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Cops are now on the hunt for the person who allegedly nabbed Sabrina Ionescu's sneakers from a WNBA arena earlier this week ... telling TMZ Sports they've formally launched an investigation into the allegations.

A spokesperson for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Dept. said on Friday it did take a report ... after the New York superstar claimed her Nike kicks were stolen from Michelob ULTRA Arena, where the Liberty had gone up against the Aces twice this week.

So far, no arrests have been made ... with the spokesperson saying, "This is an ongoing investigation."

25-year-old Ionescu initially brought the alleged theft to light on Thursday ... saying on her X page, "Never thought I would get my shoes stolen from an opposing arena."

"Please just bring me my insoles back," she added ... "RIP to my Sabrina 1s."

Ionescu shared photos of the two pairs that she says were stolen ... one in Oregon Duck colors, and another gray edition that she got to honor Nike founder Phil Knight.

The two-time WNBA All-Star signed an endorsement deal with Nike in 2020 and became the first women's hoops player to create a unisex collection with the corporation.

Baseball prodigy Paul Skenes says the rumors are true -- he is, in fact, dating LSU star gymnast Olivia Dunne ... and now, he's calling on all their fans to stop bugging her at his games.

The Pirates draftee opened up on his relationship with the social media superstar in an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette this week ... saying they both bonded over being so popular that going out in public is a real "pain in the butt."

"If one of us went out in Baton Rouge by ourselves, there’s probably gonna be someone there asking for something -- picture, autograph, whatever," Skenes told the outlet.

As we previously reported, there was a ton of speculation surrounding the couple recently ... especially after Livvy started popping up at his games.

Her appearance at Skenes' Single-A debut in Bradenton on Tuesday resulted in so much commotion, she had to move from her seat behind home plate to the broadcast booth just so she could get some peace.

Skenes -- the top pick in the 2023 MLB Draft -- said despite being able to relate to each other on the hype surrounding them, he wishes people would leave her alone at the ballpark.

"I do wish she could come to a baseball game and just enjoy it," he added. "It does irk me. I don’t have any control over it. She really doesn’t either. I’m sure it’ll get better as I go up levels, but that’s something I want for her."

As for how they met, Skenes said it was a "small-world type of thing" -- his best friend was dating Dunne's roommate and fellow LSU gymnast, Elena Arenas.

Xavien Howard has been sued by a woman who claims the NFL star filmed "hard core" sex acts with her without her consent ... and then shared them with at least one other person -- though the Miami Dolphins player is adamant he'll fight the case.

The woman, ID'ed only as Jane Doe, made the claims in a lawsuit filed in Florida back in May.

In the suit, she alleges she first made contact with the cornerback in 2016 over social media direct messaging ... before the two began dating in 2022.

A short time later, however, she claims a woman reached out to her via Instagram, concerned she might have been sent a video by Howard that showed Doe having sex with the football player.

The woman allegedly told Doe that Howard had shared the footage with her in an attempt "to make her mad because she didn't want to have sex with him." Doe claims after viewing the video, she was easily identifiable in it.

According to the lawsuit, Doe texted Howard about the situation in late September 2022 ... telling him she had not consented to being filmed. She said in the docs in October, she sent him a cease and desist letter.

Yet Doe says months later, in April 2023, another woman contacted her via cell phone and said Howard had sent her photos and videos of nude women because "she would not have sex with him" -- and she said she believed Doe was in one of the pictures.

Doe "was in one of the photos and it was both taken and disseminated without her knowledge or consent after [she] had sent the cease and desist letter," the lawsuit states.

Doe is now suing Howard for invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress. She's asking for damages in excess of $50,000 ... as well as injunctive relief that would preclude Howard from further disseminating the images.

But, Howard's attorney, Brad Sohn, said in a statement to TMZ Sports that his client intends to vehemently defend himself in the case.

"Anyone can file a lawsuit," Sohn said. "That does not remotely mean that this lawsuit ... actually has merit. This will be fought against aggressively."

Tim Tebow's former Florida teammate took drastic measures to confirm he was really saving himself for marriage ... 'cause Brandon Spikes claims he would randomly show the quarterback pictures of naked women to see how he'd respond.

Spikes -- who played alongside the Heisman winner in Gainesville from 2006-09 -- went in depth about the media obsession with Tebow's virginity during the Gators' dominance in the mid-2000s ... and he revealed he did some questionable investigative reporting of his own to prove the guy was, in fact, sex-free.

"I just wanted to see if he was real," Spikes said on Netflix's "Untold: Swamp Kings," according to the New York Post.

"So I would like, you know, maybe have a picture, a nude picture on my phone or something and show it to him just to see how he would react."

The stunt didn't go over too well with Tebow ... and Spikes explained his response led him to believe the whole thing was really true.

"He was like, 'Come on man! Like, you really get a man uncomfortable!'"

"And I was like, 'Oh, he's serious.'"

Tebow's virginity was a major storyline throughout his college and pro career ... and he went on to marry former Miss Universe Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters in 2020.

Jake Paul just released the ultimate flex on his haters ... dropping a rap video bragging about his massive wealth and success -- and he recorded the whole thing during Nate Diaz fight week!!

The Problem Child shared the visuals for his new track, "Witness," on Friday ... and he put his luxurious toys, boxing career and love life on full display.

The 3-minute project includes footage from fight week and highlights from his win over Diaz -- and as it turns out, Jake even recorded himself mouthing the words to the song inside the ring after the match.

While Jake raps early in the track that he's "been tryna keep it humble for y'all," ... the lyrics are anything but -- with the internet superstar-turned-boxer listing all his favorite toys: private jets, Ferrari GTB and SF90, rare watches, and, of course, his $16 million crib in Puerto Rico.

Jake also mentions his recent milestones -- becoming a Sports Illustrated cover athlete, getting his own documentary on Netflix, as well as the Paul brothers being worth a billion bucks combined.

As for his fighting, the 7-1 pugilist spits about working harder than ever and still being hungry for more, despite all his achievements ... and how Cleveland couldn't handle his vision.

Paul even shows off his girlfriend, Dutch speed skater Jutta Leerdam, in the vid ... saying, "Gon' marry the queen of the Netherlands" as he holds her hand.

If Sixers fans were hoping the James Harden situation in Philadelphia would work itself out, don't hold your breath ... the NBA star says it's too late to fix the fractured relationship between him and the Sixers.

The 10x All-Star wanted out of The City of Brotherly Love, but after some initial talks, the team has said they don't plan to trade Harden, despite his clear desire to leave.

While on an Adidas tour in China this week, Harden showed his disdain for the Sixers, blasting the team president ... "Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of."

On Thursday, Harden was asked if the relationship with the team was beyond repair ... and he replied, "I think so."

"I've been patient all summer," Harden said. "For me, it's just focusing on what I can control and that's working out, staying in shape, and getting ready for a good season."

It remains to see what will happen ... Harden says he won't play, and the Sixers say they aren't trading him. Unless James is willing to give up $30+ million this season, something has to give.

Interestingly, James was asked if he'd ever play baseball for a team in China ... and it's clear he is a big fan of the country.

“Every time I come here, the love is just like, it’s crazy, you know what I mean?” Harden said, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. “So I feel like they deserve to actually see me come play here."

"Love is always crazy here.”

The Philadelphia Eagles had to go through not one but two terrifying moments during their preseason game on Thursday night ... when a duo of their players needed stretchers to leave the field after sustaining scary injuries.

The moments happened in the second half of the Eagles' 18-18 tie against the Browns in Philadelphia ... when receiver Tyrie Cleveland and defensive lineman Moro Ojomo hurt their necks on separate plays.

Tyrie's looked the most horrifying ... in the third quarter of the contest, he jumped up to haul in a pass -- but when he came down, he landed awkwardly on his head. He stayed on the turf for several minutes ... before he was strapped to a backboard and carted off.

One quarter later ... Ojomo was going in to make a tackle on a scrambling quarterback, when his teammate came in and accidentally collided with the back of his neck. He, too, stayed on the ground for minutes -- before requiring a stretcher to leave the field.

The Eagles ruled both guys out of the game almost immediately ... though, thankfully, the team said each one did have movement in all their extremities.

"I haven't talked to the doctors yet, but it sounds like they're moving around," head coach Nick Sirianni said after the game. "I don't know anything else besides that."

Four other Eagles players were injured in the contest as well -- including first-round pick Nolan Smith -- though none of their ailments were considered as serious as Cleveland and Ojomo's.

Max Holloway is crushed by what's happening on Maui, and the UFC star, born and raised in Hawaii, believes matters have been made worse by the government's response to the disaster.

TMZ Sports talked to a very emotional Holloway, 31, as he finished preparation for his UFC Fight Night scrap against The Korean Zombie on August 26. Although the fight is going down in Singapore, it was Maui that was very much on Blessed's mind.

"It's tough man. Everything that's going on in Lahaina now is heartbreaking."

As bad as things are, Max says he's seen incredible strength in the community.

"The amazing thing is how Hawaii can come together and pull through. The people of Hawaii are coming strong together."

Of course, Maui is in crisis. The death count is currently at 111, including children, but is expected to rise sharply, as over 1,000 people are still missing. Aside from the tragic loss of life, the area has been ravaged, with hundreds, if not thousands of structures -- homes, businesses -- burned to the ground.

Much of the affected area still hasn't been searched ... and Max says he's not satisfied with the government's response.

"Here, the state, the government at so many levels, I'm straight up going to say it, they failed the people of Lahaina and it's kind of heartbreaking," Holloway said.

"When it felt like they were lollygagging, too, after everything happened, the people, the Hawaiian people, the locals there are the ones that stood up, that took on the responsibility, and are helping, and are still helping as we speak. Man, it's just super heartbreaking."

Because it's clearly having such an effect on Max, we asked him if he considered backing out of the fight. But that wasn't going to happen, because Holloway believes this can be a distraction for the people.

"If I can take their minds off of it for a second, a minute, five minutes, whatever it is, I always go in there thinking Hawaii is on my back. I'm going in there a little bit heavier right now."

As for those people impacted, Max had a message.

"My main message to the families that are directly impacted, stay strong. We're all here for you guys. We're gonna keep this going for you guys. We're in for the long haul on this fight."

"This is just the beginning, and we know. The recovery is going to take a long time. Everything is gone, and we know this, and we're here for the long ride."

Dana White says he's sure Mark Zuckerberg wants to take a fight in the UFC -- and, get this, he tells TMZ he's definitely not opposed to making the Meta boss' wish a reality.

White joined Harvey and Charles on "TMZ Live" on Thursday to preview this weekend's big UFC 292 card ... but before he talked Sean O'Malley vs. Aljamain Sterling -- he spilled the beans on what he knew about the failed Zuck vs. Elon Musk matchup.

He said both guys were dead serious about brawling ... but when Elon wanted to go more of an informal route with the bout -- Zuck decided to pull away.

"He and I talk multiple times a week," White said of Zuckerberg. "And we had dinner last Monday. He's very serious about competing. And when he mentioned it, he said -- listen -- what he was saying in response to Elon was there are tons of professional organizations out there and this is the way this should be done, not in some backyard or whatever Elon was saying."

He added that Zuck understood the fight would have to be sanctioned by an athletic commission, there would need to be proper medical testing and drug testing ... and when Elon didn't seem to get that -- he said Zuckerberg pivoted.

As for what's now next for Zuck ... White told the guys "I would say he is absolutely interested" in battling it out with a UFC fighter in White's org.

And, Dana said it's a possibility he makes it all happen.

But, until then, White's in Boston getting ready for a helluva fight on Saturday night between O'Malley and Sterling.

Damian Lillard is set to release his fifth studio album "Don D.O.L.L.A." this week -- a feat he says is only reserved for legit artists and not ones halfway committed!!!

TMZ Hip Hop obtained video of Dame previewing the album last night at Soho House in West Hollywood ... where he told the crowd he considers himself a seasoned rapper at this point, listening to criticisms to always improve on his craft.

The NBA star says March's season-ending injury gave him time to beef up the album ... which boosts guest appearances from Rick Ross, Mozzy and longtime collaborator, Lil Wayne ... who's appeared on ALL of Dame's albums thus far!!!

Several pro athletes also dabble in making hip-hop music, but Dame says he earned his stripes freestyling for "4-Bar Fridays" on IG before graduating to SoundCloud.

Big milestone for Brooks Koepka and Jena Sims -- the golf star and his model wife brought their child home this week ... 20 days after the baby boy was born.

The first-time parents shared the awesome news on Thursday ... posing with little Crew at the Jupiter Medical Center, where he spent nearly three weeks receiving treatment in the NICU.

Sims praised everyone involved in treating their son over that tough period ... calling the staffers "angels on earth."

"He's ours now," Sims said.

It's been a long journey to get Crew home after he was born six weeks early. At the time, Sims detailed the agony she was going through, saying, "leaving the hospital without your baby is something I wish on no one."

But, things are much better now ... and the family couldn't be happier!!

In fact, Crew is now getting acquainted with their adorable pup, Cove ... with the four-legged friend already sniffing around as he lay in a carrier at home.

All of the professional sports teams in Los Angeles have come together to help those affected by the wildfires in Hawaii ... pooling up $450,000 to send to the Red Cross to support the victims.

The Lakers announced the generous donation Thursday morning ... saying they and the other teams in the City of Angels wanted to do what they could to make sure Hawaiians are getting aid during their time of need.

In addition to the Lakers -- who had previously held their training camps in Hawaii for more than two decades -- the Clippers, Angels, Angel City Football Club, Chargers, Dodgers, Anaheim Ducks, L.A. Galaxy, LAFC, Kings, Rams and Sparks all contributed.

"Despite California and Hawaii being separated by more than 2,000 miles," the Lakers said in a statement, "the two states are very connected with a robust Hawaiian community calling Southern California home."

More in the sports world have also recently pitched in, including Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, whose been consistently speaking with organizations in Hawaii with the hopes of getting people to donate to the Hawaii Community Foundation Maui Fund.

Legendary surfer Kelly Slater told us last week he and the surfing community also plan on helping out by sending money and supplies.

IShowSpeed can breathe a sigh of relief after he accidentally exposed his penis in front of thousands of live stream viewers on Wednesday -- TMZ Sports has learned the popular gamer is NOT banned from posting on YouTube following the incident.

As we previously reported, Speed exposed himself while playing "Five Nights at Freddy's" -- which appeared to be a genuine wardrobe malfunction as he reacted to a big moment in the game.

The internet superstar was horrified after his junk was shown on camera ... repeatedly saying, "Oh my God" and abruptly ending the stream.

We reached out to YouTube on the matter ... and we're told Speed did, in fact, remove the upload from his page following the mishap.

While the video did violate the platform's policies against explicit content, we're told Speed is good to continue to upload to YouTube moving forward.

Of course, anything Speed posts in the future will also be subject to the platform's community guidelines ... but it seems the company is forgiving when it comes to honest mistakes.

Speed -- real name Darren Watkins -- has gone radio silent following the incident ... but given this news, he may be back sooner than later.

Somebody check on Michael Jordan -- it sounds like his arch nemesis' ex-wife is close to being his daughter-in-law ... 'cause Marcus just revealed a wedding date with Larsa Pippen is "in the works."

The happy couple hit up Jones in West Hollywood for dinner on Wednesday ... and as they were leaving the restaurant, the G.O.A.T.'s son was asked if wedding bells were in his future.

"We're looking for a location," Heir Jordan said with a big smile on his face.

When the cameras followed up about whether they had a date set, Marcus explained the two have kickstarted the planning process.

To spark further speculation, Larsa was spotted wearing a ring on THAT finger ... although it's unclear if it's a legit engagement ring just yet. It's worth noting -- Pippen has worn the ring in a few recent Instagram posts as well.

It may be MJ's worst nightmare -- remember, #23 famously said he did NOT approve of the relationship while leaving a restaurant in Paris last month.

Larsa and Marcus later addressed the clip ... with Scottie's ex claiming MJ's comments left her "embarrassed" and "traumatized," and the latter insisting his pops gave his blessing ... but didn't want to fuel speculation their relationship had anything to do with his infamous feud with Michael's longtime wingman.

Regardless of what the Hall of Famer thinks, Larcus were inseparable at Drizzy's show earlier Wednesday evening ... with Pippen grinding all over Jordan throughout the night.

Fittingly, Marcus' shirt read, "Hug me I'm horny!!"

Well, this is bee-zarre.

Tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas confronted a female fan during his match Wednesday after he claimed she made buzzing noises in an attempt to distract him.

It all happened during Tsitsipas' match against Ben Shelton in the Cincinnati Masters ... when he thought a bee was following him around the court during play.

The No. 4-ranked player in the world made an attempt to swat at the apparent bug with his racket ... before he realized the noise appeared to be actually coming from a spectator sitting behind him.

Tsitsipas went directly to the umpire to let him know what he thought the fan was doing.

"Do you think that's OK?" Tsitsipas said to the umpire.

That's when the 25-year-old went over to the crowd asking which one of them was making the sounds. You can see in broadcast footage from the match one fan pointed directly to a woman in the front row wearing a hat and shades.

"It has never happened in my career," Tsitsipas said to the umpire. "I know they're supporting the [other player]."

"It's the lady over there. I want her out. She needs to go."

The umpire negotiated with Tsitsipas, telling him he would tell her to stop ... and Tsitsipas did as well by confronting her before getting back to the match.

Willie McGinest is fighting back in his restaurant attack case ... pleading not guilty to all charges, TMZ Sports has learned.

According to a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office ... the New England Patriots legend entered the pleas at a hearing on Tuesday.

McGinest had been first hit with the charges -- one felony count of assault with a deadly weapon, and one felony count of assault by means of force likely to cause great bodily injury -- in March ... after he had been accused of beating the hell out of a man during a December 2022 attack at Delilah in West Hollywood.

A lawsuit filed by the alleged victim in the case claimed McGinest snapped on him after he had made a comment about USC -- Willie's alma mater -- and its Pac-12 title game loss to Utah.

Video of the alleged incident we obtained shows McGinest and several others punching the man repeatedly ... before the ex-NFL star grabs a nearby bottle and hits man in the head with it.

McGinest did publicly apologize over it all days after the allegations surfaced ... saying in a statement, "To my family, community, friends, and youth I mentor, please know I feel horrible for my actions and take full responsibility."