Michigan
Michigan softball raises more than $100k for breast cancer
Biggest takeaway from Dusty May’s first year with Michigan basketball
Tony and Andrew talk the unexpectedly successful first year of the Dusty May era for U-M hoops and how the coach is already gearing up for next year
As it turns out, Dusty May has a little pop in his bat.
The Michigan basketball coach spent his April 24 evening on Alumni Field at Carol Hutchins Stadium, participating as the celebrity in a home run derby. It was the 16th annual partnership between Michigan Softball Academy and the Michigan softball team, with proceeds from the event going to raise money toward fighting breast cancer. As of earlier this week, the charity work had raised more than $100,000 for the American Cancer Society.
Former Michigan softball coach Carol Hutchins came up with the idea in 2010, and it is something that she and current coach Bonnie Tholl have continued since.
The event began at 5 p.m. with members of the U-M softball squad leading preregistered participants, some of whom were breast cancer survivors themselves, through various drills and stations. After two hours of that, the derby began with a few select individuals — including May.
The coach attempted to downplay expectations — uttering a “don’t judge me” before he stepped to the plate — then belted a deep home run to the pull side, high off the wall behind the left field fence on his fourth swing. That was his big hit, though, with the rest resembling line drives.
“It was great to be a part of,” May said afterward.
Over the years, this fundraiser has generated more than $2 million for the American Cancer Society, according to Hutchins, who got the idea for it from former U-M football coach Lloyd Carr’s women’s football academy decades ago. If football could work, so could softball, Hutchins thought, so she contacted the ACS.
“I never thought it would be going for 16 years though or raise $2 million,” Hutchins said. “From what I understand, there’s no other college team that’s raised this type of money for the American Cancer Society.”
This year’s event is well over $100,000 through sponsorships alone. And it’s still going, with a silent auction for several Michigan-related items remaining open through April 28 — the final home U-M softball game of the regular season.
Some of the items in the silent auction:
| A Detroit Tigers on-field game experience. |
| A Megan Rapinoe autographed jersey. |
| Two tickets to see Zach Bryan at Michigan Stadium on Sept. 27. |
| A round of pickleball with Tholl. |
| Michigan football tickets and access to the football alumni tailgate this fall. |
Other notable U-M dignitaries were on hand as well, including College Basketball Hall of Fame coach John Beilein and Jill Martin of NBC’s “Today Show.”
“Yeah, it’s special,” Hutchins said. “It’s developed into a life of its own. It’s special to the community, so many season-ticket holders, our fanbase looks forward to it every year. … It means a lot that they donate their time.
“That’s the thing about Michigan, we have tremendous people who support us and we need to support them back.”
Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
Michigan
College basketball rankings: Michigan holds off Arizona at No. 1 in USA TODAY Sports poll
Rising stars in college basketball you need to know
Caleb Wilson, Nate Ament, and Kingston Flemings are emerging as names to watch this season.
There is no change at the top in the USA TODAY Sports men’s college basketball coaches poll this week, but the margin for the No. 1 team is much closer.
Michigan is still first, receiving 16 of 31 No.-1 votes while keeping its record clean for another week. But No. 2 Arizona has closed within four poll points of the Wolverines with 14 first-place votes after the Wildcats blew away Alabama to rack up yet another ranked win on the road over the weekend. Duke holds at No. 3 overall, claiming the remaining first-place nod, and Iowa State and Connecticut continue to round out the top five.
TOP 25: Complete USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball poll
In fact, the first 11 positions in the poll are the same. Purdue, Gonzaga, Houston, Michigan State and Brigham Young comprise the lower half of the top 10, with Louisville retaining the 11th spot.
Vanderbilt climbs two spots to No. 12 as Alabama slides four places to 16th. Nebraska makes the week’s biggest jump, a gain of seven positions to No. 15 after the unbeaten Cornhuskers defeated Illinois on the road.
No new teams enter the Top 25, as Iowa hangs on to the final spot after a loss to Iowa State.
Michigan
Bodies of missing snowmobilers recovered from icy Michigan lake
MASON COUNTY, MI – The bodies of two missing snowmobilers were found Sunday morning.
Two Grand Haven men were recovered by first responders in six feet of water on Dec. 14 in Round Lake off Sugar Grove Road in Mason County’s Sheridan Township.
The riders, aged 65 and 49, were reported missing at 12:30 a.m. after their family had not heard from them for several hours, according to the Mason County Sheriff’s Office.
At first, through family of the missing, police believed the two may have been snowmobiling on trails in Lake County.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office started searching trails in attempts to locate them.
Around 4:30 a.m., the search expanded to include eastern Mason County.
A searcher located snowmobile tracks leading onto Round Lake off Sugar Grove Road. A further search showed no tracks leaving the lake.
Due to darkness and heavy snowfall, a check of the lake from shore could not be performed.
At first light, police saw what appeared to be a snowmobile helmet several hundred yards offshore on the ice.
Mason County Sheriff’s Office launched a drone when weather permitted and spotted a hole in the ice.
There was a helmet at the hole.
Rescuers attempted to get to the area, but kept falling through the ice, making rescue efforts impossible, the press release stated.
The Michigan State Police Dive Services Team and Mason County dive team were called to assist and made their way onto the ice.
An airboat from the Manistee County Sheriff’s Office responded to support recovery efforts.
While the team worked to get to the hole in the ice, an MSP diver fell through the ice, but was properly tethered to another diver and was pulled from the ice unharmed.
Law enforcement recovered the bodies in approximately six feet of water. Two snowmobiles were also found submerged under the ice.
The Ludington Police Department, United States Coast Guard-Manistee, Michigan DNR-Law Enforcement, Branch Township Fire Department, Carr Fire Department, Fountain Area Rescue, Free Soil Fire Department, Hamlin Fire Department, Irons Fire Department, Luther Fire Department, Pleasant Plains Fire Department, Manistee Fire Department and Norman Township Fire Department all assisted at the scene.
Michigan
Urban Meyer reacts to Sherrone Moore scandal after coach’s shock Michigan firing
One of the best college football coaches of all time, Urban Meyer, lent some sympathy to Sherrone Moore — or at least his family — in the wake of the former Michigan head coach’s shocking firing last week.
“Last night, I said a prayer for that family,’’ Meyer said on “The Triple Option Podcast,” speaking of Moore’s wife and daughters.
“I mean, you’ve got three little girls,’’ said Meyer, who won a national title at Ohio State a little over a decade ago. “You’ve got a guy that was on top of the road a week ago.”
That changed in stunning fashion, as Moore, a married father of three, went from leading the Wolverines to out of a job, fired in Ann Arbor for cause after the university confirmed he had an inappropriate relationship with a staff member.
The situation only worsened when Moore was later arrested after he allegedly broke into the home of the staff member, and during an argument, grabbed butter knives and threatened to kill himself.
On Friday, he was charged with third-degree home invasion, a felony, as well as a pair of misdemeanors — stalking and breaking and entering.
Here’s the latest on former Michigan coach Sherrone Moore
Even Meyer, who created some controversy of his own during a brief, ill-fated tenure as head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars — when he was seen on video in 2021 that showed him dancing suggestively with a woman who was not his wife and was later fired before finishing his lone season in Jacksonville — was stunned by Moore’s downfall.
“They’re up 6-0 on the Buckeyes at home,” Meyer said of Michigan’s early lead against rival Ohio State on Nov. 29. “And then, also, you wake up, and they’re in this situation. Rivalries aside, this is all human element. Now, this is something that, from what you read, that’s some serious stuff that went on. And just, all of a sudden, you start seeing the impact. Forget football. Who cares about football?’’
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