Today in the MHSAA: 2/20/19

February 20, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Basketball and skiing dominated headlines from Tuesday as the league championship train continued to rumble through the Lower Peninsula.

1. Skiing: Harbor Springs’ girls won their 11th straight Lake Michigan Conference championship, while Great Northern Alpine’s boys finished a sweep for their title – Petoskey News-Review

2. Girls Basketball: Hamilton claimed its third straight Ottawa-Kent Conference Green title with a big win over second-place Byron Center – Holland Sentinel

3. Boys Basketball: Quincy clinched its third straight Big 8 Conference title with a big win over Bronson – Coldwater Daily Reporter

4. Boys Basketball: Big Rapids Crossroads won its first outright West Michigan D League title since 2011 with a 55-44 win over Bear Lake – Big Rapids News

5. Boys Basketball: Oxford claimed a share of the Oakland Activities Association Blue title by finishing a season sweep of second-place Pontiac – Oakland Press

6. Girls Basketball: Cadillac clinched the Big North Conference title with a 49-39 win over Traverse City West – Cadillac News

7. Boys Basketball: Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern clinched a share of the O-K White title with a big win over rival Forest Hills Central – WOOD TV

8. Boys Basketball: Pellston won a share of the Ski Valley Conference title in defeating Onaway 92-66 – Petoskey News-Review

9. Skiing: Petoskey’s boys and Traverse City Central’s girls finished Big North Conference title runs – Petoskey News-Review

10. Boys Basketball: Muskegon clinched a share of the O-K Black title with a big win over Mona Shores – Local Sports Journal

Also of note …

Bowling: Sturgis’ boys downed Bronson’s 25-5 in a matchup of top-ranked teams in Divisions 2 and 4, respectively – Sturgis Journal

Boys Basketball: Petersburg-Summerfield locked up the outright Tri-County Conference title with a 55-33 win over Sand Creek – Monroe News

Girls Basketball: Fruitport Calvary Christian finished an outright Alliance League title run with a 52-40 win over Kentwood Grand River Prep – Local Sports Journal

Girls Basketball: Coleman downed Breckenridge 49-40 as Jaden Berthume became the first 1,000-point scorer in Comets history – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Boys Basketball: Britton-Deerfield came back to defeat Addison in overtime with Zac Clark scoring his 1,000th point during the win – Adrian Daily Telegram

Boys Basketball: Hale defeated Posen 70-56, but Posen’s Jared Sharpe reached 1,000 career points – Alpena News

Girls Basketball: Matti Rayman went over 1,000 career points as Otsego defeated Comstock 62-50 – WWMT

Girls Basketball: Caitlyn Bruff went over 1,000 career points in New Lothrop’s 50-34 win over Birch Run – Flint Journal

Boys Basketball: From Monday, Ypsilanti Lincoln clinched the Southeastern Conference White title with a 73-65 win over Jackson – Detroit News

Boys Basketball: From Monday, Sturgis downed Edwardsburg 49-40 to claim the Wolverine Conference South championship – JoeInsider.com

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.