TMZ Sports - Page 35

A longtime L.A. Kings fan and season-ticket holder got pucked up before opening night Tuesday ... when a slap shot cleared the boards and hit the guy square in the face, breaking his nose and cutting his forehead.

The fan, Jeremy Aaronson, attended the game at Crypto.com Arena with his 11-year-old son. Prior to the first period, Aaronson and his boy were standing by the glass, watching the Kings players warm up before the game with the Vegas Golden Knights.

That's when a Kings player took a shot that sailed ... hitting Jeremy in the nose, breaking it in the process. Medics treated Aaronson at the arena, but his injuries required care from a doctor at the hospital.

So, instead of watching opening night live and in person, Jeremy was forced to ride in the back of an ambulance, and follow the game on his phone.

Thankfully, Jeremy's son was able to stay and watch the game with friends who happened to be at the arena.

As for his condition, Jeremy tells us he saw a specialist on Wednesday, and the doc told him his nose was broken. Aaronson will require further treatment from the nose doc once the swelling subsides.

Jeremy's forehead was also cut by the puck.

As for the team, we're told they reached out to Jeremy on social media the morning after the game ... and linked up with Jeremy on the phone later in the day.

Dwight Howard says his iconic Superman cape from the 2008 NBA Slam Dunk Contest was used to score in more ways than one -- he says he's worn it during sex!!

The hilarious convo went down on a new episode of "BS w/ Jake Paul" ... when the Problem Child's girlfriend/co-host Julia Rose bluntly asked Howard if he ever threw on the look for a bit of intimacy.

Howard was caught off guard by the question, but laughed it off and nodded ... which was more than enough to confirm the deed.

"He did!!" Paul laughed. "Dwight Howard had sex in the cape!"

But it wasn't just a one-time thing -- Howard admitted to wearing his cape while getting it on multiple times following the contest.

"Oh my God!" Rose yelled. "I love it!"

All good things come to an end, however -- the cape has officially been retired since the 36-year-old placed it in a plaque.

"Every time I look at it, it's like a gold medal. Ahhh!"

German track star Luz Long battled Black American star Jesse Owens during the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin -- while Hitler watched -- but instead of treating each other like enemies, the men became close friends.

And, now, Luz's famed silver medal from the long jump is on the block at SCP Auctions ... one of the most important medals in Olympic history.

Owens won four gold medals during the '36 Games ... and became a global superstar almost overnight. But, one of the medals almost never was ... 'cause Jesse was one missed jump away from failing to qualify for the medal round of the long jump.

That's when Carl Ludwig "Luz" Long -- born across the world and in very different circumstances than Jesse -- approached his competitor and offered him some advice.

“Why don’t you draw a line a few inches in back of the board and aim at making your take-off from there," Luz said to Jesse, saying, "You’ll be sure not to foul, and you certainly ought to jump far enough to qualify. What does it matter if you’re not first in the trials?”

Owens later talked about what those words meant for him, and did for his performance.

“Suddenly all the tension seemed to ebb out of my body as the truth of what he said hit me. Confidently, I drew a line a full foot in back of the board and proceeded to jump from there. I qualified with almost a foot to spare.”

In the finals, Long and Owens battled, both breaking the previous Olympic record in the process. In the end, Jesse, with a jump of 8.06 meters, beat Luz, and won the gold medal ... while LL took silver.

Luz, could've been mad, jealous, or even seen Jesse as the enemy, but instead was actually the first to embrace the man who just dashed his dreams of Olympic gold.

"You forced me to give my best,” Owens told Luz.

After receiving their medals, in one of the most courageous moments in Olympic history, Jesse and Luz walked side by side around the stadium, waving to the 110,000 spectators in attendance.

And remember, one of those people was Adolf Hitler ... who was annoyed a Black man dominated the Games, exposing his lies about race.

“It took a lot of courage for him to befriend me in front of Hitler,” Owens later said.

“You can melt down all the medals and cups I have and they wouldn’t be a plating on the twenty-four karat friendship that I felt for Luz Long at that moment.”

Berlin, 1936, is the last time Jesse and Luz would see each other. The German track star was killed in 1943 during World War II at the age of 30.

However, shortly before his death, Long wrote a handwritten note to his friend Jesse, where he sadly predicted his impending death, and asked a favor.

"My heart tells me, if I be honest with you, that this is the last letter I shall ever write. If it is so, I ask you something. It is a something so very important to me. It is you go to Germany when this war done, someday find my [son], and tell him about his father. Tell him, Jesse, what times were like when we not separated by war. I am saying -- tell him how things can be between men on this earth.⁣"

In 1951, years after the letter, Owens fulfilled his promise and met Luz's son. Jesse would later serve as his best man at his wedding.

Now, nearly 90 years after he won the medal, Luz's granddaughter, Julia Kellner-Long, the daughter of the son Jesse befriended, has decided to put the medal on the block as a way to keep her grandpa's memory alive.

The auction for the medal -- estimated to be worth between $500K and $1 million -- ends this weekend

L.A. Rams players weren't the only ones taking a beating from Dallas on Sunday ... their fans were, too -- with one dude getting KO'd by a Cowboys fan during a parking lot brawl.

The SoFi Stadium parking lot brawl was caught on video as the Rams were losing to "America's team."

The video shows several people in Rams and Cowboys jerseys going at it as a few people attempted to keep the peace.

But, nobody listened ... and then, out of nowhere, a guy in a #88 jersey (CeeDee Lamb, Dez Bryant, Michael Irvin, Drew Pearson??) -- throws a superman punch at a fan wearing a Cooper Kupp jersey, knocking him to the ground.

The Cowboys fan didn't stop there ... the guy continued to punch the Rams fan in the face until witnesses broke things up.

The Kupp fan eventually gets up but falls back to the asphalt ... obviously shaken up from the blows to the head.

But, he wasn't the only one injured ... nearby there's another guy laid out on the ground.

It's not the only fight that went down during the Cowboys-Rams game on Sunday. Inside SoFi, a fan wearing a Matthew Stafford jersey was knocked on his ass by a guy in an Ezekiel Elliott jersey.

Goose took the field Wednesday night ... but we're not talking Gossage.

A brave fowl decided to get a closer look at the Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Diego Padres game on Wednesday ... by flying its way down to the field amid the postseason matchup.

The hilarious moment went down during the bottom of the 8th inning in the Dodgers' 5-3 loss ... when the Greater white-fronted goose did a mid-game tour of the diamond with Gavin Lux at the plate.

The bird had the best seat in the house as it remained on the field when Lux hit a single to the outfield.

The Padres made a pitching change after the hit, which was enough time for the Dodgers grounds crew to snap into action ... grabbing towels and a trash can in hopes of safely getting the intruder off the field.

Luckily, the mission was a success ... and the game went on without any other wildlife visits.

Ex-NBA star Ben Gordon was arrested AGAIN on Wednesday ... this time, in connection to an open assault case for a 2020 incident in Manhattan.

TMZ Sports has learned ... the 39-year-old was being processed in Queens after allegedly hitting his 10-year-old son multiple times at the airport on Monday, when NYPD ran a background check and discovered an open investigation for misdemeanor assault in Harlem.

We're told the case stems from an alleged incident on March 13, 2020 ... when Ben is accused of getting in a heated argument with an adult female friend and grabbing the cell phone in her hand.

Sources tell us a scuffle ensued ... in which Ben allegedly injured the woman's finger and eye, causing pain and swelling.

The woman went to police and filed a report ... and the case remained open.

Shortly after Ben made bail at his arraignment in the airport case, he was then taken into custody on Wednesday and taken to the Harlem precinct for processing.

While it's another legal issue for Gordon, his attorney, Joshua Kirschner tells TMZ Sports he believes the former Bulls star's name will be cleared in the case.

"It’s very early in the case and we believe he will be completely exonerated once the investigation is complete," Kirschner says.

Gisele Bündchen may have just dropped a massive hint about what led to the breaking down of her relationship with Tom Brady and what appears to be the end of their marriage.

Gisele was on Instagram Wednesday when she commented '🙏🏽' in response to a post that read, "You can't be in a committed relationship with someone who is inconsistent with you. Read that again."

The message is certainly interesting -- especially because many feel the beginning of the end of the couple's marriage was when Tom un-retired.

Of course, it's possible Gisele felt Tom was "inconsistent" in his commitment to his family ... first saying he was stepping away from football, only to announce he was going to play again.

TMZ broke the story -- both Tom and Gisele had been searching for divorce attorneys for weeks before reports surfaced they'd hired someone. At this time, we're told the marriage appears to be beyond repair.

Pope Francis' sneaker game is about to be on point ... 'cause the pontiff just got some dope custom Nike Blazer kicks featuring his coat of arms -- and a one-of-a-kind wooden shoe box.

TMZ Sports has learned ... Father Jim Sichko wanted to gift Pope Francis something "special and unique" while visiting the Vatican this week ... and not the same ol' kinda present he gets all the time.

So, he hit up True Blue Customs out in Lexington, Kentucky a few weeks ago to put some kicks together for the Pope ... and they delivered!

The finished result are some Nike Blazer Mid 77' Vintage kicks painted white and yellow/gold -- the same colors as the Pope's flag -- and a detailed portrait of his coat of arms displayed on the sides.

The Pope's name is also painted on the back ... and they came with a custom wooden shoe box.

True Blue Customs says it only took 10 hours to make this exclusive package ... and it's going down as one of their favorite projects.

"Pretty crazy," True Blue Customs tells us about designing the Pope's gift.

"I've done shoes for tons of celebs over the years but hard to top this one."

It seems like the Pope loved the gesture .. 'cause the 85--year-old was all smiles when Father Jim hand-delivered them to him on Wednesday.

The 2 men who seemingly won a fishing contest by stuffing their catch with weights encased in fish filets have been hooked by a grand jury, that just nailed them with multiple felonies.

Jacob Runyan and Chase Cominski were just indicted for attempted grand theft and possessing criminal tools ... both felonies. They've also been charged with the misdemeanor of unlawfully owning wild animals.

It's a crazy story ... the 2 guys were in a competition on Lake Erie at the Walleye Trail tourney when they allegedly hooked what seemed to be 2, 7-pound walleyes. Apparently, some of the honchos were suspicious, cut the fish open and found the weights and filets. The fish actually weighed around 4-5 lbs.

Had they been declared the winners, they would have pocketed $28,760.

These guys have been under suspicion for cheating in other tournaments. They were investigated by cops for similar types of cheating, but there wasn't enough evidence to charge them.

Japanese manga artist Kazuki Takahashi -- best known as the creator of "Yu-Gi-Oh!" -- died while trying to rescue people from drowning, witnesses claim.

A report from Stars and Stripes -- the military's newspaper -- revealed the tragic details of how Takahashi lost his life as three strangers were engulfed in a strong current.

According to people at the scene, Kazuki -- the eventual inspiration for the "Yu-Gi-Oh!" trading card game -- dove into a riptide in hopes of bringing a woman and her 11-year-old daughter back to shore on July 4.

Major Robert Bourgeau, a 49-year-old U.S. Army officer and scuba diving instructor, also took action ... and while he personally did not encounter Takahashi during the rescue mission, multiple people say they saw the artist attempting to assist.

Bourgeau managed to save the 11-year-old girl and the mother ... but when he went to help a 39-year-old U.S. soldier who was also struggling in the water, he feared he would lose his life if he went on any longer.

Thankfully, Bourgeau was able to help yell orders to help the soldier navigate out of the rough waters.

Kazuki's body was found about 1,000 feet offshore two days later.

Bourgeau called Takahashi a "hero" ... saying, "He died trying to save someone else."

Victor Steeman -- a professional motorcycle rider -- has died after a violent crash in a championship race on Saturday. He was only 22.

The Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme confirmed the sad news on Tuesday ... saying Steeman passed away after suffering severe injuries from a multi-rider incident at Turn 14 of the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship’s Race 1 in Portugal.

"Medical personnel and vehicles arrived at the site immediately and the rider was attended to trackside and at the circuit medical centre before being transferred by helicopter to Faro Hospital," FIM said.

"Despite the best efforts of the circuit’s medical staff, marshals and hospital staff, Steeman has sadly succumbed to his injuries."

Steeman -- who rode for the MTM Kawasaki team -- began his career in World Supersport 300 full-time in 2019 ... and racked up four wins, five podiums, and three pole positions this season.

In fact, the Dutch rider made history with the most pole positions in the World Supersport 300 class at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Steeman's family said they feared for Victor's life when he joined the sport ... saying, "Something you have always been afraid of as a parent of a motorcycle racer has now happened."

"Our Victor could not win this last race."

His family says Steeman is a true hero through his passing ... as he was able to save five lives by donating his organs.

"We would like to thank everyone for the way you have lived with us over the past few days. We will miss our Victor enormously.”

Tua Tagovailoa is back slingin' the ball at Miami Dolphins' practice after suffering a concussion 13 days ago ... and while it's a step in the right direction, the quarterback is still in protocol.

The 24-year-old was spotted in Dolphins gear on Wednesday at the Baptist Health Training Complex ... wearing his helmet and throwing the football.

Marcel Louis of ESPN says the QB also launched a couple of deep passes 25 to 30 yards downfield ... which is great to see, considering the frightening sight after hitting his head against the Bengals in Week 4.

Of course, the team is not going to rush Tua back -- especially considering the hit he took in the Bills game four days prior.

Even though it looks like Tua's close to returning to the field, the Dolphins announced that Skylar Thompson will be the starting QB for Sunday's game against the Vikings.

The Dolphins have been getting ripped for the way they handled the situation -- with head injury expert Chris Nowinski telling us Tagovailoa should never play for Miami again.

The NFL and NFLPA have modified the protocol after looking into Tua's concussion evaluation, adding ataxia as a "no-go" symptom which is an "abnormality of balance/stability, motor coordination or dysfunctional speech caused by a neurological issue."

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft just made a HUGE contribution to the Massachusetts General Hospital ... donating $50 MILLION to promote health equity in the area.

81-year-old Kraft -- who is worth around $10 billion, according to Forbes -- says he handed over the check after being inspired by the treatment his late wife, Myra, received while battling ovarian cancer.

Kraft told WCVB he wanted to make it his mission to ensure people of all backgrounds had similar care ... and thanks to his money, the hospital will be able to start multiple new initiatives to make it happen.

One of the hospital's focuses will be sickle cell disease research ... which also happens to be the charitable cause for Patriots player Devin McCourty.

Kraft made a profound statement to Front Office Sports about the matter ... saying, "If this was a disease for white people, I think the cure would have been found already."

"I think it falls to people like myself to try to do what we can to help."

Kraft has made several donations to MGH -- recently named the best hospital in the country -- over the years, but the organization says this newest round of support has more than doubled the amounts in the past.

Tyrone Davis, former tight end for the Green Bay Packers and New York Jets, has died, according to an obituary made public by a funeral home in Virginia. He was 50.

The cause of death is not clear.

Earl Dotson, former Packers offensive tackle who played alongside Davis for eight seasons with Green Bay, confirmed the sad news in an emotional Facebook post.

"This is difficult to post," Dotson wrote. "Rest in paradise teammate. This good man Tyrone Davis fought beside me on the NFL Green Bay Packers for years. Brother forever."

Tyrone started his NFL career as a wide receiver for the Jets, who drafted him in 1995, before he was converted to TE before his second season in the league.

After spending two seasons with the Jets, the franchise traded Davis to the Packers, where he remained until his NFL career ended in 2002.

In 75 career games, Davis compiled 73 receptions, 795 yards, and 13 touchdowns during his eight-year career.

The highlight of Davis' career came in 1998 when he caught Brett Favre's 200th career touchdown pass during a Packers' blowout win of the Giants, 37-3, at the Meadowlands.

Davis passed away on October 2 ... and a service was held for his family and friends days later.

Davis is survived by his mother, Annie Davis, and his four children, Maiya Booker, Damien Davis, Jarrett Gomez, and Mariah Gomez.

NFL superstar Davante Adams was cited for assault for shoving a photog to the ground after Monday Night Football ... with court docs saying the victim suffered whiplash, a headache and possible minor concussion.

TMZ Sports has confirmed ... Kansas City Municipal Court records show 29-year-old Adams -- listed as 6'2", 210 pounds -- received a citation on Wednesday for pushing Ryan Zebley using two hands.

We broke the story -- Zebley called cops and filed a police report following the incident ... claiming he had to go to the hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Adams has since apologized for his actions ... saying, "I wanted to say sorry to him for that because that was just frustration mixed with him literally just running in front of me."

"I shouldn't have responded that way, but that's how I initially responded. So, I want to apologize to him for that."

Raiders coach Josh McDaniels is backing Adams ... saying he knows he's a good person and doesn't believe there was any intent behind the push.

Never thought we'd say this, but pickleball might be the hottest sport right now ... because Tom Brady just joined superstars like LeBron James and Drew Brees in becoming a professional team owner!!

Major League Pickleball announced the 7-time Super Bowl champion's newest business venture on Wednesday ... saying TB12 and ex-tennis star Kim Clijsters are buying a 2023 expansion team alongside Knighthead Capital.

As it turns out, pickleball teams are a hot commodity right now ... with names like Bron, Brees, Kevin Love, Draymond Green and Gary Vee getting in on the action recently.

MLP Founder Steve Kuhn spoke about the new owners ... saying, "Tom Brady, Kim Clijsters, and Knighthead Capital Management are champions in their fields and will now be champions for Major League Pickleball."

The sport has been growing rapidly recently ... with a mission to have 40 million players by 2030.

The team Brady and Clijsters are joining will consist of 50% female ownership, the league says.