TMZ Sports - Page 5

James Harden has spent much of his career with Daryl Morey ... but swears he won't play another minute for the "liar" team president.

The former NBA MVP, who requested a trade out of Philly in June, spoke at an Adidas event in China Monday night ... and addressed the rumors about his relationship with Morey and the Sixers.

"Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of," Harden said in video taken by Shams, days after trade talks with the Los Angeles Clippers dissolved.

"Let me say that again. Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of.”

James and Daryl's feud stems from Morey's refusal to offer Harden a long-term max contract extension, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported over the weekend.

FYI, Harden was traded from the Nets to the Sixers late in the 2021-2022 season, playing 21 games in Philadelphia, where he averaged 21 points a game. Last season he played in 58 games, also averaging 21 for the 44-38 squad which finished 6th in the East.

Once upon a time ... Harden and Morey were partners in crime in Houston, with Harden winning the 2018 MVP award while with the Rockets.

Houston's former GM traded for Harden in 2012 before heading to the City of Brotherly Love to become team president in 2020.

Now, the relationship has clearly eroded, and it seems there's no love lost.

Training camp is approaching, beginning in October. Only time will tell if Harden shows up ... or if he means it when he says he'll never again play for Morey.

You can't lose with Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler, Justin Gaethje, or Nate Diaz ... BUT, given a choice of the three opponents, UFC legend Chuck Liddell knows the fight he'd like to see.

Nate Diaz vs. The Notorious III!

TMZ Sports caught up with Liddell at LAX this week ... and asked him about Conor's next fight.

"All those would be an interesting fight but I think Nate Diaz, run it back to do it one more time. That'd be fun to watch."

Of course, McGregor's supposed to fight Chandler, who is coaching opposite him on "The Ultimate Fighter." Though, after Gaethje's win over Dustin Poirier a few weeks ago, Conor went at Justin on social media.

Then there's Nate ... who just lost a boxing match to Jake Paul. The guys have obviously fought twice in the past, with each man winning one. They've always said they want to complete the trilogy, which would arguably be the biggest in the promotion's history.

"It will be fun. I think it will be real competitive, I think it's a good one to come back to."

Out of the three options, Chuck makes it clear he wants Conor and Nate. As for how it'll go, The Iceman thinks it'll be a close fight.

Speaking of Diaz and Paul, we also asked Liddell if he bought what Jake was selling ... when he said he could beat Nate with 8-9 months of MMA training.

Chuck isn't so sure.

"That tells me [Jake] just doesn't understand the difference. He has no clue what the difference between MMA and boxing."

Liddell explained some of the challenges when going from boxing to mixed martial arts.

"It's funny [Paul] usually fights two weight classes below him, he likes to pick guys that are a lot smaller than him but Nate's a good jiu-jitsu guy, he's a good grappler and he knows how to fight MMA," Chuck told us.

"There's a different stance, everything changes. You add kicks, you gotta change your stance, you can't stand in boxing stance. I hit you so, it hurts so bad in the first round, you got one round to knock me out."

Patrick Mahomes and his wife, Brittany, went for a not-so-wild on a mechanical bull earlier this summer -- and based on the video we got of them on this thing ... you can tell the owners of the joint wanted to protect their QB.

The Chiefs star and his crew were at PBR Big Sky in Kansas City way back in early June -- for a charity event that a lot of celebs were involved in at the time -- and while hanging out ... it seems Pat and Brit got a little courage in them, wanting to mount the fake bull.

Check out these clips, obtained by TMZ, that shows the couple riding it together ... Brittany up front, and Patty in the back. As you can tell, it wasn't going too hard whatsoever -- these mechanical bulls can mess people up -- but that was far from the case here. Nice and easy!

Still, PM fell off first ... and it wasn't long after that Brittany went flying too. Again, it's pretty clear the operators of the bull weren't trying to bust them up ... they are KC royalty, after all.

At another point in the night ... Patrick got on there by himself, and there too he was smooth sailing. Probably a good call to go light on the big fella -- not only does he have pressure to win another Super Bowl (after snatching one last year) but he's gonna be the face of the franchise for years to come. No sense in causing a collar bone break in August. 😅

The Rock and Jason Momoa are speaking up after the devastating wildfires in Maui -- and they're offering ways to help ... as well as some strongly-worded advice to outsiders.

The two Hollywood heavyweights -- both of whom have Hawaiian heritage -- have issued public statements this weekend, reflecting on the destruction left behind in Lahaina ... where the body count is now nearing the 100-person mark, with several still unaccounted for.

Jason has been posting about it all weekend, and he's plugging an organization called the Hawai'i Community Foundation ... specifically, a fund they've created to help the victims of Maui. In addition to the laying out a roadmap to resources, he's got a clear message.

To all tourists considering traveling to Hawai'i, especially Maui, JM is saying ... stay away.

He writes in no uncertain terms, "Maui is not the place to have your vacation right now. DO NOT TRAVEL TO MAUI. Do not convince yourself that your presence is needed on an island that is suffering this deeply. Mahalo to everyone who has donated and shown aloha to the community in this time of need."

Might sound like a no-brainer, but there've been on-the-ground reports of folks/tourists still frolicking in the area and enjoying their vacays, right in the middle of this disaster.

One video, in particular, has been going viral for what appears to be a group of tourists being taken out to sea near Maui by an excursion company ... this as the photog bashes the hell out of them for being insensitive about the deadly situation all around them. That company has since apologized, insisting they were gonna donate the funds from this to charity -- but vowing to halt operations for the time being. Safe to say ... that's a good call.

Now, as for Dwayne Johnson ... he, too, has addressed the crisis and is pointing people to the Hawai'i Community Foundation Maui Fund as well -- saying any donations and assistance will go a long way in helping restore the community, which is still reeling from the fires.

The Rock writes, "Heartbroken but our faith and mana is strong. First responders, health care teams, hotels, locals businesses, boots on the ground organizations and all our local heroes, stay strong - we love you and appreciate you."

He adds, "All our local families, our ohana, our aiga, stay strong thru this devastating time. Resilience resolve is our DNA. Our ancestors are in our blood. This is who we are. This is what we do. I love you. Stay strong. More to come."

Others celebs are chiming in as well -- including "Moana" star Auliʻi Cravalho -- who's been guiding people to helpful resources too. Of course, people like Jeff Bezos and Oprah are helping in a big way as well ... be it with major cash donations, or other means.

Mark Zuckerberg is tired of waiting for Elon Musk to get ready to rumble, so he's moving on -- so says the Facebook founder himself.

The techie billionaire announced Sunday he was throwing in the towel on the planning process, saying it was clear to him that EM wasn't serious about duking it out ... evidenced, at least in Mark's eyes, in all the excuses Elon has offered to postpone this thing.

MZ writes, "I think we can all agree Elon isn't serious and it's time to move on. I offered a real date. Dana White offered to make this a legit competition for charity. Elon won't confirm a date, then says he needs surgery, and now asks to do a practice round in my backyard instead."

The backyard thing is new news -- and pretty eyebrow-raising if true. Mark adds, "If Elon ever gets serious about a real date and official event, he knows how to reach me. Otherwise, time to move on. I'm going to focus on competing with people who take the sport seriously."

Mark has kinda been teasing this move for a while now ... consistently refuting Elon's characterization of things, and alleging that the Twitter honcho was stonewalling on purpose.

In fact, it wasn't too long ago that Mark said he wasn't holding his breath for Elon -- and despite EM trying to hype up the fight just this past week (by mentioning the prospect of Italy as a venue), it sounds like Mark's throwing cold water on the whole thing ... calling BS.

It was a cool would-be event while it lasted, we suppose ... and time will tell if Mark pulling the plug like this will force Elon to actually commit -- but if he doesn't, it might be over.

A nail-biting tiebreaker at a professional tennis tournament was interrupted thanks to "Cotton Eye Joe!"

The match was as close as it gets at the semifinals of Montreal's National Bank Open ... Jessica Pegula and Iga Swiatek were trading points, with Pegula ahead 4-3 in the tiebreaker.

As the ball was in play, everyone in the venue heard "If it hadn't been for the Cotton Eye Joe" blaring from the speakers ... the chair ump immediately suspended play.

You hear the announcer kinda shocked, but musically knowledgeable, telling the audience, "Oh wow, 'Cotton Eye Joe' just came on mid-rally."

The point was replayed and in the end, the interruption may have changed the momentum, because Pegula never scored another point and Swiatek won 7-4, taking the second set.

Fear not, Pegula fans ... she won the match in the third set.

David Montgomery and his girlfriend's offseason move to Detroit didn't get off to an auspicious start ... TMZ Sports has learned one of the couple's dogs was involved in a bloody biting incident just days after the new Lions running back got settled into his new Michigan home.

According to police documents, officers were called out to Montgomery's new Grosse Pointe Shores residence on June 4 ... after his and his GF's pitbull mix, Lola, was accused of escaping the house and attacking a smaller dog on the sidewalk.

In police body cam footage from the scene ... Montgomery's girlfriend -- Tatum Causey -- can be heard explaining to officers that she was in the backyard when she realized her pooch had gotten out.

"I go inside, literally opened the door and I said, 'Anybody see Lola?'" she told an officer at the scene. "So, I'm looking in the backyard for her -- she normally stays right in the backyard -- but when I walk out, I see my brother carrying her."

The owners of the dog who claimed Lola bit their pup said in an incident report that during the attack, Lola grabbed their animal's leg and would not let go.

"I heard our dog's leg break," one of the complainants wrote in the documents.

The owners said they suffered bite wounds and lacerations of their own during the attack. They added that their pup was diagnosed by the vet with two leg fractures. They also claimed it required stitches.

Causey -- who has a child with Montgomery -- was charged with misdemeanor harboring a vicious dog over the incident ... though court records show she pleaded not guilty to the count at a hearing in late June. The records show she's due for another hearing on the matter in September.

As for Lola, Causey shared an emotional tribute post to the dog one month after the biting incident that seemed to indicate the animal had passed away.

"So many quiet days just filled with your unconditional love," she wrote on the IG post. "You are and always will be the best. My soul dog, I love you forever and ever my Lola Bear."

Jonny Fairplay has gone from one reality TV world to another -- now, the guy's doing wrestling gigs, except you won't see him in WWE ... try a strip club.

The ex-"Survivor" star made a public appearance last week in Johnston City, TN -- where he got hired to show face (and muscle) at a place called Mouse's Ear ...  where exotic dancers are normally onstage, only here ... it was amateur 'Wrestlemania.'

Indeed, you can get a sense of what Jonny and co. were up to in these videos we obtained. He's very much playing the heel in front of the crowd, while the two "wrestlers" opposite of him -- Bam Bam Bundy and Lucky Larson -- are talking trash ... wondering how he's making dough these days post-"Survivor."

JF didn't take that too kindly, as it turns out ... 'cause he ended up hitting both of them in the back with the strip club equivalent of a folding chair -- namely, a freaking TIKI Torch!

It's pretty goofy, and obviously, no one was hurt ... but this is something we might start to see Jonny do more regularly. Funny enough, he actually has dabbled in the wrestling world for years now (even pre-"Survivor") ... and is a huge fan of the sport.

Take a hard look at Aljamain Sterling when he fights Sean O'Malley at UFC 292 'cause it could be the last time Aljo competes in the bantamweight division ... the UFC champ tells us he wants to move up and dethrone featherweight champ Alex Volkanovski.

Whether or not it is his last scrap at 135 lbs., 34-year-old Sterling seemed to indicate he may not be around the Octagon much longer.

"I think [it could be my last at 135]. I think I go out there, dominate O'Malley the way I think I'm gonna dominate him, send that naked mole rat back to wherever he's from, the hole he crawled out of," Sterling told Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1).

The bantamweight king continued ... "We set our sights on Volkanovski. Go up to 145, cause some terror there. Win the belt, become champ-champ, and then from there, possibly defend the belt one or two times and maybe that's all she wrote for the MMA career."

Of course, in order to be double champ, Aljamain must defeat Suga on August 19 in Boston ... a fight that's been talked about for years.

"It's cool to be going to Dana White's backyard and bringing in a good show. We're the headliners. We get to end the night, try to end the night on a good night, on a high night, and it's an opportunity for me to really make more history, get another bag, and rob the bank."

"I'm looking forward to robbing the bank vs. Sean O'Malley and showing Mr. High Fructose Corn Syrup why there's levels to this game."

If Sterling does ultimately retire from MMA in the near future, we asked him what he do as his second act.

"Maybe I start boxing after," Aljo said, laughing.

Damar Hamlin is back on the football field, in a playing capacity, for the first time since his life-threatening cardiac arrest incident earlier this year ... and he's looking like his old self.

The Bills safety hit the gridiron Saturday for Buffalo during a preseason game, in which he appeared for just a little bit of time ... a couple possessions, but in that time he was able to show off his talent and, more importantly, that he's ready for NFL-caliber play again.

From what we could see, there was no hesitancy in Damar's intensity -- and he certainly wasn't shying away from tackles ... something he's expected to do a lot of as a safety.

Like we said ... DH didn't play for long, but it was a huge milestone to see him back in uniform and in a real game, making his months-long comeback complete. Based on his performance this weekend, it's likely he'll be playing regularly this upcoming season.

As for the team itself, they knew how big of a moment this was ... and suggested as much with a clip they posted, showing Damar taking the field/being embraced by his teammates.

It's been a long road to recovery, but it's one Damar has taken in stride. With the help and encouragement of his loved ones, his teammates and, of course, medical professionals ... he's been slowly getting back into playing shape -- and finally got the all-clear, too.

Considering his heart had to be restarted after taking a hit in a game against Cincinnati -- it's kind of a miracle that he's here today, let alone playing the same game at the same level.

Busy 24 hours for Tom Brady -- the retired NFL superstar was swarmed by fans at a local pub while supporting his new English soccer team on Saturday ... but first, he took his daughter to a BLACKPINK concert in the States.

TB12 was among the Blinks for the K-pop group's sold-out show at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Friday ... with one fan snapping a shot of the seven-time Super Bowl champ soaking in the experience.

Brady admitted he was a bit out of his element at the show ... joking on X that the image was, "the most 'dad takes his daughter and her friends to a concert' picture ever taken 😂😂😂."

But before the quarterback could get "DDU-DU DDU-DU" out of his head, the guy was already hopping across the pond to catch Birmingham City's matchup against Leeds United ... and fans went bonkers when he showed up at a watering hole near St. Andrew's.

Brady's appearance at the pub was met with singing and cheering ... and it's clear he was loving every second of it.

TB12 got the VIP treatment at the match (as he should, he owns part of the organization) ... greeting kids on the field and enjoying the contest from a suite.

As we previously reported, Brady joined forces with the football club earlier this month ... becoming chairman of the advisory board.

Brady's presence might've brought the Blues some good luck ... 'cause Birmingham City ran away with the 1-0 win.

A bodybuilder went on a killing rampage in Bosnia, fatally shooting 3 people, including his ex-wife ... even worse, he live streamed the entire violent escapade.

Nermin Sulejmanovic had his phone camera turned on as he streamed 3 separate videos to Instagram, capturing his demented murder spree Friday in the northeastern Bosnian city of Gradacac.

In his first video, Sulejmanovic boasted he was about to carry out a live execution before showing his badly beaten former wife on a porch.

He said, “Look, when you’re dealing with a whore who reports you to the police,” trailing off before using a gun to shoot her in the head.

He then told his IG followers he was the dad of the woman's kid, who was crying in the background, and she was preventing him from seeing the child for close to a week.

Sulejmanovic filmed two additional live feeds while he was being chased by the police and bragged that he killed two other people off camera. Prosecutors later confirmed Sulejmanovic shot a man and his son to death on the street.

In the end, Sulejmanovic also shot and wounded a police officer, another man and a woman before taking his own life.

The wildfire disaster in Hawaii is breaking hearts across the world, including those in the surfing community ... and, according to Kelly Slater, it's now planning to step up in a big way to help victims -- by sending boats, supplies and cash.

The 51-year-old surfing legend explained the plans to TMZ Sports this week ... after flames have ravaged Maui and the Big Island during August.

"Everyone within our surf community is rallying to get boats in, supplies, donate money," Slater said out at LAX, "but that's all not organized yet."

The reason for the delay, according to Slater, is all the debris blocking the harbor, including boats that have caught fire near the piers ... as well as the lack of power in the affected areas.

"There's still a lot of people not in touch with family because they don't have cell towers and power there and they're blocked off on both sides actually," Slater said, "the north and southern side from Lahaina got blocked."

Slater -- who holds 56 championship tour victories -- says several of his friends have been impacted by the blazes ... with some even running for their lives.

"One friend lost everything he owns but he was able to save his dog and a backpack and that was about it," Slater said.

"I know at least two friends, right now, that lost their houses -- actually three. I just got a text about another one, but that's just the beginning."

Several San Antonio Spurs championship jerseys were allegedly stolen from former NBA player Kevin Willis in a recent storage locker heist ... TMZ Sports has learned.

According to police documents, the theft was reported to cops by Willis on Tuesday afternoon ... after the 60-year-old ex-Spurs center noticed 10 title unis belonging to his former San Antonio teammates were missing from his spot at a Roswell, Ga. rental storage facility.

In the docs, cops say Willis told them the pieces were worth approximately $100,000. They also say he told them an additional rack of clothes worth around $9,000 was taken from the unit.

In a 911 call, Willis can be heard telling dispatch the jerseys had been inside of frames inside the locker.

"This stuff came from when I was playing," he said. "These have been around for 20 years and they took all the high-profile personnel that was on there. They took all of those. And they left four of them back or something like that."

Police say when they went on to inspect the locker, they noticed "the locks appeared to have been cut and were on the inside of the storage unit." They added that Willis told them the last time he had seen the unit was in June.

Cops noted in the docs that Willis requested an investigation and wanted to press charges. So far, though, no arrests have been made.

Willis was picked by the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the 1984 NBA Draft ... just eight picks after the Bulls selected Michael Jordan.

Jake Paul can train nonstop for the rest of his life, but there's no way he'll come close to beating Nate Diaz in an MMA fight -- so says former UFC champ Rafael dos Anjos, who tells TMZ Sports The Problem Child will NEVER beat the MMA legend in his own sport!

We caught up with RDA ahead of his big matchup against Vicente Luque at UFC Fight Night on Saturday ... and considering dos Anjos once beat Nate in the Octagon, we had to ask about Jake calling out Diaz for a rematch in the PFL SmartCage.

Of course, Jake previously said on Logan's "Impaulsive" podcast he'd be able to handle Nate in an MMA fight if he had eight or nine months of training under his belt.

But dos Anjos thinks Jake needs to be brought back down to earth.

"Nate is a fighter," dos Anjos said. "He got good jiu-jitsu, he has that mentality, the fighter mentality. It's a real fight. When you go to the ground and elbows and knees -- it's a different game."

"I think Jake Paul can train as much as he wants, he don't beat Nate Diaz in an MMA fight."

As for his fight with Luque, RDA said he's expecting a war ... and doesn't see it being left up to the judges.

We also spoke with Luque about the matchup ... and he said it's an honor to go up against dos Anjos because he's a bona fide legend in the sport.

Claressa Shields resigned with PFL ... and as the boxing superstar prepares to get back in the MMA cage, she says she's getting some tips from the one and only Conor McGregor.

"Conor McGregor inboxed me," Shields told TMZ Sports.

"Conor actually gave me some of the best advice today actually. He was just like 'Don't take away from your boxing. You need to get comfortable being on your back and comfortable with your wrestling.'"

Shields, who signed a multiyear deal with the MMA promotion this week, went 1-1 in the cage under the PFL banner in 2021. In the ring, she is regarded as one of, if not the best female boxer in the world.

Any struggles Claressa has had in MMA resulted from being taken down ... and that's something she intends to work on with The Notorious, himself.

"That's an honor and that's a privilege for me, so thank you to Conor McGregor for that, and I look forward to working with him some."

Claressa says McGregor's not the only one who reached out ... and as she's "reconstructing [her] whole team," Shields says she's also been in contact with Cris Cyborg.

"[Cyborg's] one of the toughest and roughest female combat fighters in the world and she reached out. I may do some work with her. I don't know."

As for when she plans to get back in the cage, Claressa says ... "I know it'll be next year, I don't know if it's February, March, or a little bit after that. I just really wanna hone my skills."

We also talked to Shields about Jake Paul (who coincidentally) is also signed to PFL. But, if you thought that'd mean Claressa wasn't coming for "The Problem Child," you're mistaken.

Shields says she is down to fight Paul ... and she's sure she'll beat him.

"I would really fight Jake Paul in a fight, honestly, and I would win. He knows that. He knows that."