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: 10/10/17

October 10, 2017

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. Boys Tennis: Kalamazoo Christian, tied for No. 10 in Lower Peninsula Division 4, netted the championship at the combined Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph and Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

2. Boys Tennis: Byron Center closed out an Ottawa-Kent Conference Green championship just ahead of LPD3 No. 9 Zeeland East – Holland Sentinel

3. Boys Tennis: LPD4 No. 8 Ludington closed out an outright Coastal Conference championship by finishing four points ahead of runner-up Whitehall at the league tournament – Ludington Daily News

4. Boys Soccer: Division 4 No. 3 Leland clinched the Northwest Conference championship with a 5-1 win over Northport, which went into an interesting attack mode late trying to get the win and stay in the race – Traverse City Record-Eagle

5. Girls Cross Country: Calumet freshman Clarity Gipp won the West Iron County Invitational just ahead of Chassell star Lela Rautiola; Chassell’s LPD3 No. 1 girls and Houghton’s LPD1 No. 1 boys won the team titles – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

6. Boys Tennis: LPD1 No. 10 Hudsonville also won an O-K league title, claiming the Red just ahead of Grandville – Grand Haven Tribune

7. Boys Soccer: Unranked Hartland won its seventh straight game, this time upsetting No. 9 Northville 1-0 – Livingston Daily Press & Argus 

8. Boys Soccer: Big Rapids moved into first place alone in the Central State Activities Association Gold with a 2-1 win over Newaygo, which had beaten Big Rapids earlier this season – Big Rapids News

9. Boys Soccer: Division 1 No. 17 Grand Haven improved to 10-3-3 with a 1-0 win over Rockford – Local Sports Journal

10. Track & Field: Livonia Churchill announced it will dedicate Friday its stadium field to first athletic director Larry Joiner and the track to successful coach Rick Austin – Observer & Eccentric