TMZ Sports - Page 50

Ariana Grande was without her wedding ring again at Wimbledon this weekend, further fueling rumors there's trouble in paradise with her and her husband ... which may be valid.

The singer was at Sunday's big match -- where the men's singles final between Djokovic and Alcaraz is going down -- and she was ringless on a very specific digit. This isn't the first time Ari's been out without her bling ... but this one's a big deal since it's a high-profile event.

She was seated between two celebs -- Andrew Garfield and "Bridgerton" star Jonathan Bailey -- with no sign of her husband Dalton Gomez. That itself isn't notable, seeing how the guy tends to stay out of the spotlight, but the fact she continues to ditch her ring certainly is.

Rumors have been swirling for months that their relationship might be on the rocks -- due, in part, to AG's bare finger being exposed time and again in IG posts she herself publishes ... although, this is something she's explicitly written off in the past as BS.

However, we've been told by sources with direct knowledge that Ari and Dalton have, in fact, had marriage trouble of late ... including a rough patch a few months ago. We don't know what their status is now, but what we do know ... Ari's been away from home/busy at work in the UK -- working on her new movie, 'Wicked,' alongside Cynthia Erivo for a while now.

Of course, Dalton himself has deleted his Instagram account entirely ... just another element that's sent her fans into a frenzy. And yet, Ariana recently telegraphed that things are fine.

On their 2-year anniversary this past May, she posted a photo of her and Dalton kissing at their wedding, writing the number "2" as well as "3.5 together," with an accompanying "I love him so." So, on the face of things ... she's tried projecting a loving bond between them.

The couple got hitched in a private ceremony in Montecito in 2021. Dalton isn't nearly as famous as her -- he's a high-end real estate agent, and not much is really known about him.

Jake Paul says he's a completely different fighter after experiencing the first loss of his boxing career ... and that could be bad news for Nate Diaz, 'cause The Problem Child tells TMZ Sports he's going to put his opponent on the canvas.

Jake and Nate are meeting in the ring for their highly anticipated fight in Dallas on August 5 ... and it's clear his defeat at the hands of Tommy Fury has him laser-focused on winning again.

"Man, I have the biggest chip on my shoulder, the biggest chip on both shoulders," Jake told Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show. "Coming back with vengeance, refilled with that hunger that I had in the beginning of the sport to prove to people what I was capable of."

"The lion lost. I've retreated back into the jungle, I took notes of everything, I got better, I trained, and now this lion is going to come out and maul this dude. And he's gonna have to pay -- he's gonna have to pay for all this hard work, all this sacrifice I've made in this camp."

Jake added he's "100%" going to knock Diaz out ... but has no prediction on when it'll happen, 'cause he doesn't want to add any more pressure while he's in the ring.

Nate has only fallen twice via TKOs in his 20-year pro fighting career ...  one being a doctor's stoppage (vs. Jorge Masvidal), and the other coming against Josh Thomson in 2013, when the ref called the fight after a flurry of strikes.

NeNe Leakes isn't buying the theory dominating the internet ... Kim Zolciak and Kroy Biermann got into a super nasty divorce and then suddenly reconciled as a way to get back into reality TV.

We got NeNe at LAX and asked her about Kim and Kroy suddenly calling off their divorce, and if it was all just a ploy to return to "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" ... as lots of folks believe to be the case.

NeNe doubts Kim and Kroy would go to those lengths ... she thinks all the issues with their marriage were legit, as well as all the divorce drama we documented ... and she just can't imagine Kim and Kroy going down that road just to get on TV again.

Of course, the 'RHOA' alum says Kim and Kroy's divorce would make for some TV gold ... and she says all the publicity and mudslinging will probably help Kim get back in front of cameras.

TMZ broke the story ... Kim and Kroy are working through their issues the old-fashioned way ... there's no couple's therapy ... they're just talking every day and relying on their shared Christian faith.

It's time to let Barry Bonds into Cooperstown ... at least according to David Justice -- who tells TMZ Sports the SF Giants legend should be a Hall of Famer.

"Barry Bonds is the baddest dude of my generation," the former Atlanta Braves All-Star said this week. "The baddest dude of my generation. Bar none. Bar none."

Of course, despite being arguably the best baseball player ever ... Bonds has been essentially blackballed from the HOF after he was accused of using performance enhancing drugs during his career.

Justice clearly thinks that's all a joke ... telling us out at Kimpton La Peer Hotel in Los Angeles he feels that subjective way of thinking shouldn't ever be a part of Hall of Fame voters' thought processes.

"They already let guys in already that have been -- that have had tests done," Justice said, "that people know or have a pretty good circumstantial evidence that they've already let in."

Bonds clearly agrees with Justice ... he went on the "Hollywood Swingin'" podcast this week and said he belongs in the Hall because he was never convicted of using steroids.

Justice, though, says Bonds deserves at least some blame for the yearly snub ... saying he thinks the 58-year-old should have made more of an effort to ingratiate himself with baseball media during his career.

Steph Curry sinks it from deep on the basketball court, and he can do the same on the golf course too ... just take a look at what he did in Tahoe this weekend.

The Warriors star was playing in the American Century Championship tournament Saturday, and he took a big swing on the 7th hole ... which is a whopping 152 yards to the green. Welp, he had no issue getting the ball there -- in fact, the dude hit a freakin' hole-in-one!!!

Check it out ... he lets off a beautiful swing, and the ball goes soaring where it needs to be. As the announcers note, he can really play ... proven by the fact that he sunk it in one shot.

His celebration was just as awesome ... SC goes running toward the green with his arms extended, this as the crowd goes wild all around him. Steph takes a victory lap around his landing zone and hugs it out with his team and caddies. Indeed, it was quite something.

BTW, the dude's been pulling off crazy trick shots like this throughout the tournament ... including a fantastic putt yesterday, which looked magical as it veered left and went right into the hole. Movie stuff, really.

Denise Russo, famous for appearing on VH1's "The X-Life," died from a lethal combination of two of the most powerful drugs on the streets ... TMZ has learned.

According to the San Diego County Medical Examiner, Denise died from the toxic effects of fentanyl and methamphetamine in what's being ruled an accidental overdose.

We broke the story ... Denise was found unresponsive on the floor of a friend's home in San Diego back in March and was pronounced dead.

Police said drug paraphernalia was found at the scene, and the medical examiner notes the same thing ... saying paramedics arrived and performed "aggressive attempts at resuscitation" on the 44-year-old.

Denise was featured on the 2011 reality show, which followed the lives of extreme sports athletes and their partners ... she was dating professional skateboarder Pierre-Luc Gagnon at the time. Denise and Pierre-Luc had a son together, but had since broken up.

Mark Zuckerberg is getting the ultimate stamp of approval from the world's best pound-for-pound MMA fighter ... with featherweight G.O.A.T. Alex Volkanovski giving a personal guarantee that Zuck's ability would impress even his most ardent critic.

Volkanovski joined Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1) ... and talked about his recent training session with the Meta CEO in Northern California.

"I guarantee you, you guys would be very surprised," Alex said of Zuck's aptitude on the mat.

Of course, we've seen Mark train in the past ... but what really took people by storm was his physique in a shirtless photo he posed for along with Alex and friend/gym-mate, Israel Adesanya.

"As you can see from that photo, I think that's what raised a lot of eyebrows, he's in shape," Volk said ... but it's not just about vanity, the muscles are functional.

"I mean you can see it that he's in shape but he really is in shape. It's not just looks, he really is, mate. He trains, he's pretty athletic, he's coordinated and he's committed," Alex explained, adding, "He's got a passion for it."

As for whether Zuck gave Volk any inside information on the fight ... the UFC champ clearly believes Mark is training for a reason.

"Man, I'm telling you he's serious. I don't know how serious Elon is, but I'm telling you, he's training!"

There's more ... we also talked to Volkanovski about his latest title defense against Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290 -- another dominating performance.

It'll be nearly 1,000 days between trips to the Octagon for Stipe Miocic, but the former UFC heavyweight champ isn't approaching his scrap with Jon Jones any differently than his two dozen previous fights, telling us the mindset's to beat "Bones" Jones to a pulp!

Miocic joined Mojo Muhtadi on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1) ... and talked about his highly anticipated tilt with Jon, going down at UFC 295 on November 11 at Madison Square Garden.

"Finally here. This is a fight I wanted for a very long time, the only fight I wanted, and I finally got it. Nothing better than Madison Square Garden," Stipe said, adding "The venue is just amazing, pretty pumped!"

As for whether 40-year-old Miocic has been slowed down by age and time away from the cage, Miocic says he "feels good," and has simply "listened to his body more" as he's gotten older.

"Mindset's still I'm gonna go out there and do my thing and beat that ass!"

Of course, Jones has only one fight at heavyweight ... albeit, an absolutely dominating performance against one of the top title contenders, Ciryl Gane, at UFC 285 in March, where Jon won by 1st round submission.

Stipe says the fight was just too quick (only took JJ 2 minutes against CG) to extract much useful info -- how Jones will fight as a heavyweight -- as opposed to the lion's share of his career, which was spent in the LHW division.

"His last fight really didn't go that long. So it was very hard to judge what he was doing, but I mean, it's Jon Jones, man. He got a lot of tricks up his sleeves. Real good. He's veteran. He knows what to do."

But ... "I mean, I've had a lot of fights and I know what to do as well."

November can't come soon enough!

D.J. Hernandez -- the older brother of Aaron Hernandez -- has been arrested after missing a court date in his ESPN brick-throwing case ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The 37-year-old former Division I football player turned himself into the Bristol Police Department at around 7 AM on Friday ... after authorities issued a warrant for his arrest following his no-show in court earlier this month.

According to police documents, D.J. was placed in handcuffs at the station ... before he was booked on a charge of failure to appear.

At one point during processing and fingerprinting, he took a mug shot ... where he was seen smiling ear-to-ear.

We broke the story, D.J. was originally hit with one misdemeanor charge of breach of peace in the case back in March ... after authorities alleged he threw a brick at ESPN's headquarters.

Officials accused D.J. of writing a note on the object that read, in part, "It's about time you all realeyes the affect media has on all family members."

"Since you're a world wide leader maybe you could lead how media and messages are delivered brick by brick. Clean it up!"

Charles Barkley just threw all of his support behind the LGBTQ+ community and Bud Light while out in Lake Tahoe this week ... telling the haters to piss off during a powerful speech at a local bar.

While up on stage during a break in the action at the American Century Celebrity golf tournament ... the NBA legend grabbed a microphone and took aim at transphobes, homophobes and critics of Bud Light.

"I want y'all to drink this f***ing beer," he said. "I want y'all to drink this f***ing beer. I got three cases of Bud Light."

"Hey," he added, "And I want to say this -- if you're gay, bless you. If you're transgender, bless you. And, if you have a problem with that, f*** you!"

Of course, the LGBTQ+ community and Bud Light have been under fire recently following Anheuser-Busch's decision to partner with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney for a BL promotion.

The collab sparked so much outrage amongst conservatives, the beer giant reportedly lost more than $27 billion as people protested.

But, Barkley obviously believes there's no need for that hate and anger ... making his stance on the issue crystal clear out in Nevada.

This is not the first time, though, that Barkley has been vocal in his backing of the LGBTQ+ community ... in fact, at this same event last year, he delivered a similar speech.

"If you're gay and transgender," he told bargoers at the time, "I love you. Hey, and if anybody gives you s***, you tell them Charles said, 'F*** you!'"

Gervonta Davis is a free man once again ... he's just been released from jail, TMZ Sports has confirmed.

A Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services spokesperson said the star boxer got out of the Baltimore detention center Friday afternoon.

In celebration of the occasion, the 29-year-old took to his Twitter account to post a saluting emoji.

Davis had been behind bars due to his alleged role in a 2020 hit-and-run car crash ... where he was accused of running a red light and slamming into a Toyota, before fleeing the scene.

Davis reached a plea deal with prosecutors in the case back in February -- and was sentenced to 90 days of house arrest. But, on June 1, a judge ruled he had violated the conditions of his sentencing after officials said he moved two times without proper permission. He was then ordered to spend the remainder of his home detention in jail.

Jay-Z and Robert Kraft are on a mission to thwart the rise of book bans by launching programs to reinstall teachings of slavery, the Holocaust and gender equality back into society.

TMZ Hip Hop has learned both Jay and Robert's organizations -- the Shawn Carter Foundation and the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism -- have donated $1 million to provide pro bono legal services to educators and librarians who've been targeted by local policies banning books.

The American Library Association reportedly documented nearly 1,300 demands last year to remove books -- most highlighting the Black and LGBTQIA+ communities, as well as religious minorities.

We're told the New England Patriots owner and Jay laid down the framework for underserved students to obtain scholarships and financial grants, and hopefully have their works turned into movies, plays, audiobooks, etc. to further the message.

There's also a plan to reprint banned books and have them circulated in adjacent learning centers.

The Brooklyn Public Library launched "Books Unbanned," a nationwide campaign that provides free books to kids, hassle-free, back in April 2022 ... and it's been wildly successful.

The BPL also unveiled Jay's new exhibit "The Book of HOV" on Friday, which showcases the Roc Nation rapper's legacy and written history in an elaborate fashion.

Jayson Tatum's appearance at Drake's concert on Wednesday night turned out to be a very painful experience for one fan ... 'cause during her freak-out over the Celtics star's cameo -- she wiped out down six rows of stairs.

The wild incident happened in the nosebleeds at TD Garden arena during the It's All A Blur Tour's stop in Boston ... after the rapper introduced the NBA star to the sold-out crowd.

The woman started to jump up and down when Tatum got on stage -- and she screamed at the top of her lungs, "Jayson Tatum!!"

But, somehow during the meltdown, she lost her balance ... tripped over a chair -- and then face-planted all the way down several steps.

Check out the footage of the fall ... she hit the pavement HARD.

No word on if she suffered any significant injuries ... but the TikTok user who posted the clip humorously captioned it, "big tatum fan!" -- so we get the vibe she's doing all right.

The night otherwise went off without a hitch ... and Drake seemed to be very pleased with his work inside the Celtics' home -- saying on his IG after the show, "Who else can get the Garden b(l)ooming like this?"

Daniel Ricciardo is getting the royal treatment in his big return to AlphaTauri ... with the whole team welcoming the F1 star back to home base.

The 34-year-old driver was greeted with a big hug from team principal Franz Tost on Friday ... and the front door featured a massive honey pot as a nod to his "honey badger" nickname.

The entire AlphaTauri team was waiting for the man of the hour as he made his way through headquarters ... and erupted in applause and cheers as he addressed the crowd.

Ricciardo even gave a speech ... thanking everyone for the warm welcome.

It's been a long time since Ricciardo -- who has raced for teams like Toro Rosso (now AlphaTauri), Red Bull, Renault and McLaren -- has been back in the building ... but it's safe to say they made him feel like he never left.

Of course, Ricciardo's return to Red Bull's sister team comes as the team decided to move on from first-year driver Nyck de Vries ... who didn't meet expectations 10 races into the season.

Ricciardo previously said he was looking forward to taking the full year off ... but was turning heads with his testing laps this past weekend at Silverstone.

But, Danny is beloved in the F1 community ... so it goes without saying fans can't wait to check him out at the Hungarian Grand Prix next weekend.

Former Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy was found not guilty of rape and attempted rape at a retrial on Friday ... and the soccer star was overcome with emotion following the verdict.

The three-week process came to an end at Chester Crown Court in England, where Mendy broke down in tears after learning his fate.

The French footballer had been accused of raping a 24-year-old woman at his mansion in 2020 ... after she claimed he asked to see intimate pictures on her phone and told her to get naked. She said she made it clear she did not want to have sex, but when she went to get her phone off the bed, Mendy proceeded to rape her.

A 29-year-old woman also accused Mendy of molesting her in 2018, when she claimed he walked in on her while showering and tried to force her to have sex on his bed.

Mendy also faced serious rape allegations made by four women or teenagers ... but earlier this year, he was cleared of six counts of rape and one count of sexual assault after a lengthy trial.

Bodybuilder Gustavo "the Freakin' Rican" Badell -- who faced off against some of the greatest bodybuilders of all time and twice finished third in the prestigious Mr. Olympia competition, has sadly died at the age of 50.

Details surrounding the death are currently unclear.

Fellow competitor and friend Eddie Abbew confirmed the news on Thursday ... and shared photos of the men together during their bodybuilding careers.

"I woke up this morning to information that Gustavo has passed away. My heart goes out to his family and friends," Abbew wrote.

"Gustavo was ten years younger than me. It is always sad when a young person is taken away long before their time. Rest in peace Gustavo and know that you will be missed."

Badell started his bodybuilding career when he was 19 and won his first competition in 1991 at the Junior Caribbean Bodybuilding Championship.

He went on to compete in many huge competitions, including the Atlantic City Pro, which he won, the Ironman Pro, Arnold Classic, and the World Pro Championships.

His most iconic moments came in 2004 and 2005 when he finished third at Mr. Olympia, right behind bodybuilding G.O.A.T.'s Ronnie Coleman (8 consecutive Olympia titles) and Jay Cutler (won 4 Olympias).

After retiring in 2012, Badell continued to stay in shape ... and was still involved in the fitness community, often interacting with fans online.