SPORTS SECTION ⚫ THE LATEST HEADLINES

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Sunday, April 13, 2025

Metro League baseball schools have captured the early spotlight as the prep fun gets into full swing for the 2025 spring sports season.

Score a couple big blows against the bigger schools in the Saginaw Valley League to ignite lots of excitement for the Metro League baseball prestige as opening day nears to begin playing for real in hopes of making it to the season-ending Metro League championship game.

Davison and Grand Blanc — two perennial title contenders in the Valley — took it on the chin against Metro League competition in the two recent big blows for the 56-year-old circuit.

Clio nipped Davison 2-1 in Saturday's Tom Cole Greater Flint Baseball Tournament opener while Flushing split with Grand Blanc last week in a rematch of last spring's Regional battle won by Coach Steve Burdis and his Raiders as they rolled all the way to the 2024 state quarterfinals.

(See results in today's Prep Section)

Flushing beat Lake Fenton in last year's showdown between the Metro League's Stripes Division and Star Division winners.

Lake Fenton opens its Metro League play on Monday (April, 14, 2025) by hosting Clio while Flushing is scheduled to open Metro League action at home against Linden on Monday. 

Linden's program is under the direction of Tim Crow who has instilled high hopes there by injecting his coaching experience and passion for the game into talk of the Eagles returning to their glory days.

While Crow knows a thing or two about Valley competition as a former first team all-Valley performer as a shortstop for the old Flint Southwestern Colts during his high school playing days, one of his teammates there was Robert Diment — father of Clio's Saturday hero Robbie Diment. Clio's senior star had the game-winning RBI against Davison at Flint's Broome Park while coming on to supply two innings of no-hit relief to close the door on the Valley's Cardinals who are always one of the favorites to go far in the Greater Flint tourney field.

Crow led Linden's 2024 ballclub to its best record since 2018 in his first year at the helm.

The 2018 campaign is when legendary Linden star Steve Buerkel led the Eagles to a co-championship with Fenton. It was two years off a sparkling 28-victory campaign with an 11-1 record in Metro League play when winning the school's last outright Metro League championship.

A co-championship in 2014 made Linden the most dominant team in the Metro League with three titles during a five-year span until 2018.

The Eagles had not tasted championship-style winning in the Metro since their last outright titles when winning back-to-back crowns under Dennis Hopkins in 1986 and 1987. Hopkins had his Linden teams always in the thick of things during a 25-year career coaching Linden's varsity which posted a 401-254 mark under his leadership.

Linden won 16 games last spring and went 6-10 in the Metro League under Crow who has experience as a prep coach in Arizona where he also won a summer Connie Mack World Series — something done only once in the illustrious history of Flint area baseball for high school age players when the late Walt Head guided the 1974 Carpets by Smith club all the way to winning it all in Farmington, New Mexico.

Crow also has experience as an assistant at Saginaw Valley State University and as a professional coach overseas after his twin sons completed their high school days in Arizona, and went on to collegiate careers themselves.

Crow began his collegiate career at Flint's Mott Community College and went on to reach the minor league level where he worked as a minor league umpire after his playing career ended.

He returned to Flint Southwestern High's Colts to take the head coach job in 1995. He led them to four straight City Series championships during his tenure there.

In Arizona, he reached the state finals seven times.

Linden has reached the Division 2 state finals twice in school history — losing there in 2004 and again in 2016.

Fenton and Lake Fenton are the only other schools in Metro League history to reach a state championship game. Fenton did it in 1985 under Rich Applin and Lake Fenton did it in 1983 under Hewitt Judson

Fenton hosts Holly in Monday's other Metro League Stripes Division opener while Swartz Creek goes to Flint Kearsley.

In the Stars Division, Goodrich hosts Corunna on Monday while Ortonville Brandon goes to Owosso and two-time defending champion Lake Fenton hosts Clio.

While Clio is coming off its dramatic 2-1 triumph over Davison, Lake Fenton avenged a doubleheader sweep on opening day to Swartz Creek (losing 16-3 and 3-1) by beating the Dragons 4-1 on Friday afternoon.

The Creek had the area's only unbeaten record until then at a perfect 5-0.

 Nick Bierman's Dragons went to 7-1 on Saturday when whipping North Branch in a final non-league tune-up — taking two by scores of 16-1 and 14-2.

Swartz Creek tries to keep its momentum going on Monday when visiting Flint Kearsley which finally got in its first action of the season on Friday and Saturday.

Coach  Caleb Pyscher's Hornets beat Ortonville Brandon 4-1 on Friday, then bombed Waterford Mott 16-2 on Saturday.

Tri-county are rivals Holly and Fenton go at it Monday in Fenton. 

Fenton won Saturday for the first time when getting a split against Clarkston. The Tigers won 9-2 in the opener but dropped the nightcap 7-5.

Holly opened Friday by bombing a Valley school when winning 17-0 at Flint Carman-Ainsworth.

Linden's only action so far came Saturday at Flint Carman-Ainsworth where Crow's Eagles won 9-1 to send the Cavaliers to a school record 23rd loss in a row, dating back to last season.  

Flushing, on the other hand, has the most local action in so far. The Raiders have played 9 games.

Flushing's split last week with Grand Blanc was salvaged by an 8-3 triumph in the nightcap after losing 6-2 in the opener to a club that won a Division 1 state championship in 2021.

The Raiders have also turned in splits with always tough Valley rival Midland Dow, Frankenmuth which is a two-time defending Division 2 district champion, Division 1 Brighton which is off to a 7-1 start this spring and Dexter which has won 5 of its other 6 games besides a 4-2 loss to Flushing.

Ben Almassy's Goodrich club hasn't yet got a game in as it prepares for Monday's Metro opener at Goodrich against Corunna.

Corunna split a pair at Chesaning in its debut action on Saturday. Coach  Chuck Osika's Cavaliers won the opener 12-2 at Chesaning but lost the nightcap 11-3.

Ortonville Brandon goes to Owosso Monday after the loss at Kearsley dropped Coach  Greg Glover's Blackhawks to 0-2. Owosso went to 4-0 by edging Marshall 5-3 and blanking Pewamo-Westphalia 4-0.

Read This Week's Featured Colunn

Read Old Sports Thoughts Columns

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Mike Killbreath is an award-winning newspaper sports columnist. He appears on Metro Flint News/Talk Radio via The Daily Gazette Sports Weekend Show Sundays from 6-8 pm, The Daily Gazette Sports Night Show weekdays at 6 pm and on The Morning Gazette Radio Show weekday mornings from 8 am until 9:30 am. He's an award-winning news columnist and investigative reporter who is the former long-time owner of the local Metro Flint area chain of 14 community newspapers. This fall will be his 50th year as a journalist. He also hosts a new weekly national TV show known as The American Crusaders on cable TV and various OTT TV live streaming platforms.

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BY MIKE KILLBREATH

CCN Executive Editor

FLINT (CCN) — The Lady Bears of Flint's Mott Community College decided to look no further than two miles down Court Street to find their next leader for the women's basketball program.

Interim Athletic Director Roger Christensen tabbed Flint Powers Catholic leader Ryan Trevichick to take over for David Bush.

School officials at Powers made it official at about 4 pm Wednesday (April 16, 2025) about rumors that Trevichick was Mott's choice via social media.

A post on the Powers Catholic Facebook page said: "Congratulations to Coach Ryan Trevithick! We are thrilled to give a huge Chargers shout-out to Coach Ryan Trevithick on his exciting new opportunity! Mott CC Women's basketball has officially announced the hiring of Coach Trevithick to lead their program beginning in the 2025–2026 season. Coach Trevithick, who currently serves as the head coach of the Flint Powers Catholic girls varsity basketball team, will take on this new role while continuing to lead our Girl's Varsity basketball team. We’re proud to see his coaching career grow and even more excited that he’ll still be part of our Charger family."

Junior college coaches can serve dual roles at the high school level.

Trevichick has worked wonders in turning around the Flint Powers program during his five-year stint there after previously spending six years on the women's Division 2 coaching staff at Saginaw Valley State University.

He was the interim head coach at SVSU for one season in addition to serving two years as the player development coach and three years as an assistant coach.

SVSU made its fourth ever appearance in the NCAA Division 2 national tournament during Trevichick's first year on the bench as an assistant coach.

Trevichick's performance during his lone season as interim coach wasn't so impressive. The Lady Cardinals were a lowly 6-21 overall and finished 9th in the GLIAC (Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) at 6-14 after an 0-7 record in non-conference games to start the season.

His first team at Flint Powers was 4-12 but he took over a program that had experienced four straight losing seasons before he arrived.

Trevichick led his Lady Chargers to a respectable 11-11 campaign in Year 2, then went 15-8 before leading his fourth club to the state quarterfinals in Division 2 before losing a narrow 50-45 decision to Negaunee. The loss left Powers with an impressive 23-4 record going into what was billed by many as a rebuilding year after losing two seniors to the collegiate level — Amaya Smith who landed a Division 1 scholarship at Central Michigan University and Ali Anderson who played junior college ball at Mott CC.

This past season, Trevichick led Powers to a third place finish in the Saginaw Valley League at 8-3 and an 18-6 record overall. The Lady Chargers tied Mount Pleasant in the Valley behind 10-1 Saginaw Heritage and 11-0 Midland.

He will have a rebuilding job on his hands again at Mott next season.

Bush's first year at the helm saw the Lady Bears go 2-12 last winter in the Michigan Community College Athletic Association's Eastern Conference after a 10-4 start in non-conference action prior to games counting for real in the MCCAA. The 12-16 finish overall in Bush's debut season as head coach came after serving six seasons as an assistant to long-time leader Letia Hughley who retired after 19 years. 

The Hughley-Bush era produced one Eastern Conference championship in the MCCAA during their first year together in the 2018-19 campaign but they were unable to win the MCCAA title.

Hughley won only one MCCAA title during her tenure with it coming during the 2006-07 season.

 (See Related Stories in Mott Bears Section)

PHOTO CAPTION: Pictured above this story is Ryan Trevichick who has been named as Head Coach of the women's basketball program at Flint's Mott Community College.

Wednesday, April 16, 2025

Per the norm, and before I hear "This is too long" from anyone, I just want to add that I have no idea how long or short this blog will be. My bad if it ends up being long! 

 *Side note. I finished writing the post. It's long! Lol. My bad but it's informative and slightly entertaining! I broke it up into two parts!  Here is Part 1:

Welcome to the new era of college basketball, where the Transfer Portal and NIL deals have transformed the game faster than a Kentucky one-and-done player heads to the NBA. 

The Transfer Portal, for me, is simply college basketball's version of free agency. 

Before 2018, transferring between schools was a nightmare for basketball players. 

Enter the Transfer Portal! The NCAA's attempt at modernizing transfers. Imagine a digital doorway where players simply enter their name and "swish!" — they're eligible to be recruited by other programs. Yup, it's as simple as that.  

I like to add that this is player empowerment at its finest. The portal gives basketball players control over their careers. If their coach's system doesn't showcase their skills or if their role diminishes, they can simply add their name to the portal and leave. Did the coach who recruited you take another job? No problem! Portal entry granted. You can leave! A player can leave for a new school every season, and be eligible for the following season if s/he chose to do so.

Crazy, huh? Former bench players can become stars in the right system. Just ask Mac McClung, who bounced from Georgetown to Texas Tech before finding prominence or Kentucky's Antonio Reeves, who transformed from Illinois State role player to SEC scoring machine.  

Programs with player gaps can add experienced players rather than waiting for freshmen to develop.   

Now coaches have some serious accountability issues to adhere to. Coaches known for poor player development or toxic environments quickly find their rosters emptying into the portal. They no longer can treat a player like trash and expect a player to stay. The power dynamic has shifted dramatically from the Bobby Knight era.  

Now don't get me wrong, the portal is not all slam dunks. The first thing that I noted was that there is major roster instability like never before. Teams can lose five players and gain seven in a single offseason. 

Programs like Arkansas and USC sometimes feature almost entirely new starting lineups each season.  The iconic four-year players who embodied their schools, think Mateen Cleaves at Michigan State, Dallas Comegys at DePaul or Grant Hill at Duke, are becoming basketball unicorns.

  And let's not forget about the mid-major talent drain! The Portal has become a farming system where smaller schools develop players only to see them snatched away by power conferences. Max Abmas starred at Oral Roberts before finishing at Texas; Hunter Dickinson went from mid-major recruit to Michigan star to Kansas transfer.

 It happens more often than not. The Portal makes it easy and it's now a legitimate transfer.  When a coach leaves, it often triggers a mass exodus. Just look at what happened when Porter Moser left Loyola Chicago or Eric Musselman departed Nevada. Those rosters evaporated into the portal overnight. They were decimated. There is no loyalty to a school or the program anymore.

The Portal, coupled with NIL deals has totally changed how kids and families approach college basketball.   For decades, college basketball players created tremendous value without seeing a dime. Their March Madness performances drove billions in television revenue, their jerseys sold in bookstores, and their likenesses appeared in video games, all while they remained "amateurs" who couldn't accept so much as a free meal from a fan.  

I recall vividly that after we lost an NCAA game,  Coach Ray said to us after the game, "You guys just lost the university $250,000.00 dollars." WE lost it. But, all of those number one ranked games on NBC and ABC  earned how much? Our pay? The scholarship! That has never left me after all of these years but as a coach, he had a six figure deal with Adidas. We never got a dime but the university and the coaching staff always benefitted from US winning. 

I'm ecstatic to see the current athletes benefitting from a well structured NIL deal.   When was the actual birth of NIL, which means Name, Image and Likeness? This goes back to Ed O'Bannon vs. NCAA. Yup, all of you yun'guns'  can thank Ed for you all getting NIL deals! 

READ MORE MARTY EMBRY COLUMNS

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Marty Embry is a former administrator in the Flint school district. He was the star center on two of the old Flint Central's state championship teams under legendary Coach Stan Gooch, then went on to star at DePaul University before playing professionally overseas.

Wednesday, April 16, 2025

Per the norm, and before I hear "This is too long" from anyone, I just want to add that I have no idea how long or short this blog will be. My bad if it ends up being long! 

 *Side note. I finished writing the post. It's long! Lol. My bad but it's informative and slightly entertaining! I broke it up into two parts!  Here is Part 1:

Welcome to the new era of college basketball, where the Transfer Portal and NIL deals have transformed the game faster than a Kentucky one-and-done player heads to the NBA. 

The Transfer Portal, for me, is simply college basketball's version of free agency. 

Before 2018, transferring between schools was a nightmare for basketball players. 

Enter the Transfer Portal! The NCAA's attempt at modernizing transfers. Imagine a digital doorway where players simply enter their name and "swish!" — they're eligible to be recruited by other programs. Yup, it's as simple as that.  

I like to add that this is player empowerment at its finest. The portal gives basketball players control over their careers. If their coach's system doesn't showcase their skills or if their role diminishes, they can simply add their name to the portal and leave. Did the coach who recruited you take another job? No problem! Portal entry granted. You can leave! A player can leave for a new school every season, and be eligible for the following season if s/he chose to do so.

Crazy, huh? Former bench players can become stars in the right system. Just ask Mac McClung, who bounced from Georgetown to Texas Tech before finding prominence or Kentucky's Antonio Reeves, who transformed from Illinois State role player to SEC scoring machine.  

Programs with player gaps can add experienced players rather than waiting for freshmen to develop.   

Now coaches have some serious accountability issues to adhere to. Coaches known for poor player development or toxic environments quickly find their rosters emptying into the portal. They no longer can treat a player like trash and expect a player to stay. The power dynamic has shifted dramatically from the Bobby Knight era.  

Now don't get me wrong, the portal is not all slam dunks. The first thing that I noted was that there is major roster instability like never before. Teams can lose five players and gain seven in a single offseason. 

Programs like Arkansas and USC sometimes feature almost entirely new starting lineups each season.  The iconic four-year players who embodied their schools, think Mateen Cleaves at Michigan State, Dallas Comegys at DePaul or Grant Hill at Duke, are becoming basketball unicorns.

  And let's not forget about the mid-major talent drain! The Portal has become a farming system where smaller schools develop players only to see them snatched away by power conferences. Max Abmas starred at Oral Roberts before finishing at Texas; Hunter Dickinson went from mid-major recruit to Michigan star to Kansas transfer.

 It happens more often than not. The Portal makes it easy and it's now a legitimate transfer.  When a coach leaves, it often triggers a mass exodus. Just look at what happened when Porter Moser left Loyola Chicago or Eric Musselman departed Nevada. Those rosters evaporated into the portal overnight. They were decimated. There is no loyalty to a school or the program anymore.

The Portal, coupled with NIL deals has totally changed how kids and families approach college basketball.   For decades, college basketball players created tremendous value without seeing a dime. Their March Madness performances drove billions in television revenue, their jerseys sold in bookstores, and their likenesses appeared in video games, all while they remained "amateurs" who couldn't accept so much as a free meal from a fan.  

I recall vividly that after we lost an NCAA game,  Coach Ray said to us after the game, "You guys just lost the university $250,000.00 dollars." WE lost it. But, all of those number one ranked games on NBC and ABC  earned how much? Our pay? The scholarship! That has never left me after all of these years but as a coach, he had a six figure deal with Adidas. We never got a dime but the university and the coaching staff always benefitted from US winning. 

I'm ecstatic to see the current athletes benefitting from a well structured NIL deal.   When was the actual birth of NIL, which means Name, Image and Likeness? This goes back to Ed O'Bannon vs. NCAA. Yup, all of you yun'guns'  can thank Ed for you all getting NIL deals! 

READ MORE MARTY EMBRY COLUMNS

-----------------------------------------------------

Marty Embry is a former administrator in the Flint school district. He was the star center on two of the old Flint Central's state championship teams under legendary Coach Stan Gooch, then went on to star at DePaul University before playing professionally overseas.

BY MIKE KILLBREATH

CCN Executive Editor

CLAYTON TWP. (CCN) — Genesee County is getting an expansion team next season in the Michigan Independence Hockey League. Known as the MIHL, the league is a Senior A, semi-pro level league with a mix of players with experience in juniors, college and the pros. 

The newest MIHL team will be known as the Flint Shadow. This expansion brings the league to five teams, with plans for further growth in the near future.

The Flint Shadow will play out of the 810 Sports Complex on Elms Road in Clayton Township which was formerly Flint Iceland Arenas. 

A press release says the team will be operated by Black Ops Consulting LLC but no such business name yet exists in Michigan corporation records and names involved in the ownership group were not identified.

MIHL Commissioner Scott Brand expressed enthusiasm about the league’s expansion, stating, "Flint has a rich hockey history, and we are confident this will be a strong addition to our league. Black Ops Consulting has demonstrated impressive expertise in player development and the sports business. Their commitment, along with their partnership with Eight Ten Sports Complex, makes this an ideal fit. We expect to add one or two more teams before next season."

The Flint Shadow will compete alongside the Muskegon Voyagers, Waterford Sharks, Detroit Warhawks and Alpena 45ers. 

A press release quoted the ownership group as saying, "Black Ops Consulting is very excited to bring the MIHL brand of hockey to the Flint area. Our goal is to provide a high level of competition for our players while also creating an affordable and successful hockey experience for the community. We are already building our team for next season and have our sights set on bringing a league championship to Flint."

The Elms Road arena played host to the old Flint Junior Generals for several seasons with crowds of about 500 fans per game until the franchise was sold when Rolf Nielson bought the old Plymouth Whalers OHL club and moved them to Dort Financial Center Arena in Flint. The Flint Firebirds have been successful at the gate since 2015 but use mostly Canadian talent.

Clayton Township Supervisor Ted Henry could not be reached for comment.

EAST LANSING (CCN) — Genesee Christian took a 24-1 record to East Lansing on March 20, 2025 for the Final Four in girls' basketball but didn't have enough firepower to slow down Fowler. A 25-point loss sidelined the tiny school on Belsay Road in Burton after its first trip ever to the state semifinals. Frankenmuth made it the Breslin Center in East Lansing on the campus of MSU but blew a 10-point lead midway through the third quarter and lost 52-43 to  Tecumseh. (See Stories in Prep Sports Section) 

PLYMOUTH (CCN) — Flint Powers Catholic's hockey team won its second state championship in three years by beating Livonia Stevenson 3-2 in overtime in the Division 2 state finals at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth. Ethan Haley became was the hero when scoring the dramatic game winner 1:53 into overtime on a blast from the point.  

 (See Finals Game Story in Prep Sports Section) 

Read Editor Mike Killbreath "Sports Thoughts"

Dramatic victories en route to winning it all bring back fond memories for Powers hockey fans

FLINT (CCN) — Dean Tondreau of the Genesee County Coaches & Officials Association (GCCOA) has announced that a long-time local basketball referee from Flint is hanging up his whistle.

Latrelle Holmes revealed via a social media post on Facebook that he's done as an official after 28 years of patrolling courts around Genesee County.

Tondrea said, "Latrelle Holmes has announced he is retiring from officiating after 28 varsity years of service... I wanted to personally on behalf of the GCCOA congratulate Latrelle on his wonderful service and that he will most definitely be missed, not only by our officiating community, but by coaches and players as well. Latrelle is one of the nicest men you will ever meet. A wonderful official who gave his best each time he stepped on the court. Equally, he is a great partner. Never an unkind word to say about anyone. The years I have worked with Latrelle, I do not recall him ever raising his voice to players, coaches and definitely not his fellow officating colleagues. And he always had your back."

Holmes is Finance Director in Mount Morris Township and the former Former Senior Pastor at Greater Galilee Baptist Church in Flint

Tondrea added: "As officials, it is our goal to have a positive impact in some way, however small, to student athletes, coaches, administrators, volunteers, and fans alike each time we take the field or court. I have no doubt Latrelle accomplished that each and every time he stepped out on the court. We wish you all the best Latrelle. You will be sorely missed on the basketball court. Above all, we congratulate on your excellent years of service."

PHOTO CAPTION: Pictured above this photo is Latrelle Holmes who has announced he's stepping away after 28 years as a basketball referee.

BY MIKE KILLBREATH

CCN Executive Editor

LINDEN (CCN) — Pro boxer Joey Spencer of Linden made an announcement Tuesday (Feb. 25, 2025) on social media, saying, "I’m excited to announce that I’ll be headed to New Castle, Australia to take on the former world champion, Tim Tszyu, on April 6th."

Tszyu has lost his last two fights after a 24-0 start.

Spencer is 19-1 for his career. The 24-year-old has won three straight fights since his first loss which came in Las Vegas to unbeaten Jesus Ramous after a 16-0 start. Spencer's last two fights have been his only ones in his hometown Genesee County. He won on a card with brother Michael Spencer last summer on the football field at Linden High School where the Spencers graduated. His last fight was the co-featured one on the Salita Promotions card at Flint's Dort Federal Event Center with fellow local fighter, unbeaten Ardreal "Bossman" Holmes Jr. of Flint. 

It was announced last month that Pro Box TV outbid Salita Promotions by just $5,000 to win the rights to the IBF-ordered junior middleweight title eliminator with Holmes against Erickson Lubin of Orlando, Florida. ProBox submitted a $225,000 offer.

Salita Promotions, founded by former 140-pound contender Dmitry Salita, has previously promoted all 17 fights by unbeaten Flint fighter Holmes since 2017. He's also the promoter for Flint champion Claressa Shields.

While Flint's Holmes is 17-0 with 6 KO's — Lubin, 26-2 with 18 KO's, is due $135,000 from his entitled 60% share of the purse as the higher-ranked contender. He is the IBF’s No. 3 junior middleweight. Holmes is ranked Number 7 and his 40 percent amounts to a $90,000 payday. The winner of the ordered fight will become the mandatory challenger for Russian Bakhram Murtazaliev who is 23-0 with 17 KO's.

It's not known if Spencer or Holmes will be on national TV with their next fights.

Salita Productions has regularly showcased Holmes on the company’s Big Time Boxing USA series on the DAZN streaming network, and both Holmes and Spencer appeared on national TV last time they fought from the Dort Federal in Flint. 

BY MIKE KILLBREATH

CCN Executive Editor

ANN ARBOR (CCN) — Grand Blanc's David Lally may pitch in Ann Arbor for the first time on Friday (March 14, 2025) as the Michigan Wolverines host USC in Big 10 Conference baseball action.

Lally led the Grand Blanc Bobcats to a Division 1 state championship in 2022, turned down an offer to go pro and signed to pitch at Notre Dame, entered the transfer portal after two seasons of limited action, signed with Michigan and pitched well in a college wooden bat league last summer with a team known as the Royal Oak Leprechauns in the Northwoods League.

A scouting service known as D1 Baseball warned UM's opponents in advance when watching Lally's dominating performances for the Leprechauns that the prospect identified by them out of high school as a "premier pitching talent" was ready to impress Wolverines' fans, saying in a tweet on X, formerly known as Twitter, as follows: "If he continues improving at Michigan baseball, watch out for a breakout season."

As the Big 10 season is now in full swing, Lally is doing exactly that so far on the young season.

Lally has so far pitched 18 1/3 innings this spring with 17 strikeouts.

He has started four games since pitching in relief in UM's opener when winning against the then No. 2 ranked team in the USA — Virginia.

Lally holds a sparkling 1.96 earned-run average and a 0.98 WHIP through his four appearances. 

His first start of the season came against Villanova when pitching 5 scoreless innings en route to a combined shutout. His next start came against Long Beach State, carrying a no-hitter through 5 innings and striking out 5. His most recent start was on Saturday (March 8, 2025) against Big 10 rival Illinois when he allowed one unearned run on one hit through 5 innings and struck out 6 with 4 Illini batters going down looking. 

The Trojans are in town for a 3-game series. Game 2 is Saturday at noon and the finale is on Sunday at noon.

All three of this weekend's games will be televised on the Big 10+ streaming network.

The Wolverines won their home opener 6-4 over Toledo a day earlier at Fisher Stadium inside the Wilpon Complex in front of 644 cold fans.

They used a four-run outburst in the the 7th inning to beat Toledo in a non-conference contest. The big blow was by junior Mitch Voit of Milwaukee with a three-run homer.

UM beat arch rival Michigan State 11-7 on Wednesday (March 12, 2025) in East Lansing to go to 2-1 in Big 10 play. They're in a six-way tie for second place behind 3-0 Oregon.

USC is so far 0-3 in the Big 10 but 9-7 overall.

UM is 10-6 overall.

PHOTO CAPTION: Pictured above this story is Grand Blanc's David Lally who has a sparkling 1.98 ERA for the Michigan Wolverines in 4 appearances so far in 2025.

BY ERIC THOMPSON

CCN Sports Writer

DAVISON (CCN) — A long-time youth sports coach and referee at both the high school and college levels has passed away. Raymond Kubani died unexpectedly from natural causes on Monday (Feb. 10, 2025) at Hurley Medical Center in Flint. He was 59.

Dean Tondreau of the Genesee County Coaches and Officials Association made the announcement via a news release to GCCOA members.

Kubani was a star athlete at Clarkston High School. He graduated in 1983 and went on to play basketball collegiately at Kent State University.

An obituary said that in his free time, Kubani volunteered as a youth sports coach and mentor, worked as a high school and collegiate basketball referee, created and maintained a golf green in his backyard and easily made friends with anyone he met.

Kubani made his home in Davison for 30 years where he raised a family with wife Sue.

They got married after meeting at Kent State.

He is survived by his wife, formerly Sue DeLeone; sons Kent and Drew, of Seattle and Chicago, respectively; father Vic; sister Mary Pacitto (Dave); brother-in-laws Joe DeLeone (Barb), Jim DeLeone (Kathleen), Mike DeLeone (Carm); sister-in-law Lisa DeLeone; nieces and nephews Regina, Julia, Garrett and Maria Pacitto, Tony, Victor, Ben, Nick, and Lizzie DeLeone, Jeannie DeLeone Ward, and Joanna Cammel; and many beloved aunts, uncles, cousins, and extended family.

Kubani worked for Independence Township Parks and Recreation, Rock Bottom Stone Supply, Michigan Electric Supply Co. and most recently, he proudly worked on the Business Development Team for The Davey Tree Expert Company.

Kubani, who was married 30 years ago after college, was was born at Holy Cross Hospital in Detroit to Victor Kubani and the late Sally (McGowan) Kubani on August 19, 1965.  

He was also preceded in death by brother Gary in 1992; mother-in-law Wilma DeLeone in 2023; and brother-in-law Tony DeLeone in 2021. His mother Sally died in 2020.

The obituary said Kubani and his wife recently "found themselves in a new phase of their lives as empty nesters, cherishing their time together as a couple." Ray enjoyed golfing, keeping up with collegiate sports, specifically Ohio State football, and he treasured his family and friends. He loved being involved in his sons’ elementary education, spending time reading to their classrooms, chaperoning field trips and attending class holiday parties. He was also an active supporter and volunteer for Special Olympics.

Friends may visit Lewis E. Wint & Son Funeral Home in Clarkston on Thursday (Feb. 20, 2025) from 3-8 pm. There will be memorial mass a day later at Our Lady of the Lakes Catholic Church in  Waterford with visitation at the church from 9:30am until the service at 10 am.

Inurnment will be at Lakeview Cemetery in Clarkston.

Memorials may be made to My Brothers Keeper of Genesee County.

PHOTO CAPTION: Pictured above this story is Ray Kubani who passed away on Monday (Feb. 10, 2025). He was a star basketball player at Clarkston who went on to play collegiately at Kent State. He was a youth sports coach and worked as a referee at both the high school and collegiate levels.

BY MIKE KILLBREATH

CCN Executive Editor

OWOSSO (CCN) — A Metro League Athletic Director has resigned after an incident at a volleyball game where he escorted students out of the building for what he called inappropriate behavior.

Owosso High School AD Steve Irelan resigned on Jan. 10 after negotiations between his lawyer and district officials, according to a report by WNEM CBS TV 5 on its Friday (Jan. 24, 2025) 11 o'clock newscast.

After two weeks of rumors about Irelan's absence on Owosso's campus, Superintendent Steve Brooks issued a statement to the public on the district's Facebook page after the school day on Friday. The incident at the volleyball game happened in October.

Superintendent Brooks said, "We felt it was important to set the record straight, given some of the inaccurate information being spread on social media and on other platforms."

Irelan's job as AD and assistant principal at Owosso was posted by district officials on Jan. 21.

The letter with a statement by Brooks read in part: "We received a report that Mr. Ireland had removed a group of students from a high school (girls') volleyball game at Owosso High School, and eventually from the campus entirely. The students had reportedly been obnoxiously yelling from the student section, causing a disruption. A parent of one of the students involved accused Mr. Ireland of bullying and targeting one of the students, an allegation we take seriously. Mr. Ireland declined multiple requests to meet with specific parents to discuss the incident ... Mr. Ireland’s actions concerning one of the parents of the students involved in the incident created the appearance of retaliation, and the district then sought legal counsel to adhere to our school policies and procedures. We then placed Mr. Ireland on administrative leave on October 31, 2024, while an investigation was conducted by the district legal counsel, inclusive of video footage review and detailed interviews of several students, coaches, spectators administrators including Mr. Ireland and school staff who witnessed the incident in the gym."

Irelan did not respond to our request for a comment. WNEM CBS TV 5 also reported that Irelan did not respond to its request for a comment.

Irelan has been with the Owosso district since 2015, according to his Linked-in page.

Superintendent Brooks also wrote in his letter to district residents: "The investigation found no evidence that Mr. Irelan bullied or targeted a student. However, his actions pertaining to one of the parents of the students involved in the incident created the appearance of retaliation. The appearance of retaliation toward the parent is a violation of our board policy and it was recommended Mr. Irelan receive an appropriate discipline to avoid recurrence of these actions. And no time were any criminal investigations brought forth. Mr. Irelan disagreed with the recommended discipline and appealed the proposed disciplinary action. During the appeal, Mr. Irelan‘s attorney and the district attorney negotiated the resignation agreement acceptable to Mr. Irelan and the district."

No school board members in the Owosso district have yet responded to our request for comments.

PHOTO CAPTION: Steve Irelan has resigned his position as Athletic Director at Owosso High.

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