TMZ Sports - Page 14

Golf star Grayson Murray has died at 30 years old, the PGA Tour announced on Saturday ... just hours after withdrawing from a tournament with an illness.

Murray was in Fort Worth, Texas, where he was competing in the Charles Schwab Challenge ... but he pulled himself from the tourney during Friday's second round, citing an illness. No further information was given at the time.

Saturday morning, the Tour announced the young, talented golfer had passed away.

Harrison Butker was back before a podium Friday in his first public appearance since his controversial commencement speech – and he stood firm in his beliefs without giving an inch to his detractors.

Last evening, the K.C. Chiefs kicker gave another sermon onstage for the "Courage Under Fire" gala at Regina Caeli Academy – a traditional Catholic institution – in Nashville, Tennessee.

As a member of the school's board of directors, Butker leaned in heavily on his message from Benedictine College two weeks ago that rubbed many people the wrong way.

Fill in the gravesite and call off the funeral ... Adam Silver says despite all the perception of doom and gloom surrounding the NBA's current negotiations with TNT -- the talks between the sides are NOT dead yet.

The Association's commissioner made it clear while outside of Thursday's White House state dinner in D.C. that he and his org. are still very much open to getting a new deal done with TNT -- this despite reports the parties are far off.

Silver didn't elaborate on where exactly each side is ... but he said, "We're all still talking."

Devin Haney's father Bill Haney, who also serves as his coach, wants Ryan Garcia out of the sport of boxing forever ... telling TMZ Sports he believes the star fighter's flunked drug tests should lead to a lifetime ban.

Bill made the comments to us on Friday ... some 24 hours after Garcia's B-sample came back positive for Ostarine -- a banned substance. His A-sample previously tested positive for the same PED weeks prior. Garcia initially took the tests on April 19, the day before he beat Devin in an instant classic at the Barclays Center in New York.

Bill said the two tests show Garcia is, indeed, a cheater -- and he's now calling for boxing to turn its back on the 25-year-old for good.

IndyCar star Pato O'Ward is giving an inside look at what it's like leading up to one of the most prestigious races in motorsports ... telling TMZ Sports he's like a kid on Christmas Eve the night before the Indianapolis 500 -- 'cause he can barely sleep!!

The Arrow McLaren driver is starting eighth in Sunday's huge event ... with the hopes of securing his first-ever victory at the Brickyard.

We asked the 25-year-old if he has any pre-race rituals or superstitions he's implemented into his routine to get ready for 500 miles of chaos ... and it turns out, it's pretty simple.

If Neymar suddenly gets the urge to get a little gambling in -- all the guy's gotta do is look down at his wrist ... 'cause the soccer superstar just copped a "Casino" watch that features a moving, built-in roulette table!!

TMZ Sports has learned he recently snagged the piece from Jacob & Co. ... and it's awesome -- and quite pricey.

We're told it's worth $280,000 ... but well worth the cost -- as it comes with all kinds of bells and whistles.

First day of a long weekend ... and, TMZ's got the best stories on TV to kick off three days of fun in the sun. Check out the best from our past week.

On "TMZ Live," Charles and Harvey discuss another new lawsuit against Diddy from a woman who claims he raped her multiple times.

Stan Van Gundy is going scorched earth on The Worldwide Leader ... after the network unceremoniously dumped his little brother Jeff Van Gundy after nearly two decades with ESPN, and he's PISSED!

Jeff -- an NBA head coach for 11 seasons (Knicks, Rockets) -- worked for ESPN for 17 years until he was laid off last summer.

JVG has largely been quiet about the shocking move ... but, not so much for his brother Stan, who aired out his frustrations on Dan Le Batard's "South Beach Sessions" show.

Indianapolis 500 fans better come hungry to the race track his weekend ... 'cause officials are making a grip of food available for purchase -- including 40-ounce Tomahawk steaks!!!

The big event is slated to go down on Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indiana ... and the thousands who hit the venue to see the action will have plenty of options to keep their tummies occupied as they watch drivers speed around the oval.

For the normies, chili dogs topped with short ribs and cheese sauce, burgers grilled with pineapple and bacon, and french fries loaded with pork tenderloin can be nabbed throughout concession stands at the stadium.

A pro golfer was so concerned about getting his clothes dirty during a shot in his round on Friday morning -- he actually unbuckled his pants and ripped his top off!!

The PG-13 moment went down at the Soudal Open in Belgium ... when Louis de Jager found himself in a bit of a pickle on one of the holes.

He hit a shot that landed in some muddy water -- and after considering taking a penalty stroke to get a better lie ... he decided to just hack it out of the hazard and take his chances.

Angel Reese was ridin' high after an impressive win against Breanna Stewart and the New York Liberty on Thursday ... and the WNBA star decided to take a shot at Caitlin Clark -- before deleting it.

But, nothing gets by the internet!

The 6-foot-3 forward celebrated the statement win by tweeting ... "And that's on getting a WIN in a packed area not just cause of one player on our charter flight. #SKYTOWN."

Pres. Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden turned the White House into the hottest spot in town with a swanky state dinner for Kenyan President William Ruto and his wife Rachel.

It was quite the guest list, with Sean Penn bagging himself an invite and even guitarist Don McLean strumming his way into the mix at the dinner Thursday -- with none other than country music star Brad Paisley taking the stage to keep the party going.

From political heavyweights Bill and Hillary Clinton to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, philanthropist Melinda Gates, tech guru Sheryl Sandberg, and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, the dinner was a who's who of movers and shakers.

Travis Kelce is coming to Harrison Butker's defense ... insisting the Kansas City Chiefs kicker is both "a great person and a great teammate."

The future Hall of Famer made the comments on the latest episode of his "New Heights" podcast Friday ... touching publicly on his pal's controversial Benedictine College speech for the first time since it sparked a slew of outrage earlier this month.

Many, of course, had been itching for Kelce's opinion on the matter ... especially after Butker evoked the name of the tight end's girlfriend, Taylor Swift, during the polarizing chat with graduates.

Mike Tyson might be 30 years older than Jake Paul, but that won't stop El Gallo from going for the kill if the opportunity presents itself on July 20 ... telling TMZ Sports there's no chance he takes it easy on the boxing legend in their upcoming fight.

The combat sports community is torn on who's got the upper hand in the Paul vs. Tyson bout -- Tyson is obviously one of the greatest to ever do it, but he's decades removed from his dominance ... while Paul is far less experienced, but in his prime when it comes to age.

We spoke with 27-year-old Paul as the big day rapidly approaches ... and asked if there's any part of him that would hold back based on the fact his opponent is a few years from being a senior citizen.

After two weeks of outrage, Harrison Butker's controversial commencement speech finally resulted in someone's firing -- it just wasn't the Chiefs' placekicker who lost his job -- but instead, a member of the City of K.C.'s social media team got the axe after doxxing the Super Bowl champ.

On Thursday, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas revealed the city "separated" from a K.C. staffer who publicly roasted 28-year-old Butker after his Benedictine College speech, tweeting, "Just a reminder that Harrison Butker lives in the City of Lee's Summit."

The message was deleted shortly after ... and an apology put up in its place -- "We apologies (sic) for our previous tweet. It was shared in error."

Jaelan Phillips is cool with Dolphins, but clearly not lizards ... 'cause after the Miami star discovered a large iguana had somehow invaded his toilet, he freaked out!

The linebacker was surprised to find the little creature chillin' in his bathroom on Thursday afternoon ... and he was so terrified of it, that he told his Instagram followers in a series of hilarious videos that he had to call out an exterminator to handle the situation for $150.

While he waited for the expert to arrive on the scene ... the 24-year-old said he had absolutely no idea how the green beast got into his toilet bowl -- insisting "he's not a pet."