TMZ Sports - Page 50

Dwayne Johnson is a man of his word, and so is one of his biggest fans ... 'cause after a chance meeting at a store, the guy got the WWE Superstar's autograph tattooed on him -- and now he's getting a free ride to WrestleMania!

Johnson was shopping at Target last week when he ran into Ruben Rodriguez, a lifelong fan, and his young daughter.

Rodriguez told Johnson that if he signed his arm, he would make it permanent ... heading almost straight to his tattoo artist. After all, DJ's his "childhood hero."

Rodriguez revealed the new ink on social media earlier this week ... and when Johnson saw it, he lost it!

"Dude holy s*** you did it!!" The Rock replied on X. "That’s the authentic real deal signature & bull right there! Looks amazing!"

DJ was so impressed, he decided to hook up Rodriguez's family with an all expenses paid trip to Philadelphia for WrestleMania ... going down this weekend in the City of Brotherly Love.

"You’re a man of your word, and so is the Final Boss…  Pack your bags - because you and your daughter are coming to @wwe #WrestleMania," Johnson said.

"Your tickets, flight, hotel, transportation, and food - are all on me! My team will be reaching out. See you in Philly brother."

Rodriguez is obviously stoked ... and says he's "forever grateful."

It's not the first time The Rock's presence has had a profound effect on a fan ... an adult fan broke down in tears after Johnson signed his WWE belt during the Black Adam World Tour in 2022.

LeBron James is addressing the recent rumblings surrounding Bronny's college basketball future ... saying he has no idea where the reports are coming from, but he'll support the young hooper no matter what he decides to do.

Longtime sportswriter Dick Weiss reported Tuesday the 19-year-old USC Trojan planned to transfer to a new program following head coach Andy Enfield's departure for SMU.

Weiss later backtracked and admitted he couldn't confirm the story ... but that didn't stop Lakers reporters from inquiring about it following L.A.'s 128-111 win over the Toronto Raptors.

"I don't know where it came from, but at the end of the day, Bronny's his own man and he has some tough decisions to make," Bron told reporters. "And when he's ready to make those decisions, he'll let us all know."

"But as his family, we're going to support whatever he does."

There's a lot of speculation regarding Bronny -- he was once believed to be a 2024 NBA Draft prospect, but he averaged less than 5 points, 3 rebounds and just over 2 assists a game in his freshman campaign after recovering from his offseason cardiac arrest.

Some analysts think he would benefit from staying in school another year to develop his game for the next level ... but 39-year-old LeBron has long stated it is his dream to be in the Association alongside his eldest son.

Frankie Muniz says his parents split up while he was pursuing his career in Hollywood as a child star -- something that clearly affected him ... 'cause he got emotional talking about it.

The actor-turned-race car driver got emotional on a recent episode of Australia's "I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me out of Here!" when he was asked how his fame on "Malcolm in the Middle" (and everything else around that time) impacted his family unit.

As it turns out, Frankie says stardom changed a lot of things in his household -- including the fact that his parents got a divorce as he and his mother, Denise, moved to L.A. so he could act.

Mike Tyson's adamant his fight with Jake Paul ain't a money grab -- he says he's training round the clock to kick the social media star's ass this summer ... insisting this week, "I take it serious!"

Iron Mike appeared on "Hannity" on Tuesday night to break down the upcoming tilt with Paul -- and he told the show's host, Sean Hannity, that he's living in the gym right now to make sure he's in incredible shape for the July 20 bout.

Mike says his days start with rowing work ... before he heads to the gym in the afternoon. After that, the former heavyweight champ says it's time for strength and conditioning.

The University of Connecticut isn't playing around this year ... with both their men's and women's hoops teams in the Final Four, the U isn't takin' any chances, removing all the light poles from the campus to stop any debauchery square in its tracks!

TMZ Sports talked to UConn on Tuesday -- and with both basketball teams just two wins away from Natty's -- we asked about precautions ... given how crazy things got during last year's celebration after the men won.

Remember, students caused hella damage to the Storrs campus, including ripping down light poles and throwing them through buildings.

Tuesdays aren't so bad when you've got some TMZ TV Hot Takes to spice things up. Get the scoop below and turn things around!

Kickstarting with "TMZ Live" ... where Harvey and Charles dig into Shannen Doherty's revelation she's preparing for her own death by getting rid of her material possessions.

A 911 caller told dispatch she found Vontae Davis dead in the area of a gym in his home ... this according to police audio obtained by TMZ Sports.

In the call, the unidentified woman can be heard saying she discovered the former NFL star's body after initially not being able to find him at his Southwest Ranches residence.

Dispatch attempted to get the woman to obtain a defibrillator ... though it's unclear if the woman or any others retrieved it or attempted to use it on Davis. The call was heavily redacted by authorities.

Kroy Biermann's divorce drama with Kim Zolciak is hitting a new rough patch -- he claims she's dragging her feet on handing over important financial docs, so now he's simply exposing her alleged spending himself.

TMZ has obtained Kroy's response to Kim's motion to compel handing over her financial docs, and he's suggesting her excuses -- about protecting the kids' privacy and fears he's leaking confidential info to the media -- are just smokescreens to keep her spending habits under wraps.

In Kroy's docs, he's attached a spreadsheet of those spending habits during their marriage -- and he claims she dropped more than $600K from 2016 to 2023 ... mostly on swanky gear from Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Ave, Chanel, Versace, and Agent Provocateur.

Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese's highly anticipated rematch dominated the ratings on Monday ... 'cause ESPN says the Iowa vs. LSU women's Elite Eight contest generated 12.3 million viewers -- making it the most-watched women's game on record.

The sports network confirmed the massive numbers less than 24 hours after the Hawkeye beat the Tigers, 94-87 ... clinching their 2nd-straight trip to the Final Four.

Not only was it the most-viewed women's game -- ESPN added it was the biggest audience ever for a college basketball game on its platform.

Women's hoops has continuously risen in popularity ... as the Sweet Sixteen round broke a record with 2.4 million views -- a 96% increase!!

The overall women's tournament has also seen a huge spike ... with an average of 1.1 million viewers.

Of course, hats off to stars like Clark, Reese, Paige Bueckers, Juju Watkins, Flau'jae Johnson and Kamilla Cardoso ... who have undoubtedly helped bring in new eyeballs this season.

Their influence has also resulted in NIL deals ... as well as a $5 million offer for Clark to join Ice Cube's Big3 league.

New couple alert??

Johnny Manziel and Jose Canseco's daughter, Josie, appear to be spending some quality time together ... after the model shared a snap of them cozying up on a plane.

Josie added the pic to her Instagram story on Tuesday ... which was meant to highlight her new Alo sneakers, but Manziel's notable hand tattoos were on display in the background.

On top of the ink, the man in the picture is also wearing a Swiftie-esque friendship bracelet that resembles a similar accessory Manziel has rocked in the past ... leading us to believe the post was a soft launch of sorts.

If they're an item, it's fair to assume they're still in the early stages ... as the two have not been spotted out on the town together just yet. They at least crossed paths and posed next to each other at Travis Scott's Cactus Jack celebrity softball game back in February ... so maybe that's when the sparks started flying??

It would be a pretty interesting pairing, to say the least -- Josie used to date rapper MIKE (FKA Mike Stud), who shared a podcast with Manziel back in the day.

The former NFL quarterback was famously married to Bre Tiesi ... although that relationship ended when the "Selling Sunset" star filed for divorce in 2019. He went on to date Kenzie Werner, but that seemingly fizzled out as well.

Josie previously dated Logan Paul and Brody Jenner  ... and was most recently spotted with country singer Morgan Wallen in London, although that was apparently just a friendly outing.

Rashee Rice was involved in the car crash that injured multiple people in Dallas Saturday ... and he admitted it to the company that owns the Lambo ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Rice owned the Corvette that was involved in the crash and leased the Lambo from a company called The Classic Lifestyle. Rice was in the Lambo at the time of the crash and, according to the leasing agreement, he's the only person who was permitted to drive the car ... this according to Kyle Coker, the attorney representing Classic Lifestyle.

Coker tells TMZ Sports, Rice fired off a text shortly after the wreck, acknowledging he was involved in the crash and promising to pay for the Lambo, which was totaled.

Retirement is opening new chapters for former Toronto Blue Jays pitcher T.J. House -- one of only a handful of openly gay ex-MLB players -- as he just got married to his longtime partner!!

The 34-year-old lefty tied the knot with Ryan Neitzel on Friday in New Orleans ... during a lavish outdoor wedding that came with all the bells and whistles.

The nuptials -- and the ensuing party -- featured a cigar roller, a tarot card reader and even a parade through the streets with a jazz band! There were also glow sticks ... and, yes, a ton of dancing.

Kristin Cavallari may be a new mom in the future -- at least that's what she's saying ... 'cause her boyfriend wants to have kids.

The reality star explained on her "Let's Be Honest" podcast that her 24-year-old BF, Mark Estes, has his sights set on being a dad -- and because of this, she's been mulling over potentially popping out another baby with him, assuming everything works out.

So far it looks like Kristin -- who's currently 37 herself -- might be leaning towards expanding her brood ... even joking with her cohost her future little one could become so famous it'd be her one-way ticket into retirement ... 'cause the kid would be so freaking good looking.

Jake Gyllenhaal and Conor McGregor might be the next dynamic duo in Hollywood ... 'cause their "Road House" reimagining just made history with 50 million views since its debut -- a new record for Prime Video.

The numbers were shared just over a week after the action flick premiered on the streaming giant ... with officials saying it attracted a ton of eyeballs.

50 million is a record-breaking number for a movie debut on Prime Video ... and McGregor was thrilled over the accomplishment.

Ex-MMA star Mark Coleman is getting the royal treatment after heroically saving his parents from a house fire last month ... with Dana White's organization hooking him up with tickets to UFC 300!!

The former heavyweight champion shared the exciting news on Tuesday ... saying he and his daughters will be present when the big event goes down in Las Vegas next weekend.

Coleman was clearly pumped over the gesture ... showing off some punches as he exercised during his video announcement.

59-year-old Coleman even joked he would be a backup fighter on the card ... adding he can't wait to check out Max Holloway and Justin Gaethje duke it out for the "BMF" belt, as well as the main event fights between Alex Pereira and Jamahal Hill and Zhang Weili and Yan Xiaonan.

Holloway spoke out in support of Coleman on Monday ... saying the UFC legend should present the belt after the fight, as he's the REAL BMF for risking everything for his loved ones.

As we previously reported, Coleman has been on the road to recovery following the life-threatening tragedy ... but has shown great signs of improvement, even returning to the gym just days later.

Joe Flaherty -- famous from "Happy Gilmore" and "Freaks and Greeks" -- has died ... so says his own flesh and blood.

The actor's daughter, Gudrun, dropped the sad news, saying her father passed away Monday after a brief illness. She didn't disclose what ailment he was battling, or where exactly he died ... no further details were shared.

JF's famous friends had recently rallied to raise money to provide round-the-clock care for the comedic legend ... with his daughter serving as his sole caregiver at the time.