The Jewish Sport Report: A Jewish guide to the new NCAA basketball season
Plus, attacks on Israeli fans in Amsterdam
Ben Shtolzberg, Danny Wolf and Emmi Rinat are just three of the dozens of Jewish players in NCAA basketball this year. (Getty Images)
(JTA) — Hi there! The sky got dark early for the first time last Sunday, but it was a brilliant day for New York Red Bulls midfielder Daniel Edelman, whose shootout goal propelled his squad to the second round of the MLS Cup playoffs, defeating the defending champion Columbus Crew in two straight games.
Edelman, who is still only 21, is a rising star for New York and for the U.S. men’s national team. Check out his game-winner right here.
(And no, he’s not related to Julian or Alex.)
The Jewish college basketball players to watch this season
The NCAA basketball season tipped off this week, and there are dozens of Jewish players to watch across the men’s and women’s game. On the women’s side alone, two dozen Israelis will be hitting the hardwood.
Then there’s 7-footer Danny Wolf, who transferred to Michigan for his junior year after two seasons at Yale. Wolf exploded for 14.1 points and 9.7 rebounds per game last year, earning All-Ivy honors. The Illinois native has dual American and Israeli citizenship and has played internationally for Israel.
There are also Israeli sisters Lior and Yarden Garzon, who play for Colorado and Indiana, respectively. Lior, the older of the pair, joined Colorado for her final year of eligibility after two-year stints at both Oklahoma State and Villanova. Yarden is a star at Indiana, where she earned an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention last season.
In Division-III, Yeshiva University is led by junior Zevi Samet, the fastest player to reach 1,000 career points in the school’s history — yes, faster than Ryan Turell.
Meet the rest of this year’s Jewish NCAA basketball roster right here.
Halftime report
GOING OUT WITH A BANG. As he enters a pivotal MLB offseason as one of the sport’s top-ranked free agents, third baseman Alex Bregman is (possibly) leaving Houston with some hardware. Bregman earned his first career Gold Glove award for his defense, and has also been named a finalist for Silver Slugger, given to the best hitter at each position in each league. He also won the prize in 2019.
SECOND IS THE BEST. Speaking of new hardware, Israeli youth jiu-jitsu fighter Daniel Boaron ended up with a gold medal after his opponent was disqualified for hostility directed toward the Israeli delegation at a competition in Greece. Boaron, 13, had initially lost to Ahmed Alketbi of the United Arab Emirates in the under-14, under-48-kilogram division, but the Emirati was disqualified after he made a throat-cutting gesture toward the Israeli cohort, leaving Boaron in first place.
BYO-RABBI. Brigham Young University quarterback Jake Retzlaff is becoming a household name for college football fans, as the star Jewish player has led the Mormon flagship to an 8-0 record and a No. 9 national ranking. For local Chabad rabbi Chaim Zippel, his fandom of the so-called “BY-Jew” has “almost become a full-time focus for me,” Zippel told Deseret News. “It has been nothing short of amazing.”
Violence in Amsterdam
Leaders across the world have issued condemnations after violent mobs attacked Israeli soccer fans on the streets of Amsterdam following a game between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ajax, a Dutch pro team.
Local police said Friday morning that five people had been hospitalized and 62 had been arrested, and city officials said rioters had “actively sought out Israeli supporters to attack and assault them.”
Officials also said local Jewish institutions — which include the Anne Frank House and the country’s first Holocaust museum — would receive additional security.
In a press conference, Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema called the instigators “antisemitic hit-and-run squads,” adding, “This is a very dark moment for the city, for which I am deeply ashamed.”
Israel sent two planes to Amsterdam early Friday morning to help its fans leave the city. Israel’s Foreign Ministry said it had made contact with all the Israelis who were there. And Maccabi Tel Aviv fans are now being advised to stay away from the team’s match on Friday in Bologna, for fear of copycat attacks.
This is the latest incident to mar Israeli international soccer play since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and the outbreak of the war in Gaza. In January, Turkey detained an Israeli soccer player for displaying a message marking 100 days since Oct. 7. In March, fans were ejected from a tournament in South America for accusing Israel of genocide. In July, as Israel made its return to Olympic soccer, fans gave Nazi salutes and chanted “Heil Hitler” during the Israeli national anthem before the team’s match with Paraguay. And FIFA has considered a petition to bar Israel from international soccer competition.
Read more about the violence here.
Jews in sports to watch this weekend (all times ET)
🏒 IN HOCKEY…
Jakob Chychrun and the Washington Capitals host the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight at 7:30 p.m. Adam Fox and the New York Rangers take on the Detroit Red Wings Saturday at 7 p.m. Quinn Hughes and the Vancouver Canucks host Zach Hyman and the Edmonton Oilers Saturday at 10 p.m. Jack and Luke Hughes and the New Jersey Devils host Luke Kunin, Jake Walman and the San Jose Sharks Sunday at 7 p.m.
🏈 IN FOOTBALL…
It appears that no openly Jewish players will suit up in Week 10. Michael Dunn’s Cleveland Browns are on a bye this week, while kicker Greg Joseph was cut by the New York Giants after being placed on the injured reserve. And tight end Anthony Firkser, who was waived by the New York Jets, has joined the Kansas City Chiefs’ practice squad. In the NCAA, Jake Retzlaff and BYU face in-state rival Utah Saturday at 10:15 p.m.
⚽ IN SOCCER…
In the MLS Cup, DeAndre Yedlin and Cincinnati host New York City Saturday at 4 p.m. Liel Abada and Charlotte face Orlando City Saturday at 6 p.m. Daniel Edelman’s New York Red Bulls have advanced to the next round, while Zac MacMath’s Real Salt Lake have been eliminated. In European soccer, Manor Solomon and Leeds United host Queens Park Rangers F.C. Saturday at 10 a.m. in the Championship, while Matt Turner and Crystal Palace host Fulham in the Premier League at the same time. Turner picked up a win in his debut with the team last week.
🏀 IN BASKETBALL…
Deni Avdija and the Portland Trail Blazers face the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight at 9 p.m. and host the Memphis Grizzlies Sunday at 9 p.m. Domantas Sabonis, who is converting to Judaism, and the Sacramento Kings host the Los Angeles Clippers tonight at 10 p.m. and play the Phoenix Suns Sunday at 8 p.m. Sabonis has tallied seven double-doubles — including three triple-doubles — in eight games this season.
⛳ IN GOLF…
Max Greyserman, David Lipsky and Daniel Berger are all in action this weekend at the WWT Championship in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
Keeping your enemies (or polite opponents) closer
During a scrimmage against Rutgers-Newark on Wednesday, Yeshiva University basketball star Daniella Bessler, who was named Skyline Player of the Year and one of the New York Jewish Week’s “36 to Watch” in 2024, lost the head covering she, like many married Orthodox Jewish women, wears when in public.
The other team immediately surrounded Bessler to afford her privacy while she readjusted, and then the game continued — proving that, yes, humanity is kind sometimes!
Cool moment:
Last night, YU Lady Macs married captain star (and reigning skyline player of the year) Daniella Bessler, momentarily lost her head covering in a game against Rutgers-Newark. The girls on the other team shielded her from view while she fixed it
🎥 @davidyolkut pic.twitter.com/6nerMT7pAf
— jewboy media (@simmy_cohen) November 7, 2024
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