Adrian, MI – Here is the Sports Update from Monday, July 28th on Inside the Cave…
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After over 40 years of Demolition Driving Eric Ehinger retired from local racing. He announced that Saturday’s race at the Lenawee County Grandstand was his last, as he celebrated several different things…it was exactly 40 years ago he attended a Figure 8 Demolition race on the first date with his now wife. The two were also celebrating their 40th anniversary.
Eric’s daughter, Erica, also races in the Figure 8 Demo and Tuff Truck & Car Competition. Eric says that one chapter may have closed, but he’ll still be track-side watching his family carry on for many years to come.
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The Toledo Mud Hens fell just short to the Indianapolis Indians 6-5 Sunday afternoon. Trei Cruz and Hao-Yu Lee homered from Toledo.
The Hens will return to Fifth Third Field on Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. to begin a six-game series with the St. Paul Saints.
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Jack Flaherty pitched six scoreless innings, Gleyber Torres hit a three-run homer and the Detroit Tigers ended a six-game losing streak with a 10-4 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.
Flaherty allowed a double and four singles. He struck out seven and walked one to end a seven-start winless streak.
One-time Tiger Max Scherzer, pitching on his 41st birthday, fell to 2-3 in five career starts against his former team. He allowed three hits in seven innings, including Torres’ homer, and struck out 11 without issuing a walk. Detroit had lost 12 of its past 13 games.
The Tigers will stay home for a three-game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Tigers face another former teammate Eduardo Rodriguez tonight at 6:40pm.
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The Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Chargers will kick-off the NFL’s preseason slate of games this Thursday in the Hall of Fame Game.
Lions coach Dan Campbell recently took questions from media members at training camp…and talked about the possibility of playing rookies and young players that are expected to have an impact this season…
Kickoff for the Hall of Fame Game is 8pm Thursday from Canton, Ohio.
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Antonio Gates will become enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame without playing college football. Gates played his entire 16-year career for the Chargers and finished with 116 receiving touchdowns, the most by a tight end in NFL history. Gates reached national prominence in 2002 when he led Kent State to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Basketball Tournament. Even though Gates was convinced he would get drafted in the NBA, at 6-foot-4, scouts saw him as an undersized post player. However, Tim Brewster, who was the Chargers’ tight ends coach in 2003, saw in Gates the size and speed that he thought would make him a great tight end.
Gates played both football and basketball during high school at Detroit Central. Nick Saban recruited Gates to play football at Michigan State, but he didn’t play as a freshman. Gates also wanted to play basketball, but Saban disagreed.
Gates transferred to Eastern Michigan, then to two junior colleges, and eventually to Kent State. It was at Kent State that Gates reached national prominence. He led the Golden Flashes to the Elite Eight in the 2002 NCAA Tournament as a junior and an Associated Press All-America honorable mention selection as a senior after averaging 20.6 points, 7.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game.
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Claressa Shields unanimously outpointed Lani Daniels on Saturday night, successfully defending all her belts as the first undisputed heavyweight champion in women’s boxing. The 30-year-old Shields, a two-time Olympic champion, improved to 17-0 in front of 15,366 fans at Little Caesars Arena. The 36-year-old Daniels, the IBF light heavyweight champion, dropped to 11-3-2. She had won seven in a row. Also, former super-welterweight champion Tony Harrison beat Edward Diaz of the Dominican Republic by unanimous decision after being knocked down in the ninth round of the 10-round fight.
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Chris Chelios, Rasheed Wallace and Claressa Shields are among the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame’s 2025 class of inductees.
The hall of fame announced its 2025 class Friday night. Inductions are scheduled for Dec. 19 in Detroit.
Hockey Hall of Fame member Chelios played defenseman for a decade, helping the Detroit Red Wings win two Stanley Cup Finals. Wallace helped the Detroit Pistons beat the Lakers for the 2004 NBA championship and reach four straight Eastern Conference finals.
Shields became the first American boxer to win consecutive Olympic gold medals in 2012 and 2016. She also was the first American woman to win the gold medal in boxing and first to win two with a 64-1 record.
Another inductee, Jason Richardson, helped Michigan State win the 2000 national championship.
The class is rounded out by Mark Dantonio, the winningest football coach in Michigan State history; John Lowe, who covered the Tigers from 1986 through 2014 for the Detroit Free Press; and Dave Dombrowski, president and general manager for 14 years with the Tigers.