TMZ Sports - Page 50

Jason Dupasquier, a 19-year-old Swiss Moto3 rider, died after a terrible accident during a qualifying session for the Italian Grand Prix.

Dupasquier and several other riders crashed into each other between turns 9 and 10. The accident was horrifying, as riders flew off their bikes with the momentum propelling one of them a long distance. EMTs immediately descended on the scene.

Officials explained, "FIM Medical Intervention Vehicles arrived at the site immediately and the Swiss rider was attended to on track before being transferred by medical helicopter, in a stable state, to Careggi Hospital in Florence."

The statement goes on ... "Despite the best efforts of circuit medical staff and all those subsequently attending to the Swiss rider, the hospital has announced that Dupasquier has sadly succumbed to his injuries."

Dupasquier was ranked 12th in the standing.

He was 19.

YouTube star Austin McBroom staged a wild event in Bev Hills Saturday ... and he had a target in mind -- fellow TikToker Bryce Hall.

Austin told his fans on social he'd meet up with them on Rodeo Drive at around 4 PM. There was no question hundreds of fans would flock to the pricey stretch of road ... and that's exactly what they did.

The scene was crazy ... Austin displayed a piñata with Bryce Hall's face on it ... and there's a reason. Austin and Bryce are going to square off in a fight June 12 in Miami at Hard Rock Stadium, and it's clear they're both out for blood.

You may have seen ... the 2 got into it in what turned into a massive brawl earlier this month at Fred Segal's in L.A.

As for Rodeo Drive ... they hoisted the pinata with a rope, but before they could go to town cops showed up ... because the crowd had essentially shut Rodeo Drive down. The crowd dispersed without incident.

Sylvester Stallone says Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier III is gonna be one helluva fight ... but says Conor will be at a MAJOR disadvantage when he steps back into the octagon.

"Poirier has the big-time advantage," Sly told us outside of Giuseppe Franco Hair Salon in Bev Hills.

So, why does Stallone feel that way?

"You got a really hungry, young guy (Poirier) and then you got a guy who's made a lot of money but he's also sorta hungry (McGregor)."

The two UFC stars are set to fight for the third time at UFC 264 on July 10.

Conor famously KO'd Dustin in the 1st round of their 1st fight back in 2014.

Dustin won the rematch with a 2nd round TKO at UFC 257 in January 2021.

Stallone says both guys are killers -- and have demonstrated the ability to end the fight quickly and violently ... which is why he won't make a definitive fight prediction.

"That one I swear you really flip a coin on. It's like who hits first."

Kawhi Leonard's Spurs jersey from game 6 of the '13 NBA Finals -- when Ray Allen knocked down the most clutch 3-pointer ever -- just hit the auction block ... and with a big enough bank account, you can own a piece of NBA history.

Miami Heat vs. San Antonio Spurs, June 2013. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and R. Allen battling Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Kawhi. It was one of the most unforgettable series ever.

Now, the actual jersey Leonard -- only 21 years old at the time -- wore during game 6 and 7 is available at sports memorabilia auction website, Lelands.

Kawhi was great in games 6 and 7 ... recording a double-double in both games. In game 6, Leonard scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. In game 7, KL dropped 19 points and grabbed 16 boards.

Unfortunately for the Spurs, Allen -- with the Heat trailing by 3 -- knocked down an improbable game-tying trey with only 5.2 seconds left in game 6.

Miami went on to win the game in overtime ... before wrapping up the series -- and winning the NBA title -- in game 7.

As for the actual jersey -- which Lelands tells us has been expertly photo matched -- the threads are size 2XL and features an NBA Finals patch.

Bidding for the jersey ends on Friday.

Kristin Cavallari and Jay Cutler seemed to be moving along nicely with their divorce, but it's stalling ... and we're told it's because he wants a piece of her company.

Sources close to the ex-couple tell TMZ ... the reason it's taking a while to finalize their divorce is because Jay's seeking 50 percent ownership of Uncommon James, Kristin's chic jewelry and apparel line.

We're told Cutler's insisting he should get a stake in UJ because Kristin launched it while they were married ... and well before he filed for divorce in April, 2020.

Our sources say Kristin doesn't feel she owes him anything from Uncommon James, however, because she says Jay didn't put any of his own money into the company. She claims she funded it ... and is pushing back hard.

Whether or not that's true, we do know Cutler was at the opening of Cavallari's Chicago location for support ... because it was featured on her reality show.

As we've reported ... after the divorce filing last year, things got contentious between Kristin and Jay for a while, but they seemingly worked it all out, agreeing to 50/50 custody of their 3 kids. They even hinted they were getting close again in January.

There ARE enough balls to go around for Julio Jones in Pittsburgh ... so says Chase Claypool, who tells TMZ Sports he'd LOVE it if the Steelers traded for the superstar WR!

"I would love him in Pittsburgh!" Claypool said outside The Farm in Beverly Hills this week.

Of course, Pittsburgh would have to get creative with its salary cap ... and it'd have to offer up a LOT to get Julio from Atlanta, but Claypool made it clear to us, there'd be no fight in the Pittsburgh receiver room if Jones was acquired.

Despite an uber-talented WR roster that includes Chase, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Diontae Johnson and James Washington ... Claypool said he'd still welcome Julio with open arms.

"We're stacked," Claypool said. "But, you can never get too many superstars."

As we previously reported, Jones wants out of Atlanta ... even telling Shannon Sharpe on live television this week that his days as a Falcon are done.

Atlanta has been reportedly shopping him around ... but it's unclear if Pittsburgh is a true frontrunner to land him.

One thing Chase says he knows for sure is that if Julio does come on board ... Jones will be a fan of his new QB -- with Claypool telling us Ben Roethlisberger is still his "G.O.A.T."

Sorry, fight fans ... Chuck Liddell says there will be no upcoming boxing match with Jake Paul -- the UFC legend tells TMZ Sports he'd HURT the YouTuber if a scrap ever went down.

Liddell told us out in L.A. that even though the two have beefed publicly over the past couple weeks ... it just makes no sense for Jake to box him, even at Chuck's current age.

"He's not good enough to fight me," the 51-year-old said of the 24-year-old.

"It just doesn't make sense for him. None of it makes sense for this guy. He's going to risk getting hurt like that?!"

If you're wondering why it's even being rumored ... it's 'cause the two went after each other on social media following Jake's huge win over Ben Askren.

A fan on Twitter asked Chuck to shut Jake up ... and Liddell responded, "I’m ready anytime for that clown."

Paul fired back a short time later, posting a pic of the two after the Askren fight and saying, "This guy Chuck Liddell begged me for a pic after my fight and now is talking s*** on Twitter."

Dominique Wilkins now has even more reason to be upset with a restaurant that turned him away, because Lamar Odom enjoyed a meal at the same spot -- wearing a similar outfit to Wilkins -- just months before.

We got this shot of the former Lakers star at Le Bilboquet in Buckhead, GA taken back in  February. Lamar was wearing a white track suit and sneakers during a friendly meal with local recording artist Morgan Reilly and a mutual guy friend.

As for why it matters? Dominique ripped the restaurant last week, accusing it of turning him  away because he's Black. However, LB said it wasn't about race ... it was only enforcing a "business casual" dress code, and Wilkins' "designer casual pants and a shirt" didn't cut it.

LB did issue an apology to the Hall of Famer, and said it's considering a revision of the dress code, and will try to be more consistent in enforcing. it. When ya take Dominique's situation and Lamar's wardrobe, it's pretty clear there was NOT consistency.

Mark Zuckerberg not taking any chances sharing the ocean with sharks ... because he's hooked himself up to a contraption that supposedly keeps them at bay.

Mark was out on his hydrofoil surfboard in Kauai, Hawaii Thursday, wearing an ankle bracelet called Sharkbanz. The promise is that sharks don't like what it emits, so they stay clear of surfers. The device sends out an electrical current that apparently drives sharks away.

But, there are other, more subtle deterrents. His board has a zebra pattern underneath ... the theory goes that sharks like seeing solid colors because it resembles food, so they're not into stripes. Good theory, but sounds a little sketchy.

Shark Week is coming up on Discovery ... they shoulda featured Mark on how not to get eaten!

Zuck posted video of him on the board, and gotta say .... he's really good in the water. It's pretty choppy, but Mark stays up and bounces atop the swells. He's been surfing for years.

A golfer was nearly mauled by a monster-sized swan after sinking a putt on a Georgia course this week ... and the wild attack was all captured on video!!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... John Walters was out on a round with his pals in South Georgia -- when the golf outing suddenly turned into a fight with a bird.

You can see in the crazy footage ... despite a massive swan parked on the green, Walters went ahead and putted out his 5-footer.

The problem? The made shot had serious ramifications -- 'cause the swan attacked!!

The bird nipped at Walters repeatedly, before the dude took off in a full sprint to get away!!

Walters' daughter tells us the bird has become famous on the course ... explaining it lives in a pond near the 9th hole and has a history of being protective of its green and fairway.

Guy Fieri smells a comeback in the restaurant industry ... and to celebrate he's throwing a huge party with the help of some famous friends.

The official Mayor of Flavortown will be on "TMZ Live" Monday and says he hopes America's reached the point it can finally be done talking about restaurant closures due to the pandemic ... and begin looking forward.

Enter Guy's Restaurant Reboot ... a live stream special set for June 12 at 7 PM across all of Guy's social media platforms. America's favorite chef calls it a celebration of local restaurants across America.

It's pretty sweet ... Guy and his team got huge backing from LendingTree and Pepsi to support the festivities. Shaq and Gronk will visit their favorite joints in Atlanta (Park Tavern) and Tampa Bay (Datz Restaurant) and actually cook their favorite items.

Diplo and Old Dominion will provide the music. And, $300k will be given away to restaurateurs and entrepreneurs to keep their businesses afloat.

Guy's on a mission to get restaurants up and running again after the pandemic pummeled the industry. More than 100k restaurants either temporarily or permanently closed.

Russell Westbrook just scored another W over an NBA heckler -- the $100 million lawsuit filed against the NBA superstar has been thrown out ... TMZ Sports has learned.

According to court docs, a judge ruled in favor of Westbrook on Thursday ... saying he didn't defame anyone by clapping back at a couple who harassed him during a 2019 game in Utah.

As we previously reported, Westbrook was sued by Shane Keisel -- a U.S. Army vet who got into it with the then-OKC Thunder player during a March 11, 2019 game against the Jazz.

In his suit, Keisel admitted he tried to heckle Westbrook by telling the NBA star “that he should just sit down and ice his knees.”

But, Keisel claimed Westbrook misheard him ... and interpreted his words not only as a homophobic insult, but also "racial."

Westbrook said he thought he heard, "get down on your knees like you used to.”

The point guard then went nuclear on Keisel and his girlfriend, Jennifer Huff -- and it was all caught on video.

"I’ll f*ck you up," Westbrook was heard saying. "You and your wife. I’ll f*ck you up."

Keisel said he was only not only banned from Utah Jazz games for life, but was fired from his job, kicked out of a pilot training program and received death threats.

Keisel and Huff sued Westbrook and the Jazz for $100 MILLION for defamation, among other things, claiming he was wrongly being painted as a racist homophobe.

But, in court docs obtained by TMZ Sports, the judge in the case rejected the arguments, explaining Westbrook's statements were just opinions, not defamation.

The judge explained, "whether a person is racist or whether a statement is racial is a matter of opinion which cannot be verified as true or false."

The judge added, "It is only in the free expression of these ideas that the nation can hope to heal the historic wounds of slavery and racial injustice that fester still today. That healing cannot occur if public dialogue about racism is silenced under threat of defamation liability."

The court also noted Westbrook’s in-game threats were "coarse and offense" ... but were not extreme and/or outrageous enough to recover damages.

The judge also said Keisel and Huff remained in the arena to watch the rest of the game and there was never any real risk that Westbrook would make good on his threats.

Danny Ainge says in the 26 years he's been playing and working for the Celtics ... he's "never" heard any racist remarks from fans at TD Garden -- but he did say he's taking Kyrie Irving's comments "seriously."

If you missed it ... Irving implored Celtics fans to treat him with respect when his Nets team arrives in Boston for its playoff games this weekend, insinuating he's been called racist things at the Celtics' arena in the past.

But, when Ainge was asked to comment on that on the 98.5 The Sports Hub on Thursday ... the Boston GM said he's simply never heard that kind of vitriol from people at the Garden before.

"Quite honestly, I've never heard any of it," 62-year-old Ainge said. "I'm not saying the city of Boston -- I'm saying [TD Garden]. I think our fans are very respectful."

Ainge, though, did say he'd look into Kyrie's comments ... explaining the team won't just brush them off.

"I think that we take those kinds of things seriously," said Ainge, who was the GM during Irving's 2-year Celtics tenure in the 2017 and 2018 NBA seasons.

"I never heard any of that, from any player that I’ve ever played with in my 26 years in Boston. I never heard that before from Kyrie, and I talked to him quite a bit. So, I don’t know."

As for whether or not Celtics fans will just plain boo Kyrie ... Ainge thinks that might be a little bit of a different story, saying, "Fans will do what they want to do."

Don't lie to yourself ... you're curious how Tim Tebow looks at tight end at Jaguars practice, despite all the naysayers.

So, take a look for yourself -- here's a gallery of Tim running through a bunch of typical tight end drills ... he's blocking, catching passes, working on his footwork.

You know ... typical football stuff.

But, it's Tim Tebow -- who hasn't played a meaningful snap in the league since 2012, back when he was a quarterback!

Sure, grumble to yourself about how it's a joke ... and blah blah blah ... but click the damn button and look through the photos already.

You know you want to.

And, if you need a reminder ... Tim signed a 1-year deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars, reconnecting with his old college football coach Urban Meyer.

So far, Trevor Lawrence -- the top pick in the 2021 NFL Draft -- has raved about Tim ... calling him a positive influence and a role model for other players.

Welp, they don't call him "El Mago" for nothing ...

Here's Javier Baez going OFF during the Cubs' game against the Pirates on Thursday ... completing what might very well be the most insane play in MLB history!!!

The crazy sequence all kicked off in the top of the 3rd inning at PNC Park ... when Baez hit a ground ball to 3rd base.

As Pittsburgh first baseman Will Craig received the throw from 3rd, though, he went to lazily tag Baez, who for some reason decided to run backward.

Instead of just stepping on 1st or even sprinting to get Baez out, Craig inexplicably jogged toward Javy -- and then all hell broke loose.

Chicago catcher Willson Contreras came home -- and because of Craig's indecisiveness, he actually scored!!!

But, it gets better ... 'cause after that, Javy ran to 1st, and Pittsburgh botched that play too -- underthrowing the toss, allowing Baez to reach 2nd on the play!!

Oh, and did we mention -- ALL OF THIS WAS WITH TWO OUTS IN THE INNING?!!?!

The official scoring goes down like this: "Javier Baez reached on fielder's choice, 3rd to 1st, Willson Contreras scored. Javier Baez to 2nd on Michael Perez's throwing error."