The 35th annual Côte Saint-Luc Golf Classic, set for Tuesday, July 8 at Meadowbrook, promises to be a good one. I am co-chairing the event once again  with Councillor Sam Goldbloom. After less than 50 golfers participated last year, Sam and I set out to pump up the volume. Thanks to phenomenal staff support from Harold Cammy and Alvin Fishman, we will now have the highest number of players and prizes collected  and registered over the past five years.

We also have a superb sponsor in Gravel Auto, which will make a brand new car available, and legendary jazz pianist Oliver Jones as our honourary chair. He will also be part of a foursome.

This is also an excellent opportunity to remind people what precious greenspace we have at Meadowbrook. Some members of Les Amis de Meadowbrook will even golf with us this year.

Foursome tee off early and we will all gather at the Aquatic and Community Centre for an awards banquet at 1 p.m.

Here are the details about the golf classic from  a previous blog.

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There is nothing like a bunch of trophies, towels with the logo of Canada and pizza to celebrate the end of another successful house league campaign for the Côte Saint-Luc Minor Hockey Association. Victor Waisgrus and his team set up shop at the Aquatic and Community Centre. There was a power point presentation, featuring photos of the young players in their team uniforms.

I joined Mayor Anthony Housefather and Councillors Mitchell Brownstein, Allan J. Levine (whose dossiers include hockey), Ruth Kovac and  Dida Berku at the short and sweet banquet. See the picture below of us with some of the kids. On this night the Canadiens were beginninh their playoff series against the Boston Bruins so everyone wanted to get home to catch the game.

A couple of years ago I was delighted to learn that former NHL defenceman  Igor Kravchuk was a constituent of mine in Côte Saint-Luc District 2.  A few days ago I had a chance to meet another one of my constituents, Matt Cudzinowski, who has a pretty exciting job with the Montreal Canadiens.

Matt Cudzinowski

Matt, now 31,  attended both the Jewish People's and Peretz Schools (JPPS) and Bialik High School before  moving on to  Marianopolis College (DEC – Commerce), Concordia University (BA – Journalism) and the University of the Pacific – (BA - Sports Management) in Stockton, California.

When I was introduced, I knew his distinct name sounded familiar. Sure enough, he had done some on  air work for TSN 690 Radio.   Matt enjoyed  two major internships  with the Stockton Thunder of the East Coast Hockey League and the NHL's Detroit Red Wings.  He signed  on as the coordinator of  media and public relations for Golf Canada in Oakville, Ontario. before returning to Montreal and joining the Canadiens on January 30 2013.

Presently, Matt is the coordinator for HabsTV and Editorial.  He serves as a writer for the impressive  canadiens.com  website and CANADIENS Magazine.  "I cover the team both at home and on the road as part of a team of writers for our website," he says. "I also write feature stories for every issue of CANADIENS Magazine and I am also responsible for translation work, as well."

A dream job indeed for any hockey fan! No doubt some interesting stories to share if we bring back to speak at Bialik High School in the heart of District 2.

The Shaare Zion Lions are the 2013 Champions of the MSSL (Montreal Synagogue Softball League) for the fifth year in a row. In a thrilling and exciting two out of three final series against the TBDJays, the Lions lost the first game 5-4 to a younger and hungrier Jays team. With their backs to the wall, the Lions came from behind and took Game Two 13-10. And in the sudden death Game Three final at Trudeau Park in Côte Saint-Luc, the Lions battled the Jays and emerged victorious in a 11-9 win.

“We were an average team all year as many of our regulars were out with injuries” said manager/player Asher Tannenbaum. “But we stuck together, played smart and are thrilled with this fifth championship. We can claim to be The Montreal Canadiens of Softball and will return next year to win the sixth.”

The MSSL was created about seven years ago and there are eight synagogue teams in the league. Games are played on Sunday mornings from June through September.

For more information, please contact the Commissioner Asher Tannenbaum at [email protected] or514-481-7727#237

Côte Saint-Luc District 2 resident and mega sports  fan Daniel Alon has a knack for meeting pro hockey players. Last September he snapped a shot of himself and Pittsburgh Penguins star defenceman Kris Letang in Côte Saint-Luc.   

On the day of this writing, Daniel was at Golf Town on Sources Boulevard in Dollard des Ormeaux where he had a chance to meet Vincent Lecavalier, the newest member of the Philadelphia Flyers. Lecavalier, of course, is from West Island Ile Bizard. He played his entire NHL career with the Tampa Bay Lightning until they bought his contract out in June. Soon after he signed on with the Flyers, much to the dismay of so many Habs fans who always dreamed of him  suiting up for the Red, White and Blue.

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Côte Saint-Luc Mayor Anthony Housefather (pictured poolside below) has been proudly representing Canada at the Maccabiah Games (a.k.a. the Jewish Olympics) in Israel. As a member of the Canadian master's swim team, he has won seven medals : five silvers in the 100 and 400  metre butterfly, the 50 metre backstroke, open water and  the medley relay .  He also captured a bronze in the 200 metre freestyle while being part of relay team which also captured a bronze.

“My times have been generally very good and very pleased,” said the mayor, who missed a gold by four tenths of a second in the 400 metre freestyle.

The final  tally from the pool is eight medals (five individual silvers, one individual bronze and two relay bronze. Clearly the mayor is Canada’s answer to Michael Phelps.  “Our team manager believes this was the most medals won by a Canadian in the games so far so very pleased,” the mayor added.

Here is some more Maccabiah Games news:

Gold in Metula: It was a golden day for Canadian Men's Hockey. The Men's Junior team won their gold medal match over USA 3-2, while the Canadian Men's Open Team won their gold medal game 7-1 over Team USA. Canadians Men's Open Captain Adam Henrich was named player of the tournament on the Mens Open side, while Canadian Junior goaltender Mark Michaels was named player of the tournament on the junior side.

Men's Volleyball: In the gold medal game in Modi'in, Canada fell to Israel in straight sets (3-0). The guys fought hard, but in the end the U-21 team (for the most part) from Israel was just too strong. The pro-Canadian crowd - our rugby, Jr. girls volleyball, Jr. boys baseball teams and hundreds of other Canadians were in attendance — definitely showed their support with chants of CA-NA-DA filling the gym throughout the match. The team's showing was the best finish by a Canadian men's volleyball team in Maccabiah Games history.

Master's Tennis: The wins kept coming for Canada on the tennis courts yesterday. In Masters Singles, Sherry Buller finished off her Russian opponent to set herself up with a Gold medal match on Sunday. Bram Faber dominated his match and will go for Gold on Sunday as well. In Mixed Doubles, Sherry Buller was at it again and did not disappoint. She and her partner Adam Fisher won 2 consecutive matches to bring home another Gold medal for Canada.

Silver on the Diamond. After an epic win against Israel in the semi-finals the day before, Canada's Junior Boys Baseball team came up short against USA in the gold medal game losing 9-0. The boys had a great tournament and the crowd at yesterday's game was definitely proud of their silver medal accomplishment.

Soccer Update: The Open Women's team rebounded from its tough loss on Thursday against Israel with a resounding 7-0 win over Germany. For complete soccer results, check out www.maccabiah.com.
 
Cricket: Canada matched up against Great Britain yesterday in their second last round robin game. They came out hitting well, but in the end, lost the contest 102-101 and Great Britain had 10 wickets in hand. Canada's last round robin game is on Sunday against India and the outcome will determine whether or not they will be playing for a medal on Monday.

Basketball Update: On Friday, many of our hoops team hit the court. Here are there results: U16 Boys beat Brazil 44-42; Master's Men's team fell to USA 80-75; and Open Men's team lost to Israel 110-75. Our Open Women's team will play for Bronze eitherSunday or Monday (yet to be determined).

Councillor Sam Goldbloom and I were once again proud to co-chair the city's annual Golf Outing at Meadowbrook on July 9. It was sponsored by Yeh!Yogurt and Café, the growing self-serve yogurt chained owned by CSL natives Jon (below with me)  and Marvin Gurman.

This year we renamed the event the Côte Saint-Luc Golf Classic and planted the seed for  an extraordinary new format which we really expect to take off in 2014. Whereas this nine-hole event has been traditionally geared towards seniors, it is now open to all golfers in the community. We had a Seniors/Occasional Golfer category and another for Prestige/Alumni.

Alvin Fishman of our Parks and Recreation Department did  a superb job overseeing every aspect of this event, from registering players to collecting an endless array of doorprizes. The latter is always a highlight of our program. Councillors Goldbloom and I gave a few out via the "Let's Make a Deal" format at our luncheon banquet. We asked people to show certain items, be it a watch or an US dollar bill, to be eligible to win everthing from  movie tickets to food from CSL Kosher on Westminster. Some significant grand prizes, including a three wheel portable gold caddy valued at $150 to a free week at a tennis camp valued at $250, were given out via a special quiz moderated by our brilliant Mayor Anthony Housefather.

Let me first talk about the golfing. It was a gorgeous day, something which is not a regular occurrence this summer.  Folks began teeing off at 6:45 a.m. at Meadowbrook, which we all know is invaluable greenspace in our community. Next year I will ask Les Amis de Meadowbrook to register a foursome.    I had the wonderful opportunity to golf with CSL Men's Club president Sidney Margles, outgoing Police Station 9 Commander Sylvain Bissonnette (he will be heading the station on the other side of the course in Lachine), Police Station 9 Lt. J.P. Theoret and our friend Marco who runs the Café Aqua at our Aquatic and Community Centre (ACC) . The latter two are really superb golfers. Marco actually uses a putter on virtually every shot. Sid knows the game well, hitting the links year-round. Commander Bissonnette and I golf once a year -at this event.  I do not keep score when I golf, but I sure do have lots of fun. Being part of this event also reminds me what a jewel we have in Meadowbrook. This is one gorgeous property which we must protect from development. As you will notice we actually had a fivesome, pictured above.

After the golfing we all headed to the ACC for a luncheon catered by the Snowdon Deli. Tatyana Davidenkow joined us to play piano and she really added some wonderful ambience to the room. Sam, myself,  Mitchell Brownstein, Steven Erdelyi, and Allan Levine were the councillors who golfed. But at the luncheon, we were fully represented with Mayor Housefather and Councillors Glenn J. Nashen, Dida Berku and Ruth Kovac on hand. Howard Liebman, the dedicated chief of staff to Mount Royal Liberal MP Irwin Cotler, joined us as did Jon  Gurman and special guest speaker Tony Marinaro from TSN 690 Radio (pictured above with Sam, myself, Alvin Fishman and Deb Trager accepting a gift).

Four trophies were handed out: Closest to the Pin on the 16th hole, female (Helen Zafran) and male (Beryl Peletz); and Longest Drive on the 17th hole, female (Pat Heller) and male (Michael Rabinovitch). They are pictured at the left with mayor, council and young Matthew Erdelyi.

Thanks to Parks and Recreation Director David Taveroff and the dynamic Deb Trager  for assisting us with a number of tasks and our volunteers, which this year included someone we can always count on in Toby Shulman. Rami Negev was on the course taking photos.

Marinaro, who hosts the Montreal Forum from 10 am to Noon weekdays and co-hosts the Intermission from Noon to 1 pm, is a great sports mind and top-notch public speaker. We were fortunate to be privy to his insight, particularly about the Montreal Canadiens.   

Our sponsor Jon Gurman gave a nice address as well, telling everyone how he and his brother and older sister were raised in an upper duplex on Melling Avenue. They went to local public school and played in the CSL sports leagues, building their business to one that know brings in annual revenue of more than $100 million.He was thrilled to bring a Yeh! Yogurt and Café to the Quartier Cavendish. He is pictured accepting a plaque from the mayor, Alvin and Deb.

A great time was had by all.

Steven and Matthew Erdelyi and Mayor Housefather.

Mayor Housefather and Howard Liebman.

Our delightful pianist.

Jon Gurman and his Yeh!Rarriri.

Congratulations to Côte Saint-Luc Director of Public Affairs and Communications Darryl Levine and company for the completion today of the long awaited signage of Gary Carter Field at our flagship Pierre Elliott Trudeau Park on Mackle Road.

It is a fitting tribute to this city's greatest professional baseball player. We formally named the field in his honour last July 1, some six months after The Kid passed away. As you can see, this is not the kind of signage which takes moments to put up. A lot of  planning and care went into it. Bravo again.

In the near future some of the former Expos greats will be in town for a benefit softball game and autograph session organized by the ALS Society. This was supposed to occur on June 26, 2013. However, that was postponed in order to come up with an even more elaborate event.