El “Top Ten” de los atletas judíos (en Inglés)

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- - Visto 2008 veces

With each passing year, more and more Jewish athletes are making the big leagues.

With star athletes in each of the North American “Big Four” leagues and beyond, Jews appear to be earning more roster spots than ever before, with dozens still toiling in the minor leagues as well.


Enjoy as Shalom Life presents its list of the the Top 10 Jewish Athletes.

Honourable mentions:

Adam Goldberg

Goldberg is a 31-year-old offensive tackle who last played for the NFL’s St. Louis Rams. During his college football career at Wyoming, Goldberg was voted a captain by his teammates in 2001, becoming just the third junior in the university’s football history to be elected a team captain. He was an Honourable Mention on the All-America team and was twice named a First-team All-Mountain West Conference player. Goldberg signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2003 and started the last six games of the 2004 season, along with two postseason games. After the 2005 campaign in which he started 12 times, Goldberg was traded to the Rams where he has played ever since. He was re-signed by the Rams in 2009 for two years and is currently a free agent. He has received a tryout offer from the Chicago Bears.

Jordan Famar

For years, Farmar was the lone Jewish player in the NBA, and the first since Danny Schayes. Drafted 26th overall in 2006, Farmar broke into the league the following season with the L.A. Lakers. The point guard played in Los Angeles for four seasons, winning two championship rings. He signed a three-year contract with the New Jersey Nets (now Brooklyn Nets) in the summer of 2010, serving as the backup to former Nets point guard Devin Harris and later to Deron Williams. Farmar averaged 9.6 points per game and a career high 5.0 assists per game in his first year in New Jersey. He opened the 2011-12 season with Maccabi Tel Aviv, signing a one-year contract with the Israeli club in wake of the 2011 NBA lockout. During the shortened NBA season, Farmar battled lingering groin injuries and was limited to 39 games, during which he averaged a career-high 10.4 points per game and shot a career-best 44 per cent from 3-point range. The 25-year-old was traded to the Atlanta Hawks earlier this month and immediately bought out, before signing with Turkish club Anadolu Efes.

Jeff Halpern

Halpern, 36, began his career with the Washington Capitals in 1999, a year after graduating from Princeton University. In just his second season, Halpern scored over 20 goals and 40 points and in 2003-04, he scored a career-best 46 points. Following the 2005 NHL lockout, he was named captain of the capitals and scored 44 points, including a career-high 33 assists in 70 games during the 2005-06 season. Halpern sat out a game at the beginning of the season to observe Yom Kippur. He spent the next two years with the Dallas Stars before being traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning, where he played for three seasons. In 2008, he captained the United States national team during the World Hockey Championships in eastern Canada. After a brief stint with the L.A. Kings late in 2010, Halpern played for the Montreal Canadiens for a year along with fellow Jewish star Mike Cammalleri. Halpern returned to the Capitals for the 2011-12 season and signed a one-year contract with the New York Rangers earlier this month. In 861 career regular season games, Halpern has amassed 146 goals and 212 assists, totaling 358 points. He has reached 40-point plateau four times and the 20-goal mark twice.

#10: Eric Nystrom

Nystrom, 29, is an NHL forward for the Dallas Stars. Prior to his professional career, Nystrom played four seasons for the University of Michigan Wolverines from 2001 to 2005 graduating with an arts degree. In 2002, Nystrom was drafted 10thoverall by the Calgary Flames, becoming a full-time player and a fan favourite with the team by 2008. The 6-foot-1 forward is known for his gritty, two-way hockey sense, as he told Shalom Life in an exclusive interview last year. After scoring 11 goals and 19 assists with the Flames in 2009-10, Nystrom signed a three-year contract with the Minnesota Wild. He put up a disappointing 12 points in his first year with the team and was waived prior to the 2011-12 season. Nystrom was traded to the Stars, where he picked up a career-high 16 goals and 21 points in 74 games this past year. In 360 career regular season games, Nystrom has scored 39 goals, 33 assists and 72 points.

#9: Shahar Pe’er

Pe’er, the top Israeli tennis player is currently ranked no. 50 in the world. Pe’er has won five WTA singles titles, and three WTA doubles titles. In 2009, Prior to her professional tennis career, Pe’er served in the IDF. Pe’er was not allowed to compete in the Dubai Tennis Championships after the United Arab Emirates (UAE) denied her a visa. The move was heavily criticized within the tennis community, as players such as Venus Williams condemned the decision and 2008 men’s champion Andy Roddick sat out in solidarity. The 25-year-old achieved a career-high world singles ranking of no. 11 on January 31, 2011, setting a record for the highest ranking ever for an Israeli singles tennis player, male or female. She has since struggled over the past year and has gone 12 tournaments without progressing past the second round. Pe’er will represent Israel at this year’s summer Olympics in London, set to open next week. It will be her second Olympic appearance.

#8: Yossi Benayoun

Benayoun is an attacking midfielder for Chelsea F.C. in the English Premier League. The 32-year-old Israeli spent all of last season on-loan to Arsenal, with whom he helped secure third place in the league. After a four-year stint with Israeli club Maccabi Haifa and later two years with West Ham United, Benayoun went to Liverpool in 2007. After three years with the club, he signed a three-year with Chelsea in July 2010 but was loaned to Arsenal after just one year. Benayoun captained Arsenal in their 1–0 League Cup loss to Manchester City. Now back with Chelsea, but rumours have swirled that he could return to West Ham or Maccabi Haifa via a loan. Internationally, Benayoun is the captain of the Israeli national team.

#7: Omri Casspi

Casspi, 24, is the first and lone Israeli basketball player in the NBA. He was drafted 23rd overall by the Sacramento Kings in 2009 after a three-year professional career in Israel. Casspi, a small forward, joined Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2005-06 as a 17-year-old. After a one-year stint on-loan with Hapoel Galil Elyon, Casspi spent the next two years with Maccabi Tel Aviv before joining the Kings for 2009-10 season. In his rookie year, Casspi scored a career-high 10.3 points per game, 4.5 rebounds per game and 1.2 assists per game. He was also chosen to participate in the NBA All-Star Weekend Rookie Challenge, as well as the NBA All-Star Weekend H-O-R-S-E Competition against Kevin Durant and Rajon Rondo. Casspi saw his role diminish and his numbers slide in 2010-11 and was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers after the season ended. He started 35 games for Cleveland this past year and averaged 7.1 points per game as well as 3.5 rebounds per game.

#6: Julian Edelman

Edelman, 26, is a wide receiver for the NFL’s New England Patriots. He played college football for Kent State as a quarterback, where he graduated with a degree in business management, and was drafted by the Patriots in 2009. He played 11 games in his rookie year, recording 37 total receptions for 259 receiving yards, an average of 9.8 per game. In 15 games played in 2010, Edelman had seven receptions and 86 total receiving yards. He was used primarily as a kick and punt returner in 2011, finishing with 296 total punt return yards and one touchdown. In his career, Edelman has 48 receptions, 479 receiving yards, 658 return yards and three touchdowns.

#5: Kevin Youkilis

Youkilis, 33, is a first and third baseman for the Chicago White Sox. In over eight years with the Boston Red Sox, Youkilis became a three-time all-star, two-time World Series champion and was the winner of the 2008 Hank Aaron Award. Drafted by the Red Sox in 2001 after playing college baseball at the University of Cincinnati, he made his debut in 2004 and has a successful first season, winning the team’s Rookie of the Year award. Youkilis declined to participate in a game that fell on Yom Kippur that year. In 2008, he hit a career-high 29 home runs and 115 RBIs and batted.312. He also had a very successful 2009 season, in which he batted.305 while hitting 27 home runs and 94 RBIs. His career stats include a.287 batting average, 137 home runs, 582 RBIs and 243 doubles. Earlier this season, Youkilis was traded to the White Sox and his contract is set to expire after the year.

#4: Ian Kinsler

30-year-old Kinsler plays second base for the MLB’s Texas Rangers. Drafted by the team in 2003, Kinsler is a two-time all-star. He was originally drafted out of high school by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2000 and again in 2001, but opted not to join the team either time to instead pursue a college career. In three years, Kinsler played Central Arizona College, Arizona State and University of Missouri before finally entering the MLB. He made his debut in 2006, batting.286 with 14 homeruns and 55 RBIs, and a team-leading 11 stolen bases. Kinsler hit career highs in 2009 with 31 home runs, 86 RBIs and 31 stolen bases, a year in which he also hit for the cycle. In his career, Kinsler has batted.275 with 134 home runs, 438 RBIs and 151 stolen bases.

#3: Michael Cammalleri

At 30 years of age, Cammalleri is without a doubt the best Jewish hockey player in the NHL. Drafted by the L.A. Kings in 2001, Cammalleri made his NHL debut with the Kings in 2002-03 after three years with the University of Michigan Wolverines. His best season in Los Angeles came in 2006-07 when he scored 36 goals, 46 assists and 80 points. He was traded to the Calgary Flames in the summer of 2008 and achieved a career-high 39 goals, 43 assists and 82 points in 2008-09. He played the next two and a half seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, where he was plagued with injuries and struggled to achieve similar regular season results. Cammalleri was traded back to Calgary this past January and scored 19 points in 28 games with the Flames. In 562 career regular season games, Cammalleri has picked up 197 goals, 228 assists and 425 points, in addition to 32 points in 32 career playoff games. He has also represented Canada internationally four times, winning bronze and silver medals at the 2001 and 2002 World Junior Championships respectively. He was named the tournament’s best forward in 2002.

#2: Amar’e Stoudemire

NBA star Amar’e Stoudemire made headlines in 2010 when he started tweeting Hebrew phrases and announced he was travelling to Israel upon learning he had Jewish roots through his mother’s side. The 29-year-old New York Knicks power forward was drafted out of high school by the Phoenix Suns in 2002 and was the league’s Rookie of the Year in his first season. The six-time all-star played eight seasons for the Suns before signing with the Knicks in 2010. One of Stoudemire’s best seasons came in 2004-05 when he averaged a career-best 26 points per game. Over the course of his career, Stoudemire has played 641 regular season games, averaging 21.6 points per game and 8.8 rebounds per game. He has made the All-NBA First Team once and the All-NBA Second Team four times.

#1: Ryan Braun

Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun tops the list of Jewish athletes. Braun, 28, was drafted fifth overall by the Brewers in 2005 after a college career at the University of Miami. Braun’s first MLB season came in 2007 when he batted.324 with 34 home runs, 97 RBIs and 15 stolen bases to capture Rookie of the Year honours. The Hebrew Hammer followed up his rookie campaign with four straight 100+ RBI seasons, three of which also included 30+ home run efforts. The five-time all-star was named 2011 NL MVP last year when he batted a career best.332 and also scored 33 home runs, 111 RBIs, 33 stolen bases and 38 doubles. After winning the NL MVP award last year, news leaked that Braun had tested positive for performance enhancing drugs and was dealt a 50-game suspension. The slugger vehemently denied the allegations and eventually won his appeal, becoming the first major leaguer to have a drug suspension overturned. Thus far in his career, Braun has batted.312 with 998 hits, 187 home runs and 596 RBIs.

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