The Jewish Sport Report by Jacob Gurvis

by Jacob Gurvis, JTA Sports Reporter

Good morning! It’s a massive weekend for sports fans: World Baseball Classic rosters were unveiled last night — here’s Team Israel’s squad — the 2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony is hours away and, of course, the Super Bowl is on Sunday.

But first, in case you missed it, Deni Avdija was named a Western Conference All-Star reserve last weekend, making the Portland Trail Blazers star the first Israeli All-Star in NBA history. Avdija’s achievement has been celebrated from Portland to Tel Aviv — a “dream come true” as Israeli writer Moshe Halickman put it in an essay for JTA. 

Superbowl Sunday

There may not be any Jewish players competing in Sunday’s Super Bowl. But as always, there are Jewish storylines for the NFL’s biggest day.

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft seeks to hoist the Lombardi Trophy for the seventh time since he purchased his hometown team in 1994, which would be an NFL record. The Pats are making their record 12th Super Bowl appearance, 10 of which have occurred under Kraft. He was nevertheless snubbed from this year’s Pro Football Hall of Fame class. (Eliot Wolf, the Pats’ executive vice president of player personnel, is also Jewish.)

Kraft is a major donor to a number of Jewish and Israeli causes, most notably founding an organization now known as the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate that works to combat antisemitism by appealing to non-Jewish audiences.

The group will again place an ad in the big game, a spot titled “Sticky Note” that depicts a black high school student showing support for a Jewish student after a “Dirty Jew” sticky note is placed on his backpack.

This is the third straight Super Bowl that has featured an ad from the organization. In 2024, the group’s 30-second spot was believed to be the first-ever Super Bowl ad to focus on antisemitism. Last year, they returned with a commercial starring Tom Brady and Snoop Dogg encouraging viewers to stand up to “all hate.” The ads have drawn mixed reviews from Jewish groups and leaders. (They’ve also advertised during the Oscars, the NBA playoffs and other high-profile broadcasts.

Sunday’s ad has also drawn a slew of criticism, with commentators panning it as “disconnected” from the real experiences of contemporary Jewish teens, a “waste of money” and a cliched portrayal of Jewish weakness.

Kraft’s work on antisemitism awareness, and his support for the growth of American football in Israel, has gained him and the Patriots many fans in a country not known for its interest in the NFL.

“When the New England Patriots take the field against the Seattle Seahawks, a portion of the Israeli public will be cheering not just for a team, but for an owner whose bond with Israel runs deep,” Steve Leibowitz, founder of American Football in Israel, writes in the Jerusalem Post.

Click here for more on Kraft’s new ad — and how Jews are reacting to it.

Half Time Report

PUTTING A PRICE ON PRIDE. A new feature from JTA’s Teen Fellowship spotlights Tribe NIL, an initiative aimed at supporting Jewish college athletes through the Name, Image, Likeness process, and by offering opportunities for them to connect with each other and express Jewish pride.

BACKCOURT VIOLATION? Many college basketball players dream of making it to the NBA. But can you go the other direction? Jewish hooper Amari Bailey is trying to find out. The 2023 NBA Draftee played parts of two seasons in the G League and appeared in 10 NBA games, but now he’s fighting to regain NCAA eligibility.

OUT OF BOUNDS. New York Giants owner Steve Tisch appears at least 440 times in the 3 million documents the Justice Department released this week related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, including emails indicating that Epstein connected Tisch with multiple women. The NFL said it would investigate. Josh Harris — who owns the Washington Commanders, Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils — is also named in the files, but only through indirect correspondence about business meetings.

FROM NYC TO TLV. Chicago Bulls player Guerschon Yabusele is reportedly drawing interest from Hapoel Tel Aviv. Asked about the rumors tying Yabusele to a number of foreign teams, the forward said he isn’t “closing no door on nothing.”

2026 Olympic Scoreboard

Olympics opening ceremony kicks off at 1:40 p.m. ET today, but the competition is already underway. Don’t forget to check out our list of Jewish and Israeli Olympians to watch. And JTA’s sister site Hey Alma looks back at eight Jewish heroes of Olympics past.

Here are some highlights from the opening days of the Games, plus a few games to watch this weekend. Click here for the full schedule.

 

 Israel’s Barnabás Szőllős was the first Israeli in action in Italy, placing 37th in alpine skiing men’s downhill training on Wednesday.

 

 Korey Dropkin will be competing in mixed doubles curling for Team USA, with events throughout the day today and tomorrow. Dropkin’s father, Keith Dropkin, is the chief financial & administrative official at the Hebrew College Rabbinical Seminary.

 

 Aerin Frankel and the women’s U.S. ice hockey team will face Finland in a preliminary round game Saturday at 10:40 a.m. ET. The U.S. beat Czechia, 5-1, on Thursday.

 Kayle Osborne and the Canadian women’s team play Switzerland in the preliminary round Saturday at 3:10 p.m. ET.

Jews to watch in Sports this Weekend – all times are ET.

 IN BASKETBALL…

Deni Avdija and the Portland Trail Blazers host the Memphis Grizzlies tonight and tomorrow, both at 10 p.m. Danny Wolf, Ben Saraf and the Brooklyn Nets host the Washington Wizards tomorrow at 3 p.m

IN GOLF…

Max Homa, Max Greyserman and Daniel Berger are all in action at the Phoenix Open this weekend. Ben Silverman is competing in the Astara Golf Championship in Bogotá, Colombia.

IN SOCCER…

Manor Solomon and his Serie A squad Fiorentina host Torino Saturday at 2:45 p.m. Solomon scored his first goal for his new team last week.