TMZ Sports - Page 50

Ric Flair's barbed wire bat -- the one he used to smash and bloody Mick Foley's face at SummerSlam in 2006 -- just sold for nearly $20K at auction.

TMZ Sports has learned the Lucille-like bat, which was on the block at Goldin Auctions, was bid on 17 times ... and ultimately raked in $19,680.

The starting bid was $3,500.

The match is pretty iconic ... Flair repeatedly hit Foley in the face with the bat, turning him into a bloody pulp. But, Ric wouldn't stop, demanding Mick say, "I quit!"

It was the culmination of a rivalry between Naitch and Foley that lasted more than a decade.

As for the bat itself ... it's an Alex Rodriguez model Louisville Slugger C271 -- wrapped in barbed wire.

And, you know the bat's legit ... 'cause it's coming directly from the folks at WWE -- who have also included a letter of authenticity.

There's more really cool wrestling memorabilia that sold ... like Big Boss Man's match-used nightstick from SummerSlam in 1988. It sold for $6,765.

There's also Brutus Beefcake's shears from his '89 SummerSlam match ... when he teamed up with Hulk Hogan and took on Randy Savage. The scissors went for $8,400.

Amadeu Campos Silva -- a promising young bull rider -- died after a "terrible accident" at an event in California on Sunday, the Professional Bull Riders announced. He was 22 years old.

Campos was riding a bull named Classic Man during the championship round of the PBR Velocity Tour in Fresno ... when he was bucked off after about 5 seconds.

As he went down, Campos' spur got stuck in his rope, which led to Classic Man stepping on his chest. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he sadly passed away.

Campos was born in Brazil ... and came to the U.S. after competing in PBR Brazil in 2017 and 2018 to pursue a World Championship.

He also competed in the PBR World Finals in 2020.

"Amadeu Campos Silva was a son, a brother, a soccer teammate, and a smiling presence in the locker room, here in the U.S. pursuing his bull-riding dream," Sean Gleason, PBR's CEO, said on Twitter.

"Amadeu was a rising star in our sport; a cowboy with so much potential on and off the dirt," Gleason added.

"The entire PBR and western sports family extend our thoughts, prayers, and heartfelt condolences to Amadeu's family and friends."

"Please say a prayer tonight for them, and may Amadeu's soul eternally rest in peace."

Cam Newton is a Patriot no more ... New England has released the veteran QB in a shocking move.

The Pats announced the cut on Tuesday ... paving the way for rookie Mac Jones to be the starter in New England going forward.

Newton hasn't exactly lit it up for the Pats in his time under center -- he threw for just 2,657 yards and 8 TDs along with 10 interceptions in 15 games last season.

And, his preseason work this summer wasn't exactly inspiring either.

Still, Cam inked a 1-year, $5.1 million contract this offseason to play for the Pats ... and all indications were he would begin the season as QB1 in New England.

As for what's next for the Pats now, it's clear Bill Belichick is ready to ride with Jones -- the former Alabama superstar who the team drafted with the #15 overall pick in the spring.

Jones had a very good preseason -- throwing no interceptions and completing 36 of his 52 pass attempts in three games.

It's unclear, meanwhile, if Newton will find much interest from NFL teams now that he's a free agent.

Naomi Osaka just made one young fan's day at the U.S. Open on Monday ... by gifting her a collectible Olympics pin as a "thank you" for showing so much support during her first-round match!!

The 23-year-old superstar advanced to the second round after winning in straight sets just hours ago ... and the little girl was cheering for her the entire time!!

Osaka -- who had an early exit from the 2020 Olympic Games -- said she had a few trading pins left over from her time in Tokyo ... so she decided to give an extra to her biggest fan in the stands!!

FYI -- Olympic pin trading is a tradition that goes back more than a hundred years ... with athletes, reporters and fans all swapping the little items during the Summer and Winter Games.

Osaka was asked about the gesture in her post-match interview ... saying, "I just heard her when I was playing my match and she was so cute."

"So, thank you for cheering me on!"

The camera then showed the fan smiling from ear-to-ear -- at least, we're assuming, 'cause the whole mask situation -- and waving back at Osaka.

"I thought it would be a nice little memory," the #3-ranked player added.

The Cristiano Ronaldo move from Juventus to Manchester United is official ... and the soccer superstar couldn't be happier about it, saying, "I'm back where I belong!"

Man U formally announced the Ronaldo signing Tuesday ... and it wasn't long after that Cristiano got emotional about running it back with the team he had so much success with from 2003 through 2009.

"Everyone who knows me, knows about my never ending love for Manchester United," Ronaldo said in a statement on his Instagram page.

"The years I spent in this club were absolutely amazing and the path we've made together is written in gold letters in the history of this great and amazing institution."

The footballer continued, "I can’t even start to explain my feelings right now, as I see my return to Old Trafford announced worldwide. It’s like a dream come true."

Ronaldo became a legend in his first stint with Manchester United, winning his first-ever Golden Boot award as well as his first-ever Ballon d’Or honor with the Red Devils.

Jay Cutler might be having problems playing the field after splitting with Kristin Cavallari, but she's doing just fine ... TMZ's learned she's dating a big country star.

According to our sources ... Kristin and singer Chase Rice have been seeing each other for about 2 months now, though we're told it's pretty low-key and casual so far.

Our sources say they've been talking and hanging out pretty regularly, getting to know each other, but seem to be heading toward that territory best described as smitten with each other.

We're told Chase and Kristin were introduced through a mutual friend in Nashville -- where they both live most of the time -- and hit it off, but their relationship isn't exclusive just yet.

As we reported ... Cutler recently admitted he's not had much fun back in the dating world since he and Cavallari officially called it quits in April 2020, describing the scene as "hard as hell."

Jay described the many challenges he's faced, including the major change of using apps and social media platforms to court women, adding ... "I'm at a different phase of my life now with kids and priorities are just changed."

Speaking of kids ... our sources with knowledge of Kristin's situation say Chase hasn't met hers yet.

MMA fighter Kyle "Boom" Reyes -- who trained out of Randy Couture's gym in Las Vegas -- died on Monday, according to various reports ... days after his family said he underwent surgery.

He was 30 years old.

Reyes was born in Guam ... and made his professional MMA debut in 2009 for the Pacific Xtreme Combat promotion.

Kyle -- who lost to current UFC champ Alexander Volkanovski in 2014 -- fought for different promotions across the world, and had a pro record of 15-7 at the time of his passing.

He trained out of Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas.

It's unclear exactly what caused Kyle's passing ... but his family said he underwent surgery to repair a torn bicep and broken hand last Friday.

However, Reyes was found unresponsive in his room the following day, and was rushed to the hospital, according to his family.

Once in the hospital, Reyes -- who was in the ICU -- developed pneumonia and suffered a collapsed lung.

According to the last update before his death, it seemed Kyle's condition was improving ... sadly, however, he passed Monday.

The MMA community has already begun showing love for Reyes ... with Trevin Jones, Daniel Rodriguez, Cody Stamann, Dan Ige and Alex Volkanovski, among the many fighters offering their respects online.

Reyes' family has set up a GoFundMe.

R.I.P.

Jake Paul just beat future UFC Hall of Famer Tyron Woodley via a split decision victory -- and then the fighters seemingly agreed to a rematch in the ring.

24-year-old Paul fought a good fight ... and was the more active fighter over the 8 rounds.

Woodley had his share of positive moments ... stunning Paul near the middle of the 4th round.

After the fight, during the post-fight interview -- which went down in front of a packed house at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland (Jake's hometown) -- the guys came face-to-face and seemed to agree to a rematch.

The condition ... if Woodley got the "I Love Jake Paul" tattoo done.

The action wasn't just in the ring ... stars like Dave Chappelle, Dustin Poirier, Andre Berto and a bunch of Olympians from Ohio were in the building.

Chappelle was REALLY into the fight ... jumping up-and-down behind the ring for nearly the entire scrap.

Paul said Woodley put up a better fight than he expected ... but called the split decision "bulls**t."

And, Jake won in more way than one ... sharing a post-fight kiss with GF Julia Rose.

As for the rest of the card ... Tyson Fury's bro, Tommy Fury won a 4-round unanimous decision victory over Anthony Taylor.

After getting his 1st dub on American soil, Tommy called out Jake ... challenging him to a fight.

Lil Nas X wants the world to know he has no beef with Tony Hawk -- 'cause the rapper hung out and skated with the legend ... just days after calling out the double standard between his Satan shoes and Hawk's blood-painted skateboard.

Of course, Hawk teamed up with Liquid Death to sell limited edition "Blood Deck" skateboards painted with his blood earlier this month ... which was met with not nearly as much backlash as LNX's kicks with bloody soles.

While Hawk's boards aren't laden with satanic imagery, LNX's shoes are ... but he still felt the outrage was actually for another reason, not the fact that they were demonic as hell (ha).

"Now that tony hawk has released skateboards with his blood painted on them, and there was no public outrage, are y’all ready to admit y’all were never actually upset over the blood in the shoes? LNX said on Twitter, "and maybe u were mad for some other reason?"

But, the two made it clear they are not about to get in an all-out bloodbath over the controversial items ... with LNX rocking his Satan Shoes and Hawk holding his blood board as they posed for a pic!!

Hawk even came up with a clever name for the duo ... saying, "blood brothers?"

Hawk and LNX made a TikTok together ... with the artist pretending to ride down a halfpipe.

Despite the outrage over the blood, the guys aren't doing anything too groundbreaking -- after all, legendary guitarist Steve Vai did this way back in 2000 with his "JEM Y2K DNA" models, which are super collectible and painted with his own blood, too.

JuJu ... WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver and influencer JuJu Smith-Schuster just joined the biggest craze on the internet -- the milk crate challenge -- days before the NFL season is about to kick off ... and we're concerned.

If you've been living under a rock, the crate challenge is when people try to climb unstable stacks of plastic bins ... balancing on as many as 7 at one time.

It's a seriously dangerous act -- some people have reported major injuries from trying it -- and even social media platform TikTok has banned the content due to safety concerns.

But, that hasn't stopped JuJu from getting in on the action ... with video surfacing Monday of the 24-year-old recently attempting the challenge.

Thankfully, JuJu was able to make it across the line of crates without a problem ... but the big issue is that there's a chance it could NOT have ended well.

Granted, it looks like there were a couple of guys ready to catch him if he fell ... but still, who knows what coulda happened.

BTW -- JuJu recently signed a 1-year, $8,000,000 deal with the Steelers ... and plays an important role in the team's offense.

He's come under fire in the past for antics like posting TikToks in the locker room and dancing on opposing teams' logos.

With Week 1 approaching, it sure seems like there are much safer ways to pass the time.

Dozens of Jimmy Hayes' fans paid their respects to the ex-NHL player at his funeral on Monday ... emotionally saluting the former hockey player with their sticks at the procession.

New Jersey Devils star P.K. Subban was in attendance at St. Ann's Church in Massachusetts for the ceremonies ... and captured the amazing tribute.

You can see in Subban's footage, people lined up on both sides of the street -- with Dorchester Youth Hockey players wearing their jerseys and holding their sticks to pay homage to the former pro.

Subban also shared some photos of kids holding custom-made Hayes jerseys at the salute.

As we previously reported, Hayes tragically died in Milton, Mass. last week at just 31 years old. A cause of death has not yet been publicly revealed.

Jimmy's wife, Kristen, and his brother, Philadelphia Flyers star Kevin Hayes, gave emotional speeches at the funeral Monday ... with Kristen saying, "You were simply the best. There's no other way to put it."

"The boys and I were your whole world," she added. "Every morning you would wake me up with, 'Hi, big momma' or, 'Big momma looking hot.' You said you felt bad that the boys will have the hot mom in the pickup line at school."

Kristen continued, "I will try my best to fill your shoes, but I know it's nearly impossible."

Jimmy played winger for 7 seasons ... logging ice time with the Blackhawks, Panthers, Bruins and Devils. He retired in 2019.

"Tyron, let your hands go! F*** it!!!"

If you were wondering what Dave Chappelle was yelling during the Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley fight, TMZ Sports has you covered ... 'cause we just got video of the comedy legend in the stands Sunday night -- and it's hilarious!!!

Of course, DC had ringside seats for the big event ... which means his every move was picked up by cameras on the Pay-Per-View broadcast -- from yelling to clapping and REALLY getting into the fight.

No matter how loud Chappelle was cheering, there was no way the mics were gonna be able to pick up exactly what he was saying ... but after checking out these vids, taken by Anthony Jones, we wish they did!

Before the fight, DC led an Ohio State-classic "OH-IO" chant -- after all, the fight was in Cleveland ... so we're sure there were plenty of Buckeyes in the stands.

Next, he took his focus to the fighters ... giving out some hilarious advice.

"Jake, grab his cheeks!!!," DC said, which is a reference to Paul recently complimenting Tyron's "big booty" and saying he wanted to squeeze his ass.

DC was then shouting for Woodley to let his hands go and throw some punches ... saying, "From Ferguson, Missouri, let them hands go!"

"This is for the culture, this is for the culture!!!"

Chappelle's cheerleading didn't really help, though ... as Jake secured a split decision win.

But, DC didn't seem too worried about it -- he actually linked up with the Paul bros after the fight and said he wanted free tickets to the rest of their fights!!!

NFL QB-turned-H.S. football coach Trent Dilfer is expressing his regret over a wild blowup on one of his players over the weekend ... saying he was flat-out wrong to shove and yell at the kid.

49-year-old Dilfer -- who won Super Bowl XXXV with the Baltimore Ravens -- went viral for unleashing on Lipscomb Academy star Beau Dawson (yeah, NFL kicker Phil Dawson's son) ... getting in his face and pushing him in an attempt to get him to sit on the bench during a game on Friday.

Now, Dilfer is apologizing for the whole incident ... releasing a statement via the team and praising the young player in the process.

"First and foremost, I take full responsibility as the head coach and leader of our team for not de-escalating an emotional situation with one of our players, Beau Dawson," Dilfer said.

"Beau is one of our finest student-athletes and embodies all the characteristics we are looking for in our Mustang players. Beau plays the game with the right kind of passion and is an inspiration to our other players."

He added ... "During a moment of frustration and in an attempt to get our team to play with more discipline, I unfairly singled Beau out."

Dilfer also defends Dawson from public criticism ... saying he should have done a better job controlling his own emotions during the incident.

An hour before Jake Paul and Tyron Woodley took the ring Sunday night, a man contacted police and said he planted 17 bombs around the arena and was going to blow the place up, TMZ Sports has learned.

According to a police incident report, cops got a call from a person claiming to be from Afghanistan around 10:15 PM ... stating he placed pipe bombs underneath the stage, in the bathrooms and under seats at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, where the fight went down.

The man -- who said the bombs were going to go off in minutes -- told cops he was targeting non-believers, who he believed should be killed. He told police Paul was a non-believer.

The caller stated he planted the devices 1.5 hours before the event started.

At one point, the caller told authorities they should evacuate the arena ... as the bombs were about to detonate.

FYI, there were reportedly about 16,000 fans in the buiilding.

Police dispatched the bomb unit -- including a bomb sniffing K9 -- and swept the building.

Thankfully, it seems it was an empty threat or terrible prank ... 'cause no explosive devices were located.

A police spokesperson told us no arrests have been made ... and the investigation is ongoing.

Jake Paul went from boxing to playing tonsil hockey after his big win over Tyron Woodley ... with the fighter sharing a sexy makeout with his girlfriend, Julia Rose!!!

The 24-year-old was all smiles following his split decision dub over the ex-UFC champ ... hitting up Barley House in Cleveland shortly after taking care of business in the ring.

Jake, Julia, Logan Paul and even the Problem Bot showed up for the party ... as well as UFC star Sean O'Malley.

The bash was nuts ... with cardboard cutouts of Jake's face, sparklers and a bunch of booze.

But, the biggest highlight of the night is the snap Jake posted on his Instagram early Monday morning ... showing off a steamy and sloppy kiss with his GF.

"This is what winning looks like," Jake captioned the shot ... and yeah, he ain't lying.

Of course, Julia was in the stands cheering on her man as he kept his undefeated record alive ... and the hot couple shared another smooch right after the win.

The whole city was electric all night ... even LeBron James tweeted his regrets missing out on the fun.

"CLEVELAND IS JUMPING!!," King James said. "Should have flew back to the crib."

Mets exec Sandy Alderson is furious with Javy Baez and other players for giving thumbs down gestures to fans this weekend ... with the team prez calling the moves "unprofessional."

Baez, Kevin Pillar and Francisco Lindor all made the hand movements during their win over the Washington Nationals on Sunday ... with Baez later explaining it's all 'cause NY fans have booed them during their recent slump.

"They gotta be better," Baez said of Mets fans after saying he does hear the jeers after poor at-bats at the plate.

"I play for the fans and I love the fans, but if they're going to do that, they're just putting more pressure on the team and that's not what we want."

"We’re not machines," Baez added. "We’re going to struggle. We’re going to struggle seven times out of 10"

Not long after Baez finished giving those comments ... Alderson made it known he would NOT accept the gesture from the team's new superstar or anyone else on the squad going forward.

"These comments, and any gestures by him or other players with a similar intent, are totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated," Alderson said.

"Mets fans are understandably frustrated over the team’s recent performance. The players and the organization are equally frustrated, but fans at Citi Field have every right to express their own disappointment. Booing is every fan’s right."

73-year-old Alderson added he will be meeting with Baez and the rest of the team and staff to make sure they get the message.

"The Mets will not tolerate any player gesture that is unprofessional in its meaning or is directed in a negative way toward our fans," Alderson said, adding, "Mets fans are loyal, passionate, knowledgeable and more than willing to express themselves."

"We love them for every one of these qualities."