TMZ Sports - Page 43

Ronda Rousey was brought back to earth for an emotional moment during her time on "Mars" ... with the UFC legend breaking down in tears during a video conversation with her daughter.

Ronda and other big names were completely separated from the real world for weeks as they competed on the Fox show, "Stars on Mars" ... and in the latest episode of the series, all the remaining contestants appear to be struggling with their living conditions.

In an emotional clip, Ronda is shown FaceTiming with her 1-year-old, La'akea, and her husband, Travis Browne ... and she can't help but cry as she looks at her daughter's smiling face.

"Hi, my beautiful angel!!" Ronda said ... with Travis replying, "We love ya."

Ex-NFL star Richard Sherman also shared his issues with being away from his loved ones ... admitting he felt like he was experiencing "space madness."

Lance Armstrong said the competition is no joke ... adding, "The long game here is brutal. The mental side of this is torture."

Tom Brady left football, in part, so he could focus on being a more-present dad -- and on Father's Day ... that's exactly what he was reflecting on, in touching terms no less.

The now-retired QB great threw up a sweet tribute to both his own father as well as his kids on Instagram Sunday -- and it's all about what being a good Papa Bear means to him personally ... and how he was raised by an awesome one in his pops, Tom Brady Sr.

Here's what TB12 had to say about the special holiday ... "On this Father’s Day, all I can think of is how grateful I am to have been raised by the world’s best Dad, and to now have three beautiful angels of my own who I have the joy of watching grow up."

Tom adds, "Being a Dad is the best thing in my life. I have learned so much about what it takes from my Dad and to be able to pass that on to Jack, Benny and Vivi means the world to me. They have taught me how to be present (still working on this daily 🤣)and cherish every moment (mostly😂) that we have as a family, because that’s what matters most."

And finally, he finishes with this ... "Their love for others and constant selflessness makes me so proud to be their dad, and I know those traits come directly from everyone who is part of their life. Thank you Dad, for being you, and thank you to my three amazing kids, for giving me the pleasure of being your Dad." Super thoughtful ... and clearly from the heart.

It's pretty obvious that Tom's loving retirement at this point -- as we've seen up close, it has most definitely allowed him to spend quality time with his children ... which he's said had been somewhat lacking throughout his football career.

There's been speculation he might just un-retire (again) and get back on the gridiron ... but seeing how much he's enjoying his family, something tells us that probably ain't happening.

Lately, the dude's been sailing the high seas/living the yacht life -- with his kiddos coming along, of course. Of course, he's also proven that he could certainly hop back into the game if he really wanted to ... 'cause the dude can still toss the pigskin like nobody's business.

Conor McGregor isn't hiding under a rock after a woman accused him of sexual assault -- he's out and about in NYC, and still drawing a crowd wherever he goes.

The UFC fighter pulled up to his hotel in NYC Saturday night and was immediately swarmed by autograph seekers ... just as he was earlier in the day. McGregor happily stopped and signed for seemingly all of them, before bounding into the hotel.

He didn't have anything to say, though, when one of them asked how he was holding up.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... a woman claims McGregor took her into a restroom -- during Game 4 of the NBA Finals in Miami last week -- and forced her to perform oral sex, before attempting to sodomize her.

We also obtained 2 very relevant videos -- one shows McGregor holding the accuser's hand and leading her into a men's room at Kaseya Center arena.

Another video shows them hanging out together, still at the arena, about 30 minutes after the alleged assault would have happened. McGregor has flatly denied the sexual assault happened.

Meanwhile, the accuser's attorney, Ariel Mitchell, says her client acknowledges she was still around McGregor after the alleged assault, but says they were "visibly awkward" with each other at that point.

The accuser did file a report with the police, who are now investigating -- and McGregor's team believes he will be fully exonerated.

Anyone holding out hope that Kim Zolciak and Kroy Biermann might find some common ground during their nasty divorce should just give up ... cuz it just ain't happening.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us the estranged couple has stopped all direct communication ... only having a back and forth using their lawyers.

What's more -- the two still live under the same roof, but in separate wings of the house, while still sharing their 4 young kids between the two of them. Our sources says there's absolutely zero chance the pair will ever get along again, things are just that bad.

When speaking of their relationship, our source says, "They hate each other. It's very contentious." We're told the whole thing has been messy for their family, and will continue at least until the divorce is finalized and Kim and Kroy can legally go their separate ways.

TMZ broke the story, Kim filed docs earlier this week defending herself as a mother and accusing Kroy of being mentally and emotionally abusive over the years.

Kroy's taken his own jabs at Kim, too, accusing her of having a serious gambling addiction and asking the judge for sole physical and legal custody of the couple's children.

Mercy Miller, the high school hoops star of rap legend Master P, was convinced he wanted to be a Duke Blue Devil ... that is until he met with University of Houston coach Kelvin Sampson.

17-year-old Mercy, a star at Notre Dame High School (they won a state title last season), committed to play at Houston (a #1 seed in this year's NCAA Tourney) a few months back, in part because Sampson, one of the best coaches in college hoops, told the Miller family he saw something special in their son.

"[Coach Sampson] recognized Mercy's talent from 9th-grade summer and he said he's been around a lot of special players, some of the top players in the world and he said the way he felt about Mercy was only like three other players that he felt like that about when he seen him," P told Babcock.

Those players ... "It was Lebron James, Westbrook and then Derrick Rose," according to the mogul.

"It was between Houston and Duke for me when I was growing up. When I went to Houston, I really fell in love with it. When they offered me, Coach Kelvin Sampson -- he's a great guy and the connection was there so I just felt might as well just wrap it up and get this over with," Mercy told us.

"I was shocked because he always wanted to go to Duke but when the coach left Duke and then he was like 'Dad I'm ready, I made up my mind' and coach Kelvin Sampson, he's a straight guy," Mercy's dad said.

FYI, Mercy will go to Houston in 2024, after his senior high school season at the Sherman Oaks school.

We also talked to Mercy about the advantages (and possible disadvantages) of having a famous dad.

"I feel like there's really no disadvantage to it like that. I'm blessed to be in this position with the family I have, the dad I have. Sometimes, I guess, people can say I do this and I had the opportunity I had just because my dad is who he is, but I put the work in."

"Everything is not given. Nothing is given in this world so I take it for what it is," Mercy said.

Of course, players who come from famous families sometimes face unfair criticism. Just look at Bronny James, whose game is constantly picked apart online by people yelling nepotism!

The Vegas Golden Knights could finish their Stanley Cup victory celebration with a bang ... 'cause one Nevada sex worker is offering the champs one helluva party.

Licensed sex worker Alice Little tells TMZ Sports she and her coworkers want to thank the players for bringing home a championship in a very personal way.

Yes. We're talking about sex.

"We here in Sin City love the Golden Knights more than life itself," Little tells us.

"I cannot express in words the joy I feel now the team won their first-ever Stanley Cup, so I’m going to express it through my actions."

Little -- who claims to be the highest-grossing sex worker in Nevada history -- says she's offering the "most extravagant, orgiastic sex party" the champs will ever experience at the Chicken Ranch brothel's 40-acre campus and VIP Bungalows.

"Dozens of ladies, myself included, are ready and waiting at the Chicken Ranch to treat the Knights to any and every carnal delight, and there will be absolutely no penalties for misconduct," Little says.

"The brothel is all yours boys! Free of charge! It’s on me!"

Little also threw around the idea of creating VIP cards specifically for the VGK ... which will give them year-round complimentary access to the brothels' invite-only events and its "Eyes Wide Shut"-style sex sprees.

This isn't the first time Little has shown love to Vegas athletes ... earlier this year, she and fellow sex worker Caitlin Bell offered "free sex for life" to Jimmy Garoppolo who joined the Raiders in March.

Wood Harris is getting the stamp of approval from the guy he portrayed in LeBron James' new "Shooting Stars" movie ... 'cause St. Vincent-St. Mary head coach Dru Joyce says the actor was spectacular!!

TMZ Sports spoke with the Lakers superstar's longtime childhood coach about the new Peacock flick that documents the historic rise of LeBron and his teammates Sian Cotton, Romeo Travis, Willie McGee and Lil Dru en route to high school championships ... and he said he was pleased with the end result.

Joyce admits he was a bit nervous to watch the movie at first -- after all, Hollywood has its way with things -- but once he checked it out, all his worries went away.

"The thing that I was most concerned about, what I wanted to see portrayed most was the friendship and how the friendship was built," Joyce told us. "So, that came across very clear. So, I was happy."

Joyce believes Harris did a great job showing his real coaching skills ... which focused much more on raising good young men than simply basketball players.

In fact, Joyce told us Harris reached out and bounced ideas prior to shooting scenes ... but ultimately, "I just kind of let him run with it."

"I thought he caught the essence of me."

Bill Simmons called Meghan Markle and Prince Harry de facto charlatans amid their Spotify exit -- and he clearly believes they brought little to nothing to the table there.

The longtime sports media personality and Ringer founder -- who made a boatload of cash in a mega-sale to Spotify a few years back, and who oversees a sea of podcasts under The Ringer brand there at Spotify as well -- trashed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in one of his latest podcast episodes ... where he did not mince words on how he felt about 'em.

BS launched into a quick and mini tirade about the Royal couple ... jokingly saying he wished he was part of their deal to leave Spotify, and then proceeded to call them "grifters."

Check it out yourself ... not only does Bill call them virtual phonies in the podcast game, but he actually drops what sounds like an F-bomb too. Adding insult to injury, he teases a story he says he has about trying to pitch PH a podcast idea over Zoom once upon a time.

Doesn't sound like that went well ... 'cause Bill obviously isn't a fan of them or their content.

Speaking of that content, reports have suggested that Meg and co. simply weren't cranking out enough of it to meet their end of the $20 million bargain. As such, some media outlets are saying they won't get paid out in full on their contract -- which is ... not great.

BTW, Harry and Meghan aren't the only people at Spotify getting kicked to the curb. It appears there's a lot of fat-trimming going on for pods that aren't producing -- Jemele Hill's losing her Spotify deal, and the Obamas lost theirs as well in the not-too-distant past.

Bob Huggins was arrested for DUI in Pennsylvania -- and his bosses at West Virginia University are already well aware of it.

The WVU men's basketball HC was busted Friday night in Pittsburgh after cops observed a vehicle in the middle of a road with a flat tire -- which turned into a suspicious scene for Pittsburgh PD after they say they saw Huggins struggling mightily to get his car to the side of the road.

Suspecting he might be intoxicated, the officers initiated field sobriety tests ... which they say BH failed. At that point, they threw on the cuffs and hauled him to jail on suspicion of DUI.

WVU addressed his arrest, saying ... "West Virginia University is aware of an incident last night involving Head Men’s Basketball Coach Bob Huggins, for which he was charged with Driving Under the Influence (DUI) in the City of Pittsburgh."

They add, "We are gathering more information and will take appropriate action once the review is complete." BTW, reports say the SUV he was driving was a lease ... courtesy of West Virginia University.

True to their word, Catholic groups in the thousands rallied outside Dodger Stadium -- even blocking parking lot entrances -- due to the team's Pride Night plans to honor an LGBTQ group that satirizes nuns.

A sea of peaceful protesters seemed to nearly surround the entire venue Friday night, ahead of the Dodgers shining a spotlight on The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.

The Sisters are a charitable org, but one that features members in drag dressed as nuns and they've been known to perform "communion" with tequila. It's all done tongue-in-cheek, they would say, but that's what mobilized the protestors.

The level of turnout was insane -- one huge group chanted, "save our children" while marching near the stadium -- all indications of just how much of a national story this showdown over The Sisters had become.

The Dodgers had actually scrapped the plan to include the group in its Pride night after backlash from the Catholic League and Sen. Marco Rubio.

But, then LGBTQ groups threatened to boycott the team's Pride Night ... and The Sisters were re-invited to Dodger Stadium.

Even a few players, including Clayton Kershaw, were vocal about their opposition to the Dodgers honoring The Sisters. In a seeming bit of compromise, the team recently announced it would bring back Christian Faith and Family Day on July 30.

The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence were honored inside Dodger Stadium -- but it went down about an hour before the game against the rival San Francisco Giants, so very few fans witnessed it.

The woman who accused Conor McGregor of rape was seen on video with the UFC star at a club table just minutes after she says the sexual assault happened.

The footage, obtained by TMZ Sports, was shot at around 12:40 a.m. on June 10 inside the Kaseya Center in Miami ... roughly half an hour or so after the woman claims he attacked her inside of a bathroom following Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

In the clips, you can see McGregor and the woman appearing to exchange words while holding drinks ... before Conor eventually leaves the area.

According to the woman's attorney, Ariel Mitchell, the video shows her client and McGregor were "visibly awkwardly interacting with each other" -- something she alleges the two were not doing prior to their restroom encounter.

"My client has always stated that there would be video of before and after, and in those videos she emphasized that the difference in the interactions between them would be visibly noticeable," Mitchell said in a statement to TMZ Sports. "This again is another video that supports what my client has been saying and supports what she told the police since the inception of this incident."

McGregor's attorney, meanwhile, says the footage shows what he's been claiming all along ... that the allegations are false.

"While the claimant's story has changed yet again," Barbara R. Llanes said in a statement, "our account of the evening has never changed. This video only reinforces our position. We look forward to the swift conclusion of the investigation."

Previous video that we obtained showed McGregor and the woman had been interacting at the club throughout the evening. In one vid, he was seen flexing with her as music blared. In another, the 34-year-old was seen grabbing the woman by her hand and leading her into a bathroom.

The woman has claimed while inside of the restroom ... Conor kissed her without her consent, forced her to perform oral sex, and attempted to sodomize her.

McGregor has been adamant that the woman's claims are "no more than a shakedown."

Ja Morant filmed himself holding a toy gun back on May 14 in an effort to show his family and friends that he did not have a real firearm during his now-infamous Instagram Live sesh ... and TMZ Sports has just obtained the footage.

In the video, you can see Morant -- easily identified by his unique tattoos -- attempting to show the weapon was nothing more than a lighter.

Morant used the flames that came out of the phony gun to ignite some candles ... before he appeared to say in the clip, "You hold it, and everything comes out."

We're told Ja sent the video around to those close to him after they had questioned why he was seen brandishing a firearm in a social media video yet again.

You'll recall, Ja was initially suspended for the act in March ... though on May 13, he was filmed doing it once more while listening to NBA YoungBoy's album with a pal in a car.

Ja never publicly stated the gun was not a real one ... though Claudia Jordan said on "The Breakfast Club" earlier this month that some inside of the Grizzlies guard's camp had informed her it was fake.

Either way, Adam Silver punished Morant over it all regardless ... hitting him with a 25-game suspension on Friday morning.

Following news of the ban, Morant apologized ... and vowed to be "a better man than what I've been showing you."

Brittney Griner isn't going to let one bad interaction spoil things for her supporters ... 'cause TMZ Sports has obtained video showing she was super friendly with a man looking for a pic with her on Friday.

The scene played out in front of the Phoenix Mercury's team hotel in D.C. -- just six days after YouTube personality Alex Stein bothered her at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

During the June 10 incident, the social media troll was seen on video pestering the WNBA star about the prisoner swap that freed her from Russian custody back in December.

But, Griner clearly isn't letting any of the sour encounter change her mentality ... because when a fan approached her about getting a photo right before the Mercury took on the Washington Mystics -- she was happy to oblige.

In fact, she did it twice!

You can see in our footage, the man tried to grab a shot with her as she was getting off the bus, but when it didn't come out well ... he asked her for another one, and she said OK, no problem.

Witnesses at the scene tell us she and her security were super friendly throughout the ordeal ... and seemed genuinely happy to be around BG/Mercury supporters.

UFC star Jared Cannonier is turning over a new leaf -- literally -- telling TMZ Sports he's quit smoking weed for his upcoming main event fight with Marvin Vettori.

We talked to the 39-year-old "Killa Gorilla" just days before his UFC Fight Night scrap, going down Saturday night in Las Vegas, when Jared revealed the change in his lifestyle.

"For this camp I have abstained from smoking marijuana, so the clarity is there," Cannonier told us, explaining ... "More mental clarity for me. There is a physical aspect to it. You are putting foreign substances into you [body], especially your lungs."

And, because it's potentially a 25-minute scrap, Jared wants to be ready in the event he doesn't get an early stoppage.

"This is a 5-round fight, so I want to be able to push the pace for 5 hard rounds, make it 5 hard rounds for him, but just another 5 rounds for me," Cannonier told us.

"I want to push the pace, be powerful throughout the whole thing, if it goes 5 rounds. That's a big if, 'cause I plan on putting it on him start to finish. I don't see him lasting long. Mentally,  physically, I feel like I'm in a much better place than I was in my last camp, so I'm ready to go!"

The fight has title implications, too. JC is ranked 4, while Marvin is the 3rd ranked middleweight.

Alex Periera is ranked 1, but is moving up the light heavyweight, so he's out of the mix at 185 pounds. Robert Whittaker (who is fighting Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 290 next month) is ranked 2nd. Israel Adesanya is the reigning champ.

With a win, Cannonier believes this puts him "right at the doorstep" of a title fight.

We also talked to 29-year-old Vettori, who, you guessed it, isn't exactly on the same page when it comes to how he sees the fight going.

"Me being young, and me being hungrier, the more the fight goes on, the more [Jared's] gonna struggle. And, I might catch him early, too. I heard he wants to come out like crazy, I welcome that. Please, bring it, 'cause damn sure you're not gonna get me out of there!"

As for what happens after a win over Jared, Marvin tells us he isn't sweating the future.

"I always felt it inside, I always knew a trilogy with Adesanya is gonna happen. So, I'm not even stressing about it. My whole focus is to go out and look amazing in front of Cannonier and the rest will fall into place."

Former college football player Ray Lewis III -- the son of Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Lewis -- died from an overdose ... this according to police.

TMZ Sports obtained the overdose report from police in Florida ... and it says Lewis apparently died from an accidental overdose.

Police say they responded to a call for a medical emergency and found an unresponsive Lewis, who was getting CPR from a friend while another friend was screaming for Narcan (a drug used during overdoses).

Cops say Lewis was lying naked in a room, between a bed and a wall and he was not breathing. Police say they administered Narcan in his right nostril, but there was no response.

The report also says cops searched the room and found a blue pill near Lewis' body, which they unofficially identified as Alprazolam (the drug in brands like Xanax). Police also say there was a used needle at the scene, plus a small plastic bag found inside of an empty beer can.

As we reported ... Lewis was found dead earlier this week ... and the police report says the call came in at 5:29 PM on Wednesday.

LeBron James heard the Nuggets talkin' spit about the Lakers during their championship parade on Thursday ... and now, the NBA superstar is clapping back HARD.

In case you missed it, Michael Malone threw shade at reports of LBJ considering retirement after losing to Denver in the Western Conference Finals ... cracking jokes and claiming he was going to hang it up for good, too.

There was also a cringe moment at the rally, where Malone was referred to as "the Lakers' daddy."

James is now unloading on the Nuggets franchise ... saying he was minding his own business in Europe when he found out about the disses -- so he asked, "I'm on your mind that much huh???"

"I mean I guess I see why. 🤷🏾‍♂️," LeBron said on Instagram with a pic of him waving the starting flag at 24 Hours of Le Mans.

"But Wave the flag on these lames!! Please make being player cool again cause the lame machine is at an all-time high. Enjoy your light but just know I’m the SUN. I stay on forever!"