CHUCK FREEDMAN
sports
Playoff Titles
On The Line In
Softball League
STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
L
Congregation B’nai Moshe vs. Temple
Israel No. 1, winners vs. Temple Israel
No. 2 and Temple Israel No. 6.
Temple Israel No. 5 is the defending
division playoff champion.
Here’s the schedule this Sunday for
the Koufax Division: Congregation
Shaarey Zedek vs. Adat Shalom
Synagogue No. 2, Temple Israel No. 3 vs.
Temple Beth Ahm, winners vs. Temple
Beth El and Congregation Shir Tikvah.
Temple Beth El is the defending divi-
sion playoff champion.
Here’s the schedule this Sunday for
the Rosen Division: Young Israel of
Southfield vs. Temple
Kol Ami/B’nai Israel
Synagogue, Bais Chabad
Torah Center vs. Adat
Shalom No. 1, winners vs.
Temple Israel No. 4 and
Shir Shalom No. 2.
Shir Shalom No. 2 is
the defending division
playoff champion.
The Fox and Yendick
awards will be presented
at Drake Sports Park.
Each team nominates
a player for the Fox
award, and the winner
ABOVE: The Inter-Congregational Men's Club Summer Softball League
is selected at random.
is filled with father-son combinations. Paul Gross and his son
Jared Gross are on the Temple Kol Ami/B'nai Israel Synagogue team. Umpires determine the
TOP: Elon Freidman of Temple Israel No. 3 delivers a pitch. winner of the Yendick
award.
The Fox award is
named for a Shir Shalom player who
There are six teams in each division.
died in 2011.
The top two finishers receive a bye in
Yendick was a long-time B’nai B’rith
the first round of the single-elimination
softball league player who died in 2000.
playoffs.
The award named for him became part
Games this Sunday at Drake Sports
of the Inter-Congregational League’s
Park and Community Sports Park in
West Bloomfield will determine the final season a few years ago after the B’nai
two teams left standing in each division. B’rith league folded and B’nai B’rith play-
Playoff championship games in all three ers joined Inter-Congregational League
divisions will be held Sunday, Aug. 19, at teams.
Now that this year’s Inter-
Community Sports Park.
Congregational League regular-season
Here’s the schedule this Sunday for
standings have been set, teams that will
the Greenberg Division: Temple Israel
be move up or down a division next
No. 5 vs. Temple Shir Shalom No. 1,
CHUCK FREEDMAN
et the playoffs begin.
The regular season is over in the
Inter-Congregational Men’s Club
Summer Softball League, and the play-
offs will be held the next two Sundays.
Also on the league’s agenda this
Sunday are presentations of the pres-
tigious Jeff Fox Sportsmanship and
Michael Yendick “Pure Heart” awards.
First, let’s go to the diamond, where
regular-season champions have been
crowned in the league’s three divi-
sions: Temple Israel No. 6 in Greenberg,
Congregation Shir Tivkah in Koufax and
Temple Shir Shalom No. 2 in Rosen.
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August 9 • 2018
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season based on their records have been
determined.
Shir Tikvah will move up to Greenberg
from Koufax and Shir Shalom No. 2 will
move up to Koufax from Rosen. Headed
down are Shir Shalom No. 1 from
Greenberg to Koufax and Adat Shalom
No. 2 from Koufax to Rosen.
“The two Shir Shalom teams will
be in the Koufax Division and the two
Adat Shalom teams will be in the Rosen
Division next year,” pointed out Steve
Achtman, one of the league’s coordina-
tors.
This is the second year for the three-
division setup in the 18-team league.
Teams were placed into divisions last
year based on their 2016 regular-season
records. Each year, four teams move up
or down a division.
Achtman said the division setup is
going well, especially because each divi-
sion has its own playoff championship
at stake.
“Teams face teams from other divi-
sions during the regular season, so it’s
enjoyable to get to see everyone,” he
said. “But you only play teams from
your division during the playoffs, which
makes the playoffs competitive for
everyone.”
Not one of last year’s regular-season
division champions also won a playoff
championship.
For more information on the Inter-
Congregational League, go to
mensclubsoftball.org.
OPEN THE HALL DOORS
The Michigan Jewish
Sports Hall of Fame
will have six new
members this year.
Ken Daniels,
Todd Gesund, Dana
Jacobson, Michael
Jacobson, Al Nagler
and Arn Tellem will
Ken Daniels
be inducted Oct. 23
during the annual
Dana Jacobson
dinner at the Jewish
Community Center in
West Bloomfield.
“We’re excited about
the list of inductees
in this class,” said
Sari Circurel, new
executive director of
the Michigan Jewish
Sports Foundation,
which oversees the
Hall of Fame.
Three of the 2018 inductees have ties
to broadcasting.
Daniels is entering his 19th season
doing television play-by-play for Detroit
Red Wings games.
Dana Jacobson has worked as a sports
broadcaster for ESPN and CBS and was
named last month a co-host for the
Saturday edition of CBS This Morning.
Nagler was one of Detroit’s most rec-
ognizable sports broadcasters in the
1940s and 1950s, especially as the radio
play-by-play voice of the Red Wings.
Gesund and Michael Jacobson (no
relation to Dana Jacobson) are former
football and tennis stars.
Tellum is vice chairman of the Detroit
Pistons and a former sports agent.
Also on Oct. 23, Pillars of Excellence
awards will be presented to Robert
Brown, Gary Lincoln, Butch Parnes,
Dick Rosenthal and Lenny Waldman;
Jim and Lisa Price will receive the
Shirley and Alvin Foon Humanitarian
Award.
Benjamin Jacobson and Jessica Stone,
Jewish News High School Athletes of the
Year; Dr. Steven and Evelyn Rosen Stars
of Tomorrow Scholarship winners Gabe
Cohen and Ari Eizen will be honored.
Benjamin Jacobson is Michael
Jacobson’s son. Stone is the daughter of
sports broadcaster Mike Stone, who will
be the program emcee Oct. 23.
For information on the induction din-
ner, go to michiganjewishsports.org. •
Send news to stevestein502004@yahoo.com.