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May 20, 2013

Richard A. Serrano: Is Meir Kahane's assassin now a changed man?

Hannan Adely: Town raises Palestinian flag at City Hall

Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Morgan Housel: When smart investors do stupid things

Sharon Saloman, M.S., R.D.: Hunger games: Eat more, weigh less, without starving

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star

The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting
May 13, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Why the giving of the document that would permanently change the world could only be done in desolation

David G. Savage: Church-state, literally? Supreme Court weighing public school graduation in a church

Emily Alpert: Recession dragged down birth rates for less-educated women
Morgan Housel: The deep downside of home ownership

Peter Teffer: Will Dutch police soon be stalking cybercriminals on your computer?

Heidi McIndoo, M.S., R.D.: Meatless 'meat' can have its own set of problems

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Celebrate! This must-try appetizer is delicate yet has depth of flavor: Corn-Leek Cakes with Caviar, Smoked Salmon and Creme Fraiche

May 10, 2013

Rabbi Berel Wein: Be all that you should be

Caroline B. Glick: The dirty little secret about Israel's Arabs

Mona Charen: Hawking's Moral Calculus: The man and the movement he embraces
Morgan Housel: The biggest retirement myth ever told

Sandi Doughton: Eyes may provide new insight into brain problems

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : The Great Gatsby's Jewish Ties; Jews in the "Time 100 list" List; People's Most Beautiful Women

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: A sweet-hot meal: Pear salsa spices up salmon

May 8, 2013

Peter Ford: Why China is welcoming both Israel's Netanyahu and Palestinians' Abbas

Warren Richey: Obama administration quietly backs out of appeal over new contraceptive mandate

Fred Weir: At Kerry-Putin meeting, US-Russia relations thaw --- a tad
Amanda Paulson: Study reveals sad truths about community colleges

Harvard Health Letters: Evidence weak that zinc, echinacea are beneficial

The Kosher Gourmet by Leela Cyd Ross : Almost too pretty to eat, this colorful salad with Sicilian inspiration will tickle the taste buds and delight your visual sensibility

May 6, 2013

Edmund Sanders and Patrick J. McDonnell: Think Israel's objective in Syria is to weaken Assad or embolden the rebels? Think again

Brian Bennett: Israeli airstrikes may show weakness in Syrian defense

Michael Ollove: Millions of ex-felons, parolees and those on probation are about to be entitled to tax-payer paid health coverage
Karen Kaplan: Most men can skip PSA test for prostate cancer, urologists say

Kimberly Lankford: How to track down a lost life insurance policy

Dream of Mars exploration achievable, experts say

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan M. Selasky: EGGPLANT WRAPS are an easy, sumptuous and scrumptious meal

May 3, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Human Courage and the Unavoidable, Disturbing Text

Steven Emerson: Attorney General Fights CAIR in Court, Lauds it in Public

Mediterranean diet helps beat dementia: study
Harvard Health Letters: When to be screened for a hearing problem

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Iron Man's Jewish Connections; Marc Maron's New TV Show; Martin Landau Grows Up with Israel; Shalom, Allan Arbus

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: A sweet surprise for Mother's Day dessert

May 1, 2013

Jonathan Rosenblum: An Improbable Journey to Orthodoxy

Jonathan Tobin: Blame Obama, Not Israel for Syria Push

Kids, kittens the Same? With employee perks at struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo! it's hard to tell
Halena M. Gazelka, M.D.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: What you need to know about implanted pain relief devices

Sandy Kleffman: Artificial kidney offers hope to patients tethered to a dialysis machine

Jessica Shugart: When it comes to math, MRIs may be better than IQs

The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: The celebrated chef on how high-maintenance ASPARAGUS RISOTTO need not be

April 29, 2013

Roy Gutman: Poland's new Jewish museum celebrates life, doesn't revisit Holocaust

Mark Clayton: Terrorism in America: Is US missing a chance to learn from failed plots?

Kim Murphy: Boston Bomber's 'Svengali' Revealed
Morgan Housel: He's rich, smart and old: Listen to him

Thomas Salinas, D.D.S.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: The safety of amalgam fillings

Harvard Health Letters: Tomatoes and stroke protection

Pete Spotts: Tiny satellites + cellphones = cheaper 'eyes in the sky' for NASA

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Swing into spring with lemon cream pie

April 26, 2013

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: The world is a mirror

Caroline B. Glick: Time to confront Obama

Clifford D. May: Defense in the Age of Jihadist Terrorism
Kimberly Lankford: New strategies ease pain of paying for long-term care insurance

Howard LeWine, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Too much ibuprofen?

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: How to feel your best -- with plenty of energy, a healthy weight and optimal mental and physical function -- without driving yourself batty

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Jewish Major Leaguers, 2013; New Movies and Comedy Show; Shalom, 'Lumpy' (Leave it to Beaver)

The Kosher Gourmet by Emily Ho : A bright and cheerful salad to herald the warmer months ahead

April 24, 2013

Steven Emerson: Boston Bomber Exposes Islamist Secret

Morgan Housel Admit it: No one has any idea what's going on
Harvard Health Letters: Can you get headaches from headache medication?

Kerri-Ann Jennings, M.S., R.D.: How to easily get more Omega-3s in your diet

Melissa Healy: Pot in a pill: All the pain relief without the smoke

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan Russo: Chipotle Chili Butternut Squash Soup is bold, zesty, hot

April 22, 2013

Ken Dilanian: Counterterrorism's future is unclear

US man departing country arrested on terror charges
Barbara Williams: An unorthodox but growing treatment in a 9-year-old's battle against cancer

P.J. Skerrett, M.D.: How to recognize a good whole grain product

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Teen actor Jonah Bobo in New Flick: Hunky James Wolk on Mad Men; Erich Segal's Daughter Writes Prize-Winning Jewish Novel


Jewish World Review March 25, 2013/ 14 Nissan, 5773

By Dan K. Thomasson




JewishWorldReview.com | In 1951, I walked into the restaurant where my Indiana high school basketball banquet was being held. I was greeted by a very tall man whom I recognized instantly as one of the superstars of the era: Alex Groza, formerly of the University of Kentucky's winning teams of the postwar 1940s and then a star in the still-infant National Basketball Association.

With Ralph Beard and Dale Barnstable, among others, Kentucky squads coached by Adolph Rupp squads had not only won the NCAA title but also the then-important National Invitational Tournament, which today is the consolation prize for not making it to the NCAA's "Big Dance." They had rolled over the competition to turn Madison Square Garden into a madhouse. Then they had gone on to win the 1948 Olympic gold medal and to form the Indianapolis Olympians, competing against the likes of the Minneapolis Lakers, now the Los Angles Lakers, and that team's reigning king of the fledgling National Basketball Association, George Mikan.

There was nothing unusual about the banquet, filled with awards, not very good food and inspirational talk about the game. That was delivered mainly by the 6-foot-7-inch Groza, who was second only to Mikan in NBA scoring. He gave one of those patented "what basketball did for me" speeches full of the integrity angle and the building of men, etc. (Groza's brother was Lou "The Toe" Groza, a Hall of Fame NFL kicker and tackle.)

Later, much to our shock and amazement, we found out that Groza, Beard and several of their teammates had cheated, taking money to shave points so the gamblers could clean up on the spread in an NIT game. They had been indicted by New York prosecutor Frank Hogan and were facing jail time.

The Olympian franchise collapsed in the wake of the scandal. In the end, Groza, Barnstable and Beard -- certainly one of the best guards at that time -- were suspended for life from the NBA. They were given suspended sentences.

I recalled this the other day while filling out my selections for the 75th anniversary of the NCAA tournament and noticing a story in The Washington Post that named the best players in every decade since the tournament's 1939 inception. For the 1940 to 1950 period, the pick was none other than Alex Groza, despite the fact that he had betrayed the spirit of the tournament, disillusioning thousands of youngsters in the Indiana and Kentucky region and disgracing himself and his university. Rupp is still an icon, despite creating an atmosphere where this could occur.

As the result of these scandals, the National Invitational became a losers' tournament. The game, one can only hope, has become respectable again, much like baseball after the White Sox scandal of 1919.

It took the NCAA a long while before bringing some equity to the celebration by opening the tournament beyond only the winners of a conference and a handful of independents, some of whom had far worse records than the second, third and fourth teams in the major college leagues who'd been excluded.

Now we have a country utterly enthralled once again by March Madness, basketball played as the game I love was devised. Too bad it's disparaged by sports network commentators who focus mainly on the professional game and its trivia, both of which I find uninteresting. Only eight or so of its 30 teams play at a truly professional level. The Washington Wizards franchise has been a disgrace to its fans for decades, for instance. The NBA is financed by billionaires and played by multimillionaires for an audience that often has trouble buying food, let alone the high-priced tickets.

But I digress.

Groza and some of his teammates sold out themselves and rightfully were denied the rewards they otherwise most assuredly would have received. No one should honor them now. It was a tragedy that every young athlete and fan needs to remember as we head into March Madness -- still a great event -- in this milestone year.

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02/27/13: School safety radicals make things considerably worse

02/21/13: Wrestling needs a firm hold on Olympics

02/18/13: Obama may be able to do little about gun violence

12/17/12: When is a majority not a majority?

12/12/12: Government snooping's historical precedent

11/13/12: Petraeus learns a lesson the hard way

10/26/12: High court must settle affirmative action

10/16/12: Report confirms SATs flawed indicator

08/20/12: All the news fit to tweet?

07/27/12: Economic disillusionment marks young voters' views

07/20/12: Will Postal Service follow Pony Express route?

07/13/12: Paterno's statue should be covered up

07/10/12: 8.2 jobless rate endangers Obama's job

07/03/12: It's still the economy, stupid

06/19/12: Mitt Romney's chances look better

06/08/12: Pakistan not an ally worthy of the name

06/05/12: Americans have a right to be bloated

06/01/12: Quota system would dilute school's quality

05/27/12: Even now, Memorial Day means summer camp

05/18/12: Is there a public right to know too much?

05/09/12: American exceptionalism --- exceptional generosity

05/04/12: The Edwards trial is a sorry affair

05/02/12: Common sense needs to be taught . . . to school administrators

04/30/12: We must deal with college student debt rate

04/10/12: At least Ryan has a deficit-cutting plan

04/05/12: Celebrate one-year rent-a-teams?

03/12/12: A kinder, gentler day when fists settled disputes

03/05/12: Do conservatives want a victory or a statement?

02/27/12: Hillary vs. Jeb?

02/17/12: Why wait for the until GOP nominating convention?

02/17/12: Prez is not a god, just a cause of O.G. D.: Obama Governmental Dysfunction

02/13/12: Minor tardiness doesn't warrant court action

02/08/12: College rankings aren't always reliable

02/01/12: Millionaire Fans Watching Millionaire Players

01/30/12: Kiriakou case may plug leaks, stifle democracy

01/09/12: Feds need to find if Brit hackers targeted 9/11 families

12/23/11: NIH flu-strain decision endangers us all

12/09/11: U.S. Postal Service may be beyond saving

11/30/11: Do-gooder gets deserved earful

11/24/11: Lawmakers should pledge to think on their own

11/22/11: Iowa: Vital to GOP now, irrelevant later

11/16/11: Pentagon's ‘senior mentor’ service takes hit

11/14/11: With Congress, expect more intransigence

11/08/11: Paterno's illustrious career faces tarnished end

10/31/11: The FBI is burned by its Boston informants

10/18//11: President Inexperienced again picked style and enthusiasm over caution. He must pay

10/10/11: Prosecutors routinely abuse plea bargaining

10/04/11: In Christie,shades of William Howard Taft

09/27/11: One word for Obama's prospects --- ‘bleak’

09/26/11: Obama quickly running out of time

09/23/11: Big-time college football is now all about the money

09/22/11: A trip to the dentist cleans out your wallet

09/06/11: College rankings a useless exercise

08/31/11: Thankful a mother isn't alive to see this hungry mess

08/30/11: ‘Supercommittee’ should meet in secret

08/22/11: Is college still worth it? Some majors are

08/15/11: Pray for miracle from debt committee

08/09/11: S&P mixes credit ratings with politics

08/08/11: Politics again takes precedence over common sense

08/04/11: In modern society, a distinct pattern of senselessness

07/29/11: A debt solution: Throw the rascals out, all of them

07/21/11: Campaign finance reform --- you're kidding, right!?

07/08/11: Casey Anthony jury did its job

07/05/11: Nailing a prominent figure or institution should come at a heavy risk — and an even greater price if proven a hoax





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