TMZ Sports - Page 50

San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Kevin Givens has been hit with an assault charge after he allegedly beat the hell out of a man at a Maryland hotel ... TMZ Sports has learned.

According to court documents, 24-year-old Givens was charged with misdemeanor second-degree assault after Hayden Bosley said he was attacked by the NFL player on Feb. 21.

In the docs, Bosley says he was out for the night in Baltimore when he had a confrontation with Givens.

Bosley says he, Givens' girlfriend and another friend were grabbing an Uber/Lyft when they asked Givens if he was tagging along for the ride.

In the docs, Bosley says Givens got angry and told him to go away ... so he left with the other two for a Sheraton Hotel in the area.

That's when Bosley says Givens showed up a short time later, saw the three standing in a hotel hallway ... and attacked.

Bosley claims Givens tackled him to the ground, dislocated his shoulder and continued to wrestle with him.

Bosley says he was able to escape and run away ... but claims he ended up suffering a black eye, bruises, cuts and scrapes in addition to the shoulder injury in the altercation.

Bosley says he went to the emergency room, where he got treatment from medical personnel from 3 AM to 7 AM.

Givens is now due in court later next month to face the charge. If convicted, he could be sentenced to up to 10 YEARS in prison.

We've reached out to Givens for comment, but so far, no word back yet.

Givens signed with the Niners as an undrafted free agent out of Penn State in 2019. He played in just 1 game in his rookie season ... but went on to play in 13 last year.

Dana White tells TMZ Sports he's fired up for the return of Miesha Tate -- but there's an "I Told You So" moment in this clip he's been waiting to drop for years!

Long story short ... Tate got her nose surgically repaired after her 2016 brawl with Amanda Nunes.

White says he strongly urged her to NOT go under the knife until after her MMA career was seriously over ... because when you're a pro fighter, there's a good chance it could get broken again!

Tate ignored White's advice and got the surgery anyway -- and now that she's returning in July to take on Marion Reneau after a 4-year layoff, Dana's dropping the ol' "I Told You So!"

"I told her don't do it, I'll fix your nose when you're done," White says ... "[but] she did it."

"Her and I haven't talked about this but big mistake and over the last five years obviously she's given her nose plenty of time to heal."

But, Reneau -- the #12 ranked bantamweight -- is a legit striker who will likely take some shots at Tate's sniffer!

White says Tate's a grown-ass woman and she knows what she's getting herself into -- and he's happy to have her back in the fold.

He also dropped some news about Amanda Nunes -- saying Julianna Peña has been "driving me f**king bananas" trying to get a fight with the champ ... and he's leaning towards making it happen.

"[She] will not stop terrorizing me that she deserves this fight. Amanda Nunes this, Amanda Nunes that, Amanda is ducking her, Amanda doesn't want her because the style doesn't match up well for Amanda ... so I'm thinking bout doing a Peña and Nunes."

There's more ... White also talked about this weekend's main event -- Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou at UFC 260 -- and explained why Stipe could be the most disrespected fighter in MMA history.

"I think he's starting to wear that underdog role and own it," White said.

"I think there's a lot less pressure on him going in there being the underdog. The disrespect continues for the champ."

As we previously reported, the winner will get to face Jon Jones ... White says he'd love to make that fight happen in the Fall.

Pro ski jumper Daniel-Andre Tande suffered serious injuries in a terrifying crash caught on video Thursday ... but thankfully, officials are now describing his ailments as non-life-threatening.

Tande, a 27-year-old who won a gold medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics, was competing in a World Cup event in Slovenia ... when one of his jumps went horrifically wrong.

You can see in video of the crash ... midway through his flight, he turned sideways and landed HARD on the snow below.

The Norwegian then violently plummeted hundreds of feet down the mountain ... before coming to a stop at the base of the jump.

Ski officials say Tande was unconscious when medics arrived. They added Tande had to be "intubated and mechanically ventilated" after he was loaded into the ambulance.

Fortunately, doctors said in a statement later Thursday afternoon that "preliminary tests are very promising."

And, a statement released by Norwegian Ski Jumping Team leader Clas Brede Brathen showed there's clear optimism Tande will eventually make a recovery.

"The fall has looked dramatic for us and we are now relieved after the first diagnosis that Daniel's injuries are not life threatening," Brathen said.

Israel Adesanya admits he "crossed the line" when he threatened to "rape" fellow UFC fighter Kevin Holland during a trash-talking session on social media ... and vows to learn from his mistake.

For context, Israel was responding to allegations Holland made earlier this month against him ... claiming the middleweight champ is a steroid user.

Adesanya responded in an Instagram story by saying, "Bro, I’ll f***ing rape you."

The comment was met with outrage from high profile people ... including New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson, who said, "There is never a time to make flippant comments about rape. It’s just not something anybody should do."

Finally, on Thursday, Israel addressed the situation ... and admitted he messed up.

"Last weekend fight talk escalated to a point in which I crossed the line," Adesanya said on Twitter.

"I understand the gravity of this word and how it can affect and hurt other people apart from my opponent, although that was NEVER my intention."

"I am still growing under the spotlight, and I take this as a lesson to be more selective with words under pressure.”

Bring on the picks and leave the masks ... the NFL says if teams' draft war rooms next month feature fully vaccinated individuals, it will lax COVID policies and not require face coverings.

The league made the announcement to its clubs in a one-page memo Thursday ... explaining teams can have quasi-normal draft day procedures if all participating members can prove they've taken the COVID vaccine.

NFL officials say draft-night changes for vaccinated teams' war rooms include no mask requirement and flexible physical and social distancing rules.

The league also says it will allow both eating and drinking as well.

But, there will be some precautions for the draft weekend -- which is set to kick off April 29 -- even for those vaccinated teams.

The league says fully vaccinated rooms are to be capped off at 10 staffers.

If not vaccinated, teams will have to adhere to strict COVID policies ... with masks, social distancing and a cap of 20 per room.

The man who knocked out Eagles TE Dallas Goedert last year is breathing easier today ... he was just sentenced for the punch, but received nothing more than a slap on the wrist.

A South Dakota court official tells TMZ Sports ... Kyle Hadala -- the 30-year-old who rocked Goedert's face at a bar in June 2020 -- pled guilty to misdemeanor simple assault earlier this month and was sentenced that same day.

His punishment, though, was light -- considering he was facing up to 1 year in jail and a potential $2,000 fine.

According to the court official, Hadala was sentenced to 60 days in jail ... but if he keeps his nose clean for the next year, he won't have to spend a single day behind bars.

We're told Hadala also had to pay court costs and fines that totaled $336.50. He was ordered to have no contact with Goedert for 1 year as well.

As we previously reported, Hadala punched Goedert on June 19 at Zoo Bar in Aberdeen, SD ... after he says Dallas threatened one of his friends during a night out drinking.

Sources close to Dallas -- who had to go to the hospital after the punch but was NOT seriously hurt -- tell us the 26-year-old was simply trying to play peacemaker before he was KO'd.

Live from Atlanta ... it's Pete Davidson!!!

... who's officially signed on to join Snoop Dogg's commentary team for the Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren fight!!

TMZ Sports has confirmed the "Saturday Night Live" star will be a part of the broadcast team for the very first Triller Fight Club 2021 event on April 17 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

We're told he'll be working the event alongside Snoop, Mario Lopez, supermodel Taylor Hill, and social media stars Dixie and Charli D’Amelio.

The play-by-play announcers are seasoned veterans when it comes to boxing -- Ray Flores, Al Bernstein and Mike Coppinger.

Snoop was the breakout star during the first Triller boxing event featuring Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. -- he was in the broadcast booth calling the action and was HILARIOUS!

Remember, he was busting out church hymns as Jake put a hurtin' on Nate Robinson on the undercard.

So, add Pete Davidson to the mix!?! That's gonna be awesome.

As we previously reported, the Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren already has a stacked musical lineup featuring superstars like Justin Bieber, The Black Keys, Doja Cat, Saweetie, Diplo, Major Lazer and the debut of Snoop's new rap supergroup Mt. Westmore (which features Snoop, Ice Cube, Too $hort and E-40).

The main event will be an 8-round sanctioned professional boxing match featuring undefeated 24-year-old Jake Paul (2-0) going up against decorated MMA star Ben Askren, who's 36.

Askren has guaranteed victory over Jake -- saying he's never stepped in the ring against a REAL accomplished fighter.

Jake vows to wipe the floor with Askren -- saying the guy's striking ability is straight trash.

Johnny Manziel may have never become Johnny Football if it weren't for his 2012 arrest ... 'cause the former superstar says his grueling punishment after getting in trouble led to his Heisman-winning season.

Manziel was arrested for disorderly conduct and having a fake ID after getting in a fight at College Station on June 29, 2012 ... months before his breakout redshirt freshman season at Texas A&M.

28-year-old Manziel is now opening up on the fallout from his wild night of Irish car bombs and Patron ... saying he was forced to run gassers before and after every Aggies football practice as punishment -- which ended up being the ultimate blessing in disguise for a guy that was 4th on the depth chart at the time.

"In 11 days, I won the (starting) job doing these sprints, doing the whole thing," Manziel said on his "Ball Don't Lie" podcast with Mike.

"At the end of the year, I rushed for 1,500 yards. I outrushed Todd Gurley in the SEC. Nuts. My redshirt freshman year, the year I won the Heisman."

"I believe all that was directly correlated to me running those sprints at the beginning of the year and being in the dumbest shape on the team."

In other words, Johnny says if he hadn't gotten in trouble, his whole career would have played out completely differently.

"Without a doubt. I got punished and I won a Heisman for it. It's crazy. The bad doesn't always turn out so bad down the line."

Manziel became the first freshman to ever win the Heisman in 2012 ... but says he could have won ANOTHER if he had put in the work -- and it's his biggest regret.

"I think every day if I would of done what I need to do in between seasons, not only would I of won another Heisman, I would of put my team in a position to win a national championship."

He added ... "I wasn't voted team captain after winning the Heisman because I didn't show up to workouts, I didn't do what I need to do and I wasn't accountable to guys on my team."

Kamaru Usman. Israel Adesanya ... and Francis Ngannou?

The 34-year-old heavyweight contender tells TMZ Sports he badly wants to become the UFC's 3rd African-born champion with a victory over Stipe Miocic at UFC 260 this weekend ... saying it would be his greatest accomplishment.

"That's what I'm thinking about all the time basically leading up to this fight," Ngannou says.

"I feel like losing this fight, I will disappoint a lot of people."

"The whole continent that are looking up to us -- being like 3 African champions [along with] Kamaru Usman and Adesanya."

Usman (from Nigeria) is the UFC's reigning welterweight champ. Adesanya (also from Nigeria) holds the belt in the middleweight division.

Ngannou -- who was born and raised in Cameroon -- adds, "We don't realize how big it is but we are talking about a continent of billions of people. It's huge."

That's a lot of pressure, no??

"Yeah, it's pressure but some problems are good problems to have," Francis says.

Ngannou is 15-3 as a pro and he's currently on a 4-fight win streak. He's looking to avenge a 2018 loss to Stipe, the reigning UFC heavyweight champion.

But, Francis is fired up about the rematch -- telling TMZ Sports he's confident he can smash Miocic and win the belt.

Afterward, he hopes to get the UFC to hold fights in Africa.

"I want the UFC to give it opportunity to all those African fighters who are out there training, to give their own piece of hope. Yeah, I want all of that."

Ngannou says there are all sorts of undiscovered talent ... they just need an opportunity to shine.

You come at the school president, you best not miss ... TWICE!!

The viral Virginia State student who got CROSSED UP by school president Makola M. Abdullah in a hilarious game of campus 1-on-1 sought his revenge this week ... and it may be time for our guy, Afo, to find a new sport.

The prez and Afo decided to take their friendly rivalry to the VSU basketball court this time around for a shooting contest ... and the spectacle was complete with cheerleaders, fans and even the school mascot!!

BTW -- If you thought Afo was gonna run away with the dub, you must've missed the first video ... 'cause Abdullah can straight-up HOOP!!

Afo was first up to shoot at the top of the 3-point arc ... and unfortunately for the student, he clanked it off the side of the rim.

How did Abdullah respond?? A PERFECT shot he was so confident in, he didn't even have to see it hit the bottom of the net before celebrating!!

Afo joked about the loss ... saying it was all due to "home court advantage" ... but we've got all the evidence we need to know who the true winner is!!

Abdullah took the higher road ... applauding everyone on campus for joining in on the harmless fun.

"Thank you all for your energy and spirit," the prez said Wednesday. "You are what makes @VSU_1882 a special place."

Baseball clearly runs THICK in the Harper blood ...

Here's Bryce Harper's 1-year-old son hitting a MOON SHOT home run off his toy tee ball set Wednesday ... and, yeah, safe to say Dad loves it!!!

The Philadelphia Phillies superstar's kid was getting in some hacks with his plastic baseball bat this week ... when suddenly, the little man fired off a rocket DEEP to left-center!!

Check out the swing ... little Krew Harper already has the one-handed follow-through down pat!

Bryce was impressed with his boy's ability ... writing of the clip, "That'll work."

The effort is pretty amazing ... Krew was only born in August 2019 -- so, only about 17 years to go until the MLB debut?!

By the way, baseball stars' infant sons crushing homers is becoming quite the thing in the MLB ... have you seen Freddie Freeman's kid with the bat??

A high school football coach in Massachusetts has just been fired ... after investigators say they confirmed he used anti-Semitic play calls during a game this month.

Officials involved in the case at Duxbury HS say head man Dave Maimaron used terms such as "Auschwitz," "rabbi" and "dreidel" to describe plays for his players in a tilt with Plymouth North on March 12.

And, after days of parents, fans and civil rights leaders calling for action ... the school finally made the move to can the coach Wednesday, blasting him for the naming of the calls.

"The fact that members of our school community used such offensive language, including anti-Semitic language, is horrifying and disappointing," Duxbury HS officials said in a statement.

Officials added they did not believe the terms were directed at players or used to insult opponents ... but said, "The outrage is real, warranted, and we hear it."

The school announced it's cancelling its game against Hingham on Friday after cutting ties with the coach. It has yet to make a decision on its future schedule past that.

For his part, Maimaron released an apology in a statement earlier this week ... saying the anti-Semitic words were "careless, unnecessary and most importantly hurtful on its face -- inexcusable."

"On behalf of the staff and players of the Duxbury High School football team," the coach added, "I want to extend my apology for the insensitive, crass and inappropriate language used in the game on March 12th."

Duxbury -- which had been playing its football season this spring after the pandemic postponed its usual fall season -- is known as one of the better football programs in MA. The school has won five state titles in the last 16 years.

We interrupt this standard NBA post-game press conference ... WITH A SPECIAL VIDEO MESSAGE FROM DRAKE?!

Yep, the rap superstar FaceTime'd his pal Kyle Lowry while the Toronto Raptors star was facing the media following Wednesday night's game against the Denver Nuggets.

There are rumblings that Toronto will trade Lowry to another team before the NBA trade deadline (Thursday at 12 PM PT) -- which means Wednesday could have been the last time Lowry rocked the Raptors uniform.

During the presser, Lowry admitted it was "kind of weird tonight not knowing what the next step would be" ... but when Drake's name popped up on his cell phone, his mood changed.

"Guys, we have a special guest here," Lowry told reporters during the video news conference.

That's when Lowry held up his phone and showed everyone Drake was on FaceTime!

"If you guys have any questions, I’m here to translate," Drake said ... "I’m his translator!"

Lowry laughed a quipped back, "No you’re not. No!! I’ll hit you when I’m done, bro."

Really funny moment between Lowry and Drake -- who's not just a Raptors superfan, he's also the team's official "global ambassador."

GAME ON, FLAME ON ... right?!

The Olympic torch relay has resumed in Japan on Thursday -- 1 year after that stupid pandemic put the 2020 Games on ice.

Remember, the flame was initially lit in Greece back in March 2020 -- but when COVID exploded, event organizers put a halt to the traditional torch relay and decided to keep the flame burning in a secure location in Japan.

But, now that the world is slowly opening back up (mostly thanks to the vaccine), the Olympic fire is going back on on the road.

Event organizers hosted a small, intimate torch ceremony in Fukushima -- where a handful of musicians and dancers performed in front of roughly 150 people who were all following social-distancing protocols.

That's when Japanese soccer star Azusa Iwashimizu -- who starred for Japan in the 2011 Women's World Cup -- took the torch and began the new relay, which will end in Tokyo in July.

Officials say 10,000 people will participate in the 4-month torch relay-- followed by an opening ceremony event at Japan National Stadium.

Khabib Nurmagomedov is unemployed ... but if the UFC legend is looking for a new gig, WWE Superstar Drew McIntyre says he'd be a helluva professional wrestler.

TMZ Sports talked to the former 2x WWE champ after the 32-year-old, 29-0 Khabib officially retired from the UFC last week.

Nurmagomedov is known for his fighting -- not his trash-talking -- so we asked the 'Monday Night Raw' star if Khabib would be any good in the WWE ring.

"[Khabib's] so talented that I reckon he could make some noise, and if he can't make the noise himself, we’ve got Paul Heyman. We’ve got a few talented people who can carry the load when it comes to talking," McIntyre says.

"MVP has done a heckuva job for [Bobby] Lashley. Maybe that's another name to throw in the hat. But, [Khabib's] such an amazing performer in the UFC, and if he can't quite figure out that part, we’ll make it work."

Drew continued ... "We’re about enhancing the positives and hiding the negatives. I think the fans would be very excited to see him."

Of course, Heyman is Brock Lesnar's legendary, longtime hype man.

Radio hosts in New York compared their toast preferences to famous Black women's skin tones during a segment ... and yeah, it came off every bit as bad as you'd think.

The racially-charged convo aired Wednesday morning on Buffalo's 97 Rock, with Morning Bull Show co-host Rob Lederman comparing toasted bread to a trio of black celebs -- Serena Williams, Halle Berry and Gayle King.

Lederman says he toasts his bread in line with how attractive he finds certain Black women ... essentially saying Serena is too dark for his taste, Gayle's not even a thought and Halle is just right.

The fallout has been swift ... Cumulus Media, which owns the station, says it already fired Lederman and suspended the other co-hosts, including Rich "Bull" Gaenzler and Chris Klein.