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.

MI Fall, HS Ball (Lansing State Journal)

September 4, 2012

One of the newest additions to the Lansing State Journal is its Michigander section, which each week highlights great reasons to enjoy life in our home state.

And last week's section declared what we've always felt -- that high school football is weaved into our communities, both big and small. 

The Michigander section has a photo-blast layout that immediately draws readers, and like most any online product that's lost some in reproduction. But the message is the same -- and we're big fans of it.

Friday night phenomenon: High school football brings communities together (Lansing State Journal)