RSS
The Jewish Sport Report: How a Jewish lawyer became baseball’s favorite ‘Pitching Ninja’
This article was sent as a newsletter. Sign up for our weekly Jewish sports newsletter here.
Happy Friday, Jewish sports fans! We’re kvelling over this story from our friends at the New York Jewish Week — about a newlywed couple who celebrated their wedding during a game at Yankee Stadium.
“I grew up in a home where, I think, the two pillars were Judaism and the New York Yankees,” said Maya Rosen. “When we thought about where to do sheva brachot, there was just no other place.”
Read the charming story right here.
How Rob Friedman became the “Pitching Ninja”
Rob Friedman, left, interviews three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw at MLB’s 2023 All-Star Weekend in Seattle. (Courtesy of Rob Friedman)
Rob Friedman never meant to become famous.
A Jewish lawyer who co-founded a tech company in the late ’90s, Friedman became obsessed with the art of pitching when he coached his son’s youth baseball teams.
Friedman started tweeting clips of pitchers back in 2014 with the hope of sharing his love of pitching with the world. The world noticed.
Fast forward to 2023, and Friedman’s multimedia brand “Pitching Ninja” has amassed over a million followers across social media. Friedman can be seen offering pitching analysis on numerous TV networks and, perhaps most impressively, MLB pitchers themselves turn to him for advice.
“There are days I wake up and I’m like, how the heck did I get that lucky to do this?” Friedman told me. “This is so cool.”
Read more about the “Pitching Ninja” right here.
Halftime report
MOVING ON UP. Israeli goalkeeper Daniel Peretz has signed a long-term contract with F.C. Bayern Munich, the German powerhouse with a rich Jewish history of its own.
ICYMI. Pro tip: Don’t tick off a UFC fighter. Natan Levy, the third Israeli to ever compete in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, challenged an online troll who supports Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes to a fight. It went about how you’d expect.
ANALYZE THIS. Super Bowl champion Julian Edelman will join Fox’s NFL coverage this season. The former New England Patriot, who retired in 2021, worked as an analyst on another show for the past two years.
ON FIRE. Oakland Athletics rookie Zack Gelof continues to rake — the second baseman has 40 hits and 10 homers through his first 35 games. He’s already setting records for the A’s.
PERSPECTIVE. When Bill Silvers tried playing pickleball for the first time, it didn’t go well. Just 10 minutes into playing, Silvers suffered a spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed. As he overcame the accident, Silvers drew inspiration from his parents, who survived the Holocaust. Here’s his story.
RESPECT. When soccer superstar Lionel Messi joined the MLS’ Inter Miami this year, Jewish player DeAndre Yedlin understandably relinquished his role as the team’s captain. But when the club won the Leagues Cup this week, Messi made a gracious gesture to his predecessor. Check it out.
MAZEL TOV. Tennis GOAT Serena Williams and her husband Alexis Ohanian welcomed their second baby this week, and gave her a beautiful Hebrew name.
Jared Armstrong hopes to use basketball to make a change
Jared Armstrong, right, playing professional basketball in Israel. (Courtesy of Jared Armstrong)
Jared Armstrong, the Jewish basketball player who made headlines with his fight for Israeli citizenship last year, is preparing to head back to Israel for his second season as a pro basketball player.
Before he leaves the United States, he’s using his platform for another issue he’s passionate about: promoting Black-Jewish relations.
This Sunday in Philadelphia, Armstrong is hosting a free basketball clinic for middle schoolers.
“With a rich history of Black and Jewish relations, and kind of where we’re at in society, it’s only right that we come closer together,” Armstrong told me. “I thought it would be great to do that starting from the youngest age and up.”
Jews in sports to watch this weekend
IN BASEBALL…
Atlanta Braves ace Max Fried takes the mound against the San Francisco Giants for the second weekend in a row. He and teammate Kevin Pillar will face Joc Pederson Saturday at 4:05 p.m. ET. The Milwaukee Brewers and slugger Rowdy Tellez, who returned this week after missing six weeks with an injury, face the San Diego Padres this weekend. The Los Angeles Angels and reliever Kenny Rosenberg, who was just recalled from the minors, take on the New York Mets.
IN SOCCER…
Manor Solomon and the Tottenham Hotspurs play Bournemouth Saturday at 7:30 a.m. ET, while Matt Turner and Nottingham Forest match up against Man United Saturday at 10 a.m. ET. Daniel Peretz could join his new club Bayern Munich for their game against Augsburg on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. ET.
IN GOLF…
Max Homa, who finished fifth in last week’s BMW Championship, is in Atlanta this weekend for the Tour Championship, the culminating event of the PGA Tour Playoffs for the FedEx Cup.
IN FOOTBALL…
It’s the final week of the NFL preseason! Catch Jake Curhan and the Seattle Seahawks against AJ Dillon and the Green Bay Packers Saturday at 1 p.m. ET. Greg Joseph and his Minnesota Vikings play the Arizona Cardinals at the same time.
IN RACING…
The Formula One summer break is over, and Jewish Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll is in ninth place with 47 points. The Dutch Grand Prix is Sunday at 9 a.m. ET.
The stars are out in the Hamptons
Tennis star Diego Schwartzman at Maccabi USA’s clinic, Aug. 20, 2023. (Courtesy of Maccabi USA)
Jewish-Argentine tennis star Diego Schwartzman joined Maccabi USA for a tennis clinic and Q&A in the Hamptons last weekend. Here he is showing a young player how it’s done.
—
The post The Jewish Sport Report: How a Jewish lawyer became baseball’s favorite ‘Pitching Ninja’ appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
RSS
Germany’s Halt to Arms Exports to Israel Is Response to Gaza Expansion Plans, Chancellor Says
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz attends a cabinet meeting at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Aug. 6, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Liesa Johannssen
Germany’s decision to curb arms exports to Israel comes in response to Israel’s plan to expand its operations in the Gaza Strip, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Sunday in an interview with public broadcaster ARD.
“We cannot deliver weapons into a conflict that is now being pursued exclusively by military means,” Merz said. “We want to help diplomatically, and we are doing so.”
The worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza and Israel’s plans to expand military control over the enclave have pushed Germany to take this historically fraught step.
The chancellor said in the interview that the expansion of Israel’s operations in Gaza could claim hundreds of thousands of civilian lives and would require the evacuation of the entire city of Gaza.
“Where are these people supposed to go?” Merz said. “We can’t do that, we won’t do that, and I will not do that.”
Nevertheless, the principles of Germany’s Israel policy remain unchanged, the chancellor said.
“Germany has stood firmly by Israel’s side for 80 years. That will not change,” Merz said.
Germany is Israel’s second-biggest weapons supplier after the US and has long been one of its staunchest supporters, principally because of its historical guilt for the Nazi Holocaust – a policy known as the “Staatsraison.”
RSS
Newsom Calls Trump’s $1 Billion UCLA Settlement Offer Extortion, Says California Won’t Bow
California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks at a press conference, accompanied by members of the Texas Democratic legislators, at the governor’s mansion in Sacramento, California, U.S., August 8, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
California Governor Gavin Newsom said on Saturday that a $1 billion settlement offer by President Donald Trump’s administration for UCLA amounted to political extortion to which the state will not bow.
The University of California says it is reviewing a $1 billion settlement offer by the Trump administration for UCLA after the government froze hundreds of millions of dollars in funding over pro-Palestinian protests.
UCLA, which is part of the University of California system, said this week the government froze $584 million in funding. Trump has threatened to cut federal funds for universities over anti-Israel student protests.
“Donald Trump has weaponized the DOJ (Department of Justice) to kneecap America’s #1 public university system — freezing medical & science funding until @UCLA pays his $1 billion ransom,” the office of Newsom, a Democrat, said in a post.
“California won’t bow to Trump’s disgusting political extortion,” it added.
“This isn’t about protecting Jewish students – it’s a billion-dollar political shakedown from the pay-to-play president.”
The government alleges universities, including UCLA, allowed antisemitism during the protests and in doing so violated Jewish and Israeli students’ civil rights. The White House had no immediate comment beyond the offer.
Experts have raised free speech and academic freedom concerns over the Republican president’s threats. The University of California says paying such a large settlement would “completely devastate” the institution.
Large demonstrations took place at UCLA last year. Last week, UCLA agreed to pay over $6 million to settle a lawsuit by some students and a professor who alleged antisemitism. It was also sued this year over a 2024 violent mob attack on pro-Palestinian protesters.
RSS
Trump Nominates State Dept Spokeswoman Bruce as US Deputy Representative to UN
FILE PHOTO: U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce speaks during her first press briefing at the State Department in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 6, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
President Donald Trump said on Saturday he was nominating State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce as the next US deputy representative to the United Nations.
Bruce has been the State Department spokesperson since Trump took office in January.
In a post on social media in which Trump announced her nomination, the president said she did a “fantastic job” as State Department spokesperson. Bruce will need to be confirmed for the role by the US Senate, where Trump’s Republican Party holds a majority.
During press briefings, she has defended the Trump administration’s foreign policy decisions ranging from an immigration crackdown and visa revocations to US responses to Russia’s war in Ukraine and Israel’s war in Gaza, including a widely condemned armed private aid operation in the Palestinian territory.
Bruce was previously a political contributor and commentator on Fox News for over 20 years.
She has also authored books like “Fear Itself: Exposing the Left’s Mind-Killing Agenda” that criticized liberals and left-leaning viewpoints.
In a post after Trump’s announcement, Bruce thanked him and suggested that the role was a “few weeks” away. Neither Trump nor Bruce mentioned an exact timeline in their online posts.
“Now I’m blessed that in the next few weeks my commitment to advancing America First leadership and values continues on the global stage in this new post,” Bruce wrote on X.
Trump has picked former White House national security adviser Mike Waltz to be his U.N. envoy. Waltz’s Senate confirmation for that role, wherein he will be Bruce’s boss, is still due.
Waltz was Trump’s national security adviser until he was ousted on May 1 after he was caught up in a March scandal involving a Signal chat among top Trump national security aides on military strikes in Yemen. Trump then nominated Waltz as his U.N. ambassador.