TMZ Sports - Page 2

Taylor Swift may be living the life of a showgirl -- but she's officially denied taking her entertainment skills to the big screen with Travis Kelce in "Happy Gilmore 2."

The pop superstar cleared the air on "New Heights" Wednesday night ... saying while she's "honored" people think she hopped into a bear costume to attack her honey-covered beau on-camera, it ain't her.

She praised the person behind the role -- seemingly stuntman Brandon Alan Smith, who is listed as a "Bear Performer" in the movie on IMDb -- for the "exquisite performance."

Taylor Swift says her father Scott Swift came out of quintuple bypass surgery cracking jokes ... and was the funniest he's ever been during a 15-minute comedy routine from his hospital bed.

Taylor shared the positive health update on her father during her appearance on the "New Heights" podcast with boyfriend Travis Kelce and his brother, Jason Kelce.

She says Scott learned he had 5 blockages in his heart after doing a resting stress test ... and doctors scheduled the surgery for the next day ... and she, her mother and her brother rushed to his side, despite Scott saying they didn't need to be there.

Taylor Swift says she had absolutely no clue how football was played before meeting Travis Kelce ... admitting she didn't even know the difference between offense and defense.

The "Bad Blood" crooner opened up about her pigskin knowledge on the latest episode of her boyfriend's "New Heights" podcast ... and she made it clear, the gridiron game was far from her forte.

She said on her first date with Kelce, she actually asked him what it was like to line up against his big brother, Jason, during Super Bowl LVII -- not realizing the two were offensive players.

Taylor Swift says she broke down in tears when she told boyfriend Travis Kelce she had gotten the rights to her entire music vault ... and she got emotional recalling the moment she knew the deal was sealed.

Taylor was on the verge of tears on the "New Heights" podcast as she took Travis and his brother Jason Kelce through the process of buying her master recordings.

She said she had intrusive thoughts every day about not owning her masters ... and revealed she was overcome with emotions this past May when she bought them from Shamrock Capital.

Taylor Swift is giving fans their first look at her new album cover ... revealing the front and back of "The Life of a Showgirl."

The singer-songwriter dropped the first look at the album on her website and on boyfriend Travis Kelce's "New Heights" podcast Wednesday. Check it out ... TS is channeling her inner showgirl while underwater in a glittery, bedazzled bodysuit.

Of course, we knew Taylor showed the album on the podcast ... 'cause a promo clip from the episode showed the cover totally blurred out -- driving fans into a frenzy of wonder about the artwork.

Damar Hamlin just covered his back with a tattoo that will forever serve as a reminder of the tremendous adversity he overcame nearly three years ago.

A video of famed tattoo artist Ganga threw up on his Instagram page this week shows the Buffalo Bills safety recently got several homages to the in-game cardiac arrest he suffered against Cincinnati in January 2023.

Ganga placed the words "Did We Win?" on the NFLer's neck to signify the question Hamlin asked docs when he regained consciousness. On one of the football player's shoulders, the artist etched Bo Jackson's tweet that answered Hamlin's inquiry.

New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers continues to honor his friend and former teammate Kyren Lacy following his passing ... by showing off a personalized thigh pad featuring the two together.

Nabers unveiled his new gear on his Instagram Wednesday ... along with the caption, "💞🙏🏽"

After Lacy's tragic death in April, Nabers posted an emotional tribute to his former teammate on social media ... saying he was "f***in hurt" by the circumstances.

Brooke Hogan’s feeling the weight of losing her dad, Hulk -- spotted out with family in Orlando, and you can see the heartbreak written all over her face.

As you can see, Brooke kept it low-key on a Tuesday stroll in Orlando -- but the grief snuck up, and tears followed.

We're told Brooke got emotional seeing the sunset ... it reminded her of her father, and she was telling her husband how much Hulk would have loved it.

Injuries, missed weight ... s*** happens in the fight game, so if Khamzat Chimaev or Dricus Du Plessis can't make the walk to the Octagon at UFC 319, Michael "Venom" Page tells us he'll happily fill in!

"A hundred percent," MVP told us while raising his hand.

"I'll make the 185, and if somebody says, 'Oh yeah, Khamzat can't make it' for whatever reason, then yeah, definitely. I vote to put myself in a hundred percent!"

Of course, 31-year-old Chimaev has struggled with the weight cut in the past (albeit that was at welterweight, not middleweight) ... even failing to make weight vs. Nate Diaz, torpedoing the highly anticipated scrap in September 2022.

Khamzat and Dricus, the current champ, are fighting for the 185 lb. title ... so it'd be a massive opportunity for MVP, who is not currently ranked.

Assuming the main event remains intact, Venom Page could still find himself ranked by this time next week.

He's slated to fight 8th-ranked Jared Cannonier on the same card ... a fight that on paper, at least, would seem to be a lot of fun.

"Jared always comes and brings the war, comes to fight everybody he's fought, which is high caliber fighters," Page said. "And then obviously with my style, you know, the speed and explosive element of my style. I think it's a great match."

Jared will be MIchael's fourth UFC fight since signing with the promotion in December 2023. He's 2-1, with wins over Kevin Holland and Sharabutdin Magomedov, and his only loss coming at the hands of Ian Garry.

"The UFC has treated me amazingly, giving me some great fights, giving me regular fights, and it's exactly what any fighter wants."

There's another former Bellator star following in MVP's footsteps ... Aaron Pico is making his UFC debut.

The Portland Trail Blazers will be under new management ... as the estate of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has reportedly agreed to sell the team to Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon for a whopping $4 billion!!

Dundon will be one of three people in the group set to purchase the organization, according to Sportico. The outlet also stated the plan is to keep the team in Rip City once the deal goes through.

Allen's estate put the for-sale sign on the Trail Blazers back in May. In the announcement, they said the sale was "consistent with Allen's directive to eventually sell his sports holdings and direct all estate proceeds to philanthropy."

Patrick Mahomes had an inside scoop on Taylor Swift's "New Heights" appearance before anyone else ... 'cause it turns out the pop superstar FaceTimed his wife, Brittany, right after wrapping the episode!!

A reporter asked the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback about this week's Swift news during his press conference on Wednesday ... and considering how close he is with Travis Kelce, it's no surprise he got a heads up.

"I knew before y'all did," Mahomes said on Wednesday, "just 'cause they called me after the podcast was done."

Sophie Rain is already bored going back and forth with Lil Tay ... as she tells us, it's nothing but "fake drama" from someone who’s been irrelevant since middle school!!!

"Lil Tay’s been falling off for years, now she’s making up fake drama just to stay relevant," Sophie tells TMZ ... "It's giving desperation. If you have to invent beef to get views, maybe it’s time to log off."

ICYMI -- Lil Tay upped the ante and challenged Sophie to a $60 million boxing match ... money Sophie tells us she doesn't need to prove herself in this space -- she's the Queen!!!

Sha'Carri Richardson clearly didn't have much remorse in the immediate aftermath of shoving Christian Coleman into a wall ... as new police video shows she not only lied about the incident to cops, but repeatedly called her Team USA star boyfriend "a coward."

The frenetic scene unfolded on July 27 at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport ... just minutes after Richardson was seen getting physical with Coleman during a dispute near a security checkpoint.

Port of Seattle Police Department body camera footage shows multiple officers arriving at the site to question Richardson and Coleman about the altercation ... which seemed to bother the Olympic gold medalist.

Myles Garrett is clearly in the Browns' dog house -- Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski addressed his superstar defensive end's recent speeding incident with the media on Wednesday ... calling the situation "extremely disappointing."

The sixth-year coach met with reporters at joint practice with the Philadelphia Eagles ... and was asked how he felt about the former Defensive Player of the Year getting pulled over for allegedly driving 100 MPH in a 60 zone -- given his documented history of going fast behind the wheel.

Stefanski didn't mince his words ... revealing the team met with the 29-year-old to discuss the matter.

Sophie Cunningham is breathing more life into her beef with Jacy Sheldon after the two were involved in a scuffle during a game back in June ... 'cause the Indiana Fever star autographed her nemesis' card -- and included a savage diss alongside it!!

The moment went down at a recent signing event ... when a fan presented a Sheldon card in front of Cunningham to sign. The hooper got a chuckle out of it before getting to work and etching "Property of Sophie Cunningham" on the item.

"No way," said Lexi Hull, Cunningham's teammate.

Fans have a new -- and hilarious -- glimpse of Taylor Swift on Travis and Jason Kelce's "New Heights" podcast ... and she's making a crack at the "male sports fans" who love to hate on her for taking up screen time during NFL games.

Check out the new clip that dropped from Wednesday's highly anticipated "New Heights" episode -- after Jason gives the pop star one heck of an introduction by laying out a long list of her accomplishments ... she takes a 'Fearless' jab by calling out all the NFL fans who absolutely despise her presence at Kansas City Chiefs games.

She quips ... "I think we all know that if there's one thing that male sports fans wanna see in their spaces and on their screens, it's more of me."