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: 5/21/18
May 21, 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. Track & Field: Saline’s boys won their eighth straight Regional title, in Lower Peninsula Division 1, by a mere point over Ann Arbor Pioneer – Saline Post
2. Track & Field: The top-ranked Ada Forest Hills Eastern girls won their fifth straight Regional title, edging East Grand Rapids by fewer than two points in LPD2 – Grand Rapids Press
3. Track & Field: The reigning Upper Peninsula Division 3 champion girls from Lake Linden-Hubbell continued their undefeated run this spring with a Regional title – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette
4. Girls Soccer: Division 2 top-ranked Bloomfield Hills Marian got past Division 3 No. 6 Warren Regina 2-1 in overtime to claim the Detroit Catholic League Division 1 tournament title – Oakland Press
5. Girls Tennis: No. 2 Northville swept the flight championships in winning its LPD1 Regional with a perfect 24 points – Observer & Eccentric
6. Girls Tennis: Traverse City St. Francis, No. 3 in LPD4, won its Regional as expected, with Charlevoix also qualifying for the MHSAA Finals for the first time – Traverse City Record-Eagle
7. Track & Field: Beal City’s boys, No. 2 in LPD4, had only one individual first place but won their first team Regional title since 1999 – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
8. Baseball: Division 1 No. 7 Brownstown Woodhaven extended its school-record winning streak to 21 games with a 5-4 8-inning win over Gibraltar Carlson; the previous day, Woodhaven’s MHSAA record opponents’ scoreless streak came to an end at 60 innings – Southgate News Herald
9. Baseball: Ludington swept Division 4 No. 13 Muskegon Catholic Central to clinch the Lakes 8 Conference title, its first league championship since 2006 – Ludington Daily News
10. Track & Field: Deckerville’s girls, No. 7 in LPD4, added their sixth straight Regional title to a league title won earlier in the week – Huron Daily Tribune
Also of note …
Softball: From Thursday, Muskegon Mona Shores’ Taylor Dew hit her 50th home run as she and Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard’s Julia Kennedy continue to re-set the MHSAA career record – Local Sports Journal
Baseball: From Thursday, Division 1 No. 21 Byron Center finished a three-game sweep of Division 2 No. 6 Holland Christian to claim a share of the Ottawa-Kent Conference Green title – FOX 17
Volleyball: Novi coach Jennifer Cottrill resigned after leading the Wildcats to the last three Class A championships – Oakland Press