Awards / Awards Shows

Donald Trump just unloaded on Megan Rapinoe and the USWNT ... calling them "leftist maniacs" who cost the United States a gold medal at the Olympics.

The former President went off Thursday morning ... stunningly claiming the women's team's kneeling protests and political comments were the reasons they didn't win gold in Tokyo this summer.

"If our soccer team, headed by a radical group of Leftist Maniacs, wasn’t woke, they would have won the Gold Medal instead of the Bronze," Trump said.

"Woke means you lose, everything that is woke goes bad, and our soccer team certainly has."

Trump's rant didn't stop there ... he went on to say the team's protestors should be kicked off the squad, and then criticized Rapinoe for her political statements and her play.

"They should replace the wokesters with Patriots and start winning again," he said.

"The woman with the purple hair played terribly and spends too much time thinking about Radical Left politics and not doing her job!"

As we previously reported, several members of the USWNT took knees prior to the kickoff of the Olympic games this summer ... a continuing effort by the squad to raise awareness for injustice across the globe.

Several members from other national squads also took part in the kneeling protests during the Games as well.

Peyton Manning will have his longtime rival present when he gets his gold jacket this weekend -- 'cause none other than Tom Brady is reportedly slated to attend his Hall of Fame ceremony!!!

Of course, the Manning vs. Brady matchup is as epic as it gets ... with the guys dominating the NFL from 2001 to 2015.

While Peyton and TB12 went at it on the field -- Brady came out on top with an 11-6 overall record, but Manning got three of his wins in AFC title games -- the superstars remained tight over the years.

Now, as Manning is set to get enshrined in Canton on Sunday, his pal, Brady, will be present for his buddy's big moment, Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians told the Tampa Bay Times.

Remember, Arians was Manning's QB coach with the Indianapolis Colts way back in the day ... before teaming up with Brady in Tampa.

There's a bunch of other guys getting in the Hall this weekend as well -- from Calvin Johnson to John Lynch to Charles Woodson and more ... so it's really gonna be a night filled with legends.

Lamar Jackson is about to be immortalized in Louisville ... the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner is getting a statue in his honor at Cardinal Stadium!!

Of course, the Baltimore Ravens MVP only left the school 4 years ago ... but the Cards wanted to waste NO time getting the ball rolling on the major tribute .... with Athletic Director Vince Tyra making the announcement during "The Deener Show" on Monday.

Tyra didn't expand on any of the details like location, timeframe or how big the statue will be ... but knowing Jackson's impact on the school, we can only expect it to be nothing short of incredible.

From 2015-17 with the Cardinals, Jackson had a total of 9,043 passing yards, 4,132 rushing yards and 119 overall touchdowns!

LJ also broke records ... having the most rushing yard and rushing touchdowns for the Cardinals football program.

On top of that, he's the youngest player -- and first Cardinals player -- to ever win the Heisman ... and first to make the All-American team for Louisville.

Now, the 24-year-old is entering his 4th season with the Ravens and has made the playoffs ever season -- but eventually hopes to win the Super Bowl.

USA!!! USA!!! USA!!!

Team USA's Suni Lee just brought home the gold in the women's gymnastics all-around event at the Tokyo Games ... with teammate Simone Biles showing support from the stands!!

The 18-year-old star crushed her routines en route to the top Olympic honors Thursday night ... becoming the 5th-consecutive American to win the event with a score of 57.433.

Of course, Biles was the heavy favorite to win the event ... but the 4-time gold medalist backed out earlier this week to focus on her mental health.

Biles' absence cleared the way for Lee -- she edged out Brazil's Rebeca Andrade, who took silver with a 57.298 score.

It was quite the nail-biter leading up to the final round -- Lee actually trailed Andrade before the floor routine ... but once it was all over, it was the Red, White, and Blue at the top of the podium.

Biles and the rest of the USA gymnasts cheered on their teammate from the crowd ... and Lee's parents and family went completely BONKERS after Lee won it all!!!

USA's Jade Carey also competed in the event ... finishing 8th.

Congrats to Lee ... now time to celebrate!!!

Awful news for Reggie Bush -- the ex-USC superstar will NOT be getting his 2005 Heisman trophy back ... despite the NCAA's new rules allowing athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness.

Remember, the NCAA made a monumental policy change last month ... finally giving players the opportunity to rake in dough via endorsement deals and sponsorships.

Bush -- who gave up his 2005 Heisman in 2010 after receiving improper benefits -- called out the NCAA and Heisman Trust after the new rules were announced ... saying both organizations were ignoring his pleas to have his Heisman returned.

The NCAA finally addressed the situation on Wednesday ... saying Bush's case is not covered by their new order -- therefore, he will not get his trophy back.

"Although college athletes can now receive benefits from their names, images and likenesses through activities like endorsements and appearances, NCAA rules still do not permit pay-for-play type arrangements," an NCAA spokesperson said.

"The NCAA infractions process exists to promote fairness in college sports. The rules that govern fair play are voted on, agreed to and expected to be upheld by all NCAA member schools."

Bush is considered one of the best college football players ever -- from 2003 to 2005, he logged 3,169 rushing yards, 1,301 receiving yards, and 38 overall touchdowns.

He also won the 2004 BCS Championship ... a victory that was vacated as a result of Bush's punishment.

Gymnastics legend Dominique Dawes is keepin' it real ... telling TMZ Sports Simone Biles would've SMOKED her in competition -- even during her prime!!

"Biles is unreal," the 3-time Olympian says. "She is so talented, and I am so grateful that I’m retired because I would have just not even had a chance going up against this young girl."

It's high praise, considering Dawes is a gymnast icon -- remember, she was part of the famous Magnificent Seven Olympic team in 1996, and she also won silver and bronze medals at World Championships in the '90s.

She and teammate Betty Okino were also the first African-American females to win the Olympic gold in gymnastics.

But, despite that resume ... Dawes says she just flat-out wouldn't stand a chance against Simone.

And, she might not be wrong -- after all, Biles has been killin' it, and is the favorite to take home some golden hardware in Tokyo this summer, especially if she hits her Yurchenko double pike move -- a twist that Dawes says is absolutely insane!

"I remember when I was maybe fooling around in the gym once with one of the National Team coaches and he wanted me to try a double," Dawes said. "And, I was like, 'Not going to happen.'"

Dawes added, "Like, it was unheard of, even with a free-foam pit I was unwilling to do it. And yet, she’s doing it almost to perfection, and doing it on a hard landing and even over-rotating it."

Dawes tells us she believes Biles will be "on top of that podium" in this year's Olympics ... beating all types of records -- including her own!

"I mean she’s going to probably surpass what I accomplished." the 44-year-old says.

"But, again I can’t stress the importance of how much I admire her, not for just being an athlete but for her being a spokesperson and activist and recognizing that there’s a lot of changes that need to be made in the sport of gymnastics."

Kanye West treated his fans to a one-of-a-kind experience at his "Donda" listening event, but he also received a couple gifts after the show ... including one honoring his late mother.

According to our sources ... the City of Atlanta presented the rapper a plaque backstage after his performance at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Kanye was born in ATL, and the city officially proclaimed July 22 Kanye West Day.

On top of that, and perhaps more importantly to Kanye ... Kevin James -- President of ATL's HBCU, Morris Brown College -- was also on hand to give Ye a token of appreciation on behalf of his mom, Donda West, who taught at the school for nearly 2 decades and was Chair of the English Department.

The award presented to Kanye is called the Dr. Donda West Meritorious Service to Morris Brown College. Donda started her career at Morris Brown, which was founded in 1881 and is the only HBCU in Georgia founded by Black people.

As we reported ... Kanye revealed his new album, named after his mother, Thursday night in front of a huge crowd that included Kim Kardashian and their kids, along with Khloe.

Our sources say his family was with him when he received the awards backstage, and he got super emotional about it.

Former boxing champ James DeGale claims he has video of a person stealing his Olympic gold medal from his parents' house ... and now, he's begging for any information that could help him ID the suspect.

The 35-year-old pugilist says security video at his folks' home caught a person wearing all black walking up to a doorway at around 9 PM on Sunday.

The footage is chilling ... it appears to show the person blocking the camera with some sort of bag, before breaking into the home.

DeGale claims the person walked away with his gold medal and his MBE -- a very coveted British award -- and he's now asking for any sort of help to get his stuff back.

"He took two of my prize possessions MY OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL AND MY MBE," DeGale said. "They are worthless to anyone other than me and they are two achievements that I prize from my boxing career."

"I am gutted and need my medals back. Can anyone help by reporting any information you have. Please share far and wide."

It's unclear if police are investigating ... we're working on it.

DeGale won the gold medal in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ... and he later went on to earn the IBF super-middleweight title in 2015 -- becoming the 1st British boxer to win both honors.

Lord Stanley looked more like Lord Jet Ski on Monday ... 'cause Tampa Bay Lightning stars Alex Killorn and Nikita Kucherov just took the Stanley Cup for an epic ride on the water!!!

It all went down at the NHL team's championship parade in Tampa, Fla. ... and video from the scene is absolutely AWESOME!!!

The two put the trophy up front near the steering column ... and then took the title bling out for a joy ride.

At one point, the guys maneuvered it all the way over to a packed crowd ... and stood up on the ride to lift it up so everyone could cheer it on!!!

Of course, the parade has featured a ton of other memorable moments ... with guys chuggin' booze, tossin' bottles from boat to boat, and even Andrei Vasilevskiy putting the Conn Smythe Trophy on his head!!

And, if you were wondering ... the Cup has NOT been thrown from one ride to another just yet -- seems the Lightning aren't willing to be as brave as Tom Brady was in February.

You can definitely call it a comeback -- Matt James, the first Black 'Bachelor,' and Rachel Kirkconnell making their public debut as a couple ... after the racism controversy that broke them up, and blew up the TV franchise.

The duo was all smiles as they showed up for the ESPYs Saturday night in NYC ... and happily posed for photogs. Although we've known they were back together, they've been laying low.

They looked pretty stylish for their coming out -- Matt, a former college football player, rocked a double-breasted plaid suit, while Rachel went with a very low-cut sheer black gown.

Quick refresher: Matt gave Rachel his final rose, but after pics surfaced of her at an antebellum south, plantation-themed college party ... he broke up with her during the "After the Final Rose" special.

Matt said, “If you don’t understand that something like that is problematic in 2018, there’s a lot of me that you won’t understand.”

Matt framed the split as giving Rachel space to work on herself, and then a few weeks later ... bam! We spotted them out together in Santa Monica -- but they were obviously trying to keep it on the DL, as Matt covered up in shades and a hoodie.

Since then, we've also seen Matt and Rachel hanging out around NYC. So, with last night's debut ... it looks like they've fully worked things out!

If Sha'Carri Richardson and Naomi Osaka had any doubts about how much public support they're getting -- it's gone after the ESPY Awards, where host Anthony Mackie put a spotlight on them.

During his opening monologue, Mackie took a direct shot at U.S.A. Track & Field over its suspension of Richardson for a positive marijuana test. He joked, "The greatest celebration of sports is back! We up here on a rooftop in New York City. Man, we're so high they wouldn't let us compete in the Olympics."

The award show was held outdoors in NYC's Seaport district, and Mackie added, "How do you justify banning Sha'Carri Richardson for smoking weed? Weed is a de-hancing drug -- it doesn't make you do anything but want to watch another episode of 'Bob's Burgers.' You never saw Snoop Dogg run anywhere!"

The event was Sha'Carri's first public appearance since she got benched from the Olympics. Ditto for tennis superstar Osaka, who took home an award for Best Female Athlete.

But, even before she got the trophy, Mackie called out the World Tennis Association for not supporting her after she pulled out of the French Open and Wimbledon due to mental health.

"I'm no tennis exec, I don't know, but if my sport had one of the most popular and marketable athletes on the planet, you know what I would do? I would probably make sure she felt comfortable and respected. But hey, what do I know, right? I'm just Captain America."

Interestingly, while Sha'Carri's shut out of the Olympics, Naomi will be there. She's playing tennis for Japan ... her mother's home country.

Matt Damon says the research for his role in "Stillwater" -- in which he plays an oil-rig worker -- was a major wake-up call on red-state culture ... something that could well earn him an Academy Award.

The actor recently dished on what went into learning about his character for the Oscar bait-y flick -- which got rave reviews and even a standing O at the Cannes Film Festival the other day -- and he says what he gleaned from the roughnecks of Oklahoma was "eye-opening."

Watch how Matt characterized the experience during a panel Q&A following the screening of his upcoming movie in France. He explains how he and director Tom McCarthy spent a good amount of time down in the South ... where they got the lay of the land, literally, from guys who do the job day in and day out -- getting a sense of their lifestyles, their POVs on life/family and, of course, their politics as well ... which Matt didn't discuss with disdain.

If anything ... he's got the opposite sentiment, saying the people he was around -- not to mention his character, Bill -- own who and what they are ... even on the issue of MAGA.

It's a pretty fascinating take on what many may perhaps write off without a second thought -- the minute you bring up Trump and his supporters ... a lot of folks will tune it all out.

Not Matt, though ... the way he talks about his encounters down there makes it seem like there's some good people around -- regardless of their politics -- and that they're more nuanced than how they're made out to be a lot of the time. To which we say ... obviously.

BTW, this film isn't necessarily a slice-of-Oklahoma-life type of a project -- where Matt immerses himself in method acting or anything. It's actually an action thriller -- a la, "Taken" -- with the oil-rig/middle America stuff as the backdrop. Still ... word is, Matt's turn here is getting tons of buzz, as they're saying he's "unrecognizable" on screen.

How do you spell "most interesting teenager in America?" Zaila Avant-garde!!!

Zaila entered the history books Thursday by winning the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee, becoming the first Africa-American champion. The 14-year-old also became the first winner from the state of Louisiana.

The teen took home the title after she correctly spelled "murraya" -- a type of tree -- but not before she joked that the word contained the last name of a comedian ... to the delight of Bill Murray fans everywhere.

Along her way to becoming the first Black American to win in 93 editions of the competition, Zaila also had to spell words like "querimonious," "solidungulate," and "Nepeta." The only other Black winner was Jamaica's Jody-Anne Maxwell in 1998.

There's much more to Avant-garde than her spelling though ... which she only began doing competitively 2 years ago. She's also a gifted basketball player who holds 3 Guinness world records for dribbling skills ... and even her last name is special. Her father changed it from Heard to Avant-garde in homage to the jazz legend, John Coltrane.

Lil Nas X triggered a wave of online criticism for kissing a male dancer during the BET Awards, but over at the FCC ... it was basically crickets. Sooo, sign of progress?

TMZ's obtained the complaints filed to the Federal Communications Commission and there were merely 3 of them made in after Lil Nas' much-talked about performance of "MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)" ... which he buttoned with the kiss.

One viewer from the Bronx wrote to the FCC around 1 AM ... "I was very disturbed to see 2 men practically having sexual in the stage when the awards show is supposed to be a family show. It’s ridiculous and children and adults are being forced to endure this. Unacceptable and I will be unsubscribing from BET network. DISGUSTING AND DISTURBING!!!!!!!!"

Another pissed off viewer wrote, "During a performance 2 gay men kissed. Why are you showing this on tv. It is disgusting and wrong for kids to see because it’s unnatural." #Ugh.

The third gripe cam from a guy in Philly, but it was mostly about satanism than the kiss.

That's it. Just the 3. For comparison, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's Grammy performance of "WAP," and J Lo and Shakira's Super Bowl Halftime show each inspired more than 1,000 FCC complaints.

As we reported ... Lil Nas delivered a stunning performance at the BET Awards ... not only with his hit track but also with a tribute to Michael Jackson's "Remember the Time."

Of course, the rapper saw way more than 3 people sounding off on social media -- so many, in fact, that Lil Nas clapped back at the haters ... particularly one who called him out for using "AFRICAN CULTURE FOR S***S LIKE THIS!!!!!!!"

The incredibly low number of FCC complaints might have more to do with a lower number of viewers -- at least compared to the Grammys or a Super Bowl -- but one can hope part of it is also about tolerance.

Kodak Black has gone from prison to proclamation ... a proclamation that June 11 is now Kodak Black Day in Broward County, Florida.

Broward County Commissioner Dale Holness presented Kodak with the proclamation, stating June 11 will forever be known as a day honoring the rapper.

Holness bestowed the honor on Kodak Friday at a charity basketball tourney in Coral Springs.

Kodak was clearly moved, saying the proclamation means more to him than any platinum album.  The proclamation lists some of Kodak's charitable work and personal accomplishments over the last few years.

The basketball tournament raised $5k to benefit the Lippman Youth Shelter.

As you know, Kodak scored a commutation from then-President Trump -- at the urging of his lawyer, Bradford Cohen -- in large part because of his charity work.

Among the good work Kodak has done ... donating a years' worth of diapers, underwear and socks to the Jack & Jill Children's Center and donating thousands of dollars so community groups could provide 1,000 turkeys to people in need. He's also forked over $20k for toys and other items for XMAS presents.

The proclamation also cites Kodak's contribution of $100k to families of fallen FBI agents, along with scholarship money for the children of the agents' families.

Darnella Frazier -- the teenager who recorded George Floyd's death under Derek Chauvin's knee -- has just earned a special citation in this year's Pulitzer Prize.

Pulitzer Prize co-chair Mindy Marqués said during Friday's announcement that the Floyd story, in particular, highlighted not only the essential role of journalists, but the increasing importance of ordinary citizens.

She added, "We want to note that the board has awarded a special citation to Darnella Frazier, the teenage witness who filmed and posted the transformative video that jolted viewers and spurred protests against police brutality around the world."

The honor was presented after the board awarded the Minneapolis Star-Tribune with the Pulitzer -- arguably journalism's most prestigious award -- for its reporting of Floyd's death and the aftermath.

Darnella was 17 when she whipped out her phone to record the fatal arrest. After posting the video on social media, it spread like wildfire across the globe, sparking a worldwide movement against police brutality.

But, after the video went viral, Darnella said she had to move away from her home for safety. She also suffered anxiety attacks and couldn't sleep ... often times waking up shaking until her mom rocked her back to sleep.

On the 1-year anniversary of Floyd's death ... Darnella said even though it was a traumatic life-changing experience, she was still proud of herself. She added, “If it weren’t for my video, the world wouldn’t have known the truth.”