TMZ Sports - Page 50

The world is Kobe Bryant's oyster ... so says Metta World Peace who tells TMZ Sports his Lakers teammate has plenty of options in retirement -- including being an NBA coach.

Peace was out at Greystone nightclub to celebrate Julius Randle's birthday when we asked about Kobe's next move.

"He could do whatever he wants," Peace said ... "He could do TV. He could [be a] coach. He could be front office."

Check out the clip ... Metta gushes about how much Kobe means to him -- and says he has special plans for the goodbye letter #24 sent to friends and teammates.

This.Is.Awesome ...

White Sox star Alexei Ramirez was torn on what color he wanted his 2016 F-TYPE Jaguar to be ... so he dropped $25k so he wouldn't have to decide ... 'cause now the car freakin' CHANGES COLORS.

We spoke to customizing god Alex Vega from The Auto Firm who tells us the whip was painted by graffiti artist Rene Turrek using thermochromic paint ... meaning when the Jaguar is cold ... it's black ... but when it warms up it morphs into a red, white, and blue masterpiece.

Final price tag for the paint job? $25k!!

Alexei's ride is a work of art ... literally ... it's destined to be part of Miami's Art Basel show this December and is a joint project with Warren Henry Automotive Group.

Picasso, baby.

This will be Kobe Bryant's final season in the NBA ... he just made it official by penning a love letter to basketball.

Kobe says the 2015-16 season will be his last in the Lakers purple and gold -- and any other uniform. In the letter, posted on The Players' Tribune, Kobe writes ... "Dear Basketball, From the moment I started rolling my dad's tube sock and shooting imaginary game-winning shots ... I fell in love with you."

He also said, "This season is all I have left to give. My heart can take the pounding, my mind can handle the grind, but my body knows it's time to say goodbye. And that's OK. I'm ready to let you go."

The letter's pretty extraordinary, and kind of emotional.

37-year-old Kobe closed with -- "I'll always be that kid with the rolled up socks. Garbage can in the corner, :05 on the clock, ball in my hands. 5 ... 4 ... 3 ... 2 ... 1. Love you always, Kobe."

NBA star Jahlil Okafor says he vows to get his life together and NOT be a distraction to his team ... after being involved in several concerning off-the-court incidents ... including a street fight in Boston.

Dennis Rodman hired a company to retrieve a ton of his lost assets, but that company is now suing him for allegedly Worming out of paying up on a hefty tab.

Boxing superstar Victor Ortiz has been hit with a lawsuit by the guy he allegedly beat down at a Kenny Chesney concert ... but Ortiz claims the accuser was too damn drunk to remember what REALLY went down that night.

In court docs obtained by TMZ Sports ... the accuser claims Victor and his brother were bouncing around the Rose Bowl on July 25th looking to pick a fight while a Rose Bowl security guard egged them on.

The accuser claims he was going to get food and drinks for his fiancee ... when out of nowhere, and for no reason, the Ortiz brothers coldcocked him and beat him down until he was unconscious.

In the suit, filed by attorney Cynthia Hafif, the man claims the security guard recorded the whole thing on his phone.

Ortiz and his brother were both arrested and charged with battery. Now the victim wants them both to pay up. He's also suing the city of Pasadena which owns and operates the Rose Bowl.

But Victor's lawyer, Mark Davis, says the accuser is lying -- telling TMZ Sports HE was the real bad guy ... and had been drunkenly trying to pick a fight with the Ortiz brothers. Davis claims the accuser took the first swing.

Ronda Rousey is back, and appears fully-healed from the beating she took at the hands of Holly Holm.

Rousey went walking with a little girl on Thanksgiving day ... and she didn't look the worse for wear. She went out again Friday in L.A. with her pit bull and BF Travis Browne.

It's been two weeks since her fight with Holm, where Rousey suffered some serious mug damage.

The aftermath was apparently pretty brutal ... when she arrived back in the states from the fight, she was in full cover-up mode.

Lamar Odom is in desperate shape medically, but legally we're told he may get cut a break.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ, the Nye County D.A. in Nevada is backing off the statements made by the Sheriff, who said there was a strong chance Lamar would be prosecuted for cocaine possession.

TMZ broke the story, Lamar's blood revealed he was high on coke when he fell into unconsciousness at the Love Ranch brothel.

Our sources tell us the D.A. now says they will consider Lamar's medical condition and mental state in deciding whether to charge him. We broke the story, Lamar is barely able to speak and cannot walk. His cognitive functions are also severely impaired.

Fact is ... the D.A. really isn't cutting Lamar a special break, because we did some checking and couldn't find a single case in Nye County where someone was prosecuted for cocaine possession when they landed in the hospital with severe damage.

Ex-NFL wide receiver Derek Hagan is at war with his estranged wife -- claiming she's still spending money and BALLIN' at nightclubs like an "NFL wife" ... even though he's out of the league.

Hagan -- who played 8 seasons in the NFL for the Dolphins, Giants, Raiders & Titans -- says he and Tiffany LeBlanc broke up in 2013 after nearly 2 years of marriage ... and it ended VERY BADLY.

In new court docs obtained by TMZ Sports, Hagan claims she sold her ring and cleaned out their Oakland house when he wasn't around -- taking all of their stuff -- zoomed off in their Porsche and then hit their joint bank account ... taking $150k and leaving for Texas.

Derek's pissed ... claiming she still wants MORE in the form of spousal support -- despite the fact he hasn't played in the league since '14 and his NFL career is over.

Hagan -- who's currently a sales rep for a helmet company making $1,800 per month -- says his wife is making NO EFFORT to get a job and continues to spend money like a baller.

"[Tiffany] has chosen to remain unemployed, continue to live the life of an 'NFL wife' and spend the majority of her time socializing and attending nightclubs."

Instead of getting a check from him, Derek says Tiffany (a licensed esthetician) needs to get her ass a jobby job ... and points out in court docs that there are currently 124 opening for estheticians in Houston.

The man who got socked in the face by NBA star Jahlil Okafor says Jahlil is lying about being heckled ... and got violent because he was mad he got rejected by two chicks on the streets of Boston.

The Boston PD says the victim filed a police report Friday morning, claiming Okafor hit him so square in the face, he sustained a cut above his eye that required stitches.

The victim also says Okafor's allegations that he was swarmed by hecklers outside of Storyville nightclub is pure garbage.

The truth, according to the victim, is that Okafor approached two girls that were hanging with the victim and tried to get their numbers. The girls weren't interested, and shot Okafor down.

The victim claims a verbal altercation ensued ... and Okafor became unhinged, eventually rushing at him and punching him in the face ... as you can see in the video first posted by TMZ Sports.

The Boston PD says detectives are "actively investigating the incident" ... but so far no charges have been filed.

Yasiel Puig was involved in a massive brawl at a Miami bar after the Dodgers star got physical with his sister and struck several staffers ... TMZ Sports has learned.

We spoke with employees at Blue Martini in Miami, who tell us Puig was drinking with his sister Wednesday night when they got into a heated argument ... and things escalated when he pushed her.

Bar staffers immediately rushed over to break it up, but Puig turned on them ... getting physical with several staffers.

The crew was eventually able to get Puig outside where they say he brutally sucker punched the manager, setting off a brawl.

Several staffers rushed in to help ... jumping all over Yasiel until he was restrained.

We're told cops responded, but Puig was not arrested. Staffers are considering whether to press charges.

We reached out to Puig's camp, so far no word back.

3:45PM PT -- TMZ Sports spoke to a rep for the City of Miami PD who tells us a report was filed which notes Yasiel Puig suffered a "swollen left eye, and bumps and bruises to the face."

The report also says a bouncer suffered "a busted lip."

Cops say they believe the incident was "mutual combat" and both sides have told them charges will not be pressed.

Deion Sanders might wanna dust off one of his famous TD dances -- he just won more than a million dollars in his defamation case against ex-wife, Pilar Sanders.

NBA superstar Jahlil Okafor -- the #3 pick in the 2015 draft -- punched a guy in the face HARD outside of a Boston bar last night ... and TMZ Sports has the insane footage.

It all went down after Okafor and the 76ers lost to the Boston Celtics -- Jahlil and some friends went out on the town ... and ended up in an altercation in front of Storyville Boston nightclub.

19-year-old Okafor was screaming at the other man, "We got money you broke ass n**ga."

A scuffle ensues -- people tried to hold Okafor back -- but then he escapes and swings wildly at another man ... connecting ... and sending him flying to the ground.

In the melee, Okafor tumbles to the ground and a man in a green jacket tries to punch the 6'11" superstar in the back of the head.

We're told everyone got up and fled the scene and no arrests were made.

We're told the altercation began because one of the men in the other group yelled at Jahlil, "The 76ers suck."

We spoke with a rep for Jahlil who tells us ... Okafor says he was being heckled from the moment he left the club and felt threatened because people swarmed him on the street.

He says he was with a teammate -- who he wouldn't name -- and says someone got physical with the teammate ... so Jahlil did what he felt he needed to do to protect himself and his friend.

NY Giants RB Rashad Jennings says he wants to be the next Michael Sam ... 'cause he is itching for the opportunity to strut his stuff in front of the world on "Dancing with the Stars."

Jennings was out in NYC when we talked about his television watching habits ... and asked if he'd ever be down to trade in his cleats for dancing shoes to compete on 'DWTS,' a show he said he LOVES.

Check out the clip -- Rashad says 'DWTS' is definitely something he wants to do when his football days are over ... and is desperately hoping he gets the chance to prove it to producers.

Rashad also talks to us about his favorite cuts off the new Justin Bieber album ...

Drake sounded like a pro Friday night in Toronto as he introduced the Raptors starting lineup.

It was Drake night at the stadium and he soaked it in with his mom, who was sat by his side, proudly sporting his OVO line.

Toronto beat Cleveland and therefore Drake's good bud LeBron.

Cam Newton could deliver an epic SCREW YOU to all his anti-dabbing critics -- 'cause he's got a pair of custom cleats coming his way for his Thanksgiving day game ... featuring Cam doing his dance.

Here's what we know ... the cleats were commissioned by Under Armour -- which sponsors Cam -- and designed by two artists, Dez Customs and Kreative Customs.

We're told the artists were informed Cam wanted a special pair of custom kicks when he takes the field against the Cowboys.

The result? Imagery of Cam doing his signature moves ... dabbing and striking his Superman pose. The shoes also include the words "grateful" and "thankful."

We're told he's expected to wear 'em for the game ... but there's always a chance he could change his plans.

Cam's dancing has been a lightning rod for critics lately -- so it'll be one hell of a statement if he straps on the shoes on one of the biggest stages in sports ... the Turkey Day classic.