TMZ Sports - Page 50

MMA legend Tito Ortiz -- who's currently running for political office in Huntington Beach -- says he's convinced COVID-19 is part of a liberal conspiracy to take out older people.

The 45-year-old UFC Hall of Famer -- who's on the ballot for Huntington Beach City Council -- spelled out his theory during an interview with the "I Only Touch Greatness" podcast.

We should say the podcast dropped on Thursday -- presumably before President Trump revealed that he and Melania have tested positive for COVID-19.

Still, here's what Tito said ...

"It's all a political scam," Tito explained ... "I just shake my head about it because there’s been a lot of people who’s lives have been taken away because of it."

Tito says he's convinced COVID was created by man and is being weaponized by the "the left."

"Once again, it's population control by the left," Tito says ... "They’re trying to take out all of the older people who are getting social security and so forth."

Tito insists it's just his opinion -- "I'm not stating as a fact."

He continues about the origins of COVID -- "It was made by a man, it's a man-made virus and people need to understand that facts behind those things."

Tito -- a staunch Trump supporter and wearing a Trump shirt during the interview -- says he hopes POTUS makes China pay for releasing the virus on the world.

Ortiz also said he believes COVID will "go away" after the election on Nov. 3rd.

"Sweet" Lou Johnson -- a key member of the L.A. Dodgers 1965 World Series team -- has died, the team announced. He was 86.

The former outfielder famously smacked a home run off Jim Kaat in Game 7 of the '65 World Series, giving the Dodgers what ended up being an insurmountable lead over the Minnesota Twins.

FYI, Sandy Koufax was pitching for the Dodgers that day.

Johnson only played with the Dodgers from '65 to '67 -- he also played with the Cubs, Angels, Braves and Indians during his 17 seasons in the big leagues.

But, after his playing career, he was a staple at Dodger Stadium -- doing PR work for the team. Super nice guy.

"Lou Johnson was such a positive inspiration at Dodger Stadium with our employees and our fans as well as throughout the community in the appearances he made on behalf of the organization," Dodgers President & CEO Stan Kasten said in a statement.

"Dodger fans will always remember his important home run in Game 7 of the 1965 World Series, when he was clapping his hands running around the bases.”

According to the Dodgers, Johnson got the nickname "Sweet Lou" back in '65 because "of his infectious smile and because he was always clapping his hands."

In total, Sweet Lou racked up 48 HRs and 232 RBIs in 677 games -- with a .248 batting average.

He also famously had the only Dodgers hit -- and scored the only Dodgers run -- in Sandy Koufax’s perfect game on Sept. 9, 1965 against the Chicago Cubs.

No word on cause of death. He's survived by his wife, Sarah, and their 3 children.

You've seen the Octagon on the beach. You've seen the insane fights.

But, you've never seen exactly HOW the UFC transformed Yas Island in Abu Dhabi into "Fight Island" in the thick of a global pandemic ... until now!!

It's all part of "UFC Fight Island: Declassified" -- a 4-part series on ESPN+ (premieres today) featuring some incredible behind the scenes footage showing how Dana White and his team successfully built a secure city to keep MMA alive while every other major sport was shut down.

Remember, Dana first revealed "Fight Island" to TMZ Sports back in April (we actually suggested the name "Fight Island").

From there, Dana and the UFC spent a fortune on buildings, medical personnel and more to ensure a bubble-style environment to host major fights consistently while the rest of the world was shut down.

In total, the UFC claims it took 400,000 man-hours and 350 tons of metal to get Fight Island up and running.

"There's no other thing on Earth like this," Dana says in the docuseries ... "Their platforms come up once in a blue moon."

The doc also features UFC superstars like Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal going through all of the COVID testing leading up to their fight.

The UFC faced a ton of criticism leading up to the opening of Fight Island at UFC 251 in July ... but ultimately, they executed several major events without a hitch.

In fact, the UFC has already RETURNED to Fight Island for another series of fights including the highly anticipated UFC 254 card featuring Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje on Oct. 24.

Dana White says Fight Island was such a hit, it will be a regular fight location for the UFC for years to come.

"I'm telling you right now, Abu Dhabi is gonna become the fight capital of the world," White told us recently.

A season-ending injury can't stop Von Miller from reppin' his favorite brand ... with the Denver Broncos LB getting a sick custom Carhartt walking boot!!

The NFL superstar went down with a devastating ankle tendon injury in the season opener against the Tennessee Titans ... requiring surgery to get back to 100%.

The 31-year-old showed how he's dealing with the bad news on Friday ... revealing a personalized Carhartt boot to help him through the tough time.

Now, Miller's love for the company is the worst kept secret -- the guy LOVES to rep the brand while farming his chickens ... and now he can keep it going during recovery.

It's been pretty positive for the Broncos lately -- Denver just beat the NY Jets on Thursday Night Football to get win #1 on the season.

Seeing Miller have some fun with his injury has to boost the spirits a bit, too.

"Knowing him, he'll be able to go right on through this and hopefully not miss a beat."

Jerry Jones doesn't seem worried about Donald Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis ... he said Friday he's "very confident" POTUS will get through it all just fine.

In fact, the Dallas Cowboys owner says he's pretty sure #45 will still be able to do his job effectively over the coming days.

"No one in the world has the ability to handle this COVID any better than the office of the President of the United States," Jerry told 105.3 The Fan.

"I'm very confident that he'll be able to continue governing. I'm sure that he has anticipated this. Knowing him, he's the hardest worker you've ever seen."

Donald announced Thursday night he and Melania tested positive for the coronavirus and have already begun quarantining.

Trump is said to be only experiencing "mild" symptoms ... and he, too, seemed confident he'd beat the virus, adding in his official announcement, "We will get through this TOGETHER!"

Jerry and Trump have been friendly for years ... so Jones' support for the president comes as no surprise.

Tennessee and Pittsburgh will NOT be playing in Week 4 ... after one additional player and team staffer in the Titans organization tested positive for COVID-19.

The matchup -- originally scheduled to take place in Tennessee on Sunday at 1 PM PT -- becomes the first game to be pushed back due to the coronavirus this season.

The league released a statement Thursday, saying, "The decision to postpone the game was made to ensure the health and safety of players, coaches and game day personnel."

"The Titans facility will remain closed and the team will continue to have no in-person activities until further notice."

As we previously reported ... the Titans shut down their team facility after 3 players and 5 staffers tested positive earlier this week ... and announced it would not reopen until Saturday at the earliest.

There were hopes of pushing the game back until Monday or Tuesday ... but after the news of another player and staffer testing positive, the league had no choice but to push it past Week 4.

The league says the makeup date will be announced shortly.

Adjust your fantasy lineups accordingly ... and get better, Tennessee.

Tough break for Cody Garbrandt -- who's officially out of his flyweight championship fight at UFC 255 after suffering a freak injury to his arm.

"No Love" was initially scheduled to take on flyweight champ Deiveson Figueiredo in the main event on Nov. 21.

It was supposed to be Cody's first fight in the flyweight division. He had previously held the title in the bantamweight division.

"I tore my bicep on Monday," Garbrandt said on his Facebook page.

"The UFC decided to replace me but told me I’ll face the winner."

Figueiredo will now face #4 ranked flyweight fighter Alex Perez instead. Perez is on a 3-fight win streak, including a victory over Jussier Formiga at UFC 250 back in June.

Garbrandt added, "Time to heal and stay ready. Control what you can control in this life. I always count my blessings when negative things arise. #gratitude."

No word on when Garbrandt will be cleared to return to action -- but we're hoping for a speedy recovery.

The next Manning has officially arrived ... and he's VERY real!!!

Peyton and Eli Manning's star QB nephew, Arch Manning, kicked off his sophomore season in spectacular fashion Thursday night -- scoring SIX total touchdowns in a 41-0 rout!!

The young quarterback -- whose dad is Cooper Manning -- showed off a ridiculous skill set in Isidore Newman's win down in Louisiana ... tossing dimes AND running over players with his legs.

Check out the highlights from the night ... Arch threw touch passes, he threw bullets -- and he even stiff-armed THE HELL out of some dude on a long run!!

Also, shout out to his WRs -- THOSE GUYS ARE BEASTS!!!!

The 6'3", 195-lb QB totaled up 260 passing yards and 5 passing TDs on just 13 completions ... and also added a rushing touchdown.

Of course, the night should surprise absolutely nobody ... Arch has already been dubbed the best QB in America in the 2023 class -- and was a STAR as a freshman last season.

Lane Kiffin's season may be going down the crapper ... 'cause the Ole Miss head coach's media time was interrupted by what may have been a flushing toilet!!

The 45-year-old was asked a question during SEC media availability this week ... and while we can't say for certain he was taking care of some personal business at the time, the audio evidence sure seems to point in that direction.

Kiffin was asked about the Rebels' matchup against Kentucky this weekend ... and his response had some, uh, additional sound effects to it.

"A challenge playing a really good team, very physical and runs the ball really well and played great defense last year and in the first game and limited explosive plays ..."

FLUSH NOISE ... long pause.

"... as a team, so a lot at stake here. Need to play well."

One can only imagine what was going through Kiffin's head *IF* he did, in fact, flush the can and forget to mute his phone while speaking to a bunch of reporters ... which may explain the long pause.

Let's be real -- what else could the sound have been?? And, as Kentucky Sports Radio points out, no one else's phones would be unmuted while Kiffin was answering.

Reggie Bush doesn't think it's a coincidence that Donald Trump tested positive for COVID after "that disastrous debate" ... claiming it's all part of a plot to keep POTUS from ruining his re-election bid.

Bush -- who's been extremely critical of Trump for years -- unleashed on social media Friday morning after the White House announced both Donald and Melania Trump have tested positive for Coronavirus.

"Teflon Don just wants the attention on him," Bush said ... "Now the entire world will be on Trump watch. Now you test positive? After all the rallies with no masks you held, now you conveniently catch COVID after that disastrous debate?"

When one reader suggested Trump's team is behind the conspiracy to "get him out of future debates," Bush agreed wholeheartedly.

"Exactly now he won’t be available for questioning, can’t do debates, he’s going to disappear for 14 days while the world thinks he may die, YEAH RIGHT!!!!"

Bush continued, "It’s all a game and it’s all a reality tv show that’s what reality tv stars do they keep the attention on them at all costs."

The next Presidential debate between Trump and Joe Biden is scheduled for October 15 -- with a 3rd slated for the following week.

What is ... baseball???

No, seriously -- what is baseball? That's the question all of the contestants on "Jeopardy!" were asking themselves Thursday when Alex Trebek revealed a category dedicated to Yankee Stadium.

Look, sometimes Jeopardy gets a crop of contestants who know a little something about sports ... but man, this group was STRUGGLING.

Props to Mason who correctly got "Babe Ruth" after an obvious $200 clue. But, the gang went 0-4 on the rest of the category.

No one knows anything about Aaron Judge? Or Mickey Mantle? Or Yogi Berra?!!?

And, you should see the panic on Mason's face when the $2,000 answer is revealed to be the Daily Double! PANIC!!!!

Even the official Jeopardy twitter account took a swipe at the contestants ...

"We didn't expect this category about the Bronx Bombers to bomb so hard. Oh well! @Yankees."

Still, nothing beats when Trebek clowned a bunch of contestants for butchering a football category back in 2018.

Atlanta superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. dumped a whole bottle of salt in Trevor Bauer's playoff exit wound Thursday ... trolling the hell out of the Reds pitcher -- and it was SAVAGE!!!

Here's the deal ... Bauer was flat-out dominant in Game 1 of the Braves-Reds wild-card round series -- and he showboated for most of the outing, even hitting Conor McGregor's famous billi strut on the mound.

But, once Bauer was pulled, Atlanta was able to lock up the win in extra innings. And, on Thursday, the Braves beat the Reds once again ... sending Bauer and his team packing.

Afterward, Acuna went after Trevor in an epic tweet ... writing, "Goooo homeeeee" with a crying emoji and a GIF of Marc Gasol hittin' the billi strut!

Yeah, SHEESH!!!!

The tweet hit so hard ... Bauer's agent, Rachel Luba, just had to comment on it -- writing, "Haha I can respect a good troll game...but to be fair, TB still owned you, regardless of outcome."

Bauer's shockingly yet to fire back ... but we're sure there will be some sort of Twitter/YouTube/Instagram post on it all coming soon.

Former NFL star Steve Smith UNLOADED on Jets defensive coordinator Gregg Williams after NY's loss to Denver on Thursday ... accusing the coach of being dirty as hell.

"If it smells like a pig, it looks like a pig and it's oinkin'," Smith said, "then guess what my friend, it's a pig."

Broncos players were irate at the end of "Thursday Night Football" ... after Jets players hit Denver QB Brett Rypien late AND hard, despite the game essentially being over at 37-28.

Things got so heated ... Broncos head coach Vic Fangio told his players to ignore postgame handshakes and go "straight to the f*cking locker room!"

And, afterward, on the NFL Network, Smith said the whole scene went down because he believes Williams is a dirty coach who instructs his players to be dirty.

"Gregg Williams is a guy who has had bounties on guys and made sure, 'Hit him when he goes out of bounds,'" Smith said ... "Wherever he goes, the nonsense follows. That's how he runs his defense and that's how he does it. Straight up."

Smith says he's seen it firsthand when he was playing in the league ... claiming players on Williams' teams would hit him late based on the instructions of the coach.

"I'm not saying you have to believe me," Smith said. "I'm saying I'm willing to put myself out there and call a spade a spade."

For the Jets' part, head coach Adam Gase told media members he basically understood why Fangio rushed his players off the field without shaking hands ... saying, "I think he was just making sure we didn’t have any kind of melee."

Imagine being at a restaurant ... and in walks Mike Tyson, Michael Jordan, Walter Payton, Richard Dent and Don King.

That's exactly what happened to a couple back in 1988, who commemorated the moment by getting all the legends to sign their menu ... and now it's up for auction!!!

Hindman Auctions tells TMZ Sports ... the power squad showed up at Lino’s Ristorante in Chicago to celebrate Dent's 28th birthday.

As it turns out, the night was pretty well documented in Tyson's ex-trainer Rory Holloway's memoir, who claims Tyson was LIVID with MJ at dinner over suspicions the Bulls legend had a fling with his then-separated wife Robin Givens.

The book claims Tyson was on the verge of fighting MJ ... but apparently cooler heads prevailed when it came to the restaurant manager asking the superstars to sign the menu for the couple in attendance.

Now, the couple is looking to part ways with the unique piece of history -- it's hitting the auction block via Hindman Auctions on Oct. 20 ... and we're told this thing could sell for thousands, if not 5 figures!!!

Kyrie Irving says he's never trusted his old teammates with hitting clutch baskets ... admitting he's always "felt like I was the best option" until he joined Kevin Durant in Brooklyn.

So ... LeBron, what's good?!?

The NBA superstar joined KD's "The Boardroom" podcast this week to discuss teaming up on the Nets ... and the dude pretty much shaded the hell out of King James in the process.

The question was -- 10 seconds left in a close game, who takes the final shot?? Kyrie said it goes to the hot hand ... and then dropped this:

"One thing I've always been comfortable with is I felt like I was the best option on every team I've played for down the stretch," Uncle Drew said.

"This is the first time in my career where I can be like ... 'that motherf**ker can make that shot, too!"

Now, Kyrie DID hit the dagger 3 pointer in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals to help the Cleveland Cavaliers win their first title in franchise history ... but LBJ has hit his fair share of clutch shots throughout his career.

It's no secret Kyrie demanded out of Cleveland and wanted do his thing away from LeBron ... but now it seems he didn't think the 4-time MVP was a killer in the clutch.

There's more ... Kyrie also talked about his new coach, Steve Nash ... saying he doesn't really see him as a "head coach" ... and thinks the team of KD, Nash, assistant Jacque Vaughn and himself as being head coaches by committee.

KD agreed ... saying "It's a collaborative effort."

Sorry, Yankees ... former MLB All-Star Royce Clayton says the Dodgers will win the World Series -- telling TMZ Sports, "This is the year."

Clayton -- who we got out checking the surf in Malibu on Thursday morning -- says it pains him to make the prediction as a longtime S.F. Giant ... but he says he just sees it coming.

"I live here, I got love for them," Clayton admitted. "And, you know, if my Giants aren't in there, then I have to say I'm rooting for the home team."

Clayton says there are a few reasons he's pushing L.A. over NY and others to win the 'ship ... #1 being the addition of Mookie Betts.

"That really puts their offense in another tier," Clayton says.

Clayton added he believes the Dodgers' starting pitching is great ... and says he thinks Kenley Jansen will have a big postseason as well.

As for the team's shortstop ... Clayton tells us he LOVES Corey Seager -- adding the dude should be in line for a HUGE payday this offseason.