TMZ Sports - Page 36

Alex Rodriguez isn't a pro athlete anymore, but don't tell his abs ... the legendary slugger shared a shredded shirtless photo, posing with his equally jacked girlfriend, and they look incredible!

48-year-old A-Rod and his fitness trainer boo Jaclyn Cordeiro are on vacation in the Dominican Republic ... and the couple shared some snaps from the trip. Alex's daughter Ella is also on the vacay.

Rodriguez last played baseball in 2016 as third baseman for the New York Yankees, before hanging up his glove and leaving the sport as one of the most feared hitters ever.

Despite being an immortal player, A-Rod admittedly let himself go a bit in retirement, so much so his family expressed concern for him in late 2021, saying he "looked unhealthy."

Rodriguez decided to make some changes to his life (more plants, less red meat, intermittent fasting, and walking) ... and he says it made all the difference.

In 2023, Alex revealed, with help and support from Jac, he'd lost 32 pounds!

Rodriguez didn't spend the whole trip posing without a shirt (though could you blame him?) ... he also spent some quality time with his fam, from some fun in the sun to a chess game with his daughter.

Ludacris and his wife Eudoxie also fell victim to the wrath of Katt Williams' viral "Club Shay Shay" interview, but in a fiery freestyle response ... Luda's telling Katt to get back because he doesn't know him like that!!!

The "Fast & Furious" star doesn't do much rapping these days, but returned to the studio Thursday night to bust out a freestyle over Kanye West's classic "Devil in a New Dress" instrumental -- clearly aimed at Katt's noggin.

During his 3-hour sit-down with Shannon Sharpe, Katt swore Luda had joined the Illuminati after selling his soul to the "Fast & Furious" franchise in exchange for $200 million.

Katt also hinted Luda was stripped of his Blackness and sent an insane shot at Luda's spouse for being a "light-skinned ugly-face wife" -- a wild insult, especially considering Luda collaborated with Katt on his 2004 hit single "Pimpin' All Over the World."

Luda kicked off his anti-Katt flow shouting out Snoop Dogg and then slyly responding to Katt's disses and clarifying his sexuality ... "They throwing shade ‘cause n****s could never take my shine ... Never been Illuminati, only Ill-Luda-nati/And I only left with bitches when coming from any party."

The freestyle ended with an RIP to "2 Fast Too Furious" director John Singleton and a final warning to Katt ... "Afro with the sideburns, yeah that’s my signature/Addiction’s on the rise, comedians check your temperature.”

Ryan Garcia is blockin' all jabs when it comes to his friendship with Floyd Mayweather ... saying the boxing legend is mentoring him and he "loves and respects him."

The 24-1 (20 KOs) fighter took to social media on Thursday to defend his new bond with Mayweather after receiving backlash for hanging out with Floyd on several occasions, including their infamous 3 AM jog in Las Vegas.

"Floyd is mentoring me, And I love and respect him, he is so authentic so stop judging him," Garcia said to the haters.

"Judging a book by its cover will stop you from reading but Derrick James is my coach, and I love him too."

Some boxing fans have been confused by the relationship ... as Ryan is still in business with Oscar De La Hoya and Golden Boy Promotions. ODLH is a rival of TBE.

For what it's worth, not even De La Hoya seems too bothered. He told FightHype he was okay with Ryan and Floyd linkin' up, though he did add the situation would've been seen as a "conflict of interest" back in the day.

Other people have complained that Garcia lost at the hands of Gervonta Davis, whom Floyd is close with. Mayweather even celebrated with Tank in the ring after he beat Garcia.

But, Ryan doesn't want to hear it.

"You guys don’t know him and most of you will never. But he is authentic has a good heart and extremely generous," Ryan said.

"HES 50-0 and he’s almost half a 100 lmao but Love him and I respect him so put respect on his name. He may be Money Mayweather but he really tries to be as authentic as possible."

Devin Haney also came for Garcia ... sending him this Instagram DM: Floyd can't save or help u..

LeBron James says he's got next after a mysterious Fortnite session popped up on the Fenway Park scoreboard this week ... calling on his fellow Boston Red Sox owners to let him use the big screen to get in some Madden action of his own!!

A clip from outside the historic stadium made rounds on social media on Thursday ... showing an unidentified enthusiast playing the popular video game on the massive outfield display.

King James -- who owns an undisclosed amount of Fenway Sports Group, which includes the Sox -- got wind of the epic moment ... and he wants to flex his skills on the jumbotron, too!!

"Ayyyyeee!! Let me get some Madden games going on there! @FenwaySportsMgt @RedSox 🤣🤣👑," the Los Angeles Lakers superstar said on X.

Of course, James has a history of using scoreboards for his gaming hobby -- as we previously reported, he got in a Madden sesh on SoFi Stadium's scoreboard during an early birthday celebration in 2022.

Shohei Ohtani is already putting some of his new Dodgers contract to good use ... revealing Thursday he and his team are donating at least $1 million to victims of this week's devastating earthquake in Japan.

The Dodgers announced they and Guggenheim Baseball are putting up $1 million on their own ... while the designated hitter -- who just inked a $700 million pact with LA -- is forking over "his own personal contribution."

All of it is being given with the wish that it will help cities in Ohtani's home country rebuild after a 7.6 magnitude quake leveled homes on Monday, killing dozens.

"My hope is that we continue to come together to support those whose lives have been upended," the two-way superstar said. "I hope for the rapid rescue of missing persons and the reconstruction of the disaster-stricken areas."

The natural disaster struck around 4 PM on New Year's Day ... and as of Friday morning, hundreds of people still remain missing in the rubble.

Ohtani is clearly hurting for those who are struggling to survive ... as are the Dodgers, who said in a statement Thursday, "Our thoughts are with all of Japan in wake of this tragedy."

Oscar Pistorius just caught a break, getting paroled from a South African lockup after serving more than half of his 13-year sentence for murdering his girlfriend.

The former Olympian -- who competed with his lower legs amputated -- returned home Friday after being whisked out of Atteridgeville Prison in the South African capital of Pretoria, according to a statement by the country's Department of Correctional Services.

Following his 9 years of incarceration, Pistorius will now be on parole for 5 years, staying most likely at his uncle's mansion with armed security and guard dogs. The conditions of his parole were not disclosed, except he is not allowed to speak with the media.

As you may recall, Pistorius fatally shot his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in his Pretoria home on February 14, 2013, pumping four bullets into her through a locked bathroom door.

Pistorius claimed self-defense, believing she was a burglar who broke into his house.

Prosecutors didn't buy it, accusing Pistorius of killing Steenkamp in anger during a Valentine's Day fight and charging him with murder and a firearms offense.

At his 2014 trial, a judge convicted Pistorius of the lesser charge of manslaughter, sentencing him to 5 years in prison.

But, prosecutors won their appeal to a higher court, which tossed Pistorius' original conviction, upgrading the charge to murder with a six-year prison term.

Even that was not enough for prosecutors, who appealed again, arguing the sentence was too lenient. South Africa's Court of Appeal agreed, handing Pistorius a 13-year sentence.

In March 2023, Pistorius became eligible for parole under a South African law that affords prisoners the opportunity to serve half their sentences if they have shown good behavior and fulfilled other requirements behind bars.

Aaron Rodgers has received a huge honor from the Jets -- he was just named the team's Most Inspirational Player ... this despite only playing a few seconds for NY in the 2023 season.

The Jets revealed the award for their signal-caller on Friday morning ... announcing the injured quarterback got the trophy over stars like Garrett Wilson, Sauce Gardner, Quinnen Williams and others.

Head coach Robert Saleh explained at a meeting with reporters just minutes ago that players themselves made the choice ... saying that it shows just how valuable Rodgers was to the team this season -- even though he couldn't actually get off the sidelines.

"I've said it a million times," Saleh said, "he loves his teammates and his teammates love him."

"He's a tremendous human and well-deserving of the award."

Rodgers, of course, arrived in New York with Super Bowl expectations, but he tore his Achilles just four snaps into the season-opener against the Buffalo Bills on Sept. 11 ... and never returned to the field.

He did work like a mad man to get back -- and he actually ended up returning to Jets practices late in the year, albeit in a limited capacity. And, clearly, his teammates appreciated the effort.

Warren Moon says if he were coaching the Ravens, he wouldn't sit Lamar Jackson, Odell Beckham Jr. or any other starter this week -- telling TMZ Sports he believes the moves could seriously ruin their chances at a Super Bowl.

Of course, with the No. 1 seed in the AFC already locked up, John Harbaugh revealed earlier this week Jackson and several others will take a seat on the bench against the Steelers on Saturday in order to stay healthy for the postseason.

Moon, though, doesn't think that idea's so great ... explaining that because Baltimore has a bye in the first round of the playoffs, there's now a far greater chance the squad will be rusty when it finally kicks off its divisional round game in more than two weeks.

"As a football player," the Hall of Famer said, "you want to stay within that routine and that habit of what you've been going through the whole season to make you successful."

Moon said he's by no means advocating playing Jackson and co. the full game against Pittsburgh -- he just thinks a few series could mitigate any potential problems down the road.

"That's the only thing that concerns about this team and some of the guys that they're sitting down," the ex-quarterback said. "How sharp are they going to be in three weeks after going through a season where they're used to playing week after week after week?"

In addition to Jackson ... three other starters -- Beckham, Marlon Humphrey and Kevin Zeitler -- have already been ruled out. Star rookie Zay Flowers and star defensive back Kyle Hamilton appear poised to miss the game too.

Nonetheless, Moon still believes the Ravens have done enough to show him they're the NFL's best heading into 2024.

Hip hop radio legend Big Boy is revisiting a time being overweight came in real handy -- he says all that extra cushion helped him duck gun charges that might've ended his career before it got started!!!

BB made the eye-popping revelation on "All the Smoke" after Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson asked him about the urban legend that he hid a gun from the police in his body fat.

BB once weighed over 500 lbs -- back before Will Smith convinced him to get surgery -- and he confirmed the legend as fact, but explained there was a perfectly good reason for his actions.

Before earning his stripes on radio, BB bodyguarded for The Pharcyde. and recalled the day of June 17, 1994 -- the same day O.J. Simpson famously led LAPD on the low-speed chase.

The iconic moment caused BB to be separated from the group as they stayed in the Bay Area and he flew back to L.A. -- but left them his gun to drive back to the city.

After BB retrieved his gun the next day, he got pulled over while he also had another gun on him ... so, really bad timing.

Luckily, the officer failed to pat him down properly, and he was able to skate any charges. God knows a strip search at county jail would've gotten interesting!!!

As fate would have it, he got a call from Power 106 the very next day, starting his on-air gig ... and eventually got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame presented to him by Dr. Dre!!!

Shaquille O'Neal hung up his Dunkman's more than a decade ago, but the NBA legend is still making history ... the Orlando Magic just announced they're retiring the Big Fella's 32 jersey, the first time they've ever raised a number to the rafters!

51-year-old O'Neal received word of the honor while he was on the air with buds Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson ... when the Hall of Famer got a "phone call" from Magic CEO Alex Martins.

"On behalf of the DeVos family and myself and all of us here at the Orlando Magic, we want to congratulate you as we make you the first jersey number retired in the history of the Orlando Magic. You had a great career here at the beginning of your career and we had some great times!" Martins said to Shaq.

Of course, the Magic picked O'Neal with their first pick in the 1992 NBA Draft ... and Shaquille didn't disappoint in his short stint with the team, making them relevant, and even leading them to the NBA Finals in 1995, where they lost to the Houston Rockets.

He averaged over 27 points, and nearly 13 rebounds, and 3 blocks a game in Orlando.

Shaq ultimately decided to leave Florida for a big payday in Los Angeles ... where he won 3 NBA championships alongside Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.

Team Chairman Dave DeVos also spoke about Shaq's influence on the organization, on and off the hardwood, as well as the local community.

“Through his dominating play, larger-than-life personality, and generous contributions to The City Beautiful, Shaquille O’Neal had a transformational impact on this team and this town. Our family and the entire franchise couldn’t be more pleased for Shaquille to receive this well-deserved honor, further cementing his enduring legacy here in Orlando as we collectively look back on his tremendous accomplishments in a Magic uniform.”

Perhaps the most meaningful congratulations came from O'Neal's "number one fan," his mom, Dr. Lucille O'Neal, who sent her son a heartfelt message.

The jersey retirement goes down on February 13.

1/5 8:26AM PST -- Jenn just addressed the video, laughing it off and blaming the pandemic for her state of mind back then ... she says while she may not have liked "Tenet" she definitely loved Nolan's "Oppenheimer" -- watching it twice -- and invites Nolan to one of her in-studio classes.

Christopher Nolan says a Peloton workout turned into a scathing, live movie review ... as the instructor -- who probably didn't know he was watching -- unloaded on his film during class!!!

The "Oppenheimer" director won a New York Film Critics Circle award Thursday for best director, and during his acceptance speech he recalled the time a Peloton instructor took a shot at his work.

Christopher says he was in a virtual Peloton class when the woman leading the workout, Jenn Sherman, started talking trash about "Tenet" ... asking if anyone else saw or understood the 2020 movie. As Jenn put it, "I'm not kidding. What the f*** was going on in that movie?" She also groused she'd wasted hours of her life that she'd never get back.

BTW, he didn't call out Jenn by name, but internet sleuths quickly found the clip.

CN says he was also getting his butt kicked in the workout when she piled on, but it sounds like she had no idea Christopher was in the class.

The funny anecdote was part of Christopher's broader point -- that everyone's a critic these days.

Victor Wembanyama entered his twenties on Thursday ... and his teammates celebrated his special day by singing "Happy Birthday" during practice!!

The San Antonio Spurs players surprised the 7'4" rookie right on the court ... surrounding him and breaking out the classic tune.

Wemby clearly wasn't expecting it ... but jumped right into singing and clapping with his teammates.

"Hip hip hooray!" the players yelled after the song. "Hip hip hooray!"

Wembanyama also got another nice present on his birthday -- it was announced he's received over 221k votes to participate in the 2024 NBA All-Star Game so far.

To compare, that's more entries than Karl-Anthony Towns, Chet Holmgren and Kristaps Porzingis.

The first-overall pick of the 2023 NBA Draft has been getting a lot of love since he started his career ... in fact, his dunk on December 31 is on the verge of becoming the most-watched video ever on the league's Instagram page with 88.8 million views.

Wemby -- who's averaging 18.9 points and 10.2 rebounds per game -- also set several NBA records before his 20th birthday, including surpassing Dwight Howard for the most consecutive games with a double-double (8).

Ferraris get lonely, too ... so Jake Paul brought home some company for his 6-month-old 'Rari in the shape of another yellow hypercar, an SF90 Spider that costs nearly $600k!!

The Problem Child revealed the new whip Wednesday on social media, writing, "No better feeling... New SF-90 Spider to match the 296."

And, the SF90 Spider, a hardtop convertible, is ridiculous in the most awesome ways possible!

The car has a twin-turbo V8 engine, along with three electric motors ... producing over 1,000 HP, good enough to reach a top speed of over 210 MPH! The vehicle will go 0-60 in 2.5 seconds.

Aside from the astonishing price tag, the SF90 Spider is very rare ... with only 599 drop tops being made across the world. All of the near 600 cars are accounted for ... and Paul clearly made the list.

Of course, it's the second Ferrari Jake has bought over the last 7 months. As we reported, Paul dropped around $421k on a Ferrari 296 GTB in late June. That Ferrari only goes 0 to 60 in 2.7 seconds. 😅

The million dollars worth of sports cars may be a pipe dream for most of us ... but it's a drop in the bucket for JP, who has made tens of millions in the ring.

His betting company Betr is already valued north of $300 million, as of last summer, and Jake has designs on turning it into a billion-dollar brand.

As for the new Spider, the last time the YouTuber-turned-boxing star bought a new car, he broke it the same day doing donuts.

Katt Williams predicted his "Club Shay Shay" interview would have the internet in shambles ... and now some of the guys he attacked are fighting back.

Kevin Hart called Katt's comments "sad" Thursday but didn't squander the opportunity to plug his new action movie "Lift" with all the unsolicited buzz from the interview.

Katt essentially labeled Kevin the "Jussie Smollett of comedy" -- a charlatan who was planted in the movie industry after arriving in Los Angeles from Philly without any real buzz, and claims to have turned down plenty of lowbrow roles that Kevin happily scooped up.

Kevin and Katt have been at odds for years -- Kevin claimed Katt flamed out on drugs during a 2015 Breakfast Club interview, to which Katt recently told Shannon Sharpe he's never done a hard drug in his life.

Not to be outdone, Michael Blackson didn't let Katt slide for accusing him of using a fake African accent throughout his career ... but still gave him his props at the end of the day.

According to Mike, Katt ranks as the #4th best comedian alive (he ranked himself at #10) but thinks his 2005 glory years are long behind him, Mike claims he saw Katt get heckled in his Cincinnati hometown before ... a terrible look for a legend.

Cedric The Entertainer also got pissed over Katt's continued allegations he was a joke thief but hinted that he wouldn't be participating in the back-and-forth mud-slinging.

Logan Paul says he's committing more than $2.3 million to right the wrongs of his failed CryptoZoo ... and he's also filing a lawsuit against the folks he claims derailed his game.

Logan's delivering on his promise to buy back Base Egg and Base Animal non-fungible tokens from CryptoZoo for their original purchase price ... via a website where investors can submit claims.

Remember ... Logan announced the CryptoZoo game back in 2021, billing the animated NFT project as "a really fun game that makes you money." The game reportedly drew inspiration from Pokémon and folks who paid .1 Ethereum were told they could hatch, breed, collect and trade  exotic animal hybrids on the blockchain. The first wave of 11,000 NFTs quickly sold out but CryptoZoo was never released.

Logan says he had "only the best possible intentions" for CryptoZoo and "never made a single penny from the project." He says he spent $400K developing the game and says it was completed in early 2023 but wasn't released due to "regulatory hurdles that would need to be cleared that I did not originally understand."

LP adds ... "Like you, I was highly disappointed the game was not delivered."

Logan says his $2.3 million buyback program "is a way for me to make whole those who intended to play CryptoZoo. The buyback is not intended to compensate those who gambled on the crypto market and lost."

In addition to the NFT buyback, Logan is also taking legal action ... claiming in a new lawsuit that CryptoZoo lead developer Eduardo Ibanez and "Crypto King" Jake Greenbaum are to blame for the game's failure and not him.

In the docs -- obtained by TMZ -- one of the first red flags in the project happened just after launch day, with suspicious trading activity happening ... where it appeared dozens of project outsiders somehow got info of the existence of the new market for ZOO Tokens.

The lawsuit claims the sketchy trading activity caused the market capitalization of ZOO Tokens to drop from about $130 million to $26 million.

The Louis Vuitton Bron is back ... this time LeBron James' is serving as a model for Pharrell's hotly anticipated debut collection with the luxury fashion brand!

And King James is looking fresh!

LeBron first LV's ads hit social media on Thursday -- part of the advertising campaign for the Men’s Spring-Summer 2024 collection -- after the famous musician was named creative director last year.

"LeBron James lends himself to Pharrell Williams' debut collection, embodying the audacious energy and trailblazing vision of the Maison's next menswear chapter," the brand said.

The 39-year-old NBA legend rocked several clean Louis fits, including rocking a $3,950 brown Embroidered Cotton Cardigan and $865 LV Palace Slippers.

He's also holding the Speedy P9 bags ... which start at $9k.

The 4x NBA champ loved the promo ... and even shared it on his Instagram story.

Remember, James was spotted wearing some of the pieces from the collection at the Lakers season opener in October. We were told it was a $28K+ fit.