Interview

Move over Patrick Mahomes -- Joe Burrow is actually the best quarterback in the NFL ... so says Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson, who tells TMZ Sports the Cincinnati Bengals superstar deserves the title when he's 100% healthy.

Joey B has had his fair share of injuries in his short career -- he tore his ACL and MCL in his rookie season, forcing him to miss the final six games ... and, more recently, suffered a calf strain in July that continued to give him trouble early on in his 2023 campaign.

He's now proving he's back to his usual self after leading the Bengals to four straight wins ... and Ochocinco says this version of Burrow is all the evidence he needs to put him at the top of his QB list.

"A healthy Joe Burrow is the best quarterback in the NFL," 45-year-old Johnson -- who played for the Bengals from 2001 to 2010 -- said this week.

"You can argue Patrick Mahomes, you can argue what other quarterbacks, but he just is."

Burrow has been balling out lately ... with big wins over San Francisco and Buffalo over the past two weeks as the Bengals find themselves in the contender conversation once again.

Since Burrow was selected as the No. 1 overall pick in 2020, he has led the Bengals to five postseason wins and a Super Bowl appearance ... something Johnson said shouldn't be ignored.

"What he's done for that franchise in such a short amount of time, I mean, how can he not be [the best]?"

Speaking of Burrow, he appeared on this week's edition of "Inside the NFL" -- which airs Tuesdays on the CW -- and Johnson said he had a blast interviewing the Ohio product.

"It was a joy for me," Johnson said. "It was really, really dope."

Montana Tucker dice que no se siente segura como una persona judía en los Estados Unidos y teme que el odio hacia los judíos en línea sea parte de un problema mayor.

La cantante se unió a nosotros en "TMZ Live" el lunes y nos dijo que sus populares mensajes de TikTok son ahora pozos negros de comentarios antisemitas y solo está empeorando.

Montana, que tuvo familiares que murieron en el Holocausto, dice que la gente se siente envalentonada para vomitar odio contra los judíos, no solo en las redes sociales, sino también en la vida real.

Para Montana, su contenido de canto y baile ahora está plagado de comentarios de odio de antisemitas que le dicen que merece morir simplemente porque es judía e incluso hay algunos negadores del Holocausto.

Montana dice que el hate es realmente intenso en estos momentos como resultado de la guerra entre Israel y Hamás, pero ella dice que se ha estado gestando desde hace un tiempo, primero se agudizó el año pasado cuando publicó una docuserie sobre Auschwitz, donde su familia murió en campos de concentración.

Las cosas están tan mal para los creadores judíos en TikTok, Montana nos dice que ella y otros no se sienten seguros, y dice que está liderando un grupo de celebridades que están presionando la plataforma para tomar medidas enérgicas contra el antisemitismo.

Montana también dice que muchas personas que vienen después de ella en los comentarios están apoyando a Hamás a pesar de que es una organización terrorista conocida por su terrible tratamiento de las personas LGBTQ + y las mujeres.

Montana Tucker says she doesn't feel safe as a Jewish person in America ... and she fears the hate towards Jewish people online is part of a larger problem.

The singer joined us on "TMZ Live" Monday and told us her popular TikTok posts are now cesspools for antisemitic comments ... and it's only getting worse.

Montana, who had family members die in the Holocaust, says people feel emboldened to spew hate against Jews ... not only on social media but also in real life.

For Montana, her singing and dancing content is now littered with hateful comments from antisemites telling her she deserves to die simply because she's Jewish ... and there are even a few Holocaust deniers.

Montana says the hate is really bad right now as a result of the Israel-Hamas war ... but she says it's been brewing for a while, first ratcheting up last year when she posted a docuseries about Auschwitz, where her family died in concentration camps.

Things are so bad for Jewish creators on TikTok, Montana tells us she and others don't feel safe ... and she's leading a group of celebs pressuring the platform to crack down on antisemitism.

Montana also says lots of people coming after her in the comments are supporting Hamas ... even though it's a terrorist organization known for its awful treatment of LGBTQ+ people and women.

El personaje de Matthew Perry, Chandler Bing, estuvo a punto de protagonizar un escándalo al engañar a Monica, pero nos han comentado que el actor consiguió que se desechara la idea.

Hablamos con Lisa Cash, que apareció en el episodio de 1999 de la temporada 5, "The One in Vegas: Part 1". Nos dice que consiguió el trabajo como extra, pero su papel en el episodio fue originalmente mucho más controvertido... o lo habría sido si Matthew no hubiera hablado.

Ella le dice a TMZ que la escena tenía origen en Mónica -interpretada por Courteney Cox- quien tenía una acalorada discusión con Chandler. El personaje de Lisa supuestamente iba a entrar a la habitación de Chandler para realizar un servicio de habitaciones a su habitación de hotel en Las Vegas.

Al parecer, Chandler y el personaje de Lisa se llevaron bien después de su gran pelea con Mónica, llegando incluso a engañarla con la empleada del hotel.

Si veías la serie, sabes que eso es algo que los fans NUNCA le perdonarían a Chandler y eso es exactamente lo que Matthew pensaba. Lisa dice que después de ensayar la escena, fue a los escritores y les dijo que la eliminaran.

Lisa sabía que tener un papel protagonista con Matthew Perry habría sido un cambio de juego para su carrera, pero cree que en última instancia fue un buen movimiento y podría haber cambiado el curso de la serie.

Mientras que toda la trama fue cancelada, Lisa terminó permaneciendo en el episodio como azafata en la escena de Ross y Rachel.

Matthew Perry's character, Chandler Bing, on "Friends," almost had a scandal on his hands by cheating on Monica ... but we're told the actor got the whole idea scrapped.

We spoke with Lisa Cash, who appeared in the 1999 episode from season 5, "The One in Vegas: Part 1" -- telling us she got the gig as an extra, but her role on the episode was originally a lot more controversial ... or it would have been if Matthew didn't speak up.

She tells TMZ ... the OG scene revolved around Monica -- played by Courteney Cox -- getting into a heated argument with Chandler, with Lisa's character eventually bringing up room service to his hotel room in Vegas.

Apparently, Chandler and Lisa's character hit it off after his big fight with Monica -- going so far as to actually cheat on her with the hotel staffer.

If you watched the show, you know that's something fans would NEVER forgive Chandler for, and that's exactly what Matthew thought. Lisa says after rehearsing the scene, he went to the writers and told them to axe it.

Lisa knew having a costarring role with Matthew Perry would have been a game changer for her career, but thinks it was ultimately a good move and could have changed the course of the show.

While the whole plot got nixed, Lisa ended up staying in the episode as a flight attendant in Ross and Rachel's scene.

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.