Can't we all get along?

It seems the basketball season has been marred in recent weeks by fights, disturbances and a four-person shooting in Flint, a city already besieged with problems. It makes Rodney King's oft-quoted question ring prophetic, doesn't it?

The Detroit News reported today Detroit Community High Athletic Director Kevin Dargin accepted the resignation of basketball coach Tony Woods after Woods admitted to an altercation with another coach. Ferndale and Seaholm had to can the majority of the fourth quarter on January 9th after a non-student fight in the stands spilled onto the floor of a game already decided. Seaholm was declared the winner of a game they already led 69-46 with 6:45 to play in the fourth quarter. On January 13th, Detroit Cass Tech banned all fans except parents for their rivalry game with Detroit King due to concerns of possible violence that arose in the junior varsity game played earlier in the day.

That's the good news; Now the bad and ugly.Detroit Henry Ford, still suffering through a turf war and already struggling to ease tensions between the displaced students of now-closed Redford and Mackenzie, had a student shot and killed within eyesight of the school this past fall. Henry Ford has a proud football history but suffered the indignity of having to move home football games from Friday afternoons to Saturday mornings this past fall.

Outstate, Godwin Heights and Lee High will have to return to play the final 10 seconds after a fight ruined the potential finish of a game Godwin Heights was leading 71-68 on January 15th. Anthony Turley, 26, of Comstock pled guilty on January 16th to starting the fight that resulted in pepper spray being administered in the gym. The breathing problems from the spray resulted in the game's suspension.

Finally, four fans were shot on January 20th in the parking lot at Flint Beecher High last week after Beecher defeated Flint Hamady 53-50. Police have determined four different handguns were used in the Beecher High shooting. Beecher's school district garnered national headlines when Kayla Rolland, a six-year-old first-grader, was fatally shot in her classroom by a classmate in the winter of 2000 at Buell Elementary School. Buell has since closed.

This is not what school sports are about, that much we all know. Is it the tough economic conditions? Is this the societal structure breaking down in front of our eyes? Or is it simply kids being kids, parents not being parents and leaders being the all-too-silent objectors? Certainly the economic conditions are a factor in some of this but seriously, how much can we blame on the poor job market and endless unemployment lines?

I don't have all the answers but I think it's fair to say a fight here and there is not news. The seemingly recurring story of fights, violence and shootings at Michigan's prep sporting events is getting tiresome to read and makes me wonder how much worse can it get in Michigan before it gets better.

~T.C. Cameron is the author of Metro Detroit's High School Football Rivalries from Arcadia Publishing. Cameron's 2nd title, Metro Detroit's High School Basketball Rivalries, is due August of 2009

Writing a book about high school football was an eye-opening experience on many fronts. It's created a small buzz within the prep football community, and everyone seems to have an opinion. I've tentatively decided to file that under the "all news is good news' category.

Yesterday I was yakking on the phone with Marc Secontine, owner of The Varsity Shop in downtown Birmingham, Michigan. Secontine's father, Vince, was the coach of the Birmingham High School Maples in the 1950s. For those that don't know, Birmingham High became Birmingham Seaholm. Secontine's also related to Birmingham Brother Rice football coach Al Fracassa.

Here's where the story gets good. Fracassa and I bumped into each other while I was walking out and he was waling into Eastern Michigan University's Rynearson Stadium. Naturally I shared the book with Coach Fracassa. His wife saw the copy I handed to Al and bought a copy for Secontine and had Al sign it for Marc. Little did she know that Secontine had purchased 20 copies from Arcadia Publishing directly to sell in his store.

The Varsity Shop has produced a table banner that will be making it's debut soon at a number of signings. It's this kind of enthusiasm for the book that warms my heart and tells me that, no matter the opinion of my book or my ability as a writer (or official for the matter), high school football is an important part of the community spirit in metro Detroit.

Library Event Nets Coach & Stories: This past Wednesday in Royal Oak I was fortunate to host a signing at Royal Oak's Public Library. Among the attendees were former Royal Oak Kimball HS/Royal Oak HS coach Terry Powers. Among his comments from Wednesday:

"We had good kids to pull from in Royal Oak, and I never had to ask my kids at Kimball to hit. That's one of the things about our teams that makes me proud. Win or lose you knew you had played Kimball."

Powers also talked about being hired at Kimball as it relates to the old Kimball-Dondero rivalry and what it was like to follow a legend.

"When I was hired the program was down, but it was made clear to me, 'That's the game you win, that Dondero game', and there was no two ways about it. I remember hearing the story about (Coach) Paul Temerian saying he was going to retire at the end of the 1982 season, but Dondero beat Kimball 35-0 (in the Silverdome). After the game he told Chuck Jones that he would coach another year -- that's a rivalry, making you stay another year so you don't go out like that against a rival."

~T.C. Cameron is the author of Metro Detroit's High School Football Rivalries, available at retailers everywhere.

To the casual fan, yesterday's MHSAA district baseball results from West Bloomfield High School were nothing out of the ordinary. Birmingham Brother Rice marched to yet another district title, dismissing Birmingham Groves 10-0 before a mercy of Southfield Lathrup, 18-3 to advance to next week's regional at Birmingham Seaholm.

Sandwiched between the seemingly one-sided day was a dominant no-hitter and a stunning upset that sent Lathrup to a district final of consequence for the first time in several years. Rice hurler Matt Conway was just one of many thorns in the side of Groves and Lathrup scored a victory over Birmingham Seaholm that would have been as difficult to predict as it was to describe as it happened.

In commenting on his no-no, Conway was equal parts prideful and practical. "It feels great, that's for sure, but it feels great to finally step up and contribute, because this hasn't been my best year," explained the Rice junior. "Focus has been something I've had to correct. We knew Groves had a great team and they had a good pitcher going today so we really prepared for them. I really had my fastball working today. I'm just glad I did my part."

Brother Rice was methodical and mechanical in their surgical dissection of Groves. The Warriors nickeled and dimed the Falcons all game long, taking base after extra base and forcing Groves to make one perfect throw after another. The Falcons did complete an inning-ending double play that saw Jamey Sackett tag out a Warrior at the plate, but that was to be the only highlight for Groves. At day's end, all that spare change turned into $10 worth of runs on the scoreboard, resulting in an unceremonious end to a Groves season that was just one win short of sharing an OAA regular season title.

Taking it all in was a Birmingham icon, basketball coach Bill Norton. After coaching Rice for over 15 years in the 1970s and 80s, Norton left for Michigan State University. He returned to Rice for a cameo stint of five years before moving off Lahser Road for a nine-year run on 13 Mile Road at Groves. "Today I find myself talking about Groves but saying the word Rice and vice-versa, because I have a history at both schools," Norton said with a laugh.

"You know, baseball is the one game where all your players have to be clicking or this type of game can happen," Norton observed. "We (Groves) had a good team this year but we ran into a pitcher like Conway and Rice made no mistakes. They kept the pressure on us all day to make good plays and this is what happened.

Norton continued that his basketballers suffered a similar fate in this past season's district game with Orchard Lake St. Mary's that the baseball Falcons suffered with Rice yesterday.

"We were down 40-30 during about 10 consecutive possessions for each team in that game, and we got the looks and the shots for the players we wanted, but the triples that fell in the district opener with Walled Lake Northern didn't go down," Norton recalled. "By the time Orchard Lake started to respond with a run, our chance was gone. Our guys really wanted it but we weren't ready to pull off that upset.

"The other thing is, if you have two evenly-matched teams, you usually don't get a 80-40 game in basketball," Norton said. "You get three really good players, you can have an outstanding season. Boston won 24 games last year. They added three studs. They're in the finals this year. In baseball, just a pitching matchup alone could create a situation you can't recover from. Add a few mistakes and even though you have two good teams like Groves and Rice, you get a mercy."

The game of the day was the second semifinal. 20 years ago Seaholm's 'Maple Miracles' won the Class A state championship, but Seaholm was on the other end of glory yesterday. While it wouldn't have surprised anyone to watch Lathrup advance to a district final 20 years ago, today Lathrup is rebuilding under coach Darren Mosley and the Chargers haven't had a significant district win in recent memory...until yesterday. After surviving a first frame scare, Lathrup took a commanding 5-1 lead only to see the Maples take a 7-5 lead with three innings to play. Deadlocked at 10 in their final at-bat, Lathrup pushed across the needed run to hand Mosley the win his program has looked for to cement the idea that baseball can again be a winner at the tony Southfield high school.

"There were so many games this year that we should of won, but we'd squander the game away defensively," Mosley explained. "North Farmington is a game that comes to mind immediately, the classic example of our guys having no trouble putting the bat on the ball or throwing strikes, but we kicked the ball all over the place and lost a game we should have won.

"That's what makes today's win in an elimination game important," Mosley beamed, even after Rice disposed of his Chargers in the final by scoring 14 runs before an out had been recorded in the first inning. "A lot of black kids just don't play baseball, and when they play with no success, it makes them want to quit even more, so this win is important. We now have a win to point to and say, 'If you give us the preparation and attention to fundamentals, we could put this program back on the map in a hurry'.

Lathrup has had more than a handful of successful teams in football, basketball and track and field in the same manner their baseball team used to win on an annual basis, and Mosley is convinced it can be done again.

"We have good athletes in our school, and if our guys are willing to build on this, we can turn them into a skilled team that could win a lot of baseball games."

~T.C. Cameron is the author of Metro Detroit's High School Football Rivalries, due August 25th, 2008 from Arcadia Publishing

Between the rusted fences, crooked baselines and lumpy outfields lies a game, unfettered by negotiations, eight-figure egos and contracts to define every person's shuffle and step. It won't be seen by millions but rather, a handful or friends and neighbors. There's no fireworks or heart-throbbing music before an at-bat. No gimmicks, trivia questions or foul balls to keep. There's no advance ticket booth and the only season-ticket holders are usually the local volunteer, a man who gets senior discounts and watches every game from his folding chair.

That's the difference between prep baseball and professional baseball. Prep baseball is still baseball. Major League Baseball is The Show.

Pictured to the left is longtime Birmingham Seaholm baseball coach Don Sackett, coaching his last game against his school's longtime rival, Frank Clouser and the Royal Oak Kimball Knights, on May 11, 1990 at what is now Royal Oak High. Sackett's 'Miracle Maples' won the 1988 Class A state title when his Seaholm team won the regional final, quarterfinal semifinal and championship game in their last at-bat. Clouser's Kimball teams went to the title game in '71, '72, '73 and '80 and captured the 1972 title. There's no media relations or sports information department in high school sports. It's hand-written notes and facts committed to memory.

Major League Baseball is a heavy metal band's six-month gold album tour compared to prep baseball, and Opening Day commands our attention in Detroit like a Black Monday automotive press conference. Everyone knows about it, many will be there to witness it first hand and nearly everyone has an opinion about it, too. That's metro Detroit. We love our sports and the Tigers will always own this town in that regard. It's the one game we've all played at some point in our lives. Prep baseball, by comparison, is hundreds of scores and names jammed into agate type in your local paper.

It was amusing to watch and listen to the fans, many sporting a double-fisted 16-oz opinion, talk baseball yesterday in Comerica Park. The game is the same at either venue but the presentation at the major league level distorts the reality of what wins and loses a game. Most fans walked out of Comerica Park yesterday describing a gas can with arms and legs, that being the Tiger bullpen. The Tigers dropped yesterday's opener because they stranded about a dozen runners on the bases yesterday in what should have been an 8-3 Tiger win instead of a 5-4 extra innings loss. Today we're talking about the failure of the Tiger bullpen. The high school coach will talk about all the runners his boys stranded on the island.

That's the difference of prep baseball. It's a game worthy of following or attending. Why do prep players hustle every single ball out when it looks like major leaguers are on cruise control? Because anything can happen in a prep game; a good major leaguer errs about once a month. A prep player gets 20-30 games to prove himself; a major leaguer will play another sold-out concert tomorrow, and the night after that, and the night after that. A prep player doesn't make millions and still has algebra homework to finish after the game.

We don't apply the scrutiny to our kids that we do to million-dollar adults. Prep baseball is what we can improve on; pro baseball is about what didn't get done more than what did. There's going to be 161 more chances at glory for the Tigers. Losing the one game you'll play for first place all season makes high school special in it's own way, too.

If you love baseball as much as you love the Tigers, you'll get to high school game this spring. It's still baseball the way Abner Doubleday saw it. It's gritty, emotional, raw and pure. It's a history teacher who has prepped for 25 dates for the 10 months since last season ended. It's a neighbor or nephew who gets dirty at the first chance he gets. It's a fight to the finish, a handshake at the end and a hug from a girlfriend after it's all over.

That's a real baseball game, and it doesn't need a 40,000-seat stadium to be important.

(Photo courtesy The Daily Tribune, Royal Oak, Michigan/Craig Gaffield)