TMZ Sports - Page 50

Tony Stewart is 52 years old, and although he stopped driving NASCAR in 2016, the racing legend's going faster than ever behind the wheel of a dragster ... and he tells us the finish line isn't anywhere in sight.

The 3x NASCAR Cup Series and IndyCar champion (the only driver to ever win both) stopped by the TMZ offices this week ... and sat down with Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1), as Tony prepares for the NHRA Finals in Ponoma, CA November 9-12 at the Auto Club Raceway.

Stewart owns an NHRA team, Tony Stewart Racing (TSR), an organization he co-founded with his wife, fellow racing star Leah Pruitt ... who drives a Top Fuel dragster.

Tony made his racing debut as a driver in NHRA in 2022, and this year began racing the Top Alcohol dragster on a regular basis. We asked him how much longer he envisions driving.

"From the NASCAR side, I retired at the right time. I haven't been in a wing sprint car on dirt for a couple of years now and I'm okay with that. The good thing about drag racing is because the run is so short, and the most you're gonna make in a day is 4 runs, physically it's not as taxing on your body. The taxing part is the acceleration and deceleration when the parachutes come out. That's the hardest part on your body," Stewart said.

He continued ... "I do feel like in NHRA, this is adding years to the end of my racing career.  If it wasn't for NHRA, I'd probably would be for the most part officially retired. But this has kind of been a rebirth for me."

A traditional quarter-mile run in a TA dragster lasts a touch over 5 seconds and sees driver and race car reaching speeds near 300 MPH. The body endures several Gs during the start and stop of the race, but it doesn't last 3+ hours like the average NASCAR race.

Stewart believes that's extended his career by years ... possibly decades.

"Chris Karamesines, 'The Greek,' drove into his early 90s, was the last time he drove a top fuel car. Which I thought was absolutely insane watching him do that. John Force in early 70s, still winning races," Tony remarked.

We asked ... could you envision still being behind the wheel as a 70+-year-old driver?

"I just hope I live another 20 years," Tony said, laughing ... "At the rate I've been going, I feel like I'm a video game on extended play."

Travis Kelce has Taylor Swift on the brain whether he's with her or not -- 'cause the dude's out here singing her songs in public ... even though she's nowhere to be seen herself.

The Chiefs tight end was out in Arlington, TX Friday -- where he swung by Globe Life Field to catch Game 1 of the World Series between the Rangers and the D-backs ... and where he ended up getting caught on camera indulging in his girlfriends catchy tunes.

First, fans noticed TK crooning and dancing along to 'Shake It Off' ... which was played during the game. Travis' bouncing around was actually shown on the jumbotron, and he didn't shy away from lip-syncing -- bobbing his head and getting a little hand action in too.

Later in the evening ... there was another opportunity to belt out some TayTay, and he did.

Check it out for yourself -- the dude was singing his heart out to one of her most well-known songs, 'Love Story,' and he was even seemingly recording himself while doing it. That, or he was on the phone with someone ... possibly even Taylor. 👀

In any case ... the timing of this great for a couple reasons. For one, it shows that he's all in on Taylor and supports her even when she ain't looking. Of course, the bigger deal here is the fact that Taylor just re-released her '1989' album ... and needs all the pub she can get.

Looks like Travis is solid boyfriend material in both capacities -- and funny enough, he's got a similar cheering style as she does when up in the stands.

Taylor Swift has been a fixture at a bunch of Travis Kelce's games this season, but that's not gonna happen this weekend ... cuz her multibillion-dollar tour is about to start back up.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us Taylor won't be making the trip to Denver Sunday when the Kansas City Chiefs take on Russell Wilson and the Broncos because she's gotta get back into tour mode.

Taylor's first show back from hiatus is slated for November 9 in Buenos Aires, Argentina -- so you gotta imagine there will be some serious rehearsals and meetings before then.

Taylor's been on a 3-month break from her 'Eras' tour -- closing out the first leg of U.S. shows with 6 nights at SoFi Stadium back in August -- but she'll now be touring off and on for the next year internationally with dates in Brazil, Japan, Sweden, Australia, Canada, France, Italy and a whole bunch more.

As we reported, she's also just hit billionaire status -- Forbes says she's worth $1.1 billion thanks to the "Eras" tour -- and credits her for being one of the only artists to hit the milestone solely off touring and recording sales.

Of course, she's likely made the NFL a bunch of money this season in new viewership and jersey sales ... attending a bunch of her boyfriend Travis' games and cheering him on from a private suite with friends from Sophie Turner to Patrick Mahomes' wife, Brittany.

If you've ever wanted to play golf with Jason Bateman and Will Arnett, Zoom chat with Bryan Cranston or visit Ben Stiller on a Hollywood set, here's your chance ... these once-in-a-lifetime experiences are up for grabs, and they support our veterans, too.

Some of the biggest names in Hollywood are teaming up with Homes For Our Troops ... an annual online auction raising funds for injured vets, and once again this year's lineup is incredible.

Jason and Will are auctioning off 18 holes of golf with them at the Bel-Air Country Club ... and Ben's offering a chance to go with him to work on the set of "Severance."

You could also grab lunch in NYC with Lou Diamond Phillips, have Michael Connelly write your name in his next novel or get tickets to Adam Sandler's show and then meet him.

There's some super cool Hollywood memorabilia being auctioned off too ... including items signed by Jon Bon Jovi, Mark Hamill, and Chris Evans.

Jon's contributing an autographed guitar; Mark signed a super rare Luke Skywalker figurine and Chris is offering a personalized video message ... with an autographed 'Captain America' shield and movie poster thrown in for good measure.

Ryan Reynolds is getting in on the action too ... with a rare, autographed Deadpool figurine. Meanwhile, Jennifer Aniston's fundraising with a Fendi bag from her personal collection.

There's also the dress Mindy Kaling wore to Beyoncé's "Renaissance" tour show, and a Wynonna Judd autographed guitar.

Sports fans have something to bid on too ... a basketball signed by the whole "Inside the NBA" crew -- Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal. Plus, there's an NFL football signed by Peyton Manning and his Super Bowl champion teammates from the 2010 Indianapolis Colts.

All of the auction's proceeds go to Homes For Our Troops, which builds and donates custom homes for post-9/11 veterans with severe wounds.

Cooper Manning says Univ. of Texas fans will need to wait a bit longer to see Arch Manning starring on the field for the Longhorns ... telling TMZ Sports this week his boy has "a little ways to go" still.

Peyton and Eli's big bro was candid with us when speaking about Arch's situation while out at LAX this week ... saying his 18-year-old son is still trying to figure out how to stay afloat in Austin during his first year on UT's campus.

"I mean, he lost his ID early on," Cooper said of Arch with a laugh. "So, baby steps. But I think he's every day trying to get a little better. And I think he's doing that."

Of course, Arch came to Texas with some sky-high expectations ... he was the No. 1-ranked recruit in the country -- and many Longhorns fans expected him to compete for the starting job as soon as he got his burnt orange jersey this year.

But, that hasn't been the case ... Quinn Ewers has been QB1 this entire season -- and even though he's now hurt, Maalik Murphy is expected to get the start this weekend over Arch.

Head coach Steve Sarkisian said there is a chance the young Manning could make his collegiate debut in Saturday's contest vs. BYU -- but he seemed to make it clear that Murphy will be the guy while Ewers is out.

Cooper, meanwhile, doesn't appear to see anything wrong with that ... telling us he expects his freshman son to just need some more time to season up.

"I'm surprised he hasn't lost his key and his car and his book bag and everything," Cooper said. "Freshman year -- you know, the lumps. But he's growing up."

As for Arch's NFL future, Cooper obviously isn't ready to talk about any of that ... telling us, "That's a long way away."

Boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya's breaking down Francis Ngannou's odds of beating Tyson Fury in the boxing ring Saturday night ... putting his chance squarely at "ZERO," flat out telling us it ain't happening!

TMZ Sports was chatting with ODLH -- as he was promoting boxing star Ryan Garcia's upcoming return to the ring -- when we asked him about today's fight in Saudi Arabia ... pitting The Predator, MMA's most feared striker, vs. The Gypsy King, the best heavyweight boxer in the world.

"I think I have a better chance at beating Tiger Woods in golf," Oscar told us ... not mincing a single word.

We followed up ... no chance at all?!

"Zero," De La Hoya responded.

"I'll tell you one thing about Tyson Fury and Ngannou. It's gonna be entertaining, while it lasts I believe. Tyson Fury, you have to realize, he went in there against [Deontay] Wilder. He goes in there vs. Wladimir Klitschko, so he's a fighter all his life inside the boxing ring."

Despite clearly seeing no way the former UFC champ can win, Oscar still gave him credit for accepting the bout.

"Ngannou, I commend him for even trying this. I take my hat off to him for even trying this. He's gonna make a s***load of money. I just think when Tyson Fury gets his number and his rhythm, he's gonna play with him and probably knock him out."

FYI, Francis last fought in January 2022 -- a UFC contest -- against heavyweight contender, Ciryl Gane. Ngannou won by unanimous decision. Tyson last fought and beat Derek Chisora by TKO in December 2022.

Fury is regarded as not just the best heavyweight boxer of his era, but of of the greatest ever, period. Meanwhile, Ngannou, a striker who puts fear in his opponents, has never boxed professionally.

Bottom line, there might not be anyone out there who knows boxing better than De La Hoya ... but as they say, there's a reason they play the game, or in this case, have the fight.

Race car driver Christy Georges-Barnett is still finding it hard to believe she won over $1 million at a Las Vegas slot machine ... but, yes, she is indeed now rich -- and she's showing TMZ Sports the massive check that proves it!!

The 63-year-old -- who drives USRA Dirt Mods and Super Trucks -- revealed a copy of the payment ... just a couple days after she was seen on video winning the cash at Caesar's Palace earlier this month.

"I can't even describe it to you. I still don't believe it," Georges-Barnett said this week. "It was like the biggest shock of my life."

"I couldn't even say anything. All I could do was go around in circles like a dummy and just say, 'Oh, my God! I just hit a million dollars.'"

Georges-Barnett said the surreal moment happened around 11 PM at the Dragon Link machine in the high roller room ... where she had won several small prizes before hitting the big $1 million.

That's when casino officials came over to the machine to see if she wanted the dough in cash or a check.

"I want a check for a million dollars," she said. "I wanna be able to show that off."

Georges-Barnett tells us her plans for the $1 million are to help a few people out, put some toward her and her husband's Barnett Harley Davidson shop, and save the rest.

As for advice to slot lovers out there, Georges-Barnett says she has zero ... telling us her trick is simply to talk to the machines before they deliver jackpots.

"The biggest one that I've ever won before that was $50,000," Georges-Barnett said. "I've won a lot of $30,000s and $20,000s and stuff like that, but never nothing like this."

Baron Davis had a long, successful career in the NBA, but he might've just found his true calling -- telling TMZ Sports he's having an absolute blast coaching his sons' flag football teams!!

B. Diddy has stayed close to sports following his hoops career ... taking on a leadership role for young kids in Los Angeles.

We spoke with the former Hornets and Warriors star about the experience ... and he says he's channeling his inner Pittsburgh Steelers head coach when he's on the sidelines.

"I'm like Mike Tomlin out there of flag football," Davis told us at LAX this week. "It's incredible, it's an incredible feeling being around the kids."

TMZ Sports has obtained footage of Davis in the act -- showing him instructing and encouraging his squad at a recent game.

Davis -- who has a 5- and 9-year-old son with ex-wife, Isabella Brewster -- added he teaches his team the basics ... how to be a good teammate and how to focus. But at the same time, he treats them like grownups.

"I treat 'em like pros. I said, 'If we're gonna play, I'm gonna treat you like a pro.'"

Cam Newton is adding to his roster of kids -- his comedian/actress girlfriend just announced she's pregnant with his eighth child ... calling herself "baby momma #3."

Jasmin "Watch Jazzy" Brown broke the news with a photo of her bump while announcing her newest tour on Friday ... which included a bunch of baby-related imagery like a pacifier and footprints.

"Third times a charm tour 😉," Brown said in the IG caption, "Coming to a comedy stage near you."

The tour name is a clear reference to the fact Jazz will be the third woman to have a child with the NFL quarterback.

Brown has made fun of her role as "stepmom" during her standup routine in the past ... but has also dealt with people who criticized her for dating a man who has kids with two other women.

Newton -- who last played with the Panthers in 2021 -- came to her defense recently by clapping back at an internet troll in Brown's comments.

"Welp that's why I ain't with you," Newton said. "LOL it's levels to this Queen and if someone is worth it, yo ass would do a lot of things you ONCE said you wouldn't do."

"I hope you find someone though, I would hate for anyone to go through life alone. I would hate it there lol."

It wasn't the first time Newton and Brown's love life was met with backlash -- Jasmin was also ripped for saying on the "Lovers & Friends with Shan Boodram" podcast that she's a submissive woman in her relationship.

Despite the hate, Brown's fans are flooding her comments with positivity ... and wish her and Newton the best.

The debts keep piling on for Kim Zolciak and Kroy Biermann ... they've been ordered to pay approximately $230,000 to a bank that sued them.

According to court docs, obtained by TMZ, a court in Georgia just ordered Simmons Bank judgment against the estranged couple for $226,836.22 ... as well as $178.51 in interest, $2,071.57 in foreclosure fees and $1,945.31 in attorneys' fees.

That's $231,031.61 in total ... yikes!!!

The lawsuit, filed back in July had to do with a home equity line of credit the couple defaulted on.

This isn't the only lawsuit they're dealing with ... TMZ broke the story, the couple was sued back in August by SAKS/CAPITAL ONE the company claimed Kim's credit card had a $115,000 limit -- and she'd fallen behind on making payments -- the suit stated Kim owed $156,080.64 in total on the card.

We were also the first to report the couple recently listed their Georgia family home for $6 million, asking the court to halt a scheduled foreclosure auction on the property and allow them to sell it on their own.

Kim and Kroy are still living under the same roof at the home, but they've been ordered to keep their distance ... Kim's in the basement/nanny suite and Kroy gets the primary bedroom.

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Justyn Ross won't be seeing the field as a result of his recent arrest -- the NFL just placed him on the Commissioner's Exempt List.

Ross is facing domestic battery and criminal damage charges stemming from an altercation with a woman on Monday ... in which the alleged victim claimed he was "dragging her" and wrecking the residence.

The 23-year-old -- who was released on $2,500 bond -- pleaded not guilty to the charges.

It's a status that can only be handed down by Roger Goodell himself -- once a player gets put on the exempt list, they are not allowed to play in games or practice with their team ... but can still attend meetings and get any necessary medical treatment.

Despite the absence from competition, Ross will still get paid ... and will not count toward the active roster.

Patrick Mahomes addressed his teammate's arrest earlier this week ... saying, "We love Justyn. I don't know too many of the details as far as that goes. In this locker room, it's a brotherhood, so we just try to pick each other up as much as possible."

Blueface is clapping back at Kelly Stafford for her criticism of his makeshift strip club at the Rams game on Sunday ... calling Matthew Stafford's wife a straight-up "Karen."

The "Thotiana" rapper went off on the Rams QB's significant other in a series of tweets on Thursday ... just a couple days after she blasted him for making it rain on nearly nude dancers in his SoFi Stadium suite over the weekend.

Blueface was adamant that what he did was fine ... tweeting that he was never kicked out for his actions -- nor was he even spoken to by stadium officials over it all.

Interestingly enough, we reached out to both the Rams as well as SoFi Stadium multiple times about the display ... each pointed the finger at the other to take responsibility without giving any sort of response. Especially weird if even Stafford's wife had an issue with it.

As for BF, he wrote, "Matt get your wife bro before I get disrespectful," he said on his X page ... before adding, "Karen on here smh I paid for the suite if I wanted you in the suite Kelly I could have paid for that as well your nephews an daughter have seen worse on instagram if they are already on there welcome to LA."

Blueface also went after Matthew in his rant ... accusing the quarterback of being one of the reasons the Rams lost to the Steelers on the afternoon.

"I could talk about how y’all lost the game an what Matt could have done better as a QB that’s what his wife needs to be talking about my antics ain’t lose us the game," he said.

Blueface then promised to return to SoFi when the Rams play there next.

Kelly has yet to respond -- though she's made it clear she has no issues commenting on his behavior. On her "The Morning After" podcast, she railed against the MC, calling his suite antics "embarrassing" and "disappointing."

She also said she'd consider not bringing her kids to the game going forward if it wasn't dealt with.

Shaquille O'Neal and Damian Lillard are joining a new kind of super team ... hopping on a rap remix with Rick Ross and Meek Mill!!

The two superstar MCs just dropped their remix to their new track titled "SHAQ & KOBE" on Friday ... enlisting the two hoopers to add verses of their own.

The Bucks All-Star -- AKA Dame D.O.L.L.A -- was the first athlete to deliver his lyrics ... with a few of his basketball highlights playing right before the start -- "Dame from the hash mark, a three, oh my goodness."

Lillard made several sports references throughout his part ... with lines like, "I'm shot callin', not stallin' and not hoggin'/Pass the ball, we runnin' it up and we not joggin'," ... as well as a nod to the G.O.A.T., Michael Jordan.

"Jordan my tongue when I'm on my king s***," Dame said.

Shaq -- who's no stranger to the music industry -- had even more bars about his hoops career ... name-dropping Spurs legend Tim Duncan and his former head coach, Phil Jackson.

"Foreign 'round, flyin' spurs like when I bullied Duncan," the Hall of Famer said ... later adding, "I can hear the money talkin' like if it was Phil."

O'Neal -- who had a stake in the Sacramento Kings until 2022 -- also wrote about his venture into team ownership -- "Did a song with Biggie, it was all a dream, so was ballin' 'til I made it, now we own a team."

Toward the end of Shaq's verse, he mentions his old teammate and friend, Kobe Bryant ... saying, "I'ma bring the drama 'til I'm with the Mamba."

Arnold Schwarzenegger is not ready to tie the knot again, despite reports suggesting otherwise ... at least not yet.

Arnold's longtime girlfriend, Heather Milligan, has been spotted this week with a large rock on her finger ... and it does look like it could be an engagement ring, but sources with direct knowledge tell us ... it's not.

The path is clear for Arnold to give it another try ... his divorce from Maria Shriver was finalized in 2021 ... 10 years after she filed for divorce.

Arnold and Heather have been together since 2013, and they're super tight. They live and travel together, so it's kinda like marriage anyway.

Heather, btw, is a highly successful physical therapist with her own company -- Elite OrthoSport. In fact, they met in 2012 when she was rehabbing Arnold after his shoulder surgery.

They've been traveling the world over the last few weeks, promoting his new self-help book, "Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life."

A windsurfer got an unexpected surprise while hitting the waves in Australia this week ... a massive whale body-slammed him while he was mid-ride -- and for a moment, he thought the sea creature was going to kill him.

It all happened when Jason Breen was boarding off the coast of one of Sydney's northern beaches on Wednesday morning.

The 55-year-old was cruising on the water on a beautiful day ... when suddenly, he smashed right into a breeching whale.

You can see in video caught on Breen's GroPro cam ... he hit the mammal hard -- and in an interview with Windsurfing.TV hours after the incident, he said he feared his life was over.

"It did drag me down sort of 20-to-30 feet," Breen said. "The only thing that saved me was my leash. The webbing completely ripped out. And if it didn't, I probably wouldn't be here. It was only the snap of that leg rope that actually saved me."

Breen said he believed the whale dragged him under the water for around 20 seconds ... telling 9News, "I thought it was all over."

Breen, though, was able to laugh about it all after he escaped ... and then he found out a bystander, Paul Nettlebeck, actually happened to catch the moment on camera from a few hundred yards away.

In fact, Nettlebeck was so nervous after witnessing it all, he said called authorities in Australia to seek help.

Taylor Swift has yet another achievement to add to her long line of successes ... she's now a billionaire!!!

The Grammy-winning pop star currently has a total net worth of $1.1 billion and it's all thanks to her sold-out "Eras" tour that kicked off in March and extended through the summer, which also gave the U.S. economy a major boost, according to Bloomberg News.

Bloomberg says Taylor is one of just a few musicians who have reached this mountain top based solely on their concert and recording sales.

Needless to say, Taylor has had one helluva year so far. She's not only filling up huge arenas with her live performances, but she's also killing it at the box office.

In its first weekend, her concert film, "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour," pulled in a whopping $96 million in the U.S. and Canada. AMC theaters reported that it was the highest-grossing concert movie ever domestically for an opening weekend.

What's more ... CNN says the "Eras" tour could bring $2.2 billion in ticket sales in North America alone making it the top-grossing tour of all time. Taylor ended the first leg of her tour in August, but there's a second leg launching next year in the U.S -- while her international leg begins next month.

As for her love life ... Taylor recently hit the jackpot with her new beau -- superstar Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.

The couple appears to be really into each other, going out and having all sorts of fun together. Taylor has even been attending Travis' NFL games and getting close to his parents.