TMZ Sports - Page 50

Pelicans fans were all over Suns' forward Jae Crowder last night ... starting an impromptu (and pretty damn loud) "F*** Jae Crowder" chant during the game.

The chant came in the second quarter of Game 4 between the Suns and Pelicans ... Crowder was called for a foul on Brandon Ingram, sending BI to the charity stripe for two free throws.

And, it was clear as day on the game broadcast ... "F*** Jae Crowder!" But, why the animosity?

Pels fans probably still have the visual of Crowder going after New Orleans' big man Jaxson Hayes on Friday after refs hit Hayes with a flagrant 2 foul and ejected him.

Hayes barreled into Crowder as if he were a linebacker blowing up a running back ... though, a WWE Superstar would've approved of how Crowder sold the hit.

Jae got off the floor and made a beeline in Hayes' direction before he was stopped by teammate Mikal Bridges.

Hayes was ultimately ejected after refs deemed the play was "unnecessary and excessive."

This is awesome.

Tampa Bay Rays minor leaguer Tyler Zombro was met with cheers throughout the stadium on Sunday ... when he took the mound for the first time since his terrifying head injury last June.

Remember, 27-year-old Zombro was hit by a line drive during a minor league game for the Triple-A Durham Bulls ... requiring 16 plates and 32 screws to be installed into his head.

After nearly a year of recovery, Zombro made his big comeback on Sunday ... throwing a scoreless inning against Norfolk.

A welcoming message was displayed on the scoreboard as Zombro took the mound ... and players and coaches from both teams stepped out of the dugout to give the pitcher a standing ovation.

Zombro spoke about his comeback after the game ... saying, "I think it all came kind of full circle there and definitely was a symbol of me 'completing the journey' to be back to performing in Triple-A," according to MLB.

"It stirred up emotions in terms of everything that my support system has done for me -- Rays front office, Durham staff, wife, family, friends, teammates, etc."

Forget Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp autographs ... here's one of the coolest pieces of Super Bowl LVI memorabilia you can own -- a ball signed by the Big Game's halftime show performers!!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... a pigskin that Eminem, Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar and Anderson .Paak all signed following their epic show at the event in L.A. has just hit the block at Heritage Auctions.

And, according to experts, it could be a bargain for a potential buyer ... as it's expected to fetch just around $1,500!!

The ball is pretty sweet ... five of the artists that performed just before the Rams won the Lombardi Trophy back in February all put their signatures on it in bold, black ink.

The leather also features the Super Bowl LVI logo and other Wilson markings ... and comes with letters of authenticity.

Bidding is set to close on the auction in mid-May ... leaving plenty of time to scrounge up the cash for the piece of history.

Chicago Bears WR Byron Pringle was arrested Saturday in Florida after state troopers say they busted him doing donuts in his sports car on a suspended license, with a child in the car, TMZ Sports has learned.

And, cops say Pringle was uncooperative ... becoming "verbally confrontational" with them during the stop.

28-year-old Pringle -- an NFL vet out of Kansas State -- was pulled over by Florida Highway Patrol in his Orange 2016 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat around 6 PM in Pasco County, FL after an FHP officer says he witnessed the car burning rubber, doing donuts on a public road, according to an incident report we obtained.

FYI, the Hellcat has over 700 HP ... and has a top speed of around 200 MPH. The car starts at over $65K.

Troopers say Byron was the driver of the vehicle. The car had two passengers ... an adult male in the front passenger seat, and a male child in the back seat. We're told the kid was Pringle's.

When police ran Pringle's license, they say it came back suspended.

Byron was taken into custody at 6:15 PM ... when he was taken to the county jail. He was arrested for Reckless Driving and driving on a suspended license.

The Hellcat was towed to a local yard.

Pringle was undrafted out of college ... before signing with the KC Chiefs as a free agent. He won a Super Bowl (LIV) during the 2019 season. Over his 4 years in Kansas City, he caught 67 balls for 4 touchdowns.

Mike Tyson clearly doesn't have an issue with fans who respect his space ... take a look at a pic Mike snapped with a dude just minutes after pummeling another guy on an airplane.

Tyson is all smiles in the photo, obtained by TMZ, shot outside the gate of his JetBlue flight. We're told the pic was snapped just after Mike walked off the plane, which was of course where he unloaded his fists of fury on an "overly excited" fan's face.

Despite Mike's actions just moments before, the fan in our pic tells us he was super friendly and chill. The fan says he gave Mike the book, "Basic Economics" by Thomas Sowell -- because Tyson's such a businessman.

Funny enough, Mike was still holding the book when he touched down in Miami Thursday night.

The new photo could work to Mike's advantage, to show he's cool with fans who are cool with him. Tyson's team claimed the man on the plane, Melvin Townsend III, became overly aggressive and was harassing Mike and even tossed a water bottle at the champ, even before the plane left the gate.

As for Townsend, he's lawyered up, hiring Matt Morgan of Morgan & Morgan. Matt tells us things between the men were cool at first, but, "At a certain point, Mr. Tyson clearly became agitated by an overly excited fan and began to strike him in an excessive manner. This situation could have been avoided simply by contacting the flight attendant. Our client denies throwing a water bottle prior to being struck by Mr. Tyson."

We're told Townsend has not yet decided whether or not he will take legal action against Mike, but it sure sounds like that's where it's heading.

Jake Paul was not impressed -- not impressed at all -- with Tommy Fury's win Saturday night over Daniel Bocianski -- saying no one gave a "f***" about the fight.

Tommy won the 6-round match by decision, and quickly called out Jake ... daring him to sign on the dotted line for their ever-delayed bout. The fight was supposed to go down toward the end of 2021, but Tommy was hit with a chest infection and broken rib so it was put on ice.

It doesn't seem Jake's into the fight now, at least on the terms presented so far, but as they say ... money talks.

Tommy said after his win, "I've got one thing to say. This [Paul fight] should have been done a long time ago in December. If you want it, I'm here and I'm ready for you. I'll cut you and chop you to bits, just like I did there."

Tommy wasn't done trash-talking Jake ... "Get the contract signed you bum, let's get it done once and for all. That lad in there would kill Jake Paul on the spot, that lad's a true professional. He'd slap Jake Paul. Jake Paul – I will end your career, you're a bum and you're no good. Let's get this fight done."

Jake's response ... "Congrats on beating a 10-1 fighter. But that stadium was empty. When I fight the stadium is full. When Tommy fights no one gives a f***. And that's in his home country."

Good news if you're a boxing fan, bad news if you're a boxer -- Canelo Alvarez tells TMZ Sports he isn't even thinking about retirement ... and plans to fight for years to come as he continues to cement his legacy as one of the greatest boxers of all-time.

We talked to the 31-year-old consensus top pound-for-pound boxer in the world .. ahead of his May 7 bout with undefeated (19-0, 11 KOs) 175 lb. champ Dmitry Bivol on DAZN PPV.

Despite the fact that Canelo -- who has been a champion in four different weight classes -- doesn't even turn 32 until this summer, we asked Saul how much longer he saw himself fighting after all he's accomplished in the sport.

"I hope a long time, because I'm gonna miss boxing when I'm retired. Right now, 6 years more, 7, 5, I don't know."

Canelo, who has a pro record of 57-1-2, went on to talk about his continued passion for the sport.

"I love boxing. I love a challenge. I love that adrenaline. I need to accomplish everything to be in the books of history of boxing. That's why I'm here and I love what I do."

About Alvarez's legacy ... we asked him what work was left to be done in order to cement himself as one of, if not the greatest, fighter ever.

"When you see the best fighter go up and down a weight class and beat all the champions? I think nobody, and I try to do my best. For boxing, for me, for my legacy."

The next step in continuing to solidify that all-time legacy is to beat Bivol ... a fight Alvarez admits could be his toughest challenge yet.

"[Dmitry's] a really good boxer. He's a solid champion at 175. It's a dangerous fight. I like it, I love that kind of challenge. I really like it. But, I believe in my abilities, and I'm strong too. So, I'm confident in that, but it's gonna be a really good fight."

If Canelo wins the Bivol fight (and that's no guarantee), we asked him who excited him most in terms of a future opponent -- Gennady "GGG" Golovkin, David Benavidez, Jermall Charlo or someone else?

"I like the idea to be undisputed at 175. That's what I like, but you never know."

FYI, aside from Bivol who would have lost his belt, the champs at light heavyweight (175 lbs.) are Joe Smith Jr. (WBO) and Artur Beterbiev (IBF, WBC).

Tyson Fury just whooped Dillian Whyte in the 6th round of their WBC championship fight at Wembley Stadium on Saturday ... and celebrated his victory by teasing an epic hybrid fight with UFC heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou.

Fury hit Whyte with a vicious right uppercut that sent him falling to the canvas ... and as Whyte stumbled back to his feet, the ref called the fight.

The 33-year-old champ -- who's been teasing his retirement leading up to Saturday's event -- seemingly declared that he was content with his career and ready to hang up the gloves after the win ... saying, "I think this is it. This might be the final curtain for the Gypsy King."

Despite the retirement talk, Fury brought Ngannou in the ring during his celebration ... and the two teased an epic heavyweight bout between the baddest from both combat sports -- with Francis suggesting a fight with MMA gloves in a boxing ring.

There are a couple challenges -- first, Ngannou is dealing with a leg injury and will need months to get back to 100% ... and second, he's also in the midst of a contract dispute with the UFC. If he's under contract, he will need Dana White's stamp of approval before taking a fight with Fury.

Even though Kanye West did not appear on Antonio Brown's new album ... the NFL star tells TMZ Sports the rapper still had a HUGE role in its production -- and he's super grateful for it.

AB says Ye oversaw a lot of the behind-the-scenes things that go into making his new "Paradigm" project ... explaining to us out in L.A. this week that "he oversaw the whole infrastructure."

"He paid for a lot of studio time," Brown said. "Ye had a lot to do with a lot of this production."

Brown went on to personally thank Ye and Donda Sports and "everybody that's been a part of this project."

As for a collab between the two, who became best of friends following AB's messy breakup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Brown said it still might be coming down the road even though a track featuring the rappers didn't make it to this album.

"We still got a lot of things in the works," Brown said.

Brown -- who's album officially dropped on Wednesday -- tells us that while he's knee-deep in music at the moment ... a football future is still on his mind.

Alexander Volkanovski vs. ... Conor McGregor??

Maybe ... if the featherweight champ gets to call his next shot, 'cause during a recent conversation with Volkanovski, TMZ Sports asked if he was interested in a scrap with the Irish superstar.

"Oh yeah, I mean [a McGregor fight always interests me], and it's always going to interest a lot of people," Alex, who hasn't lost a fight since 2013, tells us.

"It's always going to be a big fight, there's always going to be money, there's going to be a circus, it's going to be entertaining, it's going to be fun, I'll enjoy that whole f***ing thing."

Of course, Conor hasn't fought since July 2021 ... when he snapped his leg during his third fight with Dustin Poirier.

McGregor is clearly getting closer to making his Octagon return ... and Dana White previously told us he expects the UFC superstar will fight towards the end of the year.

Regarding Conor, there are several potential opponents ... welterweight champ Kamaru Usman, lightweight contender Justin Gaethje, and Volkanovski.

If you've seen Conor lately, you'll know he ain't making 145 lbs. anymore ... but that might play into Alex's hands, as the champ says he wants to move up a weight class and achieve champ-champ status.

FYI, Conor, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes and Henry Cejudo are the only UFC fighters to hold two belts at one time.

Check out the extended cut with Alex ... where he and Babcock talk everything from the beatdown of "Korean Zombie" (warrior!) at UFC 273, a trilogy fight with Max Holloway, and whether or not AV's the greatest featherweight ever -- plus much more!

Full interview ⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

Volodymyr Zelensky literally left his mark on America's pastime ... the world leader autographed a baseball that's up for auction, and the sale will help relief efforts in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian President signed his last name on the baseball in two different languages ... Ukrainian cursive and English print ... with his signature right below a Major League Baseball logo.

Zelensky left his John Hancock on the ball back in September 2019, during a visit to New York. The ball comes with a letter signed by Volodymyr Yelchenko, Ukraine's Ambassador to the United Nations at the time.

The baseball is going up for sale through RR Auction ... where it's expected to fetch at least $15,000.

Randy L. Kaplan, a government affairs specialist in New York, got the ball as a gift from Yelchenko ... Randy's been collecting signed Major League baseballs from world leaders and heads of state since 1996, starting with Bill Clinton.

The auction house says the ball is in "very fine" condition and Kaplan plans to donate a portion of proceeds from the sale to a Ukrainian relief fund ... RR says they will donate their cut to the same fund.

Paparazzo Tony Vera thinks Mike Tyson isn't someone to mess with, and he'd know -- he was left a bloody mess by him back in the 2000s.

We talked to Tony at LAX Friday, the very same place he was punched by Mike all those years back ... he thinks the man that harassed Mike Wednesday got off easy in the punching power department.

Take a listen ... the guy makes some great points, wondering where the crew was when the passenger started bugging the former champ.

He tells us the memories started flooding back when he heard about what happened. As we reported back in 2009 ... Tony got hit by the boxer after getting too close to him near the ticket counter at LAX.

Police told us both parties made citizen arrests on each other, and Mike was taken away in a squad car while Tony was taken to a hospital. BTW ... Tyson was not charged with a crime but settled with Tony for an undisclosed amount.

Amazing news from Aaliyah Gayles' father ... the USC hoops recruit's dad tells TMZ Sports she will return to the basketball court and play for the Trojans -- despite being shot multiple times last weekend.

As we previously reported, four people -- including 18-year-old Gayles -- were shot when someone opened fire at a North Las Vegas house party on April 16.

Gayles' dad, Dwight, tells us his daughter went to the party to accompany a friend and stayed for only 30 minutes or so before she decided to leave -- and that's when the shooting happened.

Dwight says the 5-foot-9 guard was hit a total of 10 times in "both arms and both legs" and had her third surgery this week.

Thankfully, Dwight says Aaliyah is expected to make a full recovery -- and is still planning to play for the USC women's basketball team.

"She will be able to play ball again," Dwight tells us. "It's God's plan."

"She is still a USC Trojan."

Trojans head coach Lindsay Gottlieb said in a statement shortly after the shooting that Gayles is "one of the strongest, most resilient young people I have ever known" and she will continue to support her and her family.

Gayles is a 5-star recruit and the #8 overall ranked player in ESPN's 2022 class. At Spring Valley High School last season, she averaged 13.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.5 steals and 3.3 assists per game.

She led the Grizzlies to the Class 5A state tournament and was named a McDonald's All-American -- the first Las Vegas player to earn the honor since 2010.

Charles Oakley has an idea why the Brooklyn Nets are struggling so far in the playoffs ... telling TMZ Sports head coach Steve Nash might be the problem.

Despite having two of the best players in the league -- Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving -- the Nets are currently down 0-2 to the Boston Celtics by a combined 8 points.

If Brooklyn loses to the Cs at home on Saturday, the Nets will be faced with the nearly impossible task of winning four straight.

We spoke with the NBA legend about the Nets' woes ... and he says the 2-time MVP could be why they're stumbling out of the gate.

"The problem with Brooklyn was I don't know if Nash is the right coach for them," Oak said at LAX this week. "I don't know. Being a ballplayer watching them, you know, everybody say, 'well, this and that, if you got Kyrie and KD' but you still need somebody at that front seat."

Of course, Nash joined the Nets last season ... finishing with a 48-24 record and a playoff appearance. But, with guys like KD and Kyrie, people are expecting rings.

Oak -- who recently released his own book, "The Last Enforcer" -- points out successful dynasties like the Lakers and Bulls had coaching masterminds leading the charge -- like Pat Riley and Phil Jackson.

Oakley says the Nets' issues started when they brought in James Harden -- a move they didn't need to make.

Urban Meyer and Ryan Shazier are among the many coaches, players and friends paying their respects to Dwayne Haskins on Friday ... with those close to the late quarterback attending his memorial service in Pittsburgh.

Haskins' wife, Kalabrya, previously announced the Allegheny Center Alliance Church will be holding a "celebration of Dwayne's life" on Friday for family, friends, coaches and teammates.

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith, Meyer -- who coached Haskins on the Buckeyes from 2016 to 2018 -- and current head football coach, Ryan Day, all made their way to Pennsylvania for the service.

Shazier -- a former Steeler and Buckeye -- was also spotted at Haskins' memorial walking into the church ... as well as defensive tackle Cam Heyward.

Steelers owner, Art Rooney II, and offensive coordinator, Matt Canada, also arrived to pay respects.

Friday's ceremony is one of several that will be held for the Steelers QB -- on Saturday, Haskins' family will have a memorial at the Christ Church in his native New Jersey ... and on Sunday, there will be a service at his former high school in Potomac, Maryland.

As we previously reported, the Steelers QB was tragically killed after being struck by a dump truck on a highway in Fort Lauderdale Florida on April 9.

The crash report indicates the 24-year-old was hit by two cars and succumbed to his injuries on the scene.

RIP

The man Mike Tyson repeatedly punched on a JetBlue plane has lawyered up, and the attorney's first thoughts are suggesting a lawsuit might not be far away.

Attorney Matt Morgan from Morgan & Morgan, who reps Melvin Townsend III, tells TMZ, "Our client is a big Mike Tyson fan. When Mike Tyson boarded the plane, he became overly excited. At first, their interaction was cordial."

He goes on ... "At a certain point, Mr. Tyson clearly became agitated by an overly excited fan and began to strike him in an excessive manner. This situation could have been avoided simply by contacting the flight attendant. Our client denies throwing a water bottle prior to being struck by Mr. Tyson."

As we reported, Tyson's team told TMZ Townsend had thrown a water bottle at Tyson, before Mike unleashed on him.

Townsend was bloodied and suffered what appear to be minor injuries from the punches. He declined to press charges and both he and Tyson were free to leave after the incident.

Attorney Morgan says, "To state the obvious, as one of the greatest fighters of all time, Mr. Tyson should have exercised greater restraint before using his hands on an overly excited fan."

As you see in the video, Townsend is all over Tyson before the punches.

A source directly connected to Townsend says he, "Is still in shock and has not made a determination on what his next steps will be. He hired counsel due to his physical injuries, the overwhelming nature of this event and the associated media inquiries."

It sounds like the book is not closed on this incident, and a lawsuit might be in the offing.