TMZ Sports - Page 16

Taylor Lewan showed Wednesday morning he's got a big ole heart to go along with his big muscles ... as he helped save a turtle from becoming roadkill!!

The former NFL star said he performed the good deed a short time after dropping off his kids at school ... when he noticed a huge snapping turtle trying to cross a roadway in the Nashville area.

Lewan stated on his Instagram page he got it off the side of the road and into a grassy area safe and sound.

Patrick Mahomes is sticking up for Harrison Butker ... praising the kicker as a man of good character following his controversial commencement speech earlier this month.

Butker is at the center of a ton of criticism after speaking at Benedictine College's graduation ceremony ... in which he shared his views that many considered sexist, anti-gay and politically divisive.

The Kansas City superstar addressed the Butker backlash with reporters at Chiefs practice on Wednesday ... and while he said the two might not see eye-to-eye on every issue, he still understands his teammate to be a good guy.

Roger Goodell just addressed Harrison Butker's controversial commencement speech ... and he didn't take a stance on it one way or the other, opting instead to simply praise the NFL's "diversity of opinions."

The Chiefs kicker's polarizing Benedictine College talk came up at the end of Goodell's chat with media members on Wednesday at the Spring League Meeting in Nashville ... when a reporter wondered if the NFL's commissioner had further thoughts on the matter.

Many, of course, had hoped Goodell would admonish Butker -- after critics called the KC star's words anti-gay and misogynistic.

The family of Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher received a substantial settlement from a German magazine recently ... being awarded a $217,000 check after the publication printed an AI-generated interview with the former Ferrari driver and tried to play it off like the real thing.

As we previously reported, Die Aktuelle ran the controversial cover story back in April 2023 ... claiming it secured the first feature with Schumacher following his 2013 ski accident that resulted in a serious head injury and left him in a coma for months.

At the very end of the article, the outlet fessed up to the interview being fugazi ... but that didn't stop the seven-time champion's family from taking legal action.

According to ESPN, the family confirmed the payout from Die Aktuelle's parent company, Funke Media Group.

Following the backlash, Funke fired the editor-in-chief in charge ... and apologized for the error of judgment.

Caitlin Clark's Indiana Fever team is off to a slow start -- and some fans are already hopping off the hype train -- but not LeBron James ... who says he knows exactly how the star hooper feels, 'cause he's been in her shoes!

James and (maybe future head coach) JJ Redick spoke about Clark and the expectations surrounding the WNBA rookie -- who despite averaging 17 points a game -- has received a crapload of criticism ... and Bron knows what it's like.

"I think for my advice to Caitlin, and my advice to anyone coming in with this level of notoriety, 'out of this world' expectation -- be a horse," James said on the "Mind the Game" podcast on Wednesday.

College basketball star DJ Burns Jr. has gone through a shocking body transformation after becoming a March Madness sensation this year ... reportedly losing 45 pounds in a matter of weeks -- and no, it's not a result of Ozempic.

The N.C. State big man -- who led the Wolfpack to a Final Four appearance just two months ago -- has been training like crazy leading up to the NBA Draft ... with Shams Charania stating the hooper shed some serious weight over the past six and a half weeks.

Shams broke it down on FanDuel TV ... saying Burns looked "totally different" when they met up at the prospect's pro day in L.A. this week.

Scottie Scheffler's arrest was apparently not off limits for his colleagues ... 'cause Xander Schauffele just admitted a bunch of PGA Tour stars roasted the world's best golfer for being thrown in the slammer last weekend.

Schauffele told Big Cat and PFT on Wednesday's episode of "Pardon My Take" that a group chat he had with Scottie and others like Gary Woodland, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas was full of jokes following the 27-year-old's run-in with cops outside of Valhalla Golf Club.

Schauffele insisted the trolling wasn't too bad -- it was "just enough," he said -- but he did reveal the dudes at one point changed the group chat's pic to Scheffler's mug shot.

Corey Seager's late-game home run Tuesday night proved costly for at least one Phillies fan ... who straight up lost an entire plate of nachos because of it!

Here's the deal ... the Texas Rangers superstar was trying to claw his team back from down 3-1 against the Phils in the eighth inning at Citizens Bank Park -- when he launched a ball deep into right field.

As it came crashing down toward the stands, initially, it looked like it ricocheted off some railing ... leaving him with merely a double.

NASCAR driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. going all Mike Tyson on Kyle Busch at the All-Star Race just set him back financially -- he was just fined $75K for his involvement in this past weekend's wild brawl.

The racing organization handed down the punishment on Wednesday ... saying not only will RSJ have to write out a hefty check, but his dad was suspended indefinitely for his role in the scrap as well.

As we previously reported, the two drivers confronted each other after Sunday's event ... with Stenhouse pissed after Busch seemingly caused him to wreck on purpose at the beginning of the race.

A New Zealand man thought it would be a brilliant idea to body slam a killer whale -- but the stunt was not only dumb but also seriously irresponsible, and he's now paying the price.

Check out the clip -- the man goes full WWE ... launching himself off a boat near the coast of Auckland and landing inches from an adult orca and its calf.

As you can see ... the 50-year-old daredevil, who hasn't been identified, yells out in delight he touched the orca and eagerly asks his boatmates if they caught his wild encounter on camera.

Travis Hunter's a Colorado Buffalo, but he now drives a RAM ... and TMZ Sports has learned it features some crazy modifications!!!

The college football star landed the truck as a surprise present from his fiancée, Leanna, for his 21st birthday earlier this month ... and Dreamworks Motorsports honcho Adam Wolfe tells us it's a "1-of-1" ride.

Wolfe says he and his team spent about a week tricking it out for Deion Sanders' two-way player ... giving it all kinds of bells and whistles before sending it off to the receiver/cornerback for his big cake day.

LaMelo Ball and the Charlotte Hornets are at the center of a new lawsuit filed in North Carolina ... after a woman claims her 11-year-old son tried to get an autograph from the NBA star, but was left with a bad injury instead.

The alleged incident went down on October 7 after the Hornets were beaten by the Boston Celtics at Spectrum Center in Charlotte ... when Angell Joseph waited near the player exit, hoping to get a moment with the 22-year-old hooper.

Instead of stopping and signing for the young fan, Angell's mom, Tamaria McRae, says LaMelo just drove off ... and in the process, ran over her son's foot, breaking it.

Aaron Rodgers is opening up on his decision to forgo a political career -- at least for now -- saying he simply wasn't ready to walk away from his day job as the quarterback of the New York Jets.

AR8 spoke with the media at his team's OTAs on Tuesday ... when he addressed his name being thrown around as Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s potential running mate for the 2024 presidential election.

Specifically, he was asked how seriously he considered the move ... and Rodgers explained he was facing a fork in the road -- but it ultimately came down to one thing.

Angel Reese has played a big part in the growth of women's basketball ... and now the star hooper is expanding her reach to another sport -- soccer -- as the former LSU star just bought into the DC Power Football Club!

22-year-old Reese is the newest owner of the pro soccer org, based about an hour from where Angel grew up in Maryland, and will soon join the USL Super League.

The power forward -- who's averaging 11.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game in her rookie season with the Chicago Sky -- will join an ownership group that includes owners of the D.C. United Men's Club and other business leaders in the DMV ... and they're stoked to have her!

NFL star Tank Dell is looking damn near 100% just three weeks after suffering injuries in a nightclub shooting ... rejoining his Houston Texans teammates and crushing it during Tuesday's practice.

No. 3 was front and center during organized team activities ... even taking passes from quarterback C.J. Stroud at one point.

There were no signs of injury or anything else holding him back ... which is a great sign, considering what he went through last month -- as well as during the 2023-24 season.

The photographer who initially accused Rashee Rice of assault now no longer wants to press charges against the Kansas City Chiefs star, according to the Dallas Police Department ... but an investigation remains ongoing.

The photog first alleged that Rice clocked him during an altercation outside of Lit Kitchen in Dallas on May 6 ... but the DPD said in a statement he recently signed an affidavit of non-prosecution.

It doesn't necessarily mean Rice is now in the clear -- the DPD said a probe into the allegations is still moving forward -- although a case against the NFLer now no doubt got substantially more difficult to prove.