OFF THE WALL

Yanks don’t want Manfred letter to be unsealed We just couldn’t let this stuff go …

The New York Yankees asked all 13 judges of the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to reverse a three-judge panel’s decision to unseal a letter from baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred to General Manager Brian Cashman detailing an investigation into sign stealing.

Circuit Judge Joseph F. Bianco ordered the letter unsealed on March 21 after hearing the case with Chief Judge Debra Ann Livingston and Circuit Judge Gerard E. Lynch. They upheld an April 2020 ruling by U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff to dismiss a lawsuit by fantasy sports contestants who claimed they were damaged by sign stealing in Major League Baseball.

The five men who sued participated in fantasy contests hosted by Draftkings from 201719.

“The Yankees primarily contend they will suffer ‘significant and irreparable reputational harm’ not because of the actual substance of the Yankees letter, but rather because its content would be distorted to falsely and unfairly generate the confusing scenario that the Yankees had somehow violated MLB’S sign stealing rules, when in fact the Yankees did not,” Blanco wrote. “That argument, however, carries little weight. Disclosure of the document will allow the public to independently assess MLB’S conclusion regarding the internal investigation (as articulated to the Yankees), and the Yankees are fully capable of disseminating their own views regarding the actual content of the Yankees letter.”

The team asked for the en banc rehearing in a petition Friday.

Manfred ruled in January 2020 that the Astros violated rules against electronic signstealing during home games en route to their World Series title in 2017 and again in 2018. He suspended manager AJ Hinch and GM Jeff Luhnow for one season each, and both were fired by the team. Manfred fined the Astros $5 million, the maximum under MLB rules and stripped the team of its next two first- and second-round amateur draft picks.

Manfred fined the Red Sox in 2017 for using Apple Watches to pass along signals and fined the Yankees a lesser amount for improper use of a dugout telephone in an earlier year. He concluded in April 2020 that sign-stealing efforts by the Red Sox on their way to the 2018 title were less egregious than those by the 2017 Astros. Alex Cora, who had lost his job as Boston manager, was suspended for the 2020 season for his role as Houston’s bench coach.

Trivia question headlined the 1984-85 NBA All-rookie Team. Who were the other four members of the team?

Michael Jordan

They said it

• From Janice Hough of Leftcoastsportsbabe.com: “Congratulations to Xavier, winners of the NIT basketball tournament. Wonder how many Americans know there is still an NIT?”

• From RJ Currie of Sportsdeke.com: “Bruce Arians, head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, has retired. At least for the next 40 days.” Trivia answer Philadelphia’s Charles Barkley, Houston’s Hakeem Olajuwon, Dallas’ Sam Perkins, and Portland’s Sam Bowie, the player the Trail Blazers picked second instead of Jordan. COMPILED BY BOYCE GARRISON FROM U-T NEWS SERVICES, ONLINE REPORTS

DAVID J. PHILLIP AP Kansas guard Ochai Agbaji has made shots in the NCAA Tournament but overall there’s a lot of clanging going on.