TMZ Sports - Page 50

UFC superstar Anderson Silva underwent successful surgery to remove his gallbladder in Brazil Wednesday morning ... and he is now resting comfortably, this according to the UFC.

A rep for the organization tells us, "Earlier this week, medical personnel determined that Anderson Silva was suffering from inflammation of the gallbladder, a serious ailment that forced him off the UFC 198 card."

"As a result of the condition, Silva had successful, minimally invasive surgery in Brazil today to remove the gallbladder. He is now resting comfortably following the procedure."

"The recovery period following the surgery is estimated at 4-6 weeks and Silva will be reexamined by doctors before being cleared to return to training."

Want your ass to feel what it's like to be a Seahawks team rep during the NFL Draft?

Well, now you can ... 'cause the league is auctioning off a "used draft chair" -- which was sat in by an official Seahawks team rep at Radio City Music Hall from 2011 to 2014!

Yes, you can own the seat that may have been sat in by the person who may have turned in the selection card to draft Russell Wilson!

The auction started at $40 ... it's already over $500!!! (Proceeds from the auction benefit multiple charities connected to the NFL).

When in Rome, DON'T EAT DOG FOOD ... or you'll regret it, just like Serena Williams -- who just went nuclear all over her hotel toilet.

Serena's in Italy for a tennis tourney -- and became curious when she saw her hotel had a special pet menu that included a salmon and rice dish.

Serena ordered it up for her dog Chip -- but decided to taste a spoonful for herself first.

BAD DECISION!!!

"Let's fast forward to two hours ... I just ran to the toilet like i thought i was gonna pass out!"

#FeelBetterSerena #LightAmatchWhenYoureDone

Ole Miss football coach Hugh Freeze says he does NOT want to testify in the Laremy Tunsil domestic violence civil case ... citing concerns that his testimony might be used in an NCAA investigation.

First, some background ...

Tunsil is being sued by his stepfather, who claims Laremy beat him up back in 2015 -- after he accused Laremy of violating NCAA rules.

For his part, Laremy ferociously disputes the allegations ... claiming he only got physical with the stepdad after he saw the guy shove his mother during an argument.

The stepdad now wants to depose Laremy's college football coach Hugh Freeze -- believing he has information that will help prove his story.

But Freeze doesn't want that to happen -- and has filed court docs to block the deposition -- in part because "at this time, the NCAA is considering allegations against the University and its football program, including allegations related to [Tunsil]."

He does not expand on the allegations.

Freeze says he's concerned that any information from the deposition could be accessed by NCAA investigators and possibly used against him ... and he doesn't believe that's fair.

If the judge DOES force Freeze to testify, he at least wants the transcripts sealed to prevent the NCAA from getting their hands on it.

Magic Johnson says Dwight Howard is lying -- telling TMZ Sports he NEVER told DH that he had no chance of making it to the NBA back when he was in 10th grade.

Howard made the claims Tuesday night on "Inside the NBA" -- telling Charles Barkley that naysayers like Magic Johnson have motivated to be a great player for years.

"I’ll never forget the day I came in here and you [Charles Barkley] told me I wasn’t going to be good in the NBA. And I’ll never forget the day that Magic Johnson said I wasn’t going to make it to the NBA when I was in the 10th grade. And that stuff drives me every day to want to be one of the greatest players to play the game."

Since dream-crushing doesn't exactly sound like the Magic we all know, we called him up for comment -- and were given the following statement:

"I never said that to him." -- Magic Johnson

So, who ya gonna believe? Seems pretty obvious to us ...

Just because he's cool with people using it, doesn't mean Michael Jordan LIKES the "crying face" meme that took over the Internet -- in fact, his friend Charles Oakley says MJ hates it.

As we previously reported, Jordan has said he's "monitoring" the crying face fad to make sure no one uses it commercially, but essentially gave his blessing to the web to continue using it as the go-to gag for sadness.

Oakley, like Jordan, says he understands why people are doing it -- but when it comes to actually liking the joke ... MJ ain't a fan.

Turns out what happens in Mexico ... we get to drool over ... 'cause the Denver Broncos Cheerleaders hit Cancun for their annual team swimsuit shoot and the pics are muy caliente.

12:39 PM PT -- Rose has now been suspended indefinitely by the WWE, according to our friends at ProWrestlingSheet.

A WWE rep told the site, "WWE has zero tolerance for matters involving domestic violence, and per our policy, Raymond Leppan has been suspended indefinitely following his arrest."

WWE superstar Adam Rose got busted for domestic violence after allegedly grabbing his wife by her face during an argument.

According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, Rose was arrested at 1:30 AM Wednesday in his Florida home. Rose grabbed Cassandra Leppan and pulled her toward him as he screamed at her, according to the report.

The docs list the reason for the argument as "marital problems."

Cassandra called 911, but according to the report Adam ripped the phone away from her -- which is why he was booked for felony tampering with a witness, as well as domestic violence.

He's being held without bail until his arraignment.

Rose's arrest comes on the heels of the WWE handing him a 60-day drug suspension.

Shaquille O'Neal gave a huge shout-out to the emergency workers who evacuated 90,000 people from the massive fires in Fort McMurray, Canada -- and to show he meant business, he sang, "O Canada."

"Thank you from the bottom of my heart," Shaq said ..."You guys are the true heroes."

The return of Conor McGregor is officially in the works ... with UFC honcho Dana White saying the two are getting dinner together next week to figure out his next fight.

White appeared on "The Dan Patrick Show" and said everything is hunky-dory between the two -- despite the fact he yanked CM off the UFC 200 card for refusing to do promotion.

"Conor and I have been talking everyday," White said.

Snowboarding legend Shaun White is being sued by the drummer of his rock band Bad Things -- who says White was a controlling, self-centered diva ... who sexually harassed her for years.

The woman behind the lawsuit is Lena Zawaideh -- who formed the band with White back in 2008.

Zawaideh claims White immediately took the role as band leader due to his fame and connections -- and worked out a deal to pay Lena and the rest of the members $3,750 per month to be in the group.

But things turned ugly in 2013 ... with White allegedly demanding the band to follow him around the country to rehearse while he was training for the Olympics.

Zawaideh also claims White forced her to rehearse while sick, demanded she cut her hair before a show in France ... and ultimately stopped paying her because he felt she didn't need the money.

The most serious allegation in her lawsuit, Zawaideh claims White "made inappropriate and sexually harassing and suggestive comments" to her in person and in texts.

Zawaideh says White owes her more than $42k in back payments -- but she wants A LOT more than that now ... because she's suing for punitive damages.

Vladimir Putin couldn't be stopped on the ice Tuesday (mostly, because everyone was afraid to stop him) ... racking up a goal and 2 assists in an amateur hockey game in Russia.

Besides winning the face off (seriously, would you try to steal the puck from Putin?) ... the Russian prez skated around the ice with full pads -- leading his team to a 9-5 victory in one of the arenas built for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

All jokes aside ... even if the goal was a sham, pretty impressive to see a 63-year-old world leader out there on the ice.

Sorry Heat fans ... and Gabrielle Union ... the rumored return of LeBron James to the Heat just ain't gonna happen -- so says Senator Marco Rubio.

Fresh off the campaign trail, Rubio was all about talkin' hoops in D.C. Tuesday -- praising Dwyane Wade for beasting out in the playoffs.

But when we brought up LeBron, Rubio busted out the real talk -- saying James would be treated like the ENEMY if Miami clashed with Cleveland in the Eastern Conf. Finals ... despite the championships he brought to the city in the past.

Good news for Conor McGregor ... Freddie Roach says he's absolutely down to train him as a boxer.

Bad news for Conor McGregor ... Freddie says CM needs 3 YEARS before he'll be ready to fight Floyd.

Roach -- widely regarded as the best boxing trainer in the world -- was talking with "Fight Hub TV" when he said he got a call from someone (presumably from Conor's camp) asking to train the UFC star.

Freddie insists he's up for the challenge ... but says if Conor thinks he can hang with Mayweather, he's out of his Irish mind.

"I'd have to train him for at leat 3 years to get him ready for Mayweather," Roach said.

Expect a snowstorm for Michael Strahan's last day on 'Live' -- that's how frigid things are right now with Kelly Ripa, and there's one obvious sign every morning.

Sources connected to production tell us prior to Kelly's protest a few weeks ago, she would sit in her makeup room with the door open and Michael would greet her as he arrived ... but that's all changed.

We're told Kelly's door is shut every morning ... delaying any "good morning" salutations, and Strahan believes she's sending a clear message. Although they're putting on a good face on the air -- we're told the tension between them is palpable.

As for Strahan's last show, airing this Friday, we're told he's asked for it to be low key. One source says Michael would be happy with "a few flashback" segments and he just wants out of what's become an unfriendly environment.

The Kardashians just did what no lineman could ever do ... they stopped Lawrence Taylor dead in his tracks.