Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Off the wire
FOOTBALL
Kraft offered plea deal
Florida prosecutors have offered a plea deal to New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and other men charged with paying for illicit sex at a massage parlor. The
Palm Beach County State Attorney’s
Office confirmed Tuesday it has offered Kraft and 24 other men charged with soliciting prostitution the standard diversion program offered to first-time offenders. The men must concede they would be found guilty, perform 100 hours of community service and attend a class on prostitution’s dangers and how it perpetuates human trafficking, spokesman Mike Edmondson said. Kraft, 77, was charged with two counts last month. In return, the charges of misdemeanor soliciting prostitution would be dropped. Edmondson said none have accepted so far. By accepting, the men might also avoid having to appear in court, Edmondson said. That would be negotiated. Kraft’s attorney Jack Goldberger did not immediately return a call seeking comment, and Patriots spokesman Stacey James refused comment. If Kraft refuses the deal, he would be put on trial and, if found guilty, face a possible year in jail, although that would be unlikely. He has pleaded not guilty. Kraft’s deal offer was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. The owner of the Orchids of Asia Day Spa, the Jupiter, Fla., parlor Kraft is accused of visiting, is charged with 29 felony prostitution and related charges. Owner Hua Zhang, 58, has pleaded not guilty. Police said Kraft visited Orchids of Asia twice in late January just before he flew to Kansas City to see the Patriots defeat the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game.
Cowboys sign Cobb
The Dallas Cowboys have agreed to terms on a one-year contract with free-agent receiver Randall Cobb. Cobb spent the first eight years of his NFL career with the Green Bay Packers, though he was limited to nine games last season because of a hamstring injury and a concussion. Along with the addition of Cobb, the Cowboys on Tuesday re-signed unrestricted free-agent long snapper L.P. Ladouceur. They also signed Kerry Hyder, a defensive end from Texas Tech who was with Detroit last season. Dallas has brought in Cobb and re-signed receiver Tavon Austin to a oneyear deal since slot receiver Cole Beasley left in free agency last week for a four-year deal with Buffalo. Cobb has 470 catches for 5,524 yards and 41 touchdowns for the Packers from 2011 through last season. The 28-year-old receiver was a Pro Bowl pick in 2014, when he had 91 catches for 1,287 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Rams add Bortles
Quarterback Blake Bortles has agreed to a one-year deal to become Jared Goff’s backup with the
Los Angeles Rams. Bortles joins the
Rams after spending his first five
NFL seasons as the up-and-down starter for the Jacksonville Jaguars, who chose him with the third overall pick in 2014. Bortles passed for 17,646 yards with 103 touchdowns and 75 interceptions with the Jaguars. He led Jacksonville to two playoff victories after the 2017 season before losing the AFC title game. In February 2018, Bortles agreed to a three-year, $54 million contract extension through 2020 with Jacksonville. The Jags released him last week after signing Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles. Bortles is expected to replace Sean Mannion as Goff’s backup with the NFC champions.
BASKETBALL
Saint Joseph’s fires Martelli
Saint Joseph’s fired men’s coach Phil Martelli on Tuesday following a third consecutive losing season (14-19 this season). The Hawks made only three NCAA Tournament appearances since 2004, when they were No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 poll and advanced to the Elite Eight. Martelli joined the Saint Joseph’s staff as an assistant coach in 1985, then became head coach in 1995. He went 444-328 (.575) with the Hawks and made the NCAA Tournament seven times (1997, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2014, 2016).
Person guilty
Former Auburn University assistant coach and 13-year NBA veteran Chuck Person pleaded guilty to a bribery conspiracy charge in the widespread college basketball bribery scandal, ensuring that none of the four coaches charged in the probe will go to trial. Person, 54, entered the plea in Manhattan federal court, averting a June trial. He and his lawyer declined to speak afterward and made a quick exit from the courthouse. Prosecutors said Person accepted $91,500 in bribes to steer players with NBA potential to a Pittsburgh-based financial adviser. As part of the plea, he agreed to forfeit that amount. Person said he committed his crime in late 2016 and early 2017. The plea deal has a recommended sentencing guideline range of 2 to 2½ years in prison, though the sentence will be left up to Judge Loretta A. Preska. The sentencing is scheduled for July 9.
GOLF
Els names assistants
International team captain Ernie Els has named K.J. Choi, Trevor Immelman and Mike Weir as his final three assistants for this year’s Presidents Cup. Els had already named Geoff Ogilvy as one of his assistant captains for the event at Royal Melbourne from Dec. 9-15. Choi will return as an assistant for the second time after serving as vice captain to Nick Price when the Presidents Cup was played in South Korea in 2015. Choi played on the International team in 2003, 2007 and 2011. Immelman will make his debut as a captain’s assistant after playing in 2005 and 2007. Weir will return as a captain’s assistant after serving the same role in 2017 and has played on five International teams.
OLYMPICS Takeda resigns
Tsunekazu Takeda is stepping down as the president of the Japanese Olympic Committee amid a vote-buying scandal that French investigators suspect helped Tokyo land next year’s Olympics. Takeda announced Tuesday at the committee’s executive board meeting that he will resign when his term ends in June, and he again denied corruption allegations against him. The 71-year-old Takeda is also a powerful International Olympic Committee member and the head of its marketing commission. When he resigns, he will lose the IOC membership which is tied to his JOC presidency. The scandal, which French authorities have been investigating for several years, has cast a long shadow over the Tokyo Olympics and underlines flawed efforts by the IOC to clean up its bidding process. Japan is spending at least $20 billion to organize the games, which open on July 24, 2020. The favorite to replace Takeda is Yasuhiro Yamashita, a judo gold medalist in the 1984 Olympics. Takeda has acknowledged he signed off on about $2 million in payments to a Singapore consulting company, Black Tidings, and its head Ian Tan Tong Han. The payments came just before Tokyo was picked in 2013 by the IOC, beating out Istanbul and Madrid. French investigators have linked Black Tidings to Papa Massata Diack, one of the sons of powerful ex-IOC member Lamine Diack of Senegal. Lamine Diack was known to have huge influence over Olympic voters in Africa.