It's unfortunate that yesterday's Herald gave huge play to a superficial analysis of Detroit's casinos and their similarity to Governor Deval Patrick's gambling vision. Bostonist was tough on the piece, which made up for its lack of evidence with a few anecdotes and general confusion. Meanwhile, today's dispatch from the Motor City by Dave Wedge is substantial and nuanced---and buried alive under a host of Patriots stories that the Herald willed into existence. Wedge......

Remember when two Boston College football players and a State Trooper got involved in a bar brawl that sent a software programmer to the hospital? According to Dave Wedge, a judge has thrown out felony assault charges against Trooper Joseph Boike, who also co-owns The Greatest Bar, where the fight took place in August. Boike was accused of using a bottle in the fight, but the judge didn't find evidence that Boike did that. However,......

As the primaries approach and now that they've given John McCain their endorsement for Republican candidate for president, the Herald has whipped off the gloves and is going after former Massachusetts governor and Republican presidential aspirant Mitt Romney. Dave Wedge ladles a heaping helping of sarcasm when describing the latest development in the Romney vs. Huckabee Catfight Extraordinaire: In an amazing coincidence, Romney’s family tale of animal kindness [in which his kids rescued some birds]emerged......

MBTA employees are not endearing themselves to the public this week. First there was the driver on the C Line who injured a passenger by hitting the brakes at a bad time. She expressed her concern by going out for a smoke. Then there's the creep who made fake passes for the blind, which he sold to people who could see. Now there's the bonehead who wore a noose to the MBTA office for Halloween.......

Those working for the candidates who want Boston's four at-large councilor spots are engaged in the typical mudslinging--but with a twist. Dave Wedge reported that someone sent anonymous fliers slamming incumbent Stephen Murphy for using the position as a stepping stone. (Look, what politician doesn't use a post as a stepping stone?) The anonymous flier story swiftly gathered speed, and Adam at Universal Hub noticed similarities in the anonymous flier and another flier sent out......

Glenn Marshall, Mashpee Wampanoag tribe leader and major force behind bringing casinos to Massachusetts, is leaving his position as chairman of the tribe council. He was caught lying about his military past and of hiding the fact that he was convicted of rape and cocaine possession. Peter Kenney at Cape Cod Today first smelled something funny about Marshall's military service. The Cape Cod Times reported that Marshall did not participate in the battle of Khe......

Mayor Tom Menino is steamed because people are being injured by steam coming from manholes. He wants the private energy company Trigen-Boston to get it together, do its job, and fix the pipes, some of which haven't been updated since the 1950s. Beyond injuries, Dave Wedge at the Herald notes that one especially steamy manhole led to a "rush-hour shutdown on Congress Street." He also said that Menino was ready to "blow his top." Maybe......