TMZ Sports - Page 50

Makola M. Abdullah, Ph.D. is the esteemed President of Virginia State University.

... AND HE CAN BALL, SON!!!

The Prez was leaving his campus office when he was approached by a student named Afo -- who's pretty well known for staging fun pranks and viral videos around the school.

Afo's bit of the day was approaching people with a basketball for an impromptu game of 1-on-1 to see if random people would square up on the spot.

Afo balled up a woman in a tight red dress, a security guard and others -- but when he approached President Abdullah, that's when the tables turned!!

The President smacked the ball right out of Afo's hands and proceed to ball out -- even removing his fancy jacket to show he wasn't messing around.

But, the best part was the NUTMEG at the end that had Afo on skates!!! It was awesome!!!

It was all in good fun -- and the two even snapped a pic together afterward.

Afo tweeted, "I’m not gonna lie, it took a lot for me to post this. He definitely got me tho."

President Abdullah also weighed in -- saying, "You already know it's all love. I can't wait until everybody is back on campus."

We spoke with President Abdullah who tells us he's just a recreational player who loves the game -- and had a blast messing around on campus.

He praised Afo as a "fantastic kid" who's a talented entertainer and a scholar who's expected to graduate soon.

As for a possible rematch, Abdullah put it this way -- "I don't know if my knees will let me do it twice! I think I might have gotten just enough out of these knees. I'm going to retire now."

LeBoston Red Sox.

Yep, LeBron James is now a part-owner of one of the most storied franchises in pro sports ... the Boston Red Sox.

So, how did it happen?

LeBron has obtained shares in the Fenway Sports Group -- which is the parent company of the BoSox, along with several other prominent sports teams and companies.

No word on how many shares LeBron owns or how much money he put down -- but what's clear is he's a minority partner in FSG, which means he's a part-owner of the Sox, as first reported by the Boston Globe.

By the way, the Boston Globe is owned by John Henry -- the majority owner of the Boston Red Sox, who's reportedly worth $2.8 BILLION.

LeBron has publicly supported the NY Yankees for years -- but obviously, those days are over now.

The rivalry between NY and Boston goes back decades and there's no way you can support both teams ... even if you're LeBron!

LeBron's business partner, Maverick Carter, is also part of the FSG ownership group now -- which makes him a Sox part-owner as well.

LeBron has yet to publicly comment on the deal -- but he's expected to make some sort of announcement in the near future.

FYI, the Boston Red Sox are reportedly valued at $3.3 BILLION, according to Forbes ... which makes them the 3rd most valuable franchise in MLB, behind the Yankees and Dodgers.

LeBron has some experience with pro sports ownership -- he bought a piece of the legendary Liverpool soccer team back in 2011.

As for FSG, the company owns pieces of the NESN network, Roush Fenway Racing, Liverpool FC and more.

The move expands LeBron's already impressive empire -- he's reportedly made $343 million from NBA contracts alone.

Plus, his media company, Springhill Entertainment, is thriving with "Space Jam 2" coming out soon.

And, don't forget that reportedly $1 billion lifetime deal with Nike.

He's also a part-owner of the Blaze pizza company and has a stake in the Ladder supplement company, which he created with Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Bottom line ... LeBron is not only the greatest athlete on the planet, he's a pretty savvy businessman, too!

You help Derrick Henry rush for 2,000 yards, you get iced out!!!

That's exactly what the Tennessee Titans star did for his offensive line this week ... gifting them all awesome diamond chains for helping him reach the milestone.

27-year-old Henry was straight-up unstoppable in 2020 -- he ran for 2,027 yards and 17 touchdowns ... becoming just the 8th player in league history to join the 2,000 Yard Club.

Henry couldn't have done it without his boys up front ... and now he's showing some serious love by commemorating their accomplishment with the icy memento.

Center Ben Jones showed off the finished product ... which features a pendant with "2K" on the front and a crown on top.

The back features Jones' name and number ... as well as "O-Line 2k" and "2027 Yards."

No word on how much the pieces cost ... but Henry's got the coin -- he signed a $50 million contract last summer.

Kristaps Porzingis is NOT being shipped out of Dallas under ANY circumstance ... so says Mark Cuban.

The Mavs owner forcefully shut down persistent rumors that Dallas is looking to move the 25-year-old ... despite only being in the 2nd year of a 5-year $158 million contract he signed in 2019.

There have been rumblings about the Mavs looking for a trade partner for the past month -- including an SNY report that Dallas has reached out to the Golden State Warriors to see if they were interested in a deal.

Cuban had denied the rumors back in February -- but the rumblings continued -- which led to Cuban slamming the door shut on a possible KP move during Tuesday's appearance on "Live with Kelly & Ryan."

"We're not trading KP," Cuban said ... "KP's a star."

As Ryan Seacrest continued to probe, Cuban doubled down -- "It's not gonna happen, Ryan. You heard it here first. Definitely not gonna happen."

Porzingis missed the first 3 weeks of the NBA season while recovering from knee surgery -- and missed another 2 weeks last month with a back injury.

Despite the hiccups, KP is still a monster when he's on the court -- averaging 20.8 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.

The Mavs are currently in 8th place in the Western Conference -- and clearly Cuban is hoping KP will keep them in the playoff hunt.

The Houston Astros do NOT deserve an asterisk next to their 2017 World Series championship ... so says Miguel Cabrera, who thinks the notion of a tainted title is "bulls***."

The MLB superstar didn't mince words in an interview with ESPN this week ... saying straight-up Houston earned its '17 ring, despite its massive sign-stealing, cheating scandal that season.

"In the end ... it's baseball," the future Hall of Famer said. "[Try to] go ahead and do it like those guys did."

It's a hot take from Cabrera ... considering most of Miguel's baseball peers wildly disagree.

MVPs like Cody Bellinger and Mike Trout have blasted the Astros for their roles in the cheating ordeal ... and were HEATED when none of the players were severely punished.

In fact, former Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia has been so livid over it all ... he's ripped the 'Stros every opportunity he's had, even recently calling Carlos Correa a "clown."

Cabrera -- whose Tigers manager is now former Astros 2017 bench honcho A.J. Hinch -- clearly sees things differently ... saying of the entire ordeal, "I don't care about that."

Cabrera says Hinch has been nothing but a good dude since the Tigers hired him this offseason ... adding, "I don't care what they did in Houston."

"He [was] a big part of the success Houston had the last three to five years."

L.A. Lakers star Kyle Kuzma gave a perfectly reasonable explanation for air-balling a FREE THROW against the Warriors Monday night ... saying a nearby earthquake messed up his shot.

Only one problem -- THERE WAS NO EARTHQUAKE!!!

The hilariously bad moment happened halfway through the 2nd quarter ... when Kuz -- a career 72% free throw shooter -- lined up on the charity stripe to shoot a technical free throw ... and the dude completely missed the rim!!

The Warriors bench let Kuz have it ... with Draymond Green erupting in laughter!!

So ... what the heck happened?!

The 25-year-old forward dug deeeep into his bag of excuses to try and justify his embarrassingly bad shot ... blaming the whole thing on seismic waves.

"San Francisco had a 3.5 magnitude earthquake," Kuzma said after the game. "S**t started rumbling. I don’t know. I got scared, and it went far off to the left."

Of course, there was no earthquake ... and Kuz tried his best to maintain his poker face throughout his fib ... but eventually cracked and broke out in a smile.

It wasn't all bad for #0, though ... Kuz ended up with 17 points in the Lakers' win.

Future USC tight end Keyan Burnett went FULL DK Metcalf mode in a game last week ... chasing down an opponent 100 yards to make a touchdown-saving tackle!!!

The insane play all went down in Southern California in Servite High School's game against Damien last Friday ... when Burnett's squad needed him to make a super-human play to save 7 points.

A Damien player scooped up a fumble at the 11-yard line and looked poised to rumble 89 yards to turn a 13-0, 1st-quarter deficit into a 13-7 ballgame.

But, Burnett -- a 6'5", 210-pound 4-star recruit who committed to play for the Trojans earlier this month -- turned on the jets and hunted the ball carrier down!!

Check out the clip, Burnett was in the endzone on the other side of the field when the fumble was initially picked up ... and then he sprinted nearly 100 yards to make the tackle!!

The play was absurd ... and it immediately reminded everyone of when Metcalf ran down Budda Baker during that ridiculous Sunday Night Football play in 2020.

Damien ended up missing a field goal a few plays after Burnett's tackle ... and then, get this -- Burnett scored a 70-yard TD on the ensuing Servite drive to make it a 20-0 game!!

Marvin Hagler's wife is calling BS on unfounded conspiracy theories suggesting the boxer's death was caused by the COVID vaccine -- saying it's simply "nonsense."

"Marvelous" Marvin Hagler -- one of the greatest boxers of all time -- died on Saturday at his home in New Hampshire. He was 66.

Around the time of his death, Hagler's former rival Tommy Hearns floated a theory about Hagler's health in an IG post on his verified page.

"He’s in ICU fighting the after effects of the vaccine!” Hearns said in a post that has since been deleted.

Now, Hagler's wife Kay is firing back -- saying she was WITH Marvin all the way to the end and can personally confirm his death had nothing to do with the COVID vaccine.

"I am the only person that know how things went not even his family know all the details and I do NOT accept to read some stupid comment without knowing really what happen," Kay said in a Facebook post.

"For sure wasn't the vaccine that caused his death. My baby left in peace with his usually smile and now is not the time to talk nonsense."

Kay also notes how Marvin "hated funerals" and "therefore there will be no funerals or church celebrations."

"He wants to be remembered with a happy smile but I would be happy if each of you can light a candle for him."

Hagler's official cause of death has still not been released and likely won't be for weeks, possibly months.

Kay adds, "Thank you for your love, [Marvin] loved people so much, he loved you all he was happy when he read your comments he was a special person the most beautiful person i had ever met in all my life."

Hagler was 62–3–2 in his storied career -- with wins over legends like Roberto Duran, Alan Minter and, of course, Tommy Hearns.

Life on the outside is proving to be GOOOOOD for Bobby Shmurda -- the formerly incarcerated rapper got the VIP treatment at the Brooklyn Nets game on Monday ... and a signed jersey from superstar James Harden!

The 26-year-old had been in custody since December 2014 after he was charged with conspiracy to murder and other gun charges.

In 2016, Shmurda copped a plea deal to conspiracy to possess weapons and possession of a weapon -- and was sentenced to 7 years in prison followed by 5 years probation.

He was released in February 2021 and immediately embraced by rap stars like Quavo. He also had a big presence during NBA All-Star Weekend.

And, the celebration continued Monday night at Barclay's Center where Shmurda enjoyed a VIP suite to watch the Nets take on the NY Knicks.

After Brooklyn secured the W, James Harden took off his game-worn jersey and presented it to Shmurda -- along with a personal message and signature on the threads.

Shmurda was so fired up about the gift, he went right to the media and showed it off while sporting that sick new gold chain he recently scooped up.

19-year-old Timur Faizutdinov -- a star player in Russia's Junior Hockey League -- has tragically died after being hit in the head by a puck ... his team announced Tuesday.

Faizutdinov was skating for his Dynamo St. Petersburg's squad in a playoff matchup with Loko Yaroslavl on March 12 when his opponent accidentally flipped a puck at his head.

The frozen rubber caught Faizutdinov up high near his temple ... and he immediately crumpled to the ground in pain.

Faizutdinov -- St. Petersburg's captain -- was rushed to the hospital ... but, unfortunately, his team announced he died this week due to the injuries the puck caused.

"Dynamo Saint Petersburg defenseman Timur Faizutdinov has tragically passed away at the age of 19," Faizutdinov's team wrote in a statement.

"He had received a fatal head injury during an MHL match against Loko in Yaroslavl on March 12. SKA Hockey Club extends its deepest condolences to Timur’s family and friends."

Faizutdinov had reportedly logged nearly 200 games for Dynamo St. Petersburg in his career ... and had just been named team captain.

Dynamo St. Petersburg announced it will hold moments of silence for Faizutdinov prior to its upcoming games for the foreseeable future.

Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez reaching a breaking point came as a total shock to their kids -- and that's one major reason the couple's together right now in the Dominican Republic trying to patch things up.

Sources close to the couple tell TMZ ... neither of them expected news to break on Friday about their split, and as a result, they didn't have time to prepare their 4 children ... who've all grown very close.

We're told J Lo's 13-year-old twins, Emme and Max, and A-Rod's teenage daughters, 16-year-old Natasha and 12-year-old Ella, were all devastated by the discussions the modern family had on Friday of a possible break up. As one source put it, "There were many tears."

As we first told you ... people close to the couple acknowledged things were "bad" between J Lo and A-Rod that day -- but on Saturday morning they told us "We are working through some things," and there was no third party involved in their issues.

We're told the kids weighed heavily in the long conversation Alex and Jen had Friday night.

The fact is, both families have blended as one, enjoying holidays and vacations together and all the other fun stuff kids do, so there's a lot at stake.

TMZ broke the story ... Alex fueled up the jet and flew to the D.R. to be with Jennifer, who's been down there shooting a movie. They'd been apart for about 2 weeks, but on Monday morning Alex posted video from their oceanfront pad, tagged J Lo and said he was moving "onward" and "upward" in the new week.

Tiger Woods is back in the video game business -- signing a HUGE new contract with 2K to appear in its PGA Tour game franchise.

So, yeah ... YOU'LL BE ABLE TO PLAY AS TIGER WOODS AGAIN!!

This is massive news for the guy who was once the king of golf video games!!!

Remember, Tiger dominated the gaming world with his Tiger Woods PGA Tour games from 1999 to 2013 -- but hasn't taken a swing in the digital space since.

That's changing though ... 2K announced Tuesday morning it signed Tiger to an "exclusive, long-term partnership" -- in which he will also serve as an "executive director" for its PGA Tour game franchise.

The deal means Tiger's image and likeness can be used in all PGA Tour 2K golf games.

Tiger -- who's still recovering from a bad February car crash -- issued a statement on the deal ... saying, "I am looking forward to making my return to the video game landscape, and with 2K and HB Studios, I’ve found the right partners to make it happen."

"I'm honored to take part in this opportunity and look forward to sharing my expertise and insights as we build the future of golf video games together."

NHL forward Jujhar Khaira was knocked out after taking a violent punch during a fight Monday -- and the blow was so vicious, the Oilers player had to leave the game due to injury.

The scrap went down in the 1st period of Edmonton's clash with Calgary ... shortly after Khaira infuriated Flames players by checking Oliver Kylington in the head with his shoulder.

Calgary forward Brett Ritchie hunted Khaira down, got him to drop the gloves for a fight, and then socked him right in the face.

You can see in the clip, Khaira appeared to be KO'd on his feet ... and once the 26-year-old hit the ice, he looked at refs with a completely dazed expression on his face.

Khaira immediately headed for the locker room to be looked at by trainers ... and he did not return to the contest afterward.

Thankfully, in the post-game, Edmonton coach Dave Tippett said he believed Khaira was "feeling all right" and is now just day-to-day dealing with the after-effects of the tilt.

The tournament hasn't even started yet ... and already the NCAA is down 6 referees for March Madness due to COVID.

The NCAA has confirmed 6 referees were sent home from Indianapolis -- where a controlled bubble-style environment has been set up in the hopes of limiting exposure.

The NCAA says 1 of the officials tested positive for COVID-19 on March 15 -- "and 5 other officials the person interacted with the day before were identified as exposure risks due to prolonged close contact."

"Based on tournament protocols and contract tracing with local public health authorities, these officials may not participate in the tournament."

Now, the ref who tested positive "must be placed in isolation, and the other officials must be placed in quarantine."

The tournament -- one of the most exciting events in sports -- is set to kick off on Thursday.

The NCAA had tapped 60 referees in total to work the tourney -- now, they're down to 54 refs to work the 63 total games.

The NCAA tourney has already felt the impact of COVID -- just ask the defending champs from the Univ. of Virginia.

Most of the Cavaliers players are still in quarantine after one member of the program tested positive for COVID. They're not expected to arrive in Indy until Friday, the day before their 1st-round game against Ohio.

The NCAA has a backup plan in case teams need to pull out -- they've booked 4 teams as backup squads  ... Louisville, Colorado State, Saint Louis and Mississippi.

The backup teams will only be on standby until Tuesday -- after that, a team that withdraws due to COVID will not be replaced.

How's the best NFL draft prospect in the country celebrating his final weeks as an unmarried man??

VEGAS, BABY!!!

TMZ Sports has learned Trevor Lawrence hit up Sin City for a low-key bachelor party over the weekend -- bro-ing down at a casino table with his pals and living it up just days before he's set to marry his longtime GF, Marissa Mowry.

A witness tells us the 21-year-old ex-Clemson QB was at Mandalay Bay at around 11:30 p.m. Sunday ... gambling with some buds and keeping his surgically repaired left shoulder safe in a sling.

We're told Lawrence had security to watch his back ... but was super cool with fans who recognized him.

Unclear which game Lawrence was playing and how much cash he was betting ... but don't worry, he can afford to gamble -- as next month's projected #1 overall pick, he's expected to sign a 4-year deal worth around $40 MILLION!!

As for the upcoming nuptials, Lawrence and Mowry -- who have dated since 2016 and got engaged in July 2020 -- are scheduled to tie the knot sometime in early April.

Ted Cruz is liking what he's seeing with the country's vaccination rollout, and it's got him thinking about ballin' ... even though the court at the Senate gym sucks.

The Texas Senator was arriving at Reagan National Airport in D.C. Monday when he had a hopeful chat with our photog about returning to normal, putting the pandemic behind us ... and taking a member of his staff to the hole.

Sounds like Ted's got a case of March Madness, and even though he tells us the basketball court at the Senate's facility is terrible ... he's ready to "bang around a little bit."

If ya don't know, Cruz ain't bad when it comes to playing hoops ... at least compared to Jimmy Kimmel. He took down his late-night talk show host rival in a sweaty mess of a 1-on-1 match back in 2018. Thankfully, it was all for charity.

Clearly, Ted's itching to get back to the sport and says everyone's eager to get out of their houses after a year of dealing with COVID-19 ... and he's encouraged we're getting closer to normalcy.