TMZ Sports - Page 15

Sofia Vergara's blowing off some steam ... hitting the dancefloor in Miami and hanging out with soccer's G.O.A.T. -- instead of letting a new lawsuit get to her.

The Colombian-American actress hit up Papi Steak Miami with Lionel Messi ... chowing down on some costly cuisine before shaking her moneymaker with a few of her girlfriends.

Check out the video ... SV's clapping to the beat, grinding up on the ladies in her group and basically taking over the discotheque -- unsurprisingly looking great while doing it too.

Our sources from the club tell us ... Sofia pulled up with some friends around 9 PM ET and partied hard until around 1 AM -- she ran into Lionel at the restaurant who just happened to be there ... splitting a reportedly $1,000 steak with his wife!!!

Messi brought a couple of football friends to the club too ... Luis Suárez and Jordi Alba -- who are not only soccer legends but teammates with LM on Inter Miami. Talk about a star-studded group pic.

It's good to see Sofia's not stressing her recent legal drama too much. We broke the story ... convicted drug queen-pin Griselda Blanco's estate is suing Vergara and Netflix over her portrayal of GB in the new upcoming series "Griselda."

Blanco's adult children are leading the charge ... with her son Michael alleging the new show at times leans on notes and anecdotes he took down between 2009 and 2022 and shared with a Netflix producer -- who Michael says assured him they weren't gonna use his notes when they made the series.

It's aIl pretty murky, but the bottom line is the estate wants the show put on hold ... a tall order since it's set to come out on the streamer Thursday -- not leaving much time for a judge to rule in their favor.

Dave Chappelle's responding to Katt Williams' viral Club Shay Shay interview ... and he's pissed about who KW went and fired at.

The controversial actor/comedian did a stand-up set at MonDeRays at the Hollywood Improv Friday night where he shared his disappointment with Katt -- particularly outraged that his fellow comedian exclusively went after Black comedians.

DC said, "He ethered n*****. He didn't say anything about any of these white boys. None of these white boys function like that." Basically, Dave seems to be saying he's not seeing white comedians rake each other over the coals ... but Katt went after a whole lotta Black artists.

Chappelle added that "hurt people hurt people," but acknowledged he, himself, is also a hurt person ... and you don't see him throwing shade at his fellow comics.

He did defend a couple of Katt's targets -- specifically Cedric the Entertainer and Steve Harvey -- though both guys caught a couple strays in his defense.

CTE got it worse ... Chappelle said going after Cedric -- who Katt said was stealing jokes -- makes no sense because he's "old" and "fat" ... ya gotta think Cedric might be throwing a bit of side-eye at Dave for those adjectives.

As for SH, Dave said he shouldn't draw any ire because he's out of the stand-up game at this point -- focusing more on hosting TV shows like "Family Feud" and "Judge Steve Harvey."

Chappelle added his impersonation of Katt too -- full of profanity and a high-pitched voice -- before pointing out KW never really copped to anything he did ... instead choosing to focus on what other comedians did to one another.

Another big moment ... Dave rejected the claim what Katt did was good for comedy -- an argument comedian Deray Davis tried to make onstage -- saying quite simply that he put a special out the same day as the interview ... and it did fine.

If you haven't heard Williams' comments by now ... damn, there were a lot! He went after Cedric, Steve, Ludacris, Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish, Trick Daddy and a crap ton more -- some have responded to Katt while others have stayed quiet.

Darez Diggs -- the brother of NFL superstars Stefon Diggs and Trevon Diggs -- has just been sued over his alleged role in a violent elevator attack last year.

Cristopher Griffith filed the lawsuit against the former XFL player on Tuesday ... alleging Darez and several others beat him up as he was getting off an elevator at his Downtown Los Angeles apartment building on May 29.

Griffith said in the suit the attack left him with pain, suffering and emotional distress. He's also suing Darez for $100,000 in jewelry and other property he claims he had on his person during the incident.

Griffith is suing the owner of the apartment complex for unspecified damages as well.

The alleged altercation, of course, was captured on video obtained by TMZ Sports. The footage appears to show Darez standing by as two other men kick and punch Griffith inside the lift.

The clip also appears to show the men taking Griffith's jewelry, before leaving the area.

A spokesperson for the LAPD told us on Wednesday authorities are still investigating the matter ... and no arrests have been made.

WWE Superstar Big E says he still has no clue when he'll compete in the squared circle again ... telling TMZ Sports he's not going to rush into a comeback after suffering his scary neck injury nearly two years ago.

We caught up with 1/3 of The New Day out in NYC this week ... and while the 37-year-old recently reunited with his tag team partners Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston after an extended time apart, it doesn't sound like he will be seeing action anytime soon.

"I don't have a timeline, unfortunately, but thank you for asking," Big E said this week.

As for whether he has any concerns about getting back into his wrestling career, the former champ gave a bit of insight into his mindset.

"I just want to make a smart decision," he added. "I didn't start wrestling to end up in a wheelchair, so I just want to make sure I'm just making the best decision for myself."

Of course, Big E hasn't competed since he broke his neck during a tag-team match on "Smackdown" in March 2022 ... after he was dropped on his head.

But the good news, Big E says his bones are connected again ... which is certainly a step in the right direction.

Another week has come and gone at TMZ -- and best believe we covered all the big hits in Hollywood on our shows ... which ran the gamut from serious to downright fun(ny).

Kicking things off with 'TMZ Live,' we dove right in on the newest Alec Baldwin news -- namely, that he's being recharged in the ongoing 'Rust' criminal case ... from which he was absolved for a while -- that is, until Friday ... when he got with new charges again.

Harvey and Charles were asking the obvious question -- what changed between them dropping the initial charges and this new one ... and they think they have an idea.

Over on the 'TMZ on TV' side of things ... the gang talked about these new hints that Justin Timberlake's dropping new music, and seems to be calling his album a certain title.

We did some digging and pieced together what that may be -- but the larger takeaway here is ... JT needs this one to do it big, 'cause he's kinda been slacking in the hits department.

Last but not least ... we come to 'TMZ Sports,' where Babcock and Mojo chopped it up with none other than Rob Gronkowski -- who says he's ready to rage ahead of the Super Bowl.

Chandler Jones' jewelry cabinet just got a whole lot icier ... TMZ Sports has learned the NFL star recently copped multiple Jesus pieces loaded with diamonds!!

We're told the four-time Pro Bowler hit up Rafaello and Co.'s Gabriel Jacobs to get the new bling made ... and the celeb jeweler didn't disappoint.

Jacobs -- who's done pieces in the past for Damar Hamlin and Lil Yachty -- made three separate iterations of the ice for Jones ... all in different-colored diamonds.

The first one came in all black ... and featured 55 carats of AAA black quality diamonds -- plus a chain that held 80 carats of black diamond pearls.

The second one was rose gold ... and it had 40 carats of diamonds in it. The final one came in canary -- featuring 55 carats of all-natural yellow diamonds.

The price for each is top secret ... but the former Las Vegas Raider made over $131 million in his 12-year NFL career -- so, needless to say, he can certainly afford it!

Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone is living up to his nickname ... explaining how and why he's the one to conquer Dana White's 1,400 lb. bull, Twisted Steel!

The retired MMA fighter joined the TMZ Sports TV show (airs nightly on FS1) this week where he revealed his insane training regimen ... as he preps for the UFC honcho's 5-year-old beast, which he'll attempt to ride at an upcoming show.

"Next Monday, I'm getting on eight bulls," the 40-year-old said. "We're just gonna go, go, go, go."

"It's gonna be wild and crazy!"

Of course, Dana and Donald recently made a bet ... with a total of $100k on the line, if Cerrone can stay right side up on Twisted Steel for 8 seconds.

Sounds easy? Not so fast ... just three riders have managed the feat in a total of 34 runs -- and those guys were pros.

Here's hoping Cerrone is the fourth 'cause the money will go to charity.

"All the money donations will go straight to kid's camp," Cerrone said. "We're riding for a cause, if you will."

Well, this is crazy ... just days after Richard Simmons seemed pissed Pauly Shore was doing an unauthorized biopic on his life, RS now seems to be giving the thumbs up to the project.

TMZ obtained this video from the Sundance Film Festival Friday night, where Pauly got onstage to introduce the short film that will eventually become the full movie version of Richard's life.

He began by telling the crowd Richard texted him earlier in the day, wishing him "good luck" with the screening. The audience gave its rousing approval.

It's a total about-face ... just a few days ago, Richard wrote on Facebook, "You may have heard they may be doing a movie about me with Pauly Shore. I have never given my permission for this movie. So don't believe everything you read."

To say he never gave his permission is as much as saying DON'T DO THIS!

If Pauly is putting yesterday's text in full context, maybe Richard had a change of heart.

The Wolper Organization, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. that's developing the film, told us -- "While we would love to have him involved, we respect his desire to privacy and plan to produce a movie that honors him, celebrates him and tells a dramatic story."

Logan Paul was once in the crosshairs of a man who seemed obsessed with him -- and who even broke into his home -- but he didn't realize the man took his own life ... until now.

We sat with the YouTuber-turned-boxer for a conversation about this dark chapter in his life -- namely, back in 2018 when a guy named Tahj Deondre Speight allegedly trespassed by making his way into Logan's house without authorization, which led to a confrontation.

LP ended up detaining Speight -- and he was ultimately arrested, charged, prosecuted and eventually jailed ... but at some point, he died -- and it appears it was via suicide.

Harvey actually broke this news to Logan in our interview ... and it's clear he was not aware of this development -- with the update hitting him hard on the spot. We ask the question ... did the system fail Speight by not getting him the help or resources he needed?

Logan gives an honest answer, and somewhat surprisingly ... he says he has empathy for the man he once wrestled to the ground. It's an emotional response, and a heartfelt one too.

His full chat is part of a new show called 'TMZ Investigates: Obsessed and Dangerous: Hollywood’s Stalker Crisis' -- the start of a weekly series that hits FOX Monday at 9/8c.

Pauly Shore's Richard Simmons short dropped last night ... and Simmons stans will recognize the moment it's based on -- plus get an idea of what the feature film's gonna be like.

PS premiered "The Court Jester" at Sundance, and he went full Simmons for the role -- he looks a ton like him with the hair, tank top and thigh-high shorts ... and on top of that, Shore picked a viral moment from Richard's life. While the screening took place during the festival it was not an official Sundance selection.

The short -- not the full-scale biopic he's making -- opens with a production assistant backstage of a show hosted by a woman who looks and sounds like Ellen DeGeneres ... when Richard is called onto the stage.

Pauly's Richard comes out with a ton of energy, running around in front of the audience, sweat dripping down his forehead ... a clear reenactment of Richard's appearance on "Ellen" more than a decade ago.

Check it out ... Richard jumps around so fast cameras can barely keep up, pushes the same DVD and even pretends to be a workout machine Ellen can use -- art imitating life taken to the extreme!!!

Pauly's also showing off his acting chops in the more low-key moments too -- having a heart-to-heart with the PA from the beginning of the short while chowing down on a sprinkle donut.

Shore's clearly trying to be pretty respectful of Richard ... backing him with an angelic light while he drops knowledge on the young "Ellen" crew member -- though at this point, Richard's probably not coming around to Pauly's upcoming biopic

As we reported ... Richard -- who doesn't speak publicly much anymore -- came out and blasted Pauly's movie ... basically saying he didn't give his permission or blessing to Shore's project.

When we talked to Pauly about it ... he said he's holding out hope Richard comes around, but he's going forward with the project whether he gets the fitness guru's thumbs up or not.

Don't count out Larry Merchant ... the legendary boxing announcer tells TMZ Sports he's on the mend after a bout with vertigo that put him in the hospital!

We broke the story ... 92-year-old Merchant was rushed to the emergency room just days before Christmas, and things appeared bleak for the former HBO Boxing commentator.

But, Larry himself tells us he's on the mend!

Merchant says he was diagnosed with vertigo, but after receiving treatment, he was sprung from the hospital after just a few days. He's now recovering at home, and he says he's doing well.

According to WebMD, "Vertigo is a sensation of feeling off balance. If you have these dizzy spells, you might feel like you are spinning or that the world around you is spinning."

Merchant says he "appreciated the outpouring" of support, and even joked it was like witnessing his funeral.

Merchant, who worked alongside fellow greats like Jim Lampley, George Foreman, Roy Jones Jr., and Harold Lederman, laid down his microphone in 2012 ... and is widely regarded as one of the greatest commentators in the history of the sport.

'King of Kong' star Billy Mitchell is keeping score after Twin Galaxies reinstated his historical records ... after a multi-year dispute over cheating allegations.

Billy tells TMZ ... he's satisfied and relieved with the recent resolution in his defamation case against the video game database ... nearly 6 years after they suggested he fabricated his Donkey Kong record through an emulation software, banned him, and wiped his scores from their site.

He tells us when the investigation and claims began in 2018, his first order of business was going back to the arcade and beating all the scores, which he did.

For some people this wasn't good enough, so now that his name is cleared, he is going to get back to what he enjoys doing, which is playing games, breaking records, attending events, and being an ambassador for competitive gaming.

Billy's happy his history has finally been restored -- but doesn't get why people were trying to rewrite it in the first place ... especially 'cause Twin Galaxies ain't as relevant as it used to be, according to him.

"The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters" was a 2007 documentary about competitive arcade gaming that followed Steve Wiebe attempting to take down Billy's high score record in Donkey Kong. Following the success of the documentary, he was told there was talk of a feature film with Tom Cruise and Jim Carrey being eyed as the lead.

As for now, Billy's taking the onslaught of movie offers his way seriously ... after putting them on the back burner while his defamation case raged on.

Billy's lead counsel, Anthony Ellrod tells TMZ... “This was an extremely hard fought case, and I am happy that the parties were ultimately able to resolve it. Cases like this where an individual’s credibility and veracity are at stake are very difficult to resolve short of trial. I credit the hard work of all parties and counsel in reaching a settlement.”

Jerry Jones never truly entertained the idea of hiring Bill Belichick or Jim Harbaugh following the Cowboys' embarrassing playoff loss on Sunday ... so says former Dallas wideout Isaiah Stanback.

The ex-Cowboy -- who's become an NFL insider and analyst in retirement -- tells TMZ Sports ... according to his sources at The Star, Jones didn't explore moving on to a new coach before choosing to stick with Mike McCarthy on Wednesday.

"From the information I have inside the building," said Stanback, who played for Jones from 2007 to 2008, "there was never a search for an additional coach."

"I don't think it was ever an alternative to try to go and find somebody else," Stanback added.

Of course, plenty of Cowboys fans were certainly hoping Jones would've gone a different route ... after McCarthy bowed out of the playoffs over the weekend for the third straight year in disappointing fashion.

But, Stanback tells us he thinks the move is ultimately the right one ... explaining hiring the wrong choice right now could set the team back significantly further.

"In reality," Stanback said, "how many coaches in the NFL have a consecutive winning record of 12-5 to position you for a playoff run to go ultimately get the Lombardi Trophy?"

Nonetheless, Stanback knows the 2024 season is going to be a pressure-packed one for McCarthy ... and everyone else with a star on their helmet.

It's been quite a time at TMZ these past 5 days, and if you're looking to catch up on what we touched on this weekend ... we got you covered and then some.

On 'TMZ Live,' we dissected the whole Arnold Schwarzenegger customs debacle a tad bit more -- especially now that we got video of the Terminator joking about it later the same day. If you haven't seen it by now ... Arnie was playing a straight-up stand-up comedian!

He obviously had a sense of humor about the whole thing ... and yeah, it was funny.

Heading on over to 'TMZ on TV,' the gang was eager to talk about Snoop Dogg's recent claim that he was offered a boatload of cash to show off his ding-dong on their site.

The dollar amount sounded a little too good to be true ... but that doesn't mean some of our staffers in the room wouldn't be willing to throw down dough to get a glimpse of it. 👀

Junior dos Santos and Francis Ngannou once shared the Octagon (albeit for not very long), but that doesn't mean the MMA legend isn't impressed with The Predator's success in the boxing ring!

Cigano's thrilled for his former opponent ... and as a matter of fact, he wouldn't mind a rematch in the squared circle sometime down the road.

TMZ Sports talked to 39-year-old dos Santos earlier this week ahead of his fight with Alan Belcher (more on that soon) ... when we asked Junior about Francis' move to the boxing ring.

"I'm so happy for [Ngannou]," Junior told us, explaining ... "All the boxing guys are always talking, saying on the striking side we are not able to go there and put on a good performance against them."

Junior believes Francis proved the opposite against Tyson Fury ... MMA fighters can hang with the very best when it comes to striking with just hands.

"Francis Ngannou was fighting probably the biggest heavyweight in the history who never lost a fight," JDS explained, adding, "and he did what he did. I was there. That was so amazing to see that. And, it showed what kind of work we [MMA fighters] do."

Now, Francis has another massive challenge in front of him in the form of Anthony Joshua next month ... and Junior is clearly cautioning folks not to count him out.

FYI, JDS is well aware of what Francis can do. The two stars fought back in June 2019 ... but after a flurry of punches, the fight was stopped just 1:11 seconds into the first round, with Ngannou winning by TKO.

Junior wouldn't mind running things back!

"That would be amazing, too! I think actually that would be something very good, not just for me, but for him, as well."

For dos Santos, any fight with Ngannou would be down the line. First, he's got a big-time matchup with 39-year-old Belcher, who is coming off a decision win over Roy Nelson at Gamebred Fighting Championship 6, Jorge Masvidal's bare-knuckle MMA promotion.

Bills and Chiefs fans with a blank space in their tummies are in luck this weekend  ... Buffalo's food service partner just revealed it's going to sell some Taylor Swift-themed snacks at the big game Sunday!!

Delaware North -- which has brought tasty treats to Highmark Stadium all season long -- announced this week it's packing two new options for the divisional round playoff game against Kansas City with odes to Swift in them.

One of the meals is called the "Bad Blood waffle fries" ... and it features two feet of fries topped with a grip of Buffalo and Kansas City food staples -- including blue cheese and BBQ pork.

The other option is named the "Karma Quesadilla" ... and it's got chicken tenders, bacon and pork belly all over it.

It's not quite clear if Swift will get the opportunity to enjoy the grub -- it hasn't been confirmed yet if she'll make the trek to Orchard Park to watch her boyfriend, Travis Kelce. But, considering she battled the snow to catch his game last weekend against the Miami Dolphins, it seems like it's a good bet.