NEW YORK (AP) — San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano is under investigation by Major League Baseball for allegedly betting on baseball and could be subject to a lifetime ban, according to a person familiar with the probe. MLB is looking into allegations Marcano bet on games involving the Pittsburgh Pirates while on the team’s injured list last season, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing. Marcano could be the second pro athlete banned for life over sports betting this year after the NBA punished Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter in April following a league probe that found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors and wagered on games. It’s believed that no active MLB player has been banned for betting on baseball since 1924. Pete Rose was retired when he agreed to a lifetime ban in 1989.
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — The former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani is scheduled to plead guilty Tuesday to bank and tax fraud in a sports betting case where he will admit to stealing nearly $17 million from the Japanese baseball player. Tuesday’s change-of-plea hearing for Ippei Mizuhara in federal court in Santa Ana, California, comes as the gambling scandal has shocked baseball fans from Japan to the U.S. and ratcheted up a media frenzy that’s ever-present around Ohtani. It occurs as the Dodgers begin a three-game series in Pittsburgh.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Celtics are prohibitive favorites to win Thursday’s Game 1 of the NBA Finals and odds are on Boston to hoist what would be its record 18th championship banner. But the money, at least at BetMGM Sportsbook, is pouring in on the Dallas Mavericks. Senior trader Halvor Egeland said Monday that 80% of the bets were coming on Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and the Mavs to win their second NBA title. Boston is a -225 favorite to win it all, meaning someone would need to wager $225 to win $100. As for the series opener, the Celtics are 6 1/2-point favorites, but 63% of the money has been on the Mavericks to cover the spread. Dallas is receiving 70% of the bets to win the game outright at +200.
GENEVA (AP) — Exactly 100 years since the Olympics were last staged in Paris, and 128 years since its modern revival in Athens, the Summer Games can still deliver fresh looks for its 33rd edition. This historic first for any Summer Games will launch the Paris Olympics and can be its defining image: Thousands of athletes in a flotilla sailing westward along the River Seine at sunset toward the Eiffel Tower on Friday, July 26. The ambitious idea was to bring the tone-setting spectacle out of an expensively ticketed stadium and into the city where many more people can see it. A crowd of 320,000 people is expected on the riverbanks along the 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) route from Pont d’Austerlitz to Pont d’Iéna. Tickets will be free for about 220,000 invited and security-screened spectators watching from the upper river bank.
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins’ recovery from a torn Achilles tendon remains on track as the team approaches next week’s mandatory minicamp. Coach Raheem Morris said Monday he can’t ask for Cousins to do more in the minicamp because “he’s done almost everything” in the organized team activities. Cousins was again on the field for Monday’s launch of the final week of OTAs. Rookie Michael Penix Jr. continues to learn under Cousins, 35, who suffered the torn right Achilles tendon in the 2023 season with the Minnesota Vikings.
MONDAY SCORES
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
LA Angels 2, San Diego 1
Houston 7, St. Louis 4
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Baltimore 7, Toronto 2
Detroit 2, Texas 1
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Philadelphia 3, Milwaukee 1
NY Mets 8, Washington 7
Cincinnati 13, Colorado 3
Arizona 4, San Francisco 2