Michigan
Sherman Lewis, Michigan State football All-American, ex-Lions OC, dies
Michigan State football coach Pat Fitzgerald addresses Breslin Center
Michigan State football coach Pat Fitzgerald addresses Breslin Center crowd in East Lansing on Tuesday, Dec. 2.
Sherman Lewis, one of the greatest Michigan State football players and a former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator, died on Friday, May 15, an MSU spokesman confirmed. He was 83.
Lewis, an All-American running back for the Spartans and a longtime assistant coach at MSU and in the NFL, had been in an assisted living facility in recent years according to reporter and historian Tom Shanahan.
“Sherm Lewis is a Giant in his death as he was a Giant his life,” former MSU star and College Football Hall of Famer Clinton Jones told Shanahan.
Born June 29, 1942 in Louisville, Ky., Lewis arrived at MSU to play for Duffy Daugherty in football and to run track for the Spartans and became a captain of both teams. In 1962, Lewis earned honorable mention All-American honors and second-team All-Big Ten, then a year later was a first-team All-American and the 1963 Football News Player of the Year after rushing for 577 yards on 90 carries catching 11 passes for 303 yards. Lewis ran for 1,566 yards and 23 touchdowns, was a Big Ten champion in the long jump and 300-yard dash. He was inducted into the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2001.
Lewis played professionally with Toronto of the Canadian Football League (1964-65) and the New York Jets (1966) of the AFL before returning to MSU as an assistant coach from 1969-82 under Daugherty, Denny Stolz, Darryl Rogers and Frank “Muddy” Waters. He then went on to an accomplished career coaching in the NFL, spending nine seasons with San Francisco from 1983-91 and helping lead the 49ers to three Super Bowl wins while serving as a mentor to Roger Craig as running backs coach and then Jerry Rice and John Taylor as wide receivers coach.
In 1992, Lewis became offensive coordinator in Green Bay, a role he held for eight years from 1992-99. Lewis helped Brett Favre, former MSU star Andre Rison and the Packers win the 1996 Super Bowl. He was the first Black offensive coordinator to win a Super Bowl title.
Lewis was offensive coordinator for two seasons in Minnesota (2000-01) before spending his final three seasons with the Lions, including his last two as offensive coordinator from 2003-04.
Over 22 seasons in the NFL, Lewis’ teams compiled a cumulative 219-131-1 record. He was passed over twice for the MSU coaching job, first when Waters was hired in 1980 and then again in 1995 when the Spartans hired Nick Saban.
“Sherman Lewis was a true Spartan legend,” former MSU star Jimmy Raye, who also coached with Lewis and in the NFL, told Shanahan. “His legacy extended beyond the football field, where his electrifying play gained All-American recognition. He was the first player from the segregated South to play a substantial role for coach Duffy Daugherty and the Spartans. …
“As a mentor and lifelong friend, he set the standard for many future Spartans players and coaches to come. REST IN LOVE my brother.”
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
Subscribe to the “Spartan Speak” podcast for new episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Michigan
Opinion | Parents should decide who has access to their children – Bridge Michigan
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Michigan
Missing White River kayaker found safe, police say
Michigan State Police say a kayaker who went missing on White River northeast of Montague and Whitehall on Sunday, June 14, has been located safe, after a three-day search.
The man, Justin Wolfiss, 44, entered the river in a kayak at Sischo Bayou around 1:30 p.m. on Sunday with a friend, but did not arrive with his friend at the end point of their trip.
Wolfiss was located safe near Pines Point, officials announced on Tuesday, June 16.
He is currently being medically evaluated, officials say.
Wolfiss and his friend were traveling downstream toward the Happy Mohawk Canoe Livery, near Diamond Point, when they were separated early in the 3- to 4-hour trip, police said.
The friend, police said, waited several hours for Wolfiss to arrive after reaching Diamond Point around 7 p.m.
“The Michigan State Police would like to thank Blue Lake Township Fire Department, Hesperia Fire Department, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, MSP Aviation, MSP K-9, partnering agencies, volunteers, and members of the public who assisted in the search effort and shared information.”
Michigan
Report: Michigan cancels volleyball game vs. Texas Tech, to discuss prohibiting other contests
The fallout from the Brendan Sorsby saga continues. On Monday, Michigan canceled a scheduled volleyball game against Texas Tech, according to a report from Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger.
According to Dellenger, Michigan “plans to hold further discussions with its athletic staff on prohibiting contests against the Red Raiders.” The program becomes the latest to expressly state intent not to schedule Texas Tech amid the ongoing Sorsby saga.
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The controversy involves legal rulings that have made Sorsby eligible to play after Texas Tech and the NCAA declared him ineligible over sports wagering. Sorsby was granted an injunction against the NCAA that restored his eligibility temporarily, allowing him to play in 2026 after serving a two-game suspension.
Many, including the Big 12 itself, have come out staunchly against the ruling. They argue it presents an existential threat to the integrity of college athletics.
Sorsby placed dozens of sports bets while a student-athlete, including bets on his own program while at Indiana. The NCAA prohibits such activity.
Because of the legal posturing by Sorsby, the Big 12 and even programs outside the conference, like Michigan, have explored various avenues to state their own intent. Already, programs like Georgia and Nebraska have taken steps to avoid scheduling Texas Tech in athletics contests as a form of protest.
Last week, reports emerged from both athletic departments about their intent. Dellenger provided much of the reporting.
“Based on recent developments, Georgia Athletics will not schedule future contests against Texas Tech until further notice,” Georgia’s internal message read.
“Please review your sport’s current schedules and future scheduling plans. If you have any contests currently scheduled against Texas Tech, or are actively engaged in scheduling discussions with Texas Tech, please notify your sport administrator as soon as possible so we can evaluate the situation and determine next steps.
“Effective immediately, no new contests should be scheduled against Texas Tech without prior approval from the Athletics Department.”
The message from Nebraska was a bit briefer. But it carried the same directive.
“I want to reach out to let you know we will not schedule any contests vs. Texas Tech in any sport,” the memo read. “If you currently have a future contest already scheduled, please connect with (Nebraska athletic director) Troy (Dannen) immediately.”
Now Michigan has reportedly actively taken a step to cancel a contest against Texas Tech. It may not be the last, either.
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