The Jewish Sport Report: ‘BY-Jew’ Jake Retzlaff is the new face of Manischewitz

Hello! In this week’s Jewish Sport Report, we’ve got the story on Jake Retzlaff’s very Jewish sponsorship deal, a Jewish guide to baseball’s chaotic Winter Meetings and more.

But first, it’s not too late to sign up for our upcoming online event marking the 75th anniversary of a historic — and scandalous — Black-Jewish basketball championship at the City College of New York. Join us Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET for a conversation with author Matthew Goodman about the 1949-1950 CCNY Beavers basketball championship, and the fall from grace that followed.

Sign up for our free event right here.

Jake Retzlaff’s new sponsorship deal makes him the matzah man

BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff reached a sponsorship deal with Jewish food brand Manischewitz. (Courtesy of Manischewitz)

BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff has become a household name for Jewish sports fans this season. The Jewish California native led the Cougars to a 10-2 record and top-25 national ranking, all while proudly wearing his Jewish identity on his sleeve at the Mormon flagship.

Now, Retzlaff, BYU’s first Jewish starting QB, is making history again: as the first athlete to sign a sponsorship deal with none other than Manischewitz, the iconic Jewish food brand.

The deal — brokered through the NCAA’s NIL (name, image, likeness) policy, which allows college athletes to profit from their personal brands — will include special-edition Retzlaff-branded matzah, as well as social media content featuring recipes and other Jewish holiday traditions. (Manischewitz famously spells the unleavened bread “matzo.”)

“Manischewitz has always been part of my life,” Retzlaff said in a press release. “I grew up with matzo with peanut butter as my favorite snack, and every Passover, my family and I made matzo pizza together. At Chanukah time our tradition was making potato latkes.”

He continued: “Now, at BYU, I’m able to share these traditions with my teammates. This partnership is about more than football — it’s about creating connections and celebrating Jewish pride in ways I never expected.”

Click here to read more about the first-of-its-kind brand deal for the self-declared “BY-Jew.”

Halftime report

SUPPORT ON THE COURT. A group of Israeli high school basketball players from communities near Gaza are in Los Angeles this week, where Rabbi Erez Sherman has arranged a slate of programming aimed at using basketball as a vehicle for healing. The group attended a Clippers game Wednesday — where Sherman and the Israeli cohort were honored — and will be at a Lakers game on Sunday. They also scrimmaged with local schools and visited UCLA.

FOUR NATIONS, FOUR JEWS. Instead of an All-Star Game this season, the NHL is putting on a 4 Nations Face-off, a round-robin tournament in February featuring NHL stars representing the national teams of Canada, Finland, Sweden and the U.S. Team USA will feature Jewish players Jack and Quinn Hughes, Adam Fox and Jeremy Swayman.

PUT ME IN, COACH. Goalkeeper Daniel Peretz, a star of Israel’s national team, made his season debut Tuesday for Bayern Munich, the powerhouse German squad he joined as a backup last year. Peretz entered the game after starting goalie Manuel Neuer received a red card, and played 70 minutes. Despite losing 1-0, Peretz said it was “a great feeling to play for this great club and to do so in front of these fantastic fans.”

NOW PLAYING. Readers in San Diego, check out this Dec. 16 film screening of “Israel Swings for Gold,” the documentary about Team Israel’s experience at the Tokyo Olympics, featuring a Q&A with Team Israel coaches Kevin Youkilis and Brad Ausmus.

KINSLER FOR COOPERSTOWN? Speaking of Team Israel, former player and coach Ian Kinsler is the first Jewish MLB player to appear on the National Baseball Hall of Fame ballot since Youklis in 2019 and Ausmus in 2016. The Athletic held a fan vote, and Kinsler was named on three percent of the nearly 5,000 ballots, far short of the 75% threshold to make it into Cooperstown. If Kinsler fares that way in the real vote — the results of which will be announced Jan. 21 — he would fall off the ballot for subsequent years. But it would also make the four-time All-Star the first Jewish player to receive any HOF votes since Shawn Green in 2013. And writer Levi Weaver laid out an argument for Kinsler receiving more votes than the fans offered. Check it out.

A Jewish fan’s guide to the MLB Winter Meetings

L-R: Craig Breslow, Alex Bregman and Jeff Passan. (Getty Images; Allen Kee/ESPN Images)

If you’re a fan of the baseball offseason — and its attendant rumors, speculation and drama — then nothing tops the Winter Meetings, the annual gathering of executives, players and reporters that often precipitates blockbuster trades and big free agent signings.

This year’s Winter Meetings begin Monday in Dallas, and there are a number of Jewish storylines to watch.

While the top free agent this winter, slugger Juan Soto, is not Jewish, several main characters in the sweepstakes to sign him are. Many of the teams reported to be finalists for the generational talent — who may have signed by the time you are reading this — are helmed by Jewish front office executives: Craig Breslow of the Boston Red Sox, Andrew Friedman of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Mark Shapiro of the Toronto Blue Jays and David Stearns (and owner Steve Cohen) of the New York Mets. (Randy Levine is team president of the New York Yankees but does not run baseball operations.)

And behind Soto, free agents Max Fried and Alex Bregman are among the most coveted players on the market. Both are expected to receive lucrative nine-figure contracts, with Bregman possibly topping $200 million. Joc Pederson, Kevin Pillar and Rowdy Tellez are all seeking new contracts as well.

And fans will turn to reporters Jeff Passan of ESPN, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic and Jon Heyman of the New York Post, a trio of Jewish scribes who are considered the sport’s top news-breakers.

Let the chaos begin!

Jews in sports to watch this weekend (all times ET)

⚽ IN SOCCER…

Daniel Edelman and the New York Red Bulls face the L.A. Galaxy in the MLS Cup Final Saturday at 4 p.m. In European soccer, Manor Solomon and Leeds United host Derby County Saturday at 7:30 a.m. Matt Turner and his Premier League club Crystal Palace host Man City Saturday at 10 a.m.

🏒 IN HOCKEY…

Quinn Hughes, Mark Friedman and the Vancouver Canucks host Jordan Harris and the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight at 10 p.m. The Canucks sent Max Sasson back down to the AHL on Wednesday. Jason Zucker and the Buffalo Sabres host Utah Saturday at 1 p.m. Jake Walman, Luke Kunin and the San Jose Sharks play the Florida Panthers Saturday at 6 p.m. Jack and Luke Hughes and the New Jersey Devils host the Colorado Avalanche Sunday at 7 p.m. In the PWHL, Sam Cogan and the Toronto Sceptres host the Minnesota Frost Saturday at 2 p.m. Aerin Frankel and the Boston Fleet host Abbey Levy, Elle Hartje and the New York Sirens Sunday at 4 p.m.

🏈 IN FOOTBALL…

Michael Dunn and the Cleveland Browns face the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday at 1 p.m.

🏀 IN BASKETBALL…

Deni Avdija and the Portland Trail Blazers host the Utah Jazz tonight at 10 p.m. and face the Los Angeles Lakers Sunday at 9:30 p.m. Domantas Sabonis, who is converting to Judaism, and the Sacramento Kings play the San Antonio Spurs tonight at 8 p.m. and host the Jazz Sunday at 9 p.m. In the G League, Amari Bailey and the Long Island Nets host the Delaware Blue Coats tonight at 7 p.m. and the College Park Skyhawks Sunday at 3 p.m.

⛳ IN GOLF…

Max Homa is competing in the Nedbank Golf Challenge this weekend in South Africa.

🏎 IN RACING…

Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll takes the grid for the final Formula One race of the year, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Sunday at 8 a.m. Stroll has 24 points on the season, 13th in the driver standings and far below his total of 74 last season.