TMZ Sports - Page 50

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce may have failed to make their red carpet debut as a couple at the 2024 Oscars ... but they at least showed up for a shindig afterward, albeit on the DL.

TMZ has confirmed that the pop star and the NFL stud stopped by Madonna and Guy Oseary's Oscars exclusive after-party at a private residence in the Hollywood Hills on Sunday evening ... where there weren't any photos allowed inside.

Of course, British Vogue published a bunch of shots of stars who showed up and posed at what appears to be a designated photo-op area -- which had a bunch of fun cutouts, etc.

Some of the stars who were pictured included Robert De Niro, Matthew McConaughey, Jodie Turner-Smith, Lenny Kravitz, Salma Hayek and others. Notably, Taylor and Travis were not part of the photo lineup ... but are listed among the celeb guests who crashed it.

Like we said, sources with direct knowledge tell us they were in fact there ... even though they seem to have gone out of their way to not be seen/photographed, which is interesting.

Taylor and Travis landing here in L.A. comes after T-Swift's six sold-old shows in Singapore as part of her "Eras" tour -- which wrapped up this past weekend. Sounds like they were ready to get the hell out of there and come back stateside ... which is exactly what they did.

They enjoyed some alone time in Asia for the brief period Travis was there -- but obviously with her tour being on pause for a good month or so ... they were ready to come home.

They've had no problem letting their love story play out in the public eye in some settings ... but in others, they're weirdly private, and it really doesn't make much sense.

Remember, the singer supported the Kansas City Chiefs tight end at several of his football games -- including the Super Bowl -- and Travis has seen Taylor's "Eras" tour in four different cities. On its face, it seems like they're only cool being snapped in public at certain times.

Taylor herself even seems to be incredibly averse to being photographed at times -- going so far as to hidey under umbrellas to keep paparazzi from snapping her ... which, again, is so bizarre. Here for this after-party, it looks to have been more of the same ... ultra privacy.

Perhaps Taylor and Travis have had enough of the Dads, Brads and Chads weighing in on their every move? Time will tell!

Kim Kardashian and Odell Beckham Jr. are looking more like a couple by the day -- and they seemed to soft-launch their relationship this weekend ... that's what this video suggests.

Check out this footage, obtained by TMZ, that shows Kim and OBJ at Jay-Z and Beyonce's Oscars after-party Sunday night at the Chateau Marmot in L.A. -- and you can see them mingling in a lobby-like area of the venue ... getting touchy-feely with each other.

As you can see ... Kim was chit-chatting with Odell in a pretty flirty manner -- going back and forth with him and seemingly comparing their outfits. At one point she actually puts her hands on Odell too ... going up and grabbing his face, almost as if she's going in for a kiss.

You never actually witness them lock lips ... but this is the most we've seen them interact with one another in public since they've been rumored to be dating ... going back months now.

Doesn't look like they knew they were being filmed either -- but at this point ... it's pretty obvious they're together as a couple. They even showed up together for all the post-Oscars shindigs ... first hitting the Vanity Fair after-party, and later swinging by Jay and Bey's thing.

Remember, they were also spotted out together in Vegas last month during the Super Bowl -- and there, too, they seemed to be trying to lay low ... and distance themselves a bit.

Same vibe here when they were outside heading into a party -- namely, trying to stagger a bit -- but they're not doing a very good job at throwing people off the scent anymore. Now with this new video -- it seems cat's outta the bag ... they're straight up dating each other.

Rumors of Kim and Odell being an item have swirled for months -- and all reports thus far have suggested that it's not that serious. However, they seem pretty into each other ... and the fact they continue to hang out all this time later indicates this might be the real deal.

Kim has yet to publicly declare anyone as her official significant since splitting from comedian Pete Davidson in August 2022. Of course, she was previously married to Kanye West, who she shares kids North, Saint, Chicago and Psalm with ... but that's over.

As for Odell ... he split from his longtime girlfriend Lauren Wood earlier in 2023, and has been single since.

While Kim and Odell have yet to confirm the rumored romance on paper (or on IG, more like) ... it's clear they enjoy each other's company. Perhaps a little bit more than that, TBH.

12:06 PM -- The L.A. Lakers say they're already in the process of fixing the typos on Kobe Bryant's statue ... admitting to ABC News on Monday they've known of the issues "for a few weeks."

"We have been aware of this for a few weeks," a spokesperson said, "and are already working to get it corrected soon."

The statue erected to immortalize Kobe Bryant outside of Crypto.com Arena has multiple typos on it ... at least four, to be exact.

The flaws were discovered this week ... on the base of the monument where an image of a signed box score from Bryant's famed 2006, 81-point game was etched in.

You can see Von Wafer's name is mistakenly spelled "Vom Wafer." Jose Calderon's name is also incorrectly listed as "Jose Calderson." The word "decision" in two of the "Coach's Decision" portions of the statue is also wrongfully written as "decicion."

A copy of the box score sold at Goldin Auctions back in 2022 shows none of the errors were featured on the original document.

We've reached out to the Lakers for comment, but so far, we've yet to hear back.

The Bryant sculpture was first put up at the arena back on Feb. 8 ... at a star-studded event. Phil Jackson, Stu Lantz, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Derek Fisher and Lakers owner Jeanie Buss were all there ... as was Vanessa Bryant, who helped introduce it with an emotional and, at times, lighthearted speech.

"For the record," Vanessa said before the public saw the carving for the first time, "Kobe picked the pose you’re about to see. So if anyone has any issues with it, tough s***."

At the ceremony, it was also announced the Lakers would unveil two more tributes to Bryant at their arena at a later date.

The brother of LSU hoops star Flau'jae Johnson has been arrested after cops say he injured an SEC employee when he jumped onto the basketball court as a scuffle broke out on the hardwood during the Tigers-Gamecocks game.

Greenville Police tell TMZ Sports that Johnson's brother, Trayron Milton, was taken into custody Monday and was charged with assault, battery in the 3rd degree and disorderly conduct.

The arrest comes following his involvement in the altercation during the women's SEC title game on Sunday at Bon Secours Wellness Arena ... which was started when Gamecocks guard MiLaysia Fulwiley shoved Johnson to the floor.

Milton, who was sitting courtside, hopped over the scorer's table, apparently trying to defend his sister, but also injuring an SEC employee in the process.

"While Milton was jumping over the barrier, the victim was sitting at the scorer's table at the edge of the court," a GPD spokesperson said.

"To get over the table, Milton came from behind the table, pushed down on the victim’s head, and stepped on her shoulders to jump over."

Milton was eventually placed in handcuffs and escorted out of the arena while being booed by fans.

Johnson has not commented about the incident or her brother's arrest ... but South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said the LSU guard approached her after the game and apologized.

Saquon Barkley's playing days in New York are over ... the former Giants tailback just revealed he's signing with Philadelphia in free agency.

Barkley confirmed the news on his X page just minutes ago ... sharing two emojis of Eagles.

"Thank you to everyone who has shown me love and support over the past 6 years…," he wrote in a separate tweet. "Forever grateful! Excited for the next chapter."

According to NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, Barkley will put pen to paper on a three-year, $37.75 million deal when the new league year kicks off later this week.

Saquon was taken by New York with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft ... and, outside of 2020 when he injured his knee, he's been arguably the team's biggest star.

In his six years with the team, Barkley racked up 5,211 rushing yards, 2,100 receiving yards and 47 total touchdowns.

But, his time in NY wasn't without drama -- at least when it came to contract negotiations.

Barkley made it clear last offseason he wasn't thrilled with his situation -- after the team couldn't get him a long-term deal following their franchise tag application.

John Cena stripped down to practically nothing to pull off a streaker bit at the Oscars ... but we now know just how much skin he really showed, and what was actually covered up.

The wrestler-turned-actor took to the Dolby Theatre stage in Hollywood, Calif. in nothing but nude-colored modesty wear to make it appear like he was really naked at the annual industry event. In other words, his junk/ass was covered up after all, so he wasn't totally naked.

As you can see from the new photos ... John was totally unfazed by the minimal amount he had to wear -- as he smiled offstage while waiting for his hilarious segment to begin.

He was even snapped shushing a few people behind the scenes while rocking only Birkenstock sandals and an impressive timepiece.

Remember, John is no stranger to performing in little to nothing -- he famously wrestled shirtless while rocking only denim jorts throughout most of his WWE career.

As for how he pulled off his onstage quick change to present the Best Costume Design category ... the video above shows several Oscars production assistants draping John in fabric as the nominee montage played.

And the commitment to the bit has certainly paid off -- JC's appearance has been applauded as one of the night's highlights.

Other notable moments at this year's Oscars include Emma Stone ripping her dress during Ryan Gosling's performance of "I'm Just Ken," Jimmy Kimmel and Donald Trump exchanging words mid-show, and "Twins" costars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito's reuniting onstage.

Ya gotta wonder how John's ex, Nikki Garcia, felt about the bit -- as she was also in attendance working the Oscars red carpet.

Besar Nimani, a former boxing champion with only one loss in his career, was shot to death outside a restaurant in Germany.

Nimani was leaving the establishment in Bielefeld Saturday night around 6 PM, according to a report, when 10 shots were fired ... at least some striking Nimani, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

"One or more perpetrators approached and shot the victim," police said in a statement, adding, Nimani "died at the scene due to the great wounds he received."

Authorities are currently investigating -- a "major police operation" -- as they hunt for the person (or people) behind the shooting.

Cops have not commented on motive or the identity of any suspect(s).

Besar, an Albanian who was born in Kosovo in 1985, fled to Germany in the late '90s as the Kosovo War raged in the Southeastern European country.

And, the boxer eventually made his mark in his new country ... becoming a successful pro pugilist. In fact, Besar was 26-1 with 22 knockouts ... and once held the IBF European Super Welterweight title. Nimani retired in 2019 after winning his last fight by TKO.

Nimani's brother, Berati, paid tribute to his late sibling on social media ... "My brother Besar Nimani was killed today in an ambush in Bielefeld, Germany."

He added ... "May God join us in heaven with him. I will forever be proud of you, I love you."

Muhammad Ali won't be just a boxing Hall of Famer anymore ... in less than a month, he'll be a WWE one too!!

The wrestling org. announced Monday the legendary pugilist will be inducted into the 2024 class in April ... alongside several others, including Paul Heyman, Bull Nakano and the U.S. Express.

"Known simply as 'The Greatest,'" the WWE said in a statement revealing the news, "Ali's influence transcended sports as his work as an activist, artist, and personality established him as one of the most renowned figures in the entire world."

Ali made several appearances for the WWE in his career ... including back in June 1976, when he competed in an exhibition match against Antonio Inoki in Japan.

That fight -- called "The War of the Worlds," which resulted in a 15-round draw -- was televised to nearly 33,000 fans at Shea Stadium in Queens, New York.

Ali -- who died in 2016 at 74 years old -- also served a special guest referee at WrestleMania in 1984. During the main event -- which featured Hulk Hogan, Mr. T, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff -- Ali actually landed a punch on Piper.

The Detroit Pistons' lousy season somehow just got even lower ... the team's GM, Troy Weaver, was filmed getting into a heated spat with an angry fan at a game on Saturday.

The incident reportedly happened in the fourth quarter of Detroit's blowout loss to the Dallas Mavericks at the Little Caesars Arena ... when a man decked out in Red Wings gear seemed to confront Weaver at his seat.

You can see in a video posted to TikTok on Sunday ... Weaver appeared to yell at the fan, "You're lucky I don't beat your ass" -- before the man can be heard responding, "You suck at your job."

Weaver then motioned for a security guard to take the guy away from the area. The video then cut out.

A season ticket holder who claimed to have witnessed the interaction told the Associated Press on Sunday the tiff was actually the second time the man had gotten into it with Weaver at the game.

"The guy that was in the incident, with the Red Wings stuff on, came over and was pointing at the scoreboard earlier in the game,” Jeffrey Calloway told the AP. "Troy Weaver just shrugged his shoulders and said, ‘OK,’ and the guy went back to his seat."

"When [Jalen] Duren got ejected, the guy came back and told him that he was terrible at his job. Then, Troy Weaver was telling the fan he had to leave and that's when ushers or security walked over."

Weaver -- Detroit's GM since 2020 -- has yet to publicly comment on the matter.

The Oscars are over, and the stars all went out with a bang hitting up after-parties around town -- but the biggest hot spot was 100% Vanity Fair's shindig ... where it was a who's-who.

Hollywood's A-list crowd hit up the magazine's annual post-Oscars get-together -- which has become a staple during awards season, and where just about everyone who was in town swung by to have their photos taken and to hobnob with other celebs post-show.

Of course, ya can't blame anyone for wanting to hit up this Oscars bash -- the red carpet and giant lettering is eye-catching, to say the least, and everyone's dressed to the nines.

The pap shots were something to behold, but once people were inside and mingling -- there was a lot to see there as well ... with lots of different stars crossing paths and exchanging smiles. Indeed, Oscar winners themselves were on hand ... as were the runner-ups.

Some of the celebs on hand ... Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Emily Blunt and John Krasinski, Margot Robbie, America Ferrera, Billie Eilish, Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez, Sydney Sweeney, Sofía Vergara, Lenny Kravitz and lots of others.

FWIW, that wasn't the only game in town ... Beyoncé and Jay-Z threw another party at the Chateau Marmont -- and that bash was just as star-studded. In fact, there may have been some double dipping here.

Just a smidge of the stars who showed up for Jay and Bey's party -- the KarJenners, LeBron James, Kelly Rowland, Ciara and Russell Wilson, Chrissy Teigen and John Legend, Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, MGK and Megan Fox, Kerry Washington and more.

It was certainly a night to remember ... especially for some movies like "Oppenheimer," "Poor Things," "The Zone of Interest" and a handful of other flicks that truly cleaned up and swept.

"Barbie" left relatively empty-handed ... as did "Killers of the Flower Moon." That's not to say people weren't happy at the actual ceremony, though ... 'cause they absolutely were.

Peep all the photos showing the behind-the-scenes. A night to remember and then some!

Anthony Davis' parents had several reasons to celebrate after the Lakers' massive win on Sunday ... their son's historic performance and 31st birthday -- mom and dad even surprised him with a massive cake right in the locker room!

The Lakers center put on a show at the Crypto.com Arena against the Minnesota Timberwolves (who were without Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns) ... finishing the game with 27 points, 25 rebounds, seven steals, five assists, and three blocks.

AD's folks, Anthony Sr. and Erainer, were in attendance to watch their son ... and he was incredible. The 'rents then got to surprise him with a big cake for another trip around the sun.

The Lakers helped out, too ... as mom and dad walked in, players, including LeBron James, began singing "Happy Birthday!"

AD was all smiles ... and rightfully so. His stat line from Sunday's game was a first for an NBA hooper.

"We just want to come out as a team effort knowing that where we are in the standings and how important this game was," Davis said during post-game interviews, "You know, trying to close the gap in the standings."

The Lakers are currently the 9th seed in the West, moving just one game behind the Dallas Mavericks.

LSU women's basketball star Flau'jae Johnson was shoved to the floor during a wild fight at the SEC Championship Game on Sunday.

The push happened with about 2 minutes remaining in the Tigers' 79-72 loss to South Carolina in Greenville ... after Johnson had gotten tangled up with Gamecocks guard MiLaysia Fulwiley.

You can see in video from the game's broadcast that following the physical play on the court, Johnson nudged Ashlyn Watkins on her way back to her bench. That prompted Kamilla Cardoso to run into the skirmish and put her hands all over Johnson.

After the LSU guard hit the ground, all hell broke loose ... as players from both teams raced onto the floor. At one point, a man ID'ed on the game's broadcast as Johnson's brother even got involved ... jumping over the scorer's table to see the action up close.

Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed, and both squads returned to their ends of the court without much further issue.

Six players in total -- including Cardoso -- were ejected from the matchup. Johnson's brother, meanwhile, was led away from the court in handcuffs, but an LSU spokesperson told The Advocate he was not arrested.

Cardoso -- who could be forced to miss some NCAA tournament time now due to her role in the tussle -- went on to apologize for it all in a post on X after the game.

"My behavior was not representative of who I am as a person or the South Carolina program," she wrote, "and I deeply regret any discomfort or inconvenience it may have caused."

As for where Angel Reese was during the whole mix, she wrote in a post on her own X page, "As a person at my STATUS, sometimes you have to walk away from certain situations."

"Mind you," she added, "the play before that I had rolled my ankle AGAIN and was already walking to the bench. I ALWAYS ride for mine. I’m super proud of this team & super excited for march. #geauxtigers."

Bill Belichick won't be a head coach in the NFL this year ... and it wouldn't surprise former NFL exec Marc Ross if he's NEVER one again.

"As far as a head coach," Ross tells TMZ Sports, "yeah, I think this might be the end of the road for him."

It's a pretty shocking reality to think about ... considering arguably no one has ever found more success on an NFL sideline than Belichick.

In his 24 years as Patriots head man, he won 266 regular season games and six total Super Bowls. He earned Coach of the Year honors three times -- and if you include his five seasons as the coach of the Cleveland Browns, he left New England just 26 wins away from Don Shula's all-time mark of 328.

But, when we spoke about the 71-year-old's future this week to Ross -- an NFL Network analyst who previously spent 11 seasons working for the New York Giants ... he wasn't sure if The Hoodie would ever get the chance to be the big boss again.

"I think, unfortunately," Ross told us, "the head coaching career could be over for Belichick."

As for why ... Ross made it clear the hard-nosed way Belichick operated in New England might cause NFL owners to look elsewhere.

John Cena went from ass-naked to looking like a good old-fashioned Greek philosopher in record time at the Oscars -- and the wardrobe change was actually caught on camera.

The wrestler-turned-actor was on hand Sunday for a pretty cringe-worthy bit where he was supposed to run across the stage naked for the Best Costume Design category ... which ended with JC shuffling across the stage with the winner's envelope covering his privates.

The whole gag here was that John was in his birthday suit, and he was there to highlight the best costumes in movies -- something Jimmy Kimmel had to come and help him with.

Once the screen was overtaken with the nominee montage and it flashed back to Jimmy and John onstage -- the WWE star was suddenly in a toga-like getup ... and it happened fast.

As it turns out ... it was something people BTS had to rush out and assist with in a matter of seconds -- which was caught on camera by someone at Vulture. The room went dark at this moment -- which we didn't see in the broadcast -- and John sure looked nude.

Funny enough, he's actually the 2nd "naked" famous buff dude on TV this weekend -- Josh Brolin stripped down as well during his 'SNL' hosting gig, albeit leaving his undies on.

Here's to the hunky old guys showing off what their mama gave them ... cheers.

Vanessa Hudgens is pregnant, and she let the world know in the biggest way possible -- showing up to the Oscars ... with a big ol' baby bump in tow!

The actress is one of the hosts on the red carpet Sunday at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood -- where the ceremony will be going down later today -- and before all the stars arrived to take their own pictures ... Vanessa made sure to steal the spotlight with shots of her own.

She had a very good reason, too ... clearly, Vanessa is expecting a child -- and this is the first time anyone's hearing about it publicly. On its face, it seems she's fairly far along.

Of course, this is major news ... seeing how this would be VH's first child, and ditto for her husband, Cole Tucker. Remember, they just got married a few months ago down in Mexico ... and now, they're having a kid together in record time. No time like the present, right?!

Cole and Vanessa have been together as a couple since 2020 ... after she broke things off with her longtime boyfriend, Austin Butler -- with whom she'd been with for many years.

Vanessa and Cole were two peas in a pod ... she said she knew he was the one right away.

While she's clearly happy with her hubby ... the topic of her relationship with Austin has come up quite a bit lately -- especially with him being launched into superstardom through all these movies he's been in the past couple years, including 'Elvis.'

Vanessa just said last week she's happy her split with Austin led her to Cole -- and Austin, meanwhile, has said he valued his time with Vanessa ... and still respected/cared about her.

Austin himself is not scheduled to be at today's Oscars ceremony -- although, he has been out and about for Oscars-related parties this weekend.

So, he might be around somewhere later tonight as well. Ya gotta wonder how he might feel about this big development.

LeBron James plopped down next to his female bosses at the Lakers game this week and made sure to ring in International Women's Day with 'em ... which they seemed to really dig.

This clip of LBJ sitting down with Jeanie Buss and Linda Rambis -- both of whom are top-level Lakers execs, and who are effectively his employers -- at Friday's game is going viral right now ... and for good reason, we suppose. It's pretty hilarious ... and eye-popping too.

Check it out ... LeBron moseys on over to where JB and LR are sitting, courtside, and takes a seat in between them -- where he starts to chop it and, apparently, drop jokes in between.

Some lip-readers think they see LeBron saying ... "First and foremost, Happy International Women's Day" -- which Linda and Jeanie seemed to love, 'cause they were all over the guy with snuggles and bicep rubs. Nothing too inappropriate, of course, but it was quite a sight.

Jeanie even leaned her head on LeBron's shoulder at one point while they yukked it up.

Like we said ... nothing overtly over the line here, but it certainly threw the Internet into a tizzy -- and became a bit of a meme over the past couple days. Y'know ... "rizz" jokes, etc.

Of course, it's silly to assume Linda and Jeanie were into LeBron here -- as some online have suggested after watching this -- because not only are both women already known to be close with him (he is THE biggest Lakers star, after all) ... but they're both happily married!

Jeanie got hitched to Jay Mohr last year on the beach ... this after dating him for a bit. And Linda, meanwhile, has been married to Kurt Rambis for quite literally decades.

Goes without saying ... LeBron is also a married man -- so everyone can settle down.

As for why LeBron wasn't playing in this game against the Bucks ... his ankle's jacked up. So, nothing wrong with a little facetime with the higher-ups -- that's essentially what this was.