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: 10/18/19

October 18, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

One of the most intriguing league cross country title races in some time came to a conclusion Thursday as a number of state-ranked girls and boys teams ran to be the best in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association.

1. Cross Country: Brighton’s girls – No. 5 in Lower Peninsula Division 1 – finished ahead of No. 2 Northville and No. 6 Salem to win the Kensington Lakes Activities Association championship meet, and Brighton’s top-ranked boys won their first league meet since 1995 – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

2. Boys Soccer: No. 3 Marshall scored all of its goals during the final 12 minutes to come back and defeat Coldwater 3-2 in a Division 2 District Final – WWMT

3. Boys Soccer: No. 2 Troy Athens shut out No. 8 Berkley 3-0 to clinch a Division 1 District championship – Oakland Press

4. Boys Soccer: Division 3 No. 2 Hudsonville Unity Christian locked up its sixth straight District title with a 7-0 win over No. 6 Wyoming Lee – FOX 17

5. Cross Country: The LPD1 No. 5 Saline boys clinched the Southeastern Conference Red title with a second place at the final league jamboree, and the top-ranked Ann Arbor Pioneer girls won their race and league championship – Saline Post Boys | Girls

6. Boys Soccer: No. 7 Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep needed overtime but got past No. 9 Hillsdale Academy 2-1 in a Division 4 District Final – JoeInsider.com

7. Cross Country: Romeo and Marysville swept their divisions of the Macomb Area Conference championship meet, with Port Huron Northern’s boys and St. Clair’s girls also victorious; Romeo’s boys are No. 2 in LPD1 and Romeo’s girls are No. 14 – Athletic.net

8. Boys Soccer: Gladwin improved to 20-2-2 and won its first District title in this sport since 2015 with a 1-0 victory over Essexville Garber in Division 3 – Bay City Times

9. Boys Soccer: Dearborn’s second-half surge resulted in a 5-1 Division 1 District title win over Downriver League champion Brownstown Woodhaven – Southgate News-Herald

10. Boys Soccer: Bad Axe improved to 11-4-3 with a 4-2 Division 4 District Final win over Saginaw Valley Lutheran – Huron Daily Tribune