TMZ Sports - Page 14

Jenna Bush Hager is as pumped as anybody for Taylor Swift's wedding ... but she's pumping the brakes on Ryan Seacrest as a possible officiant.

We caught up with the "Today with Jenna & Friends" cohost outside of 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City Thursday, where she told us she thinks Tay Tay's future nuptials with NFL tight end Travis Kelce will be chock-full of celebs ... but definitely doesn't think Ryan will make a cameo officiating the ceremony.

As you know, TS and TK announced their engagement over the summer, and since then, everybody has been interested in the wedding ... but maybe none more than Ryan, who just took online courses to get ordained.

Lakers fans still reeling over the Lebron James "Second Decision" madness now have an even bigger headache to deal with ... the King has been ruled out for the start of the NBA season with an injury.

The team revealed on Thursday James will be sidelined for the next three to four weeks as he deals with sciatica -- an issue that causes pain, numbness and tingling in the lower back and down the leg.

The recovery timeline means the 40-year-old forward will miss L.A.'s home-opener vs. Steph Curry's Warriors on Oct. 21. It likely means he's out for the Lakers' tilt with Anthony Edwards' Timberwolves on Oct. 24 as well.

Boston Celtics legend Paul Pierce was arrested on Tuesday, the California Highway Patrol said.

According to the CHP, authorities found Pierce asleep while he was in the driver's seat of his Range Rover as it was in the middle of traffic on the 101 Freeway in the San Fernando Valley.

Cops say lanes had been closed on the highway while a crash investigation occurred ... and the sleeping Pierce was discovered following their reopening at around 11:35 PM.

Bad Bunny's Super Bowl announcement has left a lot of people asking for a different choice ... and they just got their wish.

Turning Point USA -- the nonprofit cofounded by the late Charlie Kirk and now headed by his widow, Erika Kirk -- is putting on their own halftime show the same day as the Super Bowl.

The company posted Thursday it's "thrilled to announce The All American Halftime Show."

Ethan Pritchard -- the Florida State University linebacker who was shot in the head in August -- has been released from the hospital.

The footballer's Seminoles team announced the positive update on Thursday ... revealing the former four-star recruit is now on his way to continue his recovery at Brooks Rehabilitation in Jacksonville, FL.

Pritchard's teammate, star quarterback Tommy Castellanos, captured his departure from Tallahassee Memorial Hospital minutes ago, showing Pritchard being cheered on by the Seminoles as he was stretchered from the facility.

Ryan Clark issued a mea culpa Thursday morning, admitting he dropped the ball when declaring Kyren Lacy an "innocent man" during the Monday Night Football broadcast.

"Two lives have been lost. Herman Hall, a man who spent his life in service of others, and Kyren Lacy, a young man I wish I could tell how much he had to live for. My heart absolutely breaks for both of them, their families and their loved ones," the 45-year-old former NFL player said on "First Take."

"In full transparency, I knew Kyren Lacy personally. But nothing matters to me more than the truth. I always strive to do my best to mix authenticity with the most complete and up-to-date information available."

9:56 AM PT -- TMZ Sports has learned Raja Jackson pled not guilty to the charges during his hearing on Monday. He's now due back in court in November.

Raja Jackson entered a Los Angeles court on Thursday to face criminal charges related to his attack on Syko Stu ... and he made it clear on his way in, he's not ready to comment on the matter publicly.

TMZ Sports shot Quinton "Rampage" Jackson's son as he walked into the San Fernando Courthouse ... and despite being peppered with questions about his case, Raja remained mum.

Wearing a black shirt, black pants and black tie ... Raja stared ahead as he strolled into the building flanked by men who appeared to be his lawyers.

Jennifer Lopez is shutting down the haters objecting to the news of Bad Bunny's upcoming Super Bowl halftime show ... she's urging viewers to keep an open mind!

The "Kiss of the Spider Woman" star chatted with Gayle King on "CBS Mornings" Thursday, clapping back at all the drama following the announcement BB will perform at Super Bowl LX in February.

"I think it's wonderful people will get exposed to him who don't know him," she said. "Just give it a chance!"

Angel Reese is trading in basketballs for angel wings -- at least for a bit -- she just revealed she's been named a Victoria's Secret runway model!

The WNBA superstar announced on Thursday she will walk in next week's Victoria's Secret Fashion Show ... and she informed her fans of the big news with a steamy video.

The clip -- which dropped on her and Victoria's Secret's Instagram pages -- showed her flashing her toned bod in a black bra and panties along with some wings ... and it had social media buzzing.

Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet's date night in the Bronx ended in heartbreak -- the couple watched the New York Yankees lose to their AL East rivals in the playoffs, ending the Yanks' season ... and the couple looked crushed!

The celeb couple was front and center for Game 4 of the Blue Jays and Yankees ALDS game, sitting not too far from where Bad Bunny sat the night before.

Chalamet -- a proud New York sports fan -- was super lit on the Yankees jumbotron during the ballgame, throwing up five fingers, saying "Yanks in 5" ... but it didn't age well.

Start spreading the news, the Toronto Blue Jays are on to the ALCS after defeating the New York Yankees Wednesday night in the Bronx ... and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and his teammates let it all out during their celebration, trolling their division rivals!

The team from up north popped the champagne bottles at Yankee Stadium not long after the 5-2 victory, and Guerrero Jr. was loving the fact that he sent Aaron Judge and the rest of the Yankees home for the winter.

Speaking with David Ortiz during the postgame show, Vlad let out Big Papi's iconic "Da Yankees lose" catchphrase multiple times ... much to the chagrin of Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez.

Another Kelce is offering up thoughts on Taylor Swift's raunchy song about her sex life with Travis -- this time it's Kylie who's weighing in ... and while she admits it's a little TMI, she loves it!

Jason Kelce's wife opened up on "The Life of a Showgirl" during Thursday's episode of "Not Gonna Lie With Kylie Kelce," and it didn't take long for "Wood" to enter the chat.

Kylie admitted a tune about her brother-in-law's junk made her just a bit uncomfortable, but she nonetheless was a fan.

Taylor Swift is pulling back the curtain on what it was like having Travis Kelce join her on the road with her during her "Eras" tour ... telling a hilarious story about a time where he confused an A-list actor's wife with his favorite director.

Swift sat down with Seth Meyers on 'Late Night' -- part of her press run for her new album "The Life of a Showgirl" -- and dished on what it was like watching Travis rage alongside celebs like Tom Cruise, Ashton Kutcher, Liam Hemsworth and more at one of her star-studded London shows last June.

Tay says before the show, Travis was over the moon when she told him his favorite director, Greta Gerwig, would be in the VIP tent -- and he couldn't wait to tell her how much he loved "Barbie."

Chase Budinger is back home in SoCal this week, competing in a prestigious volleyball tournament ... and he tells TMZ Sports if he ends up winning the whole shebang, he's already got some cute plans for the prize cash.

The former NBA star -- who's now a volleyball pro -- is one of several huge names participating in the the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Elite 16 and the Newport Beach Volleyball Invitational ... which all kicked off in Orange County, Calif. on Tuesday.

The first event is a 2-on-2 competition, which will go until Saturday, and then on Sunday, the second event is a 4-on-4 tourney.

One person’s backing House Speaker Mike Johnson’s call to swap Bad Bunny for Lee Greenwood at the Super Bowl ... it’s the country singer himself!

Lee tells TMZ he’s right in step with what Speaker Johnson said yesterday ... confirming he’d crush the Super Bowl gig, thanks to years of belting it out for NFL teams, especially at their Salute to Service games.

In fact, the 82-year-old's such a hot ticket, he’s set to rock halftime for the Dallas Cowboys on MNF come November 3rd -- and since football’s basically America’s favorite pastime, he says busting out the anthem or "God Bless the U.S.A." at games is always a thrill.

A Los Angeles Lakers fan is suing LeBron James ... alleging the NBA superstar duped him with "The Second Decision" -- and cost him hundreds of dollars.

Andrew Garcia, a 29-year-old, lifelong Lakers fan, filed the lawsuit in a small claims court in Los Angeles County on Wednesday ... claiming James owes him $865.66 after he says the hooper seemingly intimated he was about to announce his retirement.

Garcia tells TMZ Sports ... when James on Monday teased he had a big choice to make -- he figured The King meant he was hanging up his sneakers, so he raced to Ticketmaster to score some seats to what would be LBJ's last-ever matchup with his former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers.