TMZ Sports - Page 50

Travis Kelce and Chiefs Kingdom won't like this ...

An extremely talented Baltimore fan is hoping to bring some good Taylor Swift juju to his favorite team ... by painting a mural of the pop star decked out in a Lamar Jackson jersey!!

The artist goes by dlordink on social media ... and at some point, after it was revealed the Ravens would take on the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game this weekend, he got the idea to try to use Swift's good luck powers for his squad.

The painter threw up the artwork at Unlimited Art Studio in Havre de Grace, Md. ... and he said on his TikTok page he and another designer spent three hours perfecting it.

Afterward, he was clearly pleased with how it all turned out ... writing in a caption on a pic of the wall, "Tag @taylorswift & @killatrav in the comments and let them know how good she looks in @new_era8 @ravens purple."

A statue honoring baseball icon Jackie Robinson was stolen from outside a youth baseball facility in Kansas this week ... and cops are now searching for the scumbags who ran off with it.

Local police shared surveillance footage of the heist that went down at League 42's McAdams Park in Wichita early Thursday morning ... which appears to show someone cut the Robinson tribute at the ankles, put it in the back of a truck and flee the scene.

Wichita PD shared an image of what's left of the Dodgers legend's bronze figure ... just two feet standing on top of a home plate.

The station said the "community is devastated" over the vandalism ... and is calling on anyone with information regarding its whereabouts to come forward.

"The actions of those individuals who had the audacity to take the statue of Jackie Robinson from a park where kids and families in our community can gather, learn the history of Jackie Robinson, an American icon, and play the game of baseball should upset all of us," Wichita Police Chief Joseph Sullivan said.

"What troubles me even more is that this theft occurred just before the beginning of February, which marks the start of Black History Month."

"Our city wants the statute returned. We also want the individuals who robbed our community of a treasure to be held accountable for their actions."

League 42 was created in 2013 to help children in Wichita learn the sport without worrying about high registration fees ... with hundreds signing up each year. Robinson's trailblazing career and breaking the MLB color barrier served as inspiration for the organization.

Brendan Gallagher was ejected from the Canadiens game Thursday night for throwing a vicious elbow at his opponent's head ... and now, fans want to see him sidelined for a while for the dirty play.

The incident happened during the Canadiens' game against the Islanders at the Centre Bell Arena in Montreal ... when Gallagher tried to stop Adam Pelech from getting deep into the neutral zone.

Video from the game's broadcast shows right as Pelech crossed the blue line ... Gallagher elbowed him in the face -- sending the defenseman crashing to the ice.

Pelech stayed down for a while -- although he was eventually able to skate to his team's locker room. He did not return to the game. Gallagher, meanwhile, was ejected for the illegal check.

Puckheads were furious over the play ... rushing to social media to demand a lengthy ban for Gallagher. Even the right winger's former teammate, P.K. Subban, said the 12-year NHL vet needs to be suspended.

"I don’t know how else I’m supposed to call that," Subban said about the collision, "but to me, those are the hits that we just can’t have. That’s just inexcusable. There’s no upside."

This isn't the first time Gallagher has made a move like this on the ice ... in November 2021, he punched Barclay Goodrow, and was fined $2,500.

Snoop Dogg is hoping to add a familiar foe to Laker Nation ... recruiting Clipper Darrell to the Purple and Gold just a little over one year after the LA super fan was KO'ed at a Clippers game.

The legendary rapper -- and big Lake Show fan -- minced no words while on Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson's "All The Smoke" podcast this week ... saying he straight up wants Clipper Darrell to switch allegiances after the guy was socked in the face by a security guard while attending a Clips game in 2022.

"Oh, man," Snoop said on the show. "Security disrespected him. Clipper Darrell, come on home, man. The Lakers would never do you like that. Come on home, man. Flip that s***, man."

Darrell, of course, is going to need a whole lot more selling than that to change all of his red and blue ... he's known as arguably the biggest Clippers fan in the world. In fact, he loves his team so much, he's painted his car to match his favorite squad!!

But, Snoop clearly thinks the punch-out he received after getting into a squabble with a Crypto.com Arena official in December '22 should be enough to make him come to L.A.'s other team.

"Flip it!" Snoop said.

Don't expect Darrell, though, to go running to the other side of town even if the "Drop It Like It's Hot" MC extended his own personal invite ... CD -- real name Darrell Bailey -- told us back in November that despite the punch and everything he's suffered since, he's still riding or dying with his squad.

9:56 AM PT -- Yasiel Puig and his agent are addressing the brawl ... insisting he was trying to play peacemaker in the scuffle, and only defended himself when he was hit in the face.

Ex-MLB star Yasiel Puig found himself in the middle of a bench-clearing brawl during a professional baseball game in Venezuela this week ... throwing punches and getting hit as both sides duked it out.

The chaos broke out during Game 2 of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League's championship series at University of Caracas Stadium on Wednesday ... when Puig's Tiburones de La Guaira teammate Maikel Garcia knocked a two-run dinger in the bottom of the 8th inning to put their team up 10-8 over Cardenales de Lara.

As Garcia rounded the bases, he appeared to hot dog in front of the opposing team's bench ... running his mouth and slowly trotting before reaching home.

Naturally, the Cardenales players took issue with the showboating ... and one player started clapping back at Garcia.

The heated confrontation led both squads to leave their dugouts ... and a scrap broke out.

Puig -- who played in the MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland from 2013-19 -- ended up right in the middle of the violent altercation ... throwing hands and getting hit in the process.

After a few minutes, the action died down ... and both teams made it back to their dugouts.

Surprisingly, no one was ejected for the impromptu fight ... and Puig's team held on to win the contest, 12-10.

Fun fact -- another MLB star was supposed to be on the field ... as Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. was playing for La Guaira prior to the tournament, but has been sitting out recently to prepare for the 2024 season.

A cop who was racing to help Jim Irsay during the NFL owner's medical scare last month got a bit of an assist from Taylor Swift ... 'cause new police video, obtained by TMZ Sports, shows the officer was blaring the popstar's music as he rushed to the emergency.

The scene was captured on a Carmel Police Dept. dash camera at around 4:30 AM back on Dec. 8 ... just after cops say someone had called 911 to report Irsay might have suffered a possible overdose at his Indiana home.

In the footage, you can see that right after the call was received ... a policeman turned on his overhead lights -- and his Swift tunes -- to try to get to Irsay's house as soon as possible.

The officer blew through stop signs, at least one red light ... and swerved in and out of lanes -- all while "Cruel Summer" poured out of his vehicle's speakers.

At one point, the cop appeared to reach a high rate of speed as Swift could be heard belting out, "He looks up grinning like a devil, it's new!"

The cop also tuned in to Kenya Grace's "Strangers" ... before he finally arrived at Irsay's residence.

Several other members of law enforcement -- including at least three other cops -- also showed up to help render aid ... though according to their dash cams, they had no music on while en route to the scene.

Cops said in a police report they ultimately found Irsay in his bed gasping for air. They said he had a weak pulse as well as constricted pupils ... and he didn't respond to a sternum rub.

However, according to the police docs, Irsay did respond "slightly" after Narcan -- a drug commonly used in opiate overdose situations -- had been administered. He was later transported to a nearby hotel, where he survived. Cops classified the incident as both "overdose" and "overdose/poisoning."

On Jan. 9, over a month after the scare, the Colts announced Irsay was dealing with a "severe respiratory illness." They added in a statement last week that Jim was still recovering from his respiratory ailment.

Barring something unforeseen in the next few days, Bill Belichick will NOT be the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons ... the NFL org. is reportedly set to hire Raheem Morris instead.

The former New England Patriots head man had been considered the favorite for the open gig throughout the early parts of January ... this after interviewing for the job twice in a matter of days earlier this month.

However, something changed in the last week ... and now, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, the Falcons will hire Morris -- the LA Rams' defensive coordinator -- instead.

The Falcons were believed to be the only team without a head coach who interviewed Belichick this offseason.

Only two franchises remain without a head coach at this point, but both -- the Commanders and the Seahawks -- do not appear to have interest in Belichick.

Of course, The Hoodie could always be a defensive coordinator somewhere this season ... though it appears more likely the 71-year-old takes the year off, before trying to resume his pursuit of the NFL's all-time wins record in 2025.

It's time to stop callin' Deontay Wilder done ... 'cause Roy Jones Jr. tells TMZ Sports it's not over for the star heavyweight boxer, even with him losing.

Boxing fans know the 6'7" power puncher has had a rough go of it lately, taking an L against Joseph Parker by unanimous decision in December. The defeat came as a shock to many fans who believed the Bronze Bomber would steamroll the fellow heavyweight.

Post-fight opinions on 38-year-old Wilder have now changed, with many believing Deontay's best days are long behind him, despite his great 43-3 record.

But, don't count the legendary RJJ among those people ... 'cause Jones Jr. still feels Deontay's an elite fighter -- and he even used a few UFC stars like Conor McGregor and Georges St-Pierre to make his point.

"Come on man, UFC guys have 5, 6, 8, 9 losses and they still put on good fights," Roy said, adding, "but why boxers can't do that? Just because he lost, that don't mean it's over."

The 55-year-old former world champ also believes Parker (34-3, 23 KOs) was just good enough to go toe-to-toe with Wilder and beat him ... assuming Deontay wasn't as focused as he would be against an opponent like Tyson Fury or another huge star.

"You gotta be in overkill or he gon' beat you," Jones Jr. said. "That's kinda what I feel like what happened with him."

"I don't think Wilder's washed at all. Wilder gotta have a fight that intrigues him."

FYI, before Parker, Deontay beat Robert Helenius by first-round knockout ... rebounding from two losses to The Gypsy King. Those are the only losses of his great career (43-3-1, 42 KOs)

Until then, Jones Jr. has his own fighters to watch ... undefeated super middleweight Andrew Murphy, who will fight Devontae McDonald in a 10-round bout on January 25 at Legends Casino in Toppenish, Washington. Indian boxer Mandeep Jangra will also face Gerardo Esquivel.

In fact, RJJ says Jangra reminds Roy of himself  ... which makes a lot of sense when you consider his nickname, "Indian Roy Jones."

"He does try to fight a lot like the way that I fought," Jones Jr. said. "My philosophy."

Jillian Michaels gave Dr. Terry Dubrow a taste of his own medicine ... this after he implored people to ignore her anti-Ozempic stance cause she was merely a personal trainer.

We got JM on "TMZ Live" Thursday ... who says, contrary to what Dubrow believes, she's actually the foremost expert when it comes to helping people lose weight -- and says he shared her same views on the drug not too long ago ... pulling out receipts for evidence.

Jillian cites a July 2023 NY Post interview with the "Botched" star ... where, sure enough, he urged the weight loss community to raise awareness of the dangers of Ozempic ... saying it could cost people their lives.

The article also claims that 3 of TD's patients were hospitalized at the time ... over intestinal problems and pancreatitis linked with Ozempic use.

So, yeah ... Jillian doubles down here on her OG assertion that Ozempic isn't the silver bullet solution for weight loss ... adding if it were the easy way out, she too would be using it.

In fact, she tells us if she believed the drug could healthily cure obesity... she'd also sell it through her weight loss platform/app -- profiting from it both personally and professionally.

The bottom line is she's merely trying to educate people on the side effects of Ozempic -- and clearly thinks Dubrow's attack on her was unwarranted.

Kim Zolciak's daughter, Ariana Biermann, is keeping the faith ... saying her parents' nasty divorce will work itself out, and that her ma's staying strong through a really tough time.

Ariana was boarding a flight Thursday at LAX when a photog asked her how Kim and Kroy Biermann are holding up at home. You could tell she didn't really wanna chat about this -- but she opened up a bit nonetheless.

The split looks pretty dramatic from the outside, but Ariana's saying the whole family's actually doing great these days ... though it sounds like she doesn't want to add to the tension or say anything bad about her parents. Truth is ... we all know the opposite is true.

Anyway -- Ariana's leaving it all up to God in terms of the fallout ... and she won't even weigh in on whether Kim and Kroy should be more civil with each other moving forward, rightly pointing out that they're adults ... and more importantly, she's not in the relationship!

Remember ... Kim's former 'RHOA' costar NeNe Leakes ran into Kim earlier this month and told us Kim was having a hard time uncoupling from Kroy.

But Ariana says Kim's a strong woman and her stepdad's doing "awesome." If we're being frank ... this is definitely her putting a brave face on for her parents -- 'cause lord knows their situation these days is anything but.

As we've told you ... Kim and Kroy keep lowering the price of their Georgia mansion to try and sell it so they can climb out from a mountain of debt and avoid a potential foreclosure.

Travis Kelce's ex-girlfriend, Kayla Nicole, is putting the WAG lifestyle in the past ... revealing she's no longer interested in dating athletes -- she wants a man with power instead.

The model and influencer opened up this week about her dating life after the Kansas City Chiefs tight end moved on with Taylor Swift ... and while she's not definitively slamming the door shut on jocks for good, she'd be perfectly content if her future partners never stepped foot on a field, court or ice.

Kayla explained her stance on the "Behind the Likes" podcast ... saying, "I'll never say never, but I fully, wholeheartedly believe that I am out of the athlete stage."

But don't get your hopes up, broke boys -- Kayla made it clear she still wants a guy with a lot of 0s in his bank account.

"I would love to just date someone that ... I do think that I am attracted to men in positions of power and I also think that those types of men are attracted to me," she added.

"So, I would love to date an executive of a record label or a movie producer so that we can go to the sporting events. Let date night be courtside at the Laker game, that’s my kind of guy."

As Kayla put it -- she still wants to go to games for entertainment, but doesn't want to be there as a supportive GF.

Kayla -- who dated Kelce on and off for years before their split in 2022 -- also addressed her social media post about Jalen Hurts ... and she defended her actions, even though the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback is in a happy relationship.

Kayla claimed she was just speaking her mind and had no intention of acting on it ... but said the post got her in "trouble."

A judge in Spain has ruled Luis Rubiales, Spain's disgraced former soccer federation president, should stand trial for kissing star player Jenni Hermoso without consent during the team's celebration after winning the World Cup.

The consequential ruling was handed down by investigative judge Francisco de Jorge on Thursday after hearings at Spain's high court in Madrid ... where prosecutors and the defense argued for and against criminal charges.

Ultimately, the judge concluded the August 2023 kiss was "not consensual" and was "carried out unilaterally and in a surprising fashion" and therefore, criminal proceedings can continue against Rubiales.

The decision comes after days of testimony, including from 33-year-old Hermoso herself.

Spain's leading goal scorer recounted the kiss earlier this month in front of the court. Jenni also claimed Rubiales, and several soccer officials, pressured her to say the kiss was consensual.

In light of the judge's ruling, prosecutors now have 10 days to formally request a trial, which they're expected to do.

If convicted under Spain's new (2022) consent laws, Rubiales could face between one and four years behind bars.

He stepped down from his position in September 2023, almost a month after the kiss, and subsequent outrage from across the world.

2:22 PM PT -- TKO released a statement on the matter ... saying, "Mr. McMahon does not control TKO nor does he oversee the day-to-day operations of WWE."

"While this matter predates our TKO executive team’s tenure at the company, we take Ms. Grant’s horrific allegations very seriously and are addressing this matter internally."

A former WWE employee is suing Vince McMahon ... claiming he repeatedly sexually assaulted her, sex trafficked her -- and then paid her off to stay quiet about it all.

The disturbing allegations were made by Janel Grant in a lawsuit filed on Thursday in a federal court in Connecticut.

In the suit, Grant says she met McMahon back in 2019 ... at a time when she was at rock bottom. She says her parents had just died ... and she was struggling to find work.

However, she says after being introduced to McMahon through a mutual friend, he promised to get her a gig in the WWE.

But, according to the suit, as McMahon was finding her an entry-level role in his company ... he slowly began to use his "life-changing promises" to coerce her into sexual acts.

Grant says just after she was told she had a "legal administrator-coordinator" job with a salary of $75,000 inside McMahon's wrestling org. ... he "trapped her in an impossible situation." She alleges she "feared adverse career and personal consequences and legal retaliation if she declined his advances" -- and began to engage in what she called nonconsensual sexual activity with him.

Grant said in the suit the job she had been given required little work. In fact, according to the lawsuit, she was assigned an additional role in McMahon's XFL to help fill her time.

Grant, though, claims in her suit McMahon suddenly stopped referring to her as a friend ... and "largely stopped talking to [her] outside of sexting and fantasy talk." She alleges he forced her to send him explicit pictures, some of which she says he would share with others in the WWE. A short time later, she says he recruited other men and began sex trafficking her.

She says in May 2020, McMahon organized a threesome with her and her physical therapist ... telling her "he would lose a friendship if she did not go through with it." She claims in the suit that during the encounter, he defecated on her head but made her continue to perform sex acts with the two while she was covered in feces. She alleges in the days following, he texted her "i'm the only one who owns U and controls who I want to f*** U."

Several months later, the suit states, McMahon recruited John Laurinaitis -- a former WWE superstar who was at the time a high-ranking exec in the company -- "to join them."

Grant claims McMahon pressed her to send explicit pictures to Laurinaitis. In December 2020, she says McMahon arranged for her to have a threesome with Laurinaitis as well.

She says in the months afterward, she was moved to the WWE's talent relations department, where she reported to Laurinaitis. Once that move happened, she stated in her suit that there was an expectation from both McMahon and Laurinaitis "that she engage with Laurinaitis sexually, both physically and with explicit content."

In her suit, Grant says she was directed to "serve herself to [Laurinaitis] as 'breakfast'" at a nearby hotel before the start of their work day. She also claims McMahon texted her, "On days when he's in town, I want him to f*** U every morning and later In the office too."

She says the arrangements left her "miserable and enraged," but "in her years of experience with McMahon, she knew her requests to stop would be ignored at best or used to destroy her career and reputation at worst."

Grant stated in her suit that in June 2021, McMahon and Laurinaitis raped her in Laurinaitis' office. She says at the outset of the encounter, she told them "No, no, no" and "Please stop," but claims McMahon told her, "Take it, bitch."

Grant says a week later, McMahon forced himself on her again over a massage table at WWE's headquarters ... before giving her $15,000 in Bloomingdale's gift cards.

Grant also alleged in her suit that McMahon used her to help him sign a WWE Superstar. The suit describes the talent as "a world-famous athlete and former UFC Heavyweight Champion." The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday this was Brock Lesnar.

In the suit, Grant claims McMahon ordered her to create "personalized sexual content" for the WWE Superstar. She also says he advertised "a sexual encounter with her" to the wrestler while trying to negotiate a new booking contract.

Ultimately, Grant claims in her suit McMahon distanced himself from her in January 2022 ... claiming his wife, Linda McMahon, had found out about their relationship. Grant says it all led to McMahon's request that she sign a non-disclosure agreement.

In the lawsuit, Grant says she agreed to be paid $3 million to sign the NDA ... but she claims that after receiving $1 million, McMahon didn't make further payments.

Grant says she's been traumatized from the whole ordeal and is now seeking unspecified damages ... as well as for a judge to invalidate her NDA.

If you didn't think the Sunshine State could get any hotter, allow us to prove you wrong ... 'cause these stars could burn even the hottest beach -- especially on Florida Day.

The sun's always out in this Southeastern state ... and Tyler Cameron knew exactly what to do in his hometown Jupiter, ripping off his shirt to expose the guns. Rebel Wilson covered up a little more in a zip-up suit but still added some color to her long legs on the beach while Maluma looked like the Florida MAN -- sipping on wine in the 305!!!

Rapper Coi Leray completely stole the show from the Miami coastline ... keeping all eyes on her behind in the smallest one-piece the town's ever seen.

And, what would Florida be without its boat culture ... something in which Tiktok star and certified boat babe Alix Earle indulged while lounging in a barely-there orange bikini off Fort Lauderdale's coast.

And, Florida's a great hot spot for couples too ... just ask Olympic legend Simone Biles and NFL baller hubby Jonathan Owens who snuggled up in South Beach.

Like we said from the top -- it's National Florida Day, y'all ... so enjoy all the pics from everyone's fave swing state -- guaranteed to rapidly warm up anyone's chilly January!!!

Super Bowl LVIII's goin' down in Las Vegas, and the NFL's delivering the full Sin City experience ... tapping Tiësto to serve as the first-ever in-game DJ for the biggest sporting event of the year!

On Thursday the NFL announced the international superstar will be on the 1s and 2s, entertaining fans on Super Sunday ... during pre-game warm-ups and breaks in the game.

"Each year, we look to elevate the in-stadium experience for our fans," the NFL said, "and with our first Super Bowl in Las Vegas, it seems only fitting to embrace the legacy of iconic DJs in this city by having Tiësto bring his signature style to our biggest event."

Tiësto -- considered by many the "Godfather of EDM" -- is pumped for the opportunity, and says he's ready to give an epic performance.

"It's even more incredible that it's in my favorite place - Las Vegas," the 55-year-old said.

Of course, Vegas is known for its amazing, over-the-top parties starring some of the biggest musical acts in the world ... and now fans lucky enough to be at Allegiant Stadium on February 11, get to see Tiësto.

"Thank you to the NFL for having me," Tiësto said, "I cannot wait to party with you all at the big game!"

Tiësto -- who has generated over 11 billion streams worldwide and sold more than 36 million albums -- will be the fifth DJ to play during Super Bowl warmups ... but the first to spin in-game.

Great news for people who can't get enough of Travis Kelce -- the Kansas City Chiefs tight end just landed yet another commercial ... teaming up with Patrick Mahomes to sell some sammiches.

Taylor Swift's boyfriend shared his latest ad campaign with Subway on Thursday ... a short clip that primarily focuses on the superstar quarterback raving about pairing subs with the chain's new footlong cookie.

Mahomes addresses the camera in the spot ... saying, "There's nothing better than a Subway series footlong -- except when you add a new footlong sidekick."

"This might be my favorite sidekick ever," the two-time Super Bowl MVP adds ... as the camera cuts to Travis, who's clearly jealous of being replaced by a snack.

Mahomes and Kelce are one of the most dominant duos in NFL history -- they even broke Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski's career record with 16 postseason touchdowns this past weekend ... so the ad couldn't come at a more relevant time.

The Subway partnership adds to Kelce's growing list of endorsements he's landed after becoming a household name ... joining companies like Experian, Pfizer and State Farm who have used him in commercials over the past year.

In fact, Kelce also joined Mahomes for an ad with the insurance giant last year ... so they've really liked the idea of packaging themselves together lately.

It's been an incredible ride for the Ohio native -- he's won two Super Bowls, hosted "Saturday Night Live" and is dating the biggest star on the planet.