Umpire Pat Hoberg was fired by Major League Baseball on Monday for sharing his legal sports gambling accounts with a friend who bet on baseball games and for intentionally deleting electronic messages pertinent to the league’s investigation.

MLB opened the investigation last February when it was brought to its attention by the sports book, and Hoberg did not umpire last season. While MLB said the investigation did not uncover evidence Hoberg personally bet on baseball or manipulated games, MLB senior vice president of on-field operations Michael Hill recommended on May 24 that Hoberg be fired.

Commissioner Rob Manfred said Monday he upheld Hill’s decision. Among the highest-rated umpires at judging the strike zone, Hoberg can apply for reinstatement no earlier than 2026 spring training.

MLB said the friend made 141 baseball bets between April 2, 2021 and Nov. 1, 2023 totaling almost $214,000 with an overall win of nearly $35,000.

Now 38, Hoberg made his big league debut in 2014. During Game 2 of the 2022 World Series, he had an unprecedented “umpire’s perfect game” by accurately calling balls and strikes on all 129 taken pitches, according to computer tracking.

Ex-Oriole Dauer dies at 72 >> Rich Dauer, an infielder who played a decade in the major leagues and won a World Series as a player with Baltimore and as a coach with Houston, has died. He was 72.

Shortly after the Astros won the World Series in 2017, Dauer — their first base coach — had emergency surgery on a blood clot in his brain. MLB.com reported in 2023 that he had recently had a significant stroke.

WNBA

Valkyries sign first free agent, Billings >> The Golden State Valkyries have finally made a move in free agency. The first-year WNBA franchise announced it added veteran forward Monique Billings as the team’s first-ever signing.

Golden State chose Billings in December’s expansion draft despite her status as a pending unrestricted free agent, a move that was met with surprise around the league.

The 28-year-old forward ended last season with the Phoenix Mercury and played this winter for Guangdong in China’s WCBA.

Billings averaged 7.4 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in 2024, her seventh season out of UCLA.

-- Joseph Dycus

NHL

Trump celebrates champion Panthers >> President Donald Trump mostly stuck to sports and avoided any talk of tariffs as he celebrated the NHL’s defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers at the White House.

The ceremony was delayed nearly an hour because Trump was talking to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about pausing tariffs on the country, as he did with Mexico.

Trump referenced Panthers owner Vinnie Viola being a friend. Viola was Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of the Army in 2016 before withdrawing from consideration.

College basketball

Florida State’s Hamilton to step down >> Longtime Florida State men’s coach Leonard Hamilton, 76, is resigning at the end of the season.

Hamilton, who is being sued by six former players over allegations he failed to deliver on name, image and likeness promises, announced his decision following a team meeting.

Hamilton ranks 10th on the NCAA’s list of winningest active DI coaches. He coached at Miami and then with the NBA’s Wizards before joining Florida State in 2002.

Ex-Notre Dame star Shumate dies >> John Shumate, who sparked Notre Dame to the 1974 upset of UCLA that snapped the Bruins’ record 88-game winning streak, has died. He was 72.

Shumate played at Notre Dame from 1971-74 and was a first-team Associated Press All-America selection in 1974. The Phoenix Suns made Shumate the No. 4 overall pick in the 1974 draft, and he remained in the NBA through 1981 before beginning a lengthy coaching career at the college and pro levels.

MLS

Philadelphia sells McGlynn to Houston >> The Philadelphia Union sold the contract of 21-year-old midfielder Jack McGlynn to the Houston Dynamo for a minimum $2.1 million.

McGlynn made his MLS debut in 2021 and his U.S. national team debut in January 2024. He was part of last year’s U.S. Olympic team.