sports INVEST SMART! Build, Protect and Preserve your Wealth with Gold and Silver Shir Shalom No. 2 shows off its Rosen Division championship trophy. Softball Champs Show Compassion STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER I Get your free Investment Kit today! Visit www.metalsmint.com or call 855-360-4653 2198080 FALL PERIMETER INSECT CONTROL WE TREAT BOX ELDER BEETLES LADYBUGS CLUSTER FLIES PLUS MANY MORE…. INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR RODENT CONTROL (248) 585-2600 Family owned and operated since 1900 Over 100,000 satisfi ed customers since 1900 32 September 7 • 2017 jn 2201620 t was an easy decision. And a unanimous one. Temple Shir Shalom No. 2’s players agreed to change the time of the team’s InterCongregational Men’s Club Summer Softball League Rosen Division playoff championship game Aug. 20 to allow a player from the opposing team to play. Instead of starting the game at 10:20 a.m. at Community Sports Park in West Bloomfield, the game began at 8 a.m. A player from Congregation Shaarey Zedek couldn’t play if the game was at the original start time because of a family commitment. “It’s very important to us that we always represent Shir Shalom’s values,” said Shir Shalom No. 2 coach Mitch Kline. “We’re friendly and supportive.” League director Steve Achtman worked with West Bloomfield Parks and Rec and the game’s two umpires to make the time switch. “We look out for each other in our league,” Achtman said. Shir Shalom No. 2 beat Shaarey Zedek 13-7, leading the game from start to finish, but the final score took a back seat to brotherhood. “One of best things about our league is getting to meet and know players from other synagogues,” Kline said. “It isn’t all about winning softball games.” Shir Shalom No. 2’s roster included Kline and his son Evan Kline, Dan Cohen and his sons Jared Cohen and Seth Cohen, synagogue director Andre Douville and his son Zach Douville, Rabbi Dan Schwartz, Rabbi Michael Moskowitz, Scott Hutten, Dave Raminick, Dan Krauss, Brad Golder, Michael Weinberger, Paul Gedrich, Lonnie Meyers, Alex Vinter and Glenn Scher. “This was only our second year as a team, so we’re proud of our champi- onship,” Mitch Kline said. With a record 18 teams in the league this summer, the league was split into divisions for the first time. There were three divisions with six teams apiece, based on competition levels. ‘DETROIT HUSTLES HARDER’ Detroit had two 16U basketball teams — Detroit Blue and Detroit White — at the JCC Maccabi Games & ArtsFest in Miami. “Neither team came home with a medal, but both showed tremendous fight, representing their ‘Detroit Hustles Harder’ warm-up shirts well,” said co-coach Jeremy Fishman. The Blue team, comprised of all Detroit players, included four-year Maccabi Games athletes and captains A.J. Gilbert and Evan Vine, who led the Detroit delegation through the opening ceremonies. Gilbert and Vine played in every year of their Maccabi Games eligibility. The team also had a three-year player, Mitchell Sherr, and two-year players Ari Yaker, Ari Singer, Jackson Blau and Blake Zamler. The sole rook- ie was Ryan Otis. The White team had six Detroit players and two players from other delegations. Detroit players included three-year athlete and team captain Mac Bauer, two-year players Sam Zack, Justin Yaker and Max Goldstein, and first-year players Ryan Lipman and Dylan Bolton. The White team was joined by Eli Keyser-Hirsch from Springfield, Mass., and Ben Merritt from Hartford, Conn. The Blue team went 2-2 in round- robin games playing a grueling sched- ule. The White team was 1-3, losing two games by a combined six points. From there, the Blue team went to the upper bracket and the White team to the lower bracket. Each team lost in the first round to the eventual bracket champion, but the Blue team’s finish (eighth place) was the best by a Detroit U16 basket- ball team since 2014. Fishman and his father Jefrey coached the two Detroit teams. • Send tips to stevestein502004@yahoo.com.