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: 3/10/17

March 10, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Thursday's Girls Basketball Regionals and Ice Hockey Semifinals featured at least three first-time accomplishments as teams rose to unprecedented heights.

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. 

Girls basketball

Southfield Arts & Technology upset Class A favorite Detroit Martin Luther King 55-51 – MLive-Detroit

Flushing upset another Class A contender, downing Midland Dow 45-39 – Flint Journal

Reigning Class A champion Warren Cousino kept its repeat hope alive with a 41-39 win over Bloomfield Hills Marian – Macomb Daily

Macomb Dakota won its first Regional title in girls hoops with a 63-51 Class A victory over Fenton – C&G Newspapers

Cadillac also won its first Regional title with a 59-58 victory over Kalkaska in Class B – Cadillac News

Williamston won its first Regional title in 24 years, downing Portland 52-29 in Class B – Lansing State Journal

St. Ignace captured its ninth straight Regional title with a win over Calumet in Class C – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News

Flint Hamady handed Sandusky its first and only loss this season, 38-36 in Class C – Flint Journal

Blissfield’s Kelsey Wyman scored 36 points in a Class C 56-49 double overtime win over Grass Lake – Jackson Citizen Patriot

Crystal Falls Forest Park also needed double overtime to avenge an earlier loss to Bark River-Harris 62-54 in Class D – Iron Mountain Daily News

Hockey

Top-ranked Birmingham Brother Rice got past No. 2 Hartland 5-2 in a Division 2 Semifinal – MLive-Detroit

Grand Rapids Northern/Eastern downed Saline 3-2 to reach the Division 2 Final, its first championship game berth – Grand Rapids Press