In honor of Yom Kippur, which begins at sundown tonight, where Jews spend the day in synagogue asking for atonement for the sins of the past year, it is my tradition to run this passage from Jane Leavy’s excellent biography on Sandy Koufax.

Among Jews, Koufax is remembered as more than a great pitcher because of what he did, or more accurately, didn’t do on Yom Kippur 50 years ago in 1965.

By the way, if you haven’t read Leavy’s biography, you should. One of the best sports books ever.

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In 1961, Yom Kippur began at sundown on September 19 and ended at sundown September 20. Koufax, as usual, fasted during the holiday. On the night of Sept. 20, though, he was on the mound and pitched the Dodgers to victory with a 13-inning, 15-strikeout, 205-pitch performance.

In 1965, the Dodgers had a big lead in the National League. It was announced that Oct. 6 would be game 1 of the World Series. Oct. 6 was Yom Kippur. They asked Koufax what he would do. He said,

“I’m praying for rain.” He also said he would consult a Rabbi. He never did.

Koufax told a Rabbi: ‘I’m Jewish. I’m a role model. I want them to understand they have to have pride.”

Thousands of Jews said they saw Koufax at various synagogues in Minneapolis. In fact, he never left his hotel room.

Don Drysdale, a Hall of Famer, pitched Game 1. He got bombed, giving up 7 runs. When the manager went out to pull him, he said, “Don’t you wish I was Jewish too?”

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Always loved that Drysdale line. I got to know Don when he was the White Sox play-by-play voice in the 1980s. Like Koufax, he was a Hall of Famer way beyond the pitcher’s mound.

Is Mike Lupica still writing for the New York Daily News? He did a column Saturday that closed with this passage.

-Finally today:

Friends of mine, some of the best I have ever had in the newspaper business and some of the best people with whom I have ever worked – and with whom I will ever work— left the Daily News this past week.

There are so many names, but at the top of the list are Teri Thompson, as truly great an editor as I have known in this business; and my Hall of Fame sidekick, Bill Madden; and Filip Bondy, of course, who takes his talent and his wit to whatever he does next.

I will miss them mightily, because they were all part of the beating heart of this place, for a long time.

You should miss them more.

As for whether NY Daily News readers will miss Lupica, stay tuned.

Would you go around saying you’re wearing a “Strahan suit?” JC Penney hopes you will.

It’s Michael Strahan’s world, and we’re all living in it.

Since I worked with Skip Bayless at the Chicago Tribune, I knew he was committed to keeping himself in shape. But I never realized he was this dedicated and/or obsessive.

A recent Wall Street Journal story by Jen Murphy chronicles Bayless’ workout regime. I work out regularly and this puts me to shame.

Mr. Bayless is just as relentless when it comes to his workout routine. He does an hour of cardio every morning, and lifts weights three days a week after his show. He has missed only two days of cardio since April 1998—because of a sinus infection in 1998 and a bout of hepatitis A after eating bad sushi in 2009. He has had three arthroscopic surgeries on his knees and, much to his surgeon’s dismay, was riding the stationary bike as soon as he was home from the hospital.

“My colleagues think I’m crazy but my motto is, never miss a day,” he says. “If we’re taping in L.A., I’ll get up at 2 a.m. to go run. If I’m on the road and the hotel doesn’t have a gym, I’ll find a 24-hour gym,” he says. “I don’t know how to exist without my workouts.”

And there’s this:

Mr. Bayless has a treadmill and a stationary bike in his home in Bristol, Conn., and gets in an hour of cardio at 5:30 a.m. while watching a loop of the SportsCenter that aired at 2 a.m.

He usually runs four days and rides the bike three days. “I take the bike up to level 16 and go hard until I’m drenched in sweat,” he says. He often spends weekends at his apartment in New York City, and on Sundays he runs about 8 miles. He runs one of four courses depending on his mood. He’ll run from his apartment and do the 6.1-mile loop in Central Park and then run home; from his apartment along the sidewalks around the perimeter of Central Park; along the West Side Highway, or a four-mile trail run in Southington, Conn., which he does out and back. He always tries to push a 7-minute mile pace and run fast mile splits, around 6:45, the second half of the run.

Mr. Bayless is fired up after his shows and says hitting the weight room is the best way to blow off steam. “I lift out my frustration,” he says. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays he goes to the gym at the ESPN campus or to Club Fitness in Bristol. “There’s more interruption and chitchat when I use the gym at work,” he says.

Then again, there’s a reason why Bayless looks so good at 63.

Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sports media:

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RIP Milo Hamilton. Brian McTaggert of MLB.com with video highlights of his vast career:

Hamilton was in the booth for some of baseball’s most memorable moments, including Aaron’s record-breaking 715th home run in 1974 and serving as the play-by-play announcer for the 1979 World Series champion Pirates. He also called Roger Maris’ 61st homer (recreated on Western Union ticker), 11 no-hitters, Ryan’s 4,000th strikeout in 1985 and Barry Bonds’ 70th home run in 2001.

“Milo and I were friends for many years,” Aaron said. “I had great respect for him and his knowledge of baseball. For me, he was in the class with Vin Scully.”

Scully also shared his condolences.

“Milo Hamilton was an enthusiastic and highly accurate broadcaster who was also a dear friend of mine,” Scully said.

An entertaining chat between Al Michaels and Verne Lundquist via Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News.

What remains the most unconventional event you ever worked on national television?

Michaels: Motorcycles on Ice. Intel, West Germany in 1977

Lundquist: World Horse Jumping Championship in Aachen, West Germany in 1986.

What is the one piece of your broadcast history that you will never escape?

Michaels: I’m always asked, “What did you ever do with the Aloha shirts that you used to wear on the air in Hawaii at the start of your career?”

Lundquist: If the statement is made, “I grew up watching you on Dallas television when I was a kid,” inevitably it is followed by “I used to watch you on Bowling For Dollars.” It’s been 40 years, for heaven’s sake. At what point does the statute of limitations kick in?

How critical can the NFL’s TV partners be of Roger Goodell? Richard Deitsch at SI.com.

Legendary sports photographer Neil Leifer is the subject of the latest edition of “Still No Cheering in the Press Box” by the Povich Center for Sports Journalism.

“The defeat of Jason Whitlock” is the headline for Winston Ross’ story for Newsweek.

ESPN president John Skipper reportedly receives a contract extension through 2018. Ian Casselberry of Awful Announcing.

Sports Illustrated’s Jon Wertheim does his tribute to Bud Collins.

ESPN’s Antonietta [Toni Collins] does a podcast with Richard Deitsch at SI.com. She discusses being a Hispanic reporter; the benefits and challenges of being a bilingual reporter.

Heard some rumblings that Mike Lupica might not be done at the New York Daily News even though he was part of Wednesday’s massive purge of the sports section.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times writes:

Lupica was reported by Politico to be on his way out after having been unable to renew his contract. But he and the newspaper declined to comment on whether negotiations were continuing. Last month, Lupica lost his daily afternoon radio show at ESPN Radio in New York.

Meanwhile, Jeff Pearlman wrote about his conflicted feelings about Lupica.

On the one hand:

I actually have a mixed reaction to Lupica’s farewell. On the one hand, he has spent a v-e-r-y long time acting as one of the biggest assholes in sports media. I don’t say that lightly, or kindly. Lupica has treated so many so terribly for so long. I mean, the stories are endless. Blowing off young writers seeking help, wiping out co-workers who merely tiptoe on his turf, ignoring a friendly “Hello” from the neighboring scribe in the press box. On and on and on and on. I’ve been doing this a long time, and I think—off the top of my head—I’ve met one colleague who sorta kinda liked Lupica. But it came accompanied by a, “Look, I know he’s a dick, but …” conditional.

On the other:

But I do hurt for journalism—my love. If you’re a sports writer who came up in New York in the late 1970s or ’80s or ’90s, Lupica represents something. He was a voice. A powerful voice. Say what you want, at his best the man turned a tremendous column; made points that hammered you down like a boulder from a cliff. His pen was mighty; his voice potent. Lupica mattered because journalists mattered, and columnists (in particular) mattered. There weren’t 100,000 bloggers telling you why Steph Curry rules and Carmelo sucks. No, there were, simply, a handful of go-to voices, ordained with the task of crafting a sports-related argument from words and thoughts. In Los Angeles it was Jim Murray. In New York, it was Lupica. He was the guy.

Not sure if I’ve seen a bigger bloodletting in a sports department.

The New York Daily News reportedly has fired 12 people from its sports staff, including columnist Mike Lupica, who couldn’t agree to terms on a new contract. In other words, he isn’t willing to take a big pay cut.

Not even sports editor Terri Thompson was spared. She’s gone.

Others include long-time baseball columnist Bill Madden, Filip Bondy, and Wayne Coffey.

Also, my good friend and noted golf and NFL writer Hank Gola is out after 22 years. Gola, though, looked at the bright side.

“Instead of writing my NFL picks column tomorrow, I have a tee time at 8:20,” Gola said.

Hit ’em straight.

Normally, this would be a special week for Mark Rolfing. He would be in his hometown working the BMW Championship outside of Chicago.

Instead, Rolfing is home in Maui as he prepares to begin a six-week treatment program for a rare form of salivary gland cancer next week in Houston.

“It’s really tough not being there,” Rolfing told me during an interview that aired Saturday on our golf talk radio show, “The Scorecard,” on WSCR in Chicago.

Rolfing has been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from the golf community. He said he has received hundreds of calls, texts and emails from people around the world.

“It’s a wonderful thing,” Rolfing said. “They’ve given me a reason to fight hard. I just don’t want to let them down.”

One correspondence stood out, and it came in the form of an old-fashioned letter.

“I got a letter from Arnold Palmer the other day,” Rolfing said. “I opened it and there were tears streaming down my face. It made me realize how lucky I am and what the game has done for me. A letter from Arnold Palmer in regular mail. It was typical Arnold. I’ve had a lot of support, but that one stands out.”

Rolfing’s goal is to be back for the first tournament of 2016 in January, which takes place in his backyard in Maui.