TMZ Sports - Page 5

Mark Cuban is FIRED UP for the Mavericks' hiring of Jason Kidd ... telling TMZ Sports he thinks the dude is "going to be great" for Dallas and its star point guard, Luka Doncic.

The Mavs owner spoke with us leaving Victory The Podcast in L.A. just hours after making the hire official ... and it ain't hard to tell, Cubes is expecting greatness from his team's new headman.

"I'm excited about it, obviously," the 62-year-old said. "J. Kidd is going to be great for us. He's going to be great for Luka, for the organization. I'm really excited."

You'll recall ... Kidd played for Cuban's Mavs from 2007 through 2012 -- helping the team win the NBA championship back in 2011.

And, when we asked Cuban if Kidd could repeat that feat as the team's head coach -- the owner said bluntly, "That's the whole idea, right?!"

"We've got the talent," Cuban added. "I think we'll get better talent. We'll keep on getting better. Luka will keep on getting better. And, I think Jason will help Luka and the team get better."

As for Luka's long-term future with Kidd ... Cuban said he has every intention of keeping his star in Dallas with Kidd for as long as he can.

MotoGP champ Marc Marquez is VERY fortunate to be alive ... he just crashed during a practice run Friday -- and the scene was HORRIFYING.

The 28-year-old was heading around a turn at a high rate of speed during preparation for this weekend's Dutch TT in Assen ... when all of a sudden his bike bucked him.

Footage from the track is absolutely terrifying ... you can see Marquez was thrown feet into the air while his motorcycle skidded across the pavement underneath him.

Marquez eventually crash-landed into some gravel ... where he rolled several times before sliding to a stop.

Somehow, though, he said he avoided any sort of serious injury.

"I have to say I feel lucky to escape in a good condition overall, these kinds of crashes can be very hard and very dangerous," Marquez told media members afterward.

"It’s painful, but nothing is wrong. It was a strange crash because I didn’t think that I was over the limit and I was riding like I was in the morning."

Marquez continued, "In this corner we rely on the traction control a lot, but it wasn’t there, and when I shifted the rear started sliding and then I fell."

If this all sounds familiar for Marquez ... it's because it is -- remember just last year in July, he broke his arm in a similar accident in Spain.

In that crash, Marquez was thrown from his bike in nearly an identical fashion.

Heat star Tyler Herro is rushing in to give his fellow Miamians a big assist ... showing up at the scene of the tragic South Florida condo collapse Thursday to offer a helping hand.

The 21-year-old NBA player and his assistant coach, Chris Quinn, were spotted on the scene just hours after the a 12-story oceanside building partially collapsed ... quickly offloading water bottles to those in need.

As we previously reported, a massive search and rescue effort is underway as countless people are missing due to the unexpected and shocking collapse of the building.

One person has died ... and there's a fear that number could grow as the rescue mission unfolds.

The Heat have expressed deep sorrow over the tragedy ... saying in a statement Thursday the team is "devastated."

"We were devastated to hear of the catastrophic Champlain Towers building collapse in Surfside," the team said.

"Our hearts go out to the victims and their families. We are thankful for the first responders who are working around the clock in rescue efforts."

Authorities are still trying to piece together why the building collapsed ... explaining it's all very bizarre considering the place was built in 1981.

If you needed further proof pro golfers are flat-out better at the sport than you ... here's Bubba Watson snapping his driver on a tee shot -- and still somehow hitting the fairway!!

The golf superstar made the incredible swing in his 2nd round at the Travelers Championship in Connecticut on Friday ... and video of it all is WILD.

You can see in the footage, as Bubba's famous pink driver made contact with his ball on hole #2 at the TPC River Highlands course -- it obliterated, with the driver head separating from the shaft and flying dozens of yards away.

"That was crazy," one of the announcers said.

Yet, somehow, the ball still managed to go nearly 300 yards -- and land perfectly in the short grass!!

And, to make things even MORE impressive, Bubba went on to birdie the hole despite it all!!!

Under golf's rules, Bubba would be able to replace the driver mid-round if he could fix it ... although when his caddie tried to make it repairable -- it didn't seem to be going well.

Bubba's currently feasting on the course regardless ... he's the tournament's leader so far, sitting at 9-under par.

Joseph Baena's looking like he wants to compete in Mr. Universe ... 'cause his sculpted bod's the muscular spitting image of Arnold Schwarzenegger, and he's even striking similar poses.

Joseph pumped some iron Thursday and showed fans what it takes to get those gains. He was in the middle of doing chest flies with 50 lb. dumbbells ... and, after finishing a set, dude took down his Gold's Gym tank to put on a pec-tacular show.

The way he's flexing, it's impossible not to compare his workout sesh to the ones his pop mastered as the world's most-famous bodybuilder.

Joseph no doubt looks ripped but he's put in lots of work to get there.

We saw him a few years ago jacking up 120 lb. dumbbells on the incline press. At the time, Joseph had more of a swimmer's bod than a bodybuilder's, but fast forward to now and he's JACKED!!!

Just last month ... Joseph and Arnold hit up an outdoor gym, where pops suggested Joseph pump out some "forced reps" for the rest of that workout. Joseph said, "You have to go all out and absolutely NO cheating when you train with him, so you know I'm going to be hurting tomorrow."

The person who supplied the tortillas that were thrown at Latino players following a high school basketball game has come forward ... but he's adamant it was never meant to be racist.

Luke Serna -- who says he's half-Mexican -- admits he handed out tortillas to players, cheerleaders and fans at the big Coronado vs. Orange Glen basketball game as part of a "celebratory action" if Coronado won the game. Serna is a Coronado alum.

The problem ... the Orange Glen basketball team (and the OGHS student body as a whole) is largely Latino.

So, when Coronado -- a predominantly white school -- won the game and people began throwing the tortillas after the final buzzer, many players, coaches, staffers and others were offended ... claiming it felt racist.

But, Serna claims his tortilla plan was inspired by a tradition he learned as a student at UC Santa Barbara, and he had "absolutely no racial intent."

"The tossing of tortillas is used as a celebratory action by the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos at various sporting events including basketball and soccer," Serna said in a letter to the Coronado Unified Governing Board.

"There was not a shred of ill-intent or racial animus in carrying out this celebratory action."

Serna continued, "Those who have enflamed this issue into a racially charged issue should be utterly ASHAMED of themselves."

There has been fallout since the incident ... Coronado head coach JD Laaperi was fired following a school board vote.

Serna believes Laaperi should NOT have been terminated.

"The people who have fallen for this frame-up to smear Coach Laaperi are not worthy of being any part of the discussion regarding this event as it is their intent to try and fan the flames of racism where none existed.”

Serna later told FOX 5 in a separate statement ... "I realize the tortilla throwing has been perceived as racially insensitive. I do not condone racially insensitive behavior, and that was not my intent."

Think a fender bender is going to get in the way of Mark Davis' partying?!?

HELL NO ... 'cause just one day after the Raiders owner was involved in a parking lot car crash -- he was living it up at a Las Vegas casino opening celebration!!!

The 66-year-old was spotted laughing, gambling and rubbing elbows with big-time celebs at Thursday's Resorts World Las Vegas party ... clearly unfazed that his Mini Cooper was damaged in a wreck Wednesday.

We broke the story, the son of legendary Raiders owner Al Davis collided with another car in a shopping complex near the Vegas strip ... but, fortunately, he escaped with no injuries.

In fact, Davis later told the Las Vegas Review-Journal the whole thing was "no big deal" ... adding he was going to get the car repaired this week.

We're sure Davis -- who's reportedly worth more than $500 MILLION -- found some other mode of transportation to the party Thursday night ... which, by the looks of things, was VERY good for the Raiders honcho.

Celebs in attendance at the event included Kendall Jenner, Paris Hilton, Usher and more ... clearly a party Davis was thrilled to be at!!

The Montreal Canadiens punched their ticket to the Stanley Cup Finals on Thursday night ... and the fans went absolutely insane!!!

Moments after the Habs defeated the Vegas Golden Knights at the Bell Centre in Canada, thousands of fans swarmed the streets ... and pandemonium ensued.

Cops say fans were just rowdy as hell -- setting off fireworks, fighting and even attacking police officers.

At one point, a group of Habs fans -- still wearing Habs gear -- smashed up a police car and flipped it upside down!!

Police used tear gas to break up the chaos -- and eventually arrested 15 people ... while issuing citations to an additional 60 people!

By the way, officials had only allowed 3,500 fans inside the arena for the game -- but the situation outside was so crazy, they locked down the venue and refused to let fans out in fear people could get hurt.

If you're wondering why the fans went so wild, it's the first time the Canadiens have reached the Stanley Cup Finals since 1993 ... and you know how people in Canada feel about hockey!

"Like eight shots to numb it up and then they go in there and put it back -- they break it again. They break it back in place."

That's Devin Booker describing the straight-up horror show he had to go through after breaking his nose earlier this week ... and yeah, it feels like a miracle the Suns star was able play Thursday night!!

The 24-year-old broke it all down for reporters after struggling in Phoenix's loss to the Clippers in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals ... saying the procedure he went through Wednesday to fix his facial issues was GNARLY.

"It's a procedure that they usually say they put you under [anesthesia] for," said Booker, who broke the nose in 3 places after clashing heads with Patrick Beverley in Game 2 on Tuesday.

"But we had a flight out a couple hours later, so they just numbed it up -- all over the place, it felt like."

Booker called the surgery "probably the worst part" of his entire injury process ... but, shockingly, he said he felt okay about 24 hours later while playing in the game.

"The nose feels fine," Booker said. "We just lost the game."

Booker -- wearing a clear, plastic mask to protect the injury for the night -- was just 5-for-21 in the game ... and scored just 15 points in 40 minutes.

He swore, though, the mask and injury were NOT a problem ... saying it all didn't affect his play one bit.

"He got the mask; he's fine," Booker's teammate, Chris Paul, said. "We're not one of those teams looking for excuses and all that stuff. Give [the Clippers] their credit -- they played really well tonight."

Scottie Pippen is going scorched earth on some of the NBA's biggest stars -- including Charles Barkley, who he's basically painting as a giant wussy.

Pippen opened up on Barkley during an interview with GQ -- stemming from their beef back in 1999.

Here's the backstory ... Pippen and Barkley played together on the Houston Rockets for one season back in 1999. But, Pippen left and trashed Barkley on the way out, calling him "fat" and a loser.

Barkley demanded an apology -- and said he would "get arrested for murder" if Pippen refused.

Fast forward to 2021 ... Pippen still hasn't apologized and has no plans to.

When GQ asked about Barkley's "arrested for murder" comment, Pippen went off.

"I wish he woulda went through with it," Pippen said.

"I never apologized to him, but I’ll tell you what: He only got arrested for throwing some little white guys out of a window."

FYI, Pippen is referring to a 1997 incident when Barkley was arrested for throwing a man through a glass window during a bar fight in Orlando.

But, Pippen wasn't done ...

"I ain’t never seen him fight a Black man unless there were referees around," Scottie added.

"[Barkley] plays his role like he’s tough. I don’t know nobody he done whooped. Go back and check his record."

"Did I apologize to him? I told him to get me the hell out of there. That’s what I recall."

"I never boxed. I'm a gang member, so I just fight a lot."

That's hip-hop star turned bare-knuckle boxer (yes, you read that right) talking about why he decided to take a real-deal fight -- NO gloves -- later this summer.

Blueface joined "TMZ Live" and made the blockbuster announcement ... revealing he will make his BKFC debut on July 23.

FYI, Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship is the most popular bare-knuckle fighting org ... with people like Paige VanZant and Paulie Malignaggi mixing it up in their cage.

It's unclear who Blueface will take on ... but he says it'll likely be another celeb.

"I'm pretty sure it's either gonna be some type of YouTube or TikTok-er or something of that nature," Blueface says.

And, even though the "Thotiana" star doesn't have a traditional boxing background ... don't think he isn't taking the fight seriously.

"I've only been eating grilled and baked stuff lately. Yeah, I'm on a diet and everything. I ain't been smoking, drinking, nothing."

Of course, celebrities and social media stars fighting (Jake & Logan Paul, Bryce Hall, etc.) has become all the rage lately ... something Blueface believes he helped start.

"I don't know if you guys seen but me and YK Osiris was actually boxing in the backyard for fun, kicks and giggles, and that's really how all of this celebrity boxing came about, in my opinion."

This is one of the sweetest videos you'll see today.

Philadelphia Eagles rookie DeVonta Smith just thanked his mother, Christina, in a HUGE way this week -- by gifting her a new home!!

The 22-year-old Heisman winner posted footage of the big reveal to his Instagram on Thursday ... saying, "To the world you are a mother, but to me you are the absolute world."

The vid is priceless -- Christine walks into the front door of her new digs and immediately bursts into tears ... giving her son a big hug.

Smith -- the #10 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft -- is giving back to his loved ones fresh off inking his 4-year deal worth $20.1 million with a $12 million signing bonus.

But, don't worry ... Smith previously said he's not really intending to make any other big purchases with his big payday ... telling reporters he's mainly going to keep it in the bank.

Smith was an absolute baller for Alabama ... earning 24 TDs with more than 1,800 receiving yards during his senior season.

Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis got in a "mini" car accident on Wednesday ... and we mean that in more ways than one.

TMZ Sports has learned ... Davis -- the son of legendary Raiders owner Al Davis -- was involved in a wreck with another vehicle in a shopping complex near the Vegas strip early Wednesday afternoon.

From the looks of it, it was a fender bender -- nobody appeared to be seriously injured or anything like that.

In fact, it was such a minor incident, cops confirm no officers were called to the scene.

The bigger issue ... Mark Davis -- reportedly worth more than $500 million -- was spotted near a TJ Maxx and drives a Mini?? How financially responsible!!

Hey, Derek Carr is in the middle of a $125 million contract ... gotta save up so the man gets paid!!

We've obtained video following the accident ... showing Davis driving his Mini away from the scene. So don't worry, Raider fans -- your owner's car seems to be okay!!

We've reached out to Davis and the Raiders for comment ... so far, no word back.

Celine Dion's heart will go on for her hometown Canadiens ... 'cause the pop superstar says that pic of her in Vegas Golden Knights gear is a big, fat phony!!!

A photo of the Quebec native decked out in a VGK uniform popped up on the T-Mobile Arena jumbotron ahead of Game 5 of the Conference Finals on Tuesday ... with many wondering if Dion had actually ditched her roots for Sin City.

Of course, home teams love to do this in games -- showing fake pics of their opponents' most famous supporters rocking their threads really gets the fans riled up.

While the image clearly appears to be altered, Dion felt the need to set the record straight on Thursday ... saying, "By the way, I have nothing to do with this photo ... And you know what photo I'm talking about!"

It wouldn't be that farfetched to think Dion is a Golden Knights fan -- after all, her massively successful residency is in Vegas ... and she HAS been spotted wearing their jersey in the past.

But, as the Habs and Knights are set to face off in a heated Game 6, Dion had to make sure her team knew who she'd be rooting for.

Silly?? Yes. But, did you REALLY think we were gonna pass up on getting a Celine Dion sports crossover?!

The Habs are one win from making the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1993 ... so you could say it's all coming back to (them) now.

Jon Rahm chugged from his U.S. Open trophy and then punished a glow-in-the-dark golf ball to the moon ... and the awesome scene was all captured on video!!

The golf superstar -- who just took home the U.S. Open crown after an amazing four days at Torrey Pines last weekend -- hit up a restaurant patio somewhere in the world this week ... and then magic ensued.

Check out the video ... Rahm slurped down some sort of drink (odds are pretty solid it was an alcoholic beverage) and then he absolutely hit a missile off the floor!!!

Seriously, watch that golf ball go ... it was annihilated.

Of course, Rahm has every reason to celebrate this way ... the U.S. Open title was his first-ever major victory -- so keep on chuggin', Jon!

By the way, if this all looks familiar ... it's 'cause it kind of is -- Phil Mickelson famously drank out his PGA Championship trophy earlier this month just days after winning it.

You can't see him, but you WILL see John Cena back in the squared circle once again ... with the WWE Superstar confirming he's DEFINITELY making a wrestling comeback!!!

44-year-old Cena hasn't been in the ring since WrestleMania 36 last year ... when he lost to "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt.

But, the WWE legend hasn't hung up his spandex just yet -- Cena revealed he's 100% coming back to Vince McMahon's organization in the future.

"Those rumors are true," Cena said on "The Tonight Show" with Jimmy Fallon.

So, when's he making his highly anticipated return?? THE TIME IS NOW!!!!

Just kidding.

"I'll definitely be back to the WWE, I just don't know when," Cena told Fallon.

When pressed about his cryptic Instagram post of the WWE logo back in May, Cena said he was just feeling "pretty nostalgic" and wasn't trying to announce a big comeback.

"Some people took it as I was returning immediately, which that's not the case. I haven't had my last match and I can't wait to have my next match."

Cena's name has been thrown around as a possible guest for SummerSlam in August ... and Triple H recently told TMZ Sports he felt like the huge event could act as a "pretty big carrot" to get him to take a break from Hollywood.

But, as Cena points out, his movie contracts ain't exactly letting him go get beat up on the weekends while filming massive blockbuster flicks.