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: 5/24/17
May 24, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
This list can get pretty long this time of year as we try to link up to all of the coverage of league, District and Regional championships – almost as long, relatively speaking, as the 14-year league title streaks enjoyed by the Beal City baseball, Big Rapids boys golf and Clare boys track & field teams.
Each weekday during the school year, we’ll gather and post media links covering the most significant and intriguing high school events from all over the state.
Baseball
Essexville Garber posted a pair of big wins over Bridgeport to lock up the Tri-Valley Conference East title – Bay City Times
St. Clair earned a share of the Macomb Area Conference Blue title with a six-inning win over Warren Mott – Port Huron Times Herald
Beal City swept Lake City, finishing a 14th straight Highland Conference championship run – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood dealt Division 2 No. 1 Detroit Country Day an 11-3 loss – Detroit News
Traverse City West swept Gaylord to win its second straight Big North Conference title – Traverse City Record-Eagle
Golf
Hartland’s boys won a tie-breaker to claim the Kensington Lakes Activities Association title after tying with Howell and Grand Blanc shooting 313s – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
Calumet’s boys and Houghton’s Upper Peninsula Division 1 top-ranked girls won Houghton Invitational titles, clinching West Peninsula Athletic Conference titles in the process – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette
The Big Rapids boys – ranked No. 2 in LP Division 3 – won their 14th straight Central State Activities Association championship – Big Rapids News
Gaylord’s boys, No. 3 in LP Division 2, ran their tournament winning streak to nine, this time to clinch the Big North Conference title for the first time – Gaylord Herald Times
From Monday, Munising’s girls and Carney-Nadeau’s boys won Skyline Central Conference championships, with C-N’s Hunter Eichhorn shooting a 68 to lead his team – Marquette Mining Journal
Girls Soccer
Division 3 No. 9 Birch Run clinched a share of the TVC East title with a big win over Caro – Saginaw News
Division 2 No. 8 DeWitt downed Grand Ledge 3-1 to win the Capital Area Activities Conference Gold Cup for the second straight season and fourth time over the last seven years – Lansing State Journal
Softball
Division 3 No. 3 Millington pulled away for a 6-1 win with a late rally against Frankenmuth to claim the TVC East title before dropping its only league game this season, 8-4, in the second of the night – Saginaw News
Clinton Township Chippewa Valley clinched a share of the Macomb Area Conference White title, its first league crown since 2007 – Macomb Daily
Beal City secured its fifth straight Highland Conference title, running its league winning streak to 56 games with a sweep of Lake City – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
Division 1 honorable mention Clarkston claimed the Oakland Activities Association title outright with a pair of shutouts of North Farmington – Oakland Press
Division 2 No. 8 Spring Lake downed Comstock Park to finish a perfect run through the Ottawa-Kent Conference Blue – Grand Haven Tribune
From Monday, Hemlock swept Saginaw Valley Lutheran to claim the TVC West title – Midland Daily News
Track & Field
The Bessemer boys and Lake Linden-Hubbell girls continued dominating seasons with Copper Mountain Conference titles – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette
Clare’s boys – top-ranked in LP Division 3 – won their 14th straight Jack Pine Conference title, while the No. 5 girls won their fourth consecutive – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
The Beal City boys, No. 9 in LP Division 4, won their first Highland Conference title; McBain’s girls also were crowned league champs – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
Warren DeLaSalle won its first Detroit Catholic League title in 21 years, while LP Division 2 No. 8 Dearborn Divine Child dominated on the girls side – Oakland Press
LP Division 2 No. 5 Coldwater swept titles at the Interstate Eight Athletic Conference meet, the boys to clinch the league title – Coldwater Daily Reporter
The Pittsford girls and Battle Creek St. Philip boys – both ranked No. 3 in LP Division 4 – won Southern Central Athletic Association meet titles – Hillsdale Daily News
Saugatuck swept Southwestern Athletic Conference titles, doubling up or nearly doubling up the runners-up in both meets; the girls are No. 1 in LP Division 3 and the boys are No. 3 – Holland Sentinel
Wyandotte Roosevelt swept the Downriver League meet titles, the girls for the third straight season and the boys for the second time in three – Southgate News Herald