TMZ Sports - Page 8

A huge blimp sent up by a major soccer team for a promo blitz turned into a real PR nightmare when it came crashing down in a residential area in São Paulo, Brazil ... injuring the pilot.

The airship was cruising from Carapicuíba when it crashed in the suburb of Osasco about 4 miles away around noon Wednesday ... video from bystanders showing the blimp getting shredded after snagging on rooftops.

Locals were sprinting for safety from the plummeting blimp ... making for quite a chaotic scene.

Brett Favre is speaking out after his shocking announcement this week ... with the NFL legend saying he greatly appreciates the "unbelievable show of support."

The Green Bay Packers great posted video to his Instagram about 48 hours after testifying at a welfare reform hearing on Capitol Hill ... where he announced he has Parkinson's.

Wow, what an overwhelming amount of support from you all," Favre captioned the post, adding, "Thank you and this is just the beginning of another mountain to climb."

MLB artifact hunters will still have the chance to bid on Shohei Ohtani's historic 50th home run ball on Friday ... despite a new lawsuit that's reportedly trying to halt the proceedings.

According to cllct's Darren Rovell, the suit was filed on Wednesday evening in Florida -- just hours after Ken Goldin revealed his auction house will put the ball up for sale at the end of this week with a starting bid of $500,000.

Rovell reported the plaintiff is an 18-year-old named Max Matus ... who's convinced he's the rightful owner of the baseball. Matus alleges in his suit, according to Rovell, that he had full control of the ball before Chris Belanski wrongfully stole it from him during a scrum.

Thursday afternoon will mark the final time the Athletics play a game at the Oakland Coliseum, so during their last night game on Wednesday -- a groundskeeper made sure some fans left with a memento they can cherish forever.

The A's are currently playing the Texas Rangers in what is slated to be their final homestand not just at the Coliseum -- but in the city of Oakland -- as the team is set to play the next three seasons in Sacramento before setting up shop in Las Vegas.

While the stadium has been empty in recent years due to poor play and fan backlash against the owner, John Fisher ... supporters have been coming out this week to make one last memory with the team.

Former NBA MVP Derrick Rose is calling it a career -- announcing his retirement in a heartfelt social media post on Thursday.

"Thank you, My First Love..." Rose said on Instagram. "You believed in me through the highs and lows, my constant when everything else seemed uncertain. You showed me what love truly meant."

"You turned the court into my sanctuary, a home where I could express myself freely. You made every early morning and late night we spent together worth every drop of sweat."

Caitlin Clark and a courtside fan got into such a bizarre tiff on Wednesday night ... security guards actually had to get involved in an apparent effort to cool things off.

The curious scene all unfolded in the first quarter of the Indiana Fever's playoff matchup with the Connecticut Sun ... following a foul call on the floor.

After appearing to exchange words with a man in the second row, Clark got the attention of the refs -- and pointed at the guy. She seemed pissed ... and moments later, arena officials tapped the man on his shoulder and escorted him away from the area.

Bengals legend Willie Anderson is racing to Joe Burrow's defense ... telling TMZ Sports anyone who's blaming Cincinnati's early season woes on the quarterback is flat-out wrong.

The former offensive lineman snapped on the JB haters during an interview with us on Tuesday -- some 24 hours after the Bengals fell to 0-3 with a "Monday Night Football" loss to the Commanders.

"That's ridiculous, bro," Anderson told us of the Burrow criticism. "Like, they're in these games because of him. It's just totally ridiculous."

11:40 AM PT -- Teresa's attorney, Michael Garfinkel, tells TMZ, "Teresa's petition speaks for itself. Teresa is seeking to carry out Richard's wishes."

Richard Simmons' longtime housekeeper is petitioning to become co-trustee of his estate ... claiming Richard's brother pressured her to turn down the role while she was still grieving the fitness icon's death.

Teresa Reveles Muro -- who says she worked for Richard for nearly 40 years and was the one who found his body back in July -- filed a petition Wednesday ... claiming just days after Richard died, she, Richard's brother Leonard, and Leonard's wife Cathy went to view his body.

Right after this -- when Teresa says she was at her most vulnerable -- she says Leonard and Cathy took her to the office of the lawyers handling the trust, where she signed a document turning down the co-trustee role.

Barack Obama is lacking competent security, Chappell Roan is clarifying her comments on Kamala Harris and Robert Kraft is spending big on Tom Brady memorabilia ... all this on today's TMZ TV Hot Takes.

First up on "TMZ Live," Harvey and Charles explain how Obama's Secret Service security detail got penetrated in Los Angeles, to the point where an armed man was standing right outside his SUV.

Wrestling star Alan Vera -- who just narrowly missed qualifying for Team USA's Olympic roster earlier this year -- has sadly died at 33 years old ... after he suffered a medical emergency while playing soccer earlier this summer.

USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender announced the tragic news on Wednesday ... revealing Vera had been in the hospital fighting to recover from a July 29 cardiac arrest when he passed away.

"The wrestling community mourns the loss of a great champion, whose incredible life impacted so many within USA Wrestling and around the world," Bender said.

Jordyn Woods and Karl-Anthony Towns recently dunked on the housing market ... moving into a $14 million L.A.-area mansion -- right down the street from Woods' pal Kylie Jenner.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Jordyn and KAT moved into the 7-bedroom, 17-bathroom home back in May -- snapping up the 11,000+-square-foot home that sits on more than 2 acres of land.

The property also comes with a 2-bedroom guest house, a 7,200-square-foot spa/sports/gym/entertainment pavilion, a large barn with space for 7 horses, and garages to accommodate 6 cars.

The baseball that officially gave Shohei Ohtani an unprecedented 50/50 season has just hit the auction block ... but if you don't have deep pockets, you won't have a shot at getting it -- because its starting bid is $500,000!!

Goldin revealed on Wednesday afternoon it'll oversee the sale ... after the man who caught it earlier this month at the Dodgers vs. Marlins tilt in Miami reached out to the auction experts directly.

The company said in a statement that while the get-in price for the ball is half a mil ... fans can purchase it outright for a staggering $4.5 million.

Darby Allin is hoping the second time is a charm ... as the AEW superstar tells TMZ Sports he's planning to climb Mt. Everest in April -- this after his first attempt was called off due to a broken foot!

Allin made the revelation this week while chopping it up with Mojo Muhtadi on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs nightly on FS1) ahead of Wednesday's match at AEW Dynamite Grand Slam against Jon Moxley in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Wednesday.

We broke the story -- Darby broke his foot earlier this year during a match, and some people took the injury as a sign DA shouldn't attempt to ascend the world's tallest mountain (29,031 ft. peak). But, he ain't buying that line of thinking.

Brooks Nader and Gleb Savchenko will have a hard time dancing around their latest display of affection ... the "Dancing with the Stars" partners were spotted smooching backstage.

Check it out ... the model plants a kiss on her dance partner's lips, and again on his cheek, while waiting backstage at the dancing competition. Gleb appears unfazed by Brooks' affection, holding her hands and rubbing the small of her back ... all while crew members look on.

The footage was clearly taken from Tuesday night's episode of the competition series ... Brooks and Gleb are wearing the same outfits they donned for their quickstep routine for Oscars Night.

Whoopi Goldberg says haters blaming Taylor Swift for Travis Kelce's early season struggles need to pipe down ASAP ... bluntly telling them all this week to "shut up!"

The 68-year-old TV personality sent the message loud and clear while talking about the Chiefs star's woes on "The View."

She said it's outrageous fans think Swift's played any role in Kelce having just eight catches for 69 yards through three games ... and she wants the chatter to halt right now.

Ja Rule provided the halftime entertainment at the New York Liberty's series-clinching win over the Atlanta Dream last night -- and can take credit for being the team's good luck charm ... home team was down by 5 at the break!!!

The platinum-selling Queens native ripped through his hits such as "Put It On Me" and local anthem "New York" (minus Fat Joe and Jadakiss).

Ja won over the Barclays Center with an energetic performance backed by electric dancing from team mascot Ellie the Elephant and The Timeless Torches dance squad!!!