TMZ Sports - Page 50

Here's a video that'll surely wake up the "baseball's boring" crowd ...

An amateur league player lit his bat on fire during a game and then smoked a line drive single with the piece of lumber ... and footage of the play is awesome!!!

The wild scene all went down in a recent Savannah Bananas vs. Savannah Party Animals game in Georgia -- when Zak Whalin came to the plate with his bat ablaze.

In broadcast video from the game, you can see Whalin's bat was completely engulfed in flames as he was taking pitches.

At one point during the AB, though, Whalin was able to crack a single with the smoking bat -- barely beating out the throw from centerfield to reach first base safely. Yeah ... awesome, right?!

If you're unfamiliar -- plays like these happen quite often in Bananas games ... some have called the team the Harlem Globetrotters of baseball, despite being members of the Coastal Plain League, a respected collegiate summer baseball league.

In fact, the team has been known to do TikTok dances mid-play before!!

Can't imagine the Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees doing anything like this on the diamond anytime soon ... but if they did, who'd be all that mad about it?!

Alex Volkanovski wants into the UFC's champ-champ club after his latest dominating performance ... telling TMZ Sports he wants to go up a weight class and fight the winner of Justin Gaethje vs. Charles Oliveira.

We talked to 33-year-old Volkanovski -- who was nearly flawless against the "Korean Zombie" Saturday night at UFC 273 -- and asked him, in a perfect world, what and/or who he wanted next, and without hesitation, Volk dropped this news.

"Lightweight title. Lightweight title. The timing works well cause I want to be active this year. [Gaethje and Oliveira are] fighting in a month. Winner of that title fight fights in August or something like that. That's perfect. That sounds like a great idea to me."

FYI, Alex -- who previously played rugby, weighing up to 214 lbs. -- hasn't lost a fight since May 2013 ... and it was at WELTERWEIGHT. In fact, the 5'6" star has even fought at middleweight (185 lbs.)

Point being, 155 lbs. doesn't seem crazy for the man who's held the featherweight crown since December 2019.

Volkanovski's reign at featherweight (145 lbs.) has been nothing short of dominant. Alex beat Max Holloway twice (who many believe is the featherweight G.O.A.T.), Brian Ortega, Chad Mendes, and Jose Aldo, to name just a few.

As for #1 contender, Justin Gaethje, and lightweight champ, Charles Oliveira ... they're fighting at UFC 274 on May 7.

Gaethje is coming off a win against Michael Chandler at UFC 268. Oliveira successfully defended his title against Dustin Poirier at UFC 269.

Champ-champ status is clearly something that's important to Alex ... who's been the 145 lb. champ since

"It's a goal that I'm looking for, that double champ status," Volkanovski says.

"Again, I haven't really been pushing for it. I know I've mentioned it, but I've always mentioned it as in the near future. It's only now that I'm mentioning it as in 'I think it's deserving.'"

Will Dana White give Alex a fight at 155?? And, can he join the exclusive club made up of only Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes, and Henry Cejudo??

Tom Brady is still the G.O.A.T. on the football field and in his household -- 'cause he says he just whooped his oldest son in a game of 1-on-1 basketball.

TB12 shared some rare footage of him hoopin' on his Instagram page on Tuesday ... showing a little bit of his recent contest with 14-year-old Jack.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers superstar looked smooth as butter in the clip, hitting a jumper over the kid -- much to the young Brady's dismay.

Brady also showed some pics of him blowing by Jack in the lane all while appearing to be on his way to hitting a scoop layup.

No word on what the final score of the game was -- but Tom wrote on his social media page, "Dad still wins for now."

Tom did show some love to Jack, though -- saying the kid is improving on the court, writing, "I don't love my chances next year."

The NFL star might not be blowin' smoke -- Jack appears to be growing like a weed ... check out the huge spurt he's appeared to hit since 2021.

Tom has said in the past that Jack loves sports -- and could follow in his athletic footsteps one day.

A man in Florida claims he saw Dwayne Haskins walking in the middle of a highway right before the NFL player's death ... and says he was so concerned at the sight, he called 911 in an attempt to get help.

Chris Stanley told NBC 6 South Florida this week that after he dropped his daughter off at the airport in Fort Lauderdale, he was traveling on I-595 when cars -- including a "tractor-trailer" type vehicle -- started to veer into his lane from the right.

Stanley says he then noticed a man he believes to be Haskins start walking into the road with his arms partially raised ... and immediately became worried that a car would crash into him.

The outlet says the witness called 911 for assistance at 6:31 AM ... shortly before the crash was reported to authorities.

Stanley says he did not spot a vehicle on the side of the highway ... nor did he see anything else that could explain what the person he thinks was Haskins was doing.

"That's why it's just very disturbing," he says. "I just didn't understand the situation."

As we previously reported, Haskins died after being struck by a dump truck Saturday morning around 6:37 AM near Fort Lauderdale. He was just 24 years old.

The sports world has mourned the loss in the days following the tragedy ... with names like Joe Burrow, T.J. Watt, Mike Tomlin and more sharing their grief.

Kim Clijsters is putting down the racket for good -- again -- the tennis superstar just announced she's retiring from the sport for the third time to focus on her family.

The 38-year-old former #1 overall player in the world broke the news via Instagram on Tuesday ... saying, "I want to share with you that I have decided to no longer play official tournaments."

This will be the third time the Belgian player has retired -- in 2007, she left to marry former basketball player Brian Lynch. She later gave birth to their first child, Jada, in 2008.

Clijsters returned to the court in 2009, before retiring again in 2012. She gave birth to two boys, Jake and Blake, during her time away ... before making another comeback in February 2020.

Unfortunately, Clijsters' second return came right when the COVID-19 pandemic started ... putting a halt to all sporting events. She tested positive for the virus in January 2021.

Clijsters was also plagued with injuries recently ... and her last official match was Oct. 7, 2021.

"I can’t wait to see what new adventures will cross my path," Clijsters said.

"Thank you to everyone who has supported me over the past two years!"

The Detroit Lions might have only won three games in 2021, but Jared Goff is certainly dominating the offseason ... by taking his smoking hot girlfriend to the beach for a make-out session!!

Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Christen Harper shared snaps of the couple's romantic trip to the beach in SoCal over the weekend ... showing them lounging in the sand and sharing a smooch.

27-year-old Goff and Harper, 28, ate well during their visit, too ... chowing down on Locale90 pizza and enjoying a cheese board while sipping on some wine and watching the sunset.

Of course, the duo is one of the hottest couples in sports ... and have been going strong since taking their romance public in March 2019.

Harper was recently named one of S.I.'s rookies for the 2022 issue after crushing the worldwide Swim Search ... calling the accomplishment a dream come true.

Cam Newton believes women should cater to a man's needs ... saying his ideal partner should know how to cook and when to be quiet -- and, yeah, he's now he's facing serious backlash.

The NFL quarterback made the controversial comments on Barstool Sports' "Million Dollaz Worth of Game" podcast this week ... when he opened up about being raised in a household by his mother, father, and grandmother.

Newton says his experiences at home helped him understand the difference between a "woman" and a "bad bitch" -- explaining he believes the latter is not something women should strive for.

"A woman for me is handling your own, but knowing how to cater to a man's needs," Cam said on the pod. "I think a lot of times, when you get that aesthetic of like, 'I'm a boss bitch, I'm a this, I'm a that,' -- no, baby. But you can't cook."

"You don’t know when to be quiet. You don’t know how to allow a man to lead."

Cam insisted on the show that he was not trying to "beat up my queens" with his statements ... but he called for "men to start being men, bro."

"That sucka s*** should not be rewarded."

As you could imagine, Cam's comments did not go over well on social media ... with many calling the words sexist and misogynistic.

Of course, it's not the first time he's been called out for remarks about women ... back in 2017, Cam was criticized for laughing at a female reporter's question during a press conference and saying, "It's funny to hear a female talk about routes."

Cam later apologized for his words, but not before he lost a major sponsorship with Oikos yogurt.

Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm said out loud during his game in Philadelphia on Monday that he "f***ing hates" playing in the city ... but afterward, he quickly apologized and swore he didn't mean it.

Bohm unleashed the quick tirade amid a brutal night on the field against the New York Mets ... with cameras capturing the 25-year-old saying to a teammate, "I f***ing hate this place."

Bohm had just committed three errors in the game -- and after he finally made a good play at the hot corner, fans sarcastically cheered ... which clearly pissed him off.

He unleashed the quick barb while looking at Didi Gregorius -- but following the game, he said he was deeply sorry for the comments.

"Emotions got the best of me," said Bohm, who was a former top prospect who's struggled since becoming an everyday player for the Phillies. "I said it. Do I mean it? No."

"It's [a] frustrating night for me. Obviously, I made a few mistakes in the field. Look, these people, these fans, they just want to win. And, you heard it. We come back. They're great. I'm sorry for them. I don't mean that. Emotions just got the best of me."

Bohm then said he actually loves playing in Philly.

Kentucky's Rhyne Howard went no. 1 overall in the 2022 WNBA Draft ... and after she was selected, she paid tribute to the late Terrence Clarke -- who she calls her "little brother."

The shooting guard walked the New York stage Monday night wearing a white pantsuit set with sparkles ... but what stood out most was her honorary pin for Clarke, a former Wildcats guard who died almost a year ago.

"That was like my little brother," Howard said about her tribute.

Clarke and Howard met on campus in 2020 ... when TC was a freshman and Howard was in her 2nd year. They both played for the Wildcats hoops teams.

"As soon as he stepped on campus, we instantly clicked and ever since then, we were inseparable."

"Just us coming in and me being able to help him and just get him through his college years."

Sadly, Clarke was tragically killed in a Los Angeles car crash on April 22, 2021 -- a few months before he was set to be drafted by an NBA team.

Rhyne is definitely making TC proud ... she averaged 20.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game during her four seasons in Lexington, and became the highest player drafted in Kentucky women's basketball history.

Jessica Simpson is lovin' the way she looks ... posting another bikini picture from her vacation in Cabo after she dropped 100 pounds for the 3rd time!

The "Open Book" author posted a mirror pic from what seems to be her hotel room in Cabo San Lucas Monday ... rocking a cheetah print 2-piece for the camera.

She's been living it up with her family in Mexico for spring break, posting photos with her husband Eric Johnson, and their children -- 9-year-old Maxwell, 8-year-old Ace, and 3-year-old Birdie Mae.

As you recall, Jessica revealed her drastic weight loss to her fans Friday ... posting another swimsuit pic and saying she has gained and lost 100 pounds three different times.

It sounds like this one is different because she adds, "I never thought this moment could or would happen" ... Jessica chalked it up to hard work, determination and self-love.

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said Monday she and the league are still fighting like hell to bring Brittney Griner back from Russia ... telling reporters the situation is "unimaginable."

Engelbert wasted no time addressing Griner's Russian detainment in her opening remarks prior to the WNBA Draft -- but said little has changed with the basketball superstar's status.

The 31-year-old remains in custody ... and Engelbert said she knows the hooper is still safe.

She added that she and players across the league are still following officials' advice to stay relatively mum on the topic.

"I know we're all frustrated, but we do need to be patient," Engelbert said. "The players have been amazing at following the advice they're getting and we're getting in order not to jeopardize her safety in any way."

Griner has been detained in Russia since February ... after she was accused of having hash oil in her luggage while going through airport security.

Griner's detainment was extended until at least mid-May at a court hearing last month.

"This is an unimaginable situation for BG to be in," Engelbert said. "She continues to have our full support. Certainly, we're trying everything we can, every angle, working with her legal representation, her agent, elected leaders, the administration. Just everybody in our ecosystem to try and find ways to get her home safely and as quickly as we can."

Boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya says Jake Paul isn't just great for the sport, but tells TMZ Sports the Problem Child could be a world champion fighter in the future.

"Let me tell you one thing about Jake Paul. He's the real deal. I'm gonna tell you that, with only four or five fights, and the way he's taking it serious," De La Hoya tells us.

"Jake Paul is the real deal. And I dare anyone who has boxing experience who has MMA experience to call him out, 'cause I'll tell you one thing, this guy can beat a lot of good champions, and even great champions."

Of course, 25-years-old Paul (5-0, 4 KOs) has only been boxing for a few years. But, despite the relative inexperience (many fighters started as young kids), most agree Jake's been incredibly impressive in the ring.

Over the course of his last 3 fights, Jake has beaten former MMA champ Ben Askren and future UFC Hall of Famer Tyron Woodley (twice) in the squared circle. He also beat former NBA star Nate Robinson in 2020 -- in what was his second pro scrap.

Jake hasn't made any bones about it ... he wants to continue stepping up in competition -- and that means facing experienced boxers.

"This is not a one-off, a two-off, a three-off, no. He wants to become a world champion. There's no way out of becoming a world champion. You have to fight the very best."

Just how far can Paul go? De La Hoya believes he could win belts.

"He's on his way to becoming a contender, and he's on his way to becoming a world contender, then a world champion."

There's more ... we also talked to ODLH about his star fighter, 23-year-old Ryan Garcia's return to the ring after a long layoff.

Ryan beat Emmanuel Tagoe by unanimous decision Saturday night ... after dropping and hurting the vet during their fight.

Who's next for Garcia?? Before the Tagoe bout, Oscar told us he was eyeing a fight with Ryan's rival, Gervonta "Tank" Davis.

De La Hoya lays out the blueprint ... one more fight for Ryan, sign Tank to Golden Boy Promotions, and make a super fight with Garcia and Davis!

A teenage go-karting champ says a salute he made after winning a race this weekend was not intended to be an homage to Nazis -- and now, he's issuing an apology for the misunderstanding.

Artem Severiukhin -- a 15-year-old Russian racer -- made the gesture while on the podium following the FIA Karting European Championship in Portugal on Sunday ... and many were appalled, believing it was a Nazi salute.

But, in a video released on social media on Monday afternoon, Severiukhin says he was simply giving thanks to some of his supporters in the crowd with his chest taps and arm wave.

"Standing on the podium, I made a gesture that many perceived as a Nazi salute," Severiukhin said. "It's not true -- I have never supported Nazism and consider it one of the worst crimes against humanity."

Severiukhin added he's sorry for the confusion -- and is ready to accept any punishment that might be headed his way over it all.

"I know that I'm a fool," he said, "and I'm ready to be punished. But please believe that there was no intention in my actions. There was no support for Nazism or fascism."

NFL insider Adam Schefter is begging for forgiveness over his insensitive tweet regarding Dwayne Haskins' death ... saying it was not his intent to disrespect the late Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback.

A number of superstars took issue with Schefter saying Haskins was "struggling to catch on" in the NFL while announcing the tragic news ... including Ravens star Lamar Jackson, who tweeted his frustrations with the ESPN analyst.

"@AdamSchefter you lame asf all around grown ass man and can look in the mirror and smile at yourself," Lamar tweeted on Saturday.

While Schefter deleted the initial tweet shortly after posting, he shared a three-plus minute-long apology on his podcast on Monday ... saying he wishes he could take it back.

"It was insensitive," Schefter said. "It was a mistake, and I can assure you it was not my intention. I wish I could have that tweet back. The focus should have been on Dwayne -- who he was as a person, a husband, a friend, and so much more."

"I wanted to apologize to Dwayne's family, his friends, the players in the NFL, and offer my condolences to everybody close to Dwayne. And in the way I failed Saturday, I wanted to turn the people's attention to make sure that Dwayne is remembered properly."

Schefter then lists several of Haskins' accomplishments on and off the field, shares anecdotes about his character and highlights his charitable contributions.

Schefter continued ... "He will always be missed and will always be remembered. Sincerest condolences to his family, friends and everyone he touched."

Ohio State star quarterback CJ Stroud paid tribute to Dwayne Haskins on the practice field on Monday ... penning a touching message to the late NFLer on his jersey.

OSU shared photos of the tribute during the Buckeyes' training sesh -- two days after Haskins was hit by a dump truck on a highway in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The Buckeyes QB -- who's entering his third season with the program -- inked "LLDH7" (Long Live Dwayne Haskins) and "RIH SIMBA" on his practice jersey ... showing respect for the former 15th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.

"Your legacy will live on big bro 💯" Stroud said via Twitter.

Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day spoke about Haskins after practice with the media ... saying it was a "very difficult weekend for all of us."

"Had a meeting with the team today," he told reporters. "We talked about a lot of things and there's a group of guys who played with Dwayne and they're hurting."

Day says they plan on having several tributes for Haskins ... starting with this weekend's spring game.

"Certainly gonna do something Saturday to recognize him in some sort of tribute which I think is very appropriate, especially with Buckeye nation all being together."

Haskins played QB at OSU from 2016 to 2018. During his Buckeye career, he had 5,396 passing yards and 54 passing touchdowns.

A man in a Colorado Rockies hat punched several women in the face in a crazy altercation outside of Coors Field over the weekend ... and TMZ Sports has obtained video of the brutality.

The incident went down shortly after the Rockies vs. Dodgers game in Denver on Friday -- just a few blocks away from the stadium -- when a man jumped into an altercation between women who appeared to be feuding with each other.

You can see in the footage, as several of the women were fighting -- the man stepped in and began unloading haymakers.

The guy punched several of the women in the face -- with one blow landing so flush, it appeared to knock one of the females out.

Later in the fight, the man punched another woman in the face while she was on the ground.

A police officer showed up and appeared to break up the scuffle, though it's unclear if any arrests were made. We've reached out to cops for comment, but so far, no word back yet.