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: 8/27/18
August 27, 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. Cross Country: Adelyn Ackley led the Hart girls to another fast start with a championship finish ahead of Northville and Ann Arbor Pioneer at the Benzie Invitational; other notable champs included Spring Lake’s boys and McBain with a sweep of small-school titles – Athletic.net
2. Boys Tennis: Traverse City St. Francis won the Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett Invitational, defeating reigning Division 4 champion Liggett in the finale – Traverse City Record-Eagle
3. Boys Tennis: Grosse Pointe South downed Midland Dow 6-2 in a matchup of top-10 Finals finishers from 2017 – Midland Daily News
4. Volleyball: Rain forced teams to leave the “boardwalk,” but Grand Haven went inside to win the Battle on the Boardwalk for the sixth time – Grand Haven Tribune
5. Cross Country: Fowlerville’s boys won the Laingsburg Invitational with three freshmen scoring – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
6. Volleyball: Niles went 7-0 to win the Kalamazoo Loy Norrix Invitational, at one point winning 14 straight sets – Niles Daily Star
7. Volleyball: Centreville swept all five opponents in winning the East Jackson Invitational – Sturgis Journal
8. Boys Tennis: Grand Haven edged Petoskey by two points to win the Holland Invitational – Grand Haven Tribune
9. Cross Country: The Holland girls and Sparta boys won Muskegon Catholic Central Invitational titles – Holland Sentinel
10. Cross Country: Mancelona’s boys and Boyne City’s girls won Mancelona Invitational titles – Petoskey News-Review
Also of note …
Officials: Deerfield’s Bill Gomoluch, a past girls and boys basketball coach at southeastern Michigan high schools and four-time MHSAA Softball Finals official, was named the National Pro Fastpitch Umpire of the Year – Adrian Daily Telegram