Top 10 Best and Worst Football Jersey Combinations.

Written Thursday July 28th at 8:00 PM
Updated Saturday September 24th at 8:15 PM

Here are my top ten best and top five worst football uniform combinations of the OAA and my reasons why they are good and why they need work. So with all apologies, don't feel offended.

Best.

1. Oak Park (Road Uniform)- This maybe the best combination to wear on a Friday night or a Saturday afternoon. The Knights have this look great with possibly the exception of the red pants, if they go to white pants then it looks great. The red stripes down the uniform with red elbows and the numbers on the shoulders. The helmets look great as well with the black on the bottom and white on the top, man now that is an awesome look to wear.

2. Orion (Uniform Combination)- The all green look of the Dragons on a Friday night is classic despite a few changes with the green V-Neck with the LO put on it. The green pants with the white lines are what Orion football stands for, not the pants the team was given last season but the green pants with white lines returned for the Farmington game last season, in which the Dragons won. If you see the classic green jersey-green pants look on Friday night, you know it's Orion. The road white jersey and white pants with green lines look also looks sharp but they need to add a green V-neck on them.

3. Harrison (Uniform Combination)- The Hawks classic looks awesome especially at home with the green jersey with yellow piping on the shoulders with the yellow pants and helmet. It looks good when they go on the road as well with both the green and yellow piping on the shoulders with the same pants and helmet. You know it’s Harrison when you are playing them. They look very traditional and very sharp.

4. Adams (Alt Uniform)- The gray uniform tells a story about the Highlanders past and present. The look also goes well with the yellow helmet. That look was perfectly done, these should be the permanent home uniforms and not the present brown look where that just doesn’t look right.

5. Farmington (Uniform Combination)- The Falcons classic Penn State look from the Joe Paterno era looks awesome on the field even though Russell makes the jerseys while Nike makes the current Penn State look. The helmet scares me a ton with the bird feathers on them. The Penn State look is how a jersey should look like.

6. Pontiac (Home Uniform)- The Phoenix purple look looks awesome at Wisner Stadium with the gray helmets. I hear they are now wearing black pants with the purple jerseys which is also great. I only wish they can put name plates on them, they look great no matter the pants.

7. Groves (Home Uniform)- Any time you put the green and black combination of the Falcons it looks awesome especially at night. This is a great look, love the green and black look.

8. Stoney Creek (Uniform Combinations)- Finally the Cougars are going with the last names on the back, hooray thank you Bob Lantzy. I'm a little disturbed with the gold helmet, white jersey, and blue pants look on the road. Now if only they can bring back the white pants to just road games then we got something here.

9. Bloomfield Hills (Home Uniform)- The Blackhawks new purple uniform looks sharp with the black helmet. Only concern is the elbows, I believe that white doesn't make any sense on the elbows now if it were black, it would had been better off. The white pants at home doesn't make sense, it either has to be black or purple at home not white.

10. Royal Oak (Home Uniform)- Despite the helmet, the all black look looks good with the Ravens. I like the big font with the RAVENS name on the front with the white numbers with black pants. Wish they put name plates on the back.

Worst.

1. North Farmington (Home Uniform)- The Raiders home look just doesn’t look good, it's a disaster waiting to happen. White helmet with white pants and brown uniform, not to mention the trim of gold on the uniform. This home look reminds me of the Orion Alternate uniform from 2006-2012, which made a lot more sense on the Dragons than the Raiders. The all white look is much better for North Farmington on the road. If I'm the Raiders please get rid of the helmet, paint it or something, and get brown or yellow pants to go with the brown jerseys please.

2. Troy Athens (Uniform Combinations)- The Red Hawks finally nailed the color look especially after the last eight seasons and there are rumors that there could be more changes on the horizon??? Oh No. Troy Athens in 2015 went with the gray helmet and gray pants look with the red jersey and the same look with the white jersey but don’t we all remember there was a time that Troy Athens went with the white helmet with white jersey and either red or gray pants and just imagine that with the white helmet, red jersey, and gray pants, YIKES. Thank god last season the Red Hawks finally figured out their color scheme, just don’t change it again.

3. Adams (Home Uniform)- Brown jersey and yellow pants. That pretty much spells fashion disaster.

4. Adams (Road Uniform)-  A lot of teams go with the all white look on the road but this all white look is not the greatest of looks. The Highlanders white pants are well known to have a yellow stripe on the sides which they do but I don't like the Highlanders name on them. The uniform though isn't good especially with the Adams Highlanders clothes look on the elbows and the Adams logo in the back of the jersey. Big time disaster here.

5. Berkley (Road Uniform)- The Bears got new road jerseys for 2016 and looking at them, it could be trouble. The new white jersey has white numbers with a dark blue outline is scary because it's too white in my opinion, thankfully the dark blue helmet saves the day. This look has disaster written all over it.

6. Rochester (Helmet)- The Falcons released a new helmet for 2016, which is white with the R decked in Blue. Please don't go all Oregon with the helmet nor make it white to go along with the gray or black pants, it makes no sense. This has disaster written all over it.

7. Troy (Jersey Combination)- The Colts changed their home uniforms this season. It's a huge shock to the look they normally have. The home black jersey says Troy on it and has the players last names on the back but why are the elbows white??? You don't need the white elbows and why is the TC logo on the shoulders??? it doesn't add up. I don't like the captain C's on the jerseys, now it looked good with Lathrup but not on the Colts. Troy's road jersey has its main crest on the elbows which is a big no-no for me also the captain C's have to go and what bothers me is they have no names on the back of the uniform. I like the big numbers on the shoulders along with the black pants. Just put names on the back of the white jersey and take off the crest and you have a good look.

8. Ferndale (Home Uniform)- The yellow helmet with the white stripe and name Ferndale just didn’t make sense, thank goodness they got rid of that look but the current home brown jersey with white elbows and a yellow stripe just doesn’t add up neither does the jersey font on them. If I’m coach Eric Royal please go with your all yellow look, it looks so much better than your current brown jerseys.

9. Royal Oak (Alt Uniform)- The Ravens all black look looks good, their all white look also looks good but their alternate uniforms don't look good. The blue jersey and white pants look doesn't look good with the black helmet. It's not a good combination to say the least.

T-10. Southfield Arts and Tech (Uniform Combination)- The Warriors released their new uniform design with them being white, blue, and red along with red, white, or blue game pants. I like the jersey name and font on them as well. I don't like that big Adidas logo sticking out proud on the top center crest of the jersey above the WARRIORS name but other than that the jersey is sharp but not that big Adidas logo on it.

T-10. West Bloomfield (Home Uniform)- When the Lakers got rid of the green helmets and went to white helmet with the green jersey that had the small font size numbers of the Lakers look. Yep that pretty much sealed it for me.

T-10. Clarkston (Home Uniform)- The Wolves changed back from yellow to blue when they went with Under-Armor. There are concerns with the uniform, the font is questionable, it looks very funky. I don't like the white outlining in the jersey or the white in general, even though technically white is the Wolves third color and the name CLARKSTON is too small or should had been taken away from the design of the uniform. I wished they stayed with Nike for the home look. They still use the Nike all white look on the road but I wished that coach Kurt Richardson would bring back the Yellow pants look back when I played.

T-10. Stoney Creek (Helmet)- The jersey looks good with the lettering in the back for the Cougars but the SC on one side and numbers on the other side of the helmet. Not a good combination to go too. The Cougars logo on the helmet would had made a better choice here.

T-10. Oxford (Road Uniform)- The Wildcats road look is too plain with just the plain blue numbers with the yellow trim and yellow pants. They ditched the all white look after losing to Orion in 2012. It’s really a poor man’s Michigan when looking at them. Just not a great combination to go too. Oxford did go to Under Armor for 2016. It will be interesting how they will look in those uniforms. 

Cutting Football Players is NOT the way to go, no matter the numbers.

Written Sunday July 17th at 10:05 AM

Well as I was reading the In Play blog by Tom Markowski, I was disturbed by what the new Southfield Arts and Technology football team was doing.

Cutting players.

What, why??? I thought you can keep everyone for the football program???

Guess Not.

122 players tried out for the team but only 70 kids made the cut before the Warriors first game at Wayne State against Detroit Martin Luther King on August 27th.

Now coach Tim Conley has never been in this position before when Southfield and Southfield-Lathrup combined schools to become Southfield Arts and Technology. They will start their season this upcoming fall.

Conley will have ten starters on offense and defense returning. Most of the returnees whom are back are which he coached at Southfield last season. Also there were a handful of players whom played at Lathrup decided to stay on the team while others transferred either to West Bloomfield or Groves.

Thoughts.

Cutting players especially in football is terrible especially those who have a disability and have a passion for the game. I don't think Conley will do this again but when two schools merge then you got to do something but I don't think cutting them is right.

There are powerhouse schools like Clarkston and Orion that have 85-90 kids on their team and they didn't cut players.

They may not be the best players but if they feel just to be a part of the team then there are no problems at all. It also keeps students out of trouble.

Well for the students whom didn't make the cut there are other sports out there like soccer, cross country, and tennis. Southfield should field a good soccer team this season while the Warriors cross country, and their tennis program will be up and coming.

We'll see what happens.

MHSAA-MHSBCA Showcase held. Thoughts and Why EACH OAA school should be represented and not a selective few.

Written Thursday June 14th at 4:45 PM

Well there are plenty of showcases to show your skills and talents to local scouts and colleges but there are some of the things that I don't agree when people express showcases and talents.

On Thursday there was a showcase at Milford High School called the MHSAA-MHSBCA Showcase, which is at it's eighth season holding this event. The Boys Basketball players had theirs on Thursday while the Girls Basketball players are expected to have theirs next week.

Several OAA Players went to this camp, some of which are expected to be top players heading into this upcoming winter. They were Jason Dietz (Troy), Hunter Schattler (Rochester), Jordan Graham (Farmington), CJ Robinson (Clarkston), Tristan Mysen (Clarkston), Mike Flowers (Southfield), Kiewaun Graham (Bloomfield Hills), Drew Sheckell (Groves), and Jalen Kelso (Pontiac???)

These players witnessed the experience and showed their skills to colleges and recruiters. They had the opportunity to be mentored, had some drills, scrimmages, and had speakers speak to them about the life of the game.

Thoughts:

Yes this is an opportunity players to show their skills and talents they have learned as well as get a chance to hear from some of the best coaches that have played in the game but I don't like how the invitation process was given. More than 200 players were invited to this gathering and the OAA was well represented but I really want is this showcase to be expanded and have a player represented by EACH OAA school and not by a certain one.

Each OAA team should send one representative to this Showcase, it is only fair to each school to get them recognized out there. Now I'm not being mean to those who were there, these guys were deserving to be there but there are some others whom I felt should had been there and given an equal chance.

I would think this would be a competitive balance if each OAA school was represented no matter how good the player is, this to me is a selective thing and this is an unfair competitive balance. It will open up the process even more if a certain player from each OAA school is invited to this camp and also maybe the rest of the State as well.

Way too early Basketball Rankings.

Written Wednesday June 13th at 6:00 PM
Updated Monday September 26th at 6:50 AM

This is the 2016-2017 way too early top ten teams for both Girls and Boys Basketball.

Boys Basketball.

1. Clarkston- The Wolves have destroyed the summer league and have Foster Loyer, Dylan Alderson, Chase Wasilk, Tristan Mysen, and CJ Robinson all back Clarkston also added Taylor Currie whom came over from Ohio and is going to give them another option in the front-court. Watch out for Matt Nicholson, he could make an impact for coach Dan Fife this season.

2. Bloomfield Hills- The Blackhawks are going to be talented and deep in Mike Maryanski's second season led by Kiewuan Graham, Josh Jones, and Ray Dillworth. Bloomfield Hills will be very deep and they could make an impact in the Red this season.

3. West Bloomfield- The Lakers under Jeremy Dehna will be very talented led by Gervon Winn and Kevin McAdoo. West Bloomfield will be very deep and talented. Keep an eye on the Lakers this season.

4. Hazel Park- The Vikings return a ton of experience led by Carl Bow, Cameron Boatmen, Cesare Brooks, Devin Pettus, and Dan Hearns. Hazel Park must address the depth and if they do then look out.

5. Southfield Arts and Tech- The new Warriors will have Michael Flowers and Kevin Tolbert back but coach Mike Avery must address their interior if they want to go places this season.

6. Troy- The Colts are an interesting team to keep an eye on as coach Gary Fralik's team will be led by Jason Dietz, Kristian Layfette, and Isiah Smith this season. Troy will be a team that will make an impact in districts and in the league.

7. Groves- The Falcons will be a Senior heavy team this season led by Marcus Pittman and Drew Sheckell. Coach Mark West will be solid and they had a solid Junior Varsity team last season. This will be interesting to keep an eye on this season.

8. North Farmington- The Raiders fresh off a State Championship appearance returns Armai Hardy but the rest of coach Todd Negoshian's team will be very young.

9. Avondale- The Yellow Jackets will be interesting to keep an eye on this season as they are well coached by Tim Morton and led by Dominic Kejbou, Vyshorn Munson, Ty Munson, and Martone Cole. Avondale looks to get back to where they are at after a tough season last season.

T-10. Rochester- The Falcons return a ton of talent led by Hunter Schlattner, LaMarco Gulridge, and Ivan Barazza Duran. The schedule is manageable for coach John Pleasent's team and they have depth in the system which always helps.

T-10 Orion- The Dragons have a tough December schedule early but they do have only two starters back in Steven Zmijeweski and Jamie Lewis. The frontcourt and depth remain a question for coach Jim Manzo's team this season but they should be bigger than they were last season.
 

Girls Basketball.

1. Southfield Arts and Tech- The recent hire of coach Michelle Marshall puts the Warriors to be the top team in the league. Southfield Arts and Tech has Alexis Johnson, D'Layna Holloman, Tyler Washington, and Rizarra Franklin all back and that's not naming Deja Church whom could be a Miss Basketball candidate this season but the chemistry is a major question.

2. Stoney Creek- Probably the most complete team in the league is the Cougars and most likely the greatest challenger to Southfield Arts and Tech from a depth standpoint. Stoney Creek coach Kellen James has a deep team led by Emily Echout, Emily Solek, Gina Cerney, and Ally Voss. The Cougars have a brutal non conference schedule but it should get them ready for the league and district play.

3. Orion- The Dragons are in a nice spot heading into the season even though they will have a new but a familiar coach in Kevin Kopec. Orion will have Maddie Novak, Tessa Nuss, Sophie Wyborski, and Delaney Bryce all back and that's not mentioning there are some rising starts coming up that could make some noise. This could very well be a dangerous team this season.

4. Clarkston- The Wolves may have the best interior in the league with Molly Nicholson and Kayla Luchenbach but the question will be the guards for coach Christine Rogers. Clarkston though has Maddie Beck and Kristen Paige but they must address some things heading into the season.

5. North Farmington- The Raiders moved up to the Red from the White and will have Kelsey Lusk, Samantha Cherney, and Kierra Crockett all back. North Farmington coach Jeff Simpson knows that they must improve their guard play if they want to contend in the division this season.

6. Bloomfield Hills- This may be coach Jeff Rubin's best shot at winning a division and district crown this season because of their Senior experience. The Blackhawks return Amanda Sape, Victorie Franklin, Katherine Prinna, Becca Hancock, and Maryam Hashim. Expect Myah Jones to come back and make her impact on this team. They will have a tough non conference schedule as well which will help them this season.

7. Royal Oak- The Ravens are very sound defensively but they do have to replace Gianna Valente's leadership after she graduated. Coach Brian Sopota will have some talent returning in Samantha Potter, June Donnellon, MiKea Williams, and Claire Kochinski. The schedule is balanced which should get them ready for the season.

8. Oxford- The Wildcats have a new coach in Rachel Bryer. She will have a strong Freshman class coming up and return a ton of talent led by Ashley Herschmann, Monae Evans, Madeline Morris, Jordyn Zyniger, and Grace Cleland. You can't coach experience but they must find scoring after Abigail Butkewitcz graduated a season ago.

9. Seaholm- The Maples will be a senior heavy team led by Makenzie Harbort, Dana Hoerman, and Caroline Owens. The non conference schedule hasn't been the best in recent years for coach January Hlauski's team but the schedule was toughed up this season and this will only help Seaholm in the long hall.

10. Groves- The Falcons are the favorite in the Gold and will have a ton of talent back for coach Amos Thompson. Groves will have Shea Carter, Lexi Carter, June Jung, and Morgan Morrison all back from a team that shared the Gold with Berkley and Troy Athens last season. They could be a heavy favorite to win the division outright.

Questions and Concerns with Marshall, Southfield School Board, Southfield Arts and Tech.

Written Sunday June 10th at 7:30 PM
Updated Friday July 29th at 1:00 AM to include the WDIV news story.

Every School District is different on how they run things.

But when you were given a job and then it was taken away from you then there is some trouble.

The process the Southfield School Board took was just wrong after then coach Jamie Glinz was given the Girls Basketball job at Southfield Arts and Technology High School after Memorial Day only to see the job reapplied in the process and was given to former Lathrup coach Michelle Marshall.

There are questions that need be answered and explained from the Southfield School Board.

Whom decided to reopen the interview process???

Does the Athletic Director decide who to hire and fire???

Was this a set up all along???

Well according to WDIV news anchor Kevin Dietz it was the Lathrup parents whom wanted Marshall to coach the team and lobbied the Southfield School Board to hire her as head coach. The Lathrup parents went to Facebook to say their displeasure of the decision to hire Glinz to coach the team. They claimed that Marshall would be a good female role model and is a proven successful Girls Basketball Coach.

That she has.

Marshall’s record at Lathrup is without question one of the best in the State with a 255-90 record as Chargers coach along with one State Championship in 2005. She has been coach at Lathrup since 1994. Glinz took over at Southfield in 2000 posting an 87-82 record and won the Blue the last two seasons with a combined 40-4 record.

People are going to ask why Glinz was given the job in the first place when the Southfield School Board didn’t approve the hire.

Also according to Dietz the Southfield School Board must sign off on the hire before the beginning of the school year.

The decision to switch coaches angered Southfield parents as they said the decision shouldn't be decided based on gender.

Marshall’s hire does have some major concerns, when she was at Lathrup, Marshall did not have a freshman team. With the increase in enrollment, it is expected that Southfield have a freshman squad this upcoming winter. Under Glinz when he was at Southfield, the Blue Jays had a freshman team.

Southfield will be one of the favorites this upcoming season in the Red and will have the likes of Deja Church returning. Church played at Lathrup last season and a possible Miss Michigan Basketball Candidate this season.

The challenge for Marshall will be is keeping the former Blue Jays whom loved Glinz involved in the program, does it involve bringing Glinz back at some capacity??? The Warriors will have Alexis Johnson, D’Layna Holloman, Tyler Washington, and Rizara Franklin returning. All of them played at Southfield. Also another concern is the former Blue Jays players have not experienced the success of the former Chargers and have deep playoff run.

Marshall is an AAU type of coach. She loves to play an AAU schedule and schedules late. Marshall likes to play out of state teams when given the chance too. She feels that it will prepare them for state tournaments. Most AAU style coaches like to play tournaments.

Marshall has had a history of bringing in players from other schools, most notably those who played on her AAU team. Probably her best transfer was Antoinette Miller when she came from Ferndale to Lathrup her sophomore year in 2014. Miller played on Marshall’s AAU team. She would play three seasons at Lathrup and now is at the University of Cincinnati playing Women’s College Basketball.

Marshall will love to get back at Detroit Martin Luther King after losing to the Crusaders in the Regional Final last season with Lathrup but I don’t know if she will have the horses to beat Detroit Martin Luther King this season.

We’ll see what happens going forward heading into the Winter months.

I have posted a link to the Kevin Dietz story here on the blog.

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/two-southfield-coaches-fight-for-lead-at-high-school-causing-major-controversy

Marshall named Warriors Coach over Glinz.

Written Friday July 8th at 5:45 PM

Well it looks like the Southfield Girls Basketball job won't belong to Jamie Glinz after all.

After a controversial process the Warriors went with former Lathrup coach Michelle Marshall over Glinz. Marshall was introduced as the team's new coach last Wednesday night.

In a statement, Southfield Public Schools Public Relations Manager Jacquine Robinson sent out this statement to MIPrepZone writer Scott Bernstein. "Southfield Public Schools has an abundance of coaching talent and recognizes that both coach Michelle Marshall and Jamie Glinz are highly skilled individuals. After careful analysts of the qualifications of both candidates, the expanded review committee, comprised of all secondary and middle schools determined that coach Michelle Marshall was best suited to hold the position of girls basketball coach for Southfield High School for Arts and Technology"

Glinz was given the job after Memorial Day and was taking the team to summer camps but school officials told him that the job was reopened and that the review committee was going to decide the process of the hire. The Southfield School Board never approved his hiring.

Marshall has built the Chargers into powerhouse programs, including a State Championship crown in 2005.

It is likely that Deja Church will return to the Warriors and will likely have Tyler Washington, D'Layna Holloman, Rizaria Franklin, and Alexis Johnson all back. Also Southfield will have incoming freshman Cheyenne McEvans coming there as well.

The Warriors are in the Red with Stoney Creek, Clarkston, Adams, and North Farmington. Southfield will be in a district at Detroit Renissance with the Phoenix, Hamtramck, Warren Fitzgerald, Berkley, and Oak Park.

With the recent school size it is likely that Southfield have a freshman team but the last few seasons she has not.

Stay tuned to OAA Now for this developing story. We will have thoughts and analysts on this story.