TMZ Sports - Page 5

The world continues to mourn the loss of Chuck Norris ... including his friend, actor, martial artist, and Tae Bo creator Billy Blanks, who told TMZ Sports the legendary figure played a major role in shaping him as a person.

We caught up with Blanks at LAX this week ahead of his induction into the MMA Hall of Fame -- an honor he says means a lot, especially since Norris is also enshrined.

That's when Billy became emotional while talking about his friend Chuck, who passed away last week at the age of 86.

Months after a woman hit Paul Pierce with a paternity lawsuit ... she is now asking a court to make the NBA great pony up nearly $30K a month in child support.

In court documents, obtained by TMZ Sports, Princess Santiago claims Paul is the father of her newborn and is asking the judge to award her sole legal and physical custody, monthly child support in the amount of $29,811 and another $100K for her legal bills. She is also again requesting genetic testing to confirm that Paul is, in fact, the daddy.

On top of that, she wants Paul to pay one-half of all "reasonable expenses" relating to her pregnancy, birth, and post-birth expenses -- which she says totals $18,846.

Roman Reigns is training 'round the clock ahead of his showdown with CM Punk at WrestleMania 42 ... and while he's ready to crush "The Best in the World" in Vegas -- he says there's one thing that could come between him and the Heavyweight Championship.

His emotions.

The "Original Tribal Chief" was leaving Del Frisco's in NYC this week ... when Adam Glyn asked how he's staying in tip-top shape weeks before stepping foot on "The Grandest Stage of Them All" -- and he admitted his regimen "sucks."

RR broke it all down ... revealing he does three-a-days and meal prepping with no cheat meals whatsoever. In fact, his order at the steakhouse wasn't a cheat meal at all, as he still had his health as a priority.

Shohei Ohtani’s first World Series homer ball is up for grabs … and it’s expected to bring in a monster payday!

SCP Auctions tells TMZ Sports the historic baseball -- crushed by Ohtani in the 7th inning of Game 1 of the 2025 World Series -- could fetch $250,000 or more when bidding wraps Sunday.

The two-run shot came at Rogers Centre in Toronto … where a lucky fan ended up with the ball after it bounced off another spectator’s hands and dropped right to him in the outfield crowd.

2:20 PM PT -- Christopher Jackson addressed the flub with TMZ Sports ... and he said it won't keep him from performing the anthem in the future.

“I’ve had the honor of singing the National Anthem countless times in Stadiums around the country. Today was a beautiful Opening Day and it was thrilling to be there!" he said.

Jackson explained singing in these types of venues is a unique and challenging experience ... but usually, it's not a problem for him.

"Today it was for about 5 seconds … and one line got away from me. I’m human. But I won’t hesitate to step up to a mic and pay tribute to those that we honor with the Anthem. Grateful to the Mets and MLB for allowing me to be a small part of the Day."

The New York Mets' 2026 season is off to a piping-hot start ... thanks to their national anthem singer, award-winning "Hamilton" actor Christopher Jackson, messing up the "Star-Spangled Banner."

Daniel Moody -- the son of the late WWE Hall of Famer Paul Bearer -- has died at the age of 39.

According to a GoFundMe, Moody went to a hospital in November "for a procedure and suffered a major health crisis and is now in long-term care." 

At the time, the page was set up to help deal with "take care of his insurance premiums but the bills are piling up." It was later updated to say the funds will now go toward funeral costs.

Tom Brady, Las Vegas Raiders emergency quarterback?! It's an idea the G.O.A.T. -- minority owner of the team -- actually looked into ... but one he said the NFL didn't like very much!

Brady revealed the news while speaking with CNBC, who, on the heels of TB12 playing in the Fanatics Flag Football Classic, asked whether he had looked into the possibility of throwing on pads in a situation where the team was in desperate need.

"I actually have inquired, and they don’t like that idea very much," Brady said.

UFC boss Dana White is stepping in to change a young girl’s life ... offering to cover every penny of Maya Gebala’s medical care after she survived a horrific school shooting.

TMZ Sports has confirmed White is footing the bill for treatment at a top Los Angeles-area hospital … and is willing to foot the accommodations for the 12-year-old's family so they can be by her side.

The incredible gesture was revealed by Maya’s mother, Cia Edmonds, who shared an emotional update on GoFundMe after finally receiving some long-awaited good news.

Edmonds says the UFC president reached out early in Maya’s hospitalization ... offering fully paid treatment at one of the “top tier” hospitals in L.A. -- a move that wasn’t possible before now because Maya wasn’t stable enough to travel.

But that could be changing.

The bodyguard who made Jude Law's 11-year-old daughter cry in a hotel lobby in Brazil after she walked by Chappell Roan at breakfast was working for Sabrina Carpenter at the time of the incident.

Pascal Duvier came out this week and said he wasn't working for Chappell ... and now the Daily Mail reports he was on the job protecting Sabrina.

Both pop stars were in Brazil for Lollapalooza and were staying at the Tangara Palace hotel in São Paulo, where Ada Law was staying with her mom and her famous stepfather, Brazilian soccer legend Jorginho.

Sarah Jane Ramos seems to be in good spirits after her split from Dak Prescott, posting for the first time since their breakup -- a family photo sans the Cowboys QB.

SJR shared a series of new photographs on Thursday, weeks after we broke the story that she and Prescott called off their wedding ... which was slated for April in Lake Como, Italy.

If a photo is worth a thousand words, Ramos seems to be in great spirits ... as she smiled alongside her two daughters, Margaret Jane and Aurora, during a beach excursion.

The International Olympic Committee just announced that transgender women will not be allowed to participate against females at the Olympic Games.

The big policy shift came down on Thursday, with IOC President Kirsty Coventry saying the decision was guided by scientific research and medical experts.

"At the Olympic Games, even the smallest margins can be the difference between victory and defeat," Coventry said. "So, it is absolutely clear that it would not be fair for biological males to compete in the female category. In addition, in some sports it would simply not be safe."

Jameis Winston is really embracing his history with crustaceans -- the NFL quarterback took a crab legs joke on the chin during Netflix's MLB Opening Night ... and even poked fun at himself in the process!!

The beloved signal-caller was the star of the show Wednesday night ... providing entertainment and inside info as the streaming platform delivered the San Francisco Giants' home matchup with the New York Yankees to kickstart the 2026 season.

While Winston got into plenty of side quests -- like issuing hot dogs to players and chopping it up with WWE Superstars -- there was one moment that really stood out.

Lindsey Vonn almost lost her leg after her gnarly Olympic crash, but the ski great says she may not be done hitting the slopes ... saying she doesn't want her legacy to end on that "horrible last run."

The legendary American alpine ski racer spoke with Vanity Fair for her first interview since the February incident ... where Vonn detailed the insane pain she went through as doctors attempted to treat a severely broken leg, ankle, and other injuries, which required multiple surgeries.

Tom Hackett, the head physician for Team USA Ski and Snowboard, said Vonn was in agony and wasn't responding to "monster amounts of fentanyl, morphine, oxycodone, like every narcotic you can imagine."

It wasn’t just the physical pain ... the situation weighed on her mentally, too, knowing her career could end on such a brutal fall.

That said, Lindsey's not shutting the door on a comeback.

Paige VanZant may pack a mean punch, but these stringy bikini snaps may just take the (birthday) cake! The professional wrestler -- who turns 32 today -- stacked her socials with her toned bod on blast ... so of course we're shining the spotlight right on her fit physique!

For you newbies, VanZant kicked off her career back in 2014, and if you've scrolled her page, you'd know her bod is hella lean!

Test out your Paige facts with a fun lil' game:

Okay, now for the goodies ...

Barry Bonds pulled back the curtain on one of the wildest near-misses in baseball history ... revealing he was on the verge of joining the New York Yankees before a high-pressure call from George Steinbrenner sent the whole thing off the rails.

The home run king shared the story during Wednesday's Opening Night matchup between the Yankees and San Francisco Giants … when Bonds joined the Netflix broadcast and decided to finally share how close he came to heading to the Bronx.

“George isn’t here anymore, so I can tell the truth, right?” Bonds said, before explaining how Steinbrenner personally reached out during his 1992 free agency.

At the time, Bonds was already one of the biggest stars in the game, coming off two MVP seasons with the Pirates -- and the Yankees were ready to make him the highest-paid player in baseball.

But the offer came with a major condition: Bonds said he had to agree to the deal by 2 PM that same day -- and that didn’t sit well with him.

Caitlin Clark can do it all on the court -- and on the sidelines, too -- 'cause the WNBA superstar put her photography skills to the test during the Indiana Pacers' home matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers!!

Clark was spotted courtside as the 'Cers welcomed LeBron James and Co. to town, where she picked up a camera to snap some flicks of the action.

From some of the photos Indiana shared, she's a total natural. However, the more impressive snaps were posted on her X account ... and she made sure everyone got the credit right.