FEBRUARY 15 • 2024 | 49

Max Sasson Is One of the Top Rookies 
in the American Hockey League

“I thought I’
d never throw 
another 300 game. I’
d given up. 
And I hadn’t started a game with 
eight or nine strikes in a row in 
a while,
” he said.
Having previous 300-game 
experience didn’t help him as 
he neared the conclusion of the 
latest perfect game, he said.
“I was really nervous on my 
last couple shots. I could feel myself shaking,
” he said.
Folkoff started his next game with two strikes, then his perfect 
night ended with a thud with a 7-10 split.
His perfect game in 2015 was in his second game of the night. 
He rolled three consecutive strikes to end his first game, then 12 
in a row in game two. He finished with a 660 series.
Folkoff has bowled in the Brotherhood-Eddie Jacobson League 
for 10 years. He’s on his second team, the Hassholes, which was 
in second place in the W
.R. Williams Division after bowling 
concluded Jan. 29.
He enjoys bowling in the league.
“The people make the league,
” he said. “The league is 
competitive, and fun. There’s new people and regulars each 
year. A couple guys I hadn’t seen since high school (North 
Farmington) joined the league this year.
”
When he isn’t bowling 300 games, Folkoff is a quality assurance 
specialist for Dearborn-based Carhartt, a maker of workwear and 
outdoor clothing. 

Send sports news to stevestein502004@yahoo.com. 

This is the house ball Ken 
Folkoff has used for both 
of his 300 games in the 
Brotherhood-Eddie Jacobson 
B’nai B’rith Bowling League.

KEN FOLKOFF

Athletes: Here’s How to Sign Up to 
Compete in the JCC Maccabi Games

Anthony Firkser quietly slipped 
onto the Detroit Lions roster in 
January at the start of their histor-
ic post-season run.
The 6-foot-2, 245-pound tight 
end, one of only a handful of 
Jewish players in the NFL, was 
signed by the Lions on Oct. 
10 and originally assigned to their 
practice squad. The six-
year NFL veteran played 
in two games during the 
regular season, mostly 
on special teams, and 
didn’t catch a pass.
With the Lions thin 
at tight end because of 
injuries, Firkser played 
in all three of their 
post-season games. 
He caught a pass for 
eight yards during the Lions’ final 
drive in their 34-31 loss to San 
Francisco on Jan. 28 in the NFC 
Championship game.
A 28-year-old native of 
Manalapan, N.J., Firkser cele-
brated his bar mitzvah at Temple 
Shaari Emeth in Manalapan. He 
was a guard on the gold med-
al-winning U.S. 18-under basket-

ball team at the 2013 Maccabiah 
Games in Israel.
He told the Jewish Telegraphic 
Agency in 2021 that he often has 
been the first Jewish person his 
NFL teammates have met, and 
he’s been happy to teach them 
about Judaism.
Firkser played college football 
at Harvard. He came to 
the NFL as an undraft-
ed free agent with the 
New York Jets in 2017 
and later was signed by 
the Kansas City Chiefs, 
Tennessee Titans, 
Atlanta Falcons, New 
England Patriots and 
Lions. 
He made history in 
the 2019 NFL postsea-
son. When he caught a touch-
down pass for the Titans during 
their 20-13 upset win over the 
Patriots in the wild card round, 
he became the first player from 
Harvard to score a TD in an NFL 
postseason game. 
Firkser has 115 catches for 
1,207 yards and five touchdowns 
during his NFL career. 

Lions Had a Jewish Player on Their 
Roster During Their Playoff Run

Pre-registration continues for Detroit 
Jewish athletes who want to participate 
in the JCC Maccabi Games in the Motor 
City this summer.
Athletes ages 12-16 as of July 31 are 
eligible to compete. Detroit athletes are 
required to house a minimum of two out-
of-town athletes.
The Maccabi Games will be held July 
28-Aug. 2. Detroit is hosting for a seventh time, the most of any city.
These team sports are offered: Baseball, 5v5 and 3v3 boys basketball, 
5v5 girls basketball, ice hockey, 7v7 boys soccer, 7v7 girls soccer and girls 
volleyball. Competitive dance, golf, star reporter, swimming, table tennis 
and tennis are offered for individuals.
To sign up and for more information, go to jlive.app/events/6231. Other 
points of contact are Jason Plotkin at (248) 785-0861 or MaccabiDetroit@
gmail.com.
An informational meeting for prospective volunteers and host families 
will be held from 3:30-5 p.m. Feb. 25 at Temple Emanu-El, 14450 W. 10 
Mile Road in Oak Park.

The accolades continue to 
pour in for Max Sasson of 
Birmingham, who is trying to 
become the next Jewish player 
in the NHL.
Sasson is a 6-foot-1, 185-
pound center 
who was signed 
last spring as a 
free agent by 
the Vancouver 
Canucks and 
assigned to 
the Canucks’ 
Abbotsford (B.C.) 
farm team in the 
American Hockey 
League, one step 
away from the NHL.
Here’s what The Hockey 
News had to say about Sasson, 
23, in a story about four players 
who stepped up for Abbotsford 
in January:
“Now fully healthy, Max 
Sasson is showing why the 
Vancouver Canucks were 
so keen on signing him as 

undrafted free agent. He set a 
new (AHL) career high with five 
primary assists in the month 
while also recording his first 
career AHL overtime goal. A 
staple in (Abbotsford’s) top six 
(forwards), he could 
be in the top 10 for 
rookie scoring (in the 
AHL) by the end of 
the season.”
Sasson had 13 
goals and 13 assists 
in 35 games for 
Abbotsford in early 
February. 
He was a star 
for two seasons at 
Western Michigan 
University before being signed 
by Vancouver. He had 15 goals 
and 27 assists in 38 games for 
the Broncos in the 2022-23 
season.
Sasson graduated from 
Birmingham Seaholm High 
School. His parents are Alan 
and Ellen Sasson.

Anthony Firkser

DETROIT LIONS

Max 
Sasson

ABBOTSFORD CANUCKS

