TMZ Sports - Page 50

Snoop Dogg's son, Cordell Broadus, got his brand new whip jacked ... but the car was recovered pretty quickly ... this according to cops who were hot on the trail.

LAPD sources tell TMZ ... Cordell's 2022 BMW X6 was jacked Wednesday in L.A. We're told a tracking company located it, passed the info on to the LAPD and cops rushed to retrieve it.

Officers found the BMW and took the alleged carnapper into custody.

As for how the car was stolen ... we're told someone left the keys in the car, making it an easy steal.

The alleged culprit already had an active warrant and was booked on a charge from that incident -- burglary of a motor vehicle. Cops say they found stolen items in Cordell's BMW. The D.A. will now decide whether to charge the guy.

LeBron James received a lot of heat for the Lakers' struggles this season, but Magic Johnson tells TMZ Sports he still wants to see LBJ in a Lakers uniform for the foreseeable future.

We spoke with Magic -- who won 5 titles with the Lakers during his career -- out in L.A. this week, and asked him if the Lake Show should trade its 37-year-old superstar after the team missed the playoffs this season.

Magic told us absolutely not ... saying he wants LeBron in the purple and gold "for a long time."

The idea of jettisoning James, who averaged 30.3 points per game in his nineteenth season, has recently been floated by disgruntled Lakers fans and some media personalities ... who think the haul LeBron could get in a trade would make the team immediately better.

But, Magic clearly believes that's nonsense ... telling us he "hopes" to see Bron stay.

As for who will coach LeBron next season after Frank Vogel was just fired ... Magic told us it certainly won't be him, and probably not Phil Jackson either.

But, the Hall of Famer did say Jackson will help in the hunt for the next head man ... something he appears to believe will be good for the org.'s future.

Michael Chandler was seconds away from UFC gold, and despite now being ranked 5th in the lightweight division, the UFC star still believes he's the best fighter at 155 pounds, and because of that, he tells TMZ Sports he deserves a title shot after he beats Tony Ferguson.

But, if he doesn't get that ... Michael's got a Plan B -- Conor McGregor!

"There's not an MMA fan, combat sports fan, TMZ Sports fan, that doesn't want to see me fight Charles Oliveira again or Justin Gaethje again," Chandler says.

"And, if the UFC does have a momentary lapse of judgment and gives the title shot to someone else, Conor's gotta beat somebody when he comes back to make himself into relevant status. So, Conor or some big fights. We'll see!"

Of course, 36-year-old Chandler has lost two fights in a row ... but that doesn't nearly begin to tell the story.

At UFC 262 in May, Michael was on the verge of defeating Oliveira with the UFC belt on the line ... dropping do Bronx with a left hook in the first round. Unfortunately for MC, Charles survived the last two minutes of the round.

Then, in the second, Oliveira hurt Chandler ... and ultimately ended the fight via TKO from strikes.

You could argue Chandler was one punch from being the champ.

Then, MC squared off against Gaethje -- now the #1 ranked contender -- at UFC 269 in November 2021 ... a fight that was guaranteed to be amazing.

The fight -- one of the greatest ever -- somehow surpassed expectations ... and although most fans and experts declared no one the loser, Chandler's record says different.

Two losses ... against two beasts, in incredibly close fights. So, a title shot is certainly not out of the equation.

If that's not the direction Dana White and the UFC go, Michael's down to welcome McGregor back to the Octagon.

Conor hasn't fought since July 2021 when he snapped his leg against Dustin Poirier in their trilogy fight. Dana previously told us he expected "The Notorious" to make his Octagon return sometime toward the end of 2022.

Whether it's McGregor or another top fighter, Michael tells us he still believes he's destined for greatness ... not to simply have come close.

"The number one weapon that you can have is not the X's and the O's and the punches and the kicks or the wrestling -- it's self-confidence. I believe in the calling on my life, I believe I got into this sport in 2009 not just to be good, but to be great, not to be great but to be extraordinary and do some extraordinary things. I think UFC gold is still very much in my future."

First things first, Michael has to beat "El Cucuy" at UFC 274 Saturday night. Then, we'll see ... Gaethje? Oliveira? McGregor? Someone else?

An arrest warrant has been issued for ex-NFL star Earl Thomas ... TMZ Sports has confirmed.

Court records show a judge in Austin, Texas signed the warrant on April 27. The document, per the records, alleges the former Seattle Seahawks safety violated a protective order two or more times in the last 12 months.

Trey Dolezal, Thomas' attorney, told the Austin American-Statesman on Friday that it all relates to Thomas "reaching out to his wife to see their children."

"They were consciously and collectively working together to see his kids," Dolezal said. "I don't really understand how he could be in violation by working together to visit with his children."

The protective order had been issued back in 2021. The Austin American-Statesman reports court documents show a woman told cops that Earl violated the protective order by sending her threatening text messages.

Jail records show Earl has not yet been booked.

Jerry Jones is fortunate to have avoided serious injuries in his car crash on Wednesday ... because TMZ Sports has obtained video of the accident, and it shows the Dallas Cowboys owner T-boned a car while traveling at a relatively high rate of speed.

The crash, according to the video's timestamp, happened at around 6:10 p.m. It went down at the intersection of Wolf St. and Harry Hines Blvd. in Dallas -- roughly 20 miles away from the Cowboys' team facility.

The video appears to show that as a silver car was attempting to make a left turn from a right lane on a one-way road, Jones -- driving a dark-colored sedan -- slammed into the side of it.

Somehow, Jones was able to get out of his car and walk toward the other vehicle and its passengers.

You can see in the clip, captured by Allen Roberson Jr., Jones seemed to have a slight limp -- and at one point, he rolled up his pant leg to check out his knee area. His car, meanwhile, was left disabled in the middle of the road.

As Jones approached the silver car on foot ... an occupant from the vehicle appeared to be complaining of some kind of head pain.

Ultimately, medical personnel arrived on the scene and transported Jones to a local hospital with what's been described as minor injuries. Jones' son, Stephen Jones, told multiple media outlets late Wednesday night that Jerry had already returned home a short time after being checked out at the medical facility and is doing fine.

No word on if the other car's passengers suffered any significant injuries.

Snoop Dogg and his Mt. Westmore groupmate Ice Cube are about to be a lot closer … now that Snoop is a part-owner in Cube’s Big3 basketball league … TMZ Hip Hop has learned.

Snoop and PayPal co-founder Ken Howery dropped $625,000 together to purchase a 40 percent stake in BIG3 team “Bivouac” that went winless last season due to injuries.

BIG3 opened the floodgates for people to grab a stake in the franchise team through NFTs... which is exactly what Snoop and Ken did.

They weren't the only ones, either. Popular NFT hubs DeGods, Gary Vaynerchuk and VeeFriends, Bill Lee and MyDoge/DogeCoin, and Krause House all got in the spending spree, copping all 25 Fire-Tiers of the Killer 3’s, Trilogy, Aliens and Ball Hogs, respectively.

Snoop has become one of the space’s most avid NFT collectors … even touting his newly re-bought Death Row Records will be a 100 percent “NFT Label”

Snoop and Howery reportedly purchased all 25 Fire for Bivouac priced at $25,000 each. In other words, the team’s stock was divided into blockchains for sale. Remaining editions will be available come Saturday, May 7 for hungry Discord members.

Shawne Merriman tells TMZ Sports he believes Antonio Brown did make some "valid points" when he went off on a rant against Colin Kaepernick in a recent interview.

If you missed it, Brown called the ex-49ers star a "trash" QB in a sitdown with "Cigar Talk." He also said he believed the 34-year-old sold out when he settled his lawsuit with the NFL. And, he questioned just how big of an impact Colin was really having in the community.

Merriman clearly doesn't believe all of the above is true ... but he said on Friday there were some things he did agree on with Brown.

"He makes some valid points about Colin Kaepernick, saying that, you know, he took the money from the NFL. The settlement. The Nike commercials -- all these things," Merriman said.

"Well, I think a lot of people think that way about all the other stuff that Colin Kaepernick has going on, and his opportunities that he's had to get back in the NFL, and just hasn't."

Merriman says he believes if Brown hadn't already become such a polarizing figure -- he thinks more people would be agreeing with him.

"We get the message," Merriman said, "but people aren't trying to listen to the messenger."

There was at least one NFL star who agreed with Brown fully ... Saints wideout Michael Thomas tweeted Friday afternoon, "he isn’t wrong wrong lol."

An absolutely insane fight broke out at a card room in California this week ... and it all appeared to start because a man dropped a "Yo Mama" insult on another man.

The wild scene reportedly went down at HUSTLER Casino in L.A. ... after two guys got into a verbal argument at a poker table inside the venue for unknown reasons.

Video from the casino shows the two screamed at each other ... and escalated into a full-on fistfight when one of the men fired off a jab about the other man's mother.

In the clip, you can see the guy was so upset over the quip, that he spit on his rival's face ... and then tried to punch him in the head.

That's when the man in the grey shirt retreated, grabbed a small table and then beat the other man with it.

Security eventually stepped in and tased the dude who was wielding the table. As the guy was on the ground, he said, "He hit me first!"

According to poker news website CardsChat, HUSTLER Casino has banned all of the combatants, saying "any form of violence is not tolerated."

Stoolies rejoice -- Dave Portnoy is promising the full "Barstool experience" when he takes the mic for the Canelo Alvarez fight this weekend ... and by the sound of it, viewers will undoubtedly be entertained.

Pres and Big Cat are slated to give their expert analysis on an alternate PPV broadcast of Canelo's bout against Dmitry Bivol on DAZN on Saturday ... a move that Portnoy called "one of the great no-brainers in the history of Earth."

Of course, the gang has experience calling their "Rough N Rowdy" fights over the years -- as well as some work for the Jake Paul fight in August -- but this is the first time they get to provide commentary for one of the world's greatest.

Dave says it's a great idea to get the younger audience to tune in to the champ's fight in Vegas ... and despite going big time, they're not going to lose sight of what makes them unique.

"We're going to be ourselves," Dave added. "DAZN hired us to be ourselves, so we're going to be ourselves and do it how we'd do it if was on Barstool."

The guys are going to look the part and don suits for the bout ... but as Big Cat points out, his might be a bit tight.

"The last time I wore the suit was for the Jake Paul fight in August ... put it on for the first time last night, your boy's gained about 20 pounds. So, you also get to see me squeeze into a suit tomorrow."

This is a huge bummer.

UFC lightweight champ Charles Oliveira just missed weight by HALF A POUND at weigh-ins on Friday ... which means he's no longer the lightweight champ.

Oliviera is slated to fight Justin Gaethje at UFC 274 in Phoenix on Saturday ... a fight that many have been excited about for months.

Charles initially weighed in at 155.5 pounds earlier on Friday ... and in title fights, you HAVE to make weight.

Do Bronx was given one hour to shed the 1/2 pound ... but unfortunately, he was unable to make it happen.

Now, if Oliveira wins against The Highlight, the championship will be vacant ... but if Gaethje is able to come out on top, he'll get the belt.

Charles was confident he was going to make weight earlier in the day ... even tweeting, "weight ✔️ peso✔️ #UFC274."

Oliveira is 32-8 in his career ... and just won the belt after beating Michael Chandler in May 2021 at UFC 262. He has one title defense after choking out Dustin Poirier in the 3rd round in December.

Gaethje is the former interim champ, who came up short against Khabib Nurmagomedov in October 2020.

Tragic news ... former NFL defensive lineman Du'Vonta Lampkin has died after he was shot on Thursday.

He was just 25 years old.

According to the Dallas Police Department, Lampkin was found "lying on his back with a single gunshot wound" by officers at a rented residence at around 10:10 PM in Dallas.

Cops say they had been called to the scene after a witness said Lampkin had stopped answering phone calls.

Police say medical personnel arrived a short time after officers discovered Lampkin ... but said the ex-football player couldn't be saved and died on the scene.

No further details regarding the shooting were released ... cops say an investigation is underway. They're asking anyone with information on the case to call 214-671-3994.

The Univ. of Oklahoma -- where Lampkin played college football from 2015 to 2017 -- released a statement on the tragedy, saying the school is "deeply saddened" by Lampkin's passing.

"Du'Vonta was full of life and spirit, was a supportive teammate and a joy to be around. Our sincerest thoughts, prayers and sympathies are with his family and loved ones."

Du'Vonta played in 15 games for the Sooners in his three years on campus, logging 27 total tackles and a sack. He left the school early with intentions to play in the NFL, but went unselected in the 2018 draft.

Lampkin would eventually sign with the Tennessee Titans just before the 2018 season, but he was cut prior to their first game. He went on to play indoor football in 2019.

F1 superstar Lewis Hamilton is taking a stand against FIA's ban on jewelry during races ... by wearing multiple necklaces, rings, earrings AND watches at his press conference Friday in Miami.

The Mercedes champ has been outspoken against the association's recent crackdown on the accessories drivers are allowed to wear during races ... claiming there are much bigger issues to focus on.

37-year-old Hamilton doubled down on his position when speaking with media members ... saying he feels like it's a "step backwards" as the sport looks to grow.

"This is such a small thing," Hamilton said. "I've been in this sport for 16 years. I've been wearing jewelry for 16 years. In the car, I only have my earrings and my nose ring, which I can't remove."

"It seems unnecessary for us to get into this spat," he added. "So, I'll try to communicate and work with (FIA president) Mohammed (bin Sulayem). I think I'm here to be an ally of the sport, of Mohammed, and Formula 1, and I think we got bigger fish to fry, bigger things to do, more impact to have."

"So, I think that's where the focus should be."

Hamilton says his jewelry is not magnetic and there are no safety concerns while racing ... but if he's not allowed to compete over the ban, he is content with hanging out in South Beach and letting the backup driver take his spot.

Cain Velasquez might be behind bars, but he's still finding a way to let his daughter know he's thinking about her on her birthday ... penning a sweet message to the 13-year-old from jail.

The UFC legend posted the note to his Twitter page on Friday ... while attaching several photos of the father and daughter enjoying past times together.

"Happy 13th birthday Coco!" Velasquez said. "I miss you so much! Te amo mucho."

As part of his note, Velasquez also said he was hoping to be released from jail at a hearing on Friday.

"I hope God grants us the ultimate gift for your birthday," Velasquez said, "for me to be home with you."

Sadly for Velasquez, a judge didn't grant him bail at the hearing ... instead, the matter was continued and pushed back to May 16 -- which means he'll be locked up for at least another 10 days.

The 39-year-old has been behind bars since February ... when he was arrested for allegedly shooting at a man who had been accused of molesting one of his family members.

WARNING!!! -- If you're in the middle of your morning eggs and toast, you might want to wait to watch this ...

Former NFL star Chris Long accidentally chugged a can full of dip spit while filming his podcast on Friday morning ... and, yes, it's as gross as it sounds.

The stomach-turning moment happened in the middle of Long's "Green Light with Chris Long" show ... when the ex-L.A. Ram grabbed a can thinking it was water, and, instead, got a mouthful of spit and chewed tobacco.

In the video from the pod, you can see Chris immediately knew he screwed up -- and went straight for a toilet to yack in.

Long's co-hosts showed no mercy after the blunder, giving him a super hard time over it ... and even saying, "Are you going to throw up?! That'd be great! Do it on camera!"

Unclear if the can with the spit was Chris' or someone else's ... but either way, it was nasty.

But, hey, Chris was a good sport about it all -- he finished the pod and even played around with his followers about the scene on Twitter all morning Friday.

Olivia Rodrigo turned the Philadelphia Phillies game into her own prom on Thursday ... dancing her face off and vibing to her hit song!!

The moment was captured on the Citizens Bank Park scoreboard in the 6th inning of the Phils' game against the New York Mets ... with the stadium showing off the Grammy winner to the fans.

Naturally, OR's "good 4 u" was blaring over the speaker system ... and just like the rest of the world does when they hear it (admit it, you love it), the singer had to rock out.

The video is pretty cool -- Rodrigo jumps up and down, waves to the cameras, dances and points out her friends as the crowd loses it.

So, what the heck was she doing at a Phillies game?? Rodrigo is in the City of Brotherly Love the next two nights for her "SOUR" tour ... so why not catch a good ol' ballgame??

But, by the looks of it, Olivia might not have cared too much about the action on the diamond ... as she was spotted taking pics during the middle of the game.

Hey ... when ya got 25 million followers on Instagram, you gotta take advantage of every photo op.

As for the game, the Phillies lost 8-7 ... and it was one of the biggest collapses in team history.

Kayla Harrison attempts to defend her PFL crown once again Friday night, but, she tells TMZ Sports she was originally scheduled to fight two weeks ago ... against Cris "Cyborg" Justino!

"I thought I was gonna be fighting Cris Cyborg on April 22 in Hawaii. So, yes, I'm interested in the fight," the 2-time PFL champ says, adding ... "I'm more than ready and willing to step up for that opportunity. I think the fans want it, I know I want it, I know PFL wants it. I'm ready! I thought that that was gonna happen this year, I thought it was gonna happen last week."

Then, why's 31-year-old Kayla fighting Marina Mokhnatkina tonight?

It all goes back to Harrison's free agency a few months ago. She and manager, Ali Abdelaziz, tested the waters amongst the major MMA promotions, and actually struck a deal to face Cris.

But, Harrison's contract dictated PFL had an opportunity to meet any offer she received elsewhere, and that's exactly what they did.

"I accepted [against Cyborg] and PFL had the right to match and ultimately they did. I'm happy, I'm very happy with where I'm at. I'm excited about the season, you know, I'm excited for the potential fight with Cyborg but I have four fights in front of me in five and a half months. It's no easy feat. It's a grind."

The fight with Cris is super important to Kayla ... as she's made it crystal clear her desire is to show she's the baddest MF'er in MMA.

How do Kayla and 36-year-old Cris match up? Justino, regarded as one of best female MMA fighters of all-time, has only lost twice in her career. One L was to the G.O.A.T., Amanda Nunes in 2018. The other was literally her first ever pro fight ... in 2005.

Kayla, who got into the sport in 2018 following two Olympic gold medals in Judo, is undefeated at 12-0. She's twice entered, and won, the Professional Fighters League tourney.