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: 4/12/18

April 12, 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. Baseball: Orchard Lake St. Mary’s impressed in its Detroit Catholic League opener, sweeping Division 2 No. 5 Dearborn Divine Child – Detroit News

2. Girls Soccer: Muskegon Mona Shores earned an impressive early-season win, 1-0 over Division 2 No. 19 Spring Lake – Local Sports Journal

3. Girls Soccer: Traverse City Central connected on a late penalty kick to get past Petoskey in a Big North Conference matchup – MI Sports Now

4. Baseball: Division 1 top-ranked Saline won a pair of one-run games against Fenton to open the season – Saline Post

5. Softball: Midland Bullock Creek scored a combined 25 runs in a sweep of Saginaw Valley Lutheran – Midland Daily News

6. Girls Soccer: Division 1 No. 5 Portage Central moved to 4-0 with a 4-0 win over Plainwell – JoeInsider.com

7. Girls Soccer: Allen Park and Gibraltar Carlson both remained undefeated in Downriver League play with a 1-1 draw – Southgate News Herald

8. Baseball: Birmingham Groves improved to 3-0 with a 7-2 win over previously undefeated Troy – Oakland Press

9. Boys Soccer: East Lansing coach Nick Archer, who began that program in 1977 and led it to five MHSAA Finals championships, has retired after pioneering the sport locally and statewide – Lansing State Journal

10. Girls Basketball: The Upper Peninsula basketball community is mourning the late Harvey Filppula, who built Dollar Bay’s girls program – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette