May 23, 2012 | 10:18 am

TGR at the Trop

Posted by Jeremy Fine

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This summer I will go to at least4 stadiums and two of them new. The first on the list was Tropicana Field in Tampa Florida. So people make fun of the Trop. Its slanted, the roof is weird, and no one goes to games. It is true the Trop has a bizarre look, but I think it gave it unique character which is the number one most important thing for a stadium. It is also true that there were only a few people there. That was bothersome because most everything was closed.

But I will say this about the stadium, it was very fan friendly. There were tons of kid activities…which I did NOT partake in. At the end of the evening, as I scoured for the Super Sam Fuld cape, I eventually was given one which was great. And free parking! There was also this cool Ted Williams museum, as he was a resident of Fort Petersburg Florida and helped get the Rays (Devils Rays Z’L) started.

Although I did not find kosher food, the Jewish part of the Trop was in the Williams Museum. There was a nice wall dedicated to Jewish Baseball Players. There were also stands presenting Hank Greenberg and owner Stu Sternberg. Lastly, there we many mentions of Sam Fuld and that made for a nice Jewish experience.

Park number #20 down. Target Field will be #21.
And Let Us Say…Amen.
- Jeremy Fine

May 15, 2012 | 8:48 am

10 Best Jewish Owners in Sports

Posted by Jeremy Fine

Dan Snyder

More than Jewish players have been making news (at least good news) the Jewish owners have emerged. TGR thought it would look at the top Jewish owners in Sports (the 3 majors sports…would’ve included the NHL but we do not have confirmation on Jeremy Jacobs or Stu Siegel).  We might be missing some so feel free to help us out.

1. Dan Snyder - Washington Redskins - Snyder has tried to make moves over the years but most have bombed. But now he has RGIII, this could be the right move has has coveted for so long.

2. Jeffrey Laurie - Philadelphia Eagles - Well the Dream Team never lived up to the hype (at least in year one). The Eagles still have a solid team led by Michael Vick. During Laurie’s tenure the team has competed and been looked at as a team willing to make moves to win.

3. Stuart Sternberg - Tampa Bay Rays - Sternberg is the principal shareholder in the team. More importantly he has created not only a team, but a culture of winning in a division with the big boys. For the last five years he has given the Yankees and Red Sox all the can handle and often coming out on top.

4. Dan Gilbert - Cleveland Cavilers -  Gilbert makes the list because of how much pride he has in his team. He hated, not just for himself but for his city, when Lebron abandoned the city. Gilbert has made it his personal mission to overcome that loss. Great start by drafting Kyrie Irving, a star in the making.

5. Lerner Family - Washington Nationals - It has taken some time but the Nationals are a force to reckon with. Jayson Werth’s will hurt them, but how can you not be psyched about Bryce Harper. Kid’s got game.

6. Zygi Wilf - Minnesota Vikings - Sure the Vikings were not so great this past year, but anyone else read about Wilf’s desire and will to keep the Vikings in Minnesota. I would want to play for an owner like that.

Robert Kraft

7. Jerry Reinsdorf - Chicago Bulls/White Sox - Reinsdrof owns two major sports teams. He has 7 championships (6 with the Bulls and 1 with the White Sox). The Sox have made major moves almost every offseason over the last 10 years, not always panning out. The Bulls should have been title contenders this year but…well…that whole Derrick Rose injury you might have heard about.

8. Micky Arison - Miami Heat - I hate that he is on this list. But we need to give credit where credit is due. Last year he inked Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, and LeBron James. They are still playing and winning.

9. Mark Cuban - Dallas Mavericks - No owner in sports care about their team more. Cuban would do anything to win. He will go after Deron Williams this offseason and he will go after him hard. Cuban is a fans owner, that’s why we love him.

10. Robert Kraft - New England Patriots - If no owner cares more about their team than Cuban, well no team cares more about their owner than the Pats do for Robert Kraft. Kraft has put the people in place for the Pats to always be contenders. Oh yeah, and he has Tom Brady.

And Let Us Say…Amen.
- Jeremy Fine

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May 11, 2012 | 2:32 pm

Welcome to the NFL

Posted by Jeremy Fine

Mazel Tov to the newest Jew in the NFL, Mitchell Schwartz. Schwartz was drafted early in the second round with pick #37 by the Cleveland Browns. The Browns believe Schwartz can play opposite Joe Thomas and block for both first round picks Trent Richardson and Brandon Weeden. Click HERE to read more.

In more good news immediately after the draft the St. Louis Rams picked up, former TGR interviewee, Alex Hoffman-Ellis who could make the team as a special teams player. HERE is our interview with Hoffman-Ellis. HERE is a small piece on Hoffman-Ellis as well.

Also, the Detroit Lions signed William & Mary TE Alex Gottlieb who announced it on his Twitter page. Click HERE to read more.

As of now these are the only Jewish players we can confirm but there were many players drafted or signed with Jewish last names. If anyone knows anything about Patrick Schiller (NIU), Michael Cosgrove (Idaho), Brad Herman (Iowa), Josh Norman (Coastal), Ryan Miller (Colorado), Scott Solomon (Rice), Jeremy Ebert (Northwestern), and David Mok (Michigan).

And Let Us Say…Amen.
- Jeremy Fine

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May 11, 2012 | 2:31 pm

Heyman Back in WWE

Posted by Jeremy Fine

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May 11, 2012 | 2:31 pm

Checking In with our MLBers

Posted by Jeremy Fine

Position Player Team B.A.  HR RBI OBP SLG
1 Ryan Braun (LF)  Brewers .280 8 18 .333 .610
2 Ike Davis (1B)  Mets .168 3 9 .225 .274
3 Ian Kinsler (2B)  Rangers .284 5 17 .378 .517
4 Daniel Valencia (3B)  Twins .216 1 10 .231 .330
5 Kevin Youkilis (3B)  Red Sox .219 2 9 .292 .344

Pitcher Team W L ERA SV SO BB
6 Craig Breslow (P)  Diamondbacks 1 0 1.93 0 12 7
7 Scott Feldman (P)  Rangers 0 0 4.82 0 6 3
8 Jason Marquis (P)  Twins 2 1 5.40 0 8 8
9 Michael Schwimer (P)  Phillies 0 1 6.35 0 2 4

Stats from JewishBaseballNews.com

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May 11, 2012 | 2:30 pm

Minors But Important

Posted by Jeremy Fine

TGR wanted to do a quick look into the minors and check up on some of the up and coming MLBers. With Cliff Lee back for the Phillies, Michael Schwimer heads back to the minors. Click HERE to read more. In 5 games (6.1 IP) Schwimer was 0-1 with a 8.53 ERA, striking out 3 and walking 5. We have not seen the last of him this season.

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May 11, 2012 | 2:29 pm

David Stern is TGR NBA Sportsman of the Year

Posted by Jeremy Fine

Congrats to NBA commish David Stern on being named TGR NBA Sportsman of the Year. Stern helped settle a brutal dispute during the NBA lockout to give us a season. Many thought there would be no basketball in 2012 (after last night’s Bulls loss I kind of wish that was true) but Stern and company worked out their differences. The other nominees were Cavs Owner Dan Gilbert for drafting Kyrie Irving and turning the franchise around as well as NBA players Omri Casspi and Jordan Farmar. Farmar seemed like a lock upping his average to around 10 ppg all season but sat out a good portion with a groin injury. Casspi played solid minutes and started a good number of games for the Cavs, but ultimately did not put up great numbers and found himself moving from starter to bench player middle of the season.

Mazel Tov to the Commish.

And Let Us Say…Amen.
- Jeremy Fine

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