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Hello! With the Olympics over, the NFL preseason in full swing, the Premier League back and the MLB playoff rush just around the corner, it’s a good time to be a sports fan.

Malcolm Gladwell tells JTA about Hitler’s influence on the modern Olympics

LR: Bronze medalist Naoto Tajima of Japan, gold medalist Jesse Owens of the USA and silver medalist Luz Long of Germany on the podium in the long jump competition at the Berlin Olympic Games, August 8, 1936. (Bettman/Getty)

The Paris Olympics ended on Sunday with a star-studded closing ceremony featuring light shows, acrobatics and, yes, a stunt by Tom Cruise.

In a new podcast series, author Malcolm Gladwell explains how the Olympics became the spectacle they are today. Spoiler: He cites Adolf Hitler as the reason.

“The Games we have now are, in the broadest sense, the Games that Hitler and his people created,” Gladwell told me in a phone interview this week. “It’s actually Hitler understanding that the Games have this broader symbolic potential and can enhance the status of the host nation. In some ways, we still live in that world.”

In the latest season of his podcast, Revisionist History, Gladwell examines the 1936 Berlin Olympics, introducing listeners to the complex characters and political developments that led to Nazi Germany hosting the Summer Olympics in the first place, and exploring what motivated countries around the world to participate.

Click here for my conversation with the bestselling author.

Half-time report

MEET THE MEDAL WINNERS. Israel won two more silver medals last weekend to close out the Paris Games, bringing the total medal count for all Jewish and Israeli athletes to a whopping 18, including six gold medals awarded to 21 Olympians. You can find all of their achievements here.

OVER THE LINE. The French Athletics Federation suspended a track and field athlete on Wednesday after several of his anti-Israel and anti-Semitic posts appeared on social media. Muhammad Abdallah Kounta, who competed for France at the Olympics, shared posts supporting Hamas and wishing the Zionists the “most horrible and terrible hell.”

A QUESTION OF TIME. The Metropolitan Yeshiva High School Athletic League has adopted a 35-second shot clock for its varsity basketball program for the first time, according to a rule change commissioner Seth Gordon told me it was “just a matter of time” — literally. The change brings the organization in line with other high school, college and professional leagues where shot clocks are the norm. The league put the change to a vote, which passed unanimously.

NO FEAR. Former NBA player Patrick Beverley, who signed with Israeli basketball team Hapoel Tel Aviv, said on his podcast that he is not concerned about his safety in Israel, but added, “If the bomb goes off, I’m gone.” And referring to the contract he signed with the team, Beverley also quipped, “Not all Jews are stingy. The guy who gave me that contract – he was pretty generous.”

Hang up the microphone. Commentator for the New York Rangers Sam Rose will retire after the 2024-2025 NHL season, ending a Hall of Fame career spanning four decades. Rosen did prime-time commentary for Fox Sports and ESPN, but New Yorkers will remember him for his famous “It’s a power-play goal!” and his commentary on the Rangers’ 1994 Stanley Cup victory.

Joc Pederson’s historic strikeout

For an 11-year MLB veteran like Joc PedersonThere’s nothing glamorous about a strikeout. But last Saturday, Pederson’s disappointing batting performance made history because the pitcher and catcher in that game were also Jewish.

Philadelphia Phillies rookie Max Lazar made his MLB debut on the mound and threw to the catcher Garrett Stubbswhen Pederson, the Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder, stepped into the batter’s box. According to the Jewish Baseball Museum, it was only the third time in MLB history that a Jewish pitcher, catcher and batter participated in the same at-bat.

The last all-Jewish trio occurred 11 years ago, when Boston Red Sox relief player Craig Breslow knocked out Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Kevin Pillar on August 15, 2013, with Ryan Lavarnway Catching. The first case occurred 62 years ago, when Detroit Tigers pitcher Saul Rogovin allowed a home run to the Philadelphia Athletics first baseman. Lou Limmerwith Joe Ginsberg catch.

Click the button below to learn more about this historic moment.

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

⚾️ IN BASEBALL…

Red hot Alex Bregman and the reliever of the Houston Astros Jared Shuster and the Chicago White Sox in a three-game series this weekend. Bregman, who shared American League Player of the Week honors with teammate Yordan Alvarez for the week of Aug. 5-12, was at his best in August, with a .340 batting average and five home runs in 12 games. Spencer Horwitz and the Toronto Blue Jays face the Chicago Cubs this weekend, while Harrison Bader and the New York Mets host the Miami Marlins.

⚽️ IN FOOTBALL …

Tai Baribo and Philadelphia Union hosts Liga MX club Mazatlán in the Leagues Cup quarterfinals on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Baribo scored two goals in the round of 16 as Philadelphia beat FC Cincinnati 4-2. Cincy player DeAndre Yedlin also scored a goal. The English Premier League returns this weekend and goalkeeper Matt Turner begins the year at Nottingham Forest, despite rumours that he could move. They host Bournemouth on Saturday at 10am

🏈 IN FOOTBALL …

Jake Curhan and the Chicago Bears host the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday at 1 p.m. Michael Dunn and the Cleveland Browns host the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday at 4:25 p.m. Anthony Firkser and the New York Jets face the Carolina Panthers on Saturday at 7 p.m. Joshua Karty and the Los Angeles Rams play against the LA Chargers on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. AJ Dillon, Greg Joseph and the Green Bay Packers face the Denver Broncos on Sunday at 8 p.m.

⛳️ PLAYING GOLF…

Max Hom And Max Greyserman are competing in the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis this weekend. Greyserman finished second in the Wyndham Championship last weekend.

A different kind of Olympics

The Israeli delegation enters the opening ceremony of the JCC Maccabi Games in Houston. (Hagit Bibi; courtesy of Evelyn Rubenstein JCC of Houston.)

While the Olympics were underway in Paris, another international sports tournament – ​​the 42nd annual JCC Maccabi Games – brought over 2,600 Jewish teenagers to Detroit and Houston.

Youth from 80 delegations competed in Olympic-style competitions that doubled as a “Jewish identity-building experience designed to strengthen Jewish youth’s connections to the global Jewish people while building community in a joyful celebration of Jewish pride,” according to a press release. The event concluded on August 9.

This photo shows the Israeli delegation, which included athletes from Sderot, the embattled Israeli town on the border with the Gaza Strip that was devastated on October 7.