Sports

Israel Has a Bobsled Team, and it Wants to Compete in the Olympics

by Josefin Dolsten, JTA | Dec 12, 2018 | News, Sports

NEW YORK (JTA) — In the span of just a couple days, Chaim Raice went from never having been on a bobsled to being a contender to represent Israel in the 2022 Winter Olympics. And it all started with a Facebook post. Raice, a house builder based in Pomona, New York,...

Confusion at College Park

by Stan "The Fan" Charles | Nov 30, 2018 | Football, Maryland, News, Ravens, Sports, Terrapins

In the wake of the Jordan McNair tragedy, is Damon Evans, the athletic director at College Park, getting a free pass? I make no pretense about being an investigative reporter. I swim in the waters of offering opinions on things, and usually those things do not involve...

Baltimore Ravens Lineman to Wear Israeli Flag on His Cleats

by JTA | Nov 29, 2018 | Football, International, Israel, News, Ravens, Sports

(JTA) — As a defensive lineman for the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens, Michael Pierce has no love for quarterbacks. But the non-Jewish 340-pound athlete from Alabama does have a soft spot for Israel. Pierce selected the Israel Collective, a millennial arm of the Christians...

Memories of ‘The Greatest Game’

by Michael Olesker | Nov 29, 2018 | Football, News, Sports

In that bygone era when the Baltimore Colts were the great secular religion around here, with Sunday services conducted at an outdoor shrine on 33rd Street, 12-year-old Alan Taylor pulled off a miracle that’s inconceivable today. He sent a letter inviting wide...

Cleveland Browns Kicker Greg Joseph’s Long Journey from Jewish Day School to the NFL

by JTA | Oct 22, 2018 | Football, News, Sports

By Ed Carroll CLEVELAND (Cleveland Jewish News via JTA) — Browns rookie kicker Greg Joseph said it’s been a “wild ride” for him since being cut at the end of preseason by the Miami Dolphins, signing with Cleveland in Week 3 of the regular season, and...

10 American Jewish Baseball Players to Become Dual Israeli Citizens to Boost Olympics Bid

by JTA | Oct 10, 2018 | Baseball, News, Orioles, Sports

(JTA) — Ten Jewish-American baseball players will become dual Israeli citizens partly to help the country’s team make the 2020 Olympics. Some of the players, who will visit Israel’s Interior Ministry next week to begin the process, also represented Israel in last...

Missed Tackle

by Stan "The Fan" Charles | Sep 27, 2018 | Football, Sports

Heads Up Football is smart, despite the NFL’s dumb new helmet rule. “It is a foul if a player lowers his head to initiate and make contact with his helmet against an opponent. Contact does not have to be to an opponent’s head or neck area — lowering the head and...

Jewish Rookie Quarterback Josh Rosen to Start for Arizona Cardinals

by JTA | Sep 25, 2018 | Football, News, Sports

(JTA) — Jewish rookie quarterback Josh Rosen will start on Sept. 30 for the Arizona Cardinals. Rosen, 21, who was the team’s first-round draft pick, was named the team’s starter against the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 24, a day after he entered a game against the...

Jack Gilden’s New Book Recalls Tempestuous Relationship Between Unitas, Shula

by Jeff Seidel | Sep 12, 2018 | Football, News, Sports

Back in his days at Owings Mills High School, Jack Gilden participated in a program sponsored by the then-Baltimore Colts in which student journalists were paired with professional writers to talk shop. Gilden was editor of the school’s newspaper in the early 1980s,...

Evan Flaks Brings Gold Home from Two Jewish Athletic Competitions

by Jeff Seidel | Aug 30, 2018 | Baltimore, High School Sports, International, Israel, Local, News, Pikesville, Sports

This summer, Evan Flaks truly earned his frequent flyer miles. In late July and early August, Evan, 15, successfully mixed basketball and global travel over a short period of time. He journeyed to both Israel and California, and came home with a pair of gold medals...