TMZ Sports - Page 15

The demand to see Serena Williams continue her final U.S. Open run has resulted in some insane ticket prices for Friday's match ... with some seats tripling in value!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... fans rushed to buy their spot at Arthur Ashe Stadium for Williams' 3rd-round match against Ajla Tomljanović immediately after the GOAT's win on Wednesday.

Considering it could be Serena's last singles match of her career, seats that were originally MUCH cheaper on Wednesday will now cost a pretty penny.

For example ... the cheapest tickets for Friday were originally $160 before Serena's win, but increased to $450 right after her thrilling victory, according to ticket tech company Logitix.

Seats in the 100 levels also got more expensive -- going from $405 before the win to $1,530 after the match.

But, the company says the biggest increase was in the courtside section -- where seats went from $805 to $3,500.

As we previously reported, there has been a long list of rich celebs who have flocked to Flushing to watch Williams do her thing ... and let's face it, there's no price they wouldn't pay to be there.

The book on Serena Williams' career ain't closed yet ... the tennis legend moved on in the U.S. Open on Wednesday night with a huge win -- and Tiger Woods was there to cheer it all on!!

Williams upset No. 2 seed Anett Kontaveit, 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-2, in New York -- dominating the third set.

The 40-year-old looked to be in vintage form, despite only playing a handful of times prior to the major tournament this year.

The crowd was packed with celebs for the evening -- which many believed was going to be Serena's final match of her career -- with Woods, Bella Hadid, Gigi Hadid, Spike Lee, Zendaya, Jared Leto and more going crazy after every point she won.

Even LeBron James cheered on from his couch -- calling her a "G.O.A.T." after she secured the victory.

Following the W, Serena lingered on the court for several minutes -- soaking it all in.

"It's no rush here," she said in a post-match interview. "I'm loving this crowd. Oh my goodness. It's really fantastic. So there's a little left in me."

Williams, who beat Danka Kovinic earlier in the week to advance to Wednesday's match, said in early August she would retire after the U.S. Open -- which has created a huge demand for celebs and normies to catch her final moments on the court.

For Monday's match, Bill Clinton, Hugh Jackman and Mike Tyson all made it out to support tennis' greatest of all time.

"Survivor" alum and "The Challenge: USA" contestant Tyson Apostol thinks he could wipe the floor with the OG's of the MTV program ... but series staple Johnny Bananas thinks he has no clue what he's talkin' about.

We got Johnny in New York Tuesday at RiseNY ... and he thinks Tyson's claims aren't holding up -- adding the reality star is a little too new to the series to be yappin' his mouth.

Simply put -- Johnny doesn't think TA's ready to run with the big boys.

In case you missed it, Tyson's been a standout contestant on the CBS spinoff, but last month he called out a majority of the cast on Twitter ... saying the face-off would be a cakewalk.

"The Challenge: USA" -- wrapping its first season -- takes recognizable faces from "Big Brother," "Survivor" and other CBS shows and pits them against each other, just like MTV's does.

Tai Tuivasa is feeling horny, and it can only mean one thing ... it's time to fight!!

TMZ Sports talked to the 29-year-old, #3 ranked UFC heavyweight ahead of his UFC Fight Night scrap with #1 ranked challenger, Ciryl Gane ... in Paris, where Bon Gamin lives and trains. We asked Tai what he had to look out for fighting CG.

"Ciryl is a great athlete. Great competitor. Really good fighter. There's gonna be a few challenges, but I think he's got a bit to worry about as well, know what I mean? I'm gonna do what Bam Bam does and come to fight, and I'm gonna bring the fire, that's for sure."

FYI, Gane is coming off a loss to Francis Ngannou in January (unanimous decision). It was the first loss of his career (10-1). Tai has won his last 5 ... including wins over Derrick Lewis, Greg Hardy and Stefan Struve.

Anyone who's watched Tuivasa fight knows win or loss (there's been a lot more winning than losing), he's going to throw bombs, and someone is going to sleep. That's why he's a fan favorite.

On September 3rd, he's going into enemy territory ... but you already know Tai isn't the least bit worried.

"I look at it as an opportunity to earn more fans from another country and another place. So yeah, I'm excited. I definitely came to find some new French fans."

There's even more than a possible title shot and new fans on the line ... Tai says his contract's up after the Ciryl fight, and he's looking to get a solid pay increase.

"All I'm focused on is winning this Saturday and negotiating a new contract for bigger money," Tuivasa says.

"I'm a prize fighter. I know that if I win this weekend, it's going to help me dramatically in my next contract negotiation."

If he wins, Tai says he's eager to sample the French beer ... when he does a shoe-y.

"My mates have been having beers at breakfast. They said it tastes pretty good, so I'm definitely keen to give it a swirl!"

We also asked Tai about Jon Jones -- a  possible future opponent for Tai. Tuivasa recently made news when he called Jones the best fighter ever, but also called him a "d******d."

Tai's clearly interested in the fight, but says Gane's his only focus right now.

No arrests have been made in the case of the couple accused of engaging in a sex act at an A's game earlier this month -- but cops say they at least have a pic of the suspects ... releasing it to TMZ Sports on Wednesday.

The Oakland Police Dept. tells us it believes the man in the black shirt and the woman in the pink pants are the ones who got a little too frisky in the stands at the A's vs. Mariners game at RingCentral Coliseum on Aug. 21.

According to cops, the couple is alleged to have committed the crime of a lewd act in public. We're told if charged and convicted, each could be facing up to 6 months behind bars and/or a fine of up to $1,000.

Police tell us they're still on the hunt for the suspects ... and are encouraging anyone with info on the two to reach out to the OPD Special Victims Section at (510) 238-3641.

Serena Williams got a special gift from her Nike family as she plays what possibly could be her last tennis tournament -- a pair of custom Virgil Abloh kicks in honor of her late friend.

The tennis legend posted a video unveiling several boxes of sneakers from the shoe conglomerate -- and naturally, her favorite pair was the one inspired by the fashion icon.

Serena said the grey and green kicks inspired by Virgil -- the fashion designer who unexpectedly passed away last year -- have her name in quotes, paying homage to Abloh.

Williams also said Nike took some ideas for the design of the kicks from a tutu dress she wore while competing ... that she's "obsessed with."

Serena and Abloh's relationship is well-documented -- the tennis star famously modeled in his Off-White fashion show during Paris Fashion Week in February.

Williams -- who's won 23 Grand Slam singles titles in her career including 6 U.S. Open tournaments -- took the court in style on Monday, donning a custom dress and shoes encrusted with 400 diamonds.

SW sent shockwaves throughout the sports world when she announced ahead of the U.S. Open that she would be "evolving away" from tennis after the tournament.

Baker Mayfield is clearing the air on allegedly saying he'd "f*** up" the Cleveland Browns in Week 1 ... claiming he didn't even come close to hurling the bulletin board material.

Earlier this week, NFL Media's Cynthia Frelund stated she spoke with the new Carolina Panthers QB after their preseason game against the Buffalo Bills ... and claimed he told her he was going to get revenge on his former team with an NSFW statement.

It's a comment that almost certainly lit a fire under his old teammates' asses ... with Myles Garrett saying the Browns were going to "take it and use it."

But Baker spoke with the media at practice on Wednesday ... and he says the conversation didn't go as Frelund claimed.

"Well, first, I didn't say it," Baker told reporters.

"That is not how I phrased it. That's not even what I said."

Bake claims he "didn't even say anything" other than wanting to get a win in Week 1 ... which isn't nearly as eye-opening as the initial statement.

If Mayfield is telling the truth, it was a pretty believable quote nonetheless -- after all, this is the guy who went #1 overall in the 2018 draft but still played with a chip on his shoulder.

As for Frelund, she later admitted she should have kept the conversation private ... but stood by her intent -- which was to show support for the QB.

It's been a long time coming, but Stephen Curry is FINALLY in the rafters at Davidson -- the NBA superstar had his jersey retired this week ... after officially receiving his degree from his alma mater!!

We know what you're thinking -- how on earth has this not happened yet?! As it turns out, Davidson has a strict rule against giving the honor to players who didn't finish their education.

With that being said, Curry -- who spent 3 seasons starring at Davidson -- put in the time to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Sociology ... and on Wednesday, he was inducted into the Davidson Athletics Hall of Fame!!

While at Davidson, Curry averaged over 24.7 points per game in his 3 seasons with the Wildcats ... including a staggering 28.6 points per game in his final year with the program.

Steph's wife, Ayesha, and their three kids were on campus to support him ... and his parents, Dell and Sonya, took the podium to share a few words about their son's latest achievement.

Steph was one semester short of graduating, so the 2-time MVP re-enrolled at the school for the spring semester, working closely with two professors to achieve his goal, per Davidson.

It was all about Steph on Wednesday ... because he was the only one walking at the commencement!!

Once Curry completed his final semester of coursework, it paved the way for Davidson to honor the three-point sniper by hanging his jersey in the rafters for good.

During his speech, Steph was overwhelmed with emotion ... calling his move to pursue education at Davidson the best decision he ever made.

Curry is fresh off winning his 4th NBA title in June after defeating the Celtics in the Finals ... so there's a lot to celebrate.

P.J. Washington just proposed to his girlfriend -- and everyone is congratulating the Charlotte Hornets hooper and his new fiancée -- even his ex, Brittany Renner.

Washington's fiancee, Alisah Chanel -- who's also pregnant -- broke the news on Wednesday via IG ... showin' off her massive diamond ring, and writing "Soooooo…..this happened this morning 😍."

"Issa fiancée 💍 WOW babe you did that 🐐 I LOVE YOU 💙"

In the comments, Washington gave his soon-to-be-wife a kissy emoji ... and right underneath his remark, was his ex-girlfriend, Renner.

"Congrats y'all!!!" Renner said.

It's pretty shocking given their history. Remember, 30-year-old Renner and 24-year-old Washington became an official couple back in 2020 -- his sophomore year with the Hornets -- and welcomed their first child in May 2021.

Soon after, things went south, big time. The former couple took shots at each other on social media. Renner, a fitness model, was also called out for allegedly having a baby with P.J. to secure some of his $12 million NBA contract.

That started the whole "#FreePJ" trend in Renner's IG comments ... though, she's always been adamant money wasn't her motivation.

In fact, Renner was recently on the Tonight's Conversation podcast ... where she claimed she only gets a few thousand bucks from P.J., not $200k like many people think.

"You can't rely on your child's father to provide for you," Renner said, "I never been about money. I provide for my child. I get $2,500 a month."

Good to see Brittney playing nice with P.J. and Alisah.

Steph Curry is known for having a wicked shot on the court, but the Warriors star can apparently rap too -- 'cause he freestyled during a charity golf tourney this week ... and name-dropped Rory McIlroy in the rhymes!!

Curry was celebrating the 3rd annual Workday Charity Golf Classic with his wife, Ayesha, in Northern California -- when he got hold of a mic on one of the tee boxes and showed the crowd that he can get busy on a beat.

Steph dropped a 40-plus-second freestyle while musician Kelley James was teeing off ... and judging from the looks and sounds of it, Curry appeared to be a natural.

"I don't know why I have the mic," Curry rapped. "All I want to do is see Kelley's ball take flight."

"Is he really good at golf? Nobody knows," Curry continued flowing. "I don't know how this is gonna go?"

The best part of Steph's freestyle was the bars ... the Golden State point guard made sure to rap about what James was doing on the hole -- and he managed to stay on the beat!!

He also gave Kelley high praise ... saying in the rap that Rory, who just won the 2022 FedEx Cup, would approve of James' stroke.

Benefits from the golf tourney went to Steph and Ayesha's Eat.Learn.Play. Foundation -- and after the event, Curry reflected on how much fun he had there.

"Another amazing day at the 3rd Annual @workday Charity Classic w/ @ayeshacurry… all benefiting @eatlearnplay 🙌🏽⛳️ Special people, unbelievable vibes... for an amazing cause."

Leave it to LeBron James to get Jay-Z to come outta social media hibernation!

LBJ -- fresh from getting crunk at Kendrick Lamar and Baby Keem's The Big Steppers Vancouver show -- soaked up MSNBC anchor Ari Melber's deep dive into Jay's highly touted verse from DJ Khaled's "God Did."

The news bit hacked into the failed drug policies of ex-Presidents Richard Nixon and Donald Trump ... while highlighting how Jay lyrically details several of America's hypocrisies.

The NBA living legend equally praised Hov and Ari's poetic delivery … prompting a response from the Roc Nation boss, who took it all in stride, stating his primary focus is to give the voiceless a voice.

On the track, Jay raps, "I left the dope game with my record clean, huh/I turned the cocaina into champagne/I cleaned up la madrina with the same soap/Me and Loro talk 'bout how we slang dope/Now the weed in stores, can you believe this, Ty?" … the last line is a nod to his cannabis company Monogram.

Jay's highly touted verse has helped DJ Khaled secure next week's Billboard 200 chart crown … but that doesn't mean the Roc Boy will be lighting up IG or TikTok anytime soon.

While speaking with Kevin Hart over the summer, Jay explained he's down with everyone using social media to their heart's content.

Ex-UFC fighter Pearl Gonzalez is switching up her look ... 'cause she's decided to get her boob tattoo removed.

The Chi-Town Princess revealed the big change on Tuesday ... saying it will be a long and painful process, but she's in it for the long haul.

Pearl -- who has several tattoos -- has had some ink of clouds with a moon on her right breast for years ... but says after 11 sessions, it will be gone for good.

Gonzalez -- who also competed in Bare Knuckle FC and Invicta FC -- posted video of the process ... wearing a white bra as a removal specialist takes a laser to the area.

When asked if getting the tat or the removal hurt more, Pearl said it's a lot more painful to get it removed -- OUCH!!!

Gonzalez previously made headlines before UFC 210 in 2017 ... when the New York State Athletic Commission launched a review into her breast implants.

There was concern over whether she would be able to fight ... but ultimately, Gonzalez was cleared.

Chris Rock invoking the late Nicole Brown Simpson didn't land with the public, and it's definitely not landing with her family either -- 'cause he's getting dragged by them.

Tanya Brown, Nicole's sister, tells TMZ ... CR's crack wasn't just unfunny, it literally doesn't make sense. She says equating getting slapped at the Oscars to a gruesome double homicide is apples to oranges -- so, she thinks it's lacking in logic and a basic connection.

With that said, Tanya tells us his attempt at humor was distasteful to say the least, and offensive to the extended family ... especially since she believes it was totally gratuitous.

What TS wants Chris -- and anyone else who might want to invoke Nicole's murder in their bit -- to know is this ... there are still surviving family members who are still dealing with her loss to this day, and this type of stuff hits close to home and hurts people.

Tanya says she thinks Chris could've used any other analogy to make his point ... and didn't have to punch down to something that doesn't even relate -- coming off as tacky as a result. She believes comedians should be held accountable for what they say, including Chris.

Well, one could argue that's happening right now ... CR is certainly being called out by a lot of people online, who also thought the joke was cringe-worthy.

Some are so outraged by him name-dropping Nicole and likening her tragic situation to his ... that a select few are even suggesting maybe he deserved getting smacked by Will Smith. Remember, he said him going back to host the Oscars would be like NBS going back to the restaurant she was at before being killed to get her eyeglasses. Indeed ... grimace territory.

Former Charlotte Hornets power forward Montrezl Harrell has just cut a deal with prosecutors to close out his weed case ... his lawyer tells TMZ Sports.

Harrell -- who was charged with felony trafficking less than five pounds of marijuana after an incident on the road in May -- showed up in Kentucky court on Wednesday morning to make the plea deal official, according to his attorney, Drew Findling.

Findling says Harrell agreed to enter a guilty plea to a reduced charge of simple marijuana possession. In exchange, according to Findling, Harrell "received conditional discharge at the end of 12 months" -- meaning the conviction will be completely wiped from the basketball player's record if he stays out of trouble for the next year.

As we reported, Harrell was initially charged after cops say a car he was riding in on May 12 had three pounds of marijuana in vacuum-sealed bags inside of a backpack on the back seat.

Harrell was not arrested at the scene and was initially given a citation. He was then later formally charged. The 28-year-old had been facing up to five years behind bars in the case.

Findling said at the time his client "is a devoted family man and a committed professional basketball player and has never been a part of any form of marijuana trafficking or any other illegal activity."

Drake, J. Cole, Kevin Durant and Popcaan certainly know how to have a good time, especially when on the water in a tropical destination.

The superstar friend group was recently in Turks & Caicos, whipping around on jet skis in the crystal clear water.

Popcaan appears to be a new addition to the crew, but the Jamaican artist’s next album #GIHE (Great Is He) is set to come out on Drake’s OVO Sound label and he got really acquainted with the bros ... feasting on giant lobsters in between spa pampering and nighttime partying.

Popcaan began bread-crumbing his latest adventures with Drake & Co. last week when he posted up next to Drake and his private jet on the runway.

The vacation looked fruitful ... Cole is preparing to put on his CEO hat to oversee Ari Lennox’s next album, and KD looked comfortable soaking up the sun as he heads back to Brooklyn next season after all trade talks fell through.

Pittsburgh Panthers quarterback Kedon Slovis is wasting no time fitting in with his new school ... grabbing a mic and shouting "F*** West Virginia" at a pep rally ahead of their big rivalry game.

21-year-old Slovis was recently named Pitt's starter after transferring from USC this year ... beating out redshirt senior Nick Patti to be Kenny Pickett's successor.

Apparently, the guy already bleeds Blue and Gold ... 'cause when the team hosted an event to get fans pumped up for their "Backyard Brawl" season opener against the Mountaineers, Slovis let everyone know how he felt about the rival team.

In the clip, it sounds like the whole thing was planned ... as Slovis' teammates join in on the battle cry.

FYI -- Pitt and WVU is one of the oldest rivalries in college sports ... and with the two schools being just 75 miles from each other, there's a lot of bragging rights at stake.

Of course, the two teams haven't gone at it since 2011 ... which might explain why the Panthers are overly excited about Thursday's matchup.