quick hits
BY STEVE STEIN
JCC Maccabi Games Zoom Meetings Scheduled If all goes well, the JCC Maccabi Games will return in 2022 in San Diego, Calif. The last time the Maccabi Games were held was in Detroit in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic caused the cancellation of the annual gathering of Jewish teens in 2020 and 2021. Prospective Detroit athletes and their parents can take the first step toward making their way to southern California next summer by attending an information meeting on Zoom at either 4 p.m. Nov. 21 or 4 p.m. Dec. 12. To RSVP, go to www. maccabidetroit.com. Zoom links will be sent out the morning of each meeting. For more information, contact Detroit Maccabi delegation head Karen Gordon at karengordon44@icloud.com. The San Diego JCC Maccabi Games will be held July 30 through Aug. 5, 2022, hosted by the Lawrence Family JCC on the Jacobs Family Campus.
DETROIT MACCABI
Detroit athletes can compete in swimming, tennis, dance, golf, volleyball, soccer, hockey, baseball or basketball. There will not be an ArtsFest in San Diego to reduce the number of participants, in case the pandemic is still causing gathering issues. “Baby steps,” said Gordon, who acknowledged much is still not known about what the San Diego Games will look like. “We don’t know if kids will come out of the woodwork and flock to San Diego, or if families will still be leery next summer about having their kids participate in a large event,” she said. The Maccabi Games began in 1982. Organized and conducted by the JCC Association of North America, the event has grown into the largest Jewish sports competition in North America.
Nodler’s First Goal of the Season Breaks the Ice for the Spartans Nodler played a role in Michigan State’s first goal of that game. This time, Nodler’s shot was saved, the puck popped into the air, and Loughran batted it home. Besides playing on the Spartans’ top line, Nodler has a leadership role on the team this season. He’s one of three assistant captains, as voted by his teammates. “It’s nice to know I have the respect of the team,” Nodler said. A 5-foot-10, 195-pound Berkley High School graduate, Nodler was selected by the Calgary Flames in the fifth round (150th overall) of the 2019 NHL draft. The Flames will retain their rights to him through next season. MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
Somebody needed to score the first goal of the season for the Michigan State University hockey team. That guy turned out to be junior center Josh Nodler from Oak Josh Nodler Park. Playing on the Spartans’ new first line in the first period, Nodler took a pass from right wing Griffin Loughran in front of the Air Force net and put the puck past goalie Alex Schilling for the game’s first goal. “That was cool to score our first goal of the year,” Nodler said. The Spartans lost the Oct. 8 game 3-2 in overtime at home at Munn Ice Arena, but they beat Air Force 5-1 the next night.
OCTOBER 21 • 2021
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