SPORTS THREE WAYS TO BUY A CAR Mark Spitz Trying For Olympic Comeback AL HARRIS ARNIE WEISS MIKE GERMANSKY TAMAROFF BUICK • HONDA • NISSAN • IZUZU • YUGO New Used or Leasing Open Mon. & Thurs. Til 9 Open Tues., Wed., Fri. Til 6 28585 TELEGRAPH ROAD ACROSS FROM TEL-12 Southfield 353.1300 Cordially invites you to attend 1/ ------ „:4,, 4‘1:, FANTASY '91 ..,/ . • !:. Wednesday, April 24 our outstanding Boutique beginning at 9:30 a.m. Luncheon 12:00 p.m. followed by a Fashion Show presented by Jacobsons to be held at the Maple/Drake Building For more information call 661-1000 ext, 301 DESIGN-IT. , INC. Custom Formica Furniture and More • • • • • • Wall Units Dining Rooms Custom Bedrooms Credenzas Tables Kitchens/Baths / I n what may well be the shortest competition for the most money in the annals of aquatic sports, Mark Spitz will go one-on- one against two of the world's fastest swimmers next month. On April 13, Mr. Spitz, 41, who set seven records on the way to seven gold medals at the 1972 Olympics, will hit the hoped for comeback trail by racing Tom Jager in the 50-meter butterfly. The purse will be $30,000, with the winner taking $20,000 and the loser $10,000 in a race expected to last about 22 seconds. Two weeks later, on April 27, Spitz will face Matt Biondi, also in the 50-meter butterfly, for an even richer purse. The split is $35,000 for the winner and $15,000 for the loser. Both events will be at the Mission Viejo sports complex, about an hour's drive south of Los Angeles, and will be tele- vised live across the United States. Spitz's competition is for- midable, as he is the first to admit. Jager is the international Tom Tugend writes from Los Angeles. These questions have been compiled by Irwin Cohen, coordinator of group sales for the Detroit Tigers. Answers to the trivia questions, as well as free Tigers tickets and other prizes, will be part of Baseball Bonanza! on April 14 from 1-4 p.m. at the Jimmy Prentis Morris Jewish Community Center, 15110 W 10 Mile Road, Oak Park. Please bring your answers to the Baseball Bonanza!, sponsored by the Neighborhood Project. Name a Jewish slugger who played for the Detroit Tigers and is in the Hall of Fame. Name the starting pitcher for the American League in the 1980 All-Star Game. Now he's a telecaster for a National League club. COMMERCIAL • Conference Tables • Desks Reception/Secretarial • Built-In Book Units • File Cabinets • Credenzas Special to The Jewish News record holder in the 50- meter freestyle and is con- sidered the world's fastest human in water. Matt Bion- di is the world champion in the 100-meter freestyle and won five gold medals at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. Though their strongest suit is the freestyle, both also excel in the "fly." The events, sponsored by Clairol, are jointly billed as the Clairol Option Challenge — named for a men's hair coloring product Spitz promotes in television commercials. But Spitz said he is not in it for the money. He is enter- ing the competitions to evaluate his progress toward a goal he set 20 months ago —a berth on the 1992 U.S. Olympics team. But instead of entering seven races, he would limit himself to the 100-meter butterfly. "I need to compete to know where I'm at," Spitz said. "I'm going to use the results as a benchmark to evaluate where I stand and whether my training is proper." Spitz also explained why he picked the 50-meter but- terfly, a non-Olympic event without even a recognized world record. "At this stage of my train- ing, 50 meters is the first floor," he said. "Later, I'll build the second floor." In a sport where men gen- Jewish Baseball Quiz Admission: $22.00 EVERYONE WELCOME RESIDENTIAL TOM TUGEND . The Women's Health Club of the Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit — - - -N;, -- 1i The winner of seven gold medals in 1972 wants to compete in 1992. He's the oldest coach in the major leagues at 86 and a former roommate of Babe Ruth when both played for the Yankees. DEAL DIRECT WITH THE MANUFACTURER Free Consultation with our experienced Design Staff 24645 Halsted Rd. • Farmington Hills 471.3223 He pitched for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Los Angeles Dodgers and is in the Hall of Fame. These brothers = one a pitcher and one a catcher — were teammates with the Los Angeles Dodgers. erally peak between their late teens and middle twen- ties, Spitz's proclaimed in- tention to go up against top athletes half his age was generally greeted as a publicity stunt or a joke. Spitz ignored the rude comments, sold his wo- men's sportswear manufac- turing business, and went in- to training. He now swims two to three hours a day, five to six days a week, com- plemented by weight and muscle development exer- cises. Mark Spitz: On comeback trail. To get ready for the seven events at the Munich Olym- pics,. Spitz swam some 26,000 miles. But "this time, with just one event, and that one a sprint, I'll have only 10 percent of the workload I had then," he said. Ron Ballatore, head swim coach at the University of California at Los Angeles, has been supervising Spitz's training and seems satisfied with the progress of his senior competitor. Spitz, a native Californian, made his first international splash at the 1965 Mac- cabiah in Israel, where he won five medals and re- peated the feat four years later. At the 1985 Mac- cabiah, he became the first non-Israeli to carry the tra- ditional torch into the Ramat Gan stadium. As Spitz looks toward Olympiad XXV, he appears hopeful, but realistic. In the same vein, he weighs his chances in the upcoming races against Jager and Biondi. "One thing I know," he dead-panned. "I'll get no worse than second." ❑ 54 FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 1991