TMZ Sports - Page 50

LeBron James' presence brought a young courtside fan to tears at a Lakers game Wednesday ... and the King was so moved by her emotions, he just had to meet her after he wrapped up the win.

The heartwarming scene all unfolded during L.A.'s tilt with the Miami Heat at Crypto.com Arena ... when James waved at a little girl who was wearing his jersey.

The youngster couldn't help but break down in tears after seeing her idol acknowledge her ... and James told reporters after the game he became aware of her reaction at halftime -- so he decided to spend a few moments with her following L.A.'s 117-108 dub.

Dwayne Johnson's telling his fans not to wait too long when it comes to squashing beef with parents ... speaking directly to his male fans who have problems with their dads like he did.

The actor posted a black and white video to Instagram early Thursday morning ... and, in it, he reveals yesterday was the five-year anniversary of his dad Rocky 'Soulman' Johnson's death.

The Rock notes he and his dad weren't in a particularly good place when he passed ... and, Dwayne says he woke up yesterday feeling weird -- and realized it's because he'd never get a chance to make things right with his pop, and it's still bothering him.

Travis Kelce sure sounds like a guy who's in love ... 'cause he just raved over his relationship with Taylor Swift -- straight-up admitting he "couldn't be happier."

Stephen A. Smith grilled the Kansas City Chiefs superstar on his feelings for his girlfriend for several minutes during a recent sit-down on "The Stephen A. Smith Show" ... and check out some of the 35-year-old tight end's answers -- he certainly seems smitten.

Kelce told the ESPN analyst he and Swift are "in a strong relationship" ... and because of it, he's "as focused as I've ever been on my job."

Sofia Vergara is seemingly distancing herself from those Lewis Hamilton romance rumors ... stepping out solo for dinner in NYC -- and the F1 star is nowhere to be found.

Check it out ... the "Modern Family" alum hits The Corner Store, an upscale restaurant in NYC's SoHo neighborhood, in a chic burgundy jumpsuit and matching floor-length trench coat.

While Sofia looking jaw-dropping isn't necessarily news -- she always looks great -- her solo status Wednesday night certainly transmitted a message ... given a mere day prior there was chatter about her love life.

Sam Darnold didn't torpedo his chances at a big payday after two bad games to finish the season ... at least that's what NFL super-agent Leigh Steinberg thinks -- telling TMZ Sports he believes the Minnesota Vikings will stick with him as the franchise quarterback.

Darnold -- the No. 3 overall pick in 2018 -- had a career resurgence in the 2024-25 campaign ... throwing for more than 4,300 yards and 35 touchdowns as he led the Vikes to a 14-3 record.

His hot streak fizzled out down stretch, though ... with the team's Super Bowl dreams coming to an end after a poor outing against the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card round on Monday.

Drake Maye didn't get a ring to cap off his rookie season, but his longtime girlfriend did -- the New England Patriots quarterback just proposed to Ann Hudson -- and she said yes!!

The two announced the happy news on Wednesday on their Instagram pages ... with the couple revealing the 22-year-old signal-caller got on a bent knee while out at a beach.

Maye set up some roses, pillows and champagne for the occasion ... and was clearly thrilled Hudson agreed to be his forever partner by the sea.

The Philadelphia Eagles fan who was captured on video over the weekend calling a Packers supporter a "dumb c***" has finally broken his silence ... claiming Wednesday his outburst was provoked.

Ryan Caldwell said in a statement to the New York Post the video that showed him going off on a female Packer backer at Sunday's playoff game at Lincoln Financial Field did not tell the full story.

Caldwell insists what took place just before his vulgar rant was "banter" between all parties. He then strongly implied that Alexander Basara and his fiancée, Ally Keller, egged him on.

Olympic Gold Medalist Shawn Johnson and her husband, former NFL player Andrew East, may be in retirement, but they're proving they've still got it ... one acrobatic challenge at a time.

The former athletes put their fit frames on display for a number of videos uploaded to social media, where they've tapped into their competitive spirit to pull off a series of acrobatic stunts.

Check it out ... a shirtless Andrew effortlessly lifts Shawn into the air ... just as she contorts her body and turns a full 360 degrees. It's flipping adorable, if we do say so ourselves!!!

The Eagles fan who berated a female Packers supporter in Philly is officially out of a job ... with the hotheads' now-former employer calling out his behavior ... while also knocking people who have trashed their business online!

TMZ Sports spoke to BCT Partners co-founders Lawrence Hibbert and Dr. Randal Pinkett -- who appeared on Season 4 of The Apprentice -- who slammed ex-project manager Ryan Caldwell for his actions in a now-viral video where he called the Green Bay fan a "dumb ugly c***."

"I can't say enough about how abhorrent the behavior that we observed was and how upset I was in seeing someone who was at the time associated with our company displaying that kind of behavior," Pinkett said.

Ryan Clark says it might be time for Mike Tomlin to pull up his stakes in Pittsburgh ... telling TMZ Sports a change of scenery could result in an Andy Reid-like run for his former head coach.

It's now been eight years since Tomlin last won a playoff game, and while many online are calling for his head, Clark said his old team should absolutely NOT fire the 52-year-old.

Instead, the ex-Steelers defensive back told us Tomlin should explore his other options ... because he truly believes the coach still has it.

Sophia Ross, the Hooters waitress who's gone viral for flirting with a cop during a DUI arrest, says she wants to be a prime example -- of what not to do -- for anyone following her journey.

Sophia -- who found internet fame when police body cam footage showed her calling an officer "daddy" and asking him to make out -- tells TMZ her behavior in the November incident isn't that different from her sober personality, but she says she's aware of how stupid she acted at the time.

We caught up with 2025's first internet sensation, and she notes she's being compared to the "Hawk Tuah" girl, Haliey Welch ... and she's here for it.

Kelly Stafford says she felt massive guilt bringing her sick children aboard the L.A. Rams charter flight ... knowing the players had a hugely important playoff game on the horizon!

Stafford opened up on the situation on the latest episode of "The Morning After" ... just days after she documented her daughters' sickness on social media in the leadup to the Wild Card tilt vs. the Vikings.

"We were sick on that flight," Stafford said, "and there was a huge guilt factor to me going 'should we be on this plane right now because everyone surrounding us and everyone who has to play this game?'"

Tommy Fury says his relationship with fellow "Love Island" star Molly-Mae Hague ended because of his excessive drinking, NOT cheating ... claiming all the chatter surrounding their split has been "complete and utter bollocks."

The boxer addressed his highly publicized breakup in an interview with Men's Health UK this week ... and he said even his ex-fiancée herself would confirm his struggles with alcohol torpedoed their engagement.

Tommy's half-brother explained he started reaching for the bottle after he underwent surgery to repair ligaments in his hand ... forcing him out of boxing training for at least 10 months.

Another legal issue has just cropped up for Conor McGregor ... TMZ Sports has confirmed the UFC superstar has been sued over allegations he sexually assaulted a woman during an NBA game back in 2023.

The suit was filed in a federal court in Florida on Tuesday ... by a woman ID'ed only as "Jane Doe."

She alleges in her court docs that at some point during the Miami Heat vs. Denver Nuggets playoff game on June 9, 2023 at the Kesaya Center in Miami, McGregor led her into a men's restroom near the arena's nightclub, and sexually assaulted her inside of a stall.

LeBron James is waving the white flag in the battle for Christmas Day ... admitting the NFL whooped the NBA's ass in the ratings department -- but claiming Beyoncé played a huge role in the L.

The King chopped it up with Jason and Travis Kelce on the newest episode of their "New Heights" podcast this week ... and at one point in the convo, they asked LeBron about his famous deceleration following the Lakers' 115-113 victory against the Warriors -- in which he stated Dec. 25 belonged to Adam Silver's organization.

Unfortunately for James, the viewership numbers didn't back his claim -- as the NFL drew in 65 million U.S. viewers for its two games ... which was much more than the NBA got for its five games throughout the holiday.

1:00 PM PT -- A spokesperson for Universal Music Group tells TMZ … “Not only are these claims untrue, but the notion that we would seek to harm the reputation of any artist -- let alone Drake -- is illogical. We have invested massively in his music and our employees around the world have worked tirelessly for many years to help him achieve historic commercial and personal financial success.

"Throughout his career, Drake has intentionally and successfully used UMG to distribute his music and poetry to engage in conventionally outrageous back-and-forth ‘rap battles’ to express his feelings about other artists. He now seeks to weaponize the legal process to silence an artist’s creative expression and to seek damages from UMG for distributing that artist’s music.

"We have not and do not engage in defamation -- against any individual. At the same time, we will vigorously defend this litigation to protect our people and our reputation, as well as any artist who might directly or indirectly become a frivolous litigation target for having done nothing more that write a song.”

Drake is not backing down in the war against his own label, in fact he's now upped the ante by suing Universal Music Group for spreading the "false and malicious narrative" he's a pedophile ... TMZ Hip Hop has learned.

Drake filed the defamation case Wednesday morning in federal court in NYC ... ripping UMG for releasing and promoting Kendrick Lamar's vicious diss track, "Not Like Us." In the docs, obtained by TMZ Hip Hop, Drake says UMG knew full well Kendrick's lyrics, and images in the music video, referring to Drake as a pedophile were false and dangerous.

In the suit he calls Kendrick's hit -- filled with "inflammatory and shocking allegations"-- was a "gold mine" for UMG ... and he says they had an ulterior financial motive in promoting it.