TMZ Sports - Page 50

The fan who caught Shohei Ohtani's historic 176th home run is about to be a whole lot richer ... TMZ Sports has learned the man's putting the ball up for auction -- and it's expected to net him a small fortune!!

The guys over at Heritage Auctions tell us ... Jason Patino -- who snagged the record-setting baseball after Ohtani blasted it toward him in an April 21 victory over the Mets -- is selling the memento on their block, and they're figuring it'll eventually go for around $200,000.

The ball, of course, holds a ton of value ... as it marked the official breaking of Hideki Matsui's MLB record for dingers by a Japanese-born slugger.

The Paris Olympics wasn't all fun and gold medals for Steph Curry and his family ... the NBA legend's wife, Ayesha found herself in tears while dealing with French authorities.

The TV personality -- who was in Paris to cheer on her Team USA star hubby as he willed the U.S. to a victory of France in Saturday's gold medal game -- is going viral as video shows her wiping away tears while having a tense face-off with local authorities.

Check out the vid ... it's unclear exactly what went down, but it seems there was a dispute over whether or not Ayesha and her infant son, Caius Chai, were allowed to make their way over to their car ... which appeared to be stuck in gridlock traffic due to French President Emmanuel Macron exiting the area.

From the sounds of it, baby Caius got caught up in the chaos and was clocked in the noggin by someone on the scene ... which prompted an emotional response from Ayesha and Steph's mom, Sonya.

Steph's Golden State Warriors teammate Draymond Green happened to be there ... and was even heard snapping at the authorities, saying ... "So even after y'all hit the baby in the head, there's still nothing y'all can do to get them out of here?"

Of course, no surprise Draymond would have the Curry's back ... Steph and DG have been teammates for years.

But, the French authorities didn't appear moved by their pleas ... as they maintained their stance that the family had to stay put.

Prior to the confrontation, the Curry's were on cloud 9.

Steph was a key factor in Team USA's win over France, earning Curry, LeBron James and the rest of the stars a gold medal. The 2x NBA MVP went off in the closing moments of the tight game, knocking down 4 threes when the U.S badly needed buckets.

The 2024 Olympics are officially a wrap ... closing a memorable, controversial Paris Games with star-studded performances by Snoop Dogg, Billie Eilish and The Red Hot Chili Peppers!

The celebration, which kicked off at the Stade de France Sunday afternoon, saw competitors from across the globe, celebrating their new gold, silver, and bronze hardware, coming together one final time for a variety of big performances from dancers, musicians and more.

The first big act came from French indie band, Phoenix, who performed their big hit, "Lisztomania," as the athletes surrounded the stage. The band later collaborated with Kavinsky for a rendition of the party anthem, "Nightcall."

Well, we told you so! Tom Cruise did the honors at the end of the Paris Olympics closing ceremony, and it went down exactly like we said it would! And, it was pretty spectacular.

Tom appeared at the top of Stade de France just as H.E.R. wrapped up her amazing rendition of the "Star Spangled Banner," and yes, he rapelled down to the floor of the stadium as fans went insane.

Tom walked up to L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, who handed him the Olympic flag -- Tom hopped on a motorcycle and rode with the flag on the back outside the stadium.

Olympic boxer Imane Khelif has had it up to HERE with bullying regarding her sex, and her lawyer is now ready to kick ass.

Her lawyer has filed a complaint with Paris prosecutors, claiming the Algerian boxer is the victim of aggravated cyber harassment. The lawyer calls the attacks "misogynist, racist and sexist."

The Algerian athlete took home the gold in the women’s welterweight division Friday ... after facing controversy earlier in the competition when questions about her sex arose online.

Rock climbing walls are for wusses .... so says a dude who just scaled the Eiffel Tower  ... and the timing of his stunt could not have been worse.

Watch the vid ... the man scales the 330-meter tower, making his way over the blue ring of the Olympics logo ... which is temporarily perched on the famed landmark.

The incident went down Sunday afternoon ... just 3 hours before the start of the Olympics closing ceremony, forcing French police to evacuate the area around the Tower.

The verdict is in on the fate of Jordan Chiles' bronze medal ... and it ain't good.

The International Olympic Committee ruled the U.S. gymnast would have to give back the third-place medal she won in the floor competition during the Paris Olympic Games – and it will now be bestowed on her Romanian counterpart, Ana Barbosu.

As you may know, the whole controversy began last Monday ... Chiles scored a 13.666 in the women's floor exercise, landing her fifth in the competition.

Travis Kelce took an L Saturday in his first preseason game, but on the brighter side ... he was all swagged out!

Taylor Swift's BF took the field with his Kansas City Chiefs teammates and took a shellacking from the Jacksonville Jaguars 13-26. The Chiefs had a few impressive plays, but a loss is a loss. Trav did not score.

Travis entered the Jacksonville stadium in style ... gold shades, gold chain, khakis, a Versace-like patterned shirt, and a cap with the name of the 2007 flick -- "Superbad."

Aaron Rodgers' team won its first preseason game Saturday, and his throwing arm was impressive ... thing is, he didn't throw the ball at the stadium.

AR sat on the sidelines to watch the Jets beat the Browns, and then he beelined it for Madison Square Garden, where he took in a big, celeb comedy show.

Aaron hopped on stage with Joe Rogan, Andrew Dice Clay, Joey Diaz, Shane Gillis and others, and hurled 2 footballs into the crowd ... which you gotta say is pretty awesome for whoever caught it --  Aaron's an MVP 4 times over.

Tim Walz wasn't just coaching football to cash checks ... so says one of his former players, who tells TMZ Sports Kamala Harris' Vice President candidate was a smart mind who always got the most out of the team.

We sat down with Seth Greenwald -- who happens to be a coach himself at Hamline University now -- a few days after Walz was announced as Harris' running mate ... and he described the ex-Mankato West High School (MN) football team's leader as a "guy's guy."

"He was energic, super knowledgeable," Greenwald said. "He wants to be hands-on, whatever he's doing he's got 10 toes down. That's the thing that stands out for him. He's the same guy then as he is now for the most part, obviously he has evolved and he's taken on different roles."

Three suspects have been arrested in the foiled Taylor Swift terror plot, Scheana Shay had a rude welcome in London and Denard Robinson has a wild arrest video ... all this on today's TMZ TV Hot Takes.

First up on "TMZ Live," Harvey and Charles have the latest on the arrests in the foiled terror plot that was allegedly targeting Taylor's Vienna concerts.

Israel Adesanya's returning to the Octagon for a scrap with Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 305 ... and the former champ is now breaking down exactly where his beef stands with the current middleweight title holder.

"It's not personal, I just want him to take accountability for his remarks," Izzy recently told TMZ Sports ... just days before his August 17 main event.

Said "remarks" go back to when Du Plessis -- who was born in South Africa -- said he was gunning to become the first "real African" champion in the UFC ... something Adesanya (born in Nigeria before ultimately moving to New Zealand for a better educational opportunity) took serious umbrage over.

And that about wraps up the summer 2024 Paris Olympics, and there's zero doubt Team USA's pro-stars showed up, showed out and made our country proud! But, the athletes weren't the only ones who left it ALL out on the floor ...

Fans from all over the world made the trip to Paris and showed off their patriotism -- fully decked out in their respective colors n' gear, but which country brought their A-game fans? It's a close call, however France, Brazil and Japan for sure committed to the bit!

Olympic basketball players' hoop dreams brought out some huge stars to the gold medal match ... and they just saw the U.S.A. eke out victory against France.

Jimmy Fallon led the coterie of famous faces at the event ... grinning big courtside and even stopping to snap some photos with French President Emmanuel Macron.

U.S. Olympians past and present -- like two-time basketball gold medalist Scottie Pippen and track star Sha'Carri Richardson, who's taking home serious hardware from Paris -- shouted from the sidelines too.

Jordan Chiles may have to give back one of her Olympic medals ... 'cause a review board says a challenge to her score shouldn't have been allowed.

Here's the deal ... during Monday's women's floor exercise, Chiles was originally awarded a score of 13.666 -- placing her fifth, just off the podium.

While at first deflated, her coaches demanded a difficulty review ... which the judges granted. After looking at the routine, they increased her score by one-tenth of a point -- putting her in third.

Morgan Wallen made quite the splash in Nevada Friday ... doing one of his customary walkouts with a couple of major celebs -- Tom Brady and Mike Tyson.

Wallen was flanked on either side by the NFL great and boxing legend at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, where he performed Friday night during a stop on his country music tour.

Check out the video ... the trio kicked things off inside a tunnel, where Morgan gave a huge hug to Brady before shaking hands with Tyson and embracing him.