(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Thursday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
AMERICAN LEAGUE Toronto 6, Baltimore 5 NY Yankees 8, Minnesota 5 Kansas City 4, Cleveland 3 Seattle 3, Oakland 0 Chicago White Sox 2, Boston Red Sox 14
NATIONAL LEAGUE Washington 2, Atlanta 5 LA Dodgers 11, Pittsburgh 7 Arizona TBA, San Diego TBA Cincinnati 8, Chicago Cubs 4 Colorado 3, St Louis 2
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION Dallas Mavericks 89, Boston Celtics 107
WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION Chicago Sky 79, Washington Mystics 71 New York Liberty 78, Atlanta Dream 61
Jontay Porter of the Toronto Raptors warms up before the game against the Portland Trail Blazers, March 9, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — A Brooklyn man was charged Tuesday in connection with an illegal sports betting scheme involving Jontay Porter, the former Toronto Raptors player who received a lifetime ban from the NBA in April after he bet on his own team to lose.
Porter pretended to be injured before a January game between the Raptors and the Los Angeles Clippers. According to federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, Bruce Pham placed bets on Porter’s performance, knowing Porter planned to withdraw from the game.
Porter had amassed large gambling debts to certain of the co-conspirators in the alleged scheme, the complaint says. Porter was encouraged to clear those debts by withdrawing from certain games prematurely to make sure bets on his performance were successful.
Shortly before the January game, prosecutors said Porter told Pham he would be removing himself early from the game, claiming that he was injured. As a result, a co-conspirator won $40,250, according to prosecutors.
“Whether on the court or in the casino, every point matters. As alleged, the defendant and his co-conspirators, as well as an NBA player, participated in a brazen, illegal betting scheme that had a corrupting influence on two games and numerous bets,” said United States Attorney Breon Peace. “This prosecution serves as a warning that fraud and dishonesty in professional sports will not be tolerated and those who engage in this flagrant flouting of the law will be prosecuted.”
Prior to a game on March 20, Pham and his co-conspirators discussed in a Telegram group chat that Porter would be removing himself early from the game, claiming that he felt ill, according to the criminal complaint. Pham and his co-conspirators allegedly met at a casino in Atlantic City and placed several bets on Porter. After playing just three minutes and recording zero points, three rebounds and zero assists, Porter removed himself from the game.
On April 4, in a group chat between Porter and the conspirators, Porter allegedly wrote to the group that they “might just get hit w a rico,” referring to a racketeering charge, and asked if the group chat participants had “delete[d] all the stuff” from their personal cell phones, according to the complaint.
Pham was ordered detained pending trial. Three co-conspirators charged in the scheme remain at large.
(NEW YORK) — Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for MLB star Shohei Ohtani, pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges related to stealing nearly $17 million from the Dodgers player in order to cover gambling debts, according to the Department of Justice.
Mizuhara, 39, agreed to plead guilty last month to one count of bank fraud, which carries a maximum of 30 years in prison, and one count of subscribing to a false tax return, which carries up to three years in prison.
The guilty plea was formally entered at a change of plea hearing Tuesday morning, after Mizuhara previously pleaded not guilty to the charges at his arraignment last month as a procedural matter. A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for Oct. 25.
“I had fallen into major gambling debt. The only thing I could think was using his money to help pay for the debt,” Mizuhara told the court, according to Los Angeles ABC station KABC.
According to the plea agreement, Mizuhara helped Ohtani, who does not speak English, set up a bank account in Phoenix in 2018, during which he interpreted the login information for the player’s account. In September 2021, Mizuhara started placing sports bets with an illegal bookmaker to whom he quickly became indebted, according to the plea agreement.
“Unable to pay his gambling debts, Mizuhara orchestrated a scheme to deceive and cheat the bank to fraudulently obtain money from the account,” the DOJ previously said in a release.
Mizuhara accessed Ohtani’s bank account and updated security information so bank employees would contact him, not Ohtani, when attempting to verify wire transfers from the account, according to the plea agreement. He also impersonated Ohtani on 24 occasions in calls to the bank, according to the agreement.
From November 2021 to March 2024, Mizuhara transferred nearly $17 million from the account to associates of the bookmaker in more than 40 wires without Ohtani’s permission, according to the plea agreement.
Mizuhara also admitted in the plea agreement to falsely claiming that his total taxable income for 2022 was $136,865 when, in fact, he failed to report an additional $4.1 million in income.
“The source of the unreported income was from his scheme to defraud the bank,” the DOJ said, noting that he owes approximately $1,149,400 in additional taxes for the tax year 2022, plus additional interest and penalties.
U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada previously stressed that Ohtani is a victim in the case and has cooperated “fully and completely” in the investigation.
The Dodgers announced they had fired the Japanese interpreter on March 20, after the gambling controversy surfaced. The team did not provide a specific reason for Mizuhara’s termination.
Mizuhara was charged in the matter in April. Following his initial appearance in federal court on April 12, his attorney, Michael Freedman, said in a statement to ABC News that Mizuhara is “continuing to cooperate with the legal process and is hopeful that he can reach an agreement with the government to resolve this case as quickly as possible so that he can take responsibility.”
“He wishes to apologize to Mr. Ohtani, the Dodgers, Major League Baseball, and his family,” the statement continued. “As noted in court, he is also eager to seek treatment for his gambling.”
Ohtani addressed the scandal for the first time on March 25 during a press conference. In a prepared statement, Ohtani said through an interpreter, “I am very saddened and shocked that someone who I trusted has done this.”
(NEW YORK) — Pittsburgh shortstop Tucupita Marcano has been permanently banned from MLB for gambling more than $150,000 on baseball, according to the league.
Marcano, 24, faced the stiffest penalty of several baseball players penalized by the league on Tuesday. He gambled on at least 25 Pittsburgh Pirates games while he was playing for the team last year.
Oakland A’s pitcher Michael Kelly was suspended for one year for gambling on baseball as well. He was a minor leaguer at the time and placed bets on MLB teams, which limited his penalty.
Marcano, a Venezuelan native, signed with the Padres in the offseason, but has not played as he recovers from a knee injury suffered last July.
He allegedly bet $87,319 — out of the $150,000 — on 387 baseball bets, the league said. He did not play in any of the games, however, as he was recovering from the injury.
“Consistent with Marcano’s overall baseball betting activity, almost all of Marcano’s Pirates bets were on which Club (the Pirates or their opponent) would win the game or whether there would be more or less than a certain number of runs scored in the game,” MLB said. “Ultimately, Marcano lost all of his parlays involving the Pirates and only won 4.3% of all of his MLB-related bets overall.”
MLB continued, “There is no evidence to suggest — and Marcano denies — that any outcomes in the baseball games on which he placed bets were compromised, influenced, or manipulated in any way.”
Kelly, 31, has played this season and been an important contributor out of the bullpen. He’s made 28 appearances and pitched to a 2.59 ERA. He pitched as recently as May 24. Kelly also pitched for the Cleveland Guardians in 2023 and Philadelphia Phillies in 2022.
He gambled just $99.22 on MLB games in October 2021 while he was a minor leaguer in the Houston Astros organization, and thus did not appear in any game he bet on, MLB said.
There were also three minor league players suspended for a year on Tuesday for gambling on baseball.
Padres minor league pitcher Jay Groome, Phillies minor league infielder José Rodríguez and Diamondbacks minor league pitcher Andrew Saalfrank were all suspended. Groome betted just over $453 on games in July 2021, Rodriguez bet $724 on games in September 2021 and June and July 2022, and Saalfrank gambled $445 on games in the fall of 2021 and March 2022, according to MLB.
Any player who gambles on baseball is subject to a one-year suspension, according to the league’s Rule 21, while anyone gambling on a baseball game in which they are connected is declared permanently ineligible.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Sunday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE Washington 5, Cleveland 2 Atlanta 3, Oakland 1 Texas 6, Miami 0 Toronto 5, Pittsburgh 4 Milwaukee 6, Chi White Sox 3 Kansas City 4, San Diego 3 NY Yankees 7 San Francisco 5
AMERICAN LEAGUE Minnesota 4, Houston 3 Tampa Bay 4, Baltimore 3 Detroit 8, Boston 4 Seattle 5, LA Angels 1
NATIONAL LEAGUE Arizona 5, NY Mets 4 Cincinnati 5, Chi Cubs 2 LA Dodgers 4, Colorado 0 St. Louis 5, Philadelphia 4
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS Edmonton 2, Dallas 1 (Edmonton wins 4-2)
WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION Connecticut 69, Atlanta 50 Phoenix 87, Los Angeles 68 New York 104, Indiana 68 Minnesota 87, Dallas 76
President Joe Biden wears a helmet presented to him by the NFL Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs as he speaks on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, May 31, 2024. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden got a chance to get under the helmet with this year’s Super Bowl champs as he welcomed the Kansas City Chiefs to the White House on Friday.
The visit marked the second year in a row that the team met with Biden to celebrate their win and presented the president with his own red and white helmet.
Biden wore the helmet as he commended their 2023 season, where they went 11-6, and their victory against the San Francisco 49ers in a 25–22 overtime win at Super Bowl LVIII.
“You all had your share of struggles when the doubters questioned whether you could pull it off again. Believe me, I know what that feels like,” Biden said. “But anyway, I don’t think anybody’s doubting you now.”
The president commended the team for inspiring fans across the world.
“Everyone watching, especially our children, that’s a powerful lesson about sports in the nation. We’re a great nation because we’re good people. We never give up. We look out for one another,” he said.
Travis Kelce, the team’s star tight end, got extra special attention this season after he began dating Taylor Swift last year. The pop star was frequently seen on the sidelines cheering her boyfriend on throughout the season and playoffs, which created a bigger draw to the games from nonsports fans, according to experts.
Kelce was asked by Biden to come up to the podium and talk during the event.
“My fellow Americans, it’s nice to see you all, yet again. I’m not gonna lie, President Biden, they told me if I came up here, I’d get Tased. So, I’m going to go back to my spot,” Kelce joked.
Swift was not at the White House event.
Among the other players standing behind the president was kicker Harrison Butker, who has come under fire after his May 11 commencement speech at Benedictine College, a Catholic liberal arts college in Kansas.
Butker criticized Biden over his abortion stance, called Pride Month a “deadly sin” and told the school’s female graduates they had been told “the most diabolical lies.” The NFL distanced itself from Butker’s statements and said the league welcomes diversity.
No one publicly addressed Butker’s comments during the White House ceremony.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid told reporters they were honored to be welcomed by the president. Mahomes said he thought it was cool that Biden put the helmet on.
Josh Gibson of East is out at home in the fourth inning of the 12th annual East-West All Star Negro baseball game at Comiskey Park. Gibson was put out by Ted Radcliffe of the West. The West won, 7 to 4. — Bettmann/Contributor/Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — From the 1920s to the ’50s, Negro League Baseball (NLB) was the home for Black players who were segregated from the other, whites-only, baseball clubs. And for decades, the stats of those Black players were kept separate from the official Major League Baseball (MLB) record books.
That is, until Wednesday, when MLB officially merged the NLB stats with their own.
As a result, many MLB records have now been supplanted by the achievements of previously overlooked Black players.
Josh Gibson, for example, now holds the records for highest career batting average, with .372, surpassing Ty Cobb. Gibson’s .718 slugging percentage and 1.177 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) also beats the great Babe Ruth, according to ESPN, while his .459 career on-base percentage now ranks as the third-highest of all-time.
Another player who has made his way onto the updated list of power hitters is fellow Baseball Hall of Famer Norman “Turkey” Stearnes. One of the best hitters in NLB history, he boasted a .348 lifetime batting average and 21 more home runs than Gibson, with 186.
Stearnes’ granddaughter, Vanessa Ivy Rose, spoke with “Start Here” about her reaction to hearing the news about the merger.
START HERE: You’ve been talking about this issue for a long time. You even hosted a season of ABC’s podcast “Reclaimed” on this, called “The Forgotten League.” What was your reaction to hearing this news today?
Vanessa Ivy Rose: To be honest, I was stunned. I mean, it felt like a dream come true. And I was so happy and so proud of my grandfather, who obviously is no longer here. But to see that he’s getting this recognition, this visibility – and it’s not just about him, but about his brothers and sisters who played in the Negro Leagues, too, as well. To see them actually be introduced to the mainstream public in this way and being cemented as legends. I mean, this was unbelievable. I’m still taking it all in. I can’t believe it.
START HERE: In the show, you talk about your grandfather’s legacy: what it means to your family, what it means to baseball as a whole. What is your family’s reaction today, first, and also what have they said about your grandfather in the past?
Vanessa Ivy Rose: You know, it really starts with my grandmother. I have to talk about her first, because my grandfather passed away in 1979 and my grandmother is no longer with us but in 1979, she started writing letters to advocate for my grandfather to be in the Hall of Fame, to make sure that people knew who he was outside of our family and outside of historians. So I know she’s in heaven jumping for joy right now and just celebrating, hopefully with Grandpa Turkey, too. They’re probably just so ecstatic to see this and to see it come to fruition.
My mom, Joyce, and my aunt, Rosalyn, have been advocating for so long – giving speeches, talking about things pertaining to my grandfather’s legacy and talking about his story. And so to have everybody across the country be able to see Turkey Stearne’s name and know that he can kind of become a household name now is just unbelievable.
START HERE: Speaking of everybody seeing his name, your grandfather in these new stats is now sixth in all-time batting average. He’s sixth in all-time slugging percentage. He was a great baseball player. But those stats that have got him on to these record books now, they haven’t changed for decades. So why, in your view, has this recognition taken so long?
Vanessa Ivy Rose: Well, the Negro League’s history has been hidden for quite some time, and when we look at the Negro League’s players, we would always think of them in terms of, like, the mainstream. He’s like a hidden figure, you know, my grandfather is, and also all the other players who came along with him. But everyone knows Jackie Robinson. That’s the name that they remember, that’s the name that they see, and that’s a face that they can recognize.
I think the stats have been hidden for quite some time because they’ve been cast away. They were deemed as unimportant. The segregation of the league actually had people thinking, “Okay, why should we care about these people? They don’t matter.”
We talked to Bob Kendrick, who’s the president of the Negro League’s Baseball Museum for the podcast, to get a better sense of the history behind the Negro Leagues. So now that people actually know the Negro Leagues were there and they can go back and look at some of the history that we can find – because a lot of it has been lost to time and a lot of those statistics are not able to be found, a lot of the box scores and different things – this opportunity for people to actually see, “Okay. Wow! Look at these players. They were excellent!” as you mentioned. They’re some of the greatest of all time. They should have been playing in the major leagues all along.
START HERE: In your podcast, one of the images that struck me the most was the plaque of your grandfather, and the fact that his plaque is on the outside of Tiger Stadium, while the other Tiger greats, the other Detroit greats, are on the inside of Tiger Stadium. So, I guess that leads to my question of, as you mentioned, this league was repeatedly overlooked. There has been this big victory now with these stats, but is there more to do in your eyes?
Vanessa Ivy Rose: You know, in terms of the plaque, It’s an amazing plaque. I go visit it every time I go down to Comerica Park. I was just there Sunday and went over to granddad and kissed it and told him that I loved him because, , he wore number 8 and actually the game that we were at, the Toronto Blue Jays went up on us in the 8th inning, 11 to 9. And number 8, Matt Verley, came up in the bottom of the 9th and hit a home run to win the game for us. And I was like—
START HERE: He was right there with you.
Vanessa Ivy Rose: Right there with us, you know? So, he’s always there. People do ask, “How come it’s outside instead of inside?” And the main reasoning behind it in terms of what the Tigers told us at the time was because he wasn’t a Detroit Tiger, he was a Detroit star, he didn’t get a statue inside of Comerica Park where they have all those other Tiger greats: Ty Cobb, Hank Greenberg, and so on and so forth, right?
It still hurts. It’s like a bittersweet thing. It’s amazing. The plaque is unbelievable outside, but we wish grandpa had been a Detroit Tiger because he belonged there, clearly, with the stats that we see now.
START HERE: Aside from that, is there more to be done just across the league, in your view, in recognizing, the Negro Leagues?
Vanessa Ivy Rose: Yeah. You know, the work never ends. And so when we’re looking at the game of baseball and trying to grow the game of baseball and looking at how many Black kids are playing baseball, or just the fact that the Negro Leagues today are being talked about, and like I said, even educators that I know are walking up to me today going, “Wow, this is amazing.” But they just learned about Turkey Stearnes literally because of the podcast or literally just this year. And these are educated people with master’s degrees and everything, right? So we’re missing that piece overall in terms of education. And that’s what this is going to provide: the opportunity for people to learn more and to see what they didn’t learn, what was left out on purpose. And so baseball has the opportunity to not just be a sport, but it’s going to be transformative and provide education for people to help this world be better.
START HERE: Vanessa Ivy Rose, the granddaughter of Turkey Stearnes, the host of “The Forgotten League.” Check it out. Thank you so much for your time today.
Vanessa Ivy Rose: Thank you so much for having me. It’s such an honor.
