TMZ Sports - Page 50

Team USA swimming superstar, Caeleb Dressel, was truly down on himself just months before winning 5 gold medals at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo ... revealing the severely harsh criticism he wrote in his practice journals prior to trials.

The 25-year-old Olympic hero opened up about the dark side of his swimming experience on "In Depth With Graham Bensinger" this week ... listing off the negative reactions to workouts he wrote in his notebooks before trials.

"Yeah, F*** me, f***ing terrible. My body is done,'" Caeleb read from his log during the interview. "Oh jeez ... I know I'm laughing a little bit, but when you're writing this, this isn't as a joke. This is good information."

"'F*** me. F*** my body. F*** swimming,'" he continued. "Jeez. Yeah, there's a totally different side of the sport that a lot of people don't see ... I try to be as honest with myself as I can in these books, 'cause these aren't for -- well until now -- these aren't really for anybody else's eyes."

As it turns out, Caeleb has battled panic attacks and depression as a result of his swimming career ... including when he first became prominently known as one of the best in the country during his senior year of high school.

"I didn't want to do anything," Caeleb said. "Wasn't going to school, wasn't swimming. [I] was pretty much just laying in bed for all hours of the day, for a couple months."

Dressel went on to compete in two Olympic games -- racking up 7 golds.

Police are investigating the alleged attempt to poison a college baseball team by spiking their water jug with paint thinner ... and now cops are trying to get to the bottom of the wild claims.

In police docs we obtained, Kansas Wesleyan University filed an incident report with Lindsborg PD in Kansas ... where multiple unnamed people from the school are listed as victims.

In the report, several offenses are listed: criminal threat; contaminated food/water sources, battery; knowing/recklessly causing bodily harm, criminal damage to property.

On Sunday, a Twitter account (not affiliated with Kansas Wesleyan University or Barstool Sports) posted a picture of a water cooler that appears to show an unknown substance.

"Putting PAINT THINNER in our water coolers to get our baseball players sick and still getting toasted by 31 runs is WILD. Stay classy! Glad all our players are okay #buckfethany," the tweet read.

Important to note ... Bethany College, nor anyone from the school, is named in the police report.

Peyton Manning is helping Demaryius Thomas' legacy live on at Georgia Tech -- the Hall of Famer just announced he's establishing a scholarship program at GT ... all to benefit the hometown of his late friend and teammate.

The Broncos legend shared the news on Wednesday ... saying his family's PeyBack Foundation is partnering up with DT's alma mater to launch the Demaryius A. Thomas Scholarship Endowment.

"An important part of Demaryius' legacy was the way he inspired the next generation to pursue their dreams with the same perseverance and determination that defined him," Manning said.

The scholarships (full and partial) will be for students in Laurens County, Georgia -- where DT was born and raised -- who plan on attending Georgia Tech.

To be eligible, students must have a 3.2 or higher GPA in high school ... and involvement with community service. The scholarship covers students until they graduate -- as long as they maintain good grades.

"Through this scholarship to Georgia Tech, Demaryius will have a lasting impact on deserving youth from his hometown area who can follow in his footsteps and accomplish great things in life."

Manning and Thomas were teammates on the Denver Broncos from 2012 to 2015 ... and won Super Bowl XLI.

"Demaryius Thomas was an incredibly talented and unselfish teammate but more important, he was a special person and friend."

As we previously reported, Thomas was tragically found dead after going into "cardiac arrest" at his Georgia home last December.

NFL star Laremy Tunsil is turning one of the lowest moments of his life into potentially one of the best for someone ... announcing Wednesday he's making his infamous draft day gas mask bong video into an NFT for charity.

Tunsil said the non-fungible token was minted on Wednesday morning as a 1-of-1 ... adding that a portion of the proceeds that it nets will go toward The Last Prisoner project, an org designed to help those who were jailed for cannabis offenses.

In announcing the NFT, Tunsil said he hopes the sale and subsequent donation officially puts the day and the moment in his rearview mirror for good.

"I'm looking toward and excited for the future," the Houston Texans left tackle said, "and am grateful for all of those that supported me on my draft night and those that have and will continue to support my journey!"

If you're unfamiliar ... the video -- showing Tunsil smoking a substance out of a gas mask bong -- was posted to the football player's social media without his permission just minutes before the 2016 NFL Draft.

Tunsil was projected to be a high pick -- perhaps going as early as the top 5 -- before the video's release ... but after it got out, he tumbled to the Miami Dolphins at pick No. 13.

Tunsil has since gone on to have a stellar career -- he's made two Pro Bowls in six seasons -- but he's said the April 2016 night was one of his lowest moments.

"Probably one of the worst feelings I ever experienced in my life," Tunsil said in 2021 in a rare interview about the moment to Complex. "I don't wish that situation, that experience on nobody else."

Forget dumbbells and plates ... Aaron Donald's clearly found a better way to get jacked -- lift his wife, Erica!

The L.A. Rams star and his sweetheart revealed what a late-night sweat sesh looks like at the Donald household on Tuesday ... and, apparently, it features Aaron bench pressing Erica over and over again!!

Erica posted the footage of the impromptu workout to her social media page ... and it's pretty impressive -- on both of their ends!

In one of the clips, Erica can be seen carrying Aaron on her back. In another, Aaron -- in Fendi designer sweatpants -- can be seen benching Erica more than 10 times from the floor.

The couple then turned the training into a competition -- jokingly slapping each other's arms during a plank-off.

Of course, as impressive as the workout was for AD -- it's hardly the craziest thing we've seen the guy do when it comes to fitness ... remember when he benched 495 pounds?!?

It's apparently like mother, like daughter in the Curry household ... because 9-year-old Riley Curry showed she's got mad skills in the kitchen just like momma Ayesha!!

And, now we officially feel super old.

Steph's wife posted video of her daughter killin' it with the utensils on Tuesday night ... revealing the chef blood apparently runs strong in the Currys.

Little Riley -- who's all grown up since she famously went viral at Steph's playoff games years ago -- whipped up chicken piccata with mashed potatoes and veggies ... and it all looked amazing.

Riley dusted the chicken with flour all on her own and fried it up herself -- with Ayesha saying on the video, "I'm so dang proud! I literally did nothing!"

The meal also included halibut ... and Riley shouted out her mom -- who, if you weren't aware, is a wizard in the kitchen -- for the lessons that led up to the finished product.

"I learned from the best," Riley said on camera as her mom gushed.

Riley topped off the meal with some sparkling grape juice -- and judging by the plates set up on the dinner table, it appears Steph was able to indulge in his daughter's dishes as well.

Travis Scott is going from dipping his toe in the performance pool to getting in waist deep -- the guy's first public show is booked ... and it's going down in Miami next month.

The rapper is scheduled to host on Saturday, May 7 at hotspot E11EVEN -- where he appears to be the headlining act for Race Week. There's a Formula 1 Grand Prix that'll be going down around the same time ... so it's gonna be popping in and around the city.

According to promotional flyers and E11EVEN's own website ... tickets are on sale now at a price point of $150 to $250, depending on whether you're a man or woman. Ladies get in cheaper, obviously. Page Six was first to notice the event. We have been told that it's almost sold out ... and demand is sky-high.

VIP tables are also available for reservation as well ... and those can go for a pretty penny, reportedly upwards of $100k depending on what's happening. Considering this will be Travis' first foray, musically, before a large crowd ... ya gotta imagine the cost will be higher.

This certainly isn't the first time TS has grabbed a mic since the Astroworld Fest tragedy in November, when 10 people died. He's been dabbling in smaller performances in the months thereafter -- including a limited set at a pre-Oscars party, ditto for a Coachella afterparty.

At both events, there seemed to be some enthusiasm around his presence ... but time will tell if a club like E11EVEN can muster a large crowd. The jury's sorta out on how people feel about him these days.

At first, there was a lot of anger directed at him ... as some felt he continued the show despite seemingly obvious signs folks were in distress -- but in the wake of all that, there's been different evidence suggesting he may have, in fact, been in the dark on the severity.

Still, he's in the middle of several lawsuits that have named him as a defendant ... and that'll take years to work through the court system. In the meantime, he's making a comeback -- or trying to, anyway.

Twinning!!!

Music superstar Usher chopped it up with his perfect doppelganger at the Grizzlies vs. Timberwolves game on Tuesday ... hanging out courtside with Ja Morant's dad -- and it was hilarious!!

Of course, fans have been commenting about how the Memphis superstar's pops looks strikingly similar to the "Yeah!" singer throughout the playoffs ... and finally, the two men met face-to-face.

Usher pulled up to Game 5 of the Grizzlies' home game against the Wolves ... and of course, Tee Morant was in the building to support his son Ja, who just won the Most Improved Player Award for this season.

Tee has been making headlines all series -- early on in the playoffs, he enjoyed some friendly back-and-forth with Karl-Anthony Towns' dad, Karl-Anthony Towns Sr. ... and fans couldn't help but notice how much he looked like Usher.

While people swear Tee is Usher's doppelganger, it reached new heights on Tuesday ... when the two wore matching black outfits to the matchup!!

Both twins got to see an incredible game -- with about 6 seconds left on the game clock, Minnesota rising star Anthony Edwards hit a clutch 3-pointer to tie the game at 109-109.

But, Ja would not be denied ... as he beat Edwards to his spot and finished at the rim with a nifty layup over Jarred Vanderbilt ... propelling the Grizzlies to a 111-109 victory.

The best play in the Padres vs. Reds game Tuesday night didn't belong to anyone actually ON the field ... no, it happened in the stands -- when a fan caught a foul ball while feeding a baby!

The awesome scene went down in the fifth inning of Cincinnati's tilt with San Diego at Great America Ball Park ... when Luis Campusano hit a foul ball up the third baseline.

The baseball ricocheted off some seats -- and then made a beeline for a dad who was quite occupied with a little baby in his arms.

You can see in the broadcast video from the stadium -- the dad, despite having a bottle in the baby's mouth, reached up over another fan, snagged the souvenir and didn't once disturb the toddler!

Everyone watching was shocked -- and the game's broadcasters couldn't help but gush over the dude's incredible dad feat.

"Nice job!" one of the announcers said. "Holds the bottle, no spillage! Baby in perfect bliss!"

WWE star Jimmy Uso got so upset with the officer who arrested him for DUI back in July, he straight-up called the guy "an a**hole" during the stop ... new police video shows.

In the footage, you can see Uso -- real name Jonathan Fatu -- seemed to be triggered by a comment a Pensacola Police Dept. officer said to him shortly after the cop pulled him over for allegedly speeding and running a red light.

After the cop asked Uso to get out of his Dodge Charger after claiming he smelled an odor of booze coming from the wrestler's ride ... he appeared to sincerely wish Uso good luck in passing field sobriety tests.

"I'm hoping you beat it this time, too," the officer said.

For some reason, that remark seemed to set Uso off.

"Are you serious?!" Uso asked the cop. "Are you serious?! Why would you say that? I just -- it's all good."

A short time later, after the 36-year-old was taken to a nearby parking lot to attempt to prove his sobriety, Uso confronted the cop further about the comment.

"That's crazy, right?" Uso said. "He didn't have to say that s***."

"The nice thing?" the cop replied.

"The nice thing?!" Uso fired back, before adding, "Bro, you don't need to say the s*** you're saying. I get it. I've been here. Let's do it."

The cop then tried to conduct a field sobriety test ... putting a pen in front of Uso's eyes -- but the wrestler clearly wasn't over the cop's comment.

"You're an a***hole," Uso said. "You're the one that's worse. You had a remark -- you made a remark you shouldn't have did."

The cop seemed to try to apologize, saying, "I think you misunderstood. So, I'm sorry. I was actually being nice. But, I'm sorry."

Uso eventually dropped the beef -- but cops claim he failed field sobriety tests nonetheless ... and arrested him for DUI.

Uso, who cops say ultimately blew a .202 and .205 during the arrest, was eventually charged with misdemeanor DUI over the incident -- and court records show he cut a deal with prosecutors earlier this month to close out the case.

According to court docs, Uso agreed to plead no contest to the charge.

As part of the agreement, we're told Jimmy was required to complete several courses related to the incident. A source close to Uso tells us those classes were completed earlier this month.

Vince Wilfork's son, D'Aundre Holmes-Wilfork, pleaded guilty earlier this month to stealing Super Bowl rings and other prized possessions from the New England Patriots legend ... TMZ Sports has confirmed.

According to court documents, Holmes-Wilfork pleaded guilty to felony theft of property greater than or equal to $300,000 as part of a plea deal that he struck with prosecutors on April 20.

Holmes-Wilfork received five years of deferred community supervision as part of the agreement ... meaning the conviction will essentially go away if he keeps his nose clean for the next five years and meets all the conditions of his probation.

As we previously reported, Holmes-Wilfork was initially charged in 2021 with stealing Vince's SB rings, AFC championship rings, 2001 Miami Hurricanes national championship ring and other jewelry.

At the time, authorities said Holmes-Wilfork took the jewelry and sold it without Vince's permission in 2020. According to authorities, police said Vince told them he believed the goods were worth around $400k.

Court records show the stolen jewelry was ordered on April 20 to be returned to Vince.

Great news for Rams fans ... star defensive tackle Aaron Donald purchased a $17 million Hidden Hills home after selling his old crib in Calabasas, so it sure looks like AD isn't leaving Los Angeles!!

Yes, Rams fans, breathe.

Of course, droves of Rams fans feared the future Hall of Famer was ready to retire when he sold his Calabasas mansion for $6.258 million a few weeks ago.

But, as it turns out ... the man was just upgrading (not that the OG house wasn't awesome) estates!!

Donald's new 12,000 square-foot pad features 8 bedrooms, 9 nine baths, a game room, movie theater, gym with a steam shower and sauna.

There's more ... the luxurious home includes a spacious living room with a fireplace and a private office for studying that playbook.

In fact, with AD's latest purchase, the 3-time defensive player of the year is basically neighbors with his Super Bowl-winning quarterback Matthew Stafford and head coach Sean McVay.

As if that wasn't enough, Donald's new residence -- which was originally constructed in 1983 -- has a four-car garage and an outdoor pool.

If there was ever any doubt that AD wasn't coming back -- and planned on hanging up his pads -- he now has 17 million reasons to play next season.

Sandro Dazzan and Cooper Mount of The Agency held the listing.

Aaron Rodgers and Shailene Woodley might be done for real this time, 'cause after rekindling their romance a few months back, the A-list couple has reportedly broken up once again.

Remember, the couple briefly split in February -- after about two years of dating and an engagement -- but it didn't last long 'cause they were spotted out together shortly after ending the relationship.

38-year-old Rodgers took 30-year-old Woodley to teammate David Bakhtiari's California wedding at the beginning of March. The NFL MVP also shared a mushy Instagram post with the actress, thanking Shailene for showing him "what unconditional love looks like."

But, it seems it ultimately wasn't meant to be ... the couple has recently split, according to multiple reports.

Shailene reportedly wanted to make the relationship work, but soon realized after getting back together that everything had to be on Aaron's terms ... and that didn't work for her.

The couple started dating shortly after the Packers QB and Danica Patrick broke up in 2020. Aaron shocked his fans at the beginning of 2021 when he announced he'd popped the question to Woodley.

NASCAR superstar Denny Hamlin is begging for forgiveness after posting a racist video clip directed at fellow driver Kyle Larson ... saying it was "offensive" and a "poor choice of memes."

Hamlin was trying to make light of a crash Larson caused during the Geico 500 on Sunday ... going to Twitter to share a "Family Guy" clip of an Asian woman getting in a car wreck and superimposing the Hendricks driver's name over it.

Larson -- whose mother is Japanese American -- did not respond to the tweet, but Hamlin was quickly called out on social media ... with followers bashing him for shining a light on a show that leans into distasteful racial stereotypes towards Asians.

"I took down a post I made earlier today after reading some of the comments," Hamlin tweeted Monday night.

"It was a poor choice of memes and I saw how it was offensive. It came across totally wrong. I apologize."

Worth noting -- Hamlin and Larson are great friends ... so it's highly unlikely he meant any real harm before sharing the vid.

Of course, Larson found himself in hot water in 2020 ... after he was caught saying the n-word on a video game live stream. He was suspended and fired from his team, before being reinstated 6 months later.

NASCAR has yet to address Hamlin's tweet ... but it's a matter of time.

Jerry West might not want to hold his breath waiting on an apology from HBO ... 'cause the network is defending the controversial 'Winning Time' show and standing firmly with its "talented creators."

The show has been under serious scrutiny since it debuted in March -- with Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and, most recently, Jerry West, completely trashing the validity of what happens in each episode ... claiming a lot of it is straight-up not true.

But, HBO -- which had previously stayed silent on the public outcry -- released a statement to The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday ... and the network didn't hold back.

"HBO has a long history of producing compelling content drawn from actual facts and events that are fictionalized in part for dramatic purposes," the network said in the statement.

"'Winning Time' is not a documentary and has not been presented as such. However, the series and its depictions are based on extensive factual research and reliable sourcing, and HBO stands resolutely behind our talented creators and cast who have brought a dramatization of this epic chapter in basketball history to the screen."

Of course, Quincy Isaiah -- who plays Magic -- pointed out to TMZ Sports earlier this month that the show clearly says that events in the show might have been dramatized ... and he meant no malice while doing his job.

Somebody is about to live like a Super Bowl champ -- one lucky buyer just copped Cooper Kupp's California mansion for $5.25 million!!

The 6,893 square-foot property is located in the mountainous area of Westlake Village, CA -- almost 40 miles west of downtown Los Angeles.

The pad has 5 bedrooms and 6 1/2 baths ... and features an all-white kitchen, a game room, gym and library. The mansion also has a luxurious gas-heated pool and spa in the backyard, which will be perfect for the new buyer's guests to come and party.

The estate -- listed with Barbara Preston of Coldwell Banker Realty -- just sold this week for the asking price of $5,250,000.

But, don't panic, Rams fans -- this sale doesn't mean the Super Bowl MVP is on his way outta L.A. Remember, the wide receiver signed a 3-year extension in 2020 ... so he's staying put for a bit.