TMZ Sports - Page 20

A group of kayakers who got stranded in rough waters in Maryland needed a helicopter to swoop in and rescue them ... and the daring mission is all on video.

Footage shows a Maryland State Police Aviation Command helicopter airlifting four kayakers to safety Sunday after they got trapped in a rocky area of the Potomac River.

The chopper lowered a rescue basket down to the stranded kayakers, then hoisted them back up and took them to safety on the river's shore.

Jabrill Peppers was arrested on Saturday after his girlfriend told cops he roughed her up, according to court documents obtained by TMZ Sports ... but the NFL player is adamant the claims are untrue.

Officials wrote in the docs that Peppers' GF alleged the New England Patriots safety got violent with her at around 4 AM ... after she got a phone call during intercourse with him that he didn't like.

Authorities say she stated he demanded she leave his apartment -- and pushed her out of the bedroom while they were both naked. Moments later, she claimed he "put his hands on her neck and pushed her head against the wall." The whole time, she said he appeared "out of his mind and had a serious expression."

Baker Mayfield, Mike Evans and the rest of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are taking zero chances ahead of Hurricane Milton ... electing to make their road trip to New Orleans days earlier than expected.

The 3-2 Bucs are scheduled to play a road matchup against their division-rival Saints on Sunday ... and were initially slated to fly out on Saturday.

However, Hurricane Milton has changed those plans ... as the Category 4 storm is heading straight for the Sunshine State.

Sunday's playoff game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres got pretty heated -- and not just between the players -- 'cause L.A. fans got in on the action too, leading to the game being temporarily halted.

It all went down during the bottom of the seventh inning ... while L.A. was down to San Diego 4-1 in game two of the NLDS. Just before the start of the frame, Padres left fielder Jurickson Profar started jawing with fans after they threw a baseball back at him after he threw it into the stands.

Profar was understandably hot ... leading to his manager Mike Shildt and his teammates coming out to try and calm him down.

New England Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers was reportedly arrested in Massachusetts early Saturday morning ... facing charges including assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, strangulation and drug possession.

According to local reports, Braintree Police were dispatched to a home on the morning of October 5 ... after receiving a call regarding a disturbance.

EMS treated an alleged victim at the scene ... and after an investigation, Peppers was arrested.

Matt Bush -- the first overall pick in the 2004 MLB Draft -- was arrested in Texas on Friday night ... after cops say he caused an accident while intoxicated ... and then tried to flee the scene.

According to the Arlington Police Dept., authorities initially attempted to pull over Bush and his 2023 Lincoln Aviator at around 8:25 PM after they say he was "driving erratically."

However, police lost sight of him after they claim he sped away from them.

LeBron and Bronny James made history Sunday night -- the two officially became the first-ever father and son duo to share an NBA court together ... and afterward, The King called the game "SURREAL!!"

It all went down in Palm Desert, Calif. ... where the Lakers were taking on the Suns in a preseason matchup.

LeBron checked into the game first -- he actually started the tilt for L.A. -- and at the beginning of the second quarter, Bronny joined him on the floor.

Drake appears to be "In His Feelings" about his ongoing feud with Kendrick Lamar ... publicly complaining about fake friends amid the drama.

The rapper grabbed the mic at Tyrone Edwards' Nostalgia Party in Toronto Saturday evening ... where he lamented about being dropped by flip-flopping pals.

He noted ... "My real friends are definitely in the building. But, I’m going to tell you, you’re going to come to a point in life where people you thought were friends, or people you thought were close to you, they might switch up."

Iman Shumpert is addressing the rumors surrounding his dating life head-on ... telling TMZ Sports that Amber Rose is nothing but a friend -- despite the two recently hitting the beach together.

The NBA champ and the TV personality/model caused quite a stir after they were spotted in Miami last month, smiling and loungin' with one another near the water.

Our sources said at the time it was a platonic meet-up ... and Shumpert and Rose were simply just friends.

Travis Kelce is now on the backside of 30 having celebrated his 35th birthday Saturday, and Taylor Swift was MIA, but fear not Swifties ... this will all course correct Monday night.

Travis hit up his Kelce Car Jam spectacle in Kansas City, and he broke the news to the staff Taylor was not showing up.

As you know, there's this crazy buzz that when Taylor is not at every Travis game or event, there's trouble in paradise, but not the case. Travis said Taylor will be cheering him on Monday night when the Chiefs take on the Saints in K.C.

Vanderbilt Univ. scored a stunning win over Alabama on Saturday -- one of the biggest ever for the team -- and they celebrated with one of the craziest celebrations ever ... ripping the goalpost out of the ground and dragging it miles away for its new home in a famous river!!!

The Commodores crushed the Crimson Tide by a score of 40-35, and Nashville fans went nuts ... rushing the field at FirstBank Stadium and somehow dislodging the goalpost from the ground.

But that wasn't the end ... fans lugged the gigantic object more than 3 miles to its new home -- in the Cumberland River.

Dwayne Johnson wanted to shed his wrestling nickname when he became an actor, but Saturday night he was absolutely The Rock as he made a thunderous return to the ring!

Here's how it went down ... Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes were celebrating their victory against Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu at the State Farm Arena in Georgia, when The Rock's theme song began reverberating through the arena and the crowd went wild.

As Cody held the belt over his head, The Rock appeared with his own hardware -- the People's Champion belt -- and gave Cody a blank stare as he counted down from 3 with his fingers.

The two people who say they sustained gnarly wounds in the Rashee Rice car crash earlier this year are now hoping the Chiefs star's own recent injury will expedite an amicable resolution to their impending lawsuit.

Edvard Petrovskiy and Irina Gromova said in court documents filed back in April that they suffered brain trauma, lacerations to their face, bruises on their bodies, as well as internal bleeding after Rice and his friend lost control of their sports cars on March 30 and crashed into their ride while speeding down a Texas highway.

Petrovskiy and Gromova asked for no less than $10 million in punitive damages -- but there appears to be no disposition to the suit in sight ... as court records show a trial in the case isn't slated to begin until June 2025.

But, Sanjay S. Mathur, the attorney representing the plaintiffs, said in a statement to TMZ Sports this week that following the wide receiver's knee injury Sunday ... he's hopeful things will now change.

"We are saddened to hear about Rashee Rice's injury on the football field and hope for his quick recovery," Mathur said. "We recognize that injuries can significantly impact one's life, causing both physical pain and mental distress. They disrupt routines, hobbies, daily chores, and activities. Injuries often lead to medical procedures and bills, and they can hinder one’s ability to earn a living."

"We are struck by the fact that Rice was injured at a time when the plaintiffs in our case against him are seeking justice for their own injuries," Mathur continued. "We hope that these recent developments will foster empathy, a resolve to seek resolution, and, most importantly, an acceptance of responsibility toward the injured parties in our case."

Rice, who has previously expressed remorse for his role in the wreck, was hurt while attempting to make a tackle following a Patrick Mahomes interception against the Chargers at SoFi Stadium. The extent of his injury has not yet been revealed -- although the Chiefs have placed him on injured reserve ... meaning he'll miss at least the next four Kansas City games.

Despite suffering yet another scary head injury, Tua Tagovailoa is still going to try to return to the NFL -- so says his close family friend, Manti Te'o.

The former New Orleans Saints linebacker made the revelation to us out in Los Angeles this week -- some 21 days after Tagovailoa sustained his third diagnosed concussion in a "Thursday Night Football" matchup with the Bills.

Te'o says while he's tried to give the 26-year-old signal-caller his space as he recovers from the brain trauma ... he did recently speak with the Dolphins star's father -- and from everything he's hearing, Tua is "going to try to get back."

Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets are stumbling out the gates in 2024 ... but ex-NFL QB Mark Sanchez says the last thing they need to do is make a change on the sidelines -- telling TMZ Sports they need to ride it out with Robert Saleh.

We caught up with the Fox Sports commentator at LAX amid Gang Green's 2-2 start ... and asked what he felt about folks saying NY's head coach should be on the hot seat following a 10-9 loss to the Denver Broncos.

"This past game was just an ugly game, they would had to win ugly," Sanchez said. "And they lost by a point, or whatever it was. In a rainy game like that, you need one ball to bounce your way; you need to make a field goal, something."

5:32 PM PT -- Keanu Reeves lost control of his car in his pro auto racing debut at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, narrowly avoiding a crash.

Keanu was coming out of Turn 9 when his car spun into the grass ... though he was able to avoid smashing into the wall.

Video shows Keanu spinning out, and after a brief pause he gets back on the track and finishes out the race.

Keanu was uninjured and he qualified 31st out of 35 cars. Next up for Keanu is another race on Sunday.

Keanu Reeves sure knows a lot more than kung fu ... and he's gearin' up to prove it Saturday as he readied to make his professional auto racing debut at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

In exclusive pictures and video obtained by TMZ ... Keanu can be seen preparing for practice runs Saturday morning behind the wheel of the No. 92 Eagles Canyon Racing Toyota GR86.

The GR Cup Series races happening over the weekend are a part of the Indianapolis 8-hour event ... but separate from the endurance race.