🔥 The Ohtani Cover Up

🎰 Shohei Ohtani’s gambling scandal keeps getting weirder. A new 30 for 30 podcast series on the Ohtani betting saga revealed a string of new details about the Dodgers star’s involvement in an illegal California gambling operation. It was already fishy how quickly this all got swept under the rug by MLB, but it’s sounding more and more like a last-minute cover-up from the Ohtani camp.

• After receiving a tip that Ohtani had made payments to an illegal bookie, ESPN reporter Tisha Thompson interviewed Ohtani’s interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara. He admitted that he was the one who made the bets, but that Ohtani knew about all of his gambling debts and agreed to help pay them off (what a good friend).
  

• Right before ESPN was supposed to publish its story, Mizuhara completely recanted his statement and said Ohtani knew nothing about it. Less than 24 hours after calmly explaining how Shohei sat with him and made the wire transfers to the bookie, he suddenly claimed that he made it all up. Mizuhara is now serving a five-year prison sentence for theft and bank fraud.
  

• My best guess: Ippei realized he had accidentally thrown his best friend under the bus for wire fraud (and that he would be facing jail time), got pushed to recant his statement, and will now come out of prison to a very healthy-looking bank account. 

🍺 Tony Romo went from embarrassing himself at a semi-pro golf tournament to a DUI. The former Cowboys QB (and everyone’s least favourite NFL analyst) had a tough go at the Wisconsin Amateur, shooting a +35 over his four rounds to finish T78. We don’t know for sure, but it sounds like Romo had a few post-round cocktails to commiserate his terrible round, got in his truck, and was eventually pulled over for weaving through lanes. 

• Romo told the officer that he was on the way to see “Grandma and Grandpa” (he has no living grandparents) and refused a breathalyzer.
  

• He did, however, agree to do a field sobriety test in a parking garage. In the most Tony Romo way possible, he warmed up and stretched for the vertical line test like he was about to take the field against the Eagles.

🏀 LeBron is heading to Philly (kind of). LeRetirement has been postponed for at least two years after James signed an $8 million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers. Some people were shocked that he’d choose Philly after eight seasons in sunny California, but it sounds like he won’t be spending much time in his new home. LeBron will reportedly commute to games from Manhattan via helicopter, which by some estimates will cost him a quarter of his salary. 

• I really hope the Sixers sign Bronny so we can at least get a father-son carpool going with the chopper. 

✂️ Bijan Robinson is sitting out of training camp until he gets a new contract. I think the Falcons front office probably saw his new haircut and told him he could go play somewhere else next year. 

🧨 A Minor League Baseball firework show quickly turned into a game of ‘dodge the on-fire projectile’. Looks like the ballpark staff forgot the golden rule of fireworks: Aim them up. This is why Minor League baseball rocks — something like this genuinely happens every week. 

• As proof of that point, here’s the mascot for the Dodgers AAA team accidentally running over a player on a scooter. 

💰 Macklin Celebrini is now the richest man in hockey. The Sharks gave their 20-year-old phenom a new five-year deal worth $18 million a year, the highest annual salary in NHL history. It will always be ridiculous that one of hockey’s brightest stars is still making less money than Javier Baez, Tobias Harris, and Geno Smith. 

⛳️ 21-year-old Jackson Koivun won the 3M Open in his third-ever PGA start. He’s barely old enough to drink, but he just fended off world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler to earn his first PGA Tour win, shooting a tournament record 25-under. Not a bad way to start your career (the $1.5 million cheque doesn't hurt either). 

💵 LIV lives to see another day. Despite losing $6 billion since launching in 2022, the LIV golf league has reportedly found $250 million in new investment to stay afloat. LIV has already cancelled events and refused to pay vendors after the Saudi wealth fund pulled its funding a few months ago. They may not be dead quite yet, but without the cash to dangle nine-figure deals in front of star players, there may not be much to save. 

⚾️ There are few sounds in the world as sweet as a home run off the bat of Yordan Alvarez. I’ve watched this video 30 times. This just doesn’t seem real. 

Alright, that’s enough for one Friday.

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