Shohei Ohtani is about to be a dad.
The Los Angeles Dodgers' two-way superstar was away from the team for the birth of his first child Friday.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Ohtani was with his wife and on MLB’s paternity list before the Dodgers’ series opener Friday night against the Texas Rangers.
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"He and Mamiko are expecting at some point. That’s all I know," Roberts said. "I don’t know when he’s going to come back, and I don’t know when they’re going to have the baby, but obviously they’re together in anticipation."
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Ohtani, 30, posted on his Instagram account in late December that he and his 28-year-old wife, a former professional basketball player from his native Japan, were expecting a baby in 2025.
"Can’t wait for the little rookie to join our family soon!" the Dec. 28 post said. It included a photo showing the couple’s beloved dog, Decoy, and a pink ruffled onesie along with baby shoes and a sonogram that was covered by a baby emoji.
Ohtani can miss up to three games while on paternity leave. The Dodgers have a three-game series in Texas before an off day Monday. They play at the Chicago Cubs Tuesday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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It's no secret Bill Belichick runs a tight ship, but his style is apparently rubbing some people in Chapel Hill the wrong way.
Belichick, who turned 73 Wednesday, took the UNC football coaching job in December after the Tar Heels moved on from Mack Brown.
The 2024 football season was Belichick's first away from the sideline in nearly 50 years. He had some interviews but never got a job and eventually took the season off, other than some media appearances.
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Belichick has been on the job for about five months, and, according to one reporter who covered Belichick with the New England Patriots, some "everyday employee[s]" aren't fond of what's going on.
"From rumblings I heard — and this is not recent, and this a month or two ago — they’re not loving the Bill Belichick experience. If you’re an everyday employee down there, which is probably what a lot of the people here in 2000 felt when Bill came aboard and said, ‘I don’t know if I like this,' it’s uncomfortable," Tom Curran said on WEEI this week.
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Curran's report came after The Athletic highlighted some "notable takeaways" from Belichick's tenure, including treating the program like an NFL team and his 24-year-old girlfriend involvement in operations.
The Athletic recently obtained emails in which Hudson showed concern about fans attacking Belichick and his personal life. Belichick also asked UNC employees that Hudson be copied on emails.
Belichick reportedly kept tabs on some NFL jobs before taking the UNC gig, including the New York Jets. It was also reported Tom Brady and Belichick shared somewhat of an interest, but nothing ever materialized.
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A federal judge ruled against Maine state Rep. Laurel Libby Friday in her lawsuit to have her censure in the state legislature overturned. Libby was censured Feb. 15 for a social media post that identified a transgender athlete who won a girls state pole vault title.
The judge who made the ruling is Rhode Island U.S. District Court Judge Melissa DuBose, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden just before he left office in January.
DuBose denied Libby's motion for a preliminary injunction Friday, ruling the process House Speaker Ryan Fecteau used to impose the sanction reflected the will of the majority of Maine House members.
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DuBose presided over the case after every district judge in Maine refused to take it.
Judges John C. Nivison, John A. Woodcock, Lance E. Walker, Karen F. Wolf, Stacey D. Neumann and Nancy Torresen signed recusal orders shortly after the case was initially filed. No reason was given.
So, the case went to DuBose in Rhode Island.
Libby is "disappointed" by the ruling but plans to appeal it and will take the case to the court of appeals and, potentially, the U.S. Supreme Court.
"I certainly won't leave any stone unturned in getting my constituents their voice and vote back," Libby told Fox News Digital.
Libby represents 9,000 constituents in Maine's 90th district and has not been able to speak or vote on their behalf in the state legislature for 62 days.
That cost her a chance to vote on the state's biannual budget and propose a bill to expand access to mental health resources for residents.
With her censure remaining in place, it will prevent Libby from voting on or speaking on the House floor about a bill that would add trans inclusion in girls sports to the state constitution.
Her colleagues will be voting on the Democratic majority's bill after it passed with a slim simple majority in the House Thursday but will need a two-thirds majority in both chambers before it can go before voters. If passed, it would codify in the state's constitution the Maine Human Rights Act (MHRA), which protects the rights of transgender athletes to compete for sports teams of the opposite sex.
"I will not be able to vote on that," Libby said.
Libby's social media post that prompted the censure thrust the entire state into an active legal battle with President Donald Trump's administration over the issue of trans athletes in girls sports.
The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the state for its ongoing defiance of Trump's "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports" executive order. Maine has faced federal pressure in the last two months over its refusal to comply, including two federal investigations, a funding freeze by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and now a lawsuit.
The Democratic leadership in the state, led by Gov. Janet Mills, has fought back, filing their own lawsuit against Trump over the funding freeze. Another federal judge has already ruled the USDA must unfreeze the funding.
"I’m happy to go to court and litigate the issues that are being raised in this court complaint," Mills told reporters Thursday.
A survey by the American Parents Coalition found that out of about 600 registered Maine voters, 63% said school sports participation should be based on biological sex, and 66% agreed it is "only fair to restrict women’s sports to biological women."
The poll also found that 60% of residents would support a ballot measure limiting participation in women’s and girls sports to biological females. This included 64% of independents and 66% of parents with kids under age 18.
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The WWE Universe made it loud and clear that they support Jey Uso ahead of his attempt at winning the World Heavyweight Championship against Gunther at this weekend's WrestleMania 41.
If it wasn’t clear, fans who packed Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas for WaleMania on Thursday made their voices heard with ear-popping "yeet" chants throughout the night.
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Gunther’s actions have made clear he’s not going to go down easy. He has owned Uso in the ring, and also sent a message with a bloody beatdown of Uso's twin brother Jimmy weeks before the two are set to go 1-on-1 for the championship in Allegiant Stadium on Saturday.
He admitted on Friday to Fox News Digital he was happy to rain on the fans’ parade.
"I enjoy it. I love to p--- on any parade," Gunther said. "I’m the party pooper in this company, and I’m very proud of that. I enjoy doing that.
"The more support Jey has, the better for me."
Gunther won the World Heavyweight Championship over Damian Priest at SummerSlam back in August. One of his only losses in singles competition over the last year came at Crown Jewel against Cody Rhodes, and against Sami Zayn at WrestleMania 40 for the Intercontinental Championship.
Since then, Gunther has proven to be one of the most dominant superstars the WWE roster has to offer.
Uso earned the right to challenge Gunther with his win in the men’s Royal Rumble. He’s only held one singles title in his career, the Intercontinental Championship, which he dropped to Bron Breakker.
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