TMZ Sports - Page 50

Talk about GREAT -- LeBron James is donating $2.5 MILLION to help fund a Muhammad Ali exhibit at the Smithsonian in D.C.

The exhibit -- titled, "Muhammad Ali: A Force for Change" -- will showcase how the boxing legend used his role as a world famous athlete to make real change to society.

LeBron isn't the only NBA superstar to donate to the Ali project -- Michael Jordan kicked in $5 MILLION and Magic Johnson and his family added another $1 mil.

So, what compelled Bron to donate?

"Muhammad Ali is such a cornerstone of me as an athlete because of what he represented not only in the ring as a champion but more outside the ring — what he stood for, what he spoke for, his demeanor," LeBron told USA TODAY Sports.

With the Houston Texans going to Mexico for a game against the Raiders this weekend, the NFL has sent a safety memo to the team -- essentially advising them how not to get robbed ... or diarrhea.

Memphis Grizzlies star Marc Gasol ain't worried about retribution from Conor McGregor after busting out his swag walk after hitting the go-ahead 3 pointer Wednesday night ... telling TMZ Sports, "We're cool."

You know the "swag walk" -- arms out, swingin' like you don't care (McGregor actually bit the move from Vince McMahon).

And when we got Gasol out at Nightingale nightclub in L.A. -- partying with teammate Mike Conley -- it was pretty clear to us he meant it as a tribute to the UFC star.

Gasol's shot was THE key moment in the Grizzlies' victory over the Clippers. So, yeah, we get it ...

Goldberg is warning Brock Lesnar ... keep your freakin' elbows to yourself -- making it clear if Brock lets his arms go crazy in their upcoming WWE match, retaliation is a-comin'.

Of course, Brock left Randy Orton a bloody mess when they faced off at SummerSlam back in August -- when it appeared Lesnar caught him with a very real elbow to the face. It was brutal.

So, with Goldberg set to do battle with Brock at WWE Survivor Series on Nov. 20th -- we asked if he was concerned about suffering the same fate.

"I don't care what he did to Randy Orton. I've been throwing elbows for the past 12 years at my muay thai gym. I hope he throws elbows at me. I'm completely serious."

Goldberg says he's in killer shape and ready to roll.

Fear the Spear.

Ex-South Carolina football star Marcus Lattimore says he's got two of the best mentors EVER to help him on his new journey as a high school football coach -- Jim Harbaugh and Steve Spurrier.

Lattimore's story is pretty famous ... he was a STUD running back in college -- but was forced to retire from the NFL at age 23 after suffering several devastating injuries.

Now, he's taken the head coaching job at Heathwood Hall high school in South Carolina -- and says he's modeling his coaching style after his 2 former coaches.

"I'm gonna lean a lot on Coach Spurrier. I'm gonna lean a lot on Coach Harbaugh."

Lattimore also says he wants to use his own story to inspire his players.

"I want these guys to know that no matter what we go through as a team -- the good, the bad, the ups and the downs -- get back up and persevere."

Kate Upton is FURIOUS Justin Verlander didn't win the A.L. Cy Young Award -- sending a scorching note to the MLB writers who voted on it ... YOU F**KED MY FIANCE.

Verlander came in 2nd in the voting behind Red Sox pitcher Rick Porcello -- despite the fact Justin had more 1st place votes.

FYI -- the Cy Young voting system is weighted. Writers fill in a name for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th place -- a 1st place vote is worth 7 points. 2nd is worth 4, 3rd is worth 3, 4th is 2 and 5th is 1.

Verlander had 14 1st place votes. Rick had 8 ... but Rick beat Verlander out in the overall scoring.

Enter Upton who went all scorched Earth on the process.

"Hey @MLB I thought I was the only person allowed to f**k @JustinVerlander ?! What 2 writers didn't have him on their ballot?"

"He had the majority of 1st place votes and 2 writers didn't have him on their ballots?!! can you pick more out of touch people to vote?@MLB"

Selling millions of records and making hundreds of millions of dollars ain't enough for Master P ... 'cause the mogul of moguls says he wants to dominate in a new profession ... as an NBA head coach.

P sat down with Raquel Harper of "Raq Rants" (on our YouTube channel) and was asked if he had any regrets about never making a regular season NBA roster (although he did play a couple of preseason games).

Andre Ward says he's texting buddies with the legendary Michael Jordan -- and he still can't really believe it.

Ward is fighting Sergey Kovalev in a HUGELY hyped boxing match this weekend -- and said the NBA legend hit him via text to send him a message about the fight.

Of course, Ward is endorsed by Jordan Brand -- but says it's still surreal to him to be phone friends with the greatest athlete of all time.

This is awesome!!!!!!

Vin Scully couldn't believe his ears when he got a phone call from the White House Wednesday informing him that he's receiving an honor from President Obama ... saying, "Oh my gosh, no. Are you sure?"

Cameras were rolling when White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest called the L.A. Dodgers legend to let him know he's a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom ... the highest civilian honor any President can give.

The always humble Scully reacted in the very way you'd expect -- "I'm just an old baseball announcer."

Nick Diaz was inside 1 Oak nightclub when Conor McGregor went off on Floyd Mayweather Tuesday night -- and had this 2 word reaction -- "F*** you."

Diaz began Snapchatting himself during Conor's rant -- and said, "I was already the 2-weight world champion, bitch."

Then he threw up a middle finger and said, "F*** you."

John Legend has a message for anyone dismissing LeBron James' diss of Phil Jackson ... slow your roll ... saying LBJ's got the right to be pissed over Phil calling his business partners a "posse."

You've heard the beef by now ... LeBron thinks Phil was out of line ... maybe even racist ... for referring to his agent and business manager as his "posse" -- and saying Jackson wouldn't have used the term if LeBron's business team was white.

Jerry Rice is no dummy ... and knows when you're caught in a Ronda Rousey-style armbar at an MMA gym -- YOU TAP IMMEDIATELY!!!

The NFL legend teamed up with Bellator, Spike and Veterans Operation Wellness to do some MMA training with U.S. Army veterans at the Smash Gym in Northern California on Tuesday ... and actually looked pretty good.

At one point, he squared off with J.T. Roswell -- who's fighting at Bellator 165 on Saturday -- and even though he got his hands near Roswell's face, things changed quickly ... and it was tap city.

We're told Rice was a quick learner and the fighters were impressed with how quickly he picked up on techniques.

Mick ... and Adrian ... and Paulie ... and Apollo might ALL be rolling in their graves after this -- 'cause here are a bunch of the Philadelphia 76ers doing "Rocky" quotes -- and it's so bad, it's good.

Jahlil Okafor, Joel Embiid, Nik Stauskas and more all take a swing and delivering some of the most famous quotes from the franchise ... despite the fact they have terrible Philly accents.

Our favorite part ... Dario Saric singing "Eye of the Tiger."

The team is honoring the 40th anniversary of the original "Rocky" -- and will include the theme at Wednesday's game against the Wizards.

Ron Harper is coming out strong in defense of his ex-Chicago Bulls coach Phil Jackson -- saying straight-up, "He's no racist" ... despite comments made by LeBron James.

Phil's been under fire this week -- ever since LeBron slammed Jackson for describing his close business associates as a "posse."

LeBron says he was offended by the term -- claiming it was used in a derogatory manner toward a group of African-Americans.

We reached out to Harper -- who played under Jackson with the Bulls and Lakers from 1994 to 2001 -- and he sent us a statement on the situation. Here it is in its entirety:

"Don't want no part of this story it's dumb and stupid. Phil is no racist and back when Phil coached, we all call them the p word."

"I respect LBJ and that's how he feel I'm sorry pj is great. The world needs to stop taking words out of context. Everything about life is not a white and black thing. We're one race and that's a human race and if we let dumb people's put us into a box and then no one would survive."

"This is not an excuse for what Phil said or down playing the story but to me it's a no story."

NFL running back Isaiah Pead seems to be in good spirits -- or as good of spirits as he could be in -- while recovering from a bad car crash ... smiling in multiple pics from the hospital.

Pead was badly hurt when he wrecked his car in Ohio around 2 AM on Saturday -- and his injuries are so bad, his family says his football career is over.

But despite the bad news, the 26-year-old mustered up a smile when he was visited by an old friend the other day -- University of Cincinnati Asst. Athletic Director Bob Mangine ... who specializes in sports medicine.

Mangine brought over Pead's old college football jersey -- which elicited a smile from the RB.

Pead also posed for a pic in front of the hospital -- sporting a smile while seated in his wheelchair.

We've reached out to Pead to find out how he's doing. We'll let you know if we hear back.

Geno Smith is battling through his ACL tear -- working his butt off to try to get back on the field next season ... just days after undergoing surgery.

The NY Jets QB went under the knife to repair his right knee on Nov. 9th after suffering the ACL tear while playing the Ravens on Oct. 23rd.

Just 3 days later he was already in physical therapy -- and today, one week later, he's still pushing himself.

Geno's a free agent after this season and he's most likely done with the Jets -- question is, where will he land next season?