Get Prepped for a Fantastic Finale
May 24, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
We love this time of year. And not just because school is nearly out for summer.
There’s little argument that the week ahead is the most exciting of each MHSAA school year. And you’ll want to set your bookmarks for MHSAA.com and Second Half for updated results and coverage not just next week – but through the rest of this spring season.
The MHSAA.com Score Center is our home for scores from all District softball, baseball and soccer games, which begin Tuesday. You also can view real-time brackets for every District by going to the “Sports” page for each, and updated brackets for lacrosse by visiting our girls and boys pages for that sport as well.
In the Lower Peninsula, we’ll have same day or next morning results as golf Districts are played, and first-day results from next weekend’s Girls Tennis Finals on May 31 – followed by final results at the conclusion of play June 1. We’ll post Finals results for Upper Peninsula golf and tennis as we receive them Wednesday and Thursday, and then results for all seven Lower and Upper Peninsula Track and Field Finals as they come in June 1.
But results are only the start. As we have during the fall and winter, Second Half will provide coverage including photos from every MHSAA Final – beginning with Wednesday’s Upper Peninsula Girls and Boys Golf and Boys Tennis Finals. Keep an eye on Second Half throughout the week, or follow the Second Half feed on the cover page of MHSAA.com.
Transfer rule clarification
We released Monday the actions our Representative Council took earlier this month at its Spring Meeting, including an addition to the athletics-related portion of our transfer rule. Based on some questions we’ve received and read, here’s some further explanation of what will be installed for 2014-15:
The longer period of ineligibility for athletes who transfer because of athletics is not new. This has previously existed for cases in which a school could prove that it lost a student to another school purely for sports-related reasons.
What’s new is what must be proven and by whom for the longer ineligibility period to take effect. Now, a school that lost a student does not have to file a report with the MHSAA for the case to be considered. As long as one of a set of offending activities can be verified – including practicing, competing or training with a member of the new school’s coaching staff during summer or non-school sports activities or seasons – that student will have to sit 180 days instead of the usual period of roughly a semester. The 15 exemptions that allow a student to be eligible immediately – like making a full move to a new district or a student’s school closing – may still apply.
So, to conclude: The longer athletics-related ineligibility period is not new, just how athletics-related transfers are considered and reported. Click to read the full release.
Kickoff is coming
And that means we’re collecting varsity football schedules.
In fact, we have most of them thanks to our athletic directors, their secretaries, coaches and many others who chip in to help us keep complete and accurate information throughout the season.
But there are still plenty of steps in getting ready for August – and a huge one is locking down correct leagues for our teams this season, especially as schools continue to switch things up.
Check out your school’s schedule page by click on the “Schools” button in the menu bar at the top of MHSAA.com and searching for your school. Once on the school page, click the blue “Boys” button next to football. The schedule will appear in the middle of the page, with standings to the left.
See an error in a schedule or the standings? Email me at [email protected]. I thank you in advance.
Kramer’s words of wisdom
Long before Roy Kramer served as athletic director at Vanderbilt University, commissioner of the Southeastern Conference and creator of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) for Division I college football, he coached multiple sports at East Lansing High School.
He recently was named winner of this year’s Duffy Daugherty Award, given in honor of the former Michigan State University coach to a valued coach or contributor to college football. The award, presented in East Lansing, is among those recognized by the College Football Hall of Fame.
Kramer finished his acceptance speech with a stirring endorsement of the sport that brought the crowd of more than 300 to its feet. If you’re a fan, former or current player or coach, see below.
PHOTO: Athletes race toward the finish of a relay during this spring's Alma College Invitational. (Click to see more at HighSchoolsSportsScene.com.)
Taorminas Recognized by Lake Orion for Hall of Fame-Level Contributions in Several Roles
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
October 1, 2026
LAKE ORION — Sammy and Anthony Taormina are two fantastic examples that you don’t necessarily have to be a great athlete in high school to have a Hall of Fame impact on a school and sports community.
Twin brothers, the Taorminas are 2006 graduates of Lake Orion High School who were members of the football and track & field teams (Sammy competed in both sports, Anthony in track) but neither stacked stats or accolades most all-state and future college athletes accumulate in high school.
Still, it was a no-brainer when Lake Orion athletic director Chris Bell and a committee chose the Taorminas to become part of the school’s first Hall of Fame class last week.
Simply put, there have been few who have had a bigger impact and served in more roles for the school than the Taorminas over the past two decades.
Both have been statisticians for teams, clock operators, announcers, mentors, and promoters of the school and athletic department. Sammy even has spent time inside a Dragon costume as the school’s mascot.
They regularly host a podcast called “OAA Now,” where coaches from around the league call in to chat and give insight on their teams. The two also have a blog where they regularly break coaching news.
During the spring, both have served as middle school track coaches, mostly presiding over throwers.
More importantly, both work for the district as middle school aides, with their friendliness and knowledge regularly mentoring kids to become better students and people.
“When you make an impact on someone’s life for the positive, then you know you’ve done your job,” Anthony Taormina said.
Students and communities are drawn to the Taorminas not only for how much they help, but because they have overcome obstacles and adversity during their lives. Both have navigated autism and related challenges.
“I originally did not want to be a mentor, but I became one,” said Anthony Taormina, who like Sammy is also a graduate of Oakland University and who served as a team manager for Oakland men’s basketball coach Greg Kampe.
That first Lake Orion Hall of Fame class also included 20 athletes, the 1990 wrestling team that won a Class A championship, and longtime track & field and cross country coach Stan Ford.
Despite all the great athletes inducted such as Mr. Baseball Award winner Randy Frye, Mr. Soccer winner Billy Weaver, all-state girls basketball player Bethany Watterworth and all-state running back Marques Stevenson, the most popular inductees were likely the Taorminas, who five years ago also were named Citizens of the Month by Orion Township.
During a football pregame ceremony Friday before Lake Orion played Rochester Adams, the Taorminas got the loudest ovation from the crowd, likely because both current students and alums know them well.
Sammy Taormina said they found out the news from Bell in August after leaving a doctor’s appointment.
“At first I was like, ‘Please don’t call me, I’m in the doctor’s office,’” he said. “Then I called back and he told me the news we were going into the Hall of Fame. We were just very ecstatic about it.”
Now, the two will have plaques displayed in the school halls for all to see, although students will still love seeing their real faces each and every day.
The Taorminas are as much a part of the fabric and identity of Lake Orion as the Dragon or lake itself, and plan on continuing to put kids first in everything they do for years to come in every role they serve.
“I would always encourage kids to be the best they can be,” Anthony Taormina said. “That’s all you can ask in this game we call life. It’s not a bad thing to be a manager or support staff person because you can be successful while not being a student-athlete. I’ve had a lot of students that may or may not have been athletes, but they end up helping me and Sammy out on several occasions, whether it be on the (score)book or on the (game) clock. Those type of things. I’m extremely proud of that.”
Keith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.