TMZ Sports - Page 24

Sue Bird -- a 4-time WNBA champion and star guard for the Seattle Storm -- says she's retiring ... announcing Thursday she's hanging up her sneakers for good at the end of this season.

"I’ve decided this will be my final year," said Bird, who shared a photo of her hoopin' as a youngster.

"I have loved every single minute, and still do, so gonna play my last year, just like this little girl played her first."

The 41-year-old, who was a 2-time NCAA champion at UConn, was picked #1 overall back in 2002 ... and has played every year since for the Storm.

In her 19 years in Seattle, she piled up 12 All-Star selections ... and became the WNBA's all-time assists leader as well as the league's all-time leader in starts.

Her retirement will mark truly the end of one of the greatest basketball careers ever -- as Bird is one of only six players ever to win an NCAA championship, a WNBA championship, and an Olympic gold medal.

Jerry Jones is ripping Dallas mayor Eric Johnson for suggesting the city needs a new NFL team -- the L.A. Chargers -- saying it'd have a huge negative effect on the beloved Cowboys.

The 79-year-old billionaire -- who's owned the Cowboys since buying the team in 1989 -- thinks the mayor's suggestion isn't only a bad one -- but also misinformed.

"Well, I like the mayor," Jones told The Dallas Morning News. "I like him personally, but he doesn’t have the depth. He doesn’t have the knowledge that others have regarding how unique Dallas is and how we enjoy the interest in the Cowboys."

"He wouldn’t want to water that down as it relates to Dallas if he knew as much, and has spent as much time in sports as I have," he added.

Jerry is responding to a comment recently made by Johnson ... who suggested the Chargers -- currently embroiled in a nasty legal battle for control of the team -- should move to Dallas.

"Southern Dallas is the fresh start the @Chargers need! Several sites, including @cottonbowlstad and Hensley Field, would be ideal locations for a state of the art practice facility and world headquarters or stadium," Mayor Johnson wrote.

"We’re ready for the @NFL in  @CityOfDallas! @nflcommish"

"You can be rest assured that you would not have the NFL supporting another team because of the kind of value that the game and the NFL receives of having [the] Dallas Cowboys as one of its marquee teams and again," Jones said.

He continued ... "Logic tells you [the NFL] wouldn’t want to water that down."

FYI, Forbes estimates the Cowboys worth at $6.5 billion, making them the NFL's highest-valued team. But, it might be worth even more. JJ recently said he could sell the team for $10 billion, if he wished.

The mayor -- who claims to be a diehard Cowboys fan -- responded to Jones saying, "I like Jerry [Jones] a lot, and he has done a great job turning my beloved Cowboys into the most valuable sports franchise on the planet."

"No team will ever dethrone the Cowboys -- but that's not the point. This region loves football and could certainly support a second team. And as a mayor, my job is to grow my city's economy."

Already holding the title of most-followed golfer on social media, Paige Spiranac just added another impressive item to her resume -- Maxim's Sexiest Woman Alive.

The mag just announced the honor ... officially crowning the golf star and influencer hottest on the planet in its latest "Hot 100" edition on Thursday.

And, Paige was fired up to hold the title ... saying in a post on her Instagram, "I am so honored by being named the sexiest woman alive by @maximmag this year!"

"When I got the call," she added, "I kept asking them, 'are you sure?' because I was truly in disbelief."

Paige gained fame several years ago after winning a golf tournament, when fans noticed her swing -- and her looks.

Soon after, Paige became a social media star ... and now has more followers on IG than Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson!!

Paige is no longer competing as a pro golfer -- she spends most of her time working on business adventures and her podcast -- but, don't it get it twisted, she's still got plenty of game on the course.

You'll recall, she made a hole-in-one last year in front of Gary Player!!!

Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis is making an astonishing donation to help the Uvalde community following the tragic shooting that left 21 dead ... pledging $1 million to increase security in the school district.

The Uvalde Leader-News reported the gesture on Thursday ... saying Davis decided to step in and help out after conversations with former Raiders star Vann McElroy, who grew up and currently lives in Uvalde, Texas.

Davis presented the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District with the check via a Zoom call this week ... saying, "We are proud to be part of something to make the children in these schools safer."

"Two weeks ago, I had a conversation with Vann. He told me about the hurt his hometown was going through."

"He said that Uvalde was in pain and needed help," Davis added. "I asked him what we would do to help ease that pain."

The donation will go toward installing impenetrable doors, security cameras inside and outside, as well as building an unscalable fence outside.

The gesture comes amid criticism of local law enforcement's response to the tragedy ... as well as the shooter's access to the school.

Patrick Mahomes' 1-year-old daughter has quarterback genes in her blood ... and, clearly, the youngster has some hoops ones as well -- 'cause she's already dunking!!

Brittany Mahomes shared video of baby Sterling accomplishing the feat on Thursday morning -- and it's adorable (and impressive!).

In the clip, you can see Sterling walk right up to the rim, and throw it down with ease. Sterling walked off after scoring the basket, but after Brittany encouraged her to shoot it again ... Sterling put home another rim-rattler!

Mom loved it -- cheering on Sterling the entire time ... and even tagging Patrick so Dad knew his baby's athleticism is coming in nicely.

Sterling should have a partner to throw her some lobs in the very near future ... Patrick and Brittany just announced this month the two are expecting another child soon.

Drake is a basketball champion and J. Cole is a pro hooper -- but none of that matters to Lil Durk because he "knows" he's the best hip hop baller out there.

We checked in with Durkio as he was checking outta LAX to get his thoughts on Drake's recent trophy win ... in his own basketball league, mind you.

Seems like an obvious conflict of interest, but Durk says he'd do the same thing if he had his own court and b-ball league.

He also perked up with J. Cole's recent stint in the Canadian Elite Basketball League ... especially while claiming he'd put Cole on a poster with a dunk!!!

He's got backup for that smack talk, though -- remember, LeBron James recently went on record putting Durk's b-ball skills over every rapper out there and Durk is clearly, and proudly, wearing that title on his sleeve.

Khloe Kardashian has clearly had enough of Tristan Thompson and his cheating ways, giving a behind-the-scenes look at her reaction after she'd learned he got another woman pregnant.

Khloe didn't hold back on Thursday's season finale of "The Kardashians" during a chat with sister, Kim Kardashian, Khloe said of TT, "Wow, you really f***** up your life."

During the heart-to-heart, Kim tells Khloe, "If that were me and I was really trying to redeem myself and I was trying to be a better person, I would definitely just keep my d*** in my pants."

Khloe chimes in saying, "You would think. You either wear a condom, get a vasectomy, or you don't f*** random people that you meet in other states. It's not rocket science".

Of course, we know the random person turned out to be personal trainer Maralee Nichols, and Tristan ended up being the father of her son. As you know, Tristan filed legal docs admitting to having sex with her almost immediately after the 30th birthday party Khloe threw for him.

As we've reported, TT caught the full wrath of the Kardashian sisters, including Kylie who called him "the worst person on the planet", but clearly Khloe had a few words to say too.

Russell Wilson and Ciara have only been in Denver for a couple months, but they've already clearly adopted the city's hockey team ... going crazy for the Avs after their overtime win Wednesday night!

The couple hit up Ball Arena with their kids for a family date night ... and they immersed themselves in the Stanley Cup Finals action quickly.

Russ, Ciara, Future Zahir, Sienna and baby Win were all spotted cheering their faces off as the Avalanche took on the Lightning in Game 1 of the series.

After every goal, the Wilsons -- all decked out in Avalanche jerseys -- waved towels and screamed ... and during breaks, Mom and Dad enjoyed the adorableness of their kids taking in the sights and sounds (and popcorn!) at the arena.

Russ and Ciara then lost their minds for a bit after Andre Burakovsky buried a goal in the first few minutes of OT to give the Avs a 1-0 series lead ... cheering with the packed house wildly.

It's all a good sign for Broncos fans ... because it's clear the Wilsons have made the move from Seattle seamlessly.

Kenny "The Jet" Smith says Shaquille O'Neal had every right to clap back at a hater trying to diminish his success ... telling TMZ Sports no superstar has won a championship on their own.

As we previously reported, Diesel went OFF on a Twitter user for claiming he wouldn't have won his 3 rings with the Lakers without Kobe Bryant ... saying, "no person can win without another star big dummy."

We spoke with Smith about Shaq's issue with the heckler ... and he says anyone who knows hoop understands winning a ring isn't a one-man gig.

Worth mentioning -- Shaq brought Kenny into the debate with his rebuttal to the hater ... saying Smith wouldn't have won a championship without Hakeem Olajuwon.

Smith backs up the Big Aristotle ... saying the Hall of Famer is just spitting facts. And if the argument were about Kobe, it would be the same result -- no one wins without a stellar supporting cast.

WWE's board is investigating an alleged multi-million "hush pact" payment made by Vince McMahon to a former employee after the pair allegedly had an affair, according to a new report by The Wall Street Journal.

WSJ claims World Wrestling Entertainment's 12-member board -- where Vince sits as the chair -- is investigating the circumstances surrounding the alleged affair and subsequent payment.

FYI, WWE is a publicly-traded company on the NYSE. The company's stock closed up nearly 5% on Wednesday, despite the paper's story going public earlier today. Even though they're a public company, Vince holds immense power within the top wrestling promotion.

In January 2022, McMahon, the CEO and Chairman of WWE, allegedly agreed to pay a former employee with whom he had an affair $3 million total ... over the course of 5 years.

The woman -- who was allegedly hired as a paralegal in 2019 -- says McMahon paid $1 mil up front ... and the remaining $2 million was to be spread out over a 5 year period.

Vince has been married to his wife Linda since 1966.

What's interesting is the WWE board is partially made up of Vince and his family.

His daughter Stephanie McMahon -- who recently stepped away from the company to spend time with her fam -- and her husband Triple H (Paul Levesque), as well as WWE President Nick Khan, are all on the board.

The 8 other members have hired a New York City law firm to investigate the situation with VM and the ex-employee.

According to the Journal, the preliminary investigation shows McMahon made a payment using "personal funds."

Less than one day before Jeff Hardy was accused of drunkenly driving his car through Florida highways ... the AEW star took a swig from a cup and made a joke that whiskey was "my best friend and my worst enemy."

The 44-year-old wrestler was filmed on Sunday evening making the comment -- some 12 hours or so before cops say he was driving a white Dodge Charger while severely intoxicated in Volusia County.

The video shows Hardy in Orlando for a wrestling convention (one in which his brother, Matt Hardy, also attended) ... singing for several people inside what appeared to be a conference room.

Jeff, discussing lyrics to a song, took a big sip of a drink, turned to the crowd and said, "Whiskey is my best friend and my worst enemy!"

The footage shows he then smiled, while people in the audience chuckled and shouted.

As we reported, Jeff was later arrested at around 9 AM on Monday morning by the Florida Highway Patrol for DUI.

During the stop, officers say he reeked of booze, could hardly stand during questioning, and admitted to drinking before getting behind the wheel. They added that two breathalyzer tests revealed he had a BAC of .291 and .294.

Hardy was charged with felony DUI and two other misdemeanors. He's due in court for a hearing on the matter in July.

Josh Allen's teammate just revealed the Bills superstar is obsessed with cracking "deez nuts" jokes ... saying the QB gets Buffalo rookies with the quip on a regular basis!!

Tight end Dawson Knox explained Allen's infatuation with the joke to a group of reporters on Wednesday ... saying dudes have to walk on thin ice in the locker room whenever Allen asks them a question.

"Every day is a new 'deez nuts' joke," Knox said. "You can never be comfortable around him because anytime he comes up and asks you a question, you just have to walk away."

Knox explained the veterans have become more savvy to it ... but Bills rookies are sitting ducks!

"That's why he loves having the rookies 'cause they have no idea," Knox said. "Anybody new in the locker room."

Knox said it's all fun and games, though ... and even added that it's so generally so humorous, most of the team joins in on it "by the end of the day."

"That's a little peek into his personality," Knox said.

Saints star Marcus Davenport will now only have about 9.5 fingers available to take down opposing ball carriers this year ... he just revealed he had to have the tip of his pinky amputated this offseason.

The New Orleans pass rusher told a throng of reporters on Wednesday following a Saints workout that he had to lose part of the digit after his finger developed an infection from a surgery he had back in 2021.

Davenport had to have a plate placed into the finger that year after injuring it previously ... but the 25-year-old said when the plate broke this offseason, it caused an infection that he got rid of by simply amputating the top of his left pinky.

Davenport said he expects the amputation to have no impact on his ability to play football going forward.

The bad news for Davenport about it all? Losing the body part wasn't even the worst part of his offseason -- the former first-round pick said he also had to have shoulder surgery from an unrelated injury too.

George Washington University is bailing on its nickname ... saying Wednesday it's set to retire its "Colonials" moniker -- in wake of inclusivity concerns.

In announcing the decision Wednesday, school officials said they made the choice after members of its campus and its community repeatedly expressed displeasure over the "Colonials" name for years.

According to a special committee the university tasked with analyzing the moniker, opponents of the name said that the term "Colonial" is so closely associated with "people who oppressed Native Americans and owned slaves" that it should be changed.

In a lengthy statement Wednesday, school officials said they agreed it was time for an adjustment.

"Today," school official Christopher Alan Bracey said, "the moniker no longer does the work that a moniker should -- namely, unifying the campus behind our academic and athletic institutional aspirations."

The school said "Colonials" -- a moniker the university initially adopted back in 1926 -- will remain the university's nickname until a new one is conceived.

It's expected that, following "a broad university community engagement process," the new name will be announced by the 2023-24 academic year.

What's interesting ... a school official tells TMZ Sports that despite a new nickname, the school is keeping "George" as its mascot.

"The decision to change the Colonials moniker was not taken lightly, and both the Board and Special Committee determined a new moniker will help unify the university community and serve as a source of pride," the school said in its statement.

Sad news ... South Korean hockey player Cho Min-ho -- who scored the first-ever goal for the country's Olympic team in 2018 -- has passed away after battling cancer.

He was only 35.

The International Ice Hockey Federation confirmed Min-Ho's passing in a statement on Wednesday -- saying the forward died at a Seoul hospital after an eight-month battle with lung cancer.

"The Korean ice hockey family will remember him not only as a great player," IIHF officials said, "but also as a great human and leader on and off the ice."

Min-ho started playing for South Korea's national team in 2008 -- and became a hero during the PyeongChang Olympics.

Within the first few minutes of the team's preliminary round game against the Czech Republic, Min-ho scored ... making him the first-ever Korean player to hit the back of the net in Olympic men's ice hockey history.

In total, Min-ho competed in 11 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship tournaments ... and was named the team captain for the South Korean national team at the Final Olympic Qualification for the 2022 Olympics in 2021.

Drake brought his IG moniker "Champagne Papi" to life on Tuesday -- winning a title in the Sanctuary Basketball League -- and he celebrated by sprayin' bubbly everywhere!!

The victorious moment was all caught on video -- when his NTIG teammate hit the game-winning shot in the SBL title game right on Drake's basketball court in his Toronto mansion.

Drizzy and his squad went nuts after securing the dub ... cueing up the champagne showers.

And, Drake paid homage to the late Kobe Bryant for his game strategy ... saying he channeled his inner Mamba Mentality.

"I did what Kobe did in Game 7 against the Celtics," Drake said, "Shots not falling, you play f*****g defense!"

BTW, Drake launched the SBL league last year ... and now is a 2-time champ, after his team again won the 'ship.