Toughness is mental and physical

March 13, 2019

One often hears about a sports team being physically tough. But that’s a term, while overused, that also pertains to being mentally tough. A good example of that came during the Michigan-Michigan State basketball game this past weekend. The Spartans, missing two starters in Josh Langford and Nick Ward, and having a third player, Matt Ahrens, slowed by a back injury, rose up in the second half and won a game they probably shouldn’t have. Ahrens made a couple of big baskets and went to the floor for a loose ball to save a State possession. Coach Tom Izzo pressed all the right ...

Biggest mistake ever made by MHSAA

March 6, 2019

With the high school basketball districts and regionals currently going on, I often think back to when this was truly the sporting event of the year in the Upper Peninsula. It was an iconic event because the tournaments were usually held in bigger venues. The practice of scheduling the tourneys at mostly high school locations has greatly diminished the event. High school hockey hasn’t been affected. All local schools have competed at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena since 1971.  Even some downstate teams compete in later rounds in college arenas like Ferris State, Lake Superior ...

Two sides to March Madness

February 27, 2019

It’s a time of the year when special things can happen. But March Madness has two sides to it — hence you get the “Beware the Ides of March” concept. Oh, there is the special side when an underdog team rises up and knocks off the heavily favored opponent. Take the 1969 district basketball tournament at old Sherman Gym. Lake Linden was a heavy underdog to a strong Ewen-Trout Creek team that long ago winter night. The Panthers had a tall and talented squad and were ranked high in the state polls that winter. The Lakes, no surprise, had little size, and were coming off a ...

Still crazy (sort of) after all these years

February 13, 2019

Just the other day I was talking to Gogebic Community College men’s basketball coach Dennis Mackey after a game versus Finlandia University.  Mackey, the former Ewen-Trout Creek High product, said he recalled me covering a Panthers game back in the day. “You’ve been doing this for awhile, haven’t you?” he asked. “I think I was in junior high school at the time.” Dennis, you have no idea how long I’ve been covering sports and news. It was early November of 1965 when I was assigned to cover a Suomi College-Mackinac College game. The game at old Nikander Hall at ...

Super Bowl turns into super bore for most Sunday

February 6, 2019

There were times Sunday when I thought I was watching a rerun of the last World Cup of Soccer. That’s how lacking in real suspense the Super Bowl between New England and the L.A. Rams was. Now, the World Cup 2016 championship game managed to put me to sleep not once, but twice. That was a personal record. It wasn’t that the Patriots and Rams were all that bad — their defenses were very good. So much that the Rams punted on their first eight chances on offense. They could have at least had their punter Johnny Hekker, try a fake punt play. He’s been successful a few times with ...

Inept NFL messes up again

January 23, 2019

One can only guess what sort of blunder the National Football League will come up with next. By adopting rules, many with out any logical explanation, the league is ruining a sport that was once at the top of all professional sports. It was bad enough when the league couldn't decide what was a pass reception (see the Calvin Johnson Rule) was or was not. Or all but took away kickoffs (the most exciting play in the game). Now, the league can't even explain why a flagrant penalty is not called in a crucial game. The non-call not made in last Sunday's Los Angeles Rams-New Orleans ...