TMZ Sports - Page 50

Serena Williams is praising Meghan Markle for her interview with Oprah ... saying MM showed strength and bravery by calling out "malicious, unfounded gossip and tabloid journalism."

Williams -- just hours after Markle's stunning revelations about the Royal Family aired Sunday night -- issued a lengthy statement on social media applauding her good friend for the talk.

"I know first hand the sexism and racism institutions and the media use to vilify women and people of color to minimize us, to break us down and demonize us," the tennis superstar said.

"We must recognize our obligation to decry malicious, unfounded gossip and tabloid journalism. The mental health consequences of systemic oppression and victimization are devastating, isolating and all too often lethal."

If you missed it ... Markle and Prince Harry accused the Royal Family of racism in a bombshell interview with Oprah -- claiming things got so bad, she contemplated suicide.

Meghan also said in the lead-up to her and Harry's wedding, it was Kate Middleton who made her cry -- not the other way around.

Serena, who became good friends with Markle after they met at a Super Bowl party years ago, said she was "so proud" of the bravery Markle showed by speaking up.

"I know it is never easy," Williams said. "You are strong -- both you and Harry. I love you. I adore you."

Williams and Markle have grown so close over the years, Meghan's attended a bunch of Serena's tennis matches, and even invited the sports icon to her and Harry's wedding.

UFC star Andrei Arlovski -- the former heavyweight champion -- says he has NO PLANS to retire at age 42 ... and wants to keep bangin' away until he's 45!!!!

Arlovski made his UFC debut at UFC 28 back in 2000 -- 21 YEARS AGO -- and has been fighting consistently ever since.

He won the UFC heavyweight title in 2005 -- and has been in wars with superstars like Francis Ngannou, Stipe Miocic, Frank Mir, Stefan Struve, Alistair Overeem ... you get the picture.

But, Arlovski's coming off a 2nd round loss to 27-year-old Tom Aspinall -- his 10th loss in his last 16 fights -- begging the question ... is he considering hangin' up his gloves???

"Oh, f**k no," Arlovski told us while out shopping in Beverly Hills ... "If the UFC doesn't kick me out, [I'd like to fight] probably like 2, 3 more years. We'll see. Why not?"

In fact, Arlovski is still calling for tough opponents -- "Someone tough and young!"

By the way, since Andrei has fought both Stipe and Ngannou -- we asked for his prediction on who will win that massive heavyweight title fight at UFC 260 later this month.

LeBron James was just asked if he would get a COVID-19 vaccine when he's able to -- and rather than firmly come out and say yes, he waffled ... which is startling.

King James did a 20-minute-plus interview Sunday for NBA All-Star Weekend ... and at one point he was asked how he's been able to stay COVID-free and relatively healthy throughout the pandemic. Bron chalked it up to luck and faith ... saying he just follows the protocols handed down by the league to a T, going straight home after he plays in games/practices.

Another 'rona question was raised at the very end of the interview ... a reporter asked if he himself would get vaccinated whenever that became an option, and whether he'd encourage everyone in the Players Association to do the same. He also referenced Adam Silver's recent remark that he was gonna leave it up to NBA players and not make it mandatory.

Silver said ... "My hunch is that most players ultimately will choose to get vaccinated. They have to make personal decisions at the end of the day."

In response, LeBron said this about his own decision on the vaccine ... "That's a conversation that, you know, my family and I will have. And, probably pretty much keep that to a private thing." He said he was aware of Silver's comments, but insisted it was something to be discussed among the family and not in public, and that's where he was going to keep it.

That's fascinating, considering LeBron is by far one of the most influential people in the world ... and perhaps the second or third most influential African-American. The fact he's wishy-washy on whether he'll get it speaks volumes, and could well influence others in the community.

Of course, vaccinations have been a major issue in the Black community ... as many simply don't trust it -- due to a number of historical atrocities perpetuated onto African-Americans and other factors as well. But, many prominent Black role models have been trying to convince the Black community this vaccine is safe and worth taking ... like the late, great Hank Aaron.

Wayne Gretzky was fighting back tears at his father's funeral this weekend -- especially during an emotional eulogy ... where he remembered the man as the ultimate hockey dad.

The NHL legend delivered remarks Saturday at the St. Mark's Anglican Church in Brantford, Ontario shortly after laying Walter Gretzky to rest. Wayne stepped up to the podium in front of a socially distanced crowd in the pews ... and reminisced about Walter's life. The service was limited to family.

He recounted a couple different stories that were pretty heartwarming -- one where Wayne says Walter insisted on going to a hockey tournament when he was young, this despite the fact his wife and Wayne's mom, Phyllis, was due to give birth at any moment.

Sure enough, she popped while he was away with Wayne ... and as people gave Walter a hard time about missing the birth of his own child, he hoisted up the first-place prize that Wayne and co. had won, and proudly said ... "Yes, but we got the trophy."

Wayne went on to remember Walter as an incredibly proud Canadian and hockey's #1 fan. He said he loved his kids and grandkids ... and was always looking to give back to Wayne's fans as he grew in his career.

WG said Walter was not afflicted with COVID, and his death had nothing to do with the virus. He reiterated his dad suffered a bad hip injury as a result of his Parkinson's ... and was already in declining health. He thanked the crowd and those afar for sending food and well-wishes as the family stayed with him for 21 straight days in the hospital until he eventually passed Thursday.

Toward the end of his speech, Wayne choked up and walked off stage ... and the audience gave him a slight round of applause.

Walter was 82.

UFC fighter Tim Elliott was multi-tasking Saturday night as he pounded away at his opponent, accusing him of beating his ex-girlfriend ... something the opponent's manager calls "reckless slander."

Elliott was dominating the flyweight fight to an empty arena, when Elliott appeared to say, "I heard you choked your girl in 2018. Are you a woman beater? She messaged me." The opponent, Jordan Espinosa, responded, "Did she? You don't know the whole story." Elliott shot back, "I know enough," to which Espinosa said, "You don't know s***."

Elliott won the fight by unanimous decision. When it was over, Espinosa's manager, Bryan Hamper, called the accusation, "Reckless slander."

Jeff George Jr. says he's so hellbent on following in his famous dad's NFL footsteps ... he's straight-up willing to sacrifice his life for an opportunity to play in the league.

The oldest son of the legendary quarterback broke it all down for TMZ Sports ... saying he's telling NFL scouts he's that committed to being The Shield's next great QB.

"They're getting a guy that's willing to put his life on the line for this," 24-year-old George Jr. said of what NFL teams will get from him if they draft him. "I don't want to do anything else."

"I put my blood, sweat, tears into this game. I love it more than anything."

JG2 started his college football career at Illinois and then went to Michigan before landing at Pitt, where he only played in 2 games in the 2019 season. He's 6'3", 220 lbs and just like his dad, he's got a cannon for an arm.

COVID screwed up his plans to show out in 2020 -- but George Jr. is now trying to showcase his skills for NFL teams at Brandon Marshall's House of Athlete combine in South Florida.

Look, Jeff has been around football his entire life and he knows what it takes to succeed in the NFL ... all he's looking for is a shot.

His message to teams is simple ... "You're gonna get a guy who's the hardest worker in the building, super competitive and ultimately has a drive to win."

Of course, Jeff's dad, Jeff George Sr., was the #1 overall pick in the 1990 NFL Draft -- and played 13 seasons in the league, mostly for the Colts and Falcons. He led the NFL in passing yards in 1997.

“I’ll knock [Canelo] out! I'll stop him! It takes a lot of balls to say that but the reason why I'm saying that is because I really fully, truly believe I'm the one that can beat and stop Canelo.”

That's 24-year-old rising boxing star David Benavidez verbally taking on the #1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world, megastar Canelo Alvarez.

TMZ Sports talked to Benavidez -- who's taking on Ronald Ellis on March 13 on Showtime -- about his boxing hit list ... and DB's going big game hunting.

"The dream scenario is fight with [Jermall] Charlo right after and then Caleb Plant and then Canelo. That's the dream scenario but the reality of making that happen, is very hard."

30-year-old Canelo is 55-1-2 ... and obviously has far more experience.  But, Benavidez -- who's almost 6'2" (big for the 168 lb. division) -- is a badass in the ring ... and has never lost a professional fight (23-0, 20 KO's).

That's why he's anything but shook about the prospect of stepping in the squared circle with Alvarez.

"The top people [Canelo's] fought, they just look like they're scared of him and they just respect him too much, but me, I feel like I'm a young, hungry lion! I need that fight because I wanna show the fans how good I really am."

And, Benavidez says Canelo can try and duck him ... but sooner or later, this thing's goin' down -- like it or not.

"He's gonna try avoid me as long as possible, but I feel like at the end of the day, this fight is gonna be demanded," Benavidez says.

Aljamain Sterling just won the UFC featherweight title after Petr Yan was DQ'd for blasting Funkmaster with an illegal knee in the 4th round of their championship fight.

The UFC 259 fight was in the 4th round ... when the now former 28-year-old champ fired a right knee to the head of the 31-year-old Sterling.

Referee Mark Smith yelled and immediately called a timeout ... while Aljo lay on the Octagon floor, clutching his head.

Smith called in doctor ... who ultimately determined Aljamain -- who was clearly wobbled -- could NOT continue.

Because the knee was deemed intentional (Smith warned Yan right before he threw the strike that Sterling was a downed fighter, and therefore illegal to knee him) ... Petr was disqualified.

After the fight was called, Sterling laid on the mat, crying.

Aljo just addressed the stoppage on social media, writing ... "Not the way I ever want to win a fight. It was close, competitive and filled with action. I felt the knee was intentional, especially after the ref announced I was a downed opponent, so I didn’t expect to be hit."

Sterling continued ... "Yan is a bad dude! WE WILL DO IT AGAIN!"

Yan also just addressed the DQ on Twitter, saying ... "I apologize and wish speedy recovery toI didn’t mean to throw an illegal strike, I just made a big mistake and paid for it."

Prior to the illegal strike, the fight was close ... with Yan leading 2 rounds to 1 on 2 of the 3 judges scorecards.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is a trailblazer -- so says the Hollywood Critics Association that labeled him as such -- but D.J. says the real trailblazer was his pops.

Johnson accepted the HCA's Trailblazer Award Friday night via Zoom, of course, and he got pretty emotional.

Dwayne says he felt super lucky to be in a position of privilege where he could make people feel good. He's done that in a big way, working with the Make-A-Wish Foundation for a long, long time. He was also honored for the donations he's made to frontline workers and first responders.

The former wrestling champ dedicated the award to his dad, WWE Hall of Famer Rocky Johnson, who passed away a year ago at age 75.  Dwayne called his dad a real trailblazer, and then went on to describe their relationship as "complicated" -- "Father and son, tough love, tough love." Dwayne says his dad did all he could do to make people go home feeling happy.

UFC light heavyweight champ Jan Blachowicz says he's got a secret weapon for beating Israel Adesanya on Saturday night -- his newborn son!

The Polish powerhouse's fiancee gave birth to their first child, JJ, back in December -- and Jan says it's changed his whole outlook on life and fighting.

"Mentally, I'm stronger," 38-year-old Jan told TMZ Sports ... "Bigger motivation for everything right now. To hit harder, work harder."

"I do this for him right now."

As for his fight with Adesanya -- the undefeated middleweight champ -- Blachowicz knows it'll be the biggest challenge of his career but he's confident he'll end it in less than 2 rounds.

"I believe that I'm going to be the first one who beat him after this Saturday," Jan says.

"He gonna be 20 and 1, this what I believe and that's it. I know that he's really great fighter, amazing fighter, one of the best in the world but anyway I got my time right now, it's my division and I will stop him."

There's talk of a possible matchup with Jon Jones down the line -- but Jan says he's focused on Israel ... and will deal with Jones when the time comes.

Michael Brockers is putting the argument to bed ... the Rams star clearly believes L.A. won the QB trade with Detroit -- telling TMZ Sports Matt Stafford is just better than Jared Goff.

"Is it a level up?" Brockers said when asked if Stafford was an upgrade over Goff. "In my heart, deeply, just understanding what [Stafford] brings, it's a level up [over Goff]."

"It's a level up."

The Rams gave up Goff and a treasure chest of draft picks -- including two future 1st-rounders -- to get Stafford out of Detroit ... and many felt L.A. was fleeced in the deal.

But, when we got Brockers -- who's started 136 games for the Rams since 2012 -- at LAX this week ... he told us he thinks the Rams' front office did well in the swap.

"I don't want to say a lock for the Super Bowl, but with having a quarterback like that," Brockers said of Stafford, "and just seeing what we did last year and just seeing what he can bring to this team, there's no wonder why we can't [win the Super Bowl]."

There's more ... Brockers also said the Cardinals' signing of J.J. Watt does NOT give Arizona the best defensive line in the NFC West -- with the L.A. pass rusher saying that honor still belongs to the Rams!

Brockers even threw some playful shade Watt's way ... telling us, "We all know who the real 99 is!"

UFC star Aljamain Sterling is finally getting his title shot this weekend -- and he's predicting a 2nd round victory over the champ, Petr Yan.

But, it's bigger than just a belt for Sterling who tells TMZ Sports becoming the first Jamaican champion could be huge for the island nation.

31-year-old Sterling was born and raised in New York -- but both of his parents are from Jamaica and he feels a strong sense of American and Jamaican pride.

But, the fact is ... no UFC fighter of Jamaican descent has ever held a UFC belt and Sterling says he's looking to make history when he steps into the octagon against bantamweight champ Petr Yan on March 6 at UFC 259.

"I think he's the real deal," Sterling says ... "He's a tough guy, he did what he had to do with all the guys that they put in front of him so I gotta pay him respect for that but at the end of the day, this is my time! This my time to put on a show."

Sterling -- who's 19-3 and on a 5-fight win streak -- says he's confident his grappling game will simply be too much for Yan to handle ... culminating in a 2nd round TKO.

And, if Sterling's prediction comes true, Alja believes a Jamaican champion could inspire a whole new generation of MMA fighters.

"It would be a catalyst for the entire country to really get the sport picked up and get it rockin' and rollin'."

Sterling says he's working on plans to spread the sport to the masses in Jamaica -- with the goal of keeping the cost of entry down.

The Lakers have won just 3 of their last 10 games ... but now is NOT the time to panic -- so says L.A. superfan and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, who tells TMZ Sports everyone needs to R-E-L-A-X!!!

LeBron James and Co. have struggled quite a bit as Anthony Davis recovers from a calf/Achilles injury ... losing games to not-so-good teams like the Kings and Wizards.

The Lake Show has fallen behind the Utah Jazz and Phoenix Suns to 3rd in the Western Conference standings leading up to the All-Star break ... but Smith ain't worried one bit.

"Very early," Smith told us at Le Cafe de la Plage in Malibu. "Very early and as long as AD comes back healthy, Lakers baby."

FYI, Smith is as diehard as they come -- he's often spotted hitting up Staples Center to check out his beloved Purple & Gold.

As for Davis' injury, Smith says he's confident the Brow comes back completely healthy in time to defend their title.

"Lakers are gonna be fine and it's gonna be a repeat."

THIS. IS. INSANE.

Cleveland Browns star lineman Wyatt Teller hunted, shot and killed a 10-foot gator in Florida this week .... and then picked up the beast with his bare hands!!

Seriously!!

Here's how it went down -- Teller linked up with his buddy and Miami Dolphins defensive end Zach Sieler ... who happens to own a hunting outfitter, Clay Gully Outfitters, in central Florida.

The 2 NFL players -- who have been planning the trip for a while -- hunted hogs and gators on Sieler's enormous plot of land.

Sieler and his GF Hannah Cook tell TMZ Sports the 26-year-old All-Pro killed the gator -- which Zach estimates were 9.5 feet and 200 pounds -- and then threw it over his shoulder and carried it away.

FYI -- folks down south love to eat fried gator ... but no word on what will happen with this particular beast -- it could be eaten, or used to make a cool rug or even gator boots!!

Either way, it's gonna get used up.

Think gaming ain't hard work? It is ... and 2 top gamers tell TMZ Sports they spend around 6-7 hours training -- every day!!

We talked to 2 of the best Call of Duty players in the world ... Kenny "Kenny" Williams ('18 Esports Console ROY) from the Los Angeles Thieves and Dillon "Attach" Price (youngest player to win a CoD WC) of the Minnesota ROKKR -- and we asked how their squads prepare for big money tourneys.

"Pretty much every day we're online and playing as a team like 5 to 6 hours a day," Attach says.

How many days a week? Attach tells us there are times they practice every single day.

"Usually 6 to 7 days a week. If a tournament is coming up, probably no days off. But, if a tournament is kinda far away we’ll practice 6 days a week, and then take 1 day to just chill and relax."

Same deal for Kenny's team ... they're also putting in around 35-40 hours a week on CoD.

“We stick to our same practice schedule where we play from 1 central to about 7. But, when it’s closer to tournaments, we actually play a little more," Kenny says.

Attach even says his ROKKR squad does film work ... breaking down their opponents -- and their own tape -- to improve.

"It's really important to go over VOD, watch some of your old matches you played, watch some of your practice or watch other teams' VOD to see what they do well and try and learn what you can and implement it into your team's gameplay."

Speaking of competitions ... the 1st Call of Duty League "Major" of the season kicked off Wednesday (and runs through Sunday) -- and both Kenny and Attach are looking to lead their teams to a 1st place finish.

Good news for Von Miller ... the NFL superstar is officially off the hook after a secret investigation into alleged criminal behavior.

The Douglas County District Attorney's Office in Colorado announced Friday it will NOT pursue criminal charges against the Denver Broncos star -- but officials are still quiet on why he was being investigated in the first place.

As we previously reported ... back in January, the Parker Police Dept. announced an investigation into Miller and later presented its finding to the Douglas County D.A.'s office.

Again, no one ever discussed what the nature of the investigation was ... or the specific allegations against Miller.

But, prosecutors ultimately decided the case against Miller wasn't strong enough to get a conviction -- so he's off the hook.

"Based on our review of information that is currently available, we cannot meet that standard [to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt] and must decline to file charges in this case," a spokesperson for the D.A.'s office said in a statement.

"It would be inappropriate to comment about details of an investigation in which there was never a citation, arrest or filing. The complainant, suspect and witnesses have a legitimate privacy interest and we will respect that."

In other words, whatever was being investigated will remain under wraps ... for good.