TMZ Sports - Page 50

Senator Lindsey Graham caught some heat for suggesting someone needed to assassinate Vladimir Putin to end this Russia-Ukraine conflict ... and now, he's doubling down.

We got LG Monday at Reagan National Airport in D.C., and asked him to respond to the backlash he received last week after floating the possibility of Russians taking Putin out.

The basis of the criticism ... such talk is dangerous, and certainly not something a U.S. public official should be spewing -- even if it is something that's been on folks' minds.

Well ... Sen. Graham not only stands by what he said, but expands a bit on the subject -- saying just about everybody in the world sees what the Russian president is doing, and can clearly see the guy's a war criminal who must be stopped.

Graham notes Putin's been getting away with atrocities for years -- so, yes, he doesn't see anything wrong with musing about the possibility of his own people removing the man ... one way or another.

Our photog took the opportunity to ask about WNBA star Brittney Griner, who's being detained by Russian authorities on a drug charge.

A plan to sell counterfeit Patrick Mahomes Super Bowl rings has been thwarted ... feds just announced they seized a bunch of fake K.C. Chiefs title bling in a huge bust in Louisville.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced Monday that officers intercepted a package that they say contained a small fortune-worth of fake Mahomes merch as well as other counterfeit sports memorabilia.

According to the CBP, the package -- which came from China and was heading toward Florida -- contained 30 fake Tampa Bay Buccaneers Super Bowl rings, 110 fake Atlanta Braves World Series rings, 10 fake Milwaukee Bucks NBA championship rings and 80 fake Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl rings.

In a photo of some of the seized "jewelry" ... you can see Mahomes' name was engraved on some of the merch, along with his number and the words "Chiefs Kingdom."

The CBP said in total, the package was worth $345,000.

Super Bowl champ Derek Wolfe checked a lifelong dream off his bucket list this week ... by hunting down and killing a massive, 2,000-pound buffalo -- and the pics are gnarly.

The 32-year-old Baltimore Ravens defensive end shared images of the aftermath to his Instagram on Sunday ... holding the buffalo's heart in his hand and showing an arrow going right through the organ.

"Took two arrows to bring this 2000lb beast down," Wolfe said of the kill. "1st at 34 yards and the second a perfect heart shot at 67 yards. A childhood dream came true for me."

Wolfe also posted up-close pics of the damage ... and yeah, there's a ton of blood.

Wolfe is usually known for tracking down quarterbacks -- he has 34 sacks on his career -- but did not play in 2021 due to an injury.

Cain Velasquez will remain behind bars for the immediate future ... a judge just denied the UFC legend's request for bail.

In announcing her decision at a hearing in a Santa Clara County courtroom on Monday, judge Shelyna Brown said "the risk is too great" to release Velasquez from custody.

Cain -- who showed up to court in shackles and a black and orange jumpsuit -- is now expected to stay in a cell until at least his next court date, which is currently set for mid-April.

As we reported, Velasquez is facing 10 criminal charges -- including one count of felony attempted murder -- after authorities say he tried to kill Harry Goularte, who's been accused of molesting one of Cain's close relatives.

In court documents, officials say Cain rammed his truck into a car carrying Goularte and family members on Feb. 28, and then fired his gun into the vehicle. Officials say Goularte's stepdad was struck in the gunfire.

Velasquez has received support from many since his arrest -- with Ronda Rousey, Joe Rogan and UFC fighter Derek Brunson all publicly defending the MMA star.

In fact, several Cain supporters were seen outside of the courthouse on Monday, pleading with officials to release him from custody.

Brittney Griner's wife says she's completely heartbroken over her wife's detainment in Russia ... saying in an emotional social media post, "My heart, our hearts, are all skipping beats everyday that goes by without hearing from you."

Griner has reportedly been kept in Russia the past few weeks after she was allegedly caught with vape cartridges in her bag while traveling through an airport.

Communication between Griner and her family has apparently been few and far between since she was taken into custody ... and Cherelle Griner said Monday morning it's all been excruciating.

"There are no words to express this pain," Cherelle said. "I'm hurting, we're hurting. We await the day to love on you as a family."

Cherelle added that she's having trouble doing anything without wondering if the WNBA star is safe.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken declined to get into specifics of the Griner case on Sunday ... but he said any citizen who is being held in a foreign country will get assistance.

"Whenever an American is detained anywhere in the world," Blinken said, "we of course stand ready to provide every possible assistance."

He added, "We have an embassy team that's working on the cases of other Americans who are detained in Russia. We're doing everything we can to see to it that their rights are upheld and respected."

Shaquille O'Neal pulled out all the stops for his birthday on Sunday ... shutting down a Miami hotspot and throwing a HUGE party to celebrate his big 5-0.

Shaq took over Prime 112 in South Beach and partied late into the night ... and TMZ Sports has learned the bash was epic.

We're told the party featured a ton of food, Shaq-themed decorations, and plenty of star guests.

In fact, at one point during the festivities, a huge video tribute was played on a big screen ... showing a bunch of sweet messages from celebs, musicians and athletes to the Big Diesel.

Guys like Kevin Hart, Steph Curry, Ludacris, Charles Barkley and more gave their well wishes to the NBA legend ... who watched all the clips with a huge smile on his face.

There was also a walkway of all of the Sports Illustrated covers Shaq has been on over the years -- plus so many more tributes and nods to the former Lakers and Heat star.

The party started at around 7 PM and went past midnight ... and it culminated with Shaq blowing out candles on a big, custom Pepsi-themed cake.

Shaq also got on the mic for a few moments, and gave some words late in the evening to thank his friends and family, before he eventually called it a night.

No word on what gifts Shaq received at the party ... but as we reported, he got a sick Dodge Hellcat Charger earlier in the week -- so, overall, it was a great week to be Shaq.

L.A. Rams safety Terrell Burgess brought his mom to tears after surprising her with a brand new SUV -- and the emotional moment was all caught on video!

The 23-year-old pulled up on his mother, Ingrid, over the weekend with the new whip ... capturing the big surprise.

His mom was in complete shock -- saying, "Is this why you're so late today?!" when she noticed the new silver Chevy SUV parked in the street.

That's when the tears started rollin' ... with Burgess' mom asking, "Are you serious?! Oh my goodness!"

"It had 19 miles on it," the former Utah Utes star says, "but we drove all the way over here so kinda bumped up a little bit."

"That's yours. Appreciate you, thank you, love you! That's yours!"

It's unclear exactly how much the SUV cost, but Burgess joked the gift covers future holidays for the next couple of years.

"Happy Birthday! Merry Christmas! Happy Mothers Day for the next 8 years!"

Burgess -- a third-round pick in the 2020 draft -- logged in 18 tackles and 1 pass deflection before suffering a season-ending injury in Week 7 of the 2021 season.

They say time heals all, but that's not the case when it comes to Kyrie Irving and Celtics fans ... 'cause the NBA star just compared the Boston fanbase to "a scorned girlfriend" after getting heckled during Sunday's matchup.

Celtics fans chanted "Kyrie sucks" late in the 4th quarter in Boston's 126-120 win ... and Irving addressed the hate during his postgame interview.

"It's like the scorned girlfriend who wants an explanation on why I left, but still hoping for a text back," Irving said of the jeers. "I'm just like, 'It was fun while it lasted.'"

Of course, the relationship between Irving and Celtics fans soured when KI declined an option to return to the franchise after playing only two seasons for the team ... despite previously saying he was planning to stay long-term.

Since then, C's fans have made it a point to boo and show their disproval for Irving every time he returns to Boston ... making sure he's well aware they haven't forgotten how he left them hanging.

Despite the remarks, Irving did say he was grateful for the time he spent as a Celtic ... and he still remains close with a lot of the guys he played with, like Jayson Tatum, Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown.

The relationship with JT appeared to shine through ... as Tatum tried to quiet the fans from saying "Kyrie sucks" as Brown shot free throws.

"Storage Wars" star Rene Nezhoda scored big on his latest find ... unearthing tons of memorabilia that belonged to Olympic legend Florence Griffith Joyner -- Flo-Jo!

Rene tells TMZ ... his friend George bought Flo-Jo's storage locker 8 years ago in the San Diego area. Rene says he dropped several thousand dollars to take the Olympic content off his hands ... and the haul is impressive!

Rene walked away with Florence's Olympic jacket and even her signed track shoes -- the ones that she wore while breaking world records! As you'll recall, Joyner broke records in the 1988 Seoul Olympics ... for both the 100m and 200m dash! She took home 3 gold medals that year.

Also bought by Rene are rare photos, magazines featuring her, and autographed Flo-Jo Barbie dolls ... talk about a blast from the past!

Rene says he'll likely sell the pieces of history on eBay or through collectible auction house Heritage Auctions ... but if a member of Flo-Jo's family reaches out, he might work out a deal with them to return her personal items.

Flo-Jo died in 1998 after suffering a fatal epileptic seizure in her sleep. Apparently, her family paid the bills for the storage rental for years, but for some reason stopped, and that's why the locker went up for action.

Joe Rogan didn't mince words when defending Cain Velasquez in wake of the UFC legend's arrest last week ... saying straight-up he wishes the fighter had beaten his relative's alleged molester "to death."

The UFC analyst explained his stance on a recent episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience," telling Michael Bisping he's firmly on Velasquez's side.

"I mean, my only wish is that he did it with his hands," Rogan told Bisping during a conversation about the allegations against Velasquez.

"My only wish is that he just ran the car off the road, pulled that guy out of the f***ing car, and beat him to death. F*** you."

Bisping wholeheartedly agreed, telling Rogan, "And even that would have been too good for him."

As we reported, Velasquez is accused of attempting to murder Harry Goularte on Feb. 28 after authorities said Goularte molested one of Velasquez's "close" relatives days before.

Cops say Velasquez tried to chase down Goularte and two of his family members on the road in San Jose, CA. ... claiming the 39-year-old rammed his truck into their car, and fired several rounds into it in an attempt to kill Goularte.

Velasquez was eventually arrested and hit with 10 criminal charges over it all, and has been sitting in a jail cell for nearly a week. He's set for a bond hearing in court later Monday afternoon.

Rogan isn't the only one defending Velasquez following the arrest ... UFC fighter Derek Brunson made "Free Cain Velasquez" t-shirts, while Ronda Rousey also backed the former UFC star.

Reports of Kyler Murray being a bad teammate and a poor leader are flat-out false ... so says his Cardinals teammate Christian Kirk, who tells TMZ Sports he loves the quarterback.

Kirk had nothing but nice things to say about the Arizona star outside of JLT Performance GYM in Los Angeles this week ... explaining he has no issues whatsoever with the signal-caller.

"He's a great friend of mine and he's always treated me well and teammates around him well," said Kirk, who's played with Murray in Arizona since 2019. "Every time he steps on the field, he wants to win."

Of course, recent reports have contradicted Kirk ... particularly after Murray scrubbed his social media of Arizona Cardinals-related pics.

Multiple outlets reported the Cards' org. is unhappy with the QB -- hoping to see more maturity, better play and more leadership from the 24-year-old before they give him a monster contract extension.

Kirk, though, made it clear he hasn't seen any of those issues with the QB, saying, "I believe he deserves everything that he's earned and that he has coming."

There's a chance, however, that Kirk won't be able to play with Kyler anymore going forward ... Christian is set for free agency later this month, and rumors are swirling that he could become a Buffalo Bill after he vacationed with star QB Josh Allen last month.

Aaron Rodgers may have disengaged from his fiancée, but he hasn't given up on love, because he officiated the wedding of one of his teammates.

TMZ Sports obtained this video of the Green Bay Packers QB front and center at David Bakhtiari's wedding ceremony.

Aaron and David are not just teammates ... they're good pals.

Rodgers was in the thick of it ... sipping drinks, mingling with guests and chatting with the bridesmaids.

BTW ... the nuptials went down at the Rosewood Miramar Hotel near Santa Barbara. It's become a go-to place for romance. As we reported, Travis Barker and Kourtney Kardashian got engaged there a few months ago.

A soccer match in Mexico this weekend got out of hand among fans -- to the point that their respective pummeling left many looking like they were on the verge of death.

This happened Saturday in central Mexico, between Queretaro (the hosts) and Atlas from Guadalajara ... the latter squad rocking red/black jerseys. During the 62nd minute in the game, several fights broke out in the stands, which then poured into the actual field itself ... forcing the refs to suspend the match and sending stadium staff scrambling for help.

Several videos have emerged showing the brutality that was occurring -- many of which are too graphic to post here. Let's just say ... a lot of these folks took things way too far.

There are clips showing multiple groups of guys ganging up on one or more individuals, and pounding them into oblivion with punches, kicks and strikes with objects like chairs and poles. A lot of the victims were entirely stripped of their clothes too, lying unconscious. And some were even robbed, with pickpocketers diving in to remove their belongings.

Many of these people were actually presumed dead -- understandably, especially when you see some of this stuff -- and unconfirmed reports out of Mexico stoked that even more ... claiming several fatalities emerged from the brawl.

However, the official line from the governor of Queretaro is that nobody died from this ... but that upwards of 26 people were hospitalized, including a handful that are in critical condition.

As you can imagine, there were families with children there who were running/hiding for their lives ... and there are even some eyewitness accounts saying parents had to remove their kids' jerseys out of fear of a rival fan trying to attack them.

The league these two teams belong to, Liga MX, halted the rest of the games for the weekend and condemned the violence ... saying they were launching a full investigation and would commit to holding those parties responsible -- including venue honchos themselves.

There's a lot of finger-pointing going on -- between security (or a lack thereof) but mostly at the brawlers themselves ... who apparently let a rivalry blow up into a life or death situation.

Brittney Griner's wife is breaking her silence since news broke about the WNBA star being detained in Russia -- and her first message is one of gratitude.

Cherelle Griner hopped on IG Sunday to post a photo of herself with BG, adding a caption that read ... "Thank you to everyone who has reached out to me regarding my wife’s safe return from Russia. Your prayers and support are greatly appreciated. I love my wife wholeheartedly, so this message comes during one of the weakest moments of my life."

She adds, "I understand that many of you have grown to love BG over the years and have concerns and want details. Please honor our privacy as we continue to work on getting my wife home safely."

As you know ... Brittney is in Russian custody at the moment, and apparently has been for a good while now -- since at least February when she was busted on suspicion of a drug charge.

She's alleged to have had vape cartridges in her bag while traveling through an airport -- and the Russian authorities even released video capturing the moment they searched her stuff.

Ukrainian UFC fighter Maryna Moroz won her match Saturday night, and she dissolved into tears afterward telling fans about the heartbreak she and her family are going through in the wake of Putin's war.

Maryna's win against Mariya Agapova was awesome ... an arm-triangle choke ended the fight in the second round.

Joe Rogan talked to Maryna in the Octagon after the decision was announced, and she confessed it's been a hard week for her and her family. She says she's heartbroken over the attack on her country ... "My family is in Ukraine. I had a hard week. I worried, I cried, because my family is right now in a bad situation."

She added, "Thank you to everyone who messaged me, because this week was hard for me. I want to cry because of this war my country is in. It's a hard time for Ukraine. I want to support my country, my president, whole army in Ukraine, and I want to say we don't want war. I worry about my family right now."

Drake lost a fortune on UFC's main event Saturday night, and the winner was quick to trash him by talking about his "s**tty" music.

Drake plunked down $275,000 on Jorge Masvidal, who squared off against Colby Covington. Unfortunately for Drake -- and Masvidal -- Covington won a unanimous decision, and it wasn't even close.

Covington was quick to trash talk ... "Let's talk about all the money that Drake lost tonight. He needs to go back to selling those s**tty albums to get back the money."

He wasn't done, adding, "Drake, you suck at sports betting. Go back to your s**tty little albums and rapping."

There was definitely an upside to the bet since Masvidal was the underdog. If Masvidal won, Drake would have pocketed a cool $1 mil.