ByDanny Caro, Danny Caro
So, the greatest show on earth officially gets under way on Friday. I hope you are ready?
I was in Jerusalem on Maccabiah duty the day London was named as the 2012 Olympic host city and although there has been plenty of negative coverage in the build-up, from what I’ve seen so far, it looks set to be a roaring success. Even the sun is shining.
I’ve visited the Olympic village three times in the past few weeks and as you’d expect, the Main Press Centre is on a completely different level to anything I’ve witnessed before. It’s simply mind-blowing.
Bringing in the Army to beef up security has been a master stroke. They have a certain aura about them, in a friendly way of course.
Strolling through Stratford there was a real party atmosphere around the place. Lord Coe and his team appear to have left no stone unturned in their search for the best-ever Games. London is ready.
Over the next 16 days, Jewish and Israeli athletes will try to run, swing, punch, kick, shoot, stroke, surf and sail their way to glory and I’ll be following them every step of the way.
* After several seasons of flirting with promotion, Chigwell Athletic have made their intentions clear with three more impressive signings ahead of the 2012/13 JC MSFL season. Manager Richard Slater has broken the bank to bring in Bradley Gayer, Pierce Price and Dean Ben Yosef, who join recent acquisition Richard Baum.
* Congratulations to Nick Tiller for fulfilling his role as an Olympic torch bearer. Having successfully completed the gruelling Marathon des Sables not so long ago, he didn’t even break into a sweat during his gentle jog through the streets of Finchley.
* Israeli chess star Dan Zoler is £4,000 better off after beating England’s Gawain Jones in the final of the Benasque Open in the Spanish Pyrenees. Third seed Jones, 24, seemed set for success until he was beaten in the final round of matches by Zoler who won in 89 moves.
* Kevin Lotzof of North London Raiders faces a race against time to be fit for the new Maccabi Masters season after breaking a hand.
* Tweet of the Week goes to Raphael Honigstein. He wrote: “Very saddened by IOC re Munich min of silence. In what kind of world are people offended by remembering the murder of 11 sportsmen?” Pure class.