TMZ Sports - Page 50

Travis Kelce proved yet again to be a genius on the microphone -- belting out a rendition of "Fight For Your Right" in a karaoke sesh with Jimmy Fallon on Thursday ... and it was, as it always is, EPIC.

The Super Bowl champ was Fallon's guest on "The Tonight Show" -- and after the two talked about the Big Game, Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs, the Kelce family and the post-win celebration ... Jimmy asked if the star tight end would hop on a mic with him.

Never one to turn down the spotlight, Kelce obliged ... and it was awesome.

For 90-or-so seconds, they sang the Beastie Boys' 1986 classic -- and the crowd ate it up!!!

Of course, Kelce's had a ton of practice with the tune the past few weeks, particularly the song's chorus, as he's been yelling it into postgame mics throughout K.C.'s playoff run.

It might not be the last time we hear him sing it this winter, either ... Kelce revealed to Fallon he's going to host "Saturday Night Live" on March 4 -- and it seems to be a good bet there will be a musical bit or two then.

A Florida woman fought off an alleged sexual predator and gave him a major beatdown before she escaped to safety ... and it was all caught on dramatic video.

Nashali Alma was working out in the gym at her Tampa apartment complex when trouble came to the door in the form of Xavier Thomas-Jones.

Thinking Xavier had forgotten his key pass to the fitness center, Nashali opened the door to let him in and went right back to lifting weights.

For the next 2 ½ minutes, Xavier strangely stared at a wall before turning to walk toward Nashali. All hell then broke loose.

Check out the surveillance video showing Xavier trying to grab Nashali, who pushed him away and ran off with her cell phone in hand.

But, Xavier chased Nashali around the gym as she tried to no avail to call 911 using her phone. Finally, Xavier caught Nashali, put her in a bear hug and threw her to the ground, attempting to commit a sexual act, cops said.

That's when Nashali went all Mike Tyson on Xavier, pummeling him with right and left hooks. She also grabbed Xavier in a headlock and continued to use his head as a punching bag.

The two wrestled on the ground as Nashali allegedly pulled on Xavier's beard, causing him severe pain. She then broke free and dashed out of the gym to contact the police.

Xavier was arrested the next day and charged with sexual battery and kidnapping. Cops said the attack occurred on January 22, but they only recently released the surveillance footage.

Bam Margera's wife says a specific incident triggered her to file for separation ... and we're told it was Bam spending time with their son while, she believes, he was under the influence.

Nikki Margera's attorney David Glass tells TMZ ... her recent filing came after the 'Jackass' star visited their 5-year-old, Phoenix, while Nikki was present.

We're told she thinks Bam wasn't sober -- despite him claiming he was -- and she says he was acting inappropriately.

David says after the visit she made the hard choice, after years of trying to help Bam, that she needed to protect herself and their son.

TMZ broke the story ... Nicole filed Wednesday, citing irreconcilable differences. She's asking for legal and physical custody over Phoenix, as well as spousal support.

As you know, Bam's been publicly battling substance abuse ... with Steve-O, his friend and 'Jackass' castmate, bracing for his death.

Bam also caused some controversy after claiming Priscilla Presley gifted him items from Elvis' wardrobe -- something Priscilla's denying.

Sorry, Tom Brady ... Green Bay Packers star Allen Lazard is giving the G.O.A.T. title to Aaron Rodgers -- telling TMZ Sports the QB is the best pigskin-thrower ever!

"The greatest of all time," the 27-year-old said of his quarterback out at Super Bowl festivities last weekend. "Not might, no might. Drop the might. He's the G.O.A.T."

Of course, most consider Brady to be the best ever -- dude has seven Super Bowl rings, played until he was 45, and owns just about every passing record ever -- but Lazard told us he's going with his signal-caller over anyone else.

"The best person to ever pick up a football and throw the ball," he said. "I'll leave it at that."

Lazard might be a bit biased, he's been catching passes from Rodgers since 2018 -- and gushed over the QB's pinpoint accuracy when we asked him about playing with the signal-caller.

As for their future together, though, it's murky -- Lazard is a free agent ... and Rodgers is rumored to be a trade candidate this offseason.

Regardless, AL says he'll always be Rodgers' biggest supporter.

"Catching passes from him has, you know, it's been a highlight of my life, my career, and everything," Lazard said.

The wideout's teammate, Aaron Jones, however, told us at the SB LVII festivities he doesn't like the idea of Rodgers playing anywhere else, especially if it happens to be with the Las Vegas Raiders.

"He's my quarterback!" the running back said. "I don't want him to go nowhere."

UFC bantamweight champ Aljamain Sterling wants into the exclusive champ-champ club ... telling us he plans to fight Henry Cejudo in May, and then wishes to go up a weight class to fight champion Alex Volkanovski!

First things first, 33-year-old Aljo, the #7 ranked UFC pound-for-pound fighter, has 36-year-old Triple C in his sights.

"We're slated for May 6, that's what we're thinking right now," Sterling told Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs nightly on FS1), despite admitting he likely won't be totally healthy after tearing his bicep last year.

But, Aljamain says if he decides to fight, there are no excuses.

"If I make the decision to sign on the dotted line, I'm signing on the dotted line and we're gonna fight no matter what it is at the time. I don't give a s**t about that. Henry has some stuff he's dealing with. I have some stuff I'm dealing with. All fighters have stuff they're dealing with. It's just whose the better man that night."

After the Sterling-Cejudo fight, assuming Aljo's victorious, that's when things could really get interesting ... because he believes he'll have earned an opportunity to move up a weight class, and fight

"I fought a lot of the best guys," Aljo says, making his case for a title shot at featherweight. He continued ... "How much do I have to do to say 'Ok, this guy finally deserves an opportunity to go up and see what he can do at 145.' I'm getting older. I'm on an 8-fight win streak right now and I want to test myself and take the opportunity."

Of course, Volkanovski -- the featherweight champ (145 lbs.) -- lost an incredibly close fight to lightweight champ (155 lbs.) Islam Makhachev at UFC 284 ... in his bid to join the double champ club.

As for how a fight with Volk would look ... Aljamain Tweeted last year, saying he believed he could take down and submit Alex, and while it's a 7-month-old message, his opinion hasn't changed all that much.

"There's a couple of factors. That was at 155. So he had a little more weight. Maybe not as depleted as he would be at [145]. I would be coming up to 45, not being as depleted as much as I am at 35."

And, that's why Sterling likes his chances.

FYI, only four fighters in the UFC's history have ever held two belts simultaneously: Conor Mcgregor, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes and Cejudo.

We also talked to Aljo about his side hustle ... making music. Sterling just released a track titled "Go Dumb", featuring his brother Troy, who raps under the name Troy Grindz.

"This is something I always wanted to do, my brother's been the musician of the family, he's always been very, very good lyrically," Sterling says ... but in a competitive industry, his bro's had trouble gaining traction.

Enter Troy's famous brother.

"It's been hard for him to promote himself, but it's something I always wanted to do, but fighting kind of called my name first. I think I was a better fighter than I was a rapper. I always wanted to make a song with him, so this was a cool opportunity now that I had some downtime," Aljo says.

We asked Aljamain if this was a one-time thing, or if he may make more music.

Kevin Durant got very emotional during his Phoenix Suns' introductory press conference ... fighting back tears as he spoke about how much he loves his former Brooklyn Nets teammates.

The moment happened when the 13-time All-Star was asked to sum up his experience in BK in front of fans at the Footprint Center in Phoenix on Thursday.

"I built a family over there," he said. "They gon' always be a part of my journey."

That's when Durant -- who was traded to the Suns last week -- choked up, saying his former teammates meant a lot to him during his four years in Brooklyn.

"I love those guys," Durant said with tears in his eyes. "I get emotional talking about 'em because that was a special four years of my career, coming off an Achilles [injury] and they helped me a lot."

Of course, the Nets were highly favored to win the NBA Finals when Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden were on the team together, but KD explains that didn't happen since the trio barely played on the court simultaneously.

"It was amazing basketball for 17 games," Durant joked. "In order for you to win a championship and to be a great team, you just need more time on the floor."

Speaking of Kyrie, Durant said he wasn't sure what was going on when he requested his trade out of Brooklyn ... but, he still gave the point guard his flowers.

"He was a huge part of what we do," Durant said. "He's a Hall of Fame player. Great player that can do everything on the floor and we relied on that."

Michael Irvin just scored a win in court ... a judge has ordered that an Arizona hotel now must turn over any video it has of an interaction the Hall of Famer had with a woman that ultimately led to his removal from NFL Network's Super Bowl coverage last week.

Irvin's attorney Levi McCathern had requested the footage from the Phoenix Marriott in a motion filed on Thursday morning, believing it will help exonerate the NFL legend, who had been accused of wrongdoing while he was in Arizona to report on SB LVII for the league's TV station.

On Thursday afternoon, a judge granted the motion ... saying the clips must be sent to Irvin by Feb. 20.

The judge also ordered that the hotel must provide the name of Irvin's accuser ... as well as anyone else who may have filed a complaint against the former football player. In the order, the judge also ruled the hotel must reveal the names of the NFL employees who received the complaints.

In the motion, Irvin's attorney made it clear he believes all of it will help show the ex-Dallas Cowboys wide receiver did nothing wrong when he interacted with a female hotel worker on Feb. 5.

According to the docs, Irvin only met the woman after she had called him over in the hotel lobby to introduce herself ... and "eyewitnesses described the interaction as 'jovial' and completely harmless." Irvin's attorney wrote in the motion that the interaction lasted less than a minute, and Michael then went to his room alone and fell asleep.

Irvin was pulled from the NFLN's SB LVII coverage on Feb. 7 after they had apparently received complaints from the woman over the meetup.

Irvin eventually sued Marriott and his accuser, ID'ed only as Jane Doe, for defamation ... claiming he had done nothing wrong.

Goldberg absolutely hated Rihanna's Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday ... calling the singer's performance "horrible", and saying it left him feeling "disgusted."

"I thought Rihanna was frickin horrible," Goldberg said on his CarCast podcast with Matt "The Motorator" D'Andria. "I was disgusted by it. That's all. Let's just say that. I thought it was horrible."

D'Andria said he thought Rihanna's performance was "kind of boring," and Goldberg agreed, calling Matt's comment "the understatement of the year."

Goldberg seems to have an issue with RiRi's crotch grab -- he wasn't the only one -- and felt like the "Bitch Better Have My Money" artist made the performance too much about herself.

Of course, Rihanna opted to do her 13-minute set at the Super Bowl without bringing out any surprise guests like other performers in the past have done.

Rihanna's SB halftime show at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, AZ was the first time she's performed in over 6 years ... and we now know, she wasn't exactly alone up there. 👶

Goldberg, however, is a fan of Chris Stapleton, who sang the National Anthem before the Chiefs-Eagles played, applauding the singer-songwriter for doing his job "to the fullest."

Tim McCarver -- a two-time World Series champ who went on to become one of MLB's most famous broadcasters -- has sadly died.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred confirmed the news on Thursday afternoon ... calling the baseball legend "an All-Star, a World Series Champion, a respected teammate, and one of the most influential voices our game has known."

"All of us at Major League Baseball are grateful for Tim's impact on sports broadcasting and his distinguished career in our National Pastime," the commish added. "I extend my deepest condolences to Tim's family, friends and the generations of fans who learned about our great game from him."

MLB.com reported the cause of death was heart failure. He was 81 years old.

Tim got his start in the MLB in 1959, when he signed with the St. Louis Cardinals as a teenager. The catcher went on to become a full-time player in 1963, before he earned his first All-Star selection in 1966.

In 1967, he finished second in MVP voting -- just behind Orlando Cepeda and just ahead of Roberto Clemente.

Tim won two World Series with the Cardinals -- but eventually left the org. for Philadelphia in 1970. He went on to play for the Expos and Red Sox, before finishing his career with the Phils.

He ended his playing days after the 1980 season ... finishing with a career .271 batting average, 97 home runs and 645 RBI.

Following his playing career, McCarver became one of baseball's most popular analysts for FOX, calling games alongside Joe Buck from 1996 to 2013. Prior to his work at FOX, TM also worked for NBC, ABC and CBS.

At CBS, he famously had water thrown on him by Deion Sanders over some previous comments he had made about the two-sport star.

In 2012, McCarver was eventually given the Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award. He had just retired from broadcasting last year.

Patrick Mahomes may have needed to slow down on the Coors Lights just a tad during the Chiefs' Super Bowl parade on Wednesday ... because he passed off the Lombardi Trophy to a fan -- and then obliviously left it!!

The hilarious blunder was all captured on video as the K.C. star was mingling with Chiefs supporters at the celebration.

You can see in the footage, the quarterback -- holding a beer and appearing to be just a bit tipsy -- was taking selfies ... when he let a fan hold Kansas City's newest hardware.

The problem? After he passed over the trophy -- he walked away, forgetting to take it back!!

Of course, the Chiefs were able to pick up after their QB right away, retrieving the Lombardi before it strayed too far ... but the entire scene was laugh-out-loud funny.

K.C. players went on to have a helluva time at the party -- and so did Mahomes' mom, Randi!!

She posted a video Wednesday showing her having a little dance-off with "Modern Family" star Eric Stonestreet ... and loving every minute of it.

Gervonta Davis has just pleaded guilty to four traffic offenses in his hit-and-run case.

The star boxer entered the pleas in a Baltimore courtroom on Thursday -- over two years after he was accused of running a red light in his Lamborghini and striking another vehicle ... before ultimately fleeing the area.

Davis pleaded guilty to one count of leaving the scene of an accident involving bodily injury, driving with a revoked license, running a red light, and failing to notify of property damage.

His sentencing hearing has been set for May 5.

Davis was initially hit with 14 charges in the case ... after prosecutors said he was responsible for the Nov. 5, 2020 accident in Baltimore.

Officials said a woman in the car that Davis had hit was pregnant at the time of the wreck. They accused Davis of making eye contact with her after the crash, but never offering assistance before leaving.

Despite Thursday's pleas, Davis is still facing other legal issues ... he has another court hearing slated for later this month in Florida after he allegedly roughed up a woman during a heated Dec. 27 argument.

YouTuber iShowSpeed's dream of snagging Drake on his live stream finally came true -- but it was very quickly shattered when he laid on the schmooze a little too thick for Drake's liking.

The award-winning streamer connected with Drake Wednesday night, and immediately drew 50,000 viewers as he jumped up and down with excitement and disbelief he was finally linking with the megastar rapper.

At first, Drizzy returned the gratitude ... praising iShowSpeed for amassing such a big following over the years. They also vibed on the Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi debate -- turns out they're both on the Ronaldo bandwagon.

But, then the convo fizzled as iShow started dropping a bunch of compliments on Champagne Papi -- like, "Bro, your voice is so sexy!!! How is it so smooth like that?"

That was all Drake needed to hear, because he instantly hit the big red button, which sent iShowSpeed into a pretty hilarious tantrum.

The Internet personality pleaded his case to his followers, saying he misspoke, but Drake was long gone by then.

A high school wrestling star was so hyped after winning the state championship ... he literally body-slammed his coach to the mat in a hilarious video!!

Southside H.S. (Youngsville, LA) wrestling coach Mike Stelly told his wrestlers they could slam him if any of them won a Louisiana state title ... and sure enough, after two of his wrestlers won the 'chip, they took coach for a ride!

After wrestlers Landon Reaux and Wiley Boudreaux won big-time matches (120 lbs., 138 lbs.) ... Stelly made good on his promise.

Coach, wearing a suit, was so fired up, he bounced up right off the mat after taking the vicious belly-to-belly suplex!

The wrestling move has a longstanding history in the sport ... WWE stars Brock Lesnar, Kurt Angle and Bayley have all mastered the move throughout their careers.

Southside finished 7th in the overall team standings, according to NOLA.com.

Tiki Barber says Aaron Rodgers would likely struggle in New York if traded to the big city, but it's got little to do with football or the team's roster ... the Giants legend says AR couldn't handle the cold-blooded reporters!

Of course, Barber would know firsthand ... he spent 10 seasons with the G-Men in New York, where the pressure is incredibly high, and he received his fair share of criticism.

With talk of the Jets exploring the idea of trading for the future first-ballot Hall of Famer, Tiki isn't so sure it's a great idea.

"It just made me start to realize that if he is that sensitive, he gets upset that people, reporters, opinion makers, influencers, whoever, wanna talk about him, he is going to struggle in New York," Barber said on his show with Brandon Tierney on WFAN in NYC.

"I don't know if it's the right fit for him. I don't know if I want him in New York if this is going to be his reaction to things that don't matter."

Barber went on to say the Green Bay Packers quarterback brings the attention on himself, talking about isolation retreats and other things most people aren't accustomed to, and then gets upset when people talk about him.

"If Aaron Rodgers doesn't want people talking about him" Barber said, "He needs to stop talking!"

"We're gonna talk about it. you have to. It's our job to and for him to get offended by that, he's not gonna handle the intensity of the New York mediascape."

The New York Jets aren't the only organization interested in potentially bringing in the 4x MVP -- there are several other teams -- though, Rodgers has not even committed to playing the 2023 season.

Move over, Mel Kiper Jr. ... Taylor Lautner's now comin' in hot with the NFL draft advice -- telling TMZ Sports he wants his beloved Lions to go defense in the first round this year!!

We got the "Twilight" actor -- who's a MASSIVE Detroit fan -- out in L.A. on Wednesday ... and he made it clear, when Dan Campbell's guys get on the clock in April, he's hoping for some players who can scare the hell out of opposing offenses.

"Defense was lacking a little bit this year," the Grand Rapids, Mich. native said.

Lautner clearly knows his stuff (he has been, after all, a Lions supporter since he was a kid) -- Detroit had statistically one of the worst D's in the league in 2022 ... giving up the third-most points in the NFL, and the most yards.

The good news? The Lions have two first-round picks this year thanks to the Matthew Stafford trade with the Rams in 2021 -- and most mock drafts have them going with defenders at both picks.

In fact, in ESPN analyst Todd McShay's most recent mock on Wednesday, he had Detroit going with a Clemson pass rusher and a Georgia cornerback.

Rihanna tends to live in luxury wherever she goes -- and her week in Arizona preparing for the Super Bowl was no different, 'cause she spared no expense for her desert hideout.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... RiRi was renting a home about 30 miles from the stadium where SB LVII went down ... in the town of Paradise Valley -- and, we gotta say, it's a fitting name when ya see this place!!!

The price tag is a real eye-popper -- we're told she spent $85,000/night to stay here, and booked it for 6 nights ahead of the game ... so, about $510K more or less.

As for the crib where the multi-billionaire and her fam hunkered down ... well, it's a beaut. The house has 5 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms over a sprawling 6,434 square feet.

It's a one-story pad, but it feels palatial when you take a peek inside.

For starters, there are 2 living rooms, as well as an open kitchen and accompanying walk-in wine cellar. There's also a private gym nook, and a separate office as well ... lots of room to spread out.

There's even more to marvel at outside -- in addition to the gorgeous courtyard seen out front, the backyard has extra perks ... like a huge pool with built-in waterfall, a pickle ball court, a bar area, big ol' barbecue grill, a freaking putting green and a bocce ball court!