The Jewish Sport Report: Lindsay Gottlieb’s historic win and other Jewish sports highlights from this week
Lindsay Gottlieb and her USC squad are off to another strong start this year. Plus: the Pittsburgh Penguins’s unveil a Hebrew jersey.
Lindsay Gottlieb celebrates her 300th head coaching victory after a 124-139 victory over the Cal State Northridge Matadors, Nov. 12, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Kirby Lee/Getty Images)
(JTA) After last weekend’s antisemitic violence in Amsterdam, all eyes were on Paris yesterday as Israel’s soccer team faced France at the Stade de France stadium, where the city had mobilized 4,000 police officers and 1,600 stadium staff to guard what the police deemed a “high-risk” event.
Israel and France tied 0-0 — a solid result for Israel against a soccer powerhouse — in a game attended by French President Emmanuel Macron, who said he was there as a sign of solidarity with the Jewish community. The Paris game attracted crowds of pro-Palestinian protesters, but aside from a brief altercation in the stands, the game appeared to play out with little disruption.
Lindsay Gottlieb’s historic week
After finishing last season as the last-ever Pac-12 Conference women’s basketball champions (the conference has since dissolved), and after earning a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, Lindsay Gottlieb and her University of Southern California squad are off to another strong start this year.
On Tuesday, the Trojans routed the Cal State Northridge Matadors by a mind-boggling score of 124-39, setting program records in points scored in a single game and widest margin of victory. The win was also the 300th of Gottlieb’s career — an impressive achievement for a 47-year-old coach who has already made basketball history.
In 2019, the Cleveland Cavaliers hired Gottlieb as an assistant coach, making her the first women’s collegiate head coach to join an NBA staff.
“There has not been one single day when I haven’t thought at one time, ‘I can’t believe I get paid to do this,’” Gottlieb told her USC players after Tuesday’s blowout. “I’ve been sad, I’ve been mad. I’ve been happy. I’ve been everything in between, but always, always grateful … It has been the honor of my lifetime to be the coach here and to do what we are doing here together.”
Gottlieb, a Scarsdale, New York native, joined USC in 2021 after her stint with the Cavs and head coaching gigs with UC Santa Barbara and Cal Berkeley. In April, Gottlieb signed a contract extension with USC that will keep her at the helm through the 2029-2030 season.
Gottlieb is a member of the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame of Northern California. And following WNBA legend Sue Bird’s retirement in 2022, some fans turned to Gottlieb as the new face of Jewish basketball.
“I wondered if there would be someone to assume [Bird’s] place as basketball’s Jewish role model,” Sophie Bravo wrote for JTA’s partner site Hey Alma in April. “Lindsay seems to have stepped into the role seamlessly, balancing success, humility and determination, using her actions to guide and inspire.”
Halftime report
ALL CAPS. It’s unclear where Alex Bregman, a star MLB free agent, will be headed next season. But one thing Bregman is already offering is the hat he drew a Star of David on during the 2023 playoffs, days after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel. The cap is available for auction at Goldin, with proceeds from the sale benefiting Israel Baseball.
FROM MLB TO MBA. In other Jewish baseball news, the Philadelphia Phillies announced that general manager and Team Israel alum Sam Fuld would become the team’s president of business operations in May 2026, upon completion of his MBA at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. Fuld was hired as GM in December 2020.
DESERT-BOUND. Speaking of the Phillies, their assistant pitching coach Brian Kaplan, who according to the Jewish podcasting duo “Cespedes Family BBQ,” is Jewish himself, left the team this week to become head pitching coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks. In his new role, Kaplan could work with Diamondbacks prospect Jacob Steinmetz, the Orthodox pitcher who ascended to High-A this past summer.
UNDER INVESTIGATION. University of Florida men’s basketball coach Todd Golden, who alongside Gottlieb is viewed as a rising star in the sport, is under investigation for allegations of sexual harassment and stalking. But he appears to still have support: When he took the court Monday for the Gators’ 86-62 win over Grambling State, the former Israeli pro league player received an ovation.
GAME ON. It’s been a banner year for women’s sports, with new women’s pro leagues announced in baseball and lacrosse amid rising popularity for the NWSL and WNBA. Now, EA Sports announced that the Professional Women’s Hockey League will be added to its NHL 25 video game (which features Jewish NHL stars Jack, Luke and Quinn Hughes on the cover.) That means fans will soon be able to play as star Boston Fleet goaltender Aerin Frankel, New York Sirens defender Abbey Levy and other Jewish players in the game, which will launch its PWHL expansion on Dec. 5.
Jews in sports to watch this weekend (all times ET)
🏒 IN HOCKEY…
Jordan Harris and the Columbus Blue Jackets host the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight at 7 p.m. The Penguins don’t feature any Jewish players this season, but the team hosted a Jewish Heritage Night this week, giving out this snazzy Hebrew jersey. Jeremy Swayman and the Boston Bruins host the St. Louis Blues Saturday at 1 p.m. Devon Levi, Jason Zucker and the Buffalo Sabres face the Philadelphia Flyers Saturday at 7 p.m. Quinn Hughes and the Vancouver Canucks host the Nashville Predators Sunday at 10 p.m.
🏈 IN FOOTBALL…
Michael Dunn and the Cleveland Browns face the New Orleans Saints Sunday at 1 p.m. In the NCAA, Jewish quarterback Jake Retzlaff and his undefeated Brigham Young Cougars host Kentucky Saturday at 10:15 p.m.
⚽ IN SOCCER…
Goalie Matt Turner is back with the U.S. Men’s National Team this week, which faces Jamaica Monday at 8 p.m. in leg 2 of the quarterfinals for the Concacaf Nations League, a tournament for countries in North and Central America and the Caribbean. The U.S. won the first game 1-0 on Thursday night. In UEFA Nations League play, Israel faces Belgium Sunday at 2:45 p.m. in Budapest. Since Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has played its “home” matches in neutral territory. (The MLS conference semifinals, in which Daniel Edelman will compete, begin next weekend.)
🏀 IN BASKETBALL…
Deni Avdija and the Portland Trail Blazers host the Atlanta Hawks Sunday at 6 p.m. Domantas Sabonis, who is converting to Judaism, and the Sacramento Kings host the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight at 10 p.m. in the in-season NBA Cup, and host the Utah Jazz is regular season play Saturday at 10 p.m.
⛳ IN GOLF…
Daniel Berger and David Lipsky are competing in the Butterfield Bermuda Championship this weekend.
Jerry Seinfeld, he’s just like us
Plenty of fans enjoy sports talk radio, and many love to disagree with the hosts’ sometimes outlandish takes. But those disagreements usually don’t involve 1990s TV.
One exception came on Tuesday, when WFAN in New York featured a conversation in which host Chris McMonigle referenced “Seinfeld,” prompting his producer to take a dig at the iconic sitcom. What they didn’t know, of course, was that one New York sports fan who might take issue with that opinion was listening: Jerry Seinfeld himself.
So as any devoted sports fan would do, Seinfeld called into the show. What followed was a very New York sports conversation — including digs at the Giants and Yankees from Jerry, a famous Mets superfan. Check it out.
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