Sports briefs
By NewsPress Now
Shohei Ohtani says
he never bet on sports
LOS ANGELES | Shohei Ohtani said Monday he never bet on sports or knowingly paid any gambling debts accumulated by his longtime interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara.
Instead, the Los Angeles Dodgers star claims his close friend lied to him for years and stole millions from the two-time MVP.
Ohtani gave his version of events during a news conference at Dodger Stadium, five days after Mizuhara was fired by the Dodgers following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well over $1 million.
“I am very saddened and shocked someone whom I trusted has done this,” the Japanese star said while sitting next to Will Ireton, the team’s manager of performance operations, who translated.
“Ippei has been stealing money from my account and has been telling lies,” Ohtani said. “I never bet on sports or have willfully sent money to the bookmaker.”
Ohtani spoke for nearly 12 minutes in a small room packed with dozens of reporters, describing several ways in which Mizuhara deceived him. Wearing a Dodgers cap and sweatshirt, Ohtani read quickly in Japanese from a document and did not take questions.
Ohtani still attempted to answer the most important question by repeatedly emphasizing he was never knowingly involved in gambling. He provided no details on how Mizuhara might have been able to steal his money to pay gambling debts.
“I never bet on baseball or any other sports or never have asked somebody to do it on my behalf, and I have never gone through a bookmaker to bet on sports. and was never asked to assist betting payment for anyone else,” Ohtani said.
Ohtani left the Los Angeles Angels in December to sign a record $700 million, 10-year contract with the Dodgers. Ohtani and Mizuhara had been daily companions since Ohtani joined the Angels in 2018 until last week, when Mizuhara’s gambling became public.
The IRS has confirmed that Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office.
Mizuhara told ESPN on March 19 that Ohtani paid his gambling debts at the interpreter’s request, saying the bets were on international soccer, the NBA, the NFL and college football. MLB rules prohibit players and team employees from wagering — even legally — on baseball, and also ban betting on other sports with illegal or offshore bookmakers.
ESPN said Mizuhara changed his story the following day, claiming Ohtani had no knowledge of the gambling debts and had not transferred any money to bookmakers.
“All of this has been a complete lie,” Ohtani said. “Ippei obviously basically didn’t tell me about the media inquiry. So Ippei has been telling everyone around that he has been communicating with me on this account to the media and my team, and that hasn’t been true.”
Ohtani said he first became aware of Mizuhara’s gambling problem during a team meeting after last Wednesday’s season-opening victory over San Diego in Seoul, South Korea.
Ohtani said the meeting was a shock — and because Mizuhara was speaking to the team in English, Ohtani struggled to understand everything that was being said.
“Just prior to the meeting, I was told by Ippei, ‘Hey, let’s talk one to one in the hotel after the meeting,’” Ohtani said. “So up until that team meeting, I didn’t know that Ippei had a gambling addiction and was in debt. Obviously I never agreed to pay for the debt or make payments to the bookmaker, and finally when we went back to the hotel, that was when I found out that he had a massive debt, and it was revealed to me during that meeting that Ippei admitted that he was sending money using my account to the bookmaker. At that moment, it was an absurd thing that was happening and I contacted my representatives at that point.”
Ohtani spoke before the Dodgers’ second exhibition game against the Angels at Dodger Stadium. Ohtani was in the lineup, batting second as the Dodgers’ designated hitter.
“To summarize how I am feeling right now, I am just beyond shocked,” Ohtani said. “It is really hard to verbalize how I am feeling at this point. The season is going to start, so I am going to let my lawyers handle matters from here on out. I am completely assisting in all investigations the tare taking place right now.”
Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews is on pace for the NHL’s most goals in a season
Max Domi lined up for a faceoff in Washington, looked over at Alex Ovechkin and thought, “Wow, that’s going to be the greatest goal-scorer of all time.”
Then he looked over at Auston Matthews and realized his Toronto teammate could be in that discussion too.
That came in the middle of another two-goal game by Matthews, who has scored an NHL-leading 58 this season. Scoring 70 would require a goal-a-game tear down the stretch, which isn’t out of the realm of possibility by any means, but the U.S.-born center is on pace for 67, which would be the most in the NHL in nearly 30 years.
“We’ve got more stuff to worry about in our locker room as far as trying to build our game toward the end of the season and stuff,” Matthews said. “The individual stuff, obviously you want to accomplish stuff. You want to push yourself to be as great as you can. That’s what I try to do every night. I’m just going to continue to push and try to elevate my game towards the stretch and do what I can to help the team win.”
Ovechkin owns the single-season record for goals in the salary cap era, which began in 2005, when he scored 65 in 2007-08. That was after rule changes opened up the game, increased power plays and showcased a generation of talent led by the Capitals winger and Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby.
Matthews, Edmonton’s Connor McDavid and Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon have succeeded Ovechkin and Crosby in those starring roles. Matthews (two seasons ago) and McDavid (three times) have already won the Hart Trophy as MVP, and MacKinnon is among the leading candidates for it this year.
Ovechkin, who at 848 goals is 47 away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s career record, is rooting for Matthews to surpass his single-season mark.
“I’m cheering for him,” Ovechkin said last week. “Happy for him. I hope he gets it. Maybe 70, you never know. He’s a special player. It’s fun to watch.”
Not so fun to defend. Washington coach Spencer Carbery said after his team’s loss to Toronto, “We had zero answer for No. 34 tonight,” referring to Matthews’ jersey number that has become as associated with him as 8 for Ovechkin, 87 for Crosby, 97 for McDavid and 29 for MacKinnon.
Matthews has scored 60 in a season once and, given the Maple Leafs’ propensity for offense, it would be foolish to rule out a run that gets him to 70 before the playoffs begin.
“Just the way that he plays off the puck, plays to get pucks back, he’s always there in support,” teammate Bobby McMann said. “It’s easy to play with him, and there’s a reason he’s scoring so many.”
So many that there’s already buzz about whether Ovechkin’s time as hockey’s all-time leading goal-scorer, if he gets there, could be short-lived. Matthews is actually outpacing him at this point in their careers, with 357 goals in his first 550 games compared to Ovechkin’s 338.
“It’s crazy to think that Alex can break Wayne’s record, potentially, hopefully, and then Auston’s going to be sniffing at that, too,” Domi said. “It’s really special for guys like us to be able to play on the same ice surface as those guys and have fun and enjoy the moment because those are two generational talents.”
Ex-NBA guard Ben
Gordon gets program
that could erase charges
Former NBA guard Ben Gordon, who was arrested after a Connecticut juice shop disturbance last year, could see the charges erased from his record under a probation program approved by a judge Monday.
Gordon, who also helped lead UConn to the NCAA national championship in 2004, will be in the supervised program until September 2025. Weapons and threatening charges will be erased if he does not commit any crimes and follows other conditions during the 18-month probation.
Born in England and raised in Mount Vernon, New York, Gordon was arrested in April 2023 — on his 40th birthday and just hours after UConn won its fifth NCAA men’s basketball championship — at the Juice Kings shop in Stamford.
Police said several 911 callers reported that Gordon was acting aggressively and bizarrely. Gordon continued to act erratically when officers arrived, and they forced him to the ground and handcuffed him outside the store, authorities said.
Police said Gordon had a folding knife clipped to his pocket, as well as a stun gun and brass knuckles in his backpack.
His lawyer, Darnell Crosland, said Gordon has struggled with mental health problems but is doing much better. He said Gordon became upset at the juice shop when his bank card was declined, even though he had plenty of money in his account. The anger was exacerbated by a special diet he was on, Crosland said.
“Today we’re very happy to learn that this disposition paved the way for these charges to be dismissed,” Crosland said in a phone interview Monday. “He was ecstatic because there are so many things that he is considering doing, such as finishing his degree at UConn.”
Crosland said Gordon has attended 55 psychotherapy sessions since his arrest.
Former UConn coach Jim Calhoun wrote a letter to the court in Stamford supporting Gordon.
“On both the personal and professional levels, I consider Ben to be an outstanding individual,” Calhoun wrote. “He is intelligent and thoughtful with a high degree of professionalism. Ben has been taking a course of therapy to deal with his past issues. Ben and his family continue to be part of my life.”
The third overall pick in the 2004 NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls, Gordon played 11 seasons in the league. As a rookie for the Bulls, he won the NBA’s Sixth Man Award. After five seasons in Chicago, he went on to play for Detroit, Charlotte and Orlando.
Gordon has talked and written about his bipolar disorder and depression, which he said have played roles in his arrests.
In other brushes with the law, Gordon was charged in October 2022 with punching his son at New York’s LaGuardia Airport. In November 2022, he was charged with a misdemeanor in Chicago on allegations he punched a McDonald’s security guard.
Gordon pleaded guilty in the New York and Chicago cases, with the plea deals calling for no jail time, according to news reports.
In January, Gordon was on hand as UConn honored its 2004 national championship team during halftime of a home game in Hartford.
NBA opens
investigation into Raptors’ Jontay Porter
The NBA has opened an investigation into Toronto two-way player Jontay Porter amid gambling allegations, a person with knowledge of the probe said Monday night.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because neither the league nor the Raptors had revealed the issue publicly.
ESPN first reported the investigation, which it said included Porter’s performance in games on Jan. 26 and March 20. In both games, Porter played briefly before leaving citing injury or illness; he played 4 minutes and 24 seconds against the Los Angeles Clippers in the first of those games, then played 2:43 against Sacramento in the second game.
In both cases, he did not come close to hitting the prop-wager lines for points, rebounds and 3-pointers that bettors could play. ESPN said the props surrounding Porter for the Clippers game were 5.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists; he finished with no points, three rebounds and one assist. For the Kings game, they were around 7.5 points and 5.5 rebounds; Porter finished that game with no points and two rebounds.
Porter was away from the Raptors for Monday’s home game against Brooklyn, citing personal reasons. He also was out for Saturday’s loss at Washington, again for personal reasons. His locker was empty ahead of Monday’s game against the Nets, although his nameplate was still in place.
The 24-year-old Porter, the brother of Denver forward Michael Porter, is averaging 4.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 26 games, including five starts. The 6-foot-10 Porter also played in 11 games for Memphis in the 2020-21 season.
Caroline Garcia ousts Coco Gauff to reach Miami Open quarterfinals
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. | U.S. Open champion and third-seeded Coco Gauff is out of the Miami Open, beaten in three sets by No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 on Monday.
In the men’s draw, top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz advanced to the fourth round with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Gael Monfils.
Garcia defeated her second straight Grand Slam champion to reach Miami’s quarterfinals. She ousted four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka 7-6 (4), 7-5 on Sunday.
Garcia said it had been a while since she had a victory over a top-10 opponent like Gauff.
“You keep working and trying to stay positive about what’s coming, that it’s going to pay off,” she said. “Sometimes, it’s very hard. But I’m lucky enough to have very good people behind me to help me and stay positive when I’m struggling.”
“It means a lot to have this little reward and keep going in the tournament,” she said.
Also moving into the quarterfinals was No. 4 seed Elena Rybakina, who defeated 17th-seeded American Madison Keys 6-3, 7-5.
Rybakina will next face No. 8 seed Maria Sakkari, who advanced to her second Miami Open quarterfinal when Anna Kalinskaya, seeded 22nd, withdrew with a right thigh injury.
Victoria Azarenka, who’s won the Australian Open twice, made the quarterfinals with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Katie Boulter.
Yulia Putintseva also advanced, defeating No. 27 seed Anhalina Kalinina straight sets, 6-4, 7-6 (5).
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek and No. 5 seed Jessica Pegula both play Monday night.
Alexander Zverev, the fourth seed, defeated Christopher Eubanks 7-6 (4), 6-3 to advance into the third round.
No. 9 seed Alex de Minaur beat Jan-Lennard Struff 7-6 (3), 6-4.
—From AP reports
