TMZ Sports - Page 50

Ex-NBA All-Star Kermit Washington -- who famously KO'd Rudy Tomjanovich in a game in 1977 -- was arrested by federal agents today as part of an investigation involving Homeland Security, TMZ Sports has learned.

Homeland Security Investigations spokesperson Shawn Neudauer tells us, "Special agents with U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) arrested former NBA player Kermit Washington in Los Angeles on Tuesday morning, on a federal arrest warrant as part of an on-going investigation."

Our sources tell us the arrest -- which went down at an L.A. supermarket -- is connected to an investigation surrounding NFL Hall of Famer Ron Mix ... who pled guilty to 1 count of tax fraud just yesterday.

Officials have said Mix -- who became a workers compensation lawyer after his NFL career -- was involved in a scam where an unidentified person known as "Individual F" would refer pro athletes his way and, in exchange, Mix would make a donation to a charity called "Project Contact Africa."

Officials also claim "Individual F" was using the donations -- $155,000 from Mix alone -- for "his own personal enjoyment and to fund his lifestyle."

Damian Lillard's exploding rap career just got its first legendary co-sign ... from Common ... who says Dame's skills on the mic are so FIRE ... he'd be down to work with him.

Common was leaving Equinox when we asked him about Lillard's rhyming ... wanting to know if the NBA star actually has the goods when it comes to hip-hop.

A bunch of labels think so ... we already told you Dame's being courted by HUGE record companies ... and he's currently mulling his options.

Common -- himself one of the biggest names in rap -- tells us he's heard Dame spit and and thinks he's absolutely ILL ... so ill he'd be down to personally work with him ... if he ever got the call.

Make the call Dame ... dude's got an Oscar.

UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen -- a 2016 Heisman contender -- is calling out the NCAA ... essentially saying it's BS that his school just signed a $280 MILLION endorsement deal but the players won't see a dime.

FYI, UCLA just inked the largest apparel contract in NCAA history -- with Under Armour ponying up $280 mil for exclusive rights to outfit UCLA athletics for the next 15 years.

Rosen -- pointing out the irony of the school raking in a fortune while the athletes don't get paid a cent -- reposted a newspaper headline about the deal with a snarky comment.

"We're still amateurs though ... Gotta love non-profits #NCAA."

UCLA isn't the only school to sign megadeals in the last few months -- Michigan, Texas and Ohio State have all inked 9-figure deals.

Big Shaq got TURNT ALL THE WAY UP at a rap show in Oklahoma City -- getting onstage and headbanging along ... while a jacked muscle dude joined the gang and started flexing on the NBA legend.

Sounds weird, we know ... but it's really funny.

Backstory -- Shaq was hanging out at a bar when rapper Chief Peace took the stage during an open mic night and performed his signature song, "Hippy Kid."

Shaq LOVED it -- joined the guy onstage and started dancing away. Some buff guy joined the gang and took his shirt off for some reason. It's weird. It's also fun.

We spoke with Chief Peace who tells us Shaq spent time with him after the show and gave him all sorts of advice -- and even put his song in rotation on Shaq Fu Radio.

Nyquist -- the winner of the Kentucky Derby -- has been pulled from the Belmont Stakes ... after complications with his health, TMZ Sports has learned.

We spoke with Nyquist's assistant trainer, Jack Sisterson, who tells us ... Nyquist has an elevated white blood cell count, which can sometimes indicate an infection.

Nyquist was already battling a fever -- but Sisterson hoped Nyquist would overcome it in time for the Belmont Stakes next month.

Now, with this new complication, Sisterson says it's better to play it safe -- and not push Nyquist too hard.

"We just want to do right by Nyquist right now. We want to make sure he'll be back to 100% in the next few days."

As for his future -- "He's definitely going to race again this summer."

HATERS BE HATIN'!!!!!

Aaron Rodgers' younger bro, Jordan, made his debut as a suitor on "The Bachelorette" Monday night -- and while he was a HUUUUGE hit with rose-giver JoJo Fletcher ... the dudes were SUPER JELLY PANTS!!!

Soccer superstar Neymar LOVES HIM some Neymar -- and couldn't take his eyes off his wax figure look-alike when it was revealed out in Spain Monday.

The Brazilian legend handpicked the pose for his Madame Tussauds wax figure -- recreating his goal celebration from the 2014 World Cup ... which he called, "the most important moment of my career."

And get this ... Neymar was so committed to making the statue look as authentic as possible, he donated a REAL Brazilian national team uniform.

In fact, the artists got every single detail ... right down to his famous tattoos.

The statue will eventually be shipped back to M.T.'s Orlando location.

There's a war over Damian Lillard ... with several "major" record labels vying to sign the NBA star to a serious rap deal, this according to his agent.

Lillard's already established himself as one of the best (if not THE best) rapper in the NBA -- and famously started the 4-bar Friday freestyle rap challenge on social media.

He's also racked up more than 4.5 million plays on his SoundCloud page.

Now, the record labels want a piece of the action -- with his agent, Aaron Goodwin, telling TMZ Sports they've been approached by "several major labels" ... though he wouldn't specify which ones.

Goodwin says Lillard is interested -- but doesn't want go down that road until after the NBA season is over.

"We've put it on hold until the summer," Goodwin says ... "We will explore those options versus starting his own label. A distribution partner is really what's needed."

Meantime, Dame Dolla is still droppin' new tracks -- including his new single "Talk To 'Em" which already has more than 40,000 plays. Not bad ...

Johnny Manziel's drinking and drug use is worse than ever -- but the QB refuses to seek help ... and now people close to him are convinced he's going to die unless something changes soon.

Here's what we know ... Manziel has become even more reckless with his drug problem recently -- even blowing lines in front of people he barely knows.

"He's in a horrible downward spiral," one source very close to the QB tells TMZ Sports.

There have been multiple serious attempts to help Johnny -- with one group of close friends recently sitting him down and "confronting" him about his situation. But, as one source put it, "He flipped out and would not hear it."

His friends are desperately trying to get through to him but haven't been successful -- and they're hoping this story will serve as a wake-up call.

Maybe Vegas can reach him -- because, as multiple sources have told us, he's become persona non grata at several of the top spots after his violent outburst this past weekend at JEWEL nightclub at the Aria.

"He's too much of a risk," one high-powered nightclub source tells us ... "He's a good guy, but he's a f***ing mess."

Manziel is still living under the delusion that he'll make it back to the NFL -- and recently talked about his comeback plans with TMZ Sports. But no one has seen him training and when we asked him about it last month, the idea of working out seemed like a joke.

Instead, he continues to party like a maniac -- L.A., Vegas, Miami, Coachella, Dallas -- and, as one source put it, "If he continues this way for much longer he will die.”

His own father expressed grave concern about Johnny back in February -- saying if he doesn't get help, "he won't live to see his 24th birthday."

We reached out to Manziel's rep -- but she told us there was nothing she could say on the matter.

Floyd Mayweather says he's supremely confident Jon Jones will join The Money Team -- and tells TMZ Sports exactly why Floyd's crew is the perfect fit for the UFC superstar.

Floyd and Jon recently had a FaceTime convo -- and there have been rumblings that Floyd's trying to recruit him to the TMT family.

So, when we saw Floyd at his daughter's 7-figure sweet 16 party in Vegas this weekend -- we asked straight up if it was gonna happen.

You gotta watch the clip ... Floyd wants Jon to know TMT had Jon's back during his toughest times -- and will continue to support him moving forward.

He's even planning a trip to New Mexico to hang with Jon during his UFC 200 training camp.

The former Team USA Olympic high jumper who was paralyzed in a training accident in California last month says he's making HUGE progress -- and can now move his arm!!!

As we previously reported, 2-time Olympic high jumper Jamie Nieto fell on his head while training Olympic hopefuls last month ... and suffered major damage to his spinal cord.

But in a new video shot from his hospital bed, the 39-year-old said he's "getting better every day. Just feeling a lot better."

Nieto -- who underwent emergency surgery following the life-threatening accident -- is also trying to walk again ... though it might take some time.

"It's been a tough experience, not easy. You know, learning how to walk again, move my hands and getting my feet moving again."

"But I'm getting stronger, so it's getting better. It's a process. I thank everybody out there for all their love and support."

Nieto's girlfriend has said he's a fighter who hopes to be jumping again as soon as possible.

Rick Fox doesn't think Draymond Green meant to go all Bruce Lee on Steven Adams' testicles ... saying ball kicking is one of the unwritten rules of the NBA you just don't break.

Fox was at LAX when we asked him about the kick ... which might end up costing Dray a game in the playoffs if the NBA thinks he did it on purpose ... so the question is ... did he?

Check out the clip -- Fox says it didn't look intentional to him ... adding he doubts Dray meant to do it because there's a strict no groin kick code in the NBA.

Drake blew off the Billboard Music Awards, even though he was in Las Vegas ... and opted instead for a few rounds of golf with his friends.

Actually, it was golf with a tech spin -- at the brand new Topgolf in Vegas. We got this video of Drake and his pal, Jas Prince, teeing off Sunday night ... just a few blocks away from T-Mobile Arena ... where the award show was going down.

It's bizarre ... Drizzy was up for 11 BMAs ... and won for Top Rap Artist -- but for some reason he obviously wasn't feeling it.

On the other hand, both guys take decent strokes -- at least in this video. Y'know how golf goes.

Carolina Panthers linebacker Shaq Thompson told police he was reaching for a dropped cell phone when he lost control of his car and smashed into another vehicle head-on early Sunday morning ... cops say.

Shaq -- the team's 2015 1st round draft pick -- was behind the wheel of a 2016 Chevy SUV which slammed into a 2004 Lexus SUV driven by former Duke QB Anthony Boone at 7:45 AM.

When cops arrived to the crash scene near Shaq's Charlotte-area home, the NFL player was given a breathalyzer -- which turned up traces of alcohol ... but cops say it was well BELOW the legal limit.

"He had some residual left over from the night before, but nothing where it was impairing or anything like that,” Sgt. Ben Miller of the State Highway’s Union County told the Charlotte Observer.

TMZ Sports also spoke with law enforcement officials who say Shaq said he had been playing music off his cell phone but dropped it ... and that's when he made the ill-fated decision to reach down and pick it up.

Officials tell us Boone was not wearing a seat belt -- and was hospitalized for a broken pelvis and broken ribs.

Shaq told police he was not seriously injured. He was not arrested -- but was cited for crossing the center lane.

Call him Snoop Curry ... 'cause the Dogfather did his best Steph impression at a celeb hoops game in Michigan this weekend ... going NOTHIN' BUT NET on a half-court shot.

Snoop was co-hosting the "Hoop 4 Water" fundraiser in Flint -- along with a ton of stars including Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo, MTV's Sway Calloway, Lions TE Eric Ebron, ex-NBA player Mo Peterson and the Pistons cheerleaders.

The game was all to raise money for people suffering from the Flint water crisis ... and Snoop and Mo Peterson were given keys to the city for putting the whole thing together.

Snoop was in such a good mood, he almost didn't seem to care when he got HIT WITH A NASTY CROSSOVER in the middle of the game.

Hey, happens to the best of us ... even Steph Curry.

LSU's beloved Siberian-Bengal tiger mascot, Mike VI, has been diagnosed with an extremely rare form of cancer ... and vets believe he only has 2 years to live ... school officials announced.

The 10-year-old tiger has been receiving treatment from a team of specialists ever since his caretakers noticed a tumor on his face earlier this month.

Officials say Mike has spindle cell sarcoma -- which is unlikely to spread to other areas of his body ... but it's a fatal condition nonetheless.

LSU says Mike is receiving the best care possible -- and they've already drawn up a battle plan to make sure Mike lives out his final days as comfortably as possible. Without treatment, officials say Mike would only have 1 to 2 months to live.