Branching Out

Yes, baseball is over, but fear not! All is not lost. Later this month, awards will be announced. Kevin Youkilis, Ian Kinsler, and Ryan Braun will all probably receive some MVP votes. Scott Feldman may even receive a few Cy Young votes. Braun will likely win his 2nd Silver Sluggers. And if the offseason's Hot Stove isn't enough to satisfy your fanhood, there are other sports and other athletes you can turn to.

If you like the NHL, you have left wing Michael Cammalleri on the Montreal Canadiens. He has 2 seasons under his belt with 80 or more points and just got his 3rd career hat trick the other day. This year, he has 7 goals and 7 assists in 17 games. You also have 2-time All-Star defenseman Mathieu Schneider (735 career points) on the Vancouver Canucks, center Jeff Halpern on the Tampa Bay Lightning, and right wing Mike Brown on the Anaheim Ducks.

If you like the NBA, you have point guard Jordan Farmar on the Los Angeles Lakers and Israeli native Omri Casspi on the Sacramento Kings. In his first 6 games, Casspi has scored in double figures 3 times. He just came off his 1st career double-double against the Golden State Warriors; Casspi had 12 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals. He is 8 for 16 from behind the arc this year.

If you like the NFL, Ron Kaplan from Kaplan's Korner gives weekly updates on all of the players.

If you like college basketball, The Great Rabbino has provided us with an excellent overview of the top Jewish players, including guard Jon Scheyer on Duke and guard Brett Harvey on Loyola (who led the nation in free throw percentage at 91%).

If you like college football, The Great Rabbino has the goods on all of the players, including free safety Taylor Mays on USC, who has drawn comparisons to Adrian Wilson and Sean Taylor.