TMZ Sports - Page 26

It's not just swim fans that are in awe of Katie Ledecky's Olympic dominance ... 'cause USA gold medalist Nic Fink tells TMZ Sports he has no idea how she does it, either!!

Ledecky continued to make history during the 2024 Paris Games ... bringing home four medals over the course of the competition to become the most-decorated U.S. female Olympian.

We sat down with Fink while he was working an honorary shift at Raising Canes in Dallas, Texas on Monday ... and the 31-year-old swimmer -- who took home three medals in Paris himself -- gave his take on Ledecky's career thus far.

The USA women's water polo team took the party from Paris to Sin City this month -- jet-setting to Vegas following their run in the Olympics -- and their hype man and sponsor, Flavor Flav, was right there by their side for the festivities!!

Maggie Steffens, Rachel Fattal and the rest of the American squad got back to the States after finishing fourth in the Games ... and one of their first orders of business for some of the women was to let loose in Nevada.

The athletes -- plus Flav -- hit up Resorts World on Saturday night ... and grabbed some grub at FUHU before putting on their dancing shoes at Zouk Nightclub.

10:49 AM PT -- Gosder Cherilus is blaming sleeping meds for the incident ... saying in a statement on Monday, "In preparation for the unexpected overnight flight, I took a sleeping medication that I don't normally use, which resulted in behavior that is not representative of my character."

The former first-round pick went on to issue an apology to the passengers and the crew aboard the plane.

Former NFL offensive lineman Gosder Cherilus -- the 17th overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft -- was arrested over the weekend ... after he was accused of peeing on a passenger while aboard an airplane.

Massachusetts State Police say the incident occurred on Sunday morning ... while the former footballer was on a Delta flight bound from Boston to Ireland.

Cops say Cherilus was "unruly" while on the plane -- and when officers arrived at Logan Airport at around 2 AM and demanded he get off the plane after it landed, they say he "became irate and uncooperative."

Patrick Beverley is gearing up for another basketball season -- but, not in the United States -- the longtime hooper touched down in Israel where he was greeted by a bunch of passionate fans!

The 12-year NBA vet, after spending some time in Bulgaria, landed in Israel where he'll join his new squad, Hapoel Tel Aviv, for training camp.

Check it out, the fans in Tel Aviv couldn't be happier to welcome their newest addition -- greeting him at the airport with a big celebration.

Motorbiker Louis O'Regan has tragically passed away after he crashed while trying to qualify for a famed race in the Isle of Man.

Manx Grand Prix organizers said in a statement on Monday morning that O'Regan was riding his MV Agusta F3 on Sunday in the race's qualifying round when he wrecked.

Further details surrounding the incident were not made immediately available.

Dricus du Plessis successfully defended his UFC middleweight championship for the first time Saturday, submitting Israel Adesanya in the fourth round ... and he's celebrating the win in style, slamming beers, and wearing a mankini (not necessarily at the same time)!

The 30-year-old fighter left little to the imagination ... posing for the photo with the UFC title on his shoulder -- while wearing the South Africa-inspired thong with some of his buddies.

Du Plessis also celebrated the win by throwing back some beers with his contingent ... slamming a pint in record time!

Tua Tagovailoa is getting candid about his experiences with Brian Flores ... labeling the former Dolphins head coach a "terrible person" and claiming he endured endless insults under his leadership.

Tagovailoa didn't hold back about his feelings in a recent interview ... when he was asked about the difference between his current coach, Mike McDaniel, and Flores, who had the same gig from 2019 until 2022.

"To put in simplest terms, if you woke up every morning and I told you you suck at what you did, that you don't belong doing what you do, that you shouldn't be here, that this guy should be here, that you haven't earned this right ... and then you have somebody else come in and tell you, 'Dude, you are the best fit for this,'" the 26-year old said on the Dan Le Betard Show with Stugotz.

Oscar De La Hoya just gave his fans a lot more than they bargained for ... throwing on a skimpy thong and doing a freaky dance with his partner, Holly Sonders -- and sharing the footage for all to see.

The wild clip was posted to the pair's Instagrams late Sunday night ... showing them barely covered as they grooved to Sak Noel's "Loca People."

It kicked off with Holly -- donning a tiny, pink thong bikini -- dancing solo ... before ODLH quickly hopped into frame and started shaking his junk.

Lonzo Ball hasn't stepped foot on an NBA court as an active player in 942 days and counting ... but it's a streak the former 2nd overall pick tells us he plans to end this upcoming season!

Remember, Ball -- a superstar at UCLA before being drafted by the Lakers in 2017 -- has dealt with several injuries, including a serious knee ailment ... that has forced him to the bench. Lonzo hasn't graced the NBA hardwood since January 2022.

But, when TMZ Sports ran into the hooper at LAX, he provided some good news for the Chicago Bulls fans.

Simone Biles ate up the competition at the 2024 Olympics ... and, one restaurant knows it -- giving her a custom championship that's not exactly safe for work.

The 11-time Olympic medalist went out to dinner with her husband Jonathan Owens in Chicago after the Chicago Bears preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals ... and, the restaurant they dined at -- Maple & Ash -- surprised the Olympian.

Scrawled across the front -- over her eating options -- in big letters read "Olympic F***ing Champion" ... something SB loved by the way, 'cause she posted multiple pics and vids about it.

Mike Tyson's showing he ain't scared of Jake Paul ... giving him a couple shoves during a press conference for their upcoming fight -- and laughing all the while.

The heavyweight boxing legend came face to face with the Youtuber-turned-fighter at Fanatics Fest at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City Sunday ... and, when they come together in the center, Tyson gives Paul a quick left to the chest.

Tyson and Paul exchange words before they start moving back toward each other ... where Tyson full-on shoves JP -- cracking up at his 27-year-old opponent.

Craig Jones' weigh-in kiss might be a tactic other fighters should pick up ... 'cause he took down Gabi Garcia after planting the smooch on her pre-match.

The Australian grappler dominated his 6'2" opponent from the opening bell ... though she drew out the fight a little before finally tapping out in the second round of the intergender bout.

GG -- who's mulled over an intergender battle like this for years -- has multiple gold medals and world championships in the sport ... but, she just couldn't handle Jones who's also one of the best Brazilian jiu-jitsu athletes of all time.

UFC fighter Casey O'Neill is shouting out Olympian Rachael "Raygun" Gunn -- after a UFC 305 victory she busted out the Aussie's breakdance ... but it was way more mocking than tribute.

Casey defeated Luana Santos by a unanimous decision at UFC 305, which was held in Perth, Australia -- so, naturally, the Aussie fighter had to celebrate with an impersonation of her countrywoman ... AKA the most meme'd athlete of the Paris Olympics.

She fell to the mat, laid on her side and started doing Raygun's writhing move ... and even threw in her infamous kangaroo hop. Casey's version was hilarious, for sure, but only because she was NOT competing in the Olympics when she did it.

Tyreek Hill's mother allegedly slapped a woman and later broke her necklace during an altercation last month ... and now the woman has filed a police report over it.

According to police documents obtained by TMZ Sports, the incident happened on or around July 1 in Southwest Ranches, Fla. ... after the NFL star's mom, Anesha Sanchez, got into a dispute with her friend, Maleney.

Cops say Maleney told officers that during their argument, Sanchez offered to give Maleney a ride home in order to stop the disagreement. But, Maleney claims Anesha snapped during the lift back to her pad ... and allegedly slapped Maleney across the face with the back of her hand.

This week's summer hot shots is coming from the sun-baked streets of Los Angeles where fitness guru Denetra Blackshear ditched the gym attire and got hearts racing wearing a super string bikini while doing a photo shoot in the City Of Angels.

When this health nut isn't motivating people in person and with her online training ... Denetra loves watching anime, traveling the globe to exotic locations ... and even was a hip hop dancer in videos for big names like Pharrell Williams, Kid Ink ... and even Daft Punk!

Talk about an instant crush!

Canelo Alvarez isn't looking to simply hand Edgar Berlanga the first loss of his career, he's gunning to physically hurt the undefeated fighter, telling us he wants to "bring him pain!"

34-year-old Alvarez, the undisputed super middleweight champ, joined Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs nightly on FS1) this week ... ahead of his September 14 scrap against Berlanga, 22-0, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, a fighting going down on Mexican Independence Day weekend.

"It's always great to represent my country on those days," Alvarez said, "I always try to fight on those days because it's important to me and my Mexican fans."