TMZ Sports - Page 50

Stunning revelation in the courtroom during the Kobe Bryant photo trial case Tuesday ... a deputy testified that he sent another cop graphic pics from the crash site while the two were in the middle of a "Call Of Duty" gaming sesh.

Michael Russell -- an L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. deputy -- says the exchange of the photos happened shortly after the Lakers legend and his daughter, Gianna, perished in the tragic, Jan. 2020 helicopter crash.

Russell, who claimed he had initially received the photos from fellow deputy Joey Cruz hours after the wreck, said he joined a video game party with Santa Clarita deputy Ben Sanchez the following day.

While the two were playing the first-person shooter game, Russell testified he told Sanchez he had the photos, and then asked if he wanted to see them. When the cop said yes, Russell said he sent them over.

Russell admitted in court that he had no business doing that. He also testified that he received nothing more than a minor write-up as punishment.

Cruz, meanwhile, also testified in court on Tuesday ... and did admit to showing the photos to a bartender as well.

Cruz said he did it to relieve the stress he had been dealing with due to the situation -- and testified that he did feel remorseful over it all.

Vanessa Bryant, who is suing for, among other things, emotional distress, was present in court -- though she did leave the room for at least part of Cruz's testimony.

Aaron Rodgers is going all-in on his Nicolas Cage obsession -- the superstar quarterback now has a bust of the actor's head in his locker ... and he showed it off to reporters on Tuesday.

38-year-old Rodgers was all smiles as he brought the Cage head down from the top shelf of his changing space to give a closer look ... chatting it up as folks in the crowd got their jokes off.

Some said the bust doesn't really resemble Cage ... but we gotta admit -- it looks pretty spot-on. Another joked there was a camera inside it ... and uh, yeah. Let's hope not??

The 4-time MVP's been really leaning into his inner Nicky C recently -- as we previously reported, he even showed up to Packers training camp fully dressed as the Cameron Poe character from "Con Air."

It's clear Rodgers is having a lot more fun at the start of this season -- something he says was a result of his use of the psychedelic ayahuasca two years ago.

Brittney Griner's plan to appeal her 9-year Russian prison sentence over a weed pen is underway ... but Onyx rapper Fredro Starr feels there are bigger political forces in play.

In a new interview clip from VladTV, Fredro actually admitted to smoking plenty of weed on Russian soil on several occasions!!!

According to Fredro's travels, Russia not only has better weed than top dog California, but they grow it too ... and from the picture he paints, recreational use sounds pretty common in the region.

He also suggests the country's hip hop scene is very liberal, alluding to the notion a 9-year punishment for a simple weed pen doesn't add up.

Griner officially filed her appeal on Monday, in conjunction with the United States government actively working for her release, calling her detainment unjust.

The last time we talked to Fredro, he was talking about a different kind of smoking ... as in torching Cypress Hill during their somewhat underpromoted Verzuz.

Jonathan Papelbon went scorched Earth on Fernando Tatis Jr. -- suspended 80 games by MLB for a positive PED test -- saying if he was still pitching in the Majors, he'd drill the Padres star every chance he got!

The former Red Sox star closer shared his feelings on Tatis' blockbuster suspension on the "The Bradfo Sho podcast" ... and he didn't mince his words.

"I'll tell you right now, if I was pitching, every single time I face that dude, I’m drilling him," Papelbon said, adding ... "I don’t care if I'm bringing in a run and losing the game."

"This whole Tatis stuff, man, it almost enrages me. "I worked my ass off so long and so hard and did it the right way. For me, to see something like that, it hurts me so bad."

Papelbon -- who played 12 seasons in the big leagues -- said the problem with Major League Baseball now is players aren't allowed to "police" the game the way they used to when he toed the mound.

"That's the problem with the game today now, is it's changed," Papelbon said. "You throw [at] people now, and you get suspended and all the other BS, and it's like just let the players police the game."

"That's what I miss about the game now is, you look in the past, and the players were the ones who policed the game. Not the damn umpires or the coaches, or any of them. It was the players."

"[And] that's what the game lost," he added.

As we previously reported, 23-year-old Tatis was hit with an 80-game suspension Friday after testing positive for Clostebol, a performance-enhancing substance.

Former NY Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez expressed disappointment with Tatis ... saying the PED suspension may cost him a shot at the Hall of Fame down the road, something A-Rod, unfortunately, is experiencing.

"I'm not going to go to the Hall of Fame probably because of my own mistake," A-Rod said. "And, that's heartbreaking for me. It's heartbreaking to explain that to my daughters. But, that's on me."

"I wish that a lot of these young players who I admire so much would learn from my stupidity and my debacle."

Fernando Tatis Sr. came to his son's defense yesterday ... claiming Tatis Jr. developed a fungus on his skin after receiving a bad haircut and used the banned medication to fix the issue.

Ultimately, JP understands why ex-MLBers, and potentially Tatis' fellow Padres teammates, are upset with his alleged actions ... and Jonathan thinks the distraction could prevent the team from reaching their full potential come playoff time.

Manti Te'o -- the college football superstar who fell for one of the most famous catfishing scams to date -- is opening up on his decision to go public with his side of the hoax ... saying attending a Jay-Z concert helped him come forward.

Remember, the former Notre Dame linebacker reportedly lost his grandma and girlfriend within hours of each other in 2012 ... except the entire romance was based on a lie.

As it turns out, Te'o didn't know his GF -- Lennay Kekua, a student at Stanford -- didn't actually exist ... despite previously stating he had met her in person (Te'o adamantly denies being involved in the hoax).

Manti -- who was eventually drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft -- is now speaking about the whole thing ... and says he was first inspired to go public with his story after attending a Jay-Z concert as a member of the New Orleans Saints in 2017.

"Cam Jordan with the Saints took a bunch of us teammates to a Jay-Z concert," Te'o said on "CBS Mornings."

"And at that concert, Jay-Z opens up with saying these words -- 'you cannot heal what you don't reveal.' And it may have been just some random words to everybody, but for me, at that time, it hit me like a ton of bricks."

"In order for me to kind of heal from this, I needed to reveal it."

Te'o said he vowed to share his side when the next opportunity came -- and in 2020, documentary director Tony Vainuku approached him.

What resulted was the "Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn't Exist" project, which just hit Netflix on Tuesday.

Eli Manning and Brady Quinn never duked it out on the football field -- but the two are squaring off in a different arena -- debating the best football movies of all time ... and let's just say their picks ain't exactly shocking!

The two former NFL QB's caught up on the second episode of season 2 of "Eli's Places" (premieres Wednesday on ESPN+) ... and went back and forth about football movies they hold near and dear to their hearts.

Quinn said "Any Given Sunday" (starring Al Pacino, Jamie Foxx, and Cameron Diaz) is high on his list, but the 1999 classic "Rudy" (featuring Sean Astin and Ned Beatty) would be "way up there" ... as Brady gestured way above his head.

Of course, "Rudy" was based on the true story of the University of Notre Dame walk-on Rudy Ruettiger, an undersized player who wasn't exactly the best athlete, but had incredible heart and work ethic.

Brady starred at Notre Dame ... albeit long after Ruettiger was on the team.

BQ also rattled off two Adam Sandler movies ... "The Waterboy" and "The Longest Yard."

It's hard to argue with any of Quinn's selections ... Rudy is considered by many one of the best few sports films ever made. His other picks, particularly "The Longest Yard," had a bunch of big stars like Chris Rock, Burt Reynolds, Nelly, Terry Crews, Michael Irvin, Bill Goldberg, Tracy Morgan, and Sandler.

But Eli, the two-time Super Bowl champ for the NY Giants, pushed back against Quinn's list ... saying the 1994 movie "Little Giants," starring Rick Moranis, was his fave.

Quinn didn't seem too impressed with Eli's pick ... saying Moranis gave a better performance in the iconic film, "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids."

FYI, it's not just Eli with his own show ... there's a diverse group of stars including Vince Carter, Abby Wambach, Ronda Rousey and David Ortiz who have their own "Places" show.

A 12-year-old baseball player gearing up to compete in this week's Little League World Series in Pennsylvania is now fighting for his life -- after he fell from a bunk bed at the Williamsport venue's dormitory complex over the weekend.

Easton Oliverson -- who pitches and plays outfield for the Snow Canyon Little League team that's making its first-ever LLWS appearance this month -- sustained a fractured skull in the incident Sunday night, according to his uncle, Spencer Beck.

Beck tells TMZ Sports ... Oliverson was sleeping on the top bunk, when he suddenly fell out of the bed and hit his head. He was immediately rushed to the hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery.

Beck tells us Oliverson, who's earned the nickname "Tank," is currently in a medically induced coma -- though he and the rest of the family are optimistic the boy will make a recovery.

"He's a really good kid, very loving," Beck said. "Full of smiles. Just a fun, fun kid -- so we're all praying for him."

Little League officials released a statement Monday regarding Oliverson's condition ... saying, "At the request of his family, Little League International encourages all to join us in keeping the Snow Canyon Little League player and his family in our thoughts and prayers, as we wish for a full and complete recovery."

"Little League International will continue to use all available resources, including those provided by UPMC in North Central Pa., through the Player Wellness Center, to support the player, his family, and his coaches and teammates, as we navigate this unfortunate situation."

Oliverson's team, meanwhile, said it will still compete in its first game of the World Series in Williamsport on Friday -- writing in a statement that Oliverson's father, who's a coach on the squad, wanted them to continue onward in the tournament.

"While our hearts are heavy," the team said in the statement, "we are committed as a team to have an opportunity to take part in something that is only dreamt about by others."

Beck tells us the family has set up a Venmo account for Oliverson -- @MiraclesForTank -- to help with medical expenses.

Deion Sanders is feeling "complete" on his 55th birthday ... 'cause the NFL legend hilariously got hooked up with some new fake toes to replace the appendages he had amputated this year!!

The Jackson State football HC got the gag gift from his pal, Sam, on Monday ... and shared the whole gift-giving on his Instagram story.

The Hall of Famer was chilling in the JSU facility when Sam handed over some massive rubber feet ... which featured veins to make 'em look real.

Sanders -- who had two toes cut off earlier this year -- didn't get pissed about the personal jab ... instead, he laughed it off and said, "I like that!!

"Y'all got jokes!! Thank you. I really feel complete now."

But, Sam better watch his back ... Sanders clapped back, "I'mma kick some butt today, starting off with you Sam."

As for the color of the feet -- Sam says Deion had previously joked he wanted two white prosthetic toes ... so he figured he'd do his part.

As we previously reported, Sanders had to get surgery on his left foot due to a longtime injury he suffered during his 14-year NFL career.

He got the procedure done last fall, but suffered complications and had to go under the knife eight more times ... including removing two toes in March.

Sanders has been in good spirits since -- from dancing to working out and celebrating his 55th birthday on Aug. 9.

Ryan Garcia is coming to the defense of Adrien Broner -- who pulled out of his scheduled bout with Omar Figueroa Jr. citing mental health issues -- applauding the former champ for the decision, despite how fans may react.

"Love you AB, i know it’s not easy to step back and take time from the ring, but no doubt taking this time you will come back healthier and stronger," Garcia wrote on Twitter.

"Focusing on your mental health is not weakness it’s strength. You got my support #MentalHealthAwareness" he added.

Of course, Garcia has publicly dealt with mental health issues himself. In February, Garcia revealed he was battling depression, even admitting things got so bad, "I wanted to kill myself at one point."

Like Broner this week, Ryan withdrew from his fight with Javier Fortuna in April (they eventually fought in July -- Ryan won via KO in 6th Rd.).

As we reported yesterday, 33-year-old Broner called off his bout against Figueroa on Aug. 20 in Hollywood, FL. ... saying he's not in the right frame of mind to compete.

"Man, I'm going thru a lot at this moment in my life but I ain't go give up I set some more goals and UI ain't stopping until I finish what I started but sorry to say this but I'm not fighting #August20th," Broner wrote.

Broner also said, "I need to make some changes for the better instead of worrying about other people feelings and pleasing them when In all reality I have nothing to prove to nobody" ... adding he needed to overcome this obstacle before he risked his life inside the squared circle.

32-year-old Figueroa, however, wasn't buying AB's reasoning for withdrawing at the last minute ... and ripped the 34-4-1 fighter, challenging him to prove he's seeking help, and not pulling out for other reasons (OF accuses AB of not being in shape).

"Not saying you DON'T suffer from mental health issues as WE CAN ALL tell you do, just don't use it as an excuse now after you've been undisciplined and not taking this fight/training camp seriously," Figueroa wrote on social media.

"If it really IS mental health, PLEASE SHOW US THE PROOF THAT YOU WENT AND SOUGHT PROFESSIONAL HELP," Omar added.

Sadly ... this isn't the first time Broner and Figueroa were set to clash. In 2018, it was Figueroa who pulled out of their scheduled fight ... due to an injury.

Kansas City Royals pitcher Amir Garrett is extending an olive branch -- and some free merch -- to the guy he threw a drink at during a game ... saying he reached out and hooked the fan and his son up with jerseys to apologize for the incident.

30-year-old Garrett was suspended three games on Monday for chucking a drink at a man who was allegedly heckling him during the Royals' 9-2 loss to the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago on Aug. 2 ... but is appealing the punishment.

Garrett is able to play while his fate is determined ... and after K.C.'s game against the Minnesota Twins, he shared his remorse over his actions.

"I'm pretty upset with myself, you know I let that get to me," Garrett told reporters. "But I think I've handled it pretty well."

"I reached out to the fan. We had dialogue and stuff like that. There was no hard feelings there. I sent him a jersey to him and his son. He was very grateful."

Garrett added the interaction "could've went south" ... but cooler heads prevailed and they were cordial to each other.

Garrett has made 41 appearances for the Royals this season ... earning a 2-1 record and allowing 16 hits in 32.1 innings pitched, with a 4.45 ERA.

Adrian Peterson's transition from the football field to the boxing ring is clearly going just fine -- the former Vikings star showed this week he has a NASTY right hand, flattening a guy with it during a recent sparring sesh.

The 37-year-old posted a video of the impressive KO on Monday ... showing him crushing his opponent with a right that caught the man square in the jaw.

In the clip, you can see the dude hit the canvas almost as soon as the punch landed -- and he was so dazed from the blow, he couldn't immediately take Peterson's offer for help up.

Peterson seemingly threw up the vid as a message to Le'Veon Bell -- 'cause he captioned it, "September 10," AKA the date he and the former Steelers star will square off in the Social Gloves boxing event at Banc of California Stadium.

Bell got wind of the footage late Monday night -- and posted a tongue-in-cheek response, appearing to joke about how he was scared to fight Peterson now.

Of course, Bell has looked more than ready for the challenge in the last few weeks -- posting impressive sparring footage of his own.

Byron Allen is callin' dibs on the next available NFL team -- telling TMZ Sports that after losing out on the Broncos this year, he's "highly confident" he'll "get the next one."

We got the TV mogul out in Beverly Hills just days after he officially lost his bid to buy Denver's NFL franchise to Rob Walton, and he told us he ain't sad about it at all.

In fact, Allen was in a playful mood about missing out on the $4.65 billion purchase ... saying, "When you lose to the richest family in the world, it's not a bad day in the office."

Allen says he's now already turned his sights onto the next available team -- explaining he's absolutely undeterred by how the Broncos sale ended up.

"Listen," the 61-year-old said. "Buying an NFL football team is a process and we had the pleasure of being a part of that process. We didn't get this one, but I'm highly confident we'll get the next one."

Allen said owning a team is very important to him -- telling us that becoming the first-ever Black controlling owner in the league is a huge goal of his.

Allen credited Robert Kraft and Roger Goodell for giving him the tools necessary to one day accomplish that feat ... and added that he's in no hurry whatsoever to give up on the dream.

Former NFL star Aqib Talib was just feet from the gunman -- allegedly his older brother, Yaqub Talib -- when a fight at a youth football game turned into a fatal shooting over the weekend, new video obtained by TMZ Sports shows.

We've chosen not to publish the actual shooting, but the original clip shows the moment five shots were fired at a man at a kid's football game, with several of the shots coming as the man retreated. The man falls to the ground while running away.

In the moments immediately following the shooting, 36-year-old Aqib appears to make a beeline for the shooter -- allegedly his 39-year-old brother -- before both men seemingly turn to leave the field.

The video then ends as everyone scatters.

Although Aqib was in the middle of the incident, he is never seen participating in the violence.

On Monday, Yaqub, turned himself in to authorities in Lancaster, Texas, where he was booked for murder.

Aqib's attorney tells us ... "Aqib was present when this unfortunate incident occurred and is very distraught and devastated over this terrible loss of life."

"He would like to convey his condolences to the family of the victim and to everyone who witnessed this unfortunate tragedy."

Fernando Tatís Jr.'s father says his son's positive PED test all happened because of a haircut that went very, very wrong for the MLB superstar.

Fernando Tatís Sr. explained the situation to MLB insider Héctor Gómez on Monday -- saying after the Padres outfielder got a chop recently ... he developed a fungus on his skin.

Tatís Sr. said his 23-year-old son turned to a medication to fix the issue -- but one of the ingredients in the remedy just so happened to trigger a positive test. Those results eventually led to the MLB hitting the slugger with an 80-game suspension last week.

Tatís Sr. wants it to be known that his son is definitely not a cheater -- and simply didn't look closely enough at the ingredient list in medicine for a skin condition.

"All of this has happened because of something that is not worth this issue," Tatís Sr. said. "This is something for the skin, that’s something that’s not performance enhancing and has no testosterone. It has nothing to help you improve in the game."

Tatís Sr. slammed baseball's decision to hand down the ban -- and said it's ultimately going to hurt the game more than the MLB realizes.

"It was a mistake that could have been handled differently," Tatís Sr. said. "Destroy the image of a player for such a small thing, for a situation like this is a catastrophe not just for Tatís Jr., but for all baseball."

"There’s millions of fans that will stop watching baseball."

For his part, Tatís Jr. took responsibility for it all -- explaining he had "no excuse for my error." He did also blame the test results on a skin condition (ringworm) and the medicine he took for it.

"I should have used the resources available to me in order to ensure that no banned substances were in what I took," he said. "I failed to do so."

Kevin Durant says he's not hanging up the sneakers yet -- even if he's stuck on the Brooklyn Nets this season -- saying the rumor surrounding his trade request is simply untrue.

There was an eye-opening report about KD's future in BK this week ... which stated the superstar would consider retiring if his trade demands were not met before the season.

While there have been a lot of reports citing unnamed sources about the impending breakup, Durant couldn't let this one fly.

"I know most people will believe unnamed sources over me but if it’s anyone out there that’ll listen, I don’t plan on retiring anytime soon," KD said on Monday. "S*** is comical at this point."

The initial report claimed the info came from "one of the most well-connected team executives I speak to regularly" ... but KD is calling cap.

It's interesting -- there was a report last week that claimed KD will make the Nets choose between him and Steve Nash/GM Sean Marks ... but the champ didn't come out and say anything about that.

A former LACFD member claims he was ordered to take photographs of the Kobe Bryant crash scene ... this according to new testimony in the trial.

Brian Jordan -- an ex-captain with the Los Angeles County Fire Department -- testified that while he doesn't recall being at the actual site of the crash due to memory issues, he clearly remembers being told to take pictures by high-ranking officials.

"I followed many instructions that day but was told 'take pictures, take pictures, take pictures,'" Jordan said. However, a Chief from LA Co. FD vehemently denies instructing Jordan to capture images from the scene.

Jordan -- who retired from LA Co. FD in 2021 in part due to the mental anguish he suffered as a result of this ordeal -- needed to leave the courtroom multiple times at different points as he was probed with hard-hitting questions surrounding the specifics of the trial.

When asked if any of the pictures he captured contained images of body parts, Jordan said, "Thank you, now I see intestines in my head." Brian was so distraught over the proceedings that, at one point, he turned and said to the judge, "I don't want to hear this drama."

Raul Versales, a deputy with the LA Sheriff's Department, testified that he never made it to the crash site ... adding that he received approximately 30 photos from Deputy Doug Johnson. As we previously reported, Johnson said during the trial he had no regrets about taking photos of the remains, claiming higher-ups with LACFD ordered him to do so.

Versales told the courtroom that none of the photos were close-up body parts ... but did say there's a possibility arm could be visible in the distance. An investigation by the Sheriff's Dept. determined that there were violations of the use of communication protocols in Versales' cell phone.

Still, he did not receive discipline, nor was he suspended for his actions.

Rafael Mejia -- another member of the LA Sheriff's Department -- testified that he was sent the sensitive photographs and sent them to Versales. Mejia sent approx. 15-20 photos to Versales, according to his testimony.

As previously reported, Vanessa Bryant is currently embroiled in a contentious lawsuit with the L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. among others .. after she learned 8 deputies took photos of the remains of Kobe and her late daughter, Gianna, and shared them with family, friends, co-workers, and even strangers.