TMZ Sports - Page 48

Wowwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!!

Pro wrestler Darby Allin tore down the house Wednesday night at AEW Dynamite when he pulled off a death-defying stunt ... jumping off the top of a ladder and crashing into 8 steel chairs -- and Jeff Hardy, too!!

It all went down at UBS Arena at Belmont Park in Long Island, NY, when Allin (with Sting) was in action against Jeff (with his brother Matt) in a first-round, anything goes match in the Owen Hart Men's Foundation tourney.

Hardy and Allin were exchanging blows all match, but things picked up when the "KING of the extreme" set up a ladder in the middle of the ring ... with obvious plans on using it.

Allin, who introduced multiple chairs into the match that he pulled from underneath the ring, flipped the script on Jeff ... hitting him with his signature Swanton Bomb finisher off the top of the ladder ... through the chairs.

In the insane clip, it appears Allin was paying homage to 44-year-old Hardy, 'cause he even mimicked the hand movements Jeff does before performing his Swanton Bomb move.

The spot in the match was sick ... and the AEW fans in attendance lost it, especially since they're not used to seeing Jeff on the receiving end of crazy stunts in the squared circle.

Sylvester Stallone created monuments to the movie that made him a star, so we thought he'd take them with him when he sold his estate to Adele, but turns out that's not the case.

Adele is now the proud owner of a Rocky statue perched at the base of her new swimming pool.

TMZ broke the story ... Sly sold Adele the estate for $58 million. He's moved to Palm Beach, so you'd think Rocky would follow.

Now, we don't know if the Rocky statue inside the main house is still there, or if Sly took it with him. Put in real estate terms, is the statue more like art or an appliance? The former usually goes with the seller, whereas the latter stays behind.

Adele and BF Rich Paul posed in the front of the house as they both held the keys to their new kingdom. Speaking of which ... interesting Rich has a set of keys. The relationship's clearly serious.

LaMelo Ball is adding to his ink collection -- the Charlotte Hornets star just debuted some brand new hand tattoos this week ... and they're out of this world!!

The 20-year-old former Rookie of the Year -- who already has a chest piece and forearm tat -- got more work done with his go-to guy, Herchell Carrasco.

The tats feature butterflies, a UFO, LaMelo's "LaFrance" brand logo, and "Not From Here" ... a phrase that was used during his PUMA signature sneaker release.

The pieces also feature a set of red flames on each wrist, which move up Melo's forearm.

We're told there's also another tattoo on each of Melo's thumbs, which reads "Golden Child" ... and is etched in gold ink.

Herchell tells us it was about a 7-hour appointment ... and the images will be used for Melo's next shoe.

As we previously reported, Melo added a unique angel and "Rare" to his forearm last June ... and a massive #1 chest piece with wings back in 2019.

Melo didn't leave Carrasco empty-handed -- the artist showed off a pretty sick gift he got from the hooper ... an autographed jersey with a special message etched on it.

"My brudda Rock! Love You Family," LaMelo signed the threads ... including his soon-to-be jersey number 1.

Just a matter of time before the dude catches up to Wiz Khalifa.

LeBron James' Lakers took plenty of Ls in the last 12 months ... but The King's bank account certainly didn't -- because the L.A. superstar raked in a reported $121 MILLION this past year!!

Forbes just released its annual "top-10 highest-paid athletes in the world" list ... and LBJ came in second place, just behind Lionel Messi, who the outlet reports garnered around $130 million.

Forbes says LBJ's cash flow was obviously inflated by his huge Lakers contract -- but his ventures with the new 'Space Jam' flick, his "The Shop: Uninterrupted" talk show, and other endorsement deals pushed him over the $100 million mark, which is quite the feat.

According to the outlet, James is only the 10th athlete ever to earn more than $100 mil in a 12-month span ... and his $121,000,000 figure marks the most ever earned by an NBA player in a year (he previously held the record with $96.5 mil).

Outside of Messi and Bron -- a whole bunch of soccer players and basketball players rounded out the top 10, with Cristiano Ronaldo (#3, $115 million), Neymar (#4, $95 million), Stephen Curry (#5, $92.8 million), Kevin Durant (#6, $92.1 million) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (#10, $80.9 million) making the cut.

The others in the top 10 ... Roger Federer (#7, $90.7 million), Canelo Alvarez (#8, $90 million), and Tom Brady (#9, $83.9 million).

What's interesting ... Conor McGregor for the first time in a long time didn't crack the top 10 -- but don't fret, Forbes says he was close, landing somewhere in the top 50.

As for the 10 dudes at the top of the heap ... Forbes says in total, they all earned a combined $992 million in the last year.

A new popular Snapchat filter depicts users as a crying, blubbering mess -- leading the Internet to believe it might be inspired by Amber Heard ... a theory that's total BS.

If you use the ghost app regularly, you've probably seen this feature by now -- it's an augmented reality lens you can throw onto your mug, changing your facial expression to one that's hilariously sad and emotive ... and it's got the kids hooked, as lots of these videos have now gone viral.

While it might be a hit ... it's also become the cause of a new rumor/joke -- namely, that the Snapchat heads must've used Amber's crying last week on the stand as the blueprint here.

Despite the rampant speculation, we're here to tell you otherwise ... a spokesperson for Snap tells TMZ there's simply no truth whatsoever, that the lens is inspired by Amber Heard and if you think about this logistically -- it just doesn't add up.

We're told that this specific filter -- which just dropped Friday -- has been in the works for 6 months ... so it was being developed well before Amber ever offered her tearful testimony. More importantly, Snapchat tells us they'd never play coy with a DV case.

Another tell that this has nothing to do with Amber ... the fact Snap dropped a filter that does the exact opposite not too long ago (big smiley face), so naturally -- sad face would follow.

Like we said, the crying face filter is all the rage since its debut last week -- it's already amassed upwards of 1.3 billion impressions on Snapchat, we're told -- and it was especially used in NFL circles, where some of the league's biggest stars were having fun shedding fake tears for their followers and friends ... and to be honest, it's pretty freakin' funny.

Ciara and Russell Wilson welcomed a new puppy to the family for Mother's Day, but PETA's taking them to task for buying the pup from a breeder, and not rescuing a pooch from a shelter instead.

PETA believes it's clear -- the couple's new dog, Bronco, is a purebred puppy -- and likely from a breeder where "mother dogs are often locked inside filthy cages and bred over and over until their bodies give out."

The animal rescue org also uses some Ciara song references in calling out Russ, telling us the QB made a "One, Two Step mistake by killing a shelter dog's chances of finding a home."

They continue, "PETA is calling on the couple to Level Up on kindness by adopting a companion for this pup instead of fueling the homeless-animal crisis."

As we've told you, Ci and Russ revealed they welcomed their new doggy to the fam over Mother's Day weekend, naming her Bronco after Russ' new team in Denver. Ciara called the puppy, "the sweetest surprise."

Ex-Lyon defender Marcelo is getting an offer that could salvage his career -- TMZ Sports has learned Dude Wipes wants to hook up the soccer star with a ton of products to make his situation stink a whole lot less!!

Of course, Marcelo made headlines earlier this week ... after reports explained he was demoted from the French club's first team for "constant farting" and laughing in the locker room.

The dudes at Dude Wipes tell us they heard about the 31-year-old's problem ... and immediately set aside a whole year's worth of wipes and spray that will hopefully save his teammates' nostrils -- and his own job.

In fact, we've obtained a pic of a letter from DW to the current Bordeaux center back ... which reads, "Dear Marcelo, we hope this helps."

Marcelo's contract with Lyon was eventually terminated in January ... but he can rest easy knowing DW has his ass covered in the future -- if he wants it.

Foot meet mouth.

Golf legend Greg Norman, when confronted about the heinous murder and dismemberment of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 ... said, "we've all made mistakes.".

Norman, a 2x majors winner who spent over 300 weeks as the world's number 1 ranked player in the '80s and '90s, is the CEO of LIV Golf, the new Saudi Arabian-backed golf organization.

GN met with reporters at media day this week and was asked about the killing of the Washington Post journalist at the Saudi Embassy in Istanbul, Turkey.

“Everybody has owned up to it, right? It has been spoken about, from what I’ve read, going on what you guys reported," the 67-year-old said.

"Take ownership, no matter what it is. Look, we’ve all made mistakes and you just want to learn from those mistakes and how you can correct them going forward.”

Of course, there was immediate backlash to the comments ... because that "mistake" was the brutal killing of an innocent man.

Norman also attempted to highlight the good things happening in the middle eastern country.

“This whole thing about Saudi Arabia and Khashoggi and human rights, talk about it, but also talk about the good the country is doing to change its culture," Norman said.

"There’s not many countries that can stand up and be proud of that. They can’t be proud of their past — there’s a lot of countries in this world that have a cross to bear too — but they are looking after the younger generation.”

Nikola Jokic will truly never forget winning the 2021-22 NBA MVP award ... because the Denver Nuggets surprised him with the trophy while he was out riding a horse in Serbia!!

The surreal moment was documented by the team on Wednesday ... showing Jokic was (seriously) out on a horse carriage in his home country when the NBA officially named him the league's most valuable player.

And, when Jokic returned from his jaunt ... he teared up at the sight of the trophy -- with Nuggets video revealing the 6-foot-11 center was very emotional outside of his horse stable.

In the clip, you can see Jokic wiped away tears and hugged all of his family and friends in attendance ... and even earned an "M-V-P" chant from some of them while he admired the trophy.

Jokic went on to do an interview with media members from inside the stables ... where a coughing dog actually interrupted one of his answers!!

Of course, Jokic is used to all the animal chaos ... he's owned horses for years and has talked repeatedly about how amazing the pets have been for him.

The MVP award, meanwhile, is the second one in as many years for the 27-year-old ... and, it was expected. After all, Jokic killed it this year, averaging 27.1 points per game, 13.8 rebounds and 7.9 assists.

F1 superstar Daniel Ricciardo is giving the Miami Grand Prix two thumbs up -- telling TMZ Sports he had an absolute blast in Florida over the weekend ... especially because he got to hang out with his bestie, Josh Allen!!

Of course, the biggest stars on the planet were in town for the inaugural race ... from David Beckham to Tom Brady and Michael Jordan.

Ricciardo says it was an awesome experience having so many celebs stop by ... telling us, "It was cool, it was pretty nuts, actually. It was pretty wild."

But, there was one VIP that had Daniel super pumped ... and that's the Buffalo Bills quarterback, who was a special guest for McLaren.

In case you didn't know, Ricciardo and Allen have randomly become really close over the years ... with Daniel -- a hardcore Bills fan -- instantly clicking with the signal-caller after meeting in Monaco in 2019.

We spoke with Ricciardo about hanging with #17 ... and you can tell by the look on his face, he's still giddy over the bro sesh.

As for the race, Ricciardo finished 13th ... but he definitely still enjoyed himself.

Ricciardo also talked about the hit Netflix series, "Drive To Survive" getting picked up for two more seasons ... and he says he's not sick of the cameras hanging around him just yet.

Michigan State fans are honoring Adreian Payne in a very Spartan way -- painting a tribute to the former hoops star on the famous boulder in the middle of the school's campus.

MSU supporters inked "RIP AP #5" on "The Rock" -- a monument on the university's campus since 1873 -- just two days after Payne was shot and killed following a dispute outside of a Florida home on Monday.

The fans also painted a message on the rock referencing Payne's touching friendship with 8-year-old cancer patient Lacey Holsworth.

"Adreian + Lacey ❤ together again," the note read.

There were also several bouquets of flowers left near the monument, too.

Payne played at MSU from 2010 to 2014 -- and helped lead the team to an Elite Eight appearance in his senior season.

Spartans head coach Tom Izzo -- along with many others in the basketball community -- mourned Payne's death on Monday, saying in a statement, "Adreian was loved by his teammates and coaches, who respected his development as a player and a person."

Bodybuilding star Calum von Moger is reportedly fighting for his life after jumping out of a window and causing severe injury to his spine, according to multiple outlets.

Generation Iron, a popular bodybuilding website, reported the Australian actor and renowned bodybuilder jumped out of a second-story window on May 6 ... which they say left him hospitalized in critical condition.

The outlet says von Moger is in the ICU ... where he's undergone surgery to treat his injuries.

The reasoning behind the alleged act hasn't been confirmed, but there are reports the 31-year-old has had a rough go of it lately ... even feuding with his parents.

But, just last week, von Moger -- a 3x World Fitness Federation 'Mr. Universe' winner -- posted on social media, vowing to be a better person.

"Everyone has a past. We've all been through hard times. I admit. I messed up bad many times," he wrote.

"But I don't care about dwelling on negative thoughts of the past. All I care about is that I learn from my mistakes and become a better person. I'm trying my hardest to stay strong but I have my days too."

In addition to Calum's success on the stage, he's also been on the silver screen. In 2018, he portrayed bodybuilding god Arnold Schwarzenegger in "Bigger."

CvM has also been in other movies ... appearing in Generation Iron 2.

He's also a social media star ... accumulating over 3 million followers on Instagram.

Calum's also part of one of the best TMZ Sports clips ever ... when he, along with our cameraman, Andrew Capucetti, took their shirts off and made the pecs dance.

Since news of the incident hit the internet, there has been an outpouring of love and support for von Moger.

StockX is firing back at Nike after being accused of selling fake kicks in a recent lawsuit ... saying the mega brand's claims are straight-up "baseless."

Nike and StockX have been going at it for months over a separate issue about an NFT release ... and on Tuesday, things heated up when the resale site was accused of having a bogus authentication process.

The Swoosh claims the company bought four pairs of "authenticated" pairs of Nike kicks that were actually phony.

"Those four pairs of counterfeit shoes were all purchased within a short two-month period on StockX's platform, all had affixed to them StockX's 'Verified Authentic' hangtag, and all came with a paper receipt from StockX in the shoe box stating that the condition of the shoes is '100% Authentic,'" Nike said in the docs.

Nike also says in the new filing that StockX is "knowingly deceiving consumers" with the fake Nike products and is hurting their brand's reputation.

StockX didn't take the accusation kindly and struck back on Wednesday ... saying Nike's claims are false and odd ... as they allege Swoosh executives buy and/or sell kicks off their site.

"We take customer protection extremely seriously, and we've invested millions to fight the proliferation of counterfeit products that virtually every global marketplace faces today," StockX said.

"Nike's latest filing is not only baseless but also is curious given that their own brand protection team has communicated confidence in our authentication program, and that hundreds of Nike employees -- including current senior executives -- use StockX to buy and sell products."

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. just did his best Bo Jackson impression ... completely -- and easily -- destroying his bat over his leg following a tough strikeout.

The Toronto superstar turned his personalized lumber into kindling in the fifth inning of the Blue Jays' game against the Yankees ... when he struck out on a Jameson Taillon cutter.

Guerrero Jr. was so mad at himself for waving at a pitch that ended up outside of the zone -- he slammed his bat to the ground ... and then snapped it over his right quad.

Video shows the thing didn't stand a chance against the wrath of the 6'2, 235-pound first baseman ... it splintered all over the batter's box.

If you're wondering, there's no MLB rule against snapping a bat in frustration ... so Vladdy won't face any penalty over the temper tantrum.

As for the game ... the Jays are currently down 5-2 -- but Vlad's gotten another bat and is scheduled to come up again shortly.

It's 2022, but COVID is still finding ways to affect baseball ... the MLB just announced the Cleveland Guardians' game against the White Sox on Wednesday has been postponed due to a virus outbreak.

In a statement released just hours before the first pitch was scheduled to go down at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, the league said the game will not go on because of "multiple" positive COVID tests in the Guardians' org.

This is the first time in the 2022 season that an MLB game has been postponed over coronavirus.

Unclear which players tested positive for the virus ... but the Guardians did reveal prior to the game's postponement that manager Terry Francona had contracted COVID.

LeBron James appears to be sending a message to his haters who think he isn't working hard this offseason ... by posting videos of him hitting the gym shirtless at 5 AM!

James threw up the clips on his Instagram on Wednesday morning ... showing that despite being on a few vacays the last several weeks, the Akron native is still getting after it, and is still completely jacked.

James captioned one of the videos at 5 AM by writing, "The perfect place to pull up on to relieve so stress! Time to work."

He then showed off his chiseled shoulders, chest and abs while getting in some kettlebell and cable work.

Of course, the timing of the posts is interesting ... LBJ's been under a lot of scrutiny lately from fans who believe he's been enjoying his offseason just a little too much after the Lakers' disappointing season.

Bron's been spotted vacationing in the Maldives with his wife, Savannah, as well as in Miami ... where he partied his face off for the F1's Grand Prix event.

So, were these vids a clap back at the haters?!?