TMZ Sports

It was the Culpo Bowl between the Carolina Panthers and NY Jets on Sunday ... 'cause Olivia Culpo and her sister, Sophia, got to watch their NFL star boyfriends face off against each other!!!

Of course, OC has been dating Panthers superstar running back Christian McCaffrey for about 2 years ... and her little sis went "IG official" with Jets WR Braxton Berrios back on Valentine's Day.

So, when the Jets and Panthers faced off in Charlotte in Week 1, the Culpo sisters had to split up and root for opposing teams ... and there was plenty of friendly smack talk.

"Kiss my ass," Olivia told Sophia while flashing her butt ... as Sophia responded, "Oh we'll see, sis. WE. WILL. SEE."

Ultimately, the Panthers came away with the 19-14 win ... but both guys balled out.

CMC had 98 yards on the ground and added 89 receiving yards ... and Berrios had 5 receptions for 51 yards.

The foursome definitely enjoyed the offseason ... taking several romantic trips in paradise.

No matter what happens during the 2021 season, one thing's for sure -- Braxton and Christian are both winners off the field.

Cedric Ceballos says he's now COVID-free ... but there's bad news, he's still far from 100 percent -- explaining Monday he's still in the ICU with serious breathing issues.

Ceballos -- the 1992 NBA Dunk Contest champ -- posted a photo of himself in the ICU last Tuesday ... saying COVID-19 was "officially kicking my butt."

The 52-year-old asked for fans to pray for his recovery ... and on Monday, he announced he's now testing negative for COVID.

But, Ceballos clearly ain't out of the woods yet, 'cause he said the effects of the virus are still wreaking havoc on his body.

"I still CAN NOT breathe, walk or function on my own yet (so PLEASE no phone calls, it’s to much work and hard to understand me)," the former Los Angeles Lakers player said on his social media pages.

"I am out of isolation, due to not having covid, but still in ICU, I will still fight and I ask for uplifting on your end."

Ceballos added, "Continue to be nice to one another and I pray we will talk soon."

Ceballos -- who's received prayers from everyone from Paul George to the NBA itself while battling the coronavirus -- played 11 seasons in the Association, and famously won the 1992 Slam Dunk Contest with an epic blindfold slam.

Justin Bieber used his VMA acceptance speech to give a huge shoutout to his buddy, Conor McGregor ... saying the UFC superstar will be back better than ever after his devastating leg injury.

33-year-old Conor was at the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards to present the "Artist of the Year" award Sunday night ... rocking a bright, pink suit, his walking cane and a massive smile.

While McGregor got into an intense scuffle with Machine Gun Kelly before his appearance, he was all calmed down once it was time for him to announce the category's big winner.

"New York is back and so is the Mac," Conor said. "2022 will be our greatest year yet."

And when it was time to reveal the winner ... McGregor couldn't be happier.

Of course, Conor and Bieber have gotten pretty close recently -- from catching rays poolside to being guests at each other's concerts and fights -- so it was only right The Notorious was able to share the awesome moment with the "Peaches" singer.

Bieber name-dropped his wife, Hailey, and rapper Travis Scott after grabbing the Moonperson ... and then guaranteed Conor will make a big comeback after snapping his leg against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264.

"Conor, we're gonna get 'em next time, my boy," Bieber said. "Let's go."

Raheem Mostert was engulfed by hate messages from fans after the NFL star suffered an injury Sunday ... with the RB's wife saying people said the Niners player "should kill himself."

Devon Mostert spelled it all out in an emotional social media post hours after the 49ers beat the Detroit Lions ... saying she and her hubby received "THOUSANDS" of terrible comments following the game.

In her post, Devon said some of the messages suggested Mostert be cut from the team ... while others made fun of his injury history.

"I know I shouldn't care, but wow. Wow wow wow," Devon said. "The nasty things some of you just carelessly say is gut wrenching. I don't think ya'll get it. Football is my husband's job. It's how my family EATS. To read such HEARTLESS and degrading comments about the person I LOVE hurts."

Devon continued, "And I try so hard to shake them off... I do. But when there's HUNDREDS, THOUSANDS. It's a lot."

Mostert played just a handful of snaps against the Lions, recording two carries for 20 yards before hurting his knee.

The extent of his injury is unknown -- Devon said he'll undergo further testing Monday ... and they're "praying" it's all minor.

"R's gonna be good," Devon added. "He always comes back stronger."

"Thank you to everyone that sent prayers," she continued. "I appreciate you and I see your beautiful heart. Holding my babies extra long tonight."

Raheem was expected to have a huge role for the 49ers this season ... after he rushed for 521 yards and two scores in 8 games for SF last season.

Football fans aren't just trollin' Zach Wilson after his week 1 loss as starting QB for the NY Jets -- they're goin' after his momma, too!

Wilson's mom, Lisa, shared some of the DMs she received on Instagram after her son's 19-14 loss against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

FYI, the rookie QB had 258 passing yards, 2 touchdowns and one interception -- but was sacked 6 TIMES!

One of the messages Lisa got was from a guy named Chase saying, "Your son is a**" -- and she responded, "Praying for your angry hateful heart!"

The "fan" didn't stop there -- he hit her back with, "praying for your son to get better at f**king football!"

Lisa shared another one ... a fan named Austin saying, "real talk tho, y ur son so dog sh** at football."

Her answer, "I'm so sorry you're so angry. I hope you can find happiness!"

"Hate is so toxic!!!"

The Yankees and Mets almost fought each other in the middle of the diamond Sunday night ... and it was all 'cause a pitcher in the Pinstripes' dugout had been whistling.

For real.

The wild scene all went down at Citi Field ... just seconds after Giancarlo Stanton hit a huge home run in the 7th inning of the final game of the New York teams' weekend series.

As Stanton was rounding the bases, Francisco Lindor yelled at the Yanks superstar ... while making a whistling motion.

The smack talk was so aggressive, it caused the entire Yankees dugout to clear ... and a brawl almost ensued.

Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed ... and we learned a short time later, Lindor was furious with Stanton and the Yanks after he and the rest of the Mets believed the Yankees were whistling in order to tip their batters off to potential pitches.

"I can't accuse them of them whistling for the signs because I'm not 100 percent correct," Lindor said. "But, I know what I heard, and I felt like there was something out of the ordinary going on."

"And, yeah. I heard what I heard. I'm not accusing them. I'm not saying they're doing it 100 percent. Because I don't know 100 percent. But, it definitely felt that way. And, I took that personal."

Lindor and the Mets had believed the Yankees were using whistling not just during Sunday's tilt, but in their previous meeting on Saturday as well.

Yankees slugger Joey Gallo tried to offer an explanation for it all after the game, saying reliever Wandy Peralta was doing the dugout whistling, but ensured the sounds were "100 percent not" for pitch tipping.

"It's just him trying to be -- like I said, bring energy to the dugout," Gallo said, "especially early in the game."

Mark Davis is having no trouble adjusting to his new home in Vegas ... 'cause the Raiders owner just made a chunk of change at the slot machines earlier this week -- and TMZ Sports has the pic!!!

We're told the son of legendary owner Al Davis hit up the Virgin Hotels in Sin City on Tuesday night to test his luck ahead of the 2021 season ... posting up at the Wheel of Fortune slots around 11 PM.

As it turns out, the man worth reportedly $500 million seemingly got a bit richer ... raking in about $1,800 on one turn!

Of course, things haven't always been fine and dandy for Davis -- as we previously reported, he got in a bit of a fender bender with his Mini Cooper in a shopping center parking lot right off the Strip back in June.

We're sure Davis is gonna hope this luck continues as the Raiders take their home field at Allegiant Stadium against the Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night Football.

Conor McGregor is still nursing his broken leg, but dude is already back to squaring up -- only this time ... he's doing it well outside the Octagon, and against Machine Gun Kelly.

The UFC star appears to have gotten into a physical confrontation Sunday on the red carpet of the MTV Video Music Awards leading into the Barclays Center -- right before showtime, no less -- in a would-be clash that was captured by several photogs on the scene.

As you can see, there's Conor in the pink suit mouthing off to MGK who's not very far ... and before you know it -- the next shot has Conor seemingly lunging at the rocker as people step in to separate them.

CMG can be seen reaching for Kelly -- but it doesn't look like he ever got a hold of him or even laid a finger on him for that matter. Conor was yanked back by security on hand ... with the Notorious looking furious and animated amid the scrum.

Unclear what might've set this whole thing off in the first place -- but it doesn't seem this escalated beyond a brief showdown ... because we've reached out to cops in the area, and no one's reported this (yet). It's weird ... MGK and Conor don't really have a hostile history.

We got calls in to both guys' camps to see what the fuss was about ... so far, no word back.

Kid Cudi is back to wearing dress-like garments, but a new fella has emerged in something similar ... an NBA player who's kinda considered a man's man, which is a huge statement.

Russell Westbrook posted photos this weekend of himself in the Big Apple for NYFW -- and he was wearing none other than a skirt (or a kilt, perhaps) underneath a cardigan sweater. He also had some black boots to offset the cream color scheme ... not to mention blue hair.

His caption referenced lyrics from Kendrick Lamar's verse on Baby Keem's new single, "Family Ties" ... "'Don’t address me unless it’s with four letters' @kendricklamar"

RW is wearing Thom Browne here -- which is definitely all about the Scottish kilt look.

In any case ... Cudi wore something similar himself for the fashion event of the week -- rocking what appeared to be way more of a traditional skirt under a Nirvana long-sleeve T-shirt. He, too, was sporting blue hair ... makes ya wonder if they were in on this together.

No shame for either of these dudes, but of course ... some folks online were expressing their disapproval, for a myriad of reasons.

Some folks are showing their homophobic colors outright, and others are invoking conspiracy theories ... talking about the emasculation of men, etc. And then, there are those who absolutely love this -- so a mixed bag of reactions here. All the same, Russ and Kid are owning it.

KC's been in a full-blown dress before -- wearing one on 'SNL' earlier this year to honor the late Kurt Cobain, who wore something similar in his day.

A stray cat is alive today because of some patriotism shown at a college football game.

As fans watched Miami edge out Appalachian State at Miami's stadium, everyone's eyes moved from the field to the nosebleed section, as they saw the feline dangling below the upper deck railing. One of its paws apparently got caught on a wire as it struggled.

Fans were at the ready, and when the cat lost its grip and plummeted toward Earth, some quick-thinking fans unfurled an American flag and caught the cat.

You see the cat bounce off the flag and the crowd goes insane.

What's not clear ... whether the cat may have hit the ground or whether the flag entirely broke its fall. Nevertheless, the cat seemed okay.

Security was ready and they captured the cat and removed it from the stadium.

Former president Donald Trump has taken the mic at the Evander Holyfield vs. Vitor Belfort fight ... and it didn't take long for him to go off on President Joe Biden and the crisis in Afghanistan.

As we previously reported, The Donald is providing alternate broadcast commentary for the Triller Fight Club event Saturday night ... and opened up his first appearance by discussing the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.

While Trump didn’t mention Biden by name, he alluded to "very bad decisions" made during the end of the Afghanistan conflict. He promised America would "comeback like nobody’s ever seen."

"As a country, the United States, this is certainly one of the most important days ... and we had a very bad week because of some very bad decisions that were made," Trump said minutes ago. "And it made it even more somber than it should normally be."

"We love our country and we're going to do great things for our country and our country's going to come back."

The former prez also honored the 13 US servicemen -- "great warriors" -- who were killed outside the airport in Kabul.

Trump eventually switched to boxing, saying he was excited to watch the legendary fighters on the card ... including Anderson Silva, who he accidentally called "Anderson Silver."

Be sure to check back in as we update you on all the highlights from the night.

Patrick Peterson is hoping to be locking up receivers all the way until 2026 ... telling TMZ Sports he wants to play in the NFL for the next half-decade!!!

"If you ask me," Peterson says, "I got about five left. So, that's a lot of games."

Of course, the new Minnesota Vikings star is only 31 years old -- so the goal ain't exactly farfetched -- but, remember, he's been in the league for 10 years already.

Peterson, though, sounded confident he can play that long ... which will end up being a VERY good thing for at least one Peterson fan.

The reason? Patrick tells us he's launching a new NFT for charity -- explaining the person who wins will not only get the sweet piece of one-of-a-kind digital art ... but they'll also get two tickets to EVERY ONE of his games going forward.

Peterson says to enter to win the contest ... all his fans have to do is buy entries -- which will ultimately end up benefitting the Patrick Peterson Foundation for Success.

"All the donations, all the funds go to low income, inner-city kids," Peterson says. "Giving them opportunities for resources and to help them reach their full potential."

As for the NFT -- it features his old LSU #7 jersey and his new Vikings #7 jersey ... which, by the way, Peterson says he's stoked to be wearing in 2021.

In fact, Peterson wasn't having any bit of any QB who criticizes the new jersey number rule change (looking at you, Tom Brady) -- offering up one small piece of advice for them ...

"Don't throw at the opposite color!"

Toccara Jones has seen enough ... she's all but crowned Natalia Bryant as America's next top model.

We got the ex-"America's Next Top Model" star outside Essence Fashion House in Chelsea during New York Fashion Week and wanted her take on Kobe's daughter gracing the cover and pages of Teen Vogue.

Toccara couldn't stop raving about Natalia's performance. Goes without saying ... Toccara doesn't just think ... she knows the 18-year-old model's gonna KILL it in the industry. Natalia, of course, signed with IMG, a major modeling and talent agency, back in February.

When our camera guy asked for her 2 cents ... Toccara shot right back, "Did you see her [Teen Vogue] spread? Did you see the poses? Did you see her styling?" As if saying ... OF COURSE she's got it. And, from one model to another, Toccara tells us exactly why she thinks Natalia's got what it takes.

Toccara says Natalia's success won't be tied to the fact she's Kobe and Vanessa Bryant's daughter. Far from it. Toccara says ... just look at Natalia's amazing features.

Things are moving in a positive direction for NBA guard Malik Beasley and his ex Montana Yao -- TMZ Sports has learned the former couple is working to mend their relationship every day ... but they are NOT back together.

Of course, Malik and Montana had a nasty and public breakup in 2020 ... after the hooper was spotted out in public with Larsa Pippen.

Montana filed for divorce in December 2020 ... and even claimed Malik abandoned his 2-year-old son, Makai, amid the drama.

We're told Beasley -- who just served 78 days in jail for allegedly pointing a gun at a family that was parked outside his house last September -- has been making things right with Yao after getting out of the slammer ... even personally apologizing for his previous actions.

Malik and Montana have recently been spotted out in public together and appeared to be in good spirits ... with some wondering if they've buried the hatchet and reconciled -- we're told that's not the case.

Speaking of relationships ... It's unclear if MB has moved on to anyone else, but sources say Montana is still focused on healing from what went down.

Benny The Butcher's "Bills Mafia Anthem" song is getting a bit of a remix ... 'cause the rapper tells TMZ Sports he's droppin' a new music video -- featuring Buffalo players!!!

Buffalo's own Benny -- who signed a management deal with ROC Nation -- put out the first music video in January, right before the Bills' AFC Championship run.

Check out some of the lyrics:

"You know who the beasts in the AFC East
We gon' grind this thing out for seventeen weeks, yeah
You hatin' on them Bills, then you way off
Talk is cheap, meet us in the playoffs"

The Mafia and the team LOVE it -- so much that Benny tells us he's putting out another music video of the song this season.

"I got the video coming out Week 5," Benny says, "We shot it at the stadium. We was in the Bills players' locker room. I had my own locker in there, it was crazy!"

And, Benny -- who was on La Brea following a photoshoot with LRG -- says it features THREE Bills players -- "My boy Tremaine Edmunds, my boy Dion Dawkins, of course, and Cody Ford!"

Sorry, no Josh Allen ... but Benny says he's working on that.

"We need Josh Allen in one the Benny The Butcher videos," Benny says.

"Josh Allen, man, come to the east side of Buffalo. We know the rest of Buffalo love you, come to the east side of Buffalo!"

We also talked football with Benny -- the loyal fan tells us Josh is taking home TWO titles this season ... MVP and Super Bowl champ!

If Allen gets the Bills to the SB, he'd be the first QB to do so since Jim Kelly, who appeared in four (1990-1994) ... but of course, Buffalo came up short each time.

Ashton Kutcher was invited to an ESPN set this weekend to share his thoughts on college football -- but all he got in return from the crowd was some harsh advice on his hygiene.

The actor got tapped by the network to be the guest prediction picker ahead of Saturday's slate of games, especially the big Iowa matchup later today between Iowa State and the University of Iowa -- with the latter being Ashton's alma mater.

As soon as AK touched down by jet and was revealed as the big surprise for the broadcast, he got torched by the college crowd that were standing by at Jack Trice Stadium.

They were chanting "Take a shower!" pretty damn loudly ... which the mics on set were picking up and broadcasting while Ashton was being intro'd. Doesn't seem like he heard it right then and there, but don't sweat ... the Cyclone fans had another go at it.

Not too long after, Ashton eventually plopped down on his chair for the pre-game panel ... where he was talking football and charities of his -- and there, too, the "Take a Shower!" chant picked up again. This time, it was way closer ... and Ashton probably heard.

He didn't flinch ... acting as if it didn't bother him. And, who knows ... maybe it doesn't. The guy already made fun of himself over the whole bathing fiasco earlier this summer.

ICYMI ... Ashton and Mila Kunis revealed back in July that they didn't really wash their kids daily, and only threw 'em in the shower as they saw fit, or if they saw noticeable dirt. It sparked a huge debate about kids and cleanliness -- but the Kutchers took it in stride.