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: 10/5/17

October 5, 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. Volleyball: Class A No. 9 Bloomfield Hills Marian took top-ranked Farmington Hills Mercy to five sets before Mercy prevailed by winning the final two – Oakland Press

2. Volleyball: Three of four sets were decided by two points and the fourth was decided by three as Class B honorable mention Freeland edged No. 7 Saginaw Swan Valley to stay in front in the Tri-Valley Conference Central – Saginaw News

3. Volleyball: Class C honorable mention McBain improved to 28-7-7 with a three-set win over No. 8 Traverse City St. Francis and a sweep of Charlevoix – Cadillac News

4. Boys Soccer: Hamtramck broke Dearborn’s 15-game winning and eight-game shutout streaks with a 4-2 victory – Detroit News

5. Cross Country: Bear Lake’s teams swept West Michigan D league titles, the LPD4 honorable mention girls 22 points ahead of the field and the LPD4 No. 8 boys finishing just two better than Walkerville – Manistee News

6. Boys Soccer: Rivals Traverse City West and Central tied for the second time this season, this time preventing West from clinching its eighth straight Big North Conference title – Traverse City Record-Eagle

7. Girls Golf: Sturgis won the league tournament by 34 strokes to claim a third straight Wolverine B Conference championship – Sturgis Journal

8. Golf: Zeeland West claimed the Wooden Shoe Invitational title by two strokes ahead of runner-up and neighbor Zeeland East – Holland Sentinel

9. Boys Soccer: Division 1 No. 13 Saline outlasted Ann Arbor Pioneer for a 3-2 win to improve to 6-1-1 – Saline Post

10. Cross Country: Litchfield hosted its first cross country meet in 37 years, welcoming the Southern Central Athletic Association for a jamboree – Hillsdale Daily News