TMZ Sports - Page 8

Win or lose, Midtown Manhattan has been a madhouse after games this postseason ... and former New York Knicks player Quentin Richardson is calling on the passionate fanbase to take a chill pill and have some class.

The scenes outside Madison Square Garden have been pretty wild -- most fans hoot and holler and jump up and down in victory ... but after a Game 3 loss in the Finals, others chose to attack San Antonio Spurs supporters.

On Wednesday night, a riled-up Knicks fan tried to hit Victor Wembanyama with eggs ... and more than a dozen arrests were made for various crimes.

American wrestler Frankie Edgar was 28 years old when he became UFC lightweight champion back in 2010.

Frankie went up against B.J. Penn -- who notoriously displayed a more powerful build.

In addition to trumping B.J., Frankie's status is backed by beating elite fighters like Sean Sherk and Gray Maynard.

Nicole Kidman is well aware she was honored by Taylor Swift with fun shirts at the NBA Finals last night ... and she totally responded.

As you know ... TS along with pals and fellow musicians Este and Alana Haim showed their support for the Knicks at MSG with silly pun shirts ... including one that said, "Knickole Kidman."

The superstar actress shared a picture of the ladies on the jumbotron with the message ... "Right there with you girls!" NK also shared a video of the trio having a ball while singing "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun."

Taylor Swift just hit the red carpet for the Songwriters Hall of Fame looking absolutely dazzling ... and a far cry from her going bonkers last night at the Knicks game.

The superstar was in full control of the moment ... and gave the carpet cameras exactly what they wanted as she posed in a beautiful, form-fitting black dress featuring a floral pattern.

As you know ... TS was at Game 4 of the NBA Finals last night, courtside seats along with pals and fellow musicians and singers Alana and Este Haim ... going absolutely berserk during and after the game.

Kai Trump is in the clear after she was accused of editing out boos for a social post from an NBA Finals game where her grandfather, President Trump, got lit up with jeers during the national anthem.

It turns out ... the company that produced the video Kai shared actually edited out the boos and replaced them with cheers ... at least according to Page Six.

So Kai didn't do it ... someone else did.

Kai was blasted by haters online after they assumed she made the sound edit ... painting the embarrassing moment in a way better light than reality.

Naturally, there were plenty of the classic 'Simpsons' Boo-urns memes shared in response.

It's not just the fighters who are fired up for the UFC's Freedom 250 event -- the Octagon girls are, too -- and a special event requires a special outfit!

TMZ Sports talked to Chrissy Blair earlier this week, just after the 'fits were debuted on social media ... with the longtime Octagon girl revealing she actually helped with the looks.

"We were very much involved and I can't wait to see it come to life. And I think all the sequins and the materials like the velvet and the suede and all that, I think it's going to look really cool on camera at night, too."

A bunch of great fights aside, Freedom 250 celebrates the 250th anniversary of the United States of America ... so the girls' outfits needed to be special, and patriotic, and that required a big-time designer.

"Marina is the designer. She's based in L.A. and her team is amazing. I don't know if I'm allowed to say that she's Carrie Underwood's designer, but she is. She did [UFC] Noche as well. They're incredible."

Chrissy says the process was anything but tedious -- it was great.

"I love it. I'm a girl, so I love dress up. And yeah, I just kind of felt like Barbie going in there, like Americana Barbie. So I'm like, this is great. We have boots that match the outfits and it's all custom. So what's not to love?"

Threads aside, Freedom 250 -- an event more than a year in the making and headlined by Justin Gaethje and Ilia Topuria -- goes down Sunday evening from the South Lawn of the White House ... and Chrissy is pumped.

"There's no way my wildest dreams I would have ever thought that one, I'd be working for the UFC for a decade and two, that I would ever get to work a fight at the White House. So it's only a once-in-a-career event, and I'm super excited!"

Phil Mickelson is no longer welcome at a fancy San Diego golf course after being accused of making unwanted contact with a female employee earlier this year.

The alleged incident, reported by Golf Digest, is said to have gone down earlier this year at the course's clubhouse.

The 6x Major champion is accused of approaching a female employee and making "nonconsensual and inappropriate physical contact with her."

Henry Ruggs isn't getting out of prison anytime in the near future -- the former Las Vegas Raiders star receiver was denied parole at a ruling on Thursday.

Ruggs is serving up to 10 years behind bars as a result of his November 2, 2021 accident ... when he sped at 156 MPH and crashed into 23-year-old Tina Tintor, killing the woman and her dog. Officials said his blood-alcohol concentration read at .16 within two hours after the tragedy.

Ruggs ultimately pleaded guilty to felony DUI causing death and misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter and was handed the lengthy sentence in 2023.

Ruggs went before a parole board himself back in May ... and his attorney, David Chesnoff, praised how he had been using his time in prison by leading his fellow inmates in cardio classes and sharing his story.

Carmelo Anthony looks like he has a new lady in his life ... and she's the widow of a slain NFL star.

The retired NBA-star-turned-broadcaster appears alongside Racquel Smith in a series of photos and videos she just posted to Instagram... and it sure seems like they're way more than friends.

Racquel is the widow of slain New Orleans Saints star Will Smith, who was shot to death in 2016 during a road rage incident. Racquel was also wounded by gunfire. Smith's killer was convicted and is currently in prison.

Monica McNutt is apologizing to Taylor Swift after questioning her New York Knicks fandom at the NBA Finals ... and she says she got this one wrong.

We got the Knicks lead radio analyst Thursday and our photog asked her about her controversial moment from Game 4 ... when she spotted Taylor on celebrity row at Madison Square Garden and said, "She's not a Knicks fan. Get out of here, girl."

Monica sticks by what she said ... explaining she didn't know Taylor was a Knicks fan because she's been covering celebrity row all season and hasn't seen Taylor once.

That said, Monica says she's since learned Taylor has an old Amar'e Stoudemire Knicks jersey ... and stands corrected about Taylor's Knicks fandom.

Travis Kelce's not letting the wedding of the year impact his day job -- 'cause the Kansas City Chiefs superstar has been fully focused on football during minicamp this week ... so says his head coach, Andy Reid.

Big Red met with the media on Thursday ... and when one reporter asked about Kelce's upcoming plans with Taylor Swift (and whether he'll be at Madison Square Garden on July 3), he quickly shut it down and said he couldn't talk about it.

What he COULD discuss is whether Kelce was showing any signs of being preoccupied with wedding prep, and he said the tight end is the ultimate pro ... so his head's full of Xs and Os, not "I do's" -- at least on the football field.

Taylor Swift and Scooter Braun were within striking distance last night at the Knicks game … but we've learned they did NOT cross paths.

Sources tell TMZ ... Taylor, who was sitting courtside with her girlfriends Alana and Este Haim, was directly in front of Scooter and his girlfriend, Sydney Sweeney, but there were no interactions. 

Many wondered if the two bumped into each other while in the same arena … or if they somehow made contact after chaos erupted when the Knicks beat the Spurs in the final seconds. 

The near run-in comes weeks after Scooter spoke out about the ongoing drama with Taylor on a podcast, revealing he has only met her a handful of times in his life. 

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky didn't stop the music after the Knicks energized New York City with a big win in the NBA Finals ... partying with fans in the streets deep into the night.

Check out the footage ... the power couple celebrated with Knicks fans until 3 AM following Game 4's historic comeback win ... shooting hoops in the middle of a huge crowd.

Rocky scored first and then Rihanna took her shot ... and she's looking like a regular Jalen Brunson out here.

Rihanna and Rocky weren't decked out in Knicks gear ... but the "Fashion Killa" seemed to channel some Knicks orange with his look ... and Rihanna was stylish as per usual.

Travis Kelce's absence from Taylor Swift's whirlwind week had fans asking questions ... but the star tight end had a pretty good excuse ... pro football.

While Taylor was making headlines from Hollywood to Madison Square Garden, Travis has been in Kansas City taking part in the Chiefs' organized team activities and mandatory minicamp in advance of the upcoming NFL season.

Travis' NFL commitments explain why he was nowhere to be found at the "Toy Story 5" premiere earlier this week -- where Taylor made waves by getting a VHS copy of the original film signed by Tom Hanks -- and why he wasn't sitting courtside with her Wednesday night as she watched the Knicks pull off their historic NBA Finals comeback.

New York Knicks fans had to run for cover after explosions changed the vibe of their massive street celebration following their team's big comeback win in the NBA Finals.

Footage shows the moment things turned tense outside Madison Square Garden after Wednesday night's Game 4 ... with a series of loud explosions sends people sprinting in every direction.

The panic didn't let up once people started running ... waves of fans flooded side streets and sidewalks as NYPD officers moved in ... and some partygoers stumbled through the crowd while others stopped to figure out what the hell just happened.