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: 9/14/17

September 14, 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: Lower Peninsula Division 2 No. 2 Midland Dow won 21 of 24 matches at the Midweek Classic, downing No. 4 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, No. 7 Detroit U-D Jesuit and Flushing – Midland Daily News

2. Volleyball: Class B honorable mention Kingsley remained undefeated, downing Class D No. 2 Leland in three sets in Northwest Conference play – Traverse City Record-Eagle

3. Cross Country: The Pittsford girls (LPD4 No. 12) and Battle Creek St. Philip (LPD4 No. 3) boys claimed titles at the Wildcat Jamboree; Pittsford’s girls had the winner and five of the top 20 – Hillsdale Daily News

4. Girls Golf: New Boston Huron improved to 11-0 this season with a 59-stroke win over Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central – Southgate News Herald

5. Girls Golf: Sturgis also continued an impressive streak with its seventh straight jamboree win in the Wolverine Conference, this time by 13 strokes – JoeInsider.com

6. Girls Golf: LP Division 2 No. 3 St. Joseph claimed its third Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference West jamboree win, shooting a 180 to finish 17 strokes ahead of the field – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

7. Cross Country: Bear Lake swept races at the second West Michigan D jamboree; the girls are No. 10 in LPD4 and the boys are ranked No. 2 – Manistee News Advocate

8. Girls Golf: Portland moved into a three-way tie for first in the Capital Area Activities Conference White with a nine-stroke jamboree win – Ionia Sentinel-Standard

9. Volleyball: Cadillac, a Class B semifinalist last season, took a big step in the Big North Conference by coming back to down Petoskey in five sets – Cadillac News

10. Volleyball: Gwinn broke out in the first set with a 13-0 lead and went on to sweep Manistique – Marquette Mining Journal