TMZ Sports - Page 33

Logan Paul is firing back at the critics of his ultra-popular Prime Energy drink ... saying he and his partners have done nothing wrong when it comes to the beverage -- while insisting its sister product is actually way better for consumers than Gatorade.

The WWE Superstar joined Harvey and Charles on "TMZ Live" to give the 411 on his drinks straight from the horse's mouth ... and he brought along a bevvy of props to make sure his points were heard.

You'll recall ... Paul's energy drink came under fire earlier this year after United States Senator Chuck Schumer questioned whether it should be allowed due to its high caffeine content, but, the Maverick took aim at the critique Wednesday -- saying the bashing just makes no sense.

Paul said at 200 MG of caffeine per can, his Prime Energy drink actually features the same amount as Celsius and Gatorade's Fast Twitch. He also said it comes in with 100 MG less caffeine than Bang's similar energy drink.

As for the allegations that he and his team have been targeting teens with the beverage ... he said that, too, was just simply not true.

While he did say most of the advertising his company does is through social media -- he said those under the age of 18 make up only a small portion of his social media following. He also reiterated that his Prime Energy drinks say specifically on their labels that they're for those 18-years-and-older.

When it comes to the energy drink's sister product -- Prime Hydration -- Paul spoke glowingly about that beverage too ... touting its low sugar content.

"One 20-ounce bottle of Gatorade has 34 grams of sugar in it," he said. "To put that into perspective, one bottle of Prime only has two grams of sugar in it."

Kobe Bryant's new sneaker, the Protro 8 is dropping in two weeks on what would've been Mamba's 45th birthday ... and now we're getting a look at the new Vanessa Bryant-designed Nike kick.

The footwear and apparel giant unveiled the "Halo" kicks on Thursday, just 24 hours after Vanessa teased fans with a silhouette of the sneakers on social media.

In fact, Vanessa reportedly helped design the sneakers to honor Kobe on his bday ... August 23.

FYI, the kicks are an updated edition of Kobe's eighth signature shoe, which originally dropped in 2012. It marks the second release from Kobe's line (the Kobe 4 Protro "Mamabacitas" were released in May) since the family reconciled their relationship with the Swoosh last year.

Of course, the previous contract between Kobe and Nike expired in April 2021 ... after the sides were unable to reach a new, long-term deal. But, Vanessa and Nike execs ultimately struck a deal, and that's great news for Kobe's millions of fans.

"This will be one of many Kobe 8 'Halo' styles coming soon," Vanessa wrote this week.

Brody Jenner and his pro surfer fiancée, Tia Blanco, are parents for the first time ... welcoming their new bundle of joy via a home birth, and they happily shared the moment of truth!!!

The happy couple says their new baby girl, Honey Raye Jenner, arrived at the end of last month -- and they're "so incredibly in love and have been cherishing this precious time together as a family."

Brody and Tia had a small group around them on delivery day ... and they got pretty emotional as Mom held their new kiddo for the first time.

They've been met with a swarm of well-wishes online, BTW ... everyone's congratulating them on the big achievement, and rightfully so!

As we reported, Brody and Tia shared their pregnancy news at the beginning of this year, showing off an ultrasound of their kiddo ... who had them over the moon long before her arrival.

You'll recall, Brody got down on one knee and proposed at their baby shower back in June ... so now they've got a big wedding to look forward to on top of the new baby.

Ray Rice returned to his old stomping grounds on Thursday ... but he wasn't the only former star running back hanging out on the Baltimore Ravens sidelines -- he was spotted chopping it up with Marshawn Lynch.

The Super Bowl champion -- who has made several appearances at Ravens events after getting kicked off the team in 2014 -- was a popular guest at training camp hours ago ... with kids flocking to him after he arrived.

RR appeared to be in great spirits throughout the visit ... and video shows him laughing with Beast Mode as they checked out the squad.

Of course, Rice transitioned to a public speaking and mentorship role after he was suspended indefinitely following his Atlantic City casino elevator incident ... teaching young players how to prevent similar mistakes.

Rice never played another down of professional football following the controversy ... but he's been no stranger to the sport nonetheless.

NY Mets owner Steve Cohen's wife is showing out for her hubby's baseball team in a big way ... Alex Cohen was gifted an insane, iced-out, 14-karat white gold chain with 30 carats of diamonds, and we're told it's worth $65,000!

TMZ Sports has learned Alexandra -- who married Cohen in 1992 -- initially met celeb jeweler Will Selby at Citi Field while he was delivering a chain to an NBA star ... and that's when he began designing the piece.

"I was dropping off a piece for Donovan Mitchell and bumped into her at the owner's suite at The Mets game," Selby told us, "and the rest has been history."

The necklace features two Mets logos and the interlocking "NY
on the chain. Selby collabed with OMI Jewelry ... who helped put together the piece.

All told, the chain/pendants total 30 carats of VS1, F colored diamonds ... and it's Amazin'.

We're told the bling is worth $65k ... but the jewelry was a gift. Regardless, it's a drop in the bucket to Cohen, the richest owner in baseball, with a reported net worth of $16.5 billion (Forbes).

Fun fact, the two met on a dating service back in 1991. Coincidentally, Alex was a Mets fan before Steve even became the minority owner in 2012. Years later he purchased a majority of the team once it became available. Alex is currently the president of the Amazin’ Mets Foundation.

Ice Cube is giving several of his fellow rappers the opportunity to live out their hoop dreams once again ... with the return of his Big 3 Celebrity Game.

On Thursday, Cube and Monster Energy unveiled this year's lineup... he and Big Daddy Kane for Team Webull will be defending their title against Clyde Drexler and Doug E. Fresh's Team PrizePicks ... come August 19 at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.

Rappers NLE Choppa, A Boogie Wit da Hoodie, Symba, Rico Nasty, Millionz Dollarz Worth Of Game's Gillie & Wallo will be joining ex-NFL stars such as Terrell Owens and Vernon Davis, among others ... a collaborative effort to raise money and awareness for underprivileged youth.

"We are enthusiastic about this collaboration as it brings funds and attention to significant causes as well as joy on the court,” Cube said of the upcoming event on Thursday.

Cube's been going hard in the paint for the Big 3 this year, ripping "the powers that be" that block his league from expanding.

Former NFL defensive back Buster Skrine was arrested in Canada on Wednesday ... after authorities say he fraudulently obtained more than $100K from a bunch of banks throughout the country.

The Durham Regional Police Service said Wednesday that Skrine had attended "numerous financial institutions" recently in order to illegally obtain cash. They claimed as part of his scheme, Skrine would identify himself as a retired NFL player, open bank accounts with fraudulent checks, and then obtain a portion of the dough before the check cleared.

They said Skrine did this at multiple locations in the Durham Region ... adding that they had "reason to believe" he had pulled similar scams all across Canada.

Durham Regional Police said following an investigation into the allegations, they arrested Skrine at Pearson International Airport on Wednesday after learning he had made plans to travel back to the United States.

The 34-year-old has since been hit with 14 charges -- including fraud and possession of property obtained by crime.

If Logan Paul needed any more motivation to kick Dillon Danis' ass in October, he has it now -- the Bellator fighter went full savage mode by posting a fake nude image of The Maverick's fiancée, Nina Agdal, on social media ... just days after their fight was announced.

Danis has been on a tear on X all week -- he started posting pics of Nina with her past boyfriends, Leonardo DiCaprio and Reid Heidenry ... before going a bit too far in trying to get under Logan's skin.

Danis shared a NSFW edited pic of a topless Nina to his page on Wednesday ... and while Agdal has posed nude in the past, he was immediately met with backlash as it was a clear attempt to humiliate his opponent.

"dude this is f***ed up," influencer Alissa Violet replied. "are you ok??"

"way too far. she has literally nothing to do with this. just beat him in the ring god d***."

Danis responded by bringing up Violet's history with both Paul brothers ... doubling down on his decision to bring Agdal into the beef.

Rhea Ripley and Buddy Matthews are ready to take their romance from the squared circle to the altar ... 'cause the two wrestling stars just revealed they're now engaged!!

Rhea -- a WWE Superstar -- shared the huge news on Instagram on Wednesday night ... saying after Buddy proposed to her, she said "1000x YES!"

"Pure F***ing happiness! ❤️," she added.

In the announcement, Ripley also showed off her new ring ... and you can see Buddy -- an AEW star known for his stoicism -- was clearly thrilled over her decision to say yes too.

The engagement all went down at Cocoa Beach in Florida ... with the couple showing on social media they had been having quite the vacation day prior to the life-changing moment.

The Australian duo confirmed their relationship in 2022 ... after they had met just a couple years earlier while they were both wrestling for the WWE.

Now, their love is split across two promotions -- as Matthews is one-third of the AEW World Trios Champion. Ripley, meanwhile, is currently involved in a WWE storyline where she has an on-screen romance -- of sorts -- with Dominik Mysterio ... the son of luchador legend Rey Mysterio.

Notre Dame High School will have some serious star power this upcoming season -- both on and off the court -- 'cause LeBron James' son Bryce and Master P's son Mercy Miller are joining forces on one of the best teams in the country!

16-year-old James, a 6'6" guard, is transferring from Campbell Hall (he was only there for a few months after transferring from Sierra Canyon, where he spent 2 years) ... where he'll join an ND program that won a state championship (CIF division 1) last season.

Stars Caleb Foster and Dusty Stromer are now with Duke and Gonzaga, respectively, after graduating, but the squad is still stacked.

Mercy Miller, P's 6'4" shooting guard son (a 4-star recruit ranked in the top 65 nationally), helped lead the team last season ... and is gunning to go back-to-back before heading to the University of Houston, where he has committed to play college ball.

In fact, Mercy and P recently sat down with Babcock in the TMZ offices -- prior to Bryce transferring -- and talked about his final year of high school hoops, and his aspirations going forward.

Notre Dame is coached by Matt Sargeant, a former Princeton University player, who has been on the coach as a varsity head coach for over a decade.

WNBA star Kahleah Copper got into it with a reporter after a loss this week ... going off about his question and firing back with a heated response before abruptly leaving the press conference.

The interaction went down following the Chicago Sky's matchup against the Minnesota Lynx at Wintrust Arena on Tuesday ... and despite Copper's 23 points, her team fell 79-88.

During the post-game media availability, the three-time All-Star was asked about the lack of bench scoring after a solid outing from the supporting players the game prior ... and let's just say it struck a chord with Copper.

"What they gotta do?! What they do last game?! That's a real question?!" the hooper asked. "You for real!?"

He definitely was ... and when Copper realized that, she gave a basic answer before storming off the stage.

"So what they gotta do? Score, right?! Alright, bet!"

Dana White revealed he recently had a meeting with Italian officials about holding the Mark Zuckerberg vs. Elon Musk fight at the historic Colosseum in Rome.

The UFC honcho provided the update during his appearance on Mike Tyson's "Hotboxin'" podcast this week ... saying he did, in fact, talk to the folks in Italy about bringing the billionaire brawl to one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

"I actually did have a meeting with the Minister of Culture's team in Italy to actually hold that fight in the Colosseum if it would happen," White said. "We're talking."

TMZ Sports broke the story back in June -- sources told us administrators in charge of the landmark location initially reached out to Zuckerberg, who then connected them with Dana's people.

The Ministry of Culture's Office claimed at the time there had been "no formal contact" between the two sides ... but we were told there were conversations that occurred, and now White is confirming it himself.

As for the fight, White believes it can rake in more than a billion dollars in revenue ... saying it's an event everyone in the world wants to see.

"Think about how big that fight is -- two of the richest, most powerful guys in the f***ing world are gonna fight on the biggest stage ever," Dana said.

"Who the f*** doesn't wanna see that fight?? ... That's the kind of fight your f***ing grandmother would watch that fight."

Taylor Swift wrapped up the final night of her L.A. shows with a bang -- tons of stars showing up to watch her perform, and a big reveal onstage to stir up Taylor's diehard fans.

SoFi Stadium was packed to the brim Wednesday night for her 6th and final concert, but it wasn't just your regular Swifties in the crowd -- because A-listers like Sydney Sweeney, Emma Stone and Karlie Kloss were rocking out to her hits all night long.

That's not all ... Adam Sandler, Sadie Sink, Anya Taylor-Joy, Kerry Washington, Hilary Duff, Jason Bateman, Miranda Cosgrove, Halsey, Miles Teller, ex-NFL star Andrew Whitworth and Becky G showed up to jam out.

Even John Krasinski and Emily Blunt headed to Taylor's sold-out show for a date night ... but it certainly wasn't a quiet place at SoFi.

Taylor took some time out of Wednesday's show to announce the release date for her "1989 (Taylor's Version)" album ... which obviously drove fans crazy.

As we reported, celebs have been showing up at her L.A. shows over the past week, including folks like Flavor Flav, Kevin Costner and Vanessa Bryant with her daughters.

You'll recall, Taylor kicked off her "Eras" tour back in March in Arizona, and has been crossing the country with her 3+ hour setlist. L.A. is, technically, the end of her U.S. leg -- she's going international next year -- but she's now added a few more U.S. shows for late 2024.

So, we're saying there's still a chance if ya missed her this time.

As for her overseas shows ... she's starting 2024 in Tokyo, and then globetrotting to places like Australia, France, Spain, Ireland, Germany and the U.K.

Cole Tucker made his first Big League start of the 2023 season on Wednesday and Vanessa Hudgens was there for every second of it ... fangirling out over every pitch her future hubby saw at the dish!!!

Tucker -- who the Rockies called up from the minor leagues on Monday -- made the start for Colorado in the outfield during their game against the Brewers in Milwaukee ... and Hudgens had some sweet seats for it.

The "High School Musical" star was right near the plate ... and when her 27-year-old fiancé came up to bat for the first time, she was smitten.

She got up out of her chair and pulled out her iPhone -- and even though Tucker grounded out to third during the at-bat, she clearly couldn't have cared less.

Tucker, though, ended up playing a solid game despite the first AB ... he went 1-for-4 and nearly scored a key run in the 10th inning of the Rockies' 7-6 loss.

It's safe to expect Hudgens will be in attendance for the rest of Tucker's games this week too ... Colorado's now off to Los Angeles -- a city the actress knows all too well -- for a series with the Dodgers until Sunday.

After that -- a wedding between the two shouldn't be too far away ... you'll recall, the couple got engaged in late 2022, so a ceremony's gotta be right around the corner after the MLB season ends.

Bam Margera's got an avenue to maintain a relationship with his son ... but it looks like the former "Jackass" star will have to settle for FaceTime calls with Phoenix, at least for now.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Bam's estranged wife Nikki is getting sole legal and physical custody of their 5-year-old boy for the time being, while Bam's being limited to FaceTime visits.

The judge's ruling came down Tuesday ... Nikki was physically in court and Bam appeared via video conference, a foreshadowing of his upcoming interactions with Phoenix.

Remember ... Bam was requesting joint legal and physical custody of Phoenix, asking for overnight stays with his son every other weekend and accusing Nikki of doing everything she can to keep the boy away from him.

For now, Bam's only being allowed to see Phoenix over FaceTime via 20-minute calls on Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays, plus 30-minute calls on Sundays. Nikki's not allowed to monitor the calls.

Bam and Nikki are due back in court in a few months, so it seems this will be the status quo until then. As we reported, Bam was taken into custody Wednesday morning in a suburb just outside of Philly, being cited for public intoxication.

Sources told us officers saw him arguing loudly with a woman outside a hotel, and claimed he smelled like booze and was slurring his speech.

Caris LeVert's super rare watch was allegedly stolen at a party earlier this month ... and now, TMZ Sports has learned the Cleveland Cavaliers forward is asking cops for help in getting it back.

Law enforcement tells us ... LeVert told cops it all went down on Aug. 1 during a bash at his Los Angeles-area home.

According to cops, someone was seen in LeVert's bedroom during the festivities ... and when the hooper went to check out the situation, he noticed his watch case was open and his $93,000 Peugeot was missing.

We're told LeVert went to the LAPD and filed a grand theft report ... and while no arrests have been made -- the case is currently under investigation.

LeVert -- the No. 20 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft -- began his career with Brooklyn ... though he's been on Cleveland's roster since the 2021-22 season, averaging 12.4 points per game.