Bellinger says Astros ‘stole ring from us’
LOS ANGELES Dodgers first baseman/outfielder Cody Bellinger didn’t mince words on Friday when commenting about the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal and subsequent apologies.
“I thought the apologies were whatever,” Bellinger said, referencing the Astros’ news conference on Thursday. “Those guys were cheating for three years. I think what people don’t realize is (Jose) Altuve stole an MVP from (New York Yankees slugger Aaron) Judge in ’17. Everyone knows they stole the ring from us. But it’s over.”
Major League Baseball conducted an investigation and declared the Astros stole signs throughout the 2017 season and continued to do so for only part of 2018.
The Dodgers the 2017 World Series to the Astros, and also in 2018 to the Boston Red Sox, who are being investigated to determine if they stole opponents’ signs electronically.
The Minnesota Wild have fired head coach Bruce Boudreau after three-plus seasons at the helm.
Dean Evason, assistant coach for Boudreau in Washington and Minnesota, was named interim coach.
Boudreau, 65, has a 567-302-115 (.635) mark as head coach of Washington, Anaheim and the Wild. English champion Manchester City has been banned from European competition for the next two seasons and fined US$32.53 million by European soccer’s governing body UEFA after an investigation into alleged breaches of Financial Fair Play rules.
The Premier League club said it will appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The ruling, if upheld, would mean Pep Guardiola’s side would not be able to compete in the 202021 Champions League should it again qualify for Europe’s top club competition. Man City would also be banned from European competition in the 2021-22 season.
Fair Play rules are designed to prevent clubs from receiving unlimited amounts of money through inflated sponsorship deals with organizations related to the owners.
UEFA opened an investigation into City in March 2019 after German publication Der Spiegel alleged the club’s Abu Dhabi owners inflated sponsorship agreements to comply with FFP requirements.