TMZ Sports - Page 39

NFL superstar Joe Burrow isn't going to let an appendix -- or lack, thereof -- keep him from hanging out with his team ... he joined his fellow Bengals on the sidelines during training camp just days after having his pouch removed.

The AFC champ, unfortunately, had to undergo an appendectomy recently ... and will be out several weeks as he recovers from the procedure.

But, #9 made the ultimate effort to be with his teammates on Monday ... pulling up to camp on a scooter to make sure his presence was known.

The signal-caller arrived on the scene in style -- rocking a motored vehicle in slow-mo as he checked out his team getting in a solid workout.

Of course, as we reported last week ... Burrow will be out some time after having his appendix removed, but is expected to be good to go in time for the season.

Nice to see the dude still showing love for his Bengals teammates.

Donald Trump's going in on Brittney Griner, accusing the "potentially spoiled" WNBA star of traveling to Moscow "loaded up with drugs," and burying the idea of trading BG for a Russian arms dealer ... all in a new interview.

76-year-old Trump recently appeared on the "Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show" where he was asked about 31-year-old Griner's detainment in Russia.

"She went in there loaded up with drugs into a hostile territory where they’re very vigilant about drugs. They don’t like drugs, and she got caught," Trump said.

"And, now we’re supposed to get her out, and she makes, you know, a lot of money, I guess. We’re supposed to get her out for an absolute killer and one of the biggest arms dealers in the world. Killed many Americans. Killed many people.”

"Loaded up with drugs" isn't exactly consistent with the known information. Griner, in court, admitted to accidentally bringing marijuana that she says was prescribed by a doctor in the States to help deal with the pain from old hoops injuries, instead of taking powerful pain pills.

"It certainly doesn't seem like a very good trade, does it? He's absolutely one of the worst in the world and he's gonna be given his freedom because a potentially spoiled person goes into Russia loaded up with drugs," Trump told Travis and Sexton.

Trump's referring to convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout -- known as the "Merchant of Death" -- who the U.S. has reportedly talked about swapping for Griner.

Not everyone's against the trade.

Last week, we spoke to U.S. Congressman Colin Allred -- who, like Griner, was an athlete at Baylor U. -- and he told us it's up to the Russians to accept the deal.

"The ball is entirely in the Russian's court. I think we've made a very good offer to them based off what we know what they want," Allred said.

The Congressman did not get into specifics of the deal ... nor did he mention Bout's name.

Griner has been detained near Moscow since late February ... when Russian officials found hashish oil in her bag. She pled guilty, and is awaiting her sentence. Brittney faces up to 10 years in prison ... unless there's a prisoner swap.

Peyton Manning is taking his talents to the stage yet again -- the NFL legend has been tapped to host another awards show ... it was just revealed he and Luke Bryan will lead the 2022 CMAs in November!!!

The Country Music Association and ABC confirmed the news on Monday morning -- saying Manning and Bryan will be hosting the 56th annual awards ceremony on Nov. 9.

"When I was asked if Peyton Manning was someone I would consider co-hosting with I didn’t hesitate," said Bryan, who hosted the show alone in 2021.

"We have become great friends through the years and what he brings to the table is gonna make it even more of a blast."

The former NFL quarterback joked he got the co-host spot because of his vocals ... sharing a video on his social media page of him singing along on a stage recently with Bryan.

"My @cma Awards audition tape must have been a hit!" Manning said.

This will be Manning's first time ever hosting the Country Music Awards show -- though it certainly ain't his first on-stage rodeo. You'll recall, Manning also hosted the ESPYs in 2017.

The show will go down in Nashville -- a familiar area for the former Volunteers QB -- and he said he's pumped for it all.

Jake Paul purposely ran away from his fight against Hasim Rahman Jr. ... so says the former boxing champ's son, who claims he easily could have made weight for their August 6 bout -- but the YouTube superstar got scared.

HRJ faced the music hours after Paul's Most Valuable Promotions announced the bout at Madison Square Garden was scrapped ... and he claims it's a sketchy situation.

Rahman claims he could've easily made weight for the fight ... but the Problem Child simply didn't want to risk losing.

HRJ says he "absolutely" could have made it to 205 pounds in order to make the fight happen ... but claims Jake's camp wouldn't let it happen.

Rahman has some words for Paul ... basically calling him a fraud and vowing to keep the YouTuber from ever claiming a real belt.

WARNING -- if ya haven't finished your morning Cheerios yet, you might want to do so before clicking here!!!

MMA fighter Blake Perry horrifyingly broke his nose during a match on Sunday -- after taking a brutal knee to the face.

The gruesome injury happened in the first round of Perry's tilt with Marcel McCain at Urijah Faber's A1 Combat event in Stockton, Calif.

As the two were dukin' it out in the opening moments of their fight -- McCain grabbed the back of Perry's head with his arms ... and then drove his knee right into Perry's grill. Video of the strike shows McCain's knee landed flush, and caved in Perry's nose.

Somehow, though, Perry kept fighting despite his face's disfigurement.

But, during the break following the first round ... it became clear Perry shouldn't continue, and doctors ultimately stopped the contest.

No word yet on how Perry is doing today -- but something tells us breathing ain't exactly easy work.

Deshaun Watson has just been suspended for six games ... after more than 20 women accused the Cleveland Browns quarterback of being sexually inappropriate with them.

Disciplinary officer Sue L. Robinson made the ruling early Monday morning, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported, finding the 26-year-old did violate the league's personal conduct policy.

Both the NFL and the NFL Players Association will have the opportunity to appeal the suspension -- though the NFLPA said in a statement on Sunday night it would accept Robinson's decision and urged "the NFL to do the same."

Former New England Patriot Jacoby Brissett, who Cleveland signed this offseason, is expected to be the starter for the Browns while Watson is out.

Monday's ruling comes over one year after Watson was initially accused of sexual misconduct in a civil lawsuit. The woman, Ashley Solis, alleged in court documents Watson had been inappropriate with her during a massage therapy session.

Shortly after, several more female masseuses filed lawsuits with similar accusations against the QB. In total, 25 were ultimately filed, though one was dropped in April 2021.

Twenty-three of the 24 cases have since been settled as of Sunday night, according to the attorney for the women, Tony Buzbee.

Watson -- who will be allowed to participate in the Browns' training camp and their preseason games -- has continually denied all wrongdoing. He was never arrested or criminally charged over the accusations.

Former Univ. of Washington football star Ben Burr-Kirven appears to believe the Pac-12 is toast ... and he tells TMZ Sports he's hoping his alma mater bolts to the Big Ten or Big 12 before it officially collapses.

The ex-Huskie linebacker, who won Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year back in 2018, broke down his thoughts on conference realignment with us out at LAX this week ... and he made it clear, he wouldn't mind seeing UDub leave its current home after USC and UCLA jumped to the Big Ten earlier this year.

"I don't know what they're going to do," Burr-Kirven said of the Pac-12. "It's going to be interesting. I'd imagine -- if I was betting -- more and more teams are probably going to leave because it will be hard to get into big bowl games without competitive games to be playing in."

"So, we will see what happens."

Burr-Kirven isn't sure what Washington's next move will be, but he tells us if he were running the show in Seattle, he'd jump to the Big Ten or Big 12.

Sylvester Stallone isn't pulling any punches over his dissatisfaction with where the 'Rocky' franchise is heading -- once again publicly lashing out at one of the OG producers.

Sly went on the attack for a second time this weekend, posting a very scathing message aimed at Irwin Winkler ... who helped get 'Rocky' off the ground way back in the day, and who apparently has an ownership stake in the IP -- while SS has none himself.

That's where Sylvester's beef lies, and he made it clear in yet another critique on Instagram ... throwing up art renderings that depict Irwin and others as animals and evil villains, who are stabbing Sly in the back, etc.

Sylvester writes, "After IRWIN WINKLER And FAMILY SUCK ROCKY DRY ! Presumed to be the most hated , untalented , decrepited , Producer in Hollywood and his cowardly children have found their next meal… Drago , RETURN MY RIGHTS BLOODSUCKERS!"

He's talking about the fact that Dolph Lundgren is reported to be starring in a spin-off film that'll see him reprise his character from 'Rocky IV' -- something Sylvester says he wasn't made aware of, and which he strongly disapproves of ... saying he never meant these precious characters of his to be milked to this degree in future projects.

Sylvester says he sees this as nothing but a greedy money-grab, and even calls out his old costar by name -- asking why he didn't reach out to talk about this before the word was out.

BTW, a couple weeks ago ... Sylvester was also venting frustrations about not owning any of 'Rocky' for himself ... and he pleaded with Irwin to do the right thing and hand over some of the rights, which he feels -- at least in part -- belong to him since he's the creator of 'Rocky.'

Sylvester has been speaking out about this more and more lately -- and it's starting to turn ugly. Some fans side with Sly ... while others are calling him out for acting unprofessionally.

As for Dolph, he's addressed Sly's concerns, writing ... "Just to set the record straight regarding a possible Drago spinoff. There’s no approved script, no deals in place, no director and I was personally under the impression that my friend Sly Stallone was involved as a producer or even as an actor. There was a press leak last week which was unfortunate. In touch with Mr Balboa - just so all the fans can relax…There ya go."

Bill Russell -- one of the greatest and most accomplished NBA players of all time -- has died.

The announcement came courtesy of Bill's own official social media page, which posted Sunday with a sad update. The text says BR passed away peacefully with his wife, Jeannine, by his side. The exact circumstances of his death weren't discussed further.

Bill's post goes on to list his many accomplishments, dating back to his high school days. He'd won two state championships on that level, two NCAA titles, a gold medal in the Olympics ... and, of course, 11 NBA championship titles with the Boston Celtics -- plus two titles with that same organization with him as head coach and a player simultaneously, a historic feat at the time ... on several levels, obviously.

His obit here touches on the fact that he was a civil rights activist during his playing time, with boycotts of certain events and public remarks that spoke out against racism and discrimination that was prevalent throughout the U.S. at the time.

Bill is by far one of the GOATs in league history -- evidenced in the fact that the current NBA Finals MVP award is named after him ... something that was instated in 2009.

He's been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame twice ... once as a player in 1975, and again as a coach just last year. His career is memorable, especially since he broke into the NBA when it was just being expanded as an organization and getting integrated with Black and white players alike, during a time of segregation in the country.

His accolades go well beyond what was mentioned above -- Bill has an enormous amount of NBA honors, including several All-Star appearances, NBA First-Team mentions, lifetime achievement awards and on and on. He retired from the sport in 1988, playing for 3 decades.

As you can imagine ... the tributes are absolutely pouring in right now. Bill Russell was beloved by just about everyone in and around the league ... players, coaches, owners and media members alike. He would come to games quite often, and was very visible in the basketball community.

Arrangements for his memorial and funeral are being made now by the family. Bill is survived by his wife, three children and other extended family. He was 88.

Jake Paul's boxing match against Hasim Rahman Jr. has been canceled, according to the Problem Child's boxing promotion, after the 12-1 fighter allegedly failed to meet contractual obligations tied to his weight.

Paul vs. Rahman Jr. was set to go down August 6 at Madison Square Garden in NYC ... but just one week before the highly anticipated scrap, Most Valuable Promotions announced the fight was off.

It all has to do with the weight of Hasim, who previously fought at heavyweight, weighing more than 260 pounds. For the fight with Jake, Rahman Jr. agreed to weigh a maximum of 200 pounds at weigh-ins, the day before the fight.

However, MPV says Rahman Jr. was obligated to show the NY state athletic commission officials he was losing weight in the lead-up to the fight, in an effort to prevent a big weight cut in an attempt to make 200 pounds.

Unfortunately, MVP says Hasim had lost less than one pound since signing the contract for the fight more than 3 weeks ago.

Due to this development, the athletic commission dictated the fight would be fought at 205 pounds instead. Paul -- who weighed in at 190 pounds for his second fight with Woodley -- says he agreed to the change.

But, MVP claims Rahman Jr. then demanded the match be fought at 215 pounds ... a huge jump from the originally agreed upon 200 pounds.

That's where Jake drew the line ... and that's why MVP says the fight isn't happening.

"MVP and Jake Paul will not reward someone that has conducted themselves in such a deceiving and calculated manner. Therefore, MVP is left no choice but to cancel the August 6th event. This forced outcome impacts Jake Paul, Amanda Serrano and every other fighter on this card who have trained tirelessly over the past few months for this event," a statement released by the promotion said.

A few weeks ago we talked to Rahman Jr. ... and he seemed to take issue with the weight cut.

Jake responded to the cancelation, saying ... "First Tommy Fumbled and now Hasim Rahman Crumbled. These boxers are the most difficult people to work with and continually lack professionalism and confidence to fight me."

"I apologize to all of the other fighters on the card, our partners, our team and the fans."

Of course, Hasim wasn't Jake's original opponent. That was supposed to be Tommy Fury ... but Tyson's bro pulled out over issues traveling to the U.S.

Ric Flair is preparing for his final wrestling match the only way the Nature Boy would -- by training his ass off and drinking every night leading up to it.

73-year-old Flair is slated to wrestle for the very last time (and first in-ring bout since 2011) on Sunday in Nashville ... teaming up with his son-in-law, Andrade El Idolo, and fighting Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett.

We spoke with Naitch leading up to the fight ... and he says he's faced plenty of challenges in training, but he never thought once about postponing or backing out.

Flair says he recently thought he had pneumonia or COVID-19 and dealt with plantar fasciitis ... but now, he's "good to go."

"I would never postpone it," Flair tells TMZ Sports. "They'd have to kill me for that. So many people have contributed their time and effort to make this happen. I just wanted to be at 100% of what I can be now."

Flair has dealt with numerous issues in the past -- he previously said it's a "miracle" he's alive after several serious health scares -- but he tells us he's beating all odds and training like a madman leading up to the match ... even doing 500 squats a day and crushing it on the stationary bike, despite having a pacemaker.

Ric says he's getting his heart rate much higher than he's expected to, and he's also drinking his fair share of adult beverages to make sure he's his true self.

"I guaranteed you that I'll be drinking every night," Flair told us. "I don't do good when I don't drink."

Flair says it'll be an emotional night to say the least ... and his whole family will be there to watch him perform.

As for whether he's guaranteeing a win, Flair's got a great perspective on the potential outcome.

Warren Moon was appalled by the homework clause the Cardinals put into Kyler Murray's contract this month ... calling it not only "embarrassing," but a "slap in the face to all African-American quarterbacks."

The Hall of Famer didn't mince words when breaking down his thoughts on the infamous addendum to the Arizona star QB's massive new deal -- blasting the Cards for even thinking of the idea in the first place.

In fact, Moon tells TMZ Sports it was so bad, he straight up believes the reasoning for the clause and the wording in it was clouded by racial undertones.

"It's something we were always accused of back in the day when they didn't let us play," Moon says. "That we were lazy, that we didn't study, that we couldn't be leaders, that we weren't smart. So all those different things just kind of came to surface after we put all that stuff to bed over the years and just because of this deal that's going on between Arizona and Kyler."

"So yeah, very embarrassing."

If you missed it, as part of Kyler's new $230.5 million contract, the Cardinals included bizarre language that required Murray to study for four hours a week -- on his own, sans distractions.

Once the addendum was made public, though, it was met with so much criticism, the Cardinals eventually removed it on Thursday night.

But, Moon tells us it might be too little too late at this point.

"The damage has been done," the 65-year-old said. "He'll have this riding on him every time he does something wrong in a football game. They're going to say, 'See, that's the reason why that happened is because he didn't study enough film last week,' or whatever it might be."

"It's a very unfortunate situation for him and very embarrassing for both sides."

For Murray's part, he told media members at an impromptu press conference on Thursday that no one should ever question his work ethic or preparation for games -- saying, "It's disrespectful, and it's almost a joke."

Khamzat Chimaev vs. Nate Diaz is going down in September, and many fans and experts alike have said the UFC is serving up the MMA legend on a platter for an ass-whooping of epic proportions ... something Dana White says is nonsense.

White joined Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weeknights on FS1) where the UFC President was asked about those criticizing the fairness of the fight.

"Well, the people that are saying that obviously didn't read when Nate said, 'I asked for this fight'. It's true and he also asked for Francis Ngannou. So, if I was putting him out to get slaughtered, Francis Ngannou would probably be the fight to give him."

Fighters like Daniel Cormier and Josh Thomson have expressed concern over the fairness of the matchup. D.C. said he thinks the fighters are at different points in their career, making this a "mismatch."

JT went a little harder, saying on his podcast with Big John ... "The UFC knows what they're doing, this happens all the time. When you're on your way out, they give you the toughest, hardest fight they know stylistically it does not match with you. Chimaev is the worst matchup he could potentially get."

Here's how the men -- fighting at UFC 279 on September 10 -- stack up against each other.

37-year-old Diaz is arguably the most beloved fighter in the entire UFC. Throughout his legendary career, Nate has beaten fighters like Conor McGregor, Anthony Pettis, and Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone.

However, Nate lost his last two fights ... Jorge Masvidal (November 2019) and Leon Edwards (June 2021).

As for 28-year-old Khamzat, he's undefeated ... 11-0 professionally, and 5-0 in the UFC. Chimaev has risen to stardom arguably faster than anyone else in the history of the promotion.

The knock on Khamzat was the level of competition ... but that subsided when he beat Gilbert Burns by unanimous decision in April 2022. It was the first time Borz was tested.

In December, we asked Diaz about the prospects of fighting Chimaev (they've gone back and forth for months), and he wasn't feeling it at the time.

"Try to offer me a fight with a rookie? I'm cool. Got 4 fights in the UFC. Don't talk my name," Diaz told us.

Clearly, Nate had a change of heart.

The fight vs. Khamzat is reportedly the last on Nate's contract, so we asked Dana if he planned to resign the superstar from Stockton.

"I don't know. We'll see what happens. We'll see how this whole thing plays out. I told him, me and hi0m met here, you know Nate's been with us for a long time and I like Nate. I said, 'Nate, do whatever you wanna do kid. Go do whatever you wanna do.'"

The bottom line ... Nate Diaz and Khamzat Chimaev are fighting in less than 45 days, and fans are pumped!

Arnold Schwarzenegger hit a milestone in age this weekend -- but he doesn't really wanna talk about that ... instead, he put the focus on his late mother, with a very touching tribute.

The ex-California governor and legendary movie star hit the big 7-5 Saturday, and he's getting tons of tributes online and elsewhere ... with everyone wishing him a happy 75th birthday. Of course, it's well-deserved -- but AS's mind seems to be elsewhere right now.

On Friday -- the day before Arnold's own bday -- he posted a remembrance for his mom, Aurelia, whom he said would've turned 100. He explains how much his mother meant to him while she was alive, and what she taught him growing up that he still upholds today.

Arnold writes, "Today my mother, Aurelia, would have turned 100. She was the best mother you can imagine and I’ll always love her. I can’t explain how much she meant to me, but she is the number one reason I won’t call myself self-made."

He adds, "She showed me unconditional love, the importance of keeping my house clean, how to make the perfect schnitzel, and patience. A lot of patience. Make sure to tell your mothers how much they mean to you!"

Aurelia passed away while visiting the gravesite of her late husband, Gustav, in her native Austria back in 1998. She collapsed during the visit after suffering a heart attack -- and despite being flown to the nearest hospital, she died.

It greatly affected Arnold at the time, whose Hollywood star was at its peak ... he said his world was crushed, and clearly -- his mother's death still means a great deal to him today.

Ivana Trump was laid to rest at her ex-husband's golf course this month -- and now, photos of her gravesite have emerged ... which are getting a major side-eye from the Internet.

Here's the deal ... Donald and his kids had their late mother buried at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, NJ about a week and change ago -- which might sound like a strange place to entomb a loved one ... but, hey, to each their own. It's a family decision.

The problem now is that pictures of her actual gravesite have surfaced for the world to see -- this after being snapped and published by the New York Post -- and people are shaking their collective heads at the images ... which many are calling sad, bare and disrespectful.

Indeed, her burial plot does appear a bit ... bland. And not just that, but it's completely isolated -- without any adornment or much of anything else to honor her, save for a small bouquet of white flowers and a marble plaque that seems slapped down at her feet.

As some pointed out, her gravestone inscription has barely any writing on it at all -- just her name and her DOB and DOD ... that's about it. No other words of remembrance for Ivana.

While it might seem like a bizarre sight -- and just a weird and inappropriate place to bury DT's ex-wife -- this is actually something The Donald has reportedly been gunning for for a while ... namely, getting authorization for a decent amount of burial plots on his property.

Some positive news on the Brittney Griner front from Colin Allred ... the U.S. congressman says officials have made "a very good offer" to Russia for the WNBA star -- and he's now as confident as ever that she'll be able to return home.

The representative couldn't get into specifics of the trade that America has sent to the Russians ... but he did tell TMZ Sports he believes the proposed swap is exactly what the foreign country is looking for in a deal for Griner.

"The ball is entirely in the Russians' court," Allred said Friday out on Capitol Hill ... before adding, "I think prospects, in my opinion, look better now than they have really at any point since she was taken."

But, Allred said he's under the impression Russia would like to impose a sentence on the 31-year-old Phoenix Mercury center before it moves forward with accepting any trade offers.

The ex-Baylor football player, though, said he's optimistic it will eventually go down at some point hopefully soon.

"I think it's a matter of time," Allred tells us, "but I think it's going to get done."

Griner has been detained in Russia since mid-February after authorities said she had hashish oil in her luggage at a Moscow airport. She's since pled guilty to the charges, and is facing a sentence of up to 10 years behind bars.