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: 5/13/16

May 13, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

As we draw nearer to the start of the postseason, top teams in a number of sports are facing off with championships and momentum on the line.

Baseball

Melvindale Academy of Business & Technology ran its winning streak to 17 straight in beating Ecorse 15-4 – Detroit News

Girls Soccer

Reigning Division 2 champion Richland Gull Lake beat Portage Central 2-1 in a matchup of winners of Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference titles – Kalamazoo Gazette

Softball

Macomb Dakota moved to No. 1 in Division 1 this week and downed honorable mention Romeo 8-1 on Thursday to claim a share of the Macomb Area Conference Red title – Macomb Daily

Girls Tennis

Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood came out on top in a matchup of elite Division 3 programs, downing Detroit Country Day 5-3 – Oakland Press

Division 2 top-ranked Midland Dow won every flight and lost just 10 games in championship matches to win the Saginaw Valley League tournament – Saginaw News

Track & Field

From Tuesday, Engadine dominated both the girls and boys competitions at the annual Mid Peninsula Small School Invitational – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News

Good Read

Grosse Pointe North baseball phenom Chad Lonkowski hasn’t taken long to make an impression at the high school level – the freshman who once led a team to the Little League World Series is now 6-foot-5 and 5-0 with a 0.00 ERA this spring – Detroit News