TMZ Sports - Page 4

Shaquille O'Neal and Allen Iverson have reunited with Reebok ... the NBA icons just got new jobs with the athletic brand -- as President and Vice President of basketball!

Reebok CEO Todd Krinsky revealed the new roles were created for the former hoop stars this week and he's thrilled to have them back, in Shaq's case, 3 decades after first signing in 1992.

"As an athlete, he made an incredible imprint on not only our brand, but the entire sport and culture of basketball,” Krinsky said.

“With the combination of his deep-rooted history with Reebok and reigning influence he’s made on the game, there is no one better than this guy."

It's the real deal ... O'Neal even got an employee ID. Now that he can get in the building, Shaq will focus on helping the brand partner with athletes and organizations.

Iverson, who signed with Reebok in 1996, is the Vice President and will have duties similar to Shaq. He'll also work on community-based initiatives and athletic activations.

Reebok, for their part, is thrilled to be back with Iverson ... one of the "most influential players of all time" on and off the court as his "legacy continues to grow and impact future generations."

O'Neal says he's excited to start the new venture and plans to look for players, male or female, who can bring Reebok to the next level ... and working alongside Iverson helps.

LeBron James is throwing his support behind Israel as war rages on in the region ... saying he's heartbroken over what's happening -- while denouncing Hamas attacks as "terrorism."

The NBA superstar released a joint statement with his longtime business partner, Maverick Carter, on the matter on his X page on Wednesday night ... saying, "The devastation in Israel is tragic and unacceptable."

"The murder and violence against innocent people by Hamas is terrorism," he said. "The SpringHill Company family sends our deepest condolences to Israel and the Jewish community."

James added in his statement that he's now praying for peace.

"We all must work to ensure this tragedy does not spread even more hate, racism, and antisemitism," he said.

LeBron is hardly the first celebrity to speak publicly on the conflict -- Kim Kardashian released a statement of her own on Wednesday as well ... writing, "How can anyone not be devastated by these horrific images that we will never be able to unsee?"

Mattress Mack is hoping his family's generous contribution toward Mary Lou Retton's medical expenses leads to more donations for the Olympics legend ... telling TMZ Sports it's the least they could do.

Mack -- real name Jim McIngvale -- and his wife, Linda, wrote a check for $50,000 to assist with the gold medalist's hospital bills as she remains in the ICU with a rare form of pneumonia.

We spoke with Mack -- who owns Gallery Furniture in Texas -- about his family's decision to step up in such a big way ... and he said they have been fans since before she became a household name at the 1984 Olympic Games.

"We followed Mary Lou since her career in Houston," Mack said. "My wife and I have always been a huge support of Béla and Márta Károlyi's gymnastics team. My son worked out with them on the team for years, my daughter did as well."

"Mary Lou was always a shining point of light, as George Bush would say, and we pray for Mary Lou's recovery and the $50,000 is the least we could do to help an American icon get better."

In fact, Mack said Linda went through a similar health scare when she suffered a severe lung infection from pneumonia a year ago ... and now that she's doing much better, he hopes the same happens for Mary Lou.

"My parents taught me, and I try to teach my children, and Linda certainly lives that life, that the essence of living is giving," Mack added. "People get in a hard spot, let's help 'em out because one of these days, all of us will be in a hard spot. We're thrilled to help our Mary Lou, we pray for her speedy recovery and, again, I've lived my life by that motto -- 'the essence of living is giving.'"

Browns tight end David Njoku just revealed what his face looked like in the aftermath of the serious fire pit accident at his home a little more than a week ago, and it's gruesome.

Of course, the 27-year-old appeared on the Browns injury report before their week 4 game against the Ravens ... which stated he suffered injuries to his arm and face.

Njoku somehow played through the pain of the burns and actually caught 6 passes for 46 yards in a loss to Baltimore.

Prior to the game, Njoku wore a mask that fully covered his face as he walked into the stadium, meaning no one got an up-close look at the former first-round draft pick.

That changed on Wednesday when Njoku posted a selfie from his car, presumably sometime shortly after the burn.

He also shared an updated look at his face ... which appears to have substantially healed.

Njoku's turning the accident into a positive. He launched a clothing line and is donating a portion of the money from sales to the American Burn Association.

“I want to use my platform to help bring awareness to an all too common issue,” Njoku said.

Former UFC champion Kamaru Usman was chillin' last night ... today he's prepping to fight Khamzat Chimaev across the world next week after Paulo Costa was pulled from the fight over an illness.

Costa and Chimaev were co-main event of UFC 294 -- going down October 21 on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi -- until Paulo came down with Staph infection.

The MMA star released a short statement explaining the situation ... "I am hospitalized and had to do a second surgery yesterday. According to doctors, a third surgery will be necessary on Friday. So, I will not be medically cleared to fight on October 21st."

But, have no fear ... Dana White showed he's a miracle worker once again. Just a day after saving the main event when Charles Oliveira was pulled with a laceration on his face (Alex Volkanovski will face Islam Makhachev), the UFC honcho got on the horn with Usman and his manager, Ali Abdelaziz, and we have a fight!

Of course, Usman is a legend, a future Hall of Famer, and one of the best welterweights to ever step foot in a cage. But, he's lost two in a row to champ Leon Edwards.

Before the two fight skid, the Nigerian Nightmare won an astonishing 19 fights in a row. A win over Borz would presumably catapult Usman into the title picture in the welterweight and middleweight divisions.

As for Khamzat, Chimaev is a perfect 12-0 as a pro fighter (6-0 in the UFC) and counts victories over stars Kevin Holland and Gilbert Burns.

If Taylor Swift makes a return trip to Arrowhead Stadium this week, she might not be able to watch Travis Kelce play ... 'cause the Chiefs just revealed the pop star's new flame is questionable for the big game.

Kansas City is playing on Thursday night instead of the usual Sunday in a prime time contest against the Denver Broncos ... but with Kelce still nursing an ankle injury that he suffered last weekend, he might have to sit it out.

The Chiefs listed him as a limited participant in practice on both Tuesday and Wednesday -- suggesting there's still a chance he could play -- but taking the game off would allow him nearly two full weeks to rest up before the Chiefs take on the Chargers next on Oct. 22.

The star tight end has already missed one game this season due to injury -- sitting out the season-opener against the Lions with a knee issue -- but he's played in every other game since ... including two that Swift saw in person.

Of course, it was unclear if Swift had any intentions of heading to K.C. for the "Thursday Night Football" showdown ... but with Kelce's status up in the air, it seems watching the game from home might just have to be the play.

An OnlyFans model asked Dillon Danis to choke her out ... and he did just that.

The wild scene went down at the Misfits Boxing open workout on Wednesday ... when Elle Brooke wanted to get a firsthand understanding of the former Bellator fighter's submission skills.

Logan Paul's nemesis -- wearing a cap that read "I went on a date with Nina Agdal and all I got was this stupid hat" -- happily granted Brooke's request ... getting behind her and putting her in a rear naked choke.

The influencer/celeb boxer appeared to go out cold -- shaking as Danis and two others kept her from crashing to the ground.

Brooke came to several seconds later, and gave her immediate review of the experience ... comparing it to being on MDMA.

"Oh my God, that's so much better than drugs!!" Brooke said after the demo.

MMA stars are no strangers to doing tutorials on regular folk -- remember when Paige VanZant nearly made our idiot reporter Lucas go lights-out in the TMZ studio a few years ago?!

Our sources tell us Lucas didn't want to tap ... but Harvey made him.

As for Dillon and Elle, it looked like everyone left the experience on good terms ... even if it did look a bit scary. In fact, Brooke shot her shot with Danis on social media after the encounter ... saying, "Next time can we do it naked?"

The interaction comes just days before Danis is slated to fight Paul on the Prime Card in Manchester after months of ruthless trash talk ... and based on all the drama surrounding the bout, it's gonna be a movie.

The Vegas Golden Knights raised their championship banner last night in awesome fashion ... and let's just say it's a celebration Mark Davis could get behind!

The Stanley Cup champs opened the '23-'24 season at home Tuesday night (they beat the Seattle Kraken 4-1) ... and in true Sin City fashion, the organization used a giant slot machine on the T-Mobile Arena ice to get the party started.

Team captain Mark Stone got the festivities going when he emerged holding the coveted Stanley Cup trophy above his head ... skating around the ice as the fans lost it.

31-year-old Stone skated up to the big ass slot machine and gave the lever a tug ... and it came up "🏆🏆🏆"

That's when the giant banner, reading "STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS 2023", was slowly hoisted towards the rafters.

The Golden Knights had an incredible season last year. They finished with the best record in the Western Conference, scoring 111 points. Once in the playoffs, the GK made things look relatively easy, beating the Winnipeg Jets (4 games to 1), Edmonton Oilers (4 games to 2), Dallas Stars (4 games to 2) and Florida Panthers (4 games to 1).

Although this is only the organization's 7th season, they have been insanely successful, winning three division championships, two conference championships, and now a Stanley Cup title.

9:08 AM PT -- According to cops, Sergio Brown was taken in on a warrant for First-Degree Murder in the death of his mom. He will be extradited to Illinois on the charge.

Former NFL player Sergio Brown has been arrested in Southern California, TMZ Sports has confirmed ... nearly four weeks after his mother was found dead in Illinois.

According to jail records, the ex-defensive back was booked into a San Diego jail on Tuesday. Our sources tell us the arrest stems from a warrant in Illinois related to the September death of his mom, Myrtle Brown.

CNN added on Wednesday that Sergio was recently found in Mexico by authorities and deported after they became aware of the warrant.

He's now expected to be transported soon to Illinois to face charges in the case.

As we reported, Brown had been seen in Mexico dancing and partying in the days following Myrtle's death. He was also spotted in a selfie video from the country rambling about Myrtle's passing and "fake news."

Authorities in Illinois, meanwhile, have been largely mum on the investigation into Sergio's mother's death ... though officials did say they've ruled the 73-year-old's passing as a homicide after her body was discovered near a creek with apparent assault injuries.

Requests for comment from the Maywood Police Dept. on Wednesday were not immediately returned.

Sergio, who starred at Notre Dame, played in the NFL from 2010 to 2016 ... starting 15 games.

2:44 PM PT -- Mary Lou Retton's daughter, McKenna Kelley, just updated fans about her mom via Instagram ... saying she's still in the ICU and continues to fight.

"She is getting incredible medical care! Thank you to all the doctors and nurses!"

Kelley -- along with her three sisters Skyla, Shayla, and Emma -- also thanked everyone for their love and support.

"We ask for continued prayers and positive thoughts for our mom."

The SpotFundMe has also increased to over $285k!

9:29 AM PT -- The fundraiser for Mary Lou Retton has now hit a quarter-million dollars ... with famous Texas businessman Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale's wife, Linda donating an astounding $50,000.

The financial support is pouring in for Olympics legend Mary Lou Retton ... with more than $181k in donations being collected as she battles a serious medical issue.

As we previously reported, the gold medalist has been in the ICU fighting for her life as she deals with a "very rare form of pneumonia," according to her daughter ... and she is currently unable to breathe on her own.

Considering 55-year-old MLR is uninsured, the family started a SpotFund page to help with medical bills ... and shortly after the fundraiser went live, it shattered its goal of $50,000.

In fact, the cause has raised more than triple the original goal as of Wednesday morning ... and it only continues to rise.

So far, more than 3,900 people have donated to Retton's expenses ... with many leaving words of support for the gymnast and her family.

Retton is one of the most popular American Olympians from the '80s ... earning gold in the all-around, as well as a pair of silver and bronze medals, in 1984.

Now, her fans throughout the country are pulling for her once again.

Pete Davidson was in a smoky haze when he came to a potentially lucrative discovery ... which is why he bought up thousands of VHS tapes in the hopes of turning a profit.

The 'SNL' alum and upcoming host shared his side hustle theory on Tuesday's episode of "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" ... saying he got pretty high one night and, according to him, bought the 3,000 to 5,000 sealed tapes that still exist.

Jimmy's audience had a laugh, with Pete claiming they all sounded like his mom, but his stoned move might be promising ... pointing out 2026 will mark 20 years since the last VHS was made -- and retro fads almost always make good cash.

That's not all -- Pete says sealed copies like his are making up to $30k EACH lately, and a rare edition of a "Rocky" VHS scored $27,500 earlier this year at auction ... so the comedian's in a pretty sweet spot if the demand keeps goin' up.

Apart from Pete's VHS monopoly, he's also slated to host the season 49 premiere of "Saturday Night Live" this weekend -- the first show back since the writer's strike pulled the plug on the end of last season when he was originally supposed to host.

Pete reunited with his 'SNL' pals for dinner Tuesday night ahead of Saturday's show ... dining with Kenan Thompson, Colin Jost, Chloe Fineman, Heidi Gardner, Punkie Johnson, and even head honcho, Lorne Michaels.

AEW is catching some serious flak from fans online after it had some of its wrestlers participate in an antisemitic storyline on Tuesday night ... just days after the heinous attacks in Israel.

The controversial segment aired toward the end of this week's AEW Dynamite episode, when World champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman, who's Jewish, began a promo exchange with Juice Robinson.

During the bit, Robinson and his Bullet Club Gold teammates were taunting Friedman and attempting to bait him into a future match ... when, suddenly, Robinson pulled out a roll of quarters.

Written on the $10 pack of coins was the name "Friedman" -- and as Robinson showed it to the camera and then to MJF, he screamed into the microphone, "You know what I do with these, Sonny Jack? I break idiots' jaws!"

The scene was widely panned on social media as anti-Jewish ... as Friedman has said repeatedly in the past that when he was a teenager, bullies would pelt him with quarters and tell him, "Pick it up, Jew boy. Pick it up."

Fans were irate with the wrestling org.'s decision to turn it all into a storyline this week ... considering all of the terror that's currently happening in Israel.

For Friedman's part, he actually snapped over the quarters as part of the promo on Tuesday's show ... yelling back at Robinson, "You come near me with those quarters, I'll end your life, you piece of s***!" He later took to X to address the matter as well.

"Tonight that piece of s***, Juice Robinson decided to bring up a story from my childhood that has left me scared," the 27-year-old star wrestler wrote. "I'm glad he did. He brought awareness to something we've all gone through in one way, shape, or form in our lives. On behalf of anyone who's ever been bullied for being different in any capacity. I look forward to leaving him scared too."

It wasn't Sunday, and it definitely wasn't a football game ... but that didn't stop the fans in Pittsburgh from letting it be known that they want Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada GONE ... chanting "Fire Canada" during the Penguins game!

It happened during the Penguins' 4-2 loss at home against the Blackhawks on Tuesday (their first game of the season) ... when Pittsburgh fans seemingly forgot where they were, and began yelling to get rid of the 51-year-old coach.

One of the fans in attendance captured the moment on video ... and you can clearly hear "Fire Canada" ringing throughout the PPG Paints Arena.

Despite the Steelers' 3-2 record (they currently lead the AFC North) and a win over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, the fans are clearly pissed off at the team's offense, and the guy running it.

Canada was hired as the OC in 2021 ... but the offense hasn't exactly been explosive with MC calling the plays, and Kenny Pickett under center.

The Steelers have a bye this week ... probably a good thing for Canada. Regardless of the time off, Pickett told reporters they'll continue to work regardless of the break.

"There's definitely positives, there's always negatives that you can work on during the Bye week," Pickett said.

"There's a lot of things to get better at, too, so I'm gonna use this week to kinda take a step back from it and kinda fine-tooth comb it and figure out what we need to do to get better."

It's not the first time Steelers fans have expressed their frustration with Canada ... earlier this month, a guy brought a sign to an AEW wrestling event, reading, you guessed it ... "Fire Canada!"

They've also put up a billboard around town after raising money via GoFundMe.

Look out, Bronny James' college opponents -- LeBron says you'll be going up against a guy with just as much athleticism as he had during his rookie year in the NBA ... so says the King himself.

The Los Angeles Lakers superstar's praise came after one X user shared his assessment of the 19-year-old USC freshman while sharing his rim-shaking highlights on Tuesday ... claiming, "Too (sic) say Bronny just as athletic or if not more than Bron was at his age isn’t wild! He’s doing this at 6'2" not 6'8" 🤷🏾‍♂️."

LBJ got wind of the post ... and he couldn't agree more.

"Exactly!!!" the four-time NBA champ replied ... claiming anyone who says otherwise doesn't know what they're talking about.

"He's definitely just as if not right there at his age. The casuals just like to argue about 💩 they literally don’t know about."

Even though it's coming from his own father, it's high praise ... considering LeBron burst onto the NBA scene as an 18-year-old phenom -- eventually earning Rookie of the Year honors after averaging 20.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists.

Bronny is hoping to get back on the court soon after suffering cardiac arrest earlier this year ... and while he's got big shoes to fill following his pops' footsteps, mock drafts have him being an NBA talent next year.

Max Scherzer partied HARD after his Rangers won the American League Division Series on Tuesday night ... soaking his teammate in bottles of beer -- and video from the scene is awesome!!

The star pitcher -- who didn't get to throw in the ALDS against the Baltimore Orioles due to a shoulder injury -- made sure he knew he appreciated his teammates' efforts in securing the series sweep by going absolutely HAM in the postgame locker room.

Scherzer was seen getting booze poured all over him ... before he returned the favor on Austin Hedges -- dousing him with a couple Budweisers.

After the alcohol-marinated festivities died down just a bit, Scherzer told reporters he's now hopeful he'll be able to pitch against either the Astros or the Twins next week with a spot in the World Series on the line.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the clubhouse, other Texas players made sure their win over the O's was a memorable one as well ... cracking open bottle after bottle of champagne and pouring it everywhere.

Dodgers great Steve Garvey is channeling his inner Tommy Lasorda on the campaign trail ... telling TMZ Sports he's evoking the late Hall of Fame manager's legendary mentality as he runs for U.S. Senate in California.

74-year-old Garvey is sliding into politics as he aims to fill the late Dianne Feinstein's seat next year ... and while a Republican hasn't held the position in decades, he is confident he can be the one to change that.

"Everybody has always said, 'Oh, you want to run for the Senate in California? Well, that's probably the most difficult race in America. Good luck, God bless, but if anybody can do it, you can,' which I think it was always encouraging," Garvey tells us.

In fact, the World Series champion says he's been getting love from some rival fan bases who used to boo him on the baseball diamond ... which was one sign he needed to run.

"Recently, I had a San Francisco Giants fan come up to me and say, ‘Garvey, I hate the Dodgers, but I'm gonna vote for you,'" Garvey added. "And I think that closed the deal."

"That and having Democrats come up and say they've never voted for a Republican, conservative, but I'm gonna vote for you because I know you, I know you care about me and my family. And we need your voice in Washington."

Garvey says he's running a common sense campaign ... and quality-of-life issues, public safety and education will be his main focus in office.

As for his former teammates, Garvey says the responses he's been getting from them have been "heartwarming" ... and they'll love the message he'll convey as he connects with Californians before they hit the voting booths -- as it's one they have heard before.

"Tommy Lasorda, a great manager and father figure and Hall of Famer, he used to say in key moments, 'You gotta believe.' Maybe that's going to be our theme. You know, everybody's saying, 'Oh, no, you can't win in California.' But we believe, and the people are going to believe that I can go to Washington and represent them."

Lasorda is one of the all-time greats -- he won two World Series titles as the Dodgers' skipper ... and the organization retired his No. 2 jersey in 1997.