TMZ Sports - Page 50

Kamaru Usman is laser-focused on his upcoming match with Leon Edwards ... but the UFC superstar admits to TMZ Sports he's still hoping for a fight with Canelo Alvarez down the road.

The welterweight champion said the tilt would be "a spectacle" -- and predicted it'd be one of the most anticipated events in combat sports history.

"It's never been done, pound-for-pound versus pound-for-pound," Usman tells us. "And, they're significantly close in weight classes to be able to do it -- why not?!"

"I don't think there's going to be anyone in the world who's not watching that fight."

Of course, Usman is slated to rematch Edwards next month -- while Canelo is set to fight Gennady Golovkin for a third time in September.

But, after those two matches wrap up -- Usman made it clear, he'd be more than down for a collision with the star boxer.

"When you hear that fight's announced," Usman said, "everyone's going to be watching that fight."

Canelo has expressed at least some interest in a fight with Usman -- though he wrote in a tweet to The Nigerian Nightmare back in April that he had a legacy to make before he got in the ring with the MMA star.

If Canelo isn't on the horizon, Usman tells us he's got a desire to move to the lightweight division, and take on either Jan Błachowicz or Jiří Procházka.

But, don't get it twisted, Usman is locked in on his Edwards fight -- explaining to us he's only leaving his house to hit the gym to train.

Former Dallas Cowboys star Marion Barber III died due to heat stroke, officials confirmed to TMZ Sports on Monday.

According to the Collin County Medical Examiner’s Office, Barber's death was ruled an "accident."

As we reported, Barber was found dead by the Frisco Police Dept. in Texas on June 1. He was just 38 years old.

The ex-running back, who was picked by the Cowboys in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Draft, had shown no signs of trouble prior to his death, according to his attorney, Zoltan Papp.

Papp said Barber had started a trucking venture, and had also spent a large portion of the past few years trying to help kids in inner cities, while fighting for social justice.

Barber played in the NFL for seven seasons -- six with the Cowboys and one with the Bears -- totaling 4,780 rushing yards and 53 rushing touchdowns over 99 total games.

RIP.

Video taken in the seconds after Kim Glass was attacked on the streets of Downtown L.A. has emerged ... and it shows blood was spattered everywhere near the former volleyball star as she sat injured on the sidewalk.

Benson Parks captured the footage on his phone over the weekend, just moments after Glass, who won a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, had apparently been struck by a heavy object thrown by a homeless man who was standing near her in the street.

You can see in the clips, there were several pools of blood near Glass, who was holding a bandage near her eye and yelling in pain.

The video also shows Parks holding down the man who was suspected of throwing the object.

As we reported, Glass claims the incident happened after she had finished dining with a friend.

"He just like looked at me with some pretty hateful eyes," Glass said of the attack. "And, as I turned to go tell my friend, 'I think something's, like, wrong with him and I think he's going to hit a car,' before I knew it, a big metal bolt, like pipe, hit me right here."

"It happened so fast."

37-year-old Glass said she suffered multiple facial fractures and needed several stitches to close the gashes on her face ... though, thankfully, she added doctors were optimistic her vision would eventually return to normal.

The suspect, meanwhile, was arrested by the LAPD ... and booked on a charge of felony assault with a deadly weapon.

The man convicted of killing LSU basketball star Wayde Sims in 2018 has been found dead in prison, officials announced on Monday ... just days after he received a life sentence for second-degree murder.

The East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office confirmed to TMZ Sports that a medical team rendered aid to 23-year-old Dyteon Simpson after they found him unresponsive in prison at around 8 PM on Sunday.

The sheriff's office said Simpson was pronounced dead a short time later.

A police spokesperson tells us a preliminary toxicology report revealed Simpson appeared to have fentanyl in his system.

"The EBR Coroner will conduct an autopsy and determine final cause of death," the spokesperson added. "This investigation is ongoing as to the cause of death and possibility of contraband."

We reached out to Simpson's lawyer, Margaret Lagattuta, but she declined to comment on the incident.

As we previously reported, Sims -- who played forward for the Tigers' men's hoops team -- was shot in the head during an altercation at a Subway near the LSU campus on Sept. 28, 2018.

Simpson was arrested for killing Sims a day later ... and was ultimately charged with second-degree murder.

The Department of Justice is investigating whether the PGA Tour -- who punished players for signing with wealthy Saudi golf startup, LIV Golf -- engaged in anticompetitive practices, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Agents of players have been contacted by the antitrust division of the DOJ in recent months, and asked about the Tour's rules preventing players from playing in other golf events, and the punishment of players who signed with LIV, according to the report.

Of course, many top players have signed with the new, Saudi Arabia-backed organization ... Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and others have signed incredibly lucrative deals with LIV.

TMZ Sports contacted the PGA Tour which acknowledged the investigation, but didn't seem worried in the least.

"This was not unexpected. We went through this in 1994 and we are confident in a similar outcome," a spokesperson for the Tour told us.

FYI, PGA's referring to a Federal Trade Commission investigation in the mid-90s that looked into the Tour's rules barring players from participating in rival tournaments. The FTC dropped the investigation by 1995.

As for what could happen with this investigation ... the DOJ could pursue punishment of the PGA Tour. Or, players who signed with LIV, and/or the organization itself, could file an antitrust lawsuit against the Tour.

LeBron James is NOT the NBA's G.O.A.T ... so says the King's former teammate, Ray Allen, who completely shut down the declaration from a beloved LBJ fan in a recent argument that was all caught on video.

Tyriek Weeks -- a basketball player from Commonwealth Academy in Rhode Island -- shared the clip to his TikTok page this weekend ... showing him and Allen getting into it over the James vs. Michael Jordan debate.

“He can score and pass it,” Weeks said, advocating for why he believed James was #1.

“Is he a great free throw shooter?" James' ex-Miami Heat teammate fired back. "Is he a great 3-point shooter? Is he a great dribbler?"

After Weeks answered "no" to all three questions ... Allen said, "So, you're saying he's the GOAT, but he ain’t even the greatest in all them categories."

Allen then went on to say Jordan actually is.

The argument from Allen is a surprising one -- considering the 46-year-old won the 2013 NBA title with LBJ, and the guys appeared to be super close during their time together in South Beach.

Walmart heir Rob Walton, fresh off buying the Broncos for a record $4.9 BILLION, just added a new partner to the ownership group ... former United States Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, the billionaire announced Monday.

"We're pleased to welcome former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to our ownership group."

"A highly respected public servant, accomplished academic and corporate leader, Secretary Rice is well known as a passionate and knowledgeable football fan who has worked to make the sport stronger and better," Walton wrote.

Rice -- a diehard Cleveland Browns fan -- served as the 66th United States Secretary of State under then-President George W. Bush from 2005-09. In 2013, Rice was selected to be 1 of 13 members of the College Football Playoff selection committee, where she served until her term expired in 2016.

Despite the fact Rice's appointment to the committee was met with skepticism initially, it's clear Walton's group felt that experience, along with the fact her dad was a football coach (oh, and Rice is incredibly smart) made her the ideal candidate to join the organization.

In fact, Condoleezza had a connection with the area long before she became an owner of Denver's football team. When Rice was 12 years old, her family moved to the Mile High city. CR eventually went on to attend the University of Denver for college and graduate school.

Political accomplishments aside, Rice is best known for her avid love and support of the Browns ... and her bond with the orange and brown franchise is so strong that in 2018, rumors surfaced that Cleveland was reportedly considering hiring her to be the team's new head coach.

Of course, that didn't happen, and both the Browns and Rice shot down any rumors that Condoleezza would be stepping into call plays for her favorite NFL team.

Russell Wilson is clearly doing all he can to make sure he ain't the last NFL QB to come out of his household ... revealing Monday he's training Future Zahir to be a signal-caller too!

The Denver Broncos QB posted video of a recent workout sesh he had with Ciara's 8-year-old son ... and you can see, the kid appears to be a natural!

As Russ dictated how he wanted the boy to manipulate the pocket, Future Zahir complied with ease -- and then delivered a dart to the 33-year-old NFL star.

Russ also showed he's giving some quarterbacking lessons to the son of famous choreographer Jamaica Craft as well.

"Post workout work with the young fellas!" Russ said of the drills. "Future & Kingston young legends. Watch out @NFL."

Craft was appreciative of the time Wilson was spending with her son, penning a sweet thank you note to him on her IG.

"Kingston was learning from a living legend!!!!" she said. "Let’s Go God! So appreciative."

FYI, Wilson and Future Zahir -- Ciara's 1st child with rapper Future -- have been dabbling in QB drills for a couple of years now ... and in 2020, the 9x Pro Bowler called him his "best teammate" and a "QB in the making!"

Nick Kyrgios came up short yesterday in his Wimbledon finals match against Novak Djokovic, but that didn't stop the tennis star from turning up ... hitting up a London nightclub to help him get over the tough loss.

The 27-year-old -- who had quite the run during the tournament -- partied at popular London hot spot Wyld Club with his girlfriend, Costeen Hatzi, and his sister, Halimah Kyrgios.

The club posted video of Kyrgios in the building on their social media ... and the Australian appears to be holding a bottle of Vodka, enjoying himself despite the heartbreaking loss.

At one point during the evening, Kyrgios' GF jokingly wrote on social media that Nick's sister, Halimah, was a bad influence while holding two bottles of alcohol.

Of course, the always fiery Kyrgios is known to speak his mind, and yesterday, he did just that, complaining to the chair umpire that a fan should be removed after nearly costing him a game.

"She's distracting me when I'm serving in a Wimbledon Final," a visibly ticked-off Kyrgios said. "There's no other bigger occasion ... She's drunk out of her mind in the first row speaking to me in the middle of the game."

When the chair umpire asked Kyrgios to identify the woman he was referring to, Kyrgios said, "She's the one who looks like she's had 700 drinks."

Kyrgios ended up losing in four sets to Djokovic, after taking the first set.

NFL offensive lineman Duane Brown and his camp are finally breaking their silence on his arrest this weekend ... calling the incident "an accident."

We broke the story ... the 36-year-old, who most recently starred for the Seattle Seahawks, was busted at LAX on Saturday after he allegedly tried to go through TSA with a gun in his baggage.

On Monday, his agent, Kennard McGuire, addressed the arrest in a statement to NFL reporter Josina Anderson ... saying, "To err is human, and this clearly was an accident."

McGuire continued, "As a law-abiding citizen, Duane will continue to exercise proper judgment and continue education on gun safety measures."

Brown was ultimately booked on a charge of possession of a concealed firearm, and, according to records, he bonded out of jail late Saturday night. He's due in court for a hearing on the matter next month.

Volleyball star Kim Glass -- who won a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics -- says she was attacked by a homeless man in Los Angeles this weekend ... and nearly lost her eye in the incident.

Glass said it all happened on Saturday ... after she was leaving lunch with a friend at a restaurant in Downtown L.A.

In a series of videos posted to her social media page, Glass said after she had exited the eatery, she noticed a man in the street with something in his hand.

"He just like looked at me with some pretty hateful eyes," Glass said. "And, as I turned to go tell my friend, 'I think something's, like, wrong with him and I think he's going to hit a car,' before I knew it, a big metal bolt, like pipe, hit me right here."

"It happened so fast."

The 37-year-old said the man threw the object at her from several feet away ... and it slammed right into her eye socket and the bridge of her nose -- 'causing serious damage.

In her videos, taken a day after the attack, you can see her eye was nearly swollen shut, and her face was still bloodied. She said in the clips she was diagnosed with multiple facial fractures and needed stitches to close wounds.

Somehow, Glass said doctors don't expect her vision to be permanently affected by the incident. She added she was grateful for all the support she's received from friends and family since the incident, and happy things didn't turn out worse.

"Just be safe out there," she said in her videos ... "There's a lot of mentally ill people on these streets right now and you shouldn't have to be fearful when you walk but it's true. And, so, you guys just be safe."

As for the man who she accused of throwing the object, she said bystanders held him down until police arrived. No word if the man was ultimately arrested.

Glass -- a 6-foot-3 outside hitter -- played for the U.S. Women's National Team for years following a stellar career at the Univ. Of Arizona ... and also modeled in her time off the court, appearing in the 2011 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.

Ja Morant says if he were born a few decades earlier ... he would've given Michael Jordan hell on the basketball court -- saying he straight up would've "cooked" His Airness in his prime.

Morant made the eyebrow-raising comments while speaking with Bleacher Report's Taylor Rooks this week ... after the reporter had asked a line of questions about MJ.

In their conversation, Morant praised Jordan for everything he did for the game of basketball ... and then said he would have loved to have taken the floor against the NBA's GOAT while he was starring for the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s.

"I heard he was like -- just how he go about the game, just that mindset that he had, I would like to play against him," Morant said.

"I would have cooked him, too."

Morant didn't expound on how he would've taken down Jordan 1-on-1 ... but he did say he's just that sure of his own abilities.

"Nobody got more confidence than 12," Morant said. "I'm definitely not going to go and say somebody is going to beat me in 1-on-1 on any day."

The 22-year-old Memphis Grizzlies star added he'd be that confident in himself if he were asked to go 1-on-1 in a soccer match against a guy like Lionel Messi!

"See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" is a motto NBA star Terry Rozier will clearly never forget ... 'cause he just got it permanently put on his back in the form of a 3-foot tattoo.

TMZ Sports has learned ... the Charlotte Hornets guard wanted the 'Three Wise Monkeys' who symbolize the motto inked on him this month, so he hit up his go-to artist, Mike Miller.

The two linked up in Miami over the Fourth of July weekend, and Miller went to work ... tatting Rozier's back for a total of 15 hours over a three-day span.

The piece came out awesome -- and massive -- and Miller says it's not even done yet ... telling us it's going to require two more sessions to finish.

In between the back piece, Miller -- the co-owner of Green Light Tattoos and Art Gallery -- also added a tat to Rozier's wrist.

"He just let me freestyle my own art of his forearm," Miller tells us ... saying the piece represents "freedom of expression."

"Cheer" star Jerry Harris getting a dozen years behind bars in his child pornography case wasn't a reason for joy in the household of two of his accusers ... so says their own mother.

Twin brothers Charlie and Sam are among the victims who accused Jerry of soliciting nudes and sex from minors, and their mom, Kristen said in a lengthy statement she's still heartbroken and angry despite his prison sentence.

Kristen says every aspect of Jerry's case is tragic, and she's not feeling a sense of justice just yet ... because she wants to see the folks who run big-time cheerleading take steps to prevent other minors from being abused.

As we reported ... Jerry was sentenced Wednesday to 12 years in prison, appearing in court and telling his victims, "I am ashamed as I know that I took advantage of your youth and weakness. I was wrong and selfish. I caused you harm and I do not blame anyone. I regret my decisions and I am deeply sorry."

Remember ... the Netflix star had been under FBI investigation since 2019, with the feds claiming he was soliciting sex from minors at cheerleading competitions, as well as coercing teen boys to send him sexually explicit photos.

Harris was arrested in September 2020, with the second season of "Cheer" diving into his arrest and sharing the story of his twin accusers.

Charlie claims he was only 13 when a 19-year-old Harris sent him a direct message on Instagram, asking his age and wondering if he would send him nudes. Charlie says he felt pressured to send the pics because he looked up to Jerry as a male cheerleader.

From there, Charlie claims he continued communicating with Harris until they met at a cheer competition, where Harris allegedly assaulted him.

Sam claims Harris started contacting him after allegedly assaulting his twin, and their mom says she started looking into their relationship after finding some of their communications.

Utah Jazz forward Nickeil Alexander-Walker says he'll miss playing alongside newly-traded All-Star Rudy Gobert ... telling TMZ Sports he'll always appreciate the veteran big man for being a great teammate.

We spoke with the 23-year-old out at LAX this week ... and the former Virginia Tech Hokie told us Gobert's departure will be felt both on the court and in the locker room.

"I did message him when [the trade] happened," Nickeil said. "He was a good guy. When I first got there, he welcomed me."

"What he does on the court is special," Nickeil added. "His ability to affect damn near every shot, [a] dynamic roller. So, you're always going to miss playing with someone like that."

Alexander-Walker has only played 4 seasons in the Association, but he did say that he got to interact with Gobert over several dinners ... though, he remains tight-lipped about how those encounters went.

"I been to some good dinners, got to keep those disclosed," Nickeil said. "But, the dinners were fun and cool and I wish him the best."

The Jazz made shockwaves this NBA offseason when they traded Rudy -- who had been the anchor of their defense since being drafted in 2013 -- to the Minnesota Timberwolves ... pairing him with the combo of Karl-Anthony Towns and rising star Anthony Edwards.

6'3", #14 ranked UFC lightweight Jalin Turner -- fresh off an impressive win at UFC 276 -- says he gets compared to Jon Jones ... and it's a huge honor!

"[Being compared to Jones is] a positive. I always look at it as a positive when people are calling me Anderson Silva," Turner tells TMZ Sports, adding ... "that's a huge honor 'cause that's somebody I model a lot of my game after."

Turner, like 6'4" Jones, has an incredible height and reach advantage over opponents ... but it's even more pronounced with JT 'cause he fights in the lightweight (155 lbs.) division.

Jon, of course, was a light heavyweight champ (205 lbs.) for years before recently moving up to heavyweight (206 lb.+).

FYI, the lightweight top 5 is made up entirely of 5'10" fighters ... with the exception of the 5'8" Michael Chandler.

And, Turner -- who just beat Brad Riddell via 1st round submission -- believes he has a sizeable advantage over those savages at the top of the division ... but he says it's about more than just height.

"I feel like I have the skillset, the tools, the attributes to be a champion in the division. I have a reach advantage over everybody. I feel like I have a speed and timing advantage over everybody. The length plays a good factor, even in the grappling exchange."

Jalin continued ... "I can utilize leverage, use less energy when I use my leverage efficiently and I can excel. I really can. Everybody's called me the lightweight Jon Jones since I was at Jackson Academy."

JT trained at Jackson Wink MMA gym in Albuquerque ... Jon's home gym for many years.

Turner isn't the first guy to be compared to Jon. In fact, Israel Adesanya, when he first entered the UFC, was compared to Bones ... a comparison Izzy hated.

Now that Jalin cracked the top 15, it's clear he isn't content.