TMZ Sports - Page 50

Sounds like former Dallas Cowboys linebacker Bobby Carpenter is conflicted on how he feels about Ezekiel Elliott as a person.

On one hand, Carpenter says he absolutely condemns the boob-grabbing stunt ... and on the other, he's personally witnessed Zeke acting like a good dude.

Here's Bobby's statement:

"I don't endorse Zeke's behavior of grabbing women and pulling their shirts down. It's unprofessional at best and illegal at its worst."

"However on the Buckeye Cruise he got mobbed for pictures and didn't take everyone during his leisure time, but during the 4 hour autograph signing he was polite and engaging with nearly 800 people."

"I know it to be true because I was at the table beside of him. He smiled and kissed babies."

Our takeaway, Carpenter wants to defend Zeke ... but he knows it's dicey.

Meanwhile, Chris Spielman could not have been more clear ... he's sick and tired of Elliott's stupid antics.

There's a BIG difference between a "business fight" and a "true fight" ... so says Gennady Golvkin who tells TMZ Sports the Conor vs. Floyd situation is more entertainment than sport.

Gennady is gearing up for his big showdown with Daniel Jacobs at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night ... a match GGG says is a "true fight."

By the way, Triple G has been calling Mayweather out for years ... and says he KNOWS he would knock him out.

NFL lineman King Dunlap will NOT be prosecuted for violating a restraining order involving his baby mama ... and his lawyer says the two sides are working together to co-parent their kids.

Dunlap was arrested last month at his home when cops say he violated the terms of a protective order by visiting the residence while his GF was there. He was told by the judge to have no contact whatsoever.

We spoke with Dunlap's attorney, Worrick Robinson, who says the whole thing was a giant misunderstanding -- he was just at the home to pick up clothes.

Robinson says Dunlap and his ex are on good terms at the moment and are focused on working together to co-parent their two kids.

Chargers players Donavon Clark & Tyrell Williams are throwing down the gauntlet to L.A. football fans ... saying the time is now to choose their team, 'cause the bandwagon will be full at a later date.

We got the guys out at Pink's Hot Dogs in L.A. (football players gotta eat) and asked them how Tinseltown pigskin fans are supposed to make their decision between the Chargers and Rams.

It's a good question ... L.A. hasn't had a team in FOREVER, and now there's two, so the city could be thrust into an all-out football civil war.

Clark and Williams say no matter how you make your decision ... MAKE IT NOW ... 'cause they're planning on winning a lot of games and don't want fans who just root for the trendy team.

Repeating as NCAA champs is nearly impossible ... so does Villanova have a shot? Jay Wright sure thinks so ... telling TMZ Sports his squad has handled everything thrown at them all year.

Wright admits there was a "hangover" after winning it all last year ... and although he's stoked about finishing this season 31-3, he says it's no lock they'll breeze through the tourney.

"[The NCAA tournament is] a different type of pressure. A different vibe. I think I'm gonna wait 'til our first game to see how we're handling it. But right now it seems pretty good."

FYI -- in the last 40 years, only 2 teams (Florida and Duke) have won back-to-back championships.

Latavius Murray -- who just signed with the Vikings -- says he will NOT continue to wear #28 on his new team ... because he doesn't want to disrespect Adrian Peterson.

The former Oakland Raiders running back has been rocking #28 on previous teams for years ... saying he was initially inspired by Jags RB Fred Taylor.

But now that he's rockin' the purple, he's changing things up. Here's his explanation:

"There wasn't a thought in my mind to try and wear or ask for the #28. I have too much respect for AP and so much respect for what he's done and what he means to this organization."

"Many people don't know, but I wore the #28 as a kid because of Fred Taylor who played for the Jaguars at the time. When AP came onto the scene and Fred retired, he was my reason for keeping #28."

"I want to say to Vikings fans: I'm not here to replace #28, he's irreplaceable. I'm not here to be #28, there's no one like him. I ask that you accept me for the player I am and know that I'm here to give you all I got and to win."

Ice Cube says his Hall of Fame wish list for the BIG3 league is Hall of FULL ... claiming he's got all the historic NBA talent he needs to get the new venture poppin'.

It was recently announced that Dr. J will be joining the league as a coach ... a huge get for the young league, 'cause Doc is a Mount Rushmore-type NBA legend.

So when we got Cube out in NYC braving the winter storm, we had to ask if there are more big names he wants to coach.

The answer? Not really. Cube tells our guy they have all the legends they need, then runs off a list of names that are pretty damn impressive.

It's time for John McCain's Guide to the NCAA Tourney!!!

He's picking Arizona to win it all, and why??? Because he's not an idiot!!

In fact, our guy asked if most politicians should pick teams from their home state to win.

"It depends on whether you wanna be re-elected or not!"

Note: McCain says he actually picked AGAINST U of A last year (and still got re-elected) ... so he's probably kidding. Plus, they're really good this year.

Investigators have concluded MLB pitcher Jose Fernandez was driving his boat at the time it crashed in Miami ... killing everyone onboard ... and say he was drunk and high on cocaine at the time.

Charles Barkley says LaVar Ball needs to come to terms with the fact he SUCKED at basketball ... and the idea he would beat Sir Chuck in 1-on-1 is straight-up delusional.

The NBA Hall of Famer was out in NYC when he responded to LaVar's claim that Chuck is a slow, Krispy Kreme eating fat boy who'd get WRECKED if they faced off on the court.

There's more smack talk ... Chuck throws some numbers around ... funny stuff.

The good news -- Barkley still really likes LaVar's son, Lonzo Ball, and thinks he should be the #1 overall pick in the NBA Draft.

But LaVar ... these two guys hate each other.

Detroit Lions legend Chris Spielman says he's sick and tired of people making excuses for Ezekiel Elliott -- claiming his shirt-pulling stunt was disgusting and wrong, period.

Dana White says Conor vs. Floyd is still a real possibility -- telling TMZ Sports, "It doesn't make a lot of sense for my business, but I would never keep Conor from making that kind of money."

The UFC boss was out in Bev Hills when he laid out Conor's opportunities ... some real big fights. He also said Conor's waiting for his kid to be born before he fights again.

The NBA got it right slapping Andre Iguodala with a $10k fine for racial remarks ... so says ex-NBA player Ryan Hollins, who tells TMZ Sports that type of talk has no place in the league.

Those remarks included Iggy referring to his coach, Steve Kerr, as "Massa" and another incident where he actually tweeted the n-word after a loss.

We got Ryan out at LAX and asked him about Andre's punishment, and he totally agreed with the league's decision ... specifically about the n-word, which Hollins says role models shouldn't use.

What's interesting is that Ryan says he has no problem with the "Massa" insult, which he says Andre could've been just joking around about, but the NBA seemed to really take issue with that.

The NY Jets tight end who stupidly talked cops INTO arresting him for DUI has been punished by the NFL ... and will be suspended for 2 games.

Austin Seferian-Jenkins was pulled over for a routine traffic stop back in September -- and was thiiiis close to being let go ... until he started running his drunken mouth.

During the arrest, Austin told cops he needed to take a "huge s**t" ... the cop begged him not to do it in the squad car.

ASJ eventually pled no contest to reckless driving and got probation and community service.

But the NFL found he violated the league's personal conduct policy -- and punished him as well.

You know that furry getup Carmelo Anthony rocked to the Knicks game Tuesday night? It was custom-made ... and it was expensive!

TMZ Sports spoke with Nadeem Waheed -- owner of Daniel's Leather in New York -- who says Melo dropped $5,000 on the American sheepskin shearling with cross fox fur ... and added the $500 hat to match.

LaVar Ball is firing back at Charles Barkley's big 1-on-1 basketball challenge ... saying he'd DOMINATE the Hall of Famer because he's too fat and slow these days.

Ball ain't messin' around ... in fact, he tells TMZ Sports the cardio from a 1-on-1 game would possibly kill Charles because ... "That boy outta shape."

There's more smack talk ... doughnuts are involved. It's hilarious.