Birmingham Seaholm has seen more than its fair share of tragedy in the past year in the athletic department.
Last summer, longtime softball and wrestling coach Mike Hessling died of a heart attack. Then, longtime tennis coach Keith Bernacki lost his long battle with cancer.
Losing two coaches is more than enough for anybody to handle, but now Seaholm has to deal with the tragic death of another.
On Sunday night, new football coach Nick Deane, who took over during the offseason for Chris Fahr, died tragically of a heart attack.
Deane was 62 years old and a respected coach who was an assistant at Troy, Grosse Ile and Seaholm.
It's another blow to a Seaholm community that's dealt with so much of late. In addition to the death of three aforementioned coaches, Seaholm had to deal with a situation that saw racist graffit messages get written all over the school, and a racist letter sent to a teacher.

Today is a signature day on the preps sports calendar, as its the first day of the state baseball, softball and girls soccer tournaments around the state. There will no doubt be plenty of good action in baseball and softball, especially given the weather actually looks like it'll be nice for once.
However, the game Kosmo is keeping an eye on will be indoors on Tuesday night at Ultimate Soccer Arenas when Birmingham Marian takes on Auburn Hills Avondale in a Division 2 district opener.
Marian has won the last two state titles in Division 2 and is favored to win it again, but this will be a major test against Avondale, which is a hard team to score against with all-state Andrea Strauss in net.
Avondale and Strauss held Marian scoreless in a district final last year, and Marian had to prevail in penalty kicks to advance.
It should no doubt be a great capper to what should be a fun Tuesday of games.

First of all, Kosmo wishes everyone out there a happy Memorial Day weekend. Hopefully the weather cooperates and people can finally enjoy some sun, although while doing so please remember why we celebrate this holiday. If not for the brave men and woman who have sacrificed their lives in our country's history, we couldn't enjoy cookouts and other great things about this weekend.
Second, when the weekend ends, an underrated time of year for the high school sports will begin.
The state playoffs for baseball, softball and girls soccer start on Tuesday, and it's truly a wonderful three weeks of the season. It's a great way to close out the prep sports year in what truly is a unique postseason.
It's different in the spring because it's the preps season, fall or winter included, where the most meaningful games take place in the best weather. With seniors done with school also, they can fully concentrate on their sport. Some coaches don't like that because they prefer their athletes to be in a routine, but Kosmo thinks it's a plus to just worry about playing the sport and have all the school stuff done with.
The K-Man can't wait to see what happens in the next three weeks.

Thursday night figures to be an emotional night at Troy Athens High School, and not because it's the last girls soccer home game of the season.
Since head coach Tim Storch, the only soccer the coach the school has ever had, has announced he is retiring at the end of the season after 30 years, there will be a big ceremony/gala after the game to honor him.
There will be countless former players, colleagues and other school officials who will be at the game to honor a man who has won 900 career games and a combined nine state titles, five with the girls and four with the boys.
Kosmo hopes it's a grand celebration because Storch is one of the legends as far as county coaches go.
No doubt, Troy Athens will be the place to be on Thursday night.

Ever since the season switch that moved boys golf from fall to spring, the boys have played district tournaments, where the top six teams qualify for regionals the following week.
From there, the top 3 teams at regionals move on to states. It's not like this for the girls, who just have regional tournaments in the fall.
The protocol the past three years has been that district tournament are held the Thursday and Friday before Memorial Day, but this year they'll be held at Memorial Day because the season has been moved back a week.
In fact, the state finals will be held the last weekend of the high school sports season, the same weekend finals in baseball, softball and girls soccer are held.
This has some benefits and some hindrances if you ask Kosmo. The most notable benefit is that it gives the boys an extra week to get their games sharp in what should be good weather.
The biggest drawback though is that when the state finals were held the weekend before baseball, softball and soccer, golf and lacrosse had the stage all to themselves with their state finals.
Now, golf might get the short end of the stick as far as attention and media coverage goes ending on the same weekend as baseball, softball and soccer

First of all, Kosmo is shocked that he's still here writing this blog from his cave in northern Oakland County. The world hasn't ended yet!
Second, the K-Man was reading up on how Michigan State won its first Big Ten baseball title since 1979.
Congrats to the Spartans, and it looks like the future will be even brighter thanks to Oakland County.
MSU is not only the best in the Big Ten, but it has raided the county in terms of recruiting.
Orchard Lake St. Mary's senior catcher Blaise Salter, Birmingham Brother Rice senior outfielder/catcher Jimmy Pickens, Birmingham Groves senior pitcher Mike Mestdagh and Clarkston senior Chase Toth all have a chance to be named to the all-state Dream Team at the end of the year, and all have signed to play in college at MSU.
One of MSU's best players, pitcher Andrew Waszak, is a graduate of Rochester Adams.
He's only a sophomore.
Given all that, the Big 10 champions will have a big Oakland County flavor for years to come.

Usually when the Catholic League baseball finals take place at Comerica Park every year, the showcase game is the A-B final between two larger schools, not the C-D one.
Well, that definitely won't be the case on Friday.
Not to take anything away from Novi Detroit Catholic Central or Warren De La Salle, who'll meet in the 7 p.m. A-B final, but the game most will want to see is the 5 p.m. C-D final between Madison Heights Bishop Foley and Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard.
Bishop Foley and Gabriel Richard might be two of the top-10 teams in the state regardless of division and on paper are better than Catholic Central or De La Salle.
They met in the C-D championship and the Division 3 state semifinals last season and each returned every key player this season. Gabriel Richard didn't lose anybody, while Bishop Foley not only returned its nucleus, but added some impact freshman.
Gabriel Richard won all six meetings last season, but Bishop Foley has won three of the four games this season.
It should no doubt be a great showcase game at Comerica between two of the state's best teams regardless of school size.
- This will be an exciting weekend with tennis and track regionals taking place around the state and the Catholic League soccer finals being held on Saturday at Livonia Ladywood. Hopefully the weather will cooperate.

There's still a couple of weeks left until the start of the state high school girls soccer tournament, but already Troy Athens senior Olivia Brannon has received a prestigious honor.
Brannon last week was named the recipient of the Gatorade Michigan Girls Soccer Player of the Year for 2011.
Signed with Virginia, Brannon is a member of the U.S. under-18 national team, so she's obviously one of the top high school seniors in the nation, not just the state.
It could be the start for Brannon also. She'll likely win the Miss Soccer Award, and of course, she hopes to help lead Athens to a Division 1 state title in June.
We'll see what happens.
— Another area female athlete earned an honor last week. Auburn Hills Avondale senior Sarah Pink was awarded the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association educational scholarship.
A member of Avondale's team for three years, Pink will be attending college at Michigan State.

On Saturday, Birmingham Brother Rice will meet Warren De La Salle in a Catholic League baseball semifinal.
The Warriors have been dominate this season, losing just two games and rightfully are near the top of the state rankings.
There's been some controversy surrounding Brother Rice this season because the coaching staff elected to cut some seniors and put eight freshman on the roster.
For all the people upset that the Warriors did that, all Kosmo has to say to you is this: Hush up.
Bottom line is the best players are on the team. There's no favoritism to elder players.
Can you imagine if pro or college sports were run like that. Where would all the impact rookies or freshman be?
In real life, the best people in a corporation are the ones on the team. No favors are done to those have been around a long time.
Kosmo applauds the Brother Rice staff for making a stand and not caring what others think.
They did what they should do, which is make decisions in the best interest of the team, not a few whiny parents.

Like any great vacuum, University of Michigan football coach Brady Hoke is reeling in top-notch high school players within the Oakland County.
After getting pledges from Farmington Hills Harrison tight end Devin Funchess and Orchard Lake St. Mary's linebacker James Ross, the Hawks received a verbal commitment over the weekend from Harrison defensive lineman Mario Ojemudia, one of the state's best juniors last season.
Ojemudia was a pass-rushing and run-stuffing force for the Hawks, and he should be a fixture on U-M's defensive line for years to come.
The only one of Harrison's "Big Three" that hasn't committed is wide receiver Aaron Burbridge.
If U-M lands him, it'll be a clean sweep of the county's best football players and a major coup for Hoke in his first full recruiting class.

Today begins the second full week in May, which means that not too far on the horizon is the start of league tournaments in various sports.
In fact, track and field will hold league meets on Friday and Saturday, as will girls tennis.
The Catholic League baseball semifinals will also be held this Saturday. It's pretty remarkable, because it hasn't felt like spring sports teams have had a season.
With all the weather postponements, some teams are finally starting to get in a groove, only to see the season nearing its end because track and tennis regionals are less than two weeks away.
Seeing all this, Kosmo feels it's time to extend the spring sports season. Have the finals for each sport take place in late June or maybe even the first weekend of July (before the 4th).
Kosmo doesn't buy the whole summer vacation argument, because Fall sports start the first week of August and kids are asked to attend football camps over the summer. It's time to ensure spring sports teams have the length of season they deserve with all the unpredictable spring weather in Michigan.

Sitting at his cave in northern Oakland County on Saturday morning, Kosmo was reading the fine article written by Oakland Press staffer Matt Mowery on the impact moving the pitching rubber back three feet has had on softball teams around the area.
After that, K-Man then glanced at some box scores from this week and noticed just how much scoring is up.
Rochester and Rochester Adams, for example, played a doubleheader the other day where the final scores were 15-12 and 12-11.
Ping!
That certainly is a sound that's been heard a lot this spring and will continue to be as hitters continue to reap the rewards of having more time to react to a pitch.
Unfortunately, this won't be a good thing for parents and fans of teams because games will really take a long time now.
It used to be a softball game would take about 1 to 1 1/2 because of outstanding pitching.
Now, games might last just as long, if not longer, than a typical baseball game. Add the fact most softball teams play doubleheaders, and that'll make 4 to 5 hour games the norm for softball teams.

One of Kosmo's favorite players to follow the past four years has been Pontiac guard Anthony Adams, and he's happy to know that the player known as the "Ant" will get a college opportunity.
Adams has signed to play at Paris Junior College in Paris, Texas.
It might not seem like much to some, but it does to Kosmo. You never know what'll happen to a player if given an opportunity, and the supremely talented Adams has one now.
Of course, it's up to Adams to take advantage of the opportunity presented to him, but he's got a chance.
It's great to see because Adams might be one of the best small players to ever play in Oakland County.
He's an intelligent player who can pass, jump out of the gym and has blazing speed. Not only is he fast, but he's under control.
The people in Paris, Texas should have fun watching the Ant, just like people in Oakland County did the last four years.

Kosmo has heard a lot over the last couple of years about a potential (probably likely) merger between Bloomfield Hills Lahser and Bloomfield Hills Andover High Schools, which unfortunately might be necessary with declining enrollment and population.
It's somewhat sad because Lahser and Andover have had a great rivalry in certain sports over the years.
However, it usually isn't in baseball, which makes this spring look so refreshing.
Monday was an indicator that this could be as good of a rivalry in the area over the next month.
Andover rallied in the bottom of the seventh inning to earn a 6-5 win over Lahser in a battle of two usually dormant programs who have risen up to be contenders in the OAA Blue.
Andover and Lahser will meet again in a few weeks at Lahser, and there should be more league-title ramifications at stake if the teams take care of business before then.
It's great to see once again the Battle of Bloomfield Hills meaning something in a sport, particularly if the two schools merge in the near future.

Over a week after landing one of the county's most coveted football recruits, Michigan has done it again. In fact, the Wolverines have received a pledge from one of the top high school players in the nation.
Orchard Lake St. Mary's linebacker James Ross, a star since his sophomore season, committed to Michigan on Monday morning.
This comes 10 days after Farmington Hills Harrison tight end Devin Funchess committed to the Wolverines.
Ross had offers from USC, Nebraska, Penn State and Michigan State among other big-time programs.
No doubt, new U-M head coach Brady Hoke is making his presence felt within Oakland County already.
- Kosmo is looking forward to this week for the fact that area softball powers Lakeland and Walled Lake Northern will finally cross paths. The two definitely will do so on Wednesday when they meet in a doubleheader at Northern, and they could also meet this weekend at the Fred Pieper tournament in Royal Oak.