TMZ Sports - Page 50

Lamar Jackson went after ex-Ravens safety Bernard Pollard for dissing him this week ... calling him all kinds of names in a wild Twitter beef.

The two's tiff initially started after ESPN's Ryan Clark said Tuesday that LJ is arguably a top 10 QB ... but, Pollard disagreed, saying Jackson is "a top 10 talent," not a top signal-caller.

Pollard also said no top receivers want to play with LJ 'cause he can't throw the ball ... and that's when Jackson got to typing.

"🤣🤣you sound dumb asf," Jackson replied via Twitter on Wednesday.

"You been cappin since I been playing for the ravens I never heard of you tbh my boy you got your Super Bowl cause of Ray Lewis and Ed Reed 🤣🤣 that year."

Pollard did win Super Bowl XLVII with Lewis and Reed, and because of that, he said he feels LJ (who hasn't won an SB yet) should put respect on his name by calling him Champ.

Jackson refused ... and told the 37-year-old that he's so irrelevant, he had to look Pollard up on the internet before jumping into the drama.

"Nobody speak of you," Jackson said. "I had to Google you lil bra. I never heard of you until I seen you keep dissing like you was a HOFMER BUT YOU FARRRRRRRRRRR FROM IT ACROSS THE OCEAN LIKE OVERSEAS."

LJ took things further by reposting a video of Pollard doing a silly dance in the locker room. He also reposted a clip of Pollard missing an easy tackle in Super Bowl XLVII.

"Bra we almost lost cause of this mf," Jackson said of one of the clips. "I wanted to slap tf outta 31 and it's you???? 🤣🤣"

Shield your eyes, Nick Young ... Blueface just shared new training video, and the rap star looks pretty sharp, sending his sparring partner to the canvas with big hooks to the head.

And, the "Thotiana" rapper can crack!

Of course, he's boxing former 37-year-old, 12-year NBA vet Nick Young -- aka Swaggy P -- on July 30 at Crypto.com Arena ... a fight card that also features matchups between Le'Veon Bell and Adrian Peterson.

Austin McBroom is putting on the event ... and will anchor the card against social media star AnEsonGib.

On Wednesday, Blueface hit up Kaminsky Boxing Gym in L.A. ... and got some work in with a sparring partner.

In the minute and a half clip, Blueface -- a southpaw -- shows good head movement and a snappy jab. It's far from total domination, but the rapper clearly won the half-round.

Perhaps that shouldn't be a surprise, 'cause it's not Blueface's first fight. He dominated TikToker Kane Trujillo during their bare-knuckle boxing match in July 2021. For good measure, he also tuned up a "fan" who crashed the ring.

Tom Brady's on-again, off-again friendship with Donald Trump is apparently on ice once again ... the quarterback just revealed he doesn't talk with the former president anymore, and hasn't spoken to him in "years."

The NFL superstar made the revelation during a recent interview with Variety ... after being asked if he still keeps in touch with No. 45.

"No," Brady said. "I haven’t talked to him in a lot of years."

Of course, Brady and Trump used to be good pals. The two golfed often, spoke regularly -- and, at one point during DT's initial run for president in 2015, the ex-Patriots signal-caller had a "Make America Great Again" cap in his locker.

But, Tom and Trump grew apart shortly after Donald got in office -- Brady famously skipped out on a visit to Trump's White House in 2017, and later slammed Trump's criticism of Colin Kaepernick as "just divisive."

The two had appeared to mend fences in 2020, when at a coronavirus update press conference, Trump said he had recently spoken to Brady -- calling him "a great guy."

Rashard Anderson, former Carolina Panthers first-round draft pick and Jackson State football star, has died, university officials confirmed to TMZ Sports.

He was 45.

The cause of death is currently unknown.

Jackson State's athletic director released a statement on the tragic news, saying, "Rashard was one of the best players in the history of our football program and an outstanding person."

"He attended our spring football game in April and was excited about the program returning to championship status. Rashard will always be remembered by Jackson State University, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this time."

A product of Forest High School in Mississippi, Anderson was a standout at JSU, where he played cornerback for the Tigers from 1996-99.

Anderson was a member of the Tigers team that won the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship in 1996 ... and the SWAC Eastern Division title in 1999.

Selected No. 23 overall by the Panthers in the first round of the 2000 NFL draft, Anderson played in 27 total games during his two seasons with Carolina.

Anderson's NFL career, however, was short-lived. The DB missed the entire 2003 season after getting suspended for a substance violation.

The league reinstated Rashard following the suspension, but he never caught on with another team.

But, Anderson's dream of continuing to play pro football didn't stop there ... he signed a contract with the Calgary Stampeders in the Canadian Football League, but the former college star was released soon after.

Rashard was inducted into JSU's Hall of Fame ... and to this day remains the last player from the university to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft.

Several New York fans clearly didn't care that they were rooting for the same team at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night -- 'cause they got in a massive brawl with each other, and the wild fight was all captured on video.

A spectator near the action began filming the scene just before the scuffle broke out in the middle of the Yanks vs. Reds game ... and the footage shows a man in a striped NY jersey appearing to trash talk an Aaron Judge fan who had been sitting behind him.

The video shows the man then slapped the AJ supporter after they exchanged words -- and then all hell broke loose.

You can see in the clip, a man in a Gerrit Cole shirt started throwing punches -- while the Judge fan fired back with some right hands of his own.

Another fan in a Judge jersey, meanwhile, also appeared to be punched in the face in the fracas.

Eventually, security guards stepped in and broke it all up ... escorting the fans from the area.

The NYPD tells TMZ Sports three of the men in the video were ultimately issued criminal court summonses for their roles in the fight.

Khloe Kardashian is having another baby with the same man with whom she broke up, Tristan Thompson ... TMZ has learned.

Multiple sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ, the baby will be born via surrogate. We're told the birth is imminent, within days. Another source says the baby may already have been born in the last day or so.

The timeline of the surrogate's pregnancy seemingly indicates Khloe and Tristan made the decision to have the baby before their most recent split.

As you know, Khloe and Tristan have been together, broke up, got back together and broke up again over allegations of cheating.

The two already share a child -- 4-year-old daughter True -- and have successfully co-parented her even navigating their own personal hurdles. In discussions on this season of "The Kardashians" ... the two talked about further expanding their family, however, those plans hit a wall when Tristan got another woman pregnant late last year.

Maralee Nichols gave birth to Tristan's son last December, and he later confirmed the paternity results along with a public apology to Khloe. The couple had split in the summer.

Alex Rodriguez is clearly at peace more than a year after officially breaking things off with Jennifer Lopez ... he said this week he's now very happy and has "no regrets" over how anything went down with the entertainment icon.

The former MLB superstar explained it all to Martha Stewart on her "The Martha Stewart Podcast" Wednesday ... saying "life is good" post-J Lo.

"You know, Martha, thank goodness, no regrets," Rodriguez said. "Life is good. I'm very fortunate."

A-Rod and Lopez began dating back in 2017 -- and the couple became quite serious in the ensuing months.

The two intertwined their families and children -- and in 2019, the couple became engaged.

In 2021, however, they split ... but Rodriguez made it clear Wednesday there's no bad blood between the two whatsoever.

"Look, we had a great time," the 46-year-old said. "But, more importantly, we always put the kids front and center in everything we do."

Rodriguez went on to call Lopez "the most talented human being I've ever been around."

"Hardest worker," he said. "And I think she is the greatest performer, live performer in the world today that's alive."

Oregon Ducks tight end Spencer Webb has tragically died, his teammates and coaches confirmed on Wednesday night.

He was just 22 years old.

"So full of life in every moment of the day," Ducks football head coach Dan Lanning said of Webb in a tweet on Wednesday evening. "Your smile and energy will be missed Spencer. I love you!"

The Lane County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Wednesday night it responded to rock slides near Triangle Lake earlier in the afternoon after receiving reports of an injured 22-year-old. Cops said the man had been recreating and fell, striking his head. According to the statement, bystanders and first responders tried to help the man, but say he could not be revived.

Police did not name the victim in the statement, though The Sacramento Bee reports it was Webb.

"Shocked. Unbelievable. Unreal," Oregon wide receiver Isaah Crocker said of Webb's passing on his social media page Wednesday night.

"You've been there since Day 1 and no matter what, I will keep our promise. Love you unconditionally. Truly more than family. You was my n****! There is no turning back…. Until we meet again🕊Love you 4💔 never thought it ever come to this day..❤️🕊🕸"

Webb joined the Oregon football team in 2018 after starring in H.S. at Christian Brothers Academy in Sacramento. He went on to play in 20 games for the Ducks, and was expected to have a key role with the team this season.

"Rest easy lil bro," said NFL star Arik Armstead, who played at Oregon and interacted with Webb when he returned back to campus for games. "Great young man with a promising future gone too soon."

Several members of Brittney Griner's Russian basketball team came to her aid at her trial in Moscow on Thursday ... praising her character and leadership skills in testimonies inside of the courtroom.

One week after pleading guilty to drug charges in the foreign country, Griner's trial pressed onward -- and during the proceedings, players and officials from UMMC Ekaterinburg, Griner's former basketball team in Russia, testified in support of the WNBA star.

Team captain Evgeniya Belyakova, according to NPR, told the court Griner was "the heart of our team." She added that fans in Russia "adored" the 31-year-old center.

One of Griner's attorneys added following the hearing that the director of UMMC Ekaterinburg, Maxim Ryabkov, also "gave a positive description of Brittney Griner during his speech in court, noting her outstanding abilities as a player and personal contribution to strengthening the team spirit, which allowed the team to achieve the highest results in the Russian basketball premier league and in international competitions for many years."

Griner showed up at the courtroom in a dark-colored t-shirt and glasses. She did not give a testimony during the proceedings. Her trial is expected to continue on Friday morning.

As we reported, Griner is facing up to 10 years behind bars after she pled guilty to charges that she had hashish oil in her luggage at a Moscow airport back in February.

Big E doesn't know if he'll ever wrestle again after breaking his neck in March ... and that's perfectly okay with the WWE Superstar, who tells us he's "at peace" with the way his 13-year career played out.

The 36-year-old 8x tag team champ (WWE champ and 2x Intercontinental Champ, too) joined the TMZ Sports TV show (airs weeknights on FS1) ... where Mojo and Babcock asked the wrestler for a health update.

“I’m doing really well," E said.

"I can live my life pretty normally. But [my necks] not in a position where I should be ramming my head against other things, immovable objects. So wrestling doesn't make sense right now."

And, E says things could've turned out far different.

"I feel great. Don't have any nerve issues, don't have any weakness, don't have any atrophy. I got real lucky cause it could've been a lot worse."

E broke his neck in March when Ridge Holland attempted a belly-to-belly suplex. It wasn't just his career that was in doubt ... there was concern the injury could severely alter E's life.

Months later, the former champ tells us doctors are taking a "wait and see approach" with his recovery and will reevaluate his progress after the 1 year anniversary of the injury. Meaning fans of the near 300-pounder shouldn't expect to see him competing in a WWE ring anytime soon.

"For me right now, March of next year is very far off. So, I don’t want to spend a lot of time worrying or stressing about that. I’m just kind of living my life," E said.

"I’ve been with this company for 13 years. That means a lot of Saturdays and Sundays in Poughkeepsie and Kalamazoo and most random towns. But, now I get to live my life a little bit and see some friends and I’m enjoying just being human.”

We asked E if he'd be content if he was never able to wrestle again ... and ultimately, he believes the answer is yes.

"Yeah, I think so. Honestly, my philosophy as a human being is learning to be content with whatever life brings you. I'm so grateful to not be in a wheelchair, but if I was, I would have to adjust to life in a wheelchair. That's just how I am programmed."

E continued ... "If I spend hours or days or weeks kind of mourning where I'm at in life, and not being what I wanted to be, that doesn't serve me."

Although Big E has been trying to make the most of his newfound "free time" ... the star wrestler admits he's tired of being in the house, which is why he was thrilled Triple H asked him to be a part of a WWE tryout for college athletes in the days before SummerSlam on July 30.

"You are free to leave, buddy!"

That's Enes Kanter Freedom squarely rejecting LeBron James explanation for questioning whether Brittney Griner -- who's in a Russian jail cell on drug charges -- should even want to return to America.

James has been skewered by many in light of comments he made in a trailer for an upcoming episode of "The Shop," saying ... "Now, how can she feel like America has her back? I would be feeling like, 'Do I even want to go back to America?'"

Bron attempted to clarify Tuesday night, writing he "wasn’t knocking our beautiful country" ... but, it seems Kanter isn't buyin' it.

"You call it a step back, we call this a walk back," Enes said.

"You are free to leave buddy or you can even volunteer for an exchange for her."

The 30-year-old added, "Some people literally have NO idea what is it like to live in a dictatorship. Keep taking your freedom for granted."

Of course, Freedom is outspoken when it comes to global issues affecting human rights ... in fact, he spoke with us recently where he called out NBA commish Adam Silver for pushing him to retire.

He also mentioned Griner ... saying the U.S. government needs to be more aggressive and understand that "human rights is above politics."

The NFL is facing yet another lawsuit ... this time, musician Bobby Nunn says the league used his famous "Rocket 2 U" song during numerous broadcasts -- including a recent 2022 "Sunday Night Football" game -- but never compensated him for it.

In the suit, filed in New York on Wednesday and obtained by TMZ Sports, Nunn says the smash hit that he wrote and produced for the Jets back in 1988 was used without his permission multiple times by the NFL and NBC Universal.

Nunn specifically claims his song was played during the broadcast of the Packers vs. Vikings 'SNF' game on Jan. 3. In the docs, Nunn included a screen grab of the portion of the broadcast where he says the tune could be heard.

Nunn, who's perhaps most well known for his "She's Just a Groupie" song, claims the NFL never licensed the song to use it ... and says when he made contact with the league and its TV partner about it all, they denied infringement.

Nunn is asking for damages ... as well as for the league and NBC to stop using his song without his consent.

This is now at least the third time the NFL has been sued by a high-profile plaintiff in the last few months -- you'll recall, both Jon Gruden and Brian Flores are involved in lawsuits against The Shield as well.

Boxing legend George Foreman says two women have made up claims that he sexually abused them ... all in an effort to extort him out of millions of dollars.

Sources familiar with the matter tell TMZ Sports ... a lawsuit against Foreman is expected to be filed in L.A. this week by two women whose fathers apparently had a friendship and working relationship with Foreman decades ago.

The suit, according to our sources, is expected to allege that Foreman sexually abused the women in the 1970s.

But, Foreman said in a statement on Wednesday that the allegations are flat-out not true.

"Over the past six months," Foreman said, "two women have been trying to extort millions of dollars each from me and my family. They are falsely claiming that I sexually abused them over 45 years ago in the 1970s."

"I adamantly and categorically deny these allegations. The pride I take in my reputation means as much to me as my sports accomplishments, and I will not be intimidated by baseless threats and lies."

Our sources say Foreman believes the suit and the allegations in it are all part of "a coordinated extortion plot" in which the women have asked him since January to pay them $12.5 MILLION each.

"I am, and always will be, guided by my faith and trust in God," Foreman said. "I will work with my lawyers to fully and truthfully expose my accusers' scheme and defend myself in court. I don't pick fights, but I don't run away from them either."

Blueface and his mostly-on girlfriend Chrisean Rock are a walking, talking reality show … and the latest episode had CR blowing chunks in his fancy 2022 Maybach!!!

In a fit of disbelief, Blueface posted his babe barfing before giving her the sleeping beauty treatment with a wake-up kiss.

We caught the Crippy couple after Blueface’s weigh-in for his upcoming fight against Nick Young. The duo's shrugging off their drunk-n-love moment, saying true love tends to get nasty sometimes ... and they're definitely that as a couple!

Blueface and Chrisean have been going strong this year, despite her losing a tooth ... which she eventually replaced with an implant plastered with BF's mug.

Sounds like she loves him even if he loses one to Nick, but Blueface is saying don't place your bets on that. He has himself winning in three rounds.

Ryan Garcia is ready to squash the beef with Canelo Alvarez ... saying he wants to bury the hatchet with the boxing superstar -- even offering front-row tickets to his fight in L.A. as an olive branch.

The fall-out from the former buddies happened earlier this year when Garcia parted ways with his trainer Eddy Reynoso ... who also happens to train Canelo.

Garcia claimed he wasn't getting the proper attention from the team ... so he split. The fallout ... tension with Alvarez. And since, the men have had a frosty relationship ... with Canelo even questioning Ryan's work ethic, saying he's "wasting a lot of time and wasting his talent."

But, after a bunch of back and forth, Garcia says he wants to move on, telling Inside Fighting the quarrel between them is a "hypothetical beef".

"I would definitely love to make amends with people, forgive people," Garcia said on Wednesday.

"I believe in forgiveness and I'm just the type of person to forgive really quick and I don't want that negativity or bad blood with anybody."'

To prove Ryan isn't just talking ... he's inviting Alvarez to his July 16 fight against Javier Fortuna at Crypto Arena in Los Angeles.

"I'll get him tickets," the 22-0 boxer said, "He can get it himself but if he personally asks me, I would give him tickets. First row. Love him to be there."

And, Alvarez won't be the only star there (if he shows). Garcia says LeBron James, Aaron Donald, and Draymond Green will all be making an appearance.

"Only winners come to my fight."

Deion Sanders' beef with Nick Saban is over ... well, at least that's the way it appears -- as the two coaches were spotted laughing together in a new commercial.

"Prime Time" posted a snippet alongside Saban in an Aflac commercial ... and judging from the looks of it, their issues over NIL deals in college football seem to be a thing of the past.

"We're in Los Angeles, California back on the Aflac set with the G.O.A.T.," Sanders said in reference to Saban.

"And the duck," Saban joked while smiling. Sanders responded with a playful jab of his own, saying, "I was talking about you. So, you calling me a duck?"

The war of words between the two Hall of Famers started after Saban accused Deion and Jackson State University of paying Travis Hunter -- a highly-recruited Division 1 prospect -- $1 million to play for JSU.

"I mean Jackson State paid a guy a million dollars last year that was a really good Division 1 player to come to school -- it was in the paper, and then bragged about it. Nobody did anything about it," Saban said at the time.

The former Cowboys legend promptly clapped back at arguably the greatest coach in college football history, saying, "We as a PEOPLE don't have to pay our PEOPLE to play with our PEOPLE."

Hunter seemed to deny that Coach Prime paid him a million dollars to play for the JSU Tigers ... essentially refuting the claims made by Saban.

Of course, Deion and Nick have shot commercials together in the past ... but there was reasonable concern about how their next shoot would go, given their seemingly contentious relationship as of late.