TMZ Sports - Page 50

Former Univ. of Alabama running back Ahmaad Galloway -- who played for Tide from 1999 to 2002 -- died from an accidental overdose ... officials tell TMZ Sports.

The Office of the Medical Examiner in St. Louis said Friday the ex-football player died from a lethal combination of fentanyl, ethanol and xylazine.

He was just 42 years old.

As we reported, Galloway was found dead in his home on Jan. 9 ... after he failed to show up for his gig as an eighth grade teacher at Compton-Drew Middle School in St. Louis.

The school's principal, Susan Reid, said at the time he showed no signs of trouble leading up to his death ... and had just attended a students' basketball game days prior to his passing.

In his three years at 'Bama, Galloway rushed for 1,830 yards and 17 touchdowns. He went on to be picked by the Denver Broncos in the seventh round of the 2003 NFL Draft -- but never logged an official stat in his pro career.

Tiger Woods has fired back at his ex-gf, disputing her claim he had an oral agreement to let her live in his house and essentially support her for years ... in what is shaping up to be a hyper-nasty $30 million lawsuit.

Tiger's lawyers are challenging Erica Herman, who claimed in her lawsuit Tiger promised to support her and let her live in his house for at least 5 more years in return for services (she did not specify) -- this before he broke up with her a few months back.

According to legal docs, Tiger's lawyers said (BTW the house is partly owned by a trust)  ... "During their relationship, Mr. Woods invited Ms. Herman to live with him as his guest in the Residence. Mr. Woods never negotiated an oral tenancy agreement with Ms. Herman. Nor was there ever a written tenancy agreement between Mr. Woods or the Trust, on the one hand, and Ms. Herman, on the other hand. Mr. Woods never transferred to Ms. Herman any ownership interest in or rights of possession to the Residence."

Herman claimed in her lawsuit ... Tiger's people convinced her to pack a suitcase back in the fall for a "short vacation" -- without Tiger -- and drove her to the airport. Upon their arrival at the airport, Herman claims she was told the locks to the house were changed and she was out.

Tiger's lawyers claim the golfing legend did not throw Erica out in the cold ... rather, they say Tiger put her up in a luxury resort and gave her enough money for a new residence.

"SNL" eviscerated the Oscars Saturday night .... with a fantasy awards show that is absolutely hilarious!!!

The enforcer against a Will Smith redo is none other than Mike Tyson, played spectacularly by Kenan Thompson, who said, “I should warn you, the following things will set me off: clapping, statutes of gold people, shows that last more than three hours, and also hearing the phrase ‘the magic of movies.’”

Jamie Lee Curtis, who wore a dress right off the Costco rack, is equally funny.

But the best ... Tom Cruise showed up at the Oscars.  Well, it's actually Rep. George Santos, who slyly passed himself off as "Tom Q Cruise."

Ryan Garcia tells TMZ Sports Jake Paul would probably get "beat up" by Floyd Mayweather if the two ever got in the ring ... but he did put at least some respect on the YouTuber-turned-boxer's game -- saying he believes the tilt would at least go the distance.

A potential Paul vs. Mayweather fight appears to be in the works ... after the guys got into a heated back-and-forth outside of the Miami Heat game on Wednesday night.

So, when we got Garcia out promoting his upcoming match with Gervonta Davis out in LA this week -- we had to ask ... who'd win if the fight went down?

Garcia made it clear that despite his friendship with Jake, his money is on Floyd ... "but, guess what," he said, "Jake won't get knocked out."

His explanation for why was simple ... Mayweather couldn't KO Jake's big bro, Logan, in their exhibition match back in June 2021 -- and he obviously believes Jake's a better fighter.

As for the meetup in the streets this week ... Garcia called out Floyd for it all, saying it wasn't "right" to confront Paul with a huge entourage.

But, Garcia told us he isn't too worried about that matchup ... saying his focus is solely on Davis -- who he'll take on next month after years of smack talk.

Kane -- AKA Mayor Glenn Jacobs -- tells TMZ Sports he's focused on running his county right now ... but the WWE legend didn't rule out the possibility of holding other political offices in the future, saying he'd entertain the idea when the time is right.

We recently talked to Jacobs -- currently in his second term as the mayor of Knox County, TN -- and asked the WWE Hall of Famer whether he has ambitions of ascending the political ladder, and running for higher office like U.S. senator or governor.

"I don't know," Glenn said. "I'm just trying to do the best job I can as mayor right now. We'll leave that until the time comes."

Jacobs -- who's been a WWE Superstar since 1995 -- told us he's content in his current role, and wants people to remember him for the difference he's made in their lives through his policies and advocacy.

"What I want is pretty simple," Jacobs said. "People to understand that I cared about my community and wanted to do what I could to make it a better place. As mayor, you don't do that yourself, but what you can do is kind of lay out a vision and get people to the table and somewhat lead the way."

Glenn was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2021, and says he didn't enter politics for personal gain, but rather to make Knox County "even better than it already is."

Five-star hoops prospect Kiyomi McMiller -- arguably the top girls H.S. basketball player in the country -- tells TMZ Sports she's hoping to get a signature shoe just like Michael Jordan ... after she inked a deal with His Airness' brand last month.

We spoke to the 16-year-old -- a superstar point guard for Life Center Academy in Burlington, NJ -- just a few weeks after she put the pen to paper with Jordan ... and she told us the historic deal is "pretty crazy."

And, she said that now that she's a part of the MJ roster ... she wants her own line of kicks one day -- perhaps with something that ties into her "The Product" nickname.

She added, though, that her "ultimate goal is to be the greatest of all-time."

Kiyomi's parents coached at a local college when she was young, sparking her love for the game -- and it was actually her father, Mike, who came up with her famous moniker. McMiller said Dad thought of it because he believes she can deliver anything that's needed on the basketball court.

McMiller -- who wears #23 just like Mike -- told us Julius Erving, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Stephen Curry and MJ are her top-five favorite players of all time ... and said the reason she considers Jordan the greatest ever is because he stood out among other NBA greats.

Kiyomi, a junior who's yet to commit to a college, is planning on majoring in communications, sports management or marketing.

We asked McMiller -- whose lethal handles and shiftiness on the court make her a must-see -- what player inspires her game the most ... and she said Kyrie and KD influence how she plays.

"I don't think fans wanna tune in to see me wrestle. They damn sure don't tune in to see me do Brazilian jiu-jitsu. So, why not cut the fat and get right to the meat and potatoes."

That's former UFC and Bellator champion Eddie Alvarez, 39 -- one of the greatest lightweight mixed martial artists in history -- on why he's decided to leave MMA for bare knuckle boxing.

Alvarez recently inked a deal with BKFC ... and will fight 37-year-old fellow former UFC star Chad Mendes on April 29.

The men have over 60 pro MMA fights combined (Eddie has 40), but Alvarez points out the sports are considerably different, including the fact that cuts are very prevalent.

"There's a lot of little subtleties that I learned when I went to the event myself. Usually you get cut about a minute or two into the fight, typically there's a cut that goes on and you have to learn and you gotta learn to fight with that," Eddie says.

And, cuts are a serious factor, according to Alvarez, who says seeing one's own blood can screw with a fighter's head.

"Some guys could be world champs, undefeated. Never seen their own blood and when they do, you get to see the bitch in them real quick. You need to see your own blood a few times," Eddie tells us, adding, "I'm very familiar with my own blood. I know what it tastes like, smells like, and oftentimes I don't feel like I'm in a fight until I'm cut."

The Underground King says there are more differences between the sport.

"There's even smaller margin for error. And it's a sprint, not a marathon. You need to be ready when that bell rings. There's no feeling out process."

Eddie and Chad aren't the only combat sports stars on the card. Former UFC champ Luke Rockhold is also boxing former UFC star "Platinum" Mike Perry the same night, and we spoke to the 38-year-old fighter.

"It's different, it's intriguing, and it's f****** scary. F****** crazy shit. I'm a f****** crazy man."

Aside from being a great fighter, Rockhold's also a model (he was previously the face of a Polo Ralph Lauren advertising campaign), so we asked him he if was concerned about his moneymaker getting damaged (see Eddie's comments above about the cuts).

"Do I seem like I'm worried about my face?" Luke joked, adding ... "Mike Perry should be worried about his face cause I plan on putting it right on his f****** nose!"

"I wanna make that nose a little more crooked."

"The Challenge" star C.T. Tamburello and his estranged wife have agreed on who gets the house in the midst of their divorce ... and he won't be the one movin' out.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Lilianet "Lili" Solares filed back in December to get sole possession of their Florida pad -- but she has now agreed to move out and leave the marital home to C.T.

Docs say Lili will move into a rental property ASAP ... but C.T. will be responsible for the $7,200 deposit for her new place. Lili's only allowed to enter the marital home to get her stuff -- including furniture and personal items, as well as some of their kid's things.

C.T.'s required to pay $761 a month for temporary child support ... and they agreed to stick to a schedule when it comes to taking care of their little one, Christopher Jr.

TMZ broke the story, C.T. filed for divorce last November, putting an end to their tumultuous marriage. No word on what led to the decision, but their relationship issues were front and center on "The Challenge: Double Agents" -- where he revealed they separated back in 2020, before eventually getting back together.

Shakira put her breakup with longtime partner Gerard Piqué into a song -- one that's taken over the music industry ... and which just won her a crap ton of world record awards.

The Latin pop star hit 'The Tonight Show' Friday night, where she and DJ Bizarrap -- who collaborated with Shakira on 'Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53,' a song that's been a chart-topper since January -- chopped it up with Jimmy Fallon about all the success and praise.

Shakira didn't shy away from the fact that this track is, by and large, an FU to her ex ... going on to say that much of her personal life, including the nasty split, motivated her to create an anthem for women everywhere.

As she puts it ... her fan base has now become a sisterhood, one she says she recognizes has had to put up with a lot of "crap," just like she's done the past year and change.

Of course, she's referring to the fact that Piqué has moved on with a much younger woman -- 23-year-old Clara Chia Martí ... with whom GP went public last year. According to reports, she's a PR student who works for Pique's production company and who handles his events.

Anyhoo, Shakira gave the people what they wanted on 'Fallon' ... performing the hit song and getting the whole audience on their feet and dancing. It's clear ... they're on her side.

At some point during her appearance, she also posed backstage with all the Guinness World Records she's broken since the song came out -- a whopping 14 of them, in fact, as the single continues to do numbers and cements her in the history books of music/pop culture.

Among the titles she now holds as a result ... most streamed Latin track on Spotify in 24 hours, the most viewed Latin track on YouTube in 24 hours, the fastest Latin track to reach 100 million views on YouTube, and the most streamed Latin track on Spotify in one week.

There are more ... but you get the gist. The song is absolutely killing it, once again putting Shakira on top -- a testament to her staying power and how beloved she is worldwide.

The fallout from her and Pique's uncoupling has been pretty rough, and for good reason -- they were together for 11 years and share two kids ... Sasha and Milan. A lot of people feel the way he ended things with Shakira was unceremonious ... and fairly scandalous too.

Shakira seems to be doing just fine now, though ... and is still looking pretty fine, at that.

The Kardashian Klan showed up in force to celebrate twin sisters Malika and Khadijah Haqq's 40th birthday bash in stormy L.A. Friday night ... but the rain didn't seem to dampen the mood.

Kim, Khloe, Kylie and Kris Jenner all showed up at The Nice Guy restaurant in WeHo for their longtime friends' soiree, which was busting at the seams with celebs.

Among the guests ... Saweetie, Lauren London, Evan Ross, Simon Huck, Nicole Williams, Adrienne Bailon, Lance Gross and Yris Palmer.

Khloe's ex Tristan Thompson also dropped in, although he didn't arrive with her and they left separately.

Everyone was dressed to the nines, which explains why some guests hid under umbrellas to protect their fancy outfits as they braved the elements.

Of course, Khloe heaped lots of praise on Malika, whom she befriended as a teen in the late 90s. She even took to Instagram to celebrate Malika and Khadijah, posting several old photos of the three together.

Kim also shared a video from the event on her IG, showing her mugging for the camera with Kylie and Kris.

Overall, it seemed as if everybody was having a blast ... weather be damned.

Edwin Castro, the recent winner of the $2.04 billion Powerball prize, grew up in Los Angeles and was once a prominent Boy Scout and high school athlete ... TMZ has learned.

Our sources tell us 30-year-old Edwin rose all the way to Eagle Scout during his time in the scouts, and he attended Crescenta Valley High School in La Crescenta, CA ... not far from Joe's Service Center in Altadena, where he purchased the winning lottery ticket.

In addition to being a Boy Scout, we're told Edwin played football and baseball in high school ... our sources say he grew up in a "wholesome family" that frequently took fishing trips.

Our sources say Edwin, who studied architecture at Woodbury University in Burbank, is a quiet guy with a kind heart.

Since striking it rich, Edwin's already used some of his new money to buy a swanky $25.5 million pad in the Hollywood Hills ... one month after claiming his lump sum payment of $997,600,000 before taxes.

Edwin's new crib has all the bells and whistles, including a home gym, garage parking for seven cars and a motor court ... and we're told he has a passion for classic cars and fitness.

As we reported, Edwin was being sued by a man who claimed the winning lotto ticket was actually stolen, claiming Edwin was involved in the alleged theft ... but the lottery says they have the utmost confidence Edwin's the rightful winner.

One source told us, "Winning the lotto couldn't have happened to a better guy."

MMA fans are clamoring for a Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou megafight ... but Dana White says there's nothing to see there, 'cause the new heavyweight champ would've demolished "The Predator" much like he did Ciryl Gane last weekend!

The UFC president joined Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs weeknights on FS1) ... when White was asked if he could foresee any situation where he'd welcome Ngannou back to the UFC and make the Francis-Jon fight.

"I'm not interested," Dana said.

"I tried to make that fight for two years. He didn't want the fight. Know what I mean? He didn't want the fight, and he left here without even having another deal in place. And, I know how the boxing world is, it's crazy, but Francis didn't want to [fight Jones]."

Don't be too disappointed ... White says Francis almost certainly would've been easy work for the G.O.A.T.

"Let me tell you what, I think, a lot of other people feel this way, I think that's exactly the way the fight would've gone if [Ngannou] was in there, too."

Of course, Jon made Ciryl look like light work at UFC 285 ... taking him down and forcing a tap out in a shade over 2 minutes.

Dana, using some MMA math, explained why Ngannou wouldn't have stood much of a chance.

"[Francis] and Ciryl had a five-round war, and if Ciryl doesn't go for that submission, Ciryl probably wins that fight. At the end of the 5th round there."

FYI, Ngannou won their UFC 270 scrap in January 2022 by unanimous decision, but it was a very close fight.

Dana then answered the original question -- can you see yourself making JJ vs. FN?

"No."

We also talked to White about the next big heavyweight matchup, Stipe Miocic vs. Jones. There's talk the fight will go down at UFC 290 on July 8 during International Fight Week, but Dana says nothing's set in stone, and there's not much time to get a deal done.

Dana also said he wouldn't be surprised if this is 35-year-old Jones' last fight.

"I wouldn't be shocked either if he fights Stipe and then retires."

We also talked to Dana about his upcoming Power Slap 1 event, going down Saturday night in Las Vegas. The card features four title fights ... including the two top-ranked heavyweights in the world.

White says he sees parallels between Power Slap/slap fighting and the UFC in its early days, when MMA was viewed as being brutal and too violent.

Dana also broke some news about the future of "Power Slap: Road To The Title," announcing they've signed a two-year deal. White says the next season will take place in Dubai.

Tiger Woods is a single man ... and the oddsmakers are taking bets on who he'll date when he goes back on the prowl -- with Tom Brady's ex-wife Gisele Bündchen being the favorite to be his next partner.

Tiger called things off with Erica Herman late last year ... and their split has been nasty -- with his girlfriend of six years filing a $30 million lawsuit over how things ended.

BetOnline is wasting no time looking into the future ... throwing out odds for who Woods will date next -- and there are a ton of interesting names on the list.

Gisele comes in on top at +2500, which means the oddsmakers think there's an outside chance she moves from one G.O.A.T. to another ... and Kim Kardashian is right behind at +3500.

Shakira -- who recently went through her own rough breakup with Gerard Piqué -- is listed at +5000 if she decides to give it a shot with another athlete.

There seems to be a bit of a "messy breakup" trend here ... as Amber Heard is also an option at +15000.

Golf influencer and model Paige Spiranac also made the cut ... coming in at +25000.

And for Ss and Gs, there are a few adult film actresses like Mia Khalifa, Lana Rhoades, Riley Reid and Mia Malkova on the list ... and their odds are set at +50000, which are surprisingly the same as Tiger's ex, Lindsey Vonn.

Travis Kelce is a total natural with a future in acting if he wants it ... so says comedian Jeff Dye, who tells TMZ Sports he was blown away by the Kanas City Chiefs superstar's performance on "Saturday Night Live."

TK made his big debut at Studio 8H last weekend ... and many were impressed with how comfortable he looked on stage as he delivered his lines.

Dye admits he gave a bit of an eye roll when Kelce was announced as the show's host -- because in his opinion, athletes usually aren't funny -- but the tight end turned him into a believer.

"He reminded me of Phil Hartman, that's how good I'd say he was," Dye says. "Not being sarcastic, it was very Phil Hartman-esque."

It goes without saying it's a massive compliment from Dye -- Hartman is a comedy legend ... and spent eight seasons on the sketch show from 1986-94.

We also talked to Dye about who else from the sports world could make the transition over to acting ... and there's one two-time Super Bowl champ he thinks would thrive in entertainment.

Buffalo Wild Wings is duping customers into believing they are chowing down on wing meat when they order boneless wings, when in reality it's essentially just chicken nuggets ... at least according to a new lawsuit.

The nationwide restaurant chain is being dragged into a class-action suit by a man named Aimen Halim, and he's got a serious bone to pick here. Sorry, we had to do it.

In the suit, obtained by TMZ, Halim claims Buffalo Wild Wings' boneless wings are not deboned wings at all, as they would have customers believe, but rather slices of breast meat deep fried like wings with a composition more akin to nuggets than wings.

He says he fell victim to what he describes as deceptive marketing.

Taste and transparency aren't the only issues for Halim ... he says BWW is misleading customers to sell a cheaper product for more than it's worth, and he accuses the chain of knowing it's engaging in false advertising and refusing to change its ways.

Halim claims other restaurants selling boneless chicken, like Papa John's, are being careful not to market it as wings ... and he's howling mad BWW doesn't even mention in fine print anywhere on the menu the meat is really from the breast and not the wing.

Naturally, the guy's going after Buffalo Wild Wings for money.

It's been exactly a year since Big E broke his neck during a wrestling match ... but the WWE Superstar says he's not rushing back into the ring just yet, telling TMZ Sports he's going to take his time and make the "right decision" on his future.

Remember, Big E suffered the injury during a tag-team match on "Smackdown" in Birmingham, Alabama last March ... after he was picked up and dropped on his head.

It wasn't just Big E's wrestling future people were worried about at the time ... but also whether he would have any serious health concerns moving forward.

We spoke with Big E at LAX last week ... and the former WWE champ told us he's close to finding out if his scary injury will keep him from lacing up the boots again.

"I gotta see what the scans say," E said. "Talk to doctors, and then go from there."

Big E said he won't "rush to judgments" on his health until he sees how everything looks ... adding he's not sweating the results either way.

"Right now, before I know anything, I'm not going to make any rush to judgments or anything. See how everything looks."

Big E says he's not dealing with any anxiety as he awaits his scans ... adding, "Everything isn't permanent. If it comes to an end, cool. If doesn't, cool. What will be, will be. I'm good with whatever."