40 | AUGUST 19 • 2021 sports HIGHlights There’s some serious busi- ness to attend to before the playoffs begin each year in the Inter-Congregational Men’s Club Summer Softball League. The recipients of the league’s Jeff Fox Sportsmanship and Michael Yendick Pure Heart awards are announced. This year, for the sec- ond straight time since the league went to a divisional setup in 2017, each of the league’s three divisions had an honoree for each award. The Jeff Fox Award has been presented since 2012 to honor the memory of a Temple Shir Shalom softball player who died Dec. 22, 2011. This year’s Jeff Fox Award recipients, honored Aug. 1, were Seth Schmitz from the Greenberg Division, Glenn Scher from the Koufax Division and Max Flam from the Rosen Division. The Michael Yendick Award, presented by the B’nai B’rith Softball League starting in 2001 and the Inter- Congregational League start- ing in 2017 after the B’nai B’rith league folded, honors a former B’nai B’rith soft- ball player who was “a true sportsman, an accomplished athlete and a dedicated teammate … a mensch, always.” Yendick died of cancer in 2000 at age 36 after playing in B’nai B’rith softball, basket- ball and volleyball leagues for more than 20 years. This year’s Michael Yendick Award recipi- ents, also honored Aug. 1, were Bruce Kaye from the Greenberg Division, Jeff Hollander from the Koufax Division and Howard Fershtman from the Rosen Division. The league’s umpires select the Michael Yendick Award winners. Umpire-in-chief Rob Landaw praised this year’s award recipients for their conduct on and off the soft- ball diamond. “Do they ever cause any problems for umpires? Never. Never. Never,” he said. Men’s Club Softball League Announces Sportsmanship, Pure Heart Award Winners Temple Israel No. 2. Temple Beth El. Congregation Shir Tikvah. They’re the regular-sea- son division champions of the Inter-Congregational Men’s Club Summer Softball League. Temple Israel No. 2 won the Greenberg Division with a 16-4 record, ahead of three teams that tied for second place in the five- team division. Temple Beth El’s 15-5 record was the best in the Koufax Division. Congregation Shir Tikvah topped the Rosen Division with a 13-7 record. Those three teams earned the No. 1 seed in their division for the two- week, double-elimination playoffs that began Aug. 15, a week later than planned because of rainouts during the season. This is the second con- secutive year the 26-year- old league has had dou- ble-elimination playoffs. Here are the complete regular-season standings for the divisions (ties were broken by tie-breakers): GREENBERG DIVISION 1. Temple Israel No. 2 16-4 2. Temple Israel No. 5 14-5-1 3. Temple Israel No. 6 14-5-1 4. Temple Shir Shalom No. 2 14-5-1 5. Temple Israel No. 4 4-16 KOUFAX DIVISION 1. Temple Beth El 15-5 2. Temple Israel No. 3 12-8 3. Congregation Shaarey Zedek 8-11-1 4. Temple Israel No. 1 8-12 5. Adat Shalom Synagogue No. 1 7-12-1 ROSEN DIVISION 1. Congregation Shir Tikvah 13-7 2. Congregation Beth Ahm 10-10 3. Adat Shalom Synagogue No. 2 6-13-1 4. Temple Shir Shalom No. 3 4-16 5. Bais Chabad Torah Center 2-18 League games are played at Drake Sports Park and Keith Sports Park in West Bloomfield. Playoff results are on the league’s website, mensclubsoftball.org. Regular-Season Champs Crowned in Men’s Club Softball League Michael Yendick Pure Heart Award winner, Jeff Hollander, (fourth from left) joins Bernice and Al Yendick, Michael Yendick’s parents, and Inter- Congregational Men’s Club Summer Softball League organizers Mitch Klein (left), Steve Achtman and Michael Betman after the award presentation. STEVE ACHTMAN Jeff Fox Sportsmanship Award winner, Glenn Scher, (second from left) celebrates with Inter-Congregational Men’s Club Summer Softball League organizers Mitch Klein, Steve Achtman and Michael Betman. Michael Yendick Pure Heart Award winner, Bruce Kaye, (right) and his son Andrew Kaye. STEVE ACHTMAN STEVE ACHTMAN QUICK HITS continued from page 39