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: 8/30/21

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

August 30, 2021

1. CROSS COUNTRY The Ann Arbor Pioneer girls and Traverse City Central boys won big-school championships, Johannesburg-Lewiston swept the small-school titles, and Hartland’s Riley Hough and Central’s Julia Flynn won races featuring some of the state’s elite individuals at the Benzie Central Pete Moss Invitational – Traverse City Record-Eagle

2. CROSS COUNTRY The Marquette girls edged Negaunee by a point, and the Marquette boys dominated as the school swept the Queen City Invitational titles – Marquette Mining Journal

3. BOYS SOCCER After ferrying across Lake Michigan, Ludington won the inaugural Carferry Classic Cup by downing Wisconsin’s Manitowoc Lincoln – Ludington Daily News

4. VOLLEYBALL Kingsford downed Niagara, Wis., in a tiebreaker to win the Great 8 Fall Classic at Forest Park – Iron Mountain Daily News

5. BOYS TENNIS Midland edged Petoskey by a point to win the eight-team Bill Baum Invitational – Midland Daily News

6. VOLLEYBALL Muskegon Mona Shores repeated as champion at Grand Haven’s Battle on the Boardwalk – Grand Haven Tribune

7. VOLLEYBALL Division 4 No. 5 Traverse City Christian downed host Kingsley 2-1 in the final of the Stags’ invitational – Traverse City Record-Eagle

8. CROSS COUNTRY Holland West Ottawa’s girls won the Under the Light Invitational at Grand Rapids South Christian; the Portage Central boys and both Forest Hills Eastern teams also won championships – Holland Sentinel

9. VOLLEYBALL Division 2 No. 6 Cadillac downed Clio a second time to finish a 5-0 day and championship run at its home invitational – Cadillac News

10. BOYS TENNIS Battle Creek Lakeview claimed its sixth-straight All-City championship – Battle Creek Enquirer

Also of note …

HEALTH & SAFETY Grand Rapids-based be nice. began providing valuable mental health training for MHSAA preseason coaches meetings in 2019, and received some much-deserved national recognition on the TODAY show – TODAY