TMZ Sports - Page 50

What do you do when you got a nickname like "Sauce??" You get a custom diamond hot sauce bottle, of course!!

New York Jets rookie Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner recently copped an incredible piece of jewelry to honor his special nickname ... and the thing will put Frank's, Tabasco and Tapatio to shame!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... Sauce hit up Al the Jeweler in Totowa, New Jersey for the special request ... and we're told the whole thing took a month to complete.

Al tells us the blinged-out item is made up of over 20 carats of VS diamonds ... including emerald baguettes and round cuts.

As it turns out, Sauce has had diamond bottle bling made for him before ... rocking a similar piece around his neck at the NFL Draft.

Sauce certainly knows his way around the jewelry store -- he also went to Al for an amazing "Sauce" chain in the past as well.

A track meet in Colombia turned NSFW real quick on Thursday ... when Italian decathlete Alberto Nonino's junk popped out in the middle of a race.

The unfortunate moment happened in the 400-meter event at the 2022 World Athletics U20 Championships in Cali ... when Nonino was forced to lose his spot at the front of the pack and cover up his privates several times before crossing the finish line.

While the mishap will naturally have some folks giggling and blushing, Nonino went to social media to explain he wasn't in the laughing mood after the race.

"I just want to talk to you a little bit about the rumpus there’s been on blogs and social media in general," Nonino said on Instagram. "I'm conscious it was obviously an accident and I'd like to tell you I’m aware of the reaction and you don't need to send me the links to the blogs out there."

"I'm trying to laugh about it now but immediately afterwards I felt terrible and I'm thankful to my friends and family for helping me get over what happened a few hours later."

The wardrobe malfunction is similar to NFL star Chris Jones' experience at the 2016 NFL combine ... when his own manhood made an appearance during his 40-yard dash.

Colby Covington doesn't only win in the Octagon -- he wins at the card table, too -- recently competing in two high-level poker tourney's in Florida, winning over $70k!!

It all went down at the 2022 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open this week in Hollywood, FL. 34-year-old Colby entered a tournament -- the largest in the state's history with over 7,700 entrants -- and astonishingly, playing against many professional players, made the final table, finishing 7th!

For his troubles, CC won $48,298.

After the incredible performance, Covington said he "wanted to come back and prove that wasn’t just a fluke," saying he wanted to show he "could play with the best players in the world.”

That's exactly what the #1 ranked UFC welterweight did ... 'cause days later, Colby entered another tourney, Event 22, at the casino. There were 84 entrants. The game was pot limit Omaha 8.

And he won (!!) ... taking home $25,875 for first place. Altogether, with the prize money from both tournaments, Colby took how $74,143.

But, it clearly wasn't about the money for Colby, who described winning as a “surreal feeling.”

“It’s been a long journey to finally get a trophy here at Seminole Hard Rock. This is my home casino, and I love playing here,” Covington added.

Covington said his strategy in the tournament was to stay away from Phil Hui, a 3-time WSOP bracelet winner who has reportedly earned over $3.6 million during poker tournaments alone.

"He’s a great player, one of the greatest players in the game today," Covington said.

"I know he’s a specialist in high-low, so I wanted to navigate around him and wait to pick really good spots where I felt comfortable with getting the high and the low.”

Tragic news for the Houston Cougars community -- the university's live mascot, Shasta VI, has passed away after suffering from an illness. He was 10 years old.

The school shared the devastating statement just minutes ago ... saying, "We are sad to announce that Shasta VI passed away on Thursday, August 4 after a brief and sudden illness."

"He represented the spirit and tenacity of UH's students and alumni, and personified the resilience and strength of the University."

Shasta VI was the school's first live mascot since 1989 ... and was rescued and adopted as a cub back in 2011 after his mother was shot and killed in Washington.

Shasta lived at the Houston Zoo ... and was a fan favorite among Cougars fans.

Shasta -- the school's first male live mascot -- attended many important university events via webcam.

Jayson Tatum is a straight-up savage ... the Boston Celtics star forward showed no mercy towards his little son, Deuce, rejecting his shot in a hilarious video!!

Tatum was hosting a youth basketball camp at his old high school, Chaminade College Preparatory School, in Missouri ... when he taught his 4-year-old son a hoops lesson the hard way.

In the clip, Deuce drives to the basket with dad trailing (that's traveling everywhere but the NBA). He stops, collects himself, and puts up a J ... when Tatum sends his shot flying!

Everyone seemed to get a kick out of the monster block ... especially Tatum, who was all smiles after channeling his inner Dikembe Mutombo.

Deuce's reaction was priceless ... and it's probably safe to say the kid has a bright future on the court if he's interested -- considering his dad is one of the best hoopers in the world.

Texans running back Darius Anderson's Friday just got a whole lot better ... his felony burglary case has been dismissed -- according to his attorney, Kelly Benavides.

Benavides, in an interview with TMZ Sports, said prosecutors made the decision official on Friday morning ... "because of a lack of evidence."

As we reported, Anderson had been charged with felony burglary of a habitation last month after cops say Anderson's ex-girlfriend told them the football player broke into her Harris County, Texas home at around 7 AM on July 15.

The woman, according to police documents, told cops she had tried to keep Anderson out of her home following a dispute, but he forced his way in through the garage. Cops say the woman told them that while inside of her home, Anderson yelled at her "that he was 'going to beat her up.'" He allegedly left the residence after learning she was calling 911.

According to Benavides, Anderson was at Texans practice Friday morning when prosecutors formally dropped the case. She said she's happy the 24-year-old can now put the case behind him and concentrate on his football career.

Benavides also applauded prosecutors for "doing the right thing -- doing what justice required."

Houston head coach Lovie Smith, meanwhile, said after practice he was "glad" to see the case's disposition as well.

We've reached out to the Harris County District Attorney's Office for comment, but so far, no word back yet.

Anderson -- who initially broke into the league in 2020 after signing as an undrafted free agent with the Dallas Cowboys -- is currently fighting for a roster spot at Texans training camp.

Scary moment yesterday for Kyle Busch ... the 2-time NASCAR champion and his family were at the Mall of America in Minnesota when gunshots erupted, causing chaos, and sending people running for their lives.

37-year-old Busch had been enjoying a day at the country's largest mall with his son, Brexton, and his wife, Samantha, before things took a frightening turn.

In the video posted online, you see Busch, wearing a black and green shirt and white hat, holding hands with Brexton ... as everyone was trying to get to safety amid the chaos.

Soon after, Samantha sent an update to friends, family and fans, writing ... "If you are seeing the news about the @mallofamerica we got out and are safe."

"Praying others inside are too," she added.

"We are currently working an active incident inside Mall of America on the northwest side. Numerous officers are on scene. We will update when we have more information," the Bloomington Police Department's official Twitter account wrote.

Police later confirmed that gunshots were fired ... adding the suspect fled the MOA on foot and officers were investigating the isolated incident.

After some semblance of order was restored, Bloomington PD Chief Booker Hodges addressed the incident in a press conference ... saying his officers heard gunshots near the Nike store at the famous mall.

"After reviewing video, we observed two groups get into some type of altercation at the cash register in the Nike store," Hodges said.

"One of the groups left after the altercation, but instead of walking away, they decided to demonstrate a complete lack of respect for human life. They decided to fire multiple rounds into a store with people."

Auburn quarterback T.J. Finley was arrested on Thursday -- the first day of Tigers football training camp -- after he was accused of eluding cops during two separate traffic stops back in July, TMZ Sports has learned.

According to Auburn PD, the 20-year-old was riding his motorcycle without a helmet near the Jordan-Hare Stadium on July 26 ... when cops tried to pull him over on two separate occasions.

Cops say Finley fled the scene twice and officers "terminated the pursuit on both occasions as a matter of safety" ... but not before they say they were able to identify him as the Tigers quarterback.

A warrant was issued for Finley's arrest ... and on Thursday, he turned himself in for attempting to elude police, a misdemeanor. He was also issued traffic citations.

Lee County Detention Facility tells us he signed for his own bond and was released at 11:16 AM.

Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin confirmed the university is aware of the situation ... and Finley arrived at the Tigers facility after the arrest. He will also be practicing with the team on Friday.

Finley -- who transferred from LSU in 2021 -- started 3 games for the Tigers last season ... and had 827 passing yards and 6 touchdowns in 9 appearances.

Hours after Brittney Griner was sentenced by a Russian judge to 9 years in prison ... Trevor Noah went IN on the foreign country -- dragging Vladimir Putin, while calling Thursday's ruling complete "bulls***."

Noah held nothing back on "The Daily Show," accusing Russia of using Griner and her drug trial as political pawns to gain leverage on the U.S.

"We all know Russia doesn’t care about what Brittney Griner did," Noah said. "This is the same country that’s breaking every human rights law on the planet, but they’re like, ‘That woman has vape cartridge. She’s real criminal.'"

"Get the f*** out of here, man!"

Noah went on to repeatedly call Thursday's ruling "bulls***."

The comedian, though, did say there is a sliver of positive news to come out of Griner's sentence -- the U.S. and Russia can now seemingly begin prisoner swap talks earnestly.

And, Noah's clearly all in favor of giving the country whatever it wants to get the WNBA star back.

"Yeah, it seems like they win, but don’t forget, that person now has to live in Russia," Noah said. "Yeah, yeah. They’ll get there and be like, 'This whole country is prison. I miss food in Alcatraz, no!'"

Griner's Phoenix Mercury teammates, meanwhile, honored their star center with a 42-second moment of silence before their game against the Connecticut Sun on Thursday night.

Players from both teams linked arms during the pregame ceremony -- and at the tail-end of it all, an arena-wide "Bring Her Home!" chant broke out.

The woman involved in the heated dispute with Terrell Owens in a Florida neighborhood on Wednesday night told cops the NFL legend "threatened" her after nearly running her over -- new police audio, obtained by TMZ Sports, reveals.

In the 911 call, you can hear the woman tell dispatch that around 10:30 PM, Owens was driving "aggressively" through her neighborhood street in Broward County and "almost hit me."

"And then [he] got out of the car to threaten me," the woman said in the call.

The woman -- who authorities have not identified -- described the former Dallas Cowboys star as "an African-American individual" who was driving a four-door, green Genesis.

"He got out of his car and started threatening me," the woman said ... before adding, "He was literally speeding and then got mad at me because we were crossing in the sidewalk and he nearly hit us."

Of course, Owens' description of the event differs significantly -- on a social media live stream during his confrontation with the woman, he said he was not driving erratically at all.

And, Owens claimed he only got out of his car to speak with the woman after she had been hurling profanities his way.

Cops told us they did respond to the scene -- but no arrests were made, explaining, "The parties were separated, and the situation resolved."

Elon Musk says he fell under a government microscope after smoking weed with Joe Rogan ... claiming the feds randomly drug tested him.

The world's richest man sat down for a podcast Tuesday with the Nelk Boys, recalling the backlash he got from Uncle Sam over what he says was one measly rip from a blunt while on Rogan's show.

Remember, Elon blazed it up with Joe back in September 2018, sparking up on camera while talking about Tesla's plans for an airplane. The video went viral and then Tesla's stock briefly plummeted on the heels of the smoke sesh.

Elon says the federal response was "pretty nutty" ... explaining the problem is ganja is still illegal federally, and because he runs SpaceX -- which holds lucrative government contracts -- the feds tested him for a range of illicit drugs.

It's interesting ... Elon claims the real driving force behind the random drug tests were his SpaceX competitors, who he says pressured the feds to test his urine.

Roger Goodell could be on Aaron Rodgers' Line 1 very soon ... 'cause Shannon Sharpe says he expects the NFL commish to call the Packers star after the QB admitted to using psychedelics earlier this week.

"I'm sure the NFL is probably going to give him a call and say, 'That's not a good look,'" the Hall of Fame tight end said Thursday.

If you missed it, Rodgers said on the most recent episode of the "Aubrey Marcus Podcast" that if he hadn't had a psychedelic experience in South America after ingesting the ayahuasca plant -- which contains DMT -- he might not have won the NFL's MVP award the past two seasons.

Rodgers raved over the plant brew's psychoactive effects ... saying he "had a magical experience" that helped lead him to become a better person and football player.

Sharpe says he has no issues with Rodgers' trip -- though he told us out at LAX he's fairly confident the NFL probably ain't feeling the same way.

"I don't know the NFL is too happy about him taking hallucinogenics," Sharpe said ... before adding, "I'm sure the commissioner is going to reach out and have a conversation with him."

Sharpe says it's unclear to him if the NFL could ultimately punish Rodgers over it all.

But, again, the former Broncos star reiterated he's glad it all worked out for A-Rodge.

Former Patriots O-lineman Rich Ohrnberger was so afraid of being cut by Bill Belichick ... he intentionally rear-ended a van while on his way to practice after running late to a team meeting!!

Ohrnberger -- a fourth-round pick in the 2009 NFL draft -- made the confession Thursday on the "The Hartman And Rich O Show" ... saying he purposely got into a fender bender so he wouldn't have to face the wrath of the future Hall of Fame head coach.

"I was driving a Chevy Tahoe, and it says I'm late already," Ohrnberger recalled, continuing, "Or, I'm gonna be. I'm like 5 minutes to being officially late, and I've got a 15-minute drive ahead of me."

Rich -- who only spent two seasons with New England -- said he was terrified of what the notoriously strict coach might do.

"I had this sinking feeling in my stomach," and the entire time, he kept thinking to himself, "I'm gonna get cut."

Ohrnberger said he noticed a beat-up van and came up with the idea that if he got into an accident, that would be the perfect excuse for why he was late for the team meeting.

"And I'm cruising down this slight sloping hill that brings you to the first traffic light," Ohrnberger said, "that I have to turn right to get to the stadium for the morning meeting."

"I see a church van in front of me that's all dinged up, and it's got the black smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe, and I'm just like, 'I'm gonna hit this car.'"

Ohrnberger said he figured it's better to deal with the consequences of the collision -- banging up his car, etc. -- than dealing with Bill scolding him for being tardy.

Little did Rich know ... the church van he hit had an elderly man inside, but luckily, the old guy didn't sustain any injuries during the minor collision, and his van was okay, too.

Move over, Backstreet Boys, there's a new boy band in town -- introducing the Backstreet Bills!!!

Rookies on Buffalo's offensive line ripped their shirts off and gave a heartfelt rendition of "I Want It That Way" as part of their introduction to the team on Thursday ... and honestly, we're impressed!!

Tanner Owen, Alec Anderson and the guys alternated the classic lyrics as superstars Josh Allen and Co. watched the performance ... with the QB even turning on his iPhone flashlight to replicate a lighter.

There was also a bit of dancing going on -- proving the guys were truly giving 100% out there, even if they didn't have an empty airport to use for the big performance.

Rooks have been showing off their pipes recently as part of the yearly tradition -- as we previously reported, Eagles top pick Jordan Davis wowed the crowd with his cover of "Mary Jane" by Rick James just a few days ago.

Brittney Griner’s 9-year prison sentence for flying in Russia with a cannabis cartridge is drawing lots of disbelief and outrage within hip hop, but perhaps no one's reacting as aggressively as Boosie Badazz.

The Louisiana rapper couldn’t contain his anger as he unloaded on America, in general -- but especially on Vice President Kamala Harris ... for not doing more, in his eyes, to help a fellow Black woman.

He screamed the Veep should be on the "front lines" assisting the embattled WNBA star, and claimed Harris' silence sets a bad example for women of color.

Boosie also speculated if it were Taylor Swift in Brittney’s situation, the U.S. government would have launched a massive strategy to secure the pop star’s freedom.

Similar comparisons have been made regarding BG’s international trial, with LeBron James being the most famous example.

After Thursday's verdict, Justin Bieber seems down for the cause too.

Now, no one's gonna confuse Boosie with an expert on international geopolitics -- but, for what it’s worth, both President Biden and VP Harris called for Russia to return BG to the U.S. ... and they've said negotiations are actively going on as you read this.

A hockey player from an adult league in Canada straight-up kicked an opponent in the face with his skate during a mid-game scuffle ... and the incident was so reckless, police now tell TMZ Sports they're investigating it all.

The scary scene happened during an Adult Safe Hockey League game on July 29th at Scotia Barn in Burnaby.

You can see in the video from the arena, two players from opposing teams were fighting each other in the 3rd period ... when, suddenly, one of the guys appeared to intentionally kick the other with the blade of his skate.

The player wearing a #90 jersey immediately fell onto the ice and covered his face. His teammates, meanwhile, went after the kick suspect before refs ultimately intervened. The guy was issued a penalty, and ejected from the game.

The Burnaby Royal Canadian Mounted Police tells us the victim received medical treatment for injuries he suffered from the kick -- adding that they've since launched an investigation.

"Burnaby RCMP is continuing to investigate the circumstances and actions that led to the player’s injuries," the officials said.

"Burnaby RCMP is in possession of video showing one angle of the incident, which has been collected as evidence. Investigators are still in the process of speaking with players and witnesses."

In addition to the ejection, the kick suspect also received an indefinite suspension from the ASHL, which said in a statement, "The conduct and on-ice behaviour depicted in the video in no way aligns with the values of our league and the rules of the game."