TMZ Sports - Page 34

4/8 8 AM PT -- Jones is further clearing the air regarding his interaction with the drug tester ... saying he was NOT arrested over the incident.

"I must admit, it's disappointing to have to clarify these things again, but I understand that I may be an easy target given some of my past issues," Jones said. "It's important to set the record straight and make sure the truth is told."

Jones reiterated he was upset when the tester showed up to his home ... and he was "caught off guard" as he was taking a nap at the time. Jones admitted to using profanity after growing frustrated with the administrator's "unprofessionalism and protocol," but other than that ... he claims he did nothing wrong.

"It's unfortunate that false news has been spread without proper fact-checking," he added. "I want to assure you that I will vigorously defend myself against these baseless accusations. The truth is, the incident simply did not occur."

UFC champion Jon Jones is adamantly denying any wrongdoing after a drug tester showed up at his place unannounced ... saying the whole interaction was as cordial as could be.

Jones -- a 36-year-old fighter -- claims he was at his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico last weekend ... when out of nowhere, a UFC-certified official showed up to test his blood while he was celebrating a birthday.

In a police report filed by the alleged tester, Jones is accused of grabbing the official's phone and threatening to kill her ... but he says there's video to prove there was no bad blood.

Victoria Beckham's drawing attention to her man's zipper ... cracking a scandalous joke revolving around her own dark brunette locks and her hubby's crotch.

The former Spice Girls singer shared a pic to Instagram featuring her husband David Beckham's lower half clad in blue jeans ... with a thick lock of her hair hanging out of the zipper.

VB jokingly wrote as a caption, "Told my husband he missed a bit" ... not hard to decipher her meaning.

College basketball phenom Caitlin Clark reached major celebrity status at her Final Four game Friday night – drawing the likes of MGK and Jason Sudeikis to see for themselves what everyone has been talking about.

Clark and her fellow Iowa Hawkeyes teammates went head-to-head against the UConn Huskies during their NCAA Tournament matchup at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio.

As America's new favorite dribbler, Clark helped her team beat UConn in a squeaker 71 to 69.

J. Cole threw Kendrick Lamar's iconic "To Pimp a Butterfly" album under the bus on his "7 Minute Drill" diss -- an ultimate no-no from Baron Davis' POV.

It's one of the proud L.A. native's fav albums of all time ... point, blank period!!!

TMZ Hip Hop got up with B. Diddy at LAX on Friday and the "NBA on TNT" cohost repped his beloved West Coast and sided with Kendrick in his battle with Cole ... but still wants to hear from Drake like the rest of us!!!

Baron saluted all parties involved for giving hip hop some pizazz again ... and even thinks Kendrick should follow through and diss Cole again.

Cole knocked the jazzy 'TPAB' as all hype when he rapped, "Your second s*** put n****s to sleep, but they gassed it" ... Baron notes 'TPAB' as a cultural movement that would go on to soundtrack the George Floyd protests of 2020.

The 'Butterfly' nerve was also struck for several L.A.-based rappers, including Kendrick's former label prez who now believes the "King Kunta" MC has secret haters in the industry!!!

Baron's been dabbling in rap under the name "Bart Oatmeal" for the past few years himself and tells us it's been a new creative outlet for him.

There's apparently a green thumb attached to Tom Brady's golden arm ... check out a recent pic of his Miami mansion -- a garden he's growing in his front yard is flourishing!!!

The NFL legend had planter boxes installed next to a tennis court near the entrance of his new pad ... and just recently, dirt and food were placed inside of them.

And, from the looks of things, Brady's doing a great job tending to it all -- 'cause it seems the crops are already bearing goods!!

Saturdays are for the boys ... and TMZ TV hot takes, too. Check out the best clips from the past week!

Starting on "TMZ Live," where Harvey and Charles talk Taylor Swift hanging out in a West Hollywood dive bar ... without her better half, Travis Kelce.

Bronny James is doing the right thing by keeping his basketball options open ... so says ex-NBA player and coach Byron Scott, who tells TMZ Sports he personally thinks the young hooper should stay in school another year.

The 19-year-old USC Trojan announced his plans to enter the NBA Draft on Friday ... saying he will explore the interest from teams at the next level while maintaining his NCAA eligibility and entering the transfer protocol.

We spoke with Scott about the big hoop news ... and he tells us the former four-star recruit's smart by leaving doors open.

"Not surprised, not shocked," Scott said of James' announcement. "I think Bronny and, obviously, his dad and Klutch Sports, they've probably been thinking about this for a while and how to kind of go about it."

"So him entering his name in the draft and also in the portal -- I think he’s just weighing his options to see where he can probably get drafted, and then if he doesn’t like that and likes a situation where he can go play college basketball for another year, then I think it’s the best of both worlds. I think he’s in a great position."

Bronny will almost certainly have a new home no matter what he decides to do ... and if that's a different university, Scott sees LeBron's eldest son being highly coveted in the 2025 NBA Draft.

"You know what, to be honest with you, I think one more year of college wouldn’t hurt him," Scott added. "I think he has some great skills, there’s no doubt about that -- he knows how to play the game, he’s got a great basketball IQ, but playing one more year and being almost kind of featured, I think would really really solidify him in the next NBA Draft."

"American Idol" contestant and former NFL pro Blake Proehl's biggest fan has been revealed -- it's his two-time Super Bowl champ dad, Ricky ... 'cause he tells TMZ Sports his son's singing career has left him speechless!!

Blake -- a star receiver for East Carolina before joining the Minnesota Vikings in 2021 -- has kickstarted quite the second career after transitioning from football ... he's currently crushing it on the popular competition show.

Now that Blake is in the top 24 on "Idol," we talked to Ricky about watching his talented son on the stage instead of the field ... and he's unbelievably proud, especially considering he had no idea where it came from!!

"It's just amazing because none of us can sing!" Ricky told us this week. "I can't sing, my wife can't sign, my parents, her parents -- it's a gift!"

Ricky -- who played for six teams in the NFL from 1990-2006 -- recalled the first time he heard Blake belt out a tune ... and it was so powerful, he got a frog in his throat.

"For me, it was an emotional moment because I couldn't believe it. Then we heard him in person and we started hearing it more and more and how talented he was and how good he sounded just blew me away in that short period of time."

Ricky said it's super easy to support Blake's new career path ... 'cause he can tell just how much he loves music, just like he was with football.

"I think it took a lot for him to walk away from a game that he loves. A game that his dad played, his brother played and to have the courage to say, 'Hey, Dad, I'm going to pursue music.' I thought that said a lot about who he is as a person and I respect the guy. I love him for that."

WrestleMania 40 is set in motion this weekend with WWE's most amped-up wrestlers, and TMZ is kicking off the madness by seeing which pro wrestler you'd pick out of a HOT N' SWEATY match!

Stepping into the ring ... the highly-anticipated face-off between Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins teaming up against Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Roman Reigns. Remember, if The Rock and Roman take the reins and win, tomorrow's main event will be held under Bloodline Rules!

And, the women are also MORE than ready for a total knockout like Rhea Ripley -- the current World Champion known for her Riptide Finisher -- versus Becky Lynch who's deemed as one of the greatest of ALL TIME!

It takes quite a bit to rattle residents of New York City -- so much so, in fact, that not even a 4.8-magnitude earthquake can make them break their stride.

Check out this wild footage that shows people in Times Square Friday not being fazed at all by the massive quake that hit the area. As you can see, barely anybody reacts as the tremor hits the Big Apple Friday morning.

It's totally business as usual, despite the noticeable rattling ... with sightseers snapping selfies, etc. Traffic is barely even impacted ... as cars are seen whizzing by Times Square with no issue. The shaking reportedly only lasted about 20 to 30 seconds.

The Ravens and the Orioles are coming together for the city of Baltimore ... donating a combined $10 million to the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse emergency relief fund.

The two professional sports organizations announced the amazing gesture on Friday ... 10 days after a cargo ship crashed into the bridge over the Patapsco River and outer Baltimore port.

Two of the six victims were found dead in a pickup truck recovered in the water. The four others are presumed dead.

Scary moment for Cody Rhodes in the leadup to this weekend's WrestleMania in Philadelphia -- he says his tour bus caught on fire ... but, thankfully, he made it out unscathed.

The American Nightmare told Pat McAfee on Friday morning the blaze started just hours earlier -- at around 1 AM -- just as he had settled into his bed to get a little bit of shuteye.

Rhodes says his driver noticed the flames -- and urged him to get out quickly. The 38-year-old WWE Superstar says he then grabbed a few pictures and his 'Mania boots -- before jetting off the ride.

Rhodes said the vehicle didn't burn down completely -- but, "it was up in a big fireball for a moment."

Fortunately, he said there were no injuries ... and he gave a big shoutout to the Philadelphia Fire Department for assisting in putting out the blaze.

Rhodes is slated to wrestle twice in the WWE's Super Bowl ... taking on The Rock and Roman Reigns with Seth Rollins on Saturday night -- and then wrestling against Reigns on Sunday night.

Rhodes says he didn't take the blaze as a bad omen -- especially considering The Rock beat him down in front of that bus just a few days ago -- in fact, he told McAfee he was viewing it as just the opposite.

"I think the universe was saying, 'Hey, we're going to set your bus on fire and you're still going to go in and wipe the floor with The Bloodline on Saturday,'" he said.

"'You're still going to do it.'"

Travis Scott's current promo run through major U.S. colleges is causing BIG problems at the University of Texas ... it's triggering people's Astroworld trauma all over again!!

The "Utopia" rapper, and Houston native, happily rushed the Darrell K Royal Memorial Stadium field Thursday with the Longhorns football team, creating tons of media for UT in the process.

UT's Instagram account captioned one of the posts, "POV: Travis Scott pulls up to practice 🔥"  ... highlighting a camera angle that showed players stampeding across the ground like a herd of cattle -- but some Texas residents are incensed by the content.

The Rock isn't pleased with current-day America, and will NOT be endorsing Joe Biden ... as the President vies for a second term in The White House.

Remember, Johnson, with influence over hundreds of millions of fans, threw his support behind Biden ahead of the 2020 election ... a big get at the time for the presidential hopeful.

Biden, who is struggling with approval ratings in the gutter (56% of Americans disapprove of POTUS' job performance) and poor polling numbers, could certainly use the help ... but it ain't coming. At least, not from the WWE legend.

The NBA has a new partner ... and it's none other than K-pop group LE SSERAFIM!!

Adam Silver's organization announced the big collaboration this week ... saying the quintet of musicians will headline the NBA's celeb and influencer operation in Asia.

The Association hopes the group's popularity will help expand its fanbase overseas ... similar to what it did when it enlisted BTS' Suga as an ambassador.

It seemed like a pretty "Smart" move -- especially considering Chaewon, Yunjin, Sakura, Kazuha and Eunchae are quite the hoop heads.

In fact, the group hit up a Laker game in customized jerseys back in November ... and briefly got to meet NBA legend Magic Johnson during their time at Crypto.com Arena.

The ladies also took a break from promoting their new project, "Easy," to tune in to the All-Star Game from a cellphone in February ... and recently posted a video of them showing off their choreography while decked out in numerous teams' merch.

With the collab, it's safe to say fans will see a lot more of LE SSERAFIM at games in the future ... and they can expect a ton of new content on socials.

The group made its debut in 2022 ... and has exploded in popularity ever since.

Former MLB star J.J. Hardy is clearly not going to win any Neighbor of the Year awards anytime soon ... he's decided to build a mini-baseball field in his backyard -- and it's seriously pissed off those who live next door.

Hardy began construction on his own personal field of dreams at his Chandler, Ariz. mansion a few months ago ... and at least one neighbor is so furious over the ruckus it's caused, she went to a local news station to go public with her gripe.

The woman -- Pam Lang -- told Arizona's Family it's created a bunch of noise in her usually quiet neighborhood ... plus, she said the poles that have been erected in the field are an eyesore.

"Everybody has a right to enjoy their own yard," she said, "but this is something that is beyond what is reasonable to expect your neighbors to tolerate."

"I didn't sign up to live next to a baseball field," she added. "It's like a commercial, like living next to Top Golf, you know?"

Hardy -- who played 13 years in the MLB and earned over $80 million -- still has a ways to go before the field is finished ... and according to Arizona's Family, he must obtain some permits by April 22 in order to officially get it all done.

But based on the images, it seems he believes it's a forgone conclusion, 'cause the project certainly appears to be full steam ahead.