continued on page 42

Former Detroit Tigers second baseman Ian 
Kinsler announced his retirement as a player 
Dec. 20.
Kinsler, 37, was with the Tigers from 2014-17 
after being traded from the Texas Rangers for 
Prince Fielder in November 2013. 
He was traded by the Tigers to the Los Angeles 
Angels for outfielder Troy Montgomery and pitcher 
Wilkel Hernandez in December 2017.
A four-time All-Star and two-time Golden Glove 
winner during his 14-year Major League career, 
Kinsler was a member of the 2018 World Series 
champion Boston Red Sox.
He finished his career with 257 home runs, 909 RBIs, 243 stolen 
bases and 1,999 hits.
Kinsler played for the San Diego Padres last season.
His last game was Aug. 12. He was sidelined the rest of the season 
by a herniated cervical disk. Kinsler told The Athletic the injury played a 
major role in his decision to retire.
Kinsler is remaining with the Padres as an adviser in the front office.

Milt and Rochelle Goldman 
are now deceased, but the 
league they began to honor 
their son is as strong as ever.
Longtime league director 
Bruce Weinman said between 
400-450 players on 40-45 
teams will play in the winter 
season, which has age divisions 
for U7, U9, U11, U13 and U15 
teams and a clinic for players 
ages 4 and 5.
Practices will be held Jan. 
18-19 and games will begin 
Jan. 26. Playoff championships 
will be March 22.
Age divisions for U17, U20 
and U25 players are normally 
offered during the spring and 
summer seasons.
Many personal stories are 
generational in a league that is 
36 years old.
Take Paul Katz’
s story, for 
example.
The 42-year-old West 
Bloomfield resident played in 
the Kenny Goldman Basketball 
League in the 1980s, and he’
s 
now in his fourth year coach-
ing his son in the league.
Katz said he practically lived 
at the JCC when he was grow-

ing up and the league was a big 
reason for the attraction.
“Playing in the league gave 
me an opportunity to play a 
team sport instead of doing 
things on my own,
” he said. “I 
became friends with kids who 
are still friends of mine today.
“The league still gives kids 
a chance to meet kids from all 
over the area and play a great 
sport against kids of all skill 
levels.
”
Katz recently came across a 
league shirt he wore when he 
played. The cotton shirt has 
been passed to his son Ami, 9.
“I found the shirt while 
going through things in the 
house, washed it, and my son 
now wears it,
” he said.
Katz stopped playing in the 
league when he became middle 
school age and began playing 
school sports.
He was a football, basket-
ball and baseball standout at 
Cranbrook-Kingswood High 
School in Bloomfield Hills 
before graduating in 1995.
He and his wife, Carri, have 
two other children, daughters 
Talia, 8, and Elliana, 6. 

Ian Kinsler

The Detroit Writing 
Room (DWR) is 
kicking off its 2020 
Speakers Series with 
the top podcasters 
in Metro Detroit. 
Learn how five pop-
ular podcasters built 
their shows, follow-
ings and careers in 
podcasting at this 
event starting at 5:30 p.m. 
Thursday, Jan. 16, at DWR, 
1514 Washington Blvd., Suite 
203, Detroit. 
Panelists Shannon Cason of 
Homemade Stories, Robin 
Kinnie of Motor City 
Woman, Zak Rosen of 

Graham Media 
Group, Joe Saul-
Sehy of Stacking 
Benjamins and Becky 
Scarcello of The 
D Brief will share 
their journeys and 
advice for aspiring 
podcasters.
Enjoy drinks from 
Sumptuous Spirits, a 
lively panel talk moderated by 
podcast producer Jon Gay and 
a meet-and-greet with the 
panelists. There will also be a 
Q&A with the audience.
Tickets, including drinks, 
are $35. Go to 
bit.ly/2t4s5hQ. 

Learn to Podcast from Local Pros

Zak Rosen

GRAHAM MEDIA

Bnei Akiva Youth Shine Light for Thousands 

Across the United States and Canada, Bnei Akiva teen leaders 
shone the light of goodness and hope by running Chanukah 
events for thousands of grade schoolers throughout numerous 
communities. In Detroit, teen leaders accompanied younger 
grades to the Coville Assisted Living Center to sing, dance and 
bring joy to the residents. As moving it was for the residents of 
the home, it was even more emotional for the youth who said 
they could feel the happiness in the room. 

 JANUARY 16 • 2020 | 41

spotlight

A popular Yiddish expression 
goes, “May you live to 120 
years.” Well, the Workmen’
s 
Circle, founded in 1900, 
is about to celebrate that 
anniversary in 2020; and, in 
the leadup to this milestone, 
the nonprofit has unveiled a 
new name: the Workers Circle.
This new name embraces 
the tenor of the times in 
gender-neutral fashion 
and with a nod to the 
organization’
s century of 
activism at the fore of the 
labor movement, supporting 
worker rights to this day. It 
also more accurately reflects 
the organization’
s original 
Yiddish name, Der Arbeter 
Ring, since Arbeter is gender 

neutral.
“
As the first woman to 
lead the organization, I am 
proud to uphold a welcoming 
and inclusive culture,” says 
National Executive Director 
Ann Toback. “Everything 
we do communicates our 
commitment to living our 
progressive values, and that 
includes choosing a name that 
reflects both our origin and 
our contemporary ideals.”
Toback announced the 
name change Dec. 2 at the 
organization’
s annual ben-
efit, at which she presented 
Mark and Seth Rogen with 
its Generation to Generation 
Activism Award. 

Workmen’
s Circle Gets New Name

