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The Second Half

March 30, 2012

As local print media collapse and school sports receive less and less complete and competent coverage, and more and more immature and inappropriate treatment, the MHSAA has moved to help fill the void.

The “Second Half” is a place where people can find the essential information about school sports in a safe setting at MHSAA.com.

Geoff Kimmerly, previously the high school sports editor for the Lansing State Journal, is the man behind this mission at the MHSAA.  With the help of several other staff, Geoff is originating or aggregating both video and editorial content and stories by or about student-athletes, as well as stories and Q & As with coaches.  All sports are covered, and always consistent with our core values for educational athletics.

 With your first cup of coffee each day, visit the Second Half at MHSAA.com.

The Antidote

October 17, 2014

On average, according to the New York Times, the 32 National Football League teams have had 22 player arrests per team since 2000. And mounting.

This horrifying statistic doesn’t even include one team’s bounty-payment scheme to injure opposing players. It doesn’t include league-imposed suspensions for use of drugs.

So it doesn’t surprise me that the NFL’s corporate sponsors have begun to express concerns for their brand reputation. It’s only surprising that their concerns have been so slow in coming.

And it’s especially surprising that those who work at lower levels of sports don’t give up.

To the contrary, those who have devoted their lives to educational athletics demonstrate by their devotion to school-sponsored sports that they still believe – in spite of mounting evidence at major college and professional sports levels – that athletes can break records without having criminal records and that they can achieve championships without chemicals.

Coaches and administrators of school sports – my heroes – demonstrate daily by their continuing commitment of service to school sports that they still believe athletics can coexist with integrity and can nurture better character, not just crazy characters.

Under the radar, in communities across Michigan and the nation, school-based competitive athletic programs are doing good things for students, schools and society. This is the antidote for the cynicism creeping across the landscape of high-profile intercollegiate and professional sports.