TMZ Sports - Page 31

Professional skier Kyle Smaine -- who won gold at the 2015 Freestyle Ski and Snowboarding World Championships -- has died in a terrible ski accident, his family announced.

He was 31.

Smaine was in Japan skiing ... a place he enjoyed frequenting this time of year due to the "unbelievable snow quality," something he talked about on social media before the accident.

Smaine was on the trip with photographer Grant Gunderson, who recounted the frightening events in an emotional Instagram post, calling it his "absolute worst nightmare scenario."

Grant says he was tired so he decided to go down the mountain and rest. But, Kyle wanted to keep skiing. Gunderson says things took a turn for the worst when another skier triggered a large avalanche that threw Smaine 50 meters, and buried him, killing the 31-year-old.

Gunderson says rescue officials -- "two mountain guides and 4 or 5 emergency doctors" -- did everything they could to save Smaine, and another man who is yet to be identified, but tragically there was nothing they could do to save the men.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo said they're "aware of the incident in Nagano Prefecture" and are working with local authorities.

Gunderson, crushed over the loss of his friend, said Smaine's death is something he will be "rehashing" for the rest of his life.

Miami's Club LIV was the location for a Young Money-sanctioned movie last night ... with Lil Wayne, Drake and 2 Chainz all gracing the stage to celebrate the birthday of DJ Stevie J!!!

Drake was seemingly in a great mood last night after winning big betting on the Super Bowl-bound Philadelphia Eagles ... and you can see his enthusiasm as he surprised the crowd by rapping along to performances of Wayne's "Steady Mobbin'" and 2 Chainz' "Watch Out."

The event was thrown by Michael Gardner and Louis Oliver and hosted by Wayne ... who was in his element ripping through a flawless rendition of his classic tongue-twisting track, "A Milli."

Drake eventually grabbed the mic, joining Wayne on their platinum collaboration "The Motto" and for his own "Her Loss" opening track, "Rich Flex" ... giving the crowd an impromptu concert on Sunday for David Grutman's club at Fontainebleau.

Things are clearly getting quite serious between Larsa Pippen and Marcus Jordan -- the two now have a secret handshake ... one that they seal with a big smooch!!

Michael Jordan's offspring shared a vid of the couple's new intimate finger-locking greeting on his social media page Sunday night -- showing further that he and Scottie Pippen's ex are, in fact, an item.

In the clip, you can see Marcus and Larsa slapping hands repeatedly -- before Marcus, as part of the shake, put his arm over her head and pulled her in to give her a kiss.

It's a cute and romantic moment for the two -- but it also shows things have certainly progressed to perhaps official relationship status for the couple.

You'll recall, despite getting very close over the past few months, the duo has insisted they're nothing more than just good friends. But they've now each posted each other on their social media pages in the last few days -- with Larsa sharing a snap last week of the two holding hands in front of a Jordan floral arrangement.

For what it's worth, Marcus captioned his handshake video with the words, "Twistin’ up my fingers for my twin" -- something that sure seems to indicate things are heating up.

Meek Mill celebrated the Eagles' big win with a freestyle rap on Sunday ... taking shots at 49ers fans by dropping bars on one of the most iconic diss tracks of all time.

The Philly rapper posted his video to Instagram right after Philly whooped San Francisco 31-7 in the NFC Championship game ... punching their ticket to Super Bowl LVII.

Meek used the beat from Tupac's "Hit 'Em Up" to send his message to the Niners ... which, of course, was a diss track to Notorious B.I.G. -- and to this day, remains one of the top verbal attacks in the rap game.

"This for all my 49ers fans right here ... First off, f*** ya clique and the team you claim," Meek starts off.

"Northside, Southside this an Eagles game. Y'all claim to keep it playa, but we packed ya bag -- plus the other quarterback, y'all couldn't even pass it back."

Of course, Meek is referring to S.F. rookie quarterback Brock Purdy, who injured his elbow in the first half. To make matters worse, his backup, Josh Johnson, left the game in the 3rd quarter with a concussion.

BTW, Meek was watching the game in the Lincoln Financial Stadium suite with an A-list crowd -- Kevin Hart, Lil Baby, James Harden, Joel Embiid, Michael Rubin, and former Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson.

Patrick Mahomes' wife, Brittany, gave Eli Apple a taste of his own medicine after the Chiefs beat the Bengals on Sunday ... trolling the Cincy cornerback for running his mouth in the days leading up to the game.

Apple was oozing confidence on social media after the Bengals eliminated Buffalo last week ... channeling his inner Patrick Beverley and telling the Bills players to enjoy their early vacation as Cincy moved on in the playoffs.

As soon as the Bengals were booted from Super Bowl contention themselves, it was Brittany's time to get the last laugh.

"Cancun on 3 ✌🏼," Mahomes said on Twitter.

It wasn't just the superstar's wife going after Apple following the game ... 'cause Chiefs players unleashed on him while smoking victory cigars in the locker room.

"Eli Apple, I'mma smoke one for you!!" Juan Thornhill said on Instagram.

Even Patrick's dad had some words for the Bengals' superstar quarterback  ... saying he'll celebrate the W by "smoking on that Joe Burrow."

The Chiefs played like they were pissed off ... and Travis Kelce and others made it clear they felt disrespected by Mike Hilton referring to Arrowhead Stadium as "Burrowhead."

Greased light poles be damned, Eagles fans hit the streets of Philadelphia in the minutes after the Birds won the NFC Championship -- and, at one point, they went so hard, they crashed through a local bus stop!

The hectic scene all went down after Philly handily beat the San Francisco 49ers ... when droves of Eagles supporters took to Broad Street near City Hall to celebrate the big victory.

Fans packed into the roadway like sardines -- and, eventually, they climbed onto a bus stop to catch a better view of the party.

Unfortunately for them, the stop couldn't hold the weight of everyone, and it gave way -- sending Philly supporters crashing to the ground.

It's unclear if anyone was injured -- or if any arrests were made -- we've reached out to authorities for comment, but so far, no word back yet.

In other parts of the city, fans were seen climbing light poles ... despite cops' best efforts to deter the popular celebration.

You can see in one fan's footage of the calamity, six people climbed to the top of one light pole -- just days after police said they'd be greasing the poles in an effort to stop people from going up them.

Of course, Philly fans had every reason to go crazy Sunday night ... they smashed the 49ers 31-7 -- and are now headed to their second Super Bowl in the last five years.

Michael Vick and Lamar Jackson have zero beef with each other despite the NFL legend's comments about the Ravens QB's injury ... with Vick telling TMZ Sports the two are still tight.

Vick initially raised eyebrows during "Fox NFL Kickoff" on Jan. 13 ... after he said Jackson should've fought through a sprained PCL and played in his team's Wild Card round game against the Bengals.

At the time, Vick said the QB should've slapped a brace on his knee and headed out for his squad ... comments that many, including Robert Griffin III, took as out of pocket, considering everything Jackson had to lose if he suffered a more significant injury in the contest.

Vick, though, tells us he knows Lamar isn't trippin' over it at all ... saying even though the two haven't spoken since he made the remarks, he believes the Baltimore QB knew exactly what he was trying to say.

"We cool, everything is all love," Vick said. "Now, RG3 might have taken it the wrong and his situation was a little different."

"It's a brotherhood at the end of the day and we all speak up for one another and speak out for one another so it's respect. It's love."

As for Lamar's future in Baltimore following the ordeal, Vick clearly believes it should play no role whatsoever going forward. The former Falcons star says Baltimore should re-sign him someway, somehow.

"Baltimore would be crazy to let him go," Vick said. "Good quarterbacks are hard to find, I will say that. Lamar's a guy when you walk into the stadium and you got a chance to win, you know you got a chance with Lamar."

Travis Kelce had strong words for the Cincinnati Bengals AND their mayor after the Kansas City Chiefs secured a spot in the Super Bowl ... shutting down all "Burrowhead" talk following the AFC Championship game.

Patrick Mahomes and Co. snuck away with a nail-biting 23-20 victory on Sunday ... and the team made sure to send a message to Bengals defensive back Mike Hilton for previous comments he made about Joe Burrow "owning" Arrowhead Stadium.

Kelce interrupted Mahomes' postgame interview to respond to the bulletin board material ... shouting, "Burrowhead my ass!!" into the cameras.

"It's Mahomes' house!!"

Mahomes followed up by adding, "We showed this place, it's Arrowhead, it's not Burrowhead out here."

But, Kelce didn't stop there -- he also clapped back at Mayor Aftab Pureval for joining in on the smack talk with a social media post on Friday ... in which he asked Burrow to take a paternity test to find out if he was Mahomes' dad.

Kelce channeled The Rock to trash the disrespect ... saying, "Know your role and shut your mouth, you jabroni!!"

The Chiefs will now face off against the Eagles in Super Bowl LVII on Feb. 12 ... and don't expect Philly players to be running their mouths -- or Kelce will have something to say.

The Philadelphia Eagles' wings were working just fine Sunday afternoon -- they won the NFC Championship and are on their way to the Super Bowl ... which Dr. Jill Biden loves to see.

The First Lady was in attendance for the big game at Lincoln Financial Field, where the Eagles faced off against the San Francisco 49ers ... and completely blew them out in a very lop-sided matchup. It wasn't even close in the end -- the final score was 31-7 ... yikes.

The thrashing Philly put on for the home crowd was watched by thousands in the stands, including a handful of celebs who rolled through -- Bradley Cooper was one of the famous faces who was flapping, but DJB was by far the most prominent person in attendance.

In fact, she had one of the best seats in the house ... sitting next to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, no less, and chatting him up during the broadcast. No sign of Joe anywhere -- looks like FLOTUS was on her own for this one ... even though they're both PA peeps.

And yes, Jill's a big Eagles fan ... and made that known before she even got to the stadium. There are shots of her exiting Marine One earlier Sunday in Delaware, where she was rocking an Eagles shirt under her coat. She's from NJ originally, but grew up in Willow Grove.

Welp, the City of Brotherly Love didn't disappoint the most powerful woman in the country ... and, of course, the team is stoked to get their ticket to SB LVII -- set to go down Feb. 12.

Former University of Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett was arrested Sunday morning for public intoxication in Dallas, TMZ Sports has confirmed.

Dallas PD tells us they responded to a report of a man banging on doors around 6:10 AM this morning. When cops arrived, they located Bennett, 25, and determined he was intoxicated. Bennett was arrested for public intoxication and taken to the City Detention Center.

Bennett, 25, had been training for the NFL Draft in Fort Worth, TX. The 5'10", 190 lb. quarterback is all over the place when it comes to mock drafts ... with some writers and "experts" having him drafted in the early mid-rounds, to not being picked at all.

He's not the prototypical professional QB, but Stetson's one of the most accomplished college signal-callers ever. SB lead his UGA Bulldogs to a perfect 15-0 season, an SEC title, and a National Championship this season (they won back-to-back National titles) ... after starting his college career as a walk-on.

Bennett didn't win the Heisman (Caleb Williams, USC), but was a finalist for the prestigious award this year. He took home the Manning Award, given to the best college QB in America.

Bennett likely would've been in Alabama this week for the Senior Bowl, but turned down an invitation to play in the game, instead reportedly telling game officials he wanted to focus on preparing for the NFL Combine.

Logan Paul returned to the WWE for the first time since he tore his MCL against Universal Champion Roman Reigns at Crown Jewel -- and the Youtuber-turned-boxer-turned-pro wrestler stole the show in his Royal Rumble debut.

Logan -- who's been out of action since November -- entered his first-ever Royal Rumble match as the second-to-last entrant (#29) ... and immediately made his impact felt.

The Maverick had one of the best spots in the match ... when he collided with WWE superstar and high-flyer Ricochet in a jaw-dropping moment, sending over 51,000 fans into a frenzy at the Alamodome in Texas.

Logan and Ricochet -- positioned on the top rope opposite one another -- launched their bodies at each other ... and collided mid-air in the middle of the ring.

The spot in the match was sick -- and the WWE universe showed their appreciation for the high-risk stunt, cheering both men for pulling off the maneuver.

Ricochet has a flair for flying off the top rope ... but the encounter between him and Logan was remarkable, considering the last time WWE fans saw Paul inside the squared circle was over two months ago.

Another incredible moment during the Rumble match came when Cody Rhodes, son of WWE legend Dusty Rhodes, returned to the ring after being sidelined with a torn pectoral muscle injury since June.

Cody was the last person to enter the Rumble match ... and eliminated Logan, who tossed Seth Rollins, a prohibited favorite to win the contest, over the top rope.

Steve-O's new opening act for the first 9 shows of his comedy tour is Bam Margera ... and the 'Jackass' alums hit the stage together to workshop some new material.

We got video of Steve-O shocking the packed house at the Elsinore Theatre in Salem, Oregon last Sunday -- and Bam's surprise appearance drew huge applause from the crowd.

In the video, Steve-O helps Bam work on some jokes ... comparing Bam's life to Britney Spears' and telling a few stories from rehab.

Steve-O told the crowd he's bringing Bam along for "The Bucket List Tour" because he was terrified Bam was going down a path that would end in an early death. He said he wants his buddy on the road with him to see if it's possible for him to lead a healthy life and find a happy ending.

Remember ... Bam recently revealed on Steve-O's podcast he was pronounced dead in a hospital back in December, when he had 4 seizures and a nasty blood infection.

Bengals super fan Gary Owen REALLY loves Joe Burrow ... so much so, that the comedian tells TMZ Sports he'd be thrilled if the Cincinnati quarterback ever wanted to hook up with his family members!!

Let's be honest -- the thought of relatives getting freaky in the sheets is enough to weird anyone out ... but Owen is an exception when it comes to Joey B, 'cause he says his obsession with #9 has led him to welcome the idea with open arms.

"If somebody in my family wants to sleep with him, do it," Owen joked to TMZ Sports. "Do it. Like, you don't ever want to think of any females in your family sleeping with anybody. But Joe Burrow?? Yeah, I'll drop you off. What time do you need me to pick you up??"

Owen was in Buffalo to watch his beloved team beat up on the Bills in the divisional round ... and he said he will 100% be in Kansas City for the AFC Championship game on Sunday.

But it's not just Burrow that has Owen raving about his Bengals -- he says the defense also deserves a ton of credit, even with their hands full against a dominant Chiefs offense.

"I've never been more confident in a team," he added.

Move over, Rob Gronkowski ... Chiefs legend Christian Okoye tells TMZ Sports it won't be long before Travis Kelce claims the title of the greatest tight end of all time!!

Okoye showered the Kanas City star with praise just a couple days before the Chiefs' AFC Championship Game against the Bengals ... saying he expects Patrick Mahomes' favorite target to have a big night against Cincy.

Okoye explained ... Kelce is "an incredible weapon" who he views as not only the Chiefs' No. 1 receiver -- but the greatest to ever do it at the TE position.

"I think he's going to end up being the best tight end in the league ever," Okoye said. "If he keeps going the way he's going, it's going to be much better than ones before him. It's just incredible."

As for the guy throwing Kelce the footballs -- Okoye heaped compliments on Mahomes too ... telling us he believes there's really not much of a comparison there between the K.C. signal-caller and Joe Burrow.

"Patrick Mahomes' numbers are way better than Burrow's," Okoye said. "That's why he's going to be the MVP of the league this year."

Both Kelce and Mahomes will try to take down the Bengals for the first time since 2018 ... and Okoye clearly thinks they'll get it done this weekend.

One of the biggest reasons? The former K.C. running back tells us the trash talk that the Bengals have been doing in the leadup to the game -- disses that included calling Arrowhead Stadium "Burrowhead" -- will play a big role in why the Chiefs come out on top on Sunday.

The NFL's NFC and AFC Championship games are going down on Sunday ... and all four teams will have their biggest supporters cheering them on -- their WAGs!!!

George Kittle's wife, Claire, is no stranger to huge games -- it's the tight end's second NFC title game ... and if the 49ers beat the Eagles on Sunday, she'll be heading to another Super Bowl with her hubby.

Of course, Fred Warner's wife Sydney -- a former contestant from 'The Bachelor' -- and Arik Armstead's wife, Mindy, will be hoping their DB hubbies can handle Jalen Hurts.

Speaking of the Eagles, Darius Slay's wife, Jennifer, will more than likely be wearing her man's jersey in the crowd ... just like Lane Johnson's girlfriend, Kelsey Holmer.

Jason Kelce's wife, Kylie will be showing love for her man ... and win or lose, the fam has a lot to celebrate -- they're expecting their third kid!!

Kelce's brother, Travis, will be taking the field when the Kansas City Chiefs play the Cincinnati Bengals at Arrowhead Stadium.

No WAGs for the Chiefs tight end though -- since he's currently single -- but his quarterback's wife, Brittany Mahomes, will be passionately rooting for Patrick in the suite, as always.

We know Joe Burrow will be lighting a stogie if Cincy pulls off the win ... and just like at LSU, his girlfriend, Olivia Holzmacher, will be celebrating as well ... just like Hayden Hurst's girl, Brooke Sharpe.

Damar Hamlin is speaking to the public for the first time on camera since his life-threatening health scare on the field -- and he has a lot to say ... including a ton of thank-yous.

The Bills safety posted a video Saturday, where he's sitting down and venting his thoughts in his own words ... and it's pretty touching. He describes the terrifying hit he took on MNF as somewhat of a blessing -- saying he feels as though it served as a vessel to inspire others.

DH says he believes, through that tough time, he was able to put his passion for the game of football on display ... which he thinks will serve others going forward, especially kids.

He also thinks this was a great example of humanity over everything ... with all teams across the NFL coming together to support Damar through his healing journey. Damar also heaped a lot of gratitude and praise for several individuals ... starting with the Bills medical staff.

Damar went down the list of team doctors and personnel who were on the field that day and worked on him ... rendering CPR and other life-saving measures. He went on to thank the doctors at the hospitals he was at, his teammates, Bills Mafia at large and the NFL as well.

Of course, he gave a nod to everyone who was sending him well-wishes ... including the folks who donated millions of dollars to his toy drive. Damar says it helped him recover.

Damar has been vocal online since his incident, supporting his guys both from his hospital bed and even in person last week -- tweeting out words of encouragement along the way.