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: 9/26/18

September 26, 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. Volleyball: Division 2 top-ranked Grand Rapids Christian came back from a two-set deficit to defeat Division 1 No. 6 Hudsonville in five games – FOX 17

2. Cross Country: The New Baltimore Anchor Bay cross country teams clinched Macomb Area Conference White championships; the boys shared with Port Huron Northern, winning their first title since 2008 – Macomb Daily

3. Volleyball: Division 1 No. 9 Rochester Hills Stoney Creek swept honorable mention Clarkston in Oakland Activities Association Red play – Oakland Press

4. Girls Swimming & Diving: Unranked Zeeland earned an impressive 104-74 win over Holland Christian, the No. 4 team in Lower Peninsula Division 3 – Holland Sentinel

5. Boys Soccer: Division 4 No. 9 North Muskegon and Muskegon Oakridge tied 1-1 in a key West Michigan Conference matchup – Local Sports Journal

6. Cross Country: Hart’s LPD3 ranked teams (girls No. 1, boys No. 4) dominated in sweeping the West Michigan Conference’s second jamboree – Ludington Daily News

7. Volleyball: Traverse City St. Francis came back after losing the first set to defeat Kalkaska in four – Traverse City Record-Eagle

8. Volleyball: Lakes Valley Conference leader South Lyon downed Walled Lake Central in four sets – Oakland Press

9. Volleyball: Division 2 No. 10 Kingsley continued to surge with a sweep of Frankfort – WPBN

10. Volleyball: Division 3 No. 3 Schoolcraft remains atop the Southwestern Athletic Conference Valley after a sweep of Constantine – JoeInsider.com

Also of note:

Volleyball: From Thursday, then-No. 5 Southfield Christian upset Division 4 top-ranked Plymouth Christian Academy – MLive-Detroit

Girls Golf: From Monday, LPD1 top-ranked Northville claimed its eighth tournament championship this fall – Observer & Eccentric

Boys Soccer: From Monday, Division 4 No. 8 Hartford clinched the Southwest 10 Conference title with a 2-1 win over Bloomingdale – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium