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: 5/3/21

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

May 3, 2021

1. Track & Field: Birmingham Seaholm’s Audrey DaDamio and Ann Arbor Skyline’s Hobbs Kessler won Barnyard Invitational championships against fields including many of the state’s top distance runners – Macomb Daily

2. Baseball: Division 1 No. 13 Saline handed the first loss this season to Division 2 top-ranked Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, 2-1 – State Champs Sports Network

3. Softball: Kami Morse hit two home runs in an emotion-fueled performance as Jenison went 3-0 to win its invitational – FOX 17

4. Girls Tennis: North Muskegon – No. 2 in Lower Peninsula Division 4 – won its third Greater Muskegon Athletic Association championship in four seasons, just ahead of Mona Shores and Whitehall – Local Sports Journal

5. Track & Field: Reeths-Puffer won its first GMAA championship since 2006 and Whitehall won the girls title the next day – Muskegon Chronicle Girls | Boys

6. Softball: Muskegon Oakridge moved up a tier in the GMAA tournament and won its fifth-straight championship – Local Sports Journal

7. Girls Soccer: Rochester Adams earned an impressive 1-0 win over Novi – Oakland Press

8. Track & Field: Grand Blanc swept Flint Carman-Ainsworth Invitational championships – WJRT

9. Boys Golf: Norway shot a 323 to edge Houghton by seven strokes and win its invitational – Iron Mountain Daily News

10. Baseball: Muskegon Mona Shores clinched its third-straight GMAA Tier 1 title – Local Sports Journal

Also of note …

Softball: Portage Central celebrated the life of Sophie Varney with its Sophie Strong game and dedication of new batting cages; she died in December after battling an inoperable brain tumor – Kalamazoo Gazette