TMZ Sports - Page 50

Afghan athletes set to compete in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics next week will NOT be able to represent their country ... this, after the Taliban's takeover over Afghanistan.

"Regrettably, NPC (National Paralympic Committee) Afghanistan will no longer participate in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games," International Paralympics Committee said on Monday.

“Due to the serious ongoing situation in the country, all airports are closed and there is no way for them to travel to Tokyo."

Of course, in the wake of the U.S. retreat, the Taliban has taken over much of the county ... including the capital city of Kabul. Travel out of the country by air is basically impossible.

Two athletes from Afghanistan were scheduled to compete ... Taekwondo player Zakia Khudadadi and track athlete Hossain Rasouli.

And, it would've been historic ... 23-year-old Khudadadi would've been the first female representing the country in the Paralympics.

"I just want to be there with the other athletes from the world and give my best. It is an opportunity to show my ability and I will be so proud to stand with all of those athletes," Khudadadi said last week before the Taliban takeover.

Rasouli and Khudadadi were supposed to arrive in Tokyo on Tuesday ... with the games scheduled to start on August 24.

An MLB game was paused for several moments Monday night ... after a fan ran onto the field and pretended to throw pitches on the mound.

The bizarre scene all went down during the Mets vs. Giants game at Oracle Park in San Francisco ... when a guy in a Padres jersey bolted from his seat and jumped onto the field.

You can see in footage from the ballpark ... the guy ran around the infield grass for several seconds before he hopped onto the bump and went through an entire pre-pitch routine.

He toed the rubber, pretended to shake off Buster Posey's signs ... and then made a move toward second base.

Three security guards, though, eventually corralled the dude and tackled him to the ground ... and then escorted him off the field through the dugout.

Lil Uzi Vert looks like he'd give the Lil Uzi Hurt in the ring ... 'cause the superstar rapper just shared footage of his most recent boxing sesh -- and the dude has HANDS!!!

The 26-year-old Philly native showed off his serious skills while hitting the accuracy pads with a trainer ... saying, "Becoming a better me."

Of course, the timing of the video is interesting -- Uzi called out YK Osiris for a fight last year ... and most recently, Soulja Boy said he'd take on any rapper in the game in a boxing match.

FYI -- Osiris, who is 5'9", previously said he would not fight the 5'4" Uzi due to his height.

Uzi may have to wait in line if he wants the "Pretty Boy Swag" rapper, though -- as we previously reported, Aaron Carter told us last week he'd love to fight Soulja ... even going as far as to say he would "rip him apart."

TMZ Sports has learned Celebrity Boxing has even reached out to Soulja in hopes of making the fight happen.

The celeb fights have really started to take off recently -- with Blueface saying Tekashi 6ix9ine is too scared to fight him shortly after his big win at BKFC 19.

Twitter quickly turned into "The Roast of Travis Kelce" on Monday ... with trolls absolutely ripping the NFL star's new beardless look.

But, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end took the heat in stride ... by simply adding his scruff back to his face with some world-class Photoshop skills!!

31-year-old Kelce was the center of a ton of jokes after rocking his new baby face at practice this week ... with people demanding he grow his facial hair back immediately.

There was a copious amount of cracks on Twitter ... including these gems:

"Travis Kelce looks like Will Ferrell if Will Ferrell was playing Travis Kelce in a movie," one user said ... with another adding, "Omggg I just seen a picture of Travis Kelce without a beard.. I’m shaking crying and throwing up."

One more -- "I went to go see why Travis Kelce was trending and I wish I could unsee it."

Kelce -- who's arguably one of the more handsome fellas in the league when he has a beard -- proved he can laugh through all the hate ... by changing his avatar to include a scribbled James Harden-esque scruff to make everyone happy again.

Jennifer Lopez is at the center of a pretty cheesy war between her current BF and her ex-fiance Alex Rodriguez, who got trolled with a symbolic chicken pizza order ... TMZ has learned.

So, here's the deal ... a certain someone named Ben hit up the Florida-based online pizza joint Bulls Bears & Squares, and plunked down $141.32 to send some pies to A-Rod back on June 17.

It's unclear exactly how many pizzas were ordered, but the joint's owner, Samuel Tadros, confirms the only topping requested was chicken. He says their Chicago stuffed jalapeño ranch chicken deep dish pizza is one of the most popular, and they don't come cheap -- $140 will get ya about 3 pies when you add shipping costs!!!

Anyway, back to the trolling culprit -- Bulls Bears & Squares tells us the Ben who ordered gave his name as "Ben Afflec." We're not thinking J Lo's Ben Affleck was actually responsible ... why would he use his real name, minus one letter?

But, it's clear some prankster got a kick out of sending the pizzas to A-Rod's 9,200-sq.-ft. summer pad in the Hamptons -- and possibly making him think Ben and J Lo were messing with him.

BTW, the troll knew the correct home address for Alex's rented mansion ... so, they did their homework.

One thing they screwed up was ... no note with the pizza delivery! So, it's hard to say exactly what the troll was insinuating with the topping. Calling A-Rod a chicken, perhaps, but about what??? 🤷🏽‍♂️

The woman accusing Trevor Bauer of sexual assault testified in court against the MLB star on Monday ... telling a judge the Dodgers pitcher treated her "like a rag doll" during two sexual encounters in April and May.

The 27-year-old -- who's seeking to obtain a permanent restraining order against Bauer -- spoke on the stand for roughly 4 hours in a Los Angeles courtroom ... and explained in graphic detail how she says Bauer sexually assaulted her.

The woman was questioned by her attorneys (she's expected to be cross-examined by Bauer's legal team as proceedings continue Tuesday) ... and said she was flat-out in "so much pain" after her experiences with the pitcher.

"He was treating me like I wasn't a human being," the woman said.

Bauer's accuser also showed a judge how she says the Dodgers star choked her unconscious with her own hair during their two encounters.

Bauer, meanwhile, sat in the courtroom for the hearing ... and was described as quiet and stoic as the questioning of his accuser unfolded.

Bauer -- who has been adamant the sexual encounters with his accuser were entirely consensual -- is expected to take the stand at some point during the proceedings this week.

As we previously reported, Bauer's accuser obtained a temporary restraining order against the 30-year-old in June ... and is now looking for a judge to make it a permanent one.

NFL. UFC. WWE.

Those are three of the lucrative options U.S. Olympian Gable Steveson reportedly has on the table after winning a gold medal in freestyle wrestling at the 2020 Games.

TMZ Sports ran into Seth Rollins at LAX ... and we asked the WWE Superstar if pro wrestling would be a good career move for 21-year-old Steveson.

"I mean, we’d love to have him. He seems like an incredible athlete, and decent dude. And, you know, we've had some luck with Olympic gold medalists before, so why not?" Rollins said.

Seth is referring to Kurt Angle ... who won a gold medal in wrestling at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta before ultimately joining WWF (now WWE) in 1998 -- where he became a legend in the squared circle.

But, freestyle wrestling and pro wrestling are VERY different sports ... which is why Rollins is offering Gable some assistance.

"I do have a wrestling school, Black and Brave Wrestling Academy, so if he wants to move to Davenport, Iowa for three months, we'll get him ready."

Of course, since defeating the #1 seed in the gold medal match in Tokyo with fractions of a second remaining, 6'1", 260+ lb. Steveson says he's received interest from the NFL (Ravens, Bills), UFC, Bellator, and WWE ... to name a few.

Gable hasn't ruled out signing with any of the organizations ... making it clear if they write a big enough check, he's interested in football -or- wrestling -or- fighting.

Halle Berry is getting dragged into the legal ring by a former UFC fighter ... Cat Zingano is suing, claiming Halle offered her a movie role but was ultimately snubbed.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Cat claims she met with Halle back in July, 2019 to talk about a movie HB was directing, "Bruised," and says Halle told her she was perfect for the project.

Cat claims Halle told her to keep her schedule clear because film production was on the horizon, but she says the UFC came calling soon thereafter with a big fight offer.

In the docs, Cat claims she talked to Halle about the fight offer and claims Halle advised she pass on the fight if she wanted to be in the film, citing liability concerns from the movie's insurer.

Cat claims she agonized over the decision -- the movie versus the big fight -- and says she ultimately turned down the fight.  She says the UFC then released her from her contract.

According to the suit, Cat claims she looped Halle in on her decision not to fight and her subsequent release from the UFC, and says she was shocked and dismayed when Halle told her she could no longer be involved in the movie because she was no longer fighting in the UFC. She claims she was told the movie could only work with UFC fighters.

Cat -- who's currently a Bellator fighter -- claims Halle has cut off all communications from her. She's suing for damages, claiming she relied on Halle’s promise and ended up getting screwed.

U.S. soccer legend Hope Solo says Megan Rapinoe was so passionate about getting their squad to kneel, she would "almost bully" her teammates into joining the demonstration.

The 40-year-old former goalie joined "All of US: The U.S. Women's Soccer Show" podcast when she was asked about former President Trump's criticism of the "Leftist Maniacs" on Team USA.

Solo -- a World Cup champ and 2x Olympic gold medalist -- admitted that kneeling for The Star Spangled Banner was a polarizing issue.

"I think the kneeling thing can be very divisive. I do appreciate the fact that there's no National Anthem right before the game. To really remove that decision from the athletes. Because that's very tough, it's tough," Solo says.

"I've seen Megan Rapinoe almost bully players into kneeling because she really wants to stand up for something in her particular way. But it's our right as Americans to do it in whatever way we're comfortable with."

In 2016, Rapinoe became the first women's soccer player to kneel ... in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick.

Of course, the women's team was on the receiving end of a verbal attack from Trump ... who blamed the teams lack of success (the bronze medal winning team were favorites to take home gold) on their "radical left politics."

"If our soccer team, headed by a radical group of Leftist Maniacs, wasn't woke, they would have won the Gold Medal instead instead of Bronze," DT wrote in a statement blasting the team.

"Woke means you lose, everything that is woke goes bad, and our soccer team certainly has."

Amazing news from Tyson Fury ... the boxing champ says his newborn daughter is out of the ICU and heading home soon!!!

The 33-year-old and his wife, Paris, gave birth to the baby earlier this month ... but have asked for prayers repeatedly after the little girl was forced into intensive care almost immediately after birth.

Fury, though, said on Monday his daughter has fought through it all ... and is now nearly ready to leave the hospital.

"Just here feeding my little girl," Fury said while holding Athena in his arms. "Out of the ICU, on the mend -- she'll be going home soon."

"Thank you to God and thank you to all of the doctors and nurses out there."

The little girl is Tyson and Paris' sixth child ... and third daughter.

It's unclear what ailments she was battling.

Sacramento Kings forward Chimezie Metu was so pissed after being fouled during a summer league game Sunday ... he threw a wild punch that connected with his opponent's forehead.

The fight all went down in Sacramento's game against the Dallas Mavericks in Vegas ... when Eugene Omoruyi collided with Metu while the Kings player was going up for a dunk attempt.

In the broadcast footage from the arena, you can see Metu was so upset after being knocked into ... he cocked back his right hand and violently punched Omoruyi in the face.

Cameras showed the haymaker -- albeit with a lot of Metu's elbow -- landed flush ... but, fortunately for both parties, the two were separated before any more fists could fly.

Metu and Omoruyi were eventually ejected from the tilt ... and you can see in the clip, Omoruyi was actually in a bit of pain after getting hit.

But, Mavs summer league coach Greg St. Jean told reporters after the game he expected Omoruyi to be just fine.

Unclear if either Metu or Omoruyi will be suspended from summer league action going forward.

As for the result of the game, Metu's Kings got the last laugh there ... with Sacramento ending up beating the Mavericks, 86-70.

Ex-NFL star James Harrison says there's no need for a stunt double on the set of his new wrestling TV show ... revealing he does his ALL his own moves -- and it hurts!!!

As we previously reported, the former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker is taking his talents from the gridiron to the screen ... kickstarting a career in acting after 15 years in the NFL.

Harrison plays a journeyman wrestler named Apocalypse in the new Starz show, "Heels" ... which is about 2 brothers going to war with their rivals over their father's wrestling promotion in a small Georgia town.

Harrison joined "TMZ Live" to talk about his new gig ... and he says he's really doing all the complex moves himself!!

"The pain is real but the actual competition of it is not," Harrison said.

"The things that we're doing, we're actually working with each other to make sure that we do it safely and make it look painful as possible."

The 43-year-old ain't afraid to do anything -- from "jumping off the top rope, landing on someone, someone landing on you, taking a clothesline, taking a bump, when you hit your back on the mat, whatever -- that is real!

"That's real pain!!!"

In fact, 6-foot, 242-lb. Harrison tells us the first time he flipped out of the ring ... injuring his right knee, which required a 2-month break from shooting.

It's obvious Harrison -- who won 2 Super Bowls with the Steelers -- is taking acting very seriously ... and he's coming for The Rock's job!

Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson aren't together again ... even though they've been in each other's company a lot lately.

Despite recent reports that have surfaced claiming the exes are back on again -- and that Khloe is "desperate" to make it work, despite repeated instances of cheating -- sources that are actually plugged into the situation tell TMZ ... all of that is a load of baloney.

We're told Khloe and Tristan are not romantically linked whatsoever ... regardless of recent pics of them side by side with True. Just last week, they took their daughter to a movie, and exited together ... looking like a happy fam.

It's not the first time they've been photographed in close proximity since the split -- remember, they both attended True's dance class earlier this year -- and we're told it won't be the last time either ... as they're committed to presenting a united front for True's sake.

Our sources say Mom and Dad are fully aligned as parents, and want True to see her parents maintaining a healthy relationship -- which apparently means semi-frequent joint outings.

Naomi Osaka's first press conference since her French Open controversy did not go well ... the tennis superstar broke down in tears and needed a break after a media member reportedly asked her an "aggressively toned question."

Osaka -- who pulled out of the French Open back in May after she was fined for skipping post-match media sessions -- fielded several questions Monday ahead of her appearance at the Western & Southern Open in Ohio, before everything got derailed.

According to tennis reporter Ben Rothenberg, a media member asked Osaka "a fairly aggressively toned question about how she benefits from a high-media profile but doesn't like talking to media."

That's when Osaka began to cry.

She wiped away tears with her jacket sleeve, pulled her hat down over her face ... and eventually needed to step away from the podium.

Rothenberg reports Osaka did come back to finish off the press conference ... but added, "the aggressive tone from an unfamiliar person, after Naomi had already spoken in an earlier answer about how that's what she finds difficult in press conferences, got things going completely awry."

Osaka's agent, Stuart Duguid, slammed the reporter in a statement following the presser ... saying, "The bully at the Cincinnati Enquirer is the epitome of why player / media relations are so fraught right now."

"Everyone on that Zoom will agree that his tone was all wrong and his sole purpose was to intimidate. Really appalling behavior."

Duguid added, "And this insinuation that Naomi owes her off-court success to the media is a myth – don’t be so self-indulgent."

As we previously reported, Osaka said she did not want to do media sessions during the French Open due to mental health issues, and later revealed she's battled "long bouts of depression" the past few years.

Soulja Boy heard Aaron Carter call him out loud and clear ... firing back at the pop star with some fighting words of his own ... saying, "I'll beat the candy out his pockets!!"

But, it isn't just talk ... TMZ Sports has learned there is a legit offer on the table for both guys to step in the ring and duke it out!!

Of course, the "That's How I Beat Shaq" crooner told us last week he'd be down to step in the ring again ... saying he'd rip the rapper apart.

33-year-old AC added he felt 31-year-old Soulja would never respond ... claiming he feels threatened by all his success and wouldn't want to be embarrassed with a big L.

But the "Pretty Boy Swag" MC wasted no time clapping back at Carter on social media ... and yeah, the dude went OFF.

Sources close to the situation tell us Celebrity Boxing has reached out to Soulja in hopes of making a deal happen ... but so far, he hasn't responded.

Remember, AC accepted a challenge against Lamar Odom earlier this year ... but came up short and got knocked out in the 2nd round.

Soulja has flirted with taking boxing matches in the past -- he almost entered the ring with Chris Brown in 2017 ... and more recently, went back and forth with Jake Paul.

Dave Roberts' first in-game experience with Max Scherzer on the Dodgers wasn't exactly a pleasant one ... 'cause L.A.'s manager revealed the ace cursed him out for patting him on the butt during the outing.

For real.

L.A.'s headman explained the funny situation during the broadcast of the Dodgers' game against the Mets on Sunday night ... saying it all went down on Aug. 5.

Scherzer -- on the mound for L.A. for the first time since being traded from the Nationals -- was hurling a gem ... so Roberts said in between innings, he gave the pitcher congratulatory butt slaps.

But, Roberts says at some point during the evening ... he heard Scherzer mutter something after one of the playful taps.

"I'm like, did he just say, 'Don't f-ing touch me?'" Roberts said.

Turns out, Scherzer did ... with Roberts explaining the ace told him afterward, "This is my job. I don't need any kind of congratulations or support 'cause that's my job."

So, Roberts is now avoiding contacting Scherzer at all costs during games ... which cameras actually captured after the right-hander headed to the dugout later Sunday night.