TMZ Sports

Shaquille O'Neal is keeping his foot on the gas when it comes to Joel Embiid ... continuing to go after the Philadelphia 76ers superstar and saying if he doesn't make some serious changes, he'll never win a championship.

Shaq's blunt assessment came during halftime of the Sixers' matchup with the New York Knicks ... after Embiid put up eight points through two quarters -- all of which came from the free-throw line, as he was 0-3 from the field.

Diesel was clearly unpleased with Embiid's season debut -- especially after the big man expressed his desire to take games off to preserve his health for the playoffs -- and didn't sugarcoat how he felt on the whole situation.

Klay Thompson returned to The Bay for the first time as a Dallas Maverick -- facing the Warriors -- and after knocking down a big 3, the 4x NBA champ mimicked his old teammate Steph Curry's infamous shimmy.

But, the Chef got the last laugh.

The intense game went down Tuesday night at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Thompson's first matchup against his former team since trading him in July after 11 seasons.

There's nothing wrong with Caitlin Clark's jump shot, but her golf swing clearly needs some work ... check out video of her on a course Wednesday -- she nearly drilled a gaggle of spectators with an errant shot!

Clark is participating in this week's pro-am at The Annika at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida ... and in one of her first holes of the day, she almost took out some fans who were following her around.

Take a look at a clip shot by golf reporter Beth Ann Nichols, Clark teed up her ball and took a whack at it ... but mishit it badly.

Michael Strahan is firing back at the outrage surrounding his stance on the national anthem on Sunday ... claiming his hand placement was simply the result of being caught up in the moment.

The Giants great-turned-TV personality released a lengthy video statement on the matter ... emphatically denying he was trying to make a political statement as the "Star-Spangled Banner" played during the Veteran's Day-themed "Fox NFL Sunday" broadcast from Naval Base San Diego.

Strahan explained his deep respect for the military is what actually led to his pose ... as he was so amazed by the sailors present for the event, he didn't realize his cohosts all had their hands on their chests as the anthem played -- which, he admitted, made him to panic.

Scary scene on the NBA hardwood Tuesday night ... Pistons wing Tim Hardaway Jr. terrifyingly slammed his head on the ground -- and needed a wheelchair to leave the game.

The scene all unfolded in the third quarter of Detroit's matchup with the Heat at Little Caesars Arena ... when Hardaway Jr. attempted to play some physical defense against Tyler Herro.

The 32-year-old stepped in front of the driving Miami star in an effort to draw a charge ... but Herro was coming in with so much speed, he knocked Hardaway Jr. to the floor.

Haters can save their breath when it comes to JJ Redick  ... 'cause his former teammate, Matt Barnes, tells TMZ Sports the Lakers coach simply "doesn't give a s***" about any outside noise.

Barnes played with Redick on the L.A. Clippers from 2013 to 2015 ... and if there's one takeaway he got from their time together, it's that the dude stays focused on what matters -- and definitely knows his stuff.

Now that Redick has landed his first head coaching gig (with the Purple and Gold, no less), all eyes are on him ... and naturally, that puts his performance under the microscope.

The feds are working with local law enforcement agencies to investigate the burglaries at the homes of Kansas City Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce ... TMZ has learned.

Multiple sources with direct knowledge of the situation tell TMZ ... the FBI is assisting the Cass County Sheriff's Office to investigate the Mahomes incident, and joining forces with the Leawood Police Department to probe the Kelce crime.

The FBI getting involved means this is a pretty big deal, and not just because Patrick and Travis are famous athletes.

Mike Tyson says his upcoming boxing match against Jake Paul isn't just the biggest bout in the sport's existence ... it's the "biggest fight in the history of life!!"

The boxing legend icon made the declaration to Harvey and Charles on "TMZ Live" on Tuesday ... saying despite all the blockbuster Pay-Per-Views he's headlined over the years, Friday's event at AT&T Stadium takes the cake.

The 58-year-old admitted it's the most-hyped bout in the world ... claiming, "[There's never been a fight this big."

2:50 PM PT -- Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ ... Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift didn't take any chances during last month’s break-in at his home. Our sources say Travis and Taylor stayed at a downtown Kansas City hotel on the night of the Oct. 7th burglary, after the Chiefs' "Monday Night Football" showdown with the Saints at Arrowhead Stadium. We're told Taylor and Travis's security wasn't playing around after the break-in.

2:15 PM PT -- TMZ Sports has obtained more information on the Travis Kelce break-in ... with a police report stating his home was broken into around 7:33 PM on Monday, Oct. 7 -- shortly after "Monday Night Football" kicked off.

According to the document, $20,000 in cash was taken ... and his back door was damaged.

Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce's Kansas City-area houses were burglarized last month ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Ex-NBA player Kyle Singler's recent social media activity has the basketball community concerned ... with several pros offering their support after the former Duke star shared two alarming videos on his Instagram page.

The 36-year-old shared the first clip Monday night ... showing him shirtless and barefoot in a home as he claimed he felt his "voice is getting silenced."

"I have been mistreated and abused, neglected, made into a mental example, and I fear for my life every day, and people in my community make me look out as if I'm gonna be someone that's gonna be a problem and make things difficult for people when I'm only trying to be helpful," the 33rd overall pick in the 2011 draft said.

Tom Brady got candid about his personal life on Tuesday ... openly admitting to a room full of strangers that he has not been the world's greatest father to his three kids.

The former NFL superstar made the revelation while speaking on a panel at the 2024 Fortune Global Forum in New York City.

Brady was asked how he's able to motivate his 17-year-old son, Jack -- who he shares with Bridget Moynahan -- and his other young son and daughter, Benjamin and Vivian -- who he shares with Gisele Bündchen -- and he wanted to make it clear to the audience he's by no means the G.O.A.T. of parenthood.

Fernando Valenzuela's cause of death has been revealed -- the Los Angeles Dodgers legend died of septic shock.

TMZ Sports has obtained the 1981 World Series champion's death certificate ... which listed decompensated alcoholic cirrhosis and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis cirrhosis as underlying causes.

The medical examiner also suspects Valenzuela suffered from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease ... a rare brain disorder.

Francisco Lindor has arrived in Los Angeles ... and given Mets boss Steve Cohen is slated to meet with Juan Soto in Southern California this week -- it sure appears the NY shortstop is now in town to help recruit the star free agent.

The 30-year-old NL MVP finalist flew in to LAX on Sunday evening ... just a few days after multiple reports stated Cohen, Soto and Soto's super agent, Scott Boras, would sit down in the L.A.-area to talk about a potential future with the Mets.

Lindor was mum with a photographer at the airport on whether or not he would be a part of this week's efforts to get Soto in the Blue and Orange ... but he did say he wished "nothing but the best" for the outfielder.

Two people directly connected to Jessica Simpson have spoken with 2 divorce lawyers in the last 2 months ... specifically about Jessica's marriage to Eric Johnson ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... late last month someone close to Jessica went to a Los Angeles divorce attorney and said Jessica was unhappy in her marriage and wanted to arrange a meeting with the attorney and Simpson. We do not know if this was done at Jessica's behest, but we're told the message to the lawyer was clear. We're also told up to this point Jessica has not made contact with the lawyer.

And, we've learned someone on Jessica's team made contact with another Los Angeles divorce lawyer regarding matters that were divorce-related. Again, so far we're told there has been no follow-through.

Joe Rogan just spilled some serious next-level insider info ... saying Elon Musk knew hours before the official results dropped that Donald Trump had already won the election.

On his podcast, Rogan revealed Musk had supposedly developed a custom app on his phone that gave him real-time vote counts -- so he basically knew Trump had won 4 hours before anyone else called it.

Rogan wasn't entirely claiming it as fact ... he said the info came from Dana White, who told him Elon had said, "I'm leaving. It's over. Donald won" -- all while the results were still rolling in. Dana and Elon were both hanging out with Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Florida on the night of the election.

Fitness influencer Jaxon Tippet -- who amassed a large online following -- tragically passed away this week while on vacation. He just turned 30 years old last month.

Tippet's family made the sad announcement on his Instagram page ... saying the Australian fitness coach, who also modeled, died on November 10 while visiting Turkey.

Tippet's family says they've been told he died from a heart attack.