Watch NFHS Network on Roku

September 14, 2020

By John Johnson
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties

The excitement of high school sports hits living rooms this fall as the NFHS Network has released a Roku channel, joining the availability of games on computers and handheld devices.

Once on the Roku channel, typing “Michigan” into the search box will display lists of live, on-demand and upcoming events involving MHSAA member schools. You can also bookmark your favorite schools.

Nearly 600 events fill the coming week’s schedule for the NFHS Network and MHSAA.tv, as football joins the boys soccer and girls volleyball activity.
 
More games than ever before will be available online beginning this season, with approximately 270 MHSAA member schools taking part in the School Broadcast Program with Pixellot units being installed at their athletic facilities or with student crews producing games using a traditional format.
 
Pixellot is the NFHS Network’s automated production solution. Nearly 500 Pixellot units are already installed or about to be installed in high school stadiums and gymnasiums around the state. The NFHS Network has been offering schools up to two free Pixellot units since early July – with the schools only needing to cover the installation costs.
 
Additionally, MHSAA regulations regarding live video broadcasts and streaming have been relaxed during the pandemic to allow schools to use their choice of means to distribute games to fans who are unable to attend because of government-imposed spectator limits. Third-party broadcasters – like local television stations and cable television outlets – are also allowed to originate games live.
 
In the coming week, nearly 275 events will be available on the NFHS Network/MHSAA.tv. Monthly subscriptions are $10.99. Click for a complete list of upcoming games and for a complete list of on-demand games.

Fans can also type their school name into the search field on the MHSAA.tv page to search for events. Here is a list of varsity sports events being broadcast over the coming week:

Football (Home team listed first):

Thursday - Sept. 17 
White Lake Lakeland  vs. Walled Lake Northern   - 7 PM 

Friday - Sept. 18
Lowell  vs. East Grand Rapids   - 6:50 PM
Petoskey  vs. Gaylord   - 7 PM
Saline  vs. Ypsilanti Community   - 7 PM
Stevensville Lakeshore  vs. Portage Northern   - 7 PM
Waterford Kettering  vs. South Lyon   - 7 PM
Grand Blanc  vs. Flint Carman-Ainsworth   - 7 PM
Brighton  vs. Novi   - 7 PM
Ithaca  vs. Saginaw Nouvel Catholic Central   - 7 PM
Macomb L'Anse Creuse North  vs. Detroit Country Day   - 7 PM
Marquette  vs. Gladstone   - 7 PM
Fowlerville  vs. Williamston   - 7 PM
Calumet  vs. Kingsford   - 7 PM
Portage Central  vs. East Lansing  - 7 PM
Riverview Gabriel Richard Catholic vs. Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett - 7 PM
St. Clair Shores Lake Shore  vs. Port Huron Northern   - 7 PM
Plainwell  vs. Kalamazoo Loy Norrix   - 7 PM
Clare  vs. Detroit University Prep   - 7 PM
Bad Axe  vs. Sandusky   - 7 PM
Cedar Springs  vs. Middleville  Thornapple Kellogg   - 7 PM
Detroit Catholic Central  vs. Harper Woods   - 7 PM
Manchester  vs. Addison   - 7 PM
Saginaw Heritage  vs. Detroit U Of D Jesuit   - 7 PM
Madison Heights Lamphere  vs. Warren Lincoln  - 7 PM
Freeland  vs. Frankenmuth   - 7 PM
Suttons Bay  vs. Brethren   - 7 PM
Mayville  vs. Atherton   - 7 PM
Cadillac  vs. Alpena   - 7 PM
East Kentwood  vs. Hudsonville   - 7 PM
Lake Orion  vs. Oxford   - 7 PM
Rockford  vs. Jenison   - 7 PM
New Lothrop  vs. Mt. Morris   - 7 PM
 
Saturday - Sept. 19
Traverse City St. Francis  vs. Sault Ste. Marie   - 1 PM 
 

Boys Soccer (Home team listed first):

Tuesday - Sept. 15
Stevensville Lakeshore  vs. Battle Creek Central   - 6:30 PM
Petoskey  vs. Cadillac   - 6:45 PM
Grand Rapids Catholic Central  vs. Cedar Springs   - 6:45 PM
Dearborn Divine Child  vs. Orchard Lake St. Mary’s   - 7 PM
Clare  vs. Plymouth  - 7 PM
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep vs. Birmingham Brother Rice   - 7:30 PM
 
Wednesday - Sept. 16
Plainwell  vs. Vicksburg   - 6 PM
Clare  vs. Gladwin   - 7 PM
Freeland  vs. Chesaning   - 7 PM
Madison Heights Lamphere  vs. Marysville   - 7 PM
Hemlock  vs. Midland Bullock Creek   - 7 PM
 
Thursday - Sept. 17
Warren De La Salle Collegiate vs. TBA  - 6 PM
Petoskey  vs. Traverse City Central   - 6:45 PM
Cedar Springs  vs. Grand Rapids South Christian  - 6:45 PM
Brighton  vs. Salem   - 7 PM
Novi  vs. Hartland   - 7 PM
South Lyon East  vs. Milford   - 7 PM
Waterford Kettering  vs. White Lake Lakeland   - 7 PM
Troy  vs. Bloomfield Hills   - 7 PM
Hemlock  vs. Pinconning   - 7 PM
Dearborn Divine Child  vs. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood   - 7 PM
East Kentwood  vs. Rockford   - 7:15 PM
 
Friday - Sept. 18
South Lyon East  vs. North Farmington   - 7 PM
 
Saturday - Sept. 19
Vicksburg  vs. Coloma   - 10 AM
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep vs. Holly  - 11:30 AM
Brighton  vs. Birmingham Brother Rice   - 12 PM
Detroit Catholic Central  vs. Fenton   - 12:30 PM
Novi  vs. Howell   - 1PM
Warren De La Salle Collegiate vs. Romeo   - 1PM
 
Monday - Sept. 21
Romulus Summit Academy North  vs. Madison Heights Bishop Foley   - 6PM
White Lake Lakeland  vs. South Lyon East   - 7 PM
Madison Heights Lamphere  vs. St. Clair Shores Lake Shore   - 7 PM
Freeland  vs. Alma   - 7 PM
Waterford Kettering  vs. Walled Lake Western   - 7 PM
Grand Blanc  vs. Saginaw Arthur Hill   - 7 PM
 
Tuesday - Sept. 22
East Grand Rapids  vs. Grand Rapids Northview  - 6:45 PM
Grand Rapids Catholic Central  vs. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Eastern   - 6:45 PM
West Bloomfield  vs. Bloomfield Hills   - 7 PM
Waterford Kettering  vs. Auburn Hills Avondale   - 7 PM
South Lyon East  vs. South Lyon   - 7 PM
Howell  vs. Novi   - 7 PM
Clare  vs. Taylor Prep   - 7 PM
Troy Athens  vs. Troy   - 7 PM
East Kentwood  vs. Grandville   - 7:15 PM
 

Girls Volleyball (Home team listed first):

 
Tuesday - Sept. 15
East Grand Rapids  vs. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern   - 6 PM
St. Clair Shores Lake Shore  vs. Marine City   - 6 PM
Peck vs. Bay City All Saints   - 6 PM
Kinde-North Huron  vs. Kingston   - 6 PM
Williamston  vs. Eaton Rapids   - 6 PM
Romulus Summit Academy North  vs. Dearborn Henry Ford Academy  - 6 PM
Cedar Springs  vs. Middleville Thornapple Kellogg   - 6 PM
Wayland Union  vs. Lansing Catholic  - 6 PM
Mayville  vs. Akron-Fairgrove   - 6 PM
Chesaning  vs. Durand   - 6:15 PM
Lowell  vs. Grand Rapids Christian   - 6:15 PM
Gladstone vs. Ishpeming  - 6:30 PM
Westland Huron Valley Lutheran  vs. Bloomfield Hills Roeper   - 6:30 PM
Northville  vs. Canton   - 6:30 PM
Painesdale Jeffers  vs. Dollar Bay   - 6:30 PM
Grand Blanc  vs. Flint Powers Catholic   - 6:30 PM
Negaunee  vs. Escanaba   - 6:30 PM
Novi  vs. Hartland   - 6:30 PM
Brighton  vs. Salem   - 6:30 PM
Sterling Heights Parkway Christian vs. Away  - 6:30 PM
Harbor Beach  vs. Ubly   - 6:45 PM
Calumet  vs. Hancock   - 6:45 PM
Marquette  vs. Wakefield-Marenisco   - 7 PM
Big Rapids  vs. Newaygo   - 7 PM
Plymouth Christian Academy vs. Clarenceville   - 7 PM
Bear Lake  vs. Mason County Eastern   - 7 PM
Cass City  vs. Vassar   - 7:30 PM
 
Wednesday - Sept. 16
Stevensville Lakeshore  vs. Kalamazoo Central   - 6:30 PM
Niles  vs. South Haven   - 6:30 PM
Waterford Our Lady vs. Allen Park Cabrini   - 7 PM
Frankenmuth  vs. Bay City John Glenn - 7 PM
Bridgeport  vs. Freeland   - 7 PM
Riverview Gabriel Richard Catholic  vs. Royal Oak Shrine Catholic   - 7 PM
Bloomfield Hills Marian  vs. Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard - 7:15 PM
Dearborn Divine Child  vs. Farmington Hills Mercy   - 7:15 PM
 
Thursday - Sept. 17
Ovid-Elsie  vs. Carrollton   - 4:30 PM
Manchester  vs. TBA  - 5 PM
Zeeland West  vs. Grand Rapids  Union   - 5 PM
Big Rapids  vs.  Whitehall & Ludington  - 5 PM
Flushing  vs. Holly   - 5:15 PM
Flint Kearsley  vs. Fenton   - 5:15 PM
St Clair Shores Lake Shore  vs. Roseville   - 6 PM
Wayland Union  vs. Cedar Springs   - 6 PM
Grand Rapids Christian  vs. Grand Rapids Northview   - 6 PM
Grand Rapids Catholic Central  vs. Middleville Thornapple Kellogg   - 6 PM
Kinde North Huron  vs. Bay City All Saints   - 6 PM
East Grand Rapids  vs. Byron Center   - 6 PM
St Johns  vs. Eaton Rapids   - 6 PM
Peck  vs. Dryden   - 6 PM
Lowell  vs. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central   - 6:15 PM
Westland Huron Valley Lutheran  vs. Allen Park Inter-City Baptist   - 6:30 PM
Suttons Bay  vs. Benzie Central   - 6:30 PM
Kalamazoo Christian  vs. Parchment   - 6:30 PM
Galesburg-Augusta  vs. Constantine   - 6:30 PM
Sterling Heights Parkway Christian vs. Roeper   - 6:30 PM
Painesdale Jeffers  vs. Chassell   - 6:30 PM
East Kentwood  vs. Grand Haven   - 7 PM
Troy  vs. Auburn Hills Avondale   - 7 PM
Brethren  vs. Pentwater   - 7 PM
West Bloomfield  vs. Rochester Adams   - 7 PM
Plymouth Christian Academy vs. Southfield Christian   - 7 PM
Grandville  vs. Rockford   - 7 PM
Escanaba  vs. Manistique   - 7 PM
Maple City Glen Lake  vs. Leland   - 7 PM
Warren Regina  vs. Madison Heights Bishop Foley   - 7:15 PM
Bad Axe  vs. Reese   - 7:30 PM
Caro  vs. Vassar   - 7:30 PM
Lake Orion  vs. Oxford   - 7:30 PM
 
Friday - Sept. 18
Pentwater  vs. Cadillac Heritage Christian  - 5:30 PM
Dollar Bay  vs. Hancock   - 6:20 PM
Rochester Hills Lutheran North  vs. Allen Park Cabrini   - 7 PM
 
Saturday - Sept. 19
Waterford Our Lady  vs. TBA  - 8:15 AM
Cadillac  vs. Lakewood Lake Odessa   - 8:30 AM
Frankenmuth  vs. Tawas Area   - 8:30 AM
Flushing  vs. Davison   - 8:30 AM
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep vs. TBA  - 10 AM
 
Monday - Sept. 21
Multi-team Event @ Saginaw Swan Valley  - 5 PM
Williamston  vs. Lansing Eastern - 6 PM
Ann Arbor Greenhills vs. Detroit Cristo Rey   - 6 PM
Mason  vs. Williamston   - 6 PM
Frankenmuth  vs. Millington   - 7 PM
Harrison  vs. Shepherd   - 7:30 PM
Clare  vs. Beaverton   - 7:30 PM
 
Tuesday - Sept. 22
Madison Heights Lamphere  vs. Hazel Park   - 6 PM
Grand Rapids Catholic Central  vs. Cedar Springs   - 6 PM
Holt  vs. DeWitt   - 6 PM
Romulus Summit Academy North  vs. Detroit Community   - 6 PM
Stockbridge vs. Lakewood Lake Odessa  - 6:15 PM
New Lothrop  vs. Montrose   - 6:15 PM
Ovid-Elsie  vs. Byron Center Charter  - 6:15 PM
Otisville LakeVille  vs. Durand  - 6:15 PM
Chesaning  vs. Mt Morris   - 6:15 PM
Galesburg-Augusta  vs. Parchment   - 6:30 PM
Brighton  vs. Novi   - 6:30 PM
Riverview Gabriel Richard Catholic vs. Clarkston Everest Collegiate  - 6:30 PM
Frankfort  vs. Onekama   - 6:30 PM
Flint Powers Catholic  vs. Saginaw Arthur Hill   - 6:30 PM
South Lyon  vs. Waterford Kettering   - 6:30 PM
Bloomfield Hills Roeper  vs. Whitmore Lake   - 6:30 PM
Petoskey  vs. Alpena   - 6:30 PM
Suttons Bay  vs. Maple City Glen Lake   - 6:30 PM
Oakland Christian  vs. Plymouth Christian Academy  - 6:30 PM
Howell  vs. Northville   - 6:30 PM
Manistique vs. Ishpeming  - 6:30 PM
South Lyon East  vs. Lakeland   - 6:30 PM
Kalamazoo Christian  vs. Delton Kellogg   - 6:30 PM
Cadillac  vs. Traverse City West   - 7 PM
Bear Lake  vs. Walkerville   - 7 PM
Hart  vs. Montague   - 7 PM
Saline  vs. Ypsilanti Community   - 7 PM
Escanaba  vs. Gladstone   - 7 PM
Troy Athens vs. North Farmington   - 7 PM
Grand Rapids South Christian  vs. Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills   - 7 PM
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep vs. Warren Regina   - 7 PM
Marcellus  vs. Mendon   - 7 PM
St Charles  vs. Coleman   - 7 PM
Livonia Clarenceville  vs. Brighton Charyl Stockwell Preparatory Academy  - 7:30 PM
Lake Orion  vs. Birmingham Seaholm   - 7:30 PM
 
Now in its 12th year, the School Broadcast Program gives members an opportunity to showcase excellence in their schools by creating video programming of athletic and non-athletic events with students gaining skills in announcing, camera operation, directing/producing and graphics. Pixellot – The NFHS Network’s automated streaming solution – is used by schools wishing to live stream games, but lacking the ability to staff the events. The program also gives schools the opportunity to raise money through advertising and viewing subscriptions.

NFHS Network subscriptions begin at $10.99 a month. Subscribers will have access to all live video and streaming statistics across the country. All content becomes available for free, on-demand viewing 72 hours after being shown live. A portion of every subscription sold by an SBP school goes to benefit its program. 

A complete list of participating schools can be found on the School Broadcast Program page of the MHSAA Website

Grisdale to be Honored for 40 Seasons on Call for Cheboygan Football

By Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com

September 13, 2024

When Jason Friday was in high school, there were two types of football fans in Cheboygan.

Northern Lower PeninsulaFolks either went to watch the Cheboygan Chiefs play under the lights, or they listened to the game on the radio called by play-by-play announcer Mike Grisdale.

Well, not much has changed. Friday, a 1992 Cheboygan grad, is now the school’s athletic director. And Grisdale is in the middle of his 40th season on the air.

What is changing tonight, though, is Cheboygan will officially dedicate the stadium press box to Grisdale in a special pregame ceremony before the Chiefs (1-1) take on Elk Rapids (1-1).

Former Cheboygan coaches, Grisdale’s family and people who have worked with him on the radio over the years will be on hand for the ceremony.

“We were able to get Dan Miller, George Blaha, Ken Kal and Dan Dickerson — radio broadcasters for all four Detroit sports — to record statements that we will play over the public address system,” said Friday. “Mike will be presented a smaller version of the plaque that we will be hanging in the press box, and he will have a chance to talk.”

Naming the press box after Grisdale has been in the works for more than a year, Friday noted. Grisdale first learned of the plan when he was interviewing Friday during halftime of a football game last year.

“Jason surprised me on the air,” Grisdale recalled. “I was shocked, but honored and thankful.”

The Cheboygan stadium press box will be dedicated to the longtime broadcaster.Grisdale, a 1979 Cheboygan grad, is humbled noting there are so many people who contribute to the radio broadcasts and football program. He remembers listening with his father to Jorden James and Bob Martin call Chiefs games when some of the older kids from the neighborhood were playing high school football.

“I have just been so fortunate to do it for this long and have become the go-to guy for historical information and perspective,” Grisdale said.

Grisdale, who has also done nearly 1,000 Chiefs basketball games on the air, along with some hockey and soccer, said his interest in sports goes back to his childhood.

Grisdale grew up in Cheboygan with three brothers in a neighborhood full of kids. Sports were a big part of their lives — collecting baseball cards, listening to the Detroit Tigers on the radio, and playing basketball, kickball and wiffle ball.  

Grisdale, who also hosts a Saturday morning radio show from a local restaurant called “Coaches Corner,” vividly recalls trying to keep a scorebook while listening to high school basketball games on WCBY radio and dreaming of becoming the next Blaha, or Ernie Harrell, Bob Ufer, or Bruce Martin - four legendary broadcasters of Michigan professional and college sports.

While at Central Michigan University earning a broadcasting degree, Grisdale got extensive of on-air experience on student stations. He worked on Cheboygan radio stations during summers.

Some of his fondest memories of Chiefs broadcasts have come from the locations where they’ve played.

“I have enjoyed having the opportunity to cover games at places like the Pontiac Silverdome, Palace of Auburn Hills, Crisler Arena and the Breslin Center,” Grisdale said. “You remember the exciting moments and big games”

Grisdale is on the call for another Chiefs game. The 40 years on the air, along with earlier turns covering Marshall and Albion football and basketball games, are really just a blur to the highly-revered radio personality.

“The seasons just seemed to run together,” Grisdale said. “There were many, many times when the weather and the long road trips took their toll.”

Grisdale played football at Cheboygan High School and was an offensive end and a defensive safety on a 9-0 squad his senior year in 1978. He caught three touchdown passes that season. He also held for extra points, collecting snaps from his brother Mark, the Chiefs’ long-snapper.

Mike Grisdale doesn’t hesitate to point out the best player he covered was fullback Shannon Scarborough from the 1991 team that reached the Silverdome – “The all-stater was strong and fast and played both ways,” he noted. But Grisdale has loved all the players and teams over the years. “I do it because I enjoy promoting the kids, keeping the traditions alive, seeing the community come together, good sportsmanship, and being part of a team.”

Friday, who also has broadcast multiple games alongside Grisdale over the years, has enjoyed Grisdale’s efforts to promote every player.

“Kids always love to hear their name on the radio,” Friday said. “What I think he does better than anyone is to make sure the offensive and defensive linemen are consistently mentioned — those boys in the trenches often get overlooked, but not with Mike on the call.”

When Cheboygan installed NFHS Network cameras, the athletic department sought to successfully connect Grisdale’s radio broadcast through the video feed. 

“That has been a huge bonus and something that many community members have told me they appreciate,” Friday said.

Grisdale, who also works part-time for Black Diamond Broadcasting in its Cheboygan studios and serves Mackinaw Health System based in St. Ignace as its marketing director, has no plans to end his broadcasting career.

“As long as our local radio station can keep the tradition alive and I am still around, it would be my privilege to keep it going,” Grisdale said.

Cheboygan High School games are carried on WCBY (Cheboygan) 1240 AM, 100.7 FM and 98.1 FM, and streaming at BigCountryGold.com.

Tom SpencerTom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.

PHOTOS (Top) Mike Grisdale, right, and partner Nate King broadcast a Cheboygan game from Central Michigan University. (Middle) The Cheboygan stadium press box will be dedicated to the longtime broadcaster. (Below) Grisdale is on the call for another Chiefs game. (Photos provided by Grisdale and the Cheboygan athletic department.)