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: 5/22/19

May 23, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The league championship portion of our spring continued in full force Tuesday, with today’s list of achievers topped by a team celebrating for the first time in a long time.

1. Baseball: Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern clinched its first league title since 2000, sweeping Cedar Springs in the Ottawa-Kent Conference White – Grand Rapids Press

2. Track & Field: Pittsford’s boys and girls both edged Hillsdale Academy’s to sweep Southern Central Athletic Association meet titles, the boys by three points and the girls by just one; the Pittsford boys are ranked No. 6 and girls No. 2 in Lower Peninsula Division 4, and Hillsdale Academy’s girls are No. 1 – Hillsdale Daily News

3. Track & Field: Addison’s LPD4 top-ranked boys clinched their first Cascades Conference championship since 2003, and the LPD3 No. 4 Onsted girls also were victorious – Adrian Daily Telegram

4. Softball: Division 4 top-ranked Coleman clinched its fifth straight Mid-State Activities Conference title with a sweep of Breckenridge – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

5. Track & Field: Corunna’s girls locked up their fifth straight Genesee Area Conference Red title – Owosso Argus-Press

6. Baseball: Richmond swept Algonac to clinch a share of the Blue Water Area Conference title, its 19th in 21 seasons – Port Huron Times-Herald

7. Baseball: Kingsley swept Division 4 No. 14 Maple City Glen Lake to win its first Northwest Conference championship in 13 years – Traverse City Record-Eagle

8. Girls & Boys Golf: Iron River West Iron County swept the Western Peninsula Athletic Conference tournament titles – Iron Mountain Daily News

9. Track & Field: Parma Western swept Interstate 8 Athletic Conference meet championships – Coldwater Daily Reporter

10. Track & Field: Clare’s girls and boys repeated as Jack Pine Conference meet champions; the girls are ranked No. 1 and the boys No. 2 in LPD3 – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Also of note …

Baseball: Division 4 No. 7 Beal City clinched a share of the Highland Conference title with a sweep of Leroy Pine River – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Track & Field: The New Lothrop boys and Byron girls finished championship runs through the Mid-Michigan Activities Conference – Owosso Argus-Press

Track & Field: The Centreville girls and Bloomingdale boys celebrated Southwest 10 Conference meet championships – Sturgis Journal

Baseball: Cheboygan swept Pickford to secure the Straits Area Conference title – Cheboygan News

Track & Field: Kingsley swept Northwest Conference league meet titles; the girls are ranked No. 2 and the boys No. 5 in LPD3 – Traverse City Record-Eagle Boys | Girls

Softball: Division 2 No. 5 Muskegon Oakridge swept Mason County Central to lock up its fourth straight West Michigan Conference championship – Local Sports Journal

Softball: Division 1 honorable mention Jenison swept Muskegon Reeths-Puffer to clinch the O-K Black championship – Muskegon Chronicle

Softball: Cheboygan finished its repeat run in the Straits Area Conference with a sweep of Pickford – Cheboygan News

Track & Field: Newberry’s boys and St. Ignace’s girls won Straits Area Conference league meet titles – Cheboygan News

Track & Field: The Rapid River boys and Felch North Dickinson girls locked up Skyline Central Conference meet titles – Escanaba Daily Press

Track & Field: Warren Mott’s boys and Macomb L’Anse Creuse North’s girls won Macomb Area Conference Blue meet titles, while Macomb Dakota’s teams swept the Red and are ranked No. 4 (boys) and No. 5 (girls) in LPD1 – Macomb Daily