Bits and pieces

Meant to run this piece last week to conicide with Jason Marquis’ birthday. Ha’aretz, of all publications, ran this profile which states among other things, that the Colorado Rockies’ pitcher had a baseball-themed bar mitzva and made a promise to his his parents to go to college and not play on jewish holidays. “Marquis has kept the second part of the promise, though higher education slipped through the cracks,” the article notes.

This is an annual issue, as we get closer to the High Holy Days, and with so many high profile players, it will be interesting to see who does (or doesn’t) do what. It’s easier for the pitchers to get moved around in the rotation (Marquis and Scott Feldman are the only starters), but for everyday anchors like Kevin Youkilis, Ryan Braun, and Ian Kinsler — whose teams are all vying for post-season berths — well, that will really be the test.

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According to the JTA,

Yuri Foreman, who is undefeated in 27 professional bouts, will challenge super welterweight champion Daniel Santos (32-3-1) for the World Boxing Association title, the 15 Rounds Web site reported Tuesday.

Dovid Efune, Foreman’s spokesman, said the fight is expected to take place Nov. 14 in Las Vegas.

“He’s got a Jewish head attached to his Jewish fist,” Efune said in a telephone interview. “He’s a very tactical player. He boxes like he’s playing chess.”

Foreman, 29, is fervently religious and is studying to become an Orthodox rabbi.

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J Weekly, the San Francisco (Jewish) treat, ran this profile on Omri Casspi, the Sacramento King’s latest draft signee. The team hosts the Portland Trailblazers in a pre-season exhibition on Oct. 7 and begin the regular season on Oct. 28 as guests of the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Kings are set to take on Jordan Farmar and the World Champion Los Angeles Lakers on a pre-seqson match-up on Oct. 15, then “for real” on Dec. 26.

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Brett Favre shouldn’t be waiting for any holiday cards from Rabbi Eliyahu Fink (finkorswim.com), who believes there’s way too much emphasis on sports:

I dislike Favre, but it is not really his fault. ESPN makes me hate Favre with over-reporting and unprofessional, blatant favoritism and flattery of Favre. It is just impossible to like a guy who is in the news that much.

For others, the hatred toward Favre is due to his “treachery”. To illustrate I have some photos for you.