TMZ Sports - Page 46

Kaskade will be in the DJ booth when Super Bowl LVIII kicks off on Sunday ... stepping in at the last minute to replace Tiësto, who backed out of the gig due to a sudden family emergency.

As we previously reported, the "Godfather of EDM" was originally set to spin tracks throughout the entire game ... but was forced to return home hours before the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers take the field.

TMZ Sports has learned ... Kaskade is taking the reins from Tiësto -- making him the league's first-ever in-game DJ in the history of the Super Bowl.

Kaskade spoke about the news on Thursday ... saying, "As a kid who grew up in Chicago watching the Super Bowl every year with my family this chance to actually be part of it is absolutely mind-blowing."

Moving forward with Kaskade is a no-brainer -- he's one of the biggest names in the industry ... and has had residencies at pretty much every big venue in Sin City, most recently at Zouk nightclub at Resorts World.

"Las Vegas has been my second home for the past decade, as an architect of creating a landscape that includes House and Dance Music residencies as part of its destination," Kaskade continued.

Kobe Bryant's presence will be felt outside Crypto.com Arena forever -- the late Lakers legend's statue was officially revealed at the venue at an incredibly emotional ceremony ... where it was announced two more tributes will go up at a later date.

The new bronze figure shows Kobe pointing to the sky following his 81-point performance against the Toronto Raptors in 2006 ... a pose Kobe personally chose.

It also includes a nod to the triangle offense and the five championships he won during his Hall of Fame career.

The Black Mamba's wife and kids, former Purple and Gold players, staffers, front office execs and more were present for the unveiling ... which happened to take place on a special day -- 02/08/24 -- to symbolize Kobe's two jersey numbers with L.A., as well as the digit his daughter, Gigi, sported during her young, promising basketball career.

Vanessa Bryant, Phil Jackson, Stu Lantz, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Derek Fisher and Lakers owner Jeanie Buss took the stage ... and each gave a touching speech as the statue was revealed for the first time.

Vanessa revealed there will be three different statues of Bryant -- one each of Kobe's two different jersey numbers ... and a third featuring Gigi.

Vanessa also playfully said "tough s***" to anyone who didn't like the statue, considering it's exactly what Kobe wanted.

It's a day Laker fans have been anticipating ever since the devastating Jan. 2020 helicopter crash that killed Kobe, Gigi and seven others ... and there will no doubt be tributes left near the bronze figure as its made available to the public over the next few days.

Kobe's statue joins fellow all-time greats outside the building ... like Magic Johnson, Jerry West, Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O'Neal and more.

Kobe is undoubtedly one of the greatest to ever wear a Laker jersey ... winning five NBA championships, two scoring titles, two Finals MVPs, a regular season MVP and earning 15 All-NBA nods.

Tracy McGrady is adamant Kobe Bryant is a top-five NBA player ever ... and he says anyone who disagrees with that sentiment should "get the f*** outta here!!"

The seven-time All-Star went on an expletive-laden rant on the topic on his Instagram page this week ... explaining that anyone who thinks Kobe doesn't deserve a spot amongst basketball's GOATs is just being "disrespectful."

He said those who argue that Bryant's resume deserves to be knocked down due to the talent surrounding him don't have any leg whatsoever to stand on.

"Did Magic Johnson play with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was an all-time leading scorer?" McGrady said. "But you want to sit here and talk about Kobe playing with Shaq?!"

McGrady -- who played 15 seasons in the NBA -- continued to make his point ... saying Bryant won two NBA Finals without O'Neal. He added that if Kobe is widely considered the closest thing to Michael Jordan, how can he not be considered a top-five player?

"Tell me the other motherf***er that's close to MJ that played the game?!" he said. "Ain't nobody else close to MJ."

"So how is [Kobe] excluded out of the conversation if he's close to MJ and MJ is the greatest of all time?! Help me understand that ... They so disrespectful when it comes to Bean."

Fans and NBA stars all over agreed with T-Mac in the comment section of his post ... with Stephon Marbury, Richard Hamilton, Jamal Crawford and Nate Robinson all leaving notes of support.

It's almost time for the big game, but we're not talking about the Super Bowl ... the most puppies ever will face off in the 20th annual Puppy Bowl, right before they get new homes.

Dan Schachner -- the 13-year Puppy Bowl "Ruff-eree" -- joined us Thursday on "TMZ Live" and gave us all the details on the pooches, from big to small, playing in the game. Plus, we had some visitors in our office to highlight the real intent of the event ... getting shelter dogs adopted from Angel City Pit Bull in Los Angeles.

This year, Puppy Bowl is going bigger than ever in several ways -- Dan says there are 131 puppies playing, representing 73 animal shelters across 36 states, the most ever.

Levi the Great Dane is going to check into the game when the bigger dogs get to run in the 4th quarter -- and he's already a whopping 70 pounds at just 3 months old!

On the opposite end of the scale, Dan says the Puppy Bowl's smallest pooch ever will take the field ... Sweatpea is playing the first quarter at a mere 1.7 pounds. Yeah, she can fit in the palm of your hand!

Also new this year is Dan's assistant "Ruff-eree" ... his poodle mix rescue, Whistle.

In addition to Dan getting officiating help, he says you can also expect to see pups in several new off-the-field jobs -- like cheerleading squad and working cameras.

The best part ... Dan says the Puppy Bowl has a 100% adoption rate and helps animal shelters it partners with find new homes for their rescues, thanks to awareness raised on the upcoming TV broadcast.

Cops issued Miami Heat forward Haywood Highsmith a citation for careless driving on Tuesday ... after they say he caused an accident that resulted in a man suffering a partial amputation of his leg as well as other broken bones.

According to a crash report, obtained by TMZ Sports, the gruesome wreck happened at around 11:20 PM -- just minutes after Highsmith and the Heat beat the Orlando Magic at the Kesaya Center in Miami.

Cops state in the documents that Highsmith was going an estimated 45 MPH in a 40 MPH zone ... when he slammed into the back of a pedestrian who appeared to be pushing a broken-down car in the middle of a roadway.

The docs state Highsmith told officers that the disabled vehicle did not have its lights on ... and he couldn't stop his ride in time when he came across it in the street.

Cops wrote in the docs the pedestrian lost part of his right leg in the accident and sustained a compound fracture to his left leg as well. They also say the man suffered a possible broken left arm.

Police added the man was rushed to a local hospital in critical condition.

The crash report states drugs and alcohol were not involved ... though officers did write in the docs that Highsmith may have been distracted by unknown circumstances.

Highsmith logged three minutes of playing in the Heat's 121-95 win earlier in the night. He did not play Wednesday, though -- as the team announced he was sitting out of their game against San Antonio due to "personal reasons."

International star Tiësto just announced he will not be performing at Super Bowl LVIII after all ... saying he will miss the big game due to a "personal family emergency."

The "Godfather of EDM" shared the update with his fans on Thursday ... just days before he was slated to hit the 1s and 2s for the 49ers vs. Chiefs matchup at Allegiant Stadium.

"Me and my team have been preparing something truly special for months, but a personal family emergency is forcing me to return home Sunday morning," Tiësto said via the X app.

"It was a tough decision to miss the game, but family always comes first."

This would've been the first time the NFL had an in-game DJ for the Super Bowl ... and Tiësto -- who sold more than 36 million albums -- was honored to take on the role.

"Thank you to the @NFL for the collaboration," the 55-year-old DJ said ... adding he still plans to work with the league on something "incredible" at a later date.

The Raiders took time to thank the men and women keeping Vegas safe this Super Bowl week, swinging by LVMPD HQ to chill, and they even hooked up a volunteer worker with tix to the big game!

LB Divine Deablo and DT Matthew Butler pulled up to the Las Vegas Metro Police Department station, along with team president Sandra Douglass Morgan, a gang of cheerleaders, and even the Raiders mascot ... to take photos and speak to the staff. They also brought some grub!

TMZ Sports is told everyone had an awesome time ... but none better than a volunteer named Renee Sorensen, who has given up thousands of hours of her time without pay, simply to help her community.

The Raiders contingency wanted to say thank you, so they hooked Renee up with SB 58 tix, one of the hottest tix in the world.

Of course, tix to the Super Bowl are going for thousands of dollars each ... but Sorensen won't have to pay a dime.

It was a nice break for police officers ... who are now in the midst of one of the busiest times of the year, as hundreds of thousands of fans descend on Sin City for the game and all the festivities.

The first-ever Super Bowl in Las Vegas is going to pay tribute to the city in a way that truly screams Sin City -- or sings, rather ... 'cause it's gonna include the late, great Frank Sinatra.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... there will be several "My Way" tributes prominently featured throughout the Super Bowl LVIII broadcast, with Sinatra's famous rendition of the tune -- written by Paul Anka -- being the one to lead the opening segment.

What this is, we're told, is a cheers moment for Vegas itself -- and what better way to pay honor the storied desert town than with a song that kinda encapsulates it. And yes, Frank's version of "My Way" is the most well-known ... so they're kicking it off with that one.

Anyway, we're told the Super Bowl broadcast on CBS will show action shots of the players ... like Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes and Christian McCaffrey.

From there, our sources say CBS will transition to interviews with players' families ... talking about their dads, sons, husbands and brothers ... all underscored by a new mix of "My Way."

We know what the new "My Way" mix entails too ... our sources tell us there's going to be a live orchestra, with Sinatra singing on the big screens inside and outside The Sphere, the newest concert venue on The Strip.

BTW, Usher himself will also give a "My Way" shout-out during his Halftime performance ...  and we're told it'll be one for the books and incredibly powerful. So, yeah ... the 'MW' theme will be running throughout the course of the game, it seems -- start to finish.

Bottom line ... it's a tip of the hat to Fabulous Las Vegas, and CBS/the NFL are leaning all the way into it.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson got in full character to destroy anyone hating his new storyline with Roman Reigns ... calling on all the "crybaby" Cody Rhodes fans to "shut your bitch asses up!!"

Fresh off his controversial return on SmackDown last week, the WWE legend joined "The Pat McAfee Show" to address his decision to get back in the squared-circle ... as well as the criticism he's gotten for seemingly stealing the American Nightmare's thunder.

As we previously reported, a TON of wrestling fans are super pissed ... with the belief being Rock is boxing out Cody from a hyped-up match with Reigns at WrestleMania.

Rock made it clear nothing is set in stone in regard to the three moving pieces ... and while he has great respect for Rhodes, his family and his fans -- he feels the exact opposite about the annoying backers he refers to as "Cody crybabies."

The actor mocked the "grown ass men" behind the #WeWantCody campaign who are losing their minds over Rhodes' potentially spoiled plans with Reigns ... and it is legitimately classic stuff.

"The Rock says this," Johnson said on the show. "All you gotta do is sit back, know your role, shut your mouth and enjoy the ride that the Rock is gonna take your candy asses on. So hashtag that, hashtag shut your bitch asses up, hashtag Cody crybabies."

As we previously reported, Cody's fans showed him a ton of love on "Raw" earlier this week ... and he just recently revealed he's made his decision on what to do with his WrestleMania match.

The Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers are all set to hit the gridiron for the Super Bowl this weekend -- and even their after-parties are now set in stone ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us each team has picked out their postgame locations for their potential celebrations on Sunday -- of course, only one of 'em will actually be partying afterward ... but we know both squads have lined up a plan in the case of a W Sunday.

Let's start with the 49ers. We're told the Bay Area boys are scheduled to pull up up to OMNIA Nightclub -- one of the hottest nightclubs in Sin City -- located inside Caesars Palace, smack in the center of the Las Vegas Strip.

Kansas City, we're told, has another huge venue locked down, Zouk Nightclub ... located inside Resorts World, a relatively new hotel to the Sin City scene.

Our sources say Kansas City's even got their music ready to go -- 'cause we're told The Chainsmokers will play tunes for the Chiefs post-Super Bowl ... and maybe K.C. can talk Taylor Swift into accompanying the group if she attends the championship game.

Patrick Mahomes has a longstanding relationship with The Chainsmokers, which consists of Alex Pall and Drew Taggart, even partying with them after their Super Bowl victory last year -- so, it probably didn't take much convincing to book the Grammy-winning duo.

These star-studded bashes are sure to excite any football fanatic ... but hold your horses, super fans, because it won't be easy to crash either of these wild times -- 'cause sources tell us the police presence is gonna be heavy.

Las Vegas Metro Police and agents from the FBI will be positioned at the exclusive events -- limited to the players, their families and front office execs ... so, taking a shot with Travis Kelce or Christian McCaffrey isn't on the menu for the die-hards.

Now, the obvious note here ... while both teams have their party locations secured, it remains to be seen whether they'll both rage after the Super Bowl. It makes sense for the actual winners to show up and have a blowout, but usually the losers go straight home.

Taylor Swift hit a speedbump during her Wednesday concert in Japan, but she made a quick recovery and carried on as if nothing happened.

The pop star hit the stage at the Tokyo Dome, performing one of her risqué tunes, "Vigilante S—t," while wearing a sexy blue leotard and black knee-high boots.

With her legs spread, Taylor plunked down on a chair, missing her mark on the seat cover and having to adjust her rump for the save.

Check out this video ... Taylor was flanked by her dancers during the mishap, but she didn't seem bothered, and she moved on without looking back.

Some of her fans noticed and commented about it on the social media app, X. One joked doing her squats must have saved Taylor from falling. Another said she didn't need a chair because her rock-hard thighs would keep her elevated while in a crouched position.

As you know, Taylor has resumed the international leg of her "Eras" tour, which will take the 14-time Grammy Award winner through Asia, Australia and Europe.

But Taylor will likely make a pit stop in Vegas this weekend to cheer on her beefy bf, Kansas City Chiefs tight end, Travis Kelce.

Of course, Travis and his fellow Chiefs will be doing battle with the San Francisco 49ers to see which team will emerge as the 58th Super Bowl champ.

Usher gets the next crack at Apple Music's reign over the Super Bowl Halftime Show -- and they're going all out with a highly-produced promo ... an ode to "The Hangover."

Super Bowl LVIII's in Vegas this year and Apple gathered Usher and the gang -- Ludacris, Lil Jon and Taraji P. Henson -- to recreate the classic comedy flick in a 7-minute clip loaded with other stars, and it seems to suggest these stars might be in the mix on Sunday.

The short film opens with Apple CEO Tim Cook alerting Luda, Jon and Taraji via FaceTime (shameless plugs, duh!) that Ursh had gone MIA  ... and the trio proceeds to run amuck through Sin City to find the missing R&B superstar.

Along the way they encounter Anderson .Paak, J Balvin and Wesley Snipes, and Vegas staples -- The Blue Man Group and Criss Angel -- in full character to beef up the comedy and there's a strong hint that Usher will incorporate his masterclass roller skating into his halftime set.

Around this time last year, Usher, Floyd Mayweather and several other celebs hit the rink to celebrate Dr. Dre's "The Chronic" album with Apple Music so the synergy is running high.

It's shaping up to be Usher's year ... he's dropping his new album "Coming Home" on Sunday and also going on tour in August.

Fans in Detroit are still lickin' their wounds after the crushing NFC Championship loss ... and things didn't get any better for Motor City sports fans last night when they were trolled by the Sacramento Kings!

But, Big D got the last laugh!

The last place Detroit Pistons were in Sactown Wednesday night, and for some reason, the Kings (29-21) chose video violence, playing lowlights from the Lions' loss to the San Francisco 49ers during player introductions.

The Kings played the key Brandon Aiyuk catch, where the ball bounced off Lions DB Kindle Vildor's helmet ... a miraculous play that ended up being the start of the end for the Lions, who blew a 17-point lead, losing 34-31. Crushing. And, they put it on repeat.

The bright side for Detroit fans ... the Pistons players seemed to take things personally.

Jaden Ivey balled out, scoring a career-high 37 points. Ivey’s breakout performance gave Pistons fans some sweet revenge, shocking one of the better teams in the NBA, 133-120.

Just the Pistons winning alone is news ... they're having a historically bad year, once losing 28 consecutive games.

Patrick Mahomes has graced the cover of Sports Illustrated countless times, but it's his wife who's getting the shine now -- Brittany was just named a rookie for the publication's swimsuit issue.

S.I. and Brittany shared the big news on Thursday ... showing the Kansas City Chiefs partner sporting several red one-pieces and bikinis during a photoshoot in Belize.

S.I. Swim editor M.J. Day addressed the decision to feature the famous WAG this year ... saying, "Owner of the Kansas City Current NWSL team, former pro athlete, wife and mother, Brittany emerges as the epitome of a modern-day powerhouse."

"Founder of the world’s first ever dedicated stadium for women’s sports, Brittany’s journey has surpassed all expectations, inspiring others with her tenacity and unyielding determination. We are proud to welcome her to the SI Swimsuit family where she will undoubtedly continue to empower women worldwide."

Brittany -- who married Patrick in 2022 -- also spoke out on the honor ... calling it a dream come true and hoping her spread inspires women all over.

"I want people to know that they can accomplish anything, even things you never thought would be possible in your wildest dreams," the mother of two said.

It's huge for the family ... and comes just days before Patrick's huge Super Bowl matchup against the San Francisco 49ers.

Andrew Whitworth's playing days are officially in his rearview mirror ... the former NFL star tells TMZ Sports there's absolutely "no chance" he comes back to the gridiron.

Of course, ever since the 42-year-old said he was done playing following his Super Bowl LVI win in 2022 ... there's been rumors he could return.

After all, at the time that he hung up his spikes, he was still widely considered one of the best left tackles in the game ... and in the two years since he's stopped playing, a championship contender has been in need of his talents.

But, Whitworth made it clear to us this week ... he'll never strap on a helmet and shoulder pads for an NFL team again.

"I get in the weight room every now and then and I kind of convince myself maybe I could do it," he said. "But I tell you what, there's no chance."

Whitworth -- who's become a star analyst for Prime Video's "Thursday Night Football" in retirement -- explained he's simply enjoying watching ball from the sidelines too much to get back into it.

"I feel too good walking around, hanging out, eating food, having drinks and watching people play football," the 16-year NFL vet said. "It's a much more fun way to do it. So, I'm going to stick with that. That's for sure."

As for this weekend's big game ... Whitworth, unsurprisingly, told us he thinks it could come down to the trenches. For the Chiefs, he said it's paramount they stop Nick Bosa and Javon Hargrave. For the Niners, he said they need to build a strategy around slowing down Chris Jones.

Whitworth also said it'll be key for Brock Purdy to control his jitters -- though he's confident the SF quarterback will get it done.

Taylor Swift is pulling a Donna Kelce in the BS department -- telling her fans that she had a backup plan to announce her album if she didn't win at the Grammys ... OK, Tay Tay. 🙄

The singer relayed this sentiment to her Tokyo fans Wednesday night during performance #1 of her 4-show slate -- and yes, she claims she would've saved the news for Japan if things hadn't worked out for her at the award show this past weekend.

Taylor explains she'd only told a select few people about her album at that point -- including her producer, Jack Antonoff -- and then said ... "OK, if I’m lucky enough to get up there and win one thing tonight, I’m just gonna do it. I’m just gonna announce my new album."

She may well be telling the truth here ... but if we're being honest, it sounds like she's being a little insincere in the sense that she makes it seem like her winning at the Grammys wasn't a sure thing ... 'cause truth be told, it absolutely was, and T-Swift probably knew it.

In other words, Taylor is overplaying the modesty card -- which she actually channeled on Sunday night when she won Album of the Year for "Midnights" ... seemingly feigning surprise.

Anyway, TS continued to lay it on thick during Wednesday night's show ... telling the audience, "And luckily enough, that ended up happening ... thanks to you and your support, I was lucky enough to win a Grammy and tell you about it onstage at the Grammys. And now we can talk about it afterward, we can do like a debrief tonight."

Of course, her fans ate it up and cheered her on -- but again, this is very much so in the same vein as what Donna suggested just earlier in the day ... that she didn't know where she'd be sitting at the Super Bowl, and that she didn't think she'd be in a private suite.

BTW, Travis himself seems to be on this train too ... he made it seem like he didn't know what country Taylor was performing in ... before correctly saying it was in Tokyo.