After a tumultuous season, international cycling team Israel–Premier Tech, co-owned by Canadian-Israeli billionaire Sylvan Adams, is officially going to change its name and remove the word "Israel". The decision comes after repeated anti-Israel protests across Europe disrupted the team—whose international roster of 31 cyclists includes just three Israelis—during their open-road events, which can last hundreds of kilometres across the continent. Several cyclists crashed due to protester intervention. The decision to remove Israeli branding from Israel–Premier Tech led co-owner Adams to announce he would step away from day-to-day involvement with the team.

There's a lot to be said about the political ramifications of wearing the Israeli name on your shirt in 2025, but our sports podcasters have a different theory about the shift. Israel–Premier Tech enjoyed a successful season that brought them back to full status with the UCI World Tour, after being relegated down to the secondary UCI ProSeries since 2023. That means the stakes are higher, the stage is bigger, and the league's propensity for risk and disruption may well have shrunk considerably. Is this purely a move to placate protesters, or are the team members—and possibly UCI executives—trying to prevent more bad press in the coming year?

Also on the docket: the boys talk about the Toronto Blue Jays' run to the American League championship series, big baseball moves, early NHL impressions and a quick NFL check-in.

Credits

• Hosts: James Hirsh and Gabe Pulver
• Producer: Michael Fraiman
• Music: Coby Lipovitch (intro), chēēZ π (main theme, "Organ Grinder Swing")

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Canadians who've never before heard of the Davis Cup, a men's team tennis tournament, grew outraged when they discovered Canada was hosting Israel in a match on Sept. 12 and 13. Anti-Israel activists demanded a ban on the Israeli athletes over their country's war in Gaza; pro-Israel advocates insisted the sport remain free of political interference.

In the end, nobody won: Tennis Canada announced they would not permit any fans to enter the venue this weekend, refunding anyone who bought a ticket. What will likely ensue is a relatively uneventful match between two lower-seeded tennis teams, accompanied by some everyday protests outside.

But while Tennis Canada cited security concerns for their decision, our sports podcasters ask: is that really the reason?

The venue holds 5,000 people, and only 1,500 people were expected to attend. Of that, a small handful of anti-Israel protesters—in the realm of a dozen people—said they bought tickets with the explicit intention of disrupting the event. Team Israel has significant security resources, and has said nothing that indicates they were worried for their players' safety. So was this really a security concern, or is Tennis Canada more concerned with a clean product for television and to encourage the opportunity of hosting international events in the future? Was this a political move, or simply a bureaucratic one?

The hosts dig into all this, plus what happened with Israeli teams in European cycling and soccer.

Credits

• Hosts: James Hirsh and Gabe Pulver
• Producer: Michael Fraiman
• Music: Coby Lipovitch (intro), chēēZ π (main theme, "Organ Grinder Swing")

Support The CJN

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In July, the New York Yankees drafted a Canadian shortstop from Wyoming, Ont., named Core Jackson. They did so despite knowing that Jackson, as a 17-year-old freshman at the University of Nebraska, had drawn a swastika on a Jewish student's dorm room while he was, he later told The Athletic, "blackout drunk."

But this isn't a run-of-the-mill case of antisemitism. By all accounts, according to the Yankees' ground scouts and the recent investigation by The Athletic that ran Aug. 20, Jackson was, simply, acting like an ignorant drunk teenager, and was forthright about the incident with teams before the draft. The team did significant due diligence, engaging with New York's Jewish community and sending scouts to learn about Jackson's family and personality.

The resulting story is less about the insipid rise of casual antisemitism, and more about the power of forgiveness when people—especially teenagers—make mistakes and try to do better.

Keith Law, a longtime baseball journalist and former front office worker with the Toronto Blue Jays, broke this story for The Athletic. He joins us to share his impressions of Core Jackson and how the Yankees are viewing this opportunity.

After that, podcast hosts Gabe and Jamie run through this year's hottest Jewish sports movies, from Happy Gilmore 2 to both Safdie brothers' award-season offerings, The Smashing Machine and Marty Supreme. Then they give a quick NFL preview and recap Zach Hyman's ceremonial opening of the new ice hockey rink at the Schwartz/Reisman Jewish Community Centre in Vaughan.

Credits

• Hosts: James Hirsh and Gabe Pulver
• Producer: Michael Fraiman
• Music: Coby Lipovitch (intro), chēēZ π (main theme, "Organ Grinder Swing")

Support The CJN

• Follow the podcast on Twitter @menschwarmers
• Subscribe to The CJN newsletter
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• Subscribe to Menschwarmers (Not sure how? Click here)