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The Jewish Sport Report: Orthodox NBA prospect Ryan Turell’s New York homecoming
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Happy Friday, sports fans!
The NBA trade deadline is Feb. 9, which means the deals will start rolling any minute.
The Washington Wizards made a significant move this week, trading forward Rui Hachimura to the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday. Team president Tommy Sheppard said getting Deni Avdija more playing time was a key factor in the move.
“When we really looked at what we needed was to get Deni more responsibility, more opportunity to play,” Sheppard said.
How did the NBA’s lone Israeli player respond? He dropped 15 points on Tuesday.
Ryan Turell’s New York homecoming
Ryan Turell will play his first NBA G League game in New York Feb. 4. (Courtesy Motor City Cruise/Courtesy Klipped)
When the Motor City Cruise take the court against the Long Island Nets in an NBA G League matchup in New York next weekend, Los Angeles native Ryan Turell will be cheered on more than the typical road team’s bench player.
That’s because the Feb. 4 matchup will be the former Yeshiva University star’s first game back in New York, and Y.U. fans plan to show up in full-force.
“I don’t think people realize, there’s so many Y.U. fans that have watched Ryan play for four years at Y.U., and now they’re gonna have a chance to see him in a G League uniform in New York,” said Simmy Cohen, a Y.U. superfan who plans to attend the game.
The game was originally scheduled for 11 a.m., in the middle of Shabbat.
“We just told the Nets, hey, by the way, you have Ryan Turell, it’s his return to New York, a lot of Jews from Long Island and the surrounding area would love to attend, if you made the game after sundown,” said Brad Turell, Ryan’s father.
Within 24 hours, the game was moved to 7 p.m.
Read more about Turell’s highly-anticipated return to New York right here.
Halftime report
WHAM! Brooklyn Nets fans are likely familiar with Bruce Reznick, the octogenarian superfan who goes by “Mr. Whammy” and taunts opposing players with his signature hand gestures. Reznick, who turns 87 on Wednesday, may be onto something — opposing teams have a lower foul shot percentage in Brooklyn than against other teams.
AND THE NOMINEES ARE… The nominees for the 2023 Hobey Baker award for best collegiate men’s ice hockey player have been announced, and Devon Levi, Luke Hughes and Yaniv Perets are all candidates. Voting is now open; the ten finalists will be announced in March, and the winner in April.
BRAD NEWS. Former MLB skipper and current Team Israel coach Brad Ausmus was reportedly a finalist for the general manager opening with the defending champion Houston Astros. But he lost out to Atlanta Braves scouting executive Dana Brown.
MAY HER MEMORY BE A BLESSING. This week we are remembering Rebecca Lorch, a champion strongwoman who won 2020’s America’s Strongest Woman competition in her weight class. While her family celebrated the first night of Hanukkah on Dec. 18, Lorch took her own life. She was 32.
In the presence of greatness
Left to right: Justin Shafritz, Bobby Eilers, Shaul Ladany and Stephanie Dahan (Courtesy Maccabi USA)
More than 350 Jewish athletes from around the world gathered in Germany earlier this month for the first Maccabi Winter Games since 1936. Yes, you read all of those facts correctly.
Maccabi USA sent around 30 competitors, who took home three gold, six silver, and nine bronze medals. But for 18-year-old skier Bobby Eilers, one of the best parts of the experience happened off the slopes. Shaul Ladany, who survived both the Holocaust and the 1972 Munich Olympics hostage massacre, visited the games to speak with the athletes and share his experience.
“Listening to Ladany speak was one of the highlights of the games,” Eilers said, according to Maccabi USA. “If we didn’t compete at all I would have been satisfied just hearing such an incredible story of survival.”
Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day — learn more about Ladany’s incredible story here.
Jews in sports to watch this weekend
IN HOCKEY…
Tonight at 8:30 p.m. ET, Jack Hughes and the New Jersey Devils take on the Dallas Stars. Check out this insane pass Hughes made — from his knees — to set up a game-winning overtime goal earlier this week. Zach Hyman and the Edmonton Oilers host the Chicago Blackhawks Saturday at 10 p.m. ET. Hyman was honored by the NHL for his stellar nine-point performance last week.
IN BASKETBALL…
Ryan Turell and the Cruise are in Georgia this weekend to take on the College Park Skyhawks tonight at 7 p.m. ET and 3 p.m. on Sunday. Deni Avdija and the Wizards face the New Orleans Pelicans Saturday at 8 p.m. ET.
IN GOLF…
Max Homa is in San Diego this weekend for the Farmers Insurance Open. Homa began the year by tying for third place at the Tournament of Champions. He is currently ranked No. 16 in the PGA Tour (but definitely No. 1 in humor).
Jewish teammates FTW
Team Israel outfielder Kevin Pillar has signed a minor league deal with the Atlanta Braves. If he makes the big league club, Pillar will be teammates with Jewish ace Max Fried.
Beyond excited to be joining the @Braves can’t wait to join such a historic franchise and help these guys get back on top!
— Kevin Pillar (@KPILLAR4) January 20, 2023
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The post The Jewish Sport Report: Orthodox NBA prospect Ryan Turell’s New York homecoming appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Iran to Boycott World Cup Draw Over Visa Restrictions
Soccer Football – World Cup Playoff Tournament and European Playoff draws – FIFA Headquarters, Zurich, Switzerland- November 20, 2025 The original FIFA World Cup trophy is kept on display during the draws. Photo: REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
Iran intends to boycott next week’s World Cup draw due to the limited number of visas allocated to the country’s football federation.
According to the Tehran Times, the United States issued visas to only four members of Iran‘s delegation, with requests for three additional visas denied, including one for Iranian Football Federation (FFIRI) President Mehdi Taj.
“We have informed FIFA that the decisions taken are unrelated to sport and that the members of the Iranian delegation will not participate in the World Cup draw,” FFIRI spokesman Mehdi Alavi said on Friday, per the report.
Alavi said the federation has been in contact with FIFA in an effort to resolve the situation.
The World Cup draw will take place on Dec. 5 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
The expanded 48-team World Cup is being hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19, 2026. Matches will be played at 16 venues, including three in Mexico and two in Canada.
The draw will sort the teams into 12 groups of four. The top two teams from each group and the eight best third-place teams will advance to the knockout stage.
Iran has secured a spot in its fourth consecutive World Cup and seventh appearance overall.
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Dublin to Rename Chaim Herzog Park in a Move Slammed as Attempt to Erase Jewish History
Anti-Israel demonstrators stand outside the Israeli embassy after Ireland has announced it will recognize a Palestinian state, in Dublin, Ireland, May 22, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Molly Darlington
i24 News – Citing the Gaza war, Dublin city council voted to rename a park honoring Israel’s sixth president, the Irish-born Chaim Herzog, in further manifestation of anti-Israel sentiment in the country.
While a new name is yet to be chosen, reports cite efforts by pro-Palestinian activists to change it to the “Free Palestine Park.”
Former Irish justice minister Alan Shatter harshly criticized the vote, charging that “Dublin City Council has now gone full on Nazi & a committee of the Council has determined it should erase Jewish/Irish history. Herzog Park in Rathgar is named after Chaim Herzog, Israel’s 6th President, brought up in Dublin by his father, Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, a friend of Eamon De Valera, who was Chief Rabbi of Ireland & Israel’s first Chief Rabbi… Some councillors want the Park renamed ‘Free Palestine Park.”
The Jewish Representative Council of Ireland issued a statement regarding the renaming of Herzog Park.
“It sends a hurtful and isolating message to a small minority community that has contributed to Ireland for centuries. We call on Dublin City Councillors to reject this motion. The removal of the Herzog name from this park would be widely understood as an attempt to erase our Irish Jewish history.”
A virtuoso diplomat and an intellectual giant, Herzog had served in a variety of roles throughout his storied career, including a memorable stint as the ambassador to the United Nations, where in 1975 he delivered a speech condemning the Soviet-engineered resolution to brand Zionism as a form of racism. The address is now regarded as a classic, along with the oration from the same session by the US Ambassador Daniel Patrick Moynihan.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar slammed the decision, saying that Ireland’s “antisemitic and anti-Israel obsession is sickening.”
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Qatar’s Al Thani to Visit Beirut Wednesday to Meet with Lebanon’s Leaders
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani makes statements to the media with then-US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in Doha, Qatar, Oct. 13, 2023. Photo: Jacquelyn Martin/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed Al Thani will visit Beirut on Wednesday to meet with Lebanon’s leaders, Al-Jadeed reported Saturday.
The visit comes “as part of an effort inseparable from the efforts by Egypt in coordination with Arab countries, foremost among them Saudi Arabia.”
The trip coincides with a sensitive period for the country, ravaged by war and deep economic crisis.
Lebanon is under growing pressure from both Israel and the United States to more swiftly disarm Hezbollah and other Islamist groups across the country, with Israel increasingly inclined to stop the Shiite militia from rearming and rebuilding its infrastructure.
Hezbollah was left devastated in the aftermath of a nine-day war last year, that saw Israel take out its command structure and lay waste to a significant proportion of its missile arsenal.