TMZ Sports - Page 50

VERY scary moment on the NHL ice Thursday night ... Toronto Maple Leafs star John Tavares took a flying knee to the face -- and needed a stretcher to leave the rink.

The terrifying moment all went down in the 1st period of the Leafs' playoff tilt vs. the Montreal Canadians ... when Corey Perry accidentally slammed his knee into Tavares' head.

The play was violent ... you can see as Tavares was going down to the ice, his face collided HARD with Perry -- who was in a full sprint.

The ensuing moments were horrifying, because as trainers tried to tend to Tavares -- his body went limp and fell backward.

The 30-year-old -- who's in the middle of a 7-year, $77 MILLION contract with Toronto -- ultimately was strapped to a stretcher and taken to the hospital for further evaluation.

Leafs' coach, Sheldon Keefe, provided some good news on Tavares after the game, saying his star player was "conscious and communicating well" and adding that initial tests had "come back clear."

"I've experienced a lot of different things, a lot of tough injuries like that in my time,'' Keefe said. "In an empty building like that, it's probably the most uncomfortable situation I've been a part of on the ice."

"It was really tough to get through."

Tavares -- the Leafs' captain -- is considered one of the best players in the NHL ... he's tallied 364 career goals and 455 career assists in his 12 seasons in the league.

Get well soon, John.

Patrick Mahomes has a suggestion for the NFL to help officials more accurately call games -- PUT A MICROCHIP IN THE FOOTBALL!

"I feel like the chip in the ball has gotta happen at some point," Mahomes said this week on the WHOOP podcast ... "If you cross the line, it just tells you, touchdown!"

The KC Chiefs superstar QB says one of the biggest issues for him is the "pile" by the goal line ... and he believes microchip technology could help solve that problem.

"There is literally no way you can tell if he’s in the end zone or not and like, it’s just whatever they call."

The problem with Patrick's suggestion, as ProFootballTalk points out, is that a chip in the ball only solves half of the problem.

The other issue is ruling when a ball-carrier is considered down by contact.

In other words, if the chip in the football confirms the ball crossed the goal line -- it still leaves the question of, "When did the runner's knee hit the ground?"

So, it's not a complete solution -- but it could be a step in the right direction.

Still, Mahomes says he believes the microchip thing will "happen soon enough."

In the meantime, Patrick says he understands human error when it comes to officiating is "just part of the game" ... like balls and strikes in baseball.

Oh, and for the record ... the NFL already uses a microchip in footballs to track data for the league's Next Gen Stats program.

Ezekiel Elliott's dogs have gotten the running back in legal trouble once again ... this time, cops say the NFL star's animals -- including a Rottweiler -- got loose and bit two neighbors.

Police say three of the Dallas Cowboy's dogs escaped Elliott's Frisco, Texas home just before 9:30 AM on Thursday and attacked bystanders.

Cops say when they arrived on the scene, they were able to secure the dogs ... and put Elliott's Rottweiler into a mandatory 10-day quarantine after they determined it had done the biting.

Police say Elliott was issued three citations for "Dog at Large" (one for each dog) ... and added the two people who were bitten were treated at local hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries.

Cops say they've launched an investigation into the incident, and charges could be coming depending on the findings of the probe.

You'll recall, this is not the first time Elliott's dogs have allegedly attacked people ... remember, Elliott is currently being sued by a pool cleaner who claims Zeke's dogs bit her in March 2020.

In that case, the woman said Elliott's Rottweiler bit her arm and dragged her ... before the 25-year-old's two bulldogs began attacking her legs.

The woman claimed she had to have surgery over the incident ... and in pictures TMZ Sports obtained of her alleged injuries, you can see it all looked VERY painful.

The woman is asking for over $200,000 from the Cowboys superstar in the suit.

Elliott's attorney, Frank Salzano, had adamantly denied wrongdoing in that case -- which is still playing out in the court system.

As we previously reported, Elliott is SUPER fond of his pups ... his Rottweiler is tattooed on his forearm -- and he even introduced all of them to his followers on a Twitch stream last year.

Felipe Vazquez -- once considered one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball -- has been found guilty of statutory sexual assault stemming from an inappropriate relationship with a 13-year-old girl.

The 2-time All-Star was arrested in 2019 following allegations Vasquez had sex with a 13-year-old girl in his Ford Mustang in Pennsylvania back in 2017 when he was 26.

Officials say the MLB closer also sent the girl graphic videos and photos -- and told her in text messages he was planning to have sex with her again.

The texts were discovered by the alleged victim's mother -- who alerted police. Investigators say the images depicted numerous "unique and distinguishable" tattoos on his body ... which they were able to match to Vazquez through public images on the Internet.

Prosecutors moved forward with 25 criminal charges against Vasquez -- including 10 counts of child pornography, 10 counts of unlawful contact with a minor and 1 count of corruption of minors.

But, on Thursday, the jury in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, found 29-year-old Vazquez guilty on 15 total counts -- including statutory sexual assault, sexual abuse of children, child pornography and corruption of minors.

The victim was in the courtroom with her family when the verdict was read, according to WPXI's Amy Hudak ... who also shot video of Vazquez returning to jail Thursday evening following his conviction.

Vazquez now faces serious prison time when the sentencing portion of the case begins -- and he could also be deported to Venezuela.

Dana White says he won't hold up the UFC's heavyweight division to wait around for Jon Jones -- telling TMZ Sports the company is "moving on."

Jones -- arguably the greatest MMA fighter ever -- had expressed interest in fighting Francis Ngannou for the heavyweight title ... but hasn't been able to make a deal with the UFC.

It's obviously a huge fight that fans would love to see ... but Dana tells us the two sides are at loggerheads and he's gotta keep the business moving.

"Yeah, I've absolutely moved on," White says ... "Listen, I put on fights every Saturday. We have a window where we try to build some fights and make some things happen. If the fights don't happen within that window, we move on, and realistically, I mean I've been saying it since the beginning, Derrick Lewis is the guy who should be getting the title shots. He beat Francis Ngannou. He's next in line, he's coming off of great performances and that's a wrap. We're moving on."

So, is Jon Jones' run in the UFC done for good?

"That's up to Jon," White said ... "He could absolutely fight again at 205 lbs. He said he wouldn't fight [Stipe Miocic] and now Derrick and Francis are fighting so we'll see how that fight plays out."

"There's nothing wrong with going out on top either -- Jon Jones is undefeated, he's never been beat."

"For those people that don't know, you see that 1 loss on his record, he didn't lose that fight he won that fight in dominant fashion like most of his fights. It was a time when the Nevada Athletic Commission was at its weakest and there was a referee that shouldn't have been in there and he stole that fight from Jon Jones. So, it wouldn't be a bad thing for him to go out on top."

Meanwhile, White is also focusing his energy on "The Return of the Ultimate Fighter" -- the 29th season of the UFC's iconic reality competition show.

The new season, which airs every Tuesday at 9 PM on ESPN+, features Brian Ortega and Alexander Volkanovski as coaches -- working with 16 up-and-coming fighters, all of whom are battling to make the UFC roster.

The series has been a springboard for superstars like Kamaru Usman, Forrest Griffin, Nate Diaz, Tony Ferguson and more ... and Dana clearly feels there's serious talent in this class as well.

It's been 3 days since Kevin Pillar was drilled in the nose by a 94-MPH fastball ... and yeah, his face still looks like hell.

The MLB star showed off another selfie of the battle wounds he suffered after Jacob Webb accidentally pounded his mug with a heater during the Mets-Braves game on Monday night ... and it's still VERY bad.

You can see in the pic, Pillar's got two awful black eyes ... and the scrape on his nose is still bloody.

His whole face, meanwhile, is puffed up like a marshmallow -- but somehow, the dude still appears to be in great spirits.

"For those who have been asking: Still feeling good," the 32-year-old Mets outfielder captioned his pic.

"Ready to get my nose functional again so I can breathe out of it. Will be back soon!"

As we previously reported, the Mets say Pillar suffered multiple nasal fractures after he was hit by the pitch ... and have said he's meeting with doctors and specialists to see how to proceed with the injury going forward.

Pillar, meanwhile, said the day after the incident he wanted to get back to the field ASAP.

Jana Kramer's been named the primary residential parent of her 2 kids in her divorce with Mike Caussin ... but we’ve learned she's agreed to keep dishing out the dough.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the country singer will have primary residential custody of the ex-couple's children -- 5-year-old Jolie and 2-year-old Jace -- 240 days out of the year ... while the former NFL tight end gets them 125 days.

So, Jana gets more parenting time, but she’s also agreed to pay Mike $3,200 per month in child support because her income is $166k monthly while his is only $8k ... according to the docs.

In addition, Kramer's agreed to pay her estranged husband $592,400 as part of their property settlement ... but she doesn't have to fork over any spousal support.

As you may know ... the country and former "One Tree Hill" star announced her split from Caussin in April after nearly 6 years of marriage, saying it was time. She wrote ... "I've fought y'all. I've loved hard. I've forgiven. I've put the work in. I've given everything I have, and now I have nothing else to give."

There will be no Rob Gronkowski-like return for Julian Edelman -- not now nor ever -- so says the former Patriots star, who claims he's REALLY retired.

Rumors of a possible reunion with Tom Brady in Tampa at some point in the future have still swirled despite the 32-year-old's retirement announcement last month ... but JE insists he's seriously done.

Edelman -- who still certainly appears to have game left in his body -- broke it all down for Michael Irvin on The Michael Irvin Podcast this week, explaining he simply doesn't want to push his body any further.

“My knee's breaking down," he said. "I’m not going to sit here, you know, I got everything I want. I got three rings. Played in a magical dynasty with an unbelievable franchise, coach, best quarterback of all time, like, yo, I’m not a greedy guy."

Edelman continued, "I'm not going to sit out there and look like some old dude in an old BIKE knee brace and ankle braces -- you know the old guy? I don't want to look like that, man. I can't do that."

Some of Edelman's closest friends clearly are having a hard time believing him ... Gronk told TMZ Sports just a few weeks ago there was a "69% chance" Edelman joins him on the Bucs eventually.

And, even Brady joked about an Edelman reunion in Tampa during the NFL draft weekend last month too.

But, Edelman -- who's taken a gig as an analyst on Inside the NFL since announcing his retirement -- swears that just ain't happenin'.

This is no stunt to Anderson Silva ... the MMA legend says he's been training his ass off for his June 19 fight against Julio César Chávez Jr. -- preparing for an all-out war.

We broke the story ... 46-year-old Silva is all set to fight 35-year-old Chávez Jr. at Jalisco Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Silva was known as one of the top strikers during his UFC career -- but he hasn't taken a pro boxing match since 2005 ... while Chavez is 52-5-1 as a pro and scored a victory over Jeyson Minda in his latest fight back in Nov. 2020.

We spoke with Silva at his open workout in L.A. this week -- and safe to say, he's VERY excited for the scrap.

"I'm working hard and I'm going to put my heart into this fight," Silva told us ... "I know it's tough because boxing is different. I've never fought in this same level in boxing but I'm preparing my mind, I'm preparing my body."

"The secret I think for me is how much you love doing this and I love it a lot."

Silva says he's also honored to be on the same card as his opponent's father -- boxing legend Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., one of the sport's all-time greats.

"I'm very excited because Julio Cesar Chavez is a legend in this sport and for me, I'm on the same card for this legend?! ... I'm happy!"

There's more ... Silva also talked about the possibility of a future boxing match with Conor McGregor, his message to Chris Weidman if he thinks Khabib Nurmagomedov will ever fight again.

Move over, Jerry World ... Dan Snyder says he's in the process of building his own massive palace for his Washington Football Team -- telling TMZ Sports he expects to have it all done by 2027!!!

The WFT owner was in Los Angeles this week scoping out SoFi Stadium to draw inspiration for the new project ... and he explained to us he's got "big plans" for the building.

The logistics, though, are still murky ... Snyder says they don't have a tentative location or any sort of blueprints yet -- but he and WFT President Jason Wright said they're fired up for it all regardless.

"We're touring stadiums," Snyder said. "We're coming West Coast and touring. There's about 12 of us and we're just looking to build a new venue back home in D.C., Virginia, Maryland."

"So, we're everywhere. Jason, our whole group, 12 of us, we're having some fun and looking at the future."

Snyder says the stadium tour will take them all the way to Europe too ... explaining they hope to get all kinds of ideas for the new "state of the art" facility in the D.C. area.

"We're taking inspiration from everywhere," Wright said. "Because if we're going to do something that our fans really deserve -- which is cutting edge and innovative -- we're going to take in all the ideas. So, we're absorbing."

As for if the team will have a new name by the time the stadium opens ... both Wright and Snyder said they weren't sure of that -- but insisted the search for a permanent moniker is going well.

IT'S TEBOW TIME IN JACKSONVILLE!!!

Tim Tebow has formally signed his 1-year contract with the Jaguars to begin his journey as an NFL tight end -- and is expected to work out with the team STARTING TODAY!!

33-year-old Tebow -- who hasn't worked out with an NFL team since a brief stint with Eagles in 2015 -- says he's ready to compete for a roster spot.

"I want to thank the Jaguars for the opportunity to compete and earn the chance to be part of this team," Tebow said Thursday morning.

"I know it will be a challenge, but it is a challenge I embrace."

He added, "I am dedicated to taking the direction of our coaching staff and learning from my teammates. I appreciate everyone's support as I embark on this new journey."

Tebow will rock #85 on his jersey for Thursday's practice -- though NFL Network's Ian Rapoport says the number could change if he makes the roster.

Tebow is facing a steep uphill battle to make the roster considering he was drafted as QB back in 2010 ... and spent the past 5 years playing minor league baseball for the NY Mets organization.

Will he be able to make an impact? NFL tight end Marcedes Lewis told us he thinks Tebow has a legitimate shot.

How much does CC Sabathia HATE Tony La Russa for the Yermin Mercedes drama in Chicago?

"This s*** is terrible. He shouldn't be f***ing managing that team ... s*** is stupid as f***."

Yeah, that much.

The former New York Yankees superstar went absolutely IN on the White Sox manager Thursday ... blasting the 76-year-old on his 'R2C2' podcast for starting unnecessary beef with his players.

If you missed it ... the whole ordeal boils down to this -- Mercedes hit a home run off a position player on a 3-0 count in a blowout win over the Twins earlier this week.

And, while nobody seemed to have an issue with it ('cause, ya know, it was a 15-4 game and a position player was pitching) -- La Russa decided to railroad Yermin anyway.

The manager publicly called out his rookie and said he'd punish the young, budding star for the swing. Which, of course, ultimately led to the Twins throwing at Yermin in their ensuing matchup.

Fast forward to Thursday ... and Sabathia could not have been more upset at La Russa for igniting the entire situation.

"Tony La Russa's out of touch with the game, cuz," Sabathia said. "He should not be managing one of the best teams in the American League. Period."

CC continued, "You got a rookie that's basically been carrying your f***ing team these first six weeks of the season, this guy's been carrying you and now you don't have a problem with the f***ing weird-ass Minnesota Twins throwing behind one of your biggest hitters?! That's just f***ing stupid."

CC then went in on the Twins for the situation too ... saying, "I was so mad, cuz. Then I was re-pissed off yesterday when [Tyler Duffey's] weird ass threw behind him!"

"You guys look f***ing stupid," CC said of the Twins. "You guys were losing 15-4, cuz! ... Play better! You guys f***ing suck!"

Nationals manager Dave Martinez LOST HIS DAMN MIND after an awful call in a game Wednesday ... screaming, yelling, and even throwing and kicking a base!!!

The epic outburst all went down in the 7th inning of the Nats' game against the Cubs at Wrigley Field ... when after Trea Turner was inexplicably called out due to his route to first base, Martinez exploded.

Dave CLEARLY felt his star shortstop had taken a perfectly acceptable path ... and then began a tirade for the ages.

He screamed at the home plate ump ... demonstrated Turner's run himself -- and then pulled the base straight out of the ground and spiked it!!!

He wasn't done there, though ... 'cause then he kicked the hell out of the base so far that it nearly landed in the dugout!!

Martinez was then obviously ejected and he's now subject to both a fine AND a suspension ... but afterward, he really didn't seem to care about any of it.

Martinez ripped the call -- and implied he'd continue throwing temper tantrums if umps made similar rulings down the road.

"Honestly, I am beside myself now with this whole out-of-the-baseline thing, I really am," Martinez said, adding ... "I'm over it. I really am over it."

"I'm tired of it. I'm going to argue a thousand times when that happens. I really am. I'm sick of it. I mean, you guys saw it. It's a brutal call. And I'm done hiding it."

If this all sounds familiar ... it's because it is -- Turner and Martinez were involved in a nearly identical situation back in the 2019 World Series!

In that game, Trea was also called out for running inside the baseline ... and Martinez was also promptly ejected for arguing.

Seems all of the bitchin' and moanin' is working for Dave, though ... his team went on to win the World Series that year -- and the Nats won Wednesday night too!

Jake Paul is following in the footsteps of boxing legends like Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao ... he just signed a multi-fight deal with Showtime Sports.

Both Jake and the network have confirmed the deal -- which also means Paul's run with Triller is over for now.

No word on how much money Paul will pocket from his new contract with Showtime -- or when he's expected to get in the ring.

But, ESPN's Marc Raimondi reports the two sides are in "advanced talks" about locking in Paul's next opponent -- as well as a date and location.

Also, no word on how much cash Paul will make from the contract.

But, it's huge news for the 24-year-old YouTube sensation who's been destroying opponents like Nate Robinson and Ben Askren since turning his focus to the sweet science a few years back.

Paul -- who's now 3-0 as a pro -- was the main event for the Triller Fight Club PPV event on April 17, when he knocked out Askren in the 1st round.

Paul bragged the event pulled in more than 1 million PPV buys -- which is massive ... begging the question, why would Triller let him walk?

Triller honcho Ryan Kavanaugh told The Athletic's Mike Coppinger there were NO plans for Paul to headline a card moving forward and the April event was simply a novelty.

"Paul being anything other than an undercard for us would change it from novelty to unacceptable,” Kavanaugh told Coppinger.

He also commented on Showtime signing Paul -- "Imitation is the ultimate form of flattery."

As for Jake, he's fired up about the move -- saying, "BOUTTA PUT ON ANOTHER SHOW."

Gotta hand it to the New England Patriots ... once again using their resources to help combat the global COVID pandemic.

This time, Robert Kraft's team sent the Patriots jet to El Salvador to deliver 500,000 doses of the COVID vaccine.

Photos show the plane at Oscar Arnulfo Romero International Airport on Tuesday delivering the payload ... great news for a country that's been trying to roll out the vaccine to its 6.4 million citizens.

So far, El Salvador has recorded more than 71,000 cases and 2,100 deaths. The CDC has issued the country a "3" rating, which indicates a high level of COVID, noting "travelers should avoid all nonessential travel" to El Salvador.

Officials in El Salvador have said the country is on track to reach its goal of immunizing the entire population "very soon" ... thanks, in part, to the Patriots.

Back in April 2020 -- and the beginning of the pandemic -- Kraft sent the Patriots team jet to China to bring back more than 1.2 million N95 masks to distribute to people in need in the U.S.

Sure, you can hate the team on the field ... but gotta hand it to the Patriots for making a real impact off of it.

LeBron James says he was damn near BLIND during his game-winning shot Wednesday night ... explaining to reporters his eye injury had him seeing "3 rims!"

The Lakers superstar had been poked in the left peeper just minutes before he uncorked a 3-pointer to beat the Warriors in their play-in game at Staples ... and Bron said the injury was so bad, he barely had any vision when he pulled up for the big shot.

"The first thing I did when KCP kicked it out, I looked at the shot clock," LeBron told reporters after his team's huge 103-100 victory.

"The second thing I saw was three rims from being poked in the eye on that previous possession when I drove to the hole and then in transition. So, I just aimed for the middle one."

The shot was incredible -- it was about 5 feet beyond the 3-point line -- and when ya factor in the pressure AND what his face had just gone through ... it's pretty big time.

Even Drake loved it!!!

As for the injury going forward, LeBron was clearly fortunate to have escaped serious issues ... 'cause after he was jabbed by Draymond Green on the possession prior to the game-winner, things did NOT look good for L.A. or its superstar.

But, LeBron -- with his eye clearly watering and swelling -- said after the game he expects to be all right as the Lakers move on into the playoffs.