Inside (Israel) Baseball, cont'd: The backstory to the attack on Our Man Elli's objectivity extends to email complaint to editors about IBL exposé

Well, our Israel baseball weekend broke into a flurry of emails, phone calls and readers’ complaints about the latest bizarre sidebar in the story— the one about Jay L. Abramoff, a former sports editor at the Jerusalem Post who mass-emailed an opinion piece in which he defends the Israel Baseball League, criticizes the Israel news media and accuses Our Man Elli in Israel—the only journalist who’s covered this story and moved it forward-– of bias in his reportage (he also called us a “friend’s blog, but don’t get us started).

As we’d mentioned, there’s history to this feud and this man’s crusade, and if you’d wonder why we’d give such international exposure to one schmuck with an opinion and an email account, here’s why—and get ready for this:

Back in August 2007, the day before Haaretz published Our Man Elli truth-baring exposé of the IBL’s first (and last) season, Abramoff, who’d written the curtain raiser to the IBL championship game, fired off an email to various Haaretz editors and others, insinuating that Elli’s reportage was colored by personal considerations and conflict of interest.

Not nice. Bad Jay.

Here is the letter Mr. Abramoff sent to the English editor of Haaretz, the outgoing assistant editor, the incoming assistant editor, the night editor, and two guys who worked on the night desk (including Our Man Elli):

Date: Thu, 30 Aug 2007 16:03:07 +0200
From: "Jay L. Abramoff"
Subject: Anglo File this week
Adar, et al.,

I would like to express my extreme disappointment about publishing Elli Wohlgelernter's piece on the Israel Baseball League. I saw (but did not read) a version of it in english@haaretz.co.il, but I read the teaser that appeared on Page 1 of today's (Thursday's) newspaper. The teaser reports "unprofessional" behavior by the IBL, but what we are doing is unprofessional and just plain poor journalism. I am confident that Elli's story is actually an example good journalism, even though Elli may have personal reasons for writing such a story.

As far as I know, Haaretz paid Daphna Berman to write a piece on the IBL that appeared in the Anglo File section and is now paying Elli to write the piece that is set to appear in tomorrow's paper and on the Web site, but did not pay anyone else to write stories on the IBL. Throughout the two-month season, Haaretz did not pay anyone to cover the league, except for a Hebrew edition reporter and photographer who attended opening day and the championship game (even though the reporter did not write actual news stories for either game). We relied on the IBL itself to provide daily reports and photos and AP for the opening day report, and now we are going to publish a full-page story that criticizes how they ran their league the first season?

About a month ago, I was asked by a night editor why our IBL reports were the same as those that appeared in The Jerusalem Post. My answer was because neither media outlet was paying someone to cover the league on a daily basis, and Haaretz and The Jerusalem Post were both using the reports sent to us by the IBL itself.

The IBL had an unpaid intern, Nathaniel Edelstein, who sent in the daily reports (except the last week of the season). When I was Sports Editor at the Post, I asked Nate to cover the IBL beginning last fall, and then in the spring - before I was offered a position at Haaretz-- I recommended to him that he work for the league, as opposed to working exclusively for the Post as an intern for the summer. His material would then be published on the IBL web site and in many media outlets instead of just the Post. I do not know whether the IBL would have been able to provide Haaretz with these daily reports if Nate, with a little help and advice from myself, had not begun to cover the IBL and then agree to work for the league.

Upon hearing the explanation as to why the reports were the same in both media outlets, this night editor asked me to rewrite the IBL stories when I worked on the sports desk, which, if I had the time, was happy to do so, in order to make our IBL reports more unique and exclusive. I attended many games, out of my own interest and not because Haaretz hired me to do so, as a guest of the IBL because of my position at Haaretz and previous position at the Post. On the other hand, anyone else who worked on the sports desk during the season did not bother to rewrite these reports because they were not as familiar with the league or they just did not care enough.

Jay L. Abramoff

The email smear brought this reply from Elli:

Date: Thu,30 Aug 2007 16:12:00-0700(PDT)
From: ELLI Subject:
Re: Anglo File this week
To: "Jay L. Abramoff"

jay, i'm a little confused about all this:

"Jay L. Abramoff wrote:
Adar, et al.,
…what we are doing is unprofessional…”

---can you tell me why?

“…and just plain poor journalism.”

---can you tell me why there as well?

“…I am confident that Elli's story is actually an example good journalism…”

---that would seem to contradict what you just said.

“…even though Elli may have personal reasons for writing such a story.”

---can you explain that? i thought i was writing it because, as a journalist for 32 years, i felt it was a good story, and worked my ass off cultivating sources and writing it. if there's a different reason, please share it with everyone.

"…As far as I know, Haaretz paid Daphna Berman to write a piece on the IBL… and is now paying Elli to write the piece…”

---that's a gripe you have with management for not paying anyone all season, but what does that have to do with my story?

“…Throughout the two-month season, Haaretz did not pay anyone to cover the league… and now we are going to publish a full-page story that criticizes how they ran their league the first season?"

---actually, as you may see if you read my story, i criticize the media for their lack of interest, and newspapers for running the league stories as is, which clearly refers to haaretz and the post. so if anything, haaretz is being incredibly gutsy by running my story.

“…Haaretz and The Jerusalem Post were both using the reports sent to us by the IBL itself…”

---which is certainly a shanda

“The IBL had an unpaid intern, Nathaniel Edelstein, who sent in the daily reports…”

---ok, so if the league wouldn't have supplied the post and haaretz with stories, there might not have been any stories. who would have suffered? in any case, what does that have to do with my story?

“…I attended many games, out of my own interest and not because Haaretz hired me to do so, as a guest of the IBL…”

---every media person attended as a "guest" of the league, that's called a media pass, it is standard practice in the business. in any case, what does that have to do with my story?

“…Anyone else who worked on the sports desk during the season did not bother to rewrite these reports because they were not as familiar with the league or they just did not care enough.”

---that's a lie. i rewrote the ibl story each and every time i worked on the desk - twice a week for two months - and you know it. and i rewrote it not because the post was printing the same version, but because the submiited stories of the league were beyond pathetic, as i write in tomorrow's paper, and would have been an embarrassment to haaretz to print it as written. moreover, i wrote the exclusive story on july 17 about the players threatening to strike, without being asked, and without being paid. in any case, what's your point?

elli wohlgelernter

***

Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2007 20:55:48 +0200
From: "Jay L. Abramoff"
To: ELLI

Elli,

In my previous e-mail to you, I assumed your article was exclusive to Haaretz. It apparently wasn't:

http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/newscontent.php3?artid=14471
http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=18108

So, Haaretz decided to buy a non-exclusive story on the IBL after using IBL material for two months. Again, I question the decision and pattern of decisions made, not the story.

Jay

***

Date: Sat, 1 Sep 2007 11:00:53 -0700 (PDT)
From: ELLI
To: "Jay L. Abramoff"
CC: Ruth Meisels, Haaretz Steven Klein

"Jay L. Abramoff wrote: Elli, in my previous e-mail to you…”

---to me? it was to the whole editorial staff of haaretz. what do you mean to me?

“I assumed your article was exclusive to Haaretz.”

---you assumed that, but no one else did. and what the hell does that have to do with anything? had it been exclusive, you wouldn't have written your bullshit email?

“It apparently wasn't:
http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/newscontent.php3?artid=14471
http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=18108 ”

---do your homework, you missed one:
http://www.njjewishnews.com/njjn.com/083007/sptsHitsAndErrors.html

“So, Haaretz decided to buy…”

---"buy," not "run"; interesting. is that what's pissing you off, that haaretz never paid you to do anything for them on the baseball league? so you're pissed off, and you attempt to besmirch my journalistic reputation? again, please share with everyone what exactly were my personal reasons for writing the story?

“a non-exclusive story…”

---we never said or implied it was exclusive. although there were some new things in the haaretz version; and in any case, in this country's print media, it is

“…on the IBL after using IBL material for two months…”

---again i ask, what the hell difference does that make? we used their material, therefore we owe them something? they should be thanking us for using it, otherwise there would have been no coverage at all. using their material put us under no obligation (to) the league. what next, that we also owe them something because they used our printing press to publish their scorecards?

“Again, I question the decision and pattern of decisions made, not the story…”

---the editors of haaretz don't owe you an explanation on "the decision and pattern of decisions made."

if you don't understand it, that's your ignorance at work.

elli

More to come. Stay tuned.

Media: Monsters & Critics & The Seventh Python

Monsters and Critics, one of the larger independent web-only news and review publications, reaches millions of unique visitors each month and this weekend they’re reaching them with the latest news about The Seventh Python, the Neil Innes biopic from our pals at Frozen Pictures that’s been selected to open the American Cinematheque’s prestigious ninth annual Mods & Rockers Film Festival in Hollywood on June 26th:

Movies Features
The Seventh Python Neil Innes fêted in Hollywood June 26, 27

by April McIntyre

A rare Neil Innes concert will follow the world premiere of “The Seventh Python,” Frozen Pictures’ nonfiction film about the life, work and unplanned career of musical satirist, Rutle and Monty Python collaborator Neil Innes, Thursday, June 26th at 7:30PM at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.

The biopic opens the American Cinematheque’s 9th annual Mods & Rockers Film Festival.

The two-day premiere includes a special concert performance by Innes at the Egyptian on Friday, June 27th.

The film will combine concert performance footage, animation, a unique interactive element and interviews, appearances and performances by Innes' friends, colleagues and protégés, including surviving Pythons: John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin.

Matt Groening, Aimee Mann, comedians Phill Jupitus and an assorted Rutle or two, among others will be in attendance.

“The Egyptian Theatre on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is the perfect place to open this film,” says director Burt Kearns, who produced and wrote Python with Frozen partner Brett Hudson.

“Neil Innes has spent his entire career fighting the celebrity fame game that’s gotten so out of control here in recent years. This film celebrates a true comedy and musical genius who’s been all too happy to work beneath the radar. Until now, of course.”

“Even more important,” Hudson adds, “we explain why Neil wears a duck on his head.”

Innes’ resistance to the celebrity worship that haunted his friend George Harrison is at the heart of this film that one early reviewer has called “Touching, hilarious and inventive!”

“The Seventh Python” traces Innes’ winding path at the edge of fame with his influential work that keeps one foot each planted in the worlds of comedy and rock ‘n’ roll.

From the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band to the Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour, from Monty Python to The Rutles, from his work with Harrison to his songs in Idle’s Broadway smash Spamalot, Neil Innes is that rare artist who is both a brilliant satirist and songwriter who happens to occasionally wear a duck on his head.

John Cleese has likened Innes to Steve Martin and Charlie Chaplin; Terry Jones draws comparisons of him to Paul Simon.

Showtime is 7:30PM for the June 26th premiere. Tickets are available for the film and the June 27th Innes concert online here or at the Egyptian Theatre box office.

Tired of the Israel baseball stories? How about this? Never mind the drugs! New photos of sad, sick, talented Amy Winehouse reveal she wears a wig!

(A tip of the Tabloid Baby hat to the News of The World.)

Kurtzer to Baras to Obama: Israel baseball's link to the next President of The United States

For those of our readers who may feel that our coverage of the Israel Baseball League scandal and the Israel baseball saga has been a distracting diversion of little consequence to the world at large, we thought we'd point out that the constantly-developing story now has a direct connection to the 2008 United States Presidential campaign-- specifically the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate and, we would hope, the next President of The United States, Barack Obama.

Daniel Kurtzer, the former ambassador to Israel and Egypt, who, as commissioner of the Israel Baseball League helped rally support for Larry Baras and ease concerns among Israelis about his concern for Israel, is now an Obama adviser and a key member of “Obama’s Minyan,” the group of powerful, respected Jewish American leaders who are helping rally support for Barack Obama and ease concerns among American Jewish supporters about his concern for Israel.

Israel baseball doco gets film festival premiere

These past ten months or so that we've been bringing you comprehensive coverage of the rise and fall of the Israel Baseball League, there have been, in the background, a team of filmmakers crafting a nonfiction film about the league's creation and the work going into the launch. Now, Holy Land Hardball is complete, and will have its world premiere on June 19th, at the world premiere at the Silverdocs AFI/Discovery Channel Film Festival in Silver Spring, Maryland (outside Washington, DC) on June 19th and June 22nd (a week before the world premiere of The Seventh Python in Hollywood!).

Surely the film will have an added poignancy and audience members in the know will be watching league founder Larry Baras with a skeptical eye in light of the events that would come to pass after the optimistic months covered on film.

Here's what the Silverdoc site has to say about the film from directors Erik Kestin and Brett Rapkin:

HOLY LAND HARDBALL
USA, 2008, 84 Minutes, English with English subtitles
World Premiere

You don’t have to be Jewish to love HOLY LAND HARDBALL. You don’t even have to like baseball. You just have to believe in the power of holding on to your hopes and dreams and overcoming impossible odds.

HOLY LAND HARDBALL follows the unlikely formation of the Israel Baseball League by Larry Baras, a bakery owner from Boston with no prior sports management experience. In his effort to bring America’s pastime to the Israeli people, Baras recruits 120 diverse ballplayers for the IBL. Among them are a 41-year-old father with a Peter Pan complex; a 27-year-old aspiring writer/artist/musician still disappointed that he was not drafted out of college; a 34-year-old father-to-be whose own father, now deceased, fought for Israel’s independence in 1948; and a 22-year-old African-American who was told by a preacher that he would one day “play in front of God’s people.”

Baras and his recruits have the challenging task of drawing the Israeli people to a sport they’ve gone 5,767 years without. Add a skeptical Israeli media, disgruntled players, delayed stadium preparations, customs snafus, and a rapidly approaching Opening Day, and there is one question Baras must ask himself: If I build it, will they come?

Brett Rapkin and Erik Kesten have created an immensely entertaining documentary, which shows a side of the Middle East far from the news headlines— one of peace, normalcy and discovering the joys of the great American pastime. Bo Nis’chak B’kadur! (Translation: Let’s play ball!)

—Jeff Krulik

We're told Our Man Elli in Israel appears in the doco.

Readers in the Washington, DC area or anyone who's seen the film-- please send us your reviews-- of the film and Elli. We'll post the mainstream press notices.

And to the filmmakers, we say: Mazel tov!

(See a trailer here.)

Inside Baseball: Former editor sends "apology" to Our Man Elli; repeats charge of "bias" in Israel League reporting; claims "utmost repect" for him

We were all set to give you the back story of the fight between Our Man Elli in Israel and Jay L. Abramoff, who publicly challenged the right of the Jerusalem Post and the Haaretz news organizations to criticize the failures of or raise questions about the Israel Baseball League or question the intentions of the American businessmen seeking to profit from baseball in Israel, because they didn't sign a paid reporter to cover the IBL's first trouble-plagued season.

We were going to give you the story, that is, until Our Man Elli sent along Abramoff's response to his criticism of the column he emailed around the world yesterday. This response goes beyond his questioning of Elli's motives in reporting the original exposé that brought out the truth about the IBL in August 2007. In fact, while Abramoff continues defend the league that left native Israelis holding the bag for more than a million dollars in debts, he also continues to accuse Elli of "bias" in covering the story; refers to his groundbreaking, lifesaving advocacy reporting as "bitching"; confuses the editorializing from the Tabloid Baby staff with Elli's reportage; questions whether Elli is paid to write here; and refers to this respected, quoted news organization-- the first to publish Elli's expose and the only one to give continuous, comprehensive coverage of professional baseball in Israel-- as "a friend's blog."

Oddly, he ends the note with an ass-lick, telling Elli: "I have the utmost respect for you because you are doing what a lot of people try to do and fail (including me?): be an English-language professional print, television and Internet journalist in Israel."

That's how you show respect? A few words come to mind. Jealous. Petty. Bitter. Jealous.

Read the email for yourselves. We'll get to the back story after we throw some water on Sam Peters.

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 19:30:36 +0200
From: "Jay L. Abramoff"
Subject: Re: The Israel Baseball League
To: ELLI
CC: Haaretz English Edition,
Jerusalem Post Sports

Elli,

Hi.

Thanks for reading it.

Sorry about the "Wohlgelernter" reference. At one point, I had your full name mentioned earlier in the piece, but deleted it and I should have deleted the second reference, too.

I had not seen your April 14 report; for whatever reason this morning, I looked up "Israel Baseball League" on news.google.com and the Post's material from last week came up.

Yes, "as far as I am concerned," because my opinion, no offense, means just as much as yours, Jeremy Last's, or anybody else's. The fact that I don't get pieces on the IBL published in "Jewish newspapers" does not mean that my opinion means any less than yours or Last's.

So, your "published" pieces are straight news reports and not color or comment pieces, huh? I have never, ever claimed to be a properly-trained or paid staff reporter with supposed neutrality, as I made clear, but even though you claim to be an unbiased journalist, your personal feelings about the IBL and its management should be clear to anyone who reads your "news" reports, and Haaretz, specifically, should have inquired further about them before running your "not-color" expose on the IBL. On the other hand, my piece is known to all to be just my opinion based on what I have read and what I experienced.

I, of course, feel sorry for all the people and serious events that you mentioned. But, honestly, you cannot walk down the street or drive your car in Israel or the US without taking a risk. And, you know what, I personally would have refused to play IBL games at Sportek and at Gezer due the conditions of the fields there. But, parents have allowed and continue to allow their kids to play baseball and softball at Gezer, in a field in Baka'a, at Kraft Family Stadium, and, up until a few years ago, at the previous Sportek field in Tel Aviv. BTW I was the one who arranged for our softball league to play every game at Gezer instead of YMCA or Kraft because of the condition of those fields. What exactly have you done to improve the safety of those playing softball or baseball in Israel, besides maybe bitching about it?

I stand behind my claim that you, among others, expected an Israeli MLB, and were disappointed when that is not what the IBL was. You, of course, know the difference between a "semi-professional, developmental minor baseball league" and a single-A professional league, and while I disagree with your premise that the IBL was intended to be a single-A-level league, it doesn't matter. How many people show up to single-A games? How many players are seriously injured in single-A games? How many hundreds of kids, by comparison, enjoy going out to single-A games in I-don't-where? How did/does the IBL compare to the "minor" professional soccer or basketball leagues in Israel?

I agree, the Post sucks, and Haaretz is even worse - and maybe I have some sort of responsibility because I agreed to be Sports Editor at the Post for 10 months and a sports desk editor at Haaretz for about nine months. Then again, I left both positions.

You know as well as everyone in the journalism business that the difference between "alleged" and "fact" is not always clear - even after court trials.

Have you reported, besides on a friend's blog (for which you get paid?), that Bachar (I admit that I do not know who that is) and Rosen have given sworn testimony regarding Baras's "potentially criminal behavior"? Or are their claims just that, claims. And what makes this different than any other start-up, which may or may not get a brief in the Post or Haaretz, or your attention for that matter?

Again, this is all not personal against you, even though you felt that about what I wrote last year about Haaretz publishing your IBL piece. I have the utmost respect for you because you are doing what a lot of people try to do and fail (including me?): be an English-language professional print, television and Internet journalist in Israel.

Cheers.

Jay

Inside Baseball: Former editor's criticism of Israeli coverage triggers angry reply from Our Man Elli

A former Jerusalem Post sports editor’s criticism of the paper’s late but wide-reaching story on the Israel Baseball League and its offshoot rival’s failure to bring professional baseball to Israel in 2008 has led to an angry response from Our Man Elli in Israel, and opened a can of worms that dates back to his original exposé, first published on this website on August 28th, 2007.

Jay L. Abramoff , a former sports editor for the Post and Haaretz who is now a League Coordinator for American Football in Israel, has written a column in response to the Post article and accompanying opinion column, claiming the paper has little right to criticize the IBL because it did not assign a paid reporter to cover the league. He also disputes the contention that the league was a failure and insists that the IBL management has no reason to reveal its finances.

The piece was emailed to Tabloid Baby after it was sent to many other editors and journalists, as was a harsh rebuttal by Our Man Elli (who also received the unsolicited email).

Why? There’s a history to this dispute. It’s a sidebar that makes the IBL saga even richer. So read on, settle in, and enter a feud that gets very personal, yet gets to the heart of the story of professional baseball in Israel. Because both sides agree that in this case, the mainstream journalistic watchdogs dropped the ball:

All talk and no tachlis

By Jay L. Abramoff

This past week, The Jerusalem Post reported on the likelihood that the Israel Baseball League will not be back in 2008, and the current Sports Editor at the Post, Jeremy Last, in a separate piece, commented that it "was no big surprise considering the embarrassment of difficulties it faced" in its first season, the summer of 2007. Last concludes by recommending that the IBL model itself after the Israel Football League, the country's first tackle football league, which had also had its first season this past year.

Well, first and foremost, for anyone who actually went to the games, especially the hundreds if not thousands of children, Anglo or otherwise, the IBL was a huge success. Just ask them. Ask them how they went running after foul balls and home runs, and how they begged the players for their autographs. As far as I am concerned, this is the only indicator of whether the IBL management succeeded or not. While I myself enjoyed about 25 games, and will miss the IBL if it does not play this summer, I feel worse for these children.

Then again, The Jerusalem Post and Haaretz English Edition chose to publish game reports and other stories written by unpaid (and possibly unreimbursed) interns or the IBL itself, and then paid professional journalists, Wohlgelernter and Last, to write "color" and opinion pieces. Last summer, I was working for Haaretz, and on most nights I prepared the sports page, which meant that I worked closely with the IBL-- whose staff was itself mostly unpaid-- because while Haaretz wanted to cover the IBL on a next-morning basis, it did not pay anybody to provide those reports and/or photos. I actually was asked whether I would report on the 2007 championship game and make sure that the IBL sent in a photo the same night so it could be used in the next day's newspaper, but the newspaper was unwilling to pay me for the work. I have nothing against articles on politics, art, business, etc., but for sports, the local newspapers seem to think that the IBL and the local amateur scene can in essence cover themselves, and then reserve the right to publish harsh commentary.

Compared to the impressive international (mostly US) media coverage – a significant and overlooked achievement for the IBL - which, admittedly, focused on the novelty of an Israeli professional baseball league, and, as far as I can tell, did not follow up with reports of the alleged mismanagement, the local English newspapers focused and continue to focus their resources not on how the IBL provided and can provide a great "summer in the sun" for the Israeli fans and international players alike, but on the mistakes the IBL supposedly made - but which in any case were irrelevant to the true gauge of success of the league's first season.

I have my own list of things the IBL should do and its mistakes from my point of view, and I have mentioned these in conversations with IBL management, friends, softball teammates, and fellow fans.

Mr. Last, along with others, seem to think that the IBL promised a combination between Major League Baseball and the Israel soccer Premier League. Well, that is not what was promised and not what should have been expected.

The IBL, with support from MLB, was and is a semi-professional, developmental minor baseball league, of which there are many others around the world, and on top of that, a private "start-up" business, which does not have to release its financial results to the public. While I have not confirmed this, I am pretty sure that the Australian and Italian semi-pro baseball leagues, for example, do not average thousands of fans per game, which is what I am sure the IBL would like and what the critics expected for some unknown reason, but is simply unrealistic.

Finally and most embarrassing for Mr. Last, the IBL cannot use the amateur Israel Football League as a model for itself; the Israel Association of Baseball's senior league is the IFL-equivalent.

As I wrote for Haaretz last year - in a piece that I was not commissioned (meaning, paid) to write but did so in order to fill up the Anglo File Sports page the first week of the IBL season - the possibility of going out to the baseball (or softball) field to support a local team has existed here for a long time. And, while I appreciated the semi-professional level of play in the IBL, I also make it a point to bring a cooler of beer out to my softball games, stay afterwards to watch youth games and simply enjoy the atmosphere at the field on Kibbutz Gezer.

Elli Wohlgelernter responds in an email to Abramoff, Tabloid Baby, the editors of Haaretz and the sports department of The Jerusalem Post:

1) The Jerusalem Post did not first report last Friday "on the likelihood that the Israel Baseball League will not be back in 2008."

I reported it definitively on April 14; the Post took credit for an alleged "exclusive," which was then removed from the web site after it was pointed out to editor-in-chief David Horovitz that it was hardly an exclusive.

2) Ironic that Last should report about the league's failure in the story of last Friday-- "considering the embarrassment of difficulties it faced"-- when the Post to date has not reported any details of the difficulties themselves.

3) The column by Last contained not a single original thought or sentence that hasn't already been written many, many times.

4) "As far as I am concerned, this is the only indicator of whether the IBL management succeeded or not." That's as far as you're concerned, but it wouldn't be as far as the player who was almost killed because of league negligence, nor as concerns those who were not paid, including the players themselves, the league staff, vendors, umpires, the fields, and a television station that broadcast the games.

5) "…and then paid professional journalists, Wohlgelernter and Last, to write ‘color’ and opinion pieces."
a) My first name is Elli, I don’t go by simply a last name.
b) I never wrote a color or opinion piece, ever, on the Israel Baseball League

6) "…and, as far as I can tell, did not follow up with reports of the alleged mismanagement." The Jewish newspapers that ran my story after the season WERE following up with reports of mismanagement. And not “alleged,” I might add.

7) "The IBL, with support from MLB, was and is a semi-professional, developmental minor baseball league.” Incorrect. The IBL was a professional league, the same as any other Single-A league in the U.S. and other such leagues in the world

8) "… a private ‘start-up’ business, which does not have to release its financial results to the public…” Perhaps, but that will be determined when the current lawsuit by Blacher is heard in court. But certainly after huge debts have not been paid across the board, and after huge amounts of money was collected from investors, it is the business of journalists to ask why, and how much, not to whitewash the potential criminal behavior of Larry Baras. that is an embarrassment.

Why is Elli so outraged over Abramoff? As we said, there’s history here. Stay tuned here to see where Jay Abramoff figures into Our Man Elli's groundbreaking, historic coverage of the IBL.. and why he has Our Man so angry. The Israel baseball soap opera will continue...

Dr. Ruehl finds life on Mars in his Bizarre News

The Realm Of Bizarre News, Episode XXIV

Tabloid Baby pal, contributor, columnist and TV, movie and music video star Dr. Franklin Ruehl Ph.D. was last seen in these parts analyzing that hinky alien-in-the-window video being offered by a man in Denver. In this week's installment of The Realm of Bizarre News, he's already moved on to life on Mars, The Vault of Strange Deaths and bathrooms. And notice that the good doctor is still wearing that raccoon-tailed hat...

Quotes: Barack Obama gives a lesson in journalism and Bob Dylan gives a lesson in politics

"We have seen this before. There is dirt and lies that are circulated in e-mails and they pump them out long enough until finally you, a mainstream reporter, asks me about it.  That gives legs to the story... It is a destructive aspect of our politics. Simply because something appears in an e-mail, that should lend it no more credence than if you heard it on the corner. Presumably the job of the press is to not to go around and spread scurrilous rumors like this until there is actually anything, an iota, of substance or evidence that would substantiate it."

--Barack Obama

"Well, you know right now America is in a state of upheaval. Poverty is demoralising. You can't expect people to have the virtue of purity when they are poor. But we've got this guy out there now who is redefining the nature of politics from the ground up... Barack Obama. He's redefining what a politician is, so we'll have to see how things play out. Am I hopeful? Yes, I'm hopeful that things might change. Some things are going to have to. You should always take the best from the past, leave the worst back there and go forward into the future."
--Bob Dylan

Eladio is moving back up in the Yankees system

Eladio Rodriguez, the most prominent veteran of the Israel Baseball League, is again moving on up in the New York Yankees minor league operation.

The man they call E-Rod had gone from the AAA Scranton/Wilkes Barre Yankees to the Single A Staten Island Baby Bombers, back to Scranton, a step from Yankee Stadium, and down a step to the AA Trenton Thunder, all in the space of a month, before being kicked back down to the Single A NY-Penn League farm team in Staten Island a couple of weeks ago.

But now, the catcher and slugger has been transferred back up to Trenton!

Last time around, Eladio appeared in two games for the Thunder, going one-for-eight (he went one for five against the Reading Phillies, with a double). He appeared in one other game this season with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, batting one-for-three with a double against Buffalo. The Modi'in Miracle star was signed by the Yankees out of the IBL, controversially, on November 24, 2007.

Trenton plays the middle game of a three-game series tonight in Norwich, Connecticut, against the Connecticut Defenders, the Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants The Thunder returns home on Friday night to face Reading, the Double-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies.

¡Viva, Eladio!

Israel Baseball Worldwide Coverage Roundup, cont'd: Unknown Blogger doesn't know much

We've covered the story for ten months now, beating the drum for the cause of bringing professional baseball back to Israel-- thanks to our pal and contributor Our Man Elli In Israel, whose loves of baseball and his nation are unrivalled-- yet finding ourselves forced to report the sad news that the billionaires and bagel barons behind the grand schemes have fouled out for this year at least. Then the giant Jerusalem Post deigns to report on its own local story that we've covered and developed for months, uses its massive resources to send it round the world-- and now everyone's getting into the act.

Even the "Unknown Blogger," who provides "fresh insights on the news business... and life in general..." for KCBS and KCAL TV News (can you believe that former scrappy TV news rivals now work together, in Tasslike teams nowadays?) is having his uninformed say:


Swing And A Miss?

Posted by Unknown_Blogger

The IBL may be DOA. What's the IBL you say?

The Israel Baseball League.

Yes, there is, or maybe was, such a thing.

The six team league got a lot of hype in its inaugural season last year, at least internationally...

But there apparently wasn't a big enough marketing push in the homeland.

There is some grass roots love for baseball in Israel, there are youth programs, and the Israeli national team is taking a shot at the World Baseball Classic next year.

But the experts say the marketing aspect of the pro game is just not big enough yet.

As they say, maybe next year -- in Israel!

Ah yes, "the marketing aspect" is what killed the dream...

Let's get this party started.

Yes, that's Video Joe Guidry and his lovely family at a recent Barack Obama rally. We noticed this photo in an issue of LA City Beat a couple of weeks back and this historic and exciting evening is a good reason to bring it out. Joe was the original "kid with a camera," who in 1994 was sent out to ask questions and report, first for Premier Story, then A Current Affair. (His exploits are a highlight of the comprehensive tabloid television history, Tabloid Baby). Funny enough, when Joe was walking up to reporters outside the OJ Simpson trial and asking what organization they represented, local news reporter Harvey Levin sneered "I'm not going to talk to you!" -- and then ran away from him! We have the tape somewhere. Not so funny: Harvey perverted Joe's specialty by handing home video cameras to rent boys and street thugs so they could harasss celebrities for the corporate porn-pushing gossip site TMZ.com and its inconsequential whitewashed syndicated television sister. Anyway, it's Obama time.

Israel Baseball's Clock to Nothing is set wrong!

We had ourselves a pained laugh and touch of the tsuris yesterday upon finding out that some poor sports reporter in New Hampshire is still writing about the anticipation of the Israel Baseball League's second season Opening Day on June 29th, while his newspaper's online operation spreads the boner across the globe and beyond. The blame of course goes to the masterminds of the debt-ridden and disgraced IBL, who continue to promise big things and in fact are keeping up a running countdown-to-Opening Day clock on the IBL website. Sure, the ticket sales links have been disabled, but the chicanery has its victims and they continue to fool some of the people some of the time.

But not Our Man Elli in Israel! He did a little investigating of that Clock to Nothing and came away with some interesting observations:

"25 days, 24 hours, 30 minutes, 43 seconds!
Opening Day features a rematch
of last year's Championship Game
betwen the Modi'in Miracle
and the Bet Shemesh Blue Son
on June 29, 2008 at Gezer Field"

"Besides the misspelling of 'between' and Sox'-- which is really amazing enough right there," Elli writes, "-- the clock countdown has them playing a game at Gezer at 2:03 a.m. on June 30!

"Even funnier, their day has 25 hours!"

Twenty five? Max Bialystock sold 25 thousand percent of Springtime for Hitler! Looks like they're a day late and more than a million dollars short!

Oy. Pass the Rolaids.

Dr. Ruehl: New "alien" footage differs from 1994's

The "mainstream" media like to hit and run from a good extraterrestrial story-- and that's why no one's taken time to listen to our cries that question the authenticity of the so-called "real-live alien" video that a man in Denver brought to their attention last week.

We think we've seen something very similar. And put it on television ten years ago! And while giving his own analysis of the video, our own anomalyst and ufoloigist Dr. Franklin Ruehl, Ph.D. realized it looked even more familiar to him!

Check out that photo above.

The Doctor writes us:

I took this photo of the 1994 "ET at the Window" from my TV, but somehow it came out in color with my lamp seen blazing on the right side. The lights in the center are reflections,not an ET.

However, it is clear that this differs from the 2003 footage: in addition to the mother and daughter, there is a drape(or curtain) on both sides of the window whereas there is a wrought-iron shelf with photos on the left and two vertical cords and a light fixture on the right of the 2003 footage. Morever, the horizontal window pane is different and the ET is in the extreme left-hand corner of the 1994 footage as opposed to the center of 2003.

But no media contacted me despite my mailings claiming they were identical. I see that Larry King has already covered this, and I will continue bombarding other media people about it.

The investigation continues...

Say what??!! Israel Baseball League is still counting down to "Opening Day," and at least one reporter is believing it's for real!

Ha! No sooner do we clear things up with the Jerusalem Post, setting them straight about taking credit for Our Man Elli in Israel's April 14th scoop that there will be no professional baseball in Israel in 2008, then we get a Google alert that Seacoast Online, "the source for the seacoast" and the online arm of the Portsmouth, N.H. Herald, is reporting this:

"Twenty-seven days until the Israel Baseball League opens its second season of pro ball. Portsmouth's own Ari Alexenberg, you may recall, pitched and coached in the league last summer for the Petach Tikva Pioneers. Dan Duquette is once again at the helm of the IBL. Hey, easy on Duquette. After all, he did bring Manny Ramirez to Boston."

That's from a sportswriter named Mike Sullivan. What planet are these people on?

Then again, those crumb bums at the IBL are still running a countdown to Opening Day on their website.

"Opening Day features a rematch of last year's Championship Game betwen the Modi'in Miracle and the Bet Shemesh Blue Son on June 29, 2008 at Gezer Field."

Mike oughta bookmark Tabloid Baby.

Dr. Ruehl says "alien" video looks awfully familiar

On Friday, we reported exclusively that new video, supposedly showing an extraterrestrial alien peeking through a house window was apparently a ten-year-old videotape that was broadcast on national television on November 24, 1997 on the television series Strange Universe.

We of course, turned the "Alien In The Window" story to Tabloid Baby pal, contributor, columnist, TV, movie and music video star, anomalyst and ufologist Dr. Franklin Ruehl Ph.D. The doctor's report is even more surprising than our own. He remembers a similar-looking video dating back even farther!

CONTROVERSIAL ALIEN FILM FOOTAGE!
by Dr. Franklin Ruehl, Ph.D.

When a Denver man named Jeff Peckman, who claims he has been in contact with ETs, promised to show a video of an alien last Friday, he immediately raised a red flag concerning it by refusing to allow it to be filmed by the press.

My initial thought was that he feared that it would be subjected to computer scrutiny which could reveal that it was a clever fabrication.

However, upon seeing the report on it in Tabloidbaby.com, I realized that he probably was more fearful that it would be recognized as footage that has been around at least since 1994, material that he appropriated rather than shot himself.

Specifically, I covered the footage he displayed in 1994 on the nationally syndicated TV program, "Weird TV," as part of my segments entitled "The Doctor Ruehl Show." The brief video showed a mother and daughter (who was reading a book) sitting on a sofa in the living room while a possible alien entity levitated up and down at a window behind them. When the daughter looked over to her mother, the alien jumped out of sight, reminiscent of the ET bedeviling William Shatner in the "Twilight Zone " episode, ‘Nightmare At 20,000 Feet."

It was not at all clear who shot the footage.

In addition to commentary by Lawrence Davis, a viewer from Middlerock, Arkansas, who submitted it, we included an analysis by noted ufologist John Carpenter indicated that the enigmatic figure could have been an extraterrestrial. I stressed in my overview at the time that the levitating entity could conceivably be an ET from a high-gravity planet, such as Jupiter, since it would be able to move more freely in our lower-gravity environment, just as our lunar astronauts were able to hop around on the moon's surface due to its lower gravity (1/6th of earth's).

In addition to being aired on "Weird TV," the video was also featured on "Strange Universe" in 1997, and conceivably elsewhere.

It is my thesis, my contention, that the universe is literally teeming with life, that life is indeed the common denominator of the cosmic backdrop. Within this context, it is certainly within the realm of feasibility that advanced ETs at some point in time landed on terra firma. Interestingly, Peckman showed a strikingly similar, but apparently different, “alien in the window” video that purportedly comes from Nebraska in 2003. Both videos could conceivably be evidence of an alien visitation.

On the other hand, one or both may be entirely apocryphal, and definitely need to be subjected to careful analysis by video experts to assess its true status. Although the 2003 video has been authenticated by a professor from the Denver Film School, both require further analysis.

May the Power of the Cosmos be with You!

Dr. Franklin Ruehl, Ph.D.

Hey, Bo Diddley

Razzle Dazzle release delayed!

We told you that the deluxe 3 DVD set , The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show - The Complete Series, was to be released tomorrow, June 3rd.

But Tabloid Baby pal Brett Hudson tells us the folks at Video Service Corp need a couple of more weeks to bring out the Saturday morning kid-warping variety sketch show from the Seventies.

The new release date is set for June 17th.

Seventh Pythonmania hits the UK!

Excitement over the June 26th premiere of The Seventh Python has already reached back to the United Kingdom, where it all began in the first place. And in the country that gave us Oasis, there's reason for soccer-style chants and anticipation, for while many in the United States may be unaware of the brilliant work and widespread influence of the satirist, songwriter and performer, Neil Innes is a hero in his homeland, and word of the imminent release of a movie about his life and career is causing great ripples across Old Blighty.

The latest bulletin comes from Chortle, the UK comedy guide:

Rutle & Hum
Innes subject of new documentary movie

Musical satirist Neil Innes is to be the subject of a new documentary film, The Seventh Python.

The movie - which features John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin talking about Innes's contribution to Monty Python – receives its word premiere in Hollywood later this month.

Other contributers include Simpsons creator Matt Groening, singer-songwriter Aimee Mann and comedians Phill Jupitus and Emo Philips.

The film charts Innes's career from art school through The Bonzo Dog Dooh Dah Band, work with the Beatles, Monty Python and The Rutles, mixed with concert footage and animations.

Here’s a trailer for the film, which will open the American Cinematheque's ninth annual Mods & Rockers Film Festival at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood on June 26:

City Beat: 'Seventh Python summer's hottest ticket!'

The Seventh Python, the Neil Innes musical biopic produced by our pals at Frozen Pictures, is the hottest attraction of the Summer of 2008, according to Los Angeles City Beat, the alt weekly that’s gotten a lot of buzz since it’s been run by “acting editor” and self-described “editrix” Rebecca Schoenkopf, whose byline shows up on every other story in the paper and who writes like she’s some crazy chick out of Creem magazine circa 1976.

Rebecca’s enthusiasm reminds us of our old local alt weekly fave, the late Eat Me! writer. They ought to hand her the reins officially see what happens.

Meanwhile, under Rebecca's watch, the paper’s ahead of all others, as the film section of its Attack of The Summer Guide leads off with the June 26th premiere of The Seventh Python at Martin Lewis’ Mods & Rockers Film Festival. And to top it off, they describe Neil Innes as “briliantly funny,” which he is.

STOP THE PRESSES! Jerusalem Post responds to our protest; removes references to "exclusivity" from Israel baseball story; No, they didn't credit us

In a perhaps unprecedented move, the Jerusalem Post has removed all mentions of exclusivity from its online story about the cancellation of the Israel Baseball League and Israel professional Baseball League's 2008 seasons, after Our Man Elli in Israel pointed out to the Post editor David Horovitz that TabloidBaby.com had reported the news on April 14th, and that the Post's reportage in the story and accompanying column were taken from TabloidBaby.com's comprehensive coverage.

The Post's lead graph originally read:

"The much-hyped Israel Baseball League, which was slated to begin its second season June 22, has been cancelled for 2008 and its future is in jeopardy, The Jerusalem Post has learned."

It now reads:

"The much-hyped Israel Baseball League, which was slated to begin its second season June 22, has been cancelled for 2008 and its future is in jeopardy."

As you'll recall, we reacted in outrage on Thursday and Friday, after the Post deigned to finally cover the story that had been shifting in leaps and bounds in its own backyard for close to a year, making no mention of Elli Wohlgelernter's legwork, reporting and exclusive after exclusive in the saga that brings in baseball, business, billionaires, securities fraud, U.S. ambassadors, misappropriation of funds, beaned players, Nixonian cover-ups and whispering campaigns, name-calling, threats, competitive eating, cream cheese-filled bagels and killer toys all under one roof.

"Hey, the people at the Post are stand-up guys, especially David Horovitz," says Elli. "I phoned him to relay my concerns. He listened to what I had to say and he responded like that demonstrated what a professional and ethical journalist he is."

Although the Jerusalem Post did not add a line acknowledging Tabloid Baby's singlehanded coverage of the Israel baseball debacle over the past ten months, we didn't expect it. At least they didn't stonewall us like the Chicago Tribune did after That Putz Greenberg plagiarized us.

A tip of the Tabloid Baby hat to the Jerusalem Post!

'Python' standout is a hit on London's West End

Phill Jupitus, the UK comedian who’s about to gain a new Eddie Izzardish, Russell Brandian international following thanks to his hilarious appearance in The Seventh Python, the Neil Innes musical biopic from our pals at Frozen Pictures is receiving great reviews for his West End stage debut in the play Lifecoach.

The London Telegraph calls Jupitus "the big revelation":

"He handles his character's bullish, not to say bullying, patter with comic confidence... There's more than a touch of David Brent about Colin, the life coach played by Phill Jupitus in Nick Reed's richly amusing new play."

UK comedy guide Chortle says: "This new comedy is a Pygmalion for the BlackBerry generation.

“Jupitus... is lively and fun... showing his range has a lot more potential than the smart-mouthed wit Never Mind The Buzzcocks viewers already know him to be.

"Not only is Jupitus’s character, Colin, surprisingly sympathetic and ambiguous, but there’s more humour, drama and story than a two-dimensional parody could ever offer."

Jupitus is best known to UK audiences as a stand-up comic, radio host and for his role on the TV quiz show Never Mind The Buzzcocks. He also appeared with the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band on their 40th Anniversary reunion concert and tour.

Star Trek vets Die in Threes in a big way

Wow, when it comes to Dying in Threes, you can't get more obvious than the recent deaths of veterans of the original Star Trek TV series.

The announcement today that Robert Justman, a producer on the original show and one of its creative forces, died Wednesday at 81, comes close on the heels of two other Star Trek obits in the LA Times:

Joseph Pevney, a film and television director who directed some of the most popular episodes of the original "Star Trek" TV series in the late 1960s, died at 96 on May 18th.

Alexander “Sandy” Courage, who composed the soaring Star Trek theme, died at 88 on May 15th.

Whoa!

(FUN FACT: The last episode of Star Trek aired on June 3, 1969.)