TMZ Sports - Page 50

Novak Djokovic lost his cool on the court in a BIG way Tuesday ... going off on an umpire in an epic meltdown -- and the entire tantrum was captured on video.

It all went down at the Italian Open in Rome, when Djokovic got upset with an umpire for letting his match with Taylor Fritz go on despite heavy rain.

In video from the court, Djokovic can be heard exploding on the ump ... "How much more do you want to play?!"

Novak was fuming over the clay court's conditions under the falling rain ... and when the ump responded, "I want to check the court," Djokovic continued to yell.

"I asked you three times!" the world's #1-ranked tennis player said. "You're not checking anything!"

The two exchanged more words ... before Djokovic ultimately walked off the court and sought cover in the tunnel area.

The match was eventually suspended due to the weather a few minutes later.

Of course, this is far from Djokovic's first outburst on the court ... just three months ago at the Australian Open, he demolished his racket after botching a play.

And, just a few months before that, he was DQ'ed from the U.S. Open for angrily hitting a ball that struck a lineswoman in the head.

Martin Lawrence's love for the Detroit Pistons has come full circle ... with a new line of merch honoring his hit '90s sitcom!!!

The NBA team's had a rough season -- it's currently dead last in the Eastern Conference -- but its collab with "Martin" should help it go out on a high note.

Nearly 29 years after the iconic show premiered with the city of Detroit as a backdrop ... Lawrence is teaming up with the Pistons for this limited-edition clothing line including jerseys, hats, shorts, sweatshirts, T-shirts and more.

As you can see ... the merch -- available Friday exclusively on Pistons313shop.com -- features the famed "Martin" intro text along with hilarious quotes and call-backs to the show mashed up with a Pistons hoops aesthetic.

The comedian says ... "Detroit has always shown me so much love and always shows up for me. From stand-up tours to fans on the street Detroit has felt like home. It’s an honor to be part of something that means so much to me to this many years later."

Golden State Warriors wing Kent Bazemore is waving the white flag in his public beef with Bradley Beal ... saying his comment about the Wizards superstar's injury wasn't supposed to start a massive social media war.

Bazemore had referenced Beal's recent hammy injury while praising Stephen Curry's quest for the scoring title earlier this week ... saying, "We got guys hurting hamstrings to keep up."

Beal -- who's currently second in the scoring race behind Curry -- UNLEASHED on Bazemore for his comments, with the 27-year-old calling the Dubs role player a "straight lame" and other brutal jabs on Twitter.

It got so bad, even Beal's wife, Kamiah, got in on it ... saying, "I just don’t understand why someone who can’t even compete with my 2.5 year old son in basketball would fix his MOUF to say some trash ass s*** like he did."

Baze -- who averages 8 points, 3 rebounds and nearly 2 assists in his career -- was asked about the feud after the Warriors' 119-116 win over the Jazz on Monday ... and he claimed the fallout from his words "got out of hand."

"I guess you can’t joke anymore, but man, whatever," Bazemore told reporters. "I don’t know, man. I feel like I am a pretty light-hearted guy. I stay in my own lane."

"I don’t say things and ruffle feathers, but, hey, man, it's just ... if you want to know where my loyalty is, it's with SC30. Anybody out there chasing him is going to be tough, whatever."

He added ... "It kind of got out of hand. I haven’t checked my phone all day until after the game. It’s kind of blowing up. But I don’t get involved in crap, man."

No word on if Beal is buying Bazemore's clarification ... but don't hold your breath.

As for the scoring race, Steph currently has 31.9 points per game, while Beal has 31.4 ... and the regular season ends in 5 days.

Bob Baffert believes he's figured out why his Kentucky Derby-winning horse Medina Spirit tested positive for a banned substance ... and it all may stem from a case of dermatitis.

As we previously reported, Medina Spirit was popped for betamethasone in a post-race test ... begging the question, did Baffert cheat to win?

Bob issued a new statement Tuesday morning explaining why he believes MS tested positive ... and insists it has NOTHING to do with cheating.

Baffert says Medina Spirit developed a skin condition called dermatitis following the Santa Anita Derby back in April ... so he took the horse to a vet to get checked out.

Bob says the vet "recommended the use of an anti-fungal ointment called Otomax. The veterinary recommendation was to apply this ointment daily to give the horse relief, help heal the dermatitis, and prevent it from spreading."

Bob says his barn followed the recommendation and Medina Spirit was treated with the medication "once a day up until the day before the Kentucky Derby."

But here's the rub ...

"Yesterday, I was informed that one of the substances in Otomax is betamethasone."

"While we do not know definitively that this was the source of the alleged 21 picograms founds in Medina Spirit's post-race blood sample, and our investigation is continuing, I have been told by equine pharmacology experts that this could explain the test results."

In other words, Bob now seems to open to the fact he may have unwittingly given his horse a banned substance.

Question is ... shouldn't a legendary, experienced trainer know if there's a banned substance in medication before administering it?

Pro athletes in other sports are responsible for what they put in their bodies ... so shouldn't horse trainers share the same burden?

Chicago Blackhawks announcer Pat Foley was forced to issue a mea culpa on-air Monday night ... just minutes after he made a crass remark about suicide.

The scene all went down during the broadcast of Chicago's game against the Dallas Stars ... when Foley was trying to make a joke about the Blackhawks' grueling travel schedule amid the NHL's COVID-19 restrictions and regulations.

“Had I been traveling with the team this year," Foley said mid-broadcast, "I might have put a bullet in my head."

Yeah, not great.

The backlash to the comments was swift ... viewers weighed in all over social media, trashing Foley for the comments -- and it didn't take long for the play-by-play man to issue an apology.

"I wish I didn’t say that," said Foley, who's been broadcasting Blackhawks games since the early 1980s. "I'm sorry if I offended some folks. Apparently I did, so I apologize."

This is not the first time Foley's had to walk back some insensitive comments ... back in 2019 during a Blackhawks exhibition game, he famously tried to make a joke about a player with an ethnic last name.

"Ortega, who sounds like he ought to be a shortstop," said Foley, who issued an apology after those remarks as well.

The best wide receiver in the NFL could be the best at the breakfast game now too ... 'cause TMZ Sports has confirmed DeAndre Hopkins is getting his own cereal box!!!

... and, it's all for a great cause!!

Troy Witt, a rep for PLB Sports & Entertainment (the same people who helped create Flutie Flakes!), tells us the company is in the process of launching a cereal for the Cardinals star called "DeAndre's HOP BOX."

The sweet treat will be Honey Nut Cheerios style ... and will release online and in local Arizona Fry's grocery stores sometime in August.

But, the best part of it? Witt tells us a portion of the proceeds from the cereal will go toward the S.M.O.O.O.T.H. Foundation, a charity set up by DeAndre and his mom, Sabrina Greenlee, to help survivors of domestic violence.

"DHop's Hop Box will be unlike any athlete cereal before it," Witt says. "DeAndre helped curate this box in a way that only he can by blending football, fashion, and family. We’re proud to be working with him!”

We're told the cover of the box will feature Hopkins, while one of the side panels will have a nod to DeAndre's famous TD celebrations with his mother.

Witt says the back of the box, meanwhile, will feature a color-in style design that fans can win autographs and more from for unique creations.

History was made on the NHL ice Monday night ... the Tampa Bay Lightning started an all-Black line, and it's believed to be the first time an NHL team has EVER done that.

Daniel Walcott, Gemel Smith and Mathieu Joseph -- who are all Black -- started at the center and wing spots for TB in their game against the Panthers ... and the scene was awesome.

The trio logged a ton of ice time -- all 3 dudes played over 10 minutes each in the contest -- and they were praised by the Lightning broadcast team for their efforts in the game.

"There's another look at Daniel Walcott, playing with Mathieu Joseph and Gemel Smith," Lightning play-by-play man Dave Randorf said in the 2nd period.

"First time ever in NHL history they have started an all-Black line in this league. A big, historic moment tonight for sure."

Walcott and Smith aren't regulars on the Lightning roster -- Smith has played sparingly this season and Walcott was playing in his 1st-ever NHL game -- but Mathieu was SUPER fired up to have gotten the start with the guys nonetheless.

"Honestly, it was pretty awesome," Joseph said ... adding, "I think it’s a step in the right direction and obviously you got to thank the coaching staff for that, it was their call."

"But, it was definitely fun to have some progress and clearly it's a process over this, but seeing that, and I don’t know if it was the first, but I think it was great to see and I’m glad I was part of it."

The Lightning wasn't able to get the win -- they dropped the contest 4-0 ... though Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper was certainly pleased with his starting group's effort.

"They deserve to be here and have worked their tails off," the coach said of the three. "To have them all together, they had a little chemistry. Moving forward in the league, you hope it isn't a story anymore and will be the norm. It was a pretty cool moment for all those guys."

Added Walcott, "Coop did something really special here to promote this for young kids."

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez didn't just rekindle their romance within the last 2 weeks, instead, it's been building since February ... when he started flooding her with emails while she was filming in the Dominican Republic.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Ben and J Lo were in very regular contact by email starting in early February when she flew to the Caribbean to begin filming "Shotgun Wedding." We're told the tone of the emails wasn't just friendly ... but more loving and longing for Jen.

For instance, after seeing pics of Jennifer in the D.R., he wrote to tell her how beautiful she looked, and how much he wished he could be down there with her. Of course, he was busy at the time in Boston, shooting "The Tender Bar" with George Clooney -- and she was still engaged to Alex Rodriguez.

Our sources say the emails also referenced J Lo's love for Ben's writing, and included a line about him being able to "own her heart" with his pen.

We're told they continued emailing each other, back and forth, for the duration of J Lo's shoot ... which wrapped in late April.

As far as our sources know, there was no physical contact or rendezvous between them during this time, but the emails do add context to how they seemingly got together so quickly.

Remember, they were together in L.A. -- very publicly -- on the first weekend in May ... just 2 weeks after Jen and A-Rod called off their engagement.

Folks in Ben and Jennifer's world said they had always maintained a friendship since splitting up in 2004. However, as we first told you, they were together again in Montana this past weekend.

One more clue the exes have been in close contact for some time came with InStyle Magazine's recent J Lo cover story. It included a quote from Ben gushing about his ex-fiancee, saying in part ... "She has great talent, but she has also worked very hard for her success, and I’m so happy for her that she seems, at long last, to be getting the credit she deserves."

That story did not include a quote from Jen's then-fiance, A-Rod.

Did you know ... senator Cory Booker played tight end for Stanford back in the day?

It's true ... which is why we had to ask the 52-year-old politician about Tim Tebow's NFL comeback at his old position.

Booker told us he's surprised Tebow is getting a shot with the Jacksonville Jaguars considering the size of tight ends in the NFL these days (Tim is only 6'3" and 245 pounds, which is small for a TE).

But ultimately, he's happy for Tim and wishes him the best.

There are a lot of people on social media who think it's unfair Tebow is getting a second shot in the league while Colin Kaepernick still can't get a legitimate workout for an NFL team.

"I don’t need to cast a shadow on Tim Tebow in order to point out the injustice of Colin Kaepernick," Booker told us ... "It's wrong. He was blackballed and I don’t need to push someone else down in order to point that out."

Booker says he knows Colin got an "awful deal" -- and praised him as an "extraordinary athlete who had his career sabotaged by people that were against him doing what some of the greatest athletes of all times from Arthur Ashe to Muhammad all have done -- which is speak out against injustice."

Colin has repeatedly said he wants to play -- and has proved multiple times he's staying in shape and working out in the hopes of getting a call from an interested team.

Logan Paul says he and his brother are taking no chances after Floyd Mayweather's "I'll kill you" threat ... telling TMZ Sports they now have security watching them "at all times."

Floyd dropped the menacing warning to Jake Paul after the younger Paul bro famously stole the boxer's hat during a confrontation at the Logan-Mayweather pre-fight news conference in Miami last week.

Most considered it an empty threat -- after all, nobody really thinks Floyd's going to commit murder over a baseball cap -- but Logan tells us he's taking absolutely no chances.

As for why -- the 26-year-old YouTube star explained it this way ...

"Dawg, when you have a guy with the resources and the wealth that Floyd Mayweather has and the connection and the network and he's saying s***, 'I'mma kill that motherf***er' -- kill?! Death?! You're gonna kill my brother over a f***ing hat?! Yo, we take that s*** seriously man!"

Logan says the Paul bros now have bodyguards with or around them "everywhere at all times."

Logan, though, says he and his brother will NOT be going to cops or filing anything in the court system over the threat -- the older Paul brother said that idea is straight-up "bitch s***, bro."

There's more ... Logan also says there's a chance he makes $20 MILLION for fighting Floyd -- and he also explained why a fight card that would feature both him and Jake vs. Mayweather would never happen.

Tory Lanez packs a serious punch ... at least according to a 'Love & Hip Hop' cast member who told cops he needed medical attention after the rapper socked him in the face, but Tory's denying it.

Prince Michael Harty, a rapper/promoter who's on "L&HH: Miami," claims Tory reignited their longstanding beef this month at club Vendome on South Beach. According to the police report, obtained by TMZ, Prince told cops he was at his table around 4 AM last Monday when he was approached and struck on the left side of his face.

Prince told cops he turned around and made eye contact with Tory, who ran out of the club and took off in a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van. Tory is named in the police report as a suspect for an alleged battery.

According to the report, Prince also told cops he went for medical treatment and the responding officer said Prince had a visibly swollen area on his left cheek.

A rep for Prince tells TMZ ... he was hanging out with NFL star Malcolm Butler, when he noticed some guys staring at them.

We're told the DJs and hosts made it well known Prince and Malcolm were in the building, and when Butler left Prince alone in their section, Tory came up with his entourage and allegedly threw the punch, leaving Prince with a massive headache and a swollen mouth.

A rep for Tory tells TMZ ... Lanez was nowhere near Prince at the time he alleges and the guy's "obsessed" with Tory. Even further, the rep says there are no witnesses or footage to back up Prince's claim -- 'cause, again, Tory says it didn't happen ...

New Orleans Saints star Cam Jordan is cutting a $120,000 check to help fund anti-racism training for NOPD officers ... and city officials are stoked.

31-year-old Jordan -- a 6-time Pro Bowl defensive end -- announced the move Monday alongside New Orleans mayor LaToya Cantrell ... saying he's happy to fund a program that will have a positive impact on the community.

The training will be operated by the Crescent City Corps -- which describes itself as a "New Orleans-based non-profit that equips new police officers with leadership development and community engagement training so that they can work alongside citizens to build a more just, safe, and inclusive city."

CCC launched a pilot program with 10 NOPD offices in 2019 -- and now, with Cam's donation, they hope to train 80 officers over the next 2 years.

"This is not a solution," Jordan said during the event ... "This is a continuation of work that has been done from the social justice leaders, who have been on the ground, to the leaders that are in the system as we speak now."

"Lending anything of who I am to this program can bring a spotlight to what they're doing."

NOPD Superintendent Shaun Ferguson praised Jordan for the donation -- and explained how Cam first reached out about it in the wake of the George Floyd murder in May 2020.

"I remember Cam, in the midst of everything that was going on in our country, asking, 'What can I do?'"

The injury Billy Joe Saunders suffered during Saturday night's loss to Canelo Alvarez was even worse than it looked ... and it's possible he may never fight again.

The 31-year-old didn't get off his stool at the end of the 8th round after it became clear his right eye was badly damaged.

Billy Joe was loaded into an ambulance and taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation where he was diagnosed with a quadripod fracture, according to The Athletic's Mike Coppinger.

FYI, the injury essentially means Saunders' orbital bone was smashed so badly, his cheekbone area caved in.

BJ's promoter, Eddie Hearn, announced he would undergo surgery on Sunday -- though unclear how it went at this point.

Hearn told Coppinger the recovery will take several months -- and it doesn't seem like it's a certainty Saunders will ever be able to fight again.

The long story short, the integrity of BJ's cheekbone area has been structurally compromised since it was broken in 4 spots ... and for a guy who gets punched in the face for a living, that's a VERY bad thing.

Dr. David Abbasi -- an orthopedic surgeon who sometimes works combat sports events -- broke down the injury and it's scary stuff.

Saunders was 30-0 before the Canelo fight -- and looked pretty good in the moments before the fight ended.

He was sticking and moving and landing real shots ... but in the end, Canelo's power proved too much.

Here's hoping Saunders can make a complete recovery and get back to doing what he loves.

It's the end of an era ... Kenny Mayne announced he's leaving ESPN after an epic 27-year run.

"I am leaving ESPN," Mayne tweeted Monday ... "Salary cap casualty."

61-year-old Mayne -- who started at ESPN in 1994 -- thanked former ESPN execs Vince Doria and Al Jaffe for helping him get hired back in the day ... and also praised the current staff.

"I will miss the people. I will miss the vending machine set up over by the old [Scott Van Pelt] joint. We had everything. IntoTheGreatWideOpen#."

Kenny is one of the most popular ESPN personalities ever -- both as an anchor of SportsCenter and as a feature reporter.

In fact, he was so popular, Mayne was tapped for "Dancing with the Stars" back in 2006 ... but was the first to be eliminated. But, the audience loved him and he would occasionally come back to the show for hilarious cameos.

Before ESPN, Mayne was a pretty solid QB back at Wenatchee Valley Community College in Washington and later played at UNLV.

Mayne signed a free-agent deal with the Seattle Seahawks in 1982, according to ESPN ... but eventually decided on a career in broadcasting.

Logan Paul took on FOUR members of the Gronkowski family while training for his upcoming match against Floyd Mayweather ... and claims he handled all of 'em!

But, there's no beef -- it's all love -- and Logan and Rob Gronkowski spelled out the whole situation to TMZ Sports.

Rob didn't actually fight because of that whole football thing he's got going ... which probably makes Tom Brady and the Bucs happy.

But, all 4 of his brothers -- Glenn, Dan, Chris and Gordie -- laced up the gloves to go a few rounds with Paul back in April ... and it seems Rob was genuinely impressed!

"I was the official referee," Rob tells us ... "and good thing I was the official referee. My referring skills were pretty legit, 12 out of 10!"

The Gronks were trained up by two legendary fighters -- Winky Wright and Antonio Tarver ... and Logan says his main focus point was avoiding getting rocked!

"They're massive," Logan tells us ... "I'm f**king 6'2", 200 pounds and I go in there and all of Rob's brothers are towering over me! They're all taller than me vertically, they're all wider than me horizontally. These are huge humans! "

"Honestly, I walked in and I was like. 'Alright, I'm pretty sure I'm gonna kick their ass but I cannot get hit obviously.' They don't know how to box but they got some power and if they hit me, that could be it, man!"

Logan says Rob's youngest bro, Glenn -- who played fullback in the NFL -- has some legit skills and even connected with a quick jab ... but ultimately, Paul proved to be the superior fighter.

Logan tells us he plans to release all of the sparring footage later this week.

Again, the session was super friendly -- and the guys are all joking about it now ... but Logan says he thinks Rob could have a real future in fighting if he commits to it after his NFL career wraps up.

"Anyone with Rob's height and size and power ... if he just dedicated himself to it then yeah!"

The beef between Enes Kanter and Recep Tayyip Erdogan is raging onward ... the NBA player says he's now being sued by the Turkish President over past critical remarks.

The 28-year-old Trailblazers center shared the alleged lawsuit on social media on Monday ... claiming the politician is "suing me and asking for my arrest for 'Insulting him.'"

"His skin is thinner [than] an onion 😅," Kanter added. "Looks like I hurt @rterdogan feelings a little 😂."

It's unclear which comments Erdogan is allegedly upset by ... but Kanter has gone after Erdogan publicly on multiple occasions through the past few years.

You'll recall ... the 6'10", 250-pound hooper famously called Erdogan "the Hitler of our generation" -- a remark that's since made Kanter a wanted man in his home country.

Kanter's reportedly had an arrest warrant out on him for years in Turkey ... but now Enes says Erdogan is coming after him civilly as well.

As for Kanter's response to the lawsuit -- he made it obvious he could not care less, ripping up the docs and burning them in the toilet.

"#DictatorErdogan," Enes captioned the photos.