Sports

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel is the big surprise of the World Baseball Classic, upsetting three teams, generating buzz and offering a mascot like no other — “The Mensch on the Bench.” Back home, no one seems to notice. Baseball has…

JERUSALEM (AP) — It was supposed to be a feel-good visit by a group of professional football players to give a boost to image-conscious Israel. But in an embarrassing fumble by the Israeli government, only five of 11 NFL players…

PETAH TIKVA, Israel (AP) — Israel has just one baseball-specific field, and most Israelis know little about the game. Yet the country has emerged as a potential spoiler in the upcoming World Baseball Classic thanks to quirky regulations that allow…

JERUSALEM (AP) — Forget the handshake that wasn’t — Israel is delighted with something much more unusual: international athletic success. While an Egyptian judoka’s refusal to shake hands with his Israeli opponent at the Rio Olympics reverberated worldwide, in Israel…

JERUSALEM (AP) — Recently retired NBA All-Star Amare Stoudemire insists he has plenty of basketball left in him. Arriving in what he called “my favorite city in the world” for a new chapter as a player for Hapoel Jerusalem, Stoudemire…

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — When Omri Casspi was 13, his family took him on a Bar Mitzvah trip to the United States, the highlight of which was a visit to New York City where the Israeli youngster stood in…

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The Cleveland Cavaliers suddenly have far fewer fans in Israel after the firing of David Blatt. The shock announcement on Friday, despite the second-year coach leading the Cavs to the NBA Finals a year ago…

KFAR SABA, Israel (AP) — Under the bright lights, a call of “set, hike” echoes out, followed by the clatter of helmets smashing against pads at a high school football game. But these aren’t American teenagers hoping to play college…

PETAH TIKVA, Israel (AP) — On the mound, Dean Kremer looks just like any other top-rated baseball prospect, whipping 90 mph fastballs and snapping nasty curves. When the 19-year-old pitcher greets his teammates in the dugout after striking out the…

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Even casual Israeli basketball fans begin their day with an update on the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the newfound obsession with the NBA franchise has little to do with superstar LeBron James. Rookie head coach David…

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Hoping to impress NBA scouts when Maccabi Tel Aviv faces LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers next month, Alex Tyus has an important decision to make — whether to fast the previous day for the…

Throughout the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Associated Press reporters filed dispatches about happenings in and around and country. Here is a collection of mine from my three-and-a-half week assignment in the Sao Paulo region: July 4 – UPLIFTING SWISS…

SAO PAULO (AP) — Ottmar Hitzfeld boldly promised his Switzerland squad would slow down Lionel Messi, and he nearly kept his word. For 118 minutes in the second round of the World Cup, the feisty Swiss squad frustrated the Argentine…

SAO PAULO (AP) — Landon Donovan is still playing a role for the U.S. World Cup team: supporting defender Omar Gonzalez, his Los Angeles Galaxy teammate. After injuring his left knee during a Major League Soccer game May 3, Gonzalez…

SAO PAULO (AP) — With South Korea’s 1-0 loss to Belgium Thursday, the last Asian team bowed out of the World Cup — leaving the continent without any representatives in the knockout stages. The result caps a dismal campaign for…