The Jewish Sport Report: Is BYU building a Jewish football dynasty?
Jake Retzlaff, left, and Kedon Slovis of the Brigham Young Cougars talk during warmups before their game against the Oklahoma Sooners, Nov. 18, 2023. (Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
(JTA) — Hello! The unplanned theme of this week’s Jewish Sport Report is Jewish athletes in unexpected places. We’ve got Jewish QBs at a Mormon school, a DI college football player who doesn’t play on Saturdays and even a first baseman on the pitcher’s mound.
Let the games begin!
The (Play)Book of Mormon
Quarterback Jake Retzlaff is entering his second season with Brigham Young University. (Jaren Wilkey/BYU)
It’s unusual to see a Jewish quarterback in the NFL: There have been only a handful in the league’s century-plus history. Even stranger, however, is to see a QB with Jewish heritage go pro from the flagship university of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints — with a Jewish quarterback waiting in the wings to succeed him.
That’s exactly what‘s happening over at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. The school’s former starting quarterback, Kedon Slovis, wasn’t picked in last week’s NFL draft, but subsequently signed with the Indianapolis Colts. Slovis has Jewish heritage but “it’s not a very large part of his identity,” a BYU Athletics spokesman told me this week.
That isn’t the case with Slovis’ probable successor, Jake Retzlaff. Retzlaff, who is in line for the Cougars’ starting job, wears a Star of David necklace around campus, where he has chosen the nickname “BY-Jew” and talks about being Jewish with teammates and coaches. The California native was featured on JTA’s list of Jewish student athletes to watch this year.
Halftime report
PAIR OF ACES… Max Fried and Dean Kremer continued their dominance on the mound early this week, completing a stellar Passover for the two Jewish starters. Following his rare 92-pitch complete game shutout on the second night of the holiday, Fried threw six no-hit innings for his Atlanta Braves on Monday, Passover’s seventh night, striking out seven — but the Braves ultimately lost. The next night, Kremer closed out the holiday by giving his Baltimore Orioles seven innings with four punchouts and only two runs as the Os won 4-2. Kremer also had a vicious comeback after Yankees star Juan Soto stared him down following a big home run.
…AND ONE WILD CARD. In unexpected Jewish pitching news, Chicago Cubs first baseman Matt Mervis made his MLB pitching debut this week. It didn’t go as well as Fried’s and Kremer’s outings. Mervis pitched two-thirds of an inning for the Cubs in their 17-0 blowout loss against the Boston Red Sox on Saturday. The results weren’t pretty — Mervis gave up six runs on seven hits — but he did hit 87 mph on the radar gun.
JEW JITSU. Israeli martial artist Yarin Shriki, who survived Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack at the Nova music festival, won a gold medal at the Paris Jiu Jitsu 2024 Grand Prix on Saturday. Shriki dedicated his victory to his best friend, who was killed in the Hamas attack.
UNORTHODOX. Texas A&M’s Sam Salz never played football before he walked onto the Aggies Division I team. Salz is also an Orthodox Jew who does not play on Shabbat — despite nearly all college football games falling on Saturdays. Although it’s unlikely that fans will see him on the field, Salz, who was another of JTA’s Jewish student athletes to watch, is on a mission to prove himself. “I always had this belief in my head, back to when I was a little kid, that I had to play college football or else I wouldn’t have done everything I could’ve — or should’ve — in life,” Salz told The Athletic.
SHAQ, MEET ZACH. NBA legend-turned-analyst Shaquille O’Neal stopped by TNT’s hockey studio this week pretending to ice skate on skateboards, earning the nickname “Shaq Hyman,” a play on the name of Jewish NHL star Zach Hyman. The Edmonton Oilers forward approved: “If Shaq wants lessons, no problem. For free,” Hyman said.
HOMECOMING. Retired WNBA superstar Sue Bird has joined the ownership group of the Seattle Storm, where Bird spent her entire career and won four championships. Bird said joining the Storm’s ownership was “something that I’ve always wanted.”
US-C YOU NEXT SEASON. Speaking of Jewish basketball icons, University of Southern California women’s basketball coach Lindsay Gottlieb has signed a contract extension to stay with the team through the 2029-2030 season. Gottlieb led USC, a No. 1 seed in this year’s NCAA March Madness tournament, to its first Elite Eight since 1994.
KRAFTING HIS RESPONSE. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and his Foundation to Combat Antisemitism are launching a new marketing campaign timed to Jewish American Heritage Month in May, beginning with an ad that will appear in newspapers across the country. Kraft penned a letter expressing his disappointment over the recent wave of pro-Palestinian campus protests, including at his alma mater, Columbia University, where the Jewish student center bears his name.
WHY IS THIS GAME DIFFERENT FROM ALL OTHERS? The Miami Marlins hosted a “Passover at the Park” celebration on Sunday, featuring kosher-for-Passover barbecue, games and Jewish music. The event, sponsored by Florida International University’s Hillel, also included a rendition of “Hatikva,” Israel’s national anthem, prior to the game.
Jews in sports to watch this weekend (all times ET)
🏒 IN HOCKEY…
The NHL playoffs continue this weekend as Jason Zucker and the Nashville Predators host Quinn Hughes, Mark Friedman and the Vancouver Canucks in Game 6 of their first-round matchup, tonight at 7 p.m. The Canucks currently lead the series 3-2; Game 7 would be Sunday. Zach Hyman’s Edmonton Oilers and Adam Fox’s New York Rangers, meanwhile, have both advanced to the second round. In the PWHL, Abbey Levy’s New York team hosts Minnesota Saturday at 1 p.m. Boston — which features Jewish players Aerin Frankel, Kaleigh Fratkin and Cami Kronish — hosts Montreal Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Samantha Cogan and Toronto host Ottawa Sunday at 7 p.m. The PWHL playoffs begin May 8.
⚾️ IN BASEBALL…
Max Fried takes the mound for the Atlanta Braves Sunday at 4:10 p.m. against the Los Angeles Dodgers. At the same time, Dean Kremer starts for the Baltimore Orioles against the Cincinnati Reds. The Chicago White Sox, who promoted Jared Shuster from the minors this week, play the St. Louis Cardinals this weekend. Former White Sox outfielder Kevin Pillar has joined the Los Angeles Angels, who face the Cleveland Guardians. Pillar has big shoes to fill: Halos superstar Mike Trout is injured.
⚽️ IN SOCCER…
Matt Turner and Nottingham Forest play Sheffield United Saturday at 10 a.m. Sheffield is last in the Premier League standings with only 3 wins in 35 matches. In the MLS, DeAndre Yedlin’s F.C. Cincinnati, Daniel Edelman’s New York Red Bulls and Steve Birnbaum’s D.C. United all play Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Zac MacMath and Real Salt Lake will host Sporting K.C. Saturday at 9:30 p.m.
⛳️ IN GOLF…
Max Greyserman, David Lipsky, Ben Silverman and Daniel Berger are all competing at this weekend’s CJ Cup Byron Nelson PGA tournament in Texas.
🏎️ IN RACING…
Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll looks to score more points in this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix on Sunday at 4 p.m.
Courting hope
(Courtesy of Jared Armstrong)
Israeli-American basketball player Jared Armstrong is continuing his mission to use the sport to inspire Israeli kids, especially in the wake of the Oct. 7 attack and the nearly seventh-month-long war. Armstrong recently inaugurated his new J.A.B. Camp Court, named for his foundation, in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon. It was refurbished in collaboration with Five-Star Basketball, which runs basketball camps across the U.S.
Armstrong told me his organization “felt it is important to use sports, particularly basketball, as an outlet to help and inspire the next generation of hoopers during this difficult situation in Israel. Our organization believes basketball can be a sanctuary of peace, and will help build a socialization framework within the Ashkelon community.”
This article originally appeared on JTA.org.
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