TMZ Sports - Page 33

LeBron James went full Sicko Mode for Bronny's big 18th birthday party ... losing his mind and dancing during Travis Scott's surprise performance -- and it was LIT!!

The James Gang pulled out all the stops for the Sierra Canyon hooper's celebration ... renting out Harriet's Rooftop bar in West Hollywood for all his friends.

The highlight of the night came when La Flame grabbed the mic and performed for the crowd  ... doing his biggest hits like "Butterfly Effect," "goosebumps" and "Sicko Mode."

King James and Bronny were clearly feeling the show ... rapping along and jumping up and down.

It's another step forward for Scott ... who has slowly made his return to performing after the Astroworld Festival tragedy in November 2021.

While most ragers tend to include alcohol, word is all drinks were kid-friendly (maybe in 3 years, Bronny) ... and there was plenty of pizza and ice cream to go around, according to Daily Mail.

Rapper SoFaygo also took the mic at the party ... with Bronny standing on stage with him throughout his set.

LeBron gave a special tribute to Bronny on Thursday ... saying, "I'm so proud of the young man you've become kid!" he said.

"Continue to be YOU throughout your journey because it's simply better that way! And I'll be right beside you whenever/however needed! Love you Young 🤴🏾"

The Tampa Bay Lightning have suspended Ian Cole ... after the defenseman was accused of grooming and sexually abusing a woman when she was a minor, the team announced Sunday.

"Our organization takes these allegations very seriously," Lightning officials said in a statement. "While we continue to gather more details, we have decided to suspend Ian Cole pending the results of an investigation."

"No members of the organization, including players, will comment further at this time."

On Friday, an anonymous Twitter user posted a lengthy statement alleging that Cole had emotionally and sexually abused her when she was in high school.

The accuser claimed Cole "was very well aware of my age and that I was a teen in high school," and said the hockey player had pressured her to have sex with him and to "do things without my consent, that I had made clear to him I was not ok with."

Cole -- who's played in the NHL for 15 seasons -- adamantly denied the allegations in a statement released Sunday night.

"I take the allegations made against me today in an anonymous tweet very seriously," he said.

"I completely deny these allegations and will fully cooperate with the NHL and the Tampa Bay Lightning, their offices, and legal departments in the forthcoming investigation."

According to ESPN, the suspension is considered paid leave.

A little boy who ran onto the field during an NFL game Sunday was grabbed by a security guard and slammed to the turf ... all while Tom Brady looked on from just feet away.

The incident happened early in the Buccaneers' game against the Falcons in Tampa Bay ... when a 10-year-old hopped the stadium railing and sprinted onto the playing surface.

The kid -- wearing a Brady shirt -- made it several yards down the sideline ... juking stadium workers who were trying to stop him.

Eventually, however, one staffer grabbed a hold of him and tackled him to the ground. Video shot by a fan in the stands shows the kid being taken down with force.

Authorities then slapped cuffs on the child, before hauling him into a holding area inside the stadium.

A spokesperson for the Tampa Police Dept. tells TMZ Sports the boy was issued a civil citation, given notice to appear in court ... and then released.

This is the second time in less than a week that a field invader has caused a scene at an NFL game ... last Monday, a smoke-bomb-toting protester was slammed by Rams star Bobby Wagner in the middle of "Monday Night Football" against the 49ers. He filed a police report over the incident. The case is ongoing.

Ex-NFL star Jamal Lewis says Tua Tagovailoa needs to be very, very careful with his health going forward after suffering a concussion last week ... telling TMZ Sports effects from similar head injuries that he's experienced in the past have lingered "for years."

"This is a silent creeper," Lewis said of post-concussion symptoms, "that can haunt you for the rest of your life slowly."

Lewis, unfortunately, knows all about head trauma -- the former Baltimore Ravens running back sustained several concussions in his career ... including one in 2009 that he says was a horrifying experience.

The ex-tailback says he was knocked out during a game, and didn't feel quite right following the hit for months. At one point while trying to recover, he says he "woke up not really recognizing myself."

The 43-year-old -- one of only eight people to ever rush for more than 2,000 yards in an NFL season -- is now telling Tagovailoa to use him as a cautionary tale ... and truly take care of his head before returning to the field.

"You gotta be more smart and understand that you might have a family," Lewis said, "that you have other people that are more important than this game."

Tagovailoa appeared to suffer a head injury initially against the Buffalo Bills on Sept. 25.

After telling docs it was his back, not his head, that bothered him, he was allowed to return to the game and then play again four days later against the Cincinnati Bengals.

In that game, he was slung to the ground and knocked out for several moments. He was rushed to the hospital, and has since been away from the Dolphins recovering.

Arnold Schwarzenegger may be the most expensive personal trainer in the land, because Sunday he worked out 2 crews that each plunked down $150,000 ... all for an incredible cause.

Arnold was at Gold's Gym in Venice, which he made world-famous, and made good on a charity auction at his home Saturday night.

Morris Flancbaum from Florida and his fam bid the $150k to get a good pump under Arnold's tutelage. Morris and his sons got pointers from The Terminator as a crowd formed to watch. Another $150k auction winner was there as well, getting fit with Arnold.

The charity -- After-School All-Stars -- is fantastic. Arnold created it 30 years ago to benefit school kids around the country. It provides after-school programs and exercise for 100,000 kids in 60 cities.

This time around folks donated $5.2 million, of which $1.75M came from the auction. In addition to a training session, Arnold auctioned off clothes, humidors, art and a ride in his tank!!!

Guests paid $50k a head to attend the event. Sylvester Stallone, Danny DeVito and Dolph Lundgren, along with the costars of Arnold's new Netflix show, "FUBAR," all showed.

And this part's amazing ... the charity just opened a school program in Uvalde, Texas, at the request of the City. It only took 45 days to get the program up and running.

WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry -- who earned the title of "World's Strongest Man" in 2002 -- says his son Jacob, will be an even better athlete than he was ... telling TMZ Sports the kid can already squat 600 pounds!!

Henry spoke glowingly about 16-year-old Jacob and his many talents in an interview with TMZ Sports ... telling us how proud he was of the high school junior for constantly striving to get better without needing a push from his father.

"Football-wise, he's already ahead of me," Henry said. "He's a really dominant player, impossible to block one-on-one. He took 28 double teams against the number one offensive line in the state and the best football team in the state of Texas."

"I know what Jacob is and what he's gonna be. I'm just looking forward to seeing it happen. He'll definitely be a better athlete than I am."

Henry said Jacob also has a bright future in wrestling, adding he understands the psychology of the sport and the subtle nuances that go into performing inside the squared circle.

Mark says Jacob's athletic prowess isn't the only impressive thing about him -- he says the kid can sing, too!!

"He's such a well-rounded kid," Henry said. "[He] loves God more than anything, and I just wanna see him have every outlet that he wants to try his hand in."

Jaire Alexander will be honoring Queen Elizabeth during the Green Bay Packers game in London on Sunday ... with these new custom cleats featuring Her Majesty.

TMZ Sports has learned the Packers organization reached out to celeb artist Joe Castro last month -- in order to have custom spikes made for their 25-year-old cornerback for their big game against the Giants.

"They wanted something to commemorate the Queen while they play in England," Castro tells us.

And, Castro delivered!!!

You can see a portrait of the Queen -- who sadly passed away on Sept. 8 at 96 years old -- in front of the United Kingdom flag on one side of the green-and-yellow-painted Adidas.

There's also a detailed design of London's skyline on the other side of the Pro Bowler's cleats.

Metta Sandiford-Artest just became a big Blake Griffin fan ... and it's all a result of the new Celtics forward's decision to rock #91 in honor of the great Hall of Famer, Dennis Rodman!!

TMZ Sports spoke with Metta out in Beverly Hills this week ... and he was pleasantly surprised to learn Griffin was paying respect to Rodman's legacy with his jersey number this season.

"That's incredible," the 2003-04 Defensive Player of the Year said about Griffin's number change. "That's great to hear. I'm a big Rodman fan, and now I'll buy the jersey."

Griffin -- who signed with the Boston Celtics as a free agent last week -- confirmed to reporters after his first practice with his new teammates that the reason he is going to wear the #91 is to pay homage to Rodman, the 5-time NBA champ.

Artest -- who played 17 seasons in the NBA with the Pacers, Knicks, Kings, Rockets, Lakers, and Bulls -- earned a reputation for his physical style of defense ... and was one of four players to wear the #91 in NBA history.

The other three are Mindaugas Kuzminskas (New York Knicks), Deividas Sirvydis (Detroit Pistons) ... and, of course, Rodman.

There's more -- Metta retired from the NBA in 2017, but it may not be long before we see another Artest in the association -- because MSA tells us both of his sons are still pursuing their hoop dreams.

Draymond Green just spoke publicly for the first time since punching teammate Jordan Poole at practice this week ... apologizing for his actions and announcing he's taking a break from the Golden State Warriors.

The 32-year-old 4x NBA champ met with media Saturday morning in the Bay Area, telling reporters flat out ... "I was wrong."

As for what led up to the punch, Green wouldn't say, answering, "things that happened in practice should stay in practice."

Draymond went on to say he isn't trying to convince people he was in the right ... he's here to own up to what he did wrong.

"I'm not here to change an opinion. I'm here to acknowledge my mistakes." He did, however, say the fact that the video leaked was "bulls***."

Green says he apologized to the team, organization, Jordan Poole, the Poole family, and his own family.

TMZ Sports posted video Friday showing the NBA star punching Poole in the face at practice Wednesday in San Francisco, after the two men got into a verbal argument.

Draymond says he watched the video "15 times, maybe more" and admitted "it looks even worse than I thought it was."

DG also expressed anger at the release of the video, saying ... "I thought it was bulls**t. No other videos leak from practice. When we're working on our sets, that don't leak."

Kanye West wore his 'White Lives Matter' shirt at his daughter's basketball game ... right behind Kim Kardashian, no less.

The controversial long-sleeve was on display Friday night while North played in Thousand Oaks with other kids -- plus, a bunch of parents on hand to watch. Ye was rocking it proudly, and he was within arms reach of the mother of his children too.

Kim doesn't appear to acknowledge him in the photos, and eyewitnesses say she never turned to look in his direction either while they were both there. We're also told KW had a cameraman with him who looked busy. No word of any trouble due to his wardrobe choice.

What we do know ... Kim completely avoided him outside of this seating arrangement. We're told she actually moved her car to the opposite side of the building once he rolled up ... in order to avoid any run-ins afterward. Indeed, her focus was all on North for this outing.

It's interesting ... Ye seemed pretty animated here, and he wasn't trying to hide what he was wearing either. If anything, you could argue he was trying to draw attention to himself.

He's obviously sticking to his guns on this -- remember, he first trotted out the 'WLM' shirt earlier in the week during a fashion show ... and after a lot of criticism, he doubled and then tripled down online. Eventually, he went on Tucker Carlson's show to try and explain.

Even at this point, though, Kanye's rationale behind the move isn't all that clear. He did say he thought Black Lives Matter was a scam, but aside from that -- he hasn't thoughtfully laid out his position ... although he has thoroughly described the backlash coming his way.

Deshaun Watson made his way to Los Angeles before heading back to northeast Ohio to rejoin his teammates ... having a night out on the town with his girlfriend during his last weekend away from the Cleveland Browns.

The 27-year-old quarterback and Jilly Anais showed up at Catch Steak for dinner on Friday ... just days before he's allowed to return to Browns practice.

Watson is currently serving his 11-game suspension for multiple sexual misconduct allegations made against him ... but is allowed to train with the team starting Monday.

The Browns are currently 2-2 ... and will continue rolling with backup Jacoby Brissett until Watson can make his debut in Week 13 against his former team, the Houston Texans.

It's a rare public appearance for Watson ... who has stayed relatively under the radar as he awaits his return.

Kim Kardashian's new podcast is taking over ... quite literally.

Her big true crime project, "The System," shot to the top of Spotify's "Top Podcasts" list this week -- surging past "The Joe Rogan Experience" and even the famed "Call Her Daddy" ... which fell in line behind her at #2 and #3, respectively.

Meghan Markle's podcast, "Archetypes," was #4 -- and from there you got "Huberman Lab," "Crime Junkie," "The Try Pod" and "On Purpose with Jay Shetty" ... in that order.

It's pretty impressive, considering this is less than a week old. If you're unfamiliar -- this first season of "The System" tackles a case pertaining to convicted murderer Kevin Keith ... whom Kim believes is innocent, only to dive deep into the deets/evidence.

Clearly there's interest in what she has to say in a podcast setting, but keep in mind -- this is a Spotify exclusive ... so it's hard to tell how "The System" would translate across other platforms. Rogan and Markle's podcasts are also exclusive to them -- so jury's out there too.

In any case ... she's all in on promoting it. Looks like KK snapped up some old-fashioned billboard advertising in Calabasas to plug the podcast, with her face front and center.

Mets fans gave Emma Stone a nasty New York welcome Friday night, booing her LOUDLY when she threw her support behind the San Diego Padres in their playoff game.

The Academy Award-winning actress and her hubby, Dave McCary, showed up at Citi Field in Queens to root for their team in Game 1 of the National League Wild Card Series. The pair are well-known Padres fans.

Check out this video of Emma smiling and wearing a Padres jacket on the jumbotron in the stadium. The image cuts to a man in a Mets hat, trying to whip the crowd up into a frenzy. The audience takes the bait and starts BOOING.

Witnesses also spotted Emma and Dave dancing in the front row as the Padres routed the Mets 7-1 in the opener. Game 2 is scheduled for Saturday night at Citi Field.

A televised high school football game abruptly cut to commercial Friday night after a flurry of shots rang out outside an Ohio stadium.

Check out this footage showing two rival teams running a play on the field when at least 12 gunshots were fired nearby. None of the players seemed to notice until the crowd freaked out and started to scatter. As players and fans ran for their lives, the broadcaster quickly announced, "We're going to break."

Another video showed people jumping from the stands and taking cover on the ground after the gunfire.

Toledo PD said 3 people were shot outside the stadium of Whitmer High School, which was playing Central Catholic HS. The victims -- 1 student and 2 adults -- were not seriously wounded, but taken to a hospital.

Investigators reportedly arrested 2 suspects and were searching for 2 more. A motive has not been disclosed.

Officials from the Washington Local Schools District issued a statement, saying no one in the crowd was injured and all guests had been screened prior to the game.

Jordan Poole is set for a big contract extension with the Golden State Warriors -- something he's supposedly made known around the team's facilities -- and it's the reason things boiled over with Draymond Green ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Sources who were at the practice where Green punched Poole tell us ... in the days leading up to the incident, Poole was carrying himself differently -- in a cocky manner. The alleged behavior was creating friction between him and some of his teammates, including Draymond, who has reportedly also asked for a big extension.

Fast forward to Wednesday's practice. Our sources on site say Poole called several fouls during a scrimmage, and Draymond called him a "bitch" multiple times as a result.

Things escalated when Poole allegedly said, "You know what it is, Draymond." -- seemingly bragging over the contract situation -- and Draymond got in Poole's face, allegedly saying, "No I don't know, what is it?"

Then, as played out in video obtained by TMZ Sports, you see Poole push Draymond back, and Draymond delivers the blow to his teammate's jaw.

Stephen Curry, Andre Iguodala and head coach Steve Kerr came to Poole's defense earlier this week ... denying his attitude had anything to do with the altercation.

In fact, Steph went as far as to say it was "absolute BS" ... but our sources are adamant the team is trying to save face.

Sonny Vaccaro -- the man who famously helped Nike sign Michael Jordan back in the day -- says if he were still in the shoe brand industry ... he could see Victor Wembanyama getting an unprecedented sneaker deal that could include "a blank check."

Wembanyama, a 7-foot-4 center from France, blew the doors off the American basketball world this week ... putting on a clinic in two nationally televised, showcase games in Nevada -- and Vaccaro was left nearly speechless by it all.

Sonny, who's seen all of the top prospects in basketball for decades, tells TMZ Sports he's never seen anything quite like what Victor showed on Tuesday and Thursday.

"He's so young, he's so articulate. He's handsome," Vaccaro said. "All of the things. I am knocked off my feet."

LeBron James was impressed too. The Lakers superstar called Victor -- the surefire No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft -- "an alien."

And, Sonny says all of it would lead him to hand over a king's ransom in order to sign the player to a sneaker deal ... if he were still a part of that world.

"He's worth a blank check," Vaccaro said.

Vaccaro's starting offer for Wembanyama would include money in the $15 million per year range ... and it would also come with a percentage of Wembanyama's shoe sales for the budding superstar -- something he says no prospect EVER gets.

"There's going to be pro teams that lose 82 games next year to draft him," Vaccaro tells us. "That's the same value I'm trying to say. He's this valuable. He's this good."

Sonny added if he were Wembanyama, he'd request a clothing line in addition to a sneaker pact -- and if he were representing the shoe giant on the other end of the negotiations, he'd happily give it.