TMZ Sports - Page 50

The referee who was kicked and punched in the face repeatedly following a Georgia youth basketball game needed 30 stitches to stop the bleeding ... a tournament official tells TMZ Sports.

But, Kenneth Tarver -- the founder of KB Sports who helped put on the youth tourney in Lithonia over the weekend -- says, somehow, the guy is doing better now.

The terrifying incident was all captured on video on Sunday at the Love Of The Game event at the Stronghold Christian Church -- when several young players and other bystanders appeared to beat the hell out of a ref after a game had concluded.

Tarver tells us the game actually featured teams full of eighth graders ... but, he said he has no idea what caused the postgame scuffle.

Tarver said he has spoken to the referee since the incident -- and while he needed to be stitched up after the attack, Tarver said he's going to make a full recovery.

Tarver added that he's banned the team involved in the scuffle going forward ... and he vowed to beef up security at future events as well.

"I'm gonna make it safer for the officials," Tarver tells us.

The NFL world is mourning the loss of former Minnesota Vikings star defensive tackle Doug Sutherland ... who died Tuesday, the team announced. He was 73.

"Doug [Sutherland] was one of our proudest legends," Vikings owners Zygi and Mark Wilf said in a statement. "His humble nature did not allow for him to talk much about his own playing career, but Doug was a key member of some of the best defenses in NFL history and three Super Bowl teams."

"Doug was also the consummate teammate after football. He was one of the most active members of Vikings Legends events and didn't miss a chance to help out at a community event or lend a hand where needed."

"Our thoughts are with Doug's friends and family."

Sutherland was drafted out of the University of Wisconsin-Superior by the New Orleans Saints in 1970 ... but he spent 10 of his 12 NFL seasons with the Vikings.

Over the course of his career, Sutherland played in 164 total games ... compiling 29 sacks and recovering 4 fumbles.

Sutherland was a part of the Vikings teams that won eight central division titles ... and 3 NFL championships. In 2010, Sutherland was named one of the franchise's 50 greatest players.

Don't say goodbye to your coach just yet, Duke fans -- former Blue Devils legend Jay Williams says there's a real possibility Mike Krzyzewski could return to Durham next season ... after one of his top assistants left the program this week.

Williams started the speculation on ESPN Radio's "Keyshawn, JWill, & Max" ... after news came out that assistant/former player Nolan Smith was going to become associate head coach at Louisville under Kenny Payne.

Williams started by saying how happy he was to see Smith get the opportunity at Louisville ... but brought his attention back to Duke and the massive hole that needs to be filled from a recruiting standpoint.

"And it leads me to think, which I’ve been thinking a lot about since I heard this news (Monday), does Coach K come back for another season?" Williams asked. One more final season?"

Of course, the North Carolina Tar Heels defeated Duke, 81-77, on Saturday ... in what was billed as Coach K's final game of his coaching career.

Williams believes Coach K might reconsider handing the keys over to Jon Scheyer now that Smith is gone ... and explains his theory.

"Here’s why I give it a legit chance," Williams said. "If you’re Nolan Smith, and you have a great relationship with all these players, you’re in the (same) conference. You’re at Louisville."

"You’re picking up the phone and [recruiting players from Duke]. It weakens the hold of Duke. If you’re Coach K, how do you strengthen that hold? -- You’re coming back."

The NBA analyst stated that he wasn't speaking on information he heard or knew -- instead, he was speculating on what Coach K MIGHT do.

Albert Pujols is going into his farewell season as a single man -- the MLB legend just announced his divorce from his wife of more than 2 decades.

"I've been asked a lot of questions over the past few days regarding what's been going on at home and sadly, after 22 years of marriage, I have made the decision to file for divorce from my wife, Deidre," Pujols said in a statement.

Pujols acknowledges the timing of the news -- considering his wife had brain surgery to have a tumor removed last week -- is not ideal ... but the split wasn't "something that just happened overnight."

"As a devout Christian, this is an outcome that I never wanted to see happen. For many long days and nights, I prayed, asking the Lord for His guidance."

Pujols -- who married Deidre in 2000 -- did not go into detail about the breakup.

"I am thankful for the five beautiful children that we brought into this world and remain committed to raising them in a loving and safe environment."

Pujols -- who spent the majority of his career with the Cardinals and Angels -- is a 2-time World Series champ, 3-time National League MVP and 10-time All-Star. He's hit 679 home runs in his career ... which is fifth all-time.

A French tennis player did his best Will Smith impression after a match on Monday -- as in, he slapped the hell out of his opponent's face in a fit of rage.

Just seconds after 15-year-old Michael Kouame lost a tilt to 16-year-old Raphael Nii Ankrah at an ITF juniors tournament in Ghana ... he reached back and smacked his opponent in the jaw.

Video shows Ankrah had no idea the attack was coming -- in fact, the footage reveals that just moments before the slap, he had actually shaken hands with Kouame.

No word on why Kouame launched the open hand, but further video from the scene shows it ignited a near brawl on the court afterward.

Kouame was the tournament's No. 1 seed heading into the match -- which happened in the first round of the event.

Joe Rogan says transgender swimmer Lia Thomas competing in college athletics against cisgender women amounts to an "assault on women's sports," and believes it could be "the woke straw that broke society's camel's back."

If you're not familiar with Thomas, she began transitioning in 2019. Thomas, who is in her early 20s, underwent therapy to suppress testosterone. The NCAA declared Lia eligible to compete in women's athletics at the University of Pennsylvania, where she then became the first-ever transgender athlete to win an NCAA title.

Rogan, during a 'JRE' pod with guest, comedian Yannis Pappas, took aim at Thomas, and her effect on women's sports.

"What it is now is not good. What it is now is an assault on women's sports. And the idea that anyone would think it’s fair that someone who was number 4-6-2 as a man, 462 in the nation, is number 1 as a woman a year later. And that’s fair,” Rogan asked on the show."

FYI, Thomas had some success competing against men before transitioning. LT finished in 2nd place in the 500-yard freestyle, 1,000-yard, and 1,650-yard freestyle during the 2019 Ivy League Championships.

But, it's not just Joe. Many believe Thomas has a huge advantage because her body developed as a male, prior to her transition.

"Women are so frustrated, or parents. If your daughter is competing and they're competing against a trans woman, it's just not fair. It's just not fair. No matter what anybody says. There's this nonsense idea, of like well there's outliers, there are outliers, and then there are biological males. That's beyond outliers," Rogan argued.

Joe says he believes the trans community is generally accepted ... but we must draw a line when it comes to sports.

"It's interesting because in all other aspects of society it's pretty much a given that a person can become trans and change their name, and we're all pretty accepting of it," Rogan told Yannis.

"Where people have the most push back is sports. Athletic competition. That's where the real push back is. Where people are like, 'Hey what the f**k? This is not fair. This is clearly not fair.' There is a reason we have a distinction between men and women's sports."

Lia's situation has become so polarizing ... and Joe says he believes it could serve as a turning point for the country.

"That might be the woke straw that breaks society’s camel’s back."

Last month, Florida governor Ron DeSantis refused to acknowledge Thomas after she won the women's Division I national championship in the 500-yard freestyle.

Instead, DeSantis declared the runner-up, Florida native Emma Weyant, the "rightful winner."

Several youth basketball players beat the hell out of a referee following a game in Georgia over the weekend -- and the violent punching and kicking was all captured on video.

The alarming scene went down Sunday at Stronghold Christian Church in Lithonia, GA ... when, following a contest on the floor, multiple players from one of the teams went after one of the game's refs.

You can see in video from the scene -- a couple of young men chased after the guy in the striped shirt, who for a few seconds, appeared to be defending himself well.

But, eventually, there became too many people involved in the attack -- and the guy appeared to be brutally beaten on the floor.

Footage shows the man was kicked and punched in the face repeatedly ... before his attackers finally let up.

No word on if the man sustained serious injuries ... but a spokesperson for the Dekalb County Police Dept. tells TMZ Sports cops did respond to the scene in reference to an assault.

The spokesperson added an investigation into the incident is underway.

A rep for the church, meanwhile, said in a statement following the game, "It is truly unfortunate about the turn of events that took place during the basketball game held at our facility this weekend."

"We open our doors to serve our community and our goal is to provide an atmosphere conducive for enjoyment, enrichment, etc."

Forget fajitas, cheeseburgers and pasta ... Hideki Matsuyama completely balled out for his Masters Champions Dinner menu this week -- choosing A5 Wagyu beef for an entree!!!

The Masters announced the 2021 champ's menu on Tuesday ... and while there's sushi, nigiri and cod on it -- the star of the show is clearly the red meat.

If you're unfamiliar, A5 Wagyu is one of the rarest and most decadent cuts of steak in the world -- and can cost around $50 an ounce!

If there's any time to spend that kind of coin on a dinner, though, it's now -- as the annual meal is an exclusive one reserved solely for past Masters champs.

Usually, the menus are pretty tame -- Tiger Woods had sushi and fajitas in 2020, while 2015 champion Jordan Spieth famously ordered a bunch of BBQ for the occasion. But, Matsuyama is clearly sparing no expense this week!

The dinner -- which will also feature Japanese strawberry shortcake for dessert -- is slated to kick off on Tuesday night.

Hideki won the Masters in April last year -- becoming the first-ever Japanese golfer to win a major.

Barring a setback between now and Thursday, Tiger Woods says he will play in this week's Masters tournament.

The golf legend just made the announcement at a news conference at Augusta, saying "as of right now" he has plans to tee it up when the tourney begins on Thursday.

Woods added that he wholeheartedly believes he can actually win the event.

"I can hit it just fine," the 46-year-old said. "I don't have any qualms about what I can do physically from a golf standpoint."

Woods said he does have at least a small worry about walking around the course on the surgically repaired leg that he injured in a car accident back in February 2021.

But, as we reported, Woods has played multiple practice rounds at Augusta the last few days in order to make sure he can withstand walking around the course for the duration of the event.

Tiger has only competed once since the car wreck -- when he played in the PNC Championship in December with his son, Charlie Woods.

He had said in the leadup to that event that he'd never return to being a full-time golfer again, though he would "pick and choose a few events a year" going forward.

As for his recent switch from Nike to FootJoy golf shoes, Tiger says he's having problems with mobility following the crash ... and needed to wear something more stable.

He says he's working with the Swoosh on coming up with a product that will fit his needs ... adding the shoe giant has been "fantastic" throughout the process.

Hailie Deegan -- a rising NASCAR star -- pulled out of a race last week after she says a catfished fan terrifyingly threatened to kill her boyfriend, racecar driver Chase Cabre.

The 20-year-old broke down the horrifying situation in a new YouTube video titled "Our Lives Are Being Threatened...," explaining that a man who she believes is being catfished is now making her and Cabre's life a living hell.

Deegan says the fan wrote her a note recently, saying he was in love with her and calling her his "soulmate."

"I went home that day," she said, "looked up the guy's name on the note, and figured out that he was getting catfished by a fake Hailie Deegan account."

Deegan said since that time, the guy has become overbearing and overwhelming -- forcing her to pull out of last week's Freedom 500 race at Bradenton's Freedom Factory because he's continually threatening to end Cabre's life.

In fact, Deegan played audio of a threat she claims the man made -- and in the clip, you can hear a male clearly saying to Chase, "Boy I swear to f***ing God if your ass ain't out of North Carolina before the sun goes down, you are guaranteed going to see my motherf***ing face that's going to be the last motherf***ing you ever see go through you're motherf***ing eyes. I promise you."

Deegan says cops are involved in the situation, and said the couple has beefed up security around their home.

But, she and Cabre both pled for the man to understand that he's being catfished and to stop the violent threats regardless.

A British transgender cyclist says she had to deactivate her social media to stop the "targeted abuse" following her disqualification from a women's championship race.

As we previously reported, Emily Bridges was banned two days before the April 2 women's championship race in the UK by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) ... because she's registered as a male cyclist.

Ever since, the 21-year-old says her "privacy has been totally violated" to the point where she had to shut down her social media to avoid mistreatment.

"I've had to deactivate my social media to prevent the targeted abuse I am receiving," Bridges said in a statement, "and block websites to stop seeing them."

Bridges calls out the British media for harassing her as well -- saying reporters have been at her home pressuring her for a story.

"I've had journalists at my front door every day harassing us for comment and story, my privacy has been totally violated over speculation around my eligibility and fairness to compete."

"They attack anything that isn't the norm and print whatever is most likely to result in the highest engagement for their articles."

But Bridges -- who was in contact with the UCI about her status six months before the disqualification -- says she will continue to dispute her ineligibility with the org.

"I am an athlete," Bridges said, "and I just want to race competitively again, within the Regulations set by British Cycling and UCI after careful consideration of the research around transgender athletes."

Thousands of Univ. of Kansas fans swarmed a street near campus to celebrate the Jayhawks' NCAA championship Monday night -- with one fan actually surfing through the crowd in a shopping cart!!

The wild party all went down just moments after Kansas stormed back to win the title over UNC ... with roughly 70,000 people leaving their homes near Lawrence to cheer for the school's men's basketball team.

Video shows the scene was crazy -- people were shoulder to shoulder for what looked like a stretch of a couple hundred yards -- and at one point, a fan got in a cart and crowd surfed in it.

Footage reveals the people below him moved him through with ease, all while fireworks were being set off in the background.

The party, according to reporters on the scene, went well past midnight -- but the Lawrence Police Dept. says nearly everyone was behaved, with preliminary reports showing just three arrests were made and no significant injuries.

Meanwhile, back in New Orleans ... the Jayhawks partied their faces off after winning the game 72-69, showering each other with water and dancing in the locker room.

Ochai Agbaji, who scored 12 points in the win for Kansas, earned Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four honors. The championship was Kansas' fourth in school history.

Shaun Weiss is back and better ... and now he'll be returning to the big screen ... 'cause the dude's just landed a role in a movie.

The 'Mighty Ducks' star tells TMZ ... he'll be in the film, "Jesus Revolution," starring Kelsey Grammer -- based on the true story of Lonnie Frisbee and the hippies he baptized in the '70s -- and the role is reflective of his own life.

Shaun tells us, someone from Lionsgate actually saw his sobriety story and wanted to offer him the role. He did a read for a director via zoom, and voila!

We're told, he plays a strung-out Vietnam vet who gets saved and sobers up. And, he's really gotten into the role ... even asking his dentist if he could temporarily take out the implants he just got, to look the part.

Well, that wasn't possible but, either way, Shaun says the role has taken him back to his own life and being drugged out ... so much so, he says, playing the role is almost like experiencing a relapse.

As we previously reported, Shaun has struggled with drug addiction for many years ... even losing most of his teeth from drug abuse. He's since turned his life around, gotten a new set of pearly whites and has been sober for 2 years!

Talk about a comeback ...

Even though Tom Brady's back, Rob Gronkowski says he's not ready yet to commit to playing football again ... telling TMZ Sports he's still truly undecided about his future.

Most thought the tight end would be a shoo-in to return to Tampa Bay in 2022 after his QB unretired ... but Gronk says that's just not the case -- at least not yet.

In fact, Rob says he actually avoided catching footballs at a charity event over the weekend so he wouldn't get an urge to make a decision that he might regret later.

"I knew if I started catching some passes that my head would have started turning, like, 'Oh, crap, I got to get back out on the field,'" Gronk said. "And, right now, I'm not ready to get back out on that field. I'm not ready to commit to the game of football right now."

The 32-year-old does not have a contract yet -- and he said he won't sign a new one until he's 100 percent sure he's ready to get back on the field.

As for what he's doing in the meantime -- he told us he's enjoying his offseason ... and he announced Gronk Beach is making its return this year at the NFL draft in Las Vegas later this month.

Rob says the party will happen on April 29 -- and he promised it'll be a complete rager.

After that, it appears a football decision will ensue.

The Spurs might suck this season, but one fan single-handedly made Sunday's game a whole lot better ... by absolutely dominating a lip sync challenge to Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone."

It all went down at the AT&T Center in San Antonio during the Spurs' matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers ... when the jumbotron cam focused in on 27-year-old Briana Saldaña to show off her skills -- and she didn't hold back.

Check out the awesome vid -- Briana jumps from her seat and uses her drink as a makeshift microphone ... dancing and even including her man in the routine.

The crowd absolutely loved it ... and clips of Briana's performance quickly spread like wildfire on social media.

We know what you're thinking, but everyone affiliated with the viral moment swears up and down that this was NOT a staged act ... and it just so happened to come out better than anyone could have hoped.

No word on if Kelly herself got to check out the clip ... but it's only a matter of time.

Aaron Donald might be dropping a hint about his NFL future -- the Rams superstar just listed his incredible California mansion for more than $6 million ... amid rumors he could retire.

TMZ Sports has learned ... the pad is located in a gated community in Calabasas (45 minutes west of downtown Los Angeles) and sits on nearly an acre of land.

The 7,036 square-foot home has six bedrooms, six and a half bathrooms, a huge kitchen and a 4-four car garage ... but there's a ton of awesome additional features to the place.

The mansion has a huge game room, an outdoor basketball court and a resort-like zero-edge infinity pool ... as well as an outdoor kitchen for pool parties.

The best part?? The new owners will always have a fresh cut ... 'cause there's a private barbershop inside the home with a huge mural of #99 himself.

The Donald crib -- listed with Jordan Cohen of RE/MAX -- was just put on the market this week ... and comes with a $6,250,000 price tag.

The listing may come as a sign the Super Bowl champ is either retiring or leaving the Los Angeles area ... but Donald's made more than $90 million in eight seasons in the league, so it's entirely possible he could be upgrading.

In other words ... take a DEEP breath, Rams fans.

Donald is one of the best defensive players of all time -- on top of his Super Bowl win, his accolades include 3-time Defensive Player of the Year and most career sacks (98) in Rams history.