Ian Chaffee writes his take on the fundraiser at which Koufax appeared for his friend Joe Torre on Bleacher Reports in which he compares the Hall of Famer’s shunning of the spotlight to modern athletes who can’t seem to get enough attention.

“After the death of JD Salinger earlier this year, Koufax might be the most famous hermit left in American ‘public’ life…,” writes Chaffee, who wonders why the media still chases after him like big game hunters after the rare white rhinoceros.

Why not focus instead on Sandy, who, as many a Jewish parent has told their child, once refused to pitch on Yom Kippur.

55 years of beautiful L.A. Dodger tradition, from Sandy Koufax to Joe Torre.

You’re God damn right we’re living in the past.

And finally, a news story on the event from the Los Angeles Times.

To Vincent’s great and lasting credit, unlike most management officials, he has not let his position of former baseball commissioner blind him to Miller’s impact on baseball. Vincent has long supported Miller’s candidacy for the Hall, both in speech and in writing. And he has included him in his latest book with such notable players as Tom Seaver, Juan Marichal, Ozzie Smith and Cal Ripken.

ESPN has suspended Tony Kornheiser for two weeks for comments he made about Hannah Storm’s attire. Storm is a cohost of ESPN’s SportsCenter TV program.

Kornheiser and Storm

Kornhesier, who also cohosts  Pardon the Interruption (on ESPN), made the “offensive” remarks on his radio show on ESPN 980 in Washington DC late last week:

Hannah Storm in a horrifying, horrifying outfit today. She’s got on red go-go boots and a catholic school plaid skirt … way too short for somebody in her 40s or maybe early 50s by now. She’s got on her typically very, very tight shirt. She looks like she has sausage casing wrapping around her upper body … I know she’s very good, and I’m not supposed to be critical of ESPN people, so I won’t … but Hannah Storm … come on now! Stop! What are you doing? … She’s what I would call a Holden Caulfield fantasy at this point.

A very brief item on ESPN.com on the incident reads as follows:

ESPN has suspended “Pardon The Interruption” co-host Tony Kornheiser for two weeks following comments he made on his Washington-based radio show last week.

On his radio show, Kornheiser made critical comments about the wardrobe of morning “SportsCenter” co-anchor Hannah Storm.

ESPN executive vice president of content John Skipper released the following statement:

“Tony Kornheiser’s comments about Hannah Storm were entirely inappropriate. Hurtful and personal comments such as these are not acceptable and have significant consequences. Tony has been suspended from PTI for two weeks. Hannah is a respected colleague who has been an integral part of the success of our morning SportsCenter.”

Kornheiser apologized for the remarks on his radio show Friday.

At the risk of being ignorant — and I am ignorant in that I did not hear Kornheiser’s remarks myself — most of what I’m reading online and in emails makes this seem like a tempest in a teapot and the punishment certainly does not fit the “crime.” (I have seen Storm’s outfit, on the other hand. Kornheiser may have exaggerated a bit in his sartorial descriptions, but that’s like Randy on American Idol calling someone “pitchy”; it’s a matter of personal taste.)

Was what he said “hurtful and personal?” Depends on your perspective and how sensitive you choose to be. Let’s be clear here, we’re not talking about Imus, or Jimmy the Greek, or Al Campanis. There’s no racial or religious animosity here. It’s not even sexist really, since Kornheiser routinely comments on the wardrobe choices of his male colleagues as well (could be construed as age-ist? Kornheiser is 61 himself).

And — not to get him in any more trouble — but why is it all right for him to regularly ridicule the Today ’s Hoda Kotb, but this merits a suspension? Is it because he’s talking about an ESPN “product?” Did management have an ulterior motive?

This is his shitck. He’s loud, opinionated (but never vulgar), and no one is off limits (he was suspended in 2002 for remarks made against ESPN about the firing of a coworker). And if the suits in Bristol haven’t realized this in all the years Kornheiser has been in their employ, someone hasn’t been paying attention.

More on the situation here, here, and here. Even those who don’t care for Mr. Tony’s style feel compelled to defend him. In fact, I find it amusing that so many outlets that normally wouldn’t even look over their collective eyeglasses at this story are chiming in.

Of course, this could all just be a strategic ploy to garner ESPN some attention.

In this case, it’s Murray Chass, the former veteran baseball writer for The New York Times who carries on his thoughtful prose on his own website (not a blog, mind you, since he has no use for bloggers).

In his latest posting, dated Feb. 17, Chass writes about the difficulties The New York Times Company — not the paper itself — is having selling off its stock in — wait for it — the Boston Red Sox. Sacrilege!

A lot of his story focuses on the non-communication he has had with Times Company president Janet Robinson. She doesn’t talk with him on the phone or returns messages, deals with him through generic emails, and in other veins doesn’t seem to want to bother with him. In turn, he tells his readers the questions he would ask her if given the chance, and relates to a contentious communications they had/didn’t have several years ago on the same general subject of the propriety of the Company owning a(ny) baseball team.

Some of the soap opera:

I suppose this is as good a time as any to mention my one previous experience with Robinson. In November 2001, when the Red Sox were in the process of being sold, I learned from someone outside the Times that the Times company was part of the group that eventually would get the team.

In the course of writing an article for the Times, I called Robinson, and that time she talked to me, though reluctantly because the Times didn’t want it known that it was seeking to be a part-owner of the Red Sox.

But she didn’t talk only to me; she spoke to the Boston Globe, too. Until hearing it from Robinson, the Globe knew nothing about the involvement of the Times company, which also owned the Globe. In other words, Robinson gave away an exclusive story. In the newspaper business, that is an act of high treason. It is unconscionable.

Robinson never said anything to me about it, why she gave away an exclusive story, but I heard from someone else that she had said she felt she had to give it to the Globe because the Globe was a Times company newspaper, the story was about the Red Sox and it wouldn’t have been right to have the story appear in the Times and not in the Globe. With thinking like that, no wonder the Times is hurting.

And this, which is more to the point:

As a baseball writer for the Times, I never liked the idea of the company owning any piece of the Red Sox. It never affected my coverage of the Red Sox or the Yankees, but I believed it was a major conflict of interest. The Times cautions its employees to avoid conflicts of interest or the appearance of conflicts of interest, but the Times itself seems to feel it is above that danger.

In fact, Times executives excused the ownership issue by saying it was the company and not the newspaper that owned a share of the Red Sox, as if readers and others made that distinction.

Given Chass’ reputation and his dismissal, along with hundreds of other Times‘ employees, I wonder how much of that non-communication — then and now — with bad break-up syndrome.

Discuss.

I’ve written a few pieces on Veingrad, who appeared in the 1992 Super Bowl as a member of the Dallas Cowboys, but once you’ve tasted fame in the Times, there’s no turning back.

Steinberg does an in-depth parsing of remarks made over the years by the late Abe Pollin, owner of the NBA’s Washington franchise, formerly known as the Bullets (a name they had since their origins in Baltimore) but changed to the Wizards in 1998.

Abe Pollin with Michael Jordan

The situation is even more timely thanks to the Wizards’ poster boy for the NRA, Gilbert Arenas, who was suspended by the league for brandishing an unloaded handgun in the team’s locker room last December. He also faces criminal charges for unlicensed gun possession, loaded or not.  (More about Arenas and his recent op-ed apology in the Post here.)

Why the name change? Was it because of the violent connotations of the “Bullets,” made all the more prominent by the assassination of Pollin’s friend and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin? Or was it a crass maneuver for more merchandise money? Opinions vary.

Pollin died last November at the age of 86.

That was then...

this is now.

According to the press release, Roth, who was born in Montreal

was a pioneer in convincing teams to use baseball statistics as a tactic. After charting stats for his hometown Montreal Canadiens and the National Hockey League, Roth became the first full-time statistician to be hired by a major league club when Brooklyn Dodgers’ president & general manager Branch Rickey hired him in 1947.

Roth, who died in 1992 at the age of 74, will be represented by his son Michael at the Induction Ceremony on June 19 at the Hall in St. Marys, Ontario.

There’s a chapter on Roth and his contributions in Alan Schwarz’s excellent book, Numbers Game : Baseball’s Lifelong Fascination with Statistics.

Maybe I’m being paranoid, but this profile of Chuck Greenberg, “who stands to become the Rangers’ new managing general partner and chief executive officer by opening day,” according to this piece in the Dallas Morning News, has some weasel words, too.

There are two generally accepted methods for training to run a major league sports franchise. You can be born into a fortune or you can amass one through shrewd business deals.

Point is: Untold wealth is essential.

Of course, I could stop there and get everyone in a snit: “Shrewd business deals?” I wonder what demographic they’re talking about there. “Untold wealth?” Hmmm. That would get people talking about Evan Grant, who wrote the piece.

But continuing, the reader would see tha, in fact, Greenberg  “brings neither the bloodlines nor the Gordon Gekko greed. His wealth is not in money but in practical experience. And in that regard, he may be well ahead of all those captains of industry when it comes to being prepared for the job at hand.”

So, Jews are good in business, huh?

And, since they’re so clannish, there’s also a “did you know” item that notes that Greenberg and Dallas Mavericks’ owner Mark Cuban attended the same synagogue in Pittsburgh as kids.

So Greenberg is not only Jewish, he’s a Yankee carpetbagger as well?

Here’s a Greenberg Q&A with ESPN’s Richard Durrett.

The program serves as a benefit for the AHRC New York City Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that supports programs enabling children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including autism, cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injuries and other disabilities. One of the largest organizations of its kind, AHRC serves 11,000 children and adults. Previous Munsun Awards Dinners have raised nearly $10 million.

Several local sports personalities will be the recipients of Munson Awards from AHRC for their accomplishments on the field and their philanthropic efforts, including Yankees’ pitcher Joba Chamberlain; Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella, Munson’s teammate on the Bronx Bombers’ 1977 and ‘78 World Championship teams; 1986 New York Mets World Champion and Yankees 1996, ’98, and ‘99 outfielder Darryl Strawberry; Knicks starting point guard Chris Duhon, a member of Duke’s 2001 NCAA championship squad; and Yonkers Raceway’s two-time champion driver Jason Bartlett.

Piniella, a previous Munson Award recipient, will receive the “Legend Award” for his long and meritorious service to baseball.

This marks the 16th consecutive year that Berman has served as emcee of the event, which was created in honor of the Yankees MVP catcher who died in a plane crash in 1979. Marty Appel published Munson’s biography last year.

For tickets and information on the Munson Awards Dinner, call 212-249-6188.

The biathlon combines cross country skiing with rifle shooting. How very European. I guess the trick is to control your heartbeat and respiration after the phsyically strenuous skiing part to be able to fill the precision part of target shooting.

The link above takes you to the USA Biathlon team site. For a more “up close and personal” look, check out this entry from YoYenta.com.

And for an interesting take on how the financial crunch is hurting the individual teams and sports this winter, listen to the Jan. 25 podcast of Slate’s Hang Up and Listen.

In the “Mailtime” segment of the Jan. 25th show:

Kornheiser (reading an email): “[NBA Dallas Mavericks' owner] Mark Cuban says that All-Star weekend in Dallas “will make the Super Bowl look like a bar mitzvah.” Do you agree or disagree?

Michael Wilbon: I don’t know if I can speak about a bar mitzva…but I know what he means. The Super Bowl is this huge event, and more people watch it.  But All-Star weekend is the biggest party. It is the biggest party relating to sports in this country, there’s no question about that, Tony. The All-Star game shut down Vegas a couple of years ago….What else does that? It’s not close.

Kornheiser: Ocean’s Eleven shut down Vegas if I remember that movie correctly. Obviously, Cuban must have just cocktail franks at his bar mitzva. It must be a wholly inadequate bar mitzva and he has borne this for 25 years.

Wilbon: How wild do they get?

Kornheiser: Well, I don’t think they get wild enough to shut down Vegas. I don’t know what he’s talking about.

Wilbon: It’s going to be the biggest party of the year in sports.

Kornheiser: Great. I hope many rabbis and cantors come so that Cuban will feel good.

Cuban is Jewish, by the way.

Spike’s list:

10) Jordan Farmar – Backup Point Guard Los Angeles Lakers
9) Marty Turco – Goalie Dallas Stars
8 ) Sue Bird – Starting Point Guard Seattle Storm
7) Kane – WWE Wrestler
6) Jason Lezak – Olympic Swimmer
5) Ian Kinsler – Starting Second Baseman Texas Rangers
4) Igor Olshansky – Starting Defensive Lineman Dallas Cowboys
3) Kevin Youkilis – Starting First/Third Baseman Boston Red Sox
2) Mike Cammalleri – Starting Left Wing Montreal Canadians
1) Ryan Braun – Starting Left Fielder Milwaukee Brewers

Fine’s list:

10) Yuri Foreman – World Boxing Association Super welterweight Champion
9) Sasha Cohen – Olympic Gold Medal Skater
8 ) Jason Lezak – Olympic Gold Medal Swimmer
7) Sue Bird – Starting Guard Seattle Storm
6) Andy Ram – 9th Ranked Doubles Player. 5th Ranked in Team Doubles.
5) Ian Kinsler – Starting Second Baseman Texas Rangers.
4) Omri Casspi – Starting Forward Sacramento Kings
3) Mike Cammalleri – Starting Left Wing Montreal Canadians
2) Ryan Braun – Starting Left Fielder Milwaukee Brewers
1) Kevin Youkilis – Starting First/Third Baseman Boston Red Sox

And, for what it’s worth, here’s my list:

10) Ram
9) Lezak
8 ) Foreman
7) Dimitry Salita – junior welterweight boxer
6) Casspi
5) Kinsler
4) Jason Marquis – pitcher, Washington Nationals
3) Cammalleri
2) Braun
1) Youkilis

And don’t you think all the Jewish pro athletes who followed are peppered by the press come High Holy Day time with questions about their plans to play or sit?  Must get a bit tiresome.

There are thousands of articles you can read about Koufax, but here are a few of books to get a hold of:

• Sandy Koufax: A Lefty’s Legacy, by Jane Leavy
• Koufax, by Edward Gruver
• You Never Heard of Sandy Koufax?, Jonah Winter (juvenile)
• Then there’s Koufax’s eponymous book, written with Ed Linn in 1966, following his retirement. Haven’t read it, but willing to guarantee it’s nothing like the tell-alls of today.

Here’s Jimmy Durante’s musical tribute to Koufax:

Part One

Part Two

Jewess with Attitude has suggested Nancy Lieberman for the decade’s best Jewish athlete. With all due respect, Lieberman — who was chosen as the first woman to coach an NBA team (albeit the Dallas Mavericks’ D-League affiliate) — is not quite what we’re looking for here, since she is no longer, technically, an athlete herself.

More traditional is Dan Breitman’s list of “The Top 10 Jews currently playing pro sports.”

* * *

All I want for Hanukka is the public option.

John Thorn, baseball author and historian

A Red Ryder BB gun.

Jeff Pearlman, author of

For my Mom’s health

Jeffrey Rosen, owner, Maccabi Haifa Heat

A Nets win! (submitted 11/25)

Joshua Prager, author of The Echoing Green

A win for the Nets!

Ian Eagle, Nets’ play-by-play broadcaster

All I want is a baby girl in 2010 who is healthy and happy, and exactly the same for the New York Mets. If both of them can hit for power and catch the ball, so much the better.

Howard Megdal, author of The Baseball Talmud

To keep the swine flu out of my house.

Jonathan Eig, author of Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig and Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson’s First Season.

Better treatment for retired players who built the biggest entertainment conglomerate in the world: the NFL.

Bobby Stein, former NFL player and Super Bowl winner

For the Saints to win the Super Bowl.

Josh Levin, host of Slate.com’s “Hang Up and Listen” podcast and a New Orleans native.

Marvin Miller inducted into the Hall of Fame

Zev Chafets, author of Cooperstown Confidential: Heroes, Rogues and the Inside Story of the Baseball Hall of Fame

A 2010 World Series trophy for Gabe Kapler (for both selfish and unselfish reasons).

Jonah Keri, writer for The Wall Street Journal and other publications and author of a forthcoming book about the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays.

Aside from world peace, end of hunger, a cure for cancer, and health care for all Americans, Thestadiumgallery.com offers a panorama of the last pitch at “old” Yankee Stadium, with my son and I visible in the largest size photo available.

Marty Appel, former Yankee PR director and author of more than 40 sports books

Good health, good music, good sports, good friends and that people remember that kindliness, tolerance and humor are worth all the names in all the books.

Lee Lowenfish, author of The Ferocious Gentleman

For every kid to want for Hanukka my new kids’ book,The Greatest Moments in Sports. I’ll even be happy if just some of them want it!

Len Berman, TV sportscaster

A world of civility.

Marvin Goldklang, owner of several minor and independent league franchises

Remember, I’m a full blown conservative, so among them are:
1) for the entire four year presidency of Obama to be akin to Bobby Ewing’s year-long dream, which negated an entire season of Dallas
2) for the ability to maintain private health insurance
3) for an President who doesn’t put down his own country when traveling overseas
4) for the world to respect the United States, not necessarily like it

Olympic fencing medal winner Jeffrey Bukantz

Good health for those who need it

Andy Strassberg, co-author of Baseball’s Greatest Hit: The Story of ‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game’

An Academy Award for my new short film.

Neil Leifer, veteran sports photographer

Besides the usual good health to all and peace in the world: Brisk sales on Jews and Baseball, Volume 2 and a World Series victory for my beloved Chicago Cubs.

Burton Boxerman, co-author with his wife, Bonita, of Jews and Baseball, Vols. 1 & 2

To learn how to spell the name of the holiday correctly, end all wars instead of making them bigger, keep global warming and greening under control, see our NY/NJ teams win a few titles if they are not the Yankees, and spread good cheer everywhere you go.

Maury Allen, veteran sportswriter and author

The Dodgers to return to Brooklyn. Being that this positively will not happen, I’ll switch to peace and sanity in the world. One has to be optimistic.

Rob Edelman, baseball film expert

The promise of a healthy, happy and stress-free wedding on Sat. March 6, 2010.

Marc Edelman, Rutgers professor and founder Sportsjudge.com

Derek Jeter for my next husband (Jews for Jeter!).

Elinor Nauer, editor, Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend: Women Writers on Baseball

Some serious punching power for Yuri Foreman, who has the rest of the necessary package.

Jerry Izenberg, veteran Star-Ledger sports columnist

A Knick team I can watch without cringing.

Bruce Weber, author As They See ‘Em: A Fan’s Travels in the Land of Umpires

Included in the list:

• Jerry Bodenheimer, president of ESPN/ABC Sports (No. 3)
• David Stern, commissioner, NBA (4)
• Bud Selig, commissioner, MLB (7)
• Gary Bettman, commissioner, NHL (12)
• Robert Kraft, owner, New England Patriots (13)
• David Levy, president of sales, distribution, and sports, Turner Broadcasting (21)
• Adam Silver, deputy commissioner, NBA (27)
• Steve Bornstein, executive vice president of Media, NFL; President and CEO, NFL Network (31)
• Casey Wasserman, chair and CEO, Wasserman media Group (32)
• Michael Levine, co-head, CAA Sports (37)
• Jeremy Jacobs, owner, Boston Bruins (41)
• Michael Weiner, executive director, Major League Baseball Players Association (49)

As Adam Sandler said in his famous Hanukka song, “Not too shabby.”

You can read the entire piece here.

The Genius of Jewish Celebrities: What Their Handwriting Reveals, by Dr. Robert Yaronne (High Publishing) has this to say about Sandy Koufax (with my editorial comments in parenthesis):

1. The “n” looks like a thread, indicating diplomatic skills and avoidance of confrontation. (Like this?)
2. The “S” upper loop is full indicating a mind that works overtime and absorbs information like a sponge. (What did that left arm soak up?)
3. The “d” has a full stem, meaning the writer can be very emotional and sensitive. (Sensitive enough to consider the feelings of his co-religionists when he decided not to play that 1965 World Series game on Yom Kippur.)
4. The “K” is divided into two, indicating that the writer is an individualist, and can be nonconformist: he doesn’t always go along with the crowd. (Which explains his reluctance for solitude.)
5. The “f” has a narrow upper loop, suggesting he is not always able to connect openly with his emotions.
6. The upper part of the “x” is closed and elongated, suggesting an intellectual mind that loves to read. (Even though he was not considered a great student at the University of Cincinnati, where he studied engineering.)
7. The “f” has a full-blown lower zone: a practical, self-reliant personality with the ability to enjoy good food. (Or drink?)
8. The “y” has a short stem meaning a very agile mind.

Uh-huh.

Aside from Koufax, the book also features broadcasting legend Howard Cossell and Olympic champion Mark Spitz.

Coming up next: Jewish horoscopes and Jewish numerology.

Weiner, 47, previously served as the organization’s long-time general counsel.

When Fehr announced his decision to step down, he took a moment to praise his successor.

“Michael has been at my side during all the battles we have fought over the last 20 years and has been a major part of our successes,” Fehr said. “He is clearly the most qualified person to become the next Executive Director, and carry on the work of the Players Association in the years to come.”

That’s the labor side. On the “management” side, Bud selig announced he plans to abdicate his commisionership after the 2012 season.

The story was first reported by the Chicago Tribune on Nov. 28.

The 75-year-old Selig, who has had some health problems in recent years, reportedly wants more time to spend on other projects.

He assumed the role of acting commissioner in 1992, removing the “acting” part six years later. He has suffered a few valleys during his time in office, including the devastating 1994 strike that cancelled the World Series for the first time in almostb90 years; an All-Star game that embarrassingly ended in  when the contest went into extra innings and both teams ran out of pitchers; and, perhaps most seriously, the inability to reign in PED usage.

But given a little more time, expect to see full-length books on the subject. The first to come across my desk is Summers in the Bronx: Attila the Hun and Other Yankee Stories, by Ira Berkow (Triumph)

Summers — mostly individual profiles of players and other Yankees personnel — is a collection of columns from Berkow’s days as a sportswriter for The New York Times and other publications. One that naturally caught my attention is an item on Ron Blomberg early in his career. Having just spent some time with “the Designated Hebrew” at Fantasy Camp, it was amazing to see that he hasn’t changed at all in almost 40 years: he’s just as open and enthusiastic now as he was at his first spring training.

Pretty much any Yankee who ever made an impact during Berkow’s tenure is here, divided by relative position: batters, pitchers, managers, and a handful of opponents (including Sandy Koufax), as well as an homage to The Boss, aka Steinbrenner (including a piece on his portrayal as George Costanza’s boss on Seinfeld). It’s a breezy, nostalgic experience that will no doubt lead to other memories the reader might have of his favorite Yankee moments.

Berkow, who won a Pulitzer Prize for national reporting in 2001, was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame earlier this year.

(By the way, the Attila the Hun bit refers to Steinbrenner’s style of management.)

For one thing, he’s been working on his own website. There you’ll find sports news delivered in the folksy and humorous style that made him a fan favorite for many years.

You can also sign up to have his Top Five sports stories of the day delivered via e-mail. You’ll also find out where Berman, author of several sports books based on his “wild and wacky” credo, will be appearing. Upcoming book-signings have him in Port Washington, NY on Dec. 5; Princeton, NJ, on Dec.9; and Northvale, NJ, on Dec. 12.