TMZ Sports - Page 50

WWE boss Vince McMahon is opening up about a contentious 20-year-old HBO interview he did with Bob Costas ... saying if Costas were bigger, the two would have come to blows.

The revelation was made in Jim Miller's new book Tinderbox: HBO's Ruthless Pursuit of New Frontiers ... where both McMahon and Costas recalled the combative convo that apparently left a bitter taste in Vince's mouth even to this day.

During the 2001 interview, Costas drilled Vince with a wide range of questions on everything from the XFL's ratings to certain aspects of WWE that he found distasteful ... and, well, McMahon wasn't too thrilled about it.

“Once we were doing the interview, he kept interrupting me and interrupting me, and bringing up topics that had nothing to do with what we were supposed to be talking about,” McMahon said.

“He kept trying to do the ‘I gotcha’ kind of thing. It was clear he didn’t want to hear any of my answers."

The interview got so heated at one point, that McMahon actually sat up in his chair, told Costas to shut his mouth ... and accused the legendary sportscaster of not knowing what he was talking about.

“The other problem was that Bob is so freaking pompous. The entire time he acted like he was above me and was just using me to show how great he was," Vince said.

"I was sitting there really pissed off and started thinking, I wish he wasn’t 5-feet high and 140 pounds. If he was 6-5 and 295, he would deserve to get the s**t beat out of him. I could have really given them some great television.”

Speaking of great TV ... Costas admits he knew the two were having a memorable moment, but contends his questions were coming from a legitimate place and not a malicious one.

McMahon was so furious over it all that he stormed off after the interview ... slamming doors in the process, according to Costas.

The two would go on to have another interview a year later ... however, that encounter was far less memorable than the first one.

Tyreek Hill says he's still gunning to race Usain Bolt ... telling TMZ Sports he's so confident he'll beat the track legend, he's down to put his Super Bowl ring on the line!!

"Me and you can just meet at a local high school," Hill said in a message to Bolt. "I can come to Jamaica. We can get it poppin' on the YouTube. Huh!?"

If you're unfamiliar, Bolt and Hill have gone back and forth about a potential race for months -- with Hill initially calling the sprinter out earlier this year.

Hill -- arguably the fastest man in the NFL -- accused Bolt of ducking him ... and told him to "stop hiding" in a fiery social media post.

Bolt eventually fired back, telling us he'd be willing to put his gold medal on the line in a race if Hill was willing to put his SB LIV ring in the mix.

And, when we spoke with Hill a few days ago -- he told us he's ready to meet those conditions to get the race moving.

"Right now, it's getting kind of personal," Hill said. "Right now, it's about my ego right now. Because I feel like he just tried me."

Hill continued, "First of all, my momma always told me you never let nobody talk trash to you if they're wearing a tight shirt like that. Like, his Puma shirt was choking him. I'm not fittin' to allow that to happen."

Even though he's been retired for years, Bolt's still got to be the favorite in the race (right?) -- after all, Terrell Owens told us he thinks it'd actually be a laugher.

NBA forward and sneakerhead P.J. Tucker is honoring fashion icon Virgil Abloh with his shoe choice for Monday night's game ... rocking a pair of Off-White Jordan 5s with a special tribute.

The Heat baller showed off the kicks prior to taking the court against the Denver Nuggets ... which have messages etched in Sharpie -- "Thanks for a lifetime of inspiration" and "Virgil will always be here."

The gesture comes one day after Louis Vuitton announced the passing of its artistic director ... a loss that affected tons of celebs across sports and entertainment.

Tucker actually posted a pair of Off-White Jordan 2s the day before Abloh's passing was announced ... which read "Air Tucker" and "Virgil 2021."

Abloh was beloved in the sports world ... with athletes like Karl-Anthony Towns, LeBron James, Odell Beckham and more speaking about his tragic death.

"Rest In Paradise LEGEND!!!," LeBron said Sunday ... with KAT adding, "Stunned….Rest In Power"

Enes Kanter will now be Enes Kanter Freedom -- the Boston Celtics player just announced he's legally changing his name as he's sworn in as a U.S. citizen.

The 29-year-old hooper is set to officially become an American after passing his citizenship test earlier this month ... a journey that's been more than half a decade in the making.

Enes will be adding "Freedom" to his name as he becomes an American ... moving Kanter to his middle name. He says the new last name will appear on his jersey starting Tuesday night.

Remember, Kanter told us back in 2019 he was considering taking an American name once he became a citizen ... and what's better than Freedom?!

"Dream came true," Kanter told CNN on Monday. "It's been 6 years that I've been trying to become an American citizen. finally, I can call somewhere home."

Kanter has been outspoken against the government in his home country of Turkey ... specifically president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who he's referred to as the "Hitler of our generation."

As a result, Kanter was labeled a terrorist in Turkey -- his passport was revoked and there was a warrant out for his arrest.

Now that he'll be an American, Kanter can start fresh.

"Today is probably the biggest day of my life."

He added ... "To me, America gave me everything. America gave me home, gave me family. My teammates became my brothers like my real family. This means so much to me."

Kanter has most recently criticized China's treatment of the Uyghur community ... calling on LeBron James and Nike to take a stand against the country's internment camps.

As for the name change, Kanter says "freedom is the greatest thing a human being can have. That's why I wanted to make that word a part of me and carry it everywhere I go."

Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Trysten Hill has just been suspended 2 games ... and it's all thanks to a punch he threw at Las Vegas Raiders guard John Simpson after Thursday's Thanksgiving game.

The NFL just made the punishment official on Monday ... saying Hill's suspension will start when the Cowboys take on the Saints this Thursday night.

In the video, you can see Hill -- without his helmet -- appear to be exchanging words with Simpson at midfield shortly after the overtime thriller ... then suddenly, things took a turn for the worse.

Trysten threw a punch at Simpson's face, ultimately knocking his helmet off before players and coaches from both teams stepped in to intervene.

The two had to be separated as Simpson pursued Hill following the punch ... but luckily for both parties, no further punches were thrown.

Unfortunately for Hill and the Cowboys, it was too late ... as the NFL already saw enough evidence to hit the tackle with a punishment.

The Cowboys -- who lost to Las Vegas -- fell to 7-4 on the season ... and dropped their second consecutive game.

The days of seeing Tiger Woods on the PGA Tour every week are almost certainly over ... the golf legend just revealed he doesn't have plans to return to being a full-time golfer again in the wake of his February car crash.

"It's an unfortunate reality," Woods told Golf Digest on Monday in his first interview since the infamous wreck earlier this year. "But, it's my reality. And, I understand it, and I accept it."

Woods spoke for about 45 minutes on his rehab process and his future plans with golf ... and he said while a comeback is in the cards -- he says there's just likely no way the old Tiger's schedule will ever be seen again.

"I think something that is realistic is playing the Tour one day -- never full-time ever again -- but pick and choose, just like Mr. [Ben] Hogan did," Woods said. "You pick and choose a few events a year and you play around that."

"You practice around it, and you gear yourself up for it. I think that's how I'm going to have to play it from now on."

Woods said his recovery process has been brutal, revealing he was bed-ridden for over three months following the Feb. 23 accident.

Tiger also revealed the initial moments after the crash were beyond nerve-racking -- saying he was legitimately concerned doctors were going to have to amputate his right leg.

"I wouldn't say it was 50/50," said Woods, who suffered comminuted open fractures in his leg in the crash. "But, it was damn near there if I was going to walk out of that hospital with one leg."

Woods, though, has miraculously begun playing golf again ... saying he's been out hitting shots with his son, Charlie, and getting better and better daily.

But, Tiger was adamant a true comeback just likely will not happen.

"After my back fusion, for me, I had to prove it to myself -- I had to climb Mount Everest one more time," Woods said. "I had to do it, and I did it. This time around, I don't think I'll have the body to climb Mount Everest, and that's OK."

"But, I can participate in the game of golf. I can still, maybe if my leg gets good enough, maybe [I can] click off a tournament here or there."

Marcell Ozuna was slapped with a 20-game suspension, retroactively, after commish Rob Manfred says an investigation concluded the Atlanta Braves star outfielder violated MLB's domestic violence policy.

31-year-old Ozuna was placed on administrative leave in May 2021 after he was arrested for allegedly getting physical with his wife. At the time, authorities said Marcell repeatedly grabbed his wife by the neck and slammed her into a wall. Cops claimed they actually witnessed some of the attack.

Ozuna -- one of the leagues best players -- missed 20 games.

The Braves ended up making a deep playoff run -- winning their first World Series since the mid-90s -- without Ozuna's bat and glove.

In addition to the alleged incident, Marcell was also dealing with a serious hand injury he sustained playing at Fenway Park just days before he was arrested. .

The criminal charges were ultimately dropped ... and the 2-time All-Star was never convicted of a crime.

However, Manfred still believes there's enough there to warrant the suspension.

“My office has completed its investigation into the allegations that Marcell Ozuna violated Major League Baseball’s Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy."

The commissioner continued ... "Having reviewed the totality of the available evidence, I have concluded that Mr. Ozuna violated our Policy and that discipline is appropriate.”

FYI, Ozuna was scheduled to make $12 million last season ... meaning the suspension cost him over 1.5 mil!

An NBA fan was removed from his courtside seat on Sunday ... and it's all 'cause he allegedly hurled Kardashian heckles at Tristan Thompson.

For real.

Here's the deal ... during the fourth quarter of the Kings vs. Grizzlies game in Memphis, Thompson became visibly upset with a fan sitting courtside, and pointed the man out to refs and stadium staffers.

Video from the scene shows security spoke with the fan ... and then returned just seconds later to give the guy the boot from the arena.

Afterward, Grizzlies beat writer Drew Hill reported the commotion all stemmed from some Kardashian comments the man had aimed at Thompson, who has a child with Khloe Kardashian.

While Sacramento head coach Alvin Gentry did not confirm the report following the Kings' loss -- he did say the fan said "inappropriate things" to his players.

"They can say anything they want to me or they can boo and do everything they want with the players," Gentry said, "but there's no room for saying inappropriate things in a sporting event. That's not why you're there."

Of course, this is not the first time this month that an NBA player has had fans removed for heckling -- just last week, LeBron James kicked out two people sitting courtside over their verbal jabs.

Imagine having a wide-open layup ... and missing it.

That's the equivalent of what Jeremy Lin's Beijing Ducks teammate did on Chang Lin's big day this week ... winding up from point-blank range to beam the player with a birthday cake -- and he hilariously airballed it!!

The ex-NBA player shared it all on his Instagram this week ... showing the teammate getting the golden opportunity to throw a cake in Chang's face -- as part of a "tradition."

But the teammate completely missed the target ... and threw the dessert right into the window behind!!

Lin -- who rejoined the Beijing Ducks this past June -- roasted the player's hiccup ... saying, "My teammate w the biggest airball of the season lollll."

All in all, everybody was a good sport about it -- the team shared laughs after making sure to let one of their own have it ... joking and smiling as they point at the cake remains on the window.

Here's hoping the dude won't miss this badly on the basketball court anytime soon.

Ciara didn't let a road trip to Washington prevent her from celebrating her man's birthday ... 'cause the pop star serenaded Russell Wilson for his 33rd -- and she brought cupcakes for the occasion too!

The NFL superstar had to hit the road for his cake day this year as the Seahawks are set to take on the Washington Football Team on Monday night -- but his talented wife made sure his big day got off on a positive note nonetheless.

Ciara sang him "Happy Birthday" in his hotel room ... and she even brought him out a grip of candle-lit sweet treats as well!!

Wilson clearly loved the gestures ... he leaned in for a big kiss from his wife, blew out the candles, and later wrote on his Instagram, "I love when u sing to daddy 😉🤣❤🙌"

It's an amazing gesture from Ciara -- and Seahawks fans are certainly hoping it brings some good juju to Wilson, who's struggled in his return from a finger injury.

Russ is 0-2 since coming back to the lineup -- and if the 'Hawks lose to the WFT on "MNF," their season might be over.

The Cowboys will have to try to snap out of their funk this week without their head coach ... 'cause Mike McCarthy has COVID and has already been ruled out of Thursday's game.

The 58-year-old tested positive for the virus on Monday, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported, and will be forced to miss Dallas' Week 13 matchup with the New Orleans Saints because of it.

It's clearly a big deal for the Cowboys -- they've lost 3 of their last 4 games, and trying to stop that losing skid won't be easy without their head coach.

And, the bad news in Dallas might not be stopping anytime soon, either -- because COVID is showing no signs of slowing down its attack on the Cowboys.

In addition to star receiver Amari Cooper, who's missed the last two games due to a positive test, the Cowboys also have several assistant coaches who are out while battling the virus.

Their right tackle, Terence Steele, and backup tight end, Blake Jarwin, have also been moved to the COVID-19 reserve list and are out for Thursday's game too.

Lincoln Riley is already a VIP in his new home -- the next USC Trojans head coach and his family hopped off a private jet and landed in L.A. on Monday ... complete with a red carpet treatment!!

The ex-Oklahoma Sooners play-caller was announced as the 30th coach in program history on Sunday ... a move that has USC fans stoked, and OU backers livid.

LR wasted no time making his way to Southern Cal ... boarding the PJ early Monday morning and heading to Tinseltown -- right as folks in Norman let him know exactly how they feel about his departure.

Two "TRAITOR" signs have been draped over the seed sower statue and entrance to the Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium ... which, of course, is a direct shot at the guy who led the Sooners to four Big 12 championships.

Riley was 55-10 as a head coach ... winning Big 12 coach of the year in 2018 and making it to three College Football Playoffs.

Lee Elder -- the first-ever Black golfer to compete in the Masters Tournament -- has died, PGA Tour officials announced Monday. He was 87 years old.

No cause of death has been revealed.

Elder was an absolute icon on the golf course -- he famously broke The Masters' color barrier back in 1975, paving the way for generations of future Black golfers.

Elder went on to play in the legendary tournament several more times in his career -- logging his best finish at the event in 1979, when he tied for 17th place.

Elder was eventually honored by The Masters this year ... when he took part in April's opening ceremonies with Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player.

Elder received a huge ovation from the crowd as an honorary starter -- and images of him smiling alongside Nicklaus and Player have already been etched into history books.

Star athletes and competitive golfers like Tiger Woods and Steph Curry have praised Elder for years -- with Curry shouting Elder out in a video message before this year's Masters event.

"I want to say thank you so much for your life's work," Curry said in the video message, "for your legacy, for your inspiration, and blazing a path and overcoming so many obstacles to open up the game of golf for those that deserve to play and for the underrepresented."

Elder won four tournaments in his PGA Tour career -- and carded seven total Top 25 finishes at major events as well.

The dads are at it again in Cleveland.

Kareem Hunt Sr. -- father of Browns star running back Kareem Hunt -- ripped Baker Mayfield after an ugly loss to the Ravens on Sunday ... saying the quarterback is simply scared to throw the ball.

Emotions were clearly high after Cleveland lost 16-10 at Baltimore -- despite intercepting Ravens' QB Lamar Jackson four times -- and well, Kareem's pops didn't hold back.

"[Baker's] limping he's scared to throw the ball and they know he's hurt they going to keep listening but if people don't like what I'm saying unfriend me," Hunt Sr. said.

"I'm not jeopardizing nothing I got a right to speak I ain't posting no videos have a good day go Browns hopefully."

Now, this isn't the first time the father of a star Browns player took aim at Cleveland's signal-caller -- Odell Beckham Jr.'s father shared a lengthy video on social media detailing the lack of chemistry between Mayfield and his son.

Beckham was released by the Browns shortly after ... leading many to believe the video was carefully orchestrated by the Beckham camp to "#FreeOdell."

Now, it seems like Hunt Sr.'s turn to take a shot at the Mayfield ... who has struggled to quarterback the 6-6 team lately.

In Mayfield's defense, he's opened up about dealing with several injuries ... including a torn labrum in his left shoulder, a groin injury, and a left heel issue.

Just hours after USC fans broke out a "F*** the Mormons" chant during the Trojans' game against BYU -- the school issued an apology, saying it was all "distasteful" and "offensive."

It's unclear at what point during BYU's game against USC on Saturday night that the synchronized yelling happened ... video has yet to surface of it all.

But, multiple people reported hearing it loud and clear during the contest at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum ... forcing USC officials to apologize on Sunday.

"The offensive chant from our student section directed towards BYU during the football game last night does not align with our Trojan values," the school said in a statement.

"It was distasteful and we apologize to the BYU program."

What's interesting ... USC's quarterback, Jaxson Dart, is actually a member of the LDS Church.

The Cougars, though, were clearly unfazed by the disturbing chants from the Trojan-heavy crowd ... they ended up winning the game, 35-31, improving their record to 10-2.

Vita Vea -- Tom Brady's teammate and arguably the Bucs' best defensive player -- needed both an ice bath AND a trip to the dentist after Tampa's game Sunday ... 'cause he lost a tooth in the middle of a play!!!

The gnarly scene all went down in the second quarter of the Buccaneers' contest with the Indianapolis Colts -- when Vea's helmet got dislodged while rushing the quarterback.

You can see in footage of the play, as Vea was putting pressure on the passer -- a Colts O-lineman stuck his helmet right into the big nose guard's mouth ... causing a tooth to pop out!

Cameras caught the little piece of Vea flying out of the 6-foot-4, 346-pounder's face -- and, yeah, it was gnarly.

Vea, though, took the shot like a champ -- and, in fact, when he got to the sideline, he was all smiles ... drinking water and laughing with teammates!!

After the game -- one in which Vea and the Bucs held on to beat Indy, 37-31 -- his head coach had no sympathy for his player ... with Bruce Arians telling reporters, "I don't care. He's got 30 other ones."