TMZ Sports - Page 50

Taylor Swift lives in the moment, even hanging with friends who right at this very moment are in the news.

Taylor hit the town -- New York City, that is -- Saturday night with Selena Gomez, Sophie Turner, Gigi Hadid, Cara Delevingne and, yes ... Brittany Mahomes.

Taylor made her exit from Bond Street restaurant locking arms with Selena and had a grip on Brittany's hand.

As you know, Selena made news this week by posting a kind of hollow Instagram message about Israel and Palestine and then took it down, as if she was shocked she'd get criticism.

Gigi and her family have recently weighed in, with her dad comparing Israel to Nazis on an IG post and then taking it down.

Sophie's in the middle of a tricky divorce so she's made news as well. And then, there's Brittany. She's become an insta-best friend of Taylor's since she began dating her husband's go-to guy, Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce.

It's unclear if, though unlikely, Taylor will jet to Germany today to watch her BF play the Dolphins.

Josh McDaniels out ... Andre Rison in?!?

The ex-NFL star says if he had things his way, that'd absolutely be the case in Las Vegas ... telling TMZ Sports he "would love to" be the next head coach of the Raiders.

"[Mark Davis] knows that," the former Raiders wideout said. "And, I think the whole world knows it as well."

It might sound farfetched to some ... but Rison has quietly been working to be the honcho of a major football team for years.

The 55-year-old tells us over a decade ago he began the process of learning the coaching ropes alongside Deion Sanders ... and now, he clearly believes he's ready to take over the headset at a bigtime program.

Rison says turning around his alma mater, Michigan State, would be ideal ... but replacing McDaniels in Vegas is also a dream of his.

"It would be a great opportunity," Rison said, "a great chance to not only show the world, but show myself the dedication I have given in the coaching game."

For now, linebackers coach Antonio Pierce is getting the first crack at the Vegas gig ... but in the offseason, Mark Davis is expected to conduct a wide-ranging search for McDaniels' permanent replacement.

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., former boxing champ and son of one of Mexico's greatest-ever athletes, was recently treated at a psych hospital after his wife told police he consumed dozens of pills, and she was scared for his safety.

Sources tell TMZ Sports 37-year-old Chavez Jr.'s wife, Frida Chavez, contacted police in the Hollywood area on October 24 ... after she became worried about her hubby's health.

Frida -- who was previously married to Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's late son, Edgar Guzman Lopez -- told cops she believed Julio ingested a large amount of potent and potentially dangerous medication ... and wanted medics to check him out.

Rescuers were dispatched and were able to contact Chavez Jr.

It's unclear exactly what happened, but Julio wasn't permitted to leave after officials determined Chavez Jr. needed to go to a psychiatric facility for treatment, known as a 5150 in California.

The law allows certain officials (police officers, doctors, etc.), should they believe someone to be "a danger to others, or to themselves, or gravely disabled" to be held for up to 72 hours "for assessment, evaluation, and crisis intervention."

Chavez Jr.'s family is clearly concerned for his health. In fact, his dad, Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., recently expressed fear for his son's well-being during a podcast appearance.

"I feel sorry for him, because his children are little and he's not enjoying them. It hurts me that he's going to go crazy, that he's going to have an accident driving at 12-1 in the morning at full speed, that he's going to have a heart attack from all the pills he takes," Chavez Sr. said on the Bromeando con los Rivera show.

Speaking of Sr., while Chavez Jr. never reached the athletic heights of his legendary father, he was still an accomplished boxer, holding the WBC middleweight title in 2011 and 2012.

Francis Ngannou signed with PFL earlier this year, and now the promotion has arguably the hottest combat sports star in the world ... so, what's the plan? We asked PFL's CEO, Peter Murray.

"In 2024 [Ngannou] will absolutely make his debut with PFL, and he'll return to the cage and MMA and we're putting that fight together as we speak," Murray told TMZ Sports just days after the Fury fight.

Remember, 37-year-old Ngannou signed with Professional Fighters League in May 2023 ... to a deal that allows him to fight MMA, while also taking boxing matches outside the promotion (hence the Fury fight). Francis will also serve as the chairman of PFL Africa.

Clearly, there are some big potential fights out there ... we asked Peter which were on his radar.

"Francis wants Jon Jones, and Jon Jones wants Francis. Francis wants Stipe [Miocic], and Stipe wants Francis. And there's a conversation going on with Deontay Wilder, whether it's boxing, whether it's modified rules. That could be exciting, so that's a real consideration."

Obviously, there are some massive hurdles when you're talking about Francis vs. Jon or Stipe ... as both men are signed to the UFC. Dana White, in the past, hasn't been open to cross-promotion fights, and the UFC honcho and Francis aren't exactly on the best terms right now.

So, we'll see.

On the other hand, Wilder would seemingly be a lot easier of a fight to make ... and it'd be a highly anticipated matchup pitting arguably the hardest-punching boxer vs. the hardest-punching MMA fighter!

38-year-old Wilder last fought in October 2022 ... knicking out Robert Helenius in the very first round of their bout in Brooklyn. 42 of Deontay's 43 wins have come by knockout.

We also spoke to Francis earlier in the week ... and we asked him about The Bronze Bomber.

Logan Paul is now a wrestling champion, 'cause the dude just won a major WWE event in Saudi Arabia... which saw him raise a gold belt in glory.

The YouTuber-turned-athlete competed Saturday in WWE's Crown Jewel over in Riyadh against Rey Mysterio ... and he ultimately emerged victorious from after taking a pummeling in the ring.

There was a lot of back and forth between and RM ... and a lot of body slams. In the end, Logan won by "punching" Rey after he jumped toward him from the ropes -- which knocked Rey out cold. The reason ... LP had quickly/stealthily thrown on a pair of brass knuckles.

Once Rey was down, Logan went to pin him ... and he successfully held him for 3 seconds.

It's a big moment for Logan, especially considering he's relatively new to the wrestling biz -- remember, he only officially joined in 2022 ... and now, he's already a straight-up champ. Of course, all this WWE stuff is completely preordained/staged ... so, impressive to a point.

Still, we're sure Logan's stoked about it ... 'cause him winning big now means he'll probably have a long, storied future in the promotion, assuming his body can hold up. All these storylines might be bogus -- but the damage pro wrestlers endure is most certainly real.

FWIW, there's also his boxing career that's running parallel to all this ... and there, too, he's finding quite a bit of success. Remember, he's fresh off a win against Dillon Danis.

Taylor Swift went out for Friday date night in NYC, but it wasn't with her hunky NFL beau Travis Kelce ... linking up instead with fellow musician Phoebe Bridgers.

Taylor arrived at the famed Minetta Tavern in Greenwich Village to grab some grub with Bridgers last evening -- while Kelce was prepping for a football game in Germany.

Taylor looked stylish in her autumn attire, sporting a tan sweater, brown dress pants and chunky heels. Phoebe was wearing all black, which contrasted with her bright silver hair, making her stand out in the crowd.

Minetta Tavern owner Keith McNally later told the media ... Taylor and Phoebe noshed on baked oysters and foie Gras amouse bouche. McNally noted Taylor "really liked" the foie Gras.

After supper, Taylor and Phoebe left the restaurant, but not before Swift posed for photos with the chef. Taylor must have really loved that foie Gras!!

But, not as much as she digs her boyfriend Travis, who will be playing with the Kansas City Chiefs against the Miami Dolphins in Germany this Sunday.

Travis was grilled about his relationship with Taylor during a Friday press conference in Frankfurt ahead of the game.

When a reporter asked for an update on their romance, Travis said, "The latest status is, ‘I got to see her last week.'" The journalist also wanted to know if Travis was in love with Taylor, and the tight end replied, ‘I’m going to keep my personal relationship personal.'”

Justin Bieber proved once again he's got serious game on the hardwood ... crossing over defenders and burying shots repeatedly during an organized hoops game on Thursday night.

The "Ghost" crooner hit up The Surgeon's studio in Los Angeles for the second time in the last couple weeks ... suiting up for Team Nahmias yet again in the famous shoe customizer's basketball league.

And, it didn't take long for Biebs to show that his last appearance at the venue wasn't a fluke ... as he blew by defenders over and over again, scoring easily throughout the night.

Bieber finished the game with 13 points, three rebounds, one assist and a ton of highlights ... although it wasn't enough to score his team a win -- as Nahmias fell to Surgeon, 110-102.

Bieber was hyped up for the game beforehand ... but afterward, he seemed to take the loss hard.

Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez had nothing but great things to say about Bruce Bochy following his World Series victory this week ... telling TMZ Sports there's absolutely no doubt in his mind the Texas manager will be inducted in Cooperstown one day.

"Hall of Famer," the former Rangers catcher said. "Hall of Famer, obviously."

With a 5-0 win over the Diamondbacks on Wednesday, Bochy became just the sixth manager ever to earn four World Series championship rings. Unlike the other five, though, he's not yet secured a place in baseball's HOF.

Pudge, however, clearly thinks that will happen sooner than later ... calling the 68-year-old one of the greatest big-game coaches of all time.

"When you start to play in the playoffs, it's a different monster," said Rodriguez, who was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2017. "It's always a different game. It's a different ball game. And he's the best doing that. He's the best manager in that situation. And we all see it."

Pudge -- who's been working as a special assistant to the general manager of the Rangers -- said Bochy deserves a ton of credit for leading Texas to its first-ever title, adding that his calming presence made a huge difference in the dugout.

"As a player," he said, "you feel comfortable that, 'Hey, he's going to put all the pieces together to bring this game back and win for us.'"

Pudge also had high praise for the Rangers' World Series MVP, Corey Seager ... calling him straight up "one of my favorite players."

Shawn "Showtime" Porter was impressed by Francis Ngannou's boxing debut against Tyson Fury last week ... telling TMZ Sports he could see the former UFC legend having a successful boxing career in the heavyweight division.

ICYMI, Ngannou lost by split decision to Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs) on Oct. 28 in Saudi Arabia ... and even though it was his first boxing match ever, Francis put on a good performance, including a knockdown in the 3rd round.

"Unfortunately, even though Ngannou showed himself, again, to be very strong, showed himself to be prepared for this fight, he also showed he does not have enough boxing mechanics to win enough rounds to beat Tyson Fury," Porter said.

Shawn -- who won 31 fights in the welter/middleweight division -- believes Ngannou's execution could make him a decent heavyweight boxer in the future ... once he gets a couple of fights under his belt and some familiarity with the sport.

"His lack of experience showed because there were rounds where he essentially did zero to win those rounds," Porter said.

"If he's able to find a pace, he's gonna get some heavyweight fighters some trouble because he's big enough to fight there, he showed he's strong enough to fight there and the guy is athletic. He got skills!"

Even Ngannous's age (37) doesn't stop Porter from believing he can be tough in boxing ... saying fighters don't even get to their prime until their mid-30s and heavyweights age slower than other weight classes.

However, Porter -- who became a boxing analyst after retiring in 2021 -- does point out that Fury didn't fight hard either ... but he's not taking anything away from Ngannou's debut.

"He underperformed," Porter said about Fury. "He wasn't prepared for this fight."

Porter isn't the only one who believes Fury didn't come ready ... undefeated boxer Shakur Stevenson told us the same thing, saying Tyson was "off that night."

Ex-NFL star Devin Funchess is keeping his hoop dreams alive ... telling TMZ Sports he's still hoping to suit up for an NBA team -- and he's putting in the work nonstop to make it happen!!

29-year-old Funchess made headlines last year ... revealing after five seasons on the gridiron, he wanted to take his talents to the hardwood.

We caught up with the 6'4", 225-pound athlete about how the process is going this week ... and it's safe to say he's dead set on making it to the Association.

In fact, he's putting his skills to the test with California's Statham Academy squad in the Asia Basket Dasmariñas Tournament in the Philippines this weekend (DF dropped 10 points, grabbed 7 boards, and had 4 blocks in their first game).

"My end goal is the NBA, get a few seasons over there just like I did in the NFL. Just to be able to compete against the best players in the world, that'll be a blessing to me. I've done it in the football realm already. And it's nothing but dedication, repetition and just having fun."

Devin -- who first dunked a basketball when he was 10 -- has been working with NBA trainers to hone his craft ... and played against pros like Michael Beasley, Amar'e Stoudemire and John Wall.

Funchess explains his unique experience as a football veteran will help bring experience to a squad -- even though he'd technically be a rookie.

But he's not looking to come in the league and be LeBron James -- Funchess says he's just looking to make an impact and help teams win.

Of course, basketball was Devin's first love ... but after an issue with his coach in his junior season of high school ball, he switched his focus to football. He went on to play at Michigan before suiting up for the Carolina Panthers, Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts.

This never happened coding ... Mark Zuckerberg tore his ACL training MMA, and was forced to go under the knife, delaying a real deal fight Zuck had scheduled for early next year!

The Facebook founder shared several photos from his hospital bed Friday afternoon ... announcing he's suffered a serious injury to his left leg.

"Tore my ACL sparring and just got out of surgery to replace it. Grateful for the doctors and team taking care of me. I was training for a competitive MMA fight early next year, but now that's delayed a bit. Still looking forward to doing it after I recover. Thanks to everyone for the love and support," 39-year-old Zuck wrote on Instagram.

The bit about the upcoming fight is news, too. No one ever publicly announced Mark scheduled a mixed martial arts bout.

A bunch of MMA stars wished Zuck well after hearing about his injury, including former UFC champ-champ Henry Cejudo, who wrote ...  "Speedy recovery Mark! 🙏"

Through training, Zuckerberg has befriended many of the world's top fighters like Israel Adesanya and Alex Volkanovski.

FYI, the ACL, or the anterior cruciate ligament, is a band of tissue that connects your thigh and shinbones together and is a common injury among athletes.

Of course, Zuckerberg and Elon Musk spent months negotiating terms for an MMA fight, though it never came to fruition. The billionaires blamed each other for the breakdown.

Earlier this week Musk went on Joe Rogan's podcast and again reiterated that he would fight Zuckerberg "anytime, anywhere, any place."

ACL recovery typically takes around 9 months, give or take, to return to competition post-surgery.

Until then, Mark's likely not fighting anyone.

Nathaniel Lowe was so giddy during the Rangers' World Series parade Friday, he straight-up downed a fan's beer in seconds -- and then ripped off his shirt in celebration of the achievement!!

The 2022 Silver Slugger award winner was being driven around in the back of a pickup truck to soak in love from Texas fans when the hilarious moment happened.

You can see in video from the scene in Arlington, a Rangers supporter tossed Lowe a Modelo -- before the first baseman cracked it open and drank it 'til the last drop.

But, he wasn't done there ... he then ripped off his jersey and his undershirt -- much to the crowd's delight.

Thousands of people showed up to celebrate Lowe and his Rangers after they won the title over the Diamondbacks on Wednesday ... and one supporter was so thrilled by his team's performance, he actually climbed to the top of a light pole to pump his fists.

Thankfully, he reportedly made it down unharmed.

Following the jaunt around the city ... the Rangers then took the stage to address their fans -- and Series MVP Corey Seager delivered an epic drop-the-mic moment.

Arnold Schwarzenegger's getting dragged to court by the cyclist he accidentally hit with his car, and she's ripping his driving skills ... or the alleged lack thereof.

According to the new lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, a woman named Joanne Flickinger claims she's the bicyclist who collided with Arnold's SUV back in February on a busy West L.A. street.

In the docs, Flickinger claims Arnold is at fault ... she says he was driving "with excessive speed and failed to keep a proper lookout." She also claims the collision caused her severe injuries.

TMZ broke the story ... Arnold was involved in a traffic accident with a woman on a bike, and she was transported to a hospital. We're told he took the lady's bike, attached it to his SUV and took it to a local bike shop for repairs.

At the time, our law enforcement sources told us the woman made a left turn in front of Arnold before he had a chance to hit his brakes and he was not going very fast at all.

Obviously, the bicyclist sees things differently ... and she's going after Arnold for money.

Bre Tiesi is doing a little post-pillow talk about Michael B. Jordan -- 'cause she says she slept with the guy ... and it sounds like she checked him off her list a while ago!

The model -- who was famously married to Johnny Manziel once upon a time -- is now on Netflix's "Selling Sunset" ... and during their Season 7 premiere this week, she and the other girls were fantasizing about which famous hunk they'd love to get in the sack.

Chrishell Stause kicked off the hypothetical, asking the ladies who they'd like a go at -- to which Amanza Smith immediately answered with MBJ ... kinda a no-brainer, right?

Welp, apparently so for Bre ... who shot back right away, saying -- "I could do that -- and I've done that." Quite proudly, we might add ... and with a mouthful of chow, very casual-like.

In other words ... Bre already went around the block with Mike, or so she claims. With that said, she didn't get into details about when/where/how, etc. It's an odd pairing, no doubt -- prior to this confession, there was really no obvious connection between BT and Michael.

Of course, there was nothing on the surface between her and Nick Cannon either ... and yet, she ended up having one of his kids kinda out of the blue a year ago.

What's interesting here about this alleged hookup story is that Michael's recent ex, Lori Harvey, was also just in the middle of an old hanky-panky tale -- namely, 'Love & Hip Hop' star Prince Michael ... who claimed to have banged LH way back in the day.

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Justyn Ross allegedly roughed up his girlfriend, broke her stuff ... and then knifed her Mercedes during an altercation that led to his arrest last week.

The allegations are all spelled out in newly released court documents, obtained by TMZ Sports.

In the docs -- an affidavit -- prosecutors say cops told them the incident between Ross and his girlfriend happened in Johnson County, Kansas on Oct. 23 ... after the football player allegedly found out the woman had been cheating on him.

According to the documents, the woman told cops that after Ross viewed her phone ... he got in her face, pushed her, threw her to the floor, and then began throwing objects at her. The docs say the woman was seen with "a small scratch" on her hand following the incident.

Officials say the woman also told cops Ross broke several of her items during the confrontation, including jewelry, a cell phone, a laptop and her Mercedes key.

The docs also note that two neighbors say they witnessed Ross push the woman ... as well as "run a knife across" the woman's vehicle.

According to the docs, however, Ross told cops he had thrown the woman's stuff out the door after he found out she was cheating him. He allegedly admitted to breaking a computer -- though he claimed it was his. He denied breaking anything else that belonged to the woman, the docs state.

As we reported, Ross was ultimately arrested over the allegations and charged with one count of domestic battery with no priors as well as one count of criminal damage of less than $1,000. He pleaded not guilty to the charges at a hearing on Oct. 24. He's due to appear before a judge once again on Dec. 4.

As for his football career, he was placed on the Commissioner's Exempt List on Oct. 27, which means he's not currently allowed to play in games or practice with the Chiefs ... though he can still attend meetings and get any necessary medical treatment while his criminal case plays out.

Travis Kelce didn't seem to be too keen on answering questions about Taylor Swift while out in Germany on Friday ... especially when the inquires turned to whether or not he was "in love" with his new girlfriend.

Kelce sat down with media members out in Frankfurt to preview the Chiefs' Sunday international game against the Dolphins ... when suddenly, one reporter began prodding the tight end about his latest romantic partner.

First, the journalist wanted a relationship update ... which Kelce kind of gave.

"The latest status is I got to see her last week," he said with a smile. "That's the latest status right there."

Then, the questioner asked straight up, "Are you in love?"

Kelce, however, dodged the question like it was a linebacker in the middle of a football field.

"I'm going to keep my personal relationship personal," he said.

The Swift questions didn't end there, though ... because just before Kelce got off the podium, one reporter wanted to know if Swift would be in attendance for the big game against Miami at Deutsche Bank Park.

But, as he did with the previous questions, Kelce sidestepped the inquiry as well.

Of course, we shoulda seen this one coming ... after all, Kelce promised a few weeks ago he was going to keep his relationship with Taylor a little more under wraps -- and while he's bent the rules here and there, it seems he's done now.