Sports

Connor McDavid proved he's got hands on Thursday ... the NHL star shockingly started throwing haymakers aimed squarely at his opponent's face during an on-ice melee -- and it was intense!

The one-on-one went down after a small fight erupted at the end of the second period of the Edmonton Oilers vs. Dallas Stars game at the American Airlines Center.

Broadcast footage showed McDavid going right at Stars role player Justin Hryckowian during the fracas, yanking on his black and green jersey while throwing left-handed jabs at his face.

A cameraman working the Nets-Hawks game deserved a blocking foul ... 'cause while the guy was filming on the sidelines during a live play, a referee crashed right into him, and the bizarre moment was caught on the broadcast.

It happened during the fourth quarter of the game at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Thursday, as official Sha'Rae Mitchell was running down the sideline during a fast break.

As Mitchell, 40, was picking up steam, and with her eyes focused on the play, she didn't see the cameraman was partially on the hardwood, as the guy was filming a fan on the sideline

Former NBA big man Glen “Big Baby” Davis is officially out of the slammer.

The ex-Boston Celtics forward -- who won a championship alongside Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen -- was released from prison Thursday after serving time for his role in a massive fraud scheme involving the NBA’s health care benefits program.

"They tried to hold me down," Davis said in a viral X video post-release. "You know what I’m saying? But I’m back, man. I’m back, baby."

The UFC's highly anticipated White House is three months away ... and Dana White has good news for fans hoping to pull up to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., announcing they're going to give out 85,000 FREE tickets!

White revealed the news Thursday night while running through some of the promotion's upcoming events, when he was asked about the ticketing situation for Freedom 250.

"We're gonna be ticketing 85,000 people in The Ellipse, and the tickets are free," White said. "We'll announce how we're giving them away soon, but you should plan on going to Washington, D.C. for this event."

Luka Doncic says basketball is providing an escape as he deals with issues off the court ... telling a reporter in his native language he's getting some much-needed "peace" during games.

The Slovenian superstar briefly addressed how he's doing personally after dropping 51 points on the Chicago Bulls at home on Thursday ... which came two days after it was revealed he ended his engagement with longtime partner Anamaria Goltes and is fighting for custody of his two daughters.

According to a translation, Luka -- who is currently signed to L.A. on a three-year, $161 million deal -- said he's okay ... but ultimately, he's making a lot of money to show up for the Lakers, so he has to be present to the task at hand.

The WWE shut down Logan Paul's dream of brawling with NFL players, but Nikki Bella is still excited to see him face off with them in an approved flag football game ... and it sounds like she's still expecting some fireworks between both sides.

The WWE Hall of Famer spoke with TMZ Sports earlier this week in NYC about Logan’s viral challenge to football stars … where the YouTuber-turned-WWE Superstar has been claiming he’d put up $1 million to fight NFL players in the ring.

While several players barked back at the idea -- and Logan saying WWE execs later shut it down -- Nikki says she’s still curious about how the whole spectacle might play out ... especially factoring in the upcoming Fanatics Flag Football Classic.

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.