TMZ Sports - Page 50

"I was very overconfident going into [Usman] fight. I just believed, I’m going to beat this guy, and there’s nothing he can do to stop me."

That's 34-year-old UFC star Gilbert Burns admitting he thought he was gonna roll over welterweight champ Kamaru Usman when they fought in February.

That didn't happen ... and Burns was ultimately stopped via TKO in the 3rd round -- a defeat that crushed him emotionally.

"As soon as we put on those little, small gloves everyone is danger," Burns tells TMZ Sports.

"You gotta respect that, and I think I was very overconfident, and I paid the price. So, learned so much. The journey is still very alive, first step is going to be July 10th."

Of course, July 10 is UFC 264 ... the date Burns returns to the Octagon against #4 ranked fight Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson.

"Now I’m on my way back. I’m hungry as ever. I think I’m a little more mature, more disciplined."

Does 1 win get him back in title contention -- and set him up for a rematch with Usman?

Surprisingly, Burns says probably not ... he has more work to do.

Patrick Mahomes ain't pleased that USA Track & Field officials left Sha'Carri Richardson off the Olympic roster this week ... calling the snub "pretty ridiculous."

The NFL superstar explained his thoughts on the matter Thursday on "First Take" ... clearly believing USATF should've added Richardson to the team, despite her recent positive marijuana test.

"She put in the work," the Chiefs quarterback said. "Even though she made a mistake -- like we all make mistakes in whatever way that is -- but to give her an almost extra ban, to not let her be at the Olympics at all, it's pretty ridiculous to me."

As we previously reported, Richardson tested positive for pot after the Olympic Trials last month ... and was subsequently hit with a 1-month ban as punishment.

The penalty -- while wiping away her opportunity to race in the Tokyo Olympics' 100-meter sprint -- still was set to end in time for her to potentially run for USA in the 4x100-meter relay.

But, USATF officials announced Tuesday they were still leaving her off the team ... explaining, "All USATF athletes are equally aware of and must adhere to the current anti-doping code, and our credibility as the National Governing Body would be lost if rules were only enforced under certain circumstances."

Mahomes called B.S. on all on Thursday, though ... saying, "For her to be left off, after all the hard work and dedication that she's put into the sport, and for her to be one of those bright young stars for the USA, it's just disappointing."

"I couldn’t care about them 2 dingbats."

Conor McGregor is days away from one of the biggest fights of his career, but the UFC superstar's still getting grilled about Jake and Logan Paul ... saying he has no intention of ever fighting the YouTubers-turned-boxers.

... but he's not counting it out for good!!!

"The Notorious" -- who's seeking revenge against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 on Saturday -- was asked if he'd ever step in the ring with the two bros this week ... and his answer is very interesting.

"I don’t see so, but never say never," Conor said. "If they’re gonna keep competing and what not, who f***in' knows? But dingbats, the 2 of 'em."

In other words -- SO YOU'RE SAYING THERE'S A CHANCE!!!!

Remember, Jake has incessantly gone after McGregor for months ... offering $50 million to make the fight happen, even releasing a wild video claiming the superstar and Dana White are scared to set it up.

Conor -- who loves making money -- has kept his options open about fighting Jake in the past ... and you'd think there's gotta be a reason for that.

Trevor Bauer will be away from MLB mounds for at least another week ... the league just announced it extended the Dodgers star's paid leave 7 more days.

The MLB Players Association signed off on the move Thursday ... meaning Bauer is now out of Los Angeles' rotation until at least July 16.

Bauer had initially been placed on paid leave last Friday ... in wake of allegations that he had punched and choked a woman during two sexual encounters in April and May.

According to MLB insider Jeff Passan, if a police investigation and/or an MLB probe into the matter isn't settled by next week ... the Dodgers and the league could look into putting Bauer on paid leave indefinitely.

Bauer has been arguably the best starter on Los Angeles' roster this season -- he holds an 8-5 record with a 2.59 ERA -- but he hasn't pitched since June 28.

As we previously reported ... a woman -- who says she met Bauer on Instagram -- claims Bauer choked her and hit her so many times during their two meetings earlier this year, she was left with scratches, bruises and lacerations.

The 30-year-old has emphatically denied the allegations ... claiming it was all part of entirely consensual sex.

Michael Avenatti was just sentenced to 30 months in his Nike extortion scheme case.

A very emotional Avenatti appeared in court Thurdsay in NYC where the sentence was handed down, on top of the 30 months, he'll also have 3 years of supervised release. The sentence is light considering the recommended sentence was 108-135 months ... a recommendation the judge called "excessive."

Avenatti addressed the court during the hearing, having to stop several times while he fought through tears. At one point, he said, "I betrayed my profession. I became driven by the things that don’t matter in life. Over the last 2 years, I have often thought to myself, why did this need to happen? What lessons am I supposed to learn from this experience, from what I’ve done?"

He continued, "Your honor, I’ve learned that all the fame, notoriety and money in the world is meaningless. TV & Twitter mean nothing. Everyone wants to ride in a limo with you but very few are willing to sit next to you on the bus."

The disgraced attorney was given a surrender date of September 15.

As we reported ... Avenatti was arrested and charged with trying to extort $20 million out of Nike. The feds had claimed the infamous lawyer told Nike's legal team that if they didn't pay him between $15 million and $25 million he would hold a news conference and allege misconduct by employees at the shoe company.

According to the criminal complaint ... Avenatti had demanded Nike hire him to conduct an internal probe for the enormous salary. Prosecutors said Avenatti was repping a client who was the coach of an AAU basketball team. They said Avenatti gave Nike the option to not hire him but pay $22.5 million to resolve the dispute and buy his silence.

Prosecutors would later allege the Nike scheme played out over the course of a few days back in March 2019. Prosecutors said Avenatti repped an AAU coach whose team had just lost a Nike sponsorship worth $72k a year.

The coach had claimed Nike made payments to families of some HS basketball players ... and Avenatti had allegedly demanded payment from the shoe giant to keep him quiet.

Avenatti was ultimately arrested at the location where he was supposed to meet with Nike brass ... presumably to iron out a deal or keep the convo going.

Prosecutors also have conversations and video recordings ... in which they allege Avenatti made threats. Avenatti also allegedly told Nike he had them by "the balls."

Avenatti's also facing fraud charges after prosecutors in California claim he embezzled client money to cover expenses for his coffee corporation. He's also alleged to have committed bank fraud by submitting false tax returns to get $4.1 million in loans.

Ex-NBA superstar Dwyane Wade is paying his respects to the victims of the devastating Surfside condo building collapse on Thursday ... getting emotional and meeting with those participating in search and recovery efforts.

The Miami Heat legend visited the memorial fence set up to honor the 60 victims of the collapse ... leaving a touching message of support for those grieving.

"Sending prayer, love, strength and healing ..." Wade etched on the memorial ... adding his autograph and "Miami Heat" underneath.

The future Hall of Famer -- who's beloved in South Florida -- was moved by the visit ... putting his hand to his face as he's overcome with emotion.

Wade also gave an inspiring speech to the South Florida Urban Search and Rescue team on Thursday ... thanking them for their service and stepping up to help after the incident.

Of course, there have been several Miami pro athletes showing support following the tragedy -- from Heat guard Tyler Herro to Dolphins players Jaylen Waddle and Jerome Baker and more joining the effort to help those affected over the past few weeks.

Steph Curry stared death in the eye once again -- with the NBA superstar finally getting his sparring rematch against Canelo Alvarez ... and shock, shock -- it ended in a big, fat L!!

Remember, Curry first faced off against the boxing champ a year ago -- when he playfully squared up with Alvarez at the celeb American Century Championship tournament in Lake Tahoe.

33-year-old Curry narrowly escaped catastrophe in their initial encounter, and the dude never got over it ... 'cause when he peeped Canelo at the Edgewood Tahoe resort on Wednesday, it was ON!!

The 2 tangoed for about 10 seconds, with Curry throwing a quick jab before getting caught with the 30-year-old's fast counter ... and just like that, rematch OVER!!!

"I tried the champ Canelo again," Curry said afterward. "It didn't go well again!"

But, Chef Curry had a few takeaways to go home with this time around ... saying, "Footwork was solid though just saying. #stayinmyweightclass."

Curry was definitely moving compared to last year's match where he looked stiff and didn't throw any punches .. so, definitely an improvement.

Let's see if a Curry-Alvarez trilogy happens next year .. 'cause third times a charm, right?

Drew Lock is VERY fortunate to be uninjured today ... cops say a stray lug nut smashed into the QB's windshield on the road on Wednesday -- but, thankfully, it didn't hurt the NFL star.

The Kansas Highway Patrol assisted Lock after his car had the run in with the wheel nut ... and in pictures they posted, you can see just how close Lock was to catastrophe.

The nut hit the Denver Broncos signal-caller's ride so hard ... it wedged itself into the glass, causing major damage and nearly shattering the whole thing.

Lock, though, walked away from it all just fine ... and even took a smiling picture afterward with the officers who helped him out!!

One of the KHP troopers who was on the scene told KDVR after the incident that he believed Lock's athleticism played a role in keeping him safe throughout the ordeal.

"He did what we want," the trooper said. "He was alert. He was quick to react and start taking the actions needed to keep himself and others safe."

There will be no fans allowed to watch Olympians perform in-person at the Games this summer ... spectators have now been banned from the Tokyo Olympics due to COVID-19.

Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga just declared a state of emergency in Tokyo ... after people in the heavily populated area have seen a spike in coronavirus cases.

Suga said Thursday the state of emergency -- and the heavy restrictions that come with it -- will be in place through Aug. 22.

The Games are scheduled to run from July 23 to Aug. 8.

"The number of infected cases in the area including Tokyo has been increasing since the end of last month," Suga said.

"The number of severe cases and bed occupancy rate continues to be on the low level, but considering the impact of variants, we need to enhance countermeasures so that the infection will not spread nationwide."

The Tokyo Olympics had already been postponed from 2020 to 2021.

Olympics officials apologized Thursday to those who had tickets to the event.

"It's f***in' back-to-back!!!"

NHL superstar Nikita Kucherov gave an epic, shirtless post-game interview after winning the Stanley Cup on Wednesday ... chugging beer, spewing expletives and absolutely going IN on Montreal Canadiens fans.

It all went down after the Bolts eliminated the Habs in 5 games in Tampa ... securing their second-straight Cup.

Kucherov -- easily one of the best players in the league -- was feelin' himself after the game ... and had a very special message for their opponents' fans.

"I didn't want to go back to Montreal," Kucherov told reporters. "The fans in Montreal, come on. They acted like they won the Stanley Cup last game. Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me? Their final was last series."

Kucherov had every reason to celebrate -- he missed the entire regular season due to hip surgery ... and returned to lead the playoffs in scoring with 32 points in 23 games.

Meanwhile, Kuch's teammates were going wild in the locker room ... poppin' bottles and dancing -- as if they didn't just do this a year ago!!

And, get this -- Patty Maroon (who just won his third-straight Cup) even got his parents to chug booze out of the trophy!!

The Lightning weren't the only ones singing and celebrating -- their fans were lit outside the Amalie Arena, singing "We Are The Champions!!!"

Conn Smythe winner Andrei Vasilevskiy was a bit more on the chill side -- recording himself on the ice as his teammates received Lord Stanley.

The party ain't over .... a parade is possibly in the works for Monday according to city officials.

Will this be a remake of the epic Tom Brady tossin' the Lombardi trophy boat celebration?!

PGA Tour star Angel Cabrera -- who won the 2009 Masters -- was sentenced to 2 years behind bars on Wednesday ... after he was convicted of assaulting his ex-girlfriend.

The 51-year-old learned of the prison sentence at an Argentinian court.

Officials say the golfer -- known as "El Pato" on the Tour -- roughed up, threatened and harassed his former partner.

Cabrera had denied the allegations during his trial.

As we previously reported, several women had accused Cabrera of being violent with them ... with one of the women alleging he had punched her in the face and tried to run over her with his car in 2016.

Cabrera had been arrested in Brazil in January ... and he was extradited to Argentina in June.

Cabrera is slated to serve his sentence right away.

Cabrera is one of the more decorated pro golfers in the history of the sport ... he famously beat out Tiger Woods for the trophy at the 2007 U.S. Open -- and he later went on to win the 2009 Masters.

Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Julius "Dr. J" Erving are 3 of the greatest hoopers ever ... and now a super-rare basketball card produced 40 years ago is on the auction block ... and could rake in over $500k!!

The 1980-1981 Topps Scoring Leader card features the Celtics, 76ers, and Lakers stars in-game action ... and is currently on the block at SCP Auctions.

The card itself is incredibly valuable ... but it's the pristine condition that makes this particular version worth the price of a nice house.

The card graders at PSA scored the cardboard a perfect 10 -- mint condition -- making it 1 of only 24 copies known to exist, according to SCP.

The auction kicked off a few weeks ago ... with a starting bid price of $150,000. There have already been 7 bids placed ... with the high bid coming in at $354k!!

The auction doesn't end until Friday ... and you can bet the price will jump significantly before the clock runs out.

Too rich for your blood?? SCP also has a Michael Jordan game-worn Chicago Bulls jersey from his rookie season in 1984.

That's expected to sell for $150k ... which feels like a bargain.

Carnell Davis -- a freshman wide receiver on the Rutgers football team -- was reportedly knocked out by a violent punch in a street fight ... and the whole incident was apparently caught on video.

It's unclear where and when the altercation took place ... but The Press of Atlantic City reports the 6-foot-1, 175-pound wideout is the shirtless man wearing blue shorts in the footage that was posted on social media this week.

In the clip, you can see the man purported to be Davis, get into a tiff with another shirtless male in a red hat apparently over comments about Davis' mother.

The man in the blue shorts can be heard on the footage saying, "you were just talking about you were going to f*** my mom" -- before the two squared up to fight.

Eventually, the man in the red hat tagged the other male in the chin with a right hook ... sending him crashing to the ground.

It's unknown if Davis suffered any severe injuries ... a spokesperson for the Rutgers football team issued a short statement to The Press of Atlantic City, only saying the freshman is currently at home "recovering."

"Our main concern is Carnell’s health and well-being," the spokesperson said. "He is home with his family and continues to make progress in his recovery."

"We look forward to getting him back on campus soon."

We've reached out to both Rutgers and law enforcement for further comment, but so far, no word back yet.

Davis -- who played his senior season of H.S. football at Eau Gallie in Florida in 2020 -- signed on to play for Rutgers in Dec. 2020 and enrolled in the school just weeks later.

He was a touted H.S. recruit -- piling up offers from 24 schools, including Auburn, before landing with the Scarlet Knights.

A POTUS, a Biebs and a Kardashian walk into a fight -- that's what's going down at UFC 264 in Vegas this weekend ... with a massive list of celebs set to watch Conor McGregor face-off against Dustin Poirier!!!

Our UFC sources confirm ... former President Donald Trump is among huge names slated to hit up T-Mobile Arena on Saturday for the fight ... including Justin Bieber, Megan Fox, and Machine Gun Kelly.

Impressive, right?!? There's more -- Travis Barker, Kourtney Kardashian, Odell Beckham, Dave Chappelle, Kevin Durant and others will tune in for Conor's first fight in Vegas since January 2020, as first reported by TSN.

Of course, Dana and Trump go way back -- in UFC's early days, Trump offered White his casinos to host fights ... and the UFC honcho went on to throw his support behind #45 during his 2016 presidential campaign.

On top of that, Trump and Conor have had nothing but positive words for each other in the past ... with McGregor calling him a "phenomenal president."

The celebs in attendance are in for a highly anticipated treat -- remember, Conor handled Dustin back in 2014 ... but Poirier got his revenge earlier this year.

Former U.S. Navy football star Cameron Kinley is officially a professional football player ... 'cause the U.S. military just gave him the green light to play ball.

Kinley -- who recently graduated from the Naval  Academy -- was signed by TB as a free agent after going undrafted in the 2021 NFL Draft.

The only issue ... Kinley committed to serving as an officer in the Navy after graduating, and the U.S. Military was NOT budging in allowing him to delay his service.

That is until the Secretary of Defense, Retired General Lloyd Austin, reversed the Navy's course ... and decided to let Kinley play ball.

"I am extremely appreciative of Secretary Austin's decision and I am excited to represent our fine military in the National Football League," Kinley wrote in a statement.

Cameron later continued ... "Lastly, thank you to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers organization for believing in me and remaining patient with me throughout this process. I am excited to get back to work in Tampa Bay with my teammates."

Kinley -- who asked President Biden for help -- recently told us head coach Bruce Arians gave him until the start of Bucs training camp on July 24 to straighten out his status.

Cameron did that ... and with a few weeks to spare.

Congrats!!!

U.S. track star Sha'Carri Richardson is breaking her silence on being left off the Olympic team ... saying she's come to terms with the decision and is looking to move past the situation.

The 21-year-old -- who was a gold medal favorite to win the 100m race at the Tokyo Games before testing positive for marijuana -- had her Olympic dreams officially squashed Tuesday when U.S. Track and Field organizers elected to keep her off the 4x100 relay team ... despite her 30-day suspension set to end prior to the event.

TMZ Sports spoke with Richardson on Wednesday about getting snubbed ... and she explained she's not upset or pissed about how things transpired.

"Honestly, that news didn’t bother me because me and my team were realistic, so we kind of figured that they would say that in the first place," Richardson told us at LAX.

Richardson garnered support from celebs from Gabrielle Union, Patrick Mahomes and Cardi B over the past few days ... with others demanding an exception to be made to allow her to compete.

All things considered, Sha'Carri tells us she's doing "fine" and maintaining a positive outlook on the ordeal.

"I understand the situation that’s going on. So, I’m accepting of it, and I just know what I have to do moving forward in my career."

Richardson -- the fastest woman in America -- previously said she smoked weed to cope with the loss of her biological mother, which caused incredible amounts of stress as she prepared for the U.S. trials last month.

The USATF released a statement applauding Richardson's accountability ... but said it would be "detrimental to the integrity" of the team if the organization included her on the relay.