Speaking
of Sports 

by
Bernie Fratto

 
March Madness in Michigan- A Heartfelt Experience

March 13, 2011

On March 4, 1990 during a WCC tournament game between Loyola- Marymount University and Portland State, LMU's star forward Hank Gathers collapsed on the floor with 13:34 to go in the first half... and died.

I was there.

Just thinking of it 20-years later gives me chest pains. In a later game during that year's NCAA tournament, his teammate and close friend Bo Kimble, closed his eyes and shot a free throw left-handed to honor his fallen brother. The shot of course, hit nothing but net.

When I heard about Fennville's fallen son Wes Leonard last week, memories of the Hank Gathers tragedy stirred in my mind. I subsequently learned that Bo Kimble made a special trip to Michigan to address the school about their beloved student-athlete, and then the best possible therapy took place;

Fennville took the floor and won a first round District Playoff game by 2 points over Lawrence.

While nothing will ever replace the loss of Wes Leonard, his legacy suggests that while on earth for his short-time, he touched lives that will benefit from his camaraderie for the rest of their days.

An overflow crowd of 3,500 packed the DeVos Fieldhouse at Hope College and on Wednesday, Fennville teed it up again, against Bangor. Led by Xavier Grigg's 25 points, Fennville crushed 79-50 and earned a trip to the District Final Friday night against Covert.

By the way, Grigg was Wes Leonard's backup all season. Coincidence?

On Friday night, sure enough, Covert jumped out to a 10-point lead. Would the magic end for Fennville?

Nope.

Fennville rallied for a 51-48 victory. Just three days after Wes Leonard was laid to rest, they were Class C District Champions!

And March Madness isn't confined to Fennville, nor is it limited to basketball. On Saturday, the Novi Wildcat Hockey Team defeated Orchard Lake St. Mary's 4-0 to capture the MHSAA Division I State Championship! Just two months ago, I commented on how proud I was of this prestigious program, and once again, they came through big time!

Meanwhile, I'm excited to be in Michigan for a visit this week for a lot of reasons, and I'll tell you why; This area, and particularly Novi, has a special place in my heart. There's a very good reason why this unique area enjoys so much success.

Somebody once said, "No one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care."

Michiganders... Care.

Just look at the results.

Spring Forward!

(c) 2011 Novi Information Network
www.novi.org

This column is shared by Alex Prasad, Lance J. Lilla and Bernie Fratto on alternating weeks.