TMZ Sports - Page 7

Team USA volleyball star Kristen Nuss says she's fired up to play in the Eiffel Tower's shadow at the Olympics this month ... telling TMZ Sports the picturesque court straight up "gives me chills."

If you haven't seen it yet ... the volleyballers who qualified for the Paris Games will get to play their matchups starting next week just feet away from France's most iconic monument.

Check out some of the photos from the sand -- it's literally right next to the famed structure!!!

Donald Trump reunited with Melania, $2 billion Powerball winner Edwin Castro has a smoking hot girlfriend, and Mike Perry is making big moves ... all this on today's TMZ TV Hot Takes.

First up on "TMZ Live" Harvey and Charles break down Melania's interactions with Donald at the Republican National Convention ... including what may or may not have been a smooch.

Mike Perry will be across from Jake Paul in just over 24 hours (more on that in a minute), but before fight night Platinum made a huge announcement, telling us he's launching his very own combat sports promotion, Dirty Boxing Championship!

"We are friends for fighters and fans," 32-year-old Perry told Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs nightly on FS1).

"Me and my team have been working on this for quite some time," Mike added. "We've tried to hint at this, we've been making way and we're ready to make the announcement that this is coming very soon. We're very close to being sanctioned by commissions and we're ready to get some athletes and get a card together and put a fight on sometime this year."

Caitlin Clark is opening up on her decision to pass on the WNBA's three-point competition on Friday ... saying it all came down to getting some much-needed rest.

The Indiana Fever star is notably not among the sharpshooters taking part in the long-distance All-Star Weekend event ... and many wondered why the league's biggest star declined to be involved when it could have been an opportunity to get more eyeballs on the organization.

Clark provided some answers earlier in the day ... explaining she's been playing non-stop for a long time -- and she wants to put her energy into helping her Fever teammates, rather than prepare for the contest.

Kylie Kelce -- the wife of former NFL star Jason Kelce -- says she's not pregnant ... and she's blasting all those who have fueled the rumors -- all while revealing she's previously had a miscarriage.

The 32-year-old mother of three took to TikTok to air her grievances ... letting her followers know she's fed up with people questioning whether or not she has another bun in the oven.

She explained the inquiries were highly insensitive ... as just prior to the birth of her eldest daughter years ago, she suffered a miscarriage.

Brittney Griner made a special announcement Friday ... she and her wife, Cherelle, have welcomed their first child!!

The Phoenix Mercury star dropped the exciting news on CBS Sports' "We Need To Talk" ... prior to the WNBA's All-Star Skills Challenge and 3-Point contest in Phoenix, Arizona.

"He's here," the Phoenix Mercury center said. "Seven pounds, eight ounces."

Richard Simmons' death certificate sheds no further light on the mystery surrounding his death ... but does provide some interesting details on his final resting place.

In the document obtained by TMZ ... Richard's manner of death is not listed -- instead, it notes the manner of death is still pending an investigation. This explains why there is still no cause of death to report.

However, it appears the fitness guru -- who is actually referred to as a "Health Motivator" on the cert -- has already been laid to rest a week after his death. Per the doc, Richard was buried here in L.A. at the Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park and Mortuary.

Friday is the official launch of EA Sports College Football 25 ... but fans who dropped a few extra bucks were able to get their hands on it earlier this week -- and the player count is mind-blowing!!

According to Electronic Arts, since the game had a soft launch on Monday ... 2.2 million unique players have stepped onto the virtual gridiron to give the company's return to college football a try. In addition, EA's subscription service, EA Play, saw 600,000 players take advantage of the trial period.

Ever since the company announced the game back in February 2021, anticipation has been through the roof ... as fans were without a new installment following the release of NCAA Football 14 in 2013.

Nick Saban is getting another tribute at Alabama -- the school just announced it is renaming the Bryant-Denny Stadium field in his honor.

Bama will hold a ceremony on September 7 ... when the Crimson Tide host the South Florida Bulls.

The university shared a special video to reveal the news ... featuring several memorable soundbites from Saban's historic career.

Add the 2024 Olympics to the long list of organizations affected by the ongoing global cyber outage ... as the Paris Games' organizing committee revealed some operations have dealt with some hiccups as a result of the ordeal.

With the international competition just days away, the org. released a statement saying the outage has impacted accreditations and the delivery of uniforms. Luckily for organizers, they say operations around the preparations of venues and ticket sales are unaffected -- while the Olympic torch relay is also not caught in the crossfire.

At the press center, security is doing checks outside the building the ol' fashioned way -- breaking out a list of names and scrolling through it manually. For journalists just arriving in the City of Lights, Reuters is reporting the accreditation desk is closed ... and people are being turned away.

Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre haven't performed together in the UK in 30 years -- but the two hip hop OGs broke that tradition in style last night ... and their celebrity pals were in tow.

Shaquille O'Neal and Yungblud joined forces to host the star-studded shindig inside London's Flipper's Roller Boogie Palace as Snoop, Dre -- and a surprise performance by Eminem lit up the night!!!

We're told the red carpet also extended to Idris and Sabrina Elba, Offset, Rich Paul, Dominic West, Jeremy Renner, Liberty Ross, Jimmy Iovine, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlotte Tilbury, Jude Bellingham and Brian Grazer.

The kickoff to the WNBA All-Star Weekend's festivities looked more like a fashion show ... as Caitlin Clark, A'ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum and all the ladies pulled up to the party's Orange Carpet dressed like models!!

The superstars donned their finest 'fits and headed over to the Phoenix Convention Center in Arizona on Thursday night ... to officially let the world know their league's annual midseason showcase is starting.

One by one, they strutted their stuff in front of media members and cameras ... and they looked gooooood.

Japanese gymnastics star Shoko Miyata will not compete at the 2024 Olympics in Paris later this month ... after an investigation determined she violated team rules by smoking and drinking alcohol.

19-year-old Miyata is Japan's reigning national title holder ... and won bronze in the balance beam competition at the 2022 World Championships. She was slated to represent the squad as captain at the Paris Games.

The Japanese Gymnastics Association issued an apology for the controversy and said Miyata owned up to her actions ... and her coach, Mutsumi Harada, called for sympathy over the matter -- citing the huge expectations to excel at the international level.

8:57 AM PT -- Trump is taking advantage of Hulk's viral moment ... 'cause the former president's campaign is now selling the same cutoff the wrestling legend rocked on stage!!

Folks can cop the merch with a donation of $35 or more ... and we take it it'll be a hot item with the MAGA crowd following the memorable performance.

The Republican National Convention stage looked more like a wrestling ring Thursday night -- at least for a few minutes -- as Hulk Hogan ripped off his shirt and fired up the crowd with an impassioned pro-Donald Trump speech.

The WWE-style moments all went down at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee ... about an hour or so before Trump formally accepted the GOP's nomination for President.

Hulk, who said he committed to speaking at the event following Saturday's attempt on Trump's life, repeatedly praised the former Prez ... all while speaking as if he were in the center of a squared circle at WrestleMania.

It seems Ingrid Andress' lowest moment on the microphone is actually benefitting her career ... TMZ Sports has learned her music has seen a big spike following her disastrous national anthem performance at Monday's Home Run Derby.

Officials over at SoundCloud -- one of the largest music streaming services in the world -- tell us ... plays on her tunes have gone up around 50 percent since her debacle in Arlington, Texas.

Specifically, we're told her 2019 "More Hearts Than Mine" song has really caught the ear of listeners.

Alec Baldwin is gearing up for a lawsuit, Joe Jonas is opening up on his new music and Mojo Muhtadi is paying it forward ... all this on today's TMZ TV Hot Takes.

First up on "TMZ Live" Harvey and Charles break down a legal threat from Alec ... aimed at the New Mexico sheriff and special prosecutor involved in his manslaughter case from the "Rust" shooting.