The Timko family had a pretty cool weekend, even if they didn't snag a ring.

Sister-brother tandem, Taylor and Jeff Timko , were repping the family name hardcore on state-championship Saturday – both playing in state finals, junior Taylor in girls soccer with Pontiac Notre Dame Prep and freshman Jeff on the baseball diamond with Birmingham Brother Rice.

Although each fell short in the quest for a crown, they were their usual "gamer" selves the whole tourney and will be back with a vengeance in 2014.

Taylor is an elite talent on the pitch, committed to Michigan since she was a sophomore. Bottom line, she possesses a nose for the goal like few others this area has seen this past decade-plus. In three seasons, she has posted 90 goals.

Jeff is a rising-star for the Brother Rice baseball squad. Making varsity as a fab frosh on the national-renowned Warriors diamond brigade, he plays catcher and in the outfield. He's a name to keep your eyes peeled for these next few years.

What a pair of competitors!!!

 

Man, family Monopoly games at the Timko household must get pretty intense!!!

Five For Fighting – Most distinguished efforts from the OC on state-championship Saturday  

1 Kayla Porter (Troy) – Scored the game-winning goal in the Colts 2-1 come-from-behind win over Grandville in the D1 girls soccer finals...just call her the OC Mia Hamm, first 'cause she's was so, so CASH MONEY on the pitch when it counted the most and second 'cause she went HAM all over the Grandville 'D' in the clutch!!

2 Billy Malack (MH Bishop Foley) – Cut loose at the plate in the Foley's 12-5 downing of Grandville Calvin Christian for the 3peat on the baseball diamond (first time in MHSAA history by the way), posting a 2-for-2, 3-RBI, 2 runs-scored outing toting the proverbial lumber......the "quiet star" of the Vetures line-up this season, capping a monumental prep career on the diamond with TEAM SUNDE!!

3 Madison Hirsch (Troy) – Notched the game-tying goal, which set the table for Porter's game-winner in the state championship game....the definition of class and consistency on the pitch...'NUFF SAID!!

4 Dalton Greyerbriehl (Birmingham Brother Rice) – Pitched like a senior in 3 innings of middle relief during the Warriors' 1-0 state-final loss to Bay City Western, best way to describe his bulldog performance is NAILS TOUGH!!!           

5 Allison Holland (Troy) – Finally snagged that ever-elusive ring to top-off a splendid prep career in between the post……The best keeper Burney has covered in his 6 years at the Oakland Press….YEAH, I SAID IT!!!       

Just to add some insult to injury.....

The baseball diamond at Brother Rice appears that it will be losing some power to its super-charged roster next season.

After the Warriors fell 1-0 in the Division 1 state championship game to Bay City Western Saturday afternoon in Battle Creek, stud sophomore pitcher Josh Smith announced that he would most likely be transferring to Saline in the fall.

Smith (6-foot-4, 230 pounds) was one of the top underclassmen in the state this season, according to college recruiters - the genuine article and a true speed-baller chucking the pill.

Before the start of the 2013 campaign, he accepted a scholarship to play his collegiate baseball in the SEC at the University of Kentucky.

That all said, Smith didn't get a ton of time on the mound this spring, primarily due to the extreme depth Brother Rice had in the proverbial "arms race."

Because the Warriors' pitching staff was non-senior dominated, very few if any spots in the rotation would be opening up in 2014 – a possible reason that could explain Smith's current decision to depart.

Saline, known for a very strong diamond brigade, lost in the district finals this year, but advanced into the Division 1 final four in 2012.

The Land of the Sun is on the horizon for Walled Lake Western boys basketball star Miroslav Jaksic.

His future lies in the Southwest

Jaksic, a soft-stroking, high-upside 6-foot-11 forward-center, committed to Grand Canyon University, soon-to-be Division I college program down in Arizona.

Grand Canyon (23-8 back in the winter) is set to go DI for the upcoming 2013-14 campaign, ready to start competing in the Western Athletic Conference. The GCU program is headed by Traverse City prep hoops legend and former NBA sharpshooter Dan Majerle (Central Michigan), who played most of his pro career with the Phoenix Suns.

There was a lot of hype surrounding Jaksic's arrival in Oakland County, via Canada and before that Serbia, two years ago. During his time as a Warrior, the Euro dynamo helped restructure the cage culture at Western, traditionally known as a football school.

He averaged a double-double in his pair of seasons a prepster in the OC.  This past season, Jaksic averaged 17 points and 12 rebounds a night on a squad that finished 14-7 and competed for a league crown until the bitter end.

 

Clarkston's already-stacked backcourt will add another primetime player to the mix next winter.

Word is that Walled Lake Northern freshman basketball star Tabin Throgmorton will be enrolling at Clarkston in the fall.

Throgmorton is a big point guard, with long arms, a fluid stroke and an unreal feel for the floor general position at such a young age – i.e the typical TEAM FIFE show-runner on the hardwood.

He started on the Knights varsity this past season, alongside his older brother, Gage Throgmorton, a three-time all-league selection out of the KLAA headed to play his college hoops at UofM-Dearborn.

Losing the younger Throgmorton to C-Town is a tough blow. He was part of a talented nucleus of underclassmen under head coach Ronnie Thompson.

The Clarkston backcourt that Throgmorton joins is balanced and deep, especially when it comes to ball-handling duties. Press Kampe, (senior), and Drew Myers, (junior), are a pretty rock-solid 1-2 punch at the point. The sniper tandem of Nick Owens (senior) and Mason Vires (junior) keep opposing defenses honest and Merrick Canada (junior) can fill in at either floor general or shooting guard.

A yearly local cage power, Clarkston is the seven-time defending OAA Red champion, but after capturing 18 straight Class A district crowns, the Wolfpack is riding a two-year drought.

Five For Fighting – Most impressive outings from the ELITE 8 on the OC baseball diamond

1 Randy Righter (Birmingham Brother Rice) – Picked up the win on the mound in the biggest diamond throw-down this county has seen in quite a while, a 7-3 besting of Lake Orion.  Could be the most undervalued and overlooked pitcher in the whole area……YEAH, I SAID IT!!

2 Mike Murley (MH Bishop Foley) – TEAM SUNDE's junior hurler was in EMINEM-MODE as in MASTERFUL AND MENACING in the Ventures 9-1 downing of Flint Powers

3 Freddy Jehle (Birmingham Brother Rice) – The Warriors' contact specialist was in top form against Lake Orion delivering a 3-for-3 performance, plating a pair of runs and once again and as always showing off his

4 Nate Grys (MH Bishop Foley) – This rare gem of a SHREDDER went 3-for-3 with 3 RBI in the two-time defending champs' victory over Powers that secured TEAM BUSTER a trip to their fourth consecutive FINAL FOUR. Not many two-sport SUPERSTUDS as good (football and baseball) as this sophomore with the Ventures……TAKE IT 2 THA BANK!!

5 Roman Kuster (Lake Orion) – Burney's main man SPECIAL K concluded a tremendous prep athletic career wearing the Green and White (basketball and baseball) aka lots of long tourney runs and league crowns, going 3-for-3 vs. the nasty Brother Rice pitching staff

Five For Fighting – Best outings from this past weekend's regional action on the Oakland County prep sports landscape

1 Alex Malzone (Brother Rice baseball) – Malzone aka "THE MAGIC MAN" belted a walk-off, two-out, bases-loaded single in the bottom of the seventh to catapult the Warriors to a 3-2 win over Northville in the regional finals at Novi Saturday. The two-sport SUPERSTAR (D1 recruit on the diamond and the gridiron as a quarterback) went 3-for-3 in the regional title tilt. TPretty obvious that on Saturday the Orange&Black's Magic Man was also MR. MONEY MAKER for Team RIKER, cashing in at all the most opportune instances. All this kid knows how to do is WIN, WIN, WIN!!

2 Jade Antolec (Novi girls soccer) – Antolec, the Wildcats' keeper, reached SWAGGER LEVEL FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND TRILLION Friday in Novi's downing of juggernaut Plymouth in the regional championship game, which went to penalty kicks and which Antolec personally ended by stonewalling P-Town's last attempt on goal

3 Nick Deeg (Lake Orion baseball) – The true "Ace's Ace" went all JUSTIN VERLANDER in the regionals Saturday, going toe-to-toe with all-stater Jake Lowry and snaring the shutout-win on the bump the same afternoon he was drafted by the Tigers…WOW, WHAT A DAY!!           

4 (tie) Taylor Timko (Pontiac NDP girls soccer) – Hat Trick for the title!!! Just an all-out HUMAN SCORING MACHINE….'NUFF SAID!!!

4 (tie) Madison Hirsch (Troy girls soccer) – Hat Trick for the title!!!......Maddy the Magnificent…Yeah, that about sums it up!!!!

4 (tie) Anna Robb (WOLL girls soccer) – Hat Trick for the title!!!.......Pure playmaker on the soccer pitch and the girls basketball floor…What doesn't this young lady do and do like her name was MISS PERFECT!!!

5 Matt Ruppenthal (Brother Rice baseball) – Got it done on the mound, throwing a 3-hit, 8k shutout of Walled Lake Northern in the regional semis, and then went 2-for-3, with a clutch infield single in the seventh at the dish...This kid has MAJOR LEAGUER written all over him.....MARK THAT DOWN!!