The Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team is gunning to return to the championship game for the first time since losing to Villanova back in 2018 ... and Trey Burke has a message for the squad ahead of their showdown with Arizona in just a few hours!
"Staying in the moment," Burke told TMZ Sports. "It's easy to think about what could happen, win or lose, you know, get caught up just in the festivities and just realizing you're actually here."
"I think the biggest thing is staying in the moment, really enjoying the moment and getting lost in the game. It is one of those games that you can't really go back in time and redo."
Despite UConn's insane Elite Eight win over Duke, many still doubt the Huskies' title chances with Arizona and Michigan in the mix ... but former star Khalid El-Amin says that's okay -- the team thrives on being overlooked.
TMZ Sports spoke with El-Amin ahead of Saturday's Final Four -- a position he knows well as a former Huskies guard who helped lead UConn to its first national title in 1999 alongside Richard "Rip" Hamilton.
The Huskies face #3 seed Illinois, and if they advance, they'll meet either Michigan or Arizona in the national championship game.
However, nearly everyone outside the two fanbases, including Arizona legend Mike Bibby, believes the title winner will come out of the Wolverines-Wildcats matchup, regardless of which team advances on the other side of the bracket.
"Just let them overlook us," El-Amin told us. "No problem."
Arizona has a champion in its corner -- and he thinks the Wildcats are cutting down the nets.
Former Wildcats star Miles Simon tells TMZ Sportshe’s expecting a heavyweight fight Saturday in the Final Four against Michigan … calling it a “monster matchup” between two No. 1 seeds that have looked capable of winning the national title all season.
"Michigan and Arizona have arguably been the two best teams in the country this year," he said. "They got these front lines that are gigantic, and like, they pound the ball inside. I can't wait to watch the game on Saturday night."
Jason Oppenheim had his sick six-figure luxury car stolen ... and adding insult to injury, his whip got nabbed while at his work's parking lot!
Jason held an event alongside Rick Caruso at the Oppenheim office in West Hollywood on Thursday night for CA Governor candidate Matt Mahan ... where he revealed his $500K Rolls Royce was stolen just a couple weeks ago.
Law enforcement tells TMZ ... a report was filed for the stolen half-a-mill vehicle on March 16 ... and so far, they got nada -- no car and no suspects.
Congressman Steve Scalise is checking out a Spring Break hot spot during his 2-week paid vacation as the government shutdown drags on ... and he's living it up on the Floribama shore.
TMZ obtained photos of the House Majority Leader Friday in the middle of his beach vacation near Orange Beach, Alabama.
The Congressman from Louisiana was spotted walking out of Blalock Seafood & Specialty Market with a bag of grub ... and he had a two-person security detail in tow, plus his personal chauffeur.
TikTok star Marquay The Goat's died from an enlarged heart ... TMZ has learned.
Sources with direct knowledge tells us the autopsy for Marquay Collins -- the social media personality's real name -- was completed recently ... with the manner of death ruled natural, and the cause due to an enlarged heart.
As we previously reported ... a rep for the the Muscogee County Coroner initially told us Marquay's tragic death was believed to be linked to a serious car accident he was involved in just a few weeks earlier.
'Real Housewives of Atlanta' star Kim Zolciak has been ordered to complete therapy before seeing the kids she shares with ex, Kroy Biermann, TMZ has learned.
According to court docs obtained by TMZ, a Georgia judge told the “Tardy For The Party” singer that the kids will stay with Kroy from April 3 until Kim completes four parent therapy sessions.
The order says the earliest Kim will be reunited with the kids is April 13.
Rep.Seth Magaziner understands concerns about the bad optics of him hosting a 'Real Housewives' premiere party during the government shutdown ... but he's laying blame on the guy who sent the House of Representatives packing for this two-week recess.
The Congressman from Rhode Island joined us Friday on "TMZ Live," and pointed a finger at House Speaker Mike Johnson, saying he never should have sent everyone home without voting on a bill to end the partial shutdown ... which, of course, has thousands of federal employees working without pay.
It's something we've heard a lot recently from Congress members -- the Democrats, at least -- that it's all Johnson's fault, and while there may be some truth there ... we're thinking BOTH parties should wear the stalemate, because THEY aren't doing their jobs.
Blac Chyna's firing back at her ex-boyfriend, Twin Hector -- who is suing her for allegedly assaulting him multiple times during their relationship -- claiming he beat her up all the time too.
The rapper filed a cross-complaint last week against Twin Hector in response to his 2024 lawsuit ... claiming she only hit him during one alleged incident where Hector's eye swelled up to protect herself after she says he struck her in both the lower and upper body.
Chyna's lawyers say any contact he sustained during the incident was "a direct, necessary, and proportionate act of self-defense performed solely to prevent further injury to herself."
Tekashi 6ix9ine is out of prison and here to shine ... with some sparkling new bling!
Check it out -- the rapper was gifted a "priceless" nearly 400-carat chain as soon as he stepped out of MDC Brooklyn Friday, where he served 3 months behind bars after authorities found drugs in his home last year.
Tekashi collaborated with Vobara Miami for this one-of-a-kind piece, which is titled "The Apex Redemption; The Return of 6ix9ine" and features pendants that represent some of his tattoos he had before he went back to the slammer.
Wrestling champ Kennedy Blades suplexed Abby Hornacek on live TV ... and it was actually the FOX News host's idea, according to the women, who walked TMZ Sports through the viral moment!
Blades, a 22-year-old world-class wrestler, says she had "just rolled out of bed" when she got the wild request from Hornacek.
"So I see Abby, and she's all happy and stuff, and then she's like, 'Yeah, Kennedy, we want you to suplex me live!' And I was like, 'wait, what?' I was not prepared for that at all!" the 2024 Olympian told Michael Babcock.
Amanda Batula haters who thought she'd run and hide amid the controversy surrounding her new relationship don't know who they're dealing with ... because we've learned she'll be at the "Summer House" reunion.
Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... rumors that Amanda won't attend the taping are total BS. The star fully intends to show up.
Our sources say she's ready to face the cast and the producers head-on ... and she's going to answer whatever questions come her way.
Tiger Woods' private jet landed in Zurich, Switzerland -- home of the most luxurious treatment facilities on the planet -- early Friday morning, TMZ Sports has learned.
We cannot confirm if the golf legend was on the plane ... but it would make a ton of sense if he was, considering Paracelsus Recovery and Kusnacht Practice -- two centers known for being extremely exclusive, private and, of course, expensive -- are nearby.
Some places in Zurich even have one-client admittance ... with top staffers focusing on helping a single person at a time.
Blake Lively's team is telling Justin Baldoni the lawsuit still ends with them ... because, despite the court's dismissal of many of her major claims Thursday, they feel the lawsuit's core is still intact.
Lively's lawyer, Michael Gottlieb, tells TMZ ... he's not surprised Baldoni's attorney, Bryan Freedman, doesn't understand the judge's Thursday ruling -- especially since he "had to bring in another law firm for the trial, and just last week was reprimanded by the court for having filed legally frivolous claims."
Gottlieb claims the judge decided to strip the case down to its core claims ... that Lively "spoke out against what she believed was sexual harassment on the set, and suffered retaliation that harmed her reputation as a result."
Kanye West just played his biggest show in years ... and it seems a lot of people have looked past his antisemitic meltdowns -- but Donnell Rawlingssays there are definitely sides in that grace.
We caught up with the comic-actor at LAX on Thursday after the first of Ye's two sold-out shows at SoFi Stadium ... and asked if Kanye had been forgiven.
As you can see in the video ... DR is dead serious when he says Black people have forgiven Kanye ... but white people still hold a grudge -- that is, unless they want to make money off him by doing business -- then, it's all good.
Michael Madsen's kids are battling his ex-wife, Jeannine Bisignano Madsen, for control over his estate ... asking the court not to put her in charge of the estate for any reason.
Four of Madsen's children -- Max, Christian, Calvin and Luke Madsen -- filed documents earlier this week opposing Jeannine's appointment as a special administrator ... a role she says she wants in order to collect on $5 million Michael allegedly owed her.
Basically, Jeannine is citing her divorce judgment ... which she says states she's entitled to a percentage of payments Michael received for films he made while they were together -- including the cult classic "Reservoir Dogs."
