TMZ Sports - Page 50

So now you can judge for yourself ... was 2016 just an ordinary year when it came to celebrity deaths, or was something weird and dark spinning in the universe?

NBA star Caron Butler says he's "blown away" by George Karl's comments about players, and thinks he hurt his relationship with the rest of the basketball community.

Karl's new book, "Furious George: My Forty Years Surviving NBA Divas, Clueless GMs, and Poor Shot Selection," goes after Carmelo Anthony and Kenyon Martin's fatherless upbringings -- "all that money and no father to show them how to act like a man."

Butler -- who played for Karl with the Sacramento Kings last season -- says he got along with every coach he's had during his career ... but couldn't connect with Karl.

Call her Nostradamus ... because back in 2009, Jeanie Buss accurately predicted she'd never marry Phil Jackson.

We were digging around the ol' TMZ video vault when we found this clip of the couple leaving a wedding in Bev Hills back in the day .... when we asked if they would ever take the plunge.

Check out Jeanie's answer.

They did get engaged in 2012 ... after 13 years of dating. But now, they've announced the engagement is off and they're going their separate ways.

It might not be a popular opinion, but Bengals Hall of Famer Anthony Munoz thinks Marvin Lewis should be back on Cincinnati's sidelines next season.

The 11-time Pro Bowler says Lewis doesn't deserve all the blame for the Bengals' 5-9-1 record with one week to go in the season ... pointing out the injuries and staff changes that have plagued the team.

"I'm willing to say okay, he's got another year on his contract. Let's see what happens if everybody gets healthy."

It's all over ... Ronda Rousey got the living snot beat out of her by Amanda Nunes ... and it appears Ronda's fighting career is just about wrapped up.

Amanda crushed Rousey from the start of the fight -- beating her with a flurry of strong shots to the face .. and stopping the superstar 48 seconds into the first round of the fight.

Rousey looked lost and scared ... not her old self.

Forget the old Ronda Rousey, UFC champ Max Holloway says he loves the new "Dark Rousey" -- saying the pissed off version of the fighting legend looks ready to destroy Amanda Nunes.

Rousey has been angry and silent with the media leading up to UFC 207 tonight -- and the interim featherweight champ tells TMZ Sports why he absolutely LOVES IT!!!

There's more ... Max also gives us an update on his ankle injury and teases something BIG going down outside the octogon.

And, of course, he also trashes Jose Aldo. Enjoy ...

UFC Welterweight Champ Tyron Woodley has no doubt ... Amanda Nunes is going to kick Ronda Rousey's ass Friday night in Vegas.

We got Tyron at LAX Thursday and he's already bet big on the fight. He's very detailed about why he's confident Amanda will come out on top.

Johnny Manziel's new female companion is STRAIGHT FIRE!!!!

As we previously reported, the ex-NFL star has been getting close with "Wild 'n Out" girl Bre Tiesi ... and they definitely turned heads when they hit the beach in Miami together this week.

We asked Johnny what the deal is with them and he told us, "She's a homie" -- but when we pressed if they were homies with benefits, he didn't say one way or the other.

One thing IS clear ... you will enjoy these photos.

Kanye West is making serious gains in the gym -- and not just for his body.

Sources close to the rapper tell us 'Ye's been hitting the gym 5 to 6 times a week recently ... and it's become a critical component in his mental recovery, for several reasons.

Intense workouts help everyone get clarity ... something Kanye was lacking for months. It also helps people sleep better, which was another big factor in his mental breakdown.

Kanye's workouts are with celeb trainer Don Brooks -- who's also worked with Kim, Kourtney and Khloe -- and they include resistance training with bands, jump rope and some one-on-one bball.

Each session can last up to 2 hours ... switching between 'Ye's home gym and local spots.

We're told Kanye's been "very present" with Kim and the kids and a big part of that is working out his frustrations in the weight room.

As for Harley Pasternak -- the trainer who was with Kanye when he was rushed to the hospital -- we're told he's still in the picture. When you're super rich you have multiple trainers.

Down to your last million bucks and needing a sure way to make more dough?

Your best bet is Alabama football, according to Buffalo Bills star Marcell Dareus ... who says the Tide is a LOCK to roll to a national title.

Dareus -- who won a championship with Alabama in 2010 -- was on the "TMZ Sports" TV show when he told us to BET THE FRIGGIN' FARM on Saban's boys taking the crown this year.

"All of it."

Warning to Cody Garbrandt ... YOU HAVE AN ASS KICKING COMING ... at least that's what MMA star Phil Davis thinks ... telling TMZ Sports his training partner, Dominick Cruz, is gonna slap Cody around.

Garbrandt and Cruz are set to face off at UFC 207 ... and the two men have been throwing verbal darts at each other since the bout was announced ... calling each other every name in the book.

We got Davis out at LAX, and the Bellator star delivers bad news to Team Garbrandt ... saying Cody has a ZERO PERCENT chance to beat Cruz, who he says has been DOMINATING during training.

Pink and Carey Hart have shown supreme allegiance to their favorite whisky, by naming their new baby Jameson.

TMZ obtained a copy of the birth certificate, making Jameson Moon Hart official.

The kid was born the day after Xmas at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in L.A.

And of course there's a Kardashian connection. The doc who delivered the baby boy is Paul Crane, the OB/GYN of choice for the Kardashian women. We also reported he just delivered Zach Galifianakis' kid.

Ronda Rousey just faced off with Amanda Nunes at the UFC 207 weigh-ins ... and it was INTENSE!

Nunes -- nicknamed "The Lioness" -- showed up in lion mask and looked VERY easy going about the whole fight.

Ronda flashed a smile for a quick second before returning to angry mode.

But the big story was the confrontation between Cody Garbrandt and Dominick Cruz -- when they yelled and pushed at each other during the showdown.

WIDE RECEIVER BEEF!!!!

Dez Bryant fired back at Cris Carter on Thursday ... after the NFL Hall of Famer blasted him on "Undisputed" ... but now Dez is now trying to de-escalate this situation.

It started Thursday morning when Cris was VERY critical of Dez -- saying his performance over the weekend was not typical of a #1 receiver. At one point Cris said of the WRs who've been targeted 90 times this season, Dez is "the absolute worst."

Dez responded on Twitter saying, "Man you a puppet ... I'll see you around."

Minutes later he deleted the post and said, "I apologize it's not worth it."

Guessing we haven't heard the last of this ...

Just 27 days after undergoing back surgery, Rob Gronkowski is already back in PARTY ROCK MODE ... chillin' shirtless on a yacht in Miami.

Gronk's probably in Miami because his Patriots are playing the Dolphins on Sunday -- but he took some time to kick it on a celebrity-filled yacht with the like of "Divergent" star Ansel Elgort and Kardashian BFF Jonathan Cheban.

UFC stud Louis Smolka says he ain't backing out of his UFC 207 fight with Ray Borg ... even though his opponent is more than 3 POUNDS overweight.

It's a big deal ... especially between two flyweight fighters (125 pounders) ... but Smolka says he's a fighter and fighters fight.

The silver lining for Smolka ... he says he finally gets to be the good guy for a change.