TMZ Sports - Page 50

Jacob deGrom decided to have a little fun before NY's game Tuesday ... horsing around with a teammate in pregame warmups -- and it has Mets fans absolutely TRIGGERED!!!

The scene was captured by MLB Network cameras hours before the Mets' game against the Braves in Atlanta ... and it was pretty silly -- deGrom wrestled a teammate to the ground in hilarious WWE fashion.

Seriously, the play fighting was actually funny ... deGrom pulled the shirt over his teammate's head, threw him to the ground -- and then another Met came in to count down the pin!

The problem ... Jacob's battled some injuries this season -- and Mets fans are absolutely LOSING IT over the sight of their star ace rolling around on the ground unprotected!!

NY fans have erupted on social media ... pleading with deGrom to take care of himself -- especially with his next start scheduled for Thursday night.

Don't worry, deGrom made it through the outfield scrap unscathed ... but it would seriously be a bummer if something did happen to him.

Chauncey Billups was introduced as the next head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday ... but before he talked hoops, the ex-NBA star opened up on his sexual assault allegations from more than 20 years ago.

Back in 1997, Billups -- a player for the Boston Celtics at the time -- was accused of sexually assaulting a woman at teammate Antoine Walker’s home.

The woman claimed she blacked out during the attack ... and woke up with injuries to her cervix, rectum and throat.

Billups was NOT charged with a crime ... but reportedly settled a lawsuit filed by his accuser.

During Billups' intro presser on Tuesday, Portland GM Neil Olshey insisted the organization took the 1997 allegation very seriously ... even hiring an independent team of investigators to look into the troubling claims.

Olshey said the investigators dug around and determined Billups' claim that the encounter was consensual was corroborated.

The team did not elaborate on the findings of the investigation.

Billups personally spoke about the allegations as well, saying, "There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about how every decision that we make can have a profound impact on a person's life."

"This experience has shaped my life in so many different ways."

He added ... "I really, really look forward in providing insight, leadership to our guys who are young and taking on a lot of responsibility as I was at that time."

"But, just being able to support them and walk them through situations is something that I'm gonna take as a responsibility."

Members of the media tried to ask follow-up questions about the alleged incident ... but Blazers PR shut it down.

Serena Williams will not add another Wimbledon trophy to her collection this year ... she just withdrew from the tournament due to a leg injury -- and her exit was VERY emotional.

Williams was competing in her first-round match in London against Aliaksandra Sasnovich ... but at one point during the contest, she slipped and injured her leg.

Serena got it all checked out by trainers ... and tried to continue -- but the injury became too much, and she eventually crumpled to the grass in extreme pain.

Williams didn't try to compete after that ... she pulled herself from the event -- and broke down in tears while doing so.

The crowd in attendance made it known they appreciated her effort -- giving her a standing ovation -- and before Williams left for the locker room area, she waved to everybody.

39-year-old Williams doesn't withdraw from Grand Slams due to injury much ... in fact, this is only the second time it's EVER happened to her (she had to withdraw from Wimbledon in 1998).

Serena currently holds 23 major titles, just one shy of the record 24 mark set by Margaret Court.

Get well soon!

IT'S A GIRL!!!!

UFC legend Ronda Rousey and Travis Browne just announced their baby's gender on Tuesday ... sharing the big news with a Pokémon-themed reveal.

The badass couple first put out word they were expecting the "baddest baby on the planet" back in April ... with a September 22 due date.

Of course, Rousey is a massive Pokémon nerd ... so it was only fitting to channel the game when making the gender news public.

"Our gender reveal is finally here," Rousey said on YouTube. "We didn’t want to do anything that would set hundreds of acres ablaze or thousands even."

"Some people are idiots," she added. "We didn’t want to do that. So, we’re keeping it simple. We’re keeping it safe. We’re keeping it Browsey Acres-style."

Remember, Ronda is one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time ... and went on to have a wildly successful career with WWE until she left in 2019 to focus on starting a family.

So, will the baby girl follow in mom's footsteps and bring the bantamweight belt back to the Rousey name?? Guess we'll find out in 2041 or so.

Tyler Skaggs' widow has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Los Angeles Angels ... claiming the team is to blame for her husband's tragic passing in 2019.

It's all spelled out in new court docs, obtained by TMZ Sports, in which Carli Skaggs says the Angels could have prevented the pitcher's death with several simple steps ... but did not.

In the suit, Carli says it all boils down to the team's handling of Eric Kay ... the Angels team employee who was criminally charged with distributing the drugs that ultimately killed Skaggs in his hotel room while on the road for an away game in Texas on July 1, 2019.

Carli says the team knew Kay was giving Skaggs and other players drugs ... but did not do anything about it.

In fact, in the suit, Carli claims Kay was a known drug abuser ... and says despite the team being well-aware of it -- it still gave Kay "complete access to players, day and night both off the field and on the field."

"This was a fatal mistake," Carli said in the suit.

Carli claims if the team had taken steps to restrict Kay's access to players, her husband would still be alive today.

"The Angels failed Tyler," Carli said in the suit. "And because of this failure, Tyler, who was on the brink of achieving certain and substantial success as a pitcher in MLB, had his life cut short."

Carli is suing for damages.

We've reached out to the Angels, but so far, no word back yet.

Wild scene from the Tour de France on Tuesday ... when all the riders staged a 1-minute protest to demand safer racing conditions.

The event has been laden with gnarly crashes over the past 3 days ... including a massive pileup caused by a spectator's cardboard sign on Saturday.

Yet another crash went down during Stage 3 on Monday ... and riders believe it could have been avoided if race organizers would have listened to their concerns regarding the curvy and narrow finale.

The riders decided to show just how pissed they are about the dangerous racing conditions with the strike ... coming to a complete stop 1 kilometer into Stage 4 in hopes of bringing changes to the event.

The riders then resumed the race at a slow pace for the next 10 kilometers.

The Cyclistes Professionnels Associés released a statement in response to the crashes on Monday ... saying the riders want their concerns to be taken seriously.

"Their frustration about foreseeable and preventable action is enormous," the CPA said.

"The riders wish to stress their respect for their sponsors, their sports groups, the organizer, their international institution," the statement added. "Supporters are very important to them -- and this is why they will be riding today."

"In return, the riders of the Tour de France ask for the same respect – respect for their safety."

The riders are asking organizers to implement a "3-kilometer rule" ... which means times would be taken 3 kilometers from the finish in case of future crashes or other issues similar to what went down on Monday.

Soccer legend Mia Hamm is making history yet again ... her rookie card just set a record for the most expensive female sports card ever -- smashing the previous record!!

The 1992 Sports Illustrated for Kids rookie card -- graded a PERFECT 10 by PSA -- hit the auction block at Goldin Auctions a few weeks back ... and it's a thing of beauty.

Over the weekend, the card sold for $34,440!!!

The huge sales price makes this card the most expensive female card ever ... more than doubling the previous record -- a $16k Alex Morgan card.

It's not a surprise that Hamm's card made history ... she's a soccer icon.

Mia played forward from 1987 to 2004, winning 2 Olympic gold medals with the USA women's soccer team and is a 2-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion.

She was also the first female inducted into the World Football Hall of Fame (2013) and even has a building named after her at Nike headquarters.

Hamm also held the record for most international goals (158) by a woman -- or man!

Congressman Madison Cawthorn is LIVID over Gwen Berry's anthem protest ... calling it "disgusting" and telling TMZ Sports the hammer thrower should be booted from the country's Olympic team over it all.

The North Carolina rep didn't mince words when we got him out on Capitol Hill on Monday ... ripping Berry for her demonstration during the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Saturday's 2020 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Team Trials in Eugene, OR.

"It's laughable!" the 25-year-old politician said. "I mean, literally, it's just the easiest thing to do! Literally the bare minimum requirement that you have to do to be on the Olympic team besides be an incredible athlete is just respect and rep the country you are there for."

"And, so, when I see someone who is not respecting our national anthem, who's destroying our entire country -- the entire reason we fund the Olympic program is so that we can be represented on the world stage with how great our nation is -- so, I think it's disgusting."

If you missed it, Berry -- who's been incredibly vocal in the fight for social justice in America -- was furious when the anthem played during her podium appearance after placing in third place on Saturday.

She turned her back toward the flag ... and eventually held up a t-shirt that read "activist athlete."

Afterward, Berry said of the song, "The anthem doesn't speak for me. It never has.''

Cawthorn made it clear Monday he believes she shouldn't be allowed to rep the U.S. during the Tokyo Olympics with that opinion, saying, "I don't think she should be on the team."

"If you're not going to represent and respect our country, then I don't think you should be there."

Cawthorn added, "She is there to be our champion yet she's disgracing our entire country."

Ex-NFL star Greg Olsen says his 8-year-old son is absolutely crushing it in the weeks following his heart transplant ... calling his recovery process "unbelievable."

As we previously reported, Olsen's son, TJ, -- who was born with a congenital heart disease -- underwent the serious surgery earlier this month to receive a new heart.

The Olsens have been documenting TJ's story every step of the way ... including the special moment when he "rang the bell" to symbolize the end of his treatment 2 weeks ago.

Now, Greg is sharing even more good news ... saying TJ's improving every day at home.

"He’s doing good," Olsen told the Charlotte Observer. "He’s had an unbelievable recovery. He’s feeling good. He’s been home almost three weeks."

"He’s starting to get his strength back and to get a little more active. It’s been quite a journey."

Greg also explained the family's decision to share TJ's journey ... saying, "I just think it’s important for people to not only hear from you when you’re on top of the world, right?"

"The reality and humanity of it is that a lot of people do have tough times. And I think sometimes people think they are the only ones going through tough times."

He added ... "So, to share TJ’s story, that has connected us with so many other stories of hope and heartache throughout the country."

"That’s why we do it, to show people, 'Hey, you’re not alone out there. There are a lot of people that are struggling. There’s a lot of people that are having hard times. But you can get through it. and TJ is a great example of that.'"

The Stanley Cup Final looked more like a horror movie Monday night -- at least for a few minutes -- 'cause one player's head was left a bloody mess after a violent scrap.

Canadiens winger Brendan Gallagher was the man who unfortunately suffered the wound late in the third period of Montreal's first game with Tampa Bay ... and it was pretty gnarly.

The Habs player crashed the Lightning net to try to clean up a possible rebound ... and several Tampa Bay players took so much exception to the skate-in, they fought him.

Blake Coleman ripped Gallagher's helmet off ... and then Mikhail Sergachev slammed Gallagher so hard to the ice, his head took a nasty shot.

Photos from the game show Gallagher was bleeding profusely ... and it was so bad, the 29-year-old eventually skated off and did not return to the contest.

Seems Gallagher's going to be just fine for Game 2 ... but, he had to deal with a little more sting while in the locker room getting treatment, 'cause the Canadiens were ultimately blown out, 5-1.

Incredibly gross scene at Yankee Stadium on Monday ... Angels pitcher Dylan Bundy was so bothered by the New York heat, he straight-up blew chunks all over the mound!!

It all went down in Los Angeles' tilt with the Yankees ... where temperatures in the 90s had Bundy REALLY not feeling so hot.

The 28-year-old struggled to pitch to his first few batters of the night -- giving up four hits and two runs -- and then late in the 2nd inning, you can see he really wasn't doing well physically.

Video from the game's broadcast shows Bundy was sweating so much, water was dripping off his hat ... and then he couldn't hold back a load of vomit.

Bundy threw up several times all over the mound and all over the grass behind it ... and after a trainer came out to check on him, he was eventually pulled from the game.

Fortunately, the Angels say he was just dealing with some heat exhaustion and he's expected to be fine.

Of course, if this all looks familiar ... it's because it is -- just a few weeks ago, Tigers pitcher Beau Burrows also yacked all over a mound dealing with heat problems.

Stephen Jackson says "the tears will never go away" when it comes to George Floyd ... with the ex-NBAer breaking down as he opened up about his close friend's death.

Of course, Jackson and Floyd grew up together in Houston, TX ... and Stak often referred to him as his "twin."

Jackson -- who has been at the forefront of the social justice movement since Floyd's death in May 2020 -- described his emotions a year later ... and it's heartbreaking.

"The tears will never go away because I really lost family," Stak said on Portal A's "Charges With Rex Chapman" podcast.

"My momma will tell you. She even thought that was her son at times when she saw him. That's how much we looked alike."

"It just took me back to that place for a second, man. These tears are not fake. They're real, so when I feel it, they come out."

Jackson's "All The Smoke" podcast co-host Matt Barnes reflected on the protests that broke out throughout the country following the tragedy ... and said it's time to keep pushing the message even further.

"It's not white vs. Black, Black vs. Asian, white vs. Mexican," Barnes said. "It's love vs. hate because again, hate comes in all shapes, forms and colors."

"We fought, we rioted, we burned things down and that's got a little bit of attention. But, now that they're actually listening, what are we gonna do with our minds to help better, not only us but our kids' future."

Derek Chauvin -- the Minneapolis cop who kept his knee on Floyd's neck during the incident -- was just sentenced to 22.5 years in prison ... but as Jackson said last week, it won't bring his friend back.

Stak also gives Barnes his flowers during the powerful moment ... saying the ex-NBAer continues to help him fight for Floyd -- with or without the cameras around.

UFC fighter Justin Jaynes bet his entire $25K fight purse on himself and LOST ... so, instant regret, right??

Nope ... 31-year-old JJ tells TMZ Sports he'd do it all over again -- and that's exactly what he wants to do.

"I really don’t have any regrets man. I live a high risk, high reward kind of lifestyle."

Of course, Justin famously gambled his fight check ... and ended up losing a 3-round split decision to 34-year-old Charles Rosa at UFC Vegas 30.

And now, he wants that cash back -- and he's willing to fight Rosa again.

"F*** it, let’s run it back, double or nothing," Jaynes says.

"I need to get my money back anyways man. It’s just one of those things, like I said I trained very, very, very hard. It was my motivation, there was a lot on the line going into this fight."

Even with the hit to his bank account (which sucked) ... Justin says he can still support his family -- and that's what really matters.

"It didn’t feel great, but it’s not going to put me in a position to where I can’t take care of myself," Jaynes says.

Nia Long is showing some serious love for her fiancé Ime Udoka ... praising her soon-to-be hubby on becoming the new head coach of the Boston Celtics!!

The Cs officially announced the former Brooklyn Nets assistant as Brad Stevens' successor at a press conference on Monday ... and the "Boyz n the Hood" actress couldn't help but gas up her man.

"Today you are officially the Head Coach of the Boston Celtics," Long said on IG. "Big love to the entire staff for the warm welcome. I am beyond proud of this man."

Long is already getting used to rockin' the green and white -- sporting a #18 Celtics jersey, with the digits symbolizing Udoka becoming the 18th head coach in franchise history.

"The legacy continues. #coachudoka18."

FYI -- Long and Udoka have been together for 10 years ... and she's been by his side as he's moved around the league in hopes of someday getting that head coaching spot.

Long is confident Udoka will thrive in Beantown ... saying, "expect great things because that's what he does."

As for coach, Udoka raved about the gig, saying, "I look forward to having success with you guys."

"The relationships have been great. I look forward to building those. As far as the players and the roster, I'm very excited, honored to be a part of it and let's go for 18 [championships]".

This is Udoka's first gig as head coach ... he's been an assistant coach for 3 teams (Spurs, Sixers, Nets) since 2012 and won a championship in 2014.

MMA fighter Joe Schilling -- who last fought professionally in 2019 for Bellator -- knocked out a man at a bar with a vicious combo of punches ... and the violent incident was all caught on video.

It's unclear when and where the barrage went down -- we're working on it -- but Schilling confirmed on his social media page Monday he was the puncher.

In his post, Schilling claimed he acted simply out of self defense ... writing he believed the whole situation was "life threatening" for him.

The footage from the scene, meanwhile, is intense ... you can see in the clip, when a man in a shirt and tie appeared to inadvertently block Schilling on his way through a walkway at the bar -- things got heated.

Schilling seemed to move the man out of the way ... and when the man appeared to say something in response, the 37-year-old fighter turned around.

Seconds later, Schilling can be seen in the footage unloading at least four punches on the guy's face ... sending him crashing to the ground.

Schilling seemed to comment on the situation further in his Instagram stories later Monday morning ... writing, "If you think I'm going to be the guy to calm everything down you got me f***ed up."

He added, "I'm here for the show."

It's unclear if law enforcement was involved.

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

Several big names from "The Bachelor" franchise are catching flak for receiving money from the government's Paycheck Protection Program during the pandemic ... but 2 of them, so far, are defending it.

If ya don't know ... the PPP loans were meant to aid small businesses and allow them to keep their workforce employed during the COVID crisis, and new public records revealed companies associated with 'Bachelor' stars like Tayshia Adams and Arie Luyendyk received loans in the past year in the amounts of $20,833 and $20,830 respectively.

The companies that actually received the PPP loans are interesting -- Tayshia named her company Tayshia Adams Media LLC ... and Arie's is called Instagram Husband LLC. Yeah, fans are having a field day with that one.

Another notable one is the Colton Underwood Legacy Foundation, which received an $11,355 PPP loan. Dale Moss also applied for a $20k loan, but it doesn't look like that one has been disbursed yet.

Social media controversy about all this is picking up. The big question being ... why should these reality TV stars and influencers be granted PPP loans?

For her part, Tayshia insists her company's PPP loan was totally on the up and up.

Her rep tells TMZ ... "The primary purpose of the [PPP] Loan is to help business owners retain their existing employees and to create jobs for Americans who are financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. As a business owner, television and podcast host, and brand ambassador, Tayshia obtained a PPP Loan that enabled her to hire an employee, to whom she offers market-based pay and benefits."

We're told the employee Tayshia hired with the PPP money was previously laid off from a media company at the start of the pandemic.

The rep adds ... "Since exhausting the PPP Loan funds, but in light of the growing economy, Tayshia has committed to retaining her employee for the foreseeable future."

Likewise, Underwood's rep tells us ... "Colton's nonprofit filed for the PPP loan after their annual fundraising events were cancelled due to COVID. None of the PPP went directly to Colton. In fact, Colton has never received any form of payment from the foundation, all of the proceeds go directly to people living with cystic fibrosis."

Nevertheless ... the backlash online has begun. Even former 'Bachelor' Nick Viall is weighing in by saying the loans might be perfectly legit, legally speaking, but to him at least ... something seems "s**tty" about it.