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MLB Investigating Ohtani & Interpreter

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NEW YORK – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Major League Baseball announced Friday that it has opened an investigation into the allegations involving Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara.

Two days after the Dodgers fired Mizuhara, the league said it has been gathering information about the incident. Mizuhara was accused of “massive theft” on Wednesday by Ohtani’s lawyers after it was learned that at least $4.5 million of Ohtani’s money had been sent through wire transfers to a bookmaking operation under federal investigation.

According to ESPN, MLB is expected to request interviews with everyone involved in the matter, including Ohtani and Mizuhara. But the league has no way to compel Mizuhara to speak since he’s no longer employed by a team.

Ohtani also has the right to refuse to speak with the league as a member of the MLB Players Association, and he may do so because of the ongoing criminal investigation.

When news first broke of the wire transfers, Ohtani’s lawyers said the Dodgers slugger had paid Mizuhara’s gambling debts but then accused him of making those transfers without Ohtani’s knowledge.

The IRS said Thursday that Mizuhara and the alleged illegal bookmaker, Mathew Bowyer, are being investigated by the agency’s Los Angeles field office.

Mizuhara has been interpreting for Ohtani since the two-way superstar debuted with the Los Angeles Angels in 2017.

Ohtani signed a record-setting 10-year, $700 million with the Dodgers in December after batting .304 with an American League-leading 44 homers and 95 RBIs in 2023, when he earned his second AL MVP.

–Field Level Media

Oakland YAYS

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PITTSBURGH – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Oakland University was so far off the map before Thursday that casual fans of the NCAA Tournament needed reminding the school is in Michigan — not California.

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The Golden Grizzlies received the No. 14 seed in the South Region, knocked off third-seeded Kentucky and became the latest small school to enter the March Madness pantheon.

“This changed everything,” coach Greg Kampe said Thursday. “There’s nobody in the country that doesn’t know what Oakland basketball is.”

Either Oakland or No. 11 seed North Carolina State will extend a stunning run to the Sweet 16 when they face off in the second round of the tournament Saturday.

Kampe has led Oakland (24-11) for 40 seasons, far longer than the school has competed at the Division I level. The Golden Grizzlies’ 80-76 upset of Kentucky marked the first time the program won a game in the Round of 64.

Jack Gohlke knocked down 10 of 20 3-point shots, becoming the fifth player in NCAA Tournament history to make double-digit 3s in a game. He scored 32 points, and Trey Townsend added 17 points and 12 rebounds after he posted up and made a turnaround jumper over 7-footer Ugonna Onyenso in the final minutes.

“It’s such a great thing to see our fanbase travel,” said Townsend, who averages 16.9 points, 7.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists. “We wanted Pittsburgh (or) Indianapolis because we knew they would travel if they could drive … Seeing them out there, my parents are here, my dad is right back there. To win with them here was a special thing for sure and we’re definitely not done yet.”

One question for Saturday’s game against the Wolfpack (23-14) is how the Golden Grizzlies will match up against NC State’s DJ Burns Jr., all 6-foot-9, 275 pounds of him.

Burns has been on a heater for NC State, which won five games in five days to storm through the ACC tournament before beating No. 6 Texas Tech 80-67 on Thursday. Burns has shot 24-of-34 for 55 points over his past three games.

“He was a local star for a whole year and now everybody in the national media is starting to understand that,” NC State coach Kevin Keatts said. “I mean, he’s just fun. He scores and he gets beat up all the time. And he’s almost gotta play through contact. But it is so fun to watch him.

“And you know, I consider him a closer for us. We put him in the game, and he closes the game.”

While four Wolfpack players have done the majority of the scoring this year — DJ Horne (16.9 ppg), Burns (12.5), Jayden Taylor (11.6) and Casey Morsell (11.4) — contributions are coming from up and down the bench.

Both Ben Middlebrooks (21 points) and Mohamed Diarra (17) put up career-high totals against Texas Tech, and Michael O’Connell scored in double figures in all five games of the ACC tournament before dishing six assists Thursday.

NC State and Oakland likely can appreciate one another’s paths to the Round of 32. Both teams, of course, are hungry for more.

“The whole thing down the stretch has been, once we knew we had won a ring, the whole banter in the locker room has been, what’s it going to say on that ring, right?” Kampe said. “What’s it going to say on that ring: just Horizon League champ? NCAA? Sweet 16? Final Four? I’ve put that thought in their mind, and they’ve really battled for it, and they understand that their life got changed (Thursday), but it could get changed a hell of a lot more if we keep this thing going.”

– Field Level Media

Baseball Starts Season in Seoul

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SEOUL – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Major League Baseball’s regular season begins Wednesday in Seoul, South Korea, and Tuesday the league announced the starting pitchers for that game and the 15 Opening Day games that will be played March 28.

No fewer than 20 of the 30 pitchers named are All-Stars, and four of the Opening Day starters will be appearing with a new team.

Those staff aces making their debuts for their new teams are Corbin Burnes of the Baltimore Orioles, Tyler Glasnow of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Frankie Montas of the Cincinnati Reds and Alex Wood of the Oakland Athletics.

In the Seoul Series opener, at 6:05 a.m. ET, Glasnow and the Dodgers meet Yu Darvish and the San Diego Padres with the teams playing again 24 hours later.

MLB Network will have all the preview material for Opening Day covered with nine studio shows airing March 27.

Highlighting the March 28 slate is the lone interleague matchup, ESPN’s national broadcast between last season’s World Series champion Texas Rangers and the Chicago Cubs in Arlington, Texas.

The Rangers will send right-hander Nathan Eovaldi against Cubs lefty Justin Steele.

The Dodgers, favorites to win the 2024 World Series, return from Seoul to host the St. Louis Cardinals March 28.

Prized free-agent acquisition Shohei Ohtani is expected to play his first home game for the Dodgers in that contest, an MLB Network-televised matchup against Cardinals right-hander Miles Mikolas.

A pair of leading American League contenders meet in Houston when the New York Yankees send Nestor Cortes against the Astros’ Framber Valdez.

There are also six divisional contests, highlighted by the Philadelphia Phillies’ visit to the Atlanta Braves in a rematch of the National League Division Series. The Phillies will send Zack Wheeler to the mound while ace Spencer Strider takes the bump for the Braves.

The Braves and Phillies combined to win 194 games last season.

–Field Level Media

Boston Back-to-Back: Wizards & Pistons

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Boston Celtics will have a chance to improve the NBA’s best record when they face the visiting Detroit Pistons on Monday night. Boston (53-14) was missing three starters but extended its winning streak to five games with a 130-104 victory over the Washington Wizards on the road Sunday.

The Celtics played without center Kristaps Porzingis (right hamstring strain) and guards Jaylen Brown (ankle) and Derrick White (hand). Porzingis hasn’t played in Boston’s last five games.

Sam Hauser made 10 of 13 3-point attempts and tossed in 30 points before he left the game with an ankle injury in the third quarter. Payton Pritchard had a career-high 13 assists in the win.

“Just trying to play the right type of basketball – what we’ve been trying to do all year,” Pritchard said. “When I have the ball in my hands always trying to get my guys easy shots. I tell people all the time Sam is one of the top shooters in the league, so for us anytime he’s open we have to find him. It’s almost automatic. It was a good team win.”

Boston center Al Horford is unlikely to suit up Monday since he has not played in games on back-to-back nights this season.

The Pistons and Wizards are battling to stay out of the NBA’s cellar. The Pistons (12-55) are 14th in the Eastern Conference, one spot ahead of the Wizards (11-57), who own the league’s worst record.

Detroit is coming off Sunday’s 104-101 home loss to Miami. Evan Fournier scored a season-high 18 points for the Pistons. Cade Cunningham added 17 points and nine assists for Detroit, but went 1-for-6 from beyond the 3-point arc.

MIami prevailed when Bam Adebayo made a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

“When you lose a game like that it’s hard to come down on the guys about anything,” Pistons coach Monty Williams said. “We battled when it didn’t look great. We executed some situations well defensively, holding them to 25 points (in the fourth quarter) and the point total in the second half (44 points) speaks for itself. We had a chance to win a big-time game at home.”

Miami’s Duncan Robinson made 7 of 12 3-pointers and scored 30 points. The Heat outscored the Pistons 39-27 in the second quarter. Miami also beat Detroit 108-95 on Friday.

“It wasn’t so much our scheme as it was our awareness of who was hot in the situation,” Williams said. “Robinson just hit shot after shot, and we didn’t switch well onto him. He even got stuff at the basket, which is not what he’s known for. We did not have great awareness of his scoring ability in the second.

“We have to be more of a consistent team. We brought that up last game in the shoot-around, how consistency helps you keep your rhythm. We just haven’t been that consistent these last two games.”

Monday’s game will be the second time the Celtics and Pistons have met this season. Boston overcame a 21-point deficit to earn a 128-122 overtime victory in Boston on Dec. 28. Porzingis led all scorers with 35 points in the last meeting, and White tossed in 10 of his 23 points in overtime. Cunningham had 31 points and nine assists for Detroit.

The teams also will face each other Friday night in Detroit.

–Field Level Media

NFL Report: Patriots Sign KJ Osborn

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FOXBOROUGH – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The New England Patriots are bringing aboard one of the top remaining free agent receivers, signing former Minnesota Vikings wideout K.J. Osborn, according to multiple reports Sunday.

Osborn played a complementary role to standout Justin Jefferson in Minnesota, recording 158 receptions for 1,845 yards over the past three seasons.

He started 30 of his 59 games with the Vikings, contributing 15 touchdown receptions.

Osborn, who turns 27 in June, was a fifth-round pick by Minnesota in 2020.

The Patriots, who traded quarterback Mac Jones during this offseason, are likely to draft a QB with their first-round pick (No. 3 overall). New England’s receiver room is led by JuJu Smith-Schuster, Kendrick Bourne and Jalen Reagor.

–Field Level Media

Celtics Face Lowly Wizards Tonight

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WASH DC – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Teams at opposite ends of the NBA standings will meet Sunday evening when the Boston Celtics visit the Washington Wizards. Then, add to that equation with the fact it’s not a great idea to schedule a game against the Celtics on St. Patrick’s Day.

Boston (52-14) will look to improve on the league’s best record. The Celtics extended their winning streak to four games by beating the visiting Phoenix Suns 127-112 on Thursday.

The Wizards (11-56) have lost three in a row, 19 of their past 21 and own the worst record in the NBA.

For the Celtics, Jaylen Brown remained hot by scoring a game-high 37 points in Thursday’s victory over the Suns. Brown is averaging 28.9 points per game since the All-Star break.

“We’re all in this together, from the organization to the coaches to the players,” Brown said. “I think that’s what creates the environment is the respect level. There’s no hierarchies. We all come together and come to work, and everybody comes to do their job.

“Joe (Boston coach Joe Mazzulla) sets the tone just being prepared, first. He’s diligent. And then he allows us to be who we are. We’ve been very well-coached, we’ve been disciplined, and we haven’t had so many lapses this season.”

Boston tied its season-high by making 25 3-pointers against the Suns. Al Horford was 6 of 10 on 3-point attempts and finished with a season-high 24 points.

“I think we did a good job reading the game quickly, and then also our guys getting to the paint, and then the rest of us kind of benefited from that,” Horford said. “So they were attacking at the paint, and then once the defense converges, they’re kicking the ball out, and we continued to do that time in and time out. It seemed like we made the right play for most of the night.”

The Wizards are coming off Saturday’s 127-98 setback at Chicago, which dropped Washington’s record to 4-20 under interim head coach Brian Keefe. Corey Kispert led Washington with 16 points and Bilal Coulibaly added 15.

Washington’s Deni Avdija was a late scratch and didn’t play against the Bulls because of a right knee contusion. Kispert replaced Avdija in the starting lineup.

“He (Avdija) warmed up, but he couldn’t go by the end,” Keefe said.

Washington also was without Tyus Jones, who missed his first game of the season with a back injury.

“They hurt us deep in the paint,” Keefe said. “They were able to get the ball in the paint, score in the paint (and) offensive rebound in the paint. We probably didn’t do enough with resistance early in the game, but as the game grew, our fight actually got better. I was pleased with that.”

Boston has been without center Kristaps Porzingis for its past four games. Porzingis is dealing with a strained right hamstring, and Mazzulla said his status is day-to-day.

“Regardless of who’s in, who’s out, I think what you’ve seen is we’ve played a certain level of basketball, and that’s the most important thing,” Mazzulla said. “You create an environment in the locker room where guys are out, but you can maintain your level of physicality and your level of play on both sides of the ball. It’s the most important thing.”

Sunday’s game will be the third meeting between the teams this season. Boston prevailed 126-107 at Washington on Oct. 30, plus 133-129 in Boston on Feb. 9. The teams will play their final game of the season on April 14 in Boston.

–Field Level Media

UConn, 31-3, Might Run the Table

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NEW YORK – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Saturday’s results broke exactly how they needed to for the defending national champions. Those results caused a 180-degree opposite turn for St. John’s, Providence and Seton Hall – all the BIG EAST rivals who are likely to miss the big dance at the NCAA men’s basketball tournament which starts Tuesday in Dayton, Ohio.

No. 3 Purdue lost to Wisconsin in overtime in the Big Ten tournament semifinals while No. 7 Iowa State pasted No. 1 Houston for the Big 12 championship. Big East No. 1 and national No. 2 UConn took care of business in a hot-shooting second half to beat 10th-ranked Marquette 73-57, sweeping the Big East regular-season and postseason titles.

On the other end of the bracket spectrum, NC State upset Carolina, Oregon and Colorado will play for the PAC-12 title, Temple surprised all in the A-10 and the clouds settled over St. John’s coach Rick Pitino‘s home on a golf course he’ll soon be using daily.

At 31-3, UConn now could be in prime position to receive the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament on Selection Sunday. Coach Dan Hurley claimed that no team at the top of college basketball combined a successful nonconference stretch, a regular-season conference title and a tournament run the way the Huskies have.

“We’ve been the best team in college basketball,” Hurley said. “Obviously March Madness next week, who knows what goes on there, but we’ve clearly been the best program in the country this year.”

How did they do it? Contributions from up and down the roster — some returnees from last year’s championship team, some newcomers, all pulling on the same rope.

All five starters — Tristen Newton, Cam Spencer, Alex Karaban, Stephon Castle and Donovan Clingan — have taken turns leading the attack, and all five had double-figure scoring averages on the season. It was Clingan’s time on Saturday, pairing 22 points with 16 rebounds as he carried the team through a first half of cold perimeter shooting.

The 7-foot-2 Clingan filled the starting center role after Adama Sanogo went to the NBA. Now Clingan is a projected lottery pick this June along with Castle, while Karaban is projected to go in the second round by reputable mock drafts.

That’s to say nothing of Newton and Spencer, who both made the All-Big East first team.

“We’re deep, and we’re deep with NBA players that are unselfish and about winning,” Hurley said.

The Huskies rely on more than their starting five, though, and they needed to dig deep Saturday. Backup big man Samson Johnson provided a much-needed dunk after they went scoreless for the first 6:33 of the game. And with UConn hampered by a 2-for-15 start from 3-point range, freshman Jaylin Stewart delivered.

Stewart subbed in just before the midpoint of the second half and promptly buried a 3-pointer that gave UConn its first lead larger than four all night. Newton drilled a trey less than a minute later, and the floodgates burst.

Spurred on by the pro-UConn crowd at Madison Square Garden, Stewart made two more triples to finish the night with nine points, his second-best total this season. He hadn’t made a 3-pointer since Valentine’s Day.

“Our league is especially tough on freshmen because the league is so physical,” Hurley said. “But we see on a daily basis what he displayed out there on the court. … He’s a future star. You’re looking at a future star at UConn.”

Newton had 10 assists one night after going for 25 points and nine assists in the semifinals against St. John’s. UConn racked up 73 assists over its three-game stay in New York.

“Everybody runs and everybody can score,” Newton said. “Just share the ball, and it’ll be like that for a long time.”

If that adds up to a No. 1 overall seed for UConn, it would set the Huskies up with the simplest path back to the Final Four, as they try to become the first team to win back-to-back national championships since Florida in 2006-07.

“I know we’ve never gotten a No. 1 overall seed in program history,” Hurley said, “so this is a group that seems to be making history in a place that it’s hard to make history.”

–Field Level Media

UConn Earns No. 1 Seed in NCAA

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NEW YORK – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – UConn’s Donovan Clingan put up 22 points and 16 rebounds, Tristen Newton and Jaylin Stewart each drilled three critical 3-pointers and the BIG EAST’s top team and national No. 2 Connecticut Huskies  pulled away from No. 10 Marquette to win the Big East championship game 73-57 on Saturday night.

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The top-seeded Huskies claimed their first Big East tournament title since 2011, before the university left the conference from 2013-2020. After sweeping third-seeded Marquette during the regular season, UConn avenged a semifinal loss to the Golden Eagles in last year’s tournament.

UConn is likely to receive the No. 1 overall bid in this week’s NCAA tournament.

Newton had 13 points, 10 assists and five rebounds for UConn (31-3), which will be in the mix for the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. Stewart — a freshman who came in averaging 2.4 points per game — scored all nine of his points in the second half, when the Huskies overcame another slow start to shoot 63 percent from the floor.

UConn came out cold on offense, similar to its starts in the previous rounds against Xavier and St. John’s. A 19-5 second-half run powered by Newton and Stewart broke the game open.

Kam Jones tallied 13 points and eight rebounds and David Joplin added 12 points and six boards for the Golden Eagles (25-9), the defending conference tournament champions, who reached this year’s tournament final despite star guard Tyler Kolek sitting out all week with an oblique injury.

UConn missed its first eight attempts from the floor, including three layups, before Samson Johnson subbed in and dunked at the 13:27 mark. Marquette hardly took advantage at the other end, starting 2-for-11 from the floor.

Neither side led by more than four throughout the first half. The Huskies missed their first eight 3-point tries before going ahead 19-15 when Newton finally connected with 3:41 remaining.

Joplin deflected a pass for a steal and score, then blocked a shot that led to Jones’ 3-pointer at the other end to give Marquette a 22-21 advantage with 1:39 left.

After the teams traded baskets, Newton collected his dribble and knocked down another 3-pointer with three seconds left for a 26-24 UConn lead at the break.

Clingan’s catch and dunk through a foul prompted a brief UConn run that gave the Huskies a four-point lead. It wasn’t until Stewart connected from outside and Newton added a triple on consecutive possessions that the Huskies made it 47-41 with 9:27 to play.

Stewart knocked down his next two triples, Hassan Diarra added one and UConn’s flurry ultimately grew the lead to 60-44 with 5:54 left.

One last push by the Golden Eagles got them within 11 points down the stretch.

–Adam Zielonka, Field Level Media

Big East Final: It’s UConn vs Marquette

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NEW YORK – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – A little over a year ago, Marquette was the last team to defeat UConn before the latter stormed its way to a fifth national title.

The Huskies didn’t lose again that season and dominated their way to the top of the Big East in 2023-24.

On Saturday, 10th-ranked Marquette is the opponent standing in the way of the second-ranked Huskies, who will seek their first Big East title since returning to the league in 2020.

The Huskies (30-3) took their first loss since the Marquette semifinal game when they fell by four points at Kansas on Dec. 1. They also are seeking their first conference tournament title since Kemba Walker’s magical run led them to five wins in five days in 2011.

The top-seeded Huskies are on a six-game winning streak and advanced to Saturday’s final thanks to a prolific offense. After scoring 87 in a 27-point win over ninth-seeded Xavier in Thursday’s quarterfinals, UConn was challenged at times in a 95-90 win over fifth-seeded St. John’s on Friday.

The Huskies are ready to face third-seeded Marquette (25-8), which claimed a 70-68 win over UConn in last season’s conference semifinals.

Tristen Newton scored 20 of his 25 points in UConn’s 52-point opening half Friday and added nine assists. Cam Spencer contributed 20 points and nine assists for the Huskies, who shot 57.4 percent from the floor, sank 11 3-pointerss and collected 23 assists.

“These are the environments that you want to play in,” Spencer said. “It’s a high-level basketball game, working towards something that we’ve worked for all year, and it’s — the Big East championship is something that we want to go get. Probably one of the highest, I guess, more intense games of this year, and rightfully so.”

Marquette is playing without Tyler Kolek due to an oblique injury. The guard could be out again for its second appearance in the title game, although he has begun practicing and is expected to play in the NCAA Tournament.

“We’ve played through a lot of adversity,” Marquette coach Shaka Smart said. “Obviously (Saturday) is going to a heck of a challenge for us.”

The Golden Eagles lost two of their final three regular-season games and opened the tournament with wins over Villanova and Providence. After allowing an average of 69.7 points a game during the regular season, the Golden Eagles allowed 65 and 68 in their tournament games and received clutch showings from Kam Jones and Oso Ighodaro.

Jones scored 23 points in Friday’s 79-68 win over the Friars and helped the Golden Eagles lead for virtually the entire way and fend off a late comeback attempt. Ighodaro added 20 vs. Providence after scoring his lone basket in overtime against Villanova on Thursday.

UConn dominated the first meeting against Marquette this season when the Huskies rolled to an 81-53 victory on Feb. 17 in Hartford, Conn. The Huskies held off a comeback attempt in their 74-67 win on March 6 in Milwaukee.

“Obviously UConn has some good players, has a good team,” Marquette’s Stevie Mitchell said. “So we’re obviously going to watch film, learn from previous games against them, and learn from this game and continue to move forward, but I think being the best version of ourselves is what we’re really focusing on the most.”

–Larry Fleisher, Field Level Media

Big East: Marquette Clears Way to Final

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NEW YORK – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Kam Jones scored 23 points as No. 10 Marquette led virtually the entire way and defeated Providence 79-68 Friday night in the semifinals of the Big East tournament.

The third-seeded Golden Eagles (25-8) advanced to their second title game and will attempt to win back-to-back titles when they face UConn, the top seed. UConn, which took a two-point loss to Marquette in last season’s semifinals, advanced earlier Friday with a 95-90 win over St. John’s.

A night after his buzzer-beater was waved off in regulation against Villanova, Jones shot 9-of-17 from the field and made several big plays down the stretch to fend off Providence’s comebacks.

Oso Ighodaro added 20 points after making just one basket against Villanova late in overtime. David Joplin contributed 12 and Stevie Mitchell chipped in 10 as Marquette shot 45.6 percent and withstood the absence of Tyler Kolek due to an oblique injury.

Providence (21-13), the seventh seed, entered with a NET rating of 57 and fell to 6-9 in Quad 1 games. The Friars were unable to consistently find their offense after upending Georgetown and Creighton to start the tournament.

Devin Carter kept the Friars in it by scoring 20 of his 27 points after halftime to lead all scorers. Jayden Pierre added 16 and Josh Oduro contributed nine and 10 rebounds before fouling out. Ticket Gaines had 10 rebounds but was held to two points on 0-of-9 shooting as Providence shot 36.4 percent.

Marquette surged ahead with a 17-2 burst and took its first double-digit lead when Ighodaro’s easy jumper made it 28-18 with just under seven minutes left. The lead grew to 35-18 on his dunk with 4:11 left.

The Friars withstood the run and got the deficit down to 40-31 on Corey Floyd Jr.’s three-point play with 13 seconds left, but Joplin was fouled on a 3-point try with one second left and made two free throws.

Carter’s 3 following an offensive rebound by Gaines moved Providence within 46-39 a little more than two minutes into the second half. The Friars missed six straight shots and Ben Gold’s 3 capped an 8-0 Marquette run with 13:29 remaining.

Providence gradually rallied, and consecutive hoops by Carter cut the lead to 68-65 with 4:35 left.

Jones hit a turnaround jumper with 3:13 left and scored again with 96 seconds to go for a 74-68 lead.

–Larry Fleisher, Field Level Media