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: 2/18/19
February 18, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Wrestling Regionals, Cheer Districts and more than a dozen hockey, basketball and bowling league championships won over the weekend make today’s list of high achievers perhaps the longest so far this 2018-19 school year – and check elsewhere on Second Half for coverage of our first winter Finals in Upper Peninsula swimming & diving.
1. Boys Basketball: Oscoda tied a school record with its 17th win and clinched the North Star League Big Dipper title, its first conference championship since 1991, with a 61-39 victory over Whittemore-Prescott – WBKB
2. Hockey: Division 3 No. 9 Alpena downed Traverse City Central 5-0 to clinch its first Big North Conference title since 2004-05 – Alpena News
3. Girls Basketball: Detroit Mumford repeated as Detroit Public School League Tournament champion with a 59-49 win over Detroit Martin Luther King – State Champs!
4. Wrestling: No. 2 Brighton qualified a Livingston County-record 13 for the Individual Finals from Saturday’s Division 1 Regional – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
5. Boys Basketball: Wyoming Godwin Heights clinched its 10th straight Ottawa-Kent Conference Silver title with a 63-44 win over Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian – FOX 17
6. Boys Basketball: Detroit U-D Jesuit clinched its seventh straight Detroit Catholic League A-B Tournament title with a 63-54 win over Detroit Catholic Central – Detroit News
7. Boys Basketball: Detroit Cass Tech downed Detroit Renaissance 80-56 to win the Detroit PSL Tournament title – Detroit News
8. Boys Basketball: Benton Harbor won a matchup of Division 2 championship contenders, 72-62 over River Rouge – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium
9. Basketball: Kinross Maplewood Baptist’s girls and boys basketball teams won Northern Lights Conference Tournament titles, Ellie Bell going over 1,000 career points for the girls during their run – MI Sports Now
10. Competitive Cheer: Reigning Division 2 champion Allen Park won its District, ahead of runner-up Dearborn Divine Child – Southgate News-Herald
Also of note …
Gymnastics: Jackson Area finished first and Coldwater second at the South Central Gymnastics League Championship meet, Coldwater finishing its highest since 1989 – Coldwater Daily Reporter
Boys Bowling: Gaylord put the finishing touches on a second straight Northern Michigan Bowling Conference championship – Gaylord Herald Times
Boys Bowling: Division 4 top-ranked Bronson clinched the Kensington Valley Association championship – Sturgis Journal
Boys Basketball: Josh Palo went over 1,000 career points in Howell’s 57-45 win over Novi – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
Boys Basketball: Ovid-Elsie claimed a share of the Mid-Michigan Activities Conference title with a 69-66 double-overtime win over Mount Morris – Owosso Argus-Press
Boys Basketball: Richmond clinched its second straight Blue Water Area Conference title with a 51-41 win over Almont – Port Huron Times-Herald
Bowling: The Rockford girls and Caledonia boys claimed O-K Red championships at the league tournament – Grand Haven Tribune
Boys Basketball: Ionia clinched the outright Capital Area Activities Conference White title with a big win over Lansing Catholic – Greenville Daily News
Girls Basketball: Muskegon clinched the O-K Black championship with a 72-66 win over Jenison – Local Sports Journal
Boys Basketball: Fremont clinched the Central State Activities Association Gold title with a 60-58 overtime win over Grant – Local Sports Journal
Bowling: New Boston Huron’s girls and boys teams swept the Monroe County Invitational titles; the girls are ranked No. 4 and the boys No. 10 in Division 2 – Monroe News
Boys Basketball: Royal Oak Shrine defeated Ann Arbor Greenhills to win the Catholic League C-D title – Oakland Press