TMZ Sports - Page 50

Welp, here's a scary threat from Kamaru Usman to Jake Paul -- cut the crap before you get hurt, for real.

Yeah.

Okay, here's the quick backstory ... Jake Paul has been looking for ALL THE SMOKE from UFC fighters after ferociously knocking out Ben Askren.

He's called out Conor McGregor, beefed with Tyron Woodley and went face-to-face with Daniel Cormier at UFC 260.

Kamaru -- the reigning UFC welterweight champ -- told TMZ Sports back in April he was getting sick of Paul's trash talk and said he would love the opportunity to "beat the s**t" out of him.

Paul responded to Usman, "Challenge accepted" -- adding, "If your boss Dana gives you permission to box me and make more money than you ever have, let me know and we can lace them up. I promise it will be your biggest pay day."

The two continued to trade shots over social media -- with Jake accusing Usman of "backing out."

Which led to Usman responding yet again on Wednesday morning ...

"I understand you think this is a game which is probably why you don’t realize that this is how people Truly get hurt," Usman said.

"I don’t play fighting and I can change your life in the worst way."

He's not kidding ... Usman is coming off one of the most violent KO's of the year when he flattened Jorge Masvidal with a killer right hand at UFC 261.

Usman's manager Ali AbdelAziz certainly wants a fight to happen -- telling us he thinks it would be one of the most successful PPV events in combat sports history.

Peloton is urging customers who bought its Tread+ and Tread machines to stop using the equipment and contact the company for a refund -- a move that comes after several reported injuries, and the alleged death of a child.

Peloton, along with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, announced the voluntary recall Wednesday, and the company's CEO John Foley apologized for not cooperating with the CPSC sooner.

The CPSC had previously warned about the Tread+ being unsafe for children and pets in mid-April, and Foley says, "I want to be clear, Peloton made a mistake in our initial response to the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s request that we recall the Tread+."

He adds ... "We should have engaged more productively with them from the outset. For that, I apologize."

Along with that mea culpa, Peloton has halted the sale and distribution of the Tread+ and is working on modifications to improve safety.

We broke the story ... Peloton was sued by a customer last month who claimed the treadmill's design made it "extremely susceptible" to children and pets getting trapped underneath the machine. The lawsuit alleged one kid had died in an incident involving the machine.

Aaron Rodgers WILL sit out the entire 2021 season if the Packers don't make him happy ... so says Brett Favre, who made it clear his former teammate ain't bluffing about a holdout.

The Hall of Famer explained his thoughts on the Green Bay drama during his "Bolling With Favre" podcast this week ... saying the Packers better fix the issues with their QB -- or else.

"Knowing Aaron, and I think I know him fairly well, if he has a grudge, whether it be against the organization or a player or an arch rival or family, friends -- he ain't budging," Favre said.

"Whatever the issue is, if it's not resolved -- or even if it's resolved but he feels like they got one up on him -- he ain't going to play," Favre continued. "Knowing Aaron, he would sit."

Rodgers currently has a multitude of problems with the Packers org. ... most notably, he's reportedly in a pretty nasty spat over his current contract situation.

But, the QB is also upset over several personnel moves the team has made recently -- including when they picked quarterback Jordan Love in the 1st round of the 2020 NFL Draft instead of a top wideout.

Favre says he's not sure exactly what Rodgers' biggest gripe is with the team ... but he's warning his former squad to fix things ASAP.

"He would forgo a lot of money [by sitting out]," Favre says, "but he's also got a lot of money."

Jim Beglin -- one of the top soccer announcers in the world -- is apologizing after making an "inappropriate and unacceptable" remark when describing a Latino player.

Beglin was calling a Champions League semifinals match between Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City on Tuesday when PSG's Angel Di Maria received a red card for kicking an opposing player.

Di Maria -- who is from Argentina -- was being sent off the pitch, Beglin chalked up the player's outburst on his "Latino temperament."

Yeesh.

There was immediate backlash on social media -- and Beglin apologized during the broadcast moments later.

"When Di Maria was sent off, I described it by using the word Latino," Beglin said on-air ... "For anybody that's taken offense, I do apologize -- sincerely apologize."

After the match, Beglin expanded on his apology ...

"I apologise for my culturally insensitive remarks during the Champions League tie between Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain," Beglin posted on Twitter.

"I wrongly used a racial stereotype. This was inappropriate and unacceptable. Words have a strong impact, and I fully understand the severity of what I said when Angel Di Maria was sent off."

"I will learn from this and be better moving forward."

Tom Brady is now closing in on having as many boats as Super Bowl rings ... the QB says he's adding to his watercraft collection by copping an insane $6 MILLION yacht!!

The NFL superstar revealed last week he's in the process of scoring the Wajer 77 -- a 77-foot superyacht -- so he and his family can take more overnight trips on the sea from their Tampa-area home.

You'll recall ... Brady famously already owns the Wajer 55S -- the smaller Wajer boat he got back in December that he later took to the Bucs' Super Bowl parade in February.

But, Tom says the new yacht he's getting will allow him to do much more than the 55-footer ... and he's PUMPED to add it to his growing list of water rides.

"The 55S is an amazing boat, and it’s been an amazing boat for our family," Brady said during a revealing of the new Wajer 77 yacht last week.

"I think the 77 will be a little bit more suited for what we need it for down here, which is a few more day trips and weekend trips. We spend a lot of time in the Bahamas. So going from the East Coast of Florida across into the Bahamas and around the Bahamas would be really great trips for us as a family."

The yacht is absurd ... it features bedrooms that look like hotel rooms -- with the boat company saying nine people can sleep in it comfortably, along with two crew members.

Brady says it'll bear the same name as the 55-footer -- "Viva A Vida" (a nod to a cause very close to his wife, Gisele) -- and he's hoping it'll get delivered before the end of the year.

Pick a winner, Shaq!!

The NBA legend had a massive bat in the cave while working the desk for "NBA on TNT" on Wednesday ... and decided to go mining for the nose gold live on-air!!!

Shaq, along with Candace Parker, Dwayne Wade and Adam Lefkoe were wrapping up coverage on the Clippers vs. Raptors game ... when a giant green boulder rolled out of O'Neal's nostril.

Shaq's co-hosts tried to signal to the Big Man to wipe his face -- but O'Neal wasn't taking the hint ... and viewers started tweeting about the boogie during the show!!

Finally, the crew just TOLD Shaq to get rid of it -- and the moment he realizes he's been boogying down on-air is hilarious!

"That was the biggest booger I have ever seen in my entire life," Lefkoe told Shaq.

D-Wade pulled out a giant roll of paper towels and told Shaq there's no way in hell a typical Kleenex could handle that job!

Candace was DYING laughing!!!

"I didn't even know it was there," Shaq said ... "Y'all got me!"

Uh oh, Tito.

MMA legend Tito Ortiz is in hot water for allegedly filing for unemployment against the City of Huntington Beach ... despite still drawing a full monthly check.

And why is he drawing a check? BECAUSE HE'S THE MAYOR PRO TEM!

Yeah, not a good look!!

Records show 46-year-old Tito -- real name Jacob C. Ortiz -- filed paperwork with the  California Employment Development Department back on Feb. 22, claiming he hasn't been able to work full time as a City Council member since Feb. 9 due to the COVID pandemic.

FYI, Ortiz won his City Council seat back in November 2020 and was sworn in on Dec. 7.

The job reportedly pays $1,500 per month in salary -- plus Ortiz also receives a stipend and expense allowance.

The problem with Tito's claim ... officials say Tito has NOT taken a pay cut due to the pandemic and his claims appear to be bogus.

Huntington Beach Mayor Kim Carr told NBC4 in L.A., "[Ortiz has] been receiving the same amount of wages and hours."

She also expressed concerns that Ortiz's claim may constitute fraud.

Ortiz may have a perfectly good explanation -- but so far, he hasn't commented publicly about the situation.

Tito made a ton of money during his MMA career -- and flaunts it regularly. He lives in a massive house in Huntington Beach and drives fancy cars around town. Have you seen his boat?

Ortiz -- a huge Trump supporter who once claimed COVID-19 wasn’t real -- has butted heads with many people in the city since taking office.

During his 1st planning meeting on November 5, Mayor Carr refused to let Tito into the building because he refused to wear a mask.

Byron Scott shares LeBron James' hatred for the NBA's play-in tournament ... telling TMZ Sports he wishes the league would cut the crap and stick to its regular postseason format.

Remember, King James teed off on the NBA's postseason rule for 2021 earlier this week ... saying, "Whoever came with that s*** needs to be fired."

We spoke with Scott outside Il Pastaio in Beverly Hills about James' take ... and while the ex-player/coach says nobody needs to be canned over the concept, he makes it clear he thinks the idea sucks.

"I agree with him ... it should be the first 8 teams just like it's been for so many years," Scott tells us. "I don't believe in that play-in and all that stuff."

The play-in format has garnered mixed reviews ... with folks like Stephen Curry loving the idea ... and Mavericks owner Mark Cuban calling it an "enormous mistake."

Byron says it's obvious why guys like the current 8-seed Warriors would welcome the idea ... simply because it gives them a better shot at making the playoffs.

While the current 6-seed Lakers are a sneeze away from being forced into the play-in tournament, Scott says L.A. fans should take a chill pill ... 'cause it'll be "nearly impossible" for them to be sent home early.

"When LeBron gets back and he's healthy, Anthony Davis is back healthy, they're too good."

He added ... "They were together all last year. They know each other well enough. They know what they gotta do, so I'm not worried about it one bit."

Scott thinks the Lakers -- despite struggling with injuries and bad losses late into the season -- can "absolutely" repeat as champions in 2021 ... and has full faith in the organization.

Capitals winger Tom Wilson body slammed Artemi Panarin in the middle of their game on Monday ... rag-dolling the Rangers star on the ice -- and now, EVERYONE's pissed over it.

The wild scene all went down in Madison Square Garden ... wherein the 2nd period of the Washington vs. New York tilt, all hell broke loose near the Capitals' crease.

As a pile built up around the goal mount, 27-year-old Wilson jumped on Rangers star Pavel Buchnevich ... and then slid in a dirty punch that pissed off NY players.

As the Rangers rushed to Pavel's defense ... Wilson fought back hard -- and went to work on throwing Panarin all over the ice.

You can see in footage of the melee, Wilson body slammed the Rangers' 29-year-old goal scorer not once, but TWICE ... and it was violent.

Fortunately, it seems Panarin escaped the fracas without serious injury ... but the NHL world was sent into a frenzy over Wilson's actions regardless.

Despite Wilson receiving 10-minute misconduct ... many on social media called for more severe punishments from the league -- with Rangers coach David Quinn ripping the guy for his actions after the game.

"We all saw it," Quinn said. "There are lines that can't be crossed in this game."

He added, "You got one of the star players in this league now that could have gotten seriously, seriously hurt in that incident ... You all saw what happened, and it happens time and time again with him. Totally unnecessary."

Wilson ended up with the last laugh ... the Caps player not only flexed on the Rangers from the penalty box -- but he helped Washington win the game, 6-3, scoring an empty-net goal late in the contest.

Dallas Cowboys fans are going to LOVE this ...

Dak Prescott says his ankle injury has healed so nicely -- he could play in an NFL game "right now!"

The quarterback -- who famously suffered a horrific lower leg injury last October -- told reporters at an event out in Texas on Tuesday he's now pretty damn close to 100 percent.

"I could go play in a game right now and in my head be very, very successful," the 27-year-old said.

It's an incredible update from the NFL star ... because just 7 months ago, many wondered if he'd ever play football again.

His ankle injury was gruesome -- he was diagnosed with a dislocated and fractured ankle, and it was so bad, networks had to blur replays of the injury.

But, Dak -- who had multiple surgeries to repair the damage -- seemed confident as ever on Tuesday that he'd be back to normal by the time the Cowboys need him for the 2021 season opener in September.

"There's no doubt that when I need to be successful, when I need to do the things that it takes to be on the field, I'll do exactly that and the timing will be right," Dak said.

Tristan Thompson has hired a legal gun to shoot down new cheating allegations from an Instagram model ... whom he calls a liar and is threatening to sue if she keeps yapping.

The Celtics star -- who's back in with Khloe Kardashian now -- had his attorney, Marty Singer, fire off a cease and desist letter to Sydney Chase ... who recently claimed she had sex with Tristan since he and Khloe reunited. She also claims to have salacious texts from him.

In the letter, obtained by TMZ, Singer calls her allegations "malicious defamatory fabrications," adding ... "Mr. Thompson had no relationship with you whatsoever and he never sent you any such texts."

Singer goes on to accuse Chase of making up quotes from Tristan and having no proof to back up her claims, and blasts her by saying, "It is obvious that you are a liar."

The letter concludes by saying if Chase doesn't stop "defaming" Thompson in the media or online, "you do so at your peril since you may find yourself in court attempting to defend your indefensible misconduct."

Thompson's attorney also sent a cease and desist letter to Adam22, host of the "No Jumper" podcast ... on which Chase initially blabbed the cheating allegations.

"No Jumper" has already removed the portion of Sydney's interview where she talks about the alleged fling. We'll see if Chase keeps quiet.

Wanna know how a 62-year-old golfer celebrated the insane feat of hitting TWO hole-in-ones in one round???

DRINKS FOR EVERYONE, BABY!!!

That's how it all played out during a recent round of golf in California for Karen Veseth, who says she sank two aces in a span of less than half an hour back on April 18!!!

Veseth tells PGA.com she was out at Coto de Caza Golf and Racquet Club on the 8th hole of the South Course when she pulled out her driver for the 150-yard par 3.

Veseth says her tee shot went straight, took one bounce, and then plopped into the hole.

Just 23 minutes later, she says she pulled up to the par 3 10th hole ... and sank another ace -- this time with her 9-wood!!!

Veseth says the golf course rewarded her for her shots with two $500 gift cards to the club's bar ... so she went to town!

Veseth says she racked up the $1K bar tab buying drinks and food for everyone ... and couldn't believe how it all went down afterward.

"I don’t really think it’s hit me how amazing it is to make two in one round," Veseth said. "I didn’t know how rare it was until after it happened. I really couldn’t believe it after the second one went in."

NFL star Marcus Peters is UNLOADING on the L.A. Rams ... trashing the team as "disrespectful" following his trade in 2019 ... saying straight-up, "f*** them."

The 28-year-old Ravens cornerback spoke about his unexpected departure on ex-teammate Aqib Talib's "Catchin' Fades" podcast this week ... admitting he was "pissed off" when the Rams turned around and traded for Jalen Ramsey right after he was shipped to Baltimore.

"F*** them, that’s how I was feeling," Peters said. "I’m still feeling like that because I felt disrespected in the sense of, yeah y’all can trade me, that’s a part of the business."

"But, two minutes after that, you bring in another guy who do the same s*** I do, maybe a little bit different."

Of course, Peters is referring to the Rams making a blockbuster trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars ... bringing in Ramsey in exchange for a pair of 1st round picks and a 4th rounder.

Peters says the move didn't make sense, explaining he feels he brought more to the table ... and he believes it may have cost the Rams a Super Bowl win.

"If we play this compare game, I do a little bit more. That s*** was disrespectful to me. If we could have gone a little bit more, we'd have had a [championship] that year, too."

Talib was also traded from the Rams just a few weeks after Ramsey came into the picture ... and Peters is adamant the team had bigger problems outside of the secondary.

"I don't think we was the problem. I don't think that we were the issue that was holding the Rams back from taking the steps of where we needed to get to."

Talib never played another down of NFL football due to injury ... and Peters went on to thrive with the Ravens, earning 8 interceptions in 28 games.

Peters also signed a 3-year, $42 million extension in December 2019 to stay in Baltimore ... which provides a bit of silver lining in the end.

Heartbreaking news coming out of the NHL on Tuesday morning … T.J. Oshie’s father, known as "Coach Oshie," has died after a long battle with Alzheimer’s.

The Washington Capitals star made the announcement on his Twitter page ... revealing Tim Oshie -- who had been fighting Alzheimer's since at least 2012 -- passed away this week at 56 years old.

"It's with a heavy heart today that my family mourns the passing of my Dad 'Coach Oshie,'" 34-year-old T.J. said. "Coach lived life to the fullest and was unanimously loved by everyone who met him."

"Thanks to all the family and friends for their support. Heaven received a legend today. #RIPCoachOsh."

T.J.'s father had a HUGE role in the hockey superstar's life ... he was T.J.'s first coach -- and the Caps' winger clearly loved him dearly.

In fact, T.J. talking about his dad after winning the cup in 2018 is still one of the most heartwarming moments in NHL history.

You'll recall ... while his teammates were marching the Stanley Cup around the arena, T.J. got emotional on television broadcasts.

"My dad's here in the crowd," T.J. said of Tim. "He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and he doesn't remember a lot of stuff but you bet your ass he's going to remember this one."

T.J. did not play in the Capitals' game against the Rangers on Monday night ... with the team announcing the winger was out for personal reasons.

Tennessee Titans draft pick Rashad Weaver has been charged with assault ... stemming from an April incident in which he allegedly punched a woman.

Court records show Weaver -- who was selected by the Titans in the 4th round of the draft -- was hit with a misdemeanor simple assault charge on Friday, just hours before he was drafted on Saturday.

The former Univ. of Pittsburgh star pass rusher is accused of socking a woman in Pittsburgh at around 2:28 AM on April 18, according to court docs obtained by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

In the docs, investigators say Weaver and the woman were involved in a verbal confrontation at the Foxtail bar that escalated.

Investigators say one witness told them they saw Weaver punch the woman. Investigators added another witness told them they did not see Weaver punch her, though they did observe the woman crashing to the ground.

In the docs, an officer noted he did NOT observe an injury to the woman "consistent with a punch to the head."

According to the docs, investigators say the woman was tended to by medics at the scene and was released ... but they say she told them she needed to go to the hospital days later "because she was vomiting."

Investigators in the docs say the woman said she was diagnosed with a concussion at the hospital.

Weaver has a court date on the matter currently set for Oct. 5, 2021.

The 23-year-old was a star at Pitt ... recording 7.5 sacks in his senior season last year.

Carmelo Anthony poured his heart out after becoming the 10th best scorer in NBA history on Monday ... giving a powerful post-game speech about believing in himself and never giving up.

The 36-year-old Blazers star passed Elvin Hayes to reach #10 on the league's all-time scoring list after nailing a 3-point shot early into the 2nd quarter against the Atlanta Hawks ... surpassing the Hall of Famer's career total of 27,313 points.

The moment hit especially hard for Melo -- the future Hall of Famer was considered to be "blackballed" by the league in 2019 ... and he had to fight like hell to prove he was still able to compete at the highest level.

Anthony basked in the monumental moment after hitting his shot ... raising his arms and smiling as he joined names like Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Kobe Bryant on the elite list of the league's best scorers.

Blazers coach Terry Stotts awarded Anthony the game ball after the Blazers' loss to the Hawks ... and Melo opened up about his long journey back to glory.

"A couple years ago I ain’t think I was gonna be in this moment," Anthony said in the locker room. "I was out the league for whatever reason."

"I’m back. I persevered. I stayed strong I stayed true to myself & now I’m here in the Top 10."

Of course, the 10-time All-Star bounced around the league after spending most of his career with the Nuggets and Knicks ... playing one season with the OKC Thunder in 2017-18 and just 10 games with the Houston Rockets in the 2018-19 season before being traded and later waived by the Chicago Bulls in February 2019.

He remained a free agent until the Blazers picked him up in November 2019 ... and he's proven to be a valuable asset around Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum.

Dame spoke about the impact Melo has left on the team over the past 2 seasons ... saying it goes way beyond the court.