Category: Sports

Jewish Wrestler Randy Savage Dies

Post author By Rabbi Jason Miller
Post date May 20, 2011

I grew up watching the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) on TV. In fact, I even went to three WWF events including Wrestlemania 3 in 1987 at the Pontiac Silverdome. My two favorite wrestlers were Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage.

Randy Savage, who was known as “The Macho Man,” died in a car accident this morning in Florida. Randy’s brother, Lanny Poffo (also a former pro wrestler) told TMZ that Randy had a heart attack while driving and lost control of the car.

Randy Savage was born as Randall Mario Poffo in Columbus, Ohio. His father Angelo Poffo was Italian, but his mother Judy was Jewish making Randy Savage Jewish according to Jewish law. So, was Randy Savage Jewish? Yes.

I remember thinking how cool it was that before Randy “Macho Man” Savage was a pro wrestler, he was a baseball player. Savage played minor league baseball as an outfielder for minor league teams of the St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds and Chicago White Sox.

Savage, who remarried last year, was 58 when he died in the car accident this morning. Hulk Hogan said, “He had so much life in his eyes and in his spirit, I just pray that he’s happy and in a better place and we miss him.”

Athletes Football Jewish Sports Yom Kippur

A Jewish Calendar Primer for Gabe Carimi

Post author By Rabbi Jason Miller
Post date May 1, 2011

The Chicago Bears top draft pick is Gabe Carimi, a 22-year-old from the University of Wisconsin. The 6-7, 314-pound All-American is nicknamed “The Jewish Hammer.”

I’ve written on this blog several times about Jewish Major League Baseball players and the conflict of playing on Yom Kippur, but I’ve never discussed how the Yom Kippur decision affects NFL football players. This is likely because when there’s a Yom Kippur conflict in pro baseball it is often an important post-season game, yet, in college and pro football it’s only the beginning of the season.

Gabe Carimi, however, has brought the Yom Kippur holiday conflict to the NFL when he responded to a question about whether he’d play on Yom Kippur in a Chicago Bears game. A self-proclaimed Reform Jew, Carimi fasted until an hour before the Big Ten opener in his freshman season for the University of Wisonsin when the game fell on Yom Kippur. When Yom Kippur again fell on a game day last season, Carimi fasted for 24 hours, but not according to the time zone he was currently in. Rather, he fasted according to the Israeli sundown so he could eat and take intravenous fluids right before game time.

Gabe Carimi was quoted as saying, “It’s pretty big in my life. I’m religious, but I try to tweak it so I can still do my job.”

At the NFL Combine this year, when asked whether he would play on Yom Kippur, Carimi told NFL scouts, “I already looked out over the next 15 years, and Yom Kippur doesn’t fall on a Sunday.”

So, here’s some information on the Jewish calendar for Gabe Carimi. First off, the Jewish calendar was fixed in 358/359 CE by Hillel II so that Yom Kippur will never fall on a Sunday. I’m pretty certain this wasn’t done with the NFL schedule in mind, but rather because if Yom Kippur fell on a Sunday, it would not be possible to make the necessary preparations for Yom Kippur, including candle lighting, because the preceding day is the Jewish Sabbath.

So, Gabe Carimi doesn’t have to worry about any NFL games that are scheduled for Sunday conflicting with Yom Kippur. Ever. And had he kept looking beyond the next 15 years, he would find that there are no Sundays on which Yom Kippur falls.

What Carimi neglected to look for are Yom Kippur conflicts on other days of the week since there are the occasional NFL games on Monday nights, Thursday nights, and Saturdays when Yom Kippur can occur.

Basketball Israel Sports

Omri Casspi May Return to Maccabi Tel Aviv

Post author By Rabbi Jason Miller
Post date March 17, 2011

There have been several former NBA players who have gone on to play for Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball club. However, I can’t think of any players to do so while in the middle of an NBA contract. Sacramento Kings player Omri Casspi has announced that he may return to his former team in Israel should the NBA impose a player lockout next season.

Casspi’s the first Israeli to play in the NBA (New Jersey Nets player Jordan Farmar has an Israeli step-father, Yehuda Kolani from Tel Aviv). JTA reports that Casspi told Israel’s Army Radio Thursday that he would consider rejoining Maccabi Tel Aviv if the league and the players’ union do not come to a new compromise by June 30, the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement.

According to the Jerusalem Post, Casspi would be allowed to play abroad in the event of a lockout. While Casspi’s playing time with the Kings has been limited lately, he did make news earlier this month with his “Sheket B’vakasha” slam dunk.

Basketball Hebrew Israel Sports

Omri Casspi Says Sheket B’vakasha

Post author By Rabbi Jason Miller
Post date March 10, 2011

Urban Dictionary defines “Boomshakalaka” as “An onomatopoeic ‘in your face.’ Originally the sound of a slam-dunk in basketball — the “boom” being the dunk, and the “shakalaka” being the rattling of the backboard.”

In the early years of ESPN, it was common to hear an ESPN personality throw out an energetic “boomshakalaka” when showing the highlight footage of a monster dunk. Today, announcers will often exclaim variations of “Goodnight!” “Sit Down!” or “Shut Up!” when one basketball player posterizes another with a ferocious slam dunk.

Ever since Israeli basketball sensation Omri Casspi of the Sacramento Kings entered the NBA, I’ve been hoping to hear an announcer exclaim something Jewish or Hebrew when he slam dunks. Last week, Casspi’s alley-oop slam dunk on the fast break from teammate Marcus Thronton elicited a “Sheket B’vakasha!!” from the announcer — Hebrew for “Quiet Please!” but with more of a “Sit Down and Shut Up” quality to it. The play was #9 in ESPN’s countdown of the day’s top ten highlights.

American Jews Antisemitism Hockey Sports

Jewish Hockey Player Claims Anti-Semitism, Now a Senator

Post author By Rabbi Jason Miller
Post date January 26, 2011

There would probably be more anti-Semitism in the National Hockey League if there were only more Jewish players. TMZ reports that the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks are being accused of abusing Jewish Player Jason Bailey. The 23-year-old was a 3rd round draft pick in 2005 and he “claims from the moment the Ducks assigned him to play for an affiliate team called the Bakersfield Condors … his coaches unleashed a ‘barrage of anti-Semitic, offensive and degrading verbal attacks.'”

Bailey says the coaches also forced him to travel apart from the team and he was “rarely given any ice time” in games because he’s Jewish.

According to the documents, filed by Bailey’s powerhouse lawyer Keith Fink, Bailey complained to the Ducks about the hostile work environment — and the team reacted by instructing the coaches to pen apology letters to Bailey in which they both admitted to using hurtful language.

Bailey was eventually traded to the Ottawa Senators in 2009 — and insists the Ducks were “happy to be rid of him.”

I’m curious to hear how NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, who is Jewish and an Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity brother, will deal with these allegations against the Anaheim Ducks. Hopefully, Jason Bailey will be treated better in Ottawa.

(Hat tip to Mark Eaton)

American Jews Basketball Jewish Law Rabbi Reform Judaism Sports

ESPN Joins the Who Is a Jew Debate

Post author By Rabbi Jason Miller
Post date January 21, 2011

Since commenting here about how the assassination attempt of Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has brought the “Who Is a Jew” debate back into the spotlight, I have had some really intriguing conversations with colleagues about how we define Jewish status. A number of colleagues, including Rabbi Irwin Kula, Rabbi Kerry Olitzky, Rabbi Alana Suskin, and Rabbi Sue Fendrick, posted comments and contributed to the discussion on this blog. A Reform colleague and I have had an ongoing private discussion about patrilineal descent. She told me that some Reform rabbis are questioning whether Gabby Giffords would even be considered Jewish according to the Reform movement’s definition (there’s been no mention of her Jewish education or upbringing which would be required by the Reform movement’s policy on Patrilineal Descent).

My rabbinical school classmate, Rabbi Micah Kelber, noticed that the “Who Is a Jew” debate has even made its way into the sports world. Watching ESPN’s “First Take,” Kelber caught commentator Skip Bayless putting his foot in his mouth while referencing how Judaism defines Jewish status through lineage. He blogged about at Jewcy.com:

Today Skip Bayless of ESPN’s First Take made a tiny, but amusing mistake while debating whether it is appropriate to call Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers the first great white star because while his father is black, his mother is white. To support his argument, he appealed to the Jews for help in determining someone’s identity.

His slip of the tongue: “I would just like to point out that in some cultures, like in the Jewish culture, if the mom is white, you’re Jewish.”

I don’t think that’s what he meant or else there’d be a whole lot more Jewish people in the world. I never thought the question of Jewish status would be taken up on ESPN. Maybe it’s better if it didn’t. In fact, maybe it’s better if we all moved on to other subjects now.

Food Football Humor Jewish Kosher Sports

Kosher Restaurant in NYC Gets Shot Down by New York Jets

Post author By Rabbi Jason Miller
Post date December 9, 2010

The Vos Iz Neias blog reports that a New York Jets team official discovered that Prime KO Japanese Steakhouse, a popular kosher restaurant on the Upper West Side of Manhattan was serving menu items with a New York Jets theme. She ordered them to pull the “Green on Green Jets Salad” and “Jets Dragon Roll” off the menu.

Jets spokeswoman Jessica Ciccone called the Kosher Japanese Steakhouse a few weeks ago to complain that the restaurant’s items were not authorized by the team.

The dishes were created by Jets fan and restaurant chef Makoto Kameyama, who grew up in Tokyo playing football on his high-school team, the Mean Elephants (no word about any mean elephant entrées on the menu). On Sundays, Kameyama would watch NFL games on a big screen at the Sony Building in Ginza. The Jets’ decision to kill the salad and sushi roll might have brought some bad karma to the team — they lost to the Patriots 45-3 this past Sunday!

Hanukkah Hockey Holidays Jewish Sports

Florida Panthers Hanukkah Hockey Night

Post author By Rabbi Jason Miller
Post date December 8, 2010

As I blogged about last Thursday, the Florida Panthers hockey team hosted its first Hanukkah Night tonight at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida. It turns out that the black Panthers yarmulkes will be given out to the fans who pre-purchased the Hanukkah package, but the team will not discriminate between men and women.

Sunrise Sports & Entertainment listed all the special offerings for the celebration and encouraged fans to “join the biggest Hanukkah party in South Florida.”

On the list of what’s in store for the special Hanukkah game, I couldn’t figure out the last one’s connection to Hanukkah. Here’s the list:

A giant menorah lighting on the JetBlue Tarmac at 6:45 p.m.
Jewish music provided by Avimagic Entertainment
Kosher food available throughout the game in select locations
Panthers yarmulke given to all ticket-buyers
Postgame on-ice slap shots

Celebrities Hanukkah Holidays Humor Jon Stewart Sports

Best Hanukkah Videos for 2010

Post author By Rabbi Jason Miller
Post date December 5, 2010

Here’s my latest post on the Jewish Techs blog for The Jewish Week

If you haven’t received an email or Facebook message in the past week with the link to the Maccabeats video of “Candlelight”, you might want to check that your computer is actually plugged in.

The Yeshiva University a capella group’s video parody of Taio Cruz’s song “Dynamite” (based on Mike Thompkins’ a capella version) has gone viral surpassing 1.5 million views on YouTube and even landed them an appearance on NBC’s Today Show. Now, the group is campaigning to get an invitation to the Colbert Show (add your voice here).

If you’re looking for additional fun videos besides the “Candlelight” video, check out these Hanukkah videos:

MATISYAHU ON ICE (“MIRACLE”)

HONIKA ELECTRONIKA (BY SMOOTH-E)

ERRAN BARON COHEN (SACHA’S BROTHER) SINGS “DREIDEL”

HOMEBOY HANUKKAH
(Warning: Strong language and references give this video a PG-13 rating)

NBA PLAYERS WISH FANS A HAPPY HANUKKAH (BY ELIE SECKBACH)

NEFESH B’NEFESH HANUKKAH (“8 DAYS” TO MATISYAHU’S “ONE DAY”)

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS JEWS
(Warning: Contains Jewish stereotypes that may be offensive to some)

ELMO LEARNS ABOUT HANUKKAH

TELLY MONSTER PLAYS DREIDEL ON SESAME STREET

Happy Hanukkah!

Hanukkah Hockey Holidays Humor Sports

High Shticking: Florida Panthers Give Out Kippahs to Fans for Hanukkah

Post author By Rabbi Jason Miller
Post date December 3, 2010

It’s become expected that there will be some sort of a giveaway at sports events. Fans leave the stadium or arena with everything from posters of the star player to bobble-heads and t-shirts. Every once in a while, a team gets a little more creative.

And that’s exactly what happened in Florida. According to Greg Wyshynski in a Yahoo! News article, the Florida Panthers are scheduled to have their Hanukkah celebration during next Tuesday’s home game against the Colorado Avalanche. The Panthers are publicizing the game as “the biggest Hanukkah party in South Florida.”

So, what does it mean to have a Hanukkah party at a pro hockey game? Using jelly donuts for the pucks would pose some obvious logistical problems. I’m sure they’ll be lighting a menorah at some point in the game, but what is sure to make news is the Florida Panthers’ choice for a Hanukkah giveaway at Tuesday’s game.

The official Florida Panthers yarmulke, or kippah, will be handed out to all ticket holders before the game. No word on whether the NHL team is egalitarian in this regard and will be giving the kippahs out to the ladies as well.

I know from experience that these round, black leather kippahs will fly like a frisbee when thrown. And that’s exactly what the home team will do if a Panthers player scores three goals for a Hat Trick. Although, on this night it would be a Kippah Trick of course.

Who knows if the fans will even wait for a Hat Trick to throw the yarmulkes on the ice? I suppose it’s better than throwing a live octopus on the ice like Detroit Red Wings fans throw come playoff time. I mean those things aren’t even kosher!

While “Hanukkah Night” at the hockey game sounds like fun, the Florida Panthers deserve to go to the penalty box for the kippah giveaway, which just sounds to me like a High Shtick!

Hat Tip to Dave Alberts of Seattle