Babe Ruth in trouble with the law

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee man with the same name as New York Yankees legend Babe Ruth is facing charges alleging that he used the names of hundreds of dead or retired pro baseball players to make phony claims for payouts in class action settlements.

George Herman Ruth is charged with 91 counts in the indictment handed down in U.S. District Court in Greeneville, Tennessee, on Aug. 12, the U.S. attorney’s office announced late last week. The 69-year-old from Morristown is charged with mail fraud, aggravated identity theft, fraudulent use of Social Security numbers, money laundering, making false statements to his probation officer and possessing firearms after having previously been convicted of felonies.

The indictment says Ruth obtained or attempted to obtain more than $550,000 through the scheme. He sought payouts in lawsuit settlements ranging from contact lens pricing allegations to claims of racial discrimination against a staffing agency, the indictment adds.

Ruth opened more than a dozen P.O. boxes in several Tennessee cities for himself and for sham companies, then submitted hundreds of fraudulent claim forms to class action administrators across the country, according to the indictment. He used the old baseball players’ names or variations of his own name and the Social Security numbers of unwitting victims, prosecutors said.

The indictment doesn’t list the names of the players Ruth claimed to be, but it does describe some of them. For instance, some played for defunct teams such as the Philadelphia Athletics, the St. Louis Browns and the Kansas City Packers.

A public defender representing Ruth declined to comment on the charges.

Ruth had previously pleaded guilty in an Indiana federal court to a scheme to commit Social Security fraud. In 2020, he was sentenced to prison before going on probation from October 2023 until July 2025, court records show.

Emch plays in Pitt defeat

LINCOLN, Neb. –Crestview High School graduate Abbey Emch made her University of Pittsburgh volleyball debut in the Panthers’ 19-25, 25-15, 15-25, 26-24, 15-13 loss to Florida on Sunday at the University of Nebraska.

Emch played three sets and had one kill.

Pitt also lost on Friday against the hosts in four sets.

The Panthers will host TCU on Sunday.

Rays dump slumping Guards

CLEVELAND (AP) — Junior Caminero homered twice and drove in three runs, and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the slumping Cleveland Guardians 9-0 on Monday night.

Yandy Díaz also connected for Tampa Bay, and Carson Williams had two hits and two RBIs in his third major league game. The Rays finished with 14 hits in their third consecutive win.

Tampa Bay left-hander Ian Seymour (2-0) struck out eight in five innings in his first career start. He allowed one hit and walked one.

Cleveland has dropped six straight and nine of 10 overall. It has been shut out in its last three games.

Caminero, who turned 22 in July, had four hits and scored four times. He has 39 homers on the season.

Díaz hit a 384-foot solo homer in the seventh, ending Tanner Bibee’s start. After a brief rain delay, Caminero hit his second homer, and Williams added a two-run double.

Bibee (9-10) was charged with five runs and eight hits in six-plus innings. He has allowed four or more runs in five of his seven starts since the All-Star break.

Key moment

Caminero drove the first pitch he saw in the fifth 412 feet to deep center field. He has homered in each of his last three games.

Key stat

Cleveland had not been shut out in three consecutive games since June 12-14, 1991.

Pickett on the block

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns are reportedly trading quarterback Kenny Pickett to the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for a 2026 fifth-round draft pick.

The move comes after the Raiders lost backup quarterback Aidan O’Connell to a fractured wrist in the preseason finale, leaving them in need of veteran depth behind starter Geno Smith. Pickett, a former first-round pick, will now compete for the backup role in Las Vegas.

Pickett, 27, has experienced a tumultuous NFL journey. Originally drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2022, he was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2024, where he was part of the team that won Super Bowl LIX. In March 2025, he was traded again to the Browns, where he competed for the starting quarterback position. With the acquisition of Pickett, the Browns have narrowed their quarterback room down to three players: Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel, and rookie Shedeur Sanders.