TMZ Sports - Page 50

Paul George needed an assist off the court on Thursday ... asking his 9 million Instagram followers to help identify a young man who allegedly hit his car and drove off.

The Los Angeles Clippers small forward shared a photo of the driver on social media, saying the kid pulled off without providing his information after hitting his brand-new whip.

"This kid hit and run my brand new car today," the 32-year-old said in the since-deleted post, "Then dipped without giving me his driver's license. If you know him, tag him 😩😩😩😩😩"

"Anybody know who this kid is. DM me."

The method might have worked ... George's wife Daniela -- who married the 7-time All-Star last June -- wrote on her IG story hours later, "GOT HIM!!! TY IG."

She has also deleted the IG post.

The location of the crash and whether cops were involved is unknown, but we're working on it.

"Cheer" star Jerry Harris and Julie Chrisley are 2 names you'd never expect to see in the same sentence, but they're now sharing the same address ... in a federal lockup.

Here's the deal ... Harris, an ex-cheerleader from the Netflix hit series, was incarcerated at the Federal Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky, last August -- and the "Chrisley Knows Best" star checked in there Tuesday.

It's a minimum security satellite camp -- it won't be confused with a SuperMax -- but that doesn't mean Julie and Jerry get to socialize in the yard. For obvious reasons, we're told the feds keep male and female inmates in separate sections of the facility.

As we reported, Julie was convicted last June for bank fraud, wire fraud and tax evasion, and got a seven-year sentence -- and despite the prison's name, she is not in need of any medical treatment.

Same goes for Jerry ... the BOP confirmed inmates are housed at FMC Lexington for both medical and non-medical reasons.

Jerry's attorney, Todd Pugh tells us his client is "doing well for someone who is in prison." He adds, Jerry has "acclimated himself to custodial life and is participating in every type of self-betterment program available."

Andy Murray was so pissed that he couldn't take a piss during a marathon match at the Australian Open on Thursday night ... he unloaded on the chair ump, calling her refusal of a potty break a straight-up "joke."

Murray and Thanasi Kokkinakis battled for over FIVE HOURS at the famed tennis tournament in Melbourne ... and just the before the match went to its fifth set, Murray asked to hit the toilet.

The problem? He had already been once previously during the contest -- so, the ump refused his request.

And, that's when Murray snapped.

"Do you know something?" Murray said as it neared 4 AM in Australia. "I respect the rules. It's so disrespectful that the tournament has us out here until three, f***ing four o'clock in the morning and we're not allowed to go take a piss."

Murray continued, "It's a joke. It is a joke. And you know it as well. It's disrespectful. It's disrespectful to you, it's disrespectful to the ball children. It's disrespectful to the players and we're not allowed to go to the toilet. It's ridiculous."

Former No. 1-ranked tennis player Andy Roddick agreed with Murray ... writing on Twitter during the match, "This is just so dumb."

Murray somehow recovered despite not being allowed to relieve himself ... earning a 4-6, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5), 6-3, 7-5 win that started on Thursday night and officially ended at 4:05 AM on Friday.

NBA superstar Luka Doncic's new MASSIVE whip came with a hefty price tag ... 'cause TMZ Sports is told the Dallas Mavericks hooper paid more than a quarter million bucks for his fully decked-out Hellfire Apocalypse truck!!!

The 3-time All-Star had social media buzzing when he showed up to American Airlines Center for Wednesday night's matchup against the Atlanta Hawks in his new 6-wheeler ... and as it turns out, it's even more epic than you could imagine.

The folks at Apocalypse Manufacturing tell us Luka reached out to get a truck of his own after seeing their vehicles all over TikTok ... and the finished product was personally delivered to him in Texas.

AM says Luka is now the proud owner of the most fully-loaded Hellfire ever built ... and it comes with thermal and night vision cameras, a locomotive five blast train horn, nitrous kit, 850 horsepower and even a built-in safe!!

And, in case Luka wants to have a jam session before his games, he can use his 10,000-watt custom audio system!!!

The truck has six 10-ply, 40-inch tires ... and 22-inch anthracite rims.

Just look at the thing in action -- the car looks like a cartoon bull with the way it can shoot smoke out of its grill!!!

Luka's new wheels didn't come cheap -- we're told he paid more than $250k for the whole thing -- but considering the guy has made over $69 million in five seasons, he can most certainly afford it.

The Buffalo Bills were surprised with special gifts in honor of Damar Hamlin ahead of their playoff game against the Bengals ... receiving "3" pendants for the entire team.

Von Miller -- whose season ended prematurely after he tore his ACL on Thanksgiving Day -- showed off the new jewelry on social media ... and the team is clearly pumped about the gesture.

NYC-based jeweler Gabriel Jacobs of Rafaello and Co. gifted 80 pendants to the team and Damar's family ... which feature a 2.5-inch, 14k gold #3 and a heart.

We're told Damar will be getting his very own customized pendant ... which will also feature diamonds.

The backs of each pendant feature one of Hamlin's viral quotes -- "If you get a chance to show some love today do it! It won’t cost you nothing."

Jacobs explained his decision to gift the pendants ... saying, "Like many others, when I saw what happened to Damar Hamlin, I couldn’t help but feel connected thinking that this could happen to a family member of mine."

"I was extremely moved by all the outpouring of love and donations that came from all across the world. Being a jeweler, I wanted to give back in my own way by gifting these pendants as a way for the Buffalo Bills team to continue to honor Hamlin."

24-year-old Hamlin went into cardiac arrest after tackling Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins on Monday Night Football ... a moment that shook the sports world.

Hamlin was since released from the hospital after spending time in the ICU ... and head coach Sean McDermott said Wednesday the Bills safety has been at the practice facility "almost daily."

McDermott said Hamlin is still taking things day by day ... and is trying to get back into a routine suitable for his current stage in recovery.

Multiple people called 911 in the moments after Univ. of Georgia football players and staffers were involved in a massive car wreck last Sunday ... and the scene they described to cops was horrifying.

In audio of some of the calls, obtained by TMZ Sports, you can hear both men and women urging authorities to get to the scene ... with one caller saying the accident and its repercussions sounded like "multiple gunshots going off in the streets."

The wreck, according to police, happened at around 2:45 AM in Athens after a 2021 Ford Expedition "failed to negotiate a left curve" and slammed into two poles and trees -- before eventually coming to a stop against an apartment building.

One 911 caller told dispatch the crash left a power line down ... and "all the electricity keeps exploding out here."

"There's been three different explosions," the caller said. "Oh my God, there's another one!"

A separate caller told dispatch, "There's arcing wires, there's people on the floor, it's a crashed vehicle. We think someone might be dead."

One woman who said she was located in the apartment building that the car eventually skidded into said the wreckage was so bad, she couldn't even open her home's door.

As we reported, the crash ultimately took the lives of UGA offensive lineman Devin Willock and football team staffer Chandler LeCroy. It left another football player, Warren McClendon, and another UGA staffer, Victoria Bowles, with injuries.

The school's community and its football players have been reeling in the days following the accident, with star quarterback Stetson Bennett writing an emotional social media post about it all on Tuesday.

If you're wondering why "#FartGate" was trending Wednesday night, here ya go ... an NHL broadcaster (allegedly) let it rip on the air while calling the Canucks hockey game!!

It happened when Sportsnet broadcasters John Shorthouse and John Garrett were covering the Vancouver Canucks vs. Tampa Bay Lightning game at the Rogers Arena in Canada on Wednesday night.

Shorthouse was calling the game when out of nowhere, a fart, or what sounded like one, was clearly heard on the mic.

"Was that you?" Shorthouse asked his co-host.

Garrett denied being the one who dealt it, and the broadcasters both had a laugh.

But, hold up ... who did it?! No one knows!

Of course, passing gas during a live sports broadcast ain't nothing new ... remember the PGA championship mystery fart?!

NFL veteran and actor Chester Rogers will debut on 50 Cent's hit show, "BMF" Thursday night, proving it's possible to juggle pro football and acting ... but it requires a helluva lot of "sacrifice" and "discipline."

TMZ Sports spoke to Rogers -- who started acting at ten years old -- about landing a significant role on the show and how he manages to balance his career as a full-time football player and actor.

FYI, Rogers played for the Browns, Titans, and Colts over his 6 season NFL career, appearing in 72 games, and catching 141 balls for 1,522 yards and 6 touchdowns.

"When I first landed the role with BMF, I thought it was going to be one episode, one little scene," Rogers said, adding, "Then, from that, it turned to me filming for six months."

"I'm in multiple episodes. My character continued to evolve. Throughout that time, I had to turn down almost ten different contracts from NFL teams so that I could finish filming."

Of course, "BMF" is a drama series created by Randy Huggins and Fifty, inspired by the true story of two brothers who created one of the most notorious crime families in Detroit -- Black Mafia Family -- a drug trafficking and money laundering organization.

Chester costars as the best friend of "Meech", one of the brothers, played by Demetrius Flenory Jr.

It's a big part in a big show ... but it's not Chester's first acting gig. He was cast in the 2005 film "Constellation" alongside Billy Dee Williams, Gabrielle Union, Hill Harper, and Zoe Saldaña. CR played the role of a younger Billy Dee ... and it's where his passion for show business was born.

Chester says he hasn't had the chance to talk to Fifty -- executive producer for "BMF" -- in person just yet, but says he looks forward to getting some facetime with the rapper-turned-business mogul.

"I heard he's an amazing person."

"He's always been one of my idols. His entrepreneurship and his having his hands in so many different things. I can relate that way. He's definitely an icon in my eyes."

Rogers told us he's been inspired by Sidney Poitier and Denzel Washington along his journey ... and told us he would have loved to work with the legendary Tupac Shakur.

Chester also named superstar actors Damson Idris and Jonathan Majors as two people he would like to work with in the future.

Ex-NBA All-Stars Tony Parker and Joakim Noah teamed up with some of the fastest athletes on the planet for a game of pickup basketball on Thursday -- Formula 1 superstars Charles Leclerc and Pierre Gasly!!

The cool moment went down as part of the league's festivities in Paris this week ... with the guys tossin' the rock around with actor Darko Perić.

Of course, the Ferrari and Alpine drivers are phenomenal on the track ... but as for the hardwood?? Not so much. In fact, Pierre -- who's become tight with Michael Jordan recently -- hilariously gets away with a clear double dribble.

But it was all in good fun ... and no one appeared to be taking it seriously. After all, everyone was wearing street clothes.

As for the REAL ball going on in Paris, the Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls are currently going at it ... with big names like Magic Johnson and Lil Baby in attendance for the matchup.

Ex-Broncos defensive lineman Derek Wolfe hunted a massive mountain lion in Colorado this week ... and at the end of the day, a wild photo shows the Wolfe got the better of the big cat.

The former NFL player detailed his insane journey to nab the mountain lion in Grant on his social media page Thursday ... saying it all started after he got a call on Tuesday that the animal was terrorizing a rural neighborhood in the city.

Wolfe said he was told the mountain lion had killed two of a woman's dogs ... and was "nervous what he might do next."

The 32-year-old avid hunter and fisherman said he then set out to kill it.

He explained on his IG that after discovering a ravaged mule deer that he assumed the big cat killed, he hiked up thousands of feet of rough terrain ... and eventually encountered the mountain lion.

"Exhausted, dehydrated, cramping," Wolfe said, "I drew back my [bow] and sent an [arrow] through him."

Wolfe said he then had to drag the beast's carcass back to his truck ... falling off a 10-foot rock face in the process.

Wolfe, who played in the NFL from 2012 through 2020, wrote in the comment section of his social media post that he estimated it weighed about 195 pounds. As for its height, Derek stands at 6-foot-5 ... and the cat seemed to be bigger than him.

Aldon Smith cut a plea deal in his DUI case on Thursday morning, TMZ Sports has learned ... and the ex-NFL star is now facing prison time over it.

The San Mateo County District Attorney tells us ... Smith agreed at a hearing in Northern California to enter a plea of nolo contendere to a felony charge of drunk driving causing injury.

In exchange, the court agreed it would not impose a sentence on him higher than 16 months in state prison.

The D.A. noted probation and a county jail sentence are also on the table for Smith following the plea agreement.

The 33-year-old is slated to learn his fate at a sentencing hearing in March.

As we reported, Smith was initially hit with two felony DUI charges in the case back in December 2021 ... after he was accused of driving drunk and slamming his GMC Sierra pickup truck into the back of a stopped vehicle on a freeway off ramp in Redwood City.

Officials said the collision caused injuries to the other driver's back, wrist, knee, leg and foot. They also said Smith told the alleged victim at the scene that he "cannot have cops there."

Prosecutors claimed Smith had a BAC of greater than .15 at the time of the wreck. Smith had first pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Stefon Diggs might have a job in commentary after his NFL career -- but not necessarily calling football games -- the Bills star did some impromptu play-by-play on social media during the first Power Slap event, and it was hilarious!!

The 3x Pro Bowl receiver was flipping through the channels Wednesday night when he turned on Dana White's new Power Slap event on TBS ... and Diggs was in complete and utter shock as he watched Kortney Olson and Sheena Bathory slap the crap out of each other.

"Nah, this some crazy s**t right here," Diggs, as he lay in bed watching, said in a video he posted to social media, adding, "they right here smacking the s**t out of each other. Watch this right there... Ohhh! My gosh!"

In fairness to Diggs, what he was watching was actually insane ... Olson was KO'd with a massive slap from Bathory and the doctors called the fight.

"Oh s**t!" Diggs said watching the knockout, "Oh my gosh!"

Diggs also watched Jon Kennedy getting KO'd by Wesley Drain ... and hilariously dropped a famous quote from the iconic movie, "Friday," when Deebo knocks Craig down.

"Get up Craig! Get up, Craig!" Diggs yelled, "Get up! Get up, Craig!"

Of course, Diggs has somewhere to be on Sunday ... his Bills squad will play the Bengals in the Divisional round of the NFL Playoffs.

The NFL Pro Bowl captains have been announced ... but they're not superstar athletes like Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes -- it's Pete Davidson and Snoop Dogg!!

TMZ Sports has confirmed ... the "Saturday Night Live" alum and rap legend will be going head-to-head when the festivities go down next month near Las Vegas ... with Pete representing the NFC, and Snoop leading the AFC.

It's unclear what exactly their roles will be ... but we're assuming they'll be working alongside Peyton and Eli Manning, who were named the coaches for each conference.

Of course, Eli and Pete (a massive Giants fan) have built a tight friendship recently -- they even share a joint Instagram account -- so we take it their chemistry will certainly be a plus when the competition goes down.

As for Snoop, he's always had ties to the sport ... and he even has his own youth football league. On top of that, he gave a helluva performance at Super Bowl LVI last year.

Snoop spoke about his captaincy in a statement to People ... saying, "I'm comin' back to the NFL field, but this time, instead of performing, I'm going head-to-head with Pete and competing for the title of The Pro Bowl Games Champion."

"The competition is going to go off, but we all know that Peyton and our AFC squad are gonna do some big things. We'll end up on that podium."

Davidson kept it short and sweet ... adding, "I'm doing this to impress my Uncle Mike."

Walter White and Jesse Pinkman took a break from cooking meth to enjoy the Houston Rockets game on Wednesday ... and they got a special surprise from the mascot -- who threw on a pair of glasses and tighty-whites for the occasion!!

"Breaking Bad" stars Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul were posted up courtside to check out the home team's matchup with the Charlotte Hornets ... and when the VIP guests waved hello to the crowd via the scoreboard, Clutch showed up in one of Walt's most recognizable looks from the series.

Cranston hilariously reacted to the stunt by shielding his eyes ... and Paul was loving it, clapping as the bear showed off his getup.

Cranston and Paul -- who joined forces with their own mezcal after the show ended in 2013 -- were in town to promote the Dos Hombres brand ... and got a massive ovation from the fans in attendance.

Unfortunately for the home team, the Hornets handled the Rockets like Heisenberg did Gus Fring in the 122-117 loss.

As it turns out, the guys are rumored to reprise their roles in a Super Bowl commercial, too ... so Walt and Jesse are popping up all over the sports world.

Sequels to beloved hip hop classics are typically frowned upon, but not the new "House Party" ... so says one of the OG film's stars Christopher 'Kid' Reid, and he's giving LeBron James props for keeping the brand strong.

We caught up with Chris out in Santa Monica, where he joked about his cameo in the reboot being a bit on the "Where's Waldo?" side.

That aside, Chris notes how LeBron -- whose SpringHill Company acquired the rights for "House Party" -- has always shown love to his iconic group Kid 'n Play.

Back in 2009, LeBron and Rich Paul starred in a State Farm commercial based around RP's car getting burglarized, with the crooks leaving only a Kid 'n Play CD ... setting the stage for LeBron and the State Farm agent to do the group's iconic dance from the original film.

And then in 2013, LBJ gave his sons Bronny and Bryce the trademarked Kid 'n Play haircuts shortly before they were basketball phenoms in their own right.

The first "House Party" dropped in March 1990 -- paving the way for loads of hip hop cinema. Chris tells us the new generation of actors is doing a bang-up job carrying the torch ... and gave us his best Whitney Houston impression to hammer home his point!!!

Chris also revealed his famous high-top fade only cost him $25 back in the day -- a far cry from $1k, $500, and $420 that Diddy, Kanye, and Lil Baby are reported to be paying their barbers.

Pro soccer player Anton Walkes -- defender and midfielder for Charlotte FC -- tragically died after a boat accident in Florida, the team announced.

He was only 25 years old.

The Major League Soccer club said Thursday the organization is devastated by the news.

According to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Walkes was found unconscious and received CPR from Miami Fire Rescue after a two-boat crash near the Miami Marine Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.

Walkes, who was operating one of the vessels, was taken to a nearby hospital where he later died from his injuries. The crash is under investigation.

"He was a tremendous son, father, partner and teammate whose joyous approach to life touched everyone he met," Charlotte FC owner David Tepper said.

"Anton made those around him better people in all areas of life and represented Charlotte FC to the highest standard both on and off the pitch."

The England native started his soccer career at 16 when he signed with Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League. He was loaned to Atlanta United before joining League One club Portsmouth in 2017, where he played for several years.

Walkes returned to ATL in 2020 ... where started in 64 games.

Walkes was selected by Charlotte with the second pick in the 2021 MLS Expansion Draft.

"There are no words to describe the sorrow of everyone in Major League Soccer today after learning of the tragic passing of Anton Walkes of Charlotte FC," MLS said in a statement.

"Anton was a talented and dedicated player who was loved by his teammates and fans."

"We extend our deepest condolences to his partner, family, friends and the entire Charlotte FC family."