Sports
In Japan, Ohtani’s ‘Perfect Person’ Image Could Take A Hit With Firing Of Interpreter Over Gambling
SEOUL, South Korea — Shohei Ohtani is known in Japan as “kanpeki no hito” (the flawless person) due to his impeccable manners and behaviour.
That image may have suffered when the Dodgers sacked his close buddy and interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, on Wednesday over charges that he gambled illegally and misappropriated Ohtani’s money to pay off debt.
The law company representing Ohtani described it as a “massive theft” in a statement.
In Japan, Ohtani’s ‘Perfect Person’ Image Could Take A Hit With Firing Of Interpreter Over Gambling
The Seoul Series, the first MLB game in South Korea, was intended to showcase Ohtani to a receptive Asian baseball audience. The games between San Diego and Los Angeles were scheduled before he agreed to a $700 million, 10-year contract with the Dodgers in December. The stars appeared to be aligned for MLB, and plans for a similar series in Tokyo next year are already being discussed.
A bomb threat. Wednesday briefly cast a pall over the series. Before the first game, police were notified of a bomb at the stadium, but no explosives were found. He was supposedly targeted.
Then came another Ohtani shocker.
“I was shocked when I read it,” said Jorge Kuri, a die-hard Dodgers fan from Tijuana, Mexico, who manages a clothing company there.
Kuri, dressed in a blue Dodgers sweatshirt and cap, told reporters at the Gocheok Sky Dome that he was attempting to sort through the available information. He explained that he had recently returned from a vacation in Japan, “where he is king.”
“I don’t know what the end is going to be with this because I think it’s just the tip of the iceberg,” he said. Right now, he’s the image of Major League Baseball.”
Mizuhara, 39, was fired from the team following stories in the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an unlicensed bookmaker. He was in the dugout and with the squad throughout Wednesday’s game. The unexpected news broke Wednesday evening in the United States while most fans in Asia were sleeping.
In Japan, Ohtani’s ‘Perfect Person’ Image Could Take A Hit With Firing Of Interpreter Over Gambling
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Mizuhara met with the organization on Wednesday but declined to explain. He replied he needed to find out where Mizuhara was and that a different interpreter would be utilized.
“I can’t comment on that meeting,” Roberts said, adding, “Shohei’s ready. I know he is preparing.”
Ohtani did not practice on the field before Thursday’s game. During his absence, his face flashed on a video screen advertising a range of Japanese cosmetics.
He appeared unfazed hours later in his first at-bat, hitting a single to right field. In two more at-bats, he launched towering rockets to right field that fell just shy of a home run.
Mizuhara is expected to face an investigation by US authorities and MLB, and the entire situation is a startling turn for the man who has been inseparable from Ohtani since the two-way sensation arrived in the United States in 2017. He told ESPN last week that Ohtani was unaware of his illicit wagers on international soccer, the NBA, the NFL, and college football.
Mizuhara claimed Ohtani was an innocent victim of his close friend’s gambling addiction.
According to Lee Seung-yun, a marketing professor at Konkuk University in Seoul, the charges against Ohtani will have little impact on his well-cultivated public image as long as he is not specifically accused of unlawful betting.
“Ohtani’s image is like clean, white porcelain, and that could make a speck look bigger than it is,” he said. “Information spreads at amazing speeds these days, narratives are made before the truth of the facts are figured out, and if Ohtani was seen as a questionable character, the allegations would have really hurt him.”
“But his image is so strong and impeccable, and as long as he wasn’t directly involved, the allegations may just end up a blip,” he said.
In Japan, Ohtani’s ‘Perfect Person’ Image Could Take A Hit With Firing Of Interpreter Over Gambling
According to Lee Jong-Sung, a sports culture researcher at Seoul’s Hanyang University, Ohtani’s image among global fans, especially South Koreans, was of a secretive monk who “fully devoted himself into a religion called baseball.”
The claims against Mizuhara may reinforce Ohtani’s image as a perfectionist in baseball but a naive and simple-hearted individual in other areas.
“It’s a problem you often see with athletes — putting too much trust and depending excessively on the people they have known for long and are comfortable with and not knowing when they are taken advantage of,” Lee Jong-Sung, a Korean athlete, said.
“It isn’t all about being perfect. Ohtani and the Dodgers should use better judgment when selecting his teammates,” he continued.
SOURCE – (AP)
Election News
Max Verstappen Holds Off Lando Norris To Win Emilia Romagna Grand Prix And Extend F1 Lead
IMOLA, ITALY Max – Verstappen defeated McLaren’s Lando Norris to win the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on Sunday, extending his Formula One championship lead.
Verstappen began on pole and led Norris from the start but was pushed by the McLaren driver near the end, winning by less than a second.
“I lost grip, especially in the closing 10 to 15 laps. I slid a lot. “I saw Lando closing in,” Verstappen explained. “It’s quite difficult when the tires are no longer working, and you have to run flat out, so I couldn’t afford to make too many mistakes. Thankfully, we didn’t, and we’re overjoyed to have won here today.”
AP – VOR News Image
Max Verstappen Holds Off Lando Norris To Win Emilia Romagna Grand Prix And Extend F1 Lead
It was the defending champion’s fifth victory in seven Grand Prix races this year, following Verstappen’s defeat by Norris in Miami two weeks ago.
Norris’ Second Place Sunday demonstrated the McLaren team’s credentials as the closest contender to Verstappen and Red Bull this season. “It hurts me to say it, but one or two more laps, I think I would have had him,” stated Norris. “It would have been beautiful, but just not today.”
Charles Leclerc finished third for Ferrari, the Italian team’s first podium finish in Imola since 2006.
Overtaking is always challenging on the narrow Imola track, and this year, asphalt run-off zones on key corners were replaced with gravel traps, discouraging risk-taking even more.
AP – VOR News Image
Max Verstappen Holds Off Lando Norris To Win Emilia Romagna Grand Prix And Extend F1 Lead
Leclerc got in on Norris midway through the race but made a mistake and ran across the grass, costing him time.
Oscar Piastri qualified second for McLaren but was relegated to fifth after a penalty for impeding Kevin Magnussen in a Haas. He got ahead of Sainz during the pit stops and finished fourth, ahead of the Spanish driver.
Lewis Hamilton, a seven-time champion, and his teammate George Russell finished sixth and seventh following a challenging weekend for Mercedes.
Sergio Perez, Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate, began 11th following a mistake in qualifying and finished ninth. His major impact on the race came when he briefly held up Norris and Leclerc following their pit stops, thereby assisting Verstappen.
AP – VOR News Image
Max Verstappen Holds Off Lando Norris To Win Emilia Romagna Grand Prix And Extend F1 Lead
Yuki Tsunoda took ninth place for RB, while Lance Stroll finished tenth for Aston Martin.
Verstappen has a 48-point advantage over Leclerc, who has surged ahead of Perez to second place.
SOURCE – (AP)
Seize The Gray has won the Preakness 2024. Favorite and Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan finished second, halting his pursuit for the first Triple Crown since Justify in 2018, NBC Sports Reports.
Seize the Grey won the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland, on Saturday, defeating Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan and six other horses. Seize the Grey led from start to finish, with Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan in second place. Catching Freedom placed third.
D. Wayne Lukas, 88, becomes the oldest trainer in history to win a Triple Crown event. It marks his eighth Preakness victory in his career, tying Bob Baffert for second all-time. Lukas has won 15 Triple Crown races in his career.
Jaime Torres made a memorable Triple Crown debut with his triumph in Seize the Grey.
MyRacehorse owns Seize the Grey, and it sells thoroughbred “micro-shares” to the general public. There are 2,570 shareholders in Seize the Grey, representing 42 of the 50 states.
Seize the Grey is the Preakness’ 18th victory from the seventh post since 1909. No other post has resulted in more than 14 winners.
If Seize the Grey competes, his next race will be the 156th Belmont Stakes on June 8 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York.
Preakness 2024 Full Race
The Avalanche’s aspirations of returning to the Stanley Cup were dashed late Friday night when they lost 2-1 in double overtime against the Dallas Stars.
Former Avalanche player Matt Duchene scored the game-winning goal, allowing the Dallas Stars to advance to the Western Conference final.
Duchene, who began his professional career in Denver, grabbed a loose puck in front of the net and blasted it over a sprawled-out Alexandar Georgiev. Duchene raced down the ice and sank to his knees in celebration.
Dallas Stars will play either Edmonton Oilers or the Vancouver Cunucks next. The Dallas Stars are making their second straight trip to the conference finals, having fallen to eventual Stanley Cup champion Vegas last season. The Stars won their sole Stanley Cup championship in 1999.
This was a series in which the road team won five of six games, with the Stars winning all three in Denver. The Avalanche were the best home team throughout the regular season, while the Stars had the best away record.
After winning the Stanley Cup two years earlier, the Avalanche finished the season 50-25-7.
Dallas Stars Avalanche Highlights
Argentina’s Milei Calls Out Spain’s First Lady Over Corruption
Kate Middleton, The Princess of Wales Gives Update on New Project
Rescuers Search for Iran President Ebrahim Raisi After Helicopter Crash
Disneyland Character And Parade Performers In California Vote To Join Labor Union
Elon Musk Launches Starlink Satellite Internet Service In Indonesia, World’s Largest Archipelago
A Former OpenAI Leader Says Safety Has ‘Taken A Backseat To Shiny Products’ At The AI Company
Taiwan Is Selling More To The US Than China In Major Shift Away From Beijing
Under Armour Was A Real Threat To Nike. Now It’s Fighting To Stay Relevant
Max Verstappen Holds Off Lando Norris To Win Emilia Romagna Grand Prix And Extend F1 Lead
Paul McCartney Song Starts Paralympics On 100-Day Countdown To Opening Ceremony In Paris
Korean Air A330 Overshoots Runway in Cebu, Philippines
Rishi Sunak Becomes Great Britons First Prime Minister of Colour
Climate Activists Block Private Jets in Netherlands
Music World Bid Adieu to “Rock and Roll” Legend Jerry Lee Lewis
Winning Powerball Ticket Worth $2.04 Billion Sold in California
Chris Rock to Perform Live Stream on Netflix
CNBC Cancels The News With Shepard Smith After Only 2 Years
Massive Landslide in Ischia Italy Leaves 1 Dead, 12 Missing
Microsoft: Job cuts in tech sector spread, Microsoft lays off 10,000
Stephan Bonnar, UFC Hall of Famer, Dead at the Age of 45
Former NDP Leader Mulclair Says Trudeau Should Retire
David Lee Roth Unloads Over Wolfgang Van Halen “This F—in’ Kid”
Friends Star Matthew Perry, 54 Found Dead at His LA Home
Russell Brand Speaks Out for the First Time Since Sex Allegations
Social Media Trolls Attack Ashton Kutcher and Kunis Over Danny Masterson letters
Hurricane Idalia Slams Florida with 125 Mph Winds
Explosion in Prince George Canada Send 3 to Hospital With Serious Injuries
Wildfire in Canada’s Northwest Territories Force 20,000 to Flee Yellowknife
Jamie Foxx Tells Fans “I’m Available to Work” After Being Hospitalized
Netflix Hypes Avatar: The Last Airbender
-
Sports5 months agoSaints’ Aggressive Play-Calling Ends Up Coming Back To Hurt Them In Loss To Rams
-
Business5 months agoNike Says It Will Cut $2 Billion In Costs In A Major Warning For Consumers
-
Business5 months agoFederal Court Revives Lawsuit Against Nirvana Over 1991 ‘Nevermind’ Naked Baby Album Cover
-
News5 months agoThe Rise of Woke Ideology in Western Culture
-
Business5 months agoWayfair CEO: Employees Need To Work Longer Hours, After Laying Off 5% Off The Company
-
Learning5 days agoExploring TVA Nouvelles Quebec’s Premier News Source