TMZ Sports - Page 18

Legendary basketball commentator Dick Vitale says he's dealing with another bout of cancer ... announcing on Friday that some tests he underwent this week revealed a malignant mass on his neck.

The 85-year-old shared the sad update moments ago with his fans on his X page ... saying he's now scheduled to undergo surgery next week to try to rid himself of the new issue.

"With all the 🙏🙏🙏 I have received & the loving support of my family, friends & @espn colleagues I will win this battle," Dickie V said.

Here's the first look at Bronny James in Purple and Gold -- LeBron's son will wear No. 9 for the Lakers ... as well as "Jr." on his nameplate.

L.A. just released visuals of its newest rookie on Friday ... showing the 19-year-old guard proudly donning the threads.

The digit is interesting -- Bronny rocked No. 6 with the USC Trojans last season, but that is retired leaguewide in honor of NBA legend Bill Russell.

Nelly Korda -- arguably the best golfer on the planet -- has just withdrawn from a tournament in England after she says she was bitten by a dog.

Korda said the incident happened this past Saturday while she was in Seattle. She did not say where the dog nipped her -- but the damage was apparently so bad, it will force her out of the Aramco Team Series tournament that was slated to go down from July 3-5.

"[I] need time to receive treatment and recover fully," the 25-year-old said. "I apologize to the LET, the sponsors, and my fans for my absence."

A baseball fan who went to the College World Series is slamming ESPN for turning cameras on her while she ate ice cream -- because the shot's gone so viral, she's being compared to the "Hawk Tuah" girl.

In case you missed it ... during Monday's national championship baseball game, ESPN cameras zoomed in on 2 women in the stands quickly licking ice cream, racing to finish before it melted in 93-degree heat.

The video spread across social media like wildfire ... with folks leaving some explicit comments about the young women, including lots of "Hawk Tuah" references.

LSU basketball star Flau'jae Johnson really manifested a collab with Lil Wayne ... 'cause a year after saying she would love to hop on a track with the rap legend -- IT HAPPENED!!

The 20-year-old point guard/musician released her nine-track album "Best of Both Worlds" on Friday ... and it has several big features -- including NLE Choppa and 2Rare.

But one song on the tracklist definitely stood out from the rest ... when it was revealed "Came Out A Beast" had Weezy on it!!

Lizzy Musi -- a drag racer who rose to fame on Discovery's "Street Outlaws: No Prep Kings" -- has died ... TMZ has confirmed.

A family member of the television personality tells us ... Lizzy passed away Thursday at her home in North Carolina after struggling with breast cancer for several years.

Her father, Pat, broke the news on Facebook last night, moments after his daughter passed away ... and thanked her fans for supporting her and the family.

The U.S. men's national soccer team suffered a tough 2-1 defeat at the hands of Panama on Thursday ... and some fans crossed the line when voicing their frustrations with the result -- forcing the organization to address racist remarks thrown at its players.

Following the loss in the Copa America tournament -- which now makes Monday's game against Uruguay a must-win for the Red, White and Blue -- some backers used social media to hurl disgusting reactions at the players.

The men's national team wasted no time defending its roster ... releasing a statement shortly after the contest to call out the hateful behavior.

Savannah James got emotional watching the Lakers draft her eldest son, Bronny James, on Thursday night ... needing a tissue to wipe away her tears of joy.

LeBron's wife was seen standing just behind the 19-year-old hooper when it was revealed L.A. took him with the 55th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft ... and just after she handed her boy a Lakers hat, the waterworks started flowing.

Check out the clip, Mom couldn't have been more proud!

Alix Earle and Livvy Dunne are a couple of video vixens now ... as the two stunning influencers landed spots in the visuals for The Kid LAROI's newest song!!

The singer/rapper released the music video for his latest track, "GIRLS," on Thursday ... and as the title would suggest, there are plenty of lovely ladies featured throughout.

Miami Dolphins receiver Braxton Berrios' TikTok-famous girlfriend is the main love interest of the whole project ... but the superstar LSU gymnast also makes a cameo appearance.

Foreign policy, social security and climate change all took a back seat to golf on Thursday night -- as Donald Trump and Joe Biden put politics aside for a few moments to trash-talk each other's skills on the links.

It all went down after No. 45 and No. 46 were asked about how they believe their bodies and minds would hold up over the next four years if they were elected the next president of the United States.

Trump stated he had no worries -- pointing out that he recently won two club championships as evidence. He then stated there's no way Biden could do that, adding, "He can't hit a ball 50 yards!"

"I'm gonna f****** knock his teeth in!"

Uhhhh ... that's "Platinum" Mike Perry promising to go all dental on Jake Paul, telling us he's gonna beat The Problem Child's ass!

32-year-old Perry joined Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs nightly on FS1) ... and two things are clear ahead of his July 20 boxing match with 27-year-old Paul -- he's fired up, and there's a beef between 'em. A lot of it.

Kevin Costner is reflecting on his divorce, Ariana Grande is getting dragged for some podcast comments, and two Australian wrestlers are getting hitched ... all this on today's TMZ TV Hot Takes.

First up on "TMZ Live" Harvey and Charles dive into Kevin's comments on his divorce from Christine Baumgartner ... and how the split left him feeling crushed.

Bronny James -- son of NBA superstar LeBron James -- is a Los Angeles Laker ... being selected with the 55th pick in the 2024 Draft.

This makes LeBron and Bronny the first-ever father-son duo in NBA history -- and they're on the same team.

The big moment went down minutes ago ... with league deputy commissioner Mark Tatum taking the dais at ESPN's Seaport District Studios in Manhattan to announce the move.

Kelly Stafford just seemingly took a huge swipe at some of her biggest critics ... appearing to blast them as "insecure men" -- while praising her NFL star husband, Matthew Stafford, in the process.

Kelly's been in the crosshairs of many haters this week ... after she confessed on the "Off the Vine" podcast that she dated one of Stafford's backups while at the Univ. of Georgia in order to make him jealous.

People flocked to her social media pages with mean remarks -- and after apologizing to former Bulldogs signal-caller Joe Cox for unintentionally getting him wrapped up in the drama ... she took to IG Thursday afternoon to apparently fire away at the trolls.

If you're thinking Donald Trump and President Biden will get rowdy in tonight's presidential debate ... imagine what it's gonna be like in some local bars where they're throwing watch parties and slinging specialty drinks.

We talked to several bars around Washington, D.C. and Atlanta -- where the debate's being held -- and much like a big sporting event, the debate will be shown on multiple screens ... even taking priority over actual sports.

Some of the bars have specials, like a $10 old-fashioned -- likely a crack at the candidates' advanced ages. Other pubs have signature cocktails and dishes for the night-- and, one D.C. pub's taking it to the next level by setting up a drinking game for patrons.

The Florida Panthers' championship rage fest continues -- the latest stop on their victory tour was a popular Miami nightclub ... and Lord Stanley was the life of the party!!

The Panthers -- who won their first-ever Stanley Cup on Monday -- were spotted at E11EVEN ... and it's clear they're not slowing down their celebration any time soon.

You can see Aleksander Barkov and the team get the VIP treatment at the venue, with a celebratory welcome, a bunch of bottles (including Ace of Spades), and tons of Panthers fans.