Health & Fitness SPORTS Bridesmaids No More! Temple Kol Ami comes back to win softball league championship. Steve Stein Special to the Jewish News T he Temple Kol Ami Brotherhood softball team and the Buffalo Bills almost had something in common. The Bills have played in the Super Bowl four times and lost each game. Kol Ami lost three consecutive championship games in the local Intercongregational Brotherhood Softball League before finally beating Beth Ahm 15-9 this year. Kol Ami's championship was unexpected because it entered the playoffs with the low- est seed. After beating Adat Shalom 19-11, it ran into No. 1 seed and defending league cham- pion Shir Shalom in the semifinals. Kol Ami won 21-11. Cleanup hitter Jeff Kaplan's long home run — estimated at 300 feet — helped give Kol Ami an early lead over Beth Ahm in the championship game, but Beth Ahm erased the deficit and moved in front 8-4 after three innings. Kol Ami outscored Beth Ahm 11-1 the rest of the way, scoring four runs in the fourth, six in the fifth and one in the sixth. Outstanding pitching by Stuart Vinsky and solid defense behind him held Beth Ahm to one run in the final four innings. Bob Sherman (three hits, three runs), Paul Gross (three hits, two runs), Chris Bocker (three hits, two runs) and Kaplan (three hits, three runs) led Kol Ami's attack in the championship game. (See related story on page A16.) B'nai B'rith Welcomes Bowlers For Free It's easier — and cheaper — than ever to join a B'nai B'rith bowling league. The International B'nai B'rith Bowling Association is offering free membership for a year. Members are eligible to compete in leagues, local and national tournaments, and earn awards for honor scores. Fees also have been waived for the four Detroit B'nai B'rith Bowling Association leagues. Brotherhood/Eddie Jacobson bowls Monday night at Country Lanes, 30250 W. Nine Mile, Farmington Hills; Morganthau bowls Monday night at Drakeshire Lanes, 35000 Grand River, Farmington; Downtown/Fox bowls Tuesday night at Drakeshire; and Pisgah/Zeiger bowls Thursday night at Country. All four leagues have four-man teams except Pisgah/Zeiger, which has three-man teams. For more information, contact DBBBA past president and membership chair Howard Waxer at (248) 935-6652 or hpwpwc@aol.com . — Front: Matt Halbany, David Horwitz, Chris Bocker, Paul Gross, Bob Sherman. Back: Chuck Freedman, Elliot Keen, Ray Kach, Robin Borr, Michael Mostyn, Jeff Kaplan, Michael Flashner, Howard Katz, Stuart Vinsky, David Liberman. Not shown: Ted Nathan. AZA Flag Football League It's nearly kickoff time for the Michigan Region B'nai B'rith Youth Organization AZA Flag Football League. Teams will play from 1-5 p.m. Sundays beginning Sept. 21 at the Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield. There is no fee for BBYO members; non-members must pay $40. Pre-registration is required at www.b-linked.org . For more information, contact BBYO Program Associate Jared Rothberger, (248) 788-0700 or jrothberger@bbyo.org . More Matt On The Links It's nearly impossible to keep golf sensation Matt Felsenfeld of West Bloomfield out of the Jewish News these days. After his record-setting, gold-medal winning performance at the JCC Maccabi Games, Felsenfeld, 16, became the youngest winner of the men's club championship at Tam O'Shanter Country Club over the Labor Day weekend. He was the medalist in the 36-hole qualifier, then he won two 18-hole matches before winning the 36-hole championship match 4 and 2. Felsenfeld shot 1-under par 71-71-142 at Tam O'Shanter and Knollwood Country Club, both in West Bloomfield at the JCC Maccabi Games, becoming the first Maccabi golfer with an under-par score. The former Beverly Hills/Detroit Country Day student is in his second year at the David Leadbetter Junior Golf Academy in Bradenton, Fla., a school that offers full-time boarding and an academic program in addition to rigorous golf instruction. ❑ Please send sports news to sports@thejewishnews.com . Gala Benefits Karmanos B ecky and Gary Sakwa of Grand/Sakwa Properties and Sandy and Alan S. Schwartz of Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn are being honored by the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Tnstitute's Partners Executive Committee for community involve- ment. The Sakwas are of Bloomfield Hills and the Schwartzes are of Franklin. Partners is a group of philanthropic volunteers who raise funds for Detroit-based Karmanos. Partners Night includes dinner, dancing, and a super silent auction at Troy's Suburban Collection on Saturday, Sept. 27. The Sakwas are major benefactors to Federation's Annual Campaign with establishment of the Rebecca and Gary Sakwa Challenge Fund. The fund generated more than $8 million last year for at-risk Jewish populations in Metro Detroit and Israel. The Sakwas have supported the Ted B. Wahby Cancer Center of the Mount Clemens Regional Medical Center and Royal Oak-based Beaumont Hospital's Stars Guitars, a charity event for the Pediatric Cancer Survivors Scholarship Program. The couple helped establish the Rebecca and Gary Sakwa Adult Day Care Center for those with Alzheimer's disease. The Schwartzes are Federation board members. Sandy is a Sinai Guild executive committee member, a member of the boards for Harper-Hutzel and Sinai- Grace Hospitals of the Detroit dio September 18 • 2008 iN Becky and Gary Sakwa Sandy and Alan S. Schwartz Medical Center, and a member of the Jewish Women's Foundation. Alan is chairman of the Karmanos board and serves on the board of Congregation Shaarey Zedek of Oakland County, is vice chair of Clover Hill Park Cemetery in Birmingham and is a member of the Dean's Advisory Board of the University of Detroit Mercy Law School. He is vice chair of Detroit-based Honigman. ❑ For information on Partners, call (313) 576-8112 or e-mail schwages@karmanos.org .