Free Republic

Washington, D.C. – In a bombshell report released Tuesday, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence accused the FBI of deliberately downplaying the politically motivated 2017 shooting that nearly killed House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and injured several others. The shooter, James Hodgkinson, was a far-left extremist who opened fire on Republican congressmen practicing for the annual charity baseball game—but the FBI called it “suicide by cop.” That decision, the report says, wasn’t just wrong—it was dishonest. The 27-page unclassified report, compiled from more than 3,000 pages of FBI records recently turned over by new Director Kash Patel, reveals that...

Top-ranked LSU Shreveport kept its dominant season alive and punched its ticket to the Avista-NAIA World Series with a 9-6 victory over Mid-America Christian...

Hall of Fame Chairman of the Board Jane Forbes Clark issued a statement on Tuesday regarding MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred's policy decision about individuals losing their permanently ineligible status after death. "The National Baseball Hall of Fame has always maintained that anyone removed from Baseball’s permanently ineligible list will become eligible for Hall of Fame consideration," Clark said in the statement. "Major League Baseball’s decision to remove deceased individuals from the permanently ineligible list will allow for the Hall of Fame candidacy of such individuals to now be considered. The Historical Overview Committee will develop the ballot of eight names...

In a historic, sweeping decision, baseball commissioner Rob Manfred on Tuesday removed Pete Rose, "Shoeless" Joe Jackson and other deceased players from Major League Baseball's permanently ineligible list. The all-time hit king and Jackson -- both longtime baseball pariahs stained by gambling, seen by MLB as the game's mortal sin -- are now presumably eligible for election into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Manfred ruled that MLB's punishment of banned individuals ends upon their deaths. "Obviously, a person no longer with us cannot represent a threat to the integrity of the game," Manfred wrote in a...

For the past two decades, umpires were working with a "buffer zone" that gave them 2 inches of leeway — on all sides of the plate, inside and outside the strike zone — when they were graded on how accurately they called balls and strikes. Now, however, that buffer zone has shrunk, from 2 inches on all sides to just three-quarters of an inch on all sides

Thursday, on Opening Day, the Yankees hit two home runs against the Brewers in a 4-2 victory. Saturday, in the second game of the series, they hit nine homers in a 20-9 walloping of the Brew Crew, three of them coming on the first three Brewers' pitches. Sunday, they hit four more, tying the record for most home runs hit in the first three games of a season (15). And sure, they were playing the Brewers, but you gotta think something is going on here, right? Well.. Yes, they redesigned the bat to put more wood where the bat makes...

The New York Yankees put on a show for their fans against the Milwaukee Brewers at Yankee Stadium on Saturday. The only problem is many watching started to question whether New York’s offensive onslaught was legal. First baseman Paul Goldschmidt, left fielder Cody Bellinger and right fielder Aaron Judge hit back-to-back-to-back home runs off Brewers starter and former teammate Nestor Cortes on the first three pitches of the first inning.

The Los Angeles Dodgers plan to visit President Donald Trump at the White House to celebrate their World Series victory, the team announced Tuesday. The team released a statement Tuesday afternoon that said it would visit the White House “in keeping with long-standing baseball tradition.” The Dodgers will visit the White House on April 7, during an away series against the Washington Nationals.

The Los Angeles Dodgers won the 2024 World Series, securing their second title in the last five seasons after the 2020 title. Since that 2020 win came during an election year, the team made the traditional ceremonial visit to the White House under the Biden Administration. Though it's unclear if Joe Biden knew who the Dodgers were, where he was at the time, or what sport the team plays. As the 2024 title also came in an election year, the Dodgers should now be set to visit the White House under the second Trump administration. And some opinion writers are...

A posthumous presidential pardon for the late baseball legend Pete Rose "would mean the world" to the family, says his son Tyler Rose. President Trump stated last week that Major League Baseball should never have banned Rose, and the Hall of Fame should have inducted him during his lifetime. He also promised to posthumously pardon Rose, since he was permanently banned from the league after an investigation found that he had bet on games involving the Cincinnati Reds when he was a player and a manager. Rose hadn’t been charged with a crime for placing the bets, but had pleaded...

Ippei Mizuhara, Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter, is heard impersonating Ohtani to try to get a $200,000 wire transfer approved from Ohtani's bank account in a recording obtained by The Athletic from the Department of Justice.Mizuhara pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud charges in June, admitting to stealing almost $17 million from Ohtani as he amassed a large gambling debt while working as Ohtani's interpreter with the Angels and Dodgers. According to Mizuhara’s plea agreement, he had placed approximately 24 phone calls in which he impersonated Ohtani.In the audio recording, Mizuhara tells a bank agent over the phone that he...

President Donald Trump said Friday that Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) appears as though he was “hit with a baseball bat” or “beat around” after seeing him on television Thursday. Trump made his comments at a press conference in North Carolina, responding to a reporter who asked if he was “disappointed” Schiff was not with him on his trip to the Tar Heel State and California to inspect hurricane and fire damage in the respective states. “I was told that Schiff was going to travel with us to California. I wasn’t thrilled, to be honest with you,” Trump said. “And I...

Bob Uecker, the legendary radio voice of the Brewers who had called their games since 1971 and was nicknamed “Mr. Baseball,” died on Thursday, the team announced. He was 90. Uecker was beloved for his sense of humor and gained national acclaim for his role as announcer Harry Doyle in the “Major League” movies. A Milwaukee native, Uecker was an MLB catcher for six seasons, playing his first two years with his hometown Milwaukee Braves and winning a World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1964. Uecker was enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003 as the...

The Baltimore Orioles announced Tuesday that former pitcher Brian Matusz died at the age of 37. Matusz, who spent nearly his entire MLB career with the organization.. His cause of death was not announced. The Grand Junction, Colorado, native played at least part of eight MLB seasons for the Orioles and appeared in one game for the Chicago Cubs during his career, which stretched from 2009 through 2016. After starring collegiately at the University of San Diego, and earning the 2008 West Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year Award, Matusz was selected No. 4 overall by the O's in the...

Rickey Henderson, a Baseball Hall of Famer and MLB’s all-time stolen bases leader, has died, The Post has confirmed. He was 65. Henderson, a 10-time All-Star and 1990 American League MVP, was the game’s greatest base stealer, racking up 1,406 stolen bags in his career, an MLB record that still stands. SNIP “I still cannot believe I’ve lost one of my favorite teammates and great friend Rickey Henderson. Rest in peace,” former Yankees teammate Dave Winfield wrote on Instagram.

The sweepstakes to land free agent Juan Soto came to a surprising end, as the star outfielder decided to retire from professional baseball and play for the New York Mets instead. Soto explained his decision to the press, noting that though playing professional baseball had been his lifelong dream, the opportunity to sign a 15-year contract for $765 million to enjoy a quiet retirement playing baseball recreationally for an amateur team like the Mets was too attractive to pass up. "I can now live comfortably while playing inconsequential games no one will watch or care about," Soto explained. "I am...

What a Juan-der-ful holiday season it will be for the Mets. In a move that will reverberate through not just MLB, but the entire worldwide sports landscape, Juan Soto agreed to a record 15-year contract worth $765 million with the Mets on Sunday, according to sources, to usher in the Winter Meetings. The deal eclipses the $700 million contract over 10 years (which included significant deferrals) that Shohei Ohtani received from the Dodgers last winter. MLB valued that deal at $460 million in present-day value because of the deferrals. SNIP The Yankees pushed hard to re-sign Soto, with managing partner...

BREAKING: Superstar outfielder Juan Soto and the New York Mets are in agreement on a 15-year, $765 million contract, sources tell ESPN. It is the largest deal in professional sports history. Juan Soto's 15-year, $765 million deal with the New York Mets includes no deferred money, according to sources, and has escalators that can reach above $800 million.

Mykalai Kontilai, the broadcast executive-turned-entrepreneur who bought Jackie Robinson's first major and minor league professional contracts and then used them to launch a sports memorabilia/auction business, pleaded guilty to wire fraud Thursday in Las Vegas. He will be sentenced Dec. 4 and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, according to the Department of Justice. Kontilai, 55, purchased Robinson's Montreal Royals contract for the 1946 season and Robinson's 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers contract for $2 million in 2013, subsequently using their purported value to lure investors into his sports memorabilia/auction business called, at various times, Collector's Café or Collector's...