TMZ Sports - Page 50

Angel Reese is flattered Shaquille O'Neal considers her the greatest athlete in LSU history ... but for the college hoops star, the praise is premature, saying she hasn't done enough to earn that recognition.

Remember, the initial comments sparked a ton of debate ... when Shaq said "[Angel Reese's] probably the greatest athlete ever to come out of LSU Sports." The Big Fella added, "Did you hear what I just said? Male and female."

Well, Reese visited the Breakfast Club with her teammate Flau'jae Johnson on Monday and admitted she called the NBA legend after the controversial take.

Angel says she spoke with Shaq, who she calls "Uncle," and asked him, "Do you know how much pressure you just put on me?" According to Reese, O'Neal said he didn't give a f***.

Reese -- who went viral for doing the "You Can't See Me" gesture towards Iowa star Caitlin Clark during the national championship game -- explained she'd need to win another championship before feeling comfortable accepting the G.O.A.T. crown.

Of course, Angel's humility will likely play well with Olympian Lolo Jones, who ripped her fellow Tigers alum Shaq for having the "audacity" to say, Reese, who she respects, is the best athlete in LSU history.

Nevertheless, Angel and Flau'jae have lived their best lives since winning the NCAA title over the Hawkeyes. Reese said several rappers have slid in her DMs to congratulate her, including Drake, Future, DJ Khaled, and French Montana, to say congrats!

Russell Wilson went from NFL superstar to proud dad real quick this weekend ... 'cause after Future Zahir hit his first ever over-the-fence home run -- the Denver Broncos QB went crazy!!!

The memorable moment went down on the baseball diamond just after one of Ciara's 8-year-old son's games ... when Russ and the boy were getting in some extra work.

You can see in video Wilson shared to his Instagram page on Sunday ... the quarterback was throwing Future Zahir some pitches, when the kid got a hold of one.

The ball traveled to deep left field ... and when it cleared the fence -- everyone lost their minds!!

Wilson threw his hands up, Future Zahir jumped up and down ... and even Ciara screamed from the stands, chanting his name as her son circled the bases.

"His first Home Run way over the fence!" Wilson said of the moment in the vid's caption. "Future taking ground balls, pop flies & extra swings. Right before Sun down."

"Anything worth having we all have to work for!!! Proud dad moment.⚾️"

Of course, the Super Bowl champ knows a thing or two about baseball ... before becoming an NFL player, Wilson played for NC State from 2008 to 2010 and was actually drafted by the Colorado Rockies.

The 34-year-old went on to play 32 games for Rockies' minor league affiliate, the Tri-City Dust Devils, and had two home runs, 11 RBI and a .230 batting average.

As for Future Zahir -- Ciara's first child with rapper Future -- he isn't just good with the bat ... Wilson's been training him on the football field as well.

Tragic news in the horse racing world ... jockey Dean Holland died on Monday after he fell from his horse during an event, officials announced.

He was just 34 years old.

According to Racing Victoria, thoroughbred racing's governing body in Victoria, Australia, Holland was riding in the opening race at Donald Racecourse ... when he and another jockey were thrown from their horses.

Officials say Holland was immediately tended to by medics -- and was slated to be airlifted to Melbourne -- though he ultimately succumbed to his injuries.

Racing Victoria announced the other rider who fell, and their two horses, did not sustain significant injuries in the accident.

"On behalf of the Victorian racing industry, I would like to extend our prayers and heartfelt condolences to Dean's partner Lucy, his children, his family, friends and colleagues on the incredibly sad news of his passing," Racing Victoria exec Andrew Jones said in a statement on Monday.

"It was a tragic accident at Donald today and we are all are deeply shocked and saddened that Dean has passed away as a result of injuries sustained in the fall."

Racing Victoria added an investigation into the crash is ongoing.

Holland began his racing career in South Australia in 2005 ... and piled up over 1,000 wins. In fact, he had just won a race last week.

Racing Victoria said he was the father of four children.

"Together with Racing Victoria," Victorian Jockeys Association Chief Executive Matt Hyland said Monday, "the Jockey Assistance Program will be wrapping its arms around the riding group and will be working to support Lucy and the Holland family both now and importantly into the future."

Pete Davidson's New York Knicks took home a big win, but one fan might wanna take a lesson in personal space ... cuz he got wayyy too far into Pete's zone.

Check out the video, Pete was posing for pics and high-fiving a bunch of his fellow Knick fans as he left Madison Square Garden Sunday afternoon. You see Pete appears to pose for a pic with one dude in a pink shirt and blue cap and continues to move through the crowd.

That clearly wasn't enough for the fan though, who continued to follow Pete ... putting his arm around the comedian and resting his head on Pete's shoulder.

Pete tries to stay cool, taking more pics with others, but when the overzealous fan continued to get all up in his grill Pete understandably snaps ... shoving the dude away and telling him to back off.

Finally, the fan takes a hint and leaves Pete alone.

While his exit was stressful, the good news for Pete is the Knicks defeated Cleveland to take a 3-1 series lead ... not to mention, he got to share a seat next to (and likely some laughs with) Jon Stewart.

WWE legend Lita is still floating on cloud nine after teaming up with Trish Stratus and Becky Lynch at WrestleMania 39 ... telling TMZ Sports she ranks the "surreal" moment at the top of her career!!

"With age comes perspective," Lita told us. "I just feel like I could really be in the moment and soak it in and be appreciative to be there. And to have done it when I wasn't looking for it, it was able to give me this really in-the-moment sense of appreciation."

Lita -- whose real name is Amy Dumas -- admitted she felt like a fan when she walked down the stage with Trish, her best friend, and Lynch, AKA "The Man," to take on Bayley, Dakota Kai, and Iyo Sky.

The 48-year-old former women's champion -- who broke barriers as a singles competitor and with the revolutionary Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff) tag team -- loves that the WWE is bridging the gap between her era and the upcoming women's superstars.

"To be invited back in to come to play with these phenomenal athletes with just as much passion pushing things forward to heights that I did not know were possible," Lita said, "we're running out of boxes to check."

In 2004, Lita and Trish fought for the women's championship on Monday Night Raw, marking the first time in WWE history a women's match headlined a WWE show. It ultimately paved the way for Lynch, Charlotte Flair, and Ronda Rousey to main event WrestleMania.

Before this handsome fella was dribbling down the field and scoring hella goals, he was attending the Manchester United games with his rents and exploring the streets of London, England with his two sisters.

After he successfully wrapped up his 20-year career, he retired his soccer balls -- and amped up his modeling, stripping down to nothing but some whitey tighties ... no shame in his game! With the help of his spicy wife, he's added 'fashion icon' to his resume.

Need one more clue? He loves to rave about his 4 kids on Instagram.

Michael Phelps was swimming in EDM this weekend -- and even though he wasn't in the water ... the dude found a reason to lose his shirt anyway.

The all-time Olympian -- who's got 23 gold medals to his name -- was on hand Saturday night at the XS Nightclub within the Wynn Las Vegas resort ... and he was in partying mood, which was only facilitated further with Diplo in the DJ booth and a packed crowd.

Mike and Diplo bro'd out behind the turntables ... and it looks like MP got so hyped, he ended up going bare-chested amid al the festivities. Maybe he was celebrating a bet on Gervonta Davis -- who won a big boxing match against Ryan Garcia earlier in the night.

Speaking of fighters ... Mr. Conor McGregor was also in attendance, and Phelps got in a battle pose with the guy. He also smiled for the camera alongside Travis Kelce!

There was even more star power in the crowd ... Sabrina Carpenter, Dixie Damelio and Loren Gray -- not to mention Michael B. Jordan, Chace Crawford, David Dobrik and others.

Of course, there were even more A-listers who were front and center for the fight itself ... these are just a handful of celebs who decided to rage after the fact at this particular club.

Chase Koepka got an early shower in the middle of a golf tournament down in Australia -- but he wasn't being doused with water, it was booze ... and for good reason too.

The pro golfer was teeing off Sunday in Adelaide -- where LIV Golf is hosting a tournament with a sellout crowd in attendance -- and on the 12th stop of the course, he hit a hole in one ... which is pretty impressive considering it's a par-3.

The spectators thought so too ... so much so, in fact, that they started chucking their beers, cans and cups right at the dude from up in the stands. A literal beer shower, if you will.

CK didn't mind it one bit ... he was absolutely stoked and reveling in the brew -- rightly so. BTW, the whole beer-throwing thing here is a tradition at this hole in particular ... it's apparently known as the "Watering Hole," so the athletes know what they're in for.

Koepka commented on the drizzle later on, and it didn't bother him one bit. He's quoted as saying ... "I smelled like beer the whole entire rest of the day. Yeah, it was wild. Crazy experience. I mean, obviously to do it on a hole like that was super special."

The American golfer is far from the only star to be out there at the Grange Golf Club this weekend ... he's joined by other stars in the sport like Ian Poulter, Paul Casey and Phil Mickelson -- who abandoned the PGA and linked up with the Saudis for this new league.

Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudeikis are still in the middle of a nasty custody battle, but you'd never know it watching the two cheer on their kiddo like the best of friends.

Both Olivia and Jason attended one of their kid's soccer games Saturday where they not only exchanged pleasantries, but also stood together chat as they took in all the action. It's not the first time we've seen them together since their split, but it's certainly a drastic change from what's been happening behind the scenes in their custody battle.

TMZ broke the story ... Olivia took home a victory in court last month when a judge rejected Jason's request to have the case moved from California to New York.

It was a big deal for Olivia, considering California is more generous with awarding child support, but the whole battle has still been pretty costly to the director.

In legal docs, obtained by DailyMail, Olivia's attorney wrote, "While Jason can afford to spin his wheels with filing after filing, Olivia cannot ... Jason should not be permitted to litigate Olivia into debt."

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West live very separate lives these days, but that doesn't mean they can't come together to support their kids ... doing just that this weekend.

Kanye and his wife Bianca Censori showed face at Kim and Kanye's daughter North's basketball game -- though it was only for a brief moment -- before the two took off in Kanye's SUV.

Kim was also at the game, walking into a bunch of photogs before taking in the action inside. On her way out, Kim was joined by North and some of her friends, Kim stayed quiet, but North joked about the photo flashes before they piled into a waiting car.

We haven't seen a whole lot of Kim and Kanye together as of late ... and it appears they showed to the game at separate times as well. However, they've maintained for a long time that they'd co-parent their 4 kids, and it appears they've been able to keep that promise.

Gervonta "Tank" Davis had the city of Las Vegas and the boxing world in the palm of his hand after knocking out Ryan Garcia, but he actually kept things pretty low-key in celebrating his big win.

Davis and some friends hit Ghostbar on the roof of Palms Las Vegas late night Saturday after his fight. Davis -- in a white hoodie and sunglasses -- kept a low profile, sipping on a drink and chatting with some of his friends.

As for who else was in attendance, we're told some of Tank's famous friends like Chief Keef, Lil Reese, Flo Rida and Polo G were all there to celebrate.

As we reported ... Tank knocked Garcia out with a body shot in the 7th round of their fight. Garcia didn't go down immediately, but took a few steps back at first before taking a knee and staying down for the 10-count.

Both Tank and Garcia hyped up the fight for years, and there was a ton of buzz around the whole weekend. Celebs in attendance included Mark Wahlberg, Nelly and Ashanti.

Gervonta Davis called his shot ... he said he was going to knockout the previously undefeated Ryan Garcia in the 7th round of their megafight, and that's exactly what Tank did, dropping King Ryan with a perfectly placed body shot.

The liver shot didn't appear overly hard -- Tank was a bit out of position when he threw the punch -- but seemingly caught Ryan on the liver. After a few second delay, Ryan dropped to a knee, and winced in pain, as referee Thomas Taylor began to count.

Garcia remained on one knee for the entire 10-count ... and just like that, the fight, 5 years in the making, was over.

24-year-old Garcia got off to a nice start ... winning the first round.

However, the fight turned in the second when 28-year-old Tank, ducking under a left, caught Garcia with a beautiful left hook/uppercut that dropped Ryan, sending him to the canvas. He returned to his feet quickly.

From that moment on, save for a few flashes, Tank was in control of the fight.

Earlier in the week, Davis said he was going to stop Garcia in the 7th and that's what he did.

After the fight was over, Tank and Ryan embraced in the ring and squashed any beef they might've had, shaking hands ... after years of going back and forth with trash talk.

In what was the biggest fight of the year, the celebs were out in full force ... with everyone from Mark Wahlberg to Floyd Mayweather and Mike Tyson watching from their ringside seats.

Chief Keef even walked Gervonta to the ring, performing as Davis made his way to the squared circle.

Last week, Oscar De La Hoya, Ryan's promoter, told us the winner of the fight was set to become the face of boxing.

Haley and Hanna Cavinder's college basketball careers are over, but they could have a bright future in professional wrestling ... so says WWE Hall of Famer Booker T, who tells TMZ Sports the twins can succeed in the industry if they remain a dominant duo.

We spoke to Booker about the Internet sensations -- whose agent, Jeff Hoffman, confirmed earlier this week they would start training at the WWE Performance Center -- and the wrestling legend shared some words of encouragement for the sisters as they embark on their new journey.

"The best advice I can give to siblings is [to] learn this craft and stick together because it will be a ride," Booker said. "It's going to be a journey. This is a marathon. You got to be ready to run the long haul."

After Haley and Hanna -- who helped Miami reach the Elite 8 this past season -- announced they would not return to The U for a fifth season, speculation grew about the next endeavors the twins would pursue.

"We love the WWE," Haley said during their appearance on The Today Show last week. "The fan base, the sport, the fitness side of it ... they’re great, our partner, and we’re very excited in a future with them."

Of course, Booker T -- a five-time WCW champion -- knows what it feels like to break into the wrestling business with a sibling. The King of the Spinaroonie was one half of the legendary "Harlem Heat" tag team with his real-life brother, Stevie Ray.

In April 2013, Booker was inducted into WWE's Hall of Fame. Harlem Heat reunited for one final match in February 2015, where they won the ROW Tag Team Championship and were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame together as part of the 2019 class.

If the Cavinder twins ever make it to WWE's roster, they won't be the first set of trailblazing twins. Nikki and Brie Garcia -- formerly known as the Bella Twins -- and Jimmy and Jey Uso created a blueprint for how siblings can dominate in professional wrestling.

"These young ladies that are coming in," Booker said, "they are so athletic."

"So much more athletic than the crop when I came up. I see this business going in a really great direction."

Bella Mir is just a freshman at Iowa, but she's already a bonafide badass on the wrestling mat, and although it's likely years away, Frank Mir's daughter says she knows where she's going -- the UFC!

19-year-old Mir, already a top 10 ranked wrestler in her weight class, recently showed out at the USA Wrestling national championships in Washington ... securing a spot on the under-20 team.

"Obviously the endgame is to fight and be in the UFC," Bella told us earlier this week.

Mir, while not signed to the UFC, is already in business with Dana White's organization ... the MMA promotion signed Bella to a NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) deal back in January.

Of course, Bella's dad Frank is a 2x UFC heavyweight champ who beat the likes of Brock Lesnar. So, apple, tree.

Although Bella (a 4x state champ in Nevada and 2022 American jiu-jitsu champ) isn't in the UFC just yet, she is fighting MMA professionally, securing a 3-0 record. Two of her fights ended in the first round, while her first fight was won by unanimous decision.

Mir says she was scheduled to fight this summer (on the same card as Dad!) ... but since she's made the Junior USA Wrestling team, Bella now has a choice to make.

"Right now I'm actually in a predicament cause this summer I was supposed to fight twice. One in June, one in August. But now my summer plans have changed a little bit cause I made the world team so now I'm going to worlds, and I'm going to Spain, I'm doing all these camps."

"It's like I actually have to talk to Dad today and talk to him about what my summer looks like cause being a multisport athlete is pretty hard."

We also asked Bella about the Olympics ... and whether gold was something she had her sights set on.

"Of course. I think every girl's dream is wrestling is going to the Olympics, go to Worlds. They're the top 2 dreams. That's always been a dream of mine. Being an Olympian, that's one of a kind. Less than one percent of athletes are Olympians, and of course, that is something I think about all the time."

And, Mir just took a big step towards achieving her lifelong dreams.

Ex-NBA player Matt Barnes is gunning for office by the time he's 50 ... and one politician is here to tell him how to make it happen -- former Los Angeles mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa!!

As we previously reported, the 2017 champion shared his intentions on Rachel Uchitel's 'Miss Understood' podcast last month ... saying he'd love to make a difference as an elected official like mayor or governor.

Of course, Villaraigosa knows a thing or two about the former -- he held office from 2005-13 -- and Barnes better listen up, 'cause he's droppin' some nuggets on how to get started.

"Get involved -- get involved in your church, get involved in your community and your kids' schools," Villaraigosa said.

"Get involved in trying to get people to vote. Get involved around an issue."

As for Barnes' reputation as an enforcer during his playing days, Villaraigosa says it shouldn't be an issue -- 'cause those in politics are generally forgiving people.

Sage Northcutt is about to fight for the first time in 4 years, and the MMA star says it won't be a one-time deal -- he's back, and it's for good.

"I'm planning on being back. I have this fight set for May 5th, I got my eyes zoned in on this fight. But after this fight I'd like to be super active for ONE Championship. You know I like having fights and trying to put on a show."

27-year-old Northcutt will return to the cage early next month against Ahmen Mujtaba ... Sage's first fight since he lost to Cosmo Alexandre in May 2019. In the loss, SN's face was broken in 8 places, requiring nearly 10 hours of surgery.

Many fans doubted Sage, who is 11-3 as a pro, would ever fight again. But, he says he actually was supposed to return long ago, but COVID had other plans.

"As the 4 years went by, it's been longer than what I expected. I was planning on coming back, I actually had a fight set to come back a couple years after, just about 2 years ago I had a fight set to come back," Northcutt told us.

"You know how the world's been with COVID, shutting things down. I caught COVID as I had a fight scheduled, literally, a week before flying overseas, I caught COVID. That was unfortunate timing. But coming back, it's about time."

Come May 5, Sage believes he'll open the eyes of many MMA fans.

"For ONE Championship, I haven't really had the chance to show all the hard work that I've been putting in," Northcutt says, adding, "I've been training very hard. Training with a great team, great coaches, great fighters, so I'm looking forward to displaying stuff that I've been putting a lot of hard work into."

We also asked Sage what advice he'd offer Raul Rosas Jr. ... the 18-year-old who became the youngest fighter to sign with the promotion. Rosas Jr. recently lost his first fight. We asked Northcutt, who fought as a 19-year-old, what advice he'd offer the young man.

As for his upcoming fight ... it's less than 2 weeks away, and he's ready to roll.