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