TMZ Sports - Page 50

The man who allegedly hit Terrell Owens with his car following a dispute at a basketball game last year has been hit with two criminal charges, TMZ Sports has learned.

Court records show Wonzur Ratcliff is now facing two counts of felony assault with a deadly weapon ... after authorities say he was the man who rammed his vehicle into Owens' knee on Oct. 16, 2023.

Cops claimed the incident all went down because Ratcliff and Owens had gotten into an argument while shooting hoops on a court in the Calabasas, Calif. area.

Owens, cops said, did not require medical attention.

T.O. never formally commented on the matter ... although he did allude to it in an Instagram post two days after it happened. The Hall of Famer shared what appeared to be highlights of him playing in the game that led to the incident ... writing in the caption, "ABOUT LAST NIGHT…"

"BUT I DO HAVE A RIGHT TO PROTECT MYSELF. *hope the car is ok!!!"

NFL reporter Chris Mortensen, who covered football for decades and was one of the most recognizable reporters on TV, is dead.

Chris died Sunday morning according to his longtime employer, ESPN. The cause of death is unclear.

Mortensen was a staple of ESPN's coverage of the NFL for decades ... most famous for his TV segments, dubbed the Mort Report.

Chris was often featured on ESPN's "Sunday NFL Countdown," "SportsCenter" and "Monday Night Football" ... in addition to writing and doing radio hits at ESPN.

Mortensen had to step away from TV in 2016, when he revealed he was battling stage 4 throat cancer. He ultimately returned to work at ESPN, but in September 2023 he retired from the network.

"Mort was widely respected as an industry pioneer and universally beloved as a supportive, hard-working teammate," ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro says. "He covered the NFL with extraordinary skill and passion, and was at the top of his field for decades. He will truly be missed by colleagues and fans, and our hearts and thoughts are with his loved ones."

Chris was 72.

Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift are doing the long-distance thing ... she's singing in Singapore, and even though he's a world away in Philadelphia, he's close to her hometown.

The Super Bowl champ is hanging out in Philly, where his older brother and podcast partner Jason Kelce lives with his family.

Travis got a fresh cut in the City of Brotherly Love, courtesy of celebrity barber Willis Orengo ... who documented their hangout for social media.

Seems Travis has a new haircut and a new nickname too ... Willis is calling Taylor's boyfriend "the big Yeti." They've got to be super close, Willis traveled from NYC to Philly just to give Travis his fresh cut.

Meanwhile, Taylor's overseas doing her thing in Singapore ... where she's playing to sold-out venues in Asia ... but not without some controversy.

Taylor made a couple big announcements at her Sunday show in Singapore ... showing off the cover art for her upcoming album. "The Tortured Poets Department," and announcing a bonus track, "The Black Dog."

Tay Tay's in Singapore all week performing ... and then she takes a two-month break before getting back after it in May in Paris ... so it will be interesting to see if Travis comes to any of her shows in Asia, or hangs back in the States.

Remember ... Travis hung out with Taylor in Australia last month and went to one of her shows before jetting back to Las Vegas to party with his Chiefs teammates.

If Travis wants to check out Taylor's hometown while he's in Pennsylvania ... her childhood home in Wyomissing is just a little over an hour drive away.

Move over Pete Maravich, make way for Caitlin Clark ... there's a new all-time leading scorer in college basketball.

Caitlin just surpassed Pistol Pete as the leading scorer in NCAA Division I hoops, draining a couple free throws at the end of the first half of Sunday's game between her Iowa Hawkeyes and the Ohio State Buckeyes.

CC entered the game needing 18 points to pass Pete, and Iowa fans went bananas when she sank two free throws to break the longstanding record.

There's still a second half to play, so Caitlin's going to put more distance between herself and Pete, who scored 3,667 points at Louisiana State University way back in the day.

Caitlin was already the greatest scorer in women's college basketball history, breaking the women's scoring record last month when she eclipsed Kelsey Plum's record of 3,527 points ... and now she stands above the rest in all of college basketball.

Some thought Pete's record would never be broken ... and he did it all in 3 seasons from 1967 to 1970 at LSU, before freshman played and before the 3-point shot was a thing.

Caitlin broke the record in her final home game, with former WNBA MVP Maya Moore in attendance.

CC's still got a lot more hoops to play ... Iowa plays in the Big 10 conference tournament before the NCAA tournament ... so expect a lot more buckets from Caitlin.

When she's done rewriting the college record books in a few weeks, Caitlin will set her sights on a new chapter ... she's already declared for the 2024 WNBA Draft.

This is not the headline NBA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer envisioned when he sunk $2 billion into building a brand new state-of-the-art arena.

Cops are on the lookout for the 2 male teenagers who broke into the Intuit Dome -- which is still under construction in Inglewood, CA -- and ran around the place like they owned it ... shooting hoops, climbing on scaffolding and spraying fire extinguishers.

They pulled off the brazen caper last week, recording the whole thing ... and proudly posted it on TikTok, which is likely what will get them busted.

The video shows them climbing a construction crew's ladder at night to gain entry, and then strolling around the empty hallways and bleachers. When they found an unfinished basketball court, they decided to take a few shots.

They did all of this while showing their faces, and, as a result, Inglewood Mayor B has since identified the pair and their parents. Butts told ABC 7, "It will be very clear to these young men -- and to people who are TikTok followers -- that you have a moment of TikTok greatness followed by a little bit of misery. And so we don’t play around with these things.”

It's unclear if cops have made contact with the suspects yet, or what their punishment might be.

Pro wrestling legend Sting is hanging up his boots after Sunday's big match at AEW Revolution ... a moment so special, tag team partner Darby Allin says it's actually the highlight of his young, but impressive, career -- and he's not even the dude retiring!

"Oh, without a doubt. Without a doubt, it's the biggest [match of my career]," Allen told us, adding, "He's been around longer than I've been alive. Like on top of the wrestling. It's really cool to be a part of it and definitely my biggest match and I'm not taking anything for granted. I'm so grateful for this opportunity, and I'll stop at nothing to prove my loyalty."

Of course, Sting is one of the most legendary wrestlers of all time. Period. WCW, TNA, WWE, and now AEW ... Sting was the man in all the top promotions. He's a WWE and TNA Hall of Famer. He's also won just about every title under the sun.

Wrestling fans have been anticipating the match ... Sting and Darby are fighting The Young Bucks, Matthew and Nicholas Jackson Sunday night in Greensboro, NC.

"I try not to make it about myself at all. I just want to make sure this man's career ends with the respect it deserves, and it's cool to be a part of the end," Darby said of the meaningfulness of the moment.

"I feel like the biggest part of a wrestler's career is the end. If you s*** the bed in the end, people are always gonna remember that. 'Aw, he should've hung up his boots years ago.' But I convinced Sting to come back and wrestle, so I feel it's my duty to make sure that he doesn't embarrass himself."

A baseball that's roughly a decade old is about to sell for thousands of dollars ... and it's all 'cause Patrick Mahomes put his "John Hancock" on it way back when he was a high school senior!!

The ball was just discovered at a thrift store in Rockwall, Texas last month ... and it's super cool. It features signatures from some of the players who took the diamond in Texas for the Whitehouse H.S. Wildcats during the 2013-14 season.

In total, there are six names scribbled on it ... but, of course, none is bigger than Mahomes -- who put a "#5" next to his autograph when he inscribed the sweet spot.

Leland's just put the piece on its auction block -- and while bidding has started at $2,500 ... TMZ Sports is told it could fetch $10,000 and up!!

While it might sound a little crazy -- considering Mahomes, after all, does play football ... it's actually not the first Mahomes-autographed H.S. baseball that's sold for a wad of cash.

Back in 2020, one that the Chiefs star and the rest of his Whitehouse teammates signed in 2013 netted its seller a whopping $6,510.

Seems like a ton of cash ... but, hey, an autographed baseball signed by Michael Jordan during his high school days did go for $36,000 -- so it doesn't seem to be a bad investment by any means.

Fans and fighters alike will tell you MMA judging is largely broken ... and the solution? Some say open scoring, while others suggest turning former competitors into judges. What's the right answer? If anyone knows, it's Herb Dean.

TMZ Sports ran into the legendary referee at the airport in Los Angeles earlier this week and asked about open scoring ... which would make judge's scorecards visible to everyone in the arena, and watching at home.

Instead of finding out what the judge's scorecards look like after the bout, we'd all know in real time ... a point some argue would make fights more exciting. In other words, a fighter might've previously thought they were up on the cards, but with open scoring, that same fighter would have the benefit of knowing exactly where they stand, and what they need to do to earn a victory.

So, good idea, right? Not so fast.

"There's always an argument for [open scoring]," Dean said, before suggesting it could potentially be dangerous.

"I think there's things that could be problems with it. One, if the scoring is open, and some places where there's a heavy crowd effect, the crowd could track [the scoring], and that might be a problem."

Herb, who made his UFC debut at UFC 47 in 2004 (UFC 299 is next week!), added ... "Sometimes crowds can get violent over sports. I'm not saying that something is gonna happen, but it's something you might consider."

The longtime ref, who runs a top-notch ref/judging program, also talked about the push to bring retired fighters into the mix after they hang up the gloves ... something Herb's actively doing.

Some of his students include Joe Stevenson, John Romero, and Chris Leben ... three guys who have decided to stick around the sport in a different capacity. And there are others.

Dean, who fought back in the day, does caution simply being a fighter doesn't automatically mean you're a superior judge or ref.

Another weekend is coming to a close, and a new week is among us ... and we talked about a lot on TV.

Starting out with "TMZ Live," Harvey and Charles discussed the disaster seen 'round the world -- namely the failed Wonka experience in Scotland ... where a company came under fire throughout the entire week for putting on what many have characterized as a scam.

The videos and images have been wild to see, and on Friday ... Billy McFarland of Fyre Fest infamy weighed in.

Next up, we got "TMZ on TV" ... where the gang discussed Dwayne Johnson's business moves in the WWE -- namely, locking up the rights to a ton of his signature catchphrases.

We already know he has rights to "The Rock," but his trademarks go well beyond that.

Finally, we land on "TMZ Sports" ... where Babcock and Mojo talked about Lil Wayne's mishap at the Lakers game this week -- where he says he was treated like s*** and bolted.

Check your local listings for when TMZ is on in your area or catch up on past episodes!

LeBron James just raced past another NBA milestone ... becoming the first player in league history to break the 40,000 point mark!

James recorded the record-breaking basket just over a minute into the 2nd quarter against the Denver Nuggets Saturday night ... dazzling the packed house at Crypto.com Arena.

40k had some style, too ... Bron converted a pretty spin into a left-handed layup, earning LBJ one hell of an ovation from the Lakers faithful -- as well as family and friends.

It was all but assured that LeBron would smash the 40k ceiling before tip-off ... as the King was just nine points away from the threshold.

In fact, the team was so sure he'd reach the milestone, they had a points counter on the big screens inside the arena.

"LeBron James: Founding member of the 40K points club," the Purple and Gold tweeted after LBJ netted the basket.

It's just the latest accomplishment for James.

Remember, Bron broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's all-time NBA scoring record in February 2023 ... and also became the first player to pass 30,000 points, 10,000 assists and 10,000 rebounds in 2022.

NASCAR star Kyle Busch is giving credit where it's due ... telling TMZ Sports he can only applaud his wife, Samantha, for ruthlessly trolling him over "inches" last week.

In case you missed it -- one of the closest finishes in NASCAR history went down in the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway last Sunday ... with Busch, Daniel Suarez and Ryan Blaney being neck and neck (and neck) right up until the checkered flag.

The 2015 and 2019 Cup Series champion addressed his third-place finish after the race -- going to Instagram and admitting he "Needed a couple inches📏" in order to come out on top ... to which Samantha hit him with a sick burn.

"I’ve been telling you that for almost 20 years 😜" Sam wrote in the comments.

OUCH!!!

We caught up with Busch this week and asked about his wife's friendly jab ... and even he's admitting she got him good.

"I think I left the door wide open for those sorts of comments with how I scripted my text underneath my post, so she played that well."

As for the actual race, Busch broke down the "chess game" he was trying to execute in the final laps ... and how Suarez was able to use his own strategy against him.

But, all things considered, the driver of the No. 8 car said he was able to keep his composure in the end (per usual) ... and is thrilled they were all able to cross the finish line without crashing.

Terence "Bud" Crawford is showing just how much he appreciates his team for holding him down throughout his boxing career ... gifting each member iced-out pendants of his signature logo!!

TMZ Sports is told the 40-0 welterweight fighter hit up celeb jeweler and friend Mazza NYC -- whose client list ranges from Jadakiss to Dak Prescott -- with hopes to create something as a "thank you" for their devotion.

Crawford felt his TBC symbol would be the perfect image to make into a keepsake ... and Mazza agreed.

In fact, he took it one step further ... by turning the outline of Crawford's body (the T in the TBC logo) into an actual figure of the undefeated pugilist.

We're told Crawford copped five total pendants, including one for himself ... each decked out in VS E diamonds and 14k rose gold.

Crawford's piece also came with a 21-inch diamond ball chain with VS E diamonds.

"It was created with his team in mind, so they could receive something special for all their commitment and hard work," Mazza told us.

The team certainly deserves it -- they helped Crawford become the best pound-for-pound in boxing following his TKO win against rival Errol Spence.

It's finally the weekend, and best believe ... we finished strong here at TMZ on our shows.

Let's start with 'TMZ Live,' where Harvey and Charles dove into a new interview that Bianca Censori's father gave ... where he tore into her husband, Kanye West, for trotting around all over the world with hardly anything on -- which he seems to find despicable and wrong.

There's been some debate over whether he has any say ... and we kept that going here.

Heading on over to 'TMZ on TV,' the gang discussed Hailey Bieber's sister's wild arrest down in Georgia last week -- where she got kicked out of a bar and landed in handcuffs/jail.

Of course, there's also the allegation that she hurled a tampon at someone ... and, uh, ew.

Last but not least, we got 'TMZ Sports' ... where Babcock and Mojo talked Cam Newton addressing the wild brawl he was involved in last weekend, and his explanation of it all.

Check your local listings for when TMZ is on in your area or catch up on past episodes!

A Baker needs dough to do his job ... and Joe Haden says that's the case for Tampa Bay's quarterback as well -- 'cause he tells TMZ Sports he thinks Baker Mayfield deserves $25-30 million a year!!

The Buccaneers signal caller tops the list of available free agents this offseason ... and many are expecting the former No. 1 overall pick to get a big payday -- and staying put in Tampa seems like a strong possibility.

Haden -- who spent several seasons with the Cleveland Browns, just like Bake -- is all for Mayfield getting money thrown at him ... telling us it's hard to come by a quarterback that has playoff experience.

"I think Baker Mayfield should get a contract, for sure," Haden -- a three-time Pro Bowler said.

"Baker, 25-30 million dollars a year, 100% to take a team to the playoffs. I think give him some dough."

Of course, it hasn't always been sunshine and rainbows for Baker -- he fought through some injuries and got shipped out of Cleveland when the Browns pursued Deshaun Watson, despite leading them to their first playoff victory in forever just one season prior.

He bounced around to two other teams before landing with the Bucs ... and Haden thinks all his struggles are now behind him.

"You leading two different teams, two different organizations to the playoffs, you worth some dough."

Los Angeles Lakers big man Christian Wood was just granted a temporary restraining order against his model ex-girlfriend ... after he claimed the mother of his child made his life a living hell following their breakup in December 2022.

The allegations are all laid out in court documents obtained by TMZ Sports ... with the 28-year-old hooper accusing Yasmine Lopez -- who boasts more than a million followers on social media -- of causing not only mental and emotional stress, but also financial damage to his valuable property.

Wood claims on February 23, 2024, Lopez and her friends trespassed at his California residence by climbing a fence ... and she proceeded to scratch the hood and doors of his Mercedes-Benz.

He says Lopez then entered his other vehicle, opened the front gate and began walking in his yard -- and neighbors who witnessed the incident called the police, resulting in her arrest.

Wood -- who has an 8-month-old son, Kobe Sean, with Lopez -- says cops then told him to pick up his son from her friend's house to avoid being processed through child protective services... but she refused to hand him over and began "making allegations against me and misrepresenting facts to the media to gain favor."

Wood also details an August 2023 incident in which he says Lopez broke into his home in Encino ... destroying statues, glass and vases and attempting to hit him. He says friends who were present at the time called the police, who de-escalated the situation.

It doesn't end there -- Wood also accuses Lopez of trespassing at his home in January 2023, when he was a member of the Dallas Mavericks ... claiming she spray-painted his Lamborghini.

Wood believes Lopez is stalking him by using his publicized work schedule to track his location and vandalize his property.

Wood is also accusing Lopez of getting physical with him on numerous occasions and alienating him from their son.

He requested joint legal custody and primary physical custody of their child.

As part of the restraining order, the judge ordered Lopez to steer clear of Wood. She must stay at least 100 yards away from the hooper ... whether he's at home, at work, or even in his car. The one exception is for "brief and peaceful contact" ... which is permitted, but only when it comes to conversations about their child.

The TRO specifically directs Lopez to "not abuse" Wood, including any harassing, attacking, striking, threatening, or stalking of her ex-boyfriend.

There are several other boilerplate restrictions ... Lopez cannot possess a firearm while the order is active.

Taylor Swift is putting her romance with Travis Kelce into song ... reportedly writing a couple tracks about the guy on the Chiefs.

The pop star, famed for writing about her exes, has already written at least 2 songs about her current BF, and the lyrics focus on how she fell in love with him ... according to an Us Weekly report.

The outlet cites a source calling the new songs personal and special, but adds, that doesn't mean she's going to record and release them.

Taylor's got a new album coming out next month called "The Tortured Poets Department," but don't expect her odes to Trav on that project -- in fact, the report says she likely won't share them with anyone.

There's plenty of content for Taylor to write about with Travis -- his summer pursuit of her during the "Eras" tour, each of them appearing at NFL games and concerts and, of course, the Super Bowl and lots of private jet flights.

The speculation is Taylor's next project focuses more on her split from Joe Alywn than her love story with Travis ... so Swifties might not wanna hold their breath for Travis references.