TMZ Sports - Page 25

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.

Captain John J. Sax, son of Dodgers great Steve Sax, was one of five U.S. Marines killed when their aircraft went down during a training exercise in southern California on Wednesday.

He was 33 years old.

The cause of the accident, which occurred about 150 miles from San Diego, is still under investigation.

John, who served the corp. for over five years and was awarded The National Defense Service Medal, was identified as one of the occupants on board the aircraft at the time of the fatal crash. His father confirmed the tragic news in a statement on Saturday.

"It is with complete devastation that I announce that my precious son, Johnny was one of the five US Marines that perished on Wednesday, June 8, in the Osprey Military crash near San Diego," Steve said to CBSLA-TV.

"For those of you that knew Johnny, you saw his huge smile, bright light, his love for his family, the Marines, the joy of flying airplanes and defending our country! He was my hero and the best man I know, there was no better person to defend our country."

Steve, 62, won the National League Rookie of the Year award in 1982 and the Silver Slugger award in 1986.

Sax, who played eight seasons with the Dodgers (he also spent time with the Yankees, White Sox and A's), made five All Star teams. He also won two world championships with Los Angeles ... in 1981 and 1988.

Sax retired in 1994.

Major League Baseball released a statement on the passing of Steve's son ... saying, "Today we remember the lives of John Sax, the son of former All-Star Steve, and four fellow Marines of the Purple Fox family who perished in a tragic aircraft accident."

"With gratitude for their service to our country, we send our deepest condolences to their families and friends."

Jennifer Lopez was apparently not happy to share a stage with Shakira -- and now, their respective fan bases are having a debate ... who's the bigger superstar between the two?

The question was posed through a statement on Twitter, which has since taken off and gone viral -- with tons of people chiming in with their own takes. The OG opinion read, "Shakira was never bigger than J Lo EVER in her career 😂😂😂😂😂😂 and I love Shakira."

The reason this is being discussed is due to this new J Lo doc, 'Halftime,' which premiered at Tribeca ... where Jenny expresses serious sour grapes about her Super Bowl gig.

According to reports, the BTS film documents what went into the Halftime Show that both Jennifer and Shakira co-headlined in 2020 ... and Jen is quoted as saying, "This is the worst idea in the world to have two people do the Super Bowl ... worst idea in the world."

She's further described as having some flare-ups with Shakira herself -- who, during rehearsals, stressed the importance of weaving their songs into the performance, per NFL guidance ... to which Jennifer reportedly says, "If it was going to be a double-headliner, they should have given us 20 minutes. That's what they should've f***ing done."

Her manager, Benny Medina, hits the point home in the film -- saying, "It was an insult to think that you needed two Latinas to do the job that one artist historically has done."

And that's where Saturday's convo picks up ... with LOTS of people arguing that Shakira is actually the real global icon that Jen and her team seems to think she is -- at least that's what users on the bird app appear to be suggesting with some pretty fiery memes.

If you hop into the "J Lo" trend right now ... you'll see people coming out in full defense of Shakira, pointing out the accolades and record sales (globally) she has over Jen.

Some are even saying that the Jen isn't even all that famous here in the States for her music, but more so ... her beauty, body and/or significant others. Which is ... interesting.

At any rate, there's a bit of backlash toward Jennifer's brutal honesty over how she felt about being paired up with Shakira ... some are seeing it as Jen coming off as a bit entitled, and sort of a diva (in a bad way). Meanwhile, others are giving Jen props for keeping it real.

Cristiano Ronaldo is off the hook in his Vegas rape case -- the civil one, for now -- because a judge just threw out the lawsuit against him ... and kinda admonished the accuser too.

U.S. District Judge Jennifer Dorsey dismissed the case entirely Friday, but not because she found there was no merit in the accusations ... but because the lawyer repping Kathryn Mayorga (the alleged victim) was apparently leaking like a sieve throughout the proceedings.

The attorney who got a forceful berating is Leslie Mark Stovall, whom the judge accused of disseminating stolen documents in the case, containing sensitive info being shared by Ronaldo and his own lawyers ... which the judge said utterly tainted the case.

The order read in part, "I find that the procurement and continued use of these documents was bad faith, and simply disqualifying Stovall will not cure the prejudice to Ronaldo because the misappropriated documents and their confidential contents have been woven into the very fabric of Mayorga's claims." The judge added, "Harsh sanctions are merited."

While the suit won't move forward at this point, Mayorga can appeal to a higher court if she wants. It's unclear if they plan to do so -- neither Mayorga or Ronaldo have commented.

As we reported ... Mayorga claims Ronaldo raped her in 2009 after a night of partying. She claims he paid her hush money in the amount of $375k ... but went public a few years ago, launching a criminal probe against the soccer star ... and which was ultimately dropped.

Blac Chyna's already heated before she even steps into a boxing ring tonight ... thanks to the well-timed Kardashian-related jab fired off by her opponent, Alysia Magen.

The Celebrity Boxing combatants, who are fighting in a Saturday night PPV event, came face-to-face for the traditional weigh-in and trash talk moment. They didn't disappoint.

Chyna flexed for cameras as she stepped on the scale, and definitely looks like she's been training hard.

First, Chyna grabbed the mic and told Alysia, "I seen your little rap. It was trash" ... referring to an IG post Alysia made to hype the fight.

Chyna's right. It was trash. However, props to social media influencer Alysia for hitting BC with the best comeback possible.

She said, "Hey, I'm not Kim Kardashian. I'm going to knock you both out!" Chyna lunged at her, but a bunch of people stepped in to break it up.

For the record: Chyna weighed in at 140 lbs. ... one more than Alysia.

Alysia was taking a shot at Chyna and her trainer, Tamara Frapasella-Fortune ... who beat Kim in a 2010 charity boxing match.

Anyway, after Chyna lost the $100 million defamation trial against the whole Kardashian family ... Alysia knows how to hit her where it hurts. At least outside the ring.

Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler is one big step closer to becoming a reality ... 'cause "Iron" Mike tells TMZ Sports he'd absolutely love to fight the Irish superstar.

"Obviously, there's a lot of big fights that Conor could take. A lot of big names, and I'd love to be the other guy on the other side of the Octagon when that cage door closes, and then go out there and make something special," Chandler says.

Of course, earlier this week, Dana White told us he "really likes" the idea of pitting CM and MC against each other when Conor returns to fighting.

Chandler, 36-years-old, is the #5 UFC lightweight ... and is coming off a devastating knockout of future Hall of Famer Tony Ferguson.

33-year-old Conor, he hasn't fought since July ... when he gruesomely snapped his leg while fighting Dustin Poirier.

It's a fight that Chandler has wanted for some time ... but don't expect a whole lot of trash talk coming from the former Bellator champ -- Michael has a lot of respect for McGregor.

"We may never see another talent, another combat sport like Conor McGregor, and not just until when I retire, we're talking about the next couple of decades."

And, Michael isn't looking for an easy fight with Conor ... he wants him at his absolute best.

"I want him at his biggest, his baddest, his best, and his most dangerous."

As for the weight class where the fight would take place ... Chandler's open to moving up from 155 pounds, where both fighters now fight.

"Looking at him, he's looking big, he's looking beefy, he's looking strong, he's looking fast as he always is at 180 pounds, so let's do it at 170. If not, I can always make 155," Michael tells us.

Before we hung up with Mike, we asked him if he had a message for Conor. Here's what he said.

"Number one, I want the opportunity to compete against you. There's no ill-will. There's a ton of respect. The sport of mixed martial arts is a better place when Conor McGregor is a part of it and when you can put yourself in a position to be his opponent, to be his dance partner in the build-up, the lead up, the hype and then the actual contest, its a dream come true for mixed martial artist."

Big fan of Steph Curry and have half a mil layin' around? Good news -- a super rare SC rookie card has hit the auction block, and it could sell for over $500K!

TMZ Sports has learned ... the 2009 National Treasures autographed patch piece is up for sale at PWCC Marketplace -- and it's such a gem, bidding is already up over $400,000.

The front of the card has a photo of a young Steph in his road Warriors jersey -- and features a cutout of his threads. It also has Curry's autograph in bold, blue ink.

On the back, Curry's stats are displayed ... as well as a nod to one of his most famous triple-doubles.

Officials at PWCC tell us the card is ultra hot right now because it's super rare (it's numbered to just 99) and because Curry -- in addition to already being one of the greatest point guards ever -- is in yet another NBA Finals.

With a series win over the Celtics, Curry would be a four-time champion -- putting him in seriously rare air.

There's absolutely no way Mike Scioscia returns to manage the Angels following Joe Maddon's firing ... the former Halos coach tells TMZ Sports he's officially done with that part of his life.

The 63-year-old, who coached L.A. from 2000 to 2018 -- winning one World Series -- told us out at LAX that even though his ex-team is looking for another manager after canning Maddon this week, he won't be a candidate.

"No, man," he said with a laugh. "No, I'm relaxing now. I'm retired."

Scioscia is still hanging around the game -- he coached the U.S. Olympics team to a silver medal in Tokyo last year -- and he's slated to be a manager for one of the teams in the All-Star Futures Game next month.

He made it clear, though, dabbling here and there on the end of the dugout bench is as far as he'll go these days.

"I've done my time," he said. "I loved it. But now, I'm in a little different scenario."