Sports

President Trump got himself some new hardware on Thursday during a White House event honoring women, courtesy of a U.S. Olympic bobsledder ... and while it may not be a Nobel Prize, it's an awesome honor!

The scene unfolded at a POTUS-thrown Women's History Month celebration at 1600 Penn. Avenue, attended by Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Press Sec. Karoline Leavitt, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Second Lady Usha Vance, and others.

U.S. Olympian Kaillie Humphries, a 6x medalist, was also in the building, and didn't squander the moment when she stepped to the mic, gifting 45/47 one of her medals.

Not one of those medals ... no gold, silver, or bronze here. Instead, Humphries gave Trump something that's arguably more special.

Erik Spoelstra is clapping back at everyone criticizing Bam Adebayo's journey to 83 points ... essentially saying it'll be a cold day in Hell when he apologizes for the performance.

There has been a ton of backlash surrounding the big man's historic Tuesday night ... with some purists claiming it wasn't an "ethical" approach to stuffing Adebayo's stat sheet, like when the Heat intentionally fouled Washington Wizards players despite being up big.

Fast forward to Thursday night ... and Spo weighed in on the reactions with an almost Conor McGregor-esque take.

Atlanta Falcons defensive end James Pearce Jr. is no longer facing a charge of aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer after his alleged domestic dispute with Rickea Jackson, TMZ Sports has learned.

Court documents we obtained show that prosecutors have dropped the charge against the 22-year-old. A spokesperson for the DA said in evaluating all the evidence, they didn't believe they could prove it beyond a reasonable doubt.

It's a small break for Pearce -- the charge comes with up to five years behind bars.

He isn't out of the woods at all, though ... as prosecutors filed a handful of other charges in the incident -- including stalking, fleeing and eluding police, resisting an officer with violence, and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

Olympic gold medalist Alysa Liu got a hero’s welcome in her hometown Thursday -- with Oakland handing the figure skating superstar the Key to the City during a massive celebration packed with Bay Area royalty.

The event -- emceed by legendary radio personality Sway Calloway -- brought together a who’s who of the Bay’s sports and music worlds to honor the 20-year-old after her historic performance at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Among those showing love were Bay Area music stars G‑Eazy, P‑Lo, Kehlani and Jwalt ... while Olympic legends Andre Ward, Brian Boitano and Kristi Yamaguchi also congratulated Liu on the huge achievement.

Team USA manager Mark DeRosa tried to clear up his World Baseball Classic controversy -- but in doing so, he accidentally added another mix-up to the pile.

The skipper was already under fire after suggesting the U.S. clinched a quarterfinal spot before its matchup with Italy -- a comment that looked even worse after the Americans were stunned 8–6.

When DeRosa addressed the situation publicly on Thursday, he owned the original comment he made during a TV appearance on MLB Network after a big win over Mexico in the game prior.

But while explaining the situation, DeRosa misspoke again -- saying both teams entered the matchup 2–0, when in reality the U.S. was actually 3–0 heading into the game.

Michael Chandler is packing his bags for Quantico to train FBI agents ... and he joined "TMZ Live" ahead of the trip to give Kash Patel some comfort in case the director plans to be in attendance -- saying he's not looking to break anyone's bones.

The 13th-ranked UFC lightweight chopped it up with Harvey and Charles on Thursday ... and he hopes to take a "white belt mentality" to the FBI training facility when he gets boots on the ground this weekend.

You may ask, what's a white belt mentality? Well, in Chandler's own words, it's all about wanting to get better.

Dwight Howard is officially walking away from basketball ... claiming while he still has gas left in the tank, the sport made the decision for him -- and now it's time for family.

The 40-year-old No. 1 overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft released a lengthy statement on Thursday ... acknowledging that most folks might think he already handed in his retirement papers, but that wasn't the case.

DH12 -- who last played in the NBA in the 2021-22 season before taking his talents overseas -- is now going to put all his energy into his family and the community.

Patrick Mahomes and his wife, Brittany, are celebrating their fourth wedding anniversary on Thursday ... and the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback shared a throwback pic to prove she's always been his "day 1," even before his rise to NFL superstardom.

The three-time Super Bowl champ posted a series of pics on Instagram set to J. Cole and Burna Boy's "Only You'' song ... and included a photo from their teenage years.

"My Day 1 ❤️," Mahomes said in the caption. "Happy Anniversary!"

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President Donald Trump says Iran’s national soccer team can come to the 2026 World Cup in the United States -- but he’s warning them it's probably not a smart move for their "own life and safety."

The president took to Truth Social on Thursday with a mixed message for the Iranian squad ... saying the team would be welcome at the tournament while also suggesting it could be dangerous for them to attend.

“The Iran National Soccer Team is welcome to The World Cup,” Trump wrote. “But I really don’t believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety.”

Shaquille O’Neal and Mike Bibby’s Sacramento State hoops experiment is getting the documentary treatment.

The Hornets’ ambitious rebuild will be the focus of a new six-episode series titled “Fear Nothing: Sac State” ... a behind-the-scenes look at the program as it tries to shake its underdog label and make noise in college basketball.

The project is a collaboration between Overtime and Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions … and it promises fans unprecedented access to the team’s journey as cameras follow the program throughout the season.

Jordan Jones' heroic attempt to protect a woman who was being attacked was captured in a harrowing, newly released 911 audio -- with a witness telling dispatchers the late pro football player tried to intervene before he was shot.

TMZ Sports obtained the 911 calls just days after Jones was shot and killed outside of Saddle Bar in Acworth, Georgia, on March 7.

A caller at the scene broke down what happened to the dispatcher ... saying Jones, who worked as bar security, was shot in the parking lot after he told another man, alleged gunman Daniel Di Vonne Parsons, to stop assaulting a woman.

A bizarre social media controversy is swirling around Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Emeka Egbuka … after a viral post questioning whether CTE is real sparked outrage -- and now the team is insisting the account behind it isn’t actually his.

The drama kicked off on Wednesday when a blue-check X account claiming to belong to Egbuka fired off a short but explosive message at 2:27 PM ET: “Is CTE even real?”

The post spread quickly across the football world … with fans blasting the sentiment given CTE -- chronic traumatic encephalopathy -- is a brain disease linked to repeated head trauma in football.

But about an hour later, the Buccaneers’ communications department jumped in to try to put out the fire.

Cain Velasquez has finally broken his silence after nearly a year behind bars ... thanking everyone for their "love and support."

Velasquez shared the video on his Instagram Wednesday evening, saying he's been spending the last few weeks "getting used to the normal things."

"I just want to take this time here to thank everybody for the constant support," he said. "You have no idea what your words and your encouragement and your love has meant to me and my family. Just thank you."

The FBI and UFC collab is really happening -- months after Kash Patel said he'd enlist MMA fighters to help train special agents, some of combat sports' biggest names are making their way to Quantico to help recruits beef up their defense.

Patel spoke about the move ... saying it'll be a "historic seminar" at the Special Agent Academy -- with a card full of names like Jorge Masvidal, Chris Weidman, Justin Gaethje, Claudia Gadelha, Manel Kape and Michael Chandler slated to help out.

"This is a tremendous opportunity for our FBI agents to learn and train with some of the greatest athletes on earth - helping the world’s premier law enforcement agency be even better prepared to protect the American people," Patel explained.

Travis Kelce's coming back for his 14th season with the Kansas City Chiefs ... but that's not his only gig for 2026 -- the NFL superstar is the new face of Six Flags!!

The amusement park company -- which joined forces with Cedar Fair in 2024 -- announced the three-time Super Bowl champ as it's newest ambassador on Thursday.

Kelce will take part in a bunch of digital content, social posts and "other fun surprises" ... somehow fitting this in with all his wedding planning and football prep.

Luka Doncic isn't letting his relationship woes stop him from putting a smile on other people's faces -- the Lakers' superstar made a surprise visit at a local hospital alongside LeBron James ... and the kind gesture resulted in some priceless reactions!!

Doncic has been going through some tough developments off the court lately -- TMZ Sports broke the story on Tuesday that his fiancée, Anamaria Goltes, filed a petition for child support ... and he confirmed hours later they were no longer engaged and he's fighting for custody of their two daughters.

But he put all that on the back burner a day later ... when he hit up UCLA Health with the King to give gifts and memories to those throughout the hospital.