Sports

The Greens — from left, Gabe, Ryan, Rachel, Jonathan, and Aaron — were hosts for the 2000 JCC Maccabi Games in Tucson, sparking a love of the Games that continues to this day, with Jonathan and Rachel co-chairing the 2025 athletics committee. (Photo courtesy Tucson J)

In a little over two months, more than 1,500 Jewish teen athletes, coaches, and delegation heads will visit Tucson for the 2025 JCC Maccabi Games® & Access, which will be held July 27-Aug. 1. Many community members have answered the call to serve as hosts for the athletes, but… Read more »

{L-R): Seton, Torin, Amity, and Debbie Claggett

For the Claggett family, the Tucson J has always felt like home. Amity Claggett, a former ECE student and J-Care participant, represented Team Tucson at the 2024 JCC Maccabi Games® in Detroit. Her mother, Debbie, previously worked on staff. This year, in addition to Amity’s return as an athlete… Read more »

Wearing a “Bring Them Home Now” T-shirt, Eli Hayut crosses the finish line of the Arizona Monster Race on April 11, 2025. (Photo courtesy Eli Hayut)

Eli Hayut, Israel’s ultramarathon national champion, made history last month in Arizona. Hayut, 47, ran the 304-mile Arizona Monster Race, setting the record for the longest distance run by an Israeli. The race follows the Arizona Trail from Superior to Patagonia through rugged Sonoran Desert terrain and up Mt.… Read more »

Former University of Arizona basketball player/assistant coach Josh Pastner speaks at the press conference where he was introduced as the new head coach of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Men's Basketball Team on March 26. (Photo courtesy UNLV Athletics)

The 1990s were the last golden age for college basketball programs west of the Rocky Mountains, with three winning national championships that decade. Josh Pastner, 47, was a freshman on the 1997 University of Arizona men’s basketball team – the most recent team west of the Rockies to win… Read more »

YOKOHAMA, JAPAN: Ian Kinsler #3 of Team Israel throws to first base in the fifth inning during the baseball Opening Round Group B game between Team Israel and Team Republic of Korea on day six of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Yokohama Baseball Stadium on July 29, 2021 in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. (Photo by Koji Watanabe/Getty Images)

Two years after he retired from a 14-year Major League Baseball career as a second baseman, Tucson native Ian Kinsler’s time with Team Israel began. “My Jewish heritage means a lot to me — it’s part of who I am,” said the 42-year-old Kinsler, who graduated from Oro Valley’s… Read more »

Hosting the 2025 JCC Maccabi Games and Access in Tucson this summer will be a true community effort. More than 1,000 volunteers, 350 host families, and up to 100 local athletes ages 12-17 will be recruited to join staff members of the Tucson Jewish Community Center in creating a… Read more »

This summer, ten teen athletes from Tucson made their way to Detroit for an unforgettable week of competition at the JCC Maccabi Games®—an Olympic-style event that blends high-energy sports with personal growth and community building. These young athletes didn’t just represent Tucson; they left their mark, returning home with… Read more »

A new local semi-professional soccer team has its roots not only in the Old Pueblo, but also in “the old country.” “My first experience with soccer was as a young child in Romania when my father took me to a game,” recalls Meir Segal, the team’s founder and coach.… Read more »

(JTA) — Dean Kremer, the first Israeli baseball player to be drafted into the Major Leagues, was called up to the Baltimore Orioles and earned a victory in his debut — all in less than 24 hours. Kremer led the Orioles to a 5-1 win over the New York… Read more »

(JTA) – Former pro baseball player Cody Decker said that anti-Semitism is “rampant throughout baseball” and that an Oakland Athletics coach should be suspended for making a Nazi salute after a game. Decker, who played briefly for the San Diego Padres and for Israel’s national team in the World… Read more »

(JTA) — Larry Johnson, a former running back who played seven seasons for the Kansas City Chiefs, tweeted multiple times to his more than 147,000 followers over the weekend that a Jewish “cabal” is involved in “Human Trafficking, Sex Trafficking, Pedophilia, Ritualistic Child Torture, Perversion, Human Sacrifice/Murder.” And on… Read more »

(J. the Jewish News of Northern California via JTA) — While the ballpark Tuesday night at the San Francisco Giants’ home opener may not have been filled with fans because of COVID-19 restrictions, nearby McCovey Cove had a familiar guest. Standing on a 75-foot yacht docked in a part… Read more »

NEW YORK (JTA) — Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Zach Banner posted a video late last week in response to Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson’s anti-Semitic screed against Jews. After describing his horror at the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, Banner preached that as important as the work of Black… Read more »

(Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle via JTA) — Just two days after Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson posted an anti-Semitic message he attributed to Adolf Hitler on social media, Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Zach Banner came to the defense of the Jewish community. In a series of tweets and videos,… Read more »

(JTA) — Former professional football player Geoff Schwartz wasn’t surprised when he heard about Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson’s anti-Semitic Instagram posts. “I just thought to myself it’s ignorance — someone who has no idea whatsoever what anti-Semitism is, why his quote could be hurtful to Jews, or… Read more »

(JTA) — You can have one of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s Super Bowl rings while helping those in need facing food insecurity during the coronavirus pandemic. But it’s gonna cost you. Kraft is putting his Super Bowl LI championship ring up for auction to raise money for… Read more »

(JTA) — Fresh off his Super Bowl win in February, Kansas City Chiefs lineman Mitchell Schwartz took a vacation with his wife, Brooke, to St. Lucia. Little did they know that when they returned, they would be spending the next few months holed up at home because of the… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — An Orthodox mother of five whose dreams of representing Israel running the marathon in the Tokyo Olympics were almost dashed after her event was scheduled for Shabbat, is using its postponement to make sure there is no conflict in the new schedule. Beatie Deutsch told her… Read more »

(JTA) — Kansas City Chiefs lineman Mitchell Schwartz does more than start for perhaps the best offense in the NFL. The 6-5, 320-pound tackle is a star at his position and has been for much of his eight-year career since turning pro following a standout career at the University… Read more »

This article originally appeared on Alma. I was never the best tennis player. Nor was I particularly good at soccer, basketball or any other sport my parents signed me up for. Still, I stuck with tennis through my junior year of high school, when I was unceremoniously cut from the… Read more »