Or, “Dude, yer gettin’ arrested for a hate crime”.

From the Detroit Free Press:

Detroit Tigers outfielder Delmon Young was arrested and faces a hate crime-related charge in connection with a dispute outside a hotel along New York’s 6th Avenue early this morning, a New York police spokesman told the Free Press.

“Basically, there was an incident at the hotel (and) some anti-Semitic remarks,” said Det. Joseph Cavitolo, who added that alcohol was involved.

Our exclusive, three-part report on this very serious matter is after the jump.

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He looks photoshopped in, doesn’t he?

Metta World Peace née Ron Artest took off to Nevada over the weekend to host a night at the Chateau Nightclub & Gardens at the Paris Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip, and like a lot of Vegas tourists he decided to take in a show. That show happened to be Celine, Celine Dion’s residency performance at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. Most people who go to that will tweet “went to see Celina Dion in Vegas, liked the show” or “went to see Celina Dion in Vegas, did not like the show” (that one would be me), but not Artest. Here’s the Spark Notes version of what went down:

1. Ron Artest is Ron Artest
2. Ron Artest decides to go see Celine Dion in concert
3. Celine Dion changes Ron Artest’s life
4. Ron Artest gets frustrated that his Twitter followers don’t know who Celine Dion is and think he’s joking
5. Ron Artest has an existential crisis, considers the idea that he might be dumb and is driven to improve himself
6. Ron Artest gets in over his head

The last two days of @RonArtest are succinctly chronicled here for your observation and amusement, and because somebody needed to make a permanent record of this. Please click through to enjoy.

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A group of California high school students have been reprimanded for a racing game that some referred to as “Beating the Jew.” A handful of students driving cars would chase a single student (the “Jew,” if you will), running on foot. But there was only one problem with the school administrators and local authorities looking to lash out with retribution: they never committed a crime.

All people involved are willing participants in the game, Desert Sands Unified School District Superintendent Sharon McGehee said.[..]

La Quinta police Lt. Jason Huskey said that if all players are willing participants, the game likely does not carry criminal implications.

“If a bunch of kids are playing a game and they’re voluntarily playing a game … it doesn’t appear to have any criminal liability,” he said. –The Desert Sun [Palm Springs, CA]

There have been calls for the students to be expelled from school, despite the fact that the races never took place on school grounds. Hey, at least they were outside, with one or participants actually getting exercise. Nobody flipped out whenever kids were playing “Cowboys and Indians.” But I suppose that killing and oppressing Native American nations has been such a time-honored tradition by our culture that it was just passed off as celebrating our heritage. Yay protestants! Films and documentaries about the Holocaust are our modern-day parallel to the westerns that pervaded the airwaves and cinema of our earlier generations. Having said all of that, hopefully their tradition will continue after they decide to pick another name. May I be the first to suggest “Beating Tecumseh?” Thanks, Jack.

It’s been almost a week since the closing ceremonies of the Maccabiah, the international olympiad held in Israel for athletes of the Jewish faith. But don’t fret; if we can cover the CFL here, we can certainly do a half-assed recap of the Jewish Olympics:

The Maccabiah Games, which began in 1932, are intended not only to encourage athletic excellence, but also to foster a sense of Jewish belonging and pride among the participants.

So alongside running hurdles, swimming relays and cycling in the Negev, the 8,000 athletes who gathered in Israel for the 18th Games from nearly 60 countries also toured the country and visited historically meaningful sites such as the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial and Masada. They even took part in mass bar and bat mitzvah ceremonies— some have never had one, others simply wanted to join along. via.

Perhaps the most notable athlete at the Maccabiah was Jason Lezak, the 4-time Olympic Gold Medalist swimmer who missed the World Championships in Rome to make the trip to Israel. He participated in the swimming and was then nagged by a cadre of Jewish mothers to find out when he was going to get married.

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The Slanch Report‘s reputation for covering the latest in Jewish sporting news is on the uptick after this report of Jews! In! Snow! Eric Sweet and nine of his closest chaverim ascended a snowy peak, for reasons still not really explained:

“We are 10 Jews celebrating not necessarily inside a synagogue but celebrating God and celebrating the beauty of this area as Jews together on the minion board,” said Rabbi Zalman Mendelsohn, who was worshipping in the snow.

Eventually, after several spills, they put it all together, and as a group are able to carve their way down the mountain. This is more inspirational than Masada and Channukah put together! Also, I love that the 2 girls, 1 cup, phenomena has spread to the extent that newscasters can refer to it, even obliquely, during their broadcasts, now that’s progress!

There’s video after the jump. I know, I can’t wait, either. Read the rest of this entry »