Baseball

Jalen Hurts, Angel Reese and Ronald Acuña Jr. got 'Next' ... 'cause the star athletes were just named to a prestigious Time magazine list naming the future leaders of the world!

The "100Next" list, compiled by Time, recognizes the "100 emerging leaders from around the world who are shaping the future and defining the next generation of leadership" ... from sports stars to scientists.

Hurts -- who earned the cover spot on the magazine (there are also versions with singer/songwriter Kelsea Ballerini and Chef Mory Sacko) -- along with Reese, and Acuña Jr. are three of seven athletes to grace the list.

21-year-old Reese led the LSU Tigers women's basketball team to their first National Championship last year ... making history along the way with 34 double-doubles. Hoops great Candace Parker wrote about Angel for Time ... and she phrased it perfectly.

"Angel Reese is having more than just a moment. She’s just getting started."

As for 25-year-old Acuna Jr., the Braves star is the overwhelming favorite for National League MVP ... and future Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera believes Ronald could be one of the best ever.

"Ronald? He has a great chance of becoming the best Venezuelan-born baseball player ever. It’s as simple as that," Venezulean-born Cabrera wrote for Time.

Let that sink in ... better than Cabrera. The Cabrera that's hit 510 home runs, made 12 All-Star teams, won 2 AL MVPs and a Triple Crown in 2012. Oh, he's also a World Series champ.

With Acuna, Miggy says it's more than just numbers.

"Ronald is more than just his statistics. He is the kind of player that fans pay to watch play. He can change the game with a single hit, his defense, or his baserunning."

As for Jalen, he's one of the best football players in the league ... and is expected to be in the mix for yet another trip to the Super Bowl this season. Hurts was paid very handsomely in the offseason ... signing a $255 million extension.

Peyton Manning, writing for Time, heaped praise on the Eagles QB.

"He’s not celebrating. He doesn’t see it as a reward. He sees it for what it is: the Eagles are paying him for what they expect him to do now," Manning said.

"He’s a model of how to approach a job. This is where the hard work begins."

USWNT's Sophia Smith, American golfer Rose Zhang, Indian cricketer Harmanpreet Kaur, and Spanish soccer star Salma Paralluelo were the other athletes who earned a spot on the list.

The Dodgers appear to be done with Julio Urias following his arrest earlier this month ... the team has removed the star's locker from its clubhouse -- and scrubbed a couple murals he was featured in around its home stadium as well.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the ace's locker was given away to the team's new infielder, Kolten Wong, after Urias was arrested for allegedly roughing up his girlfriend back on Sept. 3 at an MLS game in L.A.

In an interview with reporters Monday afternoon, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he believed the decision indicated the team was moving on from Urias.

"It's sad," he said, revealing he hasn't spoken to Urias since the arrest. "It's sad on every level."

He added, "It's a very, very unfortunate, sad situation."

In addition to booting him from the locker room, the Dodgers also removed at least two images of Urias from Dodger Stadium -- including painting over one mural he was prominently featured in.

Urias is currently away from the team after the MLB put him on administrative leave while it investigates claims he pushed a woman into a fence after watching Lionel Messi compete against LAFC. Urias is facing one felony charge of corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant over the allegations.

Fernando Tatis Jr. will evoke the Mamba Mentality when the Padres visit the L.A. Dodgers this week ... 'cause the MLB star copped some custom Jordans in honor of Kobe Bryant.

TMZ Sports has learned ... El Niño hit up Stadium Custom Kicks to get some special cleats for San Diego's upcoming series at Dodger Stadium ... requesting a tribute to the late Lakers legend.

Tatis -- who signed a $340 million deal with SD in 2021 -- is now the proud owner of a truly one-of-a-kind, purple and gold pair of Jordan 1s ... decked out in around 4,750 crystals.

The cleats also feature Bryant's two retired jersey numbers on the heel -- No. 8 and No. 24.

It's fitting for Tatis to rock the Kobe kicks in the series, which kicks off Monday night ... considering Bryant hit up several Dodger games during his time in Los Angeles. He also threw the first ceremonial pitch in 2000.

DraftKings issued a mea culpa on Monday morning ... after the gambling site posted a 9/11-themed parlay that many viewed as insensitive.

The bet that fans could place money on was called "Never Forget" ... and it allowed people to wager on if the New York Mets, New York Yankees and New York Jets would all win on Monday -- the 22nd anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in NY.

Immediately after it was posted, though, it was ripped by social media users ... who called it tone-deaf and crass.

In wake of the backlash hours later, DraftKings pulled it from its site ... and issued an apology.

"We sincerely apologize for the featured parlay that was shared briefly in commemoration of 9/11," a DK spokesperson said in a statement to the Boston Globe. We respect the significance of this day for our country and especially for the familys of those who were directly affected.”

DraftKings emitió un mea culpa el lunes por la mañana, después de que el sitio de apuestas publicara una apuesta temática del 11-S que muchos consideraron insensible.

La apuesta se llamaba "Nunca Olvides" y permitía a los aficionados apostar a si los Met, los Yankees o los Jets de Nueva York, ganarían el lunes, cuando se conmemora el 22 aniversario de los ataques del 11 de septiembre de 2001 en Nueva York.

Inmediatamente después de su publicación, los usuarios de las redes sociales empezaron a tacharla de insensible y grosera.

A raíz de esta reacción DraftKings lo retiró de su sitio horas más tarde y emitió una disculpa.

"Nos disculpamos sinceramente por el parlay (apuesta) destacado que se compartió brevemente en conmemoración del 11-S", dijo un portavoz del sitio en un comunicado al Boston Globe. Respetamos el significado de este día para nuestro país y especialmente para las familias de aquellos que fueron directamente afectados."

Ricky Williams was one of the best running backs of his era ... but he says he had the potential to dominate in a completely different sport -- the former Miami Dolphins standout tells TMZ Sports he could have been an All-Star if he pursued a career on the baseball diamond!!

Before he made his way to the NFL gridiron, Ricky -- whose legal name is now Errick Miron -- played several seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies' farm system while juggling his time with the Texas Longhorns football team.

Ricky -- an 8th-round pick to the Phils in the '95 MLB Amateur Draft -- was an outfielder for the organization's rookie league and Single-A teams for four years ... and footage of one of his early games actually exists!!

So when we caught up with Ricky last week, we asked if he's ever wondered how things would've panned out had he switched his focus to baseball ... and he believes he had the skills to hang with the big leaguers.

"I wouldn't say I was great, I had a lot of potential," Ricky told us. "I love to get better at things. If I would have devoted my full time to baseball, I would have been an All-Star baseball player."

So, what led him to football instead of baseball?? A pretty understandable reason.

"It's a fantasy, but the reality is I'm kind of the person where 162 games -- that's too much for me.

"Football is intense, but you got a nice offseason. That's more my speed."

Safe to say it all worked out -- Ricky won the Heisman Trophy in 1998 ... and went on to rush for more than 10,000 yards in his career.

Ricky Williams fue uno de los mejores corredores de su época, pero dice que tenía el potencial para dominar en un deporte completamente diferente. El ex jugador de los Miami Dolphins le comentó a TMZ Sports que podría haber sido una estrella si hubiera comenzado una carrera en el béisbol.

Antes de forjar su camino en la NFL, Ricky —cuyo nombre legal es ahora Errick Miron— jugó varias temporadas con los Filis de Filadelfia, mientras hacía malabares con su tiempo con el equipo de fútbol de Texas Longhorns.

Ricky, elegido en la octava ronda del Draft de Aficionados de la MLB de 1995, fue jardinero de los equipos de la liga de novatos y de la liga Single-A durante cuatro años... ¡¡y existen imágenes de uno de sus primeros partidos!

Así que cuando nos pusimos al día con Ricky la semana pasada, le preguntamos si alguna vez se había preguntado cómo habrían ido las cosas si hubiera cambiado su enfoque al béisbol ... y él cree que tenía las habilidades para estar con los grandes jugadores de liga.

"No diría que era genial, pero tenía mucho potencial", nos dijo Ricky. "Me encanta mejorar. Si me hubiera dedicado a tiempo completo al béisbol, habría sido un jugador de béisbol All-Star".

Entonces, ¿qué le llevó al fútbol en lugar del béisbol? Una razón bastante comprensible.

"Es una fantasía, pero la realidad es que soy una persona en la que 162 partidos... eso es demasiado para mí.

"El fútbol es intenso, pero tienes una buena temporada baja. Ese es más mi ritmo".

Ricky ganó el Trofeo Heisman en 1998 y llegó a correr más de 10.000 yardas en su carrera.

A ball boy broke the first rule of being a ball boy at the Marlins game Thursday ... grabbing a live baseball in fair play and chucking it into the stands -- costing his team a run.

The epic blunder went down in the sixth inning of Miami's tilt with the Los Angeles Dodgers in Florida ... after Freddie Freeman roped a liner down the right-field line.

The ball flew over first base and skidded into the outfield ... but for some reason, the ball boy in the area thought it had landed in foul territory.

The guy nonchalantly jogged over to the ball, scooped it up, and then hurled it to some fans in the crowd.

Of course, there were big ramifications for the act ... umps allowed Mookie Betts to score -- not knowing if the play would have been made by Miami's right fielder had the ball boy not interrupted.

It ultimately didn't matter too much in the end ... the Marlins got rocked, 10-0 -- and even Miami outfielder Jesús Sánchez came over to let him know it was OK.

Julio Urias was seen shoving a woman into a fence at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles on Sunday before he was arrested ... multiple sources tell TMZ Sports.

The alleged incident happened at some point after the LAFC vs. Inter Miami soccer game.

We're told stadium workers at first broke up the altercation ... but our sources say Julio then went into a nearby car with the woman, where we're told things once again got heated.

Our sources tell us cops then came and got the two out of the car ... before arresting Urias for felony domestic violence.

The Dodgers star pitcher was ultimately booked into jail at around 1 AM PT Monday ... and after about four hours behind bars, he posted $50,000 bail and was released.

Urias had been having an up-and-down season for LA prior to the arrest ... posting an 11-8 record with a 4.60 ERA.

Tens of thousands of mini Julio Uriases will NOT be handed out to Dodger fans in a few weeks -- the team has elected to scrap its bobblehead promotion following the star pitcher's domestic violence arrest.

The Dodgers announced the move just minutes after the ace was placed on administrative leave Wednesday ... as the league investigates allegations he got physical with a woman at the LAFC vs. Inter Miami game Sunday night.

Sept. 21's game against the San Francisco Giants was slated to honor Urias' participation in the World Baseball Classic this past offseason ... with the collectibles showing him in a throwing motion in a Team Mexico jersey.

L.A. said in a statement the team will now hand out "select premium bobbleheads" to the first 30,000 fans at the ballpark instead of the Urias giveaways.

It's not the first time the Dodgers have elected to go a different route with a player promotion amid controversy ... the team did the same thing after sexual assault allegations were made against Trevor Bauer in 2021.

Dodgers star Julio Urias was arrested Sunday night for felony domestic violence in Los Angeles, TMZ Sports has learned.

Details surrounding the arrest are not currently clear ... but we know the 27-year-old starting pitcher was taken into custody at the LAFC vs. Inter Miami game (he was there to watch Lionel Messi) just after 11 PM, and transported to an LAPD jail, where he was booked around 1 AM.

Urias was listed at 6'1 and 240 lbs. on his jail booking sheet.

Bond was set at $50K ... and after 4 hours behind bars, Urias -- who is earning over $14 million this season -- posted and was released around 5 AM Monday morning.

It's not the first time Julio has been arrested for domestic violence. Back in May 2019, Urias was involved in an alleged incident at the Beverly Center mall in Beverly Hills. Urias was accused of pushing a woman he was with, however, the alleged victim told investigators she simply fell.

Ultimately, prosecutors did not charge Urias with a crime. Still, Urias was suspended 20 games by MLB for violating their Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and Child Abuse Policy.

Urias, who will be a free agent after this season, last pitched for the Dodgers on Friday, September 1 ... a subpar outing for him, giving up 5 earned runs in 5 innings of work.

Julio, who won a World Series in 2020, has a court date scheduled for later this month.

Story developing ...

Morgan Wallen had a hometown surprise for Pittsburgh fans during his concert Thursday night ... Wiz Khalifa!

The concert was packed when Wiz, who grew up in Pittsburgh, appeared on stage and sang "Black and Yellow," as fans went wild. The optics were pretty spectacular ... flames shooting up in the air with yellow lights surrounding the venue.

Morgan and Wiz embraced as they left the stage. Seems Wiz is a Morgan fan ... he's hit up several of the country star's concerts.

If you checked our site earlier, you'll know the concert went down at PNC Park ... it's where some women got into a pretty epic porta-potty brawl the day before!

Several girls got so upset with each other while in line for a porta potty at Morgan Wallen's show Wednesday night ... they straight up beat the snot out of each other -- and the wild fight was all captured on video.

The incident happened inside the Pittsburgh Pirates' stadium, PNC Park ... and while it's unclear what sparked the melee -- it appeared a dispute over who could use one of the toilets is what set everyone off.

You can see in the footage, two girls were arguing next to a porta-potty ... before they began pushing and shoving each other.

Eventually, the two's tussle spilled into one of the open Johns ... and despite the gross conditions, they still continued to pound on each other.

One of the girls' apparent acquaintances then came in to break it up -- and that's when things turned way more violent.

The girl in the blue romper and white cowboy boots pulled one of the combatants out by her hair and threw punches. She then swung on another girl, before kicking her.

Ultimately, cooler heads prevailed.

Lionel Messi was back on the pitch in Florida for the first time in nearly a month Wednesday night ... and, as has become tradition, celebs flocked to see him -- including Floyd Mayweather and Alix Earle, who got VIP treatment at the game.

The new MLS superstar had maybe his quietest night since joining Inter Miami -- scoring zero goals in a 0-0 tie against Nashville SC -- but A-listers were spotted throughout DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale enjoying the GOAT in action nonetheless.

Mayweather and Earle, flanked by NFL superstar Jaylen Waddle, got prime seats and field access as guests of Miami mogul David Grutman.

Ken Griffey Jr. even showed up too ... though he chose to grab a media credential instead of suite seats -- opting to shoot the game with his camera instead of rubbin' elbows in the stands with the stars.

At one point, however, the MLB legend was able to link up with Mayweather -- who was also with friend Lionel Khoury -- sharing an embrace with the boxer and getting in a pic.

Unclear how much facetime all of the celebrities got with Messi -- the soccer player was, after all, busy trying to scrape out another win for his squad -- but everyone was grinning ear-to-ear throughout the night nonetheless.

They'll all have to wait a bit to do it again -- Messi's not set to play in Ft. Lauderdale 'til Sept. 9 now -- unless, of course, they want to fly out to Los Angeles this weekend to see him vs. LAFC.

Hurricane Idalia's trail of destruction across Florida includes a direct hit on Gov. Ron DeSantis' home, where a century-old oak tree came slamming down as his wife and kids were inside.

DeSantis' wife, Casey, shared the frightening news Wednesday evening, as the brutal storm made its way through Florida and Georgia -- she wrote, "100 year old oak tree falls on the Governor’s Mansion in Tallahassee."

What's worse, she says she was hunkered down in the home -- with their 3 young kids, Madison, Mason and Mamie -- when Idalia toppled the mighty oak!

Luckily, she says no one was injured, but it's safe to say it'll take a pretty big cleanup crew to get rid of the lumber.

The FL Governor was asked about the tree damage while giving the state updates on the storm ... reassuring folks his family was safe despite the close call.

He managed to find a silver lining for the fallen tree, though ... joking (we hope) his kids would now have more room to practice baseball.

Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. was accosted out of nowhere by a couple of fans ... getting knocked to the ground during his team's Monday night game against the Colorado Rockies.

The bizarre incident went down in the 7th inning at Denver's Coors Field when one fan dashed into the outfield and gave Acuña a huge hug.

Check out the video ... the hugger won't let go of Acuña as security guards run up to them and try to break it up.

Eventually, the guards pull the dude off Acuña ... but Acuña isn't out of the woods just yet.

Another fan sprints up to Acuña and bumps into him, causing him to fall on his butt. More guards respond and haul away the two rowdy men.

As for Acuña ... he told reporters after the game he was okay, but felt a bit scared by the fans, who wanted to take photos with him.

We've reached out to Denver PD to see if they got involved ... so far no word back.

By the way, the Braves trounced the Rockies 14-4 ... and Acuña had one of his biggest games of the year despite the incident, logging 5 RBIs.