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The Year in Sports By Tom Baird
HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS AND LOCAL SPORTS TEAMS
On the local front in 2009 it was rather quiet on the MHSAA sports scene. There were no local High School State Champions in the major sports. In girls softball the only local team that finished with a MHSAA State runner-up was the Reese Rockets in Class C who enjoyed their best season ever in school history.
Where the real stories of the 2009 season resided were with the Local Sports teams in the Tri-City area - two enjoying success and making the playoffs for the first time in both of the short histories. The Saginaw Spirit of the Ontario Hockey League enjoyed success in 2009 with a good season and making the goal of reaching the OHL Playoffs. With outstanding play from future NHL players T.J. Brodie, Nick Crawford and Edward Pasquale the Spirit drew good crowds to the Dow Event Center during the winter months and early into the spring of 2009. They blew past the Guelph Strom in the first round with a 4-0 sweep. They faced the tough London Knights who swept them 4-0. This provided some valuable experience for the upcoming OHL players looking to make it in the NHL. For the first time in the 7 year history of the team Dick Garber and Craig Goslin had some exciting times down at the Dow Event Center in downtown Saginaw with the OHL playoffs.
Where does one begin to describe the 2009 season for the Great Lakes Loons who had the best season in their short 3-year history? One of the goals of Team President Paul Barbeau and manager Juan Bustabad was for the Loons and Dodgers organization to put a competitive team on the field. The mission was accomplished in 2009 with the team posting its best record ever at 81-59. With a cold start to the season, once the weather started to warm up so did the team. They finished tied with the West Michigan Whitecaps for the best record in the Eastern Division of the Midwest League. The Whitecaps would be the Loons first round opponents in the playoffs. The 2009 season will be one for the fans to remember for several different reasons. The Loons produced co-MVP’s for the Midwest League in Dee Gordon and Kyle Russell both who had outstanding years. On the pitching end Jon Michael Redding had a great season finishing with a 16-3 record. The Loons finished 46-24 at the Dow Diamond in 2009 and once again Dow Diamond was named the field of the year in the Midwest League. One of the highlights during the season was the yearlong promotion of the Detroit Tigers celebration of the 1984 World Series Championship. Several Tigers attended promotions through out the summer. Also the Loons had several visits from some Dodger greats during 2009, including a few visits from Tommy Lasorda and Maury Wills. With all of the promotions that the Great Lakes Loons offer during the season it made for one of the best bargains for the entertainment dollar. The highlight of the season was the Loons making the Midwest League playoffs for the first time in team history. Loon’s broadcaster Brad Golder had to be one of the most excited persons in Michigan when the Loons clinched making the playoffs. The Loons won the first round of the playoffs 2-1 over the Whitecaps and now would advance to round two against the Fort Wayne Tin Caps. The Loons would only play one home game in each round because the opposing team had the better in season record. However the Loons did draw a good crowd of supporters at the road games. In the second round, the team dropped deciding Game Three to the Tincaps in a heartbreaker extra inning game. They could have advanced to the Midwest League Championship win a victory. Now they have the taste of the playoffs which I feel will make them hungrier for the next season. All in all it turned out to be a very successful season for both the Saginaw Spirit and the Great Lakes Loons in 2009, which promises only to make it more exciting for the 2010 season – with both teams striving to reach the playoffs and make it into the Championships of their respective leagues.
COLLEGES TEAMS IN MICHIGAN
When looking back at College football season here in the State of Michigan there was some success and some failure with the teams of local interest. Saginaw Valley State University finished with a 9-3 record. The Cardinals qualified for the NCAA Division II playoffs for the first time since 2005. Head Coach Jim Collins has the team pointed in the right direction, finishing runner-up in the GLIAC conference. They lost a heartbreaker to Kearney University in the first round. The Cardinals were led by All-American John Jacobs on defense and QB Charles Dowdell and TE Galen Stone directed the high-powered offense in 2009. Things only look bright at Harvey Randell Wickes Stadium in the future. Central Michigan University enjoyed the best season in 2009 with an 11-2 record (at press time) winning the Mid-American Conference with an 8-0 record. Record setting QB Dan LaFevour re-wrote the Chippewa record book this season and setting many NCAA marks along the way. The Chips are preparing to play in the GMAC Bowl on January 6, 2010 against Troy University. Dan LaFevour will receive some Heisman Trophy votes along the way. WR’s Bryan Anderson and Antonio Brown both received All-Mac Conference honors this season. Head Coach Butch Jones is already being mentioned for some head coach vacancies that will occur after the season. CMU will be hard pressed to keep the highly touted Coach in Mount Pleasant. Down the road in Ann Arbor and East Lansing the two big universities struggled through the 2009 season after having high expectations. The University of Michigan under second year Head Coach Rich Rodriguez struggled to finish 5-7 record in 2009. The only real highlight of the year was the come from behind victory over Notre Dame. Then there’s the usual end of season loss to archrival Ohio State 21-10 which didn’t help Rodriguez gain anymore job security. Over in East Lansing, Michigan State University struggled all season long under Coach Mark Dantonio. The Spartans who finished 6-6 and did secure a NCAA Bowl bid had an up and down season. The highlight of the season was the Overtime victory over Michigan after blowing a two-touchdown lead. The last game of the season saw a thrashing at the hands of Penn State. The Spartans however did have a few bright spots with the play of local products. WR Blair White (Saginaw Nouvel Catholic Central and DB Trenton Robinson (Bay City Central) had good seasons for the Green and White. Now as the Spartans are preparing the Alamo Bowl Game vs. Texas Tech University they have been hit with some off the field suspensions. Two starters were kicked off the team and another 8 players were suspended from playing in the Bowl game. I give credit to Head Coach Dantonio for sticking by his guns and saying that playing for MSU is a privilege. The story of the College year also came from East Lansing and the Michigan State Spartans in the run to the National Championship in NCAA Basketball. The Finals were played at Ford Field in Detroit, giving the Spartans added incentive to make the Final Four and then the Championship Game. The Spartans along the way were upsetting team after team to reach the National Championship game against North Carolina. It was ironic that the two teams faced each other almost four months earlier at Ford Field in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The Spartans received some great play from several different stars through their run. One of those included Saginaw High’s Draymond Green who continued to play more as the season went along. He made significant contributions to the Spartans finishing runner-up in the 2009 NCAA tournament. The Spartans lost to North Carolina 89-72 in the title game, which has only provided inspiration for the Spartans at the start of the 2009-2010 season so far. They started as the number 2 ranked team in the nation. Coach Tom Izzo’s goal is for the team to play together and be playing their best basketball come the middle of March 2010 in making another run for the National Championship. |
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As
expected Saginaw Nouvel Catholic Central’s Jenny Ryan was
the 2009 MHSAA Miss Basketball and now has taken her talents to the
University of Michigan. She has already seen considerable playing time
for the Wolverines in the beginning of the 2009-2010 season as a true
freshman. 
The
2009-2010 season has already started with a bang and some very good play
through the first 32 games of the season. The OHL draws talent from the
best 16 -20 years from all over the world. One of the top players this
season is Center Ivan Telegin from Novokuznetsk, Russia who just
turned 17. Two of the top talents for the Spirit were traded away in
November to the Barrie Colts. T.J. Brodie and Nick Crawford
who have been the face of the Spirit were dealt for new prospects.
However the Spirit and some great marketing are drawing good crowds to
the Dow during some tough economic times here in the Saginaw Valley.