TMZ Sports - Page 50

NY Giants star Xavier McKinney plays on the gridiron like a comic book villain ... and now, after getting a huge torso tattoo, his stomach art matches his game!!

The 24-year-old safety recently hit up LeBron James' ink artist, Ganga, for the piece ... and it turned out awesome.

His abs are now covered by an image of a pissed-off Thanos ruling over a smoldering city. On one of his obliques, meanwhile, he got a pic of the Joker put down -- and on the other, Ganga drew on "Guardians of the Galaxy" character Groot.

Ganga also touched up some of McKinney's other tats that he had gotten previously ... while adding the words, "Most Wanted" and "Beware of Dog" as well.

The NFL player was clearly thrilled with the final results ... sharing pics of his new ink while writing in a caption, "Tattoos over war wounds .."

"Special thanks to my brother @gangatattoo and all the artist who helped bring this piece to life."

Taylor Swift is TIME Magazine's Person of the Year -- and if we're being frank ... nobody's really surprised, 'cause she stands out as the far and away winner of 2023.

The mega pop star was tapped by TIME's editorial staff to grace their big end-of-year cover -- and the publication's editor-in-chief, Sam Jacobs, apparently felt it was important for him to come on 'Today' to explain the pick ... considering everyone/everything else as possibilities.

Obviously, there were a lot of choices this year ... in fact, TIME's finalists included all the big names from Trump to Putin and King Charles to Barbie -- not to mention a ton of other notable people/groups that made a splash -- but Jacobs said the staff chose joy this year.

He says, "Taylor Swift found a way to transcend borders and be a source of light. No one else on the planet today can move so many people so well."

Jacobs adds, "Achieving this feat is something we often chalk up to the alignments of planets and fates, but giving too much credit to the stars ignores her skill and her power. Swift is the rare person who is both the writer and hero of her own story."

Check out his full explanation here ... he says he acknowledges the world's on fire right now and that they could've gone in a number of contentious directions with the POTY -- but considering how much light and happiness TS spreads, TIME went with a lighter pick.

Of course, her influence and success was unmatched this year ... so on that front, there's no justification needed. She rolled out a worldwide tour that sold just about everywhere it stopped, released a concert film of that same concert ... and dominated music services.

Plus, Taylor ended one high-profile relationship ... and started another one with NFL star Travis Kelce -- so even in the sports world, she transcended and drew eyeballs. BTW, Taylor revealed in her TIME interview that she and TK were a couple way before anyone knew.

TayTay's quoted as saying ... "This is the proudest and happiest I’ve ever felt and the most creatively fulfilled and free I’ve ever been," before epically adding, "Are you not entertained?"

While TIME might normally be considered for somewhat heftier/more serious editorial coverage ... they clearly opted to crown the people's champion this year, and it doesn't sound like anyone's grumbling about it. Like the EIC says ... she's just larger than life itself.

The piece they did on her was glowing and positive ... however, there are old issues Taylor brought up that she clearly has sour feelings about -- namely, her beef with Kanye West/Kim Kardashian.

Specifically, she brought up that whole phone call debacle from years ago ... when Kim and Ye had TS on the phone and discussed his "Famous" song that invoked Taylor's name.

Taylor claims Kim, at first, released an edited version of their conversation that made Taylor look like she hadn't been truthful -- and she reflects on that in this TIME interview, saying ... "You have a fully manufactured frame job, in an illegally recorded phone call, which Kim Kardashian edited and then put out to say to everyone that I was a liar."

Taylor adds, "That took me down psychologically to a place I’ve never been before. I moved to a foreign country. I didn’t leave a rental house for a year. I was afraid to get on phone calls. I pushed away most people in my life because I didn’t trust anyone anymore. I went down really, really hard."

Like we said ... it's an old feud that she felt she wanted to address, but generally speaking ... she seems to be in a much better place now -- and is clearly on top.

Congrats to her ... grudges be damned!

Kid Cudi isn't letting Rich Paul and Jake Paul slide after critiquing his loyalty and ties to Cleveland.

Rich recently shared his thoughts on the "BS w/ Jake Paul" podcast as to why "The Land" doesn't embrace the "Day N Nite" rapper after all his success over the years. Well, those words didn't sit well with Cudi, who says LeBron James' agent couldn't be further from the truth, and ripping him for making bogus assumptions.

Cudi says he actually returns to Cleveland all the time -- it's where his mom lives -- he's just not all about going to Cleveland sporting events or bars ... when he's back, it's family time.

He also noted his Moon Man's Landing festival in 2023 brought 20k people from the city together ... with plans to do it again in the future.

Jake Paul took shots at Cudi too, accusing him of leaving the city behind, while also revealing he asked Cudi to walk out with him when he fought Tyron Woodley in Cleveland a few years back. JP says Cudi wanted wayyy too much money, and wasn't about to give a hometown discount.

First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes ... the Laker game!!

Fresh off exchanging "I Dos" in Mexico over the weekend, newlyweds Vanessa Hudgens and MLB player Cole Tucker decided to stop by Crypto.com Arena to catch the Los Angeles Lakers vs. Phoenix Suns game on Tuesday ... and the married couple looked as happy as ever!!

The duo showed up to the venue in pretty casual 'fits ... with Tucker rocking a white crew neck and snapback, and Hudgens electing for a long coat and red ball cap.

As we previously reported, the actress and athlete had their closest friends in Tulum for the occasion ... with the whole crew celebrating their vows on the beach.

There were a ton of other celebrities in attendance for the Lakers' In-Season Tournament win over the Suns ... including Kim Kardashian, Flea, Druski, Rich Paul and Floyd Mayweather.

The A-listers picked a good one, as the home team won, 106-103 ... eliminating Phoenix from the tourney.

Greatness and athleticism are in Brock Lesnar's blood 'cause the WWE legend's daughter just made history at Colorado State -- with a school-record-breaking 18.5-meter shot put!

Mya -- a junior on the CSU track team -- launched the near 9-pound spherical ball during a meet over the weekend ... and the historic moment was captured on video.

"💥18.50m💥," Mya said on Instagram. "A new PR and a new school record!!😤 Happy with a strong start to my season."

Perhaps the record-breaking put isn't shocking when you consider her dad is one of the most impressive athletes that we've ever seen. Not only is Brock a WWE legend, but he was also a UFC heavyweight champion and NCAA div. 1 wrestling champ in 2000. Lesnar also had a cup of coffee in the NFL.

How's that for an athletic pedigree?

Only time will tell if Mya follows her dad's career path and gets involved in professional wrestling after college.

For now, Mya, who has competed in 16 meets this season, will continue racking up wins, and adding to her already list of impressive accolades.

In fact, she finished in the top 3 of the indoor and outdoor track and field championships in 2023. She was also named All-Mountain West.

When it comes to her dad, Brock hasn't wrestled since SummerSlam in August ... and the 46-year-old isn't expected back until 2024.

New York Rangers winger Barclay Goodrow is gonna need an emergency trip to the dentist chair this week ... and it's all 'cause he took a puck straight to the mouth during a game Tuesday night.

Goodrow was attempting to chase down the puck during the first period of NY's tilt with the Senators in Ottawa ... when his teammate, K'Andre Miller, accidentally nailed him in the face with a keep-in attempt.

Goodrow immediately crumpled to the ice in pain ... sliding several feet before he stopped and spit out a bloody tooth.

The 30-year-old two-time Stanley Cup winner then rushed to the locker room ... and, despite being an tough-as-nails NHL player, he did not return to action.

After the game -- which the Rangers lost 6-2 without Goodrow -- head coach Peter Laviolette said his player sustained an "upper-body" injury and he's still under evaluation.

"Listen, that happens," the coach told reporters. "Certainly we don't like to see that, he's an important part of our team for a lot of different reasons."

Bam Margera finally got the green light to see his son -- this after recently crossing a huge milestone in sobriety -- and he has plans to see the boy for Christmas ... TMZ has learned.

David Glass -- the attorney repping Bam's estranged wife, Nikki -- tells us the former "Jackass" star has, indeed, been granted monitored visitation with their young son, Phoenix. We're told Bam can see Phoenix with a professional supervisor if/when he's in Southern California ... which is where Nikki lives with the kid.

As of right now, however, Glass says neither he nor his client have been informed about any potential dates for Bam to see Phoenix.

BM himself tells TMZ ... since he hasn't seen Phoenix in person for well over 200 days now, he's dead set on visiting his son right around Christmas -- which we're told happens to be the kid's birthday as well.

Bam says this is long overdue, as he claims to have only been allowed FT calls with Phoenix up until now -- and as such, Papa Bear is going to be flying into Los Angeles this month for an event and wants to spend some quality time with him. We're told Bam's coming with a sack full of presents, too, for Phoenix.

Apparently, Bam had purchased $5,000 worth of gifts for his kid -- but because of all the legal drama lately, he hasn't been able to give them to Phoenix just yet.

As we reported ... Bam recently hit over 100 days sober, which is a major win for him in so many respects. Bam tells us the judge in his divorce case has been monitoring this progress carefully -- and feels like the decision to grant him visitation is due to his sobriety.

LeRoy Butler says Florida State needs to pack its bags and get the hell out of the ACC ... telling TMZ Sports he believes the perceived weakness of the conference is a big reason the College Football Playoff committee gave the Seminoles the boot on Sunday.

"We're going to have to leave," said Butler, who starred at FSU from 1987 through 1989. "We've got to get out of the ACC. If we want to win a national championship, we've got to go."

FSU -- which just completed a 13-0 season on Saturday -- was believed by many to be one of the four best teams in the country ... but when it came time to pick the four squads who will play for this year's national championship, the CFP committee gave the nod to a one-loss Alabama team over the Seminoles.

When we spoke with Butler about the snub some 24 hours after it went down ... he was furious -- saying he believes the committee "robbed" his former team.

Then, he told us FSU's conference affiliation will need to change in order to prevent these kinds of situations going forward.

"Let's be honest, they don't think the ACC is a good conference," Butler said ... before adding, "I bet you I've gotten 50 calls from people -- 'Man, ya'll have got to get out of the ACC.'"

"This is not basketball. Football brings in the money."

While Butler didn't say where he'd like his alma mater to end up -- it seems pretty clear it's the SEC.

"The SEC is in everybody's brain -- that a one-loss team is better than a 13-0 team."

With the 1st pick in the 2040 WNBA Draft, [team name here] selects Kaari Morant! 😊

Ja Morant's 4-year-old daughter showed the apple doesn't fall far from the tree ... the NBA superstar's baby, Kaari, showed off her hoops skills in a 1-on-1 matchup against her mom, Kadre -- and it's adorable!

Kadre shared the video on social media, despite being scored on (sometimes the offense is just that good!), showing Kaari driving to the left, with handles that'd make dad proud, before knocking down the lefty layup, as mom could just stand there and watch.

Kaari was clearly impressed with her work on the court ... and she let everyone know about it, yelling, "You see the guns?! You see the guns?!" as she flexed.

Kadre -- who gave birth to Kaari in 2019 -- captioned the video with a question ... how does her daughter already have A+ trash talk?!

Ja's sister, high school hooper Niya, took the credit, saying her niece got it from her.

"Deflee got it from her tt," Niya said, "but whateva 🙄😂😂😂😂."

It seems hooping runs in the family (and some trash-talking, too) ... and thankfully for NBA fans, Morant is gearing up to return later this month when his 25-game suspension ends.

Ja will be eligible on Dec. 19, and the 5-14 Grizzlies desperately need him.

Trevor Lawrence's wife says dozens of Jaguars fans have reached out to throw their support behind her and her hubby after the star QB was injured Monday night ... flooding her social media inbox with positive messages.

Marissa Lawrence shared a screen recording of some of the DMs she says she received just after Trevor appeared to badly injure his ankle in the fourth quarter of Jacksonville's home tilt against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Almost all of the messages seemed to contain some kind of prayer for Trevor ... something Marissa said she was super grateful for.

"Really overwhelmed by people's kindness and love," she said in the clip of the fans' messages. "Just wanted to share something positive and thank everyone truly for your prayers and support."

Trevor went down in a heap of pain as he was trying to lead the Jaguars to a win ... and on Monday, head coach Doug Pederson said his 24-year-old signal-caller was dealing with a high-ankle sprain.

Seminoles legend Charlie Ward is asking for full access to College Football Playoff committee meetings going forward ... after he believes Florida State got screwed over during Sunday's selection process.

The former Heisman Trophy winner told TMZ Sports he believes full transparency following the committee's controversial pick of 12-1 Alabama over 13-0 FSU would help assuage a lot of the salty opinions that were created by the org.'s decision.

Ward -- who ended up having a successful career in the NBA after college football -- says when he was on the Florida High School Athletic Association, open-door meetings helped squelch outrage ... and now he's asking for similar from the CFP.

"A lot of our meetings are online to where people can weigh in and see what the conversations are," Ward said.

"I would like to see us open up that process so that we can hear these conversations and weigh in on the process."

Ward is not the only one who wants something done ... Florida Senator Rick Scott wrote the committee a letter, demanding the CFP provide answers following its "unprecedented exclusion" of FSU from this year's national championship race.

Someone must've had beans before the Tampa Bay Lightning's shutout win over the Dallas Stars on Monday ... 'cause star goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy's postgame interview was interrupted by a big fart!!

The hilarious sequence was captured on video ... when the 29-year-old Russian athlete was asked in the locker room about bouncing back from an 8-1 loss to the same team just two days prior.

Vasilevskiy started to give his earnest response to the inquiry ... but as he paused to collect his thoughts, one of his teammates (we're assuming) squeaked out a toot.

Naturally, Vasilevskiy couldn't help but giggle over the whole thing ... and all the reporters joined in on the laugh.

"Uhh ... what was the question??" Vasilevskiy said with a smirk before trying to get back on track.

Eventually, the keeper returned to the topic at hand ... breaking down his stellar night with 25 saves on 25 shots on goal.

It hasn't been too stinky of a season for the Lightning -- they're currently 11-10-5 on the campaign.

8:32 AM -- Cops say in a police report obtained by TMZ Sports that James Hill Jr. told them the assault was preceded by a series of disputes between him and his brother ... including one that involved the cleaning of Jamahal Hill's freezer.

In the docs, officers say James told them he had picked Jamahal up from a Michigan airport ... but when the two arrived at Jamahal's house a short time later, they realized that because the residence had been left vacant for months, the electricity in the unit had been turned off -- causing "all the food in the house to spoil and rot."

Cops say James told them he and Jamahal had agreed James would clean the house with his wife for $300. James said, according to the docs, "he cleaned out the whole house besides the chest freezer in the garage."

But, cops say in the police report James told them that after he and Jamahal got into an argument over the UFC fighter's alleged treatment of women and their own mother -- he left the home.

James, according to cops, said Jamahal texted him the next day and asked why he didn't clean out the freezer ... allegedly demanding half the money back for the unfinished job.

Police say James, however, came back on Nov. 25 to clean it all out ... and once he completed the task, he went to talk to Jamahal -- and another dispute broke out.

This time, according to the docs, James and Jamahal got into it over Thanksgiving Day texts. The argument, cops say James told them, then turned physical.

Officers say James told them Jamahal "sucker punched" him with a closed fist -- before hitting him a second time.

According to the docs, James left the home and debated on calling police because "he didn't want to ruin Jamahal's UFC fighting career." Though after Jamahal allegedly wouldn't respond to texts or apologize, he called cops to report the incident.

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill allegedly got so violent during an altercation with his brother last month that he knocked a tooth right out of the man's mouth.

The allegations are spelled out in a probable cause affidavit, obtained by TMZ Sports.

In the docs, police say James Hill Jr. told them from a Kentwood-area hospital in Michigan that Jamahal had assaulted him on Nov. 25 after the two had gotten into an argument.

Jamahal, according to the docs, punched his brother once, sending him to the ground. Cops say when James got up, Jamahal punched him again -- hurling him right back to the floor.

According to the docs, James' face and left eye were "very swollen" after the alleged attack ... and officers also say James was "missing a front tooth that he stated got broke when Jamahal assaulted him."

Jamahal was arrested over the allegations on Nov. 27 ... and formally charged with one count of aggravated domestic violence shortly after. He's due in court for a hearing on the matter next month.

In a video Jamahal released on Saturday, the 32-year-old said he's "been advised not to speak on" the arrest ... though he did say, "I just can't wait for the truth to be told in court and I will wait for that day and I look forward to that day."

"The people who know me and know my character and truly, truly rock with me and know who I am, hold on to that and stay true to that and yeah, that's all I'm gonna say on that."

Kim Zolciak and Kroy Biermann are falling deeper into the debt hole -- she just got hit with a new credit card lawsuit ... meanwhile, a different judge just ordered him to pay 5 figures.

The embattled couple had some new legal docs come their way Tuesday -- in Kim's case, she's now being sued by Chase Bank over a balance they claim is way past due ... they're suing her for $4,624.02

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Chase attached a bunch of statements from her account to demonstrate she's been behind on payments dating back to Nov. 2022.

The balance, they allege, has only ballooned ... and now, they say they want their dough. Remember, Kroy also got sued by Chase Bank over another credit card account he had with them ... and in that instance, they alleged he owed quite a bit more -- about $13,000.

Speaking of KB, he got hit with a judgment in a completely separate case -- although, it pertains to the same sort of allegations. Discover is suing him over a balance it says he owed, which had grown to $11,275.45 ... and was past due.

Per new legal docs, Kroy never officially filed a response in that suit -- and now, a judge has signed off on a default judgment saying he's gotta fork over that full amount ... plus $111 of court costs.

As we've reported ... Kim and Kroy have been facing a lot of these types of lawsuits lately -- and it's all part of the mosaic of their financial woes ... which go well beyond the credit cards.

Jay Williams has no issue with Houston Rockets coach Ime Udoka going off on LeBron James in the middle of a game ... telling TMZ Sports trash talk is all part of the nature of the sport.

ICYMI, Udoka -- who became Houston's head coach in April -- got into a heated confrontation with James during the Rockets vs. Lakers game on Dec. 2 ... appearing to tell the NBA superstar and his team to "stop crying like bitches."

Udoka was ejected from the game and later criticized for his manner as a coach ... but when we asked Williams about the clash while he was out at LAX this week, he defended the former player.

"Basketball to me is what you see at Rucker Park," Williams said. "Basketball to me is what you see at the Dyckman [Park]. It's what you see on Venice Beach."

"That's the world it comes from, that's where it's rooted from and people get things twisted. Ime Udoka was a player."

Of course, Udoka played for seven seasons in the NBA from 2004-2011 ... meaning he competed in the same era as LeBron.

That's where that aggression toward LBJ came from, Williams believes ... and it also shows why Ime acts differently from other coaches in the NBA.

"For me, I like people that engage and trash talk like that, 'cause it comes from a place -- you can tell there's history there," Williams said.

"I'm sure there'll be some type of fine for crossing the line, but you don't think subtle trash-talking like that exists? What do you think Gary Payton did his entire career? What do you think Draymond Green does?"

Williams added ... "One of the things that makes Ime different is that he's involved in the trenches of the game as a player."

Tragedy has again struck the bodybuilding world ... former Mr. Universe, Shaun 'Dinosaur' Davis, has passed away at the age of 57.

The cause of death is unknown at this time.

Davis's friend, Kuldeep Bhardwaj, confirmed the reports of Davis' death on Facebook, sharing a photo of the British bodybuilder.

"I’m absolutely devastated," Bhardwaj said in the FB post.

"Rest in Peace my friend you was a true inspiration right from the day I met you at school, through your amazing bodybuilding years and after. Your smile and laughter will be missed."

Davis, a massive man at 334 lbs., had a great career, winning several competitions including the prestigious Mr. Universe title in 1996.

He also won Mr. UK, Mr. Europe, Mr. Pro Universe and Mr. Britain, among others.

Davis was forced to retire after battling kidney issues ... and even received a transplant in 2009 after three years of dialysis.

Tributes from fans are flooding social media, with fans sharing stories about the larger-than-life man who someone described as a "wonderful, inspirational person."

Sadly, several bodybuilders have passed away this year including pioneer Lisa Lyon, Neil Currey, Gustavo 'The Freakin Rican' Badell, and Bill Graham.