1. It’s déjà vu for both teams in the quest for the Calder Cup, the Grand Rapids Griffins are only two wins away from their second Calder Cup title.
They beat the Syracuse Crunch in the first two games of the finals at Van Andel Arena.
The Griffins are undefeated on home ice in the playoffs, but so is the Crunch, and the best-of-seven series is moving to New York for Games 3 and 4.
They faced off for the Calder Cup in 2013, with the Griffins emerging victorious. Game 3 is scheduled for Wednesday.
2. Sunny skies drew thousands of people from across West Michigan packed downtown Grand Rapids over the weekend as people checked out locally made art and food.
Several live bands also hit the stage this year. This was the 48th year for the annual celebration, and it’s one of the longest running festivals in the state.
3. Free fishing weekend is coming up, meaning fishers don’t have to pay for a fishing license.
On Saturday and Sunday, the State Department of Natural Resources will allow people to fish across Michigan without a license.
The state will also waive the regular entry fee to all of Michigan’s 03 state parks and recreation areas.
All other rules will still apply.
4. A new report says a quarter of all shopping malls in the country are expected to go out of business within the next five years.
It estimates a record of 8,600 stores will close this year alone. If the five-year prediction true, it would be unprecedented, but it’s reality.
The report says there are just too many stores, and it’s causing a retail bubble.
It’s not all bad news, even though malls will be closing, online shopping is expected to grow from 17 to 35 percent of retail sales by 2030.
5. He’s a 9-year-old who went viral in the spring for his emotional reaction when he received tickets to see the Chicago Cubs, now he finally got the chance to go to Wrigley Field and meet the players.
Kolt Kyler was overcome with tears when his dad got him Cubs tickets.
His mom posted the video on social media, and it got a lot of attention. Eventually the video caught the eye of Cubs players Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant, so they gave him passes to watch batting practice.
Kolt got to meet both buys, run around the field, and sit right behind home plate.
