TMZ Sports - Page 50

Zion Williamson's incredible athletic feats don't end on the hardwood ... 'cause the hoops phenom smashed a 400 foot home run and threw a football 70 yards -- as a 16-year-old high school student!!!

Lee Sartor -- Zion's basketball coach of 4 years at the Spartanburg Day School in South Carolina -- told TMZ Sports about some of the ridiculously amazing stuff he's personally witnessed.

First up, football.

Remember that video where Zion airs out the pigskin ... launching it into the air?

Well, Coach Sartor -- now the head coach at Erskine College in S.C. -- was there ... and saw it go down with his own eyes.

"I actually witnessed that and it was about 70 yards in the air."

There's more.

"I also witnessed him hit a baseball over 400 feet," Sartor says ... "He was just messing around on the baseball field and he said, 'let me hit one.' And he hit the thing over the fence about 400 feet."

FYI -- a ball launched 400 feet would clear the fence in any Major League ballpark.

What makes it even more impressive?

Coach says this all happened after Zion completed his junior year of high school.

That ain't all ... Sartor also cleared up a big mystery -- where the hell are Zion's exploded Nike sneakers.

Remember, the PG 2.5's had seemingly gone missing ... Zion told us to ask Coach K, Duke told us they had no idea where the shoe was, and Nike said they had no "information" on the shoe location.

So, where is it? At the house of Zion's parents ... according to Coach Sartor.

"I don't think they got it in the trophy case or anything like that, but I do know they have the shoe."

Donovan Mitchell says he's totally stoked to play with his new teammate, Mike Conley ... giving TMZ Sports his stamp of approval on the huge trade that sent the guard to the Utah Jazz.

Spida was out at the Adidas store in NYC just hours after the trade went down on Wednesday ... so we had to ask what he thought of the move.

"Really excited," Mitchell says. "Having Mike is a great piece and i'm excited to play with him."

FYI -- the Jazz sent Kyle Korver, Jae Crowder, Grayson Allen and their 2019 draft pick to land the 12-year vet ... but Mitchell is confident giving up those role players for a "big piece" like Conley will benefit the team.

Spida SHOULD be excited ... a lot of people are saying the move makes the Jazz legit contenders to make the NBA Finals next season ... and they haven't been there since 1998 (shoutout Stockton and Malone).

4:29 PM PT -- Officials say Sixto David Fernandez was the target of the attack because Victor Hugo Gómez believed Sixto "ratted him out" to police years ago.

The gunman who shot David Ortiz in the Dominican Republic earlier this month DID NOT mean to target Big Papi ... so say D.R. officials, who say it was Ortiz's FRIEND they wanted to kill.

D.R. police and prosecutors just announced Sixto David Fernandez -- who was allegedly sitting near Ortiz at Dial Bar and Lounge in Santo Domingo on June 9 -- was supposed to be the target.

Unclear why Fernandez was the target. We're trying to gather information on who Fernandez is and what he does for a living. All we know so far is that cops say he's buddies with Ortiz.

Officials say the gunman who shot Big Papi from point-blank range in the back was confused by the clothing Ortiz was wearing and fired on him instead of Fernandez.

A cell phone image taken of Sixto by one of the alleged accomplices in the crime was allegedly used to identify Sixto for the hit.

But officials say the gunman mistook white items near Sixto as white pants (Ortiz was wearing white pants that night) ... and that's where the confusion all began.

Officials say they were able to confirm all this because they were able to obtain the picture that was circulated amongst the alleged criminals.

Officials also say a man named Victor Hugo Gómez -- a 43-year-old who's wanted in the United States after being caught in a major federal drug bust -- is the one who ordered the hit.

As we previously reported, officials say at least 10 people were paid around $8,000 to complete the hit.

25-year-old Rolfi Ferreira Cruz admitted to being the man behind the gun ... but said from his D.R. jail cell last week Ortiz was NOT his intended target.

Prosecutors say regardless of who the intended target was ... they still plan to pursue serious criminal charges against all of the alleged suspects.

Toronto Raptors guard Danny Green might piss off a couple different groups with what he just said to our cameras and it all has to do with Kawhi Leonard and their two shared NBA titles.

First off, he said definitively that Kawhi is the best player in the NBA, so all the LeBron, Durant, Giannis, and Harden fans are BIG MAD right now.

Secondly, our guy asked Danny in NYC which NBA title felt better -- his 2014 run with the San Antonio Spurs (Kawhi was there for that one too) or the one he just scored with the Toronto Raptors.

"This one, 2019 for sure."

Now, if you're in San Antonio, you're prolly HUGE MAD right now, because Danny just said the ring he won with you guys is like Robin, Garfunkel, Oates, and Watson ... famously second fiddle.

Quinton Aaron says what he believed to be a mere cold turned out to be something way more serious ... which he never would've caught had he not gotten checked out.

"The Blind Side" star -- who played the co-lead, Michael Oher, in the flick -- scared the crap out of people Tuesday when he posted a video of himself bedside in a hospital, saying he was gonna be alright ... but not disclosing what the heck was wrong with him.

Well, we got to the bottom of it ... and it is definitely much worse than a cold. Try full-blown upper respiratory infection!!!

Quinton says he'd been battling what felt like bad congestion since early May. At first, he didn't think much of it, but tells us when his symptoms carried over into June ... he went to the hospital. Doctors realized Monday his blood pressure was high, so they decided to keep him overnight for further tests.

Check out the clip for the full diagnosis ... sounds like he might've dodged a bullet by seeing a doctor when he did, and Quinton seems to acknowledge as much.

Sean McVay, listen up ... a 325-pound beast says he wants to help the Rams win a championship -- 'cause Domata Peko tells TMZ Sports he wants to sign with L.A.!!!

"I would like to be with Aaron Donald, man," Peko says ... "Hell yeah! That would be dope."

34-year-old Peko shot down retirement rumors with our camera guy out in Bev Hills on Tuesday ... and says he's definitely trying to play a 14th season in the NFL.

Domata tells us he just had a visit with the Detroit Lions last week ... but the team he'd really like to sign with is McVay's.

"Coach McVay! Your boy, Domata Peko, here, ready to go. I would love to come out here, represent L.A. and try to pursue that championship!"

We also asked Peko how his ex-teammate, Vontaze Burfict, would handle being on the same Oakland squad with longtime rival Antonio Brown this year, and Peko says he doesn't predict any problems between the two.

TMZ Sports has obtained the full, unedited video of that terrifying brawl at a youth baseball game in Colorado ... and it's even worse than we thought.

The person who shot the June 15 footage at Westgate Elementary School in Lakewood tells us the violence began when a woman walked onto the field brandishing a baseball bat as a weapon ... and a male parent tried to take it away from her.

During the struggle over the bat (captured on video), some parents began attacking the man, beating him down to the ground.

The violence continued for several minutes while little kids -- terrified -- tried to run off the field for safety.

The parents continued to attack each other ... while scared parents in the stands begged the combatants to stand down.

At one point, the woman recording the brawl begins to pray to Jesus to send angels down from the heavens to stop the violence.

Eventually, the fighting stops -- but the arguing continues -- with parents from both teams screaming at each other to leave the field.

Other parents are shouting that the police have been called ... but it doesn't seem to scare anyone.

You can see other parents pacing around the field holding bats while they wait for cops to arrive.

Eventually, police did show up and issue citations to multiple people. They're still on the hunt for the man who threw a violent sucker punch to an unsuspecting parent, sending him down to the ground.

We're told from witnesses that the whole thing exploded from a dispute over the rules.

Long story short, one team showed up with 13 players -- the other with 8 ... and parents were unhappy with how the game was playing out.

Arguments broke out in the stands and, eventually, parents asked the 13-year-old umpire to put a stop to foul language being thrown around. It was NOT over a bad call by the ump.

But, things only got more heated from there ... and we're told when the woman walked onto the field with the bat, all hell broke loose.

Cops say between 15 and 20 adults were involved in the incident.

The Lakewood Police Dept. is especially upset at the dude in the white shirt and teal shorts who blindsided a man with a pretty violent shot to the head.

Cops say several people have already been cited in this fight for disorderly conduct and fighting in public -- but they're clearly not done yet.

Officials also say at least one of the injuries is being classified as "serious."

So far, it doesn't appear any children were injured in the fight.

Carrie Underwood is accused of being a "Sunday Night Football" theme song stealer -- another singer claims Carrie straight jacked her hit, "Game On" ... and used it without permission.

The woman behind the suit is Heidi Merrill -- a singer who had success with the sports-themed song "Cornhusker Strong" back in 2015.

Merrill says she wanted to ride the wave and make more sports-themed music so she came up with the song "Game On" in 2016 and posted it to YouTube in March 2017.

In her suit, Merrill says she met Carrie Underwood's producer, Mark Bright, at an event in Nashville in August 2017 and asked if Carrie would be looking to create a new song for the 2018 NFL "Sunday Night Football" show open.

Merrill says she submitted the song to Bright -- but was eventually told Carrie's camp passed on using "Game On."

Fast forward to Sept. 2018 ... Merrill says she was shocked to see Underwood and NBC promoting a secret new theme song for 'SNF' ... which ended up being called "Game On."

Merrill says Carrie's version is "substantially -- even strikingly -- similar, if not identical" to her own song ... and she's pissed!

She's now suing Carrie, Mark Bright, NBC, the NFL and more for copyright infringement -- but she has not listed an amount she's looking for.

Kevin Durant is expected to miss the entire 2019-20 season with a ruptured Achilles ... but one wrestling star says he can help KD get back to the court in HALF THE TIME!!

NXT superstar Riddick Moss -- who also ruptured his Achilles last year and returned in "record" time -- says he can have Durant back on the court in 5 months. And, how can he prove it??

'Cause he did it himself!!

"This talk about KD being out for an entire season, missing next season, I don't like it," Moss says. "I don't wanna hear it."

"I wanna shut up all these people that are saying an Achilles rupture's gonna put you out for an entire season. Wherever you go, I wanna see you hoisting hardware at the end of the season in June."

Moss -- who is one-half of the Outliers in NXT, managed by Robert Strauss -- says he didn't miss a beat when he returned to the squared circle after his injury ... and is the guy to help KD get back to normal.

"Don't call Kobe Bryant for help. Kobe Bryant did not set a record coming back from an Achilles tendon rupture like Riddick Moss did. Kobe can't help you."

So ... maybe it's time to hit up this Moss fellow, KD??

4:10 PM PT -- Scherzer wasn't kiddin' when he said he was gonna try to pitch just ONE DAY after breaking his schnoz. He just took the mound against the Phillies on Wednesday.

Oh yeah ... and he's got a nice shiner to go with it.

Here's how you DON'T bunt a baseball ...

Max Scherzer -- arguably the best pitcher in the MLB -- was working on his bunting game in Nationals' batting practice Tuesday ... when he popped a pitch straight into his face!!

The ball flew into his nose and right eye ... and the 3-time Cy Young winner had to leave the field as a bloody mess.

Bad news for Washington ... x-Rays revealed he broke his nose -- and he even needed a CT scan to determine if his brain was okay.

Good news for Washington? Scherzer is reportedly doing much better Wednesday ... and wants to make his scheduled start Wednesday night against the Phillies!!!

Who said hockey players were the only tough guys left in sports?!?

L.A. Lakers forward Moe Wagner says he didn't intentionally "like" a pro-George Zimmerman tweet earlier this week ... and now he's apologizing to "anyone I hurt."

The 22-year-old German-born NBA player came under fire when people noticed he "liked" a tweet that essentially justified Zimmerman's 2012 killing of Trayvon Martin.

The tweet also said, "The black community [Zimmerman] had volunteered his time to help prior to the incident tried to ruin him."

Yeah, it's bad.

Zimmerman was found not guilty of 2nd-degree murder and manslaughter in the Martin case -- but most people still believe the guy is a scumbag.

In fact, Wagner's Lakers teammate, LeBron James, was one of the most vocal critics of Zimmerman during the hearing.

But, Wagner -- L.A.'s 1st-round pick in 2018 -- is now making it clear he is NOT a Zimmerman supporter -- and says the "like" was a genuine mistake.

"I’d like to apologize and say I genuinely have no idea how that tweet was liked from my account," Wagner tweeted.

"I would never purposely like something so terrible, and I’m sorry to anyone I hurt."

Heavyweight boxer Jarrell "Big Baby" Miller says the failed drug test that forced him out of his fight against Anthony Joshua cost him around $30 MILLION!!!!

... and yeah, he still thinks about it all the time!!

Remember, Miller was the guy ORIGINALLY slated to fight AJ on June 1 at Madison Square Garden -- but when "Big Baby" failed the test, Joshua's people signed Andy Ruiz as a last-minute replacement.

And, we all know what happened next -- Ruiz beat the dog snot out of Joshua ... and now Andy is trying to lock up a $50 million rematch deal.

So, when "Big Baby" joined the guys on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1) -- we asked if he ever thinks to himself, "That shoulda been me!"

"It was gonna be a massacre," Miller says ... "But, sometimes God has plans for you."

Miller ain't mad at Ruiz -- in fact, it's the opposite -- the two have been good friends for years and Miller says he couldn't be happier for the boxer.

But, when we asked how much cash he thinks the drug test ultimately cost him, Miller dropped some REALLY BIG numbers ... and explained, "You know how many cheeseburgers that is just now!?!!

Don't worry, Miller says he's getting his career back on track and plans on fighting later this year as soon as his suspension is up.

Austin Rivers tells TMZ Sports ... the reported rift between his Houston Rockets teammates, Chris Paul and James Harden, is nothing but a LIE ... saying, "It's just made up news, fake news!"

The NBA world went crazy Tuesday after Yahoo Sports reported the relationship between Paul and Harden has become "unsalvageable"-- with CP3 demanding the Rockets either get rid of "him or me."

So, when we saw Rivers at Craig's in L.A. on Tuesday ... we had to ask if he saw any of the reported drama in the locker room during the 2018-19 season.

"I know NOTHING about any of that," Rivers said ... "I don't know where that's coming from. A lot of fantasy tales being told right now"

He continued to shoot down the report -- "It's definitely not true. I didn't see any issues between any of them. It's just made up news, fake news like most of the stuff you see on these Instagram pages."

When asked if he'd like to play with both guys again, Rivers said ... "Yeah. I'd love to. Both Hall of Fame players."

We also shot James Harden in L.A. on Tuesday night leaving Bootsy Bellows -- but he definitely wasn't in the mood to talk about the alleged drama in Houston.

As for Rivers ... there's more cool stuff -- he gives advice to his old teammate, Anthony Davis, about how to be successful in Los Angeles.

Don't rule out a Justin Bieber vs. Tom Cruise fight in the UFC ... so says Dana White who tells TMZ Sports there's a very REAL chance the two could actually throw down in the Octagon.

After 25-year-old Bieber tagged the UFC president in a twitter post last week calling out 56-year-old Tom Cruise, White says he blew it off initially ... until he got some phone calls from "real guys" connected to the superstars.

Dana wouldn't say who he spoke with but was clear they're legit -- and they told Dana both Tom and Justin "really wanna do this fight and they believe that Tom Cruise would do the fight."

"I told them that if that's true -- and everybody involved really wants to do it -- we can talk."

In fact, White says if there's real interest from both stars "I'd be an IDIOT not to make this fight!"

And, to all the doubters, Dana says he didn't think there was a chance Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor would ever evolve into a real fight ... but that happened, right?!

Remember, Justin Bieber has trained with Floyd -- who once said the singer has enough fighting talent to be a pro boxer.

And, Tom Cruise was a star wrestler in high school -- and has a reputation for being one of the toughest actors in Hollywood who's been doing his own stunts for decades.

So, if they do agree to a fight ... it could be very interesting.

White adds, "That would be the easiest fight to promote in the history of my career."

After sending the tweet, Bieber said the whole thing was a joke ... but hey, people can change their minds.

Here's all the proof you need to know Manu Ginobili is lovin' retirement ... riding a bike through Manhattan Beach with his family and a big ol' smile on his face!!!

TMZ Sports spoke with the San Antonio Spurs legend while he breezed by our camera guy on Tuesday ... and he told us he's enjoying life with his wife and children off the hardwood.

FYI -- the 4-time NBA champ called it a career just before the start of the 2018 season ... saying "It's been a fabulous journey. Way beyond my wildest dreams."

It's a good sign for Ginobili's ex-teammate Tony Parker ... who just joined him in the retirement life after 18 seasons in the Associaton.

3:19 PM PT -- ROD SMART HAS BEEN FOUND SAFE!!

Family and police sources tell us Smart has been located and he's safe.

We're told Smart is surrounded by family and in the process of getting professional treatment.

Story developing ...

Rod Smart -- who shot to fame in the XFL using the nickname "He Hate Me" -- has gone missing and his family is extremely worried for his safety.

The Lancaster County Sheriff's Office in South Carolina has issued a Missing Person Advisory -- noting 42-year-old Smart was last seen on June 12 around 10:30 AM.

Cops say his family is "worried about his safety and well-being" -- adding, "It is unusual for him to be out of touch for this long."

He was last seen driving his silver 2016 Nissan Maxima with North Carolina tags.

Rod Smart -- real name Torrold Smart -- was a star running back at Western Kentucky back in the day ... and joined Vince McMahon's XFL football league when he wasn't selected in the NFL Draft.

In 2001, Smart was signed by the XFL's Las Vegas Outlaws -- which encouraged players to select a fun WWE-style nickname to rock on their jerseys ... and Smart famously picked, "He Hate Me."

Why the nickname? Smart told reporters at the time, "Basically, my opponent is going to hate me. After I win, he's gonna hate me."

Smart was so good in the XFL, he got looks from NFL teams and eventually signed with the Carolina Panthers ... where he played from 2002 to 2005.

After his football career, Smart reportedly worked as a personal trainer and a high school guidance counselor.