TMZ Sports - Page 50

Gypsy Rose Blanchard's top priority when she gets out of prison next month is a tall order -- she wants to link up with Taylor Swift, and thinks she knows exactly where to do it.

The felon, who is nearing the end of her 10-year sentence for the second-degree murder of her mother, Dee Dee, is hoping her "Wildest Dreams" come true ... telling TMZ she and her husband Ryan have tickets for the Kansas City Chiefs game on Dec. 31.

Gypsy's scheduled to get out on Dec. 28, and she's counting on running into her idol at Arrowhead Stadium.

Realizing Tay Tay might not be there to watch BF Travis Kelce during that particular game, Gypsy has a backup plan, which is buying tickets for Taylor's October 2024 tour stop in New Orleans.

Clearly, she's determined to meet the singer, who Gypsy adoringly calls the "kick-ass chick" who's taught her the true meaning of girl power.

What's more, Tay's songs have served as massive inspo -- she says "Eyes Open" helped her push through the trauma from her mother's abuse ... which was detailed in the 2017 documentary, "Mommy Dead and Dearest."

Gypsy admits she mainly uses the commissary money her father sends to buy every TS album.

BTW, she's also a football fan, and would be thrilled to meet Travis too.

Of course, this might sound like a little pie in the sky -- Taylor sits in a luxury suite when she's at the stadium, and Travis is a little busy on game days.

Despite losing to Gervonta 'Tank' Davis in front of the world, Ryan Garcia will still become a boxing superstar, according to his promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, who knows a thing or two about dominating the sport.

TMZ Sports spoke with the Golden Boy ahead of Garcia's return to the ring against Oscar Duarte on December 2 (streaming on DAZN) ... Ryan's first scrap since the April L to Tank.

"I have to commend Ryan for taking this tough challenge after his defeat," ODLH said.

"[Duarte] is coming off 11-straight knockout wins. I mean, that tells you a lot about him, but it also tells you a lot about Ryan's character."

Oscar says a win over OD in December will indicate the 25-year-old boxer is back on track ... and he'll be ready to go toe-to-toe with BK's own, Teofimo Lopez, for a world title.

What happens after that is up to Garcia, according to Oscar ... but the Hall of Famer is optimistic Ryan's headed places.

"I can see Ryan Garcia opening up the Sphere in Las Vegas," ODLH said. "I can see Ryan Garcia being a superstar."

For now, Garcia is focused on showing the world he's still elite  ... and he tells us he's prepared for what 26-1 Duarte will bring to the ring.

"I just gotta watch out for his aggression, his power. He's hungry," Garcia said. "Facing a guy like me, they're always gonna bring their A-game."

1:54 PM PT -- TMZ has obtained some video of Katy Perry's last residency show in Vegas -- and it looks like the stars on hand, including Celine Dion, were busting a move and having a blast.

Check out this footage that shows the celebs who attended boogying down throughout the concert -- you can see Celine Dion bobbing to the music as Katy did her thing ... plus, Cameron Diaz and her husband, Benji Madden, were right behind getting their groove as well. So was Zoe Saldana, BTW -- so yeah, it was a packed house, and star-studded to the max.

As for Meghan Markle and Prince Harry ... we're told they were also seated in the VIP section, but they were in a group of seats that were adjacent to Celine and co., so not really with them.

Their night seemed to be a little more low-key ... with Meghan chatting up a woman she was sitting next to, and PH just kinda sitting there minding his own biz, somewhat aloof. Even when they were seen standing up with the others ... the couple just sorta stood there. 😅

Anyhoo, one other notable sighting ... Katy's fiancé, Orlando Bloom, was obviously in the crowd and he had their daughter perched up on his shoulders and Katy explained how much their child means to her. He also danced with their little girl, Daisy Dove, while mom was onstage.

After the show, Katy and Orlando broke off from everyone else and hit up XS Nightclub at the Wynn and celebrated her last bow with The Chainsmokers. Cool way to go out, no doubt.

Celine Dion is definitely on the comeback trail ... she made her second public appearance in a week at Katy Perry's concert last evening -- and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were also in the crowd!!!

Celine and her twin sons, Eddy and Nelson, dropped in to catch Katy's performance at Resorts World Theatre in Las Vegas Saturday night -- and she looked absolutely spectacular.

This is great news given her health struggles. As you know, Celine has long been dealing with a debilitating disease called stiff-person syndrome, which causes painful muscle spasms.

On Monday, the iconic singer was seen out for the first time in 3 ½ years, showing up at the T-Mobile Arena for a hockey game between the Vegas Golden Knights and her hometown Montreal Canadiens.

As for Harry and Meghan, the couple arrived apart from Celine and her sons to Katy's concert Saturday. They quickly became the center of attention as fans shot cell phone videos of them.

At one point, Harry and Meghan were pictured near Celine, but it's not clear if they ever got to talk to one another.

Interesting photo, nonetheless. And, it seems like everyone had a terrific time, including Katy’s fiancée, actor Orlando Bloom, and their daughter Daisy Dove.

Machine Gun Kelly is the latest celeb to be interviewed by Martin Brundle -- and just like most of MOTS stop-and-chats go ... this one was equally awkward, if not more hilarious.

The rocker/rapper was out in Sao Paolo Sunday to take in all the race cars zipping by for the Brazil Grand Prix -- and per usual, Brundle -- the famous driver-turned-broadcaster -- was out there doing his thing for Sky Sports F1 ... walking the grid and looking for stars to talk to.

Eventually, he tracked down MGK and attempted to chat him up impromptu ... and it kinda went the way his other interviews go -- very clunky and a little embarrassing for everybody.

Watch for yourself ... it's clear that Kels and MB weren't really on the same page, as it appears he couldn't quite hear Martin with all the noise going on around him. However, the questions he did hear ... he answered a bit oddly, which made for some great laughs.

This one definitely turns as hostile as some of Martin's other interviews -- sometimes, the dude gets straight-up snubbed by A-listers -- but it's unclear if he got what he wanted out of MGK.

Taylor Swift lives in the moment, even hanging with friends who right at this very moment are in the news.

Taylor hit the town -- New York City, that is -- Saturday night with Selena Gomez, Sophie Turner, Gigi Hadid, Cara Delevingne and, yes ... Brittany Mahomes.

Taylor made her exit from Bond Street restaurant locking arms with Selena and had a grip on Brittany's hand.

As you know, Selena made news this week by posting a kind of hollow Instagram message about Israel and Palestine and then took it down, as if she was shocked she'd get criticism.

Gigi and her family have recently weighed in, with her dad comparing Israel to Nazis on an IG post and then taking it down.

Sophie's in the middle of a tricky divorce so she's made news as well. And then, there's Brittany. She's become an insta-best friend of Taylor's since she began dating her husband's go-to guy, Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce.

It's unclear if, though unlikely, Taylor will jet to Germany today to watch her BF play the Dolphins.

Josh McDaniels out ... Andre Rison in?!?

The ex-NFL star says if he had things his way, that'd absolutely be the case in Las Vegas ... telling TMZ Sports he "would love to" be the next head coach of the Raiders.

"[Mark Davis] knows that," the former Raiders wideout said. "And, I think the whole world knows it as well."

It might sound farfetched to some ... but Rison has quietly been working to be the honcho of a major football team for years.

The 55-year-old tells us over a decade ago he began the process of learning the coaching ropes alongside Deion Sanders ... and now, he clearly believes he's ready to take over the headset at a bigtime program.

Rison says turning around his alma mater, Michigan State, would be ideal ... but replacing McDaniels in Vegas is also a dream of his.

"It would be a great opportunity," Rison said, "a great chance to not only show the world, but show myself the dedication I have given in the coaching game."

For now, linebackers coach Antonio Pierce is getting the first crack at the Vegas gig ... but in the offseason, Mark Davis is expected to conduct a wide-ranging search for McDaniels' permanent replacement.

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., former boxing champ and son of one of Mexico's greatest-ever athletes, was recently treated at a psych hospital after his wife told police he consumed dozens of pills, and she was scared for his safety.

Sources tell TMZ Sports 37-year-old Chavez Jr.'s wife, Frida Chavez, contacted police in the Hollywood area on October 24 ... after she became worried about her hubby's health.

Frida -- who was previously married to Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's late son, Edgar Guzman Lopez -- told cops she believed Julio ingested a large amount of potent and potentially dangerous medication ... and wanted medics to check him out.

Rescuers were dispatched and were able to contact Chavez Jr.

It's unclear exactly what happened, but Julio wasn't permitted to leave after officials determined Chavez Jr. needed to go to a psychiatric facility for treatment, known as a 5150 in California.

The law allows certain officials (police officers, doctors, etc.), should they believe someone to be "a danger to others, or to themselves, or gravely disabled" to be held for up to 72 hours "for assessment, evaluation, and crisis intervention."

Chavez Jr.'s family is clearly concerned for his health. In fact, his dad, Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., recently expressed fear for his son's well-being during a podcast appearance.

"I feel sorry for him, because his children are little and he's not enjoying them. It hurts me that he's going to go crazy, that he's going to have an accident driving at 12-1 in the morning at full speed, that he's going to have a heart attack from all the pills he takes," Chavez Sr. said on the Bromeando con los Rivera show.

Speaking of Sr., while Chavez Jr. never reached the athletic heights of his legendary father, he was still an accomplished boxer, holding the WBC middleweight title in 2011 and 2012.

Francis Ngannou signed with PFL earlier this year, and now the promotion has arguably the hottest combat sports star in the world ... so, what's the plan? We asked PFL's CEO, Peter Murray.

"In 2024 [Ngannou] will absolutely make his debut with PFL, and he'll return to the cage and MMA and we're putting that fight together as we speak," Murray told TMZ Sports just days after the Fury fight.

Remember, 37-year-old Ngannou signed with Professional Fighters League in May 2023 ... to a deal that allows him to fight MMA, while also taking boxing matches outside the promotion (hence the Fury fight). Francis will also serve as the chairman of PFL Africa.

Clearly, there are some big potential fights out there ... we asked Peter which were on his radar.

"Francis wants Jon Jones, and Jon Jones wants Francis. Francis wants Stipe [Miocic], and Stipe wants Francis. And there's a conversation going on with Deontay Wilder, whether it's boxing, whether it's modified rules. That could be exciting, so that's a real consideration."

Obviously, there are some massive hurdles when you're talking about Francis vs. Jon or Stipe ... as both men are signed to the UFC. Dana White, in the past, hasn't been open to cross-promotion fights, and the UFC honcho and Francis aren't exactly on the best terms right now.

So, we'll see.

On the other hand, Wilder would seemingly be a lot easier of a fight to make ... and it'd be a highly anticipated matchup pitting arguably the hardest-punching boxer vs. the hardest-punching MMA fighter!

38-year-old Wilder last fought in October 2022 ... knicking out Robert Helenius in the very first round of their bout in Brooklyn. 42 of Deontay's 43 wins have come by knockout.

We also spoke to Francis earlier in the week ... and we asked him about The Bronze Bomber.

Logan Paul is now a wrestling champion, 'cause the dude just won a major WWE event in Saudi Arabia... which saw him raise a gold belt in glory.

The YouTuber-turned-athlete competed Saturday in WWE's Crown Jewel over in Riyadh against Rey Mysterio ... and he ultimately emerged victorious from after taking a pummeling in the ring.

There was a lot of back and forth between and RM ... and a lot of body slams. In the end, Logan won by "punching" Rey after he jumped toward him from the ropes -- which knocked Rey out cold. The reason ... LP had quickly/stealthily thrown on a pair of brass knuckles.

Once Rey was down, Logan went to pin him ... and he successfully held him for 3 seconds.

It's a big moment for Logan, especially considering he's relatively new to the wrestling biz -- remember, he only officially joined in 2022 ... and now, he's already a straight-up champ. Of course, all this WWE stuff is completely preordained/staged ... so, impressive to a point.

Still, we're sure Logan's stoked about it ... 'cause him winning big now means he'll probably have a long, storied future in the promotion, assuming his body can hold up. All these storylines might be bogus -- but the damage pro wrestlers endure is most certainly real.

FWIW, there's also his boxing career that's running parallel to all this ... and there, too, he's finding quite a bit of success. Remember, he's fresh off a win against Dillon Danis.

Taylor Swift went out for Friday date night in NYC, but it wasn't with her hunky NFL beau Travis Kelce ... linking up instead with fellow musician Phoebe Bridgers.

Taylor arrived at the famed Minetta Tavern in Greenwich Village to grab some grub with Bridgers last evening -- while Kelce was prepping for a football game in Germany.

Taylor looked stylish in her autumn attire, sporting a tan sweater, brown dress pants and chunky heels. Phoebe was wearing all black, which contrasted with her bright silver hair, making her stand out in the crowd.

Minetta Tavern owner Keith McNally later told the media ... Taylor and Phoebe noshed on baked oysters and foie Gras amouse bouche. McNally noted Taylor "really liked" the foie Gras.

After supper, Taylor and Phoebe left the restaurant, but not before Swift posed for photos with the chef. Taylor must have really loved that foie Gras!!

But, not as much as she digs her boyfriend Travis, who will be playing with the Kansas City Chiefs against the Miami Dolphins in Germany this Sunday.

Travis was grilled about his relationship with Taylor during a Friday press conference in Frankfurt ahead of the game.

When a reporter asked for an update on their romance, Travis said, "The latest status is, ‘I got to see her last week.'" The journalist also wanted to know if Travis was in love with Taylor, and the tight end replied, ‘I’m going to keep my personal relationship personal.'”

Justin Bieber proved once again he's got serious game on the hardwood ... crossing over defenders and burying shots repeatedly during an organized hoops game on Thursday night.

The "Ghost" crooner hit up The Surgeon's studio in Los Angeles for the second time in the last couple weeks ... suiting up for Team Nahmias yet again in the famous shoe customizer's basketball league.

And, it didn't take long for Biebs to show that his last appearance at the venue wasn't a fluke ... as he blew by defenders over and over again, scoring easily throughout the night.

Bieber finished the game with 13 points, three rebounds, one assist and a ton of highlights ... although it wasn't enough to score his team a win -- as Nahmias fell to Surgeon, 110-102.

Bieber was hyped up for the game beforehand ... but afterward, he seemed to take the loss hard.

Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez had nothing but great things to say about Bruce Bochy following his World Series victory this week ... telling TMZ Sports there's absolutely no doubt in his mind the Texas manager will be inducted in Cooperstown one day.

"Hall of Famer," the former Rangers catcher said. "Hall of Famer, obviously."

With a 5-0 win over the Diamondbacks on Wednesday, Bochy became just the sixth manager ever to earn four World Series championship rings. Unlike the other five, though, he's not yet secured a place in baseball's HOF.

Pudge, however, clearly thinks that will happen sooner than later ... calling the 68-year-old one of the greatest big-game coaches of all time.

"When you start to play in the playoffs, it's a different monster," said Rodriguez, who was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2017. "It's always a different game. It's a different ball game. And he's the best doing that. He's the best manager in that situation. And we all see it."

Pudge -- who's been working as a special assistant to the general manager of the Rangers -- said Bochy deserves a ton of credit for leading Texas to its first-ever title, adding that his calming presence made a huge difference in the dugout.

"As a player," he said, "you feel comfortable that, 'Hey, he's going to put all the pieces together to bring this game back and win for us.'"

Pudge also had high praise for the Rangers' World Series MVP, Corey Seager ... calling him straight up "one of my favorite players."

Shawn "Showtime" Porter was impressed by Francis Ngannou's boxing debut against Tyson Fury last week ... telling TMZ Sports he could see the former UFC legend having a successful boxing career in the heavyweight division.

ICYMI, Ngannou lost by split decision to Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs) on Oct. 28 in Saudi Arabia ... and even though it was his first boxing match ever, Francis put on a good performance, including a knockdown in the 3rd round.

"Unfortunately, even though Ngannou showed himself, again, to be very strong, showed himself to be prepared for this fight, he also showed he does not have enough boxing mechanics to win enough rounds to beat Tyson Fury," Porter said.

Shawn -- who won 31 fights in the welter/middleweight division -- believes Ngannou's execution could make him a decent heavyweight boxer in the future ... once he gets a couple of fights under his belt and some familiarity with the sport.

"His lack of experience showed because there were rounds where he essentially did zero to win those rounds," Porter said.

"If he's able to find a pace, he's gonna get some heavyweight fighters some trouble because he's big enough to fight there, he showed he's strong enough to fight there and the guy is athletic. He got skills!"

Even Ngannous's age (37) doesn't stop Porter from believing he can be tough in boxing ... saying fighters don't even get to their prime until their mid-30s and heavyweights age slower than other weight classes.

However, Porter -- who became a boxing analyst after retiring in 2021 -- does point out that Fury didn't fight hard either ... but he's not taking anything away from Ngannou's debut.

"He underperformed," Porter said about Fury. "He wasn't prepared for this fight."

Porter isn't the only one who believes Fury didn't come ready ... undefeated boxer Shakur Stevenson told us the same thing, saying Tyson was "off that night."

Ex-NFL star Devin Funchess is keeping his hoop dreams alive ... telling TMZ Sports he's still hoping to suit up for an NBA team -- and he's putting in the work nonstop to make it happen!!

29-year-old Funchess made headlines last year ... revealing after five seasons on the gridiron, he wanted to take his talents to the hardwood.

We caught up with the 6'4", 225-pound athlete about how the process is going this week ... and it's safe to say he's dead set on making it to the Association.

In fact, he's putting his skills to the test with California's Statham Academy squad in the Asia Basket Dasmariñas Tournament in the Philippines this weekend (DF dropped 10 points, grabbed 7 boards, and had 4 blocks in their first game).

"My end goal is the NBA, get a few seasons over there just like I did in the NFL. Just to be able to compete against the best players in the world, that'll be a blessing to me. I've done it in the football realm already. And it's nothing but dedication, repetition and just having fun."

Devin -- who first dunked a basketball when he was 10 -- has been working with NBA trainers to hone his craft ... and played against pros like Michael Beasley, Amar'e Stoudemire and John Wall.

Funchess explains his unique experience as a football veteran will help bring experience to a squad -- even though he'd technically be a rookie.

But he's not looking to come in the league and be LeBron James -- Funchess says he's just looking to make an impact and help teams win.

Of course, basketball was Devin's first love ... but after an issue with his coach in his junior season of high school ball, he switched his focus to football. He went on to play at Michigan before suiting up for the Carolina Panthers, Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts.

This never happened coding ... Mark Zuckerberg tore his ACL training MMA, and was forced to go under the knife, delaying a real deal fight Zuck had scheduled for early next year!

The Facebook founder shared several photos from his hospital bed Friday afternoon ... announcing he's suffered a serious injury to his left leg.

"Tore my ACL sparring and just got out of surgery to replace it. Grateful for the doctors and team taking care of me. I was training for a competitive MMA fight early next year, but now that's delayed a bit. Still looking forward to doing it after I recover. Thanks to everyone for the love and support," 39-year-old Zuck wrote on Instagram.

The bit about the upcoming fight is news, too. No one ever publicly announced Mark scheduled a mixed martial arts bout.

A bunch of MMA stars wished Zuck well after hearing about his injury, including former UFC champ-champ Henry Cejudo, who wrote ...  "Speedy recovery Mark! 🙏"

Through training, Zuckerberg has befriended many of the world's top fighters like Israel Adesanya and Alex Volkanovski.

FYI, the ACL, or the anterior cruciate ligament, is a band of tissue that connects your thigh and shinbones together and is a common injury among athletes.

Of course, Zuckerberg and Elon Musk spent months negotiating terms for an MMA fight, though it never came to fruition. The billionaires blamed each other for the breakdown.

Earlier this week Musk went on Joe Rogan's podcast and again reiterated that he would fight Zuckerberg "anytime, anywhere, any place."

ACL recovery typically takes around 9 months, give or take, to return to competition post-surgery.

Until then, Mark's likely not fighting anyone.

Nathaniel Lowe was so giddy during the Rangers' World Series parade Friday, he straight-up downed a fan's beer in seconds -- and then ripped off his shirt in celebration of the achievement!!

The 2022 Silver Slugger award winner was being driven around in the back of a pickup truck to soak in love from Texas fans when the hilarious moment happened.

You can see in video from the scene in Arlington, a Rangers supporter tossed Lowe a Modelo -- before the first baseman cracked it open and drank it 'til the last drop.

But, he wasn't done there ... he then ripped off his jersey and his undershirt -- much to the crowd's delight.

Thousands of people showed up to celebrate Lowe and his Rangers after they won the title over the Diamondbacks on Wednesday ... and one supporter was so thrilled by his team's performance, he actually climbed to the top of a light pole to pump his fists.

Thankfully, he reportedly made it down unharmed.

Following the jaunt around the city ... the Rangers then took the stage to address their fans -- and Series MVP Corey Seager delivered an epic drop-the-mic moment.