TMZ Sports - Page 50

Brooke Hogan came out swinging in a statement of her own after her mother, Linda Hogan, tearfully called the Hogan family "the worst mess" and claimed she has no idea why her daughter won't speak to her.

Brooke shared a lengthy note on Instagram Thursday night, explaining she had no contact with her mom after being "EXTREMELY" verbally and mentally abused since her childhood, which she said sometimes turned physical. She also says her mother's behavior in the video she posted Thursday is "mild" compared to what she has witnessed for the "greater portion" of her life.

Sources close to Brooke tell TMZ that the physical abuse claims mentioned in her Instagram post were not made by her father, Hulk Hogan.

Further explaining her frustration, the singer and actress says she's been asked to "defend poor behavior to the public and have done so out of love" ... only to learn she was "misinformed, manipulated, and lied to."

Will Venable celebrated his first win as an MLB manager with a ton of electrolytes ... thanks to his Chicago White Sox players absolutely dousing him in Gatorade after the milestone!!

The Sox have had a rough couple of years -- they lost an MLB record 121 games last season ... but things are looking up in 2025 after an 8-1 Opening Day win over the Angels on Thursday.

It was the former outfielder's first game in the dugout as a skipper ... and after the outing, he was on the receiving end of a sports drink shower.

Team USA skater Maxim Naumov is opening up on losing both of his parents in the devastating plane crash over the Potomac River in January ... revealing they changed flights at the last minute.

The 23-year-old opened up on the tragedy that took the lives of 28 skaters, coaches and family members -- including his mom and dad, Evgenia and Vadim Naumov -- in an interview with "TODAY" ... and he said one of the last interactions he had with his mother was to inform him they made a change in their travel plans coming back from the 2025 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita.

"My mom let me know that they’re switching flights and that if I could pick them up," he said. "My mom always texts me and calls me as soon as they land."

LeBron James and Stephen A. Smith can end their feud once and for all with their FISTS ... 'cause TMZ Sports has learned a popular boxing promotion is drafting an offer to make a fight happen!!

King James and the ESPN talent have exchanged verbal blows ever since their infamous confrontation at the Lakers game earlier this month ... and on Wednesday, the argument turned to hypothetical violence -- with SAS claiming if LeBron put his hands on him, he would've retaliated with a punch.

After LeBron trolled the hell outta Smith by posting his old training vids, Celebrity Boxing founder Damon Feldman immediately got to work ... and started making calls to rich investors in hopes of putting together the funds needed to lock down a matchup of this caliber.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott is smiling through the "Governor Hot Wheels" controversy ... sharing a meme from Antonio Brown that depicts him as Professor X.

Abbott hopped on Elon Musk's app Thursday and reposted a meme from the former NFL player, which compares Abbott to the X-Men character ... who both use wheelchairs.

The Governor says ... "Gotta add this to my resume. Need the outfit. They see me rollin'."

Linda Hogan broke down on social media, tearfully telling her followers her life's a disaster ... placing much of the blame on ex-hubby Hulk Hogan.

"My family's in the worst mess," Linda said on Instagram, attempting to fight back tears.

"Brooke doesn't talk to us. She's had twins. She got married. She didn't tell us," LH explained. "She had a huge fight with Terry. I don't know how that reflected onto me. But she cut me out too. I haven't talked to her for seven years. Almost eight years now."

Linda says she still has a strong relationship with her son 34-year-old Nick ... "He's still such a good boy."

Surprise!! Soccer star Paul Pogba's wife threw him an unforgettable birthday party in Miami this weekend ... celebrating his 32nd trip around the sun in epic fashion!!

Pogba’s wife, model Zulay Pogba, invited a star-studded crew to commemorate her husband's special day ... including tennis phenom Carlos Alcaraz and Golden State Warriors guard Jimmy Butler.

Alcaraz and the NBA All-Star were in Miami to compete in their respective sports – Alcaraz is fresh off the Miami Open and the Warriors faced the Heat (Butler's old team) Tuesday night ... a game they lost, 112-86.

Fans hoping to catch some Major League Baseball Opening Day action were unfortunately striking out ... as the league's streaming service stopped working as the season got underway -- and fans were pissed!!!

Social media was flooded with people voicing their displeasure with MLB.TV and its rough start out of the gates ... with some being met with playback errors and never-ending loading screens.

As of 1:04 PST ... Downdetector.com reported 21,000 outages. MLB.TV is no stranger to hiccups, with the app having a history of complaints from fans of America's pastime. Those issues have ranged from people calling out the service interface to the blackout restrictions that come with it.

Stephen A. Smith is owning up to a mistake he made as his LeBron James feud intensifies ... apologizing for claiming the Lakers superstar didn't attend the memorial service for Kobe Bryant.

The ESPN host incorrectly stated during his passionate rant on Thursday's "First Take" that James was nowhere to be found when the basketball community mourned Bryant's tragic death at the then-Staples Center following the Hall of Famer's tragic death in 2020.

According to multiple reports, James was, in fact, in the building ... but requested not to be shown during a livestream of the emotional event.

Olympic skier Berkin Usta was tragically killed on Thursday after a fire erupted at a ski resort hotel in Turkey.

He was only 24.

The fatal incident occurred at the Kervansaray Hotel in Uludag, Bursa, when flames engulfed the structure in the early morning, destroying the ski resort.

Opening Day 2025 has arrived for the New York Yankees ... and while there's always excitement leading into a new season, the team's manager said the players will take the field with "heavy hearts" following the shocking death of former star Brett Gardner's 14-year-old son.

Aaron Boone spoke with the media ahead of first pitch at Yankee Stadium ... and he said the athletes will have Miller on their minds throughout the season.

"I talk to our guys a lot about perspective," he said. "While this matters so much to us, it's our livelihood, we pour so much into this, so many people care about it, it's baseball. I really think it's important we reflect on that every now and then when we get consumed with this."

The Buffalo Bills finally got what the Kansas City Chiefs have -- no, not a Super Bowl title -- a Hallmark Christmas movie!!

Bills safety Damar Hamlin announced his employer is the second team to partner up with Hallmark and Skydance Sports for a festive football flick – after the Kansas City Chiefs got the same treatment last November.

"Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story" is set to begin filming this summer ... and while the plot is still under wraps and a cast hasn’t been announced just yet – fans have already speculated it could be loosely inspired by star quarterback Josh Allen's own romance with his fiancée, Hailee Steinfeld.

Russell Wilson put pen to paper on his New York Giants contract less than 24 hours ago ... but he's already getting some reps in -- throwing passes to fans while sitting courtside at a Knicks game!

Mr. Unlimited made the trip across the Hudson River to catch some hoops at the Garden, with New York welcoming James Harden and the Clippers into town.

It was a warm reception for the Giants' newest signal caller ... who tossed an autographed ball a few rows up.

Austin Reaves got creative for a gender reveal for his big bro  ... surprising him by wearing pink sneakers during Wednesday's Lakers game -- and Spencer absolutely loved it!!

The L.A. star delivered the exciting news to his brother and his pregnant wife, Casey, right on the court during his game against the Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Reaves made his way to the hardwood rockin' pink and white kicks, signaling the baby is a girl.

Skateboarding star Nyjah Huston took a brutal hit to the family jewels while attempting a move this week ... and the impact was so bad, he was left pissing blood.

But, don't panic -- he said his dick isn't broken!!

The Olympic medalist shared photos with his 5.2 million Instagram followers on Wednesday of himself in the hospital ... and a toilet filled with blood.

7:27 AM PT -- We knew this was coming -- Stephen A. Smith opened Thursday's "First Take" going off on LeBron ... saying his nemesis' real issue stems from the fact he refuses to consider him the greatest NBA player over Michael Jordan.

Smith made it clear he's never going to back down from his stance ... and he's not going anywhere.

As for his colleague Pat McAfee giving his rival a platform, SAS doesn't blame him one bit -- saying no one would pass up on an interview with James.

Smith also addressed James' trolling with his boxing vid ... and he even admits it wasn't his best work, but claimed he would've looked much better if he wasn't injured at the time.

LeBron James hit the game-winning shot for the Lakers on Wednesday, but the real dagger came on Instagram later in the night ... when he ruthlessly clapped back at Stephen A. Smith AGAIN by mocking his fighting skills.

The King added another chapter to the beef after L.A. beat the Indiana Pacers ... clearly getting wind of the ESPN host claiming earlier in the day he would've "swung" on the four-time champ if he had put his hands on him during their Crypto.com Arena confrontation a few weeks back.

Even though SAS admitted it probably would've resulted in getting his ass whooped, LeBron made sure the talking head knew how he felt about the comments ... sharing an old video of one of his boxing sessions, which didn't necessarily mimic a Ryan Garcia left hook.