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Happy Friday! Brigham Young University’s Jewish quarterback Jake Retzlaff made his second start of the season last Saturday, earning his first career touchdown in the Cougars’ 45-13 loss against Iowa State.
Retzlaff, who grew up a proud Reform Jew, is one of only a handful of Jewish students at the Utah school, which is affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He is also one of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency’s 36 Jewish Students Athletes to Watch for this year — learn more about him and the other up-and-coming stars here.
BYU faces No. 14 Oklahoma tomorrow.
Exploring the legacy of legendary broadcaster Marty Glickman
Marty Glickman in an undated photo at Madison Square Garden. (Sports Broadcast Journal)
For nearly 50 years, nobody embodied New York sports like Marty Glickman.
A former star athlete in his own right, Glickman was a beloved broadcaster who called games for just about every New York team in every sport over an illustrious career in TV and radio.
Jeffrey Gurock, a Yeshiva University professor and historian, explores Glickman’s life in his new book, “Marty Glickman: The Life of an American Jewish Sports Legend,” which hit shelves last month.
Gurock, who has written and edited more than two dozen books, including a few about Jews and sports, said his newest work is much more than a sports book.
“The takeaway from the book is the difficulties that second generation Jews have in their chosen field, particularly if they’re in the public eye, to make it, maintain their identity and to avoid the scourges of antisemitism,” he said.
Read more about the iconic broadcaster here.
Halftime report
HONORED. The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame has announced its 2024 inductees. The group includes well-known Jewish stars like Ryan Braun and Mitchell Schwartz, ESPN stalwart Linda Cohn and lesser-known athletes like Abby Hoffman and Aaron Krickstein, whose names any Jewish sports fan should know. Check out the full list here.
BAGELS AND FOX. New York Rangers star Adam Fox may be injured, but his hustle never quits. The All-Star defenseman announced a new partnership this week with a local bagel shop — including a new video series and his own menu item, both named after him. “As a Jewish Kid from Long Island a bagel partnership is something I am extremely excited about,” Fox said in a press release.
MOVING ON UP. After winning the Nedbank Golf Challenge last weekend, Max Homa moved up to No. 7 in the Official World Golf Ranking. Homa also participated in Netflix’s live golf event this week that paired up PGA players with Formula One drivers in Las Vegas.
NEVER FORGET. The New England Patriots played in Germany last weekend, which coincided with the 85th anniversary of Kristallnacht. During the team’s trip, owner Robert Kraft met with the CEO of Adidas and visited a memorial for a destroyed synagogue in Nuremberg.
Jews in sports to watch this weekend
🏀 IN BASKETBALL…
Deni Avdija and the Washington Wizards host the New York Knicks in the in-season tournament tonight at 7 p.m. ET. Domantas Sabonis and the Sacramento Kings play the San Antonio Spurs tonight and the Dallas Mavericks Sunday, both at 7:30 p.m. ET. In the G League, Ryan Turell and the Motor City Cruise face the Grand Rapids Gold Saturday at 7 p.m. ET. Amari Bailey and the Greensboro Swarm host the Raptors 905 tonight and tomorrow, both at 7 p.m. ET.
🏒 IN HOCKEY…
Jake Walman and the Detroit Red Wings host the Toronto Maple Leafs today at 2 p.m. ET. Zach Hyman and the Edmonton Oilers play the Tampa Bay Lightning tomorrow at 4 p.m. ET. Devon Levi and the Buffalo Sabres face the Chicago Blackhawks Sunday at 7 p.m. ET.
🏈 IN FOOTBALL…
Can you believe it’s already Week 11 in the NFL? A.J. Dillon and the Green Bay Packers host the Los Angeles Chargers Sunday at 1 p.m. ET, Jake Curhan and the Seattle Seahawks take on the Los Angeles Rams at 4:25 p.m. ET and Greg Joseph and the Minnesota Vikings face the Denver Broncos at 8:20 p.m. on Sunday Night Football.
⚽️ IN SOCCER…
Matt Turner and the U.S. Men’s National Team play Trinidad and Tobago Monday at 7 p.m. in the Nations League quarterfinals. The two teams faced off last night, with the U.S. winning 3-0. Turner started in goal, but didn’t have to do much — Trinidad and Tobago only got one shot off the entire match.
🏎️ IN RACING…
The long-awaited Las Vegas Grand Prix is this weekend, and Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll will look to continue his strong season when the race begins at — sorry, East Coasters — 1 a.m. ET Sunday.
And the answer is…
Thank you to all our readers who responded to last week’s trivia question! In case you missed it, we asked which Jewish pitcher has more career appearances than Craig Breslow, the new chief baseball officer of the Boston Red Sox, who pitched in 576 games in his career.
The most popular answers were Ken Holtzman, who appeared in 451 games, and Sandy Koufax, who pitched in 397. The correct answer is Scott Schoeneweis, who has Breslow beat by one game, with 577. Stay tuned for more Jewish sports trivia next week!
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