TMZ Sports - Page 5

If the Chicago Bears take Caleb Williams AND Brenden Rice in this week's NFL draft, they won't regret it ... 'cause Rice tells TMZ Sports he believes the duo can be the next "Gronk and Tom Brady."

The two, of course, got pretty close to that level of greatness while they were teammates at USC -- particularly in 2023, when Rice, the son of Jerry Rice, logged 791 receiving yards and 12 receiving touchdowns.

The 22-year-old wideout told us he'd expect a whole lot more of the same if the guys were able to reunite on the Bears, who are expected to take Williams with the No. 1 overall pick Thursday night.

We are only a couple days into a new week and there's already so much to discuss. So, settle in for some new TMZ TV hot takes!!!

First up, on "TMZ Live," Harvey and Charles discuss Alec Baldwin's face-off with a pro-Palestine protester -- who aggressively got in the actor's face while in a Manhattan coffee shop.

8:20 AM PT -- TMZ Sports has learned ... the NBA is currently looking into the situation.

Nikola Jokic's brother was in no mood to celebrate the Nuggets' comeback win over the Lakers on Monday ... 'cause he straight-up punched a fan in the stands at the playoff game -- and it's all on video.

According to witnesses, the violent incident went down shortly after Joker and his Denver teammates completed their 101-99 win against LeBron James and co. to go up 2-0 in the first-round series.

Victims of disgraced former Team USA doctor Larry Nassar will receive a massive $138.7 million payout from the U.S. Department of Justice.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday they'd be shelling out the huge payment to 139 victims ... all because the DOJ concluded the FBI failed to conduct a thorough investigation of Nassar once the bureau received critical information that could've put a stop to the doctor's horrific acts.

“For decades, Lawrence Nassar abused his position, betraying the trust of those under his care and medical supervision while skirting accountability,” Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer said in a news release.

New York Knicks guard Josh Hart loooooves his Mike and Ike ... and the feeling is mutual -- 'cause the candy brand tells TMZ Sports it's always making sure to keep the hooper "well-stocked" on supply!!

Hart had social media in stitches after the Knicks’ down-to-the-wire playoff win over the Sixers Monday night -- celebrating the victory with a box of the fruit-flavored sweets during his postgame press conference, just like he did last postseason.

The 29-year-old couldn’t wait until he left the podium to enjoy his favorite treat ... forcing Jalen Brunson to hilariously get distracted as he answered questions.

Livvy Dunne's apparently popular both on the balance beam AND behind a cash register ... drawing a crowd on Tuesday while making a promotional appearance at a Raising Cane's.

The LSU gymnastics star hit up the eatery in Baton Rouge, La. with her gymnastics teammates Kiya Johnson, Haleigh Bryant, Savannah Schoenherr and Aleah Finnegan to celebrate their first national championship victory ... and Tigers fans came out to show love.

21-year-old Dunne was all smiles as she handed off tendies and fries to hungry LSU supporters while behind the register. She even took over the drive-thru at one point ... and introduced herself to a bunch of customers, something she says she was actually super excited to do.

Jim Irsay says his medical emergency back in December was NOT due to an overdose ... insisting this week a leg injury was actually the cause of the scare.

Cops, of course, have stated otherwise. Carmel Police Department officers said in an incident report they responded to the Indianapolis Colts owner's Carmel residence on Dec. 8 at around 4:30 AM after he had been struggling to breathe with a weak pulse. They said following an administration of a dose of Narcan -- a drug commonly used to revive people in opiate overdose situations -- "he responded slightly."

Irsay was ultimately strapped to a stretcher and taken to the hospital ... and cops ended up classifying the whole ordeal as a suspected "overdose" and "overdose/poisoning."

Law enforcement officials are actively trying to track down the man who got clocked by Nikola Jokic's brother on Monday ... with cops hoping people come forward to help with its investigation into the incident.

TMZ Sports has learned -- Denver PD has seen the footage of Strahinja Jokic punching a spectator in the stands after the Nuggets' Game 2 win over the Lakers on Monday ... but as of right now, no one has filed a report claiming to be a victim.

We're told police are reviewing the clip circulating social media in hopes of identifying the man ... but they're also calling on any witnesses or other people involved to step up and talk.

Milan Lucic and his wife are officially splitting up ... TMZ Sports has learned Brittany Lucic just filed for separation from the NHL star some five months after the two were allegedly involved in a domestic dispute.

Court records show Brittany submitted the documents on Monday evening ... citing "irreconcilable differences."

She listed the date of their marriage as July 19, 2012 ... and their date of separation as Nov. 17, 2023 -- the day before Milan was arrested for allegedly getting physical with Brittany during a disagreement.

WNBA star Kelsey Plum and NFL tight end Darren Waller are taking a trip to Splitsville -- the two pro athletes just filed a joint petition for divorce, TMZ Sports has confirmed.

Plum and Waller got married after a year of dating in March 2023  ... and they were quite the sports power couple -- Kelsey is a two-time champion and former No. 1 overall pick, and Darren was a Pro Bowler in 2020.

It'll be a pretty clean breakup ... as a joint petition means they have already agreed on distribution of assets and debts, as well as alimony.

Women's sports are surging -- Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and others have become superstars -- and now Joy Taylor and MJ Acosta-Ruiz are set to bring even more attention to some of the best female athletes in the world ... thanks to their new TV show!

Taylor and Acosta-Ruiz, top TV hosts and media personalities for FS1 and NFL Network, respectively, are not only set to host, but also executive produce season 2 of the Fuse Media show, "Like A Girl" ... which gives an inside look at the major successes, as well as the plights, of top female athletes, on and off the field/court/pitch.

TMZ Sports had a conversation with both women ... who broke the news about the upcoming project -- set to air this summer.

Dwight Howard is vowing to help Taiwan after the country was hit with a major earthquake earlier this month -- and dozens of smaller tremors since -- with the hoops star promising to return to the island.

The former NBA superstar, who signed with Taiwan's Taoquan Leopards in 2022, made a video message on Monday expressing concern for the Taiwanese people.

"I know a lot of people are still shaken up by just being in an earthquake," Howard said.

Mike Tyson might be a few decades past his prime, but he's still clearly a menace in the ring -- showing Monday night his fists have plenty of violence left in them.

The former heavyweight champ shared footage to his Instagram of a recent training sesh ... and in it, you can see the guy still definitely appears to be capable of knocking someone's block off.

Of course, Iron Mike is currently ramping up for his July tilt with Jake Paul -- and it's clear as day, he's taking the matchup seriously.

Talk about messing with the wrong person ... a woman in Southern California nearly picked a fight with one of the baddest women on the planet, UFC star Maycee Barber -- and it's all on video!

TMZ Sports talked to 25-year-old Barber, the 4th ranked flyweight, and YouTuber/social media star Demi Bagby ... where the two athletes recounted the entire crazy incident.

Check out the clip for the full story, and what was going through Barber's mind (like how she'd have to call Dana White were she arrested) ... but the cliff notes go like this!

LeBron James' heart was broken after a last-second loss Monday night, but his mouth sure worked fine -- as he spent part of his postgame meeting with media members railing on NBA officiating.

Shortly after LBJ's Lakers blew a huge lead and lost to the Nuggets, 101-99, in Denver ... James fielded questions about the playoff L for several minutes.

Eventually, he was asked about how tough it will be to bounce back from the buzzer-beater defeat -- but instead of answering the inquiry, he decided to go off on some of the calls that were made during the game.

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone have dibs on 2 of the 4 spots on the Mt. Rushmore of action heroes ... but who are the other 2?

Arnold and Sly sat down with Harvey for a new FOX special, airing tonight (Tuesday) at 8 PM/7 Central, to talk about their intense rivalry that eventually turned into a close friendship.

Arnold's pick for the 3rd spot is interesting ... not necessarily top of mind, but when you hear it it makes a lot of sense.