TMZ Sports - Page 19

Cleveland Guardians pitcher Shane Bieber isn't making the MLB's pitch clock his sworn enemy just yet ... the Cy Young winner believes his season-ending UCL injury is the result of a "combination of a number of factors."

The devastating news broke over the weekend ... Bieber -- who was untouchable in his first two starts this season -- will sit out the rest of the 2024 campaign after it was revealed he'd undergo Tommy John surgery to fix damage to his elbow.

Tony Clark of the MLB Players Association singled out the league's recent pitch clock adjustments as the reason behind the uptick in pitcher injuries recently ... but the MLB fired back, citing research that found no evidence that tied injuries to the new tweaks.

Bieber was asked about the narrative behind the trend ... and while he acknowledged the chatter, he isn't ready to pick a side.

"Obviously, the conversations are happening," Bieber said. "They're continuing to grow louder and they're happening quite a bit more often. So, we'll see what's to come of it."

"For me, I'm not ready to say what it is. I guarantee it's a combination of a number of factors. And also, all of that on top of logging a lot of innings from now all the way back into college and high school."

Bieber added he started to feel irritation in his arm during the middle innings of his outing against the Oakland A's ... but admitted he thought it was due to Opening Day soreness and the cold temps.

The ace was emotional as he spoke with reporters ... saying it's especially tough, as he just fell back in love with pitching again after hitting a rough patch in his career.

Regardless, Bieber said he will be there for his guys every step of the way ... just in a different capacity.

Mike Tyson isn't slated to fight Jake Paul for another couple months, but he's clearly ready to step in the ring right now -- check out the bod he showed off during an autograph session over the weekend ... he looks gooooooood!!

Iron Mike ditched his shirt while attending a Fiterman Sports Group meet-and-greet event with fight fans on Sunday in Chantilly, Virginia ... showing off a chiseled physique that was complete with a set of six-pack abs.

Tyson explained at the show that he lost his top on purpose ... in order to send a message to those who are doubting him ahead of his July matchup with The Problem Child.

While many fans in Lexington celebrate the departure of Kentucky coach John Calipari, the wife of former star player Julius Randle is revealing something previously unknown about the famed HC -- he saved her grandma's life!

"4 years ago my grandmother was very sick in a small hospital in eastern KY. Julius called Coach Cal and asked if there was anyone he knew that could get her transferred to UK hospital," Kendra Randle wrote on X, recalling a story from several years back.

She continued ... "15 mins later she was in a helicopter to UK and I still to this day believe he saved her life."

Of course, Kendra tells the story as Calipari is headed to the University of Arkansas ... after a decade and a half at the helm of the program. JC, hired in 2009, won a National Championship in 2012.

Kendra, who was a student at UK (that's where she met her future hubby), isn't pleased with the move.

"I’m not well😫 we love you forever Coach Cal💙 BBN 4L," KR wrote.

FYI, Julius played one season under Cal, 2013-2014 ... where he averaged 15 points per game and over 10 rebounds. JR was the 7th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.

Despite the fact he's no longer at Kentucky, Cal will always hold a place in the hearts of the Randle family.

Talk about adding insult to injury -- IShowSpeed's pain continued after getting destroyed by Randy Orton at WrestleMania 40 ... 'cause KSI made things even worse by heckling him over the epic ass-kicking.

The popular streamer made a surprise appearance during Logan Paul's match against Orton and Kevin Owens on Sunday ... revealing himself as the guy in a Prime bottle costume.

Speed took quite a beating throughout the showdown ... with Orton viciously kicking him and hitting him with a signature RKO, which took him out.

Speed appeared to be in major pain after Paul retained his United States Championship ... wearing a neck brace and lying on a cart.

Paul's former boxing nemesis-turned-business partner played a similar role for Paul at WrestleMania 39 ... which resulted in the Maverick accidentally body-slamming him on a table.

With that being said, KSI was quick to throw some verbal jabs Speed's way as he nursed his injuries backstage ... sending the streamer a personal video message.

"Speed, I hope you enjoyed your WWE debut," KSI said with a laugh. "I hope you enjoyed getting wrecked. It sucks, doesn't it? It's not fun."

"Anyway, IShowStink, IShowMeat, well played on getting your ass beat. I'll see you in a bit."

Speed was NOT happy about the clip ... shouting back into the phone, "Man, f*** you, you bald-headed bitch. Man, get the f*** outta here, bro."

As for how Speed's feeling physically, he said wrestling may be scripted, but his owies are REAL ... revealing his neck is messed up and he had the wind knocked out of him.

Russell Westbrook helped the Clippers take down the Cavaliers on Sunday afternoon, and afterward, he beat up Tristan Thompson's ego too ... taunting Khloe Kardashian's ex right on the court following the game.

It all happened after Russ and L.A. came back from down 26 points to beat Cleveland at Crypto.com Arena, 120-118.

Video shows after the final buzzer sounded, Russ appeared to point at Thompson, before he threw his hands in the air in a mocking fashion. Westbrook then repeated the gesture over and over again.

It's unclear why exactly Westbrook went after the Cavs center -- some online have speculated it was due to Tristan aggressively cheering on his team from the bench during the game -- but nonetheless, Thompson didn't like it one bit.

Check out the footage, the 33-year-old looked pissed as he walked to confront Russ over the taunts ... although, thankfully, one of Westbrook's teammates intercepted him before things could escalate.

The two then left the court without further issue.

Westbrook certainly had rights to brag following the victory, he logged eight points, seven rebounds and six assists in 25 minutes. Thompson, meanwhile, did not play.

Toby Keith may have died from stomach cancer two months ago, but his spirit was very much alive at Sunday's 2024 CMT Music Awards.

The late country singing legend was celebrated in a big way at the star-studded event by musicians Brooks & Dunn, Lainey Wilson and Sammy Hager, among others.

At the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, Brooks & Dunn kicked things off with a rendition of Toby's 1993 song, "Should've Been a Cowboy."

Byron Scott is ready to go back to college ... he tells TMZ Sports he wants to be the head basketball coach of a university!!

The former NBA star -- who spent years managing pro players after his hoopin' days ended -- said after watching March Madness these past couple seasons ... he's got an itch to get on the bench at a school somewhere in the nation.

"I've got that bug," he told us.

Cody Rhodes finished the story -- the American Nightmare just took down Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 40 ... and some of the organization's biggest legends were a part of the chaos.

Rhodes and Reigns went at it for over half an hour ... with both nearly coming away with the victory numerous times.

It was a Bloodline Rules match -- meaning there were no rules -- and man, did all hell break loose.

AND STILL!!!

Logan Paul defended his WWE United States Championship at WrestleMania 40 on Sunday ... surviving an intense Triple Threat Match against Kevin Owens and Randy Orton!!

The Maverick made his presence known in Philly from the very beginning ... entering on a Prime Hydration truck and firing from a Prime bottle cannon before hopping in the squared-circle.

WrestleMania 40 brought out wrestling's biggest and brightest ... and, even some of Hollywood's biggest names pulled up to Philadelphia for the festivities.

The first night of the biggest weekend in wrestling saw a deluge of superstars come out for the festivities ... including Lil Wayne who performed at the event, and NFL superstar Jason Kelce who handled some business in the ring.

Model Winnie Harlow took in the action, fur coat hangin' off her slender frame ... sitting up close and personal with the ring like it's New York Fashion Week.

Jason Kelce's luchador mask after the Chiefs' Super Bowl win wasn't a one-time thing -- the recently retired NFL star donned the look once again ... making a surprise appearance at WrestleMania!!

The future Hall of Fame Philadelphia Eagles center and his former teammate, Lane Johnson, crashed the party amid legend Rey Mysterio and Andrade's tag-team match against Dominik Mysterio and Santos Escobar on Saturday ... helping the former duo get the victory.

Of course, Kelce famously rocked a similar look after his brother, Travis, won the world title over the San Francisco 49ers in Vegas back in February ... wearing a wrestler mask as he chugged beers alongside Taylor Swift.

A "Bring It On" sequel seems more possible by the day with Kirsten Dunst even talking about it ... and another cast member told us she'll don her pom poms again ... on one condition.

Nikki Bilderback -- who played Whitney in the hit 2000 movie -- tells TMZ ... she'd absolutely do a sequel provided it comes with a good script and the other ladies sign on.

NB says the movie needs to hold its own because so many generations of fans love the film. She says she gets fans from 12 to 50 telling her how much they love the flick ... and she doesn't want to let them down.

Baron Davis is in favor of Bronny James' decision to declare for the NBA draft ... telling TMZ Sports he thinks it's very possible LeBron's kid turns out to be a far better pro than a college basketball player.

The former Clippers star gave us his thoughts on the matter out at LAX on Friday afternoon ... just hours after Bronny said he'll test the NBA waters while leaving the door open for a return to school.

Davis said he could see Bronny getting picked up by an org despite a quiet freshman season at USC ... explaining the pro game simply might fit him better.

The Rock proved ring rust is just a myth on Saturday -- returning to the squared-circle for the first time since 2016 at WrestleMania 40 ... and ending the epic match with the win!!

The Final Boss and Roman Reigns paired up against Cody Rhodes and Seth "Freakin'" Rollins in a tag-team match to cap off WWE's first night of festivities ... and the whole thing was fireworks from start to finish.

In fact, action broke out outside of the ropes numerous times ... and Cody and Seth were in for a world of pain, as Rock -- a real-deal exec with WWE's parent company, TKO -- made it clear to the ref early on ... if he counted, he's fired.

It seems everyone's accepted Khabib Nurmagomedov is retired for good ... the MMA legend's manager says the UFC didn't even reach out about a possible return to the Octagon as Dana White's promotion put together one of their biggest events ever!

UFC 300 is going down Saturday, April 13 in Las Vegas ... and it's a landmark event (UFC 1 was in 1993!). The card's stacked -- from the early prelims through the main event, Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill -- with 13 strong fights!

For months, fans wondered who would be a part of the card ... and with White's org obviously looking to put their best foot forward, we asked Khabib's manager, Ali Abdelaziz, if he received a call from the UFC in an attempt to lure the 29-0 superstar.

"Even if [UFC] asked me to call Khabib, I'm not even gonna call Khabib. I'm not. I'm not gonna call Khabib to fight," Abdelaziz told us.

"His legacy moves on to other people like Islam, Usman, Umar, Gaethje, his team. He's a guy who created opportunities for all those guys coming up. He created an opportunity himself with myself. He brought up the whole team and now just create an opportunity for other people. That's what he's doing right now."

Of course, Nurmagomedov, who is still just 35 years old, retired after beating Justin Gaethje by submission at UFC 254 in late 2020 ... following the tragic death of his father and coach, Abdulmanap.

Khabib was inducted into the UFC's Hall of Fame in 2022.

There was a time when the UFC tried to lure Khabib back to the cage ... but listening to Ali, it's clear that's now stopped.

"Dana tried for years but Dana understands now. I think Khabib retired early too, I agree with Dana, but his father situation, the trauma he went through, the promises he made, and honestly, now, at this point, I don't wanna see Khabib come back."

"He undefeated, on top, he's the greatest of all time. I agree with Dana White on everything. This one I don't agree with him on. [Khabib's] the greatest, he's the GOAT," Nurmaogmedov's longtime manager said.

There's a bunch more with Ali ... on his many star clients who ARE fighting this Saturday, including the aforementioned Gaethje, the #2 ranked lightweight, who is fighting fellow legend Max Holloway.

The former 145 lb. champ, still ranked #2 at featherweight, is moving up a weight class for the scrap. What would a win mean for JG and his title hopes? We asked Ali.

We also talked to AA about client Kayla Harrison ... who is making her UFC debut against Holly Holm.

It's fair to say Abdelaziz sees big things coming for the Olympic gold medalist.

Do you think Dwayne Johnson is handsome ... IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOU THINK!

Here is a 39-year-old version of the professional wrestler in a bulky action shot during his WrestleMania 28 win against John Cena back in 2012 (left). Just one year later -- at WrestleMania 29 -- the two Hollywood Hunks went at it again with Cena taking home the title!

And, 12 years later the 51-year-old muscleman was looking ready for action before his WrestleMania 40 match (right). Mr. Johnson made his BIG return to the highly-coveted wrestling ring last night and put his fit physique on full display!

Can you smell what The Rock's good looks are cooking?

The question is ...