TMZ Sports - Page 50

Daniel Luna -- the 40-year-old 49ers fan who was brutally beaten in the SoFi Stadium parking lot during the NFC Championship game -- is out of a medically-induced coma 5 weeks after the incident, his family announced this week.

Luna remains hospitalized, but the hope is he will be able to return home later this month. His current condition was not disclosed, according to CBS LA.

As we previously reported, Inglewood mayor James Butts claims surveillance footage of the parking lot altercation shows Luna (wearing a Niners jersey) shove a Rams fan from behind. Butts says the Rams fan appeared to retaliate by pushing Luna and punching him in the face ... causing him to fall to the ground.

Stadium security then discovered Luna injured and unconscious in the parking lot about 30 minutes after the NFC title game kicked off ... and he was transported to a nearby hospital.

The suspect -- 33-year old Bryan Alexis Cifuentes-Rossell -- was arrested after he was eventually tracked down via surveillance footage that started in the SoFi parking lot.

On Wednesday, the L.A. District Attorney announced Cifuentes-Rossell is being charged with one felony count of battery with serious bodily injury.

A woman is suing Jerry Jones ... reportedly alleging the Dallas Cowboys owner is her father, and claiming that he paid a small fortune years ago to keep everything quiet.

The lawsuit was filed in a Dallas County court on March 3, records show. Documents in the case, however, have since been sealed.

ESPN says it obtained a copy of the lawsuit prior to its sealing ... and the outlet reports the woman, Alexandra Davis, alleged in the docs that Jones "courted" her mother, Cynthia Davis Spencer, in 1995.

Alexandra reportedly claims Jones pursued Davis Spencer while she worked in Little Rock, Arkansas for American Airlines ... and had Alexandra a short time later.

Documents reportedly show Jones, who's now 79 years old, denied he was the father ... but nonetheless paid Davis Spencer $375K "in exchange for confidentiality" when Alexandra was just a 1-year-old.

Alexandra also claimed in the docs, per ESPN, that Donald Jack, an Arkansas lawyer and Jones' friend, set up trusts for Alexandra and her mom to keep "Jones' paternity a secret."

ESPN reports that in her suit, Alexandra, now 25 years old and living in Washington D.C., is asking the court to recognize her as the NFL owner's daughter. She's also reportedly asking to be free of the agreement that she says Jones and her mom agreed to when she was an infant.

Alexandra reportedly said in the docs that she "has lived her life fatherless and in secret and in fear that if she should tell anyone who her father was, she and her mother would lose financial support, or worse."

"[Alexandra] has had to spend her entire life hiding and concealing who her real father is," Alexandra's attorney added in the lawsuit, according to ESPN. "Defendant Jones' only role in Plaintiff's life to date other than to shun her, has been to coerce her from ever disclosing his identity."

We reached out to both Alexandra's attorney and Jones' attorneys for comment ... but so far, no word back from either yet.

Two Ukrainians have emerged as war heroes who have inspired their nation and the world with their bravery and fortitude ... both improbable leaders who rose to the occasion.

Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelensky was born in 1978 to Jewish parents in southern Ukraine. His family moved to Mongolia for 4 years and then returned to their homeland.

He studied at the Kyiv National Economic University and graduated in 2000 with a law degree.

And then, the turn to acting. While he was a student, he became interested in theatre, and from 1997-2003 he appeared on an improv show on Ukrainian TV.

In 2003, Zelensky founded a TV studio, serving as the creative director until 2011. Under his watch, the studio became one of the most successful in the country.

He went on to star in some farce comedies. He also tried his hand at romantic comedies -- one called "8 First Dates" and another called "8 New Dates."

He appeared on "Dancing with the Stars" and won the whole thing. He also was the voice of Paddington the bear in Ukraine's version of the films.

In 2014, as the then-Ukrainian President was toppled, Zelensky starred in a new show -- "Servant of the People" ... about a school teacher's improbable rise to power as President of Ukraine. The show became a huge hit.

Then another big turn. He decided to imitate his art and run for President of Ukraine in 2019 ... and his celebrity was enough to garner 73% of the vote.

The first real exposure Americans had to Zelensky was during the first Donald Trump impeachment, when Trump tried pressuring him to investigate Hunter Biden in return for receiving aid, something he refused to do.

You know the rest ... a guy who never dipped his toe in politics led the nation and stood firmly against Russian occupation. Zelensky has become a modern-day Winston Churchill, even quoting him in his resolve to save his country.

Vitali Klitschko is an equally improbable war hero. He was born 50 years ago in the U.S.S.R. and developed a love of boxing at age 13. He and his brother, Wladimir, both became amateur boxers and Vitali won a gold medal.

Vitali graduated from the Pedagogical Institute in Ukraine in 1996 and did postgraduate work at Kyiv University. He ended up with a Ph.D. in Sports Science.

Vitali and Wladimir both became professional boxers in 1996, and both excelled.

The 6'7" Vitali became the WBC champ and retired in 2005, but returned to boxing in 2008.

Vitali played a big role in Ukraine's 2004 Orange Revolution, and ran twice for mayor of Kyiv -- both times unsuccessfully.

In 2010, Vitali became the leader of the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform. He gave up the WBC title in 2013 for a life in politics.

Vitali ran for mayor of Kyiv and won in 2014, and remains mayor to this day.

Sports Illustrated's next Swimsuit Issue is gonna have a first ... first ICU nurse, first breast cancer survivor, first NASA physicist or first indigenous model -- they're all in the running, and all have something in common.

S.I.'s doing something they've dubbed a "Swim Search" for an amateur model to feature in their Swimsuit Issue, and just announced a seriously diverse group of finalists ... including actual NASA vet Manju Bangalore.

Yes, she's a physicist who's worked at the Johnson Space Center ... and it's gotta be said: Houston, we do NOT have a problem with this.

Also among the 14 finalists ... breast cancer survivor Kelly Crump, who's endured 60 rounds of chemo since her diagnosis in 2019. Ashley Callingbull hails from Canada's Enoch Cree Nation ... making her the first indigenous woman to pose for the magazine's annual issue.

And then there's Hillory Fields, a real life hero of the pandemic. The Florida native is a traveling ICU nurse who shared her "grueling" efforts through 2020 on social media, saying ... "It has all been a tragedy."

It's pretty obvious what S.I. is going for here, and commendable, at that -- find the most diverse and unique group of "models" they've ever featured. Very cool.

At least one person thinks DK Metcalf could take Tyreek Hill in a sprint ...

Seahawks defensive lineman Rasheem Green tells TMZ Sports he's confident his teammate would beat Hill if the two ended up racing this offseason.

"I might have to take DK," Green told us last week outside of JLT Performance GYM. "I like DK."

No word yet on if the two NFL stars have actually set something up -- but they've both been vocal about making sure it eventually goes down.

Remember, DK told us last month he'd dust Hill -- and the Chiefs wideout responded a short time later on Twitter essentially telling him to bring it on.

DK's battling a foot injury, so the race wouldn't be able to happen for at least a few months -- but check out Green's evaluation on the potential tilt, he seems to think his Seattle buddy will win it.

Nine years after Hector "Macho" Camacho was brutally murdered outside a bar in Puerto Rico, five men have been arrested and charged in his slaying.

Camacho -- a former 3 weight class world champion -- was shot in the face while he sat with a friend in a Ford Mustang. The boxer didn't immediately die from his injuries, but was declared brain dead by doctors. After several days on life support, Hector passed away on November 24, 2012.

The murder shocked PR and the boxing world ... and the loss was compounded by the fact the murder went unsolved for so long.

But, on Wednesday, the first of five suspects appeared before a judge, accused of killing Camacho, according to the Associated Press.

Several of the suspects were already serving time behind bars ... including three people who were in a federal penitentiary in Florida. U.S. officials transported the inmates by plane to Puerto Rico so they could face the judge.

Two other men were arrested ... one from a Puerto Rican jail, and another from his home in the early morning hours, not far from where the shooting happened nearly a decade ago.

Authorities say there were more people involved ... but those men won't have their time in court 'cause they were themselves killed in unrelated incidents in 2013 and 2015.

Camacho -- who was 50 years old at the time of his death -- faced some of the greatest fighters during his great career ... including wins over "Sugar" Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran (twice).

The motive for the crime is still unknown.

Camacho's elderly mother was thrilled with the news of the arrests, getting a modicum of justice for her late son, per the AP.

Buddy Boeheim appeared to sucker punch an opponent in the gut during Syracuse's ACC Tournament game on Wednesday ... but his father, Orange head coach Jim Boeheim, says he believes the act was "inadvertent."

The play happened in the middle of the first half of 'Cuse's blowout win over the Seminoles ... when after a Syracuse basket, Buddy appeared to turn and throw a fist into Wyatt Wilkes' body.

Video replays showed Buddy made strong contact with the FSU hooper's stomach -- and the force was so great, Wilkes actually had to leave the game for a few minutes to recover.

Many on social media panned the play as dirty -- but no foul was called, and Syracuse went on to win the contest, 96-57.

After the game, Jim commented on the play ... and said he didn't think his son delivered a cheap shot at all.

"The kid pushed [Buddy] twice," Jim told reporters. "And he swung around and hit him. I think it was inadvertent, but that's OK."

Buddy and Wyatt appeared to have no bad blood following the game ... the two were seen chatting on the court following the tilt.

As for FSU's head coach Leonard Hamilton, he praised Buddy when asked about the incident.

"I don't want anything to take away from how well they played and what type of fine young man he is," Hamilton said. "The game is physical. You expect guys to go out and bang and be aggressive. And if something inadvertently happens, sometimes we want to categorize it one way or another."

No word yet on if the ACC will reprimand Buddy for the play. Syracuse is set to play next against Duke on Thursday.

Tiger Woods showed off his bare leg in public on Wednesday for the first time since he badly injured it in a car crash last year ... and the damaged limb looks great.

Media members captured the star golfer on video as he wore shorts on his way across a red carpet and into the PGA Tour's headquarters in Florida ... and their video shows there's no apparent signs of serious scarring on the 46-year-old's right limb -- despite the nature of his injuries.

Woods had been wearing either a brace, pants or a compression sleeve on the leg since he busted it up in a Feb. 2021 car accident, but, in the first glimpse of the bare leg since surgery, it's hard to tell anything was wrong with it.

As we reported, Woods required multiple surgeries to fix comminuted open fractures in his leg ... needing a rod, pins and screws to repair the damage.

Yet, check out the footage -- nearly 13 months after the wreck, he hardly has a limp and there's no clear signs that a surgeon's scalpel invaded his skin.

It's unclear if any of it means Woods will be participating in next month's Masters ... but it is safe to say he's getting better daily.

As for Wednesday's event at the Tour's headquarters ... Tiger is getting inducted into the Hall of Fame -- and, don't worry, he's already ditched the shirt and shorts for a clean suit.

The Utah Jazz organization is stepping up to help the Ukrainian people amid the Russian invasion ... by providing more than 32,200 nights of housing for refugees fleeing the country.

The team made the announcement on Wednesday ... saying it teamed up with Airbnb.org -- a nonprofit devoted to providing housing to those in need -- to make the gesture happen.

Jazz Executive chairman and co-owner Ryan Smith spoke about the decision to help out ... saying, "Connection and community have never been more important than it is today."

"Millions of people have been forced to leave behind their entire lives in Ukraine. Airbnb.org is connecting host families with refugees in need, creating safe havens when so many communities are being torn apart."

He added ... "And we can’t stop there. I encourage every organization to support Airbnb.org’s important initiative, to magnify their impact and house enough refugees to fill their arenas or workplaces.”

The incredibly kind gesture comes at a time when Ukraine is being ravaged every day by violence at the hands of Vladimir Putin and Russian troops -- forcing many of its citizens to flee out of safety concerns.

In fact, more than 2.1 million people have evacuated since February 24.

Airbnb co-founder and chairman of Airbnb.org, Joe Gebbia, was extremely thankful for the commitment from the team ... saying, "I cannot begin to express my thanks to the Utah Jazz Foundation for their support of Airbnb.org’s work."

Another NFL QB is on the move ... the Indianapolis Colts have agreed to trade Carson Wentz to the Washington Commanders.

Adam Schefter just reported the news ... saying the Colts will receive "a package of picks" that will include third-rounders for the signal-caller.

It's the second time in the last year that Wentz has been traded -- you'll recall, the Philadelphia Eagles sent him to Indy in March 2021 for draft picks as well.

Wentz had an up-and-down year in his one and only season with the Colts. Battling injuries, he started 17 games and threw for 3,563 yards, 27 TDs and 7 INTs. Indianapolis ended up missing out on the playoffs following a devastating Week 18 loss to the Jaguars.

Wentz will now be the presumed starter in Washington, as Taylor Heinicke will most likely fall into the backup role.

As for Wentz's potential in D.C. ... TMZ Sports spoke with his former tight end in Indy, Mo Alie-Cox, just days ago outside of JLT Performance Gym in Los Angeles, and he told us he was confident Wentz still has the goods to get a team to the Super Bowl.

The Sacramento Kings will be without Domantas Sabonis for one game ... 'cause their newly acquired center has been suspended for making contact with a referee during Monday's game against the Knicks.

The NBA's President of League Operations, Byron Spruell, announced the punishment on Wednesday ... saying Sabonis was suspended "for aggressively confronting and making contact with a game official."

During the tilt against New York, Domantas was hit with a technical foul for unsportsmanlike conduct after he disagreed with a foul called by one of the refs.

That's when Sabonis became irate, and according to the NBA's official statement, "reacted demonstratively again in the vicinity of the game official, and approached and bumped the official in a hostile manner."

In the video, you can see Domantas clearly lose his cool ... and does seem to make contact with the official, albeit minimal.

Sabonis received a second technical foul and was ultimately ejected from the game ... so he was unable to see the Kings squander their double-digit lead to the Knicks.

More trouble for the Charlo twins ... TMZ Sports has learned officials are seeking an arrest warrant for Jermell Charlo after he was charged with making a terroristic threat in the fall.

According to court documents, the criminal charge stems from the same alleged Sept. 5, 2021 incident that Jermall Charlo, Jermell's twin brother, was arrested for last month.

Officials say in documents that a 21-year-old man claiming to be the boxing stars' cousin was roughed up by Jermall and threatened by Jermell during an incident at Jermall's Fort Bend County, Texas home.

In the docs, the alleged victim says Jermall punched him three times and grabbed his hair because he didn't get out of a utility task vehicle "quickly enough for [Jermall's] wife to go with her friends."

Officials say the alleged victim told them while the assault was taking place, Jermell threatened him by saying, "I will kill you with my bare hands."

In the docs, officials say the alleged victim complained of head pain and believed he suffered a concussion in the altercation.

Jermall was hit with a felony charge of assaulting a family/household member and he turned himself in to authorities in early February. He's due in court for a hearing on the matter later this month.

Jermell, meanwhile, has not yet been arrested over the misdemeanor terroristic threat charge, records show.

The twins' attorney, Kent Schaffer, previously told us the whole incident was "an attempt to shake Jermall down for money." When we reached out to him again for comment on the allegations against Jermell, he elaborated further.

Schaffer tells us Jermall was having a big party at his house ... when he says the alleged victim was "recklessly" riding around on a four-wheeler.

Schaffer says Jermall's wife tried to get the man to stop, and reached into the UTV to take the keys. But, Schaffer says the man took off, causing her to fall to the ground.

Schaffer says Jermall came out to defend his wife, and eventually pulled the man out of the vehicle, causing him to fall. Schaffer says Jermell them came out and told them to stop it all, but never made a threat.

"It's total garbage, 100 percent," Schaffer said of the claims against the twins. "We will win this fight in the first round."

The Russell Wilson trade to the Broncos shocked a lot of people ... but it pissed off famed celebrity jeweler Ben Baller ... who calls it one of the worst trades in NFL history.

Ben -- a huge Seahawks fan -- spoke with TMZ Sports just hours after the trade that sent the 9x Pro Bowl QB and a fourth-round pick to Denver in exchange for 3 players, 2 first-round picks, 2 second-round picks and a fifth-round.

"One of the worst trades in NFL history," Ben said Tuesday in Studio City, "and definitely the worst trade in Seahawks history."

Ben's also not too fond of swapping Wilson for QB Drew Lock ... saying there's no way the former Mizzou star is a starting QB.

FYI, Lock has started 21 games for Denver since 2019 -- throwing 25 TD's (he also ran for 5), and 20 interceptions. He's been sacked 33 times.

"C'mon bro. Like if he suits up, I'm gonna throw tomatoes at this guy," Ben said.

The 49-year-old basically says he wants anyone but Lock ... and even throughout a few potential Wilson replacements.

"I'm hoping that we may pick up Deshaun Watson, somehow someway we manifest that. I'd rather have Geno Smith. There's no way that Drew Lock is gonna be QB1 for us," Ben says.

"How do you replace a Hall of Famer?!"

Ben believes the 33-year-old QB could bring the Lombardi Trophy back to Denver -- something that hasn't happened since 2016 with Peyton Manning.

"I think so, bro," Ben tells us, "It's not far-fetched."

In the latest edition of NBA Players vs. Fans -- JaVale McGee got in a heated back-and-forth with a spectator in Orlando on Tuesday night ... after the guy unleashed a series of F-bombs and called him a "bitch."

The man -- we're assuming he's not a Suns fan -- was sitting close to the Phoenix bench as he started jawing at McGee.

In the clip, you can see Suns center Bismack Biyombo motioning to have the guy thrown out of the arena ... and it's because he seemingly continuously yelled "f*** you" at McGee during a timeout.

If you listen closely, it appears another fan says, "Way to go, JaVale, you f***ing bitch," in the background of the video.

Building staff eventually made its way over to the guy who got into it with McGee ... and let him know he had to leave the game -- which pissed him off even more.

"F*** you, bitch," the guy said to McGee, who could clearly hear him.

Another fan appears to ask, "Aye, JaVale, you called me a p***y?" in the video as well ... although it's unclear if the two men were together or if it was a completely different interaction.

NFL legend Deion Sanders revealed on Tuesday he had to have his leg "filleted open" and drained in order to avoid full amputation from the knee down last fall.

The Jackson State head coach finally went into detail about the complications he suffered from his foot surgery ... explaining that he nearly lost his left leg -- before he lost two of his toes -- in a fierce battle to recover from the initial procedure.

In the latest episode of his "Coach Prime" doc with Barstool Sports and SMAC Productions ... Sanders and his doctors said the former Dallas Cowboys cornerback developed three femoral arterial blood clots in his leg in the days following his foot surgery -- which nearly led to leg amputation.

In the doc, Sanders and the medical experts said in order to avoid that outcome ... surgeons had to deeply cut into his leg and drain out the fluid.

Just days later, Sanders had to have the big toe and the second toe on his left foot surgically removed.

Fortunately, Deion was able to avoid further complications following the toe removals ... and in the documentary, he and his fiancee, Tracey Edmonds, credited his faith for getting him through it.

Sanders, now months removed from the amputation surgery, said he lost 35 pounds in the ordeal, but is feeling better.

"The devil wanted to mess with my mobility," Deion said in the documentary, "but he couldn't mess with my ability."

Future WWE Hall of Famer Randy Orton closed the door on any retirement talk ... saying he's got a lot left in the tank, and plans to wrestle for another decade -- which would make him 50+ years old when he walks away.

Adam Glyn spoke with 41-year-old Randy in NYC this week, and asked the WWE legend about everything from his favorite place to perform, who he wants to induct him into to the Hall of Fame (one day), and how much longer he plans to wrestle.

"I just turned 40 a year ago," Orton said, "I got another decade in me."

"We'll see. We'll see."

It wouldn't be unfamiliar territory if Orton -- aka "The Viper" -- wrestled until he was 50 years old. After all, he watched mentors and contemporaries like Triple H, Ric Flair, and The Undertaker have tremendous longevity in their careers.

And, wrestling runs in the Orton family. Both Randy's grandfather, Bob Orton Sr., and his father, Bob Orton Jr., were professional wrestlers.

As for his favorite place to wrestle ... Orton says it's Madison Square Garden in NYC.

"The history of the arena itself, I think, makes it just cool," Randy said.

MSG also happens to be the first location of the first WrestleMania where Orton wrestled.

Speaking of the Hall of Fame, Randy also dished on some possible names of people he would want to induct him when the times comes.

"[Triple H] came up. Cena came up. Flair came up. But, you know I don't know if I can get Cena to come in from Hollywood to do it," Orton joked. "Maybe he could do it virtually."