TMZ Sports - Page 50

Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy just revealed one of his employees has passed away at just 32 years old after a battle with cancer ... sharing a heartfelt tribute to Jonathan Stanko.

Portnoy issued his condolences on Tuesday ... saying Stanko was beloved during his time at the outlet's New York offices for nearly four years, which he admitted was "very rare at Barstool."

"It's the 1st time we've had to deal with something this heavy in the 20 years of Barstool," Portnoy said on social media. "A cruel reminder not to take a day for granted because tomorrow isn’t promised to anybody. #stankostrong."

Lucky enough to grab an NFL playoff ticket this month? Better come to the stadium hungry ... 'cause TMZ Sports has learned a few teams are offering up some new items for the games -- and they're HUGE!!

The Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles and Houston Texans are putting out three new dishes -- in partnership with Aramark Sports + Entertainment -- for their January games ... and each is probably going to take fans more than one fork to finish.

At Arrowhead Stadium, Travis Kelce supporters can get their hands on "Touchdown Toast" -- a massive French toast feast that includes berry sauce and vanilla ice cream.

Famed Hells Angels biker Chuck Zito says he will NOT be prosecuted for allegedly driving around New York with a bogus license plate ... telling us cops got it all wrong.

We got the "Sons of Anarchy" star at Mulberry Street Pizzeria in Beverly Hills and he told our photog the charges against him were dropped.

As we reported ... the actor and stuntman was arrested in November after a traffic stop in The Bronx. Cops said the Florida dealer plate on his vintage 1968 Chevelle SS was fake, and Chuck was arrested for misdemeanor possession of a forged license plate.

Shaquille O'Neal is moving on from his longstanding feud with Dwight Howard ... saying he has officially "deleted" his nemesis from his life.

The beef has been well documented over the years ... and initially, it mostly stemmed from Howard taking on the "Superman" nickname, which Shaq was known to use over the course of his Hall of Fame career.

Howard revisited their history during a recent podcast episode ... saying he was so pissed off over it all, he considered showing up at the TNT studios to confront Shaq -- as an old-fashioned beatdown might be the only way to resolve their issues.

Gilbert Arenas' 43rd birthday was ass in the best way possible -- the ex-NBA star was surprised with his very own dancer right in the middle of his podcast ... with his fiancée present for the whole thing!!

The former Wizards great recorded an episode of his "Gil's Arena" show with Kenyon Martin, Brandon Jennings, Nick "Swaggy P" Young and Josiah Johnson on Monday ... and considering it was a celebration, the crew presented him with a cake -- and then more cake.

Arenas was caught off guard by the gesture, but understood the assignment when he was given a bag full of cash ... as he immediately started throwing bills at the special guest, who was rocking a rainbow-colored fishnet ensemble.

Hulk Hogan didn't receive a warm welcome at Netflix's 'Monday Night RAW' event in Los Angeles last night ... in fact, he got verbally body-slammed by a sea of booing fans as he tried to give a speech.

The WWE star showed up at the jam-packed Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California and made one of his grand entrances, walking out to the crowd as "Real American" blared throughout the arena.

Check out the video ... Hulk, wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with his "Real American Beer" brand, starts speaking to the audience ... who collectively booed the legendary wrestler.

Ricky Pearsall is making 2025 a year of forgiveness ... saying he wants to forgive the teenager who shot him during a botched armed robbery in San Francisco, and wouldn't mind talking to the shooter.

The 49ers rookie opened up on his whirlwind rookie season during cleanout day at the team facility -- after his squad missed out on the postseason -- and as harrowing as the August robbery attempt was, the 24-year-old WR isn't making judgments about the teen's character.

"I don't know how he grew up," Pearsall said. "I can't judge him as a man just based off one action that he made. As violent as a crime as it was, god forbid him doing that to somebody else."

Dallas Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey is issuing a "my bad" after nailing a cheerleader with his kick on Sunday ... writing a personal note to the woman and wishing her well following the mishap.

Michelle Siemienowski shared the apology on her Instagram ... one day after she was hit in the head during Aubrey's kickoff in the Cowboys' Week 18 matchup against the Washington Commanders.

The incident went viral, and Aubrey -- a pro soccer player before signing with Dallas in 2023 -- did his best to state the obvious and let Siemienowski it was an accident.

Nikki Bella's clearly beginning a new chapter after finalizing her divorce from Artem Chigvintsev ... she showed up to WWE's big 'Raw' event on Monday night -- and made waves with her skintight 'fit and sexy dance moves.

The 41-year-old hit the red carpet in Los Angeles for the wrestling org's first-ever show on Netflix ... stunning viewers as she strutted her stuff in a leather getup.

She didn't touch the mat during the show -- but she nonetheless had fans talking about her ... as she showed off her stuff to a loud ovation during an appearance on the Intuit Dome's jumbotron.

Netflix's debut of WWE 'Raw' brought out a number of celebrities ... many of whom got rowdy for the big wrestling event.

Check it out ... Travis Scott was smack-dab in the middle of the crowd, smokin' up with a championship belt draped over his shoulder. The rapper looked right at home, as he escorted WWE superstar Jey Uso to the ring at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California Monday night.

Of course, Travis' presence at the Los Angeles-based match wasn't necessarily surprising, given the fact Kylie Jenner's ex provided Netflix with a theme song for their take on 'Monday Night Raw.'

Tom Brady's playing days are behind him, but his body didn't get the memo ... 'cause the seven-time Super Bowl champion hit the beach to prove he's still got a rocket arm -- and a shredded physique to go with it!!

TB12 shared a few snaps of his pigskin sesh with his son, Jack, on Tuesday ... days before the NFL postseason kicks off.

The Fox analyst clearly had that on his mind ... as his caption made note of this special time of year -- which he dominated so often during his 23 seasons with the Patriots and Buccaneers.

A super-rare Allen Iverson card just hit the auction block, but it could very well be out of most collectors' price range ... 'cause someone's already bid $150K!!

TMZ Sports has learned the 1997 Skybox E-X 2001 Essential Credentials Now Iverson piece went up for auction at Heritage Auctions on New Year's Day ... and it's already received an aggressive six-figure bid.

It's a huge number ... especially considering the previous record for an Iverson card sale, according to HA, was $79,200.

Whether Zay Flowers is in the game or on the sidelines on Saturday, it appears he will be sporting a new look either way ... 'cause the injured star receiver chopped off his locs!!

The Pro Bowler revealed the results of his recent haircut with his 530k+ Instagram followers on Monday ... a few days before the Baltimore Ravens host the Pittsburgh Steelers at M&T Bank Stadium for their NFL Wild Card matchup.

Flowers shared a snap of cut-up dreads in his hand, a look he's rocked long before being drafted in 2023 ... and naturally, it got his fans talking.

Trevor Lawrence will head into the NFL's offseason as a new father ... he and his wife just revealed their baby girl is here!!

Marissa Lawrence and her Jacksonville Jaguars star hubby announced the great news on their Instagram pages just minutes ago ... saying Shae Lynn Lawrence entered this world on Saturday at 4:01 AM.

Trevor, of course, had more time than usual to spend with his wife and his newborn ... as he remained out of the Jags' season finale on Sunday against the Colts while he continues to recover from a head injury.

Dana White can add another title to his resume -- the UFC honcho is joining Mark Zuckerberg on the Meta Board of Directors!!

White announced the news on Monday ... saying being on boards has never been his cup of tea, that is until Zuck came calling.

The 55-year-old explained his love for social media, artificial intelligence and the importance it has on the future is what drew him to this opportunity ... and he's stoked to get to work.

Nikola Jokic's brother, Strahinja Jokic, is fighting back in his assault case ... TMZ Sports has confirmed he just issued a not guilty plea at a court hearing Monday.

According to records we obtained, the NBA superstar's older bro pleaded not guilty to one count of misdemeanor assault in Denver County Court ... and then had his trial set for April 24.

The charge, of course, stems from his alleged role in a scuffle at Ball Arena back on April 22, 2024.