TMZ Sports - Page 27

A pursuit of a foul ball nearly turned into a tragedy for one college baseball fan over the weekend ... 'cause video shows as the man was hightailing it for a souvenir, he dropped a little boy on his head.

The scary scene happened on Sunday afternoon during the Campbell vs. N.C. State regional elimination game in Columbia, S.C. ... when in the seventh inning, Wolfpack third baseman LuJames Groover III rocketed a ball into foul territory down the first base line.

Video from the game's broadcast shows the baseball careened through a nearby concourse ... as one man holding a toddler jogged after it.

But, you can see as the guy went down to grab it, he lost his balance ... and collapsed to the ground. As he was falling, the child he was holding smacked his head hard on the pavement.

The kid seemed to be in pain ... and even the game's broadcaster noticed it all go down, letting out an audible, "Oh!" as the two tumbled to the ground.

Thankfully, it doesn't seem the boy was significantly injured.

Israel Adesanya just earned the first submission win of his career ... 'cause the UFC star made Logan Paul tap out during a fierce training session!!

The Maverick has been working out with Izzy, the middleweight champion, and pound-for-pound king Alexander Volkanovski in Puerto Rico this week ... where the two champs have been helping the YouTuber-turned-boxer work on his MMA skills.

By the looks of it, it's been a humbling experience for Logan ... but what do you expect when he's going up against two of the baddest dudes in combat sports?!?

In video of one of the workouts, Logan is on top of Izzy, fighting like hell as Adesanya methodically put him in a Triangle choke, forcing the WWE Superstar to tap.

Logan seemed pretty satisfied with the attempt, though ... saying, "I almost made it out!" with a big smile on his face.

It's been quite the crash course for Paul, who says Israel -- who's more known for his incredibly precise striking than ground game -- has been helping him learn how to kick as well.

Logan -- a decorated high school wrestler -- has expressed interest in MMA in the past ... and his brother, Jake, recently signed with the Professional Fighters League (PFL).

After more than a year of bitter arguing that included lawsuits and public feuds, PGA Tour is merging with Saudi-backed LIV Golf ... and a lot of the players are pissed!

The stunning announcement was made Tuesday morning, with the companies saying they'll form a new, yet-to-be-named organization -- news that some of the PGA Tour players say totally blindsided them.

Collin Morikawa, the 18th-ranked player in the world, clearly had no idea the merger was in the works, Tweeting ... "I love finding out morning news on Twitter"

Another pro, Wesley Bryan, expressed anger over the merger.

"Love finding out info on twitter. This is amazing. Y’all should be ashamed and have a lot of questions to answer."

Bryan fired off another message ... "I feel betrayed, and will not be able to trust anyone within the corporate structure of the PGA TOUR for a very long time"

Tuesday's announcement was especially shocking because of the disdain the organizations have had for one another since LIV launched.

Aside from just being a business dispute, a lot of Americans were against LIV because of its tie to the Saudi Arabian government. In fact, LIV Golf is backed by Saudi's Public Investment Fund (PIF), controlled by the Crown Prince. A majority of the 9/11 hijackers (15 of 19) were from the country.

Jay Monahan, Commissioner of the PGA Tour, once posed the question ... "Have you ever had to apologize for being a member of the PGA Tour?," in response to blowback on American golfers who took large checks from LIV.

Monahan was talking about several high-profile former PGA Tour players who bolted for LIV, including Phil Mickelson who reportedly received around $200 million to join the org. Dustin Johnson left too, reportedly getting $125 million. Brooks Koepka reportedly got $100 million.

Not all players took the big money ... Tiger Woods reportedly turned down a whopping $800 million offer, while Rory McIlroy reportedly said no to $500 million.

Anwar Megbli -- a player for the U.S. Livorno 1915 semi-pro soccer club in Italy -- tragically died after a traffic accident over the weekend. He was only 18.

The incident happened in Italy on Saturday -- according to local outlets, Megbli was riding on the back of a moped with his friend when they were rear-ended by a vehicle, throwing them to the ground.

Megbli was airlifted to Cisanello Hospital in Pisa ... where he unfortunately succumbed to his injuries. His friend is still recovering in the hospital.

The Livorno semi-pro football club paid tribute to Megbli on Monday ... saying it's mourning the loss of their striker.

"Everyone at the club sends their deepest condolences to his family in this moment of profound sorrow," the team said in a statement.

"Farewell, champ. You will always be one of us."

Megbli was a promising striker in the sport ... and suited up for the senior squad multiple times last season. He previously played for the USD Castiglioncello, which also paid tribute to its former player.

Prosecutors have opened an investigation into the driver of the vehicle that struck Megbli and his friend, according to The Sun.

Jake Paul is out to avenge the first loss of his boxing career -- the Problem Child just called out Tommy Fury for a rematch ... and he wants it to go down in 8 months.

Jake -- who took the L against Tyson's little bro via split decision back in February -- revealed his desired fight date during a Twitter spat with his other nemesis, KSI, on Tuesday ... saying, "Tommy, February we run it back."

The statement came on the heels of KSI's own proposal to Fury ... in which he called on him to "Sign the damn contract and let me show you the difference between me and that fraud who only wins against retired MMA pensioners."

Of course, the YouTuber and musician was taking a not-so-subtle jab at Jake ... who fired back with a lengthy response of his own, calling out KSI's recent matchups -- Dillon Danis and Joe Fournier.

"This clown ... tried to fight Dildo Dan who has never boxed and put a rehydration clause on him," Jake said. "Fought a 40 year old who hadn’t fought for 3 years and put a rehydration clause on him before elbowing him."

"Now trying to squeeze Tommy. I elevated Tommy, my son is now worth a lot more than the $1.5M offers you making."

KSI denied Jake's money claim ... saying his team is offering TNT a lot more than $1.5 milli.

"It’s crazy how much your hype has died since you lost," he added. "No one cares anymore."

Jared Leto's not satisfied with being an actor and singer -- he's adding daredevil to his resume by skipping the stairs at a hotel, and instead climbing up its stone wall without a harness!

Jared was spotted scaling the Hotel De Rome in Berlin Monday. He wasn't super high on the wall, but he was high enough to draw a crowd ... and high enough to hurt himself if he'd fallen. He made it back down safely, though.

Unclear what the actor's intention was, although it's worth mentioning he was there with TikToker Younes Zarou -- the gang was shooting some other segments with Jared near the hotel, including a pretty rad smoke-filled shot.

It's possible his free solo climb was for their mysterious collab ... or maybe JL just got bored.

Kim Kardashian clearly has no problem poking fun at her sister's love life, as evidenced by the T-shirt she's flaunting with Kendall Jenner and all of her NBA ex-boyfriends!

The video, featuring Kim K and North West, was posted Sunday from their joint account ... the mommy-daughter duo was seen dancing around, as KK styled North's hair, but fans overlooked all that to focus on Kim's wardrobe.

The shirt in question has a close-up photo of Kendall surrounded by 5 NBA stars -- Jordan Clarkson, Blake Griffin, Ben Simmons, Kyle Kuzma, and her most recent ex Devin Booker -- with the text, "Kendall Starting Five" plastered on the front.

You'll recall, Kendall dated Jordan Clarkson back in 2016 when he played for the Lakers, but they wound up breaking up later the same year. The following year, she moved on to Blake Griffin, who currently plays for the Boston Celtics. They called it quits in 2018.

She had an on-and-off relationship with Ben Simmons from 2018-2019 before dating Kyle Kuzma, who is currently with the Washington Wizards. In 2020, she was with current Phoenix Suns player, Devin Booker, until they eventually ended last November.

And, it's not the first time the shirt has made a cameo ... Kim even wore it in the season 3 trailer of "The Kardashians."

Of course, Kendall has ventured off from athletes and is now with Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny. The two have been a thing for a few months now ... and have been spending a lot of time together.

A Stanley Cup Final reporter looked more athletic than a lot of the Florida Panthers did on Monday night ... using some quick-thinking reflexes to keep an obnoxious fan out of her live shot.

The wild moment all went down toward the end of the Golden Knights' 7--2 blowout win over the Panthers in Las Vegas ... when Samantha Rivera was trying to recap Florida's loss on camera.

As the CBS Miami reporter was setting the scene at T-Mobile Arena for her viewers ... a fan tried to photobomb her shot -- and Rivera was having absolutely none of it.

You can see in a replay of her on-cam appearance, Rivera had to use a massive stiff arm to push the Knights supporter away from her shot. All the while, she repeated "Nope!" over and over again.

Eventually, the fan got the hint and bolted ... and Rivera finished her segment like a pro. Afterward, she took to Twitter to blast the guy for trying to interrupt her at work.

"Listen," she wrote, "I don't give a damn what team you're rooting for -- get the hell out of my face when I'm working and respect that I'm here to do my job."

"Excited to get back home to some classy #Panthers fans for game 3!!" she added.

Fans all over social media lauded Rivera's actions ... with many comparing her right arm to none other than NFL star Derrick Henry's!!

If Nikola Jokic can finish off the Miami Heat this month, he'd have a serious case to be on the Mt. Rushmore of Denver sports athletes ... so says Terrell Davis.

The Broncos legend didn't specify where exactly the Nuggets big man would rank amongst the John Elways, Patrick Roys and Todd Heltons ... but he did say a championship would put Jokic right there with the city's all-time greats.

"He's up there already," Davis told TMZ Sports, "and this would only cement his place in the greatest athletes to come out of Denver."

Davis said this title would carry some more weight than others in Denver sports history ... as it'd be their first NBA one.

"When you bring a city its only championship, you're going to be held to a really, really high place there," the former running back said. "And, I think Jokic is on his way."

Of course, Davis would know a thing or two about the matter ... he said following his first Super Bowl win with the Broncos in 1998, it changed the way fans interacted with him around the city forever.

Davis promises to keep cheering on Jokic too -- despite his incident at the Nuggets vs. Heat Game 2 on Sunday night.

If you missed it, Davis found himself in the middle of a Heat celebration sandwich near the end of the tilt -- and his disappointed reaction was priceless.

But, Davis was a good sport when recapping it all with us ... and he said there's no chance it'll deter him from coming back to Ball Arena later this series.

President Biden paid homage to the late Norma Hunt, mother of Chiefs owner Clark Hunt, who passed away on Sunday ... holding a moment of silence during the team's White House visit to celebrate their Super Bowl LVII win.

The Chiefs visited 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Monday with heavy hearts, grieving the loss of their matriarch, Norma, wife of late Chiefs founder Lamar Hunt, who died at 85.

The Commander-in-Chief called Norma, who attended all 57 Super Bowls, "one of the most loyal Chiefs fans there ever was," adding her presence was missed during the celebration.

POTUS sent condolences to the entire Hunt family and the Chiefs' organization on his and First Lady Jill Biden's behalf (FLOTUS was in the Middle East.)

The Prez mentioned his wife, a diehard Eagles fan, is still upset the Eagles lost ... and refuses to believe James Bradberry was called for holding Juju Smith-Schuster (even though Bradberry admitted to it). 😅

Nevertheless, #46 commended the Chiefs' dynasty for their dominance under head coach Andy Reid ... signaling out the players for their great work ethic.

Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce presented the Prez with a custom Chiefs Biden #46 jersey ... and as Trav went to say a few words, Mahomes stepped in and shut it down.

Ja Morant is doing "good" as his fate hangs in the balance after again flashing a gun on social media ... so says teammate Jaren Jackson Jr. who believes the Grizzlies superstar will come back with a vengeance!

"He's good," 23-year-old Jackson said Monday on Paul George's podcast.

"He's I think just growing up with this much attention on you, especially being this young. It's a lot to deal with."

Of course, Morant, outside a short, prepared statement, has been silent since the controversial video ... a moment Jaren clearly believes doesn't accurately portray the 23-year-old NBA superstar.

"Dude's great. People always gotta understand that everybody human. That's my brother though, no matter what. I stand my brother and I think that's the lesson everybody should take away from this."

Morant's going to be suspended -- the only question is for how long. After the Denver-area strip club incident, the NBA sat Ja down for eight games. The incoming punishment will presumably be much more severe.

But, Jackson -- who's played with Morant since 2019 -- wholeheartedly believes Ja will come back with a chip on his shoulder, and be better than ever.

"He works hard. He's smart as hell. He should've been MVP the other year," Jackson says, adding ... "The dude is high-level."

Forget Josh Allen, Joe Burrow and Justin Jefferson ... if Robert Griffin III had it his way -- the Madden 24 cover athlete would be none other than Damar Hamlin!!

The former Heisman Trophy winner made his case for the Buffalo Bills defensive back to be picked over Allen, Burrow, Jefferson and all of the rest of the NFL's biggest superstars for the honor in a series of tweets on Monday.

RGIII explained ... the tale of Hamlin surviving cardiac arrest during a game and then coming back to the field to practice with the Bills just a few months later needs to be immortalized on the world's most popular football video game.

"Celebrate a moment that brought us all together for once regardless of what team you cheer for," the former QB said.

"Celebrate [Bills trainer] Denny Kellington and the professionals who saved his life with a briefing detailing all the work they did to save him and get him back on the field. It's important for the youth to know these facts and Madden has their attention."

Last year, John Madden himself graced the cover of the game. In 2021, it was Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady who got the nod.

Wanna have a trophy case like Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton?? Now's your chance ... 'cause Formula One is auctioning off awards from the canceled Emilia Romagna Grand Prix to support flood relief in Italy.

F1 is currently taking bids on some seriously rare, autographed items ... with all proceeds going to the Emilia-Romagna Region's Agency for Territorial Safety and Civil Protection.

The 2023 pole position award, the first, second, third place and constructor trophies, as well as a podium bottle of champagne are all up for grabs ... but they're not gonna come cheap.

The pole position award is currently going for more than $47,000 ... and with the first place trophy getting nearly $25,000 in bids so far.

All drivers and team principals put their John Hancocks on each piece ... making them even cooler for any F1 fan's collection.

The May 21 race was scrapped due to severe rainfall that rocked the northern Italy area at the time ... with fears there was no way to safely host the weekend's festivities.

F1 has already stepped up to help recovery efforts ... with the org. donating 1 million euros last month.

Prosecutors have hit Tony Ferguson with a charge of DUI after he allegedly wrecked his truck in Hollywood last month, TMZ Sports has learned ... but we've also learned the UFC star is already fighting back in the case, pleading not guilty to the misdemeanor.

The 39-year-old entered the plea at his arraignment last week ... less than a month after authorities say he crashed his pickup truck into two parked cars outside of a Hollywood club just before 2 AM.

The scene was terrifying ... the truck ended up on its side following the collision -- though, somehow, no one was injured.

At the time, law enforcement sources told us Tony had refused to take a field sobriety test and was "very uncooperative" at the scene. They also said cops who eyeballed him claimed he reeked of booze and had bloodshot eyes.

Denver Broncos legend Terrell Davis looked like he wanted to disappear during the NBA Finals on Sunday ... finding himself sandwiched between two rowdy groups of Heat fans as his Nuggets lost Game 2 -- and his reaction was priceless!!

The Hall of Famer was at Ball Arena in hopes of witnessing Denver take a 2-0 lead in the series ... but unfortunately for him, Miami had a huge 4th quarter to steal the win on the road.

During the comeback, Heat fans were understandably excited when Jimmy Butler hit a corner three-pointer to put Miami up 95-89 with under seven minutes left ... and TD had a front-row seat for the celebration.

The broadcast showed a woman wearing a Jimmy Butler jersey lean over and give another Heat fan sitting nearby a high-five right in front of Terrell's face ... and judging by his expression, the former running back wasn't too thrilled about it.

Naturally, the clip went viral on social media ... with fans joking about the Denver legend's miserable body language.

Of course, Davis has had a lot to smile about this postseason ... as the Nuggets were previously undefeated at home before Sunday's loss.

The Heat secured the 111-108 win ... and TD's gotta be at least a little bit worried now.

Gracie Hunt is heartbroken over the passing of her grandmother, Norma Hunt -- saying in an emotional note on Monday the matriarch of the Kansas City Chiefs was "an absolute legend."

Gracie shared the message on her Instagram page one day after the Chiefs announced Norma had died at 85 years old.

"My Mimi Norma was an absolute legend," Gracie wrote. "The only woman to see all 58 Super Bowls. With a precious Texas accent, she was humble, beautiful, brilliant, hilarious, joyful, fun and fierce. She was an eternal optimist, the best cheerleader and so much more."

"She was extraordinary," Gracie added.

The daughter of Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt shared several photos of her and Norma as part of the post ... including one that showed the two holding hands during the 2020 Super Bowl, which the Chiefs won.

"My heart is broken," Gracie said, "but I know she's in Heaven with her Savior, and reunited with the love of her life. And they're probably smiling up at Jesus and down at the Chiefs at the White House today."

Kansas City star Patrick Mahomes also mourned Norma's passing on Sunday ... writing in a tweet that she "was the best."

"Glad to be a part of this special organization she help build," the quarterback said. "She will be missed! Prayers to the entire Hunt family. 🙏🏽💔"

Kansas City Union Station also paid tribute to Norma on Sunday by lighting the outdoor fountain in Chiefs colors.