TMZ Sports - Page 26

"There is no county line at which Kobe Bryant’s celebrity suddenly evaporates."

That's Vanessa Bryant's key argument as to why the court should REJECT a requested venue change in her wrongful death lawsuit -- claiming Kobe's legacy expands way beyond L.A.

As we previously reported, Island Express Helicopters and the estate for pilot Ara Zobayan had asked the court to move the case from L.A. to Orange County, arguing they couldn't get a fair trial in the city where the Lakers star played NBA ball for 20 years.

Now, Vanessa is firing back ... saying she lawfully selected L.A. as her venue because that's where the January 26th helicopter crash occurred -- and she's digging in her heels to keep it there.

Not only does Vanessa point out the Bryants have lived in Orange County for nearly 20 years and Kobe's "popularity there is just as strong as anywhere else" -- but she also claims it really doesn't matter where you go, Kobe is beloved all over the U.S.

"Defendant fails to acknowledge the extent to which Kobe Bryant’s legacy penetrates American culture," Vanessa's attorney states in new court docs obtained by TMZ Sports.

"There is no county line at which Kobe Bryant’s celebrity suddenly evaporates. Public esteem for Kobe Bryant is a fact of American life."

Vanessa is right about Kobe's popularity -- when he passed away back in January, tributes poured in from all over the world ... including Italy and Japan.

A massive Kobe mural even went up in Gradiška, Bosnia and Herzegovina!

As for the venue change, that's now up to a judge to decide.

Here's reason #10,000,000,0001 why hockey players are tough as hell ...

Winnipeg Jets defenseman Tucker Poolman took a puck straight to the mouth Tuesday night ... and after bleeding all over the ice -- HE RETURNED TO THE GAME!!!

The scene was terrifying ... in the second period of the Jets vs. Flames tilt -- a Calgary player flipped a wrist shot at the net.

The problem? Poolman put his face in the way to stop the shot ... and the 27-year-old took the brunt of the piece of rubber right to the side of the jaw.

Poolman began immediately spewing blood from his mouth ... and as he bolted for the locker room with trainers -- he left a trail of red spanning about 15 yards!!

Somehow ... Pullman was able to shake off the injury -- and returned for more action in the third period with a huge cage around his face.

After the game, Jets head coach Paul Maurice said Poolman required sutures and has a welt the size of FIVE GOLF BALLS on his face ... but said the D-man should be OK going forward.

"We're lucky to have him," Maurice said.

"As much as I love Michael Jordan, like, dawg, man, LeBron James is the one, dawg. He the one, man."

Did Allen Iverson just pick LeBron James over Michael Jordan in the great G.O.A.T. debate? Sure seems that way.

But, it's not exactly crystal clear -- we'll explain.

A.I. was on Fat Joe's podcast this week ... when Joe asked Iverson about what music got him hyped before games -- and that's when the former Sixers superstar went on a tangent.

Allen talked about all his favorite musicians ... before eventually saying, "I love what's the best, man. You dig what I'm saying? ... I'm not going to fight what's the best. I'm not going to fight."

"As much as I love Michael Jordan, like, dawg, man, LeBron James is the one, dawg. He the one, man."

"That mother f***er is the one, man," A.I. said of Bron.

So, he's picking Bron over MJ, right?! Maybe ... but maybe not.

But, he then also showed some serious love to Kevin Durant, calling the Brooklyn Nets superstar "the one" as well.

Unclear if that meant A.I. was also putting Durant ahead of Jordan in the great NBA debate ... but Allen did say, "Kevin Durant is the one, man, The one."

Roger Goodell's latest effort to fight for social justice is being challenged by California prosecutors ... who are demanding the NFL stop running a video about the police shooting of Stephon Clark.

The California District Attorneys Association fired off a letter Tuesday to the NFL Commissioner outlining why it believes the Stephon Clark Legacy video, "though well intentioned," also "performs a disservice instead of a public service by omitting the crucial facts which preceded Mr. Clark's tragic death."

Among the complaints made by the association's president, Vern Pierson, is that the video leaves out the fact the Sacramento County D.A. and California Attorney General came to the conclusion the 2 police officers involved in Stephon's 2018 death broke no laws.

As we reported, the Stephon video is the 5th PSA created by Inspire Change -- a joint initiative between the NFL and Jay-Z's Roc Nation which aims to raise awareness about racial injustice and improve police and community relations.

In the video, Stephon's mother, Se’Quette Clark, walks viewers through the horrific night he was killed, and talks about the need for new laws to prevent more tragic police-involved shootings.

You might recall, officers opened fire on Stephon in his grandmother's backyard, believing he was brandishing a weapon.

Stephon, of course, was holding a cell phone. He was shot 8 times ... with 6 of those bullets striking him in the back. But, another complaint from the association is the NFL's video fails to mention Stephon was fleeing police who suspected him of vandalism.

The association wants Goodell to "produce a video that accurately depicts the conduct of all concerned in an officer involved shooting."

Damian Lillard says he wasn't surprised ONE BIT when Carmelo Anthony hit a clutch dagger to seal Portland's win over Houston on Tuesday ... because the dude is a Hall of Famer!

36-year-old Melo came up HUGE for the Trail Blazers in the final 3 minutes of the game -- blocking P.J. Tucker's 3-point shot ... and then nailing a THREE of his own with less than a minute left in the game. Melo's shot put Portland up by 5 and sealed the victory. The Blazers won 110 to 102.

After the victory, Lillard praised the hell out of Melo -- and said he's sick of the disrespect surrounding the future HOF'er.

“He’s a Hall of Famer," Lillard said ... "It’s more disappointing that people are surprised by it."

"We expect him to make those shots … no surprises here."

Lillard continued to the media after the game ...

"When we got him, everybody had something to say about him: what he's going to do defensively, he's getting older, he's done, where's he going to fit in."

"I find it real funny and disrespectful how people speak on him. He's a Hall of Famer."

FYI, Melo finished the night with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 2 steals in 36 minutes.

Dana White says the UFC is going back to Fight Island THIS YEAR -- and the destination is so popular with fighters -- Abu Dhabi will soon be the fight capital of the world!!

Yes, the UFC honcho tells TMZ Sports Fight Island was definitely NOT a 1-time thing ... 'cause he's already in the process of booking fights for the UFC's return to Yas Island in "September, October."

"Everybody wants to go there now. Octagon girls all wanna go there, everybody wants to go! We're working on fights right now for the next run," White tells us.

"Obviously, a lot of the big international stars will fight over there and s**t, I mean, this next trip over there, I'll probably end up being there for 5 weeks."

Of course, Dana put Fight Island together in mere months ... and it was the location for massive fights like Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal and Alexander Volkanovski vs. Max Holloway.

But, even though it was a smash hit -- there's a ton of work and cost associated with the F.I. cards -- and fans wondered if the UFC would ever go back.

Not only are they returning ... Dana says Fight Island will soon be the number 1 destination for combat sporting events across the world.

"I'm telling you right now, Abu Dhabi is gonna become the fight capital of the world! Place is gonna end up being the fight capital of the world. The stuff that we're doing over there, the infrastructure that's already been built, the stuff that we're talking about doing, this place is gonna be a destination."

The Rock owns the XFL and former L.A. Wildcats head coach Winston Moss has a message for DJ ... GIVE ME A JOB!!!

Moss lost his head coaching gig when the 2nd iteration of the XFL went under -- largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic -- leaving the former NFL player and coach without a job.

Winston -- who played football at University of Miami a few years before Johnson -- thought his time with the XFL was done ... until The Rock swooped in, threw down $15 mil, and rescued the league.

Now, Moss tells TMZ Sports he BADLY wants another crack coaching in the XFL.

"I was excited to hear the news. I've been on pins and needles ever since we were shut down due to COVID-19 and how can you not be excited about The Rock?!" Moss tells us.

"He's an ex-football player, he's a great entertainer, has a passion for whatever he does, has a passion for football, he seems to love the game. Both of us are University of Miami alumni, so c'mon!"

Moss says working with Johnson would be a huge privilege.

"I think he brings so much to the table that I would be honored, I would be thrilled to work with somebody with that stature."

Now, this obviously ain't the XFL's 1st rodeo ... so Moss has some ideas that he believes will make Johnson's league a hit the 3rd time around.

Bruce Lee might be dead, but his spirit is very much alive in this little boy from Japan ... who knows one of the legend's insane nunchuck movie routines like the back of his hand.

Meet Ryusei -- a legitimate Kung Fu prodigy who's obsessed with all things Bruce ... including his famous fight scene from "Enter the Dragon," where he's swinging around the chucks like the master martial artist he was. Turns out, Ryusei wasn't too far behind him .... at age 5!!!

The clip you see here was shot a while ago, but it shows the kid with his back turned to the movie playing in the background. As Bruce starts chuckin', so does Ryusei ... who's completely in sync with the routine, damn near perfectly. It's pretty wild to see it play out.

Since then, the kid only appears to have gotten better at his craft -- he's got an IG page ... at age 9 now, he looks like he could be just good as Bruce was in his prime. He may be better by that age, in fact ... Ryusei is already sparring with fully-grown adults and holding his own.

His high-level ability -- and the natural comparisons to Bruce -- is definitely something his parents play up. It looks like they post a ton of side-by-side shots of Ryusei with the late legend, and they even went out to Bruce's gravesite in Seattle to pose for a photo-op.

The Navy SEALs will no longer support the National Navy SEALs Museum in Florida ... this, after the organization used a man in a Colin Kaepernick jersey as a target for a dog training demonstration.

The videos went viral over the weekend ... showing the man in pads and a Kap 49ers jersey being attacked by 4 trained dogs during a fundraiser for the museum nearly 2 years ago.

A second vid shows the man in the Kap jersey saying, "Oh, man, I will stand," after being bit ... as a joke to the QB's national anthem demonstration.

While the museum is not operated by the military, the Navy quickly launched an investigation into the video ... saying "The inherent message of this video is completely inconsistent with the values and ethos of Naval Special Warfare and the U.S. Navy."

Now, the AP is reporting SEALs commander Rear Admiral Collin Green addressed the topic in an email to his forces ... denouncing the videos and temporarily cutting ties with the org.

“Each and every one of us serves to protect our fellow Americans - ALL Americans," the email said. "Even the perception that our commitment to serving the men and women of this nation is applied unevenly is destructive."

Green added ... "We will revisit our relationship with the Museum when I am convinced that they have made the necessary changes to ensure this type of behavior does not happen again."

"We may not have contributed to the misperception in this case, but we suffer from it and will not allow it to continue."

As if 2020 couldn't get any weirder ... the Minnesota Twins vs. Pittsburgh Pirates game was paused Tuesday afternoon -- and it's all 'cause a drone flew over the field.

The scene was wild ... in the middle of the fifth inning, umpires pulled players off the diamond when they noticed a flying object cruising high above Target Field in Minneapolis.

The drone hovered over the ballpark for several minutes -- causing a lengthy delay in the game.

Of course, drone flying over ballparks during play is illegal even without fans in attendance -- the FAA still prohibits it -- and MLB was obviously worried about player safety.

No one was hurt, however ... and the unmanned aircraft eventually left the scene and play resumed.

There were no NFL players involved in the fatal shooting at a raging house party in a swanky Los Angeles mansion, contrary to reports ... at least according to cops.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... they believe the Mulholland Drive mansion party that ended when shots rang out was a gang-related bash for the 8-Tray Gangster Crips, and they say they don't have any evidence to support an NFL player being there.

The fatal shootout went down early Tuesday morning, ending the wild party and sending three people to the hospital, one of whom is now dead. The other two gunshot victims are in critical condition.

While a man who claimed to be the head of security told CBS L.A. the party was in celebration of a player recently getting drafted by an NFL team, our law enforcement sources say cops believe the NFL player scenario was a cover story if any trouble happened. It's maybe not the brightest excuse -- the NFL Draft was held in April and rookies are already in training camps.

Video shows the moment gunshots ring out on the property, which was crawling with hundreds of people, many of whom were dropped off in buses. The driveway was also packed with luxury cars.

Our sources say the party had cake, balloons, decorations and loads of Crips ... but to their knowledge, no NFL players.

Kristin Cavallari's reunited with Stephen Colletti, her ex-boyfriend from their "Laguna Beach" days, but frenzied fans hoping they're getting back together should know ... there's nothing romantic going on.

Kristin immediately sparked the rumor Tuesday when she shared a photo hugging on Stephen and captioned it, "2004 or 2020?!" For those who don't know ... the 2 were the hot high school couple on the popular MTV reality show, which aired from '04 to '06.

Sources close to the situation tell TMZ ... there's no rekindling of their old relationship -- they've simply remained good friends since their split many years ago.

We're told Kristin was down in Laguna to visit Stephen and Alex Murrel, another star of 'LB: The Real Orange County' ... and that's all there is to it.

This isn't the first time fans of the former flings have gotten their hopes up of a renewed romance. A couple years ago, Kristin -- who went on to star on "The Hills" and her own series, "Very Cavallari" -- shared a video in which she name-dropped him ... and he commented back.

Of course, at that time Kristin was very married to NFL QB Jay Cutler. Now, Kristin and Jay are going through a divorce, so ... let the rain fall down?