Sports

Y.U. Basketball Comes to Town

By:

Mordechai Shinefield | JE Feature

On the Kohelet Yeshiva High School basketball court on Saturday night, just hours after Shabbat had ended, Lower Merion native Yoni Eckmann and the rest of the Yeshiva University Maccabees played pickup games and ran drills with some local Jewish kids. At one point, a young boy with flailing tzitzit was airlifted by a Maccabee player to dunk the ball,...

Sports

Two Zachs, One Goal

By:

Bryan Schwartzman

The Philadelphia Union's practice last week had been finished for more than 20 minutes, but rookie goalie Zac MacMath was still on the field, working to strengthen a shoulder that's been susceptible to injury.

Sports

Phillies Head to the Playoffs Minus Their Jewish Reliever

By:

Mordechai Shinefield, JE Feature

When the Philadelphia Phillies called him up from the minors in mid-August, Michael Schwimer joined an elite group with a tiny membership -- Major League Baseball's small band of Jewish players. Now, with the Phillies on deck to start the post-season on Saturday, Schwimer won't have the chance to fulfill his dream of contributing to his team in the playoffs...

Sports

Kicking Into High Gear in Tel Aviv

By:

Bryan Schwartzman

Soccer standout Sarah Friedman has visited Israel just once, speaks no Hebrew and admittedly doesn't closely follow the news of the Middle East. But last week, the 22-year-old University of Pennsylvania graduate officially made aliyah. She was motivated less by Zionism than a chance to play professional soccer. The attacking midfielder is set to suit up for ASA Tel Aviv,...

Sports

Exactly How B-Team Girl Got the Chance to Make Perfect Grade

By:

Robert Strauss

REFLECTIONS One day in the spring of my daughter Ella's fifth-grade year, the dad of one of her friends showed up at our front door unannounced. I suspected the worst: girl backbiting, shoplifting, cheating in school. Little did I know that it was worse than that. It was the Grim Reaper of the B Team crossing our threshold. This dad...