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: 5/25/21

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

May 25, 2021

Girls Soccer: Division 1 No. 11 Salem clinched its first league title in this sport in 34 years with 3-0 win over No. 20 Livonia Stevenson in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association championship game – Observer & Eccentric

2. Softball: No. 3 Howell continued an awesome run to close the regular season with a 5-3 win over top-ranked Grand Blanc – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

3. Track & Field: The Negaunee girls and Gladstone boys clinched Mid-Peninsula Conference titles, the Miners for the 11th-straight season – Marquette Mining Journal

4. Boys Golf: Warren De La Salle Collegiate – No. 5 in Lower Peninsula Division 1 – ran its Macomb County championship streak to seven shooting a 309 at the county tournament – Macomb Daily

5. Girls Soccer: Traverse City West earned its third-straight Big North Conference title with a 2-0 win over second-place Petoskey – Traverse City Record-Eagle

6. Baseball: Goodrich downed Fenton 2-1 in nine innings to clinch the outright Flint Metro League championship – WJRT

7. Baseball: Division 2 No. 9 Grand Rapids Christian claimed the Ottawa-Kent Conference White title with a 4-3 win over East Grand Rapids – FOX 17

8. Softball: Division 2 No. 8 Chelsea swept Tecumseh to clinch the Southeastern Conference White title, setting a team home run record in the process – Ann Arbor News

9. Baseball: Dexter’s sweep of Pinckney and Chelsea’s win over Tecumseh landed the Dreadnaughts the outright SEC White title – Chelsea Sun Times News

10. Boys Golf: Niles shot a 349 to win the Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference championship in its lone season playing in the league – Niles Daily Star

Also of note …

Softball: Division 1 No. 7 South Lyon East fell to No. 5 Allen Park 8-6 but did hit its 64th home run of the season to set an MHSAA record – Oakland Press

Baseball: Division 2 No. 2 New Boston Huron clinched the Huron League championship with a 6-4 win over Milan – Monroe News

Boys Golf: LPD2 No. 4 Chelsea shot a 319 at the SEC White Tournament to earn the overall league title – Chelsea Sun Times News

Boys Golf: Durand shot a 386 at the Mid-Michigan Activities Conference Tournament to finish first and lock up the overall league title – Owosso Argus-Press

Girls Lacrosse: Jeff Seidel tells a memorable story of why this season’s first-year Detroit Cass Tech team was unforgettable – Detroit Free Press