TMZ Sports - Page 46

Drew Brees has found himself a job ... the retired superstar QB and former football broadcaster just bought a pickleball team, the Mad Drops, and now joins an ownership group that includes L.A. Lakers co-owner Jim Buss.

"I’m stoked to be the newest team co-owner for Mad Drops Pickleball Club in Major League Pickleball! Our 12-team co-ed league represents an incredibly competitive & exciting brand of Pickleball," Brees said when announcing the purchase.

The Mad Drops play in the Major League Pickleball league. Gary Vaynerchuk (Vee) also owns a team in the league.

Pickleball, if you aren't familiar, is essentially a mix between tennis, badminton and ping pong. Players use a paddle to hit a plastic ball over a net, onto a court.

Brees -- who played 20 seasons in the NFL -- retired after his 2021 campaign, trading the huddle for the NBC broadcast booth.

In May, the Super Bowl-winning QB had some fun with fans speculating what his future held ... and he actually mentioned Pickleball.

"Despite speculation from media about my future this fall, I’m currently undecided," Brees wrote on Twitter. "I may work for NBC, I may play football again, I may focus on business and philanthropy."

"I may train for the pickleball tour, senior golf tour, coach my kids or all of the above. I’ll let you know," he continued.

Brees' Mad Drops will begin their quest to win a championship in Newport Beach, CA on Aug. 5-7 ... and Drew's pumped!

Kim Kardashian broke bread with Kylie Jenner and Khloe Kardashian after a whirlwind week for the famous sisters, who had plenty to catch up on over dinner.

It's the first time we've seen Kim, Kylie and Khloe together in a while ... they grabbed a bite Wednesday night at Giorgio Baldi in Santa Monica.

For Khloe, it's her first public appearance since we first reported she's having another baby -- reportedly a boy -- with Tristan Thompson. The child will be born via surrogate, and Tristan's busy partying in Greece with different women. So, there's a few dinner topics right there.

Still unclear if the baby's been born ... we were told there's a possibility he's already here.

Kim's back in Los Angeles after taking her private jet down to Australia over the weekend to see boyfriend Pete Davidson ... more evidence the couple is still going strong. It's a good bet Pete's name came up at the dinner table.

Private jets probably came up in conversation too ... Kylie's catching backlash for some of her recent flights on her luxury jet and for bragging about Travis Scott's private plane too.

Kylie wore a silver dress while the rest of the dinner party, including BFF Stassie Karanikolaou and Yris Palmer, dressed in all black.

The scene at Papi Steak following the March altercation between Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal was so frantic ... a cop called for multiple units to get there quickly, new 911 audio reveals.

In the clip, obtained by TMZ Sports, a man identifying as an off-duty police officer told dispatch that he had spoken to Covington (whose name was redacted in the file) and said the UFC star had told him Masvidal "sucker punched" him following dinner at the popular Miami eatery.

The cop, with urgency in his tone, can be heard in the audio telling the dispatcher, "Can we send a bunch of, or a few units ..." He later added in the call, "If you could just send units on a three, please."

As we reported, Covington alleged that on March 21, Masvidal attacked him with a flurry of punches ... chipping his tooth and damaging his $90,000 Rolex.

Masvidal was eventually arrested over the incident, and later charged with two felonies.

The UFC fighter -- who had lost to Covington in a match just days before the altercation in the Florida street -- has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He's due in court for another hearing in the case next month.

Kevin Gates is not one to mess with -- the popular rapper straight-up clocked AEW star Tony Nese during Dynamite on Wednesday ... after he was told his music sucks!!

It all went down at the Gas South Arena in Duluth, GA ... where Gates was standing ringside as the newly-crowned tag team champs, Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland, celebrated their titles in the ring.

During the segment, Nese and his on-screen manager, Mark Sterling, interrupted the festivities ... and the duo immediately went up to Gates and demanded he sign a petition to have Strickland removed from the AEW roster.

Gates refused ... which set off Sterling, who said, "Just like Swerve Strickland, you're untrustworthy, and your music sucks!!!"

After Tony stepped in between Gates and Sterling ... and BOOM, down went Nese with a mean right hand from the 36-year-old "2 Phones" hit-maker.

Based on the vid of the incident, it certainly looked like Gates made contact with Nese ... which sent him to the ground.

The AEW fans ate it up ... applauding the AEW superfan for exacting some revenge on Nese for crashing the celebration.

Klay Thompson took several moments out of his ESPYs Award acceptance speech Wednesday night to pay homage to Kobe and Gigi Bryant -- and the words were so powerful, Vanessa Bryant thanked him for them shortly afterward.

The Golden State Warriors guard -- who accepted the trophy for Best Comeback Athlete of the Year at the ceremony -- gave the nod to the Bryants after thanking his family, his teammate Steph Curry and the Warriors for having faith in him.

"I don't know if Vanessa is out there watching, but to Vanessa and her three beautiful girls, we think of Kobe and Gigi every day," he said.

"I read Mamba Mentality every day during rehab and those are the best memories of my life, watching him play and he inspired me to be the athlete I am today."

Vanessa was clearly watching -- and responded to Thompson's nod to her late husband and daughter with a thank you message on her social media page.

"We are BG!"

Steph Curry -- flanked by WNBA superstars Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins-Smith -- paused the joke-telling and award-presenting for several moments at Wednesday night's ESPYs to deliver that Brittney Griner-themed message ... and it was powerful.

The four-time NBA champion wore Griner's Phoenix Mercury jersey for the speech, and alongside Ogwumike and Diggins-Smith, he called for the WNBA star's release from Russia.

"It's been 153 nights now that BG has been wrongfully detained thousands of miles away from home, away from her family, away from her friends, away from her team,'' Diggins-Smith said. "All throughout that time, we've kept her in our thoughts and in our hearts even though we know that ain't nearly enough to bring her home, y'all."

"She's one of us," Curry added, "the team of athletes in this room tonight and all over the world. A team that has nothing to do with politics or global conflict."

As we've reported, Griner has been detained in Russia since mid-February, after she was accused of illegally bringing hashish oil in her luggage to a Moscow airport.

Griner -- who's since pleaded guilty to the charges -- is now facing up to 10 years behind bars in the foreign country in the case.

In his speech Wednesday, Curry made it clear he believes if Americans continue to raise awareness of her case, it could expedite her return to U.S. soil.

"We cannot stop fighting for her, we cannot stop believing for her and we will not stop hoping for the day when we can welcome her home safely," he said.

U.S. soccer star Megan Rapinoe also used several moments of her award acceptance speech later in the night to echo Curry's sentiments.

Hours after the awards show, however, a spokesperson for Russia's Foreign Ministry slammed the U.S.'s "wrongfully detained" characterization of Griner ... and urged the country to allow the legal process to play out.

"If a U.S. citizen was taken in connection with the fact that she was smuggling drugs, and she does not deny this, then this should be commensurate with our Russian, local laws, and not with those adopted in San Francisco, New York and Washington," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, according to the Associated Press.

Tristan Thompson was put on BLAST at the ESPY Awards by Lil Rel Howery, as he told one Olympian with a Kardashian-sounding name to steer clear of the guy.

The ESPYs were full of laughs from athletes Wednesday night at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, and Lil Rel didn't hold back when he got on mic and congratulated snowboarder and 2-time Olympic gold medalist, Chloe Kim.

He says he knew she'd be successful just because her first and last names are the same as 2 of the Kardashians ... he gave her some advice, too -- "Watch out for them Tristans, that's all I got to say."

The crowd burst into laughter, as he responded, "Yeah I said it! Y'all thinkin' it," obviously referring to the guy's cheating streak.

Lil Rel's callout comes as Tristan and Khloe Kardashian await the imminent birth of their newest addition -- although it may have already happened. TMZ broke the story around the same time the basketball player was in Greece partying it up.

'RHOC' star Meghan King is being slammed by ex-hubby Jim Edmonds for posting about their child's challenges ... Jim says she didn't even get the kid's medical condition right.

The retired MLB player and current baseball broadcaster is upset over one of Meghan's recent Instagram posts, where she asks for help getting her and Jim's son, Hart, potty-trained ... with Meghan telling folks the kid has a hard time learning new skills because he has cerebral palsy.

Problem is ... Jim says 4-year-old Hart does NOT have cerebral palsy, and was actually diagnosed with a different medical condition known as periventricular leukomalacia, or PVL, which is a softening of the white brain tissue near the ventricles.

Jim's rep, Steve Honig, tells TMZ ... Jim wishes Meghan would respect their children's privacy and stop putting their son and his challenges in the spotlight ... he says to get attention for herself.

Edmonds' rep also points out the discrepancy over their son's medical condition and adds this parting shot ... "If Meghan wants to improve her ability to co-parent with Jim, it might be a good idea for her to stop constantly disparaging him."

Former Florida high school football star Sam Bruce -- who was briefly part of the 2016 Miami Hurricanes team -- died due to a heart attack ... according to the medical examiner's report.

The Broward County Medical Examiner released the report, obtained by TMZ Sports, which revealed the cause of the issue was coronary artery disease.

Officials determined the manner of death was "natural."

As we reported, Bruce tragically passed away on April 28 after he suffered a medical episode while driving his car in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Bruce had become known nationally because of his play at powerhouse Florida H.S. St. Thomas Aquinas -- where he torched defenders so often, he earned the nickname "The Samborghini."

The do-it-all athlete eventually signed with the Hurricanes, but was dismissed for violations of team rules just months into his freshman season.

Bruce's death rocked the football world back in April -- with many current and former NFL players, including Chad Johnson, mourning the loss on social media.

Bruce was just 24 years old.

Best Tuesday ever?!?!

New York Yankees ace Nestor Cortes had a hell of an experience on the mound at his first All-Star Game -- and then he got engaged to his girlfriend!!

The left-handed pitcher just shared the news on his social media page ... saying following his dominant outing in Tuesday night's midsummer classic, he proposed to his GF -- and she said yes.

"All Star week made 2 of my dreams come true," the 27-year-old said. "Pitch in a all star game. And propose to my bestfriend. With my parents along my side. I had to make us official."

Alondra G. Esteras Russy confirmed on her own social media that she didn't turn the Yanks star down ... writing on pics of her new ring, "Of course i said YES !"

Cortes appeared to pop the question at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art -- a fitting place, considering the paint he had thrown at the All-Star Game just hours earlier.

In his one inning of work, he struck out two, allowed no hits and gave up no runs -- as he helped propel the American League to a 3-2 win over the National League.

Only thing that could make this year better would be a World Series ring -- and, given the way the Yankees look, that might just happen.

The COVID-19 drama isn't behind Novak Djokovic just yet ... tennis officials confirmed the legendary player will NOT compete in the upcoming Grand Slam, the U.S. Open, unless he gets vaccinated.

The 35-year-old Serbian tennis star -- who isn't vaxxed against the virus -- will not be on the court in Flushing Meadows, Queens ... because the United States doesn't currently allow unvaccinated, non-citizens to enter the country.

There was hope amongst tennis fans that something might be done to allow Novak to play ... but on Wednesday officials squashed that idea.

"The US Open does not have a vaccination mandate in place for players, but it will respect the US government’s position regarding travel into the country for unvaccinated non-US citizens,” the Open announced.

Djokovic, a three-time U.S. Open champ, was also banned from the Australian Open for the same reason.

That story became one of the biggest and most polarizing in the sports world.

Technically, Djokovic still has time to get the jab ... the tourney doesn't kick off until August 29.

But, in the immediate aftermath of his victory over Nick Kyrgios at Wimbledon (his 7th win), Novak reiterated his vax stance for anyone wondering if he had a change of heart with the Open looming.

"I'm not vaccinated, and I'm not planning to get vaccinated," Djokovic said, according to ESPN.

Djokovic, however, remained optimistic that the policy in the USA on the COVID vaccine could change ahead of the tourney.

Unfortunately for ND, that doesn't seem like it's going to happen ... and it's a big blow for Novak because he's just one Grand Slam title behind Rafael Nadal for the all-time lead.

FYI, 36-year-old Rafa has 22. Novak 21. 40-year-old Roger Federer 20.

Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Willie Gay has agreed to, among other conditions, take mental health counseling in order to close out his criminal damage case, TMZ Sports has learned.

According to court documents, Gay cut the deal with prosecutors in late June -- roughly six months after he was arrested for allegedly breaking a vacuum during an argument with the mother of his child.

Per the documents, prosecutors agreed to let Gay enter into a diversion program in order to avoid a trial and any further jail time.

As part of the diversion program, Gay agreed to take mental health counseling, submit to drug and alcohol testing, pay fines, fees and restitution, and generally keep his nose clean for 12 months.

If all conditions are met, prosecutors are expected to dismiss the case against the 24-year-old.

As we previously reported, Gay was hit with one misdemeanor charge of criminal damage under $1,000 following his Jan. 19 arrest in Johnson County, Kansas. Gay had pled not guilty to the charge at a court hearing on Jan. 20.

AnEsonGib will NOT be fighting Austin McBroom on July 30 ... and now the entire Social Gloves event is in serious trouble.

Sources tell TMZ Sports a head injury is forcing Gib to back out of the bout at Crypto.com Arena ... after doctors refused to clear the YouTuber to step into the ring.

We're told McBroom is scrambling to find a new opponent ... but it's not looking good.

If he's unable to get a fighter, sources say the event is at risk of being scrapped ... which would be bad news for people wanting to see two NFL running backs try to knock each other out.

We broke the story -- Le'Veon Bell and Adrian Peterson are slated to face off in the ring next weekend ... as well as rapper Blueface and ex-NBAer Nick Young.

The first Social Gloves event last year also had its problems ... with multiple fighters claiming they weren't paid.

McBroom told us last month he learned from the experience (the fighters eventually got paid) ... and promised a flawless event this time around.

The King ain't gonna like this ...

New Orleans Pelicans star Jonas Valanciunas threw several jabs at LeBron James while participating in a recent game of charades ... calling the Laker a crybaby and a flopper with his actions.

Valanciunas made the imitations out in Lithuania while on a show in front of a bevy of cameras.

In video of Valaciunas' impersonation of LeBron -- you can see the 6-foot-11, 265-pound center rub his eyes as if he were crying. He then pretended to hit the floor after being touched lightly.

Valaciunas' guesser eventually got the references -- something we're sure 'Bron didn't love to see.

This is the second time someone in the Pelicans' org. has fired away at LeBron and the Lakers this month -- just a few days ago, the team's official Twitter account made a dig at James and the Lake Show as well.

Quidditch is making a switch -- the real-life sport inspired by the Harry Potter series has changed its name to Quadball ... in an effort to distance itself from author J.K. Rowling's "anti-trans positions."

Months after Major League Quidditch and U.S. Quidditch announced their plans to rebrand ... the move was made official in a statement this week, with the orgs. saying, "Today marks a monumental step in the history of our sport, and it marks an equally big step for Major League Quadball."

Back in December, the orgs. stated two reasons behind changing the name -- one being the "quidditch" trademark being owned by Warner Bros. ... and the other being the fictional version of the game's creator's controversial beliefs.

"If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction," Rowling said in 2020. "If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth."

Rowling's comments sparked backlash from Harry Potter stars like Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson ... as well as countless fans of the series.

The league says it prides itself on being "one of the most progressive sports in the world on gender equality and inclusivity" due to a gender maximum rule, which limits the number of players of the same gender playing at one time.

A mural of Brittney Griner -- and 17 other Americans detained in countries like Russia -- was erected Wednesday in Washington D.C. ... all to bring awareness to Americans locked up abroad.

Of course, Griner's case has received a tremendous amount of attention, but that's not necessarily the case with all the captive U.S. citizens ... and the hope is the artwork will get the word out.

Isaac Campbell, an artist from Iowa who's in charge of the project, spent about 8 hours putting the 15 ft. tall mural together in Georgetown before opening it to the public, according to the Washingtonian.

The photos were provided by the Bring Our Families Home Campaign.

Campbell cut and pasted photos onto the wall ... using flour, water, and sugar to form a non-toxic, biodegradable glue, with help from detainees' family members and citizens passing by. It's expected to eventually fade ... but it could take weeks, months, or longer, depending on the weather.

Aside from the artwork, Campbell hopes the message behind the mural resonates with people more than the artistry, so detainees like Griner can return to the United States.

“We really need to put pressure on all people with any tools, whether that’s wheat-pasting, or whether that’s using your own personal platforms on social media to help apply pressure," Campbell said.

"Or if you’re in any stage of government, and you can provide support and begin to help bring these people home."

Other than Griner -- a star hooper for the Phoenix Mercury -- other Americans like Paul Whelan, U.S. citizen and former Marine who's been detained in Russia since 2018 on drug and espionage charges, are featured.

Griner recently pled guilty to a drug charge ... but her trial near Moscow is still ongoing (the Russian justice system is different than in America). She faces up to 10 years in prison.

Griner's next hearing is scheduled for July 26.