Stripes Worn Well (Muskegon Chronicle)

March 1, 2012

Tim Flahive has battled diabetes for all but a few years of his life. But he's also filled half of those years with high school sports as a longtime official based in the Muskegon area.

The Muskegon Chronicle's Mark Opfermann tells the story of Flahive's final basketball game last week -- and makes us appreciate even more the significant role our officials fill to no fanfare.

A powerful excerpt:

He left the court with no fanfare, took off his whistle and shed a few tears.

But Flahive's story isn’t just about sports and an official leaving the hobby he loves. It’s about courage, getting back up and pressing on.

So, I guess it’s a lot like sports after all. But it’s a whole lot more about life.

That’s because when Flahive took the court last week, he did it with half of his left foot missing.

Click to read on.

Today in the MHSAA: 10/15/18

October 15, 2018

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Each weekday of the school year, we break down the top headlines courtesy of Michigan’s sports media.

1. Cross Country: The DeWitt girls, No. 3 in Lower Peninsula Division 2, and No. 12 Corunna boys claimed Greater Lansing Invitational championships – Lansing State Journal girls | boys

2. Cross Country: Traverse City St. Francis’ girls (LPD3 No. 6) and boys (No. 15) swept Lake Michigan Conference titles, and Harbor Springs’ Jeremy Kloss won his fourth league individual championship – Petoskey News-Review

3. Volleyball: Division 2 No. 10 Fruitport downed No. 9 Whitehall to win its third Greater Muskegon Athletic Association tournament in four seasons – Local Sports Journal

4. Boys Tennis: Unranked Traverse City Central and No. 6 Midland Dow shared their Lower Peninsula Division 2 Regional title – Traverse City Record-Eagle

5. Boys Tennis: LPD1 No. 5 Northville locked up its first Regional tennis title since 1995 – Observer & Eccentric

6. Volleyball: Division 3 No. 9 Centreville avenged a loss to Division 4 No. 2 Mendon to win the Southwest 10 Conference tournament title – JoeInsider.com

7. Volleyball: Division 1 honorable mention Battle Creek Lakeview locked up its third straight All-City title – Battle Creek Enquirer

8. Volleyball: Division 3 honorable mention Adrian Madison edged Onsted by two points in both sets to win the Lenawee County tournament for the third straight season – Adrian Daily Telegram

9. Cross Country: Muskegon Reeths-Puffer swept championships at the Greater Muskegon Athletic Association city meet – Local Sports Journal

10. Volleyball: Pentwater defeated Marion to earn the West Michigan D League tournament title – Manistee News Advocate

Also of note:

Girls Swimming & Diving: From Thursday, LPD1 No. 8 Brighton clinched a share of the Kensington Lakes Activities Association West title with a win over honorable mention Hartland – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

Boys Soccer: Marysville claimed its second straight Macomb Area Conference Gold title with a 2-0 win over Roseville – Port Huron Times-Herald

Boys Tennis: From Thursday, Gibraltar Carlson claimed its fourth straight Regional title, in LPD2 – Southgate News-Herald