TMZ Sports - Page 50

The Gainesville PD officer who became an Internet sensation for the way he responded to a noise complaint about black kids playing basketball in the street says it wasn't a big deal.

NBA legend Tracy McGrady strongly disagrees.

Multiple people connected to Lawrence Phillips -- including his criminal attorney -- tell TMZ Sports the suicide note found with his body was NOT in the NFL star's handwriting ... adding more doubt to claims he took his own life.

As we previously reported, Phillips' family says they aren't buying the explanation from Kern Valley State Prison -- that Phillips committed suicide in his cell last week.

Now, Phillips' attorneys say the key to the case could be the handwriting in the note found in Phillips' sock on the day of his death.

Lawrence's lawyer paraphrased the letter to USA Today Sports:

"Did you hear the one about the football player who hung himself from the TV mount in his cell?" the letter read.

The lawyer explained, "And where it said football player, it looked like somebody after the fact put the letter 'X' before 'football,' so it said 'X-football player.'"

Phillips had hand penned dozens of letters during his time behind bars -- he definitely had a distinct style to his handwriting.

Lawrence's attorney says the ex-NFL star's family is now in the process of hiring an independent investigator to look into Phillips' death ... believing he may have been murdered.

Marshawn Lynch's mother tells TMZ Sports ... she believes her son still has gas left in the tank and will NOT retire ... not yet at least.

We asked Delisa Lynch about the comments Seahawks G.M. John Schneider said about her son -- that he was under the impression Lynch would retire before next season.

But Delisa -- aka Momma Lynch -- says, "I really believe we haven't seen the last of Beast Mode!!!"

She added, "My younger son [Davonte] will be coming out next year. I told [Marshawn] to wait for his brother."

FYI -- Davonte is a running back at New Mexico Highlands University ... and Momma Lynch's goal is to have BOTH of her sons playing in the NFL at the same time!

Former Oakland Raiders defensive end Anthony Smith was just sentenced to 3 consecutive life sentences for killing 3 men between 1999 and 2001 ... TMZ Sports has learned.

We previously reported ... Smith -- who played for the Raiders from '91 to '97 -- was found guilty of kidnapping two brothers -- Kevin and Ricky Nettles -- from a car wash in 1999 and then shooting them to death. Their bodies were dumped roughly 8 miles apart.

In 2001, cops say Smith was part of a group that kidnapped Dennis Henderson and then stabbed him to death.

Smith appeared in an L.A. County Superior courtroom Friday -- where the judge threw the book at him, sentencing him to life in prison for each of the 3 murders without the possibility of parole.

Miesha Tate still hates Ronda Rousey -- telling TMZ Sports there's no way she'll be watching the UFC star host 'SNL' this weekend ... and doesn't ever see the two becoming friends.

In fact, when asked if they would ever be able to patch things up -- Tate told us, "Hell no. Definitely not."

On the flip side, Tate says she LOOOVES Holly Holm -- the woman she's set to fight at UFC 197 ... and says the two have already agreed to get beers after the fight.

It's been 10 years to the day since Kobe Bryant dropped 81 points on the Toronto Raptors -- and the Lakers say they will honor the historic moment at Friday night's Lakers game.

A rep for the team tells TMZ Sports ... there will be video tributes on the big screens to the Mamba before and during the game honoring that crazy night on January 22, 2006 ... back when KB was just 27 years old.

#GloryDays

Colts linebacker Sio Moore was arrested in Indianapolis last night ... after cops say he was burning rubber like a maniac on I-65.

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Dept. says the 25-year-old was hitting speeds around 100 mph and weaving in and out of traffic in his Jeep.

Seems Donald Trump has another supporter ... and this one's a champ.

Cleveland Cavs star J.R. Smith is officially off the hook in an alleged pizza joint attack -- with prosecutors saying he will NOT be charged with a crime for allegedly attacking a heckler.

J.R. was named in a police report filed by a 19-year-old man back in Nov. -- in which he claimed Smith choked him outside of a NYC pizza joint after he heckled the guy about being traded from the Knicks.

Smith had denied any wrongdoing from the very beginning -- and now it seems he's in the clear, with the District Attorney reportedly refusing to move forward with a case against the NBA star.

A spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office tells TMZ Sports, "After a thorough investigation of the circumstances surrounding this case, we have concluded that the evidence does not support criminal charges against Mr. Smith."

This is a very cool video ...

Billy Corgan says the days of misogyny in pro wrestling should be OVER -- because women are badass and smart and awesome ... and it's time for them to be portrayed that way in the sport he loves.

The Smashing Pumpkins frontman is now an executive at TNA pro wrestling -- and in this great clip we shot at LAX, he not only explains how he got into the business, but how he wants to make serious changes.

One of Corgan's main points is the rise of Ronda Rousey in UFC -- because Corgan says it shows wrestling is behind the curve when it comes to marketing women.

"I think there's a whole host of ways to portray women in wrestling in the future that sort of gets away from the typical misogynist stuff."

"I think [Ronda] embodies everything that's about smart sexy and tough, I think that's shown to be a huge marketable asset."

The World Peace family isn't just about basketball (even though they're really good at it) ... with Metta telling TMZ Sports his daughter is a tennis sensation ... who could be the next big superstar.

Metta took his family out to dinner at The Nice Guy in L.A. Thursday night -- when we started talking up his adorable daughter Diamond ... a 7th grader who's already got her dad thinking big things!

But could she be the next Serena? Watch the clip ...

BTW, Metta has a son who's tearing up the high school basketball world.

Talented family.

Pablo Sandoval is WAYYY ahead of the game ... surprising his girlfriend with a $140,000 pre-Valentine's Day gift ... and it all went down live on "TMZ Sports."

The Boston Red Sox 3rd baseman FaceTime'd in from The Auto Firm in Miami -- where he commissioned car god Alex Vega to hook up his lady with a killer custom vehicle.

Her reaction is priceless -- and you can see the whole thing on "TMZ Sports" on Friday at 9 PM PT, 12 AM ET on FS1.

WWE fans rejoice -- Tammy Sytch has stripped down to have sex on camera -- she signed her deal with Vivid Entertainment.

Sytch -- aka ex-diva Sunny -- tells TMZ she and Vivid honcho Steve Hirsch recently came to an agreement. Vivid's already running a teaser clip, but we're told she'll be shooting new footage for the final release, which has a very Farrah Abraham-ish title -- "Sunny Side Up: In Through the Backdoor."

Two former college football players have been charged with a bunch of crimes -- after cops say they teamed up in a violent robbery spree in California that included a carjacking.

The players are ex-USC tight end Bryce Dixon and ex-LSU lineman Trey Lealaimatafao -- both former players were each kicked off their teams for off-the-field behavior.

Now, prosecutors say they teamed up to commit a string of robberies in L.A. on January 19th -- in which they would stop people, threaten them and steal their belongings.

The victims included several women. Cops say Dixon used a knife to threaten one of the male victims.

They were each charged with 5 counts of 2nd degree robbery, 1 count of carjacking, 1 count of attempted carjacking and 1 count of assault with a deadly weapon.

If convicted, both men face up to 15 years in prison.

President Manny Pacquiao??

It's possible ... because the boxer appeared on "TMZ Sports" (airing Thursday at 9PM PT on FS1) and said he isn't ruling out a presidential run in the Philippines when he retires from boxing.

PacMan told us he plans to run for a seat in the senate after his fight with Timothy Bradley in April -- and when we asked if he eventually plans to run for the highest office in the land, he didn't exactly say no.

Manny's promoter Bob Arum has been saying for months that Pacquiao will run in the 2022 election ... after he serves in the senate.

Hail to the future Chief.

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