin Verlander and Miggy.
► Only one has a National Hockey League team.
► Only one has two daily newspapers. (Yes, for now.)
► Each has a world-class art museum, though ours is bigger (658,000 square feet vs. 592,500), has a larger permanent collection (60,000+ works vs. 45,000) and draws more visitors (619,441 in 2013 vs. about 598,000 annually). The DIA also has a 1,150-seat theater that hosts a popular film program.
► Only one is building a 3.3-mile streetcar line. (Actually, never mind that.)
Your turn now:
Tell us below or on Facebook what we missed, and let @Steph_Steinberg know too.
