Here are five sporting events to watch for this week.
West Michigan Golf Show
Itching for a reason to believe winter is nearing its end? Look no further than the 22nd annual West Michigan Golf Show this week at DeVos Place in Grand Rapids.
It runs from Friday through Sunday. Tickets are $9 for adults and $4 for children ages 6 through 14.
There are a variety of activities, including booths representing golf courses from across Michigan and the country.
Take a clinic. The 2009 PGA of America’s Teacher of the Year Mike Bender will give seminars all weekend.
Try new clubs. Top manufacturers will have the latest equipment for patrons to test.
Also, step up to the Treetops Par-3 Challenge and compete for prizes and a chance to win $25,000.
MIAA swim championships
Senior Phil Heyboer and the Hope College men’s swimming and diving team are aiming for their third consecutive Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association title this week at the league meet Calvin College is hosting.
The three-day meet starts Thursday. Preliminaries are 10 a.m. each day, with the finals at 6 p.m. The meet winner determines the MIAA champion.
The Hope men are the team to beat, having gone undefeated during MIAA duals. Kalamazoo College is the top contender.
Heyboer, a Holland Christian High School graduate, is one of the swimmers to watch. He is seeded first in a league-best three individual events — 1,000-yard freestyle, 400 individual medley and 200 backstroke.
On the women’s side, Calvin is the favorite after going undefeated in duals. Hope’s only league dual meet loss came to Calvin.
Rivalry week in prep hoops
Two local prep basketball rivalries take center stage this week.
On Tuesday, Zeeland West and Zeeland East renew acquaintances with a boys contest at Zeeland East and a girls game at Zeeland West. Both start at 7 p.m.
Zeeland West is in the thick of the O-K Green boys race and ranked among the top teams in Class B. Zeeland East, which lost the first matchup with the Dux, will look to play spoiler after being the conference’s dominant team last season.
On Friday, Holland Christian travels to Hudsonville Unity Christian in another showdown that will have a bearing on the O-K Green race in boys hoops. Tipoff is 7 p.m.
Unity Christian handed the Maroons their only conference loss of the season at the Holland Civic Center last month. Holland Christian coach Mike Phelps called Unity’s Ben Sytsma the best player in the conference, so the Maroons will have to contend with him.
Wrestling districts
Prep wrestling teams begin their quest to compete in state finals this week with team and individual district tournaments.
There are two days of team districts that start at 6 p.m. each night. The finals immediately follow the semifinal matches.
On Wednesday, Hamilton hosts a Division 3 tourney and faces Hopkins in the semifinals, while in Division 1, West Ottawa travels to Muskegon Mona Shores with a possible title showdown with Grand Haven.
On Thursday, Holland and Zeeland East head to Allegan for their Division 2 district and will face Allegan and Wayland, respectively, in the semifinals. In Division 4, Fennville welcomes a four-team district that features an opening-round match against Southwestern Athletic Conference rival Bloomingdale.
Saturday sees teams scatter across West Michigan for their individual districts.
Michigan State-Purdue men’s hoops
There was talk last week about whether the Michigan State University men’s basketball team could post a rare undefeated Big Ten season.
Two road games, and a twist of a Kalin Lucas’ ankle later, and the Spartans are holding onto their Big Ten lead by a thread.
MSU seeks to end a two-game skid that included loss at Wisconsin and Illinois when it hosts title-contending Purdue. Tipoff is at 9 p.m. Tuesday on ESPN.
Purdue overcame a similar slide that the Spartans had to put itself back into the race. The Boilermakers are dangerous, especially with sharpshooter Robbie Hummel.
Lucas could return for the Purdue game and it would be a boost for MSU. The Spartans’ backcourt played too inconsistently, one of the contributing factors to Saturday night’s 78-73 loss at Illinois.
Lucas hasn’t been as good as coach Tom Izzo wants him to be this season, but he is a driving force for State.
