TMZ Sports - Page 50

UFC announcer Joe Rogan has nothing but respect for Ronda Rousey -- but says he doesn't like hearing when fighters talk about the next phase of their career before they're done in the Octagon.

Everyone knows Ronda is one of Joe's favorite fighters -- and he heaped heavy praise on her at LAX this weekend. But when we brought up Ronda's recent announcement that UFC 207 would be one of her last fights before focusing on movies, Joe expressed some concern.

"It's exciting to see her to come back if she wants to come back, but whenever someone starts saying a couple more fights and then I'll go into movies, I go, 'Man, I don't like hearing that.' 'Cause when you have one foot out the door, you should probably put both feet out the door."

Rogan added, "But she might not REALLY have one foot out the door."

Matt Barnes is PISSED at the New Orleans Pelicans for cutting his boy Lance Stephenson -- saying Lance busted his ass for the team, only to get waived after he got hurt.

Stephenson suffered a groin injury and will require surgery that will reportedly keep him out for 6 to 10 weeks. So, New Orleans waived him and signed Archie Goodwin to take his roster spot.

The move infuriated Barnes.

"So my man Lance Stephenson busts his ass for the Pelicans, gets hurt, requires surgery & what does he get for his hard work??? WAIVED SMFH," the Sacramento Kings star wrote.

"Something fans have to understand is y'all get mad when players leave during free agency or hold out for money.. We have to do what's best for US, we have a small window to make as much money as we can."

"Remember this is a BUSINESS when you can no longer serve your purpose these teams cut you trade you or bury you on the bench!"

MLB pitcher Pedro Strop can breathe a sigh of relief after a custom car job gone bad ... 'cause the Chicago Cubs reliever gave his car a complete $30,000 makeover.

Strop hit up Alex Vega at the Auto Firm to re-pimp his 2015 Infiniti QX80. We're told the original job -- from a friend's recommendation -- had a front grill made of chicken wire and rims that 'looked like boat propellers.'

But Vega worked his magic and completely stripped the car of its old look to give him a white satin, white pearl and glossy black detail to help forget about the old maroon mess.

Vega did a solid for sure ... but not for free (this is America) ... final price tag, $30k.

Denver Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall has decided to end his national anthem protest --- and will STAND when the Star Spangled Banner is played for the rest of the season.

Marshall was one of the first NFL players to join Colin Kaepernick's protest -- and said he would be taking a knee during the anthem to "raise awareness for social injustice and to start conversation about what all of us can do to make a positive change."

Marshall explained his decision to call off the protest on Instagram before the Broncos vs. Raiders game Sunday night ... saying:

"Going forward, I will be standing for the National Anthem -- not because everything is perfect, or because I'm changing my stance on things. But because of my hope for what we can become."

"Just because I am standing doesn't mean the work will end. There’s much work to be done. I’ll continue to recognize and support organizations that are stepping up as leaders and making a real difference in our community, and I will do my part to be there for those in need."

Marshall added, "I really appreciate the support from my family, teammates, coaches and fans. I’m grateful for those who have taken the time to hear me out. I’m excited for what all of us can accomplish when we truly work together."

Ronda Rousey just got verbally annihilated by a female fighting goddess -- ex-boxing champ Christy Martin who ripped Ronda for being a bad role model, a bad champion and an idiot.

48-year-old Martin -- one of the greatest female boxers of all time -- went off on Rousey to FightHype.com ... saying she wishes she was 10 years younger so she could teach the UFC superstar a lesson.

Check out why Christy thinks Ronda will never set foot in the Octagon again ... despite having a scheduled fight in December.

Marshawn Lynch reenacted his infamous 2006 golf cart joyride at Cal before the Golden Bears game.

It was hysterical. You'll recall when Marshawn got behind the wheel during the Cal/Washington game back in the day.

It definitely holds up.

Brooke Hogan dropped some interesting info Saturday night ... her dad may be appearing on WrestleMania.

Brooke was leaving Catch when our photog asked about Hulk's return, after being banished when Gawker released a transcript of the secret video.

UFC star Cowboy Cerrone says he's 100% sure about one thing regarding UFC 205 -- which he's fighting in -- and that's by time it happens Donald Trump will be the President-elect of the U.S.A.

Cerrone has an Octagon brawl on November 12 against Kelvin Gastelum ... but when we got him out in L.A. we wanted to know his thoughts about a bigger fight happening that week ... Trump vs. Clinton.

Check out the clip -- Cowboy makes it totally clear he's team "Make America Great Again," saying that by the time he arrives in NYC for the fight ... the Donald will be drinking celebratory champagne.

BTW -- Cowboy ain't the only UFC star down with Trump. If you remember ... his boss, Dana White, has actually stumped for Trump ... giving a speech for him at the RNC.

Way to score some points with the head man, Cowboy.

If you're broke as a joke but still looking to get your swerve on with the ladies ... listen up ... Chad Johnson -- self-proclaimed frugal guru -- is gonna tell you how to be a low cash Casanova.

We got Chad out in NYC and, since he claims to be such a penny-pincher (dude drives a smart car), we decided to do all our financially-challenged brothers a solid and get some advice on their behalf.

Check out the clip -- Chad says there is one key to romancing on restricted funds ... McDonald's ... and the reasons he gives aren't half bad, to be honest.

Shannon Briggs has a real plan to resurrect boxing ... by using something fake ... saying he thinks he can make the sweet science hot again ... by acting like a WWE wrestler.

TMZ Sports talked with Briggs who's fighting for the WBA heavyweight title by the end of the year against journeyman Lucas Browne.

Of course this fight comes after years of some of the most entertaining smack talk, antics, and borderline harassment we've seen (poor Wladimir Klitschko) ... with Briggs saying it's all part of the plan.

Shannon's point -- embrace the crazy and make the sport fun again.

Meantime, check out the clips below and relive some of Briggs' greatest hits (sorry again, Wlad).

Lil Wayne fell victim to the quick hands of Lee Corso Saturday ... and it almost cost him some serious bling.

Weezy was a guest on ESPN's College GameDay and had a prime seat right beside Corso. However -- in the middle of making picks -- Lee snatched Weezy's pinky ring and put it on himself.

Greg Hardy has been training his ass off as an MMA fighter -- linking up with one of the top gyms in the country where he's been living and sleeping while working under the tutelage of an ex-UFCer.

TMZ Sports has learned ... the 28-year-old ex-NFL star has been training with American Top Team in Florida -- which Dana White once hailed as one of the top 5 MMA teams in the country.

We spoke with one of Hardy's trainers, Mike Brown -- a former UFC fighter who actually fought and BEAT Urijah Faber TWICE in his MMA career.

Brown says Hardy has been living at the training facility -- "He's staying in the dorms we have upstairs. It's for guys who are really in intensive training."

While at ATT, Hardy has been working out with legit MMA studs like King Mo -- who seems to have taken a liking to the ex-Pro Bowler.

So, how does Hardy look?

"He seems to have the drive and desire," Brown says ... noting that Hardy has been taking classes in multiple disciplines to hone his skills.

"He took boxing last night, jiu-jitsu today. He was training with Steve Mocco, our wrestling coach, who was in the Olympics."

As far as taking a pro fight, Brown says there's a shot he could debut in 2017 taking a low-level pro fight or an amateur fight. Stay tuned ...

For a guy who loves to talk, Conor McGregor got awfully quiet when asked about those baby rumors!

Conor has been teasing a "big announcement" -- and lots of people suspect the news is that his girlfriend Dee Devlin is preggo with a Lil McGregor!

So, when we saw Conor in NYC on Friday we had to ask about it -- you can see his reaction for yourself.

As for the other special delivery Conor's been waiting for -- a private jet of his own -- sounds like he might need to beat up a few more people before that happens.

The bar where Jose Fernandez and his 2 friends were last seen partying and drinking before the fatal boat crash will NOT be investigated for possibly over serving the group ... officials tell TMZ Sports.

Miesha Tate says the Ronda Rousey farewell fighting tour might be pretty short ... like, one fight short ... telling TMZ Sports Rousey will retire immediately if she loses to Amanda Nunes at 207.

Little backstory ... Tate and Rousey hate each other ... and pretty much always have.

So, when we got Miesha out in L.A. we wanted to know how she felt about the news Ronda's career is winding down ... did she shed a tear, or pop some champagne when she heard?

Apparently she did neither ... and that's because she saw the whole thing coming. In fact, Tate says if Ronda loses her next fight, she'll quit right there.

There's obviously no love lost between the two ladies ... but still, if you've heard Ronda talk lately you kinda get the feeling Tate is onto something here.

Tennis star James Blake is PROUD of his alma mater Harvard for taking swift action against the men's soccer team -- saying he's glad the school didn't go the Penn State route and try to cover it up.

Harvard's Dean cancelled the rest of the season after it was revealed players had compiled sexual "scouting reports" on incoming female soccer recruits -- complete with bang-ability ratings.

But Blake -- who attended Harvard in the early 2000s -- says the University had a choice on how they wanted to handle it ... and made the right decision by "outing themselves."