TMZ Sports - Page 23

Suni Lee might be an Olympic hero, but she still gets starstruck when meeting her favorite artists ... 'cause the Team USA gymnast fangirled out while watching LISA at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show -- and then they hung out at the after-party!!

The gold medalist was present at the big event ... and before all the models did their thing on the runway, she revealed she was excited to watch Tyla and the BLACKPINK member perform.

"Like, I'm obsessed with both of them," Lee told Olivia Culpo, who told her she just missed the K-pop superstar walking by and she looked "drop-dead gorgeous."

It was an emotional home opener for the Columbus Blue Jackets ... as the team honored the life of Johnny Gaudreau with a touching tribute before the action kicked off -- and there wasn't a dry eye in the arena.

During pregame warmups, the entire team wore #13 jerseys as they took the ice ... which will be put up for auction with proceeds going to the John and Matthew Gaudreau Foundation.

The tribute to Johnny didn't stop there. The team welcomed Johnny's wife Meredith -- and their two kids -- to the ice as they raised a banner to the rafters "In his memory and the legacy of number 13."

Pittsburgh Steelers player DeShon Elliott tried to be funny with his social media activity ... but it backfired when fans criticized him for sharing an insensitive joke referencing Osama bin Laden and his coach Mike Tomlin ahead of a matchup against the New York Jets.

The meme in question was part of the safety's photo dump on Instagram -- showing Tomlin's face photoshopped on top of bin Laden's head, with the caption "Osama Bin Tomlin."

Naturally, given bin Laden's involvement in the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center that left nearly 3,000 dead ... many people took issue.

Patrick Mahomes is revealing the unexpected perks to his teammate Travis Kelce dating Taylor Swift ... the pop star has been spending quality time with his daughter, Sterling.

The Kansas City Chiefs quarterback made an appearance on "The Drive" podcast Tuesday, where he confessed his 3-year-old has been whipping up baked goods with Taylor in the kitchen.

As Patrick put it ... his daughter is a "big baker," so she and Taylor have made "some stuff together" ... and the football star hinted he's tried one or two of the goodies.

Tyler Herro was more focused on combat than hoops after the Miami Heat's preseason win on Tuesday ... 'cause his postgame interview came to a screeching halt due to a scrap in the stands!!

The wild moment went down shortly after the home squad secured the 120-117 win over the San Antonio Spurs ... and despite the contest not having any real significance, a few spectators decided it was a night worth fighting for.

It's unclear what led to the brawl ... but footage shows three guys throwing a slew of punches in the Kaseya Center seats, with a woman in a row above also getting involved by swinging at the group.

"THESE PENS SUCK"

While there's no shortage of Mickey Mantle autographs in the marketplace, there's truly a unique item on the auction block at Lelands ... a 14" x 20" cardstock signed 99 times by the MLB legend, which includes a special message about the crappy writing implement he used for his John Hancocks!!

Number 7, one of the greatest baseball players to ever step foot on a diamond, signed his famous Mickey Mantle autograph decades ago for a buddy who operated a company that sold statues.

Ben Affleck is getting back in the director's chair ... and this time he's overseeing a beer commercial starring his good buddy Matt Damon and soccer star David Beckham.

TMZ obtained photos of Ben, Matt and David on the set of a production Tuesday at Griffin Club Los Angeles in Cheviot Hills ... and our sources tell us it's for a new Stella beer advertisement.

Matt and Dave appear to be in tennis gear ... and it looks like they're filming on a tennis court. The private, members-only club markets itself as a "premiere racquet, athletic, aquatic and social club."

Travis Kelce's ex, Kayla Nicole, is opening up on her recent appearance on Angel Reese's podcast and the backlash that ensued ... saying while she didn't pay the negativity any mind, her mother was "offended" by the social media commentary.

The influencer made headlines for speaking out on a number of topics on the Chicago Sky star's "Unapologetically Angel" show last week ... including past relationships, rumors surrounding her breakup with the Kansas City Chiefs tight end and being targeted by Taylor Swift fans.

During a sit-down on "I Am Athlete," Kayla admitted she might have changed some of her answers -- or provided no comment altogether at certain times -- to fully embody her character ... but ultimately, she felt like she handled the whole thing with grace.

Bronny James is opening up about his near-death experience at USC ... with the 19-year-old Lakers rookie admitting he's still not fully recovered.

"My days aren't normal anymore," James told Men's Health magazine in a brand new cover feature that dropped on Tuesday.

"I still feel like I’m getting back, I’m getting back to where I was" ... LeBron's oldest son added.

Georgetown University's women's basketball team is catching flak for honoring a former player who was fatally shot by a police officer who she slashed with a knife.

The Hoyas' official X account posted a tribute to ex-player Sydney Wilson, mourning her "tragic loss" last month ... but now the post is drawing criticism because newly released police body cam footage shows her attacking the cop -- cutting his face -- before he shoots and kills her.

The tribute post has been on the Georgetown women's basketball team's X page since September 20. Sydney, who played for GU from 2009 to 2013, died Sept. 16 in the police shooting -- and the video of the fatal altercation was just released Monday.

Bow Wow is missing Diddy the party planner, Heidi Klum is modeling lingerie with her daughter and Caitlin Clark is freaking out on the golf course ... all this on today's TMZ TV Hot Takes.

First up on "TMZ Live," Charles and Babcock explain why Bow Wow is complaining about the lack of Diddy parties in Hollywood.

Guilherme "Bomba" Vasconcelos -- an MMA fighter who competed in the UFC and Bellator, and dated Demi Lovato -- is dead at 38 years old, his family and members of the fighting community said on Tuesday.

The cause of death is not known at this time.

Vasconcelos made appearances across multiple MMA promotions ... and accumulated a record of 10-6 over the course of his seven-year pro career.

4:27 PM PT -- Tom Brady released a statement on the news ... saying he was "incredibly humbled and excited" to get unanimous approval from the owners.

"Football has been part of my entire life growing up in the Bay Area and in so many ways, my football life and journey has come full circle," Brady said.

"I grew up on the field, and it's a blessing to know I'll be involved in the greatest league in the world for the rest of my life," he added.

Brady thanked Mark Davis for bringing him into the Raider family ... as well as NFL commish Roger Goodell, his fellow owners and his team for helping him reach the accomplishment.

"I'm eager to contribute to the organization in any way I can, honoring the Raiders' rich tradition while finding every possible opportunity to improve our offering to fans ... and most importantly, WIN football games."

It's official -- Tom Brady is getting a piece of the Las Vegas Raiders!!!

The legendary NFL quarterback's bid to buy a minority stake in the franchise was approved during the league's fall meeting in Atlanta on Tuesday -- securing the minimum 24 votes needed to push it forward.

Brady first agreed to terms with Raiders owner Mark Davis back in May 2023 -- it was reported at the time he and businessman Tom Wagner would be buying a 10% stake in the franchise.

2:59 PM PT -- Eddie Hearn's attorney, Frank Salzano, released a statement to TMZ Sports ... saying Jake's claim that his comments were protected under New York's Anti-SLAPP laws -- which shield defendants from lawsuits meant to hinder their freedom of speech -- "fails for several reasons."

"The most glaring reason is that Anti-SLAPP laws were primarily enacted to protect against plaintiffs who filed claims seeking to suppress freedom of speech, these statutes were not enacted to protect maliciously false or defamatory statements – which Paul’s remarks clearly constitute," the statement read.

Salzano said the plan is to dismiss the "meritless" claim and continue with Hearn's defamation case.

Jake Paul isn't taking his fight with Eddie Hearn laying down ... 'cause two years after the British promoter filed a $100 million defamation lawsuit against the Problem Child, the 27-year-old is firing back with his own legal action against Hearn.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ Sports, Jake argues Eddie's suit is nothing more than an attempt to silence his right to free speech using intimidation tactics to shut Paul up.

Jake says Eddie's lawsuit is straight BS, and he shouldn't owe the Matchroom Boxing promoter a red cent. Instead, Paul claims he's the one who's deserving of a fat payment ... arguing in the docs he should be entitled to compensatory and punitive damages, in addition to the cost of legal fees.

MMA star "Platinum" Mike Perry was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol in Florida over the weekend.

According to the police report, obtained by TMZ Sports, Claremont cops says they were on routine patrol around 1 AM on Saturday ... when they observed a dark red Mercedes SUV driving up to "approximately" 20 miles above the speed limit.

Cops say they conducted a traffic stop for speeding, identified the driver as Perry and could smell the odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from his breath. They also claim he appeared to have "red, glassy eyes" and his speech sounded slow, to which he replied the officer's "speech was fast."

The woman suing Vince McMahon over allegations he sexually abused her is now targeting a Connecticut doctor with ties to the former WWE honcho ... claiming she was sexually abused at the physician's clinic.

Attorneys for accuser Janel Grant, 44, filed a motion in a CT court on Tuesday ... demanding doc Carlon Colker's office turn over any records relating to her care at Peak Wellness, his practice.

Grant claims McMahon, along with a Peak Wellness physical therapist, sexually abused her at the medical clinic -- including one instance in which McMahon defecated on her head and forced her to engage in a sexual act with the employee.

She also claims Dr. Colker "repeatedly medicated" her with "unknown substances."

Grant claims Vince sent her to the facility after she was dealing with severe stress and trauma that stemmed from her alleged abuse.