LSU star Burrow says he got real cash from Beckham
Cleveland Browns receiver Odell Beckham Jr. apparently distributed real money to some LSU players following Monday night’s College Football Playoff championship win over Clemson in New Orleans.
Star quarterback Joe Burrow said he was one of the players who received money.
“I’m not a student-athlete anymore, so I can say yeah,” Burrow said on “Pardon My Take,” a podcast by Barstool Sports.
Beckham, a former LSU star, was seen after the game handing money to wide receivers Justin Jefferson and Jontre Kirklin. The video first surfaced late Monday night but has been taken down in several locations.
LSU officials were informed of the situation and initially said it was novelty cash being passed around. Players receiving real cash would be in violation of NCAA rules.
LSU said Wednesday that it has reported the situation to NCAA and SEC officials.
“We are aware of the situation regarding Odell Beckham Jr. interacting with LSU student-athletes and others unaffiliated with the team following the championship game Monday night,” the statement begins. “Initial information suggested bills that were exchanged were novelty bills.
“Information and footage reviewed since shows apparent cash may have also been given to LSU student-athletes. We were in contact with the NCAA and the SEC immediately upon learning of this situation in which some of our student-athletes may have been placed in a compromising position. We are working with our student-athletes, the NCAA and the SEC in order to rectify the situation.” BOBBY PETRINO LANDS AT MISSOURI STATE >> Bobby Petrino, a coach with a track record of on-the-field success and off-the-field embarrassments, will be the next coach at Missouri State.
The Springfield-based university said Petrino, 58, will replace Dave Steckel, who was fired last week after winning just 13 games in five seasons.
Petrino has a 119-56 record in 14 seasons at Arkansas, Western Kentucky and Louisville. He also spent part of one season coaching the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, where he coached 13 games in 2007 before abruptly resigning.
Motorsports
PENSKE BRINGS NASCAR’S XFINITY RACE ON INDY ROAD COURSE >> Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Roger Penske announced that this year’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race will be run on the track’s road course for the first time.
The Cup Series race, scheduled for
July 5, will remain on the track’s 2 1/2mile oval. Penske purchased the track late last year. This is the first major change the longtime IndyCar and NASCAR team owner has made. Race organizers said the plan is to hold the Xfinity race July 4, then convert the track back to its original oval format.
Tennis
SERENA TO HIGHLIGHT FED CUP ROSTER FOR U.S. >> Serena Williams will be part of the U.S. team for its Fed Cup qualifier against Latvia, the U.S. Tennis Association announced.
It will be the first time Williams has participated in the Fed Cup since 2018. Williams has played in 10 previous Fed Cup competitions, and is 13-0 in singles and 3-2 in doubles since her first appearance in 1999.
The U.S. will face Latvia on Feb. 7-8 in Everett, Washington. The winner will advance to the Fed Cup finals in April in Budapest, Hungary. The U.S. must finalize the rest of its roster by Jan. 28.
KERBER SUFFERS BACK INJURY AHEAD OF AUSTRALIAN OPEN >> Former Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber suffered a back injury days before the year’s first Grand Slam, with the German forced to retire at the Adelaide International warmup. Kerber lost in the first round of the Brisbane International earlier this month.
Horse racing
REPORT: VETS MISSED CHANCES INVOLVING
BREEDERS’ CUP FATALITY >> A report on the death of Mongolian Groom in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita said veterinarians missed opportunities to remove the gelding from the $6 million race because of time constraints or deficiencies in the process used to evaluate horses.
In the 20-page report issued Wednesday, Dr. Larry Bramlage identified six suggested improvements aimed at refining safety and evaluation protocols for future events.
Mongolian Groom, a 4-year-old gelding, suffered what Cup officials described as “a serious fracture” of his left hind leg in the late stages of the Classic last November, which was shown on national television. Four vets recommended that he be euthanized.
Bramlage’s six recommendations were:
• Pre-identify horses before arrival at the event with histories of concerns to be looked at.
• Focus responsibility for individual horse exams. Seven regulatory vets looked at Mongolian Groom a total of 10 times and Bramlage concluded that had there been fewer people, a more focused assessment may have resulted.
• Improve the quality of on-track observations leading up to the event.
• Create space in the barn area where regulatory vets could observe horses on the extra security list jog in a circle for observation.
• Make diagnostic imaging part of the pre-race exams for selected horses.
• Take advantage of all available video footage of horses before the event.
Baseball
METS STAY SILENT ON NEW MANAGER BELTRÁN’S FUTURE >> While the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox took decisive action in jettisoning their managers after Major League Baseball concluded they were involved in nefarious sign stealing, the New York Mets have stayed silent on Carlos Beltrán’s future.
Beltrán remains in limbo, with the Mets refusing to say whether their new manager stays or goes. In Manfred’s nine-page statement, Beltrán was the only player identified as a participant in the cheating scheme.
“Approximately two months into the 2017 season, a group of players, including Carlos Beltrán, discussed that the team could improve on decoding opposing teams’ signs and communicating the signs to the batter,” Manfred wrote.
Astros manager A.J. Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow received one-season suspensions before owner Jim Crane fired them. Manfred decided not to discipline players. HUDSON HIRED AS AUBURN’S VOLUNTEER PITCHING COACH >> Former major league pitcher Tim Hudson is Auburn’s new pitching coach.
Auburn announced Hudson will be a volunteer assistant and pitching coach for the program, where he once starred as a two-way player.
Hudson played 17 years in the major leagues with the A’s, Atlanta and the Giants before retiring in 2015.