TMZ Sports - Page 50

The public viewing of former Saints defensive end Will Smith was gut-wrenching, as his wheelchair-bound wife, friends and relatives said goodbye.

Some of Will's teammates, including Steve Gleason -- who has a degenerative muscle condition -- were front and center.

Another of Smith's teammates, Pierre Thomas -- who claimed to have witnessed the shooting -- was also at the viewing and clearly had trouble processing the tragedy.

Kenny Smith's dream may actually come true ... 'cause "Inside the NBA" has reached out to Kobe Bryant to see if he wants a job, TMZ Sports has learned.

Get nervous, Cleveland ... 'cause if LeBron James is testing the waters about a return to Miami, Gabrielle Union says her husband's team would "welcome him back with open arms."

We got Mrs. Dwyane Wade out in Beverly Hills and had to ask her thoughts on a possible reunion of the Big 3 ... mostly due to the rumors LeBron is already fed up with the Cavs.

Gabby's definitely into the idea ... and why not? Bron and Wade did win 2 championships together.

Plus, LBJ and D-Wade are super BFFs ... they even worked out together in Miami in the middle of the NBA season ... rubbing some CLE people the wrong way.

The party continues for Johnny Manziel ... because the QB just arrived at Coachella.

Seriously.

Manziel just got to the music festival along with his pal Ryan Silverstein -- aka OVO Ryan -- the same guy he was with during that bad car crash on the Sunset Strip this past weekend.

Ryan is currently being investigated for hit and run. Manziel told police he was a passenger in the car. Johnny has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

Several people in Johnny's life have begged and pleaded with the QB to seek treatment -- including his past 2 agents -- but Johnny has refused.

NFL star Josh Gordon just got an offer he should probably refuse (or should he?) from a huge rapper who says he can assist the troubled WR with his weed problem ...

by helping him beat the NFL drug test.

We got Cypress Hill frontman B-Real outside of the Staples Center recently and asked the outspoken reefer advocate what Gordon could do to kick his habit for the green stuff.

It's a real problem for Josh ... he was suspended all of last year for repeated violations of the NFL's drug policy ... and it's been reported that he failed a test back in March, making his reinstatement iffy.

Check out the clip -- B-Real says he wants to help Josh ... by showing him top secret pothead master tactics to mask the wacky tobacky in his system.

Fun Fact: You're looking at a living, breathing basketball GOD ... Zhu Fangyu ... the all time scoring leader in the Chinese Basketball Association.

Funner Fact: Our photog speaks Chinese.

So, what do we talk to the Chinese Kareem Abdul-Jabbar about? Kobe vs. Michael.

Seems Kobe's catching Michael in the "greatest of all time" debate in China ... but there's still one area where Jordan's dominance is simply unquestionable.

This is awesome ... 2 Villanova basketball stars made a surprise visit to the home of a 4-year-old superfan who's battling cancer -- and now they're getting MAJOR props from the kid's mom!!!

The brave little boy is Blaise Davis -- who's fighting a rare form of bone cancer called Ewing's Sarcoma. His story made national news after a GoFundMe page was set up to help his family pay for medical costs.

Blaise and his mom, Annie, joined the guys on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs Friday night on FS1) ... and told us how Villanova stars Ryan Arcidiacono and Daniel Ochefu put together a plan to surprise Blaise in his own home!

For the record, Blaise's parents are both alums -- and Annie says Blaise has naturally become a MASSIVE fan of the Wildcats.

You gotta watch the clip ... Blaise is awesome -- and judging by his energy, he's doing great!

Flea tells TMZ Sports ... he knows there's been some harsh criticism when it comes to his rendition of the National Anthem at Kobe's farewell game -- but says the critics are just "small-minded" haters.

As we previously reported, Flea's instrumental version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" didn't go over so well with the masses ... the NY Daily News said he may have to go "hide under a bridge."

So, how does Flea feel about it?

"I don't care man," Flea said of the criticism ... "I know that people who liked music liked it. I thought it was beautiful."

He added, "I really don't have any concern for little small minds that get frustrated when they get blown ... I like big minds."

He's bigger than Conor. He's stronger than Conor ... but if Jason Momoa ever got in a fight with Conor McGregor -- IT WOULD BE LIGHTS OUT, so says UFC's Bruce Buffer.

"Muscles don't win fights," Buffer told us when we asked how the 6'4", 230-poundish musclebound Momoa would do inside the Octagon.

Don't get us wrong, Buffer says he's got all sorts of respect for the "Aquaman" actor -- but even the most ripped, beefed up dudes would get SMASHED by the smallest pros in the UFC.

"I'd put a 135 pounder or a 145 pounder like Conor McGregor on him and it'll be a whole new world for him because he's not a fighter."

"He'd get [Momoa] on his back, he'd choke him out. You put him in an armbar, the biggest guy in the world is gonna tap or cry his eyes out as his arm gets broken."

Buffer says Momoa has the size and toughness to be a decent fighter if he wanted to ... but bottom line -- don't ever confuse muscles for fighting ability.

Floyd Mayweather musta been feelin' saucy last week ... 'cause the boxer bought his girlfriend a $550,000 Rolls Royce "just because he felt like it" ... TMZ Sports has learned.

We spoke with Floyd's car guy Obi Okeke from DoctorBugatti.com who tells us Floyd hit him up last Thursday and ordered up a white 2016 Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe as a gift for his lady Bad Medina.

Okeke says the ride was delivered to Bad Medina on Saturday -- and obviously, she loves it.

"This is the 4th car Floyd has bought for her in less than two years from me. She has 3 Rolls-Royce Ghosts and now the 2016 Rolls-Royce Phantom drop."

Enjoy ...

Just days after Will Smith was shot and killed in an apparent road rage incident ... another NFL star says he was a passenger in a similar situation where things got thiiiis close to getting violent.

Denver Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall just tweeted about the situation ... saying, "My uber driver a G, Somebody cut him off and almost hit him. And he pulled up to the side of him and got out the car and told him to get out."

What's especially scary is the fact Marshall says his driver got OUT of the car to confront the other guy ... it's almost exactly what appears to have happened in New Orleans.

This time, it appears the situation was diffused before things got violent ... thankfully.

Stay safe out there people.

Von Miller had a special guest at his "Dancing with the Stars" rehearsals ... Odell Beckham Jr. -- who ended up teaching Von's pro dance partner a thing or two about hip-hop.

After the two NFL stars had their own 2-man dance party ... Von's partner Lindsay Arnold joined the turn up -- and Odell led the crew in a mini-dance tutorial.

Louisiana rap legend Master P says Tyrann Mathieu is totally wrong about their home city ... saying rap music is not causing the violence in New Orleans ... the people are.

Lamar Odom was RIGHT when he said he can still ball in the NBA ... so says his longtime friend Cuttino Mobley.

Mobley -- who played college ball with Odom at the University of Rhode Island -- says he was hanging out with Lamar earlier this week ... and says he's convinced L.O. still has what it takes.

As we previously reported, Odom says he's determined to get back in the league -- despite the fact he suffered severe health issues and almost died from a drug overdose just 6 months ago.

But Mobley doesn't just think Odom could contribute to an NBA team -- he thinks it'll truly help Lamar in his recovery.

Question is ... will an NBA team actually take a chance on the guy?

You know when people in the South say, "Bless her heart" ... but they really mean it in a condescending, insulting way???

Yeah, that's kinda how Lakers player Lou Williams sounded when we asked him about his Twitter beef with LeSean McCoy.

FYI, the beef started after Kobe's finale ... when the NFL running back referred to Williams as "Soft ass Lou."

Lou replied by essentially telling LeSean, "Say it to my face." McCoy responded by accusing him of beating up women.

So, when we saw Williams at LAX -- we had to ask him about the issue.

"We don't do beef," Williams said ... adding, "God bless that young man."

Yeah, somehow that didn't feel genuine ...

Shaquille O'Neal has a message for WWE honcho Vince McMahon -- SET UP THE FIGHT WITH BIG SHOW!!!

Shaq was out in NYC -- and told us he's dead serious about wanting a piece of Big Show at an upcoming WWE event.

You'll recall, they tried to chokeslam each other at WrestleMania earlier this month -- and then called out the other in the aftermath.

Now, Shaq says he wants the McMahons to make it happen -- and has a special message for his 7-foot rival ... "I'M COMING FOR YOU!!!"