TMZ Sports - Page 50

Former 76ers owner Michael Rubin has found a new place to call home -- TMZ Sports has confirmed he just dropped $70 million on an L.A. mansion that sits on land previously owned by Ronald Reagan!

The pad is located in Hollywood Hills -- and it's insane. It features seven bedrooms, 12 bathrooms and a laundry list of amenities.

It's also three stories tall -- and it's located so perfectly on a knoll that it overlooks the famous Sunset Strip in Hollywood.

Reagan used to own the property many years ago, as did legendary music producer Richard Perry, though it's undergone significant remodels over the years since.

Our sources say Rubin -- who wanted a new pad in Los Angeles because a lot of his Fanatics business is run out of the city -- got a pretty good deal on the place ... it was originally listed for over $80 million.

Like Rubin, the seller has some ties to the sports world -- according to the L.A. Times, Francesco Aquilini, the chairman of the Vancouver Canucks, was the one who put it on the market.

Westside Estate Agency's Kurt Rappaport repped Rubin in the purchase.

A high school football coach was shot after breaking up a fight at the school's campus this week ... and the terrifying incident was all caught on video.

The Vallejo Police Department says the shooting happened in front of Vallejo H.S. in Northern California after classes had ended at around 3:45 PM on Tuesday.

Officials say several students were fighting with some "unknown males" ... but the brawl was broken up by Joe Pastrana, the defensive coordinator on the school's football team.

Cops say after the parties were separated, some of the people involved got into a car and started shooting backward while speeding off. Unfortunately, according to cops, one of the bullets struck Pastrana.

A bystander captured the whole thing on camera ... showing everyone running for cover when several gunshots rang out.

"The motive and circumstances involving this incident remain under investigation," authorities said in a statement this week.

Head coach Mike Wilson III told the Times-Herald the team found out about Pastrana while suiting up for practice and they took "the news very hard."

"When we found out what happened all practices were canceled," Wilson said. "When it was safe we told everyone to go home."

Wilson said Pastrana is in stable condition at a local hospital.

VP Police Chief Shawny Williams praised Pastrana for his heroism ... saying, "This is a very courageous staff member that potentially saved another child’s life or multiple people’s lives."

Some rich person just coughed up an unprecedented amount of money to cop a rare Michael Jordan jersey -- unloading over $10 MILLION to acquire some of His Airness' former threads!!

The MJ jersey -- one that the Chicago Bulls legend wore during Game 1 of the 1998 NBA Finals -- went up for auction on Sept. 6 ... and TMZ Sports has learned the gavel officially came down on the sale on Wednesday for a staggering $10,091,000.

The number is shocking -- considering experts at Sotheby's, which hosted the auction, initially predicted it would sell for around $3 million.

The eight-figure price tag, according to Sotheby's, set multiple records -- including most ever for a basketball jersey at auction, most ever for any game-worn sports memorabilia, and most ever paid for an MJ item.

The jersey -- while expensive -- is pretty incredible ... Jordan wore it when he scored 33 points against the Utah Jazz. And, while MJ lost the contest in the uni, he and the Bulls went on to win the series, giving Jordan his sixth NBA championship.

No word yet on who the buyer is -- but something tells us they've got some deep pockets to put their new jersey in.

Serena and Venus Williams' childhood home in Florida -- where the tennis greats lived as teenagers with father Richard Williams -- is set to hit the auction block this month after 5 years of fighting in court ... and will now go to the highest bidder.

The 4-bedroom, 2.5-bath home in Palm Beach Gardens -- estimated to be worth around $1.42 million -- is scheduled to be auctioned off in late September ... after Richard's 43-year-old ex, Lakeisha, failed to keep up with the payments.

The home, which was built in the 1980s, has fallen into disrepair over the years.

According to the notice of sale, the house will go to "the highest and best bidder for cash.”

Venus and Serena moved to the house as teenagers after Richard purchased the property, which features two tennis courts on its 10+ acre lot. It's pretty cool ... it's the court where "King Richard" trained his daughters.

Of course, the girls went on to become two of the greatest tennis players -- and athletes, period -- that the world has ever seen.

Their story was told in the hit movie, "King Richard," where Will Smith portrayed Richard Williams.

Serena, after a run at the U.S. Open earlier this month, retired from tennis after winning 23 majors.

Paige Spiranac -- the most followed golfer on Instagram -- says she was forced to delete a ton of comments on her latest IG video ... after a bunch of men called her fat.

Spiranac posted the clip to her social media page on Wednesday -- showing her hitting a golf ball while wearing a tight, pink one-piece outfit.

The problem ... she said after she threw the footage online, men left hateful comments all over it.

"Honestly the amount of men calling me 'fat' on this post is next level lol," the 29-year-old pro-golfer-turned-influencer said to her 3.6 million followers on Wednesday night. "I've had to delete so many comments which I almost never do."

Spiranac says it was all troubling for her ... because she's struggled to "maintain my ideal weight all the time for year after year."

She said she works out and diets right, "but it doesn't come naturally to me."

She then urged the trolls to calm down on the vitriol going forward.

"It can be defeating when people call out body insecurities," she said.

Spiranac hopes to be able to share more about her diet and fitness routine to help others who "feel a similar body pressure."

A Polish MMA fighter violently attacked a YouTuber in the middle of an interview Tuesday -- sucker punching the guy square in the jaw -- and the wild scene was all captured on video.

The brutal blow went down just seconds after internet personality Sadek had begun answering questions from journalist Monica Laskowska.

While the man was in the middle of a response, Amadeusz “Ferrari” Roslik -- a professional MMA fighter -- walked up to the two, and then blasted Sadek right in the face.

The punch knocked Sadek to the ground -- causing him to bleed from his mouth. Miraculously, the guy was somehow able to get up and finish the interview.

According to multiple reports, Roslik had been upset with Sadek over comments he had made about the fighter and his family.

Roslik -- who's slated to fight on Saturday against Pawel "Scarface" Bomba -- isn't facing any legal ramifications as of now, MMANews reported on Thursday.

As for Sadek, it's unclear if he suffered any serious injuries from the punch -- though he appeared to tell Laskowska afterward that he was OK, and finished the interview.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time Roslik has lost his temper during a press event -- back in March, while in the middle of an interview, he threw multiple punches at his opponent after being slapped. Roslik appeared to knock the man unconscious in the fracas -- before stomping on his head area.

Ex-NBA hooper Stephen Jackson is speaking out in the aftermath of Philly rap star PnB Rock's murder in South Los Angeles ... saying he "checks in" whenever traveling to another city or state.

By checking in, Stak means if you're visiting a city that you're not from or familiar with, it's best to call someone who is and make sure you're good while there, alert you to any possible danger ... and it's a sign of respect.

"I check in everywhere I go," Jackson said in a social media post on Wednesday.

"Everywhere I go I call somebody from the place I'm going that I know and check in. I wanna come home to my family and I love my life. I'm checking in with my people out of respect."

Stak's message comes on the heels of PnB Rock's murder, whom many believe was the target of a robbery while eating at Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles with his girlfriend, in an area of L.A. that's seen an increase in robberies.

Jackson hopes PnB Rock's tragic murder serves as a cautionary tale for people visiting unfamiliar places.

"It's nothing wrong with showing respect when you in somebody's city or state," Jackson said.

"I always check in 'cause I know real ones everywhere. I care about my life and I'm coming home to my kids and my family. Bet that."

Former NBA player Marquis Daniels agreed with Stak -- saying in the comments, "When you outta town you gotta play by the rules or at least know what's going on."

Two-time Grand Slam winner Simona Halep will look a little different the next time she takes the tennis court ... she just revealed she got a nose job -- for both "functional" and "aesthetic" purposes.

The 30-year-old said in a social media post Thursday she'd been having difficulty breathing for years, but noticed it was worse after her loss to Daria Snigur in last month's U.S. Open.

She also noted she "did not like [my] nose at all" -- so, she decided to solve both problems at once with surgery this week.

"I could never do it earlier because I never found the necessary three months for recovery, because tennis was always the first priority in my life," Halep said.

"I felt it's the right time to do it and also to do something for myself as a person," she added.

Halep, who was ranked #1 in the world twice between 2017 and 2019, said there's currently no timetable for a return to the court ... though she did say she's sure the procedure will keep her out until at least 2023.

The situation between Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen is reportedly so bad the famous couple is currently living apart from one another in separate houses ... as TB12's return to the football field has caused a major rift at home.

CNN reports Brady and Bündchen -- who married in 2009 --  are having "marital" issues and "living separately."

It's just the latest report about the couple's issues ... which began to come to light when the 45-year-old Bucs quarterback mysteriously left training camp for 11 days.

A few weeks back, Gisele gave an interview to ELLE Magazine where she admitted to having "concerns" about her husband's return to the football field.

"I have definitely had those conversations with him over and over again," she said to the outlet. "But ultimately, I feel that everybody has to make a decision that works for [them]. He needs to follow his joy, too."

The supermodel -- who hasn't been shy over the years about making it known she wants Tom to retire -- also told the magazine she wanted Brady to "be more present."

TB12 hasn't addressed the reports, but did bluntly say he has "a lot of s*** going on."

During a recent episode of his podcast with Jim Gray, the 7-time Super Bowl champ talked about the sacrifices he's made over the years.

"I haven't had a Christmas in 23 years and I haven't had a Thanksgiving in 23 years, I haven't celebrated birthdays with people that I care about that are born from August to late January. And I'm not able to be at funerals and I'm not able to be at weddings."

Tom continued ... "I think there comes a point in your life where you say: 'You know what? I've had my fill and it's enough and time to go on, to move into other parts of life.'"

Tom Ford had a huge moment at New York Fashion Week ... and some of the biggest names in Hollywood had a front-row seat to it all!

Tom Ford's show went down Wednesday night and was jam-packed with celebs ... including Chris Rock, Katie Holmes, Madonna, her daughter Lourdes Leon and many others.

NBA stars Carmelo Anthony and Russell Westbrook also attended the show in style ... both rockin' shades as models graced the runway.

Ciara and Vogue legend Anna Wintour apparently got the same memo ... and took a moment to flick it up in all-red at some point during the night.

Of course, Bella Hadid strutted her stuff down the runway along with her sister Gigi Hadid ... and no, Leonardo Dicaprio wasn't in the building -- well, as far as we know!

Clemson defensive tackle Bryan Bresee will be playing games this season with a heavy heart ... he just revealed his sister, Ella, has tragically died following a battle with brain cancer.

She was just 15 years old.

"My beautiful sister Ella you amazed me every single day with the fight that you put up and how joyful you were constantly through this battle," Bresee wrote on his social media page Thursday morning. "Never did I think I would be sitting here today saying bye to you."

Ella was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer in 2021. Bresee and the Tigers had shown support for her throughout her fight with the disease -- with the defensive lineman leading the Tiger Walk last weekend while he and his teammates wore "Ella Strong" shirts.

In announcing her passing, Bryan thanked Ella for "bringing happiness to not only me but so many people," saying she's "the best sister a brother could ask for."

"I know for a fact heaven has gained a beautiful angel today, Love you forever and always Ella bear.❤️"

Ella was originally supposed to attend the Clemson vs. Furman game on Saturday, according to the Associated Press, but had a setback and went to the hospital instead.

Coach Dabo Swinney said Bresee could miss this weekend's game against Louisiana Tech on Saturday night while he's away from the team with his family.

"He's got more important things that he needs to focus on right now than football," Swinney told reporters. "Lot more important things than the game of football for that young man right now."

Tennis is losing another legend ... Roger Federer just announced he's calling it a career -- just days after Serena Williams officially hung up her racket.

The 41-year-old -- considered by many to be the greatest men's player ever -- revealed on his social media on Thursday morning that next week's Laver Cup event will be the final tournament of his legendary career.

"As many of you know, the past three years have presented me with challenges in the form of injuries and surgeries," Federer said.

"I've worked hard to return to full competitive form. But I also know my body's capacities and limits, and its message to me lately has been clear. I am 41 years old. I have played more than 1500 matches over 24 years. Tennis has treated me more generously than I ever would have dreamt, and now I must recognize when it is time to end my competitive career."

Federer said he still will play tennis -- "but just not in Grand Slams or on the tour."

"This is a bittersweet decision," he continued in his announcement, "because I will miss everything the tour has given me. But at the same time, there is so much to celebrate. I consider myself one of the most fortunate people on Earth. I was given a special talent to play tennis, and I did it at a level that I never imagined, for much longer than I ever thought possible."

Federer first turned pro in 1998 -- and quickly found success, winning his first Grand Slam singles trophy at Wimbledon in 2003. He went on to win 19 more major titles in his career -- while piling up over 100 ATP singles titles as well.

In his goodbye note to the sport, he thanked his wife, Mirka, his coaches, his fans and more for all of the support over the last two-plus decades of dominance.

LeBron James just unloaded on the NBA ... saying the league bungled Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver's suspension -- calling it straight up "wrong."

"Read through the Sarver stories a few times now," the L.A. Lakers superstar tweeted Wednesday afternoon. "I gotta be honest…Our league definitely got this wrong."

"I don’t need to explain why," he continued. "Y’all read the stories and decide for yourself. I said it before and I’m gonna say it again, there is no place in this league for that kind of behavior."

As we reported, following an NBA investigation, league officials said Sarver did, in fact, use the n-word on multiple occasions in the workplace. They also said they found he made inappropriate comments about female employees, and did not treat them equally. Investigators added that Sarver was inappropriate physically toward male employees as well.

They did note in their findings that Sarver's use of the n-word was not motivated by racial hate or prejudice.

As punishment for it all, the league announced on Tuesday it was hitting Sarver with a one-season ban ... and fining him $10 million -- things LeBron clearly believes were nowhere near harsh enough.

"I love this league and I deeply respect our leadership," LeBron said. "But this isn’t right. There is no place for misogyny, sexism, and racism in any work place. Don’t matter if you own the team or play for the team. We hold our league up as an example of our values and this aint it."

For his part, commissioner Adam Silver did apologize to those affected by the owner's actions ... and did vow to do better going forward.

If Zack Hample does what he does best, he'll end up with at least one of Albert Pujols or Aaron Judge's historic and record-breaking home run balls ... and he tells TMZ Sports they'll be in good hands -- 'cause they'd be going back to the rightful owner.

If you're unfamiliar with Hample, he's a foul ball and home run magnet at MLB games ... and has caught more than 12,000 in his lifetime -- including Alex Rodriguez's 3,000th hit and Mike Trout's first career home run.

Given Pujols' quest for 700 career home runs and Judge inching closer to Roger Maris' American League record of 61 dingers in a season ... we had to hit up Hample to see what his game plan is for the rest of the season.

Hample lays it all out -- explaining his best shot at getting one of the historic balls ... which ranges from crowd size to ticket prices and more variables.

But if he succeeds, Hample says Pujols and Judge won't have to sweat it one bit -- he wants to get the balls in the hands that they would mean the most to.

"I personally won't ask for that much," Hample said. "With the A-Rod (3,000th hit) ball, the Yankees ended up donating $150k to a children's baseball charity that I've been supporting for a number of years."

"So, if I do get a historic baseball, I'd love to give it to the player that hits it, encourage the player or the team to make a donation but I'm certainly not going to make a demand or anything like that."

Pujols currently has 697 dingers ... and Hample said any homer ball for the remainder of his career will be special. Same goes for Judge, who's currently at 57.

A Chick-fil-A worker looked more like Conor McGregor during an incident at one of the popular fast food joint's Florida locations this week ... thwarting an alleged carjacking by putting a wild MMA move on the suspect.

According to the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office, the altercation went down after 43-year-old William Branch grabbed the car keys from a woman holding a baby and then attempted to steal her vehicle.

Cops say the woman screamed for help -- and that's when a young Chick-fil-A employee sprung into action.

Video shot by a witness shows the man latched on to Branch -- and put the guy in a guillotine ... before taking him to the ground.

The restaurant staffer then wrestled with Branch for several moments -- before eventually subduing him.

Cops later arrived on the scene and arrested Branch, booking him on charges of carjacking with a weapon and battery. They later commended the Chick-fil-A worker for his bravery.

"A major shout-out to this young man for his courage!" police said in a statement.

NBA commish Adam Silver is addressing comparisons between Donald Sterling and Suns owner Robert Sarver -- who was punished for allegedly saying the n-word -- calling the situations "dramatically different" from one another.

Sarver was slapped with a $10 million fine and one-year suspension on Tuesday after a lengthy NBA investigation showed the multi-millionaire owner repeated the n-word on at least five occasions and treated female employees differently, among other accusations.

The league noted Sarver didn't appear to use the word with racist intent ... but was repeating the word.

Still, many people have raised Sterling's name ... asking why the former Los Angeles Clippers owner was banned forever (he also received a $2.5 million fine), while Sarver was hit with a relatively modest 365-day suspension.

Of course, TMZ Sports broke the Sterling story in 2014 ... when the real estate developer and team owner was heard berating "friend" V. Stiviano over a photo she took with Lakers legend Magic Johnson at Staples Center during a Clips game.

"It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you’re associating with Black people. Do you have to?" Sterling asked Stiviano.

Sterling also told her ... "You can sleep with [black people]. You can bring them in, you can do whatever you want. The little I ask you is not to promote it on that ... and not to bring them to my games."

Silver explained why he believes the Sterling situation is far worse than Sarver.

"For me the situations are dramatically different. What we saw in the case of Donald Sterling was blatant racist conduct directed at a select group of people," Adam told media in NYC.

Silver also apologized to former and current Suns/Mercury employees, and spoke about the sheer shock he felt when learning of the accusations against Sarver.

"I was in disbelief to a certain extent about what I learned had transpired over the last 18 years in the Suns organization. I was saddened by it, disheartened, I want to again apologize to the former and in some cases current employees of the Phoneix Suns for what they had to experience, there's absolutely no excuse for it, and we addressed it."