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: 2/14/20
February 14, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The first round of the Team Wrestling Tournament finished up Thursday with a dramatic ending in Division 2 leading a loaded list of headliners from across the state and five sports.
1. Wrestling: Caleb McNeil’s last-match comeback gave No. 8 Muskegon Reeths-Puffer a District Semifinal win over No. 4 Whitehall, and the Rockets then shut out Muskegon to win the title in Division 2 – Local Sports Journal
2. Hockey: Division 2 top-ranked Livonia Stevenson shut out Division 1 No. 3 Brighton 4-0 in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association championship game – Observer & Eccentric
3. Wrestling: Bark River-Harris defeated Manistique in Division 4 to claim its first District title in this sport – Escanaba Daily Press
4. Wrestling: Unranked Union City got past No. 8 Mendon in Division 4 to earn its first District title since 2008 – Coldwater Daily News
5. Wrestling: Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice earned its first District title in this sport in a decade with a 51-20 win over Birmingham Seaholm in Division 1 – Oakland Press
6. Boys Basketball: Fraser’s 50-48 overtime win over St. Clair gave St. Clair and Port Huron Northern a shared Macomb Area Conference Gold title, Northern’s first league championship since 2001 – Port Huron Times-Herald
7. Boys Swimming & Diving: Holland West Ottawa clinched a share of a sixth-straight Ottawa-Kent Conference Red title with a 187-118 win over Grand Haven – Holland Sentinel
8. Girls Basketball: Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart took back the Mid-State Activities Conference championship with a 63-48 win over Coleman – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
9. Boys Basketball: Marquette edged Escanaba 68-64 to clinch the Great Northern Conference title – Marquette Mining Journal
10. Girls Basketball: Oscoda clinched a second-straight North Star League Big Dipper title with a 64-27 win over Whittemore-Prescott – Alpena News
Also of note …
Boys Basketball: Detroit Cass Tech advanced to the Detroit Public School League final with a 53-44 win over Detroit Communication & Media Arts – State Champs Sports Network
Boys Basketball: Muskegon Orchard View’s Ke’Ontae Barnes scored 30 points in a 58-43 win over Muskegon Catholic Central to go over 1,000 for his career – Muskegon Chronicle
Girls Basketball: Saline junior Ella Stemmer went over 1,000 points for her career with 19 in a 59-31 win over Monroe – Ann Arbor News