TMZ Sports - Page 50

How cool is this ... Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky recreating that famous 2006 autograph photo -- IN REVERSE!

Bad news for Tyga ... Kimbo Slice's son wants to nail his girlfriend -- and there ain't a damn thing he can do about it.

The United States Olympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee both flatly denied Ryan Lochte or any other swimmer were victims of an armed robbery ... without even speaking with any of the victims.

It's hard to believe ... no one in either organization had the ability to contact the swimmers hours after the robbery, even though all four are living in the Olympic village.

As we reported, The IOC flatly denied a robbery had taken place, despite the fact that Lochte's mom told a Fox Sports reporter about the incident ... calling it, "terrifying."

An official from the USOC tells TMZ Sports, they jumped to the conclusion nothing had happened because they couldn't confirm something had. Yet that official admitted the U.S. Committee told the IOC it didn't happen without ever speaking to anyone involved.

For it's part, the IOC apparently never tried contacting any of the victims or Lochte's mom.

It would no doubt be bad for the games if a story got out that robbers were posing as police officers in Rio, hunting down tourists and robbing them with guns to their head.

One preseason game and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is already over his crush on Johnny Manziel -- telling TMZ Sports he's fired up about his brand new #2 quarterback ... Dak Prescott!

After Dallas lost to the Rams last night (who cares, it's pre-season) Jerry and his family hit up Nice Guy in L.A. with an apparent police escort.

And with Jerry's son Stephen Jones recently saying Manziel is out of consideration for the Cowboys backup job, we went straight to the boss to ask if that was really the case.

Jerry gave a 2 word explanation as to why Johnny's on the outs -- DAK. PRESCOTT.

FYI, Dak -- the rookie out of Mississippi State -- crushed it last night ... going10 for 12 with 139 yards and 2 TDs ... and his 2 incomplete passes were both drops by the tight end.

Jerry seems very pleased.

10:10 AM PT -- Lochte says he was in a cab with three other swimmers when, according to a report, the driver was pulled over by men flashing badges and claiming to be police. The fake cops told everybody in the cab to get down on the ground, and three of the swimmers followed orders, but Lochte refused, saying he did nothing wrong. At that point, according to the report, one of the robbers put a gun to Lochte's head and cocked it, demanding his wallet. Lochte obliged.

9:30 AM PT -- A rep for Brazilian swimmer, Thiago Pereira, says he was with Lochte at Club France celebrating a friend's birthday before the incident.

Ryan Lochte was reportedly held up at gunpoint this weekend in Rio ... apparently at a party in the city, but an IOC spokesperson says it's not true.

Lochte's mom says her son called her right after the stickup and says it was "terrifying" ... according to a Fox Sports Australia reporter. The reporter says the thief or thieves made off with Ryan's wallet.

Ryan was invited to the party by Brazilian swimmer Thiago Pereira, along with 3 of Lochte's teammates.

Another report says a second U.S. swimmer was held up along with Ryan.

The IOC says the story is "absolutely not true," but the Fox Sports reporter insists Ryan's mom debriefed him on the incident.

Story developing

Drake asked a huge crowd at his Columbus, Ohio concert to show the man who was largely responsible for making neighboring Cleveland NBA champs ... and the crowd delivered.

L.A. Rams running back Tre Mason led police on an ATV chase through Palm Beach, FL -- after officers say he was riding dangerously in a local park ... TMZ Sports has learned.

It all went down on July 27th around 3 PM -- when cops say Mason was tearing up the grass and dirt on an ATV while not wearing a helmet or eye protection.

Cops say he was doing wheelies and "spinning the tires so the dirt and grass would shoot out on to [the nearby road]."

One officer tried to approach Mason to talk -- but the RB drove right past him at a high rate of speed ... so cops gave chase. They eventually followed Mason back to his home, where he locked himself inside.

Cops spoke with a family member who convinced Tre to come outside -- where he was cited for operating an ATV on public roads and fleeing cops. Cops later towed the vehicle from the scene because it was not registered to anyone.

It's just the latest in a string of troubling police incidents involving Mason -- the 6th time cops have been called for an incident involving the 23-year-old in less than 5 months.

Mason's family has told officials they're concerned about Tre's mental health.

He's due in court later this month.

Matt Barnes is hoping his days of teaming up with Kobe Bryant didn't end with the 2012 Lakers ... saying he wants the Mamba to give him a big assist ... as a MOVIE PRODUCER.

We got Barnes out in L.A. and asked if he's got anything lined up for his life after basketball (dude is 36 after all, but still balling) and that's when he told us he's interested in life behind the camera.

Then our guy brought up Kobe ... who's just getting his production company kickin' since his retirement ... and asked whether or not Matt's up for working with the Mamba.

Check out the clip -- not only is he up for it ... he says the two men have talked ... and a collab on some type of project might not be as far off as you think.

BTW -- we also asked what it means to have an African-American woman win individual gold in swimming ... and Matt keeps it 100 ... saying certain stereotypes might be gone forever.

When Tennessee Titans linebacker Avery Williamson takes the field on Sept. 11th ... he'll be playing with a special set of cleats created to honor those who passed on 9/11.

The NFL regular season happens to begin on the 15 year anniversary of the terror attacks -- and many of the players are planning to pay tribute to the victims, first responders and other people affected by the tragedy.

One of those players is Williamson -- who approached cleat customizer Billy Hobbs at True Blue Customs and asked for a special design ... and Hobbs came through strong.

Hobbs airbrushed a pair of Nike Vapors to resemble the American flag, and added the words "Never Forget" and "9/11" to the back of each cleat.

Several NFL players have talked about playing on 9/11 -- including NY Jets center Nick Mangold -- who previously said, "It is truly an honor to open the season at home, at MetLife Stadium, on the 15th anniversary of 9/11."

Michael Phelps just officially crushed the hopes of anyone hoping to see him swim in Tokyo for the 2020 Summer Olympics ... announcing his retirement from the games (again).

Phelps was doing a livestream with fans Saturday and the question of his return to the games for 2020 came up. This time, Michael was adamant ... he's not coming back.

Conor McGregor continued his all out assault on the WWE, this time going after one of the company's biggest stars ... John Cena and calling him a "failed Mr. Olympia mother f*****."

McGregor did a Q&A at Shine Alternative Fitness in Vegas Friday and made it VERY clear, he thinks today's WWE Superstars are a bunch of "dweebs." However, McGregor really tore into Cena, mocking his bright orange shirts and "you can't see me" catch phrase.

Conor did clear one thing up though, he's got no hard feelings for Ric Flair who put the UFC star on blast last week.

A-Rod certainly had his ups and downs in NYC during his storied baseball career, so it made a lot of sense to throw him a goodbye party at Up&Down nightclub in the Big Apple.

Lots of celebs showed up to pay homage to the Yankee great -- including Jamie Foxx, Spike Lee, and teammates Dellin Betances and CC Sabathia.

A Rod hit an RBI double Friday night, helping Yanks beat the Rays 6-3.

MLB superstar Albert Pujols is being sued by his own cousin -- who claims the L.A. Angels slugger ruined his life and aspiring baseball career by wrongly labeling him as a murderer.

The man behind the lawsuit is Wilfrido Juan Pujols -- Albert's cousin -- who was the passenger in a 2007 police chase in Missouri in which his car struck and killed a man.

Wilfrido's older brother was behind the wheel that day -- and was charged with multiple felonies including 2nd degree felony murder. Wilfrido was NOT charged with a crime. In fact, he claims he was trying to STOP his brother, who was messed up on drugs and booze.

The mother of the victim wrote a message to Albert's foundation in 2014 -- accusing the MLB star and his wife of financially aiding the brothers who she claimed "murdered" her son.

Albert's wife, Deidre, responded to the message with a statement condemning BOTH of the brothers -- saying, "These two young men have ruined many lives."

The victim's mother posted Deidre's statement on her Facebook page.

Wilfrido says it was that statement that has destroyed his reputation -- because people now think he played an active role in the deadly incident.

In his lawsuit, Wilfrido says the statement was approved by Albert -- and ruined his reputation in the baseball community and derailed his playing career.

Now, he wants the Pujols to shell out more than $27 MILLION to make things right ... don't hold your breath.

He's the best tumbler in the history of Major League Baseball -- but was habitual flipper Ozzie Smith good enough to make the Olympic gymnastics team??

That's exactly what we asked the Hall of Famer when we saw him in L.A. Thursday -- and he seems pretty confident ... had he set his mind to it back in the day.

Smith was one hell of an athlete -- and seems fairly confident that he had the ability to succeed in gymnastics ... if he really honed in on it.

And after watching some of his famous flips ... we believe it.

Ronda Rousey is body-ready to enter the octagon again.

We got this pic of Ronda walking to her L.A. gym Friday for a training session.

Billy Bob Thornton thinks PED users in the Hall Of Fame are kinda like Lay's ... you can't have just one ... saying if A-Rod sneaks into Cooperstown then you gotta let everyone else in too.

BBT came on the "TMZ Sports" TV show and talked about Kenny Lofton's strong comments to us that under no circumstances should A-Rod even be CONSIDERED for the Hall of Fame.

While Thornton wasn't quite as hard on A-Rod as Lofton was (who could be?) he made it clear it's not just about Alex ... 'cause if you vote him in, you gotta vote in a whole generation of cheaters.

Peep the clip -- and be sure to watch "TMZ Sports" weeknights on FS1.