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: 3/2/18

March 2, 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.

Today's Top 10

1. Girls Basketball: Fowlerville won its first District title in girls basketball since 2002 with a 48-33 win over Williamston – Lansing State Journal

2. Hockey: Unranked Lake Orion scored three goals during the first period in upsetting No. 6 Utica Eisenhower 3-2 in a Division 1 Pre-Regional – Macomb Daily

3. Boys Basketball: Clarkston finished an outright Oakland Activities Association Red title with a 48-38 win over Hazel Park despite not having injured star guard Foster Loyer – Oakland Press

4. Hockey: Traverse City West scored with 7.5 seconds left in regulation to force overtime, and then added the game winner in a 5-4 Division 1 Pre-Regional win over the Traverse City Bay Reps co-op – MI Sports Now

5. Hockey: No. 5 Trenton got past No. 6 Saline 4-0 in a Division 2 Pre-Regional game – Southgate News Herald

6. Hockey: No. 8 Grand Rapids Catholic Central got past East Grand Rapids 4-2 in a Division 3 Pre-Regional – FOX 17

7. Boys Basketball: Maple City Glen Lake, Buckley and Frankfort all won to finish a three-way share of the Northwest Conference title – Traverse City Record-Eagle

8. Boys Basketball: Bear Lake claimed a share of the West Michigan D League title with a 93-51 win over Walkerville – Manistee News Advocate

9. Boys Basketball: Calumet downed Hancock 67-42 to guarantee a shared Western Peninsula Athletic Conference title with Iron River West Iron County – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

10. Boys Basketball: Class A contender Holland West Ottawa downed Class B contender Grand Rapids Catholic Central 59-49 – Holland Sentinel

Also of note …

Boys Basketball: Ishpeming’s Hart Holmgren became his school’s al-time leading scorer, breaking a record that had stood since 1965 in a 66-60 win over Escanaba – Marquette Mining Journal

Boys Basketball: Norway edged Rapid River 58-56 as the Knights’ Connor Ortman scored his 1,000th career point – Iron Mountain Daily News

Boys Basketball: West Michigan Conference champion North Muskegon downed Lakes 8 Conference title winner Ludington 55-43 – Local Sports Journal