TMZ Sports - Page 50

He may be young, but new L.A. Rams head coach Sean McVay is no dummy ... and ALREADY called Eric Dickerson to let him know he's more than welcome on the sidelines.

Dickerson just landed in Houston for the Super Bowl (he's pickin' ATL) when we asked how he felt about his team signing 31-year-old McVay -- the youngest head coach in NFL history.

Turns out, E.D.'s a big fan -- "He called me when he got the job ... we spoke and he seemed like a nice guy."

Of course, Dickerson clashed with the last Rams coach, Jeff Fisher -- with the NFL legend saying Fisher told him he wasn't welcome on the sidelines because he was critical of the team.

Fisher got fired. Dickerson says his issues with Fisher are in the past ... no bad blood.

Dwyane Wade has reunited with LeBron James ... TO DESTROY CHARLES BARKLEY ... saying he's glad LBJ verbally eviscerated the Hall of Famer, 'cause Barkley just talks too much crap.

"Thank God [LeBron] finally said something," Wade told the Chicago Tribune ... after LeBron went in on Chuck Monday night.

"LeBron, a lot of guys take a lot of shots at him, for whatever reason ... He's just kept his mouth closed and you know continued to focus on what he need to. But it's about time he said something."

As we previously reported, LBJ ripped Chuck as a "hater" and an all-around bad person after enduring yet ANOTHER round of harsh criticism from Barkley.

Enter Wade ... LeBron's BFF -- who backed his friend 100% and said with all the skeletons Charles has in his closet, he should have kept his damn mouth shut when it comes to judging LeBron's character.

"When you got a history, when you can go and Google your history, you need to be a little careful with what you say."

Doesn't matter that he's a world-class swimmer ... Ryan Lochte says there's no way in hell he's allowing his fiancee to have a water birth when their kid is born.

Lochte and his fiancee, Kayla Rae Reid, announced their pregnancy back in December -- and Kayla says she seriously looked in to having a live water birth.

But Lochte says he shut that down real quick -- explaining he wants his son born in a hospital with the proper resources to help his family in case anything goes wrong during the birth.

Drew Brees is getting some HUGE support for his possible political career -- with one of Louisiana's most powerful politicians offering to chair Drew's campaign in the state.

We spoke with U.S. House of Representatives member Dr. Ralph Abraham -- who's been serving the 5th district of Louisiana since 2015 -- and he LOVES that Drew is considering a career in Washington after his playing days are over.

"Drew Brees led the Saints to a Super Bowl win; he can lead our nation to prosperity," Abraham told TMZ Sports in a statement.

"I’ll even chair his campaign in the 24 parishes I represent."

He added, "In all seriousness, I don’t know what Drew’s politics are, but it doesn’t matter. He’s demonstrated incredible character and class in New Orleans, and the world of politics could use a lot more folks like that."

Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao?

Tito Ortiz says it doesn't matter ... 'cause Conor McGregor would get his ass kicked by either guy in a boxing match.

The Huntington Beach Bad Boy was at ArcLight Hollywood for the "John Wick: Chapter 2" premiere when he told us straight-up ... MMA fighters don't stand a chance against boxers in a BOXING MATCH!

Derek Fisher told police someone broke into his L.A. home and stole more than $300,000 worth of valuable jewelry ... including his 5 NBA Championship rings ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us the NBA legend reported a burglary at his home Monday morning -- telling police he left the home at 7:30 AM and when he returned 3 hours later, it was clear someone had been inside.

We're told officials believe the perp got into the house through a side door -- and went for his jewelry. Among the stolen goods was Fisher's 5 NBA rings he won during his run with the Lakers. They're each worth a ton of cash.

Our sources say other jewelry was taken as well.

The LAPD is currently investigating. So far, no arrests have been made.

How excited was Jim Harbaugh after he got one of the top WRs in the country to commit to Michigan???

HE JUMPED INTO A POOL WITH ALL OF HIS CLOTHES ON!!!

The kid behind the jump is Oliver Martin -- 6'0", 188 lbs, runs the 40 in 4.65 and was ranked the #1 high school player in all of Iowa.

Martin was being recruited by top schools including Wisconsin, Auburn, Iowa, Notre Dame and Florida ... so you can understand why Harbaugh was PUMPED to get him to commit to the Wolverines.

Other top recruits are probably asking themselves right now ... would your football coach jump in a pool for you?

Big step for J.J. Watt ... the NFL superstar FINALLY went public with his relationship with his pro soccer star girlfriend -- by posting a couply picture on Instagram!

Obviously, this is a big deal.

Watt and pro soccer star Kealia Ohai have been dating for months -- but kept things extremely under wraps. No public outings. No Man Crush Monday or Woman Crush Wednesday posts. Nothing.

Until Tuesday ... when Watt posted a photo of the two during a recent beach outing and wished Ohai a happy birthday.

"Happy Birthday beautiful. May this be your best year yet! @kealiamae."

Watt has 2.5 million followers ... so, it's kind of like their coming out party.

By the way, Kealia also happens to be the sister-in-law of his Texans teammate, Brian Cushing -- so you can probably understand why Watt was being extra careful about how he handled the whole situation.

It got all "Field of Dreams" at Super Bowl Media Day on Monday ... when Tom Brady fought back tears talking about how much he loves his father.

Brady was taking questions from reporters when he was asked to name his personal hero. What ensued was emotional.

"Well, I think my dad is my hero," Brady said with his voice starting to crack ... "Because he's the one I look up to every day ... and uh ... my dad."

It's interesting considering the anti-Roger Goodell comments Tom's father made over the weekend. Tom says he put a media ban on his dad ... but clearly, he ain't mad about it.

Now, go watch Ray Kinsella have a catch with his father and try not to lose it.

LeBron James WENT OFF on Charles Barkley last night ... blasting the NBA legend as a "hater" with a violent, sketchy and downright shameful past.

James was speaking with ESPN after the Cavs lost to the Mavs on Monday and was asked about Barkley's recent criticism of his leadership.

"He's a hater," LeBron said ... "What makes what he says credible? Because he's on TV?"

Then he REALLY went in.

"I'm not going to let him disrespect my legacy like that," James said.

"I'm not the one who threw somebody through a window. I never spit on a kid. I never had unpaid debt in Las Vegas. I never said, 'I'm not a role model.' I never showed up to All-Star Weekend on Sunday because I was in Vegas all weekend partying."

"All I've done for my entire career is represent the NBA the right way. Fourteen years, never got in trouble. Respected the game. Print that."

Peyton Manning might not be the only superstar NFL quarterback in Washington ... Drew Brees tells TMZ Sports he's also open to the idea of running for office after he hangs up the cleats.

The 38-year-old QB is like a living God in New Orleans and is incredibly involved in the community -- so, when we saw him at LAX, we asked if he'd thought about politics after his days with the Saints are over.

"It won't be the first thing I do, but I'm not gonna rule it out," Brees told us.

It's likely over for Ronda Rousey ... so says UFC honcho Dana White who says when it comes to fighting, "I think she's probably done."

White appeared on the "UFC Unfiltered" podcast and was asked straight-up about the chances of Ronda getting back in the Octagon after she got destroyed by Amanda Nunes at UFC 207.

"In the conversation I had with her, if I had to say right here right now -- again I don't like saying right here right now because it's up to her -- but I wouldn't say she fights again," White said.

"I think she's probably done ... She's going to ride off into the sunset and start living her life outside of fighting."

Ronda's been busy since the fight ... protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline and working on getting her concealed weapons license in Nevada.

If she is done fighting forever ... salute to Ronda. She's a legend.

Bad guys, beware ... 51 teams of elite police dogs have been deployed to Houston from PDs all over the country to help their human counterparts keep fans safe, officials say.

In fact, the L.A. Sheriff's Dept. just announced it sent 8 trained K9 teams over to the Super Bowl to assist in explosive detection with the TSA and the U.S. Marshals Service.

The LASD officer dogs were even sworn in as Deputy U.S. Marshals so they could work with the Marshal teams.

LASD Lieutenant Richard Hoffman issued a statement saying, "Our K9 teams are constantly training and are used to crowds as large as those attending the Super Bowl."

How good is Justin Bieber at hockey? So good that an NHL goalie thinks he'd be helpless to stop the scoring machine from Toronto.

Bieber again showed his ice skills this past weekend ... scoring a pretty sick goal in the celebrity game during the NHL's All-Star festivities ... and getting roughed up a little too.

We got Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford -- an All-Star himself -- out at LAX and asked him if Justin would've gotten his point had Crawford been in goal.

If you thought he was gonna diss Bieber ... it's not too late to say you're sorry.

Heavyweight boxing champ Anthony Joshua is a freak of an athlete.

6'6", 234 lbs and explosive as all hell.

Yet he sucks at dunking a basketball.

Here's video of the K.O. king getting rocked by the rim at the Under Armour headquarters in Baltimore -- where he's been promoting his upcoming superfight with Wladimir Klitschko.

Don't worry AJ, even superfreak athletes like Dez Bryant get stuffed by the rim every now and then.

Still funny though.

It's officially over for Mike Vick ... and the NFL star is going out with a massive party.

The 36-year-old quarterback is set to host his "official retirement party" at Grooves of Houston nightclub during Super Bowl weekend, a rep for Headliner Market Group tells TMZ Sports.

Vick will cohost the party with Gucci Mane.

Vick had a pretty stellar NFL career since entering the league in 2001 when the ATL Falcons took him with the #1 overall pick. He also played for the Eagles, Jets and Steelers.

He was a 4-time Pro Bowler ... and became the NFL Comeback Player of the Year in 2010 after missing two seasons while he was prison doing time for his role in a dog fighting ring.

Just last week, Vick did a radio interview and said he could still play in the NFL and considered himself better than any backup QB in the league.