TMZ Sports - Page 21

Mike Perry has an offer for Jake Paul (absent almost any s**t talk) ... if you want to prove you're a "real boxer," let's fight!!

30-year-old Perry -- fresh off a Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) win against Bellator star Michael "Venom" Page -- isn't exactly looking for R&R ... he wants to step foot in a ring with the 25-year-old "Problem Child."

"Jake Paul, I know you hear me, I know you see me," Perry told Babcock when he joined the "TMZ Sports" TV show (air weeknights on FS1) on Wednesday.

"If you want to be solidified as a real athlete, as a real fighter, and not someone who just fights tomato cans and basketball players -- you want to be a real boxer, then 'Platinum' Perry is the opponent for you, buddy."

And, Mike says he isn't looking to spark a war of words ... because he's content with life right now.

"We can add the animosity, but I'm in a good place in life and I'm not tripping on you bro, you can run from me if you want. That's cool. I'm not gonna chase you, but I'm right here when you're ready."

At the end of the day, Perry tells us he's okay if the fight with Jake -- who has publicly said he wants to fight in October -- doesn't happen.

"I'm not gonna chase it too hard, man. I know he heard me. Everybody knows he heard me. If he wants to ignore it, that's on him."

Sylvester Stallone tells TMZ his Rottweiler Dwight was not the reason Jennifer Flavin filed to end their 25-year marriage ... he says they have just taken different paths and he still has love for her.

TMZ reported sources directly connected to the couple told us Sly wanted to get a Rottweiler for protection for the family but Jennifer didn't want the canine, and that triggered an argument that unearthed other issues that led to Flavin's filing.

Sly says it's not true ... they did have issues over how to care for the dog, given that they travel coast-to-coast with homes in L.A. and Palm Beach, and he is often away shooting film projects, but he adds, "We did not end the relationship on such a trivial argument."

The "Rocky" star says, "We just went in different directions," adding, "I have the highest respect for Jennifer. I will always love her. She's an amazing woman. She's the nicest human being I've ever met."

As for the tattoo on his arm -- covering up a tat of Jennifer with a tat of the Rottweiler -- Sly tells us he's had the Jennifer tattoo for 14 years and wanted to freshen it up, but it got messed up and the dog was just a fix with no ill intention. He adds he still has a big tattoo of Jennifer on his back.

As we reported, Jennifer filed for divorce last Friday ... even accusing Sly of mishandling marital assets, something we're told he denies. She also wants an order to keep him out of their Palm Beach home.

Sylvester Stallone's wife, Jennifer Flavin, only filed divorce docs Friday ... but there's now proof the couple's been struggling for weeks, as evidenced by what was missing from her finger.

Flavin was in L.A. back on August 8, grabbing dinner at celeb hot spot Craig's and without her wedding ring ... something that may not have been obvious at the time, but makes for a compelling photo now.

TMZ broke the story, Jennifer claimed in her divorce docs Sly's been moving marital assets and money around ... something he adamantly denies.

Interestingly enough, Sylvester recently covered up his tattoo of a portrait of Jennifer with a Rottweiler dog. It's unclear when exactly Sly got the tattoo, but knowing what we know now, it was likely before Jennifer was seen sans ring.

What's interesting ... August 8th -- the day Jennifer was seen at Craig's -- was also the day when Sly dedicated his second post on Instagram to the pooch, saying, "”DWIGHT” Definitely a true friend! KeepPunching And Keep barking!"

Vanessa Bryant has won her lawsuit against Los Angeles County ... after a jury of ten decided she has suffered and will continue to suffer severe emotional distress as a result of the death scene photos captured on the cell phones of 8 L.A. County Sheriff's deputies -- photos she fears will someday surface publicly. That fear was the basis of her lawsuit.

The jury awarded Vanessa $16 million. Chris Chester -- who lost his daughter and wife in the helicopter crash -- was awarded $15 million.

Chester's attorney, Jerry Jackson, tells TMZ ... "Grateful to a jury and judge that gave us a fair trial."

Vanessa broke down sobbing when the verdict was read. The jury was polled and Vanessa looked at them one by one in approval.

The verdicts were against both the L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. and the L.A. County Fire Dept.

The deputies not only took the photos but shared them with friends, family and even strangers at a bar. The photos were even shared at a party with fire officials.

Lawyers for the County had argued the photos have never surfaced and they have been deleted from the cell phones in question ... so there was no cause for alarm that they might leak.

During closing arguments, the lawyer for Chester asked for up to $32.5 million. Bryant's attorney did not ask for a specific amount ... rather asking the jury to award what's right.

The trial lasted two weeks and was at times so laden with graphic descriptions, Vanessa cried and periodically left the courtroom.

Kobe and Gigi Bryant, along with Sarah and Payton Chester, were killed along with 5 others in the January 26, 2020 crash.

Two women claim George Foreman sexually abused them when he was in his 20s and they were minors, this according to two new lawsuits, obtained by TMZ Sports.

In the documents, which were filed in L.A. on Wednesday, the plaintiffs -- described as Denise S. and Gwen H. in the suits -- say they initially met Foreman through their fathers in the late 1960s, early 1970s.

Denise says in her suit she first encountered Foreman when she was around 8 years old, after her father had worked with the boxer ... and claims the pugilist began "grooming her at an early age by taking her out for ice cream and allowing her to sit on his lap as [he] drove his car."

She said in the suit when she was 13 years old, Foreman -- who she alleges was around 24 at the time -- became sexually inappropriate with her, and eventually engaged in sexual intercourse with her when she was 15.

Gwen, in her suit, said she met Foreman when she was around 9 years old through her father, who she said was Foreman's "long-time advisor." She claims roughly six years after the meeting, when Foreman was 23, he courted her and then "would molest and sexually abuse" her until she was 16.

Both women say in their suits a friend of Foreman's confronted the former heavyweight champ about the allegations "on at least one occasion," and they claim he "did not deny the allegations."

The two women are suing for unspecified damages. It should be noted they describe Foreman in the docs as "DOE 1."

73-year-old Foreman denied accusations of sexual abuse last month -- saying in a statement to TMZ Sports that two women were making up false claims in an effort to extract millions of dollars from him.

"Over the past six months," Foreman said at the time, "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."

He added, "I am, and always will be, guided by my faith and trust in God. 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."

Tom Brady is supporting Rob Gronkowski ... 's junk -- the future Hall of Fame tight end is modeling Brady Brand underwear while showing off his ripped bod!!

Gronk -- who won 4 Super Bowls playing alongside Tom -- is reconnecting with the G.O.A.T. once again ... showing off some undies from TB12's apparel brand alongside his stunning girlfriend, Camille Kostek.

"Brady to Gronk once again, this time off the field with a @bradybrand underwear pass! I sure scored after that play hehe! Gronk wrote on social media.

In the pic, 33-year-old Gronk and Kostek are wearing all white underwear ... and judging from the pic, Gronk's abs look like he's ready for an NFL comeback!!

Gronk retired for a second time earlier this offseason ... leaving 45-year-old Brady to try to win an unprecedented 8th Super Bowl ring without one of his most trusted targets.

Gronk -- who's retired and unretired before -- said this time, his football playing days are REALLY behind him ... even if Brady comes calling.

"Yeah, I'm done with football," Gronk said. "Love the game. Definitely blessed with all the opportunities the game of football has given me and the relationships I’ve met."

Sylvester Stallone's wife, Jennifer Flavin, filed for divorce after a huge argument over whether Sly could get a new dog, TMZ has learned.

Sources directly connected to the couple tell TMZ, the "Rocky" star wanted to get a Rottweiler for protection -- protection for their family -- but Jennifer did not want another dog. We're told the 2 were at loggerheads over the pooch, and they each fiercely stuck to their positions.

Our sources say they had an extremely heated argument that brought up other issues, although we're told none of those issues appeared to be marriage-enders.

Sly ended up getting the dog named Dwight ... also the name of his character on his new show "Tulsa King." Sly posted videos and photos of him with Dwight this month on Instagram, with the caption ... "So incredibly happy with my newly acquired four legged friend ”DWIGHT“ my characters name from the Series, keep punching and keep barking !!! Thank you very much to Trainer and breeder Dave Smith and his wonderful wife !!!"

Three days later, he posted this pic with the caption ... "”DWIGHT” Definitely a true friend! KeepPunching And Keep barking!"

Sly has been in Oklahoma shooting his show, and we're told he was shocked -- SHOCKED -- when he learned Jennifer filed for divorce. We're told Sly felt they could work out their differences.

This explains the tattoo on Sly's arm ... he put a Rottweiler on his arm over the tattoo he had of Jennifer. The photo surfaced Monday on DailyMail, but that was AFTER Jennifer filed divorce docs -- that happened last Friday.

Our sources say there was no evidence a war was brewing. In fact, the family was together July 30 to celebrate Frank Stallone's birthday, and sources tell us they all seemed happy.

As we reported, Jennifer claimed in her divorce docs Sly was improperly either spending or moving martial money around. Our sources say Sly flatly denies that.

It's problematic on many levels. We've learned they have been shooting a 10-episode reality show about Sly, Jennifer and their daughters ... they've already shot 9 episodes so the fate of that is unclear.

48-year-old Terrell Owens has still got it -- the Hall of Famer just ran a 40-yard dash in under 4.5 seconds!!

The former Dallas Cowboys star accomplished the insane feat minutes ago while racing against two Fan Controlled Football league receivers ... and the video is impressive as hell.

T.O. took on the two wideouts -- 27-year-old Zappers star James Harden (not "The Beard") and 25-year-old Glacier Boyz star Andrew Jamiel -- at a park in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., after we're told the guys had been talking smack about a potential race for months.

In fact, Terrell and James raced at practice last season ... where T.O. was allegedly disqualified for jumping early. So, today was the day to run it back, and figure out once and for all, who's faster?

And, you can see in the clips, Owens edged the dudes outright at the finish line.

The former NFL player looked amazing, showing off a chiseled physique, and he was apparently moving so fast during the sprint ... some at the track had him clocked at 4.38!

T.O. immediately trash-talked following the race -- repeating over and over again, "I do this s***!"

Owens has insisted repeatedly over the last couple years that despite not playing a down in the NFL since the 2010 season, he could still suit up for an NFL squad today.

Amazing news for Zach LaVine and his wife, Hunter Mar -- the couple just welcomed their first child together ... Saint Thomas LaVine!!

The LaVines revealed their little nugget on Wednesday ... saying the baby boy was born on Sunday.

"My heart in human form," Hunter said on Instagram. "I love you, baby boy! 💙"

Zach added ... "Best feeling I’ve had is now being a Father."

As we previously reported, the duo broke the news of their new addition earlier last month ... saying, "God has blessed us with the most special gift and we couldn’t be happier."

Zach and Hunter have been together for a long time now ... and first got engaged back in April 2020.

The couple will have no problem finding a babysitter ... as all their friends shared their excitement over Saint's big introduction.

"Congrats broski 🙏🏾," Tristan Thompson said ... with Dejounte Murray adding, "I Love This For Y’all!!!! 🖤 @zachlavine8 @hunter_lavine."

Even the city of Chicago's Instagram got into the comment section to congratulate the LaVines ... saying, "👏👏👏."

G Leaguer Perri’on Callandret is already thinking of the important things ... joking, "Anyone in these comments know what size shoe babies this size wear? 😂"

Tyson Fury is still calling for harsher penalties for knife crime in the UK in the wake of his cousin's tragic death ... insisting officials should straight up castrate perpetrators.

The boxing superstar didn't mince words when expressing his outrage on talkSport on Wednesday ... demanding government officials do more to deter knife crime in his home country after his cousin was stabbed to death following an altercation outside of a bar earlier this month.

"What the government needs to do about this knife crime, anyone caught with a knife or stabbing someone needs castrating," the 34-year-old fighter said.

"It cost as a government too much money to house them in a prison. It costs them 50-to-60-grand a year to put these scumbags in jail. Castrate the little bastards. Castrate them."

Fury initially sounded off on the matter on his Instagram page on Sunday -- just hours after his relative, 31-year-old Rico Burton, was killed in Manchester.

Fury called for a big crackdown then -- but he expounded on it all on Wednesday ... saying people who are caught even carrying knives should be locked away behind bars for "5-to-7 years."

"We're supposed to be one of the safest countries in the world," he said. "But yet we can't go down the street with a watch on or anything because we're going to get stabbed."

"The government needs to make this tougher on these little cowards who carry knives and weapons."

He added, "What little scumbag coward needs to carry a knife around with them in our country?"

Rex Ryan is putting his beloved feet to the test -- the ex-NFL coach is slated to compete on the newest season of "The Amazing Race" ... in hopes of winning a million bucks.

The former Bills and Jets coach will be teaming up with his partner, Tim Mann ... and the duo will be traveling around the world and competing in several challenges.

If you haven't seen the show, it's been on the air for 33 seasons ... so it might be too late to bring you up to speed. It's basically a scavenger hunt on steroids.

59-year-old Rex coached in the NFL for decades -- he won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens as a defensive line coach ... and led the New York Jets to back-to-back AFC championship games.

He most recently had an analyst job with ESPN ... appearing on "Sunday NFL Countdown."

40-year-old Mann is Ryan's friend of 6 years/golf buddy ... and is a probation officer.

Sylvester Stallone and his wife are calling it quits, she's filed for divorce after 25 years of marriage ... and is accusing the actor of moving assets from marital funds.

Jennifer Flavin filed docs Friday in Florida ... unclear exactly why she decided to pull the plug on their marriage, but some fans started to sense trouble thanks to a recent tattoo coverup -- the "Rocky" star removed an image of Jennifer's face from his arm.

Flavin wants exclusive domain over their house in Palm Beach while divorce proceedings wind their way through the courts.

She also made clear ... she believes Sly is hiding marital assets. In the divorce docs, obtained by TMZ, she says, "Upon information and belief, the Husband has engaged in the intentional dissipation, depletion and/or waste of marital assets which has had an adverse economic impact on the marital estate. Pursuant to Section 61.075, Florida Statues, equity dictates that the Wife be compensated and made whole by receiving an unequal distribution of the marital assets in her favor. Moreover, the Husband should be enjoined from, selling, transferring, assigning, encumbering, or dissipating any assets during the pendency of proceedings."

Jennifer wants to restore her last name -- Flavin. She also wants a judge to put the brakes on Sly moving assets from the marital pot. Closer Weekly first reported the split.

Stallone used to have a portrait of Flavin on his bicep, but recently got it covered by an image of his late dog, and "Rocky" costar Butkus.

When asked about the reasoning behind covering the ink of Jennifer, Stallone's rep told Daily Mail, "Mr. Stallone intended to refresh the tattoo image of his wife Jennifer; however, the results were unsatisfactory and, unfortunately, unfixable."

What's more ... Jennifer took to Instagram to post a photo with the three daughters she and Sylvester share, with the caption, "These girls are my priority <3 nothing else matters. The 4 of us forever."

Jennifer and Sylvester got married in 1997.

We reached out to Sly's rep ... so far, no word back.

Retired NBA star Gilbert Arenas says he's happy to still be breathing after he cost Irv Gotti and Ja Rule $175k ... claiming he purposely busted up a bet they had on a game he was playing in -- and they were FURIOUS over it!!

Arenas -- who was on the Warriors at the time -- said he was playing a road game against the Rockets when he overheard Gotti and Ja mentioning they had bet on the Dubs to cover the spread that night.

Agent Zero says he had no idea what the spread was, but made it his mission to spoil their night ... knowing he had to score some more points to kill the bet.

Arenas said his Warriors were losing to the Rockets, led by Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley, and with the game out of reach, he came down the court and threw up a half-court three-pointer.

Naturally, the wild shot went in ... sinking any hopes Gotti and Ja had of cashing out that night.

"[I] came down and shot it," Arenas said. "And I could see the disappointment in their face. I won. I won the game. We're going back to the locker room, and I'm sitting there like, 'Yeah, I hurt somebody's feelings today.'"

"I didn't know how much money they had on the game. I didn't really know it was about betting, but I knew I hurt [Gotti's] feelings. I knew I hurt his feelings. He was disappointed even though they won. He was disappointed, so that means I won."

Thanks to a recent interview on the "Drink Champs" podcast, we now know that Gotti and Ja bet $175K on the Rockets to cover the spread against Gilbert's Warriors.

"We wanted to kill Gilbert Arenas after that," Gotti said on the podcast. "The whole arena knew we had 175 [thousand dollars] on this. The refs knew. Everyone knew."

Megan Thee Stallion's following up her "Traumazine" album release by playing some legal hardball -- forcing J. Prince and Carl Crawford to sit for depositions in the lawsuit over her contract.

Megan filed docs Tuesday notifying the court her lawyers will be grilling 1501 Entertainment honcho Crawford, as well as Prince ... the Rap-A-Lot Records founder, who Megan claims has been advising Crawford on business dealings.

The date and place are already set ... J. Prince goes first on October 24, and Crawford follows the next day -- both depos will be taken at an office building in Houston, and they will be recorded on video.

It's a major power move for Megan, who, as we've reported ... is suing her label, 1501 Entertainment, because she believes she satisfied the terms of her contract with her last 2 albums -- "Something for Thee Hotties" and last week's release, "Traumazine."

Megan says Crawford and co. aren't viewing those projects as albums, simply to keep her tied to 1501 -- but she says she's done with the label. She wants out, and she wants a judge to force Crawford to cough up royalties and other money she says 1501 owes her.

She says that number is at least $1 million, but wants a proper accounting to determine the actual damages.

Tensions boiled over on Tuesday morning ... when Megan, Prince and Crawford all volleyed accusations that ranged from the 2 men mishandling her business to Megan conspiring with Roc Nation to get out of her contract.

Getting an industry powerhouse like Prince to sit for a deposition is no easy task, and Megan's hope could be this forces Crawford to settle the lawsuit beforehand.

Vanessa Bryant has endured two weeks of emotional testimony ... thankfully, she hasn't done it alone 'cause her support system is strong -- with U.S. soccer star Sydney Leroux joining VB and Natalia Bryant in court Wednesday.

The 32-year-old Olympic gold medalist and World Cup winner was photographed walking into a Los Angeles courtroom this morning with Kobe's 19-year-old daughter, Natalia, and Vanessa ... for closing arguments in the trial over photographs taken by L.A. County Sheriff's Deputies, who are accused of taking and showing off gruesome photos from the crash scene.

Leroux, who also attended court late last week, is a longtime friend of the Bryant family. In fact, Kobe was a mentor to the 2012 London Olympics and 2015 Women's World Cup winner.

After Kobe and Gianna tragically died, Leroux, who like Gigi, wore #2 ... the soccer star got the number tattooed on her body as a tribute to Vanessa's daughter.

Sydney isn't the only famous friend supporting Vanessa. Ciara and Monica have also attended the trial this week.

The attorney for Chris Chester, the co-plaintiff in the lawsuit, who tragically lost his wife and daughter in the helicopter crash, has asked for up to $32.5 million from L.A. County, calling the county's actions "inhuman and inhumane."

Vanessa Bryant has not specified the amount she is seeking.

F1 star Daniel Ricciardo is currently without a seat for 2023 -- the McLaren driver just announced the two sides have "mutually agreed" to part ways at the end of this season.

33-year-old Ricciardo joined McLaren on a three-year deal in 2021 ... and gave the team its first win in nearly a decade at the Italian GP in Monza.

Daniel says it's "bittersweet" to be moving on at the end of the season ... but makes it clear he's going to keep competing until the very last race.

It's been a challenging year for the former Red Bull and Renault driver -- his best finish is 6th at his home race, the Australian GP ... and he's only accumulated 19 overall points.

Ricciardo was clearly emotional in a video posted to Twitter ... reminiscing on all his memories throughout his career, but saying he still has the fire to compete.

The move allows McLaren to pursue rising star Oscar Piastri, who is currently fighting to get out of his situation with Alpine.