The Sports Report: Interpreter for Shohei Ohtani accused of massive theft
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Representatives of Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani on Wednesday accused his interpreter of engaging in a “massive theft” of the ballplayer’s funds to place bets with an allegedly illegal bookmaker who is the target of a federal investigation.
Lawyers for Ohtani made that claim after The Times learned that Ohtani’s name had surfaced in the investigation of Mathew Bowyer, an Orange County resident. Ohtani’s representatives looked into the actions of the interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, in response to The Times’ queries, a source close to the matter said. Two sources told the newspaper that the money involved was in the millions of dollars.
In a statement, the West Hollywood law firm Berk Brettler said, “In the course of responding to recent media inquiries, we discovered that Shohei has been the victim of a massive theft and we are turning the matter over to the authorities.”
Attempts to reach Mizuhara were unsuccessful. Mizuhara placed bets with Bowyer, according to the sources, who requested anonymity to share sensitive information.
Ohtani, a global sensation who signed a record 10-year, $700-million contract with the Dodgers in December after playing six years with the Angels, could not be reached for comment. He is with the Dodgers in Seoul for a season-opening series against the San Diego Padres.
Major League Baseball has not been contacted by prosecutors, a spokesman said.
Bowyer has not been charged with a crime, his attorney, Irvine-based Diane Bass, said. Federal agents raided Bowyer’s San Juan Capistrano home last year as part of the investigation.
Bass told The Times that Bowyer never had contact with Ohtani. “Mathew Bowyer never met, spoke with, or texted, or had contact in any way with Shohei Ohtani,” she said.
Dodgers catch a break with Jake Cronenworth’s glove, rally for opening-day win vs. Padres
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CLIPPERS
From Broderick Turner: There was a stretch this season when the Clippers went 25-5 and put the NBA on notice as a serious championship contender.
In recent times the Clippers lost their way, losers of four of their last five games before they faced a Portland Trail Blazers team with the fifth-worst record in the league.
That in itself was a recipe for positive change for the Clippers, who led by as many as 27 in their 116-103 win Wednesday night at the Moda Center, with all five starters scoring in double figures.
“We just happen to be going through a tough stretch,” Clippers coach Ty Lue said. “But we know who we are. You’re not going to win every game. We understand that. We understand that we can play better. We understand that. But let’s start with executing on both sides of the basketball. We know what our identity is and who we are…”
UCLA FOOTBALL
From Ben Bolch: On a recent morning inside DeShaun Foster’s sprawling third-floor office, automatic shades are lowered to block out the harsh sunlight — not to mention an arresting view of the practice field below.
The new UCLA football coach enters the room, greets a visitor and snags two bottles of water from a refrigerator before settling onto a taupe sectional couch.
A quick glance around the room reveals his allegiance.
Resting behind one side of the couch is a small bear statue. On top of a nearby cabinet lies a laminated photocopy of a license plate with the phrase “KILL SC.” On a wall behind Foster’s massive desk on the far side of the room are the retired numbers of Bruins legends.
Already a beloved figure who starred at running back for UCLA’s last Rose Bowl team a quarter of a century ago, Foster would rise to mythical status if he can restore his alma mater to glory after making the jump from running backs coach to head boss.
During an extensive interview with The Times, Foster discussed the philosophy of his new coaching staff as well as the challenges facing a team preparing to open spring practice April 2:
USC FOOTBALL
From Jeff Miller: Nearly two dozen of Caleb Williams’ former USC teammates joined him on the field Wednesday for the school’s annual pro day.
This was not unexpected, the Trojans having plenty of talent that has grabbed the interest of the pros.
More notable was the presence of one of Williams’ future teammates. Well, at least, one of his presumed future teammates.
Keenan Allen, the former longtime Charger traded last week to Chicago, watched — along with numerous NFL scouts, coaches and executives — from the sidelines, dressed in Bears blue and orange.
NCAA MEN’S TOURNAMENT
From Bill Plaschke: Cinderella, Schminderella.
A long shot is not going to win the NCAA men’s basketball championship.
Don’t believe the hype. Don’t be suckered by the song. There is no glass slipper. There is no dancing into the Final Four. One shining moment casts a narrow glow.
As you fill out your brackets, go ahead, inaugurate James Madison, camp out in Grand Canyon, brush hard with Colgate, embrace all kinds of double-digit dreamers throughout the opening weekend.
Feel free to play the annual lock of at least one 12-seed beating a 5-seed, bank on at least half of the nine-seeds beating the eight-seeds, go crazy with one of the play-in winners to stun the world for the opening two rounds.
But end it there.
Men’s schedule
All times Pacific
FIRST FOUR
Wednesday’s results
No. 16 Grambling State 88, No. 16 Montana State 81 (OT)
No. 10 Colorado 60, No. 10 Boise State 53
FIRST ROUND
EAST REGION
Thursday
No. 6 Brigham Young (23-10) vs. No. 11 Duquesne (24-11), 9:40 a.m., TruTV
No. 3 Illinois (26-8) vs. No. 14 Morehead State (26-8), 12:10 p.m., TruTV
No. 2 Iowa State (27-7) vs. No. 15 South Dakota State (22-12), 4:35 p.m., TruTV
No. 7 Washington State (24-9) vs. No. 10 Drake (28-6), 7:05 p.m., TruTV
Friday
No. 8 Florida Atlantic (25-8) vs. No. 9 Northwestern (21-11), 9:15 a.m., CBS
No. 5 San Diego State (24-10) vs. No. 12 Alabama Birmingham (23-11), 10:45 a.m., TNT
No. 1 Connecticut (31-3) vs. No. 16 Stetson (22-12), 11:45 a.m., CBS
No. 4 Auburn (27-7) vs. No. 13 Yale (22-9), 1:15 p.m., TNT
SOUTH REGION
Thursday
No. 3 Kentucky (23-9) vs. No. 14 Oakland (23-11), 4:10 p.m., CBS
No. 6 Texas Tech (23-10) vs. No. 11 North Carolina State (22-14), 6:40 p.m., CBS
Friday
No. 2 Marquette (25-9) vs. No. 15 Western Kentucky (22-11), 11 a.m., TBS
No. 7 Florida (24-11) vs. No. 10 Colorado (25-10), 1:30 p.m., TBS
No. 8 Nebraska (23-10) vs. No. 9 Texas A&M (20-14), 3:50 p.m., TNT
No. 4 Duke (24-8) vs. No. 13 Vermont (28-6), 4:10 p.m., CBS
No. 1 Houston (30-4) vs. No. 16 Longwood (21-13), 6:20 p.m., TNT
No. 5 Wisconsin (22-13) vs. No. 12 James Madison (31-3), 6:40 p.m., CBS
MIDWEST REGION
Thursday
No. 3 Creighton (23-9) vs. No. 14 Akron (24-10), 10:30 a.m., TNT
No. 6 South Carolina (26-7) vs. No. 11 Oregon (23-11), 1 p.m., TNT
No. 7 Texas (20-12) vs. No. 10 Colorado State (25-10), 3:50 p.m., TNT
No. 5 Gonzaga (25-7) vs. No. 12 McNeese (30-3), 4:25 p.m., TBS
No. 2 Tennessee (24-8) vs. No. 15 Saint Peter’s (19-13), 6:20 p.m., TNT
No. 4 Kansas (22-10) vs. No. 13 Samford (29-5), 6:55 p.m., TBS
Friday
No. 1 Purdue (29-4) vs. No. 16 Grambling State (21-14), 4:25 p.m., TBS
No. 8 Utah State (27-6) vs. No. 9 Texas Christian (21-12), 6:55 p.m., TBS
WEST REGION
Thursday
No. 8 Mississippi State (21-13), No. 9 Michigan State (19-14), 9:15 a.m., CBS
No. 2 Arizona (25-8) vs. No. 15 Long Beach State (21-14), 11 a.m., TBS
No. 1 North Carolina (27-7) vs. No. 16 Wagner (17-15), 11:45 a.m., CBS
No. 7 Dayton (24-7) vs. No. 10 Nevada (26-7), 1:30 p.m., TBS
Friday
No. 3 Baylor (23-10) vs. No. 14 Colgate (25-9), 9:40 a.m., TruTV
No. 6 Clemson (21-11) vs. No. 11 New Mexico (26-9), 12:10 p.m., TruTV
No. 4 Alabama (21-11) vs. No. 13 Charleston (27-7), 4:35 p.m., TruTV
No. 5 Saint Mary’s (26-7) vs. No. 12 Grand Canyon (29-4), 7:05 p.m., TruTV
Second round: Saturday-Sunday
Sweet 16: March 28-29
Elite Eight: March 30-31
Final Four: April 6 (Glendale, Ariz.)
Championship: April 8 (Glendale, Ariz.)
NCAA WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT
Women’s schedule
All times Pacific
FIRST FOUR
Wednesday
No. 16 Presbyterian 49, No. 16 Sacred Heart 42
No. 12 Vanderbilt 72, No. 12 Columbia 68
Thursday
No. 11 Arizona (17-15) vs. No. 11 Auburn (20-11), 4 p.m. | ESPN2
No. 16 Tennessee Martin (16-16) vs. No. 16 Holy Cross (20-12), 6 p.m. | ESPN2
REGIONAL 1
Friday
No. 8 North Carolina (19-12) vs. No. 9 Michigan State (22-8), 8:30 a.m., ESPN2
No. 1 South Carolina (32-0) vs. No. 16 Presbyterian (21-14), 11 a.m., ESPN
No. 3 Oregon State (24-7) vs. No. 14 Eastern Washington (29-5), 5 p.m., ESPNU
No. 6 Nebraska (22-11) vs. No. 11 Texas A&M (19-12), 7:30 p.m., ESPNU
Saturday
No. 4 Indiana (24-5) vs. No. 13 Fairfield (31-1), 10:30 a.m., ESPN2
No. 2 Notre Dame (26-6) vs. No. 15 Kent State (21-10), 11:15 a.m., ESPN
No. 5 Oklahoma (22-9) vs. No. 12 Florida Gulf Coast (29-4), 1 p.m., ESPNews
No. 7 Mississippi (23-8) vs. No. 10 Marquette (23-8), 1:45 p.m., ESPNU
REGIONAL 2
Friday
No. 6 Louisville (24-9) vs. No. 11 Middle Tennessee (29-4), 10:30 a.m., ESPN2
No. 4 Kansas State (25-7) vs. No. 13 Portland (21-12), 1:30 p.m., ESPNews
No. 3 LSU (28-5) vs. No. 14 Rice (19-14), 1 p.m. | ESPN
No. 5 Colorado (22-9) vs. No. 12 Drake (29-5), 4 p.m., ESPNews
Saturday
No. 1 Iowa (29-4) vs. No. 16 Holy Cross (20-12) / Tennessee Martin (16-16), Noon, ABC
No. 8 West Virginia (24-7) vs. No. 9 Princeton (25-4), 2:30 p.m., ESPN2
No. 7 Creighton (25-5) vs. Nevada Las Vegas (30-2), 4 p.m., ESPNews
No. 2 UCLA (25-6) vs. No. 15 California Baptist (28-3), 6:30 p.m., ESPN2
REGIONAL 3
Friday
No. 2 Ohio State (25-5) vs. No. 15 Maine (24-9), 9 a.m., ESPN
No. 7 Duke (20-11) vs. No. 10 Richmond (29-5), 11:30 a.m., ESPNews
No. 4 Virginia Tech (24-7) vs. No. 13 Marshall (26-6), 12:30 p.m., ESPN2
No. 5 Baylor vs. No. 12 Vanderbilt (23-9), 6 p.m., ESPNU
Saturday
No. 3 Connecticut (29-5) vs. No. 14 Jackson State (26-6), 10 a.m., ABC
No. 8 Kansas (19-12) vs. No. 9 Michigan (20-13), 11 a.m., ESPNews
No. 6 Syracuse (23-7) vs. No. 11 Auburn (20-11) / Arizona (17-15), 12:30 p.m., ESPN2
No. 1 USC (26-5) vs. No. 16 Texas A&M Corpus Christi (23-8), 1:30 p.m., ESPN
REGIONAL 4
Friday
No. 1 Texas (30-4) vs. No. 16 Drexel (19-14), noon, ESPNU
No. 8 Alabama (23-9) vs. No. 9 Florida State (23-10), 2:30 p.m., ESPN2
No. 7 Iowa State (20-11) vs. No. 10 Maryland (19-13), 4:30 p.m., ESPN2
No. 2 Stanford (28-5) vs. No. 15 Norfolk State (27-5), 7 p.m., ESPN2
Saturday
No. 6 Tennessee (19-12) vs. No. 11 Green Bay (27-6), 9 a.m., ESPN
No. 3 North Carolina State (27-6) vs. No. 14 Chattanooga (28-4), 11:30 a.m., ESPNU
No. 4 Gonzaga (30-3) vs. No. 13 UC Irvine (23-8), 4:30 p.m., ESPN2
No. 5 Utah (22-10) vs. South Dakota State (27-5), 7 p.m., ESPNU
Second round: Sunday-Monday
Sweet 16: March 29-30
Elite Eight: March 31-April 1
Final Four: April 5 (Cleveland)
Championship: April 7 (Cleveland)
HORSE RACING
From John Cherwa: On Thursday, the California Horse Racing Board will hold its most consequential meeting in its 91-year existence. It must decide if it will allow racing to continue in Northern California based on a proposal long on hope and short on specifics. Or, if it will send that business — and simulcast money — to the south in the hope of saving the strongest part of the state’s racing infrastructure.
It’s as if Diogenes walked onto the set of “Sophie’s Choice.” Anyone have a lantern?
The owners of Santa Anita on Tuesday upped the volume when they made a not-so-veiled threat to close or sell Santa Anita if the board greenlighted the Northern California project, which would replace racing at Golden Gate with that at the Alameda County Fair. In a letter to the board, the Stronach Group said the Pleasanton proposal had a serious lack of details and should not be OKd based on “speculation.”
Yet it was the Stronach Group that created this void in Northern California by closing Golden Gate Fields without discussion with its stakeholders, telling them hours before announcing it. There has also been no clarity as to what will happen to the land when Golden Gate is demolished. Lack of details seems to be de rigueur in the politics of California racing.
Here’s a look at some of the questions roiling racing in the state.
OLYMPIC SOCCER
From Kevin Baxter: The U.S. women’s national team will face Germany, Australia and either Zambia or Morocco in the group stage of this summer’s Olympic soccer tournament in France, where the Americans hope to return to the top of the podium for the first time in 12 years.
The U.S., winner of a record four Olympic titles and four World Cup crowns, hasn’t struck gold in the Summer Games since London in 2012.
The American men, returning to the Olympics for the first time since 2008, was grouped with France, New Zealand and the winner of a playoff between teams from the Asian and African confederations in Wednesday’s tournament draw, held in the Pulse building in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis.
The U.S. men have advanced out of group play just once in four previous trips to the Olympics since the tournament became an age-group competition in 1992.
KINGS
Captain Anze Kopitar had a goal and an assist while recording his 1,200th career point, David Rittich made 30 saves in his third shutout of the season, and the Kings routed the Minnesota Wild 6-0 on Wednesday night.
Viktor Arvidsson had his first goal of the season and an assist in his return from a month-long injury absence. Kevin Fiala and Phillip Danault also had a goal and an assist as the Kings wrapped up back-to-back home victories by a combined 12-2 over the past two days.
Matt Roy and Jordan Spence also scored for LA, while Rittich was solid in the backup goalie’s seventh career shutout and third in his last 10 starts.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1893 — The first women’s collegiate basketball game is played at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. In this game, each basket is worth 1 point and the freshman class defeats the sophomore class 5-4. The game takes place behind locked doors and men are prohibited from watching.
1941 — Joe Louis knocks out Abe Simon in the 13th round at Olympia Stadium in Detroit to retain the world heavyweight title.
1945 — George Mikan of DePaul scores 53 points in the semifinals of the National Invitation Tournament. Mikan matches Rhode Island in offensive output and his teammates add another 44 for a final score of 97-53.
1953 — Rookie Bob Cousy sets an NBA record with 50 points and leads the Boston Celtics to a 111-105 victory over the Syracuse Nationals in a quadruple overtime playoff game. Cousy scores 30 of his points from the foul line.
1959 — California edges West Virginia 71-70 for the NCAA basketball championship. Jerry West scores 28 points for West Virginia.
1959 — Oscar Robertson scores the first triple-double in the NCAA Tournament’s Final Four history, tallying 39 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists in Cincinnati’s 98-85 win over Louisville in the third-place game.
1964 — UCLA caps a 30-0 season with a 98-83 victory over Duke in the NCAA basketball championship. UCLA is the third team to go undefeated and win the title. The victory gives coach John Wooden the first of his 10 NCAA Tournament championships.
1970 — Curtis Rowe scores 19 points and Sidney Wicks adds 17 points and grabs 18 rebounds to lead UCLA to an 80-69 victory over Jacksonville for its fourth consecutive NCAA basketball championship. Jacksonville ends the season with a scoring average of 100.4 points per game, the first team to average more than 100 points in a college basketball season.
1984 — Glenn Anderson of Edmonton scores his 50th goal of the season and helps the Oilers beat the Hartford Whalers 5-3. The Oilers become the first NHL team to have three 50-goal scorers in one season.
1985 — Arthur Ashe is nominated for the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
1985 — Washington’s Bobby Carpenter becomes the first U.S.-born player in NHL history to score 50 goals in a season.
1990 — Brett Hull of St. Louis becomes the sixth player in NHL history to score 70 goals in a season with a goal in the Blues’ 8-6 loss to the Edmonton Oilers.
1994 — Wayne Gretzky ties Gordie Howe’s NHL record of 801 goals.
1996 — Todd Eldredge becomes the first American in eight years to win the gold medal at the World Figure Skating Championships.
2011 — Courtney Vandersloot has 29 points and 17 assists to help Gonzaga beat UCLA 89-75 in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Vandersloot becomes the first player in Division I history — men or women — to record 2,000 points and 1,000 assists in a career.
2014 — Mercer pulls off the biggest upset in the men’s NCAA tournament by knocking off Duke 78-71 in the second round. The 14th-seeded and senior-laden Bears score 11 straight points during the late 20-5 run to clinch the biggest victory in school history.
2019 — Ichiro Suzuki finishes his career with a record 4,367 base hits (NPB & MLB) as Seattle beats Oakland, 5-4 in Tokyo, Japan.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time...
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