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: 8/28/17
August 28, 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. Cross Country: The Pete Moss Invitational at Benzie Central featured a number of the state’s top teams – and also featured three girls breaking 17 minutes after none had done so since Rochester's Megan Goethals in 2009, led by Ann Arbor Pioneer standout Anne Forsyth at 16:50.3 – Traverse City Record-Eagle
2. Boys Tennis: Reigning Lower Peninsula Division 1 runner-up Bloomfield Hills scored 27 points to beat Ann Arbor Pioneer, reigning champion Huron and reigning LPD2 champion Midland Dow among the top finishers at the Huron Invitational – Midland Daily News
3. Volleyball: Temperance Bedford finished atop a field of teams from all over the Lower Peninsula, downing Coldwater in the final of the Cereal City Classic in Battle Creek – Coldwater Daily Reporter
4. Girls Golf: Reigning three-time LPD3 champ Spring Lake shot 351 to edge LPD4 No. 1 Kalamazoo Hackett by nine strokes and win the Fruitport Invitational – Grand Haven Tribune
5. Volleyball: Southfield Christian dominated the Auburn Hills Oakland Christian Invitational, winning all 10 of its sets over five matches on the way to the title – MLive-Detroit
6. Cross Country: The annual Marquette Invitational moved from the school to Presque Isle Park, but the Marquette teams remained a dominating pair in sweeping the titles – Marquette Mining Journal
7. Volleyball: Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart swept Clare in the championship match after avenging a previous loss to Fowler to improve to 9-1-1 and win its invitational – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
8. Volleyball: Grand Haven again won its “Battle of the Boardwalk” outdoor event, falling to Muskegon Mona Shores but then coming back to beat Fruitport and Spring Lake – Grand Haven Tribune
9. Cross Country: Blissfield’s girls and Erie-Mason’s boys won the Addison Kuenner Invitational titles, with Blissfield’s Casey Reed breaking the course record she set a year ago – Adrian Daily Telegram
10. Football: We highlighted the preview last week of Tim Shaw’s return to Livonia Clarenceville for the naming of the stadium in his honor; here’s coverage of the ceremony – Observer & Eccentric