TMZ Sports - Page 50

Adele's simply looking to celebrate her big Emmy win ... but her fans think there's something much bigger to toast, because of something she posted ... something that makes them think she and Rich Paul have said: "I Do."

The singer was "pleased as punch" to be one step closer to EGOT status Monday, winning Outstanding Variety Special for her TV concert, "Adele: One Night Only" -- and one image of her shiny new statuette shows a personalized game box also on the table.

The box, holding what appears to be game tiles, reads "The Paul's." So, while Adele was happy about her big win, the comments section was obviously flooded with other questions -- with one straight up asking "is you married?!"

She has yet to respond to the noise, despite the post already getting over 2.7M likes ... but as you know, Adele and Rich have been going strong publicly for over a year now, after meeting a few years back.

She moved in with Rich in May ... and even responded to engagement rumors in an interview with ELLE UK last month -- saying she "might as well be married."

A man who's been hit by both Adrian Peterson and Le'Veon Bell in his football career is weighing on the celeb boxing match between the two NFL stars ... and he's giving the edge to AP in the fight.

Orlando Scandrick -- the longtime Dallas Cowboys cornerback who played 11 seasons in the NFL -- says in his mind, Peterson is the safer pick if you're looking to bet on the match later this week.

"I've seen a couple of Instagram highlights and Adrian looks very, very strong," Scandrick tells us. "I know Adrian is very, very determined. I know he's a hard worker, he gives it all at everything."

"I mean, I'd be surprised to not see Adrian be victorious."

Bell and Peterson will square off on Saturday as part of the Social Gloves 2 event at Banc of California Stadium. The betting favorite is Le'Veon -- but it's clear, Scandrick, who played against both running backs multiple times in his career, sees the tilt going differently.

As for if Orlando would ever get in the ring himself, he told us there's no chance in hell.

He did, though, deliver a message to the guys ahead of the fight -- "Protect yourself!"

LeBron James and Drake stole the rights to a movie about a segregated hockey league ... this according to a new lawsuit.

The NBA star and rapper are being sued for $10 million by Billy Hunter, the former head of the NBA players union, who claims he holds the exclusive legal rights to produce any movie about Canada's old Colored Hockey League.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Hunter claims LeBron and Drake used their production companies to go behind his back and sign a deal with the authors of a book their "Black Ice" hockey documentary is based on ... icing out Hunter in the process.

Problem is ... Hunter claims he had a deal with the guys who wrote, "Black Ice: The Lost History of the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes, 1895-1925," where Hunter would hold the exclusive rights to produce a movie.

Hunter says he paid the authors, George and Darril Fosty, a combined $265,000 to lock up the movie rights to the story of a Canadian hockey league for Black players ... but says they worked out a side deal with LeBron and Drake.

In the suit, Hunter claims he confronted the Fosty brothers after hearing about their deal with LeBron and Drake and says the authors claimed the documentary did not violate their agreement with Hunter because a documentary is different than a movie ... a claim Hunter says is "absurd and made in bad faith."

Hunter, who was the head of the NBA players union when LeBron came into the league, is going after LBJ and Drake for a cut of the documentary's profits ... plus $10 million in damages.

A rep for Drake had no comment on the allegations.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez hit up the annual Malibu Chili Cook-Off Sunday, and try as they might ... they walked away empty-handed after a game of hoops.

The newly-blended fam were all the buzz at the shindig ... with twins Max and Emme in tow -- and they stopped at the hoops game. Ben's a sports nut, so you'd think he might score a basket or even 2, but he tried 4 times, fully suffering from empty net syndrome.

J Lo stepped in, and although she's a triple threat with singing, dancing and acting, she shot her shot 3 times and failed.

They're back from their second honeymoon, and getting back to "normal" life by going to a carnival in the sweltering L.A. heat ... 100 degrees plus in many areas, and Malibu was no exception.

The Cook-Off is a tradition in the Bu ... attracting Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Johnny Knoxville, Donald Faison, Jack Osbourne, Evan Ross, Lana Del Rey and Amanda Bynes.

The Kardashians represented with Psalm, Chicago and True ... looks like Khloe brought them and was hanging on the beach with the brood, including North.

Scottie Pippen's probably not going to like this -- his ex-wife is in Miami seemingly getting cozy with his old teammate's son ... and not just any teammate, it's Michael Jordan.

Larsa Pippen was spotted Sunday at Zuma -- a Japanese restaurant right in the heart of downtown -- with none other than Marcus Jordan ... and the two of them, we're told, appeared to be on a double date of some sort with another couple at their table.

TMZ has obtained photos of the pair sitting down next to each other during the lunch, and apparently leaving too -- with LP leading the way and Marcus following closely behind.

Eyewitnesses tell us they were there for about 45 minutes, and that there were no obvious signs of PDA between them. However, our sources say Larsa seemed to be trying to keep a low profile and got a little skittish when she realized folks had spotted her/were taking pics.

She's been in town this weekend with her girlfriends, hosting some sort of retail store reopening at the Aventura Mall ... which is well-documented on her social media.

What wasn't shown, though, was who else might've been in her orbit -- and now, it looks like we know ... Mike's 2nd oldest was tagging along. The age difference isn't as drastic as it usually is with Larsa's would-be SOs. She's 48, and MJ is 31 ... so 17 years give or take.

She's been living her best single life for a while now -- and has been rumored to have been romantically linked to a number of dudes in their 20s over the past few years or so ... including Ben Simmons, Harry Jowsey and more memorably, a married Malik Beasley.

Of course, she and Scottie are no longer together ... haven't been in ages, so no harm no foul. Still, though, this one's gotta sting a bit -- assuming she is, in fact, seeing Marcus.

As we've seen over the past year and change ... there's still a lot of hard feelings between Scottie and Michael dating back years to when they were on the Bulls together. And Marcus himself was obviously around back then during his father and Scottie's heyday in the NBA.

Jerry Jones is very, very fortunate to have walked away from his May car crash without serious injuries -- because the Dallas Cowboys owner admitted to cops in the aftermath of the accident that he was NOT wearing his seat belt, according to new police video, obtained by TMZ Sports.

The footage -- which was blurred by police -- shows Jones told at least two officers that he was not buckled in when he T-boned a Hyundai on May 4 in Dallas, Texas.

Jones also told cops he was going around 45 MPH in his 2013 Lexus at the time of the wreck -- and that his airbags did deploy -- making it even more astounding that he came away from it all relatively unscathed.

"You had it buckled behind you but you weren't wearing it," one cop can be heard telling Jones of his seat belt in the clip.

"That is correct," Jones responded. "That is correct."

Jones did tell an officer at a local hospital that he suffered a "head bump, chest bump, [and] knee bump" in the accident ... but he was "not in any pain now."

He was ultimately discharged ... and ended up having no lingering effects from the accident.

Jones implied during the police video that the other driver was at fault -- saying to one cop, "He just U-ed. He just simply U-ed right in front of me."

Jones added, "I hit him broadside. I'm so happy he's not hurt."

Cops eventually cleared Jones of any wrongdoing in the case.

As for going forward, one officer stressed to Jones in the video to make sure he wears his seat belt from now on.

"The only thing I'm going to ask you to do," the cop said, "is put that seat belt on the right way."

A couple of Stephanies from "90 Day Fiancé" don't seem like they're ready to settle down ... because their idea of a date night includes a strip club and a porn star!!!

Stephanie Matto and Stephanie Davison hit up Larry Flynt's Hustler Club Las Vegas for an intimate date, dining at a new rooftop restaurant and spending time in the VIP suite with XXX actress Alexis Monroe.

Matto is known for selling anything, from farts in jars to her boob sweat, so naturally, she found a way to make money at the strip club ... without getting onstage.

This time, Matto auctioned off the chance for someone to hang with her, SD and Alexis in the club's largest VIP suite ... and she says an NBA player dropped $100,000 for the honor.

Date auctions are becoming Matto's latest hustle ... remember, she auctioned off a virtual candlelight date earlier this summer, which Davison won with a $2,700 bid.

As you see, the Stephanies dressed to the nines ... wearing plunging satin dresses and high heels, and showing more skin than their porn star third wheel.

Nate Diaz has a huge fight next weekend, but the scrap with Khamzat Chimaev isn't stopping the superstar from Stockton from launching his very own fight promotion, Real Fight, Inc.

TMZ Sports is told 37-year-old Nate, one of the most popular fighters in the world, will apply to become a promoter of combat sporting events sometime over the next few weeks ... with a specific focus on "boxing, MMA, and BJJ," according to team Diaz.

It's a path we recently saw Khabib Nurmagomedov take, when after retiring, he launched Eagle FC ... his own MMA promotion. Khabib's been able to sign fighters like Kevin Lee and Diego Sanchez to his promotion.

The difference with Khabib and Nate ... Diaz isn't done competing.

"The new venture has no bearing on his status as a fighter, where he will continue to be very active.  Real Fight, Inc. is his expansion into the business side of the sport where he has been a fixture for close to 20 years," Diaz's team tells us.

As for the fighters Nate's looking for, they told us this ... "The promotion will look attract fighters from around the world, whether it be up and coming prospects or household names who fit the brand of 'Real Ninjas. Real Fighters. Real Shit...'”

The incredible Super Bowl Halftime Show got a big score Saturday night ... an Emmy for Outstanding Variety Special, and some very big names took home some hardware.

Dr. Dre, who produced and performed in the show, won along with Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and 50 Cent.

The halftime shows are always big, but this is the first one that was honored with an Emmy.

Now get this ... Eminem is now one award away from an EGOT ... all he needs is a Tony and he joins a very small group.

Everyone in the group except Snoop has also won a Grammy.

The show was electric, with iconic songs like "California Love," "No More Drama," "Lose Yourself" and "Still D.R.E."

Some other Emmy winners -- Adele for "One Night Only," and The Beatles "Get Back" documentary.

Congrats!!!

Caitlyn Jenner is getting put on BLAST by a transgender artist who's getting ready to step in the ring ... and she's calling Caitlyn out to be her next victim.

CJ was challenged by recording artist BraydBunch at a recent face-off event for the Fake Drake celebrity boxing match, which is set to go down in October.

As Brayd faced off against Mike Mazza, she says she hopes her courage will bring others like her into the boxing scene -- even saying she'd love to take Caitlyn down next.

The insults were FLYING -- calling her an oldie whose Olympic status won't mean squat once she's done with her ... she's craving the opportunity to "shut her up," and thinks she can get it done in the ring.

Caitlyn has some experience in the ring, but it might not have been as legit as it looked -- she fought and "beat" bodyguard Mark Behar back in '09 for a charity match ... Mike later claimed the fight was staged for their reality show.

FYI -- the Fake Drake boxing event was supposed to end the night with a big brawl between the imposter himself and Lamar Odom, but the basketball star recently backed out and was replaced by YouTuber M2thaK.

Ex-UFC fighter Pearl Gonzalez says she wishes she could go back and stop herself from getting tattoos at such a young age ... telling TMZ Sports it ended up being more than a $10,000 mistake!!

As we previously reported, the Chi-Town Princess is getting her signature boob ink -- along with three other pieces -- removed over the next few weeks ... a process she says she wishes she didn't ever have to go through in the first place.

Gonzalez tells us getting the tats lasered off is something she had been planning on doing for a while ... but knew it was time to clean up her image once and for all.

"I'm currently having four tattoos removed," Pearl tells us. "If I could have them all removed, I would. Maybe two I would keep."

Gonzalez says she first started getting body art before she even became a teenager ... and the majority of her collection came from going to tattoo parties before she was 18 years old.

As for her most recognizable piece -- the fighter says she can't stand the clouds and moon she got above her nipple when she was around 15 ... even if others still appreciate it.

"It is the stupidest t***y tattoo I've ever gotten in my life," she said. "But yes, everybody loves the t***y tat."

"I just don't like it. It doesn't look good. It looks ghetto to me. I want cleaner skin, a cleaner body."

Gonzalez is one of the toughest ladies on the planet ... but admits the removal process is pretty excruciating.

Mark Zuckerberg might be the most eccentric of the tech billionaires out there ... 'cause the dude's apparently diving into mixed martial arts, with some skills to boot.

The Facebook founder posted a video Saturday, which shows him training with a fighter named Khai 'The Shadow' Wu ... who's got his UFC debut coming up on Fight Pass. To ring in the milestone, Mark honored his buddy with this clip of them throwing blows.

Check it out ... you see MZ all padded up an going toe to toe with Khai, and wouldn't you know it -- it actually looks like he knows what he's doing. Peep that vicious leg kick!

Mark writes, "One of my training partners, @khaiwu, is making his debut on @ufcfightpass tonight. Looking forward to a great fight." So it seems Zuck's the one who's getting a workout in with Khai -- and not the other way around. On the face of it, the sessions are paying off.

Of course, some can't help but notice that Mark recently sat down with Joe Rogan for a chat on his podcast ... where they talked more serious issues than they did Octagon fighting.

After seeing this demonstration, though ... maybe JR has more in common with the Meta boss than he thought. And perhaps we'll even see Zuck ringside one of these days! 😆

Jack Harlow might be a big deal in hip-hop circles, but it doesn't seem he's nearly as impactful among the football crowd -- as seen in his now-viral appearance on ESPN.

The rapper was the special guest Saturday for "College GameDay" -- where analysts and pundits sit around talking shop about all the games going down for the day ... and who they got to win, etc. Jack was on the panel too ... but first, let's start with his performance.

JH was at Ohio State here -- who are playing Notre Dame today -- and as he was introduced on a tiny little stage while surrounded by students ... things fell flat fast.

He was doing his song, "First Class," for the kids ... but it became pretty clear that they just weren't into it. Take a look at the reaction from the crowd -- yes, some toward the front are a little hyped ... but most everyone else is just looking on, like deer staring into headlights.

Jack seemed to notice the lack of energy too -- at one point, he appeared to throw his hands up, as if to say ... WHAT THE HELL, GUYS?!? It was very Ja-Rule-At-The-Bucks-Game.

Still, ever the professional ... Jack powered through, and word is he did damn near the whole song -- which is also getting mocked right now. Namely, the fact that nobody at ESPN thought to just pull the plug and move on. The jokes are flying in every direction over this.

That wasn't the only thing that left an impression, though ... Jack's actual football IQ was on display during his sit-down portion of the broadcast, and there too he's leaving 'CGD' viewers less than impressed ... but certainly entertained.

A$AP Rocky has a lot of things on his mind these days … but tending to the car he was riding around in with Kanye West and Antonio Brown apparently isn't one of them.

TMZ spotted the '70s classic station wagon getting towed out of an L.A. neighborhood ... at the request of police.

The tow truck guy tells us the car was parked illegally and as you can see on the windshield, it had racked up months worth of citations.

No telling who actually owns the vehicle ... Rocky, Ye and AB shot something -- most likely a music video -- in the wood-paneled Jeep wagon early in 2022.

From the looks of it, that might have been the last time it was washed too!

Let's face it, Rock’s got bigger issues to deal with than parking tickets -- L.A. prosecutors are saying the Harlem-bred rapper was the triggerman in the November 2021 shooting where his former friend A$AP Relli was hit.

He's since been charged with 2 counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, and he's also facing an assault and battery lawsuit.

Evander Holyfield's gloves from his iconic rematch with Mike Tyson -- where "Iron Mike" infamously bit part of his ear off in one of the most memorable sports moments ever -- are hitting the auction block, and could fetch $100K!

Holyfield wore the gloves during his highly-anticipated second fight with Tyson on June 28, 1997 ... when the two squared off at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

The red gloves worn by Holyfield -- one of the greatest fighters in boxing history -- were made by Everlast, and have "Holyfield #1" in black marker on each cuff logo.

The folks at Lelands tell us Holyfield's gloves show "light use" -- which makes sense, considering the bout was called after only three rounds, when Mike chomped into Evander's ear.

Remember, Holyfield defeated Tyson via 7-round TKO the first time they fought in November 1996.

During their second fight, Holyfield once again proved to be getting the better of Tyson, which frustrated the legend ... who bit Evander's ear in the third round.

Referee Mills Lane deducted points from Tyson, before ultimately disqualifying him, ending the contest in dramatic fashion.

Tyson has since explained the reason he bit Holyfield's ear ... saying he was upset Evander was "headbutting the s*** out of [him]" and "ringing my f***ing bell."

Some speculated Tyson pulled the stunt as a way to get out of the fight after Holyfield got the better of him in the early rounds.

The fight may have disappointed boxing fans in the moment, but the night has become part of boxing lore ... and that's why the used gloves could rake in 6-figures.

The gloves have already been bid on 5 times ... with a high mark of $12,155. Look for that figure to go up substantially.

Kevin Holland, UFC star and real-life superhero, tells TMZ Sports he's done saving people near his home in Texas ... after cops in the area jammed him up for minor traffic violations!

You may recall, the 29-year-old fighter risked life and limb on (not one but) two occasions within the last year. In October, Kevin stopped an alleged carjacker, chasing down, and holding the would-be thief until police arrived and arrested the man.

Then, just a few months later, Holland risked his own life when he stopped an alleged gun-wielding man who pulled a weapon at a local sushi spot.

But, Holland -- who's fighting Daniel Rodriguez at UFC 279 on September 10 (more on that later) -- says local law enforcement recently gave him a hard time for a traffic-related incident, so he's done doing their jobs.

"I got pulled over one night on my way to the airport, right, and they were like, 'we gotta book you., I'm like, 'book me for what?' They're like 'for tickets,' I'm like 'tickets? How much are the tickets? I got the money right now, I'll pay you.'"

Unfortunately, they dragged Kevin down to the station ... before finally letting him pay (he's a star athlete -- he's got the cash). It took hours before he was cut loose.

"I'm there for like 3, 4 hours -- this is way back on my birthday. I missed the flight, you know, I was picking someone up from the airport," Holland says, adding, "So, they gotta Uber to the house and I'm like bro, I just literally stopped a shooting a week ago and y'all gonna book me for some tickets?"

Harmless detainment aside, we asked Holland if local authorities ever honored him for his genuinely heroic acts.

"No. They give you one of these (flips middle finger)! Stay out of our way kid!"

But, Kevin continued, saying it was never about recognition.

"The good thing is I don't do it for the medal or anything like that. It's just when you see something bad going on, the right thing to do is the right thing to do, but I ain't gonna lie, it was funny as hell when [the arrest] happened. All my boys were like, 'this why I ain't doing s**t good, I ain't helpin' nobody.'"

The good news is as long as you're not in the Ft. Worth area ... Kevin says he's got your back.

"I ain't doing nothing to Saginaw no more, man. I'll help everybody else anywhere else. If you in Saginaw, I ain't helping you."

As for Holland's fight with 35-year-old Rodriguez (16-2, 8 KOs), Kevin's unfazed by his opponent's trash talk (and there's been a lot of it).

"It seems like he's forcing it, trying to sell some stuff," Holland said ... "Do your thing, bro!"

Kevin also breaks down who the UFC offered him, why he and Daniel are fighting at a catchweight of 180 lbs., and much more.

His prediction for September 10??