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: 1/29/18

January 29, 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.

Today's Top 10 

1. Boys Swimming & Diving: Lower Peninsula Division 2 No. 9 Midland Dow won its 16th straight Tri-Cities championship, with LPD2 honorable mention Saginaw Heritage second – Midland Daily News

2. Hockey: Division 2 No. 3 Hartland edged top-ranked Livonia Stevenson 6-5 – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

3. Wrestling: Division 2 No. 10 Niles came in first at the Greater Berrien County Invitational for the fifth time in six seasons, and No. 7 Stevensville Lakeshore was runner-up – Niles Daily Star

4. Girls Basketball: St. Clair clinched the Macomb Area Conference Silver championship, its first league title since 2007, with a 63-50 win over second-place St. Clair Shores South Lake – Port Huron Times Herald

5. Wrestling: Division 4 top-ranked Hudson had a meet-high five champions at the Lenawee County All-Star Tournament – Adrian Daily Telegram

6. Hockey: Gaylord won a 12th game in a season for the first time since 2008-09 by defeating Traverse City Central for the first time since 2006-07, 3-1 – Petoskey News-Review

7. Girls Basketball: Clarkston’s Kayla Luchenbach scored her 1,000th point in leading the Wolves past Rochester Hills Stoney Creek 40-20 – Oakland Press

8. Skiing: Harbor Springs swept the Grayling Invitational, with Clare’s boys and Charlevoix’s girls posting runner-up finishes – Petoskey News-Review

9. Bowling: The Riverview boys and Flat Rock girls won the Bowl for Burns, Riverview downing Brownstown Woodhaven in the final and Flat Rock defeating Wyandotte Roosevelt – Southgate News Herald

10. Wrestling: Monroe Jefferson won the Observerland Tournament with four champions and three runners-up – Observer & Eccentric