Sports & Competitions

Olympic carnival begins as Rio opening ceremonies open with a bang

RIO DE JANEIRO — For at least three hours on a balmy Friday night, Brazilians got a respite from months of bad publicity, a chance to belt out bossa nova, dance the samba, watch supermodel Gisele sashay across Maracana Stadium and be distracted from the political and economic turmoil that have weighed on the nation […]

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International, Sports & Competitions

John Kerry, Mark Spitz fire up U.S. Olympics team

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (Press Release) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Olympic swimming great Mark Spitz met with the U.S. Olympic delegation on Friday, offering both encouragement and praise. Here is a transcript of that meeting which was held at Brazil’s Naval Academy: SECRETARY KERRY: I don’t want to temper this energy

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International, Sports & Competitions, USA

Drive my car

(Statistics through Aug. 1) Alon Day Photo via Wikimedia Commons Alon Day could make history as the first Israeli to drive in a NASCAR national series race. Day, 24, is poised to make his debut in the NASCAR Xfinity Series on Aug. 13 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, USA Today reported on July 30.

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Sports & Competitions

BRAZIL – Police and protesters clash as Olympic torch passes through Rio

Police used rubber bullets and pepper spray against protesters as the Olympic torch passed through a poor suburb of Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday, two days before South America’s first Olympic Games open under tight security. Some 85,000 police, soldiers and security personnel will be deployed in Rio, more than double the amount in London

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International, Sports & Competitions

Amar’e Stoudemire finalizes two-year deal to play in Israel

Hapoel Jerusalem formally announced Monday that center Amar’e Stoudemire has agreed to a two-year contract with the Israeli League team. Stoudemire, who retired from the NBA after spending this past season with the Miami Heat, is a part-owner of Hapoel Jerusalem. In a first-person piece for The Players’ Tribune website, Stoudemire, 33, wrote of stepping

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Middle East, Sports & Competitions, USA

2016 Olympics: 7 Jewish American Olympians to watch in Rio

There are athletes, and then there are Olympic athletes. And then there are Jewish Olympic athletes. When the 2016 Summer Olympics open Friday, we’ll of course be cheering the American athletes — all 555 of them — and we’ll be rooting for Israel, too, which this year is sending its largest ever cohort to Rio.

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International, Sports & Competitions, USA

Human- interest writer plumbs real lives of athletes

The Game Isn’t Everything: The reality beyond the arena by Bruce Lowitt; Barstad Communications; © 2015; ISBN 978153-4981126;  285 pages, $14.95. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – Bruce Lowitt is an all-around sportswriter who covered the big NFL games for the Associated Press, and, later in his career, regaled readers with stories about sports

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Bruce F. Lowitt, Donald H. Harrison, Sports & Competitions

UN remembers Israeli athletes murdered in 1972 Olympics

With the Olympic Games set to open in Rio de Janeiro next week, the Israeli Mission to the United Nations on Thursday held the first of its kind memorial event at the UN to honor the Israeli athletes murdered in the attack on the 1972 Munich Olympics. Michal Shahar, the daughter of slain Olympic shooting

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International, Jewish History, Middle East, Sports & Competitions

Going, going…

(Statistics through July 25) Alex Bregman Photo courtesy pressbox.mlb.com Detroit Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler reached the 20-home run mark for the first time since 2011. The fifth-inning shot tied the July 21 game with the host Chicago White Sox, 1-1. The Tigers won, 21, in a rain-shortened seven innings. Ryan Braun hit his 14th

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Sports & Competitions, USA

I-8 Jewish Travel: S.D. Chargers’ fabled 1963 season

-67th in a Series- Exit 65, Boulevard, California ~ Rough Acres Ranch By Donald H. Harrison BOULEVARD, California—Whatever developers may someday build on the Rough Acres Ranch, it will be remembered by pro football fans as the place where San Diego Chargers Head Coach Sid Gillman decided to conduct the team’s 1963 summer training camp.  Gillman

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San Diego County, Sports & Competitions

Michael Jordan Issues Shocking Statement On Police Brutality

In a telling op-ed titled, “I Can No Longer Stay Silent,” famous athlete Michael Jordan broke his silence concerning the massive national conversation about police brutality and race relations on Monday. “I know this country is better than that, Jordan stated, “and I can no longer stay silent.” You can read the entire op-ed at

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Sports & Competitions, USA

IOC decides against full ban of Russian athletes from Rio Games

Berlin (dpa) – The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Sunday decided against a ban of all Russian athletes from the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in connection with allegations of widespread and state-organized doping. The IOC said after an executive board teleconference it will leave the final decision on Russians to compete at the August 5-21

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International, Sports & Competitions