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Betting on Baseball in Japan? You Betcha. But You’ll Never Guess Who Has Been Caught?

Incredible? The following story came across the A.P. wire, and it’s quite a hoot.

There are allegations that sumo wrestlers and coaches have been betting tens of thousands of dollars on baseball.

It’s a widening scandal that has tarnished the image of the ancient sport.

From A.P. sources:

The Japan Sumo Association decided in an emergency meeting Monday to hold the tournament, but kept the option of suspending more than a dozen wrestlers – or about one-third of the top division – along with another dozen coaches, according to media reports.

One arrest has already been made in the betting scandal and police are considering more criminal action pending the outcome of an investigation into the accusations, which first appeared in the weekly press and allegedly involve gangster middlemen.

So even sumos are not exempt from this crime.

Wow.

It would be like Michael Jordan (when he was a basketball player) being busted for betting on baseball. Right?