JULY 16 • 2020 | 37

Add another painful cancellation to 
the list of annual Jewish sports events 
wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 36th annual Michigan Jewish 
Sports Hall of Fame induction banquet, 
normally held in the fall at the Jewish 
Community Center of Metropolitan 
Detroit in West Bloomfield, won’
t be held 
this year.
That’
s the word from Sari Cicurel, 
executive director of the Michigan 
Jewish Sports Foundation, which pres-
ents the banquet.
The 30th annual Hank Greenberg Memorial Golf and Tennis Invitational, scheduled 
for June 8 at Franklin Hills Country Club in Farmington Hills, was canceled by the 
foundation in April.
The JCC Maccabi Games & ArtsFest, scheduled for Aug. 2-7 in San Diego, Calif., 
and Aug. 9-14 at Page University in Westchester, N.Y., was canceled in March by the 
JCC Association of North America.
Circurel said there are plans to honor the Jewish News High School Athletes of the 
Year and Dr. Steven and Evelyn Rosen Scholarship award winners, who normally are 
celebrated at the Hall of Fame dinner.
“The committee will most likely present the awards virtually,” Cicurel said. “We 
want to honor those kids and their hard work.”

quick hits
BY STEVE STEIN 

There was quite a battle for first place in the team division 
of the B’
nai B’
rith golf league through seven weeks of the 
16-week season.
 The duo of Josh Baker and Josh Harvith led with 83 
points, just one more than Marc Ruskin and Jeff Novick. 
Baker and Harvith had a 27-18-18 record on the 63 holes 
played and Ruskin and Novick were 31-22-10.
Baker and Harvith had earned 5.5 points in the seven 
matches and Ruskin and Novick had earned five points.
Here was the rest of the team standings after Week 7: Gary Klinger-Dale Taub 
(75), Larry Shapiro-Bob Shapiro-Chuck Houmaian (73), Lyle Schaefer-Ryan Stone 
(71), Mike Klinger-Kerry Chaban (71), Mitch Lefton-Stu Zorn (67), Rich Luger-
Richard Spalter (66), Jeff Vieder-Mitch Cohen (65), Aaron Herskovic-Brad Friedman 
(65), David Swimmer-Jody Mendelson (62) and Ryan Vieder-Adam Vieder (60).
Mike Klinger led the individual standings with 39 points. Locked in a four-way 
tie for second place with 37.5 points were Baker, Harvith, Ruskin and Luger. 
Mendelson, Herskovic and Chaben all had 37 points. Larry Shapiro and the Bob 
Shapiro-Houmaian duo each had 36 points.
Nine-hole matches are played weekly by league golfers at the Links of Novi.

GARY KLINGER

Josh Harvith (left) 
and Josh Baker

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has 
floated the idea of switch-
ing high school fall and 
spring sports this school 
year, mainly to avoid the 
large crowds that normally 
attend prep football games.
If the switch happens, 
baseball would be played 
this fall.
 West Bloomfield High School base-
ball coach Josh Birnberg likes the 
idea, but he said he’
d be shocked if 
the flip is done because of logistical 
issues including scheduling games and 
umpires.
“There are many pros and cons to 
making baseball a fall sport this school 
year,” Birnberg said.
“On the plus side, I think the product 
would be the best ever because kids 

would be coming off their sum-
mer baseball seasons in game 
shape, and the weather would 
be nice for a change at the 
beginning of the high school 
baseball season,” he said.
“I’
d be concerned, though, 
that if the high school baseball 
season had to be cut short 
because of a virus outbreak, it would 
be two straight baseball seasons 
lost because we didn’
t play this past 
spring,” he said.
If high school baseball is played as a 
fall sport, Birnberg said, it would need 
to start in mid-August so it could be 
completed by mid-October.
“If the fall and spring sports are 
switched, the state needs to let us 
know very soon,” he said.

JOSH BIRNBERG

Josh Birnberg

SARI CICUREL

Zoom meeting to discuss Jewish News
High School Athletes of the Year and 
Rosen Scholarship applicants.

 

 
 

 


 
 

 

 

 

 

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