The last Jew to win the MVP was also 28 and named Braun at birth, except that at age 3 he received his mother's maiden name after his parents got divorced and became known as Sandy Koufax.

After several weeks of trying to persuade Cruyff to pick an Israeli coach, Goldhar finally caved in to his general manager and Tuesday signed Garcia to a two-year contract.

20-year-old Yakov Toumarkin wins bronze medal in 100-meter backstroke; Imri Ganiel finishes sixth.

The squad's new coach, a former Gold Glove-winning catcher, arrived in Israel to begin training team for the WBC.

The last Jew to win the MVP was also 28 and named Braun at birth, except that at age 3 he received his mother's maiden name after his parents got divorced and became known as Sandy Koufax.

Rodrigo Goldberg isn't Jewish, but he helped Maccabi TA to two titles before joining Santiago Morning. Now he's a sports commentator who's studying engineering and looking forward to showing his children around Israel someday.

With four games left and the match tied again, Gelfand will have to draw another rabbit out of his hat to restore his advantage.