Why be an Official? (Grand Rapids Press)
January 25, 2012
The Grand Rapids Press' Jane Bos tells the story of some of the most valuable, yet often-criticized people who help make our games go -- the officials enforcing the rules.
Consider this interesting point: On a Tuesday or Friday, the O-K Conference must come up with 150 officials to work its basketball games. And it, like most if not all leagues, always is looking for more.
She also explains how another former Press sportswriter, Howie Beardsley, got into the reffing game.
Check it out:
"Why West Michigan high school referees say you should consider wearing stripes"
Today in the MHSAA: 11/29/17
November 29, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Each weekday of the school year, we break down the top headlines courtesy of Michigan’s sports media.
Today's Top 10
1. Girls Basketball: Walled Lake Western broke away late for a 56-51 win over Southfield Arts & Technology, which made the Class A Semifinals last season – Oakland Press
2. Hockey: Division 3 No. 3 Hancock came back from a two-goal deficit in the first period to get past neighbor and No. 7 Houghton 4-2 – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette
3. Girls Basketball: Two-time reigning Class D champion Pittsford opened something of a new chapter with a 50-37 win over Hudson led by a couple of last year’s contributors in bigger roles – Hillsdale Daily News
4. Girls Basketball: Benzonia Benzie Central opened with a 68-33 win over a Cadillac team coming off a Quarterfinal appearance last season – Traverse City Record-Eagle
5. Girls Basketball: Cedarville came back from a five-point deficit with 90 seconds to play to beat Hillman 44-41 in overtime – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News
6. Girls Basketball: After suffering its only regular season loss last winter to Constantine on opening night, Centreville started 1-0 with a 45-31 win over the Falcons – Sturgis Journal
7. Girls Basketball: Reed City outscored Leroy Pine River 16-2 in the third quarter to come back from a halftime deficit and win 37-35 – Manistee News Advocate
8. Hockey: Division 2 No. 8 Marquette put up an impressive 4-0 win over rival Escanaba – Marquette Mining Journal
9. Football: The official formation of a 16-team Western Peninsula Athletic Conference will lead to the end of the Iron Mountain/Kingsford football rivalry after 93 years, two weeks after it was announced that the league schedule wouldn’t leave an opportunity for the 123-year Marquette/Negaunee rivalry to continue; the teams reportedly are forming the league to ensure they have full schedules – Iron Mountain Daily News
10. Football: We always applaud teams that schedule tough, and reigning Division 3 champion Muskegon will do so again in 2018 with Division 2 champion Warren DeLaSalle and semifinalist Detroit Martin Luther King added to the schedule for the first two weeks, respectively – Muskegon Chronicle