TMZ Sports - Page 30

There's seismic news in SoCal, and it's not Monday morning's 4.0 earthquake ... Arnold Schwarzenegger's son, Patrick, was hanging out with Arnold's other son, Joseph Baena, for the first time!

The half-brothers were working out together at the famed Santa Monica stairs, along with Joseph's girlfriend, Nicky Dodaj.

You know the story ... Joseph's mom, Mildred, was the Schwarzeneggers' housekeeper when she got pregnant. She and Joseph moved to Bakersfield and he was in high school when news broke he was Arnold's son.

Since then Joseph has had no interaction that we know of with Arnold's other children ... until now!!!

We're not sure even Arnold knew the 2 were together today, but it's gotta please him. The question ... is this the beginning of a relationship between Joseph and Arnold's 3 other kids.

Patrick and Joseph have lots in common, aside from blood. They're both now in the acting game.

Sam Darnold has a new home ... the Jets just officially gave up on their 2018 1st-round pick, sending him off to Carolina in a huge, pre-NFL draft trade.

The Panthers announced the move Monday afternoon ... explaining they traded 3 picks -- including a 6th-rounder this year and 2nd and 4th-rounders in 2022 -- for the QB.

Carolina's team site described the deal this way ... "The Panthers landed a first-round quarterback, without waiting to see if one fell to them with the eighth overall pick in this year's draft."

Darnold was originally taken by NY with the #3 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft ... but he was largely a disappointment in his 3 seasons with Gang Green, recording a 13-25 record.

The 23-year-old struggled with injuries -- missing at least 3 games in all 3 of his 3 three seasons in the league -- as well interceptions, throwing 39 in just 38 games.

Darnold, though, did flash talent from time to time ... and as a guy who could have easily been the #1 overall pick in '18 -- it seems Carolina is more than willing to take the gamble.

As for what it means for the two teams going forward ... the Jets will almost certainly take BYU star QB, Zach Wilson, with the #2 overall pick later this month.

The University of North Carolina has found its replacement for Roy Williams -- the Tar Heels are set to announce alum Hubert Davis as their next head coach ... making him the first black head coach in team history.

50-year-old Davis BLEEDS Carolina blue -- he played for the Tar Heels under legendary head coach Dean Smith from 1988-1992 ... and has served as an assistant coach under Williams since 2012.

The North Carolina native was a BALLER during his time at Chapel Hill ... averaging more than 21 points per game his senior year.

Davis also has a ton of experience at the next level -- he was selected with the 20th overall pick in the 1992 NBA Draft ... and played 12 seasons in the league, most notably with the New York Knicks and Dallas Mavericks.

Davis has ENORMOUS shoes to fill -- Williams won 3 NCAA titles during his 18 seasons with the Tar Heels (2005, 2009 and 2017) ... and accumulated a 485-163 record.

Williams reached the Final Four with the Tar Heels 6 times ... and tacked on 9 ACC regular-season championships.

The Davis era is all but official ... with The News & Observer reporting the school's board of trustees will vote on the hire during a meeting on Monday.

But, with a résumé like Davis' ... who's gonna say "no?!?"

"Words carry weight and it is incumbent upon all of us to have a thorough understanding of the words we choose and the effect they may have on others," Licht said in a statement.

Super Bowl champion Carlton Davis is in hot water for tweeting out a VERY offensive Asian slur -- though Davis claims he didn't know the "dark" history behind the word.

"Gotta stop letting g***s in Miami," the Tampa Bay Bucs cornerback posted on Sunday evening in a since-deleted tweet.

Obviously, the tweet went viral and people couldn't believe an NFL player would hurl such an offensive word around so casually.

Davis initially offered an explanation -- and actually had the balls to attack the media for criticizing him in the first place.

The 24-year-old posted a screenshot from the Urban Dictionary definition of the word (which, conveniently, wasn't even the top definition).

"A term commonaly [sic] used in South Florida to describe a person who is Lame. Synonym for Lame, wack, Fool or Stupid."

Davis added, "I would never offend any group of people. You reporters can look for another story to blow up. The term was directed towards a producer claiming he 'ran Miami.' With that being said I'll retire that word from my vocabulary giving the hard times our Asian family are enduring."

Just minutes later, Davis was changing his tune in another statement.

"I used a term that from where I come from has always meant 'lame' but I did not realize it has a much darker, negative connotation. I have learned a valuable lesson and want to apologize to anyone that was offended by seeing that word because we need to focus on helping each other during these tough times."

FYI, the g-word is an incredibly offensive anti-Asian slur that's been around for decades. It was widely used by American soldiers against Koreans and Vietnamese people during military conflicts.

Ans since Davis is into using definitions ... how about this one from Merriam-Webster.com:

"offensive -- used as an insulting and contemptuous term for a nonwhite, non-American person and especially for an Asian person."

No word if the NFL plans to take action.

Davis was a 2nd-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft and had a pretty solid 2020 season ... logging 68 tackles and 4 interceptions during the Bucs' championship run.

The MLB has just suspended Nick Castellanos -- one of the league's best hitters -- TWO GAMES ... and it's all because the Reds star flexed in a pitcher's face on Saturday.

For real.

The ban is wild ... mostly because the events that led up to it were all fairly benign when considering the unwritten rules of baseball.

Here's the deal -- Castellanos had homered on Opening Day against the Cardinals, and pimped the hit with a bat-flip and a stroll to first base.

Clearly, the Cards didn't love that ... and pitcher Jake Woodford then drilled the Cincy outfielder in the ribs with a 92 MPH fastball in the ensuing game Saturday.

Castellanos hated it, talked a little smack and when he came around the bases to score a few pitches later ... he let Woodford hear it at home plate with a flex and a yell.

The benches ended up clearing, but no physical contact happened ... and Castellanos was ejected.

Most thought that would be that -- but MLB decided to drop ANOTHER hammer on Nick on Monday.

The league says it's banning Castellanos two games ... though it is allowing him to appeal -- which means he can still play until the conclusion of the process.

As for the rest of the players involved ... nobody else was hit with suspensions -- with just a few other players getting undisclosed fines.

The Governor of Texas is FURIOUS with Major League Baseball for moving the All-Star Game out of Georgia ... and says he's boycotting the org. as a result.

Starting with canceling a planned appearance to throw out the 1st pitch at the Texas Rangers home opener.

Gov. Greg Abbott just penned a strongly-worded letter to Neil Leibman, the President of Baseball Operations and COO for the Texas Rangers explaining why he won't support the league in the wake of the ASG move.

"Thank you for the invitation to throw out the first pitch at the Texas Rangers home opening game. I was looking forward to it until Major League Baseball adopted what has turned out to be a false narrative about the election law reforms in Georgia, and based, on that false narrative, moved the MLB All-Star Game from Atlanta."

Abbott continued, "It is shameful that America's pastime is not only being influenced by partisan political politics, but also perpetuating false political narratives."

"I will not participate in an event held by MLB, and the state will not seek to host an All-Star Game or any other MLB special events."

Abbott clarified that his beef is not with the Rangers -- he expressed "deep respect" for the organization from "top to bottom" ... but he wants to send a message to MLB.

MLB made the decision to move the game on Friday -- and it's drawn both praise and criticism from both sides of the aisle.

President Joe Biden -- along with top democrats and celebs like LeBron James -- have argued Georgia's new voting law is an unnecessary obstacle intended to detour minorities from participating in elections. Biden referred to the law as "Jim Crow on steroids."

The big man who was violently KO'ed in a heated fight at Walmart is NOT ex-NFL player Bruce Campbell ... the former Raiders O-lineman confirmed to TMZ Sports.

"No, that was not me," Campbell said. "No, I did not get my jaw broken."

But, the former NFL player -- a 4th round pick in the 2010 Draft -- says he concerned the damage to his reputation may already be done.

Here's what we know ... on Sunday, footage of a violent brawl in an unidentified Walmart went viral, with tons of people claiming the main combatant is Campbell, who left the NFL in 2014.

The story was retweeted by some journalists and picked up by multiple websites which identified the main person in the fight as Campbell.

But, we spoke with Campbell on Monday morning and the 32-year-old told us he was definitely NOT involved in the melee ... and has no knowledge about the incident captured on video.

"As you can see right now, I'm just enjoying fatherhood," Campbell told us while playing with his kids.

The 32-year-old explained he's been busy living his post-NFL life -- focusing on his family and coaching high school football ... and he's happy.

But, Campbell admits he's upset that he was misidentified and he's concerned the whole ordeal could cost him a future job.

"That definitely hurts my potential at getting a coaching job anywhere," Campbell says ... explaining that anyone Googles him could incorrectly think he's violent.

Campbell says he's been bombarded with messages online and received a ton of calls from people checking in on him.

But the main takeaway, it's NOT him!

As for the incident. We don't know where or when it took place. We do know the big dude in the video got absolutely destroyed in the store by a much smaller man.

The video is wild ... it all picks up with a large man screaming at another guy and challenging him to "do something, motherf*****!"

It's unclear what the dudes were arguing over ... but when the little guy did indeed decide to "do something," it did NOT end up well for the bigger man.

The big guy got rocked in the face REPEATEDLY ... and at one point, he appeared to eat a punch so hard, he was out cold.

The fight was eventually broken up ... no word on if either guy suffered significant injuries or if any arrests were made.

As for Campbell ... he was a superstar at Maryland -- and is famous for tearing up the NFL Combine as a draft prospect in 2010.

He measured in a 6'6", 314 pounds, ran a 4.85 40-yard dash and bench pressed 225 pounds 34 times.

Jared Goff is officially dating a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model -- the Detroit Lions QB's longtime GF, Christen Harper has landed a photoshoot with the S.I. Swim Issue!

26-year-old Harper made the announcement minutes ago ... saying it's always been her lifelong dream to be an S.I. Swim model -- and now it's a reality!!

"SI is the reason I became a model and for years I tried to get a casting with them but never quite made it," Harper said Monday.

"Instead of just accepting that and moving on I decided to take things into my own hands and chase this dream myself! This is a sign to go after your dreams and never look back!!!"

Harper earned the spot by entering the outlet's highly competitive "Swim Search" ... where people from all over the world audition to be part of the upcoming issue.

The California native -- who's been linked to Goff since early 2019 -- joins a stacked list of WAGs in S.I.'s lineup ... including names like Olivia Culpo, Kate Bock and Camille Kostek, who have already announced their return for the July 2021 issue.

No word from Goff, yet ... but we take it he's THRILLED!!

Bruce Lee's family LOVES that Steph Curry rocked a special pair of sneakers to honor the legend during Sunday's game ... especially since he's going to auction them off for a good cause.

The Golden State Warriors superstar teamed up with the Bruce Lee Foundation to create a custom pair of Curry 8s with Lee's image hand-painted on each shoe.

One image is a solo shot of Lee. The other image is based off a photograph of Bruce with his wife and children.

Steph wanted to show solidarity to the Asian community in light of the recent wave of anti-Asian hate crimes -- so proceeds from the upcoming auction will go toward the families of the 8 people killed in the recent attack on Asian-run spas.

Bruce's daughter, Shannon Lee, who runs the Bruce Lee Foundation, praised Curry in a statement.

"I think Stephen’s gesture is a beautiful example of allyship and solidarity in action," Shannon Lee said.

"I am honored he would choose my father and my family as the symbol for the idea that we are all one family, as my father said, and therefore must all stand for one another."

After Sunday's game, Curry also talked about the collaboration and why it's so important to him.

Things Lincoln Riley is good at ... coaching football, drawing up plays and winning games.

Things the OU head coach is bad at ... brisket -- clearly.

The 37-year-old Sooners head man showed off his Easter dinner on social media Sunday ... and the meat he cooked was so dry, some questioned whether it was actually pumpernickel!!

Check out the photo Riley shared ... the meat was cooked to a crisp -- and the poor dude was ROASTED over it!!!

The comments were relentless ...

"Dear Lord, please see what real TX brisket looks like and never cook a brisket again.  Ever."

"If you drop your phone in water you could put it in a bag with this brisket to dry it out."

"This mf loves football so much he eats it for dinner."

"Did you pull that out of Jesus’s tomb?"

"I don’t know why everyone is roasting this. That pumpernickel looks delicious."

For his part, Riley seemed to defend the cooked cow in the wake of the backlash ... writing to one critic, "Haha ask @BwylieSTRONG if it was legit....."

That guy, OU's Director of Sports Performance Bennie Wylie, had Riley's back ... adding, "Unbelievable... Brisket tacos on point!"

Good news, bad news for Chiefs fans ...

The good ... hey! Patrick Mahomes' family is absolutely adorable!!!

The bad ... despite having surgery TWO MONTHS AGO, the K.C. star quarterback's foot/ankle is still in a protective boot.

Mahomes' fiancee, Brittany Matthews, posted an Easter Sunday family pic featuring herself, Patrick and their newborn daughter ... and it created quite the stir in the NFL world.

You'll recall ... Mahomes injured his toe at some point in the Chiefs' playoff run last season, and the 25-year-old needed surgery just a few days after K.C.'s Super Bowl loss to repair the damage.

Most thought Patrick would be good to go for workouts at this point ... but Matthews' photo shows the quarterback still clearly has quite a bit of recovering left to do.

Thankfully, Mahomes said on Twitter late Sunday he's not worried about anything regarding the injury ... despite still being in the boot.

"Lolol yeah," Mahomes said in response to Pat McAfee asking about the injury. "all good."

The Chiefs are set to begin Organized Team Activities in just 2 weeks ... and seems unlikely Patrick will be good to go by then.

With the season 5 months away though ... probably not the time to be sweating things too much in K.C. yet.

Drake's little boy clearly takes after his old man ... because he loves to hoop.

The rapper shared a video of his 3-year-old son, Adonis, working on his jump shot on an indoor kid-hoop ... and he's got game!!

After sinking a jumper, Adonis points out that that bucket was actually 2 in a row ... then he casually hits another shot to make it 3. Silky smooth.

All the while, Drake's providing the hype music for his kid -- his new track, "What's Next" is playing in the background.

"Friday Night Lights" and "Glee" actor LaMarcus Tinker and his wife Brittany, are dropping back and punting on their marriage.

According to court records from Washoe County, Nevada ... LaMarcus and Brittany on Wednesday filed a joint divorce petition. It's unclear what led to them calling it quits, but it's the end of a 5-year run as husband and wife. The estranged couple has 2 minor children together.

LaMarcus -- best known for playing Dallas Tinker on the hit NBC series -- has been down this road before. As we first reported, he and his previous wife, Shari Butler, also filed a joint petition to end their 2-year marriage back in 2014.

Back then, LaMarcus was earning around $2,100 a month, just in royalties from previous acting gigs. Besides appearing on 'FNL' ... he played Kevin on the ABC sitcom "Cougar Town" -- and also had the recurring role of Shane on the third season of "Glee."

With marriage #2 coming to an end, this might be a good time for a throwback to that classic 'FNL' mantra -- "Clear eyes, full hearts ... can't lose."

Keep your head up, LaMarcus.

Francis Ngannou's Hit List:

- Stipe Miocic ✅

- Jon Jones

- TYSON FURY ?!

That's exactly right ... the newly crowned UFC champ tells TMZ Sports he's DEAD SERIOUS about boxing Fury -- the man many pugilism experts believe is the greatest heavyweight alive.

Why boxing? Why Fury? Here's the deal.

Before UFC 260, Stipe told us he was very interested in boxing 32-year-old Fury or 31-year-old Anthony Joshua.

Welp, his title defense didn't go as planned (lost via 2nd rd. KO) ... so, while Francis is taking things from Miocic -- we asked if he wanted to take Stipe's place vs. the Gypsy King.

"Absolutely. I'm open to that. Remember boxing was my primary dream and I still have the fire, the dream inside me and I believe at some point, I'm gonna make a step."

Of course, UFC honcho Dana White is currently working on a massive fight between Jones and Ngannou ... and Fury is set to take on Joshua later this year -- so any boxing match between the 2 giants would have to be in the future.

We also asked Francis about 54-year-old Mike Tyson ... who is looking to find an opponent after talks with forever rival Evander Holyfield fell apart at the negotiating table.

And not even 6'4", 263 pound Francis Ngannou wants a piece of "Iron" Mike ... despite a 20 year age difference!

"I don't want to fight Mike Tyson but I would like to fight another heavyweight boxer as such as Tyson Fury."

Heads up, Lamar Odom ... this summer's boxing match with Aaron Carter might not be a cakewalk after all!!!

TMZ Sports has obtained new workout footage of the 'Aaron's Party' singer ... and it's clear as day, in about a month, Carter's improved his jabs immensely!!

Remember, AC agreed in February to fight Odom at a celeb exhibition match in Atlantic City in June ... and the first clips we got of the guy on the mitts weren't exactly impressive.

Carter -- who ya gotta at least admit was bustin' his ass HARD -- struggled with power behind the punches ... and when Odom released his own workout vid just a few days later, there was obviously some concern for Aaron.

But, check out the new clip ... Carter's throwing punches with more authority -- and it's apparent the guy is taking this fight SERIOUSLY.

We're told Carter is now training with mixed martial arts specialist Josh Polit at FIGHTR Boxing Club in Santa Monica with the hopes of getting himself right before fight night.