Sports

Tigers Come Back to Win Against Minnesota

LAKELAND, Fla. - The Detroit Tigers used big innings to comeback against the Minnesota twins today, lighting up the scoreboard for crooked digits both in the sixth and again in the ninth. Already down 5-0 the Tigers got going when Justyn-Henry Malloy singled up the center scoring both Ryan Kriedler and Jahmai Jones. Dillon Dingler then singled in Malloy for the three spot. Then it was small ball in the 9th when David Hensley scored coming in on a bases loaded walk by Ben Malgeri. The Tigers then got the go ahead runs on a throwing error - with Navigato tying it and Liranzo coming in for the winning run.

Matt Manning started the game for the Tigers and was lit up for seven hits and five earned runs. Watson earned the win and Smith the save. The Tigers moved above .500 in spring training with the win, dropping the Twins to 9-13.

Haslett's Oliver Costello Receives MHSAA Scholar-Athlete Award

EAST LANSING, Mich. Oliver Costello (center) of Haslett High School was honored as a recipient of the Michigan High School Athletic Association/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete Award at the 2025 MHSAA Boys Basketball Finals on March 15 at the Jack Breslin Student Events Center in East Lansing.

Shown with Costello are (from left): Don Simon, chief executive officer for Farm Bureau Insurance; and Mark Uyl, executive director of the MHSAA. Costello will receive a $2,000 scholarship from Farm Bureau Insurance to be used at the institution of higher learning he attends this fall. Farm Bureau Insurance awarded 32 scholarships, proportionately by school classification, to students with a 3.50 or higher (on a 4.0 scale) grade point average who have previously lettered in at least one sport in which postseason competition is sponsored by the MHSAA.

Secret Weapon' Thomas Plays Lead Role as East Lansing Ends Title Wait

By Jeff Bleiler Courtesy Story via MHSAA.com

EAST LANSING, Mich. — East Lansing High School boys basketball coach Ray Mitchell called sophomore Kingston Thomas his “secret weapon.” Going forward he’ll have to refer to Thomas as just a weapon, because the secret is out. On a team chock-full of seniors and juniors, Thomas made a massive impact Saturday despite not having any plays called for him. His double-double of 19 points and 12 rebounds helped lift the Trojans to a 66-46 victory over Wayne Memorial in the Division 1 Final at the Breslin Center. Cameron Hutson led all scorers with 20 points, and Kelvin Torbert scored 16 as East Lansing won its first championship since 1958.Carlos Medlock Jr. and Jaylohn Allen each scored 14 points for Wayne Memorial, which was making its first Finals appearance.

"These guys have been preparing for this pretty much all their lives. I told them it was their destiny,” Mitchell said. “They’ve been working toward this. They’ve been connected, they’ve been a family for so long, they deserve this. I couldn’t ask for much more from a group of 15 kids. “It’s a wonderful thing that we can top it off with this championship.”

The Trojans (28-1) absorbed an early punch from Wayne Memorial, which led 16-12 after the first quarter thanks to 10 points from Medlock. But Zebras coach Steve Brooks knew the advantage came with an asterisk.

“The lead was fake because we were shooting long bombs, and that’s not how you win a basketball game,” he said. “We weren’t executing anything at all. They weathered the 3-point storm at the beginning, and they started beating us to every 50-50 ball.”

Hutson’s layup as the first quarter ended ignited a 21-0 barrage that turned the game permanently in East Lansing’s favor. His three-point play put the Trojans up 17-16 just over a minute into the second quarter, and the rout was on. Thomas scored 12 points in the quarter, during which East Lansing outscored Wayne Memorial 21-4. The Trojans also finished the half with a massive 25-13 rebounding advantage, with Thomas collecting nine.

“I was just crashing as hard as I could, which helped me get rebounds, and most of the rebounds I got were putback layups,” Thomas said. “So I went hard to the basket, and good things came from it.”

A pair of Torbert layups put East Lansing ahead 43-27 midway through the third quarter before the Zebras (25-4) clawed back with seven straight points to cut the lead to single digits.

Hutson made a layup, Torbert canned two free throws and Thomas cashed in a three-point play to help reset the Trojans. Hutson’s layup with four seconds to play in the quarter pushed the lead to 52-34.

During the final quarter, Hutson found Torbert then Jayce Branson on two alley-oops that brought the sizable East Lansing crowd to its feet. Hutson said the support from the crowd has been consistent and huge.

“Almost all of our games the students, the people who support us, they travel,” he said. “So it was no surprise they were going to pack this arena. They’ve been showing up the whole year, and when it finally mattered in the big championship, they were there.”

Containing Medlock proved to be a group effort as Mitchell called on several players to silence the junior guard who was coming off a 29-point outing in the Semifinals. After scoring 10 in the first quarter, Medlock scored only four the rest of the way and was held to 11 points under his season average.

“We were letting him get to his sweet spots, we were letting him drive,” Mitchell said. “He’s a great player, but we wanted to try to force him to use his weak hand and try to help a little bit sooner, so we made those adjustments.”

The significance of claiming the school’s first championship banner in 67 years was not lost on the Trojan players.

“I think this means a lot to the community,” senior guard Brian Windham said. “We always look at that banner every day at practice, so it’s a lot of motivation. I’ve been looking at it since I was a freshman, I’ve been wanting to be here, so it’s been a lot of motivation and it means a lot to the community.”

Not long after Thomas’ sophomore season ended, Mitchell couldn’t help but look forward to what’s coming.

“He’s definitely one of the best sophomores in the state,” Mitchell said. “He’s a big-time player, so he’s kind of like our secret weapon. Watch out for him next year. It’s his coming-out party.”

Natural Fish Kills May be Common During Spring Thaw

LANSING, Mich. - As ice and snow cover melt on Michigan lakes this spring, you may see dead fish or other aquatic animals. Given the return to a more “normal” Michigan winter this year — with more cold days and near-average snowfall across the state — you may notice more dead fish than you have in the past few years. While such sights can be startling, the Department of Natural Resources reminds everyone that it is normal for winter conditions to cause some mortality of fish and other creatures such as turtles, frogs, toads and crayfish.

“Winterkill is the most common type of fish kill," said Aaron Switzer, DNR Fish Production Program manager. "It can be particularly common in shallow lakes, ponds, streams and canals during seasonal changes. It’s a natural phenomenon, and these kills are localized. They typically do not affect the overall health of fish populations or fishing quality.”

Shallow lakes with a large amount of aquatic vegetation and soft bottoms are more prone to winterkill, particularly when a deep snowpack reduces sunlight for the plants. Canals in urban areas also are quite susceptible, due to the large amounts of nutrient runoff and pollution from roads, lawns and septic systems that flow into these areas, especially after large storm events.

Fish also may be affected by rapid changes in water temperature due to unseasonably warm or rapidly warming temperatures, leading to stress and, sometimes, mortality. Fish can become easily stressed in winter due to low energy reserves because feeding is at a minimum in winter. They are then less able to handle low oxygen and temperature swings. That could be the case this year with the record or near-record cold temperatures and large snowfalls Michigan experienced, and potential rapid warming in the coming months.

Fish and all forms of aquatic life need dissolved oxygen to survive. When ice and snow cover reduce the daylight that reaches the water depths, aquatic plants stop producing oxygen, and many die. Bacteria use the remaining oxygen in the water to decompose the dead plants and other organic materials on the lake bottom. With available oxygen reduced, more aquatic animals die and start to break down, speeding up the rate that oxygen is used for decomposition. This further decreases dissolved oxygen levels in the water, creating a cycle of increased winterkill.

Fish and other aquatic life that die in late winter may not be noticed until well after the ice leaves lakes, as the cold water may temporarily preserve them.

“If you see dead fish as a result of winterkill, the fish may appear fuzzy. This is because of secondary infection by fungus, but the fungus was not the cause of death,” said Switzer. “The fish actually suffocated from a lack of dissolved oxygen from decaying plants and dead aquatic animals under the ice.”