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: 10/4/18

October 4, 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.

1. Boys Soccer: Comstock locked up its third straight Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference Red title with a 4-0 win over Parchment – JoeInsider.com

2. Cross Country: Custer Mason County Eastern’s boys edged Walkerville by two points to win the West Michigan D League championship meet – Ludington Daily News

3. Volleyball: Petoskey moved into a first-place tie in the Big North Conference by handing Division 2 honorable mention Cadillac its first league loss – Petoskey News-Review

4. Boys Soccer: Walled Lake Central avenged its lone league loss of the season, downing Milford in a Lakes Valley Conference tournament semifinal – Oakland Press

5. Boys Soccer: Holt held off Division 3 No. 9 Williamston 2-1 in the first round of the Capital Area Activities Conference Gold Cup – Lansing State Journal

6. Volleyball: Traverse City Central downed rival West in five games to finish its first sweep of the Titans in eight years – Traverse City Record-Eagle

7. Cross Country: The Pittsford girls (LPD4 No. 4) and Hillsdale Academy boys won their third league jamborees to move closer to titles in the Southern Central Athletic Association – Hillsdale Daily News

8. Boys Soccer: Fourth-place Allen Park handed first-place Brownstown Woodhaven a 4-0 loss in a Downriver League position game – Southgate News-Herald

9. Girls Golf: Division 2 No. 9 Coldwater earned a 189-217 win over Sturgis in a “Purple Week” match – Coldwater Daily Reporter

10. Cross Country: Grosse Ile swept the second Huron League jamborees of this fall; the girls are tied for No. 10 in LPD2 – Southgate News-Herald

Also of note …

Volleyball: From Tuesday, Division 3 honorable mention Brighton Charyl Stockwell earned a five-set win over reigning Division 4 champion and current No. 6 Plymouth Christian Academy – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

Cross Country: From Saturday, Shepherd’s Amber Gall broke the girls school record time from 1978 by running a 17:27.4 – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Boys Soccer: From Tuesday, Division 4 No. 4 Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian downed Wyoming Godwin Heights to clinch the Ottawa-Kent Conference Silver title – FOX 17