Commanders may have broken financial laws
The U.S. House Oversight Committee sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday saying it found evidence the NFL’s Washington Commanders engaged in potentially unlawful financial conduct for more than a decade by withholding ticket revenue from visiting teams and refundable deposits from fans.
In the letter obtained by The Associated Press, the committee outlined through the testimony of former employees and access to emails and documents a pattern of financial impropriety by owner Dan Snyder and team executives. At one point in 2016, the committee said the team retained up to $5 million from 2,000 seasonticket holders while also concealing sharable revenue from the league.
One former employee testified before Congress saying the team had two separate financial books: one with underreported ticket revenue that went to the NFL and the full, complete picture.
According to testimony, Snyder was aware of the numbers shared with the league while also being privy to the actual data.
Ticket revenue is shared among all 32 NFL teams, with 40% of it deposited in a visiting team fund. Such money is among the pillars of the league’s revenuesharing commitment.
MLB
SCULLY WINS BASEBALL DIGEST LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD » Vin Scully has won the second Lifetime Achievement Award presented by Baseball Digest.
The longtime Dodgers announcer was honored with an annual distinction that recognizes a living individual “who has made significant contributions to the national game.”
The 94-year-old Scully retired after the 2016 season, ending a 67-year broadcasting career that stretched back to when the Dodgers played in Brooklyn before moving to Los Angeles in the late 1950s. It was easily the longest tenure of any announcer with one team.
He was one of six finalists last year, when Willie Mays won the inaugural award.
CUBAN OFFICIALS BLAST PLAN FOR BASEBALL PROS TO PLAY CLASSIC »
Cuban state sports officials denounced a plan by baseball players who left the island to play in the Major Leagues to field their own team in the next World Baseball Classic.
The president of the Cuban Baseball Federation, Juan Reynaldo Pérez, called a news conference and accused the group of trying to usurp Cuba’s representation in the international competition.
A group called the Association of Cuban Professional Baseball Players announced last month that they hoped to form a team to compete in the Classic, which is scheduled for 2023.
Soccer CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMIS »
Villarreal stunned six-time European champion Bayern Munich to reach the Champions League semifinals for the first time in 16 years thanks to Samuel Chukwueze’s 88th-minute goal that salvaged a 1-1 draw and a 2-1 aggregate victory.
Chelsea’s title defense ended despite a 3-2 win against Real Madrid, with Karim Benzema spoiling the English team’s comeback by scoring in extra time to put the Spanish powerhouse back into the semifinals.
Tennis
DJOKOVIC LOSES CLAYCOURT OPENER AT MONTE CARLO MASTERS » Novak Djokovic opened his claycourt season with a surprising loss to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina at the Monte Carlo Masters.
Davidovich Fokina stunned the top-ranked Serb 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-1 in the second round to hand Djokovic another setback as he tries to move on from the controversy surrounding his refusal to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
It makes for rare back-toback losses for Djokovic.