TMZ Sports - Page 50

He's the best Formula 1 driver on the planet -- but Lewis Hamilton tells TMZ Sports he's intrigued about the idea of getting in a NASCAR ride ... with some help from Jeff Gordon.

Hamilton was arriving to 'Jimmy Kimmel' when he told us he's been talking to Jeff about swapping rides and doing a little sock car racing for a change.

Watch the clip -- Hamilton seems excited about the idea.

Unfortunately for Hamilton, the only person who we can think of who successfully made the jump from Formula 1 to NASCAR was Jean Girard ... and he wasn't even a real person.

If you ain't first, you're last.

DON'T GIVE UP ON THE LAKERS -- 'cause even though they suck right now, there's a bright future ahead ... so says assistant general manager Jesse Buss.

Buss -- who's also the director of scouting for the Lake Show -- was leaving LAX in a cab (rich people gotta be economical too) when we asked if he had a message for panicking Lakers fans.

"I know it's tough right now, but I think we have a lot to look forward to."

Buss warns the fans that stars like D'Angelo Russell and Julius Randle are young -- so be patient -- but insists it will get better down the road.

Luke Walton just got a LEGENDARY co-sign from one of the biggest names in basketball coaching history ... who says Walton has already proved he's got what it takes to be a head coach in the NBA.

TMZ Sports spoke with Luke's college coach Lute Olson -- who's in the Basketball Hall of Fame after a historical run at the University of Arizona.

Olson tells us he's been paying very close attention to how Walton's doing as the interim coach of the Golden State Warriors -- and says he's convinced Luke is ready for a full-time role.

"Just watching him on the sideline, he handles himself really well. He is a great communicator. I can tell the players really like him and respect him."

Walton is currently filling in for Steve Kerr -- who also played for Lute -- and Olson says he couldn't be more proud of his proteges.

As for Luke, Olson believes it's only a matter of time before he gets a serious job offer from another team.

Johnny Weir has another shot at snagging the uber-expensive Faberge egg he lost in his nasty divorce to Victor Voronov ... it's hitting the market again.

Victor's selling the egg at auction ... partly because he thinks he can pocket a small fortune ... in part because TMZ made such a big deal about it.

The egg was estimated to be worth $20k and it brought Johnny to tears when Victor's lawyer threatened to take it from him.

If Johnny wants the egg, he'll have to open wide, because Victor claims it's appreciated to somewhere between $50-$100k.

Not only are the Arizona Cardinals one of the hottest teams in the league ... they’re also home to two of the NFL's hottest quarterbacks.

Drew Stanton (31) and Carson Palmer (35) are a sight to see both on and off the field -- with their good looks and even better throwing arms.

While both of them can toss a pigskin ... we wanna know who’s the better catch.

The question is ...

Russell Westbrook's moving in on Scott Disick's turf -- 'cause the Oklahoma City Thunder star just dropped $4.65 MILLION to buy the reality star's Beverly Hills pad ... and it's sick as hell.

Disick only bought the place last year for $3.7 mil -- but flipped it for almost a million dollar profit when Westbrook came a callin'.

The house is awesome -- 4,000 square feet, 5 beds, 6 baths and crazy views that stretch so far, you can see Catalina Island on a clear day.

Floyd Mayweather is ANGRY that Chrissy Teigen would dare insult his decision to get a pet tiger -- and now he's lashing out at the supermodel over it.

After Mayweather revealed his new pet -- Teigen went to Twitter and wrote, "I'm okay with people having pet tigers because it increases their chances of being eaten by a tiger."

Well, Floyd no likey -- 'cause he just appeared on FightHype.com and fired off some not-so-subtle insults right back at her.

"John Legend's wife said something? I've never had anything negative to say about John Legend. I really don't even know what his wife does."

Ouch.

And then the worst insult a supermodel can get -- "I never seen John Legend's wife in my life. And if I did I probably just don't remember it."

Ouch again.

Jimmy Graham's nightmare season might've just gotten a little better ... 'cause there's a super hot bikini model who says her ultimate career goal ... is to hook up with the Seahawks TE.

The ridiculously hot woman in question is Dalia Elliott ... who is also an actress, having starred in flicks like "The Bunnyman Massacre" and "Attack Of The B.I.M.B.O.S."

Elliott says she's a HUUUGE fan of the tight end -- and if he calls her up, he might end up seeing a little action after all this season.

Peep the gallery below Jimmy ... we could think of worse ways to recover from that season ending injury.

The Iceman says he's officially throwing his support behind Jose Aldo in the big UFC war this weekend ... kinda.

To be honest, Chuck Liddell sounded a bit conflicted when we talked to him about UFC 194 -- telling TMZ Sports he loves the way Conor McGregor fights ... but says he's an Aldo fan at heart.

We asked if he thought McGregor is overrated -- and Chuck shot that down too ... saying, "Every time someone says that he comes out and shows 'em wrong."

Boxing superstar Canelo Alvarez is in the middle of a nasty lawsuit filed by another famous boxer -- who's suing Canelo for $9 MILLION over a street fight in Mexico back in 2011 ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The man behind the lawsuit is Ulises Solis -- a former IBF light flyweight champ -- who claims Alvarez beat him up during an altercation in Guadalajara.

According to the suit, Alvarez punched Solis in the face so hard -- he knocked out a tooth and fractured Solis' jaw.

As a result, Solis claims he was stripped of his IBF championship belt because he couldn't defend his title with a broken jaw.

Solis claims he was simply outsized in the fight -- with Canelo coming in a 5'9", 160 lbs and Solis at 5'3", 108 lbs.

In his suit, Solis claims he suffered more than $4 million in damages -- plus he wants another $5 mil in punitives.

We've learned trial proceedings have begun -- jury selection started on Monday -- and the trial could wrap by the end of the month.

Acting hurts.

Check out Michael B. Jordan taking a REAL punch to the face on the set of "Creed" -- and while it was totally scripted ... you can see and hear the impact.

In fact, Sylvester Stallone recently told Rotten Tomatoes that Jordan was "knocked cold" from the punch ... though he adds, "I didn't mean for that to happen."

Kate Upton's gotta turn down the intensity when it comes to cornhole -- somehow she injured herself playing a sport so laid back, most people do it with a drink in their hands.

We got the supermodel at LAX, just a couple days after she posted a pic of her swollen and bruised right foot ... and she was still feeling the pain.

Watch as Kate explains how in the world she got hurt in the first place, and why the injury's forcing her to do one of the most UN-supermodel things.

The good news for Justin Verlander -- her face and bod still look pristine.

Dustin Hoffman has a message for Kobe Bryant -- don't become some dumb Focker when your NBA career is over.

Hoffman -- a huge Lakers fan -- was out in L.A. Tuesday when we asked if he thought Kobe should give acting a shot after he hangs up his sneakers at the end of the season.

"I'd talk him out of it," Hoffman told TMZ Sports ... "He can do better than that."

Of course, a TON of ex-athletes tried the Hollywood route after their playing days were done ... including Dennis Rodman and Shaq ... and we all know how that turned out.

Hoffman says he doesn't want Kobe to make the same mistakes -- and instead, thinks there's a better line of post-NBA work for him.

Finally, some good news for Ronda Rousey -- Amber Rose wants to bang!!

Rose has been a big Rousey fan for a while -- so Tuesday night, we had to ask if she still had Ronda's back after all the crap she's been taking for losing to Holly Holm.

Amber's response?

"I have lesbionic feelings for Ronda."

This is crazy ... an NBA player was arrested in L.A. this week -- after allegedly jacking a brand new Mercedes from a valet stand and going on a wild joyride ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The alleged car thief is Jeff Adrien -- a 29-year-old ex-college stud at UCONN who played 5 seasons in the NBA. In fact, he was a team captain on the UCONN team that made the Final Four in '09.

Law enforcement tells us Adrien -- who played with the Minnesota Timberwolves last year -- was waiting outside of a popular West Hollywood hotel where he was staying when he saw a guy valet a pretty sick Mercedes.

We're told Adrien somehow got the keys to the Mercedes (even though he didn't have a claim ticket) -- and peeled off with the car.

One source tells us Adrien went on a 6 hour joyride before RETURNING IT back at the hotel.

Someone figured out what happened and informed the owner -- and Adrien was later arrested by LAPD for grand theft auto and taken to jail! He was later released on $25k bail.

The person who owns the car says Adrien not only damaged the ride -- but his car REEKED of weed when he got it back and he's pissed!!!

We reached out to Adrien for comment -- so far no word back.

Secret Santa is a buncha GARBAGE -- especially in NBA locker rooms -- so says ex-NBA superstar Tracy McGrady who says he's EXTREMELY against getting teammates Christmas gifts!!!

Bah humbug!!!

Seriously, this guy HATES the idea of gifting up his teammates for the holidays -- telling TMZ Sports there's only ONE reason NBA players should be buying each other gifts.