TMZ Sports - Page 50

The doctor who Will Smith portrayed in the 2015 film "Concussion" says the actor's physical outburst at Sunday's Oscars ceremony isn't indicative of who he is, and thinks when the dust settles, Will's image will be untarnished.

Dr. Bennet Omalu -- portrayed by Smith -- tells TMZ ... the actor transformed his life for the better, noting he's one of the most beautiful people he's ever met. He says the incident with Chris Rock doesn't sully the actor's reputation ... it simply shows a more human side of him.

While the doctor doesn't condone violence, he thinks the slap was simply an impulsive act, which proved to viewers he isn't like other "superstars" ... he's way more authentic.

He also attributes the outburst to pressure ... with the looming question of who will win Best Actor no doubt on Will's mind. Dr. Omalu says he loves Smith even more after the incident.

Matt Stafford ain't letting Odell Beckham Jr. and Aaron Donald leave L.A. without a fight -- the Rams quarterback tells TMZ Sports he's "doing what I can" to keep the stars on his team.

Both dudes could be headed toward the exit door this offseason -- OBJ is a free agent and AD is pondering retirement -- but when we got Stafford out in Beverly Hills this week ... he told us he's recruiting the guys hard to stay for the 2022 season.

In fact, Stafford joked with us that he was out shopping for gifts for them to try to get them to return to L.A.

As for how the recruiting is going, Matt seemed optimistic about getting the two back -- but he did add, "you're going to have to ask those guys" about their future plans.

We also asked Stafford about the return of Tom Brady ... and it's not hard to tell he's surprised the Buccaneers star is still making magic happen at 44 years old.

"It's crazy that he can still do it," Stafford said, "but he's doing it good."

Egypt National Football Team fans are rightfully pissed their team failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar ... after multiple fans shined lasers in the face of star player Mohamed Salah (and other Egyptian players) as they fought to make the World Cup.

The controversial finish went down Tuesday in Cairo ... as Egypt -- playing Senegal -- was on the verge of qualifying for the world's biggest sports tournament.

But, after regulation, the game was tied and went into penalty kicks.

Unfortunately for Salah and the other Egyptian players who took PKs, fans in the crowd were aiming green lasers into the eyes of the players while they attempted to kick.

Salah and 3 other players ultimately missed their penalty kicks ... and Senegal ended up winning the match, 1-0 (3-1 PK).

In the clip you see Salah collecting himself as he gets ready to launch the kick. But, the distraction appeared to work, as the ball sailed over the crossbar, costing his team a chance at victory, and the World Cup.

FYI, spectators cannot bring lasers to soccer matches, but they're not impossible to get past stadium security.

FIFA, soccer's international governing body commented on the matter ... saying, "As stated in the FIFA Stadium Safety and Security Regulations, laser pointers are considered prohibited items by FIFA and confiscated when the spectators are checked at the outer stadium perimeter."

"When incidents happen within the applicable scope of FIFA’s Disciplinary Code, disciplinary measures may be taken based on article 16, paragraph 2,” which says teams are liable for inappropriate behavior from their fans.

Supporters of Egypt were left devastated and understandably frustrated with the loss ... and they clearly believe officials should've done more.

Fans sneaking lasers into soccer matches and using them to distract opposing players is not uncommon in international soccer.

Not to mention, lasers can be damaging to the eyes -- so it's not just against the rules, it's dangerous.

Soccer federations usually receive fines if their fans use laser pointers during a competition.

Egypt, who qualified for the World Cup in 2018, is out after losing 1-0 to Senegal ... and it's unclear if FIFA will dole out any disciplinary action.

New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge gifted a cancer survivor with a set of his own custom baseball cards this week ... and the sweet moment will hit ya right in the feels.

Judge facetimed with Mason Ferrulli -- a young fan who he's formed a good relationship with over the last year -- to present him the gift ... and check out the footage, it's pretty amazing.

Judge told Mason to open a box he had sent ... and in it were a bunch of cards that featured an image of Mason and Judge from when they had met last year.

Judge explained to Mason his connections at Topps hooked it all up for him -- and Mason was thrilled!

"Awww, man," Mason said in disbelief. "That's awesome!"

Judge and Mason have developed quite the bond over the past few months after Mason -- a three-time Ependymoma brain cancer and spine cancer survivor -- famously pulled one of Aaron's rare cards out of a pack last August.

The video of Mason was so heartwarming, Judge arranged a meeting with him when the Yanks played near Mason's hometown in Oakland last year -- and he hooked up the boy with a jersey and some autographs.

The two have clearly stayed in touch ever since -- and Judge told Mason on the phone call Monday he's going to be waiting now for an autograph from Mason!

"I'ma need one," Judge said. "You got my signature now. I'ma need you to sign one and send one to me."

O.J. Simpson apparently sees a little bit of himself in Will Smith after his Oscars slap -- saying that he, too, wanted to put hands on people back when he was in the spotlight.

The Juice sounded off on the whole saga, and his main takeaway is in his Twitter caption ... "He was wrong but I understand the sentiment." In the video, he elaborates ... explaining, yeah, Will made a mistake -- but he kinda sympathizes with him.

Check it out ... O.J. says he's also been through a lot of "crap," and on the other side of that -- presumably in reference to his acquittal in the '90s -- was often the butt of tons of jokes.

He makes no bones about how he felt about those "O.J. routines," saying he wanted to "b-slap" at least a couple of those comedians -- but acknowledges he restrained himself, almost drawing the contrast between him and Will ... which, to many, is the ultimate irony.

Bottom line ... O.J. defends Chris Rock here, saying it's comedy -- and no matter how it makes you feel, you (and Will by extension) have to accept it.

Now, here's the kicker ... O.J. theorizes that if he woulda pulled the same stunt after his Las Vegas arrest/conviction -- he believes he would've gotten life in prison without the possibility of parole, seemingly pointing out that Will's getting a pass because he's Will Smith.

One of the first people on the scene of the Henry Ruggs crash is providing new, horrifying details of the wreck ... saying he thought the NFL star was dead after he saw the football player "dangling" from his car in the moments after the accident.

Tony Rodriguez -- who was driving on Rainbow Road with a friend in Las Vegas just moments after Ruggs slammed his Corvette into Tina Tintor's Rav4 there back in November 2021 -- recounted the terrifying specifics of the night recently to Sports Illustrated.

Rodriguez told SI reporter Jeff Pearlman that as he approached the two wrecked vehicles just seconds after the collision -- he stopped at Ruggs' car first ... and noticed the former Las Vegas Raider was halfway ejected from his sports car.

Rodriguez said Ruggs' lower body was still in the ride, but his torso was "dangling" outside of it. He said he was going to tell Ruggs' girlfriend, who was a passenger in the Corvette, to leave him be, but said she had already begun pulling the wide receiver out.

"She grabbed him and pulled him fully out," Rodriguez said. "I have no idea who he is. I don't care about football. Never heard of Henry Ruggs. But, I didn't see no life in his body."

"I thought he was dead."

Rodriguez said he and his friend then quickly turned to Tintor's vehicle -- and tried their hardest to get her and her dog, Max, out of the burning car.

Rodriguez said he got a hammer from his truck and tried to break her free -- and even though others arrived to help, none could get her out.

Officials later determined Tintor died inside the car from thermal injuries. She was just 23 years old.

Ruggs, meanwhile, suffered injuries in the crash, but is expected to make a full recovery. He's since been hit with five charges -- including four felonies -- for his alleged role in the crash.

Jalen Ramsey is finally speaking about his infamous brawl with Golden Tate ... saying he knew their on-field fight was bound to happen after his breakup with the wide receiver's sister.

Ramsey and Tate threw hands after the Rams beat the Giants in October 2020 ... starting a huge pileup between both teams at midfield. The scene was shocking, but Ramsey says he knew the altercation was inevitable.

"We knew what we was gonna do," Ramsey said on The Pivot podcast. "I mean that's his sister, that's what he supposed to do, too. But you mind your business, too."

"He a protective brother and like, yo, this is me though," he added. "This my family now."

Remember, Ramsey ended his long-term relationship with Breanna Tate while she was pregnant with their second daughter in 2019.

Not too long after that, the 27-year-old corner went Instagram official with a Las Vegas Raiders dancer ... which made many believe Ramsey left Breanna for another girl mid-pregnancy.

This infuriated Tate to the point where he went to social media to lash out at Ramsey ... leaving comments like "he know he gonna have to see me" on Jalen's posts.

But, Ramsey says everybody got the situation all wrong ... saying he and Breanna both felt they were better off as friends and broke up on good terms.

"We ain't feel like we needed to announce it to any and everybody," he added.

"Golden had tweeted something about it and that's when it got super public. I ain't like that. I was hot about that."

"That's where I was like, yeah, I don't rock with him, for sure."

In fact, Ramsey says him and Tate were never cool to begin with -- even when he was dating his sister. So, it should come as no surprise they actually came to blows.

Chael Sonnen allegedly threw a woman into a light fixture and struck her -- causing her to bleed from her face -- during a wild fight in a Las Vegas hotel in December 2021 ... according to new police documents, obtained by TMZ Sports.

In the docs, officers from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Dept. say they responded to the Four Seasons Hotel on Dec. 18 regarding an alleged fight between Sonnen and several other people, including security guards.

Cops in the documents say a Four Seasons Engineer told them the altercation all started as he was coming out of a room.

Cops say the man said as soon as he opened the door, Sonnen punched him in the jaw. Officers say the man told them he then closed the door and called for security.

Police in the documents say, though, that a short time later ... a couple told them they encountered Sonnen outside of the room and the former UFC star got aggressive immediately.

Cops say Christopher Stellpflug and his wife, Julie Stellpflug, told them Sonnen -- who was apparently wearing a white robe and a partially bloodied T-shirt -- knocked a glass out of Christopher's hand.

Then, cops say the couple told them, Sonnen flew off the handle, attacking Christopher and throwing him to the ground and hitting him repeatedly. Cops say Julie told them he then turned his attention toward her after she tried to intervene.

In the docs, the officers say Julie told them Sonnen threw her against a light fixture and socked her in the face. Christopher, according to police, told them the strike caused Julie's lip to split and bleed.

Cops say a witness on the scene told them security eventually arrived, but Sonnen punched the guard in the throat. Police say the witness was then attacked, with the man saying Sonnen elbowed him in the chest several times and shoved him.

In the documents, police say the fight was eventually broken up ... and when they questioned Sonnen about it all, they say the former pro fighter told them he "did not have memory of anything."

According to the docs, Sonnen told them he and his wife took a sleeping pill hours before the alleged altercation and he "could not recall anything else."

As we previously reported, Sonnen has since been hit with 11 charges -- including felony battery by strangulation -- over the incident. He's also been sued by the Stellpflugs, who claim they both suffered concussions in the alleged attack.

Christian Eriksen solidified his incredible comeback on Tuesday ... by scoring a goal on the same field he suffered a cardiac arrest on just 290 days prior -- and the scene is incredibly powerful.

The moment happened in the 57th minute of Denmark's match against Serbia at Parken Stadium in Copenhagen ... when Eriksen fired a shot to the near post and to the back of the net to secure a 3-0 lead and the win.

Naturally, the home fans stood and shouted for the soccer star ... and his teammates celebrated as Eriksen scored his second goal in two games.

BTW -- CE scored a goal for Denmark on Saturday ... in his first game back since he collapsed to the field during Euro 2020 last June.

Eriksen previously did not know if he'd ever be able to suit up and take the pitch again ... but all doubt has been erased less than one year later.

Julian Edelman got in on the jokes after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars ... by using the viral moment to reference Tom Brady's fight with retirement -- and it's pretty good.

Edelman posted the hilarious meme on his Twitter page ... poking fun at the fact his good friend, Brady, was retired for just 40 days before deciding to rejoin the Buccaneers.

You can probably guess by now, but in the meme, Tom Brady's name is edited onto Smith ... and the word "retirement" is on Rock -- in other words, TB12 is slapping retirement in the face.

Brady, who played 22 seasons in the NFL, announced his retirement in early February but did a 180 nearly a month and a half later ... telling the world he was returning to play.

While Jules' joke is far from controversial, Rock's quip about Jada's hair has sparked debate on whether he was in the wrong.

As we reported, Rock claims to have not known about Jada's battle with alopecia ... and Smith has apologized for the slap.

The situation between Smith and Rock is far more complex, but Tom and Julian's relationship appears to be going strong as ever, despite the two no longer being teammates.

Jerry Jones says the woman who accused him of being her father in a lawsuit earlier this month attempted to extort him before she made the allegations in court documents.

Jones made the claim in court docs of his own -- filed in Dallas County, Texas, on Monday -- alleging Alexandra Davis approached him to "make a deal" before she filed her lawsuit.

Jones claims Davis asked him to pay up in exchange for assurance "that he would not be publicly or privately identified and/or declared as [Davis'] father."

In the docs, obtained by TMZ Sports, Jones says the request was one of "multiple monetary extortion attempts" made against him and the Dallas Cowboys at the time.

Jones, though, says he declined Davis' offer ... so she filed the suit.

In Jones' docs, he argued that Davis' case should be tossed -- saying her hypothetical claims about him being her father belong in family court, if at all.

"She is not entitled to the relief she requests," Jones' attorneys argued in the docs, "and the Court does not have jurisdiction to grant it."

A hearing in the case has been set for March 31.

As we reported, Davis -- a 25-year-old who works for a U.S. congressman in Washington, D.C. -- sued Jones back on March 3 alleging the Dallas Cowboys owner is her dad. She claimed in the suit that he paid her mother $375k "in exchange for confidentiality" 24 years ago.

Deshaun Watson was grilled by an attorney during a deposition in Texas ... responding to questions about claims he was sexually inappropriate with over 20 female massage therapists.

The 26-year-old Browns quarterback recently sat for the depo in the Lonestar state earlier this month ... and now, several excerpts from the session have been posted by FOX 8 in Cleveland.

To say Deshaun answered the questions may be a bit of a stretch ... the Pro Bowl QB seemingly did a lot of dancing and dodging.

Questions included why he reached out via Instagram for appointments, whether the massage therapists were actually licensed or why he would allegedly drive 30 minutes out of town to meet at a woman's mother's house for a rub down.

Watson says the Houston Texans were not made aware of his numerous appointments ... and when he was asked if he reached out to massage therapists he viewed as attractive, the QB says he cannot answer because he has a girlfriend, but said it wasn't his intentions."

It's worth noting ... depositions regularly go on for hours, but video that was released is just a couple of minutes long. It's entirely possible Deshaun was forthcoming at other times, but those clips weren't released.

This month, two grand juries in Texas both reached the same conclusion ... that Watson should NOT be charged criminally for allegedly being inappropriate with female masseuses.

Deshaun's likely in the clear criminally ... but he is still being sued in civil court by 20+ women.

Who said baseball is boring?!?!

Tsuyoshi Shinjo, a professional baseball skipper for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, entered the stadium on a HOVER BIKE in his managerial debut ... and the video of it was incredible!!

Shinjo -- AKA "Big Boss" -- lived up to his nickname by arriving in style for his first game with the Nippon-Ham Fighters.

In the video, you can see the 50-year-old effortlessly flying the hovercraft around the stadium before his team took the field for the game.

In the clip, Shinjo gets pretty high off the ground, so you can tell he isn't afraid of heights -- he also sticks the landing smoothly ... as if he had some experience doing it before.

The "stunt" was on-brand for the Fighters' manager, who first gained a huge fanbase as a player ... making him a larger-than-life figure in Japanese pro sports.

Shinjo replaced longtime manager Hideki Kuriyama ... and told reporters that he wanted to be referred to as "Big Boss," presumably because he saw himself as a celebrity.

Tsuyoshi spent 3 seasons in MLB ... playing for the New York Mets and the San Francisco Giants. He was the first Japanese-born position player to play in the National League in 2001.

The former MLB outfielder appeared in the World Series with the Giants in 2002 ... but San Francisco came up short as they lost to the then Anaheim Angels.

Shinjo returned to Japan to play for the Nippon-Ham Fighters ... and led them to a title in his final season of pro ball.

Donald Trump is setting the record straight, or at least so he says ... claiming in a statement Monday he did, in fact, sink a hole-in-one while golfing with Ernie Els over the weekend.

"It is 100% true," the former President said.

Trump released the statement after social media accused the 75-year-old and his pals of lying about accomplishing the feat. Fact is, Trump legendarily has cheated on the greens before.

According to Trump, he was out at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla. on Saturday ... when he stepped to the tee box on a Par-3 with an iron in his hands.

"I hit a 5-iron, which sailed magnificently into a rather strong wind, with approximately 5 feet of cut," Trump said, "whereupon it bounced twice and then went clank, into the hole."

Trump spokesperson Taylor Budowich shared video of the aftermath of the shot ... showing Trump and his golfing partners walking up to the cup with joy. Not a smoking gun, for sure.

In the clip, you can see Trump grab the ball out of the hole -- and high-five everyone in attendance, including Els.

Trump wouldn't say if the ace helped him and Els beat playing partners Gene Sauers, Mike Goodes, and Ken Duke ... but his wry statement sure seemed to insinuate it.

Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk has died from an illness, the NHL team announced on Monday night. He was just 62 years old.

According to the hockey club, Melnyk passed away following a battle with an undisclosed disease. The team noted he fought the illness "with determination and courage."

Melnyk -- a billionaire who made his fortune, in part, in the pharmaceutical and medical sales industry -- bought the Senators back in 2003 for $92 million ... and quickly found success.

The team made the Stanley Cup Final in 2007 -- and is now, according to Forbes, worth around half a billion dollars.

"While successful in business, it was our game and his Senators that he was most passionate about," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement Monday following the owner's death. "Eugene was often outspoken but he maintained an unwavering commitment to the game and his roots and he loved nothing more than donning a Senators sweater and cheering on his beloved team."

"On behalf of the entire National Hockey League," Bettman continued, "I extend my deepest sympathies to Eugene’s daughters, Anna and Olivia, his extended family, and all those who benefited from his generosity."

NHL star and Senators team captain Brady Tkachuk also mourned the loss of Melnyk on Monday ... saying in a tweet, "The Ottawa community will miss you greatly."

In addition to his role as the Senators honcho, Melnyk was also successful in the horse-racing world ... with many of his horses winning coveted titles in Canada.

Mason Rudolph out ... Matt Harvey in???

TMZ Sports has learned the MLB pitcher chatted up Genie Bouchard at a music festival in Miami just weeks after the tennis star broke up with her longtime BF -- and it's got us all wondering, are the two now igniting a new romance?

We obtained a picture and video of Bouchard with the baseball player at Ultra on Saturday night ... and while we're told there was no kissing, touching or feeling going on -- it seems apparent Harvey was interested in getting her ear.

You'll recall, Harvey has been linked to Bouchard in the past -- back in 2014 while Harvey was starring for the Mets, he reportedly tried to grab tickets to one of Bouchard's U.S. Open matches and potentially meet her afterward.

No word on if the two were ever able to connect back in the day ... but the duo certainly seems to have met now.

Of course, 28-year-old Bouchard is just recently single -- she and Rudolph's split is very fresh -- so it's unclear if she's looking to jump back in the dating pool again.

As for 33-year-old Harvey, he's single ... and has been known to date some very pretty people in the past.