TMZ Sports - Page 19

Dana White was so touched by the story of a Muay Thai fighter who's trying to make a comeback to the ring after losing his legs in a tragic work accident last year, he opened up his wallet and donated $10,000 ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The fighter's name is John Esposito -- and back in December 2021, his life changed forever while he was doing his job as a road worker.

Esposito says he was filling in potholes on the side of a highway, when a car sped into the work area and hit him from behind, pinning him against a trailer. The 30-year-old said the amputation of his legs "happened on the spot."

"Halfway through the flight on the medivac, I flatlined," Esposito said recently while recalling the incident. "They were able to resuscitate me, though, and bring me back to life."

John -- who fought regularly prior to the accident -- has worked tirelessly the last nine months to get back in between the ropes ... hitting mitts from a wheelchair while he learns to move around with prosthetics.

After hearing of his journey, Liam Tarrant, founder and president of The Muay Thai Project, alongside friends Chris and Sarah Romulo, started a GoFundMe to help Esposito on his road to recovery.

And, after Tarrant appeared on UFC fighter Angela Hill's "Ceremonial Weigh-In" podcast to speak about it all ... White ended up donating $10K to the cause.

Tarrant tells us thanks to White's generosity -- as well as other donors -- the GoFundMe has already exceeded its initial goal ... and is approaching $30,000.

Tarrant says the cash will ultimately go toward Esposito's recovery costs "in the coming months & years."

Mike Bibby is back on the bench -- well, four benches, really -- 'cause the former NBA star is joining the newly formed Fan Controlled Hoops, and he's going to serve as coach for the entire league.

TMZ Sports talked to the former #2 overall pick (1998 NBA Draft) ... when he broke the news, he's coaching again!

"My main thing getting back into [coaching] is just so I can mentor these kids, get them on the right path, just teach them basketball, all the knowledge I have," Bibby told us.

FCH, like Fan Controlled Football, is different from other leagues ... fans control select aspects of the actual gameplay. What play will the team run? Fans vote. There's a ton of interaction ... and the court will even look different.

"It's gonna be great. Just the concept of the whole thing is gonna be amazing," Bibby says.

"I think once everybody sees it, the LED court, just the concept of how players can get power-ups, the paints lit up, you get 3 or 4 points for a dunk, there's a lot that's gonna be changed. It's gonna be a fast-paced game!"

The inaugural season will feature four different teams ... made up of college and professional players, and possibly even influencers.

We asked Bibby, who's just 44 years old, if there was a chance he might come off the bench and actually play.

"No, no, no, no, no, I'm twice these guys' age. My playing days are over. Ya know, I'll get out there and maybe play a little pick up, maybe get into practice a little bit to where there's no cameras. But, when the camera come on, I gotta sit down. There's not gonna be any embarrassment of me."

Bibby isn't the only former star hooper who's a part of the FCH. Baron Davis is also involved as an advisor and team owner.

It's likely other celebs will come on board. The FCF has team owners like Quavo, Richard Sherman, Steve Aoki, and more ... and Bibby says the star power is likely to follow them to the FCH.

Jared Goff is officially closing the book on Los Angeles ... 'cause the Detroit Lions quarterback just sold his California home for $6.4 million -- a discount from his original ask!

The 5,369-square-foot home sits on 1.42 acres in Hidden Hills (home to the Kardashians) -- 30 miles west of downtown L.A. -- comes with 4 bedrooms, 4 baths, a large kitchen with wine cellar, game room, and a 3-car garage.

The backyard has breathtaking mountain views ... and there's a custom pool and spa, fire pit, barbeque area, and a private mini-golf course.

There's also a 1,075-square-foot guest house that Goff used as an entertainment room.

The 27-year-old signal-caller bought the home in 2018 for a little over $4 million while suiting up for the L.A. Rams ... but when Goff was traded to the Lions in March 2021, the QB put the house on market.

The initial listing price of the home was $7.49 million. Jordan Cohen of Re/Max One represented Jared and the buyers.

Sister Jean is proving yet again that age is only a number -- the famed 103-year-old Loyola Chicago chaplain threw out the first pitch at the Cubs game, and she brought the heat!!!

The most famous nun in sports was rocking a custom No. 103 jersey as she took to the diamond on Tuesday night at Wrigley Field ... just one month after she celebrated her 103rd birthday.

Sister Jean's battery mate was Clark, the Cubs' mascot, and after he received her pitch, he hugged her as the fans in the stands roared with applause.

Sister Jean's popularity grew during the 2018 NCAA tournament when her public support of the Loyola Ramblers men's basketball team seemingly became a good luck charm.

Loyola Chicago, an 11th seed from the South bracket, went on an improbable run, knocking off Miami, Tennessee, Nevada, and Kansas State en route to the Final Four.

Sister Jean's love for the Ramblers became one of the most talked-about storylines of the tournament ... as Loyola was two wins away from winning the NCAA championship.

Unfortunately for Loyola, their fairytale story ended after they lost to Michigan, 69-57, but Sister Jean cemented herself as a superfan in the hearts and minds of college hoops fans.

Hilaree Nelson -- a world-famous ski mountaineer -- has tragically been found dead after she fell from a mountain following an avalanche in Nepal this week.

She was 49 years old.

According to the New York Times, Nelson and her partner, Jim Morrison, were attempting to ski down Manaslu -- the eighth-highest mountain in the world -- on Monday when she was knocked off course by a massive snowslide and went missing.

Authorities say they immediately launched a search for her -- though bad weather hampered their efforts. Finally, on Wednesday, government officials said they located her body.

Sachindra Yadav, an expedition liaison officer, confirmed Nelson's death to the New York Times.

"Her body has been brought to Kathmandu for autopsy," Yadav said. "It's intact but covered with snow."

Nelson was a legend in the extreme skiing sport, The North Face -- one of her sponsors -- called her "the most prolific ski mountaineer of her generation."

Her bio on her personal website said her "expedition career has led her to many 'firsts' in the world of ski mountaineering including linking two 8000m peaks in one push, first ski descents in Baffin Island, a first American ascent and ski descent of Papsura peak in India and a first ski descent of the 4th highest peak in the world, Lhotse."

The mother of two was named National Geographic Adventurer of the Year in 2018.

It's not every day you can wakeboard in the street ... so when the weather from Hurricane Ian caused a huge flood, a Florida man was there with his board!

A bystander in Marathon, Florida caught the performance on video ... where a pickup truck,  submerged in water, pulled the wakeboarder through the flooded streets.

There were even spectators there ... cheering on the wakeboarder.

Even though it looks fun (heck, is fun), Hurricane Ian is no joke. The storm could bring 155 MPH winds when it slams into Florida on Wednesday, according to Weather.com.

Last week, Hurricane Ian struck the Cayman Islands and Cuba, leaving at least 2 people dead in Cuba and millions without power.

This is the second major hurricane of the 2022 season.

Several sporting events in Florida, and even South Carolina, have been postponed due to the severe weather, including UCF's game, originally scheduled for Saturday game, that's been moved to Sunday.

As of now, the Buccaneers-Chiefs game is still on for Sunday night at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, but an NFL spokesman said the league is "monitoring the storm and continuing to talk to both teams."

Harrison Bader took a page out of Stone Cold Steve Austin's playbook on Tuesday night -- chugging three beers at once to celebrate the Yankees winning the AL East title ... and it was EPIC!!!

The New York outfielder -- who's only been a member of the Pinstripes for a few weeks after being acquired by the team in a trade with the Cardinals last month -- was seen hitting the party trick in the locker room following NY's 5-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

The 28-year-old nabbed three Bud Heavies, cracked 'em all open, then proceeded to pour each one down his face. At one point, one of his teammates even threw ANOTHER beer into the mix!!

Following the initial chug, Bader let out a burp -- and then went back for more!

Of course, he wasn't the only Yank gettin' after it following the big victory ... the team's MVP, Aaron Judge, was also spotted in the locker room enjoying a face full of champagne.

Judge didn't hit any homers in the contest -- he walked FOUR times and still remains one dinger shy of tying Roger Maris' 61 mark -- but he clearly didn't care ... even opting to sip on a Bud later in the celebration.

No word when the guys finally wound down the celly -- but it had to have wrapped up sooner than later ... they've got a game Wednesday at 4 p.m. PT.

Tekashi 6ix9ine's recent brawl in Dubai won't be his last one ... not if the DJ he punched that night has anything to say about it!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with the DJ, Lucasdirty ... who wants to resolve the whole thing mano a mano in a real boxing ring.

Lucasdirty's looking to finish what started last weekend ... he tells us he was alerted by the club's management that 6ix9ine was indeed in the building, so he was asked to spin his tunes.

He refused, though, because he says 6ix9ine's music goes against his core beliefs and morals -- and that's what sparked the nightclub melee captured on video.

You can see how things blew up ... 6ix9ine approached the DJ booth 10 minutes after getting rejected, some words were exchanged and then the club was flipped upside down.

Now, Lucasdirty is looking ahead to the recently announced exhibition fight between Floyd Mayweather and YouTuber Deji this November in Dubai, and sees it as the perfect opportunity to settle his differences with Tekashi.

Lucasdirty doesn't even fancy himself a boxer, but he's willing to put on the gloves if it means punching the rainbow.

Maryna Moroz is showing the world a different side of her and making history in the process ... becoming the first fighter in UFC history to be featured and pose nude for Playboy Centerfold.

The 11-3 MMA fighter has made a name for herself by punishing opponents inside the Octagon ... but Moroz tells us she's embracing and leaning into a sexier, gentler side.

"Before, I was a very closed person," Moroz said. "Now, America changed me, and now I'm open, and I feel more energy when I show nude pictures."

Maryna says whenever she would post content where she was showing her body, she noticed the responses she received were largely positive -- and she liked the attention.

Moroz was so eager to tell the world about her newfound opportunity with Playboy ... her manager had to tell her not to prematurely reveal the big surprise too soon.

Although Moroz is stepping into a new arena, she reminded the combat world that fighting remains at the forefront of her mind as she prepares for her upcoming bout against Jennifer Maia in November.

"My life is like train, my pictures, rest, food, and that's it," Moroz said. "Super big fight for me, and I'm ready for it because I work hard and focus is always in training. I love my job!"

Maryna told us she's happy that her scheduled fight with Maia is still on after it appeared to be in jeopardy, but she's equally ecstatic that she gets to work with Playboy.

Moroz knows that working with Playboy may be viewed as deviating from the norm for fighters, but she's not worried about public perception, and most importantly she's happy.

"Playboy is super big for me," Moroz said. "It changed everything in my life, and now I am different. I am a different person."

Mankind is doomed, except for Usain Bolt.

Oregon State University just unleashed the fastest bipedal robot in the world -- a machine that is faster than the speed of light your average mall walker ... which just clocked a 100-meter dash with the time of 24.73 seconds!!

The star robo-athlete is named Cassie ... which was invented by the OSU College of Engineering. OSU says Cassie was built with knees like an ostrich and has no cameras or censors -- so it is basically blind.

The big single-entry race went down at the school's Whyte Track and Field Center ... and while it may not outrun the average human, the accomplishment is incredible for a robot.

FWIW ... Bolt's 100-meter world record is secure at 9.58 seconds.

As it turns out, Cassie has another major feat on its resume ... after running a 5k in 53 minutes back in 2021.

"Cassie has been a platform for pioneering research in robot learning for locomotion," project leader Devin Crowley said. "Completing a 5K was about reliability and endurance, which left open the question of, how fast can Cassie run? That led the research team to shift its focus to speed."

New police video shows Myles Garrett appeared to be bleeding heavily from his right wrist following his car crash on Monday.

The footage -- captured on Medina County Sheriff's Office body cam and obtained by TMZ Sports -- reveals medical personnel was checking out the Cleveland Browns star just moments after the football player had crashed his Porsche 911 Turbo S in Ohio.

First responders can be heard in the clip asking about Garrett's bicep -- while also looking into other parts of his body.

The 26-year-old -- whose shirt was ripped and tattered -- seemed to be dazed and confused.

Eventually, medical personnel got Garrett to his feet -- and you can see in the video, blood was oozing from his wrist area.

Meanwhile, the video shows his female passenger on the ground being checked out by other first responders.

Cops say Garrett and the woman were ultimately transferred to a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported Garrett wrecked the car while trying to avoid an animal on the road.

Police say they do not suspect alcohol or drugs were involved in the incident.

It's unclear if Garrett will be available for the Browns this weekend in wake of the accident.

Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash and Luka Doncic ditched basketballs for rackets this weekend -- hitting tennis courts in Dallas for charity -- and it turns out the trio of hoopers have no issues whatsoever channelin' their inner-Serena Williams!!

The Dallas Mavericks icons -- plus Ben Stiller and a whole host of other celebs and athletes -- all competed in the fifth-annual Dirk Nowitzki Pro Celebrity Tennis Classic on Sunday ... and they looked GOOD.

The NBA ballers partnered up with some of the biggest names in tennis for the tournament, including Andy Roddick and Mark Knowles ... and they went at it at the SMU Tennis Complex for hours.

The guys showed off some serious athleticism, hitting big-time shots -- all while joking around with each other.

In fact, at one point, Stiller hilariously dissed Nowitzki with a fake handshake after a match!

Nash, though, ended up getting the last laugh on everyone ... the Brooklyn Nets head coach came out on top of the tourney after he and his partner, Spencer Papa, defeated British tennis star Luke Bambridge and his partner, Leo Antonio.

It all looked like a great time ... but the best part? The proceeds from the tourney are going to Nowitzki's foundation -- which focuses on children's wellbeing, health and education.

Victoria Beckham has people worried her marriage with David Beckham might be on the rocks -- and it all has to do with what appears to be a fading tattoo.

Fans took notice of VB's wrist this week when she did a lipstick tutorial on IG, pointing out that some signature ink she normally rocks on her wrist seemed to be almost totally gone. It's a cursive "DB" ... obviously her husband's initials, and one she's had since their 10th anniversary.

From the video, it looks like the tattoo is in the process of being removed. You can still see traces of it -- but the tat is certainly faded, and there's no explanation thus far.

Of course, this is still a cause of concern for some -- mostly because of Sylvester Stallone's recent tattoo drama -- but the public might be overreacting here.

Fact is, it appears Victoria is still wearing a wedding band on her left ring finger -- plus, her and David were photographed last week holding hands in public. On the flip side, however, he did attend the Queen's wake by himself a couple weeks ago.

It could all be much ado about nothing, but just to make sure ... we've reached out to reps for both David and Victoria about the missing ink. So far, no word back.

If you can't beat 'em ... beat up your teammate?!?

That's what one Mali women's basketball player apparently tried to do following a FIBA World Cup loss this week ... throwing several punches after walking off the court -- and the video is nuts!!

The incident went down after Mali's 81-68 defeat at the hands of Serbia ... which marked the country's fourth L in four appearances.

The loss was seemingly 23-year-old forward Salimatou Kourouma's breaking point ... because she decided to let her hands fly and go after her own teammate, 17-year-old Kamite Elisabeth Dabou.

In the video, you can see the players' teammates jumping in to break it up ... but Kourouma tried like hell to get more punches off.

It's unclear if something in the game sparked the incident.

The altercation got FIBA's attention ... and an investigation is now underway.

Mali didn't have much luck in its final match of the Cup, either ... losing 88-65 to Canada on Tuesday. Both players suited up for the contest ... as Kourouma netted 9 points and 6 rebounds, and Dabou added 6 points.

Dub Nation has a new K-Pop megastar in its fanbase -- it's Suga from BTS ... and he's already got Steph Curry's attention!!

1/7 of the most popular music act on the planet posted a snap with a customized "SUGA" Warriors jersey to his nearly 39 million Instagram followers on Monday ... seemingly confirming his allegiance to the Bay Area team.

Of course, the NBA champs have had some major support from K-Pop idols in the past ... from NCT's Chenle and Mark to GOT7 rapper, BamBam, who actually became the team's official global ambassador last season.

Suga's post was quickly noticed by the Warriors' biggest superstar ... who said, "Love the jersey SUGA!! See you soon ✈️"

There's speculation Suga is following in BamBam's footsteps as the team's newest ambassador ... but TMZ Sports is told that's not the case. However, there's rumblings Suga could attend the Warriors' preseason game in Japan later this week.

As we previously pointed out, BamBam's role with the team helped get Andrew Wiggins a starting spot in the All-Star Game ... with all the Ahgases (AKA GOT7 fans) voting on social media to secure the honor for the 27-year-old Canadian hooper.

On top of that, fans lined up for hours just to get a special BamBam x Warriors merch collab as well ... so yeah, the power of K-Pop is real.

Rihanna and her creative team are hard at work -- planning her Super Bowl Halftime Show and figuring out whether or not she'll be joined by guests -- with a list of nearly 50 possible names to hit the stage with her ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge of the plans tell us everyone Rihanna's collabed with over the years is fair game to possibly appear -- with stars like Kanye West, Paul McCartney, Calvin Harris, Pharrell, Jay-Z, Drake and more on Rihanna's resume.

We're told at this time, there have been no final decisions on who may join Rihanna, but she will absolutely have the final say. Our sources also tell us there's still a chance she does the whole thing solo and without a guest ... though it's likely she'll have at least one person, if shows in the past few years are any indicator.

As we reported, Rihanna and boyfriend A$AP Rocky were spotted hitting a New York City recording studio Monday night, so it's possible they're working on something together -- maybe even for the big game.

TMZ broke the story, Rihanna will be Super Bowl LVII's Halftime headliner. There were previous reports it was Taylor Swift, but we learned Swift isn't willing to take the SB stage until she's finished rerecording the rest of her old albums.