Haveil Havalim #118

Haveil Havalim #118, the weekly Carnival of Jewish Blogging, is now up at Esser Agaroth, who has done a masterful job of collecting, organizing and presenting this week's Carnival. Get over there and check it out!!

Israeli Hoops Ambassador to the WNBA

A 5 foot 9 inch teenager from a Tel Aviv suburb is armed witih a dream, to play professional basketball in the United States. Her parents are supportive, as many parents are around the world, only these parents, athletes themselves, have a good idea of what it takes to make it as a professional athlete and know that to beat the odds it will help if their daughter goes to college in the US. So, to increase the odds of getting a scholarship, the family picks up and moves to Long Island and Shay Doron enrolls at a Catholic high school which has produced Chamique Hosclaw and Sue Bird, becoming the only Jewish student at her school.

Flash forward two years and Doron enrolls at Maryland, a program rebuilding. Before she leaves, Doron leads the Terps to the national championship. Last month, at the WNBA draft, she waits, watches as the first round goes by and her name is not called. The second round comes and as the New York Liberty's, her "hometown" team, turn rolls around, the team's Vice President of Player Personnel is staring at her as she makes picks Doron. Shay's childhood dream comes true; she is the only Israeli in the WNBA.

Doron is not just any 5'9" guard, however. “She has the skills and mentality to play in this league, absolutely,” Liberty Coach Pat Coyle said. “Every day she competes. This is her life. This is her dream. She won’t be satisfied until she’s starting and is an impact player. I can’t ever see that kid not working.”

However, what really separates Doron is that she sees herself as an ambassador for Israel. She is not serving in the Israeli Defense Force since she has been living outside the country but sees herself as serving the country as a roving ambassador. She encourages everyone she meets to visit Israel and perhaps even move there. She anticipates using the "fame" associated with being a WNBA player as a platform to educate more people about the situation Israel finds itself in every day and the lives Israelis are living, as well as the good things that are going on inside the country. Playing in the world's media capital can only help, as this New York Times article proves.

Haveil Havalim #115

Haveil Havalim #115, the Carnival of Jewish Bloggers, is now up at Barbara's Tchatzkah's. This week's edition featured my post on the Benjamin Rubin, the Orthodox Major Junior hockey player in Quebec and a post on the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame inductees among the other interesting and informative items.

An Athlete's Dilemma

Benjamin Rubin is an excellent 18 year old hockey player. In fact, he is one of the best young hockey players in Quebec. How do I know this? His coach, legendary goalie Patrick Roy of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey Club Quebec Remparts said so - told him he had the talent to possibly make it to the NHL. There is only one problem - Benjamin is Orthodox, and won't play or practice on Shabbat. As this article points out, it may mean the end of the Benjamin's NHL dream, as the Ramparts won't have him back and the Canadiens have backed off from drafting him. It will be very interesting to see if anyone drafts him or is willing to sign him to even a minor league contract. If he makes the NHL, Rubin would be the first known Orthodox athlete to play a major league sport in North America, or, for that matter, Israel, as Tamir Goodman, the only Orthodox athlete in Israeli professional sports is currently playing for a basketball team in the league below the Israeli Premier League

Jewish Sports Hall of Fame Inductees

Yes, there is a Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and there are more than a dozen people enshrined there. In fact, this year's class of inductees is an even dozen, inducted at a ceremony held just this past April 29. Among the members of the class are swimming legend Mark Spitz, high jumper Dwight Stones, UNC basketball legend Lennie Rosenbluth, broadcasting legend Howard Cossell and current broadcaster Bonnie Bernstein. I don't know about you but I'm a little surprised it took this long for Spitz and Cossell, especially Spitz. I mean what does a Jewish athlete have to do that he didn't do? If you have forgotten what he did, take a look at this video and see for yourself:

Shalom NASCAR

The world of stock car racing is not exactly the first place you would look to find a nice Jewish boy. After all, NASCAR grew out of a bunch of hillbillies running moonshine through the Carolina Mountains to avoid the revenuers. From there it grew into a bigger bunch of good ole boys testing their cars and their manhood against each other in dirt tracks around the South. It was decades before it became the logo filled spectacle we can't seem to avoid today. Not exactly a locale in which you would expect to find many young refugees from a BBYO convention - until now.

Meet Jon Denning, the first Jewish NASCAR driver in at least 20 years, and surprisingly, Jon is not a Southerner. He is, however, from a family with roots in the auto business. His family owns and operates Dobbs Autobody in Springfield, New Jersey. Denning is racing for Sellers Racing at the South Boston Speedway in southern Virginia, which has gained a reputation as one of the best places to race and is becoming the short track on which to develop as a driver. Denning is off to a good start, having won twice in 2006 and finishing sixth overall for the year. South Boston has a history of turning out Nextel Cup stars too, with such NASCAR luminaries as Richard Petty, Junior Johnson, Benny Parsons and both Earnhardts winning there. It's a great place to get your start.

It's also a good place to get used to the fact that "you're not in Kansas" anymore. New Jersey, this isn't and Denning has had to adjust to life in southern Virginia and on a stock circuit that still starts each race with a prayer- stipulated by the television contract with Fox. There are cars sponsored by Christian groups and several Christian organizations with strong ties among the drivers conduct services along backside. It only makes Denning stand out more and has helped him rediscover his Jewish roots.

“I’m not extremely religious, but I have a strong value for Jewish religion,” Denning said. “Antisemitism has made me want to defend those traditions.”

NASCAR's business plan for the 21st century involves conquering new markets and diversifying its audience. That included broadening the ranks of drivers by including minorities and women, as well as geographic expansion into areas not previously believed to be pockets of closed wheel racing fans such as Los Angeles, Chicago, Indianapolis and Las Vegas. As Jon Denning rises through the ranks, it will be interesting to see if NASCAR reaches a new demographic not previously believed to be interested in auto racing - Jewish sports fans.

Peer Sizzles Down Under

Israeli tennis sensation Shahar Peer has crashed into the Austaralian Open quarterfinals after springing an upset on #3 seed Svetlana Kuztnetsova today 6-4, 6-2. Peer, the 16 seed, will have a tough task in the quarters however as she will take on the comeback queen, Serena Williams. No matter the outcome, Peer has already achieved more than she probably thought she would when the draw was first announced and, regardless of her success against Serena, will almost assuredly, come out of Australia as the highest ranking Israeli tennis player ever.

Peer went into Australia ranked 17th on the WTA circuit, but, due to her quarterfinal finish, at least, will almost certainly rise to at least 14th. That would surpass the ranking of 15 achieved by Anna Smashnova in 2003. Should Shahar beat Serena and move on to the semis, she could move up past 14th and begin to have designs on the top 10, rarefied air indeed for an Israeli tennis player. She would also make history as the first Israeli to make the semi-finals of a Grand Slam tournament.

Serena Williams entered the tournament ranked 81st in the world after being off for the better part of a year due to a knee injury but she has been her electrifying old self in her recent Australian matches and presents a formidable obstacle for Peer to overcome if she is to become the Cinderella of Oz.

UPDATE: Peer's dream crashed against Serena's comeback as Williams stormed back from a opening set defeat to snatch victory away in a third set tie break 3-6, 6-2, 8-6.