Linked Up: 12/19/11

December 20, 2011

We've hit a bit of a slow spot with schools out for break and most contests reserved for holiday showcases and the like.

Here are some suggestions if you have some time for some reading between now and the start of 2012.

High school coaches try to bring basketball back to basics (Detroit News)

For most of the last decade, we've heard about the recessing of basketball fundamentals even among elite high school players. Enter Ben Kelso, Marshall Thomas and a number of other Michigan coaches who have pledged to end that trend. Tom Markowski tells us how the Metro Detroit Basketball Coaches Association aims to do so.

Lantzy retires after more than 4 decades as Ike grid coach (Macomb County Advisor & Source)

Utica-Eisenhower coach Bob Lantzy has been his school's only varsity football coach. He took four teams to MHSAA Finals and this fall became one of only nine state football coaches to win more than 900 games. He has retired after 41 seasons, and Kevin Lozon fills us in on the legacy.

Tabahn Afrik poised for greatness in pool for West Ottawa (Holland Sentinel)

The Holland area has its next big swimming star. Dan D'Addona introduces us to Tabahn Afrik, a freshman at Holland West Ottawa who qualified for the MHSAA Division 1 Finals in two events in his first meet this season.

High school basketball: History of class hoops is just that (South Bend Tribune)

"Hoosiers" made Indiana's former one-class basketball tournament known on a grander scale. But Indiana went to classes (similar to Michigan's) beginning in 1997-98. Al Lesar tells us how some in the state are attempting to revert to one class.

Today in the MHSAA: 10/23/19

October 23, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Boys Soccer Regional Semifinals began in full force Tuesday across the state, and today’s list of achievers is filled with those results – with some volleyball and swimming & diving mixed in.

1. Boys Soccer: Top-ranked Grandville Calvin Christian edged reigning Division 4 champion and current No. 6 Leland 2-1 in a Regional Semifinal – MI Sports Now

2. Boys Soccer: No. 4 Muskegon Western Michigan Christian’s fourth straight postseason shutout came over No. 3 North Muskegon in another high-powered Division 4 Regional Semifinal – Local Sports Journal

3. Boys Soccer: No. 3 Grosse Ile won another of the biggest matchups in Regional Semifinal play, downing No. 7 Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard 6-0 – Southgate News-Herald

4. Boys Soccer: No. 4 Mattawan moved on in Division 2 with a 4-1 win over No. 10 DeWitt – Lansing State Journal

5. Boys Soccer: No. 5 Dansville got past No. 14 Hartford 2-0 in a Division 4 Regional Semifinal – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

6. Volleyball: Midland Dow finished a perfect run to the Saginaw Valley League North title with a sweep of rival Midland – Midland Daily News

7. Boys Soccer: No. 7 Detroit Catholic Central came back from an early 1-0 deficit to get past Clarkston 2-1 in a Division 1 Regional Semifinal – Observer & Eccentric

8. Girls Swimming & Diving: Zeeland, an honorable mention in Lower Peninsula Division 1, downed LPD2 No. 9 Byron Center 105-73 – Holland Sentinel

9. Boys Soccer: No. 2 Troy Athens advanced to a Division 1 Regional Final with a 4-0 win over Warren De La Salle Collegiate – Oakland Press

10. Boys Soccer: Clinton Township Chippewa Valley went to overtime to get past Rochester Adams 2-1 in Division 1 – Oakland Press

Also of note …

Football: The southwestern football community is mourning the death of longtime Galesburg-Augusta football coach Bill Maskill, who when he retied after the 1991 season was the all-time winningest coach in the sport in Michigan high school history – WWMT

Volleyball: From Monday, Bellaire swept Johannesburg-Lewiston to claim a share of the Ski Valley Conference championship, its first league title in this sport – Traverse City Record-Eagle