TMZ Sports - Page 8

Kevin Durant says DeMarcus Cousins is lying through his teeth -- adamantly denying the Phoenix Suns were throwing hands in the locker room this season ... right after the ex-NBA center made the shocking claim.

Boogie -- who made headlines for, ironically, fighting with fans in Puerto Rico earlier this month -- went on FanDuel TV to talk about the Suns' tumultuous 2024-25 campaign ... and said he was told the team vibes got so bad, players were fistfighting in the locker room.

Boogie was actually defending his former Warriors teammate in his appearance ... saying he wasn't at fault for the Suns' issues -- it was more so due to the fact the execs threw a bunch of scorers together and said, "go win a championship."

Sean "Diddy" Combs' ex-assistant Brendan Paul says he didn't see any force or coercion from his former boss when it came to "freak-offs" with "Jane" ... and he says he was absolutely not a drug mule.

Brendan, a former Syracuse University basketball player and aspiring music producer, took the stand Friday in Diddy's criminal trial in NYC and told jurors about his 18 months working as an assistant to the music mogul.

During cross-examination from Diddy's defense attorney Brian Steel, Brendan testified he would often talk to Diddy's former girlfriend "Jane" before and after freak-offs ... and he said she did not come across as hesitant or apprehensive, and he says there was nothing from her indicating she was not a willing participant.

Myles Garrett might be dating Chloe Kim, but he made it clear he's never gonna take it easy on her in competition -- crushing the Olympic gold medalist in a race ... backwards!!

The superstar snowboarder shared the footage on Thursday ... showing the lovebirds lined up for a sprint at a training facility, but the Cleveland Browns defensive end was facing the opposite direction.

To be completely fair to CK, she didn't seem anywhere close to 100% ... and she was wearing street clothes.

Not much on the football field makes Bill Belichick sweat ... but airports? Those are clearly a different story.

Check out these images TMZ Sports has obtained of the legendary coach at Charlotte Douglas International in North Carolina on Wednesday ... he perspired right through his hoodie as he attempted to catch a plane to Las Vegas.

Belichick was seen talking to gate attendants at 6:58 AM -- only 16 minutes prior to the flight's scheduled departure time.

Angel Reese is turning the tables on the haters -- putting the popular "mebounds" phrase on her own merch ... with some proceeds going toward the fight against cyberbullying!!

Of course, trolls have had a field day with the Chicago Sky star's game ... with some folks mocking how a lot of her rebounds come off her own missed shot attempts.

Reese shared the new drop Friday morning ... showcasing items ranging from t-shirts to hats, sweatshirts, crewnecks and crop tops that proudly display the made-up word.

The Florida Panthers are gonna need sunglasses and Advil on Friday ... 'cause they partied their asses off to celebrate winning the Stanley Cup -- with a night out in Miami filled with fine dining and drinking!!

TMZ Sports has obtained footage of the whole victory tour ... which started off with a feast at new hot spot Maple & Ash, where the jocks chowed down on all the oysters, dry-aged meatballs, bluefin tuna tartare, bone-in ribeye, Mediterranean branzino and lobster spaghetti they could stomach.

Of course, the dudes in attendance -- Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad, Niko Mikkola, Nate Schmidt, Carter Verhaeghe, Anton Lundellm and Sergei Bobrovsky to name a few -- were also offered plenty of wine and champagne to wash it down -- even taking swigs from the Cup.

Scary scene at Thursday's Tampa Bay Rays game ... one of their pitchers, Hunter Bigge, took a line drive foul ball to the face while he was in the dugout -- leading to him being carted off the field.

It all went down during the top of the 7th inning. Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman turned on a 3-2 pitch (he was way ahead of it) from Connor Seabold, sending the baseball directly at Bigge's face at 105 MPH, knocking him off his feet.

Ruthschman and Gunnar Henderson, who were in the on-deck circle, immediately reacted to the scary situation. The broadcast caught fans and players on both sides concerned for the Harvard graduate as medical professionals tended to him.

Shedeur Sanders is a household name in the football world, but at least one cop in Ohio couldn't recognize him earlier this month ... as new police video, obtained by TMZ Sports, shows an officer initially had no idea he was performing a traffic stop on Deion's son.

Check out the footage -- after cops pulled over Sanders in Medina County, Ohio, for allegedly going 91 MPH in a 65 zone ... the NFL quarterback handed over an out-of-state ID that perplexed one of the troopers who was interrogating him.

"What's with the Mississippi ID?" the cop asked.

3:41 PT -- MLB just announced Santana will be facing punishment for his actions ... with the league handing him a four-game suspension and an undisclosed fine.
He is appealing the ruling, so his suspension won't begin until a decision is made.

Pirates pitcher Dennis Santana tried to smack the hell out of a heckler during his game Thursday -- and the wild altercation was captured on video.

The reliever's outburst went down during the second game of the Pittsburgh vs. Detroit doubleheader ... after Santana says a man sitting near the Pirates' bullpen "crossed the line."

Footage shot by fans near the incident shows Santana pointing out the trash-talker to security, before he leaps up and attempts to hit the man in the face with an open left hand.

The Lakers' rivalry with the Celtics apparently extends way further than the hardwood -- as Byron Scott was all smiles on Thursday realizing the sale of L.A.'s NBA franchise this week topped Boston's by nearly $4 billion!!!

The former Lakers player and head coach was thrilled to see Jeanie Buss get $10 billion for her beloved team on Wednesday ... happily gloating that it bested Boston's $6.1 billion sale in March.

"That's all that matters," Scott said of the price difference with a big grin. "We topped them. We topped them! We beat them by $3.9 billion!"

Pickleball star Zane Ford tried to unleash his frustrations on his paddle after he lost a match this week ... but as he quickly realized, his equipment is tough as hell!!

The fit of rage happened in front of fans at the Humana Championship Court for the Carvana PPA Tour ... where Ford went up against James Ignatowich.

While the two athletes were going back and forth, Ford hit the ball far left of the line ... and Ford immediately crashed out by violently slamming his paddle on the court.

Caitlin Clark has taken quite a beating from opponents to start her WNBA career ... and her college coach, Lisa Bluder, has a few ideas on how the league can put an end to it.

TMZ Sports spoke with the recently retired Iowa Hawkeyes women's hoops legend on Thursday ... and asked her all about the treatment her former superstar guard has received so far in the pros.

While Bluder doesn't believe Caitlin is intentionally being "targeted," she does think players are giving her their "best shot" night after night -- because "they think that's the way that they can stop her, is by physical dominance over her."

Chrishell Stause and G Flip took part in the Dodgers Pride Night festivities ... and now we know they took full advantage of the atmosphere with a little make-out session on the field.

The couple posted a series of snaps Thursday from the game that took place last Friday ... including a few with them packing on the PDA for all in attendance to see.

Along with their lovin' snaps ... CS posted pics of her with friends and fans -- making sure to give GLAAD a shoutout. Among the slew of shots ... CS included the Dodgers org message that federal agents were denied access to the stadium parking lots on Thursday -- clearly spurring her Pride post.

1:55 PM PT -- ICE is fact-checking the Dodgers' statement ... saying its agents were "never" at the stadium. But as Homeland Security said, CBP vehicles were present "very briefly, unrelated to any operation or enforcement."

1:05 PM PT -- Homeland Security tells TMZ Sports the agents' presence at the stadium had nothing to do with the Dodgers.

Federal agents were denied access to Dodger Stadium on Thursday ... after the team confirmed it refused to allow the government vehicles from entering the venue's parking lots.

ICE vans and masked agents were spotted posting up outside one of the stadium lot's gates ... although it's unclear why exactly they were there. According to the L.A. Times, agents declined to comment on the details of their presence.

The outlet went on to say the federal vehicles attempted to move inside the stadium grounds ... but were rejected.

Aaron Rodgers' Wednesday afternoon featured a lot of beauty -- sand, sun and fresh air -- but one thing was missing ... his new wife.

The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback was seen enjoying a lovely Southern California day during a mid-week Malibu beach stroll ... and while he had his guns out and wedding ring on, there was no sign of his forever partner.

It's, of course, not too surprising ... as Rodgers has kept tight-lipped about his marriage ever since he surprised everyone at this year's Kentucky Derby when he showed up with a new band on that finger.

The NBA Finals won't end Thursday night ... so says coach Mike Woodson, who tells TMZ Sports he's confident the Indiana Pacers will force a Game 7.

The Oklahoma City Thunder and MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are one win away from their first championship as they head into Game 6 at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse ... and if the Pacers don't win, their season is cooked.

Woodson -- who coached the Indiana Hoosiers from 2021 to 2025 -- believes Tyrese Haliburton and Co. can live to see a few more days ... with homecourt advantage being the main factor.