TMZ Sports - Page 50

Tennis superstar Naomi Osaka wore a Breonna Taylor tribute mask to her 1st round match at the U.S. Open on Monday ... and says she's got more tributes planned.

The 22-year-old has been very outspoken about social justice issues lately -- and even "boycotted" a match at a different tournament last week in the wake of the Jacob Blake shooting.

So, when she arrived at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City, she rocked the Breonna mask to help "spread awareness" about the Taylor case.

"I'm aware that tennis is watched all over the world, and maybe there is someone that doesn't know Breonna Taylor's story," Osaka said.

"Maybe they'll like Google it or something. For me, just spreading awareness. I feel like the more people know the story, then the more interesting or interested they'll become in it."

26-year-old Taylor was shot and killed at her apartment back in March when Louisville cops executed a no-knock warrant. Her boyfriend says he fired a warning shot because he thought the officers were intruders but they returned fire, striking Taylor 8 times.

After Osaka won her opening match Monday against Misaki Doi, she said she has 6 more masks she plans on wearing throughout the tournament to honor other victims of police brutality.

"It's quite sad that seven masks isn't enough for the amount of names, so hopefully I'll get to the finals and you can see all of them."

Osaka is expected to return to the court Wednesday to take on Camila Giorgi.

Washington NFL players will now be reminded of Sean Taylor every time they drive into work ... 'cause the team says it's renaming a street after the legendary safety right near its practice facility.

The team announced the planned honor on Tuesday ... saying the street will be formally renamed to "Sean Taylor Road" at some point prior to its 1st game against the Philadelphia Eagles later this month.

The team also says it'll rename a road near its franchise headquarters after legendary head coach Joe Gibbs ... with owner Dan Snyder saying the two moves are all part of major efforts to rebrand the org.

"The renaming of these streets along with all of the changes being made to our stadium are just part of our long-term goal of improving every element of the Washington Football Team, both off and on the field,” Snyder said.

Taylor -- a 1st round pick in the 2004 NFL Draft -- was shot and killed during a home invasion in 2007.

Before his death, Taylor was building a reputation as one of the best defensive players in the league ... making the Pro Bowl in 2 out of his 3 seasons. He's also been added to the Washington Ring of Fame.

Taylor is still revered by nearly EVERY player that plays the safety position ... in fact, when team star Landon Collins signed with Wash. in 2019, he famously wanted to wear Taylor's number to honor him.

Daniel Cormier is a LUCKY man -- because somehow he was able to recover from the torn cornea he suffered in his loss to Stipe Miocic ... and won't need eye surgery.

Cormier's left eye got so badly injured from an accidental finger poke during his August 15 UFC heavyweight title fight ... he couldn't open it during the last 2 rounds.

After the fight, Cormier told Joe Rogan, "I can't see anything out of my left eye. It's black."

But, DC appeared on ESPN's "DC & Helwani Show" on Monday and revealed he's actually healing up nicely.

"Luckily I was able to recover, and I feel better," Cormier said,

"The first week and a half, [the eye] was really bad, it wasn't opening, and it was completely blurry, but now it kind of feels like an eyelash is in it."

"I went and saw the doctor last week, and he told me I'm probably not going to have to have surgery, just kind of rest and recover. And today it feels good, but just feels like something in there, you know when you get an eyelash and can't get it out? It's just right in the corner."

It's great news, considering how bad it looked at the time.

As for his fighting future, Cormier insists he's done competing -- and will now focus on growing his career outside the Octagon.

"Yeah, it's over. And I'm not sad about it," Cormier said.

"I'm going to miss it, I'm going to miss the training camps, I'm going to miss the fights, there's nothing like a fight week, but you have to understand when it's your time. I feel it's time."

WARNING: THIS VID WILL RAISE YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE!!!

Here's PGA Tour star Ian Poulter putting a VERY EXPENSIVE Ferrari at risk all for a silly trick shot video ... and it's nerve-racking as hell!!

The 44-year-old golfer -- who made the clip to try to create some buzz for a credit card company -- pulled his whip out of the garage and then took aim at it with a ball and a wedge.

FYI -- the car appears to be a LaFerrari Aperta ... which can cost around $2 MILLION -- and yeah, it's tough not to sweat watching this!!!

Poulter, though, was able to chip the golf ball through the tiny windows on the ride no problem ... and like a boss, he got back in the car, revved it up and took off.

Pretty freakin' cool, huh?!

For his part, Poulter admitted the whole thing was a big-time adrenaline rush ... saying, "How else would I practice playing with Ryder Cup pressure."

Jimmy Butler says he refuses to let his family join him inside the NBA bubble in Orlando ... because it's a "business trip" and he doesn't want to be distracted!

FOR REAL!

The Miami Heat star explained himself to "NBA on TNT" sideline reporter Allie LaForce -- who passed it along to viewers Monday night while Butler was DROPPIN' 40 on the Milwaukee Bucks.

LaForce said while some players and coaches were excited to finally welcome wives girlfriends and children into the bubble -- people they haven't seen in person in months -- Jimmy was drawing a hard line.

"No offense to families but Jimmy Butler said, 'This is a business trip for me. I’m not messing around.'"

"Everyone wants to have their family, without a doubt. But we’ve been doing this for this long. What’s another couple of months?"

Jimmy concluded, "It is an individual decision and I respect that decision that my teammates make but for me, I’m here for business.”

WOW.

Butler has a baby daughter back home who's about to turn one in October ... but she'll have to chill out before Daddy can celebrate!

Meanwhile, Butler has definitely been handling business -- he played spectacularly Monday night ... and has led the Heat to the Conference Semifinals, where they're already up 1-0 on the mighty Bucks.

Of course, not everyone feels the same as Jimmy -- Toronto Raptors star Fred VanVleet brought his family into the Bubble this week ... and the reunion was ADORABLE!

The NBA has warned players to make sure their guests don't wild out at games -- no cussing, no storming the court, etc.

Jaguars legend Maurice Jones-Drew says he was straight-up "shocked" to see the team cut Leonard Fournette ... telling TMZ Sports he has no idea how the move improves Jacksonville's roster.

"Leonard Fournette is one of their best players on their team," MJD says. "How are you better without him?!"

"How does that happen?!" the former NFL running back added. "How do you get rid of this guy?!"

Maurice says even if Fournette had a locker room personality that team officials didn't love ... he still thinks the best move would have been to keep the star RB in a Jags uniform.

"To me, in this league, it's all about you have to have a talented team to win," says Jones-Drew, who's currently KILLING it as an NFL Network analyst. "You can't win in this league without talent."

Jones-Drew says if he were running the Jags ... he would've certainly kept Fournette on the roster despite his past ups and downs with the team.

In fact, Maurice says he would have found a way to keep guys like Jalen Ramsey, Dante Fowler and Yannick Ngakoue on the roster as well.

But, MJD insists he ain't mad at his former team for the moves ... and tells us he's still holding out hope his ex-squad can wrap up a perfect 16-0 season this year.

Bronny James is taking his talents to the sticks by joining the world-famous FaZe Clan ... and his superstar father is giving his stamp of approval!!

The move was announced Sunday ... with the 15-year-old H.S. hoops prodigy getting a big introduction from the pro Esports group.

"He's got n̶e̶x̶t̶ now.⁣ Join us in welcoming @bronny to FaZe Clan 👑⁣" the post said on IG ... featuring a pic of James decked out in FaZe gear and a chain of the team's logo.

The Sierra Canyon star is an avid gamer off the court, playing games like Fortnite and Call of Duty.

But, don't get it twisted -- Bronny made his intentions clear shortly after the news broke, saying he's still focused on the bigger picture.

"Me joining faze don't change anything," Bronny said. "I'm still locked, coming for heads."

LeBron echoed his son's message, saying, "Straight Up Simba!"

Of course, the Lakers superstar has always talked about his dream of playing alongside his oldest in the NBA ... and it seems he's not worried about video games taking away from that possibility.

The Bronny news comes one week after superstar Ben Simmons also joined forces with FaZe as an investor ... adding to a list of celeb-backers like JuJu Smith-Schuster, Offset and Swae Lee.

John Thompson -- one of the greatest and most important coaches in college basketball history -- has died. He was 78.

Thompson passed away Monday morning. The circumstances surrounding his death are still unclear.

Thompson was the first Black head coach to win a major college championship, when he led Georgetown to the NCAA title in 1984.

That team featured stars like Patrick Ewing, Reggie Williams and David Wingate.

Thompson coached at Georgetown for 27 seasons -- and has the most wins in the school's history ... racking up 596 wins.

Before his coaching days, Thompson was a college basketball star at Providence -- where he was an honorable mention All-American in 1964.

He was later selected in the 3rd-round of the 1964 NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics -- where he played for 2 seasons. Oh, the team won the NBA title in both of those seasons!

After that, Thompson became a high school basketball coach in Washington D.C. before making the jump to Georgetown ... and the rest is history.

Among the stars who played for Thompson -- Ewing, Allen Iverson, Alonzo Mourning and Dikembe Mutombo.

Thompson ultimately resigned from Georgetown in January 1999 -- and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame later that year.

Iverson famously credited Thompson for "saving my life" after he was accused of hurting people in a bowling alley brawl in 1993.

Thompson didn't turn his back on Iverson as the case played out -- he supported him until an appears court overturned multiple convictions against A.I..

Iverson brought up the situation in his Hall of Fame speech, saying he wouldn't be there without Thompson.

“I want to thank Coach Thompson. For saving my life," Iverson said ... "For giving me the opportunity."

"I was recruited by every school in the country for football and basketball. And an incident happened in high school and all that was taken away. No other teams, no other schools were recruiting me anymore. My mom went to Georgetown and begged him to give me a chance. And he did."

RIP

This is the most adorable video you'll see today!!

Toronto Raptors star Fred VanVleet reunited with his 2 kids after more than a month inside the NBA bubble on Monday ... and they were so excited to see their daddy, they ran right into his arms!!

Of course, players and families are starting to reconnect during the 2nd round of the playoffs ... with a limited number of loved ones allowed to enter the bubble after quarantining.

FVV's high school sweetheart, Shontai Neal, shared the emotional moment on Instagram ... showing 1-year-old Fred Jr. and 2-year-old Sanaa overly excited to see their dad on the Disney World campus.

The VanVleets have been supporting their dad from home ... with Sanaa cheering on Fred from home in a cute video last month.

Nick Saban put on his walking shoes and got to marching Monday -- leading the Alabama football team in a social justice demonstration on campus.

Saban, decked out in white polo, grey pants and a COVID mask, charged through Tuscaloosa from the athletic facility toward Foster Auditorium -- where some members of the team gave speeches.

Among the players at the march, star running back Najee Harris, according to reporter Simone Eli.

Some of the players wore shirts with messages like, "Black Lives Matter, "Equality" and "Defend Black Lives."

Some of the players carried a black lives matter banner.

During the march, Saban reportedly told the media he felt "like a proud parent."

"I'm proud of our team, I'm proud of our messengers and I'm proud of our message," he added.

Alabama is one of the major college football programs that WILL play in 2020.

The Crimson Tide -- ranked #3 in the country in some preseason polls -- is slated to take on Missouri on Sept. 26th.

Another insanely rare trading card could crack the $2 MILLION mark at auction ... and no, it's neither MJ nor LeBron.

It's an ultra-rare signed Giannis Antetokounmpo basketball card that features a piece of a game-worn jersey from the Greek Freak's rookie season.

The card was originally pulled out of a pack of Panini America's 2013-14 high-end "National Treasures" line ... and features the NBA "Logoman" patch from one of Giannis' rookie jerseys.

It's a 1-of-1 card -- so, it's super rare -- but the fact it was graded a MINT 9 by the Beckett Grading Service makes it even more desirable for hardcore collectors.

Even better ... the signature on the card received a perfect "10" grading from the Beckett autograph evaluators as well.

Again, the high-grading number makes a HUGE difference for collectors at the high-end level.

The person who initially pulled the card from a pack years ago sold it to another collector -- and after changing hands a few times, it's now hitting the auction block over at Goldin Auctions, where they believe there's a strong chance it could break the record for most expensive basketball card ever sold.

Of course, a rare (and similar) LeBron James' 2003-2004 Upper Deck rookie card is currently the G.O.A.T. piece when it comes to basketball cards ... it famously sold for $1.8 MIL last month.

The LeBron card was NOT a 1-of-1 -- there were 23 of those made ... and Bron has bragged that he has a few sitting around at his home.

The rare-card market is ON FIRE right now -- a Topps 2009 Superfractor Mike Trout card just sold at auction for $3.93 mil ... the most expensive sports trading card to ever sell on the open market.

As for Giannis, the bidding began at $250k on Monday -- and after a flurry of quick bids, it's already about to crack the $500,000 mark!!!

Ken Goldin, who runs Goldin Auctions, says he wouldn't be surprised if it cracked $2 mil by the time the bidding ends on Sept. 20th.

Remember when everyone said the trading card market was dead?!

Look out Ryan Lochte, there's a new guy in the pool gunning for gold -- 7'6" Boston Celtics center Tacko Fall!!

Of course, the fan-favorite giant has been using his free time in the NBA bubble to try out some new sports ... including hitting the links to golf with Orlando Magic center Mo Bamba.

The big guy is now taking on another challenge -- swimming -- and jumped in the pool with his teammates Jaylen Brown and Enes Kanter for his very own lesson.

The results are hilariously awesome ... with Kanter and Brown carrying Tacko through the pool while he works on his form.

There are no water wings in sight ... but then again, all Fall has to do is stand up in the water and he'll be good.

The Celtics have been HOT since entering the bubble and currently have a 1-0 lead on the Raptors in the 2nd round of the playoffs, so there's still plenty of time for improvement.

LSU wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase -- one of the top WRs in college football -- is officially opting out of the 2020 college season to train for the NFL.

Chase is a BEAST -- in 2019, he led all FBS (AKA Division 1) WRs in receiving yards (1,780) and TDs (20) en route winning the Biletnikoff Award for the top WR in the country.

Now, with COVID wreaking havoc on the college football landscape, Chase has decided to skip the upcoming season to prepare himself for the 2021 NFL Draft, where he's expected to be a top pick.

"After careful consideration and many emotional conversations with my family, I have come to a difficult decision and will opt out of the 2020 season," Chase said in a statement.

"The competitor in me badly wants to play the season and go to war with my brothers, but during this time with so much going on, this is what’s best for my family."

In other words, he knows he's got life-changing money coming his way and doesn't want to jeopardize that. And really, can you blame him?!

"I’ve been fighting the thoughts and concerns that have crept into my mind but cannot ignore what I feel in my heart and this ultimately is the best decision for me," he added.

"I’ll look forward to returning to the field in 2021."

Chase is the 3rd player at LSU to opt out of the 2020 season -- following defensive end Neil Farrell and cornerback Kary Vincent.

Oh, the star QB from their national championship team is also gone.

Eli Manning is celebrating Tom Coughlin's 74th birthday by doing a pretty cool thing ... challenging a bunch of his ex-NY Giants teammates to donate to a cancer charity.

The former NY Giants head coach -- who led the G-Men to two Super Bowl titles -- also runs the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund Foundation, which raises money for family's affected by pediatric cancer.

Coughlin named the charity after one of his former players, Jay McGillis, who played for Coughlin at Boston College.

McGillis was diagnosed with Leukemia in 1991, during Tom's first year as head coach. He passed away 8 months later.

Enter Manning, who says Tom's charity is one of the things he's most passionate about in life -- and he's calling on some of his rich teammates to help the cause.

"A great way to celebrate his birthday, the best gift we can give [Coughlin] is bringing attention to the great work he’s been doing for the last 25 years in helping families that are struggling as they deal with a child that has cancer," Manning said.

"So, it's a little challenge to everyone that played on Super Bowl 42 and 46 [or] if you played for Coach Coughlin at any point, let's come together and help the Jay Fund and raise some money."

Obviously, there are some super-rich guys in that group ... from Michael Strahan to Justin Tuck, Amani Toomer -- and Tiki Barber.

No pressure ... but here's hoping they all accept the challenge!

Family and friends are about to invade the NBA bubble ... which means the league had to send out a reminder to all teams -- NO #%*@ing swearing at games!!!

Of course, games have been a LOT more quiet without fans during the league's restart in Orlando ... with hot mics picking up some not-so-nice words during action -- we're looking at you, Carmelo Anthony.

Now that there will be loved ones in the stands, the league sent out a memo on Monday ... telling the owners and senior execs to remind their guests -- KEEP IT PG, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD. You are at Disney World, after all.

The memo prohibits "profane or objectionable language" as well as stepping on to the court mid-game, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

The memo also states guests can't interact with refs at all ... especially in a disrespectful manner.

While Woj says the rules addressed "all governors and senior team basketball operations personnel," we take it the players' fams and friends will not be allowed to let the F-bombs fly or step foot on the hardwood, either.

In other words, as LeBron James would tell his mother -- "sit your ass down!!!"

Did Tony Hawk just one-up Katie Ledecky?!

The skate legend is now part of the new viral Got Milk ad campaign -- and man, the milk people are getting their money's worth!!

After Ledecky swam across a pool with a glass of milk on her head -- and didn't spill a drop -- Hawk decided to take the moo juice to the skate ramp!

Hawk bombed down while holding the glass of milk -- pulled off a McTwist -- and just like Katie, NO SPILLAGE!

Hawk explained how the trick came to be ... noting he was inspired by the U.S. Olympic swimmer.

"Inspired by @katieledecky, I tried to do a bunch of basic tricks without spilling to little success," Hawk said.

"So I tried this as a joke... and it worked (yes, it’s real). Got McTwist?"

They're calling it the #GotMilkChallenge -- and it's one of the best ad campaigns we've seen in a while.

Hell, with all of the "Hamilton" hype these days, they probably could have just brought back that famous Aaron Burr ad ... but we're glad they're innovating.