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.

Akron-Fairgrove and Owendale-Gagetown eager for long-awaited playoff games in first season of eight-man football bracket (Bay City Times)

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: 2/1/18

February 1, 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 Top 10 

1. Wrestling: Division 2 No. 9 Stevensville Lakeshore claimed the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference West title with a 32-31 win over No. 6 Niles decided on the ninth tie-breaker criteria – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

2. Wrestling: Division 3 No. 2 Richmond downed No. 6 Algonac 46-15 to claim the Blue Water Area Conference championship, continuing a string that began in 2005 – Port Huron Times Herald

3. Wrestling: Division 4 No. 3 Mendon improved to 25-1 overall and clinched the Southwest 10 championship with wins over Bloomingdale and Cassopolis – Sturgis Journal

4. Wrestling: Division 3 No. 8 Alma clinched its second straight Tri-Valley Conference Central title with a win over Chesaning – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

5. Girls Basketball: Utica Eisenhower and St. Clair Shores Lakeview locked down championships in their respective Macomb Area Conference divisions – Macomb Daily

6. Boys Basketball: Fowler (10-1) handed Dansville its third loss this season in a league matchup of top teams statewide in Class D and C, respectively – Lansing State Journal

7. Boys Basketball: Reigning West Michigan D League champion Baldwin avenged an earlier loss this season to Bear Lake, winning the rematch 82-70 – Big Rapids News

8. Bowling: Midland swept Lapeer, the boys winning 16-14 to remain undefeated at 11-0 – Midland Daily News

9. Officials: Michigan is in serious need of new high school officials as registrations have dropped and longtime officials are heading toward retirement. MLive and ABC 12 are among those who are helping us get out the word – Grand Rapids Press/ABC12

10. Hockey: Hancock coach Dan Rouleau, Calumet’s Dan Giachino and Houghton’s Corey Markham all have come home to lead teams in Copper Country that are among the highest ranked in Division 3 – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

Also of note …

Boys Basketball: From Tuesday, Rock Mid-Peninsula’s Terry Brower went over 1,000 career points in a two-point win over Eben Junction Superior Central – Escanaba Daily Press