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: 10/28/16

October 28, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Three quarters of the MHSAA boys soccer semifinalists are set, and we gathered coverage from all 12 Regional Finals from Thursday, plus some key volleyball regular-season finales.

Each weekday during the school year, we’ll gather and post media links covering the most significant and intriguing high school events from all over the state.

Boys Soccer

Division 1 No. 19 East Kentwood got past No. 16 Traverse City West 3-2 – Grand Rapids Press

Unranked Rochester won its first Regional title since 2002 with a 1-0 Division 1 win over No. 15 Grand Blanc – Oakland Press

No. 14 Novi moved on with a 1-0 win over No. 13 Salem in Division 1 – Observer & Eccentric

No. 11 Mattawan upset No. 8 Holland 3-0 in a Division 2 Regional Final – Kalamazoo Gazette

Division 1 No. 1 East Lansing got past No. 6 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern 1-0 – Grand Rapids Press

Unranked Fenton got past also-unranked Pontiac Notre Dame Prep 1-0 in Division 2 – Flint Journal

Dearborn Divine Child won another matchup of unranked teams in Division 2, 2-0 over Gibraltar Carlson – Dearborn Press & Guide

Top-ranked Grand Rapids Catholic Central edged No. 8 Paw Paw in Division 3 – Grand Rapids Press

Division 3 No. 12 Charlevoix downed Benzonia Benzie Central 4-0 for its first Regional title in boys soccer – Petoskey News-Review

Division 3 No. 4 Flint Powers Catholic returned to the Semifinals with a 2-0 win over No. 7 Clawson – Flint Journal

Unranked Muskegon Catholic Central continued its Division 4 run with a shootout win over No. 9 Grand Rapids Covenant Christian – Grand Rapids Press

Also in Division 4, No. 18 Kalamazoo Hackett downed No. 10 Lansing Christian 2-1 – Kalamazoo Gazette

Volleyball

Class B honorable mention Croswell-Lexington finished a second straight perfect run through the Blue Water Area Conference with a sweep of Armada – Port Huron Times Herald

Kingsford finished an undefeated season in the Great Northern Conference to claim that league’s championship – Iron Mountain Daily News

Unranked Hillsdale Academy dealt Class D honorable mention Camden-Frontier a five-set loss – Hillsdale Daily News