A-Rod, J-Lo recruit NFL stars for Mets bid

NEW YORK -- Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez have recruited three NFL figures as part of their ambitious bid for ownership of the New York Mets baseball franchise, ESPN reported on Monday.

ESPN says that Hall of Fame linebacker Brian Urlacher, Super Bowl-winner Travis Kelce and former Dallas Cowboys ace DeMarco Murray have joined the Rodriguez-Lopez investor group.

"We couldn't be more excited to have such high-quality individuals as part of our group," ESPN quoted Lopez and Rodriguez as saying.

Former New York Yankees legend Rodriguez and pop star Lopez, who are engaged to be married, have submitted a $1.7 billion (1.5 billion euro) bid for the Mets, according to reports.

Hedge fund billionaire Steve Cohen, who was close to taking over the team last year before a deal collapsed, has reportedly bid $2 billion for the club.

While Rodriguez and Lopez have reportedly pumped $300 million of their own fortune into the bid, it was not clear how much other investors had contributed.

"Being a former athlete and having a chance to be a part of a group trying to purchase a professional team, it's pretty cool," Urlacher told ESPN.

"It's especially cool to be involved with Alex. Alex is the man."

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Kelce described the proposed takeover deal as a "a crazy opportunity."

"I had a chance to meet Alex Rodriguez a couple years ago and just told him how much of a fan I was as a kid of him," Kelce said.

"I'm very thankful for the success that I've had in the NFL, to have an opportunity like this come across the table. I couldn't think of a more unique set of people to be in charge of this."

Agence France-Presse

MLB: A-Rod, J-Lo take second swing at buying Mets -- report

Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez reportedly aren't giving up on their desire to purchase the New York Mets.

While the power couple's first attempt at acquiring the team recently fell apart, they are now working with JPMorgan Chase bankers to produce a second bid, the New York Post reported Friday night.

The newspaper cited anonymous sources saying that actress-singer Lopez and retired baseball star Rodriguez are willing to invest "hundreds of millions" out of their pockets to acquire the Mets.

Per the Post, the Wilpon family, who own the Mets, are growing more eager to unload the team as their finances take a hit due to baseball's shutdown during the coronavirus pandemic. 

The newspaper added that the Wilpons are now willing to package SNY, the Mets' cable network, for sale along with the club.

The Wilpons' previous unwillingness to include SNY in the deal helped sink the first bid from Rodriguez and Lopez, according to the Post.

The Wilpons initially were reported to be shopping the Mets in December, when billionaire hedge-fund founder Steve Cohen attempted to acquire 80 percent of the team. Cohen already was a minority owner of the team.

Cohen announced in February that his bid to gain controlling interest had failed, news that was followed shortly by reports of interest from Rodriguez and Lopez.

Last month, Forbes placed the Mets' value at $2.4 billion, a 4 percent rise from last year. 

The Mets' ranked sixth on Forbes list of values for Major League Baseball teams, trailing only the New York Yankees ($5 billion), Los Angeles Dodgers ($3.4 billion), Boston Red Sox ($3.3 billion), Chicago Cubs ($3.2 billion) and San Francisco Giants ($3.1 billion).

Rodriguez, 44, was a three-time Most Valuable Player and 14-time All-Star in a 22-year major league career that included stints with the Seattle Mariners (1994-2000), Texas Rangers (2001-03) and New York Yankees (2004-13). 

His career accomplishments were tarnished by his admitted use of performance-enhancing drugs.

Lopez, 50, has enjoyed success as both a movie star and a singer. Fox Business reported in February that her net worth is between $225 million and $400 million, with Rodriguez's net worth estimated at $300 million to $350 million.

-reuters-

MLB: A-Rod, J-Lo eye bid for share of Mets -- report

Alex Rodriguez and his fiancee, Jennifer Lopez, a world-renowned entertainer, are looking to raise capital in an attempt to make a bid to purchase a stake in the New York Mets, Variety reported Monday.

According to the report, Rodriguez and Lopez have retained JPMorgan Chase in their quest for partners.

Billionaire and minority owner Steve Cohen's attempt to buy an 80 percent stake of the Mets for $2.6 billion fell through in February after Mets owner Fred Wilpon reportedly changed the terms of the deal at the 11th hour. 

Under the construct of that deal, Cohen would have taken control of the club in five years. No such clause would be part of this deal, Variety reported.

Cohen, 63, paid $40 million for an 8 percent stake of the Mets in 2012.

The Mets are utilizing Allen & Co.'s Steve Greenberg to manage the any potential sale.

The combined net worth of Rodriguez and Lopez is around $700 million, per Variety.

Forbes currently lists the Mets' value at $2.4 billion, which ranks sixth among Major League Baseball teams, trailing only the New York Yankees ($5 billion), Los Angeles Dodgers ($3.4 billion), the Boston Red Sox ($3.3 billion), Chicago Cubs ($3.2 billion) and the San Francisco Giants ($3.1 billion).

Field Level Media/Reuters

It's official! Jennifer Lopez, A-Rod are engaged

NEW YORK - Jennifer Lopez and retired baseball great Alex Rodriguez have been one of the most glam celebrity couples in recent years. Fans, get ready: a J-Rod wedding is on the cards.

Lopez and Rodriguez confirmed on Instagram late Saturday that they are engaged.

Both posted a picture of their hands at sunset, with Lopez's enormous diamond ring. 

While the multi-hyphenated singer-actress-dancer-producer only captioned the pic with heart emojis, Rodriguez went a bit farther, writing in lower-case letters: "she said yes."

Lopez, 49, and Rodriguez, 43, have been a couple for about two years. 

Lopez, currently the executive producer and judge on NBC reality dance competition show "World of Dance," is set to go on tour later this year across North America. She wrapped up a Vegas residency in 2018.

She has been married three times: to Ojani Noa, back-up dancer Cris Judd, and singer Marc Anthony, with whom she has 11-year-old twins. She also had a high-profile relationship with actor Ben Affleck.

Rodriguez retired from Major League Baseball in 2016, after a lengthy career, mostly with the New York Yankees. He won one World Series title with the Yankees and was an All-Star 14 times.

His achievements were tarnished by his admission that he used performance-enhancing drugs. He was suspended for the entire 2014 season.

Rodriguez currently works as an on-air baseball analyst.

He has been married once. He and ex-wife Cynthia Scurtis have two daughters.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

A-Rod apologizes to Yankees for 'past several years'

New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez, returning from a 162-game ban for using performance-enhancing drugs, apologized to team officials on Tuesday, the Major League Baseball club said.

The apology was given during a meeting at Yankee Stadium where Rodriguez and his attorney Jim Sharp met with team owner Hal Steinbrenner, president Randy Levine, general manager Brian Cashman, and assistant general manager Jean Afterman.

"Alex initiated the meeting and apologized to the organization for his actions over the past several years," the team said in a statement.

"There was an honest and frank discussion on all of the issues. As far as the Yankees are concerned, the next step is to play baseball in spring training."

Rodriguez, who will turn 40 in July, is still owed $61 million guaranteed over the next three years, and a potential of $30 million more in bonuses for reaching home run marks that the club is trying to get out of.

Standing fifth on MLB's all-time home run list at 654, Rodriguez's contract calls for a marketing bonus of $6 million for tying Willie Mays (660), Babe Ruth (714), Hank Aaron (755) and matching and surpassing Barry Bonds (762) on the list.

Those bonuses were agreed by the Yankees before third baseman Rodriguez admitted in 2009 to prior steroids use and was found in 2013 to have broken the doping rules.

Given his age, a recent history of injuries and a full year's absence from the game, it remains to be seen how productive Rodriguez will be and for how much longer as he enters his 21st season.

(Reporting by Larry Fine in New York; Editing by Frank Pingue)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

A-Rod case highlights game's doping battle

CHICAGO - A 211-game ban didn't keep star player Alex Rodriguez from taking the field Monday, but did signal that US baseball may be slowly coming to grips with its doping problem.

That Rodriguez took the field for his injury-delayed season debut just hours after Major League Baseball announced he would be banned through the end of the 2014 season marks the latest in a series of scandals to hit the sport.

But Monday's events may have offered some encouraging signs, including 12 players accepting 50-game suspensions without appealing.

That followed Milwaukee star Ryan Braun's similar acceptance of a 65-game ban after he was linked to the Biogenesis anti-aging clinic, which has been fingered as a source of performance enhancing drugs like testosterone and human growth hormone.

"Despite the challenges this situation has created during a great season on the field, we pursued this matter because it was not only the right thing to do, but the only thing to do," MLB Commissioner Bud Selig said of the investigation into the clinic.

He also praised the efforts of the players' union, which has often been at odds with the league over anti-doping procedures.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi, who was only too happy to welcome Rodriguez back to his punchless lineup for as long as he could, said the fact that the MLB and players union officials have cooperated in the course of the Biogenesis case was progress.

"People have asked me, is this a good day or a bad day in baseball," Girardi said. "I think it's both. It's another black eye for us that we're trying to clean this game up.

"But I think it's really good, the combination of union and Major League Baseball working together."

Major League Baseball Players Association executive director Michael Weiner said the union agreed that the 12 50-game suspensions handed down were "consistent with the punishments set forth in the Joint Drug Agreement."

But the union will help Rodriguez pursue his appeal, saying Selig didn't act appropriately -- apparently in imposing such a lengthy ban when the game's anti-doping rules call for a 50-game suspension for a first offense and 100 games for a second.

Selig said Rodriguez's ban also included punishment for obstructing the investigation into Biogenesis.

But if Rodriguez proves another big fish that gets away when he takes his case to an arbitrator, it will be an even darker day for baseball.

Less than a month ago, the Baseball Hall of Fame completed a 2013 induction ceremony that featured just three posthumous honorees.

All of the modern-era candidates, many with links to the doping scandals of the past 15 years, had been snubbed by the selection panel.

They include two players whose names have become synonomous with baseball's "steroid era" -- all-time home run king Barry Bonds and star pitcher Roger Clemens.

Mark McGwire, who battled doping allegations as he became the first player to hit 70 homers in a season while with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1998, admitted in 2010 that he had used steroids for almost a decade.

Now the hitting coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers, McGwire said Monday he thought players were more resolved now to rid their sport of doping.

"It really doesn't matter what I think, I think it matters what the players think," McGwire said.

"And what I hear every day in the clubhouse, they're just happy it's coming to an end. They're happy that Major League Baseball is taking care of it."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com