TMZ Sports - Page 50

Corey LaJoie's #32 car is getting a new paint job for NASCAR's big race Sunday ... his team says it's decking out the ride in a "Trump 2020" theme for the Brickyard 400.

Go Fas Racing revealed the new paint scheme Wednesday ... saying it's partnered with the pro-Trump Patriots of America PAC to create the red, white and blue whip for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway race.

"I am honored to be part of the President's re-election campaign through the Patriots of America PAC," team owner Archie St. Hilaire said in a statement.

"As a Trump 2020 supporter, this team will do everything possible to secure victory on and off the track electing President Donald Trump to a second term."

The Ford Mustang will feature "Trump 2020" on both the hood and the rear-quarter panels ... while also displaying "Your Vote Counts" emblems.

The race is set to go down on Sunday at 1 p.m. PT in Indiana.

"With an estimated 75 million NASCAR fans out there, I was surprised that about 15 million of those fans are not registered voters," 28-year-old LaJoie said after the ride's paint scheme was announced.

"I will give my best effort to get NASCAR fans registered to vote, through our team efforts on and off the track. When they see the car, hopefully, it makes them race to the polls in November."

LaJoie has 5 top 20 finishes in the Cup Series this season ... notably finishing 8th in February's Daytona 500.

FYI, Bubba Wallace -- who's been racing in a "Black Lives Matter" car recently -- finished in 3rd at the 2019 Brickyard 400. He'll be back in Indy to compete this weekend as well.

Zachary Levi is set to play Kurt Warner in an upcoming biopic on the NFL Hall of Famer's life ... and you know who's PUMPED about that?!?

KURT WARNER!!!

The NFL Hall of Famer's journey from working at a Hy-Vee grocery store to winning the Super Bowl is getting the Hollywood treatment with a flick called "American Underdog" ... which is set to begin production later this year.

Levi -- who starred in the superhero flick "Shazam!" -- says he's "beyond pumped" for the role.

"Have always found [Kurt Warner] and his family, and their journey, to be an uplifting and inspiring one."

"Can’t wait to bring their story to screens both large and small. 🙌"

And, judging by Kurt's reply, the feeling is mutual!

"What a crazy, amazing journey this has been," Warner said ... "Now I’m going to be played by a Super Hero!!"

"Excited you [Zachary Levi] are taking this ride with us, can’t wait to see you deliver our story to the BIG screen!"

"I Still Believe" directors Jon and Andrew Erwin are set to take the helm for the Kurt Warner flick ... and they're convinced Levi is the perfect actor for the role.

"Zachary was our first and only choice," Jon said.

"He brings a combination of humble charm and charisma as well as an intense physicality to the role."

Andrew added ... "This is about an everyman who never let his dream die. Zachary was born to play this role – and when you add in his uncanny resemblance to Kurt Warner, we’re thrilled to be working with him."

Dude's not lying -- these guys could be brothers!!!

Warner was signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent out of Northern Iowa in 1994 but didn't make the final roster.

He famously played in the Arena League and NFL Europe while trying to earn another shot with an NFL team.

The Rams finally gave him a chance in 1998 ... and the rest is history.

Super Bowl champ. Super Bowl MVP. 4-time Pro Bowler. Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Move over, Jerry Jones ... there's a new king in the scoreboard world -- the Rams and Chargers just officially hung their video beast, AND IT'S 2.2 MILLION POUNDS!!!

The L.A. NFL squads made the joint announcement Wednesday ... saying their one-of-a-kind jumbotron is now fully functional at the new SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.

And, according to the teams ... it's gaudy.

The board is the largest EVER in sports history (yes, even bigger than the one at Jerry World in Dallas) ... coming in at 120 yards long and featuring 70,000 square feet of LED technology.

The teams also say it's hooked up with 260 speakers ... and holds enough power to keep 1,500 home theater systems running!!!

Unclear if any fans will be able to watch it this season -- coronavirus cases are spiking like crazy in California and with the regular season's kickoff set for only 2 months from now, things ain't looking promising.

J.R. Smith seems excited about his reunion with LeBron James -- he's already rockin' a Lakers hat around town!

Check out the pic of Smith hitting up Pinches Tacos on Tuesday -- Lakers hat, Black & Mild in his mouth, red bandana around his neck.

Of course, 34-year-old Smith was reportedly finalizing a deal earlier this week to join the Lakers for the remainder of the season ... now that Avery Bradley has opted out.

So, this pic leads us to believe it's probably a done deal. Now, the biggest hurdle -- will the season actually happen?

Several NBA players and staffers have tested positive for COVID-19 recently -- with commish Adam Silver acknowledging they might have to shut down the reboot if there's a larger outbreak.

But, for now, Smith seems content with his team, his food and his smoke.

Smith hasn't played an NBA game since Nov. 2018 -- back when he was a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers ... but he's been keeping himself in shape by beating up alleged vandals in the streets of L.A.

Tony Dungy says he's done calling the Washington Redskins by their nickname ... explaining, "If the team doesn’t want to change, the least I can do is try not to use it."

Besides being an NFL Hall of Fame coach, Dungy is also part of NBC's "Football Night In America" ... the pre-game show for the biggest game of the week.

In other words, Dungy has a HUGE platform -- and he intends to use it to push for Washington to change its name.

"It’s not hard to change the name," Dungy told ESPN's William C. Rhoden. "When I’m on the air, I try to just refer to them as Washington. I think it’s appropriate."

Dungy's comments come in the wake of the National Congress of American Indians -- a powerful org. that represents more than 500 tribal nations -- deeming the team name offensive and calling for NFL Players to boycott.

NCAI president Fawn Sharp said just last week -- "It’s time for the players to rip down that name like it was a statue of a Confederate general in their locker room."

Pretty strong stuff -- especially since Washington had long argued that Native Americans were cool with the team name.

Can't hide behind that argument anymore.

Despite the pushback, Washington head coach Ron Rivera still isn't on board with a name change -- at least not yet -- arguing on a radio show earlier this week it's "always been a part of football."

Dungy disagrees, saying, "You can say, ‘This has been a historic name and we’ve used it for this team for X number of years, but in this day and age, it’s offensive to some people, so we’re going to change it.'"

A former member of the Philadelphia 76ers' dance team claims she was the victim of bullying and racism during her time on the squad ... and now, the Sixers have launched an investigation.

Yahne Coleman -- a fashion model who used to perform with the Sixers Dancers -- revealed the disturbing allegations in a lengthy social media post Tuesday.

In the statement, Coleman claimed she was "racially profiled, bullied and threatened" not only by her dance teammates ... but by members of the dance team's coaching staff as well.

Coleman also attached a video with her post ... which she says shows a former teammate making inappropriate and racist remarks toward her, and even threatening her.

In the footage, the woman can be heard saying, "I will teach you how to use a tampon because your dirty-ass vagina probably smells like fish."

The woman in the video can also be heard saying, "I will find you in whatever home project you live in. I will slum it to the west side of Philly just to find your ass, beat the sh*t out of it, and then get you backlisted from whatever club you think you can get in.”

Coleman -- who reportedly left the dance team in 2015 -- claims similar bullying incidents happened to her regularly ... and she says when she reported it to officials in the 76ers' organization, "nothing was done."

The Sixers released a statement shortly after Coleman's post went up, and they say they're vowing to do a thorough investigation into the claims.

"Tonight, we were made aware of social media posts involving former dance team members that contained insensitive, offensive and unacceptable remarks, as well as allegations of bullying and racist behavior,” the team said.

"The videos, which were filmed in 2016, featured derogatory comments from a former dance team member who left the organization in 2013."

The Jay Cutler Chicken Serial Killer Mystery of 2020 is officially SOLVED ... with the ex-NFL QB catching a beastly raccoon in the act!!!

As we previously reported ... Cutler had been dealing with an unknown menace that was ripping the heads off his beloved birds ... and he devoted his retirement life to saving his chickens.

The week-long saga took many twists and turns -- including traps and overnight stakeouts -- with pretty much the entire nation on the edge of its seat to figure out who the hell was offing the chickens.

But, Jay can now FINALLY get some sleep ... 'cause he's officially discovered the culprit -- A DAMN TRASH PANDA!!!

"All is well and happy to report it was a raccoon," Cutler said on IG Wednesday morning. "Which fits the evidence. Chicken heads were ripped off and bodies were left in the chicken yard."

"Gruesome stuff but the reality of the situation. Ladies are now safe and sound. We can all sleep well for a few nights."

So, is this the end of an era and we can all go back to worrying about bigger issues?? Yes ... at least, for now.

"Unfortunately I’m sure this raccoon has some family members."

"While this saga is sadly ending, I’m sure there will be more. Stay tuned..."

Terrifying moment from a pro gamer -- who was struck by ACTUAL LIGHTNING while streaming on Twitch ... and the video is intense.

27-year-old Jaime Bickford -- AKA Karma -- was commenting on a game of "Rocket League" on Sunday night when somehow she was hit by lightning during a storm in her area.

According to Bickford's bio, she lives in the Boston area.

During the stream, you can hear the storm rumbling, followed by Jaime shrieking in pain.

You can hear Jaime drop her controller and she begins to cry in pain.

A short time later ... she got back on the stream and provided an update.

"Sorry guys, I am a little bit upset right now. Lightning, apparently we’re having really bad thunderstorms here."

"Apparently, my house got hit or something and it went through my controller and shocked my hand. I’m completely fine. I’m just kinda ... I got scared and also my hand burns hurt a little bit."

Bickford even posted a photo of the melted controller.

She posted an update the following morning -- saying, "Hands healed up after being iced all last night and were very minor burns, controller is melted near USB connection where I got flashbanged or w/e ."

She added, "And I am COMPLETELY FINE. Thanks for the outpouring of love."

Well, that didn't take long ... Cam Newton and Mohamed Sanu hooked up in L.A. on Tuesday to get in their first workout as Patriots teammates -- and the dudes are JACKED!!

The Sideline Hustle documented the sweat sesh -- which all went down at UCLA -- grabbing footage of the new Pats QB1 with New England's WR2.

Unclear how long the duo worked out together ... but check out the vid of the two afterward -- Sanu is ripped, and Newton is still big as hell!!

Of course, Newton and Sanu have a relationship dating back YEARS ... they were rivals during their times in Carolina and Atlanta -- and they had already been spotted working out together earlier this year before Cam signed with Bill Belichick's squad.

But, it's clear the workouts mean more now ... Cam's expected to be the starter in New England, while a finally-healthy Sanu is slated to be the team's No. 2 WR target behind Julian Edelman.

By the way, this also helps explain why Cam touched down in Los Angeles rather than New England earlier this week after signing his contract ... gotta build that rapport early!!

"Certainly if we had a lot of cases, we are going to stop. You cannot run from this virus."

That's NBA commissioner Adam Silver acknowledging his plan to continue the season in Orlando could hit a huge speed bump if players and staff continue to test positive for COVID.

Of course, several NBA players have tested positive for coronavirus recently ... including DeAndre Jordan, Jabari Parker, 3 members of the NO Pelicans, several members of the Denver Nuggets organization and more.

And, with concern growing, Silver addressed the issues Tuesday during an appearance on 'TIME 100 Talks' ... saying he's still "pretty confident" the season will happen, but nothing is certain.

"We and our players together with their union, look at the data on a daily basis. If there were something to change that was outside of the scope of what we are playing for, certainly, we would revisit our plans."

"We are testing daily," Silver continued ... "We haven't put a precise number on it, but if we were to see a large number of cases and see spread in our community, that would, of course, be a cause to stop as well."

Silver says the league has a team of medical and science experts to help guide them through the pandemic plan.

Still, Silver believes the bubble environment at Walt Disney World in Orlando will still be relatively safe.

"I am absolutely convinced that it will be safer on this campus than off this campus because there aren't many situations that I am aware of where there is mass testing of asymptomatic employees," Silver said.

"In some ways, this is maybe a model for how other industries can ultimately open. But, I am only going to say we will be responsible and watch what is happening, but the biggest indicator will be if we begin to see a spread in our community."

The NBA season is set to tip-off on July 31 -- but some teams are planning to begin travel to Orlando as early as July 7.

The man who punched Philadelphia Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert says it wasn't a cheap shot -- insisting he was protecting a friend who was in Dallas' grasp ... and he says he suffered serious injuries as a result.

TMZ Sports spoke with Kyle Hadala, who tells us he feels the viral video does NOT tell the full story of what transpired before that fateful punch was thrown on June 19 at Zoo Bar in South Dakota.

Hadala insists Goedert and his friends had been "harassing" them at a previous bar over the choice of music they were playing on the jukebox.

"They were extremely aggressive and disrespectful," Hadala says.

The group moved to a new spot -- the Zoo Bar -- but Hadala says Goedert and his crew followed them with bad intentions. Very soon, according to Hadala, the situation escalated.

"They picked out my smaller colleague from the group, got in his face, and made very threatening remarks toward his personal well-being," Hadala tells us.

"Then one of his crew told my other colleague, and I quote, 'You’re just a fat f**king pussy. I'll beat the s*** out of you.'"

Hadala says Dallas put his hand on his friend -- which you can see in the video ... and that's when Hadala decided to take action.

"At this point, I was in fear for both of my friends' well-being especially due to the fact there were 10 of them and we were not familiar with the area," Hadala says.

"I protected my friend and then was ambushed by 5 to 7 individuals that punched, kicked, threw beer bottles, etc., trying to cause me bodily harm which I received medical treatment at the hospital for my injuries the next day."

Hadala says he received multiple lacerations in the incident, which required several stitches and staples to close the wounds.

Hadala was eventually arrested and booked on a simple assault charge. He's already lawyered up and plans to fight the case.

NFL rookie Jermiah Braswell's time with the Arizona Cardinals is over before it even began -- the wide receiver has been cut after allegedly drunkenly driving his Camaro into Lake Erie.

The 23-year-old ex-Youngstown State star -- who signed as an undrafted free agent in April -- was arrested for operating a vehicle while intoxicated in Put-in-Bay, OH on Saturday ... after cops found him in the driver's seat trying to move the vehicle out of the water.

According to witnesses, the Toledo native was traveling at "a very high rate of speed" on the road before the crash ... driving onto grass, off an embankment and into the water.

When cops spoke with Braswell, they claim he was slurring his speech and had no idea how he ended up in the lake ... and decided to conduct field sobriety tests.

Braswell also took a breathalyzer test, which reportedly showed a BAC higher than the Ohio limit.

The NFL transaction report shows the Cards decided to part ways with the rookie on Monday ... ending his short stint with the team.

It took 400,000 man-hours and 350 tons of metal -- but now Fight Island is ready to roll and it looks AMAZING!!!

Dana White just dropped the hype video showing the tremendous effort it took to bring Fight Island to life in just a few months ... transforming part of Yas Island in Abu Dhabi into a city custom-built for the UFC.

Of course, Fight Island was created to provide a safe place for the UFC to host fights in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic -- so, there was clearly an emphasis on testing facilities on the premises.

There are 17 medical personnel stationed on the island, according to UFC -- and they've already administered more than 2,000 tests.

You can see in the video the massive construction effort it took to erect the main fight arena, the beach Octagon and other facilities necessary to host all of the upcoming UFC events.

White has said all fighters and their crews will undergo 5 rounds of testing -- starting with tests before they board their flights to Yas Island.

Once on the island, there will be 3 more rounds of testing before the fights -- and then a final post-fight test before fighters are allowed to fly home.

There is a massive security presence on the Island to keep things safe -- and Dana White is fired up!

"I can't wait to get there," White said.

The first event on Fight Island is UFC 251 on July 11 -- featuring some crazy bouts ... including Kamaru Usman vs. Gilbert Burns.

Max Holloway is fighting Alexander Volkanovski and Paige VanZant is fighting Amanda Ribas.

Houston Texans WR Kenny Stills just revealed a new "Black Lives Matter" tattoo on his leg ... part of a bigger piece that tells the story of the Black struggle in America.

The tattoo starts on Kenny's hip and goes all the way down to his ankle -- featuring imagery from the recent BLM protests ... and other important moments in the Civil Rights movement.

Some of the protest signs tatted on Stills include, "Say Their Names" and "Stop Killing Us" ... mixed with iconic images including a protest sign from a school segregation protest.

28-year-old Stills -- one of the NFL players who continued to take a knee during the national anthem in 2019 -- added the new art to a previous tattoo which featured the mug shot of Congressman John Lewis, who was arrested in the 1960s for peacefully protesting segregation.

Below that image is the famous shot of a protester in Memphis holding a sign reading, "I Am A Man." The original photo was taken in 1968 by photographer Steve Schapiro.