Steve McMichael couldn’t make it to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, so the ceremony came to him.

Battling ALS and bedridden in the advanced stages of the neurological disease, the 66-year-old two-time All-Pro defensive tackle was the second player enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame among seven members of the Class of 2024 on Saturday.

Surrounded by several of his Chicago Bears teammates and his wife, Misty, at his home in Homer Glen, Illinois, McMichael wore his gold jacket, and his bronze bust was unveiled live in a touching tribute.

“You are on a team that you can never be cut from and never be released from. When you die, you’ll always be on this team. Welcome home, Steve. You’re in football heaven forever,” Hall of Famer Richard Dent said, patting McMichael on the head.

Misty McMichael wiped tears as she turned her husband’s head toward the bronze bust.

“That’s you, baby, forever,” she said.

Nicknamed “Mongo” and known for his brash and boisterous personality, McMichael was the most feared player on one of the greatest defenses in NFL history. He became the fourth defensive player from the 1985 team to enter the Hall, joining Dent, Mike Singletary and Dan Hampton.

McMichael’s sister, Kathy, read a speech that she began working on with her brother before he lost his ability to move and speak.

“I want to thank the Chicago Bears and the fans, the best city to play football in,” Kathy McMichael said. “I played 15 years in the NFL and loved every minute of every down. I played with the greatest players and the greatest defense to this day.”

McMichael played in a franchise-record 191 consecutive games from 1981 to 1993 and ranks second to Dent on the Bears’ all-time sacks list with 92 1/2. His final NFL season was with Green Bay in 1994.

The ceremony in Ohio was delayed nearly two hours because of heavy rain and lightning. Similar weather on Thursday night forced the preseason opener between the Chicago Bears and Houston Texans to be stopped with 18 minutes remaining.

Dwight Freeney, Randy Gradishar, Devin Hester, Andre Johnson, Julius Peppers and Patrick Willis also were enshrined, raising the total members of the Hall of Fame to 378.

Freeney, a three-time All-Pro defensive end with the Indianapolis Colts, was playing soccer in high school when the football coach took him off the field. It was a life-changing move.

“My parents are both Jamaican, so soccer was in my blood,” Freeney said. “If it wasn’t for my high school coach, Jack Cochran, pulling me off that soccer field and convincing me to play this great game, I wouldn’t be on this stage today. Your invaluable lessons in work ethic have stayed with me for my entire life. You also taught me what it takes to become a champion.”

Freeney played 11 seasons in Indianapolis and 16 total, registering 125 1/2 sacks. He forced 47 fumbles, made seven Pro Bowls and earned one Super Bowl ring.

Hester became the first player inducted primarily as a return specialist. He returned a league-record 14 punts for touchdowns and ran back five more kickoffs for scores during an 11-year career spent mostly with the Bears. Hester is the only player to return the opening kick of a Super Bowl for a TD.

“When I first exploded on the professional scene, there was a lot of negativity, because people didn’t respect the return game,” Hester said. “But eventually, it got to the point where they put in a new rule — the Devin Hester rule — to move the kickoff up, so it made it easy for the kicker to kick it out of the end zone, which eliminated me from getting a lot of returns.”

Willis played only eight seasons in the NFL but made a major impact with the San Francisco 49ers as a do-it-all linebacker. He was AP Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2007, was a five-time All-Pro selection and made seven Pro Bowls.

Willis talked about growing up in the rural South living in a duplex trailer without running water until he was 8.

“Every day my siblings and I would carry empty five-gallon plastic buckets up the hill to get water from my grandparents’ house, then carry them back down,” Willis said. “I remember when I was carrying those buckets, I would tell myself, ‘If I can make it from here all the way to the house without stopping, I’m going to get stronger.’ No doubt I was getting physically stronger, but I didn’t know at the time that I was also building inner strength.”

Peppers, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2002 NFL draft by the Carolina Panthers, was a three-time All-Pro defensive end and made nine Pro Bowls in 17 seasons. He had 159 1/2 sacks — fourth most in NFL history — along with 52 forced and 11 interceptions.

Johnson, the No. 1 overall pick in 2003, is the first player in the Hall to begin his career with the Texans. He was a two-time All-Pro wide receiver, made seven Pro Bowls and finished with 1,062 catches for 14,185 yards and 70 touchdowns.

Johnson went last and received one of the loudest ovations with a huge contingent of the organization and fans in the crowd.

The 72-year-old Gradishar had the longest wait of the new class, becoming the first member of the Denver Broncos’ famed “Orange Crush” defense to join the Hall, 41 years after he last played in the NFL. The seven-time Pro Bowl linebacker was the AP Defensive Player of the Year in 1978.

• Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill agreed to a restructured contract Saturday, according to multiple reports.

The three-year deal reportedly is worth $90 million with $65 million guaranteed.

Hill, 30, did not participate in Saturday’s team workout or speak with reporters but posted “I’m here to stay” on his social media platform. Hill caught 119 passes for a league-leading 1,799 yards and 13 touchdowns last season.

• Arizona Cardinals linebacker BJ Ojulari is out for the season after suffering a knee injury during training camp. Coach Jonathan Gannon confirmed Ojulari’s injury and said the second-year player would need season-ending surgery.

Galaxy host Chivas in Leagues Cup match

It took one win Wednesday for the Galaxy to qualify for the knockout round in the Leagues Cup tournament.

Today the Galaxy will look to finish on top of the group as famed Mexican club Chivas visits Dignity Health Sports Park.

Despite being at home, the Galaxy will be considered the visiting team.

“At the end of the day, this is our home field, we need to perform the way we’ve been doing, especially at home,” Galaxy midfielder Diego Fagundez said. “We know what kind of team we want to be and if do what we’ve been doing at home, we can win this game.”

Chivas has one point in Group B, a 1-1 draw against San Jose. San Jose has two points, earning an additional point by defeating Chivas in the penalty kick shootout. A win or draw for the Galaxy wraps up first place.

“I played against Chivas when I was with the Galaxy many, many, many years, played against them in the (Concacaf Champions League) final in Toronto, played against them at SoFi (Aug. 3, 2022),” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said. “They’re a big club, one of the biggest clubs in Mexico. Huge following, huge travelling and or local support for the Chivas brand.

“We know one of the great things about it (the game), and I say this often through the course of an MLS season, there’s only so many days and so many games that you’re going to pack a stadium and it’s going to feel like a really energetic environment; there might be more Chivas fans than for us, but I don’t think that matters. What matters is that there’s energy and the game feels like important and that the group responds to the energy in the stadium.”

The night will also be a reunion of sorts with Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez and Daniel Aguirre both with Chivas. Hernandez signed last season after four years with the Galaxy. Aguirre departed earlier this season.

“He’s a competitor,” Vanney said of Hernandez. “That’s one thing with ‘Chich’ that you get always is that he’s a super competitive guy. He understands the game within the game and I’m sure he’s going to be super-motivated to come here and perform well and score goals against us. It’s our job to try to prevent that from happening.”

— Damian Calhoun

Lee leads Portland Classic by stroke

Andrea Lee took the lead Saturday in a bid for her second Portland Classic victory in three seasons, shooting a 5-under 67 for a one-stroke advantage over Dewi Weber and Alexa Pano.

Lee rebounded from an opening bogey to birdie five of the next eight holes in calm conditions at Columbia Edgewater. She added a birdie on the par-5 12th to get to 19 under and closed with six pars.

“I just got to stick to my game plan, try to birdie the par 5s, and maybe some of the easier holes and hole locations,” Lee said. “You just got to stay really patient out there and know that putts are going to eventually fall my way.”

The 25-year-old American won the 2022 event on the tree-lined course for her lone LPGA Tour title.

• Kaori Yamamoto of Japan shot a 1-over 72 on Saturday to take a five-stroke lead into the final round of the U.S. Senior Women’s Open in Pittsburgh. Yamamoto had a 7-under 206 total at Fox Chapel.

Annika Sorenstam (71) was tied for second with fellow Hall of Famer Juli Inkster (71), Leta Lindley (71) and Mikino Kubo (70).