Watch Spring Finals on Comcast

June 7, 2013

Arrangements have been finalized to have MHSAA spring tournament finals in baseball, lacrosse, soccer and softball shown on a delayed basis on Comcast Channel 900.

The package starts with the airing of Saturday’s (June 8) Lacrosse Finals. The Boys Finals will be shown on Tuesday, with the Division 1 match-up of defending champion Birmingham Brother Rice and Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern/Eastern at 7 p.m. followed at 9:30 p.m. by the Division 2 title tilt between defending champion Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central and Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood. An encore presentation is set for June 15 in the same time slots.

The Girls Lacrosse Finals will debut on Wednesday at 7 p.m., with Rockford facing Bloomfield United in the Division 1 championship followed at 9:30 p.m. by the Division 2 finale pitting defending champion East Grand Rapids against Livonia Ladywood. Those games will get a second airing on June 16, with Division 1 at 3 p.m. and Division 2 at 6 p.m.

The Lacrosse Finals will be available on the Internet Saturday with live dedicated video (MHSAA.tv) and audio (MHSAANetwork.com) streams of the championship games at East Grand Rapids and Rockford. Here’s the complete live schedule:

Boys Lacrosse at East Grand Rapids

2 p.m. – Division 1 – Birmingham Brother Rice vs. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern/Eastern

4:30 p.m. – Division 2 – Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central vs. Bloomfield Hills Cranbroo-Kingswood

Girls Lacrosse at Rockford

2 p.m. – Division 2 – East Grand Rapids vs. Livonia Ladywood

4:30 p.m. – Division 1 – Rockford vs. Bloomfield United

Next weekend, MHSAA Network coverage will include live streaming audio of the Semifinals and Finals in baseball and softball and live streaming video of the Finals in both of those sports as well as girls soccer. All of the video also will be shown on Comcast Channel 900. The complete schedule can be found on the MHSAA Website.

Wounded Warrior Project: DeWitt vs Portland

December 16, 2011

DEWITT -- The meeting of two state-ranked teams always will ratchet up a typical football night. Both communities, naturally, want to see which is better on the field.

But during the hour before the opening kickoff Oct. 14 of DeWitt’s game against Portland, those teams and their supporters together recognized a grander cause. The night was dedicated to the Wounded Warrior Project, which aids U.S. soldiers (and their families) who have suffered service-related injuries and illnesses.

Rain washed out some planned attractions, but the evening certainly was memorable. Both teams wore camouflage jerseys and each sent its captains to the pre-game coin toss with an honorary captain representing the military. A number of other service personnel were involved – including a local color guard that presented a 30-foot flag for the national anthem.

It’s understandable if people’s visions of wars and our military are focused an ocean away. But connections hit close to home. DeWitt’s honorary captain, Lansing’s U.S. Army Spc. Jacob Shumway, recently returned from a deployment and has been in the service for two and a half years. He’s a 2003 Lansing Everett graduate, and his mother Susan Land is the principal at Lansing Eastern. His cousins Ethan and Collin Rennaker start for DeWitt, and he walked alongside them for the pregame flip. Shumway plans to attend Lansing Community College and study digital graphic design.

Both teams are considered contenders for their respective state titles next month; DeWitt is ranked No. 7 in Division 3, while Portland is No. 4 in Division 5. And they played like it – Portland prevailed 22-20 in overtime.

A great game, no question. But similarly significant was a preliminary figure of more than $11,000 raised for the WWP.

For more about the Wounded Warrior Project visit http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org.