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: 10/9/20

October 9, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The boys soccer regular-season rushed toward its conclusion Thursday with a league championship game and two more intriguing semifinals making our headliner list.

1. Boys Soccer: Walled Lake Western edged Walled Lake Central in overtime to claim the Lakes Valley Conference Tournament title – The Spinal Column

2. Boys Tennis: No. 6 Troy defeated No. 14 Rochester Adams to earn a Lower Peninsula Division 1 District championship – Oakland Press

3. Boys Soccer: Muskegon Mona Shores came back from a two-goal deficit to defeat Division 2 No. 6 (MPR) Wyoming 4-3 in an Ottawa-Kent Conference Green semifinal – Local Sports Journal

4. Boys Soccer: Division 2 No. 12 (MPR) Richland Gull Lake advanced to the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference championship game with a 3-0 win over No. 15 St. Joseph – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

5. Girls Golf: LPD4 No. 9 Harbor Springs clinched another Lake Michigan Conference championship – Petoskey News-Review

6. Girls Swimming & Diving: LPD1 top-ranked Ann Arbor Pioneer outraced No. 10 Ann Arbor Huron 123-63 – We Love Ann Arbor 

7. Boys Soccer: Division 3 No. 4 (MPR) Elk Rapids downed Boyne City 3-0 to finish the Lake Michigan Conference scheduled unbeaten – MI Sports Now

8. Volleyball: Saugatuck downed Holland to remain undefeated this fall – Holland Sentinel

9. Girls Swimming & Diving: LPD2 No. 10 Fenton put up multiple pool records in a win over Swartz Creek – WJRT

10. Boys Soccer: Essexville Garber came back from a one-goal deficit to defeat Bay City Central 3-1 – Bay City Times

Also of note …

Girls Golf: From Wednesday, Sturgis locked up its fifth Wolverine Conference title in six seasons – Sturgis Journal

Boys Soccer: From Wednesday, Division 1 No. 10 (MPR) Brownstown Woodhaven claimed a third-straight Downriver League title with a win over Gibraltar Carlson – Southgate News-Herald

Boys Soccer: From Wednesday, Sterling Heights downed St. Clair Shores Lakeview to clinch a share of the Macomb Area Conference Blue title – Macomb Daily