TMZ Sports - Page 3

For the first time since he was arrested for allegedly trying to kill a man ... Cain Velasquez will be back competing in combat sports -- a judge just ruled he can participate in a Lucha Libre wrestling match next week.

Velasquez -- who was granted bail earlier this month after spending over nine months behind bars following accusations that he attempted to shoot Harry Goularte -- had asked a Santa Clara County court earlier this week to allow him to head to Arizona on Dec. 1 so he could participate in the Dec. 3 event.

The request was met with opposition from prosecutors ... but on Tuesday, a judge ruled he could, in fact, make the trip.

The judge, according to MMAJunkie, is allowing the 40-year-old former UFC star to wrestle without a monitoring device ... though Velasquez must pay for a police officer to monitor his movements for the duration of the trip -- which is expected to end on Dec. 4. He'll have to put his monitoring device back on then.

The event will go down at Mullett Arena in Tempe ... though it's unclear who Velasquez will be wrestling against.

In one of the most shocking upsets in World Cup history, Saudi Arabia beat Argentina ... and their fans were so fired up, one literally grabbed his gun and opened fire into the air!

DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME. IT'S DANGEROUS. CAUSE, GRAVITY.

The "celebration" went down after the Saudis beat Argentina, 2-1, early Tuesday morning (US time). Argentina, with Lionel Messi, is considered one of the top 3 teams in the tournament ... and many have picked them to win the World Cup. It's the exact opposite for Saudi Arabia. They're regarded as one of the worst teams ... but, that's why they play the games.

SA was actually down 1-0 (Messi 10') at the half ... before scoring two goals (Saleh Alshehri 48', Salem Aldawsari 53') in the second half.

It's truly shocking Saudi Arabia won. They only had 2 shots on target (3 total), while Argentina had 6 shots on target (15 total). Argentina controlled the ball for 70% of the game.

Now, Saudi Arabia leads Group C with 3 points. Argentina has zero points. Mexico and Poland are currently playing each other.

Argentina, should they hope to advance, now has no margin for error ... they must defeat Mexico on Saturday.

As for Saudi Arabia ... they play Poland on Saturday.

Cristiano Ronaldo's time in Old Trafford is over -- the soccer superstar and Manchester United have decided to part ways effective immediately.

Man U announced the move just minutes ago ... saying, "The club thanks him for his immense contribution across two spells at Old Trafford, scoring 145 goals in 346 appearances, and wishes him and his family well for the future."

"Everyone at Manchester United remains focused on continuing the team’s progress under Erik ten Hag and working together to deliver success on the pitch."

The move comes just one week after CR7 claims he felt "betrayed" by coach Erik ten Hag and other higher-ups at the club ... admitting he didn't feel wanted the past two years at Man U.

Ronaldo went off on ten Hag ... saying, "I don’t have respect for him because he doesn’t show respect for me. If you don’t respect me, I’m never gonna have respect for you."

This was Ronaldo's second stint with Man U -- he previously played for the Red Devils from 2003-09 ... before rejoining the club in 2021.

A Texas school district is investigating claims that disgusting, racist noises were made toward a Black female basketball player during a H.S. game over the weekend ... after the student section appeared to make monkey sounds as she shot free throws.

The alleged incident went down during East Central's matchup against Marble Falls on Friday ... when EC senior Asia Prudhomme was lined up at the charity stripe.

Students in attendance can be heard on video shouting during Prudhomme's free throws ... seemingly imitating monkeys.

Prudhomme shared the clip on social media after the game ... saying, "This is sad, heartbreaking and uncalled for."

"Can't even play basketball without ignorance and racism in the stands. This really broke my heart, my coaches and teammates."

ECHS athletic director Suzette Arriola told WFAA Marble Falls officials were alerted about the students' actions ... but no one was removed from the game.

Arriola also claims the noises were made several other times throughout the game.

Marble Falls announced Monday an investigation is underway.

"Marble Falls School District has an unyielding commitment to love every child and inspire them to achieve their fullest potential, and this applies to children outside of our school district as well."

"We will continue to work with administration at East Central High to fully investigate and hold students accountable for their actions."

It ain't Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds or Mark McGwire ... no, according to Blue Jays ace Alek Manoah, the "worst cheater" in the history of the MLB is Yankees star Gerrit Cole.

The 24-year-old Toronto righty dropped the spicy accusation while on Serge Ibaka's "How Hungry Are You?" show ... in order to avoid drinking a cricket-filled, tea-like concoction.

"He cheated," Manoah told the NBA star without much hesitation at all. "He used a lot of, like, sticky stuff to make his pitches better. And he kinda got called out on it."

Back in 2021, the MLB famously began a crackdown on the use of foreign substances on baseballs -- and many around the league believed it really affected Cole, who some thought had relied on it all heavily.

In fact, Cole's now-teammate, Josh Donaldson, specifically called out the right-hander when he was a Minnesota Twins, saying he could see Cole's spin rates dramatically drop following the league's ruling.

Clearly, Manoah thinks there's some serious truth behind the allegations ... though he didn't evaluate further during the show.

As for Cole's take on it all, he never specifically denied using sticky stuff to make his baseballs move more ... infamously telling media members in 2021, "I don’t quite know how to answer that, to be honest."

The World Cup looked more like a UFC fight on Tuesday ... when Saudi Arabia soccer star Yasser Al-Shahrani was knocked out cold after he was accidentally kneed in the face by his own goalkeeper.

The moment went down during Saudi Arabia's surprise win over Lionel Messi and Argentina ... when keeper Mohammed Al-Owais went up to defend the ball during the final minutes of the match, but ended up going all Jorge Masvidal on Al-Shahrani.

The 30-year-old defender hit the grass hard ... and the medical team immediately rushed out onto the pitch to assist.

Thankfully, Al-Shahrani came to and was able to give the crowd a thumbs up to show he was alert.

Al-Owais was clearly upset about the accident ... going down to his knees in disbelief after making contact with Al-Shahrani's jaw.

But the match eventually resumed ... and Saudi Arabia was able to pull off the shocking 2-1 win over Messi's squad.

It's a huge upset win for Saudi Arabia -- the team was ranked one of the worst heading into the event in Qatar ... with Argentina being one of the favorites to win it all.

The UVA vs. Virginia Tech game has been canceled ... in wake of the tragic shooting on the Cavaliers' campus earlier this month.

The ACC made the ruling late Monday evening, saying the Nov. 26 matchup will not go down as planned ... after UVA players Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D'Sean Perry were shot and killed on a bus after returning from a class field trip on Nov. 13.

According to the conference, ACC officials and both Virginia schools had a say in the decision.

"The ACC and Virginia Tech continue to support UVA following the devastating tragedy, which resulted in the deaths of three members of the Cavalier football team -- Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D'Sean Perry, and injuries to students Mike Hollins (also a Virginia football student-athlete) and Marlee Morgan."

This is the second game that's been canceled since the tragic incident -- last weekend's UVA vs. Coastal Carolina contest was also called off.

Both UVA and Virginia Tech's seasons are now over.

Kobe Bryant's 19-year-old daughter is scared, and so is the LAPD ... they say a stalker with a criminal history involving guns has been doing everything he can to find her.

Natalia Bryant beelined it to court Monday to get a restraining order against 32-year-old Dwayne Kemp, whom she accuses of stalking her.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Natalia says Kemp attempted to contact her 2 years ago -- when he was 30 and she was 17. She says he's under a delusion they have a romantic relationship. Natalia says she has never met or otherwise had contact with him.

She says he has done everything he can to find her ever since, and she is living in constant fear. He showed up at her sorority house at USC. Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ he also allegedly showed up at one of her classes and was roaming the building (Photo above).

It gets much scarier. According to the docs, Kemp is in the process of buying at least one gun -- the docs say the sale is imminent. The docs go on to say he has threatened to buy both an AK-47 and a fully automatic Glock.

The docs say Kemp is a gun enthusiast who has been arrested and/or convicted of at least 4 crimes, including one involving firearms.

Natalia claims the man once sent her a DM with an image of her late father Kobe and wrote, "Thankful For Him Birthing You, Hopefully We Can Birth Him… 'Kobe'", adding a red heart to the message. The docs say he had the hopes of having "a Kobe-like child together."

The LAPD is involved in the case and clearly wants a restraining order in place.

Natalia's asking the court to order the man to stay at least 200 yards away from her, her home, her job, her school, her sorority house and her car.

Mats were nowhere to be seen on the sidelines during the Chargers vs. Chiefs game on Sunday night ... just days after a Broncos player sued L.A., claiming the previous use of the ground coverings at SoFi Stadium caused him to tear his ACL.

The mats had been there for the Broncos vs. Chargers game back on Oct. 17 -- and during a special teams play in the overtime period of the contest, outside linebacker Aaron Patrick stepped on them and blew out his knee.

In a lawsuit filed on Nov. 15, he claimed it was a mistake by the Chargers, ESPN, the NFL and others to allow the mats to be placed so close to the playing field ... explaining all parties should have known they presented a dangerous hazard for players.

He sued for unspecified damages, including lost bonuses and future earning potential.

On Sunday -- the first Chargers game at SoFi Stadium since the suit was filed -- no mats were present in any area of the field.

It should be noted the game was an NBC broadcast, not an ESPN one ... but cords and cables were either covered in a different way, or carried by officials.

Unclear if the Chargers imposed the changes as a result of the suit ... they declined to comment due to the pending litigation.

Patrick's attorney, William M. Berman of Berman & Riedel, tells TMZ Sports he and his client still aren't happy with the changes ... saying, "The guys holding the cables/wires were still in too close proximity to the field, creating what we believe to still be a very dangerous condition."

Roquan Smith has only been a member of the Ravens for a few weeks ... but the former Bears linebacker is already making his presence felt in the community, handing out Thanksgiving food to Baltimore families ahead of Turkey Day.

The 25-year-old -- traded from Chicago to Baltimore last month -- showed up with his teammates at a local elementary/middle school to hand out food to 200 families, per WBALTV.

The outlet says Smith and other Ravens pulled their money together to purchase turkeys and side dishes for the families to enjoy on the annual holiday.

Baltimore shared videos Monday of Smith and the team packing boxes of food into cars as families came to pick up the items in time for Thursday's celebration.

Smith and his teammates did more than just hand out birds, though ... they took time to interact with community members -- and Roquan even offered to take a pic with a little kid eager to meet him.

The youngster had the warmest smile as he stood next to the linebacker ... and even said "cheese" while throwing up the peace sign as he posed for the camera.

Navy football players are going to be looking gooooooooood for their game against Army this year -- the school just revealed it'll be wearing NASA-themed uniforms for the classic rivalry ... and they're awesome!!

The helmets, jerseys, cleats and gloves will feature nods to astronauts -- as the school looks to pay homage to the 54 Naval Academy graduates who went on to become space explorers.

One side of the players' headgear will have a painting of Navy alum Bruce McCandless II, who took the first untethered spacewalk back in 1985. The other side will have NASA's logo on it with a moon in the background.

The jerseys, meanwhile, will be white and red ... with, according to the school, markings that mimic the NASA spacewalk suit.

Players' shoes will be all white, of course, to symbolize astronaut moon boots.

The team got its first look at the kits inside a meeting room on Monday -- and, not surprisingly, the guys LOVED what they saw.

"One small step for man...One giant leap for Navy Football," the team tweeted after unveiling the unis.

Alfa Romeo driver Valtteri Bottas ditched his race suit -- and everything else -- after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix ... by jumping in the pool in the buff!!

The 33-year-old star's partner, pro cyclist Tiffany Cromwell, posted the scene on Monday ... showing VB enjoying his first full day off after the 2022 F1 season.

Of course, Valtteri is no stranger to getting buck nekkid -- his friends always seem to grab a shot of his booty and post it on social media for all his fans to enjoy.

Remember, Bottas' buddy snapped a photo of his donk back in May ... when the guys were enjoying Aspen, Colorado.

Bottas finished his first season with Alfa Romeo in 10th place ... his worst finish since his rookie year in 2013.

But the guy seemed happier than ever on Monday ... and still made sure to get in some exercise by going on a bike ride with Cromwell.

Soccer reporter Grant Wahl says World Cup security guards detained him for nearly half an hour on Monday morning ... and it was all because of a rainbow shirt he was wearing.

Wahl showed up to Ahmed bin Ali Stadium in Qatar for the United States' first tournament game against Wales -- and in order to show his support for the LGBTQ+ community in a country where homosexuality is illegal, he wore a shirt with a soccer ball and a rainbow pattern.

Almost immediately after getting to the venue, though, Wahl says security stopped him over the tee -- and demanded he removes it.

"You have to change your shirt," he said one guard told him. "It's not allowed."

The 47-year-old says he refused -- and sent out a quick tweet before he claims guards then took his phone and detained him for roughly 25 minutes.

"One security guard told me that my shirt was 'political' and not allowed," Wahl said. "Another continually refused to give me back my phone. Another guard yelled at me as he stood above me -- I was sitting on a chair by now -- that I had to remove my shirt."

Ultimately, Wahl says a security commander showed up and apologized, and let him into the stadium. Wahl says a rep for FIFA said sorry as well.

Zach Wilson might be side-eyeing some of his defensive teammates (and they him) after multiple players, including Sauce Gardner, liked a tweet calling out the quarterback following the team's heartbreaking loss to the Pats on Sunday.

After the soul-crushing 10-3 loss, Wilson told reporters he didn't feel like the offense owed the defense, who were spectacular (like they've been throughout the year), anything ... which raised many eyebrows.

The Jets punted 10 times ... one more time than Wilson had completions (he was 9-for-22 for 77 yards). Plainly put, Wilson and the Jets' offense was putrid against New England.

"You don't owe your defense anything @Zach Wilson," wrote Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis, who also posted a video of Wilson overthrowing a wide-open receiver.

Lewis' tweet made its way to at least a few Jets defenders ... Sauce and defensive end John Franklin-Myers were caught liking the post.

Of course, fans and media immediately pounced on idea of beef between the two units ... something the first-round draft pick and NFL star tried to quell.

"I swear I didn't mean to like this tweet. I only found out because yall started tagging me. We gon' be straight!" Gardner tweeted.

He attempted to further clarify ... writing "If I liked it purposely, I just wouldn’t of said anything,"

"I always mistakenly like tweets on here, but y’all made sure y’all caught this one. Y’all toxic on here."

Franklin-Myers, like Sauce, also seemed to feign ignorance, writing, "I ain't mean to like that tweet! We got faith in Zach for sure! Ya'll stop looking for problems, we got 7 games left to ball."

Kendall Jenner and Devin Booker are dunzo -- the model and NBA superstar reportedly split up recently ... and it's all due to their hectic schedules.

KJ and D-Book first went public with their love on Valentine's Day in 2021 ... but as TMZ Sports previously reported, they became an item after spending a ton of time quarantining together in 2020.

Aside from a brief breakup, they held strong for well over two years ... and packed on a ton of PDA at numerous events throughout their relationship.

People reports Jenner and Booker's romance fizzled out as they focused on their respective careers ... and ultimately, it wasn't the right time for them to try to make it work.

The outlet says the split was amicable and mutual ... and they will remain in touch.

The timing is understandable -- Booker is in the heart of his 8th NBA season, and Jenner is tied up with her modeling career and 818 tequila company.

Bow Wow and AEW star Jade Cargill finally came face to face and things got so tense the pro wrestler had to be restrained while trying to go after the rapper ... and it all happened on video!

It all went down on Sunday ... Bow Wow was at the FTX Arena in Miami as a part of the Millennium Tour: Turned Up! -- where he and Cargill had the heated exchange.

In the video, Cargill, flanked by fellow AEW wrestlers Red Velvet and Kiera Hogan, AKA "The Baddie Section" ... were jawing back and forth with Bow Wow as security watched.

One of the women with Cargill threw popcorn at Bow Wow during the altercation, which prompted security to intervene before things escalated further.

One guard picked up Velvet and Hogan, whisking them away -- while the other guard restrained Jade from going after Bow Wow, who was taking steps toward the women.

The simmering beef started after Bow Wow shot his shot with Jade, despite her being married to former MLB star Brandon Phillips, in seemingly harmless fashion on Twitter.

Jade rejected Bow Wow's offer and told the rap legend he couldn't afford her, which didn't sit well with the "Let Me Hold You" artist.

The "Like Mike" Star has previously expressed a desire to get into wrestling ... and it's unclear if the feud between him and Cargill is a part of an AEW storyline.