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: 1/18/18

January 18, 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: Gaylord St. Mary won a matchup of Ski Valley Conference favorites and top Class D teams statewide, traveling to defeat Bellaire 41-39 – Gaylord Herald Times

2. Hockey: Detroit Catholic Central, top-ranked in Division 1, needed overtime but got past rival and Division 2 No. 5 Birmingham Brother Rice 3-2 – Oakland Press

3. Girls Basketball: Detroit Mumford held on after seeing a 15-point lead nearly dissolve, getting past Ypsilanti Arbor Prep 44-35 – Detroit News

4. Girls Basketball: Gladstone improved to 5-5 this season with a 42-33 upset of Marquette, which fell to 9-2 – Escanaba Daily Press

5. Hockey: Holland West Ottawa downed Grand Haven 4-2 for its ninth win over the last 10 games – Holland Sentinel

6. Bowling: Hudsonville swept Grand Haven in key Ottawa-Kent Conference Red matches, the boys narrowly 16-14 – Grand Haven Tribune

7. Wrestling: Division 2 No. 7 Stevensville Lakeshore ran its winning streak to 11 with a big victory over St. Joseph – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

8. Hockey: Division 2 No. 2 Hartland and Division 3 No. 7 Livonia Churchill tied 3-3, but the Eagles’ Jake Behnke made a tremendous statement with his play – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

9. Hockey: Riverview Gabriel Richard celebrated a 4-3 win over Dearborn Divine Child coming off some recent struggles against the Falcons – Southgate News Herald

10. Football: Battle Creek Harper Creek coach Mike Seedorff stepped down after leading his team to a 12-1 record in his 30th season in the program and third as head coach – Battle Creek Enquirer

Also of note …

Boys Basketball: From Tuesday, Gladstone came back from a two-point halftime deficit to beat Gwinn by 36, with junior Reece Castor scoring 26 points including the 1,000th of his career – Escanaba Daily Press