All I want for Hanukka is…

I asked some Jewish sports personalities what was on their wish list this year:

“A definitive spelling of Hanukka…Hanukkah…Chanukah…Argh!”
— Jonah Keri, author of Baseball Between the Numbers: Why Everything You Know About the Game Is Wrong

“More hours in the day.”
— Cleveland Browns guard Lennie Friedman (Which was a repeated theme)

“More time in the day,”
— Linda Cohn, ESPN sports broadcaster

“More time.”
— Baseball author John Thorn

“A bullpen for the Mets.”
— Howard Megdal, baseball writer for the New York Observer and author of the upcoming book, The Baseball Talmud. (Megdal got a good start to the holidays when the Mets acquired Francisco Rodriguez and J.J. Putz. On the down side (?), they lost Scott Schoeneweis.)

“For the United States to remain a capitalist country.”
— Olympic fencer and MetroWest Jewish Sports Hall of Famer Jeffrey Bukantz

“Job security.”
— Jonathan Mayo, sportswriter and author of Facing Clemens: Hitters on Confronting Baseball’s Most Intimidating Pitcher

“An Academy Award nomination.”
— Photographer Neil Leifer (Ballet in the Dirt), for his documentary film short Portraits of a Lady

“Barack Obama to be safe and successful…[and] a bench-coach job for me.”
— Martin Abramowitz, president, JewishMajorLeaguers.org.

“A visit from our four Israeli granddaughters.”
— Baseball writer Murray Chass

“For 2008 never to have happened (except for the Obama part).”
— Dave Kaplan, author and executive director Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center

“For America to become energy independent within 10 years. And one of those little digital tape recorders.”
— Dan Gutman, children’s sports novelist

“A World Series win for the Chicago Cubs.”
— Burton Boxerman, coauthor of Jews and Baseball

“A Giants-Jets Super Bowl, a peaceful Obama presidency, and a Yankees-Mets World Series.”
— Sportswriter Maury Allen

“Do I have to pick ‘world peace’?”
— Elinor Nauen, author of Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend

“Some great reference for paintings.”
— Sports artist Graig Kreindler (Which works out nicely because…)

“A Graig Kreindler original oil painting…I have reason to believe that’s what my wife is buying me since I’ve more or less been lobbying for the better part of the year.”
— Jonathan Eig, author of Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig and Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson’s First Season

“Security from harm and security from the Economy,”
— Richie Scheinblum, former Major Leaguer and the first Jew to play pro ball in Japan.

“Some good news for the newspaper industry.”
— Harvey Araton, sports columnist, The New York Times

“A long-lasting peace in the Middle East with a functional Palestinian state accepting Israel and its other neighboring states and vice versa. However, being realistic, I hope more modestly for even-burning Hanukka candles that serve eight solid days.
— Lee Lowenfish, author of Branch Rickey: Baseball’s Ferocious Gentleman

“Good health for my family. Many wants, but they begin there,”
— Marvin Goldklang, president of the Goldklang Group, which owns several minor league baseball franchises.

“Patience, swagger, and peace,”
— Jewish Major Leaguer Gabe Kapler, who played for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2008.

“The return to health of Brian Hickey.”
— Sportswriter/author Jeff Perlman (Hickey is a friend of Perlman’s who was severely injured by a hit-and-run driver the day after Thanksgiving.)

“Fewer unsolicited e-mails.”
— Alan Schwarz, author of The Numbers Game: Baseball’s Lifelong Fascination with Statistics

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Kaplan’s Korner on Jews and Sports © 2008 New Jersey Jewish News

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