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: 5/9/18

May 9, 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. Girls Soccer: No. 3 Brighton won a matchup of two of the top-ranked teams in Division 1, downing No. 2 Novi 2-1 – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

2. Softball: For the first time in Rapid River history, the Division 4 honorable mention Rockets swept Division 3 No. 5 Gladstone – Escanaba Daily Press

3. Track & Field: Midland swept Saginaw Heritage, the boys team by a point to stay undefeated in the Saginaw Valley League ahead of the LPD1 No. 9 Hawks; the Midland girls are unranked as well and upset the No. 7 Heritage team – Midland Daily News

4. Track & Field: Engadine swept the Mid Peninsula Small School Invitational titles, the boys winning by a point and the girls by two to repeat – Escanaba Daily Press

5. Girls Tennis: Unranked Saline tied Lower Peninsula Division 1 No. 5 Ann Arbor Huron – Saline Post

6. Girls Soccer: Nora Uldrys scored with five minutes to play to give Division 1 No. 14 Saline a 1-0 win over Ann Arbor Skyline after her team tied Skyline earlier this spring – Saline Post

7. Baseball: Division 3 No. 11 Reed City swept Remus Chippewa Hills in a matchup of teams that both entered undefeated in league play – Big Rapids News

8. Girls Tennis: Traverse City Central No. 1 doubles player Bailey Swanson became the second on her team this season to go over 100 career wins, doing so in the LPD2 No. 7 Trojans’ 6-2 victory over Petoskey – Traverse City Record-Eagle

9. Softball: Trenton made a run at handing Allen Park its first Downriver League loss, but the Jaguars held on for a 7-6 win – Southgate News Herald

10. Football: Salem coach Kurt Britnell resigned coming off leading the Rocks to their first playoff appearance since 1991 – Observer & Eccentric

Also of note …

Baseball: From Saturday, longtime Livonia Stevenson coach Rick Berryman reached 500 career wins with his team’s victory over Livonia Clarenceville; Stevenson is No. 14 in Division 1 – Observer & Eccentric