This Week in High School Sports: 11/4/16
November 4, 2016
The latest edition of "This Week In High School Sports" features Friday’s 8-Player Football Playoff showdown between Powers North Central and Crystal Falls Forest Park, pass out two Game Balls, discuss returns from the end zone in Be The Referee and finishes with an MHSAA Perspective on how high school sports in Michigan have it pretty good compared with other states.
The 5-minute program, powered by MI Student Aid, leads off each week with feature stories from around the state from the MHSAA’s Second Half or network affiliates. "Be The Referee," a 60-second look at the fine art of officiating, comes in the middle of the show; and is followed by a closing MHSAA "Perspective."
Listen to this week's show by Clicking Here.
Past editions
Oct. 28: Montrose School Broadcast Program athletes, Football Playoff excitement - Listen
Oct. 21: Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett boys tennis, Football Playoffs selection breakdown - Listen
Oct. 14: Sturgis girls golf, latest from "You've Got to be Kidding Me" file - Listen
Oct. 7: Grand Ledge boys soccer, recent NFHS Hall of Fame selection Ken Beardslee of Vermontville - Listen
Sept. 30: Grand Rapids South Christian boys soccer, Michigan teams supporting many worthy causes - Listen
Sept. 23: Newberry football, downsides of national coverage of high school sports - Listen
Sept. 16: MHSAA study of concussions in high school sports during the 2015-16 school year - Listen
Sept. 9: Benton Harbor football, football rules differences between high school and college/pro levels - Listen
Sept. 2: Fenton boys cross country, debuts of new football stadiums - Listen
Aug. 29: Haslett no-contact football practices, multi-sport participation and sportsmanship - Listen
Lack of Officials Sounds Warning Again
September 21, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Officials prefer to stay out of the spotlight, but the avocation is at the center of important discussion again as something seemingly inevitable has taken place in the southeastern Lower Peninsula – recently scheduled football games had to be moved because of a lack of officials.
The Hillsdale Daily News’ James Gensterblum tackled the topic in a recent column – and we couldn’t have said it better ourselves:
“This crisis has been a long time coming, and we have no one but ourselves to blame. Fan behavior has never been perfect at high school sporting events, but in the last decade it’s hit an all-time low, and I could find numerous examples across the country to back up this assertion.
… Over the years, I’ve seen opinion pieces to parents appealing to their humanity and civility in order to get them to treat referees better. I’ve seen shame, I’ve seen bargaining, all sorts of rhetorical tactics, all of which seem to have failed. So let me try something a little different. Let me appeal to your love of sports and your investment in their continued survival.”
Check out Gensterblum’s work in its entirety at the Hillsdale Daily News.