He should have listened to the song because this guy clearly didn’t know when to fold ‘em.

Professional poker player Cory Zeidman was arrested for fraud and money laundering related to a sports betting scheme that netted more than $25 million.

The Boca Raton, Florida, native also faces federal charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering as part of the scheme that spanned from 2004 to 2020, according to a two-count indictment out of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

The 61-year-old won a bracelet at the 2012 World Series of Poker.

The indictment says Zeidman and his unnamed cohorts received more than $25 million in interstate wire transfers and private commercial carriers during that span from victims who were led to believe that the organization had inside info on games.

Part of the scheme entailed placing radio ads around the U.S. boasting a “sophisticated white-collar approach to gathering sports information.” When people called in, they were asked to pay a fee for the info.

“As alleged, Zeidman preyed on individuals who were led to believe he had inside information that would lead them to easy money,” Homeland Security Investigations New York acting special agent in charge Ricky J. Patel said in a release. “In reality, he was selling nothing but lies and misinformation—bilking millions from victims along the way, leaving their lives in financial ruin and their bank accounts empty.”

What does it cost to move an NFL franchise more than halfway across the country? About $790 million for the relocated team, but $7.5 million for the other 31 clubs—unbeknownst to them.

It’s true.

Rams’ owner Stan Kroenke had said he would pay all the legal costs for the Rams’ move from St. Louis to Los Angeles. However, now he’s singing another tune as the city of St. Louis and NFL’s settlement has reached $790 million; he’s saying that he agreed to foot the legal fees and not the settlement.

Well, a report says the league has “quietly” taken $7.5 million from each team to help with the cost. We’ll save you the math: it’s a total of $232.5 million.

The report doesn’t say whether or not the teams will get their money back if Kroenke does end up forking over the dough.

The Rams, of course, won the Super Bowl in L.A. last year, the city in which it has played since 2016.

Rob Lederman, radio host of The Morning Bull Show, has been swiftly fired after racist comments.

Lederman’s racist comments compared his preferred toaster settings to Black women’s skin tones. Lederman discussed tennis professional Serena Williams, actress Halle Berry and television personality Gayle King’s skin tones.  “I may get into trouble for this,” said the radio host before making the racist comparison.

“We have our toaster setting at the attractiveness of women that I find to be attractive, so I will never go to a Serena Williams level,” Lederman said. “But I am very comfortable at a Halle Berry level. I need a little bit of mulatto still coming through… Gayle King is not even on my toaster level.”

On Thursday, the broadcasting company Cumulus Media released a statement confirming that they have taken action for the radio host’s comments. “Cumulus Media operates from a clearly-defined set of programming principles and there is no question that Rob Lederman’s comments made on The Morning Bull Show are in direct violation of those principles,” the statement said. “We swiftly terminated him and suspended the remainder of the show’s on-air talent. We apologize and deeply regret the incident.”

The fired radio host was also fired from his arena host position for the Buffalo Sabres and Buffalo Bandits.

Co-hosts Chris Klein and Rich Gaenzler have been suspended. They can be heard in the background of the clip laughing at Lederman’s comments.

Lederman released a statement apologizing for his remarks on air. “I want to sincerely apologize for hurting people with my foolish and ignorant comments yesterday,” the former host said. “I 100% understand why people are justifiably angry.”

“I made a mistake, and it’s hard to look myself in the mirror, but I want to acknowledge it,” Lederman continued. “I apologize from the deepest depths of who I am.”

New details have emerged about former NFL receiver Vincent Jackson, who was found dead earlier this week. The latest information has revealed that Jackson might have died up to three days before being found dead in a Florida hotel room Monday morning. The new details surrounding his death were released the same day his family made the decision to donate his brain to Boston University’s CTE Center.

The current timeline that was provided by the medical examiner’s office indicates that on February 12, the receiver was located by Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office as part of a welfare check. The next two days after the welfare check, hotel staff entered Jackson’s room and noticed that he was sitting slouched on the couch. The staff assumed that he was sleeping and left the room.

On February 15, hotel staff entered the room of the former NFL player and determined that he had not moved since they last checked upon him. The staff then called 911 at 11:37 a.m. to report the body. The medical examiner’s office’s report indicated that there were no signs of trauma or injury, other than a small laceration on his left big toe.

On Thursday, the examiner’s report was updated to add that there was no medication found on the scene. Under the report “social history,” listed the former NFL player to have had alcohol or smokeless tobacco use but no known drug use. The updated report has not listed the cause or manner of death. Instead, it is currently listed as “pending further study,” meaning that it is still unknown what caused the death of Jackson.

Michelle Van Dyke, a spokesperson for the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner, said in an email, “At this time, there is no timeframe for the completion of the autopsy report for Mr. Jackson, though the Medical Examiner anticipates it may take several months.”

Jackson’s family made the decision to donate the brain to Boston University CTE center to learn more about CTE. CTE, which is common among people who played football and boxing, stands for the degenerative brain disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathy that can be caused by repeated head trauma.

CTE can only be diagnosed posthumously in a special autopsy that examines specific portions of the brain. Researchers at Boston University have previously found CTE in the brains of former NFL players.

Allison Gorrell, a family spokesperson, told ESPN the reasoning behind donating the family’s decision to donate the brain. “If anything can be learned from his death that might help someone else, Vincent would want that since he was passionate during his life about impacting others around him,” she said.

On Monday, a medical report revealed that college football players have sustained more concussions during practice than in games.

The report comes from a study that was conducted and has been peer-reviewed. The authors of the study found that 72% of the concussions they reviewed in over five college football seasons occurred during practice. During the study, preseason training only accounted for one-fifth of the time researchers studied. However, nearly half of the concussions occurred during the preseason.

The study was conducted at six Division one schools that participate in a research consortium that was partly funded by the NCAA and the Pentagon. 658 football players in the study wore helmets outfitted with accelerometers. The study lasted for about five seasons. Spring practices were not tracked.

The study concluded at the end of the 2019 season. The study recorded a whopping 528,000 head impacts across the five seasons. 68 of the monitored players sustained concussions. Of the 658 football players tracked, the players were from Air Force, North Carolina, UCLA, Virginia Tech, and Wisconsin.

Dr. Michael A. McCrea, the lead author of the study, remarked, “The biggest surprise was the extent of the data, not just the trend of the data.” McCrea is a neurosurgery professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He is currently the co-director of the Center for Neurotrauma Research. McCrea was not surprised about the research findings but is said to be surprised by, “maybe the magnitude of it.”

Two other brain injury experts described the study’s results as “shocking.” Especially, the given statistics about concussions and head impact exposure, known as H.I.E., during regulated practices in the NFL.

NFL teams cannot hold more than 14 padded practices during the regular season. The NFL’s league data found that during the 2019 regular season, less than 7% of concussions happened during practices.

Other experts such as Dr. Robert C. Cantu and Christopher J. Nowinski, who were not part of the McCrea study, wrote in their editorial, “Concussions in games are inevitable, but concussions in practice are preventable.”  The two experts went further and wrote that, “Practices are controlled situations where coaches have almost complete authority over the H.I.E. risks taken by players.” Cantu and Nowinski went further to argue, “Concussions in games are inevitable, but concussions in practice are preventable.”

The results bring more evidence to the current debate about the risks of concussion in football. The current arguments are that there must be more regulated rules in order to prevent concussions in the sport. However, it is often difficult to do so because of different rules and leagues. As the study found, it also has to do with the ways players and teams play.

Division one college football is a good example because it is disjointed and sprawled out. This is different from the NCAA which is the complete opposite of Division one football. The football conferences that play within have more power and have policies that differ from other leagues. In 2016, the Ivy league which plays in the Football Championship Subdivision banned full-contact hits during regular-season games. As of today, the rule still stands in effect.

Earlier in January, Mark Emmer, the NCAA’s president, said that the association, “made wonderful strides around concussion protocols.” This is a reference to their 2015 mandate that every school in the Power 5 conference annually submit its concussion guidelines for review by a national committee. In that same speech, Emmer spoke about how there should be a system that, “holds each other accountable for the commitments we make to promote and advocate and conduct those protocols.”

However, that could not be said for the NCAA as a whole because it does not enforce but rather suggests, “recommendations” to combat concussion risks. This includes a recommendation that three days of practice each week during the regular season should involve no or minimal contact. The current approach from the NCAA has “limited effect in reducing preseason concussion incidence,” said the study’s authors.

“There’s shared responsibility here: on the scientists who produce the evidence, on policymakers, on institutions and coaches and players,” said the study’s author about different ways to prevent risks of concussions in football. This comes back to one of the findings of the study said about how the impact differs from teams and players. “Certain teams practice different than other teams, and certain players play different than other players,” said McCrea on the different variances found.

It is that time again, time for spring training to start in the MLB. Spring training is on track to start in three weeks, but the MLB wants to delay the start.

Since the league does not have the power to delay the season by itself, it would require a deal to be reached with the Major League Baseball Players Association. Reaching an agreement with the MLBPA would allow the season to be delayed.

The MLB recently proposed a framework that would effectively delay the start of the 2021 season. In the framework, the season would be delayed by one month but extended by one week, the number of games played would be reduced from 162 to 154, and the postseason would be expanded. The framework will push spring training from February 27 to March 22, and the opening day would start on April 28. The postseason teams would include 14 teams.

The league is hoping to delay the season, so they could get fans in the stands. The league is expecting revenue drops because of huge drop in attendance. In order to combat this, the MLB wants to buy time so fans would be allowed at a later date. In addition, an expanded postseason format will bring more revenue.

Unfortunately, for the league, this proposal will most likely be denied by the players association. Some players within the MLBPA already believe that it is too late in the offseason for the schedule to be reworked. Additionally, the MLBPA had previously rejected a similar proposal from the MLB. In the prior proposal, the league wanted to give the players association the long-desired DH in exchange for an expanded postseason but it was denied. It seems certain this new proposal would meet the same fate as the previous offer.

An assistant football coach at the University of Tennesse in Chattanooga was fired because of derogatory tweets aimed at Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams.

Offensive line coach Chris Malone published an offensive tweet prior to Georgia Senate runoff election. As the votes were being counted live, Malone tweeted about Abrams,s aying, “Congratulations to the state GA and Fat Albert @staceyabrams because you have truly shown America the true works of cheating in an election, again!!!” Malone added to the tweet more disparaging remarks saying, “Enjoy the buffet, Big Girl!! You earned it!!! Hope the money is good, still not governor!”

Abrams served in the Georgia state Senate from 2011 to 2017 and as the Senate minority leader during her tenure. She made an unsuccessful run for governor of Georgia in 2018, narrowly losing by 50,000 votes. Since then, she has created a nonprofit voting rights organization named the Fair Fight Action. Abrams is credited with helping President Joe Biden win Georgia. Her group helped 800,000 new voters to register for the Democrats.

After the disparaging tweet was published, Chattanooga athletic director Mark Wharton released a statement on Thursday. “A totally inappropriate social media post by a member of our football staff was brought to my attention,” he said.

Football coach Rusty Wright remarked about the deleted tweet as unacceptable and for violating the program’s standards.

Malone is no longer listed on the Chattanooga staff website. In addition, his Twitter account has been deactivated.

Adrian Peterson has been ordered by a court to pay $8.3 million to a Pennsylvanian loan company after defaulting on a loan in 2016.

DeAngelo Vehicle Sales LLC sued the former NFL MVP in 2018 after the running back failed to pay back an initial sum of $5.2 million, including interest, by March 1, 2017. The company proceeded to ask for $6.5 million, plus interest for every day that Peterson failed to pay, when they sued the Detriot Lions running back in the New York State Supreme Court. That was over two years ago. Since the lawsuit, interest has accrued daily at 16% or $2,207.12 per day.

Last Wednesday, DVS asked for $8.3 million, but the interest was lowered from 16% to 9% due to New York State law.

The seven-time Pro Bowler acknowledged the existence of the loan in 2019 during the initial settlement agreement. In this agreement, Peterson agreed to make $50,000 payments on October 18 and October 31 of 2019. He also agreed to make a $2.25 million payment on November 11, 2019, and then a final $25,000 payment within 10 days of his option being picked up by the Washington Football Team for the 2020 season. The agreement stated that if Peterson defaulted, he would have to pay the entire loan, plus interest.

The attorney for DVS, Jeffrey Reina, said last Wednesday that the running back had only paid $165,000 of the initial agreement. In addition, the company had not heard from Peterson or any of his representatives. Adding insult to injury, the former MVP failed to appear in court last Wednesday. Over his 14-year career in the NFL, Peterson has made an estimated $100 million.

New England Patriots’ coach Bill Belichick announced Monday night that he would not accept the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Donald Trump.

“Recently, I was offered the opportunity to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which I was flattered by out of respect for what the honor represents and admiration for prior recipients,” said Belichick in a statement. “Subsequently, the tragic events of last week occurred and the decision has been made not to move forward with the award. Above all, I am an American citizen with great reverence for our nation’s values, freedom and democracy.”

On Sunday. it was revealed by the White House officials that Trump planned to award the coach with the presidential Medal of Freedom. The medal is the highest civilian honor that was established under President John F. Kennedy in 1963. As described on the White House official website, the award is given to those “who have made exceptional contributions to the security or national interests of America, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.”

There was growing pressure for Belichick to not accept the award because of the recent riot that saw pro-Trump supporters storm the U.S. Capitol building leaving six dead.

The New England coach has been a Trump supporter since 2016. Belichick told reporters, “Our friendship goes back many years, and I think that anyone who has spent more than five minutes with me knows I’m not a political person. To me, friendship and loyalty are just about that. It’s not about political or religious views.”

The PGA is distancing itself from President Donald Trump after his supporters stormed the Capitol in an insurrection attempt on January 6.

The first move came Sunday night when the PGA president Jim Richerson released a Twitter statement saying, “The PGA of America Board of Directors voted tonight to exercise the right to terminate the agreement to play the 2022 PGA Championship at Trump Bedminster.”

Martin Slumbers, the CEO of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club that operates the British Open, said in a released statement Monday morning, “We had no plans to stage any of our championships at [Trump] Turnberry and will not do so in the foreseeable future.”

These moves are an effort for major golf organizations and tournaments to distance themselves from Trump. Trump has spent most of his free time during his presidency golfing and has become closely identified with the sport.

“It’s become clear that conducting the PGA Championship at Trump Bedminster would be detrimental to the PGA of America brand and would put at risk the PGA’s ability to deliver on many programs and sustain the longevity of our mission,” Richerson said. “It was a decision made to ensure that PGA of America and PGA professionals can continue to lead and grow our great game for decades to come.”

In response to the announcements, the Trump organization has claimed that the PGA had no reason to terminate their agreement. The organization said, “This is a breach of a binding contract and they have no right to terminate the agreement.”

White House reporter Maggie Haberman says that Trump is “gutted” about the PGA’s decision.

Washington Capitals goaltender Henrik Lundqvist announced on social media that he will undergo open-heart surgery.

Two weeks ago, Lundqvist announced that he will miss the 2020-2021 NHL season because of a heart condition. On Monday morning, he revealed more details that he needed to have open-heart surgery because of a heart condition. He tweeted out, “Scheduled for an open heart surgery now- Aortic Valve replacement, Aortic Root and Ascending Aortic Replacement, to be more exact.” The 38-year-old affirmed that he was going to stay positive, “Staying positive here and set on the road to recovery.”

The iconic goalkeeper had spent the majority of his career with the New York Rangers. In his 15 seasons with New York, he emerged as a superstar with them. Lundqvist helped lead the Rangers to playoff success as they made it to the Eastern Conference Finals three times and one Stanley Cup appearance. Lundqvist won the 2012 Vezina trophy, and in 2014, led the team to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they lost to the Los Angeles Kings in five games. The goalkeeper became a beloved sports figure in New York, as fans gave him the nicknames “The King” and “Hank.”

After the conclusion of last season, he was bought out of his contract. Lundqvist signed with the 2018 Stanley Cup Champions the Capitals in an effort to win one Stanley Cup in his illustrious career. He was set to make his debut with Washington in the 2020-2021 season but that is no longer the case because of his heart condition and upcoming surgery.

The former Vezina Trophy winner has played in more than 1,000 games including playoffs, career goals-against an average of .243 and a .918 save average in the regular season. His postseason GAA is a .230 and a .921 save average.

Lou Holtz has become the latest sports figure to be given the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award. President Donald Trump presented him with the medal in a ceremony on Thursday.

The former college coach career has spanned over 34 years. His coaching career has included a 1988 National title with the University of Notre Dame and led six different schools to a bowl game. Holtz has compiled a 249-132-7 record as he coached teams like Notre Dame, the University of Arkansas, the University of  Minnesota and the University of North Carolina, to name a few.

Holtz graduated from Kent State University and served seven years as an officer in the U.S. reserves.

Holtz has been an outspoken Republican. The former coach gave a speech at this year’s Republican National Convention, to show his support for Trump’s reelection campaign and attack Joe Biden. He claimed that Biden was a Catholic “in name only.” This caused Notre Dame president Rev. John I. Jenkins to release a statement to distance themselves from Holtz.

Holtz joins other sports athletes like Tiger Woods, Bob Cousy, Jerry West and Mariano Rivera as some of the athletes given the award by Trump.

Holtz said, “I’m even prouder to receive it from President Donald Trump,” and added that Trump is the “greatest president in my lifetime.”

The Miami Marlins made history signing the first female general manager in MLB history, Kim Ng. The team announced the move on Friday on its Twitter along with her statements.

Ng brings a wealth of baseball experience to the team. For the past nine years, she was MLB’s senior vice president of baseball operations. She was the highest-ranking Asian-American female baseball executive. She has experience of being an assistant general manager with two teams, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees. She has playoff experiences with making the playoffs eight times and three World Series wins with the teams combined.

Ng first got her start as an intern for the Chicago White Sox before becoming their assistant director of baseball operations. She then briefly worked for the American League before making history as the youngest assistant manager in 1998, when she became the assistant manager for the New York Yankees at 29. She was the second female to do so. In 2001, she became both the assistant manager and the vice president for the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 2011 she became the senior vice president of baseball operations for the MLB.

During her time with the MLB, she worked with worldwide baseball leagues and clubs. She also introduced the policy for international player signings. She helped establish the first MLB registration system for international signings, negotiations and protocols.

Derek Jeter became the first black CEO of a baseball team after his group bought the Marlins in 2017. Jeter helped pave the way by hiring Caroline O’Connor as the team’s vice president. Jeter has been essential in rebuilding the Marlins as he hired general manager Don Mattingly, who led the team to the playoffs and won the NL Manager of The Year.

Jeter said of Ng, “Her leadership of our baseball operations team will play a major role on our path toward sustained success. Additionally, her extensive work in expanding youth baseball and softball initiatives will enhance our efforts to grow the game among our local youth as we continue to make a positive impact on the South Florida community.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said of Ng’s hiring, “Kim’s appointment makes history in all of professional sports and sets a significant example for the millions of women and girls who love baseball and softball. The hard work, leadership, and record of achievement throughout her long career in the National Pastime led to this outcome, and we wish Kim all the best as she begins her career with the Marlins.”

With the details of the 2020-2021NBA season in the seemingly unknown, one of the most-asked questions is whether fans will be allowed back in the arenas. So far, the Los Angeles Lakers decided against having fans next season. Other teams are planning for a limited number of fans.

The Golden State Warriors have announced their own plan this week which allows 50% capacity for fans at the Chase Center for next season. The plan was put forth for both state and local officials. The plan is dubbed “Operation DubNation.”

Warriors owner Joe Lacob is preparing to spend $30 million for COVID-19 testing for fans, staff and players who will enter the building. It is part of the plan which would test every fan for COVID-19. “I not only want to get this done and show the world how we can do it now, I’m willing to spend the money to do it,” Lacob told ESPN. “This is a serious, serious problem. It cannot go on for multiple years … because if this were to go on for several years, the NBA is no more. You cannot sustain this league with no fans. You can do it for a year.”

While this is certainly an ambitious plan, it could be a first to offer a model for other sports teams to use.

Milwaukee Bucks guard Sterling Brown reached a $750,000 settlement of a lawsuit with the city of Milwaukee for a 2018 police incident.

The police incident is from a 2018 unlawful arrest of Brown. On January 26, 2018, at 2 a.m., Brown was confronted by police in front of a Walgreen’s parking lot. Brown was accused of parking in a handicapped space. While he was confronted, he was asked to pull his hands out of his pockets. Brown told officers that “he had stuff in his hands.” He was promptly tackled by multiple officers and tased despite not being hostile or a threat.

After the incident, Brown sued the city of Milwaukee for the incident. Under the settlement he reached with the city, Brown will receive $750,000 and the police department will have to take steps to train their officers. The police have 180 days to implement those changes.

Now, the 25-year old guard can focus on his impending restricted free agency. Brown has played three seasons with the Bucks. Brown will be able to negotiate with other teams or could be offered a contract to stay with the Bucks,

On Saturday night, LSU wide receiver Koy Moore claimed that officers from the Baton Rouge Police Department “violated him” in an incident.

Moore reported that officers searched him multiple times for drugs and weapons. He claims that he was approached by officers with their guns out yelling “where’s your guns.” Moore went on to say that he was searched “multiple times and going as far as to unzip his pants for a weapon that he did not have.”

Moore tried to record this incident but had his phone confiscated. “As I tried to go live for video documentation of the harassment, they snatched my phone,” he wrote. “I couldn’t lost my life and I know for a fact nothing wouldn’t have happened to the guys who did it. As some celebrate the election of a new president, understand the real problem has not changed. If I didn’t tell those incompetent officers that I was an LSU football player, there’s no telling if I wouldn’t been here to tell the story.”

LSU head coach Ed Orgeron responded to his statement by releasing one of his own saying he was aware of the situation that occurred on Saturday. Orgeron mentioned that the incident is being investigated and called for unity to help combat racism in a tweet.

The NFL playoffs could be dramatically different this year under a proposal by the competition committee. If the NFL were to approve it, then the post-season structure would be radically changed. Under the proposal, it would increase the current 14-team playoff format to a 16-team playoff format.

A 16-team format would seed teams based on winning percentage. This will negatively affect division winners because it will no longer guarantee them to host a playoff game. Although it will still guarantee them a playoff spot. For example, the current NFC East leader, the Philadelphia Eagles would not be guaranteed a high playoff seeding. Instead, they could be given the worst seed based on their record. The Eagles currently have three wins as division leaders. The majority of the other division leaders have six wins while only one other division leader has five.

Another impact of this proposal would be the elimination of the bye week for top teams. Currently, in the 14-team playoff format we have, the top two teams are given a bye week. This will be eliminated in the 16-team playoff format and force all teams to play in the first round.

An upside from this new format will be the fair rewarding of teams that have good records. Currently, if a team with a worse record could host a playoff game, meaning that the team with the worse record will be given a home game. As long as they are the division winner, they get one. This is seen as unfair because there are teams with better records that finish second in their division that do not host a play-off game. In the new format, better records will play a huge factor in deciding who hosts a playoff game and not based on division winners. The current format serves to reward division winners.

Currently, it is not expected that this proposal will be adopted by the NFL, but it depends on the situation of the pandemic and if any games are lost, will this format be considered further.

On Sunday night, UFC star Jon Jones posted a video to his Instagram account of him chasing an intruder.

From the footage, we see an unidentified person going into the cars in the driveway. The person is seen opening and going inside the cars as a dog is heard barking. The unidentified intruder is then seen running away as the garage opens to reveal Jones with a shotgun as he runs after the intruder.

Jones later explained within the caption what happened when he reached the intruder: “Ended up tapping on this guy’s driver-side window with the muzzle of my shotgun last night. Next time you try to rob someone, make sure you’re fast enough to outrun them. He’s lucky I’m smart enough to not shoot a man while he’s retreating. People, I know times are getting hard, but your life isn’t worth a few material possessions.”

The 33-year-old is a former two-time UFC Light Heavyweight Champion holding the title from March 2011 to April 2015. His second reign lasted from December 2018 until he vacated the titled earlier this year. Jones is currently the second-ranked pound for pound fighter in the UFC. Jones currently boasts a 26-win record with one loss.

It is safe to assume that no intruder would dare go to Jone’s home again after watching this video.