TMZ Sports - Page 50

Jimmie Johnson tells TMZ Sports ... Donovan McNabb was talking out of his ass when the QB said race car drivers aren't athletes ... and JJ says he'll crush him on the track to prove it.

Of course, the racing world went crazy this weekend ... when DM went on Fox Sports 1 and told Erin Andrews, "Do I think [JJ's] an athlete? Absolutely not."

FYI -- ESPN ran a Sports Science special on racing back in 2011 and said that testing proved race car drivers have some of the best reaction times, endurance, strength and concentration in any sport.

Thomas Howard – an NFL linebacker who was cut by the Falcons last week – killed himself and another person this morning when he slammed into a big rig truck at more than 100MPH ... officials say.

Witnesses told the CHP ... Howard -- a 2nd round pick in the 2006 NFL Draft -- was blazing down a highway in Oakland, CA when he lost control of his BMW 750Li and smashed into the back of a semi.

Howard's car went airborne and flew across the center median -- and eventually collided with a Chevy Monte Carlo AND a Honda CR-V.

The collision was bad, both Howard and the driver of the Honda -- a 55-year-old man -- died at the scene.

The driver of the Chevy was transported to a nearby hospital. The condition of the semi driver is unknown.

30-year-old Howard was drafted by the Oakland Raiders and blossomed into a star. He also played for the Bengals and most recently the Falcons. He was cut by ATL on November 12.

Lamar Odom has escaped to his Alma Mater – the University of Rhode Island – for the week ... and is hitting the courts at his old gym ... presumably training for his alleged return to the NBA.

Lamar told our camera guy over weekend he's been in talks with the LA Clippers ... after his career was derailed this summer by a serious crack problem.

The assistant coach at URI – Preston Murphy – was a former teammate of Lamar’s when they played college ball together back in ’98 … and it looks like Murphy is letting Lamar use the facilities to train while the team is away for the week.

Lamar has been mugging with students on campus.

Pro skater Keelan Dadd’s girlfriend put on a show at LAX yesterday ... FLASHING her man (and the rest of the arrivals) ... by throwing open her robe ... and there wasn't much underneath.

Keelan was doing charity work in the Philippines ... so his GF Sukie decided to give him a hero’s welcome at the gate ... and flashed some sexy red lingerie for the entire crowd to soak in.

Keelan looked pretty shocked ... at one point crashing his luggage cart into the exit door ... but Sukie clearly wasn’t shy ... telling our photog she was just “Unleashing the dragon.”

Georges St-Pierre will take a break from the UFC to handle 2 major personal crises -- his father is dying and he got a woman pregnant and doesn't want her to have the baby ... TMZ Sports has learned.

GSP repeatedly made cryptic remarks after his controversial win Saturday over Johny Hendricks at UFC 167 -- telling Joe Rogan he needed to step away from the sport to deal with personal issues.

Now, sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ Sports ... Georges' dad is dying and it's derailed him.

And there's this ... GSP recently learned he knocked up a woman -- and he doesn't want to have a baby with her but she insists on keeping it.

After his fight on Saturday, GSP said his situation is so bad he can't sleep -- "I'm going crazy. I have issues, man. I need to relax. I need to get out for a while. I don't know what I'm going to do."

It's clear ... Georges was not himself in the ring ... something that was written all over his face after the fight.

He's still 12 years away from a shot at the starting QB job, but Matt Leinart brought his 6-year-old son to the USC football game this weekend to check out his Trojans.

The former Heisman Trophy winner and 6-year-old Cole were both decked out in cardinal and gold on the way into the Coliseum in L.A. on Saturday to watch USC take on Stanford.

FYI -- Cole wasn't wearing his daddy's old jersey -- #9 is SC's stud receiver Marqise Lee ... who played a pretty significant role in the final drive of the game.

Seems the game was a father/son event -- 'cause there were no signs of Cole's mom, former USC basketball star Brynn Cameron.

As for the game, well ... you know how that went.

While Peyton Manning was crushing the Kansas City Chiefs ... he got robbed -- one of his Papa John's stores was hit by armed thieves last night in Denver ... TMZ has learned.

Police tell us the caper went down around 7:30 PM -- right in the middle of Peyton and the Broncos big game -- at the PJ's near the University of Denver.

We're told two masked suspects with guns walked in to the store ... demanded employees hand over the money from the register ... got the loot, and then made a clean getaway.

No one was injured during the robbery, and it's unclear at this point how much cash the crooks got.

Police believe the suspects are guys in their 20s -- and say their description matches several other robberies in the area last night.

In an effort to calm his nerves before making a big public appearance at the USC vs Stanford game this weekend, Jonathan Martin hit up one of the most famous restaurants in L.A. ... and chickened out.

The Miami Dolphins lineman hit up Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles on Saturday ... and ordered (what else?) chicken and waffles.

In fact, Martin ordered something called Herb's Special ... 1/2 chicken smothered with gravy & onions and 2 waffles. We're told he also ordered some wings.

Our chicken sources tell us ... Martin wasn't in the restaurant too long, and acted just like a normal regular patron.

After the game , Martin was seen on the sidelines at the USC vs. Stanford game (he went to school at Stanford) ... and watched helplessly as The Cardinal got stomped by an unranked team with an interim coach.

Michael Jordan is NOT the father (again) -- the judge says the woman who claimed to birth his child is just another lying fame whore out for money ... and now she's gotta pay up.

TMZ broke the story -- Laquetta Theus filed a paternity suit against MJ earlier this year in GA court ... demanding the NBA legend cough up child support for her 3-year-old daughter.

MJ's lawyers pointed out that the child's paternity had already been established as Hubert Henderson Jr. -- and presented DNA proof to back it up.

But get this ... Theus tried to argue that Jordan adopted the name Huber Henderson Jr. as an alias ... despite admitting that she realizes they are two entirely different people.

Obviously, the judge wasn't fooled ... and dismissed the case ... noting she filed the suit just 2 weeks after another woman had her own fake claims thrown out.

The judge ordered Laquetta to pay MJ's legal bills ... only $6,510.61 ... almost $3K less than her predecessor.

Maury, take it away ...

Lamar Odom just confirmed to TMZ ... discussions are underway for a return to the team he loved -- the L.A. Clippers.

We got Lamar at LAX about an hour ago ... and he made it clear something is going on between him and the team.

Coach Doc Rivers said he met with Lamar Friday to have a chit chat and there is a buzz that serious negotiations are underway.

According to a rep for the 2013 Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 ... Kurt died from injuries sustained in the crash while en route to a hospital in Ensenada.

The rep says Caselli "apparently lost control of his KTM motorcycle in a sandy, high-speed section" of the course ... adding reports claiming the crash occurred because of a booby trap are false.

Caselli was in second place near the end of the race when the accident happened.

He was 30.

Seattle Seahawks star Michael Bennett might be the worst NFL puppy owner of all time (well, 2nd worst) ... 'cause he abandoned his 4-month-old boxer at a boarding facility earlier this year and then STIFFED the place on the bill, TMZ Sports has learned.

The drama began back in March, when the former Tampa Bay Bucs defensive lineman signed with the Seahawks and decided to board his dog Koa at the Lucky Dog Boarding Facility in T.B. while he moved to his new city.

But Bennett never came back for little Koa ... and for 4 long, lonely months, the puppy waited in vain at the facility, racking up a $5,000 bill.

We're told Lucky Dog made countless efforts to contact Bennett and his wife ... but they never got a response, and in August, Lucky Dog gave Koa to a boxer rescue organization in Florida. Koa was eventually placed in a new home with a family that actually gives a crap about him.

TMZ Sports spoke with Michael who told us, "I thought [the $5k bill] was already taken care of. I will call them after work.” He didn't comment on why he never went back for the dog.

According to Lucky Dog, Michael still has not settled the bill.

Billy Madison would not approve ...

Larry King's wife pulled a risky move Friday night ... throwing a surprise birthday for her 80-year old husband ... but don't worry, the T.V. legend made it out alive.

Larry's wife Shawn King planned the whole thing without her husband having a clue ... and the look on his face when he realizes it's a surprise party is classic.

Guests like Pat Boone, Paul Anka and Warren Beatty arrived early to hit some balls on the field ... and they all had a fancy dinner after the big reveal.

It reportedly costs upward of $25k to rent out Dodger Stadium for a private event.

Take that Kim and Kanye!

Brett Favre says if he had a son he wouldn't want him playing football ... and even Adrian Peterson's said the same. Sure, the NFL is hugely popular now, but with so many parents running scared -- will the sport survive?

Plus, Charles Barkley weighs in on the n-word -- declaring he's gonna keep using it, and even further ... it's cool for all athletes to use it while they're in the locker room. You buying that?

And ... the Dallas Cowboys are struggling on the field, but Dez Bryant found a way to win over fans -- buy 'em free PS4 consoles! Does that get him a pass on Sundays?

Atlanta Falcons RB Jason Snelling got busted for pot possession ... and, according to cops ... he tried to swallow some of the green buds -- a move he probably learned from the movie "Super Troopers."

Snelling was pulled over in a black Lincoln Navigator around 3:35 AM Friday in Winder, GA for failure to stay in his lane. Cops say they caught a whiff of ganja during the stop, and Snelling admitted he smoked up earlier.

Here's where it turns comical ... while officers were searching Snelling's ride they noticed him repeatedly swallowing, and asked him to open wide -- and police say they saw green leafy particles in his mouth.

Besides the leftovers ... police also found a marijuana grinder in his vehicle -- and arrested him, naturally at 4:20 AM, on a slew of charges: possession of marijuana (less than an ounce), possession of paraphernelia , driving on an expired license, and failure to maintain lane.

Lesson for Snelling -- don't try everything you see in the movies. Allegedly.

The woman who accused Oakland Univ. basketball stars Duke Mondy and Dante Williams of rape had a wild night of sex before making her allegation ... this according to official documents obtained by TMZ.

The L.A. County D.A. rejected the case within 24 hours, and now we know why.

Mondy and Williams were in L.A. to play UCLA. After the game the alleged victim met Williams at the Marriott Hotel in Culver City. According to the D.A. document rejecting the case ... she went to Williams' room but he told her to leave because he was under a curfew.

The woman then met Mondy in the hallway, who invited her to his room. And that's when the sex started.

The woman says she had sex with Mondy but claimed she wasn't comfortable and she had told him to stop several times but he ignored her. Then Williams entered the room. She says she then had sex with him and groused about how aggressive Mondy had been.

Now get this. Then Mondy came back in the room and he asked if he could jump in bed with the woman and Williams, and everyone obliged.

After the 3-way, Mondy went back into his own bed and she climbed in for another round of sex.

The guys eventually asked her to leave, and when she hit the parking lot she started crying and told the parking attendant she "thought" she "might" have been raped.