Trevor Bauer inside the locker room at spring training. Photo Credit: Bobby Nightengale/Cincinnati Enquirer
One of the women who accused Trevor Bauer of sexual assault is facing 16 years in prison for felony fraud.
On Monday, Darcy Adanna Esemonu was criminally charged by the state of Arizona with two counts of felony fraud. The charges stem from Esemonu’s actions toward both Bauer and another man.
The first count Esemonu faces is for Fraudulent schemes and artifices, which is a Class 2 felony in Arizona and carries a sentence of 3-12.5 years. The crime is “to knowingly obtain a benefit from the victims by means of fraudulent pretenses, representations, promises, or material omissions.” Both Bauer and another man were alleged victims of Esemonu in this regard.
The second count Esemonu faces is for Theft by extortion, which is a Class 4 felony in Arizona and carries a sentence of 1-3.75 years. The crime for theft by extortion is described as “knowingly did obtain or sought to obtain property or services from the victim by means of threat to in the future expose a secret etc.” The other man is the alleged victim for this count.
Bauer has not pitched in MLB since facing accusations of sexual misconduct from Lindsey Hill in 2021. He was originally suspended two years by MLB over the allegations but had the suspension reduced to 194 games by an arbitrator.
Last year, Bauer and Hill dropped and settled their lawsuits against each other. Bauer published a video at the time that included evidence he felt exonerated him.
On Tuesday, Bauer published a new video regarding the charges against Esemonu. Bauer claims Esemonu approached him and the two had a sexual encounter in December 2020. Later, she demanded $3.6 million from Bauer because she claimed he forced her to have an abortion. After he refused to pay her the money, she then made up a sexual assault claim and filed a civil lawsuit against Bauer. Bauer says medical records show Esemonu neither was pregnant nor had an abortion. Her claims were rejected by two law firms due to a lack of evidence.
In the video, Bauer also addressed the accusations he has faced from two other anonymous women. The accusations were publicized by a 2022 report from The Washington Post. Bauer says those two women only went to the media with the anonymous claims after he refused to pay them money. He adds that neither woman filed a criminal or civil suit against him despite having the opportunity to do so. His implication is that neither woman has done so because they are both lying and were reluctant to face potential perjury charges.
You can see Bauer’s video.
USA Basketball has made a decision regarding who will get the final roster spot for the 2024 Olympic team.
Kawhi Leonard is getting the nod to fill the final spot for the 12-man roster.
The team, which will represent the United States at the 2024 Olympics in Paris this summer, is shaping up to be a stacked one.
In addition to Leonard, the roster features:
– LeBron James
– Stephen Curry
– Kevin Durant
– Joel Embiid
– Jayson Tatum
– Devin Booker
– Jrue Holiday
– Anthony Davis
– Anthony Edwards
– Bam Adebayo
– Tyrese Haliburton
James, Curry, Durant and Embiid are all former NBA MVPs. Every player on the roster has made multiple All-Star teams.
The United States has won the gold medal in the last four Olympics and seven of the last eight overall (the country won the bronze medal in 2004). If Leonard is the final player on the roster (they were awaiting clearance regarding his knee), that tells you just how good of a team it is.
Apr 4, 2023; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (6) reacts to being called for a foul against the Utah Jazz in the last minute of the fourth quarter at Vivint Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports
LeBron James has one near-miss in his career that still eats at him.
During the most recent episode of his HBO show “The Shop,” the Los Angeles Lakers star James revealed that he is still upset about not ever winning the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award. James also said he feels he should have won it in 2013.
“That’s the only award I don’t have in my house,” said James. “It kind of stings … It don’t make sense.
“The year I finished second in Defensive Player of the Year Award [in 2013], the guy who won Defensive Player of the Year didn’t even make First Team All-Defense,” James added.
Here is the full clip.
James is referencing then-Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol, his future Lakers teammate. Gasol was the DPOY that year but finished on the All-Defensive Second Team behind Tyson Chandler, Joakim Noah, and Serge Ibaka in the frontcourt. But that may have been more so because of a flawed voting system since Gasol definitely deserved the honor as the anchor of a conference-best Grizzlies defense (at the peak of their “Grit N Grind” era).
Still, James, who made the All-Defensive First Team himself that year, might have been the league’s most dynamic and versatile defender at the time. At his athletic apex with the Miami Heat, James prowled the passing lanes like a hyena, drew tough on-on-one assignments on everybody from Tony Parker to Paul George, and even provided rim protection off defensive rotations on bigs like Roy Hibbert and Tim Duncan.
In the end, James will just have to settle for five career All-Defensive First Team selections. But though he is now well past his window to win DPOY, James still has a chance to achieve this feat that he has never done before.
Mar 30, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros relief pitcher Josh Hader (71) throws a fielded ball to first base for an out against the New York Yankees during the ninth inning at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports
The Houston Astros have to be questioning whether they have Josh Hader out there pitching for them right now or Bill Hader.
The five-time All-Star reliever Hader got pulverized again on Monday during a game against the Atlanta Braves. Entering the contest in a ninth-inning non-save situation (the Astros were trailing 2-1 at the time), Hader allowed a walk and four straight hits before even recording a single out. He would exit the game with two earned runs allowed and then get another two tacked on after successor Brandon Bielak let two more inherited runners score. Houston went on to lose 6-1 to fall to an ugly 6-12 on the season.
The bum outing brought Hader to eight earned runs on the year (through nine total appearances). That is now exactly as many as Hader had allowed throughout all of last year with the San Diego Padres (61 total appearances).
Hader’s strikeout and walk rates are virtually identical to what they were last season. But Hader is giving up a whole lot more base hits and allowing those to snowball on him. It probably does not help either that Hader has moved to a less pitcher-friendly park and is now working with a rookie manager in Joe Espada who is still learning how to manage a bullpen.
The 30-year-old Hader, who signed a five-year, $95 million contract with the Astros over the winter, surely won’t be quite this terrible all year. But his early-season implosion has been a sight to behold, and even some of Hader’s former teammates are taking swipes at him.
March 16, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; New York Knicks guard Donte DiVincenzo (0) dribbles the basketball during the second quarter against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Many members of the NBA media are incredulous over what has happened with Donte DiVincenzo.
Some media members intended to cast a vote for DiVincenzo in the NBA’s Most Improved Player balloting. However, they were disappointed to learn that DiVincenzo is ineligible to receive votes for the award. And it all has to do with the NBA’s new minimum games played requirement.
The NBA implemented new criteria for minimum games played in order for a player to be eligible for postseason awards, such as league MVP and Defensive Player of the Year. The rules, which require players to participate in at least 65 games, were intended to curb the issue of players resting too frequently, which has become a problem. However, the new rules were not carefully crafted enough, and the result is a player like DiVincenzo being screwed.
DiVincenzo is ineligible for the award despite playing in 81 of 82 regular season games, including 63 starts. The problem is that early in the season, DiVincenzo came off the bench and frequently played fewer than 20 minutes in a game. A player needs to have played at least 20 minutes in a game for it to count as an official game played for this criteria.
DiVincenzo finished the season strong for the Knicks and averaged a career-high 15.5 points per game while shooting 40.1 percent on three-pointers.
Here are some of the NBA media members who complained about what happened:
The problem isn’t with the new criteria implemented by the league. The games played criteria has positive intentions. The issue is that there should be a different criteria specific for the Most Improved Player award that allows for more leeway and recognition that an improved player might not have recceived a ton of playing time to begin a season.
Jonathan Kuminga is another player in similar circumstances to DiVincenzo who would likely receive votes if he qualified for the award.
Sep 20, 2022; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Minnesota Twins shortstop Carlos Correa (4) reacts while running off the field during the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
The Minnesota Twins now have another member of the infamous 2017 Houston Astros.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported on Tuesday that the Twins have signed veteran outfielder Tony Kemp. It is a minor-league deal that they will be giving to the 32-year-old Kemp.
Kemp began his career with the Astros and won the World Series with them in 2017 (current Twins shortstop Carlos Correa was also a member of that team). Since getting traded by Houston, Kemp has played for the Chicago Cubs, the Oakland Athletics, and the Baltimore Orioles as well.
A career .237 hitter who is also a speed threat and a defensive wizard, Kemp was designated for assignment by the Orioles last week in order to make room for the promotion of top prospect Jackson Holliday. Kemp was all class though (even posting some kind words for Holliday) and now gets himself a new opportunity in very short order.
Indiana has landed the most coveted player available in the transfer portal.
The Hoosiers have landed a commitment from big man Oumar Ballo. Ballo announced via social media Tuesday that he will be transferring from Arizona to IU.
Ballo’s commitment to Indiana comes just over a week after he announced he would be entering the transfer portal. Ballo will be a graduate student and has one final year of college eligibility.
Indiana will be the 7-foot center’s third school. Ballo began his career at Gonzaga and spent two years there, including a redshirt freshman season. He then spent the last three seasons at Arizona.
Last season, Ballo averaged 12.9 points, 10.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game.
Ballo’s asking price from teams reportedly was $1.2 million.
Jeff Goodman said he doesn’t think Ballo received that much money from Indiana, but it’s clear the Hoosiers stepped it up to land the center.
BYU is going big as they officially move past the Mark Pope era.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported on Tuesday that BYU has hired Kevin Young to be their next head coach. Young, currently the associate head coach of the Phoenix Suns, will be getting a long-term deal from the Cougars (though the terms of the agreement were not disclosed).
The 42-year-old Young is the highest-paid assistant coach in the NBA right now and works alongside head coach Frank Vogel in Phoenix. He has been a pretty hot candidate for NBA head coaching jobs and once even received an endorsement from a Suns star to get the job with their team (before Vogel was ultimately chosen). Most recently, Young was one of three finalists for the Brooklyn Nets head coaching job, but the Nets landed on a different candidate instead. A native of Salt Lake City, Young also had extensive experience as an assistant in both college and the then-NBA D-League before becoming an NBA assistant.
As for BYU, they need a new voice after Pope, their head coach for the last five seasons, left to take the job at his alma mater Kentucky. Though they continue to churn out winning seasons, the Cougars have not made it past the first round of the NCAA Tournament in a decade. Now BYU will turn to a young up-and-coming head coach to lead their program for years to come.
Jul 26, 2022; Oxnard, CA, USA; Dallas Cowboys chief operating officer Stephen Jones at training camp press conference at the River Ridge Fields. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Dallas Cowboys fans have been extremely frustrated with what they perceive as a lack of urgency from the team this offseason, but executive vice president Stephen Jones insists he and his fellow decision-makers are not operating any differently than they have in the past.
Not long after the Cowboys’ embarrassing home loss to the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs, Jerry Jones vowed that the team will be “going all in” heading into next season. The 81-year-old even said that Dallas is going to focus on 2024 and “not build it for the future.”
Despite that, the Cowboys have made no big signings or trades this offseason. During an interview with 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday, Stephen Jones was asked what he would say to fans who feel the team has not gone “all in” since losing to Green Bay.
“We spend max, max money year in and year out. All 32 can only spend the same amount of money over a five-year stretch,” Jones said. “When we’re all said and done, we max out our salary cap every year. We will have done that. What comes with having a good roster, which we do, we’re also looking towards signing our own guys.”
“It doesn’t mean it happens overnight. But when you’re wanting to sign players like Dak (Prescott) and Micah (Parsons) and CeeDee (Lamb), then you have to hold money back if you want to have a realistic chance of signing those guys.”
In Prescott’s case, a new deal would probably mean more money to spend in the short term. Prescott still has a $55.5 million salary cap hit for 2024 even after a recent restructure. The Cowboys could free up cap space by extending him, but a recent report indicated they may not do that.
Lamb is set to make just under $18 million in the final year of his rookie contract in 2024. He could be headed for a holdout if he does not get a new deal.
There might be another explanation for what Jerry Jones meant when he made his “all in” comment. Whatever the case, Stephen Jones still seems confident in the Cowboys’ approach despite the backlash from fans.
Neal Shipley became a viral sensation at the 2024 Masters for much more than his impressive golf game, but the amateur insists there was a very good explanation for the behavior that turned him into a meme.
Shipley was the only amateur golfer to make the cut at the Masters this year. The Ohio State graduate student was then fortunate enough to be paired with Tiger Woods on the final day.
After the tournament, a reporter claimed to have seen Woods hand Shipley a note on the 8th hole during Sunday’s round. Shipley nervously looked to his right when he was asked about and denied that the exchange took place. You can see the video here.
Shipley was a guest on “The Pat McAfee Show” Tuesday. Naturally, he was asked about the bizarre press conference question. He said he was “so confused” because Tiger did not hand him a note and he was unfamiliar with the reporter who asked the question (it was Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports).
“This guy from Yahoo Spots — who I’ve never met — says that to me and I look over at the moderator like, ‘Who the hell is this guy?’ Because that just didn’t happen,” Shipley said. “I was so confused. That’s why. I was so shocked in the moment.”
Shipley also went viral for the way he nervously kept glancing to his right while he was being interviewed in Butler Cabin by CBS’ Jim Nantz and Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley after the Masters.
McAfee asked Shipley about that, too. The 22-year-old said he was so nervous that he kept looking at the teleprompter to try to figure out when it was his turn to speak.
“I was so nervous. The last thing I wanted to do was swear on national TV or say something stupid,” Shipley explained. “I also didn’t want to speak out of turn, so I was trying to look at the teleprompter that’s going on so I knew my cues (like a) dumba–.”
All of that makes perfect sense. Most people in Shipley’s position would have been nervous wrecks. He just finished an 18-hole round with Tiger Woods at Augusta National and was sitting in a room with Nantz, Ridley, Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler. Life comes at you fast, as they say.
Next time, Shipley will probably make sure to keep his eyes forward.
