Every Tuesday morning at 7:20 ET Nachum Segal will present Elliot Weiselberg on JM in the AM to deliver the Yeshiva League Sports (YLS) Update. Tune in for the latest Yeshiva League Spring Sports information, as well as, the occasional update on other sports happenings in the Jewish world. The transcription for this morning’s update is below.

Thanks Nachum,

Welcome to playoff time, ladies and gentlemen! We have now officially hit the second-season in five of the seven MYHSAL leagues, and the first-round of action in several of them are already under-way. Straight ahead on the Tuesday Morning JM in the AM Sports Update, TABC and Kushner square off for the JV Hockey West crown, DRS joins the “perfect party” in Varsity Hockey, an East favorite take a tumble in JV Basketball and Flatbush and Frisch throw the pressure on their rivals, as the season winds down in Varsity Basketball. All that and more, good morning, I’m Elliot Weiselberg.

We’ll kick off with the leagues that have completed, starting with JV Basketball. The JV West knew, for the most part who would have a bye, who would be hosting and who would be visiting in the first-round, however, this week put the final touches on the matchups. As a result of TABC’s 74-44 win over Ramaz, on Wednesday night, the two teams are slated to meet again in the West 3 vs. 6 matchup, with Heschel traveling to Frisch, to round out the West. Over in the East, the Magen David Warriors controlled their own destiny heading into the last game of the season against the DRS Wildcats. A win and the Warriors would gain the top seed in the East and a first-round bye. However, it was not to be. The Wildcats pulled off a 71-68 victory, over Magen David, not only pulling the Warriors away from the top slot, but removing themselves from a bye position entirely. Magen David takes the East 3rd seed and will host Brooklyn-counterpart, Shaare Torah, while DRS hosts Flatbush in the other matchup.

Moving over to JV Hockey, where both the East and West took to the final days to round out. Out in the East, it took, three days, but a win by Rambam, and a HAFTR loss, meant that Rambam and Flatbush punched their tickets to the postseason, in the 3rd and 4th seeds, respectively. Who they would play would be decided in the most anticipated JV Hockey game of the season, with TABC and Kushner squaring off for the Western division title. Despite Kushner taking a quick 1-0 lead, on a powerplay goal, the Storm scored four-straight unanswered goals, to run away with the contest, and the #1 seed in the West. TABC will face Flatbush, with the winner to take on the winner of the DRS- Ramaz contest on Wednesday night. The other side of the bracket has already seen both quarterfinal matches played, last night. Both home teams, the North Shore Stars and Kushner Cobras, successfully defended their courts, knocking off SAR and Rambam, respectively. The two will face off in the semifinals, in North Shore, at some point over the next two weeks, with the winner punching their ticket to the JV Championship game.

On to Varsity, where the DRS Wildcats have joined Frisch as the only two teams to exit the 2018-2019 regular season without a loss. DRS defeated HAFTR, 3-2, to end off with a 14-0 record, and the top seed in the East. The Wildcats will now square off with West #4 SAR, winners of their first-round contest, with Magen David, 5-1. Frisch will await tonight’s contest, between Kushner and Rambam, to determine who they will face in their quarterfinal matchup, while both matchups between the 2 and 3 seeds will take place next week.

Finally, the only boys league to not hit the playoffs yet, Varsity Basketball, is certainly bringing the drama. In the West, Frisch knocked off Ramaz, 41-40, to up their record to 11-3, earning a bye to the quarterfinals, while also putting pressure on the Heschel Heat, in the race for the West crown. Heschel must now defeat Rambam, tonight, in order to clinch the West top seed. Otherwise, they not only lose out on the #1 spot, but also fall at-risk to missing out on a bye entirely, should TABC defeat MTA, tonight. A somewhat similar situation is brewing out in the East, where seven teams are fighting for the final five playoff spots. The Flatbush Falcons have clinched one of those spots, by virtue of their 55-49 win over Shaare Torah. Now at 9-5, the Falcons have put the pressure on the HAFTR Hawks, who sit at 8-5, but can leapfrog Flatbush into the second seed, with a win over YDE, tomorrow night. Otherwise, HAFTR could see itself potentially falling all the way down standings board, depending on the results of the remaining contests involving DRS and Rambam. Regardless, the final playoff berths in this divsion won’t be fully filled until the end of this week.

Eager to find out more about what’s in store for the Varsity Basketball West? Pick up a copy of this week’s edition of the Bergen County Jewish Link or head to their website and check out my article detailing all of the possibilities that the final week of the divisional race has to offer.
And that was your Tuesday Morning JM in the AM Sports Update, I’m Elliot Weiselberg.