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SUSPENDED COACH: CHAUNCEY BILLUPS PLEADS NOT GUILTY IN POKER FRAUD CASE

Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups pleads not guilty to federal charges of conspiring with the mafia to fix illegal poker games. The NBA Hall of Famer is accused of fraud and money laundering.

Suspended Coach: Chauncey Billups Pleads Not Guilty In Poker Fraud Case
Chauncey Billups Pleads Not Guilty to Fraud

Chauncey Billups, Portland Trail Blazers coach and NBA Hall of Famer, entered a not guilty plea in a Brooklyn federal court on Monday. The case accuses him of working with the mafia to fix illegal poker games.

The arraignment happened during a hearing for all 31 people accused in the case. Prosecutors say they used their status as pro athletes to draw people into card games, then cheated them using fancy tech.

Billups' lawyer, Marc Mukasey, entered the plea for his client before Judge Ramon Reye.

Billups, 49, is charged with conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering. His lawyers say he didn't do anything wrong.

Damon Jones, a former Cleveland Cavaliers guard, is also charged, along with people said to be part of New York’s La Cosa Nostra crime families. All have pleaded not guilty.

The case connects to a criminal investigation into alleged bet-fixing by pro athletes, which comes as legal sports betting has really taken off in the U.S.

The charges against Billups came out in October, along with a case accusing Jones and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier of using inside info to fix bets on NBA games between 2022 and 2024. Jones and Rozier have also pleaded not guilty.

In the poker case, prosecutors say Billups and other athletes got people to play against cheaters. These cheaters used special X-ray tables and rigged shuffling machines to see the cards in others' hands.

Prosecutors claim the scheme started in 2019 and cheated people out of at least $7 million. They say the group used violence and threats to collect on debts.

Billups is in his fifth year as Portland's head coach but is currently suspended. He played for seven teams during his NBA career and won a title with the Detroit Pistons in 2004.

Earlier this month, Brooklyn federal prosecutors charged Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz with fraud and money laundering for allegedly fixing bets on their pitches during MLB games.

They have pleaded not guilty, with their lawyers saying they did nothing wrong.

YANKEES DEBUT ALERT: LEFT-HANDER RYAN WEATHERS OFFICIALLY STARTS TOMORROW NIGHT AGAINST THE NATIONALS

Bronx debut: Discover how Ryan Weathers' new "bullet slider" and 97 MPH heat will lead the Yankees against the Nationals tomorrow.

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Weathers has Cy Young potential if he can just stay durable

Ryan Weathers is set to make his Yankees debut on the mound tomorrow night, according to Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News. The lefty will face a familiar team in the Nationals; he saw plenty of them back when he pitched for the Marlins in the NL East. The Yankees are still getting their starting pitchers ready for the 2026 season, so this outing gives them a chance to see what Weathers can do.

They picked up Weathers from Miami this offseason. He’s only 26, but he’s already been busy trying to sharpen his game. He's been working on a new two-seam fastball and a tighter bullet slider, hoping to finally show why he was once the seventh overall pick in the draft.

Before that, though, the Yankees take on Toronto today at 1:07 PM EST. Will Warren gets the start, and both Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger are in the lineup.

Now, back to Weathers. Last year with the Marlins, he made eight starts and put up a 3.99 ERA, striking out over 22% of the batters he faced. The Yankees believe he has even more to offer. They’re betting that these new pitches, a better two-seamer and a firmer slider, will help him take that next step.

He throws hard; his fastball averaged 96.8 MPH last season, which got plenty of teams interested. The upside is real, but so is the risk. Injuries have slowed him down the last couple of years, cutting short what could have been breakout seasons.

First, Weathers has to prove he can stay healthy. Then, he needs to show that these tweaks to his pitch mix can help him avoid the hard contact that led to seven home runs allowed in just 38.1 innings last season. The Yankees are betting on his talent, though, and they see him as a possible future star in their rotation.

Tomorrow’s game is at George M. Steinbrenner Field, and it’ll be the Yankees’ first night game of the 2026 Grapefruit League, starting at 6:35 PM EST.

OLYMPIC FAMILY LEGACY: INSIDE TOM BRADY’S PLAN TO TURN VIVIAN INTO A SUPERSTAR OLYMPIAN

Sports news: Tom Brady's Olympic dream. Get the report on Vivian’s volleyball talent and Team USA’s wins in Milan.

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Tom Brady labelled Vivian a "Future Summer Olympian" in Milan?

Tom Brady, now retired and a seven-time Super Bowl champ, took his kids, Benjamin and Vivia,n to Milan for the 2026 Winter Olympics. They spent the week soaking up the city, meeting new faces, and cheering for Team USA on the ice. The real rush came on Thursday; the USA’s women’s hockey team pulled off a wild comeback against Canada, winning 2-1 in overtime. Megan Keller scored the game-winner, and Brady got to watch it all unfold right next to tennis legend Billie Jean King.

Four days later, the men’s team kept the momentum going. Jack Hughes scored another overtime winner against Canada on Sunday. You’d think that would be the biggest story from the Bradys’ trip, but no, what really got people talking was something way more personal.

Tom posted a sweet shoutout to his daughter Vivian on Instagram. Just after all the Olympic action, he shared a photo of 13-year-old Vivian, captioning it: “Future summer Olympian” with a string of volleyball emojis. Fans immediately caught on that Brady wasn’t just being a proud dad; he was dropping a real hint.

Vivian, whom he shares with Gisele Bündchen, already plays volleyball at school. She swims and plays soccer, too. What’s cool is that every sport she loves is a Summer Olympics event. Brady’s caption didn’t feel random; it felt like he meant it.

And this isn’t their first Olympic adventure together. Brady and Vivian hit up the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics and packed their days with nine different events: gymnastics, beach volleyball, swimming, and diving. Vivian even got to play some volleyball on the sand with Brazilian legend Juliana Felisberta da Silva.

After seeing all the winter action in Italy, Brady’s “summer Olympian” tag for Vivian sounds even more hopeful. He knows exactly where he sees her going.

With the Olympics set to land in Los Angeles in 2028, Vivian will be 15 when the Games kick off in July. Club volleyball is probably her next step. And Brady himself? He’s hinted he’s got his own Olympic goals for 2028, turning the dream into a full-on family mission.

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