(WASHINGTON) — A New Jersey man posed as a New England Patriots player to fraudulently obtain family Super Bowl LI rings, intended to be purchased by family members of Patriots players, the Justice Department said.
The New England Patriots overcame a 28-3 deficit with the Atlanta Falcons to win the 2017 Super Bowl, in what court documents say was considered one of the greatest comebacks ever.
After the game, players received Super Bowl rings — and Scott Spina Jr. wanted to buy one of the rings family members could get, prosecutors said. He contacted a member of the team and gave him a check which, court documents said, Spina knew he didn’t have enough money in his account to cover.
Spina pleaded guilty on Monday, according to the Justice Department.
As a result of obtaining the ring, he allegedly got login information from the ring company to purchase more “family rings” — designed for family and friends of players of the winning team.
Spina allegedly called the ring company, presented himself as the former player he bought the rings from and asked if he could purchase more.
“I want to get uh the quarterback a present for his baby…for the son,” Spina told a representative of the ring company, according to court documents.
The quarterback he referred to is seven-time Super Bowl champion and five-time Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady, prosecutors said.
The rings had Brady’s name on them and Spina confirmed that he wanted the quarterback’s name on it with the ring company, prosecutors said.
The Justice Department suggested that because Brady’s name was on the rings, they were worth more when Spina resold them.
The rings were a bit smaller than the Super Bowl rings players received.
Spina flipped the rings and made $100,000 on selling the rings before they were sold at auction for over $330,000, prosecutors said.
(ORLANDO, Fla.) — Just months after sustaining serious injuries in a car accident, Tiger Woods made his return to competitive golf on Friday.
Woods, who suffered comminuted open fractures to his right tibia and fibia in February, hit the links with his 12-year-old son, Charlie.
The father-son duo finished in second place behind John Daly and his son John Daly II at the PNC Championship, a tournament in Orlando, Florida, that allows former major champions to compete alongside their family members.
“To be out here with my son like this, it’s the best,” he said in an interview with the Golf Channel. “We’re here to have fun.”
Woods played with his son in the tournament for the first time last year, finishing seventh out of 20 pairs.
Woods, 45, told Golf Digest last month that the idea of playing with Charlie has been a motivating factor in his recovery. Charlie is the golfer’s youngest child with his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren; the former couple also share a 14-year-old daughter, Sam.
For Woods, who has won the Masters five times and the PGA Championship four times, seeing his son follow in his footsteps has been a gratifying experience. He’s also been able to impart some of the wisdom he’s picked up from his years as a golfer.
“I went to golf tournaments to watch him play, and I’m looking at some of these scores he’s shooting and I said, ‘How the hell are you shooting such high scores? I gotta go check this out,'” he said. “So I’d watch him play and he’s going along great. He has one bad hole, he loses his temper, his temper carries him over to another shot and another shot and it compounds itself.”
Woods continued: “‘Son, I don’t care how mad you get. Your head could blow off for all I care just as long as you’re 100% committed to the next shot. That’s all that matters. That next shot should be the most important shot in your life. It should be more important than breathing. Once you understand that concept, then I think you’ll get better.’ And as the rounds went on throughout the summer, he’s gotten so much better.”
(NEW YORK) — With a rise in COVID-19 cases across the nation alongside spread of the new omicron variant, several major events this week have been rescheduled or canceled.
New York and Washington, D.C., on Friday and Wednesday, respectively, reported the most COVID-19 cases in a single day, breaking their pandemic records.
The NBA announced Sunday it has postponed five upcoming games “because of players and staff members entering the NBA’s health and safety protocols.”
Postponed games include three on Sunday, Denver Nuggets at Brooklyn Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers at Atlanta Hawks and New Orleans Pelicans at Philadelphia 76ers. Monday’s game between the Orlando Magic and Toronto Raptors along with Tuesday’s Washington Wizards and Brooklyn Nets matchup were also postponed.
The NFL on Friday rescheduled three games, including moving Saturday’s contest between the Cleveland Browns and the Las Vegas Raiders to Monday at 5 p.m. ET.
All members of the organization who recently tested positive were vaccinated, according to a statement from Cleveland Browns Senior Vice President of Communications Peter John-Baptiste.
Sunday’s games between the Washington Football Team and Philadelphia Eagles and between the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks were postponed to Tuesday.
In a statement, the NFL said they made these schedule changes “based on medical advice” after “seeing a new, highly transmissible form of the virus.”
This trend is observable in other sports as well, as the NHL earlier announced it was rescheduling all games for the Colorado Avalanche and Florida Panthers through at least the Christmas weekend amid a COVID-19 outbreak.
The organization pointed to rising positive cases within the last two days and the continued spread of COVID-19 as a concern.
The Calgary Flames, which has already had six games postponed, will now not play through Dec. 23.
On Saturday, the NHL also announced that the Boston Bruins’ and Nashville Predators’ games will be postponed through at least Dec. 26 due to rising COVID-19 cases. The move impacts four Bruins games and three Predators games.
Additionally, Saturday night’s Toronto-Vancouver game and Sunday’s Arizona-Vancouver and Toronto-Seattle games have been postponed after “a number” of Toronto and Vancouver players entered COVID-19 protocols over the past two days, the league said.
On Sunday, the NHL announced that all games between U.S. and Canadian teams scheduled for Dec. 20 to Dec. 23 will be postponed and rescheduled.
Several college basketball games this weekend were also canceled, including No. 18 Tennessee vs. Memphis, Iona vs. No. 16 Seton Hall, No. 4 UCLA vs. North Carolina, No. 23 Colorado State vs. Tulsa and No. 15 Ohio State vs. No. 21 Kentucky. No. 2 Duke actually had two games canceled after it tried to schedule matchups against Cleveland State and then Loyola (Maryland), but each fell through due to virus concerns. Seton Hall, enjoying one of its best seasons in decades, has already forfeited its conference opener against rival St. John’s on Monday as well due to a shortage of healthy players.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Sunday’s sports events:
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Sacramento 121, San Antonio 114
Detroit 100, Miami 90
Portland 105, Memphis 100
Phoenix 137, Charlotte 106
Chicago 115, LA Lakers 110
Minnesota 111, Dallas 105
New Orleans at Philadelphia (Postponed)
Cleveland at Atlanta (Postponed)
Denver at Brooklyn 7:30 p.m. (Postponed)
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Vegas 4 N-Y Islanders 3 (SO)
Winnipeg 4, St. Louis 2
Pittsburgh 3, New Jersey 2
Los Angeles 3, Washington 2
Boston at Ottawa (Postponed)
Nashville at Carolina (Postponed)
Toronto at Seattle (Postponed)
Arizona at Vancouver (Postponed)
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Buffalo 31, Carolina 14
Dallas 21, NY Giants 6
Detroit 30, Arizona 12
Houston 30, Jacksonville 16
Miami 31, NY Jets 24
Pittsburgh 19, Tennessee 13
Cincinnati 15, Denver 10
San Francisco 31, Atlanta 13
Green Bay 31, Baltimore 30
New Orleans 9, Tampa Bay 0
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Iowa St. 77, SE Louisiana 54
Texas 60, Stanford 53
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Saturday’s sports events:
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Houston 116 Detroit 107
Final Boston 114 New York 107
Final Toronto 119 Golden State 100
Final Orlando 100 Brooklyn 93
Final Oklahoma City 104 L.A. Clippers 103
Final Cleveland 119 Milwaukee 90
Final Washington 109 Utah 103
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final Carolina 5 Los Angeles 1
Final OT Philadelphia 4 Ottawa 3
Final Detroit 5 New Jersey 2
Final OT Dallas 4 Chicago 3
Final Edmonton 5 Seattle 3
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Final Indianapolis 27 New England 17
TOP-25 COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Final UAB 31 (12)BYU 28
Final (16)Louisiana-Lafayette 36 Marshall 21
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final (1)Baylor 78 Oregon 70
Final (2)Duke 87 Elon 56
Final (3)Purdue 77 Butler 48
Final (5)Gonzaga 69 (25)Texas Tech 55
Final (6)Alabama 65 Jacksonville St. 59
Final (7)Kansas 80 Stephen F. Austin 72
Final (8)Arizona 84 Cal Baptist 60
Final (10)Southern Cal 67 Georgia Tech 53
Final (13)Auburn 74 Saint Louis 70
Final (14)Houston 72 Oklahoma St. 61
Final (19)LSU 66 Louisiana Tech 57
Final Providence 57 (20)UConn 53
Final (21)Kentucky 98 North Carolina 69
Final (22)Xavier 80 Marquette 71
Final Hofstra 89 (24)Arkansas 81
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Friday’s sports events:
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Miami 115 Orlando 105
Denver 133 Atlanta 115
Golden State 111 Boston 107
OT New Orleans 116 Milwaukee 112
San Antonio 128 Utah 126
Portland 125 Charlotte 116
Memphis 124 Sacramento 105
Minnesota 110 L.A. Lakers 92
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
OT Pittsburgh 3 Buffalo 2
SO Vegas 3 N-Y Rangers 2
Washington 5 Winnipeg 2
St. Louis 4 Dallas 1
OT Nashville 3 Chicago 2
OT Arizona 6 Anaheim 5
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Creighton 79 (9)Villanova 59
(ORLANDO, Fla.) — Just months after sustaining serious injuries in a car accident, Tiger Woods made his return to competitive golf on Friday.
Woods, who suffered comminuted open fractures to his right tibia and fibia in February, hit the links with his 12-year-old son, Charlie.
The father-son duo are participating in the PNC Championship, a tournament in Orlando, Florida, that allows former major champions to compete alongside their family members.
“To be out here with my son like this, it’s the best,” he said in an interview with the Golf Channel. “We’re here to have fun.”
Woods played with his son in the tournament for the first time last year, finishing seventh out of 20 pairs.
Woods, 45, told Golf Digest last month that the idea of playing with Charlie has been a motivating factor in his recovery. Charlie is the golfer’s youngest child with his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren; the former couple also share a 14-year-old daughter, Sam.
For Woods, who has won the Masters five times and the PGA Championship four times, seeing his son follow in his footsteps has been a gratifying experience. He’s also been able to impart some of the wisdom he’s picked up from his years as a golfer.
“I went to golf tournaments to watch him play, and I’m looking at some of these scores he’s shooting and I said, ‘How the hell are you shooting such high scores? I gotta go check this out,'” he said. “So I’d watch him play and he’s going along great. He has one bad hole, he loses his temper, his temper carries him over to another shot and another shot and it compounds itself.”
Woods continued: “‘Son, I don’t care how mad you get. Your head could blow off for all I care just as long as you’re 100% committed to the next shot. That’s all that matters. That next shot should be the most important shot in your life. It should be more important than breathing. Once you understand that concept, then I think you’ll get better.’ And as the rounds went on throughout the summer, he’s gotten so much better.”
(MADISON, Wis.) — When a tornado ravaged his hometown in Kentucky, University of Wisconsin basketball player Chris Vogt was preparing for one of his team’s biggest games of the season.
But instead of focusing on setting screens and rebounding, the 7-foot tall center said his mind was on Mayfield, the town of roughly 10,000 people suffering greatly in the aftermath of a swarm of twisters that destroyed homes of friends and killed 89 people across Kentucky and four other states.
“It was a huge game for us. I knew it was one I couldn’t miss, I didn’t want to miss. But it was definitely weighing on me as I’m kind of getting ready for the game, trying to clear my mind,” the 22-year-old told ABC News of the Saturday night game between his Badgers and Ohio State University in Columbus.
“My teammates and coaches did a great job of trying to talk to me before the game, trying to help clear my mind. As the game went on, I was able to do that a little bit more, just kind of focus on playing basketball,” he said. “But as soon as the game was over, where my heart and soul went was back to Mayfield, just thinking about what I could do to help.”
On the flight back to Madison, Wisconsin, Vogt, with the help of instructions he found by Googling, set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for Mayfield residents who lost homes in the storm.
“While I was so far away I was thinking, ‘I can’t be there tomorrow, I can’t be there for a few days, what can I do to help?'” he said. “By the time our plane got to Madison, I had it ready to go and launched it, and it’s taken off ever since.”
As of Thursday evening, Vogt’s GoFundMe page had raised more than $150,000, with donations pouring in from more than 2,200 people from across the country.
Vogt traveled to Mayfield on Thursday to see the devastation for himself. Walking around his decimated city, he said it was heartbreaking to see buildings he had walked by countless times as a child, including his favorite restaurant, all reduced to rubble.
“I was born and raised here, lived here for 18 years. Some of my fondest memories are here. I still keep in contact with a lot of my friends who are from here … my parents still live here. So, I have a lot of ties back here,” Vogt said. “Just looking around, looking at my hometown, especially the courthouse, kind of one of the more iconic buildings in Mayfield, it just looks like something out of a movie scene. It feels like kind of just a bad dream.”
Vogt said he plans to distribute the money he is raising to the Red Cross as well as to emergency resource offices in Graves County and Mayfield High School, which are helping people who are displaced by putting them in hotel rooms and providing everyday necessities. He also plans to donate part of the donations to a tornado relief fund that is being established.
“I’ve been able to see a lot of people I haven’t seen in a long time, and it kind of makes the whole situation a lot more real,” Vogt said. “To be able to be here and just shake someone’s hand and check in on them and ask them how they’re doing, how’s things going, you can kind of feel the impact being here a lot more than just being in Wisconsin.”
He said he’s been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from friends as well as strangers.
“They’re the real heroes in this whole situation. Anyone that tries to thank me, I just redirect it to the donors. They’re the ones who deserve it. They’re the heroes who made this whole thing possible,” Vogt said. “It’s humbling to see that many people reach out and support. I never would have thought it would have gotten this much support, and seeing it take off to this level is kind of inspiring to say the least.”
He added, “Something this devastating to hit such a small area has been tough, but we have felt the support of the whole country and feel like we can build it back just how it was or even better.”
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Thursday’s sports events:
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Indiana 122, Detroit 113
Brooklyn 114, Philadelphia 105
New York 116, Houston 103
Phoenix 118, Washington 98
Chicago at Toronto (Postponed)
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Tampa Bay 2, Ottawa 1
Carolina 5, Detroit 3
Los Angeles 4, Florida 1
Montreal 3, Philadelphia 2 (SO)
Vegas 5, New Jersey 3
NY Islanders 3, Boston 1
Nashville 5, Colorado 2
Buffalo 3, Minnesota 2 (SO)
Edmonton 5, Columbus 2
Vancouver 5, San Jose 2
Toronto at Calgary 9 (Postponed)
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Kansas City 34, LA Chargers 28 (OT)
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Duke 92, Appalachian St. 67
(NEW YORK) — Former NFL star Vincent Jackson died in February and now as his widow reflects on his health and life, doctors have confirmed Jackson had Stage 2 CTE, a degenerative brain disease associated with many former football players.
Lindsey Jackson sat down exclusively with ABC News’ Juju Chang in her first interview since her husband’s death and revealed the stunning diagnosis.
“Vincent was an amazing dad — he would do anything for his kids,” she said.
From the outside, Vincent Jackson appeared to be acing life after a storied NFL career. However, Lindsey Jackson said for years her husband suffered from memory loss, erratic behavior and kept turning to alcohol.
“He shared with me once that … alcohol made him feel calm and made him feel like himself. And that his brain was really fuzzy. And that this made it not fuzzy,” she said.
The couple decided they needed a break and he lived at a hotel. She said the family grew increasingly concerned about his mental health. Then, Vincent Jackson was found dead on Feb. 15.
“That was a hard day. We– had the sheriff come to our house and– let us know,” she said. “I had been telling the kids and letting them know that dad was really sick. And he’s gonna get better and he’s gonna … be back. And here they are in our living room and telling us that’s not the case.”
The family decided to donate his brain to researchers at Boston University’s Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) Center.
The results showed Vincent Jackson had Stage 2 CTE, which was a shock to his family since he was never diagnosed with a concussion during his 12 seasons as a wide receiver in the NFL.
“I felt just really bad for him. He didn’t know he had it. And I think had he known, he wouldn’t have felt so ashamed or alone,” Lindsey Jackson said tearfully. “No one should have to die in a room by himself.”
Dr. Ann McKee, the leading expert and researcher of CTE and neuropathologist at Boston University who diagnosed Vincent Jackson, further explained the findings.
“His was stage two because he had multiple areas of the brain that were affected on both sides of the brain … most of them in the frontal lobe,” she said. “They might have violent behaviors either physically or verbally. They’re often depressed and moody; they may or may not have mood swings.”
McKee said there is too much focus on concussions and not enough on the cumulative effects of head trauma over the years.
“I think the NFL needs to overhaul their awareness campaign to concentrate on repetitive head hits that don’t rise to the level of concussion,” McKee said.
In a statement provided to ABC News, the NFL said: “The NFL continues to mourn with the families of Vincent Jackson as well as Phillip Adams and all those who lost their lives in Rock Hill, South Carolina in April. These are incredibly tragic situations, and our hearts go out to all who have been affected. Phillip Adams and Vincent Jackson’s diagnoses underscore the need for independent scientific research related to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of traumatic brain injury (TBI), concussion and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). There is more to learn about head injury and related illness, and while the NFL is funding that important work, we also continue to make tangible progress in protecting players and making our game safer.”
The statement continued, “Additionally, in collaboration with the NFL Players Association, the NFL provides comprehensive mental wellness resources to current and former NFL players and the NFL family. These include mental health education programs, access to skilled clinicians and substance abuse experts and a platform that connects current and former players with trained counselors who are on-call 24 hours per day, year-round. We encourage current and former NFL players – and anyone who may be suffering – to seek help, prioritize their mental wellness and take advantage of mental health resources. It’s important to address.”
Lindsey Jackson said she is sharing her family’s story now in hopes that it could raise awareness and help other families connect the dots.
“In his mind, it would have explained why he couldn’t fix anything,” she said.
His family told ABC News the final autopsy will be out Thursday. Presently, CTE can only be diagnosed post-mortem.
