TMZ Sports - Page 50

WWE legend Lita is still floating on cloud nine after teaming up with Trish Stratus and Becky Lynch at WrestleMania 39 ... telling TMZ Sports she ranks the "surreal" moment at the top of her career!!

"With age comes perspective," Lita told us. "I just feel like I could really be in the moment and soak it in and be appreciative to be there. And to have done it when I wasn't looking for it, it was able to give me this really in-the-moment sense of appreciation."

Lita -- whose real name is Amy Dumas -- admitted she felt like a fan when she walked down the stage with Trish, her best friend, and Lynch, AKA "The Man," to take on Bayley, Dakota Kai, and Iyo Sky.

The 48-year-old former women's champion -- who broke barriers as a singles competitor and with the revolutionary Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff) tag team -- loves that the WWE is bridging the gap between her era and the upcoming women's superstars.

"To be invited back in to come to play with these phenomenal athletes with just as much passion pushing things forward to heights that I did not know were possible," Lita said, "we're running out of boxes to check."

In 2004, Lita and Trish fought for the women's championship on Monday Night Raw, marking the first time in WWE history a women's match headlined a WWE show. It ultimately paved the way for Lynch, Charlotte Flair, and Ronda Rousey to main event WrestleMania.

Before this handsome fella was dribbling down the field and scoring hella goals, he was attending the Manchester United games with his rents and exploring the streets of London, England with his two sisters.

After he successfully wrapped up his 20-year career, he retired his soccer balls -- and amped up his modeling, stripping down to nothing but some whitey tighties ... no shame in his game! With the help of his spicy wife, he's added 'fashion icon' to his resume.

Need one more clue? He loves to rave about his 4 kids on Instagram.

Michael Phelps was swimming in EDM this weekend -- and even though he wasn't in the water ... the dude found a reason to lose his shirt anyway.

The all-time Olympian -- who's got 23 gold medals to his name -- was on hand Saturday night at the XS Nightclub within the Wynn Las Vegas resort ... and he was in partying mood, which was only facilitated further with Diplo in the DJ booth and a packed crowd.

Mike and Diplo bro'd out behind the turntables ... and it looks like MP got so hyped, he ended up going bare-chested amid al the festivities. Maybe he was celebrating a bet on Gervonta Davis -- who won a big boxing match against Ryan Garcia earlier in the night.

Speaking of fighters ... Mr. Conor McGregor was also in attendance, and Phelps got in a battle pose with the guy. He also smiled for the camera alongside Travis Kelce!

There was even more star power in the crowd ... Sabrina Carpenter, Dixie Damelio and Loren Gray -- not to mention Michael B. Jordan, Chace Crawford, David Dobrik and others.

Of course, there were even more A-listers who were front and center for the fight itself ... these are just a handful of celebs who decided to rage after the fact at this particular club.

Chase Koepka got an early shower in the middle of a golf tournament down in Australia -- but he wasn't being doused with water, it was booze ... and for good reason too.

The pro golfer was teeing off Sunday in Adelaide -- where LIV Golf is hosting a tournament with a sellout crowd in attendance -- and on the 12th stop of the course, he hit a hole in one ... which is pretty impressive considering it's a par-3.

The spectators thought so too ... so much so, in fact, that they started chucking their beers, cans and cups right at the dude from up in the stands. A literal beer shower, if you will.

CK didn't mind it one bit ... he was absolutely stoked and reveling in the brew -- rightly so. BTW, the whole beer-throwing thing here is a tradition at this hole in particular ... it's apparently known as the "Watering Hole," so the athletes know what they're in for.

Koepka commented on the drizzle later on, and it didn't bother him one bit. He's quoted as saying ... "I smelled like beer the whole entire rest of the day. Yeah, it was wild. Crazy experience. I mean, obviously to do it on a hole like that was super special."

The American golfer is far from the only star to be out there at the Grange Golf Club this weekend ... he's joined by other stars in the sport like Ian Poulter, Paul Casey and Phil Mickelson -- who abandoned the PGA and linked up with the Saudis for this new league.

Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudeikis are still in the middle of a nasty custody battle, but you'd never know it watching the two cheer on their kiddo like the best of friends.

Both Olivia and Jason attended one of their kid's soccer games Saturday where they not only exchanged pleasantries, but also stood together chat as they took in all the action. It's not the first time we've seen them together since their split, but it's certainly a drastic change from what's been happening behind the scenes in their custody battle.

TMZ broke the story ... Olivia took home a victory in court last month when a judge rejected Jason's request to have the case moved from California to New York.

It was a big deal for Olivia, considering California is more generous with awarding child support, but the whole battle has still been pretty costly to the director.

In legal docs, obtained by DailyMail, Olivia's attorney wrote, "While Jason can afford to spin his wheels with filing after filing, Olivia cannot ... Jason should not be permitted to litigate Olivia into debt."

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West live very separate lives these days, but that doesn't mean they can't come together to support their kids ... doing just that this weekend.

Kanye and his wife Bianca Censori showed face at Kim and Kanye's daughter North's basketball game -- though it was only for a brief moment -- before the two took off in Kanye's SUV.

Kim was also at the game, walking into a bunch of photogs before taking in the action inside. On her way out, Kim was joined by North and some of her friends, Kim stayed quiet, but North joked about the photo flashes before they piled into a waiting car.

We haven't seen a whole lot of Kim and Kanye together as of late ... and it appears they showed to the game at separate times as well. However, they've maintained for a long time that they'd co-parent their 4 kids, and it appears they've been able to keep that promise.

Gervonta "Tank" Davis had the city of Las Vegas and the boxing world in the palm of his hand after knocking out Ryan Garcia, but he actually kept things pretty low-key in celebrating his big win.

Davis and some friends hit Ghostbar on the roof of Palms Las Vegas late night Saturday after his fight. Davis -- in a white hoodie and sunglasses -- kept a low profile, sipping on a drink and chatting with some of his friends.

As for who else was in attendance, we're told some of Tank's famous friends like Chief Keef, Lil Reese, Flo Rida and Polo G were all there to celebrate.

As we reported ... Tank knocked Garcia out with a body shot in the 7th round of their fight. Garcia didn't go down immediately, but took a few steps back at first before taking a knee and staying down for the 10-count.

Both Tank and Garcia hyped up the fight for years, and there was a ton of buzz around the whole weekend. Celebs in attendance included Mark Wahlberg, Nelly and Ashanti.

Gervonta Davis called his shot ... he said he was going to knockout the previously undefeated Ryan Garcia in the 7th round of their megafight, and that's exactly what Tank did, dropping King Ryan with a perfectly placed body shot.

The liver shot didn't appear overly hard -- Tank was a bit out of position when he threw the punch -- but seemingly caught Ryan on the liver. After a few second delay, Ryan dropped to a knee, and winced in pain, as referee Thomas Taylor began to count.

Garcia remained on one knee for the entire 10-count ... and just like that, the fight, 5 years in the making, was over.

24-year-old Garcia got off to a nice start ... winning the first round.

However, the fight turned in the second when 28-year-old Tank, ducking under a left, caught Garcia with a beautiful left hook/uppercut that dropped Ryan, sending him to the canvas. He returned to his feet quickly.

From that moment on, save for a few flashes, Tank was in control of the fight.

Earlier in the week, Davis said he was going to stop Garcia in the 7th and that's what he did.

After the fight was over, Tank and Ryan embraced in the ring and squashed any beef they might've had, shaking hands ... after years of going back and forth with trash talk.

In what was the biggest fight of the year, the celebs were out in full force ... with everyone from Mark Wahlberg to Floyd Mayweather and Mike Tyson watching from their ringside seats.

Chief Keef even walked Gervonta to the ring, performing as Davis made his way to the squared circle.

Last week, Oscar De La Hoya, Ryan's promoter, told us the winner of the fight was set to become the face of boxing.

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."