Judge says Mizuhara must seek treatment

A federal judge on Friday ordered the former longtime interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani to get gambling addiction treatment.

Ippei Mizuhara exploited his personal and professional relationship with Ohtani to plunder the two-way player’s bank account for years, prosecutors said, at times impersonating Ohtani to bankers so he could pilfer huge sums of money to cover his bets and debts.

Mizuhara turned himself in Friday ahead of his initial court appearance. He is charged with one count of bank fraud and faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted.

Prosecutors said there was no evidence that Ohtani was involved in or aware of Mizuhara’s gambling, and authorities said Ohtani is cooperating with investigators.

Mizuhara was not asked to enter a plea during Friday’s brief court appearance in downtown Los Angeles.

NBA: Kyrie Irving missed the Mavericks’ regular-season home finale against the Pistons on Friday night, which ended the star guard’s streak of 31 consecutive games played. The designation for Irving, who has been on his longest stretch of games since 2015-16, was left hamstring soreness. ... The 76ers unveiled a sculpture of Allen Iverson at their practice facility on Friday.

NHL: Golden Knights captain Mark Stone has been cleared to return to practice on a limited basis as he recovers from a lacerated spleen, the team said Friday. Stone was injured on Feb. 20 after a hit from the Predators’ Yakov Trenin. He was expected to participate in a non-contact jersey beginning Friday during the team’s morning skate, the team announced on X.

Tennis: Grand Slam title winners Naomi Osaka, Iga Swiatek and Emma Raducanu all earned victories for their countries in Billie Jean King Cup qualifying Friday.