Basketball

Shaquille O'Neal might think Ice Spice is "so dam fine," but he swears he wasn't trying to rizz up the rapper with his Instagram caption after the Super Bowl .... claiming he was just trying to be nice!!

The 52-year-old Hall of Famer explained what happened on his "Big Podcast With Shaq" this week ... saying he ran into IS when he hopped over to Taylor Swift's Allegiant Stadium suite during halftime of the big game.

Shaq shared a pic of his meet-up with Swift, Spice and others ... and he raised a ton of eyebrows when his caption praised the "Think U The S*** (Fart)" MC's beauty.

Caitlin Clark's team hasn't pounced on the Big3's $5 million offer just yet ... with Ice Cube revealing his basketball league doesn't know whether she'll take the massive payday.

The 3-on-3 organization cofounder joined the "Pat McAfee Show" on Wednesday to discuss the historic proposal ... and despite the radio silence on Clark's end so far, he's holding out hope until he gets a definitive "yes" or "no."

"They have it and if they wanna sign it, we'll be happy to have her play in the Big3," Cube said.

Draymond Green has found himself at the center of more criticism over his on-court antics ... this time, the Golden State Warriors star is getting backlash after wrapping his arm around Patty Mills' neck and forcing him to the ground.

The incident went down during the first quarter of the Dubs' road matchup against the Miami Heat on Tuesday ... when Green got tied up with Mills as he moved through the paint to try to defend Bam Adebayo's shot.

A nearby official immediately blew his whistle ... and the play was reviewed to see if Adebayo's attempt happened prior to the the common foul.

7:30 AM -- Ice Cube is now speaking out on the offer ... saying it was a no-brainer to pitch Caitlin Clark to his organization.

"Caitlin is a generational athlete who can achieve tremendous success in the BIG3," he said minutes ago on X ... while also pointing out the league has a track record of breaking barriers with female coaches like Nancy Lieberman and Lisa Leslie.

"With our offer, Caitlin Clark can make history and break down even more barriers for women athletes," Cube added.

The BIG3 founder also thinks his org. will be a better alternative for WNBA athletes to make money during the offseason ... so they don't have to take their talents to "often dismal and dubious foreign countries" to earn a living.

"And they should have more than just one professional option in the US at a time when American pro sports leagues are being infiltrated by autocratic, anti-women regimes such as Qatar," he said. "Our pathbreaking offer to Caitlin Clark demonstrates that BIG3 now offers another choice for athletes."

Caitlin Clark is in line to make more history -- the NCAA phenom could become basketball's first-ever $5 million woman, if she accepts a massive deal from Ice Cube's Big3 league ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Dan Dakich is offering up some free advice to any player in this weekend's Sweet 16 looking for tips on how to prepare for the big games ... saying simply, "Don't start thinking you're a star!"

The former Indiana Hoosiers guard said in a talk with TMZ Sports this week it's easy for players who've made it this far in the NCAA tournament to start losing focus.

He said as teams return to campus and feel all the love -- it's common for players to get a big head ... and then falter when the lights come back on for the tourney's next round.

Brendan Paul -- Sean "Diddy" Combs' alleged "mule" who was arrested on Monday while the rap mogul and his crew were stopped by federal law enforcement agents -- previously had a career as a college basketball player.

Paul suited up for the Syracuse Orange from 2018-2020 ... and while he wasn't exactly a star there -- he did log minutes in 17 games during his two seasons.

Paul went on to transfer to Fairmont State University in West Virginia after his time in New York ... and he fared much better on the court in his two years there -- recording 51 points, 23 rebounds, 19 assists and 11 steals.

Ex-NBA tough guy Matt Barnes met his match this week ... coming face-to-face with a pesky opossum that entered his home -- and the video of the standoff is riveting.

The 44-year-old hooper documented the whole thing on his Instagram page ... showing his elaborate plan to get the creature out of his kitchen.

Barnes -- who's in the process of moving -- had a bunch of boxes set up in hopes of leading the opossum toward the door.

The guy even tried throwing various fruits at it ... but the intruder refused to budge.

Barnes then grabbed a golf club ... with the intent to "put a pitching wedge up his ass."

The 6'7" champ did everything he could to keep a distance ... hopping around on the countertops and spraying the rodent with water, which only made it more of a challenge as it scurried further into the home.

At one point, MB even pondered lighting a joint to get the critter high ... but elected against it.

Eventually, Barnes' nemesis decided it was time to go back outside ... bolting for the door and off the property.

"I'll fight anybody, but I don't f*** with animals," Barnes said. "That's for g**damn sure."

The interaction received a ton of responses from Barnes' followers ... including Deion Sanders, Jon Jones, Gilbert Arenas, Terrell Owens and more.

The NCAA tournament wasn't all fun and games for the Utah Utes women's basketball team ... 'cause several players were allegedly called the N-word and other "racial hate crimes" while at the team hotel.

Utes head coach Lynne Roberts revealed the cruel acts following their 2nd round loss to 4-seeded Gonzaga on Monday, claiming they had to relocate the entire team from their hotel in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho over the incredibly offensive treatment.

"We had several instances of some kind of racial hate crimes towards our program," Roberts said during the post-game press conference. "Incredibly upsetting for all of us."

A college basketball player seemed to suggest Kylie Jenner was recently trying to holler at him -- but unfortunately for him ... that couldn't be further from the truth, TMZ has learned.

23-year-old UNC shooting guard Paxson Wojcik was leaning into this notion that Kylie was interested in him in the digital world -- at least based on a video a reporter took of him after a game last week ... where the interviewer name-dropped the beauty mogul directly.

Check it out ... Paxson gets peppered with questions by this guy post-game, and the line of questioning is pretty direct -- "What do you have to say about rumors that Kylie slid into your DMs???" BTW, there really weren't any rumors until his homeboy floated this online.

Bronny James might not have broken any scoring records during his freshman season at USC, but Metta World Peace isn't worried one bit about LeBron's son's potential at the next level ... telling TMZ Sports the young hooper has a promising future in the NBA.

Bronny's hopes of playing alongside his pops took a hit this season ... with critics pointing out his stats (4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists a game) don't necessarily scream top draft prospect.

Metta came to Bronny's defense when asked about the 19-year-old's impending decision to either stay in school or enter the draft this week ... saying, "He's only a freshman."

"A lot of people was talking about his numbers, but name a freshman that never averaged more than 4 or 5 and then had no chance going pro? Freshman numbers are freshman numbers."

Metta -- who played college basketball at St. John's in the late '90s -- believes Bronny already has some qualities that make him a pro, especially his selfless plays on the court ... but he just has to develop and mature a little more.

"I think he has a shot to be a really good point guard. A starting point guard," the former NBA star said. "Maybe even All-Star!"

Of course, LeBron thinks so, too ... even going as far as saying his son is better than some of the current NBA players he's been watching, calling it "lightweight hilarious."

Kim Kardashian mantuvo la paz con su ex Kanye West el viernes, a pesar de su evidente tensión sobre cómo criar a sus hijos.

KK y Ye aparecieron en el partido de baloncesto de su hijo Saint en Los Ángeles la noche de ayer, y actuaron como si todo estuviera de maravilla entre ellos.

Echa un vistazo a estas imágenes obtenidas por TMZ, Kim y Kanye estaban sonriendo mientras posaban para las fotos tomadas por sus fans. Kanye fue un paso más allá e incluso puso su brazo alrededor de Kim en un momento dado.

Un movimiento bastante atrevido teniendo en cuenta que su matrimonio de 7 años terminó con un amargo divorcio en 2022. Sus cuatro hijos pequeños han provocado gran parte de las tensiones entre la ex pareja.

TMZ dio la noticia, Kim y Kanye no se han podido poner de acuerdo sobre cómo criar a sus hijos Saint, North, Chicago y Psalm. El principal problema tiene que ver con el colegio la que irán los pequeños.

Kanye quiere que dejen la escuela Sierra Canyon, mientras que Kim quiere que sigan matriculados allí. Además de eso, está la tensión por los desplantes antisemitas que ha tenido Kanye alabando a Hitler y a los nazis.

Pero ahora parece que Kim está siendo amable con Kanye y su actual esposa, Bianca Censori. Como recordarán, Kim apareció recientemente junto a Bianca en la fiesta de escucha del nuevo disco de Ye, "Vultures 1".

Kim Kardashian was keeping the peace with her ex Kanye West on Friday ... despite their obvious tension over how to raise their kids.

KK and Ye showed up at their son Saint's basketball game in LA last evening, and they acted like everything was hunky dory between them.

Check out these images obtained by TMZ ... Kim and Kanye were smiling as they posed for photos snapped by their fans. Kanye went one step further, putting his arm around Kim at one point.

Pretty bold move considering their 7-year marriage ended in a bitter divorce in 2022. Their four young children created much of the tension between the former couple.

TMZ broke the story ... . Kim and Kanye are not seeing eye to eye on how to raise Saint, North, Chicago and Psalm. The main issue has to do with where the youngsters are going to school.

Kanye wants them out of Sierra Canyon School, whereas Kim wants them to stay enrolled. There's also the added stress of Kanye's antisemitic rants praising Hitler and the Nazis.

But now it seems Kim is playing nicely with Kanye and his current wife, Bianca Censori. You may recall, Kim recently showed up alongside Bianca at Ye's listening party for his new rap record, "Vultures 1."

Give Jaxson Hayes another assist on his career stats ... the Lakers center was seen handing out cash to kids in LA on Thursday night!!!

The 23-year-old performed the sweet gesture while outside of a Louis Vuitton event on Rodeo Drive ... after some tykes who were selling candy bars asked him for his business.

Hayes didn't want any of their chocolate -- but he decided to kick some money their way regardless.

Check out the video ... Hayes got one of the boys' numbers and then sent what appeared to be a Venmo. Seconds later, the kid jumped for joy and screamed, "He just sent me $100!"

Hayes was also spotted taking some pics with the little fans who had gathered around the storefront.

95% of brackets had Kentucky beating Oakland in the first round of the NCAA Tourney, so while nearly no one in the outside world believed in the Golden Grizzlies, their squad did, including star hooper Trey Townsend who hopes this proves rankings ain't everything!

As you know, the 14th-ranked Oakland Golden Grizzlies officially kicked off the Madness in March when they defeated John Calipari's number 3-seeded Kentucky Wildcats ... the tournament's biggest upset (so far).

"You can't put that mindset on yourself going to a game thinking you're lesser than your opponent, because you're, per se, shooting yourself in the foot and giving yourself a disadvantage mentally," Townsend said.

"We come in confident and play our best game, play as hard as we can and we're just as good and can compete with anyone in the country. We proved it [Thursday]," the team leader told us.

Now, Oakland (located in Michigan, not California) will face No. 11 North Carolina State in the second round on Saturday ... and Townsend believes they've got a real path to the Sweet 16! Especially with Jack Gohlke shooting lights out (he knocked down 10 threes)!

"I think it's just playing the way we have all season," Townsend said. "The biggest thing, especially at this time of the year, is to stay consistent to what you've done to get you to this point."

"We're not gonna take anything lightly, even though we just had a big win. You gotta keep that in your back pocket for now and we can celebrate after a long run in this tournament."

As if Trey and Oakland's story wasn't already cool enough, his dad Skip Townsend, who was not only a credentialed media member working Thursday's game, but also a former hooper on the Golden Grizzlies team.

In fact, Skip played for Oakland's CURRENT coach, Greg Kampe, way back in the 80s! His mom Nicole was also on the women's basketball team.

"I always wanted to be an Oakland uniform and be like my dad," Trey said.

1:10 PM -- Bijan Robinson is perfect no more ... Marquette just ruined the NFL star's previously unblemished NCAA tournament bracket.

The No. 2-seed Golden Eagles defeated No. 15-seed Western Kentucky, 87-69, making it the only game so far that Robinson hasn't gotten right.

What a run!!!

NCAA tournament bracket already busted? Bijan Robinson can't relate -- the NFL superstar is perfect through Day One!!

The Atlanta Falcons tailback didn't get one of his 16 picks wrong on Thursday -- somehow nailing Oakland's upset over Kentucky AND Duquesne's big victory over BYU.

The feat is incredibly rare ... out of the 22 million-or-so brackets that were filled out this week -- less than 2,000 remain unblemished!!

The 22-year-old was thrilled to be right ... he posted a pic to his Instagram page late Thursday night, flashing a million-dollar grin with the caption, "They said it was crazy."

"Yessirski," he added.

The running back will have quite the hill to climb in order to stay undefeated going forward. He's got No. 11-seed North Carolina State and No. 12-seed Grand Canyon advancing to the Elite Eight ... as well as his alma mater, Texas -- a No. 7 seed -- winning the whole thing.

But, hey, if the guy made it this far this good, perhaps the choices aren't that wild after all!!

His NFL team, meanwhile, celebrated the feat with a late-night tweet Thursday -- writing, "A PERFECT bracket for @Bijan5Robinson on day one?! 🤯"

Tip-off for Day Two is just a couple hours away -- if you need betting tips for the afternoon, probably best to check out Robinson's bracket above!!

NC State might wanna triple team Jack Gohlke in their second round matchup of the NCAA tournament … 'cause Oakland's March Madness hero simply cannot miss -- nailing a full-court shot at practice!!

Gohlke drained 10 three-pointers en route to the Golden Grizzlies' first tourney win in school history on Thursday ... helping No. 14 Oakland get the upset win over No. 3 Kentucky.

The hot streak continued on Friday ... with the sharp shooter pulling up from the opposite baseline and connecting on the loooooooooong three-point attempt.

Luckily, Gohlke's teammate, Evan Solomon, was recording the whole thing ... and the dude celebrated by yelling and chest-bumping his squad.

"That's a good sign," someone is heard saying in the video ... and it could be bad news for the Wolfpack.

Gohlke oozed confidence following the Grizzlies' huge 80-76 win ... saying he knew his team would be able to pull it off.

"I know they have draft picks, and I know I’m not going to the NBA … but on any given I can compete with those type of guys and our team can compete with those type of guys," Gohlke said after the win.

"That’s why I say we're not a Cinderella."