BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (JTA) – Hometown hero Diego Schwartzman fought through a late groin injury to win a nearly four-hour quarterfinal match in the Buenos Aires Classic, but the Jewish player had to forfeit in the semifinals. Schwartzman, the top seed, defeated Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas, 5-7, 7-6 and 7-5, on Friday night, Feb. 14,  despite the injury in the last […]

Albany and Schenectady Jewish Community Centers (JCC) will send a joint delegation of athletes to the 2020 JCC Maccabi Games at the Pace University Campus in Westchester, NY. The Games are open to Jewish youth between the ages of 13 and 16. The JCC Maccabi Experience is set to begin Sunday, Aug. 9, with opening ceremonies at Pace University featuring […]

(JNS) – Following the news that famed NBA player Kobe Bryant died on Sunday in a helicopter crash in California, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted that the 41-year-old was “one of the greatest basketball players in history,” and called his death “a sad day for all sports fans in the world.” The Israeli foreign minister also sent condolences “to his […]

Richard Brodsky, right, and his wife of 39 years, Jodi Brodsky of Atlantic Beach, N.Y., finished the recent Mohawk Hudson Marathon in a time of 4:32:45 and 3:49:41. Richard finished 4th in his age group and Jodi finished 1st in hers.  It was his 66th marathon. Richard Brodsky was diagnosed HIV-positive in 1997 and in 2002, he had a seizure […]

By GABE FRIEDMAN (JTA) – Most of the news surrounding Houston Astros slugger Alex Bregman on Tuesday night, Oct. 29, focused on his “bat carry” — how he ostentatiously carried his bat down to first base while watching his first inning home run sail over the left field fence before dropping it. He apologized for the move after the game. […]

By HOWARD BLAS (JNS) – For most parents, having a son play on a Major League Baseball team would be a dream come true. For Danny Valencia’s parents, it isn’t quite enough. Though proud of his baseball career, which has included playing on eight Major League teams and Team Israel, they also want him to finish his college degree—and to […]

The Albany and Schenectady Jewish Community Centers in August sent 12 athletes and two artists as a joint delegation to the 2019 JCC Maccabi Games and Arts Fest in Detroit, Mich. The teens accomplished 12 medals (2 gold, 3 silver, and 7 bronze). The Games and Arts Fest began with opening ceremonies at the Little Caesar’s Arena with a Parade […]

NEW YORK CITY (JTA) – Despite his serious thoughts about an NBA comeback, Amar’e Stoudemire is taking a little break from basketball to go to school. The former six-time NBA All-Star, who had never attended college, started this fall as a freshman at Florida International University in Miami. Though the semester just started, Stoudemire — who has converted to Judaism, […]

By FAYGIE HOLT (JNS) – For two days in mid-August, 575 men left their jobs, families and hometowns to cycle some 180 miles across three states as part of the Bike4Chai annual fund-raiser to benefit Chai Lifeline, an organization dedicated to helping children with cancer and other life-altering illnesses, and their families. This year’s cyclists came from Mexico and Maryland, […]

By SHIRYN GHERMEZIAN (JNS) – The 15th European Maccabi Games, which some have likened to the Jewish Olympics, concluded on Aug. 7 in Budapest, Hungary, with team USA taking home a total of 155 medals, more than any other country. American athletes claimed 75 gold, 43 silver and 37 bronze medals in categories including basketball, fencing and soccer. The Games took […]