TMZ Sports - Page 27

Russell Wilson had a crowd of new grads and their families in stitches over the weekend ... after he thanked them and other officials for finally not introducing him as "Ciara's husband."

Russ made the joke as he was delivering the commencement address for the 2022 Dartmouth College graduating class in New Hampshire on Sunday ... right after he was referred to as a Super Bowl champ and NFL star.

"Thank you very much for that introduction," Russ said. "Usually I just get introduced as 'Ciara’s husband,' so that was cool."

Russ took the quip even further ... adding, "And, let me start by answering the question that is on so many of your minds: Yes, she’s here too."

Russ' speech was captured on video ... and Ciara was spotted by cameras sitting in attendance and laughing big at the witty remarks.

"Yeah," he said. "Level up, level up."

Russ was tapped to give the speech 45 years after his father, Harry Wilson, graduated from the school ... and, following the opening funnies, Russ offered plenty of kind words about the university and what it did for his father and his family.

The Denver Broncos QB also spoke to the graduates about the impact his father had on his life following his time at Dartmouth ... and challenged them to reflect on what they want their legacies to look like after leaving the school as well.

Former tennis star Jelena Dokic just revealed she nearly took her own life in April ... saying she was about to jump off the balcony of a high-rise balcony -- but thankfully managed to get off and seek help.

"I almost jumped off my 26th-floor balcony and took my own life," Dokic said in an emotional Instagram post on Monday.

"Will never forget the day."

The Australian tennis player -- who won 6 WTA single titles -- says she's been struggling for the past six months so badly that she wanted to take her own life.

"It’s been constant crying everywhere," Dokic said, "From hiding in the bathroom when at work to wipe away my tears so that nobody sees it to the unstoppable crying at home within my four walls has been unbearable."

"Such a vicious cycle in my head. The result: almost jumping off my 26th-floor balcony on April 28th."

But, she managed to seek professional help ... and hopes this message will encourage others who are contemplating suicide to get help as well.

"Getting professional help saved my life," the 39-year-old said.

"I am writing this because I know I am not the only one struggling. Just know that you are not alone."

Dokic says she's in the process of getting better and "will be back stronger than ever."

FYI, Dokic's highest ranking in tennis was no. 4 in August 2002 -- and she had the biggest upset win in 1999 when she beat No. 1 ranked Martina Hingis when she was only 16.

To this day, it's the only match where the No.1 ranked player lost a qualifier at Wimbledon.

The Game felt some type of way after he was excluded from the Super Bowl halftime show in his city ... the L.A. rapper saying he was "hurt" Dr. Dre didn't hit him up to perform.

Super Bowl LVI was basically L.A.-themed -- going down at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA -- with the Rams repping the NFC. Most Los Angeles of all, the halftime performers ... including L.A. rappers Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Kendrick Lamar.

But, The Game -- an L.A. native who always reps for the city -- was not included in the lineup ... something the 46-year-old rapper said wasn't right while appearing on the "I Am Athlete" podcast.

"The f****** Rams was in the Super Bowl, bro!" The Game said, "L.A., L.A., L.A. all around the Super Bowl and I don't get the call. I was hurt by that.”

"Dre should've called and said why. I would've understand that 'cause I talk to Dre. I talk to Dre often and I just know if I was Dre and he was Game, then he woulda been up there. That's just it. It's L.A. and I am L.A. I'm in the streets."

What made Game even more upset was the fact that Eminem and 50 Cent got to perform ... when they're not even born and raised L.A. rappers.

"Snoop is icon. Dre is icon. Em is an icon, but Em is not from L.A. 50 is not from L.A," Game said.

"I’m not taking away from the fact that they were on the Super Bowl, but L.A. n***** wouldn’t have been in the Detroit Super Bowl or New York Super Bowl. It just wouldn’t have happened."

Even though Game's feelings were hurt, he gets why he didn't get the call -- he's "not a safe artist."

"You don't know what Game gon' do when he get up there," Game said, "They went with the safe artists."

Joe Maddon chopped his hair into a mohawk in an effort to try and break the Angels' losing skid earlier this month -- but his team never got to see it ... because he was fired before he could show it off.

ESPN's Tim Kurkjian reported the somber story as part of a bigger piece on the Angels that aired before L.A.'s game against the New York Mets on Sunday night.

In the report, Kurkjian said the 68-year-old manager got the new 'do following the Halos' 12th straight loss on June 6 ... in an effort to try to bring better juju to his floundering squad.

The problem? Angels brass fired him unexpectedly -- and none of his team could see it.

Maddon had been hired by the Angels prior to the 2020 season. He piled up a 130-148 record in his two-plus seasons with the team.

Shaquille O'Neal just eviscerated a hoops fan for trying to discredit his success with the Lakers ... telling the guy to "enjoy my stats and STF up."

The whole interaction started after the Legion Hoops Twitter account posted Diesel's insane stat lines from the NBA Finals during the Lakers' 3-peat from 2000-2002 ... which was meant to praise the big man's dominance.

Naturally, one user had to provide his unwarranted take on the topic ... tweeting out, "Even with all of this Shaq doesn’t win those rings without Kobe."

The jab got Shaq's attention ... and pissed him off so much, he clapped back with a fierce response.

"No person can win without another star big dummy," he said over the weekend. "How many would Magic (Johnson) have without Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar)? How many would Kenny Smith have without Hakeem Olajuwon?"

"WTF u talking about I hate dumb ass people," the Hall of Famer added. "Enjoy my stats and stf up."

The heckler has yet to respond to Shaq directly, but has been forced to defend his take with those backing O'Neal up.

A seventh member of Haiti's Special Olympics delegation is now missing in Florida.

Just days after six Haitians -- who were in town to participate in a soccer competition at the 2022 Special Olympics Games -- disappeared in the Kissimmee area, the Osceola County Sheriff's Office announced that 25-year-old Louis Jacques Wilguens has vanished as well.

In a statement, the sheriff's office said Wilguens was last seen getting off a bus at Disney's All-Star Sports Resort in Lake Buena Vista on Saturday at around 4:30 PM.

Police say Wilguens was wearing blue jeans and a Special Olympics shirt with "Haiti" written on it, and had been scheduled to fly back to Haiti on Sunday, but apparently didn't make the flight.

Police are urging anyone who sees Wilguens to "check his well-being" and immediately get in touch with authorities.

Last week, police said the other 6 Haitians, whose ages range from 18-32, had disappeared after turning in their room keys and leaving behind their personal items. Police said at the time they did not suspect foul play.

The Sheriff's Office said in a statement they had been in communication with Walt Disney World and the Special Olympics over the disappearances.

A USFL wide receiver was hit so hard on the field during a game on Sunday, his tooth shattered inside of his mouth -- forcing him to grossly spit it out on the sidelines.

The dentist's worst nightmare went down in the third quarter of the Pittsburgh Maulers' game against the Philadelphia Stars in Alabama ... when Isiah Hennie caught a pass and turned up the sidelines looking for a big play.

After about 10 yards, though, Stars defensive back Cody Brown drilled him in the jaw with his helmet -- sending the Maulers wideout crashing to the ground.

The collision was violent -- and, in fact, it was such a forceful blow, cameras caught Hennie spitting out what appeared to be multiple teeth from his mouth just seconds later.

Hennie, who was mic'ed up for the game, later revealed it was just one tooth that had broken into several pieces from the collision.

"I lost one," he told teammates and staffers. "It was just a wisdom tooth, though ... It's, like, coming out in pieces."

Adding insult to injury, Hennie's Maulers fell 17-15 in the game.

But, Hennie did say he was fine -- and actually went on to catch another pass later in the game.

It didn't take long for Prince Harry to get back on the polo field after his trip to the U.K., but things didn't go so smoothly ... cuz he ended up on the ground.

The Duke of Sussex competed in a match at Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club over the weekend while friends Katharine McPhee and David Foster looked on. PH took a tumble at one point, but apparently, it wasn't so bad, as he chatted up David and Katharine on the sideline just minutes later.

As you know, Harry's trip to the polo field comes shortly after he, Meghan Markle and their children flew to Britain for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. Meghan and Harry ended up leaving before the final Jubilee events, but the family divide was pretty evident the whole time.

It's reported Prince William and Kate didn't attend a first birthday party for Harry and Meghan's daughter, Lilibet. Queen Elizabeth got some facetime with her great-granddaughter for the first time, but didn't allow photos of the meeting.

Bills legend Bruce Smith tells TMZ Sports he played a role in bringing Von Miller to his former team ... saying he personally told Buffalo coaches and execs the ex-Rams star is exactly what they need to get to a Super Bowl.

Smith made the revelation in a conversation with us this week ... explaining that prior to Miller's Bills signing this offseason, Smith had a conversation with head coach Sean McDermott and GM Brandon Beane to convince them to go after Miller.

"I told them," Smith said, "I said, 'Look, this is the guy we need rushing the quarterback.'"

Smith said in previous convos he's had with McDermott, he's stressed the importance of having a game-wrecking pass rusher on the team ... and explained that when Miller became available, he believed the 33-year-old was the perfect guy for that role.

"His body of work speaks for itself," Smith said. "And that's what you have to focus on."

Obviously, McDermott and Beane listened to Smith -- because, after all, the guy is the NFL's all-time sacks leader -- and ended up signing Miller to a six-year contract.

Smith said the move now pushes Buffalo's defense to a whole 'nother level ... and makes them a big-time contender for this season's Lombardi Trophy.

President Biden is taking it on the chin, courtesy of Jake Paul ... who's making it very clear that he's not happy with how the economy is doing, or where the country's headed.

The YouTuber-turned-boxer tweeted out a direct message aimed at JB this weekend, in which he slammed POTUS for the job he's done thus far ... ticking off a list of triumphs under Biden's watch, but doing so with the utmost sarcasm.

Jake wrote out a handful of Biden's "accomplishments," including "1. Highest gas prices 2. Worst inflation 3. Plummeting crypto prices," plus ... "4. Highest rent prices ever."

He even took a personal shot, adding ... "5. Created new incomprehensible language." Jake wasn't done -- he sent a post-script to Biden voters as well. Jake says, "If you’re reading this and voted for Biden and you still don’t regret it then you are the American problem."

Interesting that Jake sees the ongoing crypto crash as a blemish on Joe's record -- ya gotta figure he's got money tied up in it, and most everything's been on a downward trend for months.

Alex Rodriguez has turned a new page in his love life after Jennifer Lopez -- although, he seems to be revisiting a similar chapter when it comes to vacations ... aka, Italia.

The Yankee great and ESPN broadcaster was recently out with girlfriend Kathryne Padgett in European waters, enjoying the island of Capri and one of its nightclubs called Taverna Anema e Core ... which looks like a swinging hot spot with live music and dancing.

That's exactly what A-Rod and Kat were doing during one of their date nights ... KP, especially, led the charge with a trusty old tambourine that she was shaking and tapping.

Alex got some rattles in too, and eventually ... they shared a kiss. Looks like a pretty sweet, romantic getaway that they're on. And while AR looks quite happy in his new relationship, we can't help but notice a bit of similarity here to what he once shared with J Lo.

Of course, we're talking about Summer 2018, when he and his then-GF were also sailing all over the Amalfi Coast. Granted, that trip was more fitness-geared than this one seems to be.

While things looked pretty magical at the time -- from the outside looking in -- we now know Jen and Alex weren't that great of a fit ... evidenced in her moving on to Ben Affleck, and once again getting engaged. Meanwhile, A-Rod appears quite happy with his new boo.

Blac Chyna says she got screwed again -- this time by the judges in her Celebrity Boxing Match -- which ended in a draw, despite the fact she got put on her ass.

Chyna's ring showdown with fitness model Alysia Magen wasn't the greatest display of the sweet science -- but both women threw lots of punches -- and while BC might argue this, Alysia got in the best single shot.

There was only one knockdown, and that was Alysia putting Blac Chyna on her ass ... but she was able to get back up.

When the Saturday night PPV event was over the judges called it a tie.

Neither "fighter" was thrilled with that outcome ... in fact, they both called it "bulls**t," and neither sounded like they were down for a rematch. Let's be honest, even fans don't want that.

Chyna's only response after the judge's decision was, "Maybe they should check the scores again!"

There was plenty of trash talk before the bell ... as we reported, Chyna lunged at her opponent during the weigh-in after Alysia fired off the perfect Kardashian-themed diss.

While Blac Chyna's not happy with the draw, it's a better ending than her $100 million defamation suit against the Kardashians.

That one was a TKO decision from the jury ... so, maybe ties aren't so bad, Chyna.

Even though Ryan Garcia's 3-year-old daughter, Rylie, has boxing in her DNA, the chances of her becoming a pugilist in the future are zero to none ... according to the baby's mother, Catherine Gamez, who tells TMZ Sports the fighter doesn't want it to happen.

"I don't think her dad will let her," Gamez said. "No, no."

Apparently, there's no harm in Rylie watching the sport, though ... Gamez tells us Garcia is allowing the youngster to at least catch his fights in person.

In fact, Gamez -- who split with Garcia following Rylie's birth in 2019 -- said Rylie had ringside seats at her dad's most recent bout in April.

"She attended her first boxing match actually at his last fight in Texas," Gamez said. "We planned it, and she had a lot of fun."

Gamez says Rylie will likely be at her dad's next match too -- when the 22-0 lightweight boxer takes on Javier Fortuna (37-3) on July 16 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

It looks like Iman Shumpert and Teyana Taylor are about to be officially done with the West Coast ... 'cause TMZ has learned, they sold their L.A. area house.

Property records show they accepted an offer for their house back in April, and real estate sources tell TMZ ...  they'll be closing next week, unloading it for $4 million.

Whoever scooped up the Studio City pad is getting all the bells and whistles ... including a pool, movie theater and even a waterfall. Oh, and there's a custom dog house, just in case they're any kinda dog-lover.

The master bedroom also comes with a massive walk-in closet and a meditation balcony that overlooks the serene yard.

The place is a real beaut, but we're told Teyana and Iman decided to sell it because they're spending most of their time on the East Coast these days.

And, from the looks of it ... they've been toying with the idea for a while.

The couple actually bought the home back in 2018 for a little under $3 mil, listed it for rent and tried to sell it 2 years later. They ended up taking it off the market, before relisting back in April.

Two months after he went to battle with Khamzat Chimaev, Gilbert Burns is ready to return to the Octagon ... and he knows who he wants to face -- Jorge Masvidal!

TMZ Sports talked to 35-year-old Burns -- who lost a (somewhat controversial) unanimous decision to Borz at UFC 273 on April 9 -- and Gilbert says he's dying to get back in the cage.

"It's been too much [time] already. I kind of start itching a little bit to be back in there and then we kind of see the possibilities and I think Jorge Masvidal is one of the possibilities and he's already shown a lot of interest and I got nothing but respect for the guy but its competitive feeling."

Burns says a scrap with Masvidal just makes sense ... he's ranked and very popular.

"I think Jorge Masvidal, he's a big name, he's the name that I'm looking forward to and I think we'll put on a show. UFC is interested, he's interested, I am. I think he got a little injury so we wait for him to get a little bit more recovery and we'll move forward."

Jorge's definitely interested, too.

In fact, when Durinho recently Tweeted a photo of Masvidal, Jorge responded with "Sounds good to me. Let's see."

We asked Burns how the fight with Gamebred -- who's on a three-fight losing streak would look ... and let's just say he's pretty confident he'll get the win.

"I'm gonna finish it. I don't care -- whatever it takes."

"I like that feeling that I had in the last fight like man, the guy's tough, the guy's coming to finish, the guy has all the hype and I think Masvidal kind of gonna bring a little bit of the same," GB says, adding, "That's the fight that I want, you know, a guy that I know is a BMF guy, coming hungry."

Masvidal is coming off three consecutive losses -- albeit against the top two ranked fighters in the division.

Colby Covington beat Jorge at UFC 272 in March 2022. Kamaru Usman twice defeated Masvidal ... at UFC 251 (July 2020) and UFC 261 (April 2021).

Despite the recent losses, JM has some great wins. He's beaten Nate Diaz, Ben Askren, and Darren Till, amongst many more.

Get this ... Burns, a jiujitsu black belt, says he's willing to agree to no takedowns in the fight ... so, strictly stand up, which is Masvidal's strength.

In closing, we asked Gilbert if he had a message for Jorge.

"Florida makes a lot of sense. I live here, he lives here. I do believe we can sell out any arena here and it's gonna be a show bro. I signed the dotted line. No takedowns. We gonna go to war."

John Cena made one kid's fantasy into a real-life storybook ending -- showing up to meet a boy who was told his family was fleeing Ukraine ... just to meet the wrestling superstar.

WWE released this video earlier in the week, showing JC pop up in Europe to meet Misha Rohozhyn -- a teenager with Down Syndrome, who was forced to escape his native city of Mariupol in recent months because of the Russian attack.

The story goes ... Misha, who's non-verbal, was confused and distressed about leaving home -- as he didn't quite understand what was happening. So, his mom told him a story to help.

She convinced her son that they had to leave so that they could go have a face-to-face with Cena ... who is Misha's hero. The kid has a ton of attire bearing John's face, so upon hearing this ... he was able to be convinced to embark on the dangerous journey.

As sweet of a sentiment is on its own, it gets even better ... because John was apparently made aware of this teen's dream, and ventured over to Amsterdam -- where they'd successfully fled to -- and closed the loop on what had been promised. Totally. Awesome.

The video itself tells the full story, so we'll let John speak for himself on why he did this and what exactly it means for him ... but more importantly, for Misha.

Looks like this meetup was everything the teen could hope for and then some. Once again, John proves why he's a class act -- especially when it comes to his work with children.