Interview

Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez had nothing but great things to say about Bruce Bochy following his World Series victory this week ... telling TMZ Sports there's absolutely no doubt in his mind the Texas manager will be inducted in Cooperstown one day.

"Hall of Famer," the former Rangers catcher said. "Hall of Famer, obviously."

With a 5-0 win over the Diamondbacks on Wednesday, Bochy became just the sixth manager ever to earn four World Series championship rings. Unlike the other five, though, he's not yet secured a place in baseball's HOF.

Pudge, however, clearly thinks that will happen sooner than later ... calling the 68-year-old one of the greatest big-game coaches of all time.

"When you start to play in the playoffs, it's a different monster," said Rodriguez, who was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2017. "It's always a different game. It's a different ball game. And he's the best doing that. He's the best manager in that situation. And we all see it."

Pudge -- who's been working as a special assistant to the general manager of the Rangers -- said Bochy deserves a ton of credit for leading Texas to its first-ever title, adding that his calming presence made a huge difference in the dugout.

"As a player," he said, "you feel comfortable that, 'Hey, he's going to put all the pieces together to bring this game back and win for us.'"

Pudge also had high praise for the Rangers' World Series MVP, Corey Seager ... calling him straight up "one of my favorite players."

Shawn "Showtime" Porter was impressed by Francis Ngannou's boxing debut against Tyson Fury last week ... telling TMZ Sports he could see the former UFC legend having a successful boxing career in the heavyweight division.

ICYMI, Ngannou lost by split decision to Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs) on Oct. 28 in Saudi Arabia ... and even though it was his first boxing match ever, Francis put on a good performance, including a knockdown in the 3rd round.

"Unfortunately, even though Ngannou showed himself, again, to be very strong, showed himself to be prepared for this fight, he also showed he does not have enough boxing mechanics to win enough rounds to beat Tyson Fury," Porter said.

Shawn -- who won 31 fights in the welter/middleweight division -- believes Ngannou's execution could make him a decent heavyweight boxer in the future ... once he gets a couple of fights under his belt and some familiarity with the sport.

"His lack of experience showed because there were rounds where he essentially did zero to win those rounds," Porter said.

"If he's able to find a pace, he's gonna get some heavyweight fighters some trouble because he's big enough to fight there, he showed he's strong enough to fight there and the guy is athletic. He got skills!"

Even Ngannous's age (37) doesn't stop Porter from believing he can be tough in boxing ... saying fighters don't even get to their prime until their mid-30s and heavyweights age slower than other weight classes.

However, Porter -- who became a boxing analyst after retiring in 2021 -- does point out that Fury didn't fight hard either ... but he's not taking anything away from Ngannou's debut.

"He underperformed," Porter said about Fury. "He wasn't prepared for this fight."

Porter isn't the only one who believes Fury didn't come ready ... undefeated boxer Shakur Stevenson told us the same thing, saying Tyson was "off that night."

Ex-NFL star Devin Funchess is keeping his hoop dreams alive ... telling TMZ Sports he's still hoping to suit up for an NBA team -- and he's putting in the work nonstop to make it happen!!

29-year-old Funchess made headlines last year ... revealing after five seasons on the gridiron, he wanted to take his talents to the hardwood.

We caught up with the 6'4", 225-pound athlete about how the process is going this week ... and it's safe to say he's dead set on making it to the Association.

In fact, he's putting his skills to the test with California's Statham Academy squad in the Asia Basket Dasmariñas Tournament in the Philippines this weekend (DF dropped 10 points, grabbed 7 boards, and had 4 blocks in their first game).

"My end goal is the NBA, get a few seasons over there just like I did in the NFL. Just to be able to compete against the best players in the world, that'll be a blessing to me. I've done it in the football realm already. And it's nothing but dedication, repetition and just having fun."

Devin -- who first dunked a basketball when he was 10 -- has been working with NBA trainers to hone his craft ... and played against pros like Michael Beasley, Amar'e Stoudemire and John Wall.

Funchess explains his unique experience as a football veteran will help bring experience to a squad -- even though he'd technically be a rookie.

But he's not looking to come in the league and be LeBron James -- Funchess says he's just looking to make an impact and help teams win.

Of course, basketball was Devin's first love ... but after an issue with his coach in his junior season of high school ball, he switched his focus to football. He went on to play at Michigan before suiting up for the Carolina Panthers, Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts.

Travis Kelce didn't seem to be too keen on answering questions about Taylor Swift while out in Germany on Friday ... especially when the inquires turned to whether or not he was "in love" with his new girlfriend.

Kelce sat down with media members out in Frankfurt to preview the Chiefs' Sunday international game against the Dolphins ... when suddenly, one reporter began prodding the tight end about his latest romantic partner.

First, the journalist wanted a relationship update ... which Kelce kind of gave.

"The latest status is I got to see her last week," he said with a smile. "That's the latest status right there."

Then, the questioner asked straight up, "Are you in love?"

Kelce, however, dodged the question like it was a linebacker in the middle of a football field.

"I'm going to keep my personal relationship personal," he said.

The Swift questions didn't end there, though ... because just before Kelce got off the podium, one reporter wanted to know if Swift would be in attendance for the big game against Miami at Deutsche Bank Park.

But, as he did with the previous questions, Kelce sidestepped the inquiry as well.

Of course, we shoulda seen this one coming ... after all, Kelce promised a few weeks ago he was going to keep his relationship with Taylor a little more under wraps -- and while he's bent the rules here and there, it seems he's done now.

Travis Kelce no parecía muy dispuesto a responder preguntas sobre Taylor Swift, en  su paso por Alemania este viernes, especialmente cuando las preguntas apuntaron a si estaba o no "enamorado" de su nueva novia.

Kelce se sentó con los representantes de los medios en Frankfurt para abordar el partido internacional del domingo entre los Chiefs y los Dolphins, cuando de repente, un reportero comenzó a preguntarle sobre su último romance.

En primer lugar, el periodista quería una actualización de la relación, que Kelce más o menos le entregó.

"El último estado es que fui a verla la semana pasada", dijo con una sonrisa. "Ese es el último estado, ahí mismo".

Entonces, el reportero le preguntó directamente: "¿Estás enamorado?".

Kelce, sin embargo, esquivó la pregunta como si fuera un linebacker en medio del campo.

"Voy a mantener mi relación personal, personal", dijo.

Pero las preguntas sobre Swift no acabaron ahí porque justo antes de que Kelce se bajara del podio, un reportero quiso saber si Swift asistiría al gran partido contra Miami en el Deutsche Bank Park.

Pero como lo hizo con el resto del interrogatorio, también eludió la pregunta.

Por supuesto, debimos haberlo previsto, después de todo, Kelce prometió hace unas semanas que iba a mantener su relación con Taylor un poco más en secreto, y aunque ha flexibilizado las reglas de vez en cuando, parece que ahora sí dejará de hacerlo.

Dan Dakich spent 16 years with Bob Knight as a star player and coach, and while "The General" was certainly a hardass many times, his former pupil revealed another side of the legendary Indiana University coach ... the funny side!

"The dude was hilarious. He comes off as this big, mean, 'I'm gonna go crazy on everybody,' and he did. Let's be honest, he did. The man would go nuts on you and make you do things you never thought your body was capable of doing, but he was hilarious, honest to God," the Outkick host told TMZ Sports.

The 61-year-old continued ... "He was a guy's guy. You could crack on him if he was in the right mood. If we won a few games. And he was certainly gonna crack on you."

As for his prowess on the bench, Dan says Knight's "the best basketball coach I've seen."

Dakich played for Bobby at IU from 1981 to 1985 ... where he served as a team captain during his junior and senior seasons.

Right after graduating, DD went to work with Knight as a graduate assistant until 1987, when he became a full-time assistant coach. Dan remained with Indiana until 1997 when he left to become the head coach at Bowling Green.

Francis Ngannou knows what he wants next ... telling TMZ Sports the clear choice is a rematch with Tyson Fury!

We talked to 37-year-old Ngannou on Tuesday ... just days after his incredibly impressive performance against 35-year-old Fury, and asked one of the most coveted athletes in all combat sports who and/or what he wants now that the world's at his fingertips.

"The rematch is what I want next the most," Ngannou told us.

"As for right now I feel like there is a lot of options for me, but I want to choose wisely, and I would go for the rematch first."

Before Tyson and Francis ever threw a punch at each other, Fury already had his next fight booked vs. Oleksandr Usyk. Ngannou thinks he and Fury should settle their business (the rematch) before the boxing champs scrap.

"My best scenario in boxing is to wait for Fury. If Usyk can step out and let me fight Fury, I'll fight Fury, then I'll let them do whatever they do. I'll go back, maybe do some MMA fight and come back with some people in boxing," Francis said.

"I'm planning to fight potentially twice next year, [starting] maybe February or March."

Of course, despite losing by a split decision on the judge's scorecards, many fans believe Francis beat Tyson ... so, we asked The Predator if he plans on appealing the decision.

"Who am I gonna appeal to? [The British Boxing Commission]? I have no chance. I think that's just another way of humiliation."

Francis Ngannou sabe lo que quiere y le dicie a TMZ Sports que la opción clara es una revancha con Tyson Fury.

Hablamos con Ngannou (37), el martes, pocos días después de su impresionante actuación  contra Fury (35) y le preguntó a uno de los atletas más codiciados de todos los deportes de combate que es lo que quiere ahora que el mundo está a su alcance.

"La revancha es lo que más quiero después", nos dijo Ngannou.

"En cuanto a ahora mismo, siento que hay muchas opciones para mí, pero quiero elegir sabiamente, y yo iría primero por la revancha".

Antes de que Tyson y Francis se dieran un puñetazo, Fury ya tenía reservada su próxima pelea contra Oleksandr Usyk. Ngannou cree que él y Fury deberían arreglar sus asuntos (la revancha) antes de que los campeones de boxeo se peleen.

"Mi mejor escenario en el boxeo es esperar a Fury. Si Usyk puede retirarse y dejarme pelear con Fury, pelearé con Fury, y luego les dejaré hacer lo que hagan. Volveré, tal vez haga alguna pelea de MMA y regresaré con algunas personas en el boxeo", dijo Francis.

"Estoy planeando pelear potencialmente dos veces el próximo año, [comenzando] tal vez en febrero o marzo".

Por supuesto, a pesar de perder por decisión dividida en las tarjetas de puntuación del juez, muchos fanáticos creen que Francis venció a Tyson, así que le preguntamos a "The Predator" si planea apelar la decisión.

"¿A quién voy a apelar? [¿A la Comisión Británica de Boxeo?] No tengo ninguna posibilidad. Creo que es otra forma de humillación".

Tony Stewart is 52 years old, and although he stopped driving NASCAR in 2016, the racing legend's going faster than ever behind the wheel of a dragster ... and he tells us the finish line isn't anywhere in sight.

The 3x NASCAR Cup Series and IndyCar champion (the only driver to ever win both) stopped by the TMZ offices this week ... and sat down with Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1), as Tony prepares for the NHRA Finals in Ponoma, CA November 9-12 at the Auto Club Raceway.

Stewart owns an NHRA team, Tony Stewart Racing (TSR), an organization he co-founded with his wife, fellow racing star Leah Pruitt ... who drives a Top Fuel dragster.

Tony made his racing debut as a driver in NHRA in 2022, and this year began racing the Top Alcohol dragster on a regular basis. We asked him how much longer he envisions driving.

"From the NASCAR side, I retired at the right time. I haven't been in a wing sprint car on dirt for a couple of years now and I'm okay with that. The good thing about drag racing is because the run is so short, and the most you're gonna make in a day is 4 runs, physically it's not as taxing on your body. The taxing part is the acceleration and deceleration when the parachutes come out. That's the hardest part on your body," Stewart said.

He continued ... "I do feel like in NHRA, this is adding years to the end of my racing career.  If it wasn't for NHRA, I'd probably would be for the most part officially retired. But this has kind of been a rebirth for me."

A traditional quarter-mile run in a TA dragster lasts a touch over 5 seconds and sees driver and race car reaching speeds near 300 MPH. The body endures several Gs during the start and stop of the race, but it doesn't last 3+ hours like the average NASCAR race.

Stewart believes that's extended his career by years ... possibly decades.

"Chris Karamesines, 'The Greek,' drove into his early 90s, was the last time he drove a top fuel car. Which I thought was absolutely insane watching him do that. John Force in early 70s, still winning races," Tony remarked.

We asked ... could you envision still being behind the wheel as a 70+-year-old driver?

"I just hope I live another 20 years," Tony said, laughing ... "At the rate I've been going, I feel like I'm a video game on extended play."

Meta de Mark Zuckerberg se aseguró de diseñar Facebook e Instagram para que sean muy difíciles de dejar y el resultado ha sido negativo para la sociedad, al menos esa es la alegación del Fiscal General de Tennessee y otros 41 estados.

Jonathan Skrmetti, el policía más importante del Estado de Voluntarios, se unió a nosotros el miércoles en "TMZ Live" para exponer por qué 41 estados  —y Washington, DC— están demandando a Facebook y a la compañía matriz de Instagram por supuestamente perjudicar a la juventud de nuestra nación.

Alegan que las aplicaciones de redes sociales están diseñadas intencionalmente para aprovechar la forma en que todos estamos conectados, haciendo las plataformas extremadamente adictivas con características como el desplazamiento infinito, recordatorios y notificaciones, solo por nombrar algunas.

Skrmetti dice que Meta es plenamente consciente de que las aplicaciones son difíciles de dejar y lo malo que es para la gente. Dice que causan problemas de sueño, ansiedad, déficit de atención, depresión y suicidio potencial.

En sus ojos, solo hay mucho que los padres pueden hacer para detener a sus hijos de engancharse a las redes sociales, y es en un punto ahora donde el gobierno tiene que intervenir para hacer cambios.

Mark Zuckerberg's Meta made sure to design Facebook and Instagram so they are super hard to quit, and the result has been bad for society ... at least that's the allegation from Tennessee's Attorney General, and 41 other AGs.

Jonathan Skrmetti, the Volunteer State's top cop, joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live" to lay out why 41 states -- and Washington, DC -- are suing Facebook and Instagram's parent company for allegedly harming our nation's youth.

He says the social media apps are intentionally designed to take advantage of the way we're all wired -- making the platforms extremely addicting with features like infinite scrolling, reminders and notifications, just to name a few.

Skrmetti says Meta is fully aware the apps are hard to quit and bad for folks -- he says they cause sleep deprivation, anxiety, ADD, depression and potential suicide.

In his eyes, there's only so much parents can do to stop their kids from getting hooked on social media, and it's at a point now where the government needs to step in to make changes.

Chris Long dice que los haters de jugar haciendo "Tush Push" deberían calmarse. Le dijo a TMZ Sports que si los equipos tienen un problema con él, simplemente deben aprender a detenerlo.

El "Empujón Fraternal" se ha convertido en uno de los temas más polarizantes en la NFL este año, luego de que los Philadelphia Eagles han encontrado una manera de convertir la en una máquina de anotar.

Algunos han argumentado que es injusto, mientras que otros han dicho que es complicado, aburrido, e incluso peligroso y la NFL tiene que prohibirlo.

Pero Long —quien ganó un Super Bowl con los Eagles en 2018— dijo que la liga no debería hacer tal cosa, explicando que cree que los detractores de la jugada solo tienen envidia de los Birds.

"Los Eagles ejecutándola se ve totalmente diferente a los Niners ejecutándola o algún otro equipo", dijo la selección de primera ronda de 2008. "Y creo que la gente está enfadada con Philly. No le gustamos a nadie, pero no nos importa".

Long nos dice que los equipos no deben mirar a Roger Goodell para arreglar sus problemas con el juego y en su lugar, solo deben "reclutar tipos más grandes". O, mejor aún, ¡que simplemente eviten las jugadas de tercer y cuarto down-and-short contra Philly por completo!

Chris Long says "Tush Push" play haters need to kick rocks ... telling TMZ Sports if teams have such a problem with it, they should simply learn how to stop it.

The "Brotherly Shove" has become one of the most polarizing issues in the NFL this year ... after the Philadelphia Eagles have found a way to turn the ugly QB sneak into a first-down-making machine.

Some have argued it's unfair, while others have said it's so convoluted, boring, and even dangerous -- the NFL needs to ban it.

But Long -- who won a Super Bowl with the Eagles in 2018 -- said the league should do no such thing ... explaining he believes the play's detractors are just envious of the Birds.

"The Eagles running it looks totally different than the Niners running it or some other team," the 2008 first-round pick said. "And I think people are just mad at Philly. No one likes us, we don't care."

Long tells us teams shouldn't look to Roger Goodell to fix their problems with the play ... and instead, they should just "draft bigger guys." Or, better yet, he said just avoid third- and fourth-down-and-short plays against Philly altogether!!!

Jay-Z is advising all Twitter philosophers out there to take the proverbial "$500,000" over having dinner with him ... he's saying all the "jewels" they think they'll get are in his old albums!!!

HOV weighed in on the viral social media question Monday with Gayle King on "CBS Mornings," where he finally gave fans the answer key ... well, his, at least.

In case you’re not hip, fans have been having a field day with the topic for YEARS ... debating if having just ONE dinner with Jay is worth more than $500K cash upfront.

Clearly an obvious choice for many, but some have argued that Jay will bless them with the missing link to create their own billion-dollar empire!!!

Jay’s not exactly disagreeing with them, but he’s saying there’s a $499,989.01 discount just for listening to one of his old albums!!!

He touted cash-saving tactics on his last released album “4:44” back in 2017, and way back in 2009, he infamously rapped the lines ... "HOV on that new s**t, n****s like "How come?" N****s want my old s**t, buy my old albums."

Jay says he didn't name a batch of his albums "The Blueprint" just because ... he says the songs contain his life's work and everything he rapped about became true.

Angela Lee has no plans of returning to the cage after recently shocking the MMA world with her retirement announcement... telling TMZ Sports her focus is now on providing mental health services to combat sports athletes!

Lee -- who retired and vacated her 115-pound ONE title at Fight Night 14 on September 30 -- launched her non-profit, Fight Story, in honor of her younger sister and MMA fighter, Victoria, who died by suicide in December 2022.

Lee also revealed she attempted to take her own life in 2017 when she purposely crashed her car.

"I wouldn't say that I have fully recovered [from my sister's death] because healing processes take some time," Lee told us, "but I have gotten a lot better with the help and support of my husband, my daughter, and also with the nonprofit organization I created in honor of her."

Angela added ... "We're hoping to acknowledge our past and our personal experience but also take steps to proactively take care of our mental health [and] physical health."

The 11-3 mixed martial, who holds the record for longest championship reign in ONE, knows about the stress/pressure MMA fighters face ... and she pointed out combat sports athletes don't get the same mental health resources as other sports.

"I wanna highlight this group of individuals because the fact is the topic of mental health or mental health support is pretty much nonexistent in the fight world," the 27-year-old said.

"I think with Fight Story," Lee said, "we have lots of plans for the programs that we wish to implement and bring to the community."

Lee told us several fighters have already reached out to help the cause ... and they're hosting two big events, including a kickoff party that's going down on December 3 in Hawaii.

Angela says she's thankful for the support she's received ... and how it keeps the memory of her sister alive.

"I feel whenever I'm doing things with Fight Story, I really feel like Victoria is with me and helping me to work on this," Lee said.

"Something we're doing together."

Brace yourselves, Dodgers fans ... there's a chance Clayton Kershaw's career is done -- or, perhaps worse, he ends up pitching for Texas next season.

L.A.'s play-by-play man Joe Davis tells TMZ Sports the two options are very much on the table for the future Hall of Famer ... saying he knows Kershaw won't do anything in 2024 other than stay with the Dodgers, throw for the Rangers -- or hang up his spikes.

The voice of the Dodgers says he fully expects Kershaw to have lengthy conversations with his family in the upcoming weeks and months to ultimately make the best choice of the trio.

"It's a pretty simple decision," the 35-year-old said. "But it's certainly one that a lot of the Dodgers' offseason plans will hinge on the outcome of."

If it is ultimately the end ... Davis said there's simply no debate that Kershaw will go down as "one of the best left-handed pitchers of all-time."

And, it's definitely not hyperbole ... through 16 seasons so far, Kershaw has a 210-92 record, a 2.48 ERA and 2,944 strikeouts.