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: 10/13/17
October 13, 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. Girls Golf: In arguably the state’s strongest Regional in this sport, top-ranked Saline shot a 324 to finish 15 shots ahead of runner-up and No. 3-ranked Northville and 22 ahead of No. 4 Plymouth in Lower Peninsula Division 1 – Saline Post
2. Boys Tennis: Top-ranked Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood edged No. 2 Detroit Country Day by two points to win an LPD3 Regional title – Oakland Press
3. Girls Golf: No. 5 Muskegon Reeths-Puffer won its first Regional championship in girls golf, claiming an LPD2 title with a 328, four strokes ahead of runner-up and No. 2 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern – Local Sports Journal
4. Girls Golf: Top-ranked Kalamazoo Hackett won its LPD4 Regional with a 351, followed by No. 3 Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian making the Finals for the 10th straight season – Grand Rapids Press
5. Girls Golf: No. 7 St. Johns bested runner-up and No. 10 Fenton by six strokes and No. 9 Okemos by 17 to win their LPD2 Regional – Lansing State Journal
6. Cross Country: Ishpeming and Negaunee battled for the boys and girls championships in the Mid-Peninsula Conference, with the UPD2 No. 1 Hematites boys and UPD1 No. 3 Miners girls earning the victories – Marquette Mining Journal
7. Girls Golf: Reigning LPD3 champion and current No. 8 Spring Lake won its fourth straight Regional title with a 372, eight strokes ahead of runner-up and No. 10 Big Rapids – Grand Haven Tribune
8. Boys Tennis: Sturgis won its first Regional championship in this sport since 2001, claiming an LPD3 title – Sturgis Journal
9. Girls Golf: All three Traverse City programs earned MHSAA Finals berths together for the first time, LPD1 No. 7 Traverse City West winning its Regional, Central finishing as a runner-up in LPD2 and St. Francis winning a tie-breaker for a third-place spot in LPD4 – Traverse City Record-Eagle
10. Girls Golf: No. 2 Brighton shot an impressive 309 to win its LPD1 Regional by 30 strokes – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
Also of note …
Girls Golf: Top-ranked Midland Dow shot a 348 to clear the field by 20 strokes and win an LPD2 Regional title – Midland Daily News
Boys Tennis: Petoskey clinched its ninth straight Regional title, in LPD3, claiming 22 of a possible 24 points – Petoskey News-Review
Cross Country: Continuing their domination this season, Houghton’s boys (UPD1 No. 1) and Chassell’s girls (UPD3 No. 1) finished Western Peninsula Athletic Conference title chases – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette
Cross Country: Marquette’s teams continued their dominance as well sweeping Great Northern Conference championships; the girls are No. 2 in UPD1 and the boys are ranked No. 2 as well – Marquette Mining Journal