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: 11/6/15

November 6, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Volleyball teams hoisted MHSAA District title trophies all over Michigan on Thursday. Here are 10 championship stories that stuck out a little from the rest we came across.

Volleyball

Class A top-ranked Novi swept honorable mention Northville to move on to next week’s Regional – Oakland Press

Honorable mention Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central won its Class A District in four sets over Grand Rapids Northview, the Ottawa-Kent Conference Bronze champion – Grand Rapids Press

No. 8 North Branch swept No. 2 Mount Morris to claim an 11th straight Class B District championship – Flint Journal

Class B honorable mention Saginaw Swan Valley pushed its school-record win total to 57 with a District Final sweep of Freeland – Saginaw News

Another Class B honorable mention, Grant, won its fifth straight District title with a sweep of Fremont – Muskegon Chronicle

Class C No. 8 Brown City won its fourth straight District title with a sweep of Sandusky – Port Huron Times-Herald

Montague, No. 3 in Class C, won its first District title since 1997 with a sweep of Shelby – Muskegon Chronicle

Unranked Hemlock won the final two sets to claim a 3-2 win over honorable mention St. Louis in Class C – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Honorable mention Marcellus took No. 8 Mendon to five sets before the Hornets prevailed in a Class D District Final – Sturgis Journal

Unionville-Sebewaing needed five sets and an extra point in the final to down Cass City for a fifth straight Class D District title – Huron Daily Tribune