Metro

Hitting An

Alan Hitsky

Associate Editor

•

W

here else can you rub elbows
with the sports elite, have a
great day on the golf course or
at the dinner table and do a good deed at
the same time?
Monday's 19th annual Hank Greenberg
Memorial Golf Invitational at Tam-0-
Shanter Country Club in West Bloomfield
will provide all that and, at the same
time, boost the Michigan Jewish Sports
Foundation's 25-year fundraising total for
prostate cancer treatment and research to
well above the $1 million mark.
It's a match made in heaven.
Detroit Tigers Hall of Famer Hank
Greenberg was one of the four inaugu-
ral inductees into the Michigan Jewish
Sports Hall of Fame in 1985. Greenberg's
son, Steve, and the late sportscaster Dick
Schaap helped guide the Greenberg
Invitational from its inception in 1990 and
have been instrumental in landing current
stars and sports legends for the annual
tournament.

Attendees have the
whole day to interact
with the sports stars.

Left to Right: Some of the
members of the 19th annual

Hank Greenberg Memorial
Golf Invitational commit-
tee: Rob Levy, Franklin;
Billy Berris, Bloomfield

Hills; Steve Rosen, West
Bloomfield; Jeff Cohen,

West Bloomfield; David
and Hedy Blatt, Bloomfield
Hills.

Michigan
Jewish Sports
Foundation and its
Hank Greenberg golf tourney
have teed up
to fight cancer.

The 140-160 golfers participating in
Monday's event will tee off with baseball
Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. and "NFL
Today" host James Brown, this year's hon-
orees, along with a host of other sports
notables.
Some 250 guests are expected Monday
evening at Tam, to dine with the sports
stars.
It's that proximity and day-long cama-
raderie with the VIPs that makes the
Greenberg event unique.
Dan Passman and Dr. Stuart
Kirschenbaum, the current and past
president of the Michigan Jewish Sports
Foundation (MJSF), say the athletes "just
melt" at the Greenberg Invitational.
"They are not stand-offish:' said
Passman. "Once they are there, they are
there to enjoy. It's a casual, intimate atmo-
sphere and attendees can just throw out
questions to them."

Hitting An Ace! on page A10

June 11

2009

A9

