Leslie Nielsen and Jewish sports legends

When I was reporting a story about Jordan Farmar and basketball’s Jewish history, there was one oft-repeated joke. The delivery was always a little different, but the gist was the same: That a book about Jewish athletes would be the shortest book ever written.

The delivery was done best in “Airplane”:

Flight attendant: Would you like something to read?
Passenger: Do you have anything light?
Flight attendant: How about this leaflet, “Famous Jewish Sports Legends?”

One of the stars of that movie was Leslie Nielsen, whom I knew better from the “Naked Gun” films. Nielsen died today at 84. RIP, Lt. Drebin.