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: 10/20/17
October 20, 2017
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. Football: Bellevue is having an incredible first season of 8-player football, and quarterback Gino Costello is building on an already impressive effort with a heavy heart after his mom died after a fight with cancer at the start of this month – Battle Creek Enquirer
2. Football: West Bloomfield kicker Nick O’Shea lost his father unexpectedly from a heart attack just 10 days ago. But how he and West Bloomfield’s coaches and players have rallied is also truly inspiring – Detroit Free Press
3. Volleyball: Harbor Springs Harbor Light Christian finished a perfect run through the Northern Lakes Conference with a sweep of Vanderbilt – Petoskey News-Review
4. Volleyball: Class B No. 8 Spring Lake clinched a share of the Ottawa-Kent Conference Blue title with a win over Comstock Park – Grand Haven Tribune
5. Boys Soccer: No. 7 Coldwater earned a rematch with No. 6-ranked Marshall by getting past perennial power Mason 2-0 to advance in Division 2 – Coldwater Daily Reporter
6. Volleyball: Class C No. 8 Unionville-Sebewaing clinched its sixth Greater Thumb Conference West title in seven seasons with a four-set win over Reese – Huron Daily Tribune
7. Cross Country: The Highland Milford girls (No. 10 in LPD1) and White Lake Lakeland boys (No. 5 in LPD1) clinched the inaugural Lakes Valley Conference championships – Observer & Eccentric Girls | Boys
8. Boys Soccer: Walled Lake Northern dealt rival Division 1 No. 15 Walled Lake Central a draw this year as the Vikings finished 15-0-1 in the Lakes Valley Conference, but Central avenged that tie with a 3-0 Division 1 win – Oakland Press
9. Volleyball: Houghton claimed the Copper Spike traveling trophy for the fourth straight season with a sweep of rival Hancock – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette
10. Conference realignment: The Western Peninsula Athletic Conference is set to expand significantly with most of the Upper Peninsula’s 11-player football schools filling out the league – Marquette Mining Journal