
Jarred Cosart is under investigation after tweets alleging he might have ties to gambling.
Jarred Cosart is currently slotted in as a key starting pitcher on the Miami Marlins 2015 roster.
But simply days before the day that is opening of Major League Baseball season, Cosart has become the subject of an investigation over perhaps the pitcher has ties towards the world of gambling, something baseball has historically taken very seriously.
The story began on Tuesday night, when Twitter user @GhostFadeKillah, a merchant account which often tweets out sports betting advice, tweeted an image of just what he advertised had been a direct message from Cosart’s account (@JarredCosart) to another gambling colleague.
In the image, Cosart says that he was ‘lookin for some help anywhere I am able to. that he bets ‘LARGE,’ and’ He also mentions taking early in the day advice that is betting the account, stating that he ‘hammered it.’ Another image talked about wagering in the NCAA basketball tournament.
Images Go Viral, New Cosart Account Appears
It didn’t take long before the pictures went viral in gambling sectors, and soon after that, it ended up being seen in a few corners associated with the baseball world. Within hours, Cosart set their Twitter account to private, and then soon deleted it entirely. On Thursday morning, there clearly was a new account purporting to belong to Cosart under the name @CosartJL, which denied that he was involved with betting, especially on baseball.
‘Around two weeks hence, my Twitter account was accessed by somebody else,’ the account that is new. ‘ They began to send incriminating DM’s to a true wide range of accounts to make it appear that i will be addicted to gambling & have bet on baseball.’
‘I have not, nor will I ever, bet in the game of baseball,’ Cosart concluded.
That second account was quickly deleted, and in accordance with Miami Herald sports writer Manny Navarro, also the Marlins were not in a position to confirm whether that 2nd account was really connected to the young pitcher.
MLB Takes Gambling Seriously for Historical Reasons
Given the total amount of uncertainty in the situation, it’s no shock that Major League Baseball would investigate precisely what’s going on here. Pat Courtney, Chief Communications Officer for Major League Baseball, confirmed to the Miami Information Times that the league is looking at the allegations.
If that seems as an overreaction to a few tweets from a source that is anonymous it is vital to understand the context in which baseball views gambling.
Ever since the Black Sox Scandal of 1919, in which a few members of the White Sox conspired to fix the global World Series, baseball has had allegations of betting on games by players, managers or officials excessively seriously. More recently, Pete Rose was banned from baseball after allegations that he bet on baseball games that he managed in.
Just year that is last it was revealed that MLB officials had undertaken a thorough research after there have been allegations that Pirates pitcher Jeff Locke had involved in game-fixing in 2012. In the end, it turned out that Locke was in fact framed by a bettor who had been annoyed at Locke for the sensed slight to the bettor’s sibling.
Cosart will be entering his third year in the major leagues this season. In the last two years, he has compiled a 3.26 ERA. He originally came up with the Houston Astros, but was traded to the Marlins last summer.
Kentucky Wildcats Still Big Favorite Heading Into Sweet Sixteen
Kentucky continues to be an even-money favorite to win the NCAA Tournament. (Image: Andy Lyons)
March Madness started with a few major upsets and a few exciting buzzer beaters, but most of the favorites are still into the field heading into the 2nd week-end of the NCAA Basketball Tournament.
That implies that heading into the Sweet Sixteen, it’s nevertheless the Kentucky Wildcats that are the odds-on favorite to walk away with a national name and an undefeated season when the tournament wraps up next weekend in Indianapolis.
True, the Wildcats don’t look their best in their second-round victory that is 64-51 the Cincinnati Bearcats, a game that saw Cincinnati hold a lead for the first 17 minutes before Kentucky started initially to assume control.
But a single reasonably close game against a decent group is not planning to move the needle much for bookmakers, and Kentucky is still considered an even money (give or take a bit either way) favorite to take down the title.
West Virginia Confident Heading Into Kentucky Clash
Of course, there are plenty of teams out there that think they can provide Kentucky a game title. The Wildcats’ first test will come Thursday evening, when they undertake the West Virginia Mountaineers, the 5th seed in the Midwest region. And while Kentucky comes into the game as a 13.5 point favorite, West Virginia undoubtedly is not counting themselves down yet.
‘I let them have their props,’ said West Virginia freshman Daxter Miles Jr. on Wednesday. ‘Salute them to getting to 36-0. But they’re gonna be 36-1. tomorrow’
Arizona, Duke, Gonzaga, and Wisconsin Among Staying Contenders
At this stage of the tournament, nobody are certain to get an opponent they can walk over, simply plus the other favorites into the tournament will also face tests in the rounds in the future. Arizona, a 13/2 choice that is second win the championship with many bookmakers, takes on Xavier Thursday night. Should they win, they might then need to take in the winner of Wisconsin vs. North Carolina; Wisconsin is the top seed within the West Region, and an 8/1 pick to win the tournament.
Two other contenders continue to be alive in the South Region, where the next games will be played on Friday evening. Top seed Duke will take on Utah, while second-seeded Gonzaga will have to contend with traditional powerhouse UCLA. Duke is essentially a joint second-choice to win the tournament along with Arizona at about 13/2 odds, while Gonzaga could be backed at about 11/1.
Wichita State Could Get Rematch with Kentucky
Of course, March Madness is all about the surprising Cinderella tales, and there are still a couple of smaller schools with hopes of playing spoiler in the tournament. Maybe the absolute most compelling of these teams is Wichita State, which taxes on Notre Dame Thursday evening.
The Shockers are a definite two-point favorite heading into that matchup, and are thought a 25-1 underdog to casino slots unity 3d complete project win a national championship. Should Wichita State win, they’d get Kentucky within the quarterfinals: a rematch of a 78-76 victory by Kentucky within the Round of 32 last year, in which Kentucky ended Wichita State’s desire a season that is undefeated.
The Women’s National Championship is also heading into its Sweet Sixteen this weekend, though it had an even more dominant favorite than the Kentucky men for those looking for even more March Madness. The Connecticut ladies’ team may be the overwhelming choice to win a nationwide title this year: they will enter their next game against Texas as a 28.5-point favorite, and FiveThirtyEight.com estimates that UConn has a 77 percent opportunity to win the tournament that is entire.
RAWA Rhetoric Sweeps Home Subcommittee Meeting in Federal Online Gambling Debate
Utah Representative Jason Chaffetz, a RAWA Congressional sponsor and finger-wagger to the stars, left the hearing whenever he wasn’t actually asking a relevant question or involved in its response.
The hearing that is congressional the Restoration of America’s Wire Act (RAWA) was finally unleashed on Capitol Hill yesterday, chaired by Representative Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), who introduced the bill early this present year.
The hearing had been largely criticized in the run-up, because the witnesses due to testify were by and large against on line gambling and pro-RAWA, and there were no shocks for the reason that arena once invited speakers had their say.
Through the moment that Louie Gohmert, chairman of the home Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations, kicked things off by grappling because of the states’ liberties concern, it seemed like the problem was headed for the fairly discussion that is one-sided.
‘We must explore ways to protect the legal rights of states to avoid Internet that is unwanted gambling creeping across their borders,’ he reasoned. ‘Updating the Wire Act can be quite a tool to safeguard states’ rights to prohibit gambling activity.’
Enthused by this exciting interpretation that is new of, Chaffetz took that ball and ran with it. ‘I believe [RAWA] is just a state’s liberties bill, and I believe it’s the rights of states like Utah and Hawaii, where we’ve no gaming, to protect ourselves from one thing that we will never like to see in your edges,’ he declared.
This, before a single testimony had been heard.
Rhyming Rhetoric
The witness that is first John Kindt, a professor at the University of Illinois Law School, whom wasted no time in condemning online gambling as the ‘crack cocaine of gambling.’
Kindt is keen on the it’s-true-because-it-rhymes brand of rhetoric, a passion he shares with Sheldon Adelson: ‘Click your phone, lose your home’ he quipped. ‘Click your mouse, lose your household,’ he added, just in case you don’t get the brilliant poetry with the example that is first.
In fact, Adelson likes the identical types of phrases, which he himself coined. Perhaps Not that he is behind all this, of course.
Kindt is additionally partial to quoting from outdated studies, such because the one commissioned by Congress in 1999, the full days of dial-up Internet, which concluded that ‘Internet gaming is impractical to manage’ and so should be prohibited at all costs.
‘Dangerous Precedent’
Next up was Andrew Moylan, executive director and senior other at R Street Institute, a conservative-libertarian think tank. Moylan was a late addition to the range of witnesses, a concession, perhaps, to criticism of the largely partisan panel.
However, he confusingly stated that he had been not particularly knowledgeable about or interested in gambling. Instead, he had been right here to ‘articulate a conception of limited federal government and federalism since it relates to gambling legislation.’
Moylan noted that RAWA and its particular blanket ban on online gambling was at odds because of the principles of federalism and in addition the ‘more narrowly targeted language regarding the Wire that is original Act UIGEA.’ Both the Wire Act and UIGEA, he stated, had been enacted to help states in their law that is own enforcement.
He also said that RAWA ‘potentially establishes a precedent that is dangerous suggesting that the mere utilization of a communication platform like the internet subjects all users and all sorts of activity to the reach of this federal government, regardless of its location or its nature.’
Les States More
Les Bernal, shown here during a 60 Minutes interview along with his ubiquitously shocked expression, had nothing good to say about on line gambling, or gambling duration.
Les Bernal, national director of the Stop Predatory Gambling Foundation, was up next to state their ethical objection to any or all kinds of gambling. It’s Bernal’s opinion that states are forcing online gambling on a reluctant and populace that is terrified.
‘States, in partnership with commercial gambling operators, are forcing these gambling games onto the general public. Or even the federal government, who will step in to protect the rights of individuals, your constituents, against these techniques by an active, predatory state?’
A Moment’s Silence
Michael K. Fagan, adjunct professor of law at Washington University School of Law, been able to unplug their television microphone as he was asked to move it closer towards him, which suggested that the first half his speech ended up being conducted in complete silence, as far as the online world flow viewers were concerned.
While we are no experts on lip-reading, we’re fairly yes we’re able to make out the words ‘terrorism,’ ‘money,’ and ‘launderers’ repeated many times over. The theme of the next, more audible 1 / 2 of the message proposed that this had been the case and we resisted the desire to show the volume back down.
Finally, Parry Aftab, executive director of cyber safety advice group WiredSafety, appeared as if the only witness who had taken the time and energy to talk to operators and regulators in the states that had actually legalized online gaming.