TALKING POINTS
Former Mets GM Billy Eppler suspended through World Series for fabricating injuries
NEW YORK — Former New York Mets general manager Billy Eppler was suspended through the 2024 World Series on Friday by baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, who concluded he directed team staff to fabricate injuries to create open roster spots.
Manfred said in a statement that Eppler directed “the deliberate fabrication of injuries; and the associated submission of documentation for the purposes of securing multiple improper injured list placements during the 2022 and 2023 seasons.”
Use of the so-called “phantom injured list” is thought to be common throughout baseball, but Eppler is the first to be disciplined.
“I cooperated fully and transparently with MLB’s investigation, and I accept their decision,” Eppler said in a statement.
Eppler will not lose any salary as a result of the suspension. The Mets paid the remainder of his contract, which was set to run through the 2025 season, after he resigned last fall the same day MLB’s investigation became public.
Eppler’s conduct involved about seven players, a person familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the players were not publicly identified.
Major League Baseball said it “concluded that the pattern of conduct was at Mr. Eppler’s sole direction and without any involvement of club ownership or superiors.”
The suspension will prevent Eppler from taking a job with another team until reinstated. Eppler will be allowed to apply for early reinstatement, MLB said.
McIntosh ends Ledecky’s 13-year unbeaten streak in 800-meter freestyle
ORLANDO, Fla. — Katie Ledecky’s 13-year unbeaten streak in the 800-meter freestyle is over, setting up a potential challenge from Canadian phenom Summer McIntosh at the Paris Olympics.
The 17-year-old McIntosh finished almost 6 seconds ahead of Ledecky at a sectional meet in Orlando on Thursday, becoming the second-fastest female in the history of a grueling event that Ledecky has dominated.
The teenager finished in 8 minutes, 11.39 seconds — an improvement on her previous best time by about 9 seconds. McIntosh went faster than Ledecky’s winning time of 8:12.57 at the Tokyo Olympics.
It was the 26-year-old Ledecky’s first defeat in an 800 free final since 2010. She finished behind American teammate Leah Smith in the preliminaries at the 2019 world championships, but
bounced back to win the race that counted.
Ledecky has won three straight Olympic gold medals in the 800 free, and she’s a six-time reigning world champion at that distance. She still holds the 16 fastest times ever, including her world record of 8:04.79 at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.
Ledecky finished in 8:17:12 at the Orlando meet.
McIntosh and Ledecky both train in Florida, and the low-key sectional meet gave them a chance to do some racing after they joined many big-name swimmers in skipping the World Aquatics Championships in Doha, Qatar.
This isn’t the first time McIntosh has ended a long winning streak for Ledecky.
Late last year, McIntosh became the first swimmer in 11 years to beat Ledecky in a 400 free final held in the United States.
In March 2023, the teenager also snapped Ledecky’s nine-year winning run in the 200 free in her home country.
The significance of McIntosh’s latest victory is difficult to gauge, since swimmers are at different stages of their training cycles as they ramp up preparations for the Olympics.
Last summer, Ledecky turned in a dazzling time of 8:07.07 at the U.S. national championships in Indianapolis — her fastest time since setting the world record. So it’s clear she wasn’t in peak form for the Orlando meet.
Two-time Cy Young Award winner Kluber retires at age 37
Corey Kluber, a two-time Cy Young Award winner for Cleveland who pitched a no-hitter for the New York Yankees in 2021, announced his retirement Friday after 13 major league seasons.
Kluber revealed his decision on Instagram, a posting confirmed by his agent, B.B. Abbott.
The 37-year-old right-hander, nicknamed “Klubot” for his robot-like demeanor, was 3-6 with a 7.04 ERA in nine starts and six relief appearances for Boston last year. He became a free agent after the Red Sox declined an $11 million option.
He made his last appearance on June 20, getting his first career save while giving up four runs on three homers over three innings in a 10-4 win at Minnesota. Kluber went on the injured list the next day because of right shoulder inflammation.
Kluber called his career “an indelible and unforgettable ride.”
“As I take my leave from the pitcher’s mound, my passion for baseball remains unwavering,” Kluber wrote in a statement. “I eagerly anticipate exploring opportunities to contribute to the sport in a different capacity.”
The NFL will host its first regular-season game in Spain in 2025 at Real Madrid’s stadium
LAS VEGAS — The NFL is headed to Spain in 2025 for the first regular-season game ever in that country.
The league announced Friday at the Super Bowl that its international slate of games for the 2025 season will feature a game at Real Madrid’s iconic Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
“We could not be more excited to bring the best of the NFL, the best of our teams and star players to the more than 13 million passionate fans in Spain and partner with one of the greatest global soccer clubs in Real Madrid in a truly world class and innovative stadium,” said Peter O’Reilly, the NFL’s head of international affairs.
The teams that will play in that game will be announced at a later date but O’Reilly said the host team would likely be an AFC team because teams in that conference will have an extra home game that season.
O’Reilly said plenty of teams have already expressed interest. Count Kansas City Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce among those who would jump at the opportunity after playing in Germany this year, as well as London and Mexico City in the past.
“That would be epic,” Kelce said. “It would be a once in a lifetime opportunity. I’m going to go talk to (owner) Clark Hunt right now and get that bid in. Any chance we get to go out of the States and play internationally, you would be silly not to jump at that opportunity. The fan bases are every bit as electric if not more outside of the United States. If the Chiefs get out there to Spain, we’ll make sure to have some fun.”
Dartmouth men’s basketball team will hold union vote on March 5
BOSTON — The Dartmouth men’s basketball team has scheduled a March 5 election to determine whether the players will unionize – a step that would be unprecedented in American college sports.
The National Labor Relations Board said the in-person election will take place on the school’s Hanover, New Hampshire, campus.
Although the NCAA has long maintained that the players are “student-athletes” — a term created to emphasize that their education comes first — the NLRB Regional Director in Boston ruled on Monday that the players were effectively employees of the school.