TMZ Sports - Page 50

Soccer icon Michelle Akers says it's absurd to compare the U.S. Women's National Team to the men for 3 reasons: the women make less, have less marketing money ... and still win wayyy more!

The two-time World Cup champ joined us on "TMZ Live" and says the U.S. Women should be paid at least as much as the men, if not MORE, because they've been dominating the sport on a global scale for decades, while the men's team is in a different universe ... just struggling to get into the World Cup tournament most years.  

As you know ... the U.S. Women beat the Netherlands 2-0 Sunday to bring home their fourth World Cup title, sparking a huge debate about equal pay. The women will reportedly bank $260k per player for their big win, while the men would have raked in $1.1 million each if they'd won the whole thing.

Check out the clip ... Michelle not only rails against the huge pay gap, but adds the U.S. Soccer Federation should pour more cash into promoting the women. It's just a smarter investment than the men's team. 

No offense guys, but it's hard to argue with her today. 

Barstool Sports is being sued over its most iconic image -- Sad Roger -- with the guys who allegedly created the shot of Roger Goodell with a clown nose claiming Barstool has been using it without permission. 

The guys behind the suit are Jake Bernier, Kenneth LeMarier and Joseph Bernier ... who claim they created Sad Roger and licensed it to Barstool for a "one-time use in 2015."

The image became the face of Barstool's war against NFL commissioner Roger Goodell when he went after Tom Brady for allegedly deflating footballs during the 2014 NFL season. 

The image was a hit with Stoolies -- many of whom rocked Sad Roger towels at the Patriots 2017 home opener. Sports Illustrated reported Barstool spent $140,000 to give away 70,000 towels that day. 

Barstool has been using the image on shirts, posters and even Christmas ornaments. In fact, New Orleans Saints' head coach, Sean Payton, appeared to wear a Sad Roger shirt after the Saints lost in the NFC championship over a blown non-pass interference call. 

Barstool is still selling the men's shirt under the title, "Clown Tee" for $29.95. 

In their lawsuit, filed Monday in federal court in New York, the alleged creators claim Barstool never got permission to use the image after that one-time usage license in 2015 ... and  they're pissed. 

The guys claim they're entitled to $150,000 for every time Barstool infringed on their copyright -- though they haven't specified exactly how much money they want from the suit. 

We reached out to Barstool for comment -- so far, no word back. 

The champs are here ... AND THEY BROUGHT THE BOOZE!!!

Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan and the rest of the U.S. Women's National Team just touched down in New York City on Monday after winning the World Cup ... and they're clearly ready to party!!

Rapinoe pimp walked off the jet onto a waiting red carpet with a glass of booze in hand -- SWAAGGGGG!!!

The scene was awesome ... the women were singing "We Are the Champions" and showing off their medals and trophy while wearing "World Champions 2019" shirts. 

At one point, one of the players screams out, "I love America!"

Morgan was feelin' herself too ... she grabbed Rapinoe's cup and took a sip for herself!

Of course, the women are still celebrating their 2-0 victory over the Netherlands in France ... where they secured their second straight World Cup championship.

They're in New York now to continue the party -- a victory parade is set for Wednesday morning in Manhattan.

Bizarre situation involving Serena Williams -- who damaged a Wimbledon tennis court during a pre-tourney practice session ... and now she's been ordered to cough up $10,000 in fines. 

Unclear exactly what Serena did to warrant the fine -- though some reports say she used her racket to inflict the damage during a Sunday workout. 

The All England Club -- the organization which hosts Wimbledon -- has meted out a $10,000 fine for Serena which is chump change for her considering she's already made $367,000 for making the quarterfinals. 

So far, Serena hasn't commented on the fine ... but she's never been shy to speak her mind if she feels she's been wronged. 

She's set to play Alison Riske on Tuesday -- and there's no doubt she'll be asked about the incident by the media either before or after the match.  

D'Angelo Russell went joyriding in a luxury whip before signing his massive, $117 million deal with the Warriors ... taking a crazy expensive Ferrari out for brunch ... and TMZ Sports has the vid!!

Just hours before inking his reported 4-year deal with the Dubs on Sunday, DLo hit up Toast Bakery in L.A. with his folks ... and the dude knew how to make an exit, hopping in the passenger seat of the Rari and riding off down the street.

We fired off a bunch of questions -- if he had a message for the Brooklyn Nets after dealing him to the Dubs, if he's the newest Splash Brother, if the Warriors were still the team to beat in the NBA ... but the All-Star guard let the wheels do the talking.

No word on the exact year and type of this particular Ferrari ... but given the price tag of similar models, it's gotta be worth a quarter million dollars AT LEAST.

NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo is deadly serious about defending his nickname -- and now he's suing an artist for selling "Greek Freak" shirts without his permission. 

The Milwaukee Bucks stud is going scorched earth on Pennsylvania-based artist Jinder Bhogal -- who sells NBA player-inspired clothing on his website. 

In fact, Bhogal featured various items featuring Giannis' face morphed with Bucks antlers in a design titled, "Greek Freak."

At one point, Bhogal offered his clients 10% off anything in the "Greek Freak" collection. 

Problem is ... Giannis says he owns the trademark to use "Greek Freak" for commercial purposes and claims Jinder never asked for permission. 

In court docs filed Monday, Giannis says he sent Jinder a cease and desist letter but the guy never responded. So, suing the dude was his next best move. 

Giannis claims he's entitled to up to $2 MILLION for the alleged trademark infringement -- but his lawsuit seems more about protecting his image than making a Buck (get it?!). 

We've reached out to Jinder for comment -- so far, no word back. 

Kyle Kuzma had one helluva 4th of July -- chillin' on a yacht with Kendall Jenner!

The two were spotted on a pretty awesome boat off the coast of Malibu on Thursday along with some friends. At one point, they decided to take some goofy pics together. Good times!

When they got back to shore, Kuzma was spotted at a house party with Kendall. 

The whole thing begs the question ... are they dating? 

Back in February, 23-year-old Kuzma was linked to Katya Elise Henry ... a model with nearly 6 million followers on IG. Funny enough, the two were also hanging on a boat together earlier this year!

Kendall has since left the country -- she's currently hanging out in thong bikinis with her model friends in Greece. Again, good times!

Kuzma has had a crazy off-season -- he was essentially the only one of the young Lakers players who wasn't traded away in the Anthony Davis deal. 

Is this the greatest piece of World Series memorabilia EVER?!?!

The gloves worn by Chicago Cubs stars' Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo when they combined to get to the final out of Game 7 of the 2016 World Series are hitting the auction block ... and they can be all yours, if you've got the cash.

The play is iconic ... Bryant fielded a soft ground ball at third base, hurled it to Rizzo at first --  and just like that, the Cubs beat the Indians to win their first title since 1908!!!!

Now, Goldin Auctions has obtained the gloves Rizzo and Byrant used ... which are now both SIGNED AND INSCRIBED by the Cubs superstars.

Online bidding begins today ... and closes August 1st (there's also a live auction on the 1st at National Sports Collectors Convention in Chi-Town).

TMZ Sports has learned the 2 pieces (which are being sold together as a package) are expected to fetch $750,000 by the time the auction closes!!!

As for why Rizzo and Bryant let the gloves go ... we're told the two were contractually obligated to give up the pieces after the series ended.

Sucks for them ... but could be great news for you!!!

Olivia Culpo and NFL star Christian McCaffrey have taken their newfound relationship down south ... the two are hanging in Mexico together on an apparent couple's trip to Cabo!

Roughly 4 months after officially calling it quits with NFL wide receiver Danny Amendola, 27-year-old Culpo had reportedly started getting close with 23-year-old Carolina Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey. 

Rumors have swirling for weeks about the two ... but now it seems pretty clear there's something going on because they're both in Cabo with Olivia's good friend Kristen Louelle and her husband, Tyler Gaffney. 

If that name sounds familiar it's because Tyler is an ex-NFL running back who spent time with the Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguars. 

As for Olivia and Christian ... unclear how "official" they are -- they might still be in the casual stage, but they're definitely on a trip to a foreign country together and that definitely means something.

Looks like they're all having a great  time -- with Christian and Tyler ripping off their shirts for a fun party game at the beach while Olivia and Kristen cheered them on! 

After the split from Amendola, Culpo had been connected to Zedd, one of the biggest EDM artists in the world ... a relationship triggered Amendola to post a wild Instagram rant calling the DJ a "scrawny little f*ck."

Amendola and Culpo haven't been spotted together since. 

Julio Jones will NOT be holding out of Falcons practices this year ... the star WR says owner Arthur Blank has promised him a new deal -- and Jones is confident it'll all get done soon.

"Mr. Blank gave us his word," Julio says ... "That's golden."

30-year-old Jones still has 2 years left on a $71 MILLION deal he inked back in 2015 ... but he's been angling for a new contract for a while now.

In fact, Jones held out of Atlanta practices LAST summer ... before he ultimately settled for a small raise before the season began.

But, Jones says he doesn't anticipate any of that happening again this summer ... saying the Falcons have already told him a new contract is on the way.

"[Blank's] word is that it's going to get done," Julio says ... "There's no stress on my end. I'm not thinking about it."

"[Blank] makes it easy for me to go out and just work every day and not have one of those situations where there's a holdout or anything like that."

Jones says he hopes his new contract makes him a Falcon for life ... saying it's his goal to finish out his career in Atlanta.

As for the eventual end to that stellar career ... Jones says he doesn't see retirement coming any time soon -- but he did say he's evaluating his future on a season-to-season basis.

DeSean Jackson says LeBron James is locked in and laser-focused on bringing the Lakers back to greatness ... and he knows it firsthand because he spoke with him over the weekend. 

The NFL star hit up TAO in Hollywood for Kevin Hart's 40th birthday party -- which was packed with huge stars including LeBron. 

D-Jax says the two spoke about the upcoming NBA season -- and Bron told him the 2019-20 season is gonna be a bloodbath! 

"I just holla'd at my boy, LeBron," Jackson said ... "He said 'It's on!' So, he's back to them Cleveland and them Miami days. So, ya'll better be careful. Y'all better watch out."

Of course, Bron has a pretty solid running mate this season -- with Anthony Davis joining the Lake Show. 

DeSean -- who's from L.A. -- says he knows there's a TON of hype surrounding Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and the Clippers ... but he's warning everyone not to sleep on the Purple and Gold. 

"Slow your roll on that Clippers sh*t. It's a little early, man. Chill out. We gotta see what they doing."

"It's gonna be a nice little rivalry for the city, though. Los Angeles, we got something going."

James Harden for the WIN!!!

The NBA superstar just emerged victorious in a 3-year legal battle with a photog who claims Harden broke his finger in a late-night attack back in 2016 ... in a civil case that went all the way to trial. 

Harden was sued by David Flores -- a photog who claims he was trying to get a street interview with James outside of a Hollywood lounge around 2 AM on May 13, 2016, when Harden "angrily smacked" his hand, breaking his finger in the process.

Flores initially claimed to have video of the encounter -- but allegedly admitted to manipulating the clip ... and said he no longer had the original version.

Flores sued for negligence, assault and battery ... and was looking for serious cash. Harden had denied wrongdoing from the start. 

A judge had ordered the two sides to a settlement conference to see if they could work out a deal -- but the talks apparently went nowhere and the case went before a jury. 

The good news for Harden ... the jury found that he did not intend to cause any harm to Flores and did not act negligently. 

Translation -- full win for Harden ... and Flores gets ZERO.

Draymond Green ain't worried about all that offseason drama with the Golden State Warriors -- he's chillin' out off the coast of Italy with his fiancee ... in a CRAZY huge yacht!!!

The 29-year-old NBA star is sailing in Sardinia, Italy with Hazel Renee -- whom he proposed to with a $300,000 ring back in January! 

Now that the offseason is in full swing, Draymond and Hazel are finally getting some R&R on a yacht called Ruya ... a 135-foot ship with 5 cabins, living room, hot tub and an on-board gym!

The cost to rent Ruya is about $200,000 per week -- but Draymond can clearly afford it ... he's about to enter the final year of his 5-year, $82-MILLION contract!

Green is expected to sign a MASSIVE deal when he becomes a free agent after next season -- so money ain't a thing for this guy. 

Snoop Dogg says it's about damn time Team USA women's soccer team got paid like the "sorry ass f*cking men" ... saying our champions are getting the shaft. 

After Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan and the rest of the U.S. Women's National Team beat up the Netherlands to win our 4th World Cup, Snoop Dogg fired up his IG to go off on the pay disparity. 

In his video, Snoop is referencing a report that said the U.S. women's soccer players only made $90,000 per player in bonus money for reaching the quarterfinals ... while the men would have made $500k for reaching the same stage. 

After winning the whole thing, the U.S. women's team will reportedly walk away with $260k per player ... while the men would have banked $1.1 mil each. 

Snoop is furious with the pay gap -- noting they're the BEST in the world at what they do ... while the U.S. men didn't even qualify for the World Cup in 2018. 

"The sorry ass f*cking men from the U.S. soccer team, they ain't ever won sh*t, ain't gonna ever win sh*t, can't get out the f*cking first round," Snoop said. 

"Man, PAY THEM LADIES!"

Snoop added, "The women should be getting $500k per athlete. Snoop Dogg says so."

Obviously, his numbers are a little off ... but you get the point. 

Ex-UCLA basketball star Tyler Honeycutt's suicide after a standoff with police officers last year caused nearly $200k in property damage ... so says an insurance company that is now suing Honeycutt's estate for the cash.

As we previously reported, cops were called to a place Honeycutt was renting in Sherman Oaks, Calif. back on July 6, 2018 to respond to a call about a man with a gun in the residence.

When they arrived, Tyler -- who had played for the Sacramento Kings from 2011 to 2013 -- fired shots at the officers ... and an hours-long standoff ensued.

Eventually, SWAT was able to break into the home -- but they found Honeycutt on the scene unresponsive.

Officials later declared Honeycutt dead ... and said he appeared to have shot himself at some point during the altercation.

Now, Amco Insurance Company is going after Tyler's estate for the incident, saying all the damages caused during the standoff totaled up to $178,476.56.

The insurance company claims in the lawsuit Tyler's actions created "severe" damage to the property, contents, fixtures and furnishings ... and now they want his estate to pay up.

The NY Knicks did NOT take an L in free agency ... so says new signee Bobby Portis, who tells TMZ Sports his new squad now has enough firepower to compete with the Nets!!!

Of course, a lot of NBA pundits disagree ... slammin' James Dolan and the Knicks' front office for failing to sign guys like Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving earlier this month.

But, Portis -- who just inked a 2-year, $31 MILLION deal with the Knicks -- fired back at his team's haters, telling us NY's free agency haul is more than enough to make a good squad!!

"I know everybody is going to have something to say about every situation, but I feel like we got a good core and we're going to shock a lot of people."

FYI, after missing out on Durant, Kyrie and all the other big fish in the free agency ... the Knicks ended up with a haul of Portis, Julius Randle and Taj Gibson -- along with a few others.

So, is that team (plus top draft pick RJ Barrett) good enough to take down the crosstown rival Nets -- who DID end up with K.D. and Kyrie??

"Oh, yeah," Portis says ... "For sure. For sure."