TMZ Sports - Page 50

We got NFL star Antonio Gates out in Los Angeles and asked him two of the most relevant sports questions of the day and he answered ... with a quarter million dollars worth of car.

Antonio was sitting in what looks to be a Ferrari 458 Italia ... and was revving the engine the whole time we were talking ... so we can't be exactly sure what he said.

Here's what we do know ... that particular car retails for around $300k new ... so you might have just witnessed the most expensive distraction in TMZ Sports history.

We ain't mad at you, Antonio.

Tiki Barber says NFL teams SHOULD NOT sign Johnny Manziel ... 'cause the troubled NFL free agent is just "not worth the risk."

TMZ Sports saw the former N.Y. Giants star Thursday in NYC and asked him to weigh in on Johnny Football's prospects of being signed by an NFL team.

Tiki -- who's a Johnny Manziel fan -- doesn't mince his words, saying Manziel is "too much of a distraction."

We also asked Tiki about the situation at Baylor. Barber -- who has 4 daughters -- has a strong take on how things were handled.

Mike Tyson and Will Smith were among the early arrivals for Muhammad Ali's memorial service -- and served as pallbearers as the procession through Louisville started.

The 19 mile journey through Ali's hometown began Friday morning after Tyson, Smith, Lennox Lewis and several of Ali's family members carried his coffin to the waiting hearse.

The procession will end up at Yum! Center arena where Bill Clinton will deliver the eulogy for Ali at the memorial service.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who called Ali his mentor, is also in Louisville.

The memorial service is scheduled to begin at 10 AM PT ... and TMZ will be live streaming.

OKC Thunder fans are gonna love this ... Serge Ibaka says he's not sweating rumors of Kevin Durant bolting the Sooner state ... proclaiming to TMZ Sports he's 100% sure KD's sticking around.

Rumblings of Durant eyeing the Lakers in free agency have been white hot lately ... but when we got Ibaka out in Beverly Hills he seemed certain KD -- and Russell Westbrook -- were lifelong Okies.

"Everybody's staying."

7:55 AM PT -- A rep for the the Lucas County Coroner's office tells us Howe died of "natural causes." They will not be investigating his death.

Hockey legend Gordie Howe died Friday morning in Ohio.

According to reports, Howe was at his son's home in Toledo when he passed away. He had suffered a stroke last year, but his family said he recovered well after that.

Howe was 88.

The Detroit Red Wings superstar held most of the NHL records that Wayne Gretzky eventually broke.

Howe was a 23-time All-Star in the league, and played an astounding 26 seasons in the NHL (still a record) ... plus another 6 in the World Hockey League. His 1,767 NHL games played is also a record.

Gordie retired at the age of 52 ... following one season with the Hartford Whalers in 1980.

Interesting pic we dug up -- in 1990, Howe was honored at the All-Star Professional Sports Awards alongside Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown and Rod Laver.

#RIP

Mark Cuban has said he'd serve as vice president to either Trump or Hillary, but he now says Clinton really needs him.

We got Cuban in NYC Thursday and he said there have been some phone calls about his possible run, but he wasn't specific.

"You go ... or they go."

That's how UFC fighter Valentina Shevchenko feels about her trainer's decision to pull his gun and fire at gun-toting thieves last month during an armed robbery in Peru.

Shevchenko joined the guys on the "TMZ Sports" TV show and broke her silence about what was going through her mind when 3 armed men stormed the restaurant where she was having dinner.

As we previously reported, her trainer, Pavel Fedotov, pulled his gun and fired at the robbers, killing 1 -- but was shot in the stomach during the exchange.

Shevchenko says Pavel is still hospitalized-- but hopes he'll be able to travel to Chicago to see her fight Holly Holm at UFC on FOX 20 on July 23.

If you think Darryl Strawberry & Tommy Lasorda are too old to sip Beyonce's lemonade you're wrong ... 'cause the two men had a grand slammin' time at Mrs. Carter's concert in NYC Wednesday night.

The guys joined ex-MLBers John Franco & Charlie Hayes to celebrate the birthday of sports agent Mead Chasky ... and the men had a sweet view of the festivities ... in a suite.

We're told a good time was had by all ... and the 88-year-old Lasorda never once complained to "tell those kids to turn that blasted music down."

Get it, Tommy ... get it.

Dirk Nowitzki is an aquatic pioneer -- 'cause the NBA star just became the FIRST person to float in a lazy river INSIDE A BASEBALL STADIUM!!

The Frisco RoughRiders minor league baseball team invited Dirk to break in their brand new $1.5 MILLION river -- located in the outfield of Dr. Pepper Ballpark in Frisco, TX.

The river officially opens Friday.

#DontPeeInThePool

Pele's personal treasures are selling for INSANELY HIGH PRICES -- with his medal from the 1970 World Cup getting a winning bid of ... $500,000!!!!!

The medal was part of an incredible collection of Pele's trophies, awards and other memorabilia that hit the Julien's Auctions event in London.

The auction house has not yet revealed the ID of the baller who bought the $500k medal -- but damn. BTW, part of the proceeds benefit a Brazilian children's hospital.

In addition to the $500k medal. Here are some other big ticket items:

-- Pele's Jules Rimet Trophy ... $571,000

-- "1,000th Goal Ball" ... $117k

-- 1958 World Cup Winner's Medal ... $290k

-- Player of the Century award ... $83,000

Floyd Mayweather LOVES the way Justin Bieber fought Wednesday night -- telling TMZ Sports, "He showed he ain't no bitch."

Bieber's been training with the boxing legend for years -- but Mayweather says the most impressive part of the fight video isn't JB's form ... "He showed he got heart."

Mayweather says he doesn't know why Bieber got into it in Cleveland last night -- but says the lesson is clear ... "Justin Bieber ain't no bitch."

Scary moment for Floyd Mayweather Sr. ... who was hospitalized in Vegas early this morning ... but appears to be okay now, TMZ Sports has learned.

We've confirmed ... emergency personnel responded to a call around 7:30 AM to a coffee shop. The 63-year-old was loaded into an ambulance and transported to a nearby hospital for treatment.

A rep for the Mayweather camp tells us Floyd Sr. was simply dehydrated and is doing much better now. We're told he's not expected to be held overnight.

Floyd Sr. was a pretty good boxer in his own right -- and fought Sugar Ray Leonard in 1978 (he lost though). He eventually became one of the biggest trainers in boxing.

Justin Bieber was still fired up when passersby managed to break up his Cleveland brawl.

We just obtained this video, shot seconds after the first fight clip -- a Golden State Warriors fan grabbed Justin from behind and pulled him off the dogpile.

Watch, you can tell Justin was still itching for a fight -- but witnesses tell us no more punches were thrown. The huge guy he was fighting is off in the background.

JB just posted a pic -- letting everyone know his beautiful face is unscathed.

Here's Cam Newton doing a TERRIBLE rendition of Usher's "Nice and Slow" on a radio show Thursday morning ... but the good news -- it was all to help raise money for a good cause!!!

The Panthers QB appeared on Power 98 in Charlotte this morning for the "Maddhouse Sing-A-Long" with Ms. Jessica ... where Cam agreed to channel his inner Usher.

Spoiler Alert -- he's no Usher.

In fact, he had to CHEAT and read the lyrics off his notes!!!

Still, gotta respect the guy ... he was there to push his big celebrity kickball tournament in N.C. Friday -- which raises money for the Cam Newton foundation.

Justin Bieber got into an all-out street brawl with a guy much bigger than him Wednesday night in Cleveland.

TMZ obtained this video of Bieber, shot shortly after 11 PM, outside his hotel in downtown Cleveland -- he was face-to-face with the guy, who threw a light blow at Justin's head. That's when Justin uncorked a blow right to his face ... and then it's on!

Several people were standing nearby and tried to jump in, but the fight ends up spilling to the ground.

It's unclear what started the scrap. Bieber was in town for the game 3 of the NBA Finals, and was wearing a Cleveland Cavaliers shirt ... so it could be post-game trash talk. Also, witnesses say Bieber was getting peppered with requests for photos, and we know how he feels about that.

Overall ... we'd say Justin held his own, though he ended up on the bottom of the pile.

J.J. Watt threatening to fight Carrie Underwood's hockey player husband??? That happened ... sorta.

It was all part of Watt's big comedy bit at the CMT Music Awards Wednesday night -- when Watt jokingly hit on a bunch of hot married famous chicks ... including Carrie. It culminated in a funny standoff with Mike Fisher.