Charge leveled at Ohtani friend
Proecutor alleges he stole $16M
Federal prosecutors have charged Ippei Mizuhara, the since-fired interpreter for Shohei Ohtani, with stealing more than $16 million from the Dodgers superstar to pay debts with an allegedly illegal bookmaker.
The U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, E. Martin Estrada, announced the charge of bank fraud Thursday at a news conference.
“Mr. Ohtani is considered a victim in this case,” Estrada said.
He said that Mizuhara impersonated Ohtani in conversations with bank officials, placed thousands of wagers and deposited winnings in a bank account the interpreter controlled.
Pro football
The Cleveland Browns restructured star running back Nick Chubb’s contract as he continues to rehab after a season-ending knee injury. Chubb, 28, agreed to take a salary cut — he was scheduled to make $11.75 million this season — but can earn back money through incentives.
Colleges
Mark Pope is expected to be the next men’s basketball coach at Kentucky, according to the Lexington (Ky.) HeraldLeader. Pope, a former Kentucky player, has been head
coach at BYU the past five seasons.
• Tristan Broz scored his second overtime goal of the NCAA tournament and No. 3 seed Denver beat No. 2 Boston University 2-1 in St. Paul, Minn., to advance to the national championship game. Denver (31-9-3) will play for its 10th national title in program history on Saturday.
•A University of Washington football player has been arrested and charged with raping two women in Seattle. Court documents say that Tylin “Tybo” Rogers played in two College Football Playoff games for the school after at least one of the allegations was known to the university.
Tennis
Novak Djokovic looked sluggish at times, but still advanced to the quarterfinal of the Monte Carlo Masters with a 7-5, 6-3 win against Lorenzo Musetti. Djokovic improved to 10-3 this season. Second-ranked Jannik Sinner also advanced with a solid 6-4, 6-2 win over JanLennard Struff. Not moving on was Daniil Medvedev, who was upset by Karen Khachanov.
Wrestling
Hawaii-born Akebono Taro —the first foreignborn sumo wrestler to become grand champion in Japan, died of heart failure. He was 54. He moved to Tokyo in the late 1980s and won his first grand championship in 1993.