Cougars' Dream Season Ends

My old high school's run at a state title in the Class D boy's basketball tournament came up a bit short on Thursday. Despite a four-point half-time lead and leads into the third quarter, the Cougars were not able to sustain that lead. In fact, their magical shooting touch which carried them all season disappeared. Nothing was going in the basket and the breaks weren't going their way. It was a disappointing finish to such a great season, but you have to admire what these boys did this season - not just for their school, but for the community, alumni, and the Upper Peninsula as a whole. Previously, the Cedarville Trojans, a high school from the eastern end of the Upper Peninsula, was the dominant force in Class D boys basketball in the Upper Peninsula. They were the last Upper Peninsula team to win a state title in 2007. But the Cougar boys foiled their attempts at a fifth trip to the Breslin Center in East Lansing and another berth in the final four in Class D. This basketball team brought interest back to the school. You wouldn't believe how many people on Facebook, who graduated from the school, left positive messages about the team and the school during this tournament run. It just goes to show you that school pride still runs deep for many people, despite how long ago it's been since they've stepped inside that school building. And many alumni members that live close to Lansing were able to attend the game and root on their old high school. That in of itself is a pretty cool thing.

As I mentioned, Cedarville was the last boys basketball team to win a title for the U.P. in Class D in 2007. Prior to that it was the North Central Jets in 1984 and the Ewen Trout-Creek Panthers in 1972. So as you can see, the teams representing the U.P. in Class D over the years have had little success in winning a title downstate. It's hard to say exactly why this is - some argue that it's the long travel time that many U.P. teams have to make in order to play these games. For my school, it was a seven hour bus ride down to East Lansing - but they split that travel time up into two days. Teams from the western end of the U.P. like Ontonagon or in the Keweenaw like Chassel or Ewen-Trout Creek, have further driving time. Do teams around Detroit, Flint, and Grand Rapids have a better advantage than teams in the U.P. do in that regard? Possibly. Another thing to consider is the venue that the Final Four games are played on - the Breslin Center. Is it too big for the U.P. teams to handle? There isn't an arena like it in the Upper Peninsula. Regional tournament games have been played at Michigan Tech's SDC gym most recently (but not this year due to the Tech Women holding the NCAA Division II Regional there) and the Hedgcock Fieldhouse on Northern Michigan University's campus prior to that. Obviously they are nowhere near the size that the Breslin Center is, but they were bigger arenas than what a lot of schools in the U.P. play in. Bigger high schools in Detroit, Grand Rapids, and Lansing are more accustomed to playing in bigger arenas. Another advantage for downstate teams?

I don't want this to turn into a big pity party for Upper Peninsula teams, because a tournament run like the one my high school experienced is magical even if we fall a few games short of the title. But still, to think of what might've been can really get to you. Now, here's another issue I have to gripe about regarding downstate media and a team from the Upper Peninsula. Obviously they don't know much about the U.P., its people, and its small towns (except for those that grew up here and moved down there - but they are too few and far between). The school is based in Eben Junction, Michigan. Yet the school is known as Superior Central. We are not the school district of Eben Junction. For some reason, the MHSAA - the governing body of high school sports in Michigan - needs a town included in the school's name when participating in tournaments. We are the Superior Central School District - never, until the team makes it to the Quaterfinals, do we become Eben Junction - Superior Central. I was reading a chat put on by a downstate internet media website where they often described our school as being Eben or Eben Junction. No mention of Superior Central much. I also listened to the MHSAA radio feed on-line and watched the TV feed on the computer. Eben was pronounced wrong - with a long "E". The correct pronunciation is Eh-ben, as in the first part of Ebenezer Scrooge's name. Don't you think some of these media people could do a little more research and find out if they have the right or wrong pronunciation of a town, no matter how simple of a name it might be? I know how easy it is to assume, but dig a little deeper and you'll find the right way to say it. I do want to commend the broadcasters doing the TV and radio broadcasts - they more often than not referred to the school as just Superior Central. Every once in awhile, they'd include the Eben Junction part, but not too often. It was more of the newspaper and sports reporters from downstate that referred to the school as Eben Junction. But honestly, what a small inconvenience to pay for our school reaching the semi-finals of a state-wide basketball tournament, right?

I was also disappointed with the MHSAA.tv website during the game. They promised visitors "watch the semi-final games live!" Well, that didn't exactly happen as planned. Pretty much the first half of the game was broadcast on that website, but about two minutes before the first half ended, the feed for the game froze up. I tried refreshing the website a couple of different times, but to no avail. And the feed never did come back on for the game which was super disappointing for me. We still could listen to the game on the radio, but it just wasn't the same. Not all of us from the Upper Peninsula who follow the Cougars could be down in Lansing to watch the game. Seeing the game live on TV/computer should've been the next best thing. The MHSAA needs to find a better and more reliable host for its games on-line. I realize that hosting broadcasts of its final four games on its website is somewhat of a new concept for them - but lets get it together before next year's tournament games. I know we're in bad economic times, but I'm sure this organization gets plenty of money from its school's across the state. Do something about the broadcast of the games on-line. Even the games archived on the website cut out every now and again after watching it for a few minutes. So then you have to start the game all over again and try to remember where it last left off. Honestly, what kind of set-up is that?

Okay, enough complaining for one day. The Boys and Girls basketball season in the state of Michigan is over for this year. But what a season it's been, especially for the Cougars! And I shouldn't leave out the girls team because they've now won district titles three years running. Prior to that, they hadn't won a district title in the school's history (since 1987)! So congratulations to both squads for great seasons. Its been fun following along, even if it's mostly from TV and radio reports. And here's to even bigger and better season's in 2010-11!