TMZ Sports - Page 50

Haley and Hanna Cavinder's college basketball careers are over, but they could have a bright future in professional wrestling ... so says WWE Hall of Famer Booker T, who tells TMZ Sports the twins can succeed in the industry if they remain a dominant duo.

We spoke to Booker about the Internet sensations -- whose agent, Jeff Hoffman, confirmed earlier this week they would start training at the WWE Performance Center -- and the wrestling legend shared some words of encouragement for the sisters as they embark on their new journey.

"The best advice I can give to siblings is [to] learn this craft and stick together because it will be a ride," Booker said. "It's going to be a journey. This is a marathon. You got to be ready to run the long haul."

After Haley and Hanna -- who helped Miami reach the Elite 8 this past season -- announced they would not return to The U for a fifth season, speculation grew about the next endeavors the twins would pursue.

"We love the WWE," Haley said during their appearance on The Today Show last week. "The fan base, the sport, the fitness side of it ... they’re great, our partner, and we’re very excited in a future with them."

Of course, Booker T -- a five-time WCW champion -- knows what it feels like to break into the wrestling business with a sibling. The King of the Spinaroonie was one half of the legendary "Harlem Heat" tag team with his real-life brother, Stevie Ray.

In April 2013, Booker was inducted into WWE's Hall of Fame. Harlem Heat reunited for one final match in February 2015, where they won the ROW Tag Team Championship and were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame together as part of the 2019 class.

If the Cavinder twins ever make it to WWE's roster, they won't be the first set of trailblazing twins. Nikki and Brie Garcia -- formerly known as the Bella Twins -- and Jimmy and Jey Uso created a blueprint for how siblings can dominate in professional wrestling.

"These young ladies that are coming in," Booker said, "they are so athletic."

"So much more athletic than the crop when I came up. I see this business going in a really great direction."

Bella Mir is just a freshman at Iowa, but she's already a bonafide badass on the wrestling mat, and although it's likely years away, Frank Mir's daughter says she knows where she's going -- the UFC!

19-year-old Mir, already a top 10 ranked wrestler in her weight class, recently showed out at the USA Wrestling national championships in Washington ... securing a spot on the under-20 team.

"Obviously the endgame is to fight and be in the UFC," Bella told us earlier this week.

Mir, while not signed to the UFC, is already in business with Dana White's organization ... the MMA promotion signed Bella to a NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) deal back in January.

Of course, Bella's dad Frank is a 2x UFC heavyweight champ who beat the likes of Brock Lesnar. So, apple, tree.

Although Bella (a 4x state champ in Nevada and 2022 American jiu-jitsu champ) isn't in the UFC just yet, she is fighting MMA professionally, securing a 3-0 record. Two of her fights ended in the first round, while her first fight was won by unanimous decision.

Mir says she was scheduled to fight this summer (on the same card as Dad!) ... but since she's made the Junior USA Wrestling team, Bella now has a choice to make.

"Right now I'm actually in a predicament cause this summer I was supposed to fight twice. One in June, one in August. But now my summer plans have changed a little bit cause I made the world team so now I'm going to worlds, and I'm going to Spain, I'm doing all these camps."

"It's like I actually have to talk to Dad today and talk to him about what my summer looks like cause being a multisport athlete is pretty hard."

We also asked Bella about the Olympics ... and whether gold was something she had her sights set on.

"Of course. I think every girl's dream is wrestling is going to the Olympics, go to Worlds. They're the top 2 dreams. That's always been a dream of mine. Being an Olympian, that's one of a kind. Less than one percent of athletes are Olympians, and of course, that is something I think about all the time."

And, Mir just took a big step towards achieving her lifelong dreams.

Ex-NBA player Matt Barnes is gunning for office by the time he's 50 ... and one politician is here to tell him how to make it happen -- former Los Angeles mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa!!

As we previously reported, the 2017 champion shared his intentions on Rachel Uchitel's 'Miss Understood' podcast last month ... saying he'd love to make a difference as an elected official like mayor or governor.

Of course, Villaraigosa knows a thing or two about the former -- he held office from 2005-13 -- and Barnes better listen up, 'cause he's droppin' some nuggets on how to get started.

"Get involved -- get involved in your church, get involved in your community and your kids' schools," Villaraigosa said.

"Get involved in trying to get people to vote. Get involved around an issue."

As for Barnes' reputation as an enforcer during his playing days, Villaraigosa says it shouldn't be an issue -- 'cause those in politics are generally forgiving people.

Sage Northcutt is about to fight for the first time in 4 years, and the MMA star says it won't be a one-time deal -- he's back, and it's for good.

"I'm planning on being back. I have this fight set for May 5th, I got my eyes zoned in on this fight. But after this fight I'd like to be super active for ONE Championship. You know I like having fights and trying to put on a show."

27-year-old Northcutt will return to the cage early next month against Ahmen Mujtaba ... Sage's first fight since he lost to Cosmo Alexandre in May 2019. In the loss, SN's face was broken in 8 places, requiring nearly 10 hours of surgery.

Many fans doubted Sage, who is 11-3 as a pro, would ever fight again. But, he says he actually was supposed to return long ago, but COVID had other plans.

"As the 4 years went by, it's been longer than what I expected. I was planning on coming back, I actually had a fight set to come back a couple years after, just about 2 years ago I had a fight set to come back," Northcutt told us.

"You know how the world's been with COVID, shutting things down. I caught COVID as I had a fight scheduled, literally, a week before flying overseas, I caught COVID. That was unfortunate timing. But coming back, it's about time."

Come May 5, Sage believes he'll open the eyes of many MMA fans.

"For ONE Championship, I haven't really had the chance to show all the hard work that I've been putting in," Northcutt says, adding, "I've been training very hard. Training with a great team, great coaches, great fighters, so I'm looking forward to displaying stuff that I've been putting a lot of hard work into."

We also asked Sage what advice he'd offer Raul Rosas Jr. ... the 18-year-old who became the youngest fighter to sign with the promotion. Rosas Jr. recently lost his first fight. We asked Northcutt, who fought as a 19-year-old, what advice he'd offer the young man.

As for his upcoming fight ... it's less than 2 weeks away, and he's ready to roll.

Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are living out the plot of 'Ted Lasso' in real life -- 'cause their British soccer team just got bumped up to a whole new level of competition.

Wrexham won their match Saturday against Boreham Wood to come from behind and secure a 3-1 victory -- which guarantees them a promotion from the National League (the level 5 league in which they'd been playing of late) to the next tier ... League Two (4th tier).

If they get three more promotions ... Wrexham would be playing in the English Premier League alongside mega teams like Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United, etc.

They're not quite there yet ... but you could argue they're well on their way -- and Saturday's small step into the next chapter was not without celebration and ecstasy. Literally, you could see it all over Ryan and Rob's faces when the final whistle was blown.

RR and RME embraced in a hug as they were overcome with shock ... and eventually stormed the field with the rest of the team -- not to mention the rest of the fanbase.

Indeed ... Wrexham supporters were over the moon and rushed the pitch to ring in the win. And eventually, Ryan and Rob held up the big trophy -- which brings this Cinderella tale full circle. They became owners of Wrexham back in 2021 ... and have documented their journey.

The whole was showcased on an FX series called "Welcome to Wrexham" ... which dove into why Ryan and Rob got involved with this down-and-out club in a tiny town in North Wales.

Since their takeover, the team has turned around their luck ... and they've been playing well and ascending in the ranks. Now, the team has reached the milestone they've been battling for for a long time -- and they'll get to play in the league above them next year.

Like we said ... this is pretty much exactly what Jason Sudeikis goes through weekly on Apple TV -- except, in this case, Rob and Ryan are even more so fish out of water.

Charles Barkley and Gayle King are teaming up to take CNN by storm -- they're gonna be hosting a new show together later this year ... which may be forcing HRH into a double take.

The announcement was made Saturday during TNT's pregame coverage ... where Gayle came on set with Chuck and the guys to talk about their new venture together -- namely, a weekly primetime slot on CNN that sees them both talking politics and timely topics.

The program's gonna be titled "King Charles" ... and while, on its face, it might sound Chuck-centric -- you'll remember, King is Gayle's last name ... so she's in there as well.

Now, as for what sort of stuff they might get into -- well, they teased a little bit on TNT ... including the hot-button issue of guns. Charles and Gayle brought up a string of shootings that have happened over the past few months ... including school shootings and even ones that have randomly occurred to innocent bystanders -- like Ralph Yarl and Kinsley White.

Now, while they'll certainly cover stories that touch on politics ... Charles insists the show itself won't be political by nature -- meaning, it won't pander to Republicans or Dems. The way they're pitching it is ... Gayle and Charles giving their "straight shooter" opinions live.

Gayle also says it doesn't always have to be so heavy ... adding they might get into food, pop culture and whatever else they wanna touch on that's in the news cycle that week.

"King Charles" will air Wednesdays starting this all, and both will retain their gigs at CBS and Turner, respectively ... the latter of which is an already subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.

Phil Jackson says he hasn't watched the NBA since 2020 -- when it went into the bubble for the playoffs and publicly supported Black Lives Matter ... a step too far for him, it seems.

The iconic head coach -- who's got 11 championships under his belt from the '90s through the early 2010s between the Bulls and Lakers -- sat down with Rick Rubin earlier this month for a podcast ... which is making the rounds now 'cause of what Phil had to say.

Check it out for yourself ... Rick asks Phil if he watches NBA basketball to this day in the wake of retiring in 2011, and Phil says he kept his eyes on the game only through 2020.

When asked why, Phil says the NBA did something "wanky" while in Orlando -- namely, getting mixed up in politics with a bunch of slogans on the court and on the jerseys of the players themselves. He never says "BLM" ... but there's no doubt that's what he's talking about here. He even kinda mocks it -- saying he joked about it from home with his family.

Phil says guys would have phrases like "Justice" plastered across their backs instead of their surnames like normal ... and goes on to explain that he'd make cracks about "Justice" or so-and-so making a drive to the basket -- which he says his grandkids got a kick out of.

Long story short ... Phil thinks the NBA was pandering to a certain audience and demographic -- and their virtue signaling that year turned a lot of people off ... including himself. He says politics should stay out of sports, and that folks don't wanna see 'em mesh.

Phil cites athletes who've gone on to have political careers -- the implication being ... if you wanna pursue that, do it off the court and outside of the league. BTW, Rubin did a good job pressing Phil on what exactly bothered him about the BLM stuff ... and he responded clearly.

Now, as you can imagine ... Phil's getting ripped a new one on Twitter -- as this is coming as news to a lot of people who thought the dude was an unproblematic genius of basketball.

His resumé still speaks for itself, no doubt, but he's getting a helluva lot of side-eye now after these comments -- and you gotta wonder what some of his greatest former players -- many of whom were Black -- might have to say about this.

Nate Diaz had a trouble-filled night Friday ... he first chucked a water bottle at reality star Chase DeMoor and then choked a young man into unconsciousness in separate confrontations.

The UFC legend kicked off his wild night by attending the Misfits Boxing 6 event in New Orleans to watch Chris Avila beat Paul Bamba in the main event.

While Diaz was enjoying the bout in the front row, he got into a heated argument with DeMoor, who was seated behind him. Video shows DeMoor heckling Diaz and calling him a "p****." Diaz then pitched the water bottle at DeMoor, and the two would have come to blows if onlookers hadn't stepped between them.

Hours later, Diaz was filmed getting into a physical altercation with a young man on the sidewalk outside the venue. Nate put the guy in a choke hold until his body went limp and he fell to the ground unconscious. Diaz then casually walked away.

The extent of the man's injuries was unknown, nor was it clear if he was taken to a hospital. It’s also unclear if police got involved.

Video of the assault has since gone viral. UFC boss Dana White and former UFC champ Conor McGregor reacted on social media to the video. White suggested the man attacked by Diaz could be pro boxer Jake Paul's brother, Logan (It wasn't, though). McGregor laughed and praised Diaz for his "rampage."

Andy Ruiz's ex got a temporary restraining order against the star boxer earlier this month ... claiming he raped, abused and terrorized her throughout their relationship, TMZ Sports has learned.

But, Ruiz strongly denies the allegations ... and is adamant he is actually the victim in the case.

Julia Lemus filed for the domestic violence restraining order in San Diego back on April 6 ... alleging Ruiz "sexually, physically, and psychologically abused me, making me feel like feel like I had to walk on eggshells around him" while they were dating.

The 26-year-old -- who was with Ruiz from 2015 through 2022 -- added that Andy physically and emotionally abused their two children as well.

In the documents, she also accused Ruiz of abusing both alcohol and illicit drugs ... causing her to "fear for my life and safety and the lives and safety of my children."

Lemus described several instances of alleged abuse from Ruiz in her restraining order application ... saying the 33-year-old began to get physical with her in 2019 after he beat Anthony Joshua for the heavyweight title.

"He began grabbing me by my upper arms and physically yanking me in order to move me wherever he wanted me to go," Lemus said in the docs. She added he also began to "jokingly" punch her in her arms and legs, leaving her with bruises. She attached photos of the alleged injuries to her application.

Lemus claims in the docs ... earlier this year, Ruiz purchased several guns in Las Vegas and wanted to show them to her -- but when she became uncomfortable with all the firearms around, she said he "proceeded to point an AK-47 at my face." She claimed in the docs that after she told Ruiz to stop, he "told me to 'shut the f*** up,' and then noted that the guns did not have bullets in them and mocked me by telling me I was being dramatic."

Lemus then said beginning around February 2023, Ruiz began to sexually assault her -- forcing himself onto her on at least six occasions.

A temporary restraining order against Ruiz was granted shortly after the application was filed on April 6. It ordered the pugilist to stay at least 100 yards away from Lemus. It also prohibited him from owning any firearms. The court also ordered Lemus to have sole legal and physical custody of the couple's children ... at least until a court hearing scheduled for Monday.

Ruiz, however, filed a response to Lemus' docs in court on Thursday ... saying he "categorically denies that he ever has abused Julia Lemus or his children."

He said in the docs there "is no just reason to separate Ruiz from his" kids -- while adding Lemus is the one who's been violent in the relationship.

The boxer said in February 2020, Lemus stabbed him with a knife -- and attached a photo of the alleged injuries he suffered in the incident. He also said in April 2020, Lemus "entered my hotel room with a loaded gun in her hand, and screamed, 'everybody get the f*** out of here.'" He alleged in the docs Lemus hit one his friends in the head with the gun during the altercation, and then broke furniture in the room.

Ruiz also said in the court docs Lemus slapped, punched, and grabbed him "on multiple occasions."

"Not once did I ever engage in any physical response to Julia's assault," Ruiz said.

Ruiz also accused Lemus of stealing $250,000 worth of jewelry from him last month ... and said in the docs that he had made a report of the theft with police in San Diego.

We've reached out to Ruiz, a 35-2 fighter who's rumored to be Tyson Fury's next opponent, for comment ... but so far, no word back.

Mike Tyson says he now understands why so many people around boxing have compared Tank Davis' fighting style to his own, saying their "stoutness to the ground" and the way they throw power punches are very similar.

56-year-old "Iron" Mike joined Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs weekdays on FS1) ... where he talked about everything from the comparisons between him and "Tank," to whether Davis will have trouble with Ryan Garcia's height Saturday night.

"Tank is very comfortable fighting taller people because when he fights he catapults himself, and pushes himself in the air, so it makes it very difficult to stop his attack cause it's very awkward when you're in the air, normally you have no power. But, the way which he catapults himself, it's almost like a gun being fired. He flies right into you with every ounce of power."

FYI, Gervonta is giving up between 5-6 inches to Ryan, and also has a shorter reach. Length, in boxing, typically provides an advantage.

Mike continued ... "I understood them now when they say he fights like Mike Tyson 'cause he flies through the air which is normally bad positioning, you have no power in the air. But, for him and myself, our stoutness to the ground, as I said before, catapults us like being shot like a bow and arrow and the force is unstoppable."

As for Gervonta's other weapons ... Tyson says he's more than just a power puncher.

"Tank has a lot of arsenal, he's got a lot of ammunition in his arsenal, and he can box. He's a great boxer, he's a great, aggressive fighter, he has a great jab, and he's an all-around good fighter."

"They call him short 5'5", but he can do it all pretty much."

That's not to say Mike doesn't believe Ryan can win the fight ... or have dangerous weapons of his own.

There's much more ... we also talked to Tyson about the potential of him returning to the ring. Mike says a big check is important, but most importantly he'd want to put together a big-time event, and he believes that means an exhibition fight with Evander Holyfield.

The Ryan Garcia and Gervonta 'Tank' Davis super fight is FINALLY here ... and Oscar De La Hoya tells TMZ Sports the winner stands to become the face of boxing!!

The two superstar boxers will meet in the ring at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday and ODLH wholeheartedly believes Ryan (23-0, 19 KOs) is gonna prove he's the real deal, and not just some Instagram boxer.

"I feel that Ryan Garcia is a special fighter," the former boxing champ said. "I think he's gonna do something special Saturday night and be the face of boxing."

Of course, this may seem like favoritism from De La Hoya (Garcia is under ODLH's Golden Boy Promotions), but the 50-year-old legend says Tank, too, can become the biggest star in the sport with a win.

"If he's doing something special Saturday night, he will be the face of boxing. He will be the man." Oscar said about Davis.

"That's how important this fight is. We're gonna find out who is the very best and who's gonna carry the sport on their shoulders for years."

ODLH credited both fighters for their strength, speed, and boxing IQ, and that's why he believes it's a 50-50 fight.

"This could be the fight to save boxing," De La Hoya said. "It excites me that the sport, because of this fight, is gonna grow."

"I strongly feel we're gonna see some record-breaking numbers come Saturday night on Pay-Per-View."

We also talked to Tank about the fight ... and the 28-0 boxer says while the fight could go to a decision, he's confident he can put Garcia down for his 27th knockout.

A's legend Dave Stewart says if his former team leaves Oakland, he's going to be devastated ... and now, he's hoping for a "last-minute miracle" that stops the squad from moving to Las Vegas.

TMZ Sports spoke with the former World Series MVP just hours after the A's announced they had agreed to buy land in Sin City, seemingly with the intention of eventually moving there ... and Stewart didn't even try to hide his disappointment with it all.

The ex-pitcher, who grew up in Oakland and went on to play eight years for the Athletics, said "it's just heartbreaking to see this happening."

Stewart told us he really feels most for the city itself ... because it already lost the Raiders to Vegas and the Warriors to San Francisco in the past few years.

He added, though, that he understood it might be a move A's ownership just has to make.

"Even though it's heartbreaking, sometimes you just have to make the decision that puts you in a position to be successful going forward," he said.

But, the 66-year-old -- who currently works as an A's analyst for NBC -- told us he's still holding out hope a move is not in the cards.

"We'll keep our fingers crossed," he said, "and we'll continue to say prayers that some type of last-minute miracle will keep the A's in Oakland."

Antonio Brown is a wanted man yet again ... this time, TMZ Sports has learned a judge has ordered cops to arrest the ex-NFL star over unpaid child support.

According to court documents, the order was issued by a Miami-Dade County, Fla. judge on April 14 ... after Brown had allegedly ducked payments that he had been required to make to his ex, Wiltrice Jackson.

The Broward County Sheriff's Office has been in receipt of the order ... a BCSO spokesperson confirmed on Friday morning.

But, according to the docs, Brown can be released from custody if he pays $30,000 ... which the Florida judge ruled is to be applied to his unpaid child support.

Brown and Jackson dated during the former Pittsburgh Steelers star's early football playing days -- and had a daughter together.

Their relationship, however, had more than its fair share of ups and downs -- with Jackson accusing Brown of shoving her during a domestic dispute in 2019. Brown was never charged over the claim.

Police have now been instructed to place Brown in custody multiple times over the last few years ... including late in 2022, when an arrest warrant was issued for the ex-NFL star after he was allegedly involved in a domestic battery incident with the mother of his children in Tampa. The warrant, however, was ultimately withdrawn after officials said the alleged victim recanted her story.

We reached out to Brown for comment ... but so far, no word back yet.

Dillon Brooks might actually be getting under LeBron James' skin ... 'cause the Lakers superstar got so fed up with being asked about the Grizzlies forward on Friday, he abruptly cut off his media availability.

Of course, Brooks made headlines for ripping the King after Wednesday's win over L.A. ... calling James "old" and saying he doesn't respect his game.

Naturally, the 4-time NBA champ was peppered with questions about his current enemy at practice just minutes ago ... and he was short and to the point with reporters -- claiming he didn't hear a word Brooks said.

James' patience clearly ran thin as media members continued to try and get a soundbite out of him ... and, eventually, he brought everything to a screeching halt and walked away.

"I don’t want to talk much more," an annoyed James said. "Tomorrow is going to be a great game. I’m not here for the bulls***. I’m ready to play. That’s it."

Some reporters in attendance laughed it off ... but Bron didn't appear to be in a laughing mood.

James didn't wanna talk, but Rui Hachimura gave a short comment about Brooks ... saying, "They’re a young team. They just want to talk. We don’t really care. We’re just going to play our game and try to win the game."

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson continues to prove why he's "The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment" -- a 2022 Panini WWE Black Prizm card featuring The Brahma Bull sold for $126,000 at auction, the highest-selling WWE trading card of all time.

PWCC officials tell TMZ Sports they brokered the historic sale Thursday night ... and say the card's exclusivity -- it's the only one that exists -- is why it sold for so much.

"This is arguably the best WWE trading card in existence," said Jesse Craig, Vice President of Sales at PWCC. "Cards like this rarely surface for public sale since they are so scarce. And when scarcity outweighs public demand, you see record prices."

"This was the perfect combination to drive that demand," Craig added.

The card is considered a 1/1 masterpiece with a grade of Near Mint 7. It features a holofoil image of The Rock -- AKA "The Great One" -- slamming the Texas Rattlesnake, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, to the mat with what appears to be his signature "Rock Bottom" finisher.

Of course, The Rock and Stone Cold had one of the most storied rivalries in WWE history, culminating in a trilogy of matches that were instant classics at WrestleMania 15, 17, and 19.

When Rock and Austin weren't colliding in the squared circle on "The Grandest Stage of Them All," the two WWE Hall of Famers entertained the WWE Universe with their skills on the microphone, cutting some of the most legendary promos over their careers.

Both Rock and Austin have had successful careers post-WWE -- Dwayne is an A-list actor, and Steve Austin started a podcast and released his first beer (Broken Skull) -- but the magic the two created inside the ring shows why cards like these are in high demand.

The famous Ball family is growing by one ... 'cause LiAngelo just announced he and his girlfriend Nikki Mudarris are expecting their first bundle of joy together!

The professional basketball player and former "Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood" star revealed the amazing news to their millions of Instagram followers on Friday with pics from an intimate photo shoot.

"My partner and I are excited for this next chapter of our journey as soon-to-be parents!! 🧸🤎," Ball said in the caption.

Mudarris left a comment in the post ... saying she can't wait to meet their baby this summer.

"I wouldn’t want to bring our Angel to this world with anybody else," Mudarris said. "I love you ❤️"

Of course, this means LaVar Ball is going to be a grandpa once again (Lonzo already has a baby), while Zo and LaMelo Ball become uncles ... and they're hyped!

"My mom was yelling and cheering in excitement," the 24-year-old told People. "When I told my brothers they were happy for me and also excited to become new uncles to my seed."

The relationship between Gelo and the 32-year-old reality star was private for a long time until Nikki confirmed they were an item by congratulating her man on his NBA contract in her IG story last year.

Gelo also had several stints in the G League ... spending time with the Oklahoma City Blue and the Charlotte Hornets-affiliated Greensboro Swarm.