TMZ Sports - Page 47

Vanessa Bryant honored her daughter, Gigi, on what would be her 19th birthday ... saying she misses her "more than I could ever express."

Kobe's widow posted the emotional tribute to Instagram on Thursday ... showing Gigi sporting her Mamba Sports Academy uniform.

"Happy birthday Gigi!" she wrote in the caption. "Mommy loves and misses you more than I could ever express. I love you Gianna."

Tyrese Haliburton's father denies he cursed at Giannis Antetokounmpo during their heated exchange after the Pacers-Bucks playoff series wrapped, insisting it didn't happen, saying they actually exchanged "I love yous" on the court.

The Pacers star's dad, John, spoke with TMJ4 to tell his side of the story ... recalling the moment The Greek Freak confronted him after waving a towel featuring Tyrese's face in front of him on the court after the Bucks' season-ending loss to the Pacers on Tuesday.

Antetokounmpo, during his post-game press conference, relayed that John was droppin' f-bombs while waving the towel in his face, describing the moment as "very disrespectful."

Hoops, they did it again ... lovey dovey couple Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet packed on the PDA as they watched the Los Angeles Lakers take on -- and lose to -- the Minnesota Timberwolves Wednesday night and looked as in love as ever.

Check out the pics ... the Kylie Cosmetics founder beamed as she sat alongside her actor beau at the Crypto.com Arena ... frequently grabbing onto his left arm and hand as adorable displays of affection.

Timothée returned the favor at one point, placing his hand on grinning Kylie's thigh.

Denzel Washington’s May is off to a diabolically dismissive start -- he’s been straight-up snubbed by the Tony Awards, and TBH, that’s just borderline criminal!

The 78th annual Tony Award nominations are out, and despite his powerhouse Broadway return in "Othello," Denzel was shockingly snubbed in the Best Actor category, while fellow movie star George Clooney waltzed in with a nom.

Denzel has been nominated for a Tony twice before, so he'll probably be just fine -- but his costar Jake Gyllenhaal was also left out for his role in the current Shakespearean revival ... and Robert Downey Jr. missed out on a nom for "McNeal," in his Broadway debut.

BTW, we got NFL player-turned-actor Devale Ellis and his wife out in NYC on Wednesday -- the 2 of them are co-producing "Othello" -- and they had nothing but glowing things to say about DW and JG.

Stephen A. Smith's gotta be scratching his head this morning after President Donald Trump ranted to him about Harlem and Black people ... when Stephen A. asked him about Harvard.

The bizarre exchange went down Wednesday night when the Prez phoned into News Nation for a chat with Stephen A., Chris Cuomo and Bill O'Reilly. Smith fired off a question about POTUS withdrawing billions of dollars of federal grants to Harvard University -- and, for some reason, Trump said, "Well, I say this, we had riots in Harlem, and frankly if you look at what's gone on ... and people from Harlem went up and they protested."

You gotta see this, because things got even more awkward when President Trump said, "I got a very high Black vote. You know that."

Criticism of Bill Belichick's girlfriend is now coming from his own family -- the football legend's daughter-in-law just publicly shaded Jordon Hudson for her antics during that now-infamous CBS interview.

Jennifer Schmitt, who's married to Belichick’s son Stephen, lobbed the barbs Hudson's way in an Instagram comment on Wednesday.

The post she commented on featured a video of Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski defending Hudson's seemingly overbearing behavior during Belichick's sit-down with Tony Dokoupil.

Donald Trump may have just endorsed his successor ... 'cause he says Stephen A. Smith has all the necessary skills to be POTUS -- most especially, entertainment value.

The president gave a phone interview on NewsNation Wednesday night ... chatting with Bill O'Reilly, Chris Cuomo and Stephen A. -- when Bill asked him what he thought of Stephen taking a shot at the highest office in the land.

ICYMI ... last month, Smith blasted the Democratic Party and claimed he had "no choice" but to consider running for the job in 2028.

Bill Belichick and Jordon Hudson aren't gonna be able to sweep their dumpster fire interview under the rug ... 'cause the couple's CBS sit-down got the Hollywood treatment on John Mulaney's Netflix show.

The hilarious segment happened on Wednesday's "Everybody's Live" ... with Richard Kind taking on the role of the legendary coach -- and Fran Gillespie portraying his polarizing girlfriend.

The whole thing kicked off just over 10 minutes into the episode ... with Kind decked out in a cutoff, ragged crewneck and Gillespie in a grey sweatshirt.

Hulk Hogan's got a new wrestling league ... and he's hopeful he won't be the only major celeb running wild at its inaugural event later this summer -- telling TMZ Sports he wants Donald Trump there too!!

The WWE legend announced this week he, Eric Bischoff and famed coach Israel Martinez have joined together to start Real American Freestyle -- and on Wednesday, he told us he wants POTUS ringside when it all officially kicks off on Aug. 30 in Cleveland.

In fact, Hulk -- who was one of Trump's biggest supporters during his run for president in 2024 -- said he plans to make a phone call to the White House soon to personally extend the invite.

Jeff Sperbeck, John Elway's longtime agent and friend, is being remembered by his family after his death ... they say he was a wonderful man.

Jeff's wife, Cori, and the Sperbeck family tell TMZ ... "We are deeply saddened to share the passing of our beloved Jeff Sperbeck. He was a wonderful father, husband, brother, son and friend to many and will be profoundly missed by all."

The family adds ... "We are grieving this unimaginable loss as a family alongside our dearest friends the Elways and the many other clients Jeff called friends. We are grateful for the overwhelming  outpouring of support that we have received and ask for privacy for our family at this difficult time."

John Elway's breaking his silence over the death of his longtime agent and best friend ... saying he's absolutely crushed over the tragedy.

“I am absolutely devastated and heartbroken by the passing of my close friend, business partner and agent Jeff Sperbeck. There are no words to truly express the profound sadness I feel with the sudden loss of someone who has meant so much to me," the 2x Super Bowl winner wrote.

Elway continued ... "My heart and deepest sympathies go out to Jeff’s wife, Cori; his children Carly, Sam and Jackson; and everyone who knew and loved him. Jeff will be deeply missed for the loyalty, wisdom, friendship and love he brought into my life and the lives of so many others.”

Track & Field's full of stars like Gabby Thomas and Sydney McLaughlin ... but there may be no better story than part-time Walmart employee and hurdler Dylan Beard, who's manning the meat slicer while chasing his dream!

TMZ Sports spoke to 26-year-old Beard just days before the Grand Slam Track event in Miami -- going down May 2-4 in South Florida -- and his story is awesome.

"I started working at Walmart in October 2023 just to get funds to be able to compete on a professional level in Track and Field. Funds for traveling, treatments, massages, and pretty much everything like that," Beard told us, explaining his motivation behind taking the gig.

Mario Edgardo Garcia-Aquino, the youth soccer coach charged with murdering a California teenager, is so dangerous to young men that he needs to be taken off the streets -- that’s what the alleged victim's lawyer is saying.

Luis Carrillo was at an L.A. courthouse for Mario's arraignment Wednesday, where Luis straight-up told us Mario deserves life behind bars at the very least ... and he thinks the D.A. might even push for the death penalty -- but if they do, that decision would ultimately be up to the jury.

Catch the clip, because Luis doesn't hold back. He calls Mario a cold-blooded killer and breaks it down, saying he had no business being in a job where he was around young boys in the first place.

Henry Ruggs isn't giving up on his NFL career as he serves his lengthy prison sentence -- so says his former teammate, Josh Jacobs, who claims the wide receiver is training his ass off behind bars.

Ruggs is currently serving three to 10 years for a high-speed crash on November 2, 2021, in which he slammed his Corvette into Tina Tintor's vehicle, killing her and her dog.

The 26-year-old will be eligible for parole in 2026 ... and if he does end up getting out, Jacobs said he will look to return to his day job.

Forget 100 guys vs. a gorilla ... can one unsuspecting referee withstand the impact of a flying portable s***er?? The answer is a big, fat nope!!

Video is making rounds on social media this week ... showing an official who was helping out at some intramural soccer matches at Penn State running for cover as a wild storm approached.

Unfortunately for the zebra, a portable toilet came out of nowhere and decked the guy.

Rodeo legend Roy Cooper tragically died in a house fire on Tuesday.

Officials said the blaze began at Cooper's Decatur, Texas home sometime around 7 PM. According to reports, the residence was engulfed in flames by the time first responders arrived.

Cooper was the lone person injured during the incident.