TMZ Sports - Page 7

Bellator star Cris Lencioni is starting to show signs of improvement after suffering cardiac arrest earlier this month ... but despite the positive update, there are many uncertainties surrounding his future.

Lencioni's wife, Marca, told MMA Fighting doctors believe the heart attack may have been caused by Long QT syndrome (a heart rhythm disorder that can be fatal) ... and an MRI revealed the fighter suffered brain damage as a result of the terrifying incident.

Lencioni is out of the ICU, but remains in the hospital ... where he has started the rehab process.

Marca said the 28-year-old is taking steps in the right direction ... recently moving his hand out of a bag of ice and smiling, and even attempting to stand up on his own.

"Ten percent of people survive this," Marca told the outlet, "and the fact that he is moving, and trying to get up and, like, doing what he’s been doing ... he drank water today for the first time."

"It’s blowing [the nurses'] minds, and it’s blowing my mind."

Marca said the professionals are refraining from speculating on Lencioni's future and potential recovery ... as it all hangs on how he responds.

Marca added the doctors want to move Lencioni to a facility in Idaho to continue recovery, but he is uninsured ... so she is asking the MMA community to continue to donate to a GoFundMe set up to help with medical costs.

Kim Zolciak's family friend, who was accused by Kroy Biermann of kidnapping their son, is speaking out ... claiming Kroy's getting desperate in his attempt to keep custody of his kids.

Elise, who says she's the one who took 12-year-old KJ to the rodeo earlier this month, spoke out on Instagram Wednesday, denying the kidnapping claims from Kroy -- backing up the story Kim initially told the Alpharetta Police dispatcher.

Elise blasts Kroy, saying he's "desperately trying to control every move to ensure he gets full custody and child support so he falsely accused me of kidnapping KJ so he can appear as the only parent who takes the kids out."

She ends her post by asking for people to pray for Kim and her kids -- adding they'll need it to "navigate Kroy's narcissistic, controlling behavior."

As we reported, in the 911 call audio, obtained by TMZ, Kim told the dispatcher she gave  KJ permission to go to the rodeo with his friend, with Elise chaperoning the outing. Sources told us Kroy doesn't trust Elise and had no idea Kim let their kid go with her.

What's more, sources said Kroy asked Elise over the phone to bring KJ back, but she allegedly hung up on him. Kim then told cops Kroy threatened to file kidnapping charges against her friend ... although our sources say he never filed.

Braxton Berrios is finally opening up on his messy split from Sophia Culpo ... and he's claiming all rumors he cheated on her with TikTok star Alix Earle are 100% false.

The Miami Dolphins receiver has been the center of some spicy allegations recently ... with Olivia Culpo's little sister telling her followers he was spotted out in public with Earle shortly before their breakup, leading many to believe he was being unfaithful.

Sophia has been shading the hell outta her ex and his new girl ever since ... and it's gotten to the point where BB took to Instagram to share his side of the story.

"I don't want to start anything, I don't want to fuel anything," Berrios said in a video. "I genuinely want all this to be over and everybody to move on and do whatever makes them happy."

The former Miami Hurricanes star said his relationship with Sophia was good and healthy ... but at the end, they both realized it simply wasn't working out.

"It had nothing to do with anything else," Berrios said of the January breakup. "It had nothing to do with anybody else for that matter. And we just didn't work out, and that's okay."

"I've been quiet because it's totally out of character for me to talk about my private life publicly, but I feel like it needed to be touched on now."

Tom Brady sent a heartfelt message to Ryan Mallett and his family after the former quarterback tragically died on Tuesday ... writing in a sweet note, "We lost a great man."

The Patriots legend -- who was teammates with Mallett in New England from 2011 to 2013 -- posted the message to his Instagram page ... adding, "Thank you for everything Ryan."

"Praying for the Mallett family and all their loved ones tonight."

The post went up only hours after cops say Mallett drowned while swimming in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday afternoon.

According to the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office, Mallett was part of a group of swimmers who had been "struggling to make their way back to shore" after getting in the water at around 2:12 PM

Cops say Mallett went under ... and when he was finally pulled from the ocean, he wasn't breathing. He was later pronounced dead at a local emergency room.

The passing shocked the NFL world ... in addition to Brady, several other stars penned tributes to the ex-QB on their social media pages, including J.J. Watt -- Mallett's former teammate in Houston -- who wrote, "Gone way too soon. Rest in Peace brother."

Dez Bryant and Rob Gronkowski added messages of their own to Mallett on their Instagrams as well.

Mallett was just 35 years old.

Elon Musk is already hitting the training mats in anticipation of his huge fight with Mark Zuckerberg ... throwing and slamming a famous black belt who recently trained with Elon's fellow billionaire.

Popular podcaster Lex Fridman says he had an impromptu training session with Elon on Monday, sharing a photo of Elon slamming him to the ground.

Lex, a black belt in jiu-jitsu, says he came away super impressed with Elon's fighting prowess.

"I'm extremely impressed with his strength, power, and skill, on the feet and on the ground," Lex said. "It was epic. It's really inspiring to see Elon and Mark doing martial arts, but I think the world is served far better if they train martial arts but not fight in the cage."

Don't get it twisted, Lex wants to see Elon and Mark do battle ... just like everyone else.

Lex adds ... "That said, as Elon says, the most entertaining outcome is the most likely... I'm there for them, no matter what."

It's interesting to see Elon and Lex training ... Lex recently had Mark on his podcast, and they trained some jiu-jitsu.

In addition to Lex, Elon's accepted an offer to train with UFC legend Georges St-Pierre ... while Jon Jones recently offered Mark his services.

As TMZ Sports first reported, Dana White told us both sides are for real about getting in the Octagon together ... and now Elon's showing just how serious he is.

Chill out with all the Draymond Green and LeBron James talk ... 'cause new Warriors point guard Chris Paul tells TMZ Sports he "absolutely" wants the 4-time NBA champ back on the team!

We caught up with CP3 at Fanatics' "Merch Madness" giveaway event on Tuesday ... just a few days after the 38-year-old guard was traded to Golden State in exchange for Jordan Poole.

"I'm excited," Paul said. "I know I've been the sworn enemy for a long time but I cannot wait to be there, and I cannot wait to get in the locker room with all those guys."

Of course, there's a chance one of those guys might be missing. Draymond Green isn't a lock to return after declining a $27.5 million player option, making him a free agent.

Even though he's only been on the team for a few days, CP3 says he "absolutely" wants Green back.

It won't be easy, though ... a lot of teams are reportedly interested in Draymond, including the Portland Trailblazers, Detroit Pistons, Sacramento Kings and LA Lakers.

King James and DG were recently spotted on vacay together in Europe ... and chances are Bron was doing some recruiting!

Former NFL quarterback Ryan Mallett -- a third-round pick in 2011 NFL Draft -- has passed away. He was 35 years old.

TMZ Sports has confirmed ... Mallett tragically drowned in Florida. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Mallett was a star prospect out of Texas High in Texarkana ... where he was one of the top-ranked signal callers in his class. He went on to play at the collegiate level from 2007-10 for the Michigan Wolverines and Arkansas Razorbacks ... and finished seventh in the Heisman Trophy voting in 2010.

He was the offensive MVP of the Liberty Bowl in 2010 ... and was named All-SEC second team in 2009 and 2010.

Mallett was the 74th-overall pick to the New England Patriots in 2011, serving as a backup to Tom Brady for three seasons.

He was traded to the Houston Texans in 2014, where he would start two games before going down with a season-ending injury. He remained with Houston for six games the next season ... before being traded to the Baltimore Ravens.

Mallett played two more seasons with the Ravens ... taking his last NFL snap during the 2017 season.

The former standout took up coaching after his pro career ... joining White Hall High School's coaching staff in Arkansas.

OnlyFans business isn't what it used to be for Larsa Pippen ... 'cause the reality star says her subscribers aren't happy ever since she started dating Marcus Jordan.

The convo popped up during Pippen and Jordan's Q and A with fans on their new podcast, "Separation Anxiety" ... when one supporter asked Michael Jordan's son how he felt about his GF's OnlyFans page.

"I don't have a problem with it," the 32-year-old said Tuesday. "As long as it makes you happy, you enjoy it ... and look, I think it's a source of income for you."

"I would never want to block your success or well-being."

Pippen -- who previously told Andy Cohen she made $200k within a few weeks from just one subscriber on her OnlyFans -- admitted their love life hasn't really been "good for business" ... as her fans dislike her new relationship with Jordan.

"Literally, the people that write me on there are like not happy that I'm in a relationship with you, but it's fun," Larsa said.

Despite Jordan being okay with her making content on the subscription-based social media platform, Pippen said she wouldn't hesitate to pull the plug if he ever changed his mind.

Is that Sauce Gardner or Tom Brady?!

The G.O.A.T. decided to give defense a try when he hit up a Fanatics charity event in Miami on Tuesday ... and TB12 put the clamps on a young girl who dared test the 7x Super Bowl champion!!

Check out the clip -- the newly retired signal-caller might've missed his calling. The young wide receiver tried to shake Brady with a 5-yard hitch, but he wasn't fooled, reaching in his arm to break up the pass.

Then it was tip drill time ... the ball floated in the air, Tom intercepted it, and took it to the house, shaking a would-be tackler with a move that would make Barry Sanders blush (not really).

The whole Fanatics shindig, called "Merch Madness," was pretty amazing -- more than $20 million in sports apparel was handed out to underserved families throughout the country as part of the organization's Merch Madness: Fan Gear Giveaway.

Cities like L.A., Philly, Miami, and New York all hosted events ... with Brady, DJ Khaled, and Odell Beckham Jr. all making appearances at the Carver Ranches Boys & Girls Club for the Florida location's festivities.

The event will take place every year.

Jake Paul calls himself the Problem Child, but it certainly has nothing to do with his business ventures ... 'cause the social media superstar/boxer's Betr company is now worth $300 MILLION!!

The social media and betting platform -- which the 26-year-old co-founded alongside Joey Levy in 2022 -- just raised $35 million in new funding, which was led by Fuel Venture Capital and Roger Ehrenberg of IA Sports Ventures and Eberg Capital.

Of course, Betr is all about sports betting content as well as micro-betting ... and is now moving into becoming a full-fledged sportsbook as well.

Jake is all in on Betr -- he even got the company's logo tatted on his leg to show how serious he is about his faith in the brand.

It's a huge deal for Paul ... as Betr is well on its way to becoming a billion-dollar company in a short amount of time.

Jake has made a killing in the ring as well ... he claimed to have made over $30 million on the Tommy Fury fight alone.

Leonard Fournette experienced a terrifying incident on Tuesday -- the NFL running back's car burst into flames on the highway ... but luckily, he seemingly escaped without injury.

The 28-year-old Super Bowl champ was driving on I-275 in Tampa Bay  ... when suddenly, his whip set ablaze.

The Florida Highway Patrol tells TMZ Sports the fire started due to a mechanical issue, not a crash ... and the flames were extinguished by the local fire department.

The former Tampa Bay Buccaneers star shared footage of his Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat burnt to a crisp ... with the front part of the car absolutely destroyed.

"Man it was one of those days today, but I would like thank God, my car caught on fire while I was driving, But I’am still blessed 🙏," Fournette said on Instagram.

The NFL community commented under Fournette's post ... with several players sharing how grateful they are it wasn't more serious.

"Awww hell naw bro I’m thankful!" Denver Broncos star Frank Clark said. "God talkin."

Stevan Ridley, Jalen Ramsey and Jonathan Stewart also left positive messages.

NASCAR star Jimmie Johnson's wife's parents and 11-year-old nephew died following a fatal shooting at their Oklahoma home on Monday ... and according to law enforcement, the tragedy is being investigated as a murder-suicide.

Muskogee Police tell TMZ Sports -- Chandra Janway's parents, Jack and Terry Janway, and nephew, Dalton Janway, were found dead shortly after 9 PM ... after receiving a 911 call from a woman who reported someone with a gun before hanging up the phone.

Cops say Terry is considered the suspect ... but the motive is unknown and currently under investigation. It's not clear if she's the one who made the 911 call.

Cops tell us they found a body laying in the hallway after arriving at the scene ... and heard another gunshot come from inside the home.

Cops searched the house and found two more dead bodies. All three died from gunshot wounds, police say.

Johnson -- a 7-time NASCAR Cup champion -- married Chandra in 2004 ... and they have two daughters together, Genevieve and Lydia.

Jimmie is currently slated to compete in NASCAR's Chicago street race this weekend.

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Vanessa Bryant was victorious in a lawsuit over one of the biggest investments Kobe Bryant ever made ... and in the process of winning, she exposed some pretty awful, racially-charged smack talk.

The background -- Kobe plunked down $6 million back in 2013 for a 10% interest in the sports drink company, BodyArmor. Several years later, the company sold to Coca-Cola for a whopping $5.6 BILLION. Kobe's investment reportedly netted him $400 million.

In 2019, six months before Kobe was killed in a tragic helicopter accident, the President of Kobe Inc., Molly Carter, claimed Kobe promised her 2% of his cut. Kobe called BS on her, saying he never made such a promise.

Molly sued, and Vanessa picked up the mantle and not only defended the case, she filed her own counterclaim, alleging Molly violated the duty of loyalty and the non-disparagement clause in her employment contract by trash-talking Kobe and his family.

As for the alleged trash-talking ... Vanessa claimed she referred to Kobe as an "asshole," a "douche nugget," and a "dick wad." She says Molly called her the "f***ing devil," "bitch" and PSYCHO," even mocking Vanessa's newborn as having "botox lips."

Vanessa says while Molly was working for the company, she was permitted to travel to an NBA All-Star game and on the jet she groused, there were "a lot of fancy-ass Black people" on the plane.

The case went to arbitration and Vanessa prevailed on both the lawsuit and her counterclaim and was awarded more than $1.5 mil in attorney's fees.

This is the most adorable commitment ever ... 4-star wide receiver Ryan Pellum broke the news he'll play for USC with the help of his adorable newborn son, who was wearing Trojans gear!

Pellum sat in front of reporters and fans on Monday at Millikan H.S. in Long Beach California to announce his decision ... which came down to the Oregon Ducks and USC Trojans.

Instead of going along with the hat-throwing trend, Pellum went in a different direction, and it was pretty sweet.

"It's been a long journey," Pellum said with his baby boy in his arms. "I'm glad it's coming to an end."

That's when Pellum -- the 14th ranked WR in Cali according to 247 Sports -- turned his son towards the media and cameras, revealing the baby in a Trojan's onesie.

The crowd seemed to dig the pick ... as they began cheering once they saw the cardinal and gold gear. Pellum became USC's 13th verbal commitment of the 2024 class, enough to give USC the 11th-ranked class nationally.

Pellum has an ESPN scout grade of 84 and is 85th in ESPN's top 300 of the 2024 class.

He received offers from basically every top FBS in the country, including Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, Georgia, Colorado, LSU, Michigan, and Notre Dame.

FYI, this isn't the first time a recruit used a baby to announce their decision ...3-time Pro Bowler Jamal Adams made the same move in 2014 when he had his niece in an LSU 'fit.

It was cloudy with a chance of Prime in Copenhagen on Monday ... 'cause Logan Paul and KSI's meet-up with fans came to an abrupt halt when they started getting rocked with bottles of their own drink line!!

The wild scene went down as the YouTube boxing enemies-turned-business partners were promoting their hydration beverages in Denmark ... when, for some reason, some members of the crowd decided they'd much rather chuck their handouts than consume them.

Now, the whole thing could easily be a publicity stunt to give Prime some free airtime ... and if that's the case, it worked -- 'cause here we are writing about it.

If you watch the video, it's clear the guys never felt they were in harm's way ... especially considering the security guards in attendance appeared to be smiling through the bottle attack as they moved the two social media stars out of the line of fire.

Elon Musk is pulling out all the stops in preparation for a fight with Mark Zuckerberg -- the Twitter honcho just accepted a training offer from UFC legend Georges St-Pierre!!

The shocking development in the potential billionaire brawl went down on Monday ... when Elon replied to GSP's public pitch to lend a hand in beating Zuck to a pulp in the Octagon.

"I'm a huge fan of yours and it would be an absolute honor to help you and be your training partner for the challenge against Zuckerberg 👊😁," GSP said on Twitter ... to which Elon responded, "Ok, let’s do it 🔥🔥."

It's a massive deal for Elon ... considering GSP -- the former welterweight and middleweight champion -- is arguably the greatest mixed martial artist of all time. In other words, Musk will be learning from the best of the best.

GSP -- whose background is karate -- trains at Tristar Gym in Montreal under head trainer Firas Zahabi ... one of the greatest minds in MMA.

GSP's record is 26-2 ... with his only losses coming against Matt Serra and Matt Hughes. He racked up wins over Nick Diaz, Michael Bisping, Dan Hardy, BJ Penn and Johny Hendricks.

Zuck also has some star power in his corner -- Jon Jones recently offered his services to the Facebook co-founder, but it's unclear if he's going to take him up on it.

Elon teaming up with GSP provides more evidence the fight may actually happen -- and as TMZ Sports previously reported, Dana White told us both sides are for real about getting in the Octagon together.