TMZ Sports - Page 50

10:38 AM PT -- Next Generation Action Network president Dominique Alexander began the press conference several minutes after police sorted out the issue ... and he kicked things by ripping Jeff Metcalf for appearing uninvited. He called the man's behavior "inappropriate," and "a disrespect to the dignity of his son."

Alexander then went on to blast media members for spreading falsehoods about the Anthonys in wake of their son's arrest -- appearing to take the biggest issue with the family's GiveSendGo funds, which he was adamant nobody had access to until Wednesday.

Karmelo's mom, Kayla Hayes, then addressed reporters ... and emotionally pleaded for the threats and harassment she and her family have received to stop.

Alexander ultimately wrapped up the event by insisting this will be their last press conference until a trial for Karmelo begins.

Karmelo Anthony's family was slated to address the teen's murder charge at a news conference roughly an hour ago -- but they put a pause on the proceedings ... as the father of the boy who Anthony allegedly killed unexpectedly showed up to the event.

9:54 AM PT -- A spokesperson for Universal Music Group tells TMZ ... "Drake, unquestionably one of the world's most accomplished artists and with whom we’ve enjoyed at 16-year successful relationship, is being misled by his legal representatives into taking one absurd legal step after another. In Texas last November, his counsel instituted a legal proceeding with much fanfare and bluster. On Monday, they quietly dropped the case."

They continued ... "In New York in January, Drake's counsel filed a defamation lawsuit. Fearful of being sanctioned by the court for asserting false allegations, tonight they amended the complaint to withdraw them only to add more baseless allegations. Two weeks ago, his representatives celebrated a 'win': the granting of a routine discovery motion. That 'win' will become a loss if this frivolous and reckless lawsuit is not dropped in its entirety because Drake will personally be subject to discovery as well. As the old saying goes, ‘be careful what you wish for.’

They concluded ... "Both the Texas and New York proceedings are an affront to all artists and creative expression. Should his legal representatives senselessly keep the New York lawsuit alive, we will demonstrate that all remaining claims are without merit. It is shameful that these foolish and frivolous legal theatrics continue. They are reputationally and financially costly to Drake and have no chance of success."

Drake says he has new ammo in his defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group ... and it's all because of Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl Halftime show.

Champagne Papi just filed an amended complaint where he specifically mentions Kendrick's performance of "Not Like Us" at Super Bowl LIX.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Drake claims the show "assassinated" his character ... and he says Kendrick excluding the word "pedophile" from the lyrics backs up his claim that the song's content is defamatory.

Roman Reigns is letting wrestling fans know to enjoy him in the ring while they can ... 'cause the WWE Superstar just hinted his time in the ring will soon come to an end, saying he's much closer to the end than he is the beginning!

The Tribal Chief, 39, sat down with Vanity Fair back in January as he made his way to Indianapolis for the Royal Rumble, when he was asked how much longer he plans to continue wrestling.

"After I finish the contract that I'm in, we probably have another year or two max," Roman said. "Then it's time to take on a less physical form of entertainment."

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Matt Strahm's new glove is quite the "National Treasure" ... 'cause the reliever leaned all the way into his Nicolas Cage comparisons by getting a custom Declaration of Independence mitt!!

Folks online have considered Strahmy to be Cage's doppelgänger over the years ... and the 33-year-old certainly doesn't seem to mind it one bit with his latest personalized accessory.

Of course, Cage's Ben Gates famously steals the important piece of paper in an elaborate heist in the classic Disney movie ... and his line, "I'm gonna steal the Declaration of Independence" has become quite the meme with internet users.

For Olympic gold medal sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, it doesn't matter if she's running against Sha'Carri Richardson in Paris, or little Tommy's mom at field day -- 'cause she's goin' all out!!!!

The legendary 38-year-old Jamaican runner showed out at her son's sports day on Wednesday, absolutely dusting a group of fellow parents in what looks like a 100m sprint.

From the pre-sprint stretching, it's clear everyone took the race very seriously ... but anyone with illusions of hanging with the 8x Olympic medalist (3 gold, 4 silver, 1 bronze) quickly -- literally -- learned that was nothing more than a pipe dream.

It's the end of an era ... Lee Corso just revealed he's retiring from "College GameDay."

The former head coach -- who joined ESPN's legendary pregame show nearly four decades ago -- announced Thursday his last appearance on the iconic program will take place on Aug. 30, during college football's Week 1.

The 89-year-old, who will be 90 when he sits down for his finale, released a statement on his impending retirement through ESPN ... thanking all of his colleagues and fans for all of the years of support they gave him while he was on- and off-air.

Nearly 133 million people watched Kendrick Lamar diss Drake during this year's Super Bowl LIX halftime show ... but Lil Wayne swears he wasn't one of them!!!

The legendary rapper is claiming the NFL dangled the opportunity in front of him, only to flip the script and claim they weren't in control of the prestigious show ... while squaring the blame on Jay-Z and Roc Nation!!!

If you recall, Wayne had been campaigning for the hometown SB halftime gig in New Orleans for more than a year, only to reveal how much the snub gutted him in a very public fashion.

Three people tragically died in a boating accident at a Major League Fishing event Wednesday, officials announced.

The crash occurred during the second day of the org.'s Tackle Warehouse Invitational -- which was taking place at Lewis Smith Lake in Alabama.

A bass fishing boat collided with another vessel while out on the water, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said, killing three ... and leaving multiple others with injuries.

Mookie Betts had Dodger fans clenching their butt cheeks on Wednesday ... when his foul ball almost took out Shohei Ohtani in the dugout -- but thankfully, the $700 MILLION man took cover just in time!!

The frightening moment went down against the Rockies on Wednesday ... right after Ohtani launched a 448-foot homer in the first inning.

As Ohtani celebrated with catcher Austin Barnes on the bench, Betts was up to bat -- and after making contact on a pitch, the ball shot right toward the Japanese superstar.

Seems JuJu Watkins' coach doesn't have much worry her star player will be back to her normal self soon -- Lindsay Gottlieb tells TMZ Sports the 19-year-old is "doing great" in her rehab ... and attacking things with a laser focus.

Watkins, of course, tore her ACL on March 24 in an NCAA tournament game ... but Gottlieb told us out at LAX this week she's showing plenty of signs that she's going to be all right.

"She's doing great," the Trojans sideline manager said. "She's doing great. She's in focus mode, rehab mode."

Scary scene during Wednesday's matinee matchup between the Twins and the Mets ... first base umpire Hunter Wendelstedt was drilled in the head by a line drive -- and was forced to leave the game.

It went down in the top of the seventh inning as Tyrone Taylor was up to bat. The New York centerfielder roped a 0-0 pitch foul -- right at Wendelstedt's head.

The collision was so disturbing, the Mets' first base coach immediately waved for trainers to come over. Wendelstedt appeared to be in a significant amount of pain.

The brains behind the world’s first-ever sperm race are spilling the tea to TMZ -- disclosing their donors are on one wild ride getting prepared for the big race day.

Eric Zhu and his Sperm Racing startup crew broke it down on "TMZ Live" Wednesday, telling us sperm is a key biomarker for male health, so they've turned 2 young donors -- one from UCLA and the other from USC -- into full-blown sperm-athletes, giving them thousands of dollars per week to help them fine-tune their swimmers for race day glory.

The tech teen dream team’s swimming in strategy -- giving us every juicy detail of the donors’ prep, from tailor-made vitamins to pineapple-juice chugging. This isn’t a half-baked stunt -- it’s a well-seeded plan.

A night out at the golf course ended up looking more like an MMA fight for a pair of Canadians on Monday.

Check out some video from Two Eagles Golf Course & Academy in West Kelowna, BC ... you can see two groups appeared to get into a quarrel over pace of play -- before things turned violent.

Based on some of the commentary in the footage, one of the groups seemed upset that the other was being impatient with how long their swings were taking ... and confronted them on a tee box.

Karmelo Anthony has not withdrawn funds from his nearly $450,000 GiveSendGo fundraiser ... even after he walked free from the slammer on a $250K bond Monday.

Jacob Wells, cofounder of the popular crowdsourcing platform, tells TMZ no funds have been distributed, as the company receives "clarity from the campaign recipient on use of funds so that the people that have given can be confident in how their donation is being used."

The revelation comes while folks question how Anthony satisfied his $250,000 bond -- which a judge reduced from $1 million -- and how his family is covering his legal costs as the 17-year-old faces a first-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of Austin Metcalf at their Frisco, Texas track meet earlier this month ... all while allegedly living in a $900,000 rental home.

The world’s first-ever sperm race is officially on -- swimmers are going head-to-head in the name of science … and to spotlight the serious dip in male fertility.

A crew of young moguls and millionaire backers from the startup Sperm Racing have pulled in over $1 million to bring their wild vision to life -- and it’s all going down April 25 at the Hollywood Palladium … with thousands set to watch those lil troopers compete live.

Sperm Racing boss Eric Zhu, a teen tech mogul, hyped up the event in his racing "manifesto," saying ... "Two competitors. Two samples. One microscopic finish line."

Former NBA star Eric Bledsoe broke into his L.A. home during an argument with his girlfriend this week, law enforcement sources tell TMZ Sports ... and now, it appears he's publicly trying to make amends.

We're told neighbors called the cops regarding a domestic disturbance at Bledsoe's residence ... and when officers arrived, Bledsoe and his girlfriend, Briona Mae, were uncooperative.

Cops investigated the scene and determined an argument took place ... and during the spat, they concluded Bledsoe was locked out of the pad and forced his way back inside on his own.