TMZ Sports - Page 50

Booker T thinks WWE joining forces with UFC's parent company will pay enormous dividends for both sides -- telling TMZ Sports, "It's going to be good for everybody."

We spoke with Booker -- a commentator on WrestleMania 39's kickoff show this past weekend -- at LAX fresh off Endeavor and WWE merging to create a new, publicly traded company valued at $21.4 billion ... and asked him if he could see any crossover happening with the superstars between the two respective sports entertainment brands.

"Of course," Booker said. "I think the UFC always needed a little more entertainment in their life. I think WWE will definitely add to that flavor. It's going to be good for everybody."

"UFC fans already gravitate to WWE. Daniel Cormier was at the NXT show a couple [of] days ago. Those guys and WWE, they go together. Great tag team."

As we previously reported, Vince McMahon sold WWE -- the business he purchased from his father in 1982 -- to Endeavor ... after serving as the chairman and CEO of the sports entertainment conglomerate for over 40 years.

McMahon will now serve as the executive chairman of the board with Endeavor. Meanwhile, Dana White will continue in his current role as UFC President, with Ari Emanuel as the new group's CEO.

Booker told us UFC legends like Tito Ortiz and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, with their larger-than-life personalities, gave UFC the flare it needed ... adding he could see guys Colby Covington and Conor McGregor crossing over to the WWE.

"You look at a guy like Colby Covington, who's very controversial and chaotic. I think he'll fit in perfectly," the WWE Hall of Famer said.

The five-time World Heavyweight Champion says athletes like Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle are anomalies ... but he's predicting that with the new joint deal in place, we'll see some guys from UFC working with the WWE.

Bu Thiam's role as EVP at Columbia Records has him scoping for new artists from all walks of life ... and he's looking to add NCAA champ Flau'jae Johnson to his roster!!!

We caught up with Bu at LAX and he had nothing but praise for Flau'jae, who recently helped the LSU Tigers win their first women's basketball national championship ... in controversial fashion at that.

Bu says he looked into Flau'jae's credentials and everything checked out, as it should have. The 19-year-old's been rapping long before it became trendy on the Internet ... going viral through appearances on "The Rap Game," "America's Got Talent," and her 2020 "Sway In The Morning" freestyle.

She inked a deal with Roc Nation management last year ... so, at least Bu knows who he needs to convince for a joint venture.

As a music exec, Bu also has to be mindful of the industry's changing landscape ... and he's surprisingly open to the idea of artificial intelligence artists, unlike some of his counterparts, like Swizz Beatz, who's expressed concern.

AI recordings mimicking the likes of Drake, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole and Kanye West are littered all over YouTube ... but Bu thinks the industry needs to be more open-minded and embrace the technology.

Ben Affleck was looking light on his feet this weekend next to J Lo, and it might have to do with his new Michael Jordan movie ... even though it's not quite a money-maker just yet.

The couple was spotted out Saturday grabbing a bite for lunch at the Beverly Hills Hotel, where they were both dressed up in snazzy duds -- BA was rocking a tan pullover sweater with jeans and matching sneakers to round out the ensemble. Nikes, specifically, mind you.

Jen, meanwhile, was wearing a Springtime colorful sun dress and some high-heeled boots.

It's Ben ya gotta focus on, though, 'cause the dude is absolutely radiating ... flashing a big smile to the paps who were shooting them and carrying a little extra pep to his step. The question ... what the heck is he so damn happy about considering his long grump streak???

Besides being married to Jennifer, he's got a lot to be cheery over ... including his latest flick, 'Air,' which hit theaters this week and which has garnered tremendous reviews and stellar word of mouth. By most accounts, it's 2023's first great flick and a crowd-pleaser.

The only (potential) problem is that 'Air' is not on pace to be a box office smash -- especially since it's up against Mario and co., which is taking the top spot this weekend by a mile.

Although his movie is on pace to rake in around $20 mil or so through Sunday -- depending on which projections you look at -- it reportedly cost a fortune to make ... around $90 mil, according to Variety. With that sorta budget, it's hard to say if Amazon Studios will recoup their investment in the short term ... but it's also hard to say what'll be considered a W here.

'Air' is Ben and Matt Damon's first project under their new production co., where they're sharing the wealth, and what's more ... this flick was made with a streaming-first mentality, even though it's hitting theaters initially. So, the formula for success on this one's wonky.

Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks are under investigation by the NBA for apparently tanking in one of their final games of the season ... which means they're out of the playoffs.

The announcement came down Saturday from NBA spokesperson Mike Bass, who said .. "The NBA commenced an investigation today into the facts and circumstances surrounding the Dallas Mavericks’ roster decisions and game conduct with respect to last night’s Chicago Bulls-Mavericks game, including the motivations behind those actions."

The reason Adam Silver and Co. are digging into this is because of what seemed to be an obvious move by upper management and the coaching staff to not play their best guys.

Before Friday's matchup against the Bulls, HC Jason Kidd surprisingly announced a number of the best Mavs players were out due to injuries ... including Kyrie Irving. Luka Doncic only played for a quarter and change -- the rest of the game was carried by bench players.

But even with their backup dudes, the Mavs still had a chance to close the game out and secure a spot in the play-in tournament -- which could see them move on further into the playoffs. However, the Mavs somehow blew an 11-point lead in the 4th ... and it appeared they weren't playing their best basketball -- at least that's the consensus on Twitter, anyway.

Adding insult to injury was Cuban's reaction to his team missing the game-tying shot in the final seconds of the game -- which officially ended their chances at getting into the play-in -- and he seemed to be smirking ... further fueling speculation they were tanking on purpose.

Of course, Kidd himself didn't do a great job of masking anything either -- pregame or postgame -- because he essentially said ... yeah, we sat a lot of guys and it was upper management's decision in the hopes of building a better roster for next season. Yikes ...

Donald Trump is doing what he tends to do best in times of crisis -- hitting the links to blow off some steam ... with this weekend being no different for him amid his criminal case.

The ex-Prez was playing a round Saturday morning at his hotel in Miami ... the Trump National Doral, which has four full-blown golf courses to choose from. Unclear which one DT was on in this instance, but he was out there with some pals ... and his MAGA hat to boot.

Dude looks pretty relaxed ... which makes sense, we suppose. This is sorta his happy place, even during the worst of times -- as we've witnessed throughout these past several years.

The only difference now, of course, is that he's under criminal prosecution by the Manhattan D.A.'s Office on 34 felony counts -- most of which stem from the Stormy Daniels hush money incident ... which law enforcement now alleges was directed to be paid at the behest of DT.

He's looked/sounded defiant in the wake of those charges -- especially when he was in NYC this past week to plead not guilty and get processed by cops ... putting on a brave face.

Here, the Don's more mellow, it seems, and there's another thing to consider with this appearance -- namely, the fact that it's Passover right now for Jewish folks ... and not just that, but his hotel there is actually hosting a whole slate of Passover events this weekend.

Green Bay Packers superstar QB Aaron Rodgers seems to be one step closer to getting his wish of playing football in The Big Apple.

New York Jets General Manager Joe Douglas pretty much confirmed on Friday night that Rodgers would be wearing his team's Gang Green uniform, although no timeline was given for the potential trade.

Douglas made the announcement during a public appearance on stage with CBS NFL analyst and WFAN radio host Boomer Esiason, causing the crowd to go wild.

Check out video capturing the moment in which Esiason asked if Rodgers was going to join Gang Green, and Douglas bluntly replied, "He's gonna be here."

As we reported, The Packers and Jets have been haggling over a fair price for Rodgers during trade talks. Several weeks ago, Rodgers went on "The Pat McAfee Show" to say that he wanted out of Green Bay so he could move to Florham Park, New Jersey -- the site of the Jets Training Center.

Rodgers told McAfee, "My intention is to play for the New York Jets," but he also indicated he's gotten interest from other NFL teams.

He continued, "I haven't been holding anything up at this point. It's been compensation that the Packers are trying to get for me, and kinda digging their heels in."

Jorge Masvidal vs. Leon Edwards is the fight fans badly want ... and while they're almost certainly not gonna get it next, Dana White says it's closer than you might think.

The UFC honcho joined Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1) ... when we asked Dana whether Gamebred could do enough to jump Colby Covington and earn the next title shot.

"Let me tell you what's going to happen, if [Masvidal] goes in and does that against a guy like Gilbert Burns, who I have a ton of respect for, Gilbert Burns is an absolute badass. Then you have Colby Covington vs. Leon Edwards, and if Leon Edwards beats Colby Covington, the history between Leon Edwards and Masvidal, then they both win these fights, that fight will be so huge people will be dying to see that fight."

White then added ... "it will be absolutely massive, and maybe we do it back in Miami."

FYI, Masvidal told us earlier in the week he felt he could impress enough vs. Burns at UFC 287 to garner the Edwards scrap.

Of course, White declared Covington next in line after Rocky beat Kamaru Usman at UFC 286, but many fans want Jorge and Leon to scrap because the men have serious beef.

The two fighters were involved in a backstage altercation in 2019 after Edwards yelled something at Masvidal as he was being interviewed backstage after beating Darren Till.

It's not Masvidal's personality to take something like that lying down ... so he walked up to Rocky and punched him in the face, now known as a "3-piece and a soda."

Hoping to ruin Jorge-Leon is 36-year-old Burns ... the number 5 ranked UFC welterweight.

We recently talked to Burns, coming off a dominating win over Neil Magny, before he headed out for fight week ...

There's a bunch more with Dana ... we asked him if this was Israel Adesanya's last shot to beat his rival, Alex Pereira. We also talked to White about the new UFC-WWE deal ... and whether we could now see stars like Conor McGregor cross over to professional wrestling.

Tony Yayo -- the rapper who inspired John Cena's famous "You Can't See Me" gesture -- is speaking out against those criticizing LSU hoops star Angel Reese for waving her hand toward Iowa star Caitlin Clark ... saying, "When a Black girl do it, it's a problem, but when a white girl do it, it's not a problem."

TMZ Sports spoke with the G-Unit MC -- who was trending this past week after Reese's celebration during last Sunday's NCAA championship game -- and he told us the criticism she's been receiving is "kind of crazy."

Yayo said trash-talking in sports is part of the game ... adding he understands the emotions athletes experience when competing, especially for a national championship.

Yayo -- who recently wrapped up a tour with 50 Cent and is gearing up to release new music this summer -- said Reese is popularizing women's basketball ... and she's elevating the sport to newer heights.

"You got Lil Wayne calling her phone," Yayo said. "You got Boosie excited over LSU. This championship was big. Everybody knows who Angel Reese is now, as well as Caitlin Clark."

Tony said he's proud of how Reese has handled herself during the controversy ... and doesn't want it to diminish what the LSU Tigers accomplished, winning the program's first NCAA women's basketball national championship.

"I just don't want all this stuff to overshadow the win," Yayo said. "There are other people on the team. There's a great coach [Kim Mulkey] over there. I'm definitely looking up to anybody that's a role model to Black women in this world."

The two women accusing George Foreman of sexual abuse 45 years ago -- when they were minors -- want to hook him up to a polygraph ... challenging him to a lie detector test.

The boxer's alleged victims, Gwen Hunter and Denise Shipes, say George made them out to be liars and villains when he countersued them and accused them of extortion ... and they say they passed their own lie detector tests.

The accusers' attorney, Samuel Dordulian, tells TMZ ... Hunter and Shipes took their polygraph tests with one of the world's preeminent experts in the field, an examiner they believe George's legal team has routinely used for past cases, and they want Foreman to use the same person.

TMZ broke the story ... the women sued George back in August, claiming the pugilist was in his 20s when he groomed, and eventually sexually abused them when they were still underage. They say it all happened in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Hunter detailed her allegations in a news conference three months after filing suit, saying ... "He asked me to remove my clothes, and if I didn't then my father would be fired, so I complied."

As we first reported ... George then filed a countersuit against Hunter, claiming she was intentionally dragging his name through the mud and flat-out lying to score a payday.

The accusers say they wanted to clear their names after George's countersuit, and they claim their lie detector tests show they're telling the truth ... and now they want Foreman to take one.

What's more, their attorney tells us he's in the process of bringing a separate defamation countersuit against George in response to what they say are baseless and harmful claims of extortion.

The timing of this all is worth noting ... in a few weeks, the "Big George Foreman" biopic is set for release.

Diamond Dallas Page says he was overcome with emotion watching Cody Rhodes fight Roman Reigns for the WWE Undisputed Universal Championship at WrestleMania ... and tells TMZ Sports despite Cody coming up short, he knows he'll eventually win the title.

We spoke to DDP at LAX on Wednesday ... and the king of the Diamond Cutter told us he thinks Cody losing to Roman on "The Grandest Stage of Them All" will make him even more popular amongst WWE fans.

"When you're really over ... When it's done right [and] when the people are behind it, it doesn't matter who wins or loses," Page said. "He went and made AEW. Came back to here [WWE]. They were so happy to have him back because they knew what a talent he was."

"I couldn't be any prouder of the cat," Page added. "Very emotional for me."

Of course, some wrestling fans were confused by WWE's decision to keep the title on Reigns instead of giving it to Cody, who won the Royal Rumble in January -- but Page believes it's inevitable Rhodes becomes WWE champ ... explaining this is a part of the process.

Page feels Cody has no reason to be disappointed he didn't win Sunday. DDP said Cody's father, Dusty Rhodes, is proud of his performance in the main event against Reigns, who needed help from The Bloodline and Paul Heyman to defeat the American Nightmare.

DDP praised Cody for how he responded after tearing his pectoral muscle last summer before a match against Seth Rollins ... and for rehabbing as hard as possible to put himself in a position to be in the main event at WrestleMania.

Jorge Masvidal apparently doesn't want to wait 'til Saturday night to fight ... 'cause he nearly came to blows with someone on the streets of Miami on Friday morning.

TMZ Sports has obtained video of the UFC star outside of the UFC 287 weigh-ins at the event's host hotel ... and you can see in the footage, he was clearly enraged at someone.

It's unclear exactly who the 38-year-old was quarreling with -- but one witness tells us the person yelled at Masvidal, "You're a clown."

The video shows Masvidal repeatedly trying to go after his heckler ... although he was constantly held back from exploding on the person. He eventually walked away from the scene before things got physical.

Masvidal tipped the scales at 171 pounds at the Friday morning weigh-in in preparation for his Saturday fight with Gilbert Burns. It's not known yet if this video was taken before or after the ceremonies.

Of course, this is not the first altercation Masvidal has been involved in this week in the leadup to the Burns fight ... he and Kevin Holland got into a heated spat on Wednesday at the UFC 287 host hotel as well.

Terrifying moment at the Masters on Friday ... two huge pine trees fell near the 17th tee at the famed Augusta National golf course -- nearly crushing spectators.

It all went down just minutes ago during the second round of the prestigious golf tournament in Georgia ... as Sergio Garcia was stalking a putt on a nearby green.

You can see in video of the tourney's broadcast, the trees came down quickly ... sending fans scurrying away to avoid being crushed.

Thankfully, according to Masters officials, no one was injured ... a small miracle considering the sheer amount of people who attended the event Friday.

Play was suspended as workers used chainsaws to clear the debris from the course. Masters officials later called off the second round, saying golfers will need to finish on Saturday morning before beginning their rounds.

Olivia Culpo and Christian McCaffrey are ready to spend the rest of their lives together ... TMZ Sports has learned they're engaged!!!

The 26-year-old NFL star popped the question to the 30-year-old supermodel while the two were on a recent road trip vacation ... and we're told Culpo said "yes."

Of course, her answer should surprise no one ... 'cause the two have been absolutely inseparable since they began dating back in 2019.

Despite his busy football career -- which featured a trade from the Carolina Panthers to the San Francisco 49ers this past season -- Culpo was spotted with McCaffrey often ... attending plenty of his games and hanging with him and their families in offseasons.

Our sources say McCaffrey had been planning to propose to Culpo for the last couple months -- hitting up a jeweler in New York back earlier this year to get the ring.

No word on a wedding date just yet ... but you can bet it'll be star-studded -- and lavish -- when the two eventually say "I Do."

We reached out to a rep for Olivia .. so far no word back.

Congrats!!!

Aldon Smith has just been ordered to spend the next 12 months in jail ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The former NFL star was sentenced Friday inside a Northern California courtroom ... after he pleaded no contest to a felony DUI charge stemming from a 2021 incident in Redwood City.

Prosecutors tell us the ex-Dallas Cowboys pass rusher was remanded into custody after the hearing ... and will begin his year-long sentence right away.

Smith was also given five years of supervised probation, prosecutors say.

The 33-year-old football player, who was last with the Seahawks prior to the '21 season, was initially arrested in the case on Dec. 6, 2021 ... after authorities claim he rear-ended a truck that was stopped at a stop sign on a freeway off-ramp.

Cops say when they arrived on the scene to investigate the accident, Smith appeared intoxicated. They also claim he had marijuana in his pocket, and empty bottles of rum and vodka in his car.

Authorities say the person he hit suffered injuries to their back, wrist, knee, leg and foot in the crash.

Smith was eventually charged with one felony count of drunk driving causing injury -- but he cut a deal with prosecutors on Jan. 19 to close out the case. He had been facing a sentence of up to 16 months in prison following his plea agreement.

Bam Margera allegedly threatened to use brass knuckles to kill a man ... and the man thinks loud sex might be the reason why.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, a 28-year-old man named Daniel Cardenas claims Bam burst into his home in the middle of the night last month, waking him from his sleep and getting in his face to make a death threat.

Cardenas claims Bam told him something along the lines of, "You have 12 hours to leave the house or I will kill you with my brass knuckles."

The guy claims his roommate heard the alleged threat, came in the room and forced Bam to leave ... but he says Bam came back 90 minutes later and again slammed his door open, waking him and telling him, "You have 12 seconds to leave," while shoving a clenched fist with a handful of rings in his face in another perceived threat.

For context, Cardenas claims he lives in an Oceanside, CA home where Bam's girlfriend, Jessica, and her 8-year-old daughter have been staying in the wake of Bam's domestic violence arrest.

TMZ broke the story ... Bam was arrested for domestic violence after a woman told police the former "Jackass" star kicked her ... and our sources said the woman was Bam's current girlfriend.

In the docs, Cardenas claims Jessica and her daughter have been staying in his home since Bam's arrest, and he says the folks living in the home got mad at him a couple days after Bam's arrest because he says he was having "some very loud sex in the house" and Jessica's kid may have overheard.

In seeking court-ordered protection from Bam, Cardenas says ... "All I can figure is Jessica told Bam about the loud sex which her daughter overheard and this is why he was so upset, although it of course gives him no right to attack me, threaten my life, or kick me out of a home he has no rights to."

Cardenas also claims Bam told him, "That girl will have PTSD for the rest of her life," when making the alleged threats.

The judge signed off on a temporary restraining order ... and now Bam has to stay 100 yards away from Cardenas and the home.

Travis Kelce might be a future Hall of Famer on the gridiron, but he's apparently not much of one on the baseball diamond ... 'cause he just threw out the first pitch at the Guardians game -- and it was terrible.

The Kansas City Chiefs star was tapped by his home state squad to perform the ceremonial throw at Cleveland's home-opener against the Mariners ... and there were some big expectations for the toss.

After all, Kelce's one of the best NFL players on the planet ... and he was a H.S. baseball star who some thought could have had an MLB future if he stuck with the sport.

But, Kelce was anything but great on the bump Friday ... hurling the baseball straight into the ground.

The throw was so bad, Shane Bieber -- who was playing catcher -- couldn't even snag it ... and it rolled all the way to the backstop!!

Kelce was pretty embarrassed -- he raced after the pitch immediately after throwing it ... but ultimately stopped to have a laugh with Bieber over it all.

It didn't take long for Kelce's quarterback to get wind of the comically bad throw -- with Patrick Mahomes clowning him over it on Twitter.