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B’nai B’rith League
Keeps On Rolling
Steve Stein | Contributing Writer
T
he second-year Downtown
Fox-MLZG B’nai B’rith bowl-
ing league has 22 teams in its
lineup, matching the total of its inaugural
year.
But it isn’t a case of status quo. League
President Justin Kaplan said three teams
dropped out after last season for a variety
of reasons. They were replaced by three
new teams.
First-half competition ended Dec.
15 with tight races for the top spots in
the Jerusalem and Tel Aviv divisions.
Position-round matches between the first-
place Eagles and second-place Our Gang
in the Jerusalem Division and first-place
L’chaim and second-place Internationals
in the Tel Aviv Division determined the
winners.
Match results and final standings were
still being calculated last week, but the
top games and series of the first half were
known.
The best scratch game was a 278
bowled by David Moss. Kaplan had the
best scratch series with 247-268-211—
726. High game with handicap was Josh
Alpert’s 306. Best handicap series was 808
by Tom Jacob.
“We have an amazing group of guys,”
Kaplan said. “It seems like the camara-
derie gets better and better. We’re a 90
percent handicap league, which makes it
fair for everyone. People who are new to
bowling can compete with guys who have
bowled for a long time.”
Second-half competition began
Tuesday (Jan. 5) and will continue weekly
through April 12, but bowlers can still
join the league. Contact Kaplan at
justin-kaplan@comcast.net.
The league bowls at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays
at Drakeshire Lanes in Farmington Hills.
ON THE BALLOT
Detroit Tigers manager Brad Ausmus is
on the 2016 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot.
The former catcher was inducted
into the National Jewish Sports Hall of
Fame in 2010. He played in 1,971 major
league games, the most of any Jewish
player, during an 18-season career that
included time with the San Diego Padres,
Tigers, Houston Astros and Los Angeles
Dodgers. He’s fifth in hits (1,579) and
eighth in RBIs (607) among Jewish major
leaguers.
He played in the All-Star Game in 1999
when he was with the Tigers, and he was
a Gold Glove Winner in 2001, 2002 and
2006 when he was with the Astros.
Now 46, Ausmus is heading into his
third season as the Tigers’ manager. His
record is 164-159.
Ausmus must get at least 5 percent
of votes from members of the Baseball
Writers Association of America to remain
on the Hall of Fame ballot. Results will be
announced this month.
Even though he was an outstanding
defensive catcher, Ausmus’ career .251
batting average makes him an unlikely
candidate to garner the necessary votes to
stay on the ballot.
Ausmus’ mother is Jewish. He man-
aged the Israel team in the 2013 World
Baseball Classic.
LITTLE BIG MAN
Daniel Braverman isn’t a big guy. He’s
listed at 5 feet 10 inches, 177 pounds in
the Western Michigan University football
guide.
But the redshirt junior wide receiver
from Miramar, Fla., put up some big
numbers this season for the Broncos.
Among NCAA Division I receivers
for regular-season games, he was No.
2 in receptions (103), tied for sixth in
touchdown catches (12) and 10th in pass
receiving yardage (1,266). He also had
nine punt returns for 84 yards and two
kickoff returns for 40 yards.
Those statistics earned Braverman
second team honors on the All-Mid-
American Conference team.
Western Michigan beat Middle
Tennessee State 45-31 on Dec. 24 in
the Popeye’s Bahamas Bowl in Nassau.
Braverman caught five passes for 101
yards, including a 68-yard TD pass in the
fourth quarter.
It was the first bowl victory in team
history for the Broncos, who had lost
their previous six bowl games. Western
Michigan finished 8-5 for the second
straight year.
*
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January 7 • 2016
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