Linked Up: 10/28/11
October 28, 2011
Each week I'll post links to stories that interest me most during my travels in online sports land. I was going to wait for next week for this first installment, but these seemed worthy of telling you about now.
See something high school sports-related that you think others would find valuable? Send me a link.
These two teams provide multiple reasons why 8-player football has been such a strong addition -- most notably, it is providing our smallest schools with an opportunity to still play football despite fewer players, and succeed. The sport took off in this state in 2009, and this weekend mark the start of the first MHSAA 8-player Tournament. Akron-Fairgrove will play its first postseason game since 1992, while Owendale-Gagetown will play its first since 1979.
Olivet's Peters coaching his heart out (Battle Creek Enquirer)
I covered Olivet and coach Dean Peters for more than a decade, including during last season's first-ever Eagles run to the MHSAA football finals. One of the great people in high school coaching, he needed emergency double-bypass surgery earlier this month but is back in the coaching booth. Olivet faces Lansing Catholic in a Pre-District game.
Megan Hubbard a standout for Hanover-Horton cross country (Jackson Citizen-Patriot)
This is a neat story about a runner who is second-best on her team and has never won a race -- but also is likely the second-best to ever run at her school. Usually, we hear only about who finishes first.
Standley Lake football player Rhett Gutierrez overcomes eye disease (The Denver Post)
Almost always, links I post will be Michigan-related. But this story is just incredible. We've seen athletes with different degrees of vision impairment do incredible things in high school athletics. But this is the first time I've heard of someone overcoming that obstacle to play quarterback for his football team.
Today in the MHSAA: 6/11/18
June 11, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Each weekday of the school year, we break down the top headlines courtesy of Michigan’s sports media. Today’s list does not include the Boys Golf or Lacrosse Finals played Saturday; they are reported in their entirety elsewhere on Second Half.
1. Softball: Honorable mention South Haven claimed its first Regional title in softball since 1982 with an upset of top-ranked Stevensville Lakeshore in Division 2 – WWMT
2. Baseball: No. 6 Gladstone got past top-ranked Traverse City St. Francis 8-4 in 10 innings to clinch a Division 3 Regional title – Escanaba Daily Press
3. Softball: No. 3 Clinton claimed its Regional title, ending the seasons for reigning Division 3 champion and current No. 5 Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central and also reigning runner-up and current honorable mention Napoleon – Adrian Daily Telegram
4. Softball: Top-ranked Rogers City eliminated reigning Division 4 champion and current No. 7 Indian River Inland Lakes with a 4-2 Regional Final win – Alpena News
5. Baseball: No. 9 Brownstown Woodhaven continued its historic run with a first Regional title, downing reigning Division 1 champion and current No. 10 Saline 3-2 to advance – Southgate News Herald
6. Softball: No. 2 Spring Lake improved to 40-0 with wins over No. 6 Wayland and Holland Christian to claim a Division 2 Regional title – Grand Haven Tribune
7. Girls Soccer: No. 8 Midland won its first Regional title in 31 years in this sport with a 3-2 victory over No. 16 Grandville in Division 1 – Midland Daily News
8. Softball: No. 7 Richmond earned a return to the Quarterfinals with a 3-1 win over No. 4 St. Clair in Division 2 – Port Huron Times Herald
9. Softball: Negaunee followed its first District title in this sport with its first Regional championship, downing Traverse City St. Francis and No. 8 Gladstone in Division 3 – Marquette Mining Journal
10. Softball: No. 5 Frankfort held on for a Division 4 Regional title win over No. 4 Holton – Traverse City Record-Eagle