A follow-up story on Thursday's tragedy at Fennville High School, after their star player, Wes Leonard, collapsed and died on the court after scoring the game winning basket:
Michigan team to play days after star dies on court [Yahoo! Sports]
UPDATE 3/8/11: Fennville High beats Lawrence 65-54, advances to next round. [Yahoo! Sports]
UPDATE 3/10/11: Fennville beats Bangor, 79-50, advances to district final against Covert.
According to the Associated Press and Detroit News, the Fennville team practiced on Saturday and officials from the school and team met with the Leonard family before deciding to play Monday's game. Additionally, with the cooperation of Lawrence (Mich.) High -- Fennville's playoff opponent -- the teams will play at Hope College's basketball arena, capacity 3,300, to allow more fans to attend the game.
While Hope College will technically be a neutral venue, it lies in Holland, Mich., which is the closest large town to Fennville. Yet despite the fact that Lawrence held a home court advantage, it will now travel more than an hour to the site of the game, whereas Fennville will have to drive less than 30 minutes to the postseason opener. The Tigers willfully handed over their home court advantage to help make it easier for Fennville to play ... and to allow more of the school's grieving fans to be there when the team takes the court for the first time without Leonard.Hats off to Lawrence High School for a very classy move. As far as Fennville High, the basketball team deserves praise for showing courage in representing their fallen teammate.
Michigan team to play days after star dies on court [Yahoo! Sports]
UPDATE 3/8/11: Fennville High beats Lawrence 65-54, advances to next round. [Yahoo! Sports]
UPDATE 3/10/11: Fennville beats Bangor, 79-50, advances to district final against Covert.
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports) and like Holdout Sports on Facebook.
