TMZ Sports - Page 38

Reggie Bush might not have his Heisman Trophy back today if not for a chance meeting at Rob Gronkowski's Super Bowl pool party ... where the USC star ran into his attorney Levi McCathern, who fought like hell and got the prestigious award back to its rightful owner!!

Bush, along with McCathern and Ben Crump, (and THE HEISMAN!!), met with the media on Thursday at The Coliseum in Los Angeles ... where they broke their silence on the return of the trophy.

The 2005 Heisman Trophy winner said he's especially thankful to be reunited with his trophy because he never cheated the game ... actually quite the opposite -- he put more than 100% into becoming the best player possible so he could help the Trojans compete for a national championship.

Toronto Raptors star Scottie Barnes' Cancun vacation looks like a scene outta "High School Musical" ... 'cause the hooper showed off his awesome singing abilities during a karaoke session!!

The 2021 No. 4 overall pick's offseason started early after the Dinos failed to make the postseason ... but he seemed to be in great spirits nonetheless -- belting out the classic Maroon 5 hit, "This Love."

Barnes put 100% into the performance ... dancing along to the song and doing his best to hit Adam Levine's high notes.

Cops are continuing to make headway in their investigation into Nikola Jokic's brother ... telling TMZ Sports they've located the man who Strahinja Jokic punched in the face earlier this week.

A spokesperson for the Denver Police Dept. said on Thursday morning they've "been in communication" with the fan who Strahinja socked after Game 2 of the Lakers vs. Nuggets game at Ball Arena on Monday night.

The rep did not reveal, however, if the man is seeking to press charges -- or if he's formally filed a police report.

Paddy "The Baddy" is now a daddy (say that five times fast) ... 'cause the UFC star and his wife just welcomed twin girls -- and they are adorable!!!

The 21-3 lightweight MMA fighter introduced his baby girls to the world on Instagram, announcing April 17th was the day he and Laura Gregory's lives changed.

"All worth it for you 2 perfect little girls Betsy and Margot Pimblett ❤️," Paddy wrote on Instagram.

Sue Bird is back in the WNBA ... not as a player, but instead as owner of her former team, the Seattle Storm!

The organization broke the news, releasing a statement announcing Bird, 43, would be joining the Storm's ownership group.

"We are thrilled to welcome Sue into the ownership group after a storied career on the court," Storm co-owner Lisa Brummel said.

Michael Penix Jr. feels like he "should be" taken in the top 10 of Thursday night's NFL draft ... but he won't be crushed if he's not -- telling TMZ Sports he's going to make the most of whatever situation he's put in.

The former Washington Huskies star was cool as a cucumber some 24 hours before the NFL kicked off its annual selection process -- not sweating the draft one bit.

However, when the topic of being one of the first 10 players taken in the annual event came up ... he did say he believes he belongs in that group.

Bronny James might've already figured out his next college move -- at least, that's what some people are thinking after Duquesne head coach Dru Joyce's latest social media post ... which included a clear nod to the young hooper's NBA superstar pops.

Joyce -- a member of LeBron's Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary High School championship teams back in the day -- shared quite an interesting GIF on Wednesday ... showing him doing King James' signature chalk toss with a caption that teased a huge announcement.

The post could mean anything, but plenty of folks believe it means Bronny is slated to team up with his dad's longtime friend and former teammate for his sophomore season of college ball.

Everyone thought Machine Gun Kelly and Megan Fox were over as a couple -- but the two of them were just hanging out for his 34th birthday ... and MGK posted the evidence.

Kelly threw up a carousel of pics Wednesday on his IG -- which captured a ton of moments from his birthday party earlier this week, which looked like a star-studded soiree featuring the likes of Post Malone, Tiffany Haddish, Evan Ross, Mod Sun, Amber Rose and others.

More importantly though was the fact that his ex-fiancée, Megan, was also in the mix ... and she and MGK looked pretty damn happy, despite the fact things have looked rocky for them.

Basketball ain't the only love in Caitlin Clark's life ... the new WNBA star revealed Wednesday she's smitten with her boyfriend too -- droppin' an L-bomb on him in a sappy social media post.

Clark delivered the mushy message on her Instagram page to commemorate her and Connor McCaffery's 1-year anniversary ... writing, "you make everyday better."

"And I can’t wait for many more adventures together…," she added. "love you."

Fantasy Football nerds, listen up ... Jake Plummer says he's expecting a monster year from Justin Herbert -- telling TMZ Sports he thinks Jim Harbaugh will get the very best out of the Chargers star.

Plummer played in the NFL at the same time as Harbaugh in the late 1990s -- and it's clear as day he grew a ton of respect for the Bolts' head man. So much so, he believes Herbert's game will soar to new heights under his tutelage.

The former Arizona State star quarterback says because Harbaugh wasn't the most athletic signal-caller, he grew a massive football IQ ... and he anticipates that being passed on easily to Herbert.

Drug charges, an adult entertainment venture and a new shoe deal ... all in a day's work for TMZ! Check out the best clips from Wednesday.

On "TMZ Live," Harvey and Charles discuss Diddy's associate Brendan Paul facing felony drug charges after his arrest last month.

Now that Reggie Bush's Heisman is back where it belongs, Tim Brown thinks it's time for the NCAA to correct some of its wrongs ... saying he wants the org. to look into its past punishments and consider reversing them too.

Brown joined Harvey and Charles on "TMZ Live" on Wednesday to gloat about the Heisman Trust's decision to give its trophy back to Bush ... and then he said the NCAA should attempt to perform similar actions.

Specifically, the former Notre Dame star wide receiver said the organization should contemplate lifting bans for anyone who was thrown under the bus in the past for things that are now legal.

No, Devin Booker did NOT shoot his shot with a famous actress in the middle of the playoffs ... but his fans apparently had to make sure for themselves -- rushing to "Squid Game" star Hoyeon Jung's Instagram and leaving comments after a fake meme made rounds this week.

The Phoenix Suns guard has been the butt of jokes throughout the start of the playoffs ... with some hoop fans criticizing Book for shooting just 25% from three in the first two games against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The trolling continued on Wednesday ... when a fake NBA news account shared an altered screenshot of Booker publicly hollering at Hoyeon on her most recent post -- just to get rejected.

Gisele Bündchen's day started out rough -- a cop pulled her over in Florida, and she seemed pretty upset over it all ... especially when he handed her a ticket.

Check out this video ... you see a Surfside PD officer pulling over a Mercedes G-Wagon, and not just any G-Wagon ... but Gisele's, one that she's been spotted driving a lot recently. Anyway, you can eventually see Gisele inside ... and she looks awfully emotional.

While it seems like a routine traffic stop ... Gisele hands the officer some documents and he heads back to his squad car to run the info -- a pretty standard situation, no real big deal.

Owen Wilson wants nothing to do with a movie leaning into the idea O.J. Simpson was innocent of the infamous '94 murders -- turning down a boatload for the lead part.

The partially finished flick's director, Joshua Newton, admits he thought Owen was perfect for the role of attorney Douglas McCann, but he says even dangling a whopping $12 million check couldn't sway Owen to sign on the dotted line.

Newton tells Rambling Reporter talks initially went pretty deep with Owen about playing McCann ... a real-life attorney who got sucked into various conspiracy theories during Simpson's 1995 criminal trial.

Reggie Bush better get his party pants ready for the next Heisman Trophy ceremony ... 'cause one of the award's former winners, Mike Garrett, tells TMZ Sports it's going to be a BLAST!!

Of course, the 2024 version of the event will be the first one Bush gets to attend since the Heisman Trust gave him back his coveted award on Wednesday ... and Garrett is promising it will be a memorable one for the ex-USC star.

He explained to us that it'll be like Bush "is being reborn" ... and he says the celebration will be a good one because of it.