MLB looks into Ohtani allegations
NEW YORK >> Major League Baseball has opened a formal investigation into illegal gambling and theft allegations involving Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani and his interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara.
Mizuhara was let go from the team Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and claims from Ohtani's attorneys that the two-way Japanese star had been the victim of a “massive theft.”
“Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei (Mizuhara) from the news media,” the commissioner's office said in a statement Friday. “Earlier today, our Department of Investigations began their formal process investigating the matter.”
Ohtani and the Dodgers were in Seoul, South Korea, for their opening series against the San Diego Padres when reports were published about alleged ties between the 39-yearold Mizuhara and an illegal bookmaker. The teams returned to the U.S. after Thursday night's game and MLB did not make a public comment until announcing the investigation on Friday.
The IRS confirmed Thursday that Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency's Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. ORIOLES REASSIGN PRIZE PROSPECT >> Jackson Holliday's major league debut with the Baltimore Orioles will have to wait.
The Orioles announced they had reassigned Holliday to their minor league camp, meaning the No. 1
overall pick in the 2022 amateur draft won't start the season in the majors.
Holliday, 20, is the son of former seven-time AllStar outfielder Matt Holliday and is regarded as one of baseball's top overall prospects. Holliday made a strong case to make the major league roster this spring, going 6 of 14 with two homers, six RBIs and two steals in Grapefruit League action.
LORENZEN SIGNS WITH RANGERS >> Free agent righthander Michael Lorenzen signed a one-year contract and joined the Texas Rangers, giving the World Series champions another starting pitcher less than a week before the season opener.
The deal is reportedly worth $4.5 million, and the pitcher can earn another $2.5 million in performance bonuses.
DC arena AG ARGUES TEAMS MUST PLAY IN WASHINGTON THROUGH 2047 >>
The attorney general for the District of Columbia contends that the NBA's Washington Wizards and NHL's Washington Capitals are obligated to play their games in the downtown arena through 2047, the city's latest salvo to keep the teams from leaving.
In a letter Brian Schwalb wrote this week to Monumental
Sports and Entertainment, Schwalb cited a 2007 bond agreement for renovations that extended the teams' lease for 20 more years beyond the initial timeframe through 2027.
The letter comes as Monumental's $2 billion plan for a new arena across the Potomac River in Alexandria has stalled in the Virginia legislature.
Schwalb said D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser's $500 million offer to renovate Capital One Arena still stands. Bowser in an op-ed piece in the Washington Post last month urged Monumental to consider that and said the city would enforce the lease terms if necessary.
Tennis
SUSPICIONS DECLINED >> The number of suspicious tennis matches around the world went down for the second consecutive year, and there were none at any of the four Grand Slam tournaments in 2023, according to an annual review by the International Tennis Integrity Agency.
The ITIA received 101 match alerts — which aren't proof of match-fixing but an indication “something inappropriate may have occurred,” the agency said — in 2023, down from 109 in 2022 and 113 in 2021.
In addition to no such alerts at the Australian
Open, French Open, Wimbledon or the U.S. Open, the ITIA reported none from any 500- or 1000-level events on the WTA or ATP tours.
There were 41 people sanctioned in 2023 under the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program, including nine who received lifetime bans from the sport, the ITIA said.
Golf CINK PART OF A FIVE-WAY SHARE OF THE LEAD >>
Stewart Cink made a great escape from the pine straw for an unlikely birdie and had a 4-under 67 that gave him a five-way share of the lead in the Valspar Championship and a chance to entertain thoughts of winning for the second straight tournament.
There's just one difference for Cink. The golf course is a lot longer. And the guys he is trying to beat are a lot younger.
The 50-year-old Cink, who blew a chance to win on the PGA Tour Champions two weeks ago with a back-nine meltdown, was tied at 6-under 136 with Kevin Streelman (72), tour rookie Chandler Phillips (68), Brendon Todd (69) and Mackenzie Hughes (68).
Soccer LEICESTER HAS STARTED LEGAL PROCEEDINGS AGAINST EPL >>
Leicester has issued “urgent legal proceedings” against the Premier League and the English Football League, the club said, after being charged for breaching financial rules.
The team from central England has been referred to an independent commission for an alleged breach of the Premier League profitability and sustainability rules during its previous seasons in the top-flight. The period in question is the three years up to and including the 2022-23 season, Leicester's last in the Premier League before relegation to the Championship.