DETROIT
A Tale Of Two NBA Cities:
No Federation On Game Nights
RICHARD PEARL
Staff Writer
T
he team's president is
Jewish and the corn-
munity's Jewish fed-
eration director knows not to
schedule meetings on game
nights.
Not only that, but the
team president plans to
build a grand sports
showplace.
So what's this, the story of
the Detroit Pistons before
there was a Palace in
Auburn Hills and Bad Boys
Fever?
No, it's the tale of the
Portland Trail Blazers
before the 1990 National
Basketball Association
Championship Series
reaches the Oregon moun-
tains for Games 3, 4 and 5
and Blazer-Mania.
"I learned the first two
weeks I was here that I dare
not schedule any federation
meetings on game nights.
We have a lot of Trail
Blazers season ticket holders
on our federation board,"
said Charles Schiffman, di-
rector the past two years of
the Portland Jewish Federa-
tion, which serves a Jewish
community of about 11,000.
No federation meetings on
game nights isn't the only
similarity between the two
basketball-crazy towns. Like
its Detroit counterpart, the
Portland Jewish community
takes a lot of pride in its
basketball team, an NBA
franchise which was founded
in 1970 by Harry Glickman.
Glickman, now Trail
Blazers president, is a career
sports promoter and former
owner of a Portland minor
league hockey team who
created the only major-
league sports franchise in
Oregon history.
Native Oregonian
Glickman, now 66, together
with Herman Sarkowsky,
Larry Weinberg and Bob
Smertz, came up with the
$3.6 million then needed for
an NBA franchise. It was a
major victory for Glickman
who, six years earlier, had
been rejected for such a fran-
chise.
That was the year
Portlanders approved the
bonds for 13,000-seat
Memorial Coliseum, the
Blazers' home court, "but
that was before the Los
Angeles Lakers, the San
Francisco Warriors or any
other bigtime pro franchise
on the West Coast,"
Glickman recalled. Portland
was considered too small to
support a franchise then.
Glickman's faith has been
rewarded many times over,
according to his son Mar-
shall, 30, who is vice presi-
dent of marketing for the
team. "We've had over 550
consecutive homecourt
sellouts, which is the alltime
NBA record," said Marshall,
who worked two years at
NBA headquarters in New
York. "The fan support here
is tremendous."
It wasn't until 1974 that
Bill Davidson, a member of
Detroit's Jewish community,
bought the Pistons franchise
from Fred Zollner. Glickman
met Davidson then and the
tive with the U.S. Com-
mittee Sports for Israel.
The senior Glickman is a
hands-on president, oversee-
ing the operations of a 58-
person front office. He ac-
companied the team to
Detroit for the first two
playoff games.
Now Glickman is looking
into building a new home for
the Trail Blazers in this, the
team's 20th anniversary
year. "We came to Detroit in
January to look over the
Palace. That's a beautiful
building," said the Portland
president.
A Portland palace would
cost $80-100 million, he said,
and likely would have some
public funding. "A major
question is, can we sell
skyboxes like they did in
Detroit?" Glickman said.
Consultations are continu-
ing, with site selection and
formal plans expected in the
early fall, he said.
One thing is certain,
Glickman said. Having an
NBA championship to
celebrate in Portland sure
wouldn't hinder those
plans.
Here's The Scoop
On Blazers Coach
Harry Glickman:
Any skybox buyers?
two have been friendly com-
petitors every since.
The Blazers' principal
ownership changed over the
years, with Sarkowsky and
Smertz leaving to pursue
other professional sports in-
terests, Sarkowsky with the
Seattle Seahawks of the Na-
tional Football League and
Smertz with the NBA
Boston Celtics. In 1988, the
Blazers franchise was pur-
chased by Paul Allen, a
major computer software
company stockholder, for a
reported $70 million, with
Glickman becoming the
team president.
"Harry has always been a
friend of the federation and
Jewish community center
here," said director Schiff-
man, who formerly directed
the federation in Columbus,
Ohio. "He's always been
available when we've need-
ed him to make calls for us
or lead tours to Israel."
Glickman also has been ac-
Those Pistons fans curious
about Portland Trail Blazers
head coach Rick Adelman,
take note: his last name is
pronounced Add-el-man and
he's a devout Catholic, ac-
cording to Blazers President
Harry Glickman. Adelman
played for the team from
1970-73 and was its first
captain.
Greenberg Helped
With Key Trades
Brad Greenberg, a New
Jersey native who is
Portland's director of player
personnel, previously was
the team's East Coast scout
who urged the Blazers to
sign Yugoslavian guard
Drazen Petrovic. He also
played critical roles in the
signing of center Wayne Co-
oper and in the trade for
forward Buck Williams.
Detroit Firm
Issues 'Warning'
A Detroit-area payroll ser-
vice company has given its
Portland office fair warning
about the current NBA
playoff series between the
two cities: don't even think
about winning.
Along with the documen-
Continued on Page 16
Rabbi Lane Steinger gives the Torah to Samantha Letvin. At right, Tal
Gutkovitch holds one of Yavneh Academy's bears.
These Teacher Aides
Have The Bear Facts
ALAN HITSKY
Associate Editor
y
avneh Academy
marked Shavuot last
week by dedicating a
Torah.
Youngsters in the Reform
day school's first kinder-
garten and first-grade
classes decorated an aron
kodesh — holy ark, prepared
a festive meal, and invited
their two bears to join the
festivities.
The teddy bears have been
an innovative part of the
school's program in its inau-
gural year, housed at the
Maple-Drake Jewish Com-
munity Center. The bears
have taken part in major
life-cycle events and served
as a focus for the children.
Yavneh had a brit milah -
circumcision ceremony
earlier this spring for the
"male" bear, named by the
children Neal (Noah) ben
Yavneh. The ceremony was
conducted by a mohel, Can-
tor Samuel Greenbaum of
Congregation Beth Shalom.
There also was a baby-
naming ceremony for the
girl bear, Clare (Chava) bat
Yavneh, a "bear" mitzvah
ceremony, and a wedding is
planned for the fall. "Our
bears may even become
grandparents," said Yavneh
headmaster Dr. Margaret
Eichner.
At each ceremony, the
children have been taught
blessings and prayers, par-
ticipated in the rituals and
helped make appropriate
Jewish foods for the meals
which followed. Last week,
the children — and the bears
—dedicated the school's new
Torah in conjunction with
Shavuot and participated in
mock confirmation
ceremonies.
Rabbi Lane Steinger of
Temple Emanu-El explained
to the children that at con-
firmation adult Jews
rededicate themselves to
God and Judaism. The
ceremony is usually held in
conjunction with Shavuot,
marking the first fruits of
the harvest and the first
fruits of Judaism — the giv-
ing of the Ten Command-
ments. The rabbi gave the
children certificates of con-
firmation, dedicated the
Torah, "and dedicated the
bears too," Dr. Eichner
said. 111
Bond Dinner
Hosts Rizowy
Dr. Carlos Rizowy, attorney,
university professor and
authority on international
relations, will speak at the
State of Israel Bond At-
torneys Division Dinner 6
p.m. June 12 at Congregation
Shaarey Zedek.
The event, will honor Judge
Bernard A. Friedman of the
U.S. District Court and Judge
Michael L. Stacey of the
Wayne County Circuit Court.
The honorees will be
presented with Israel's
Eleanor Roosevelt
Humanities Medals in
recognition of their outstand-
ing service to their profession,
their community, and the
State of Israel.
Rizowy is the former chair-
man of the political science
department and director of
the International Studies
Program at Roosevelt Univer-
sity of Chicago.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
15