TMZ Sports - Page 50

Ezekiel Elliott was in a car accident early Monday morning ... and sustained a minor head injury after the vehicle he was riding in was rear-ended in the Dallas area ... TMZ Sports has learned.

After hitting up a charity event thrown by Tony Romo and Clutch bar Sunday night, sources tell us Zeke was the passenger in a car that was rear-ended by another vehicle ... 'causing the Cowboys star to hit his head.

We're told the car was "rear-ended pretty bad."

The Cowboys confirmed the accident ... and said Elliott -- who missed OTAs all week -- was being held from practice strictly as a precaution.

J.R. Smith had a helluva day Tuesday ... taking his baby, Dakota, home and winning a playoff game ... and now we have the first photo of daddy and daughter at home.

As we previously reported, Smith and his wife, Shirley, took Kota home yesterday after a miracle 4 month stay in the hospital.

Kota was born in January at only 21 gestational weeks ... and many "experts" thought survival was virtually impossible.

They were wrong.

Kota's home, and J.R.'s 1 win away from the NBA Finals. It's good to be J.R. Smith.

The NBA pulled the '17 All-Star Game from Charlotte 'cause of a controversial state law, but Wednesday said the '19 ASG is headed back to the city after the bill was repealed.

Here's the situation ... in July 2016, the league moved the game from Charlotte to New Orleans after HB2 -- a bill that forced people to use the bathroom that corresponded to their birth gender, and was widely seen as a discriminatory -- was not repealed.

At the time, Adam Silver said, "we do not believe we can successfully host our All-Star festivities in Charlotte in the climate created by HB2."

The caveat ... if the bill was repealed, the NBA would consider re-awarding Charlotte with the game.

Losing the game was a big deal. The state lost a lot of revenue from fans that would've flocked to N.C. to watch the league's best players ball.

In March, North Carolina state politicians voted to repeal HB2 ... opening the door for the game to go down in Charlotte.

Rashad Jennings now joins the ranks of athletes who came out on top of "Dancing with the Stars." He got the Mirrorball trophy Tuesday night, and the trend is clear.

Ten athletes -- from figure skaters to football stars -- have taken home all the marbles on the dancing competition. We're talking 10 out of 24.

It's not just an issue of fitness ... lots of celebs on the show are in super good shape, but athletes still seem to hold the edge.

It looks like Lance Armstrong is gonna need a tandem bicycle ... 'cause the dude's gettin' hitched!!

The cyclist announced the engagement to his longtime girlfriend, Anna Hansen, with a romantic pic on the lake Tuesday, saying "she said..... YES!!!!"

Armstrong and Hansen have been dating for nearly 10 years and have 2 kids together -- Max (7) and Olivia (6).

Armstrong has dated famous women in Hollywood over the years. He was in a relationship with Kate Hudson, and was even engaged to Sheryl Crow ... before meeting Anna.

No word yet on a date and place for the big wedding.

Johnny Manziel recruited one of the best receivers in the league this week to help with his NFL comeback -- Odell Beckham!!

We're told Manziel and OBJ hit the gridiron for some passing drills while hanging with Odell's custom cleat artist, Kickasso ... and we're told the ex-Browns QB was firing the ball around -- lookin' like Johnny Football again.

Odell -- and few other receivers -- ran routes while Manziel threw them passes. Word is his arm looked strong, and his feet looked fast.

Conor McGregor has put his MMA training on the back burner to prepare for his boxing match with Floyd Mayweather ... TMZ Sports has learned.

We spoke with McGregor's rep who says The Notorious is "only training boxing" while working out in Dublin to focus on the super fight.

That's right ... the UFC lightweight (and former featherweight) champ ain't practicing mixed martial arts.

Dana White announced last Thursday that McGregor's side of the deal is complete ... and the UFC star has been posting training pics directed at Floyd on Instagram ever since.

While the fight still isn't a done deal, Floyd has remained optimistic, telling reporters over the weekend that if he un-retires for a fight, "it's a 90% chance it's against Conor McGregor."

Huge day for J.R. Smith -- and it has nothing to do with the NBA Playoffs -- his preemie daughter has finally been discharged from the hospital after a miraculous 4 month battle.

As we previously reported, J.R.'s wife Shirley gave birth to their daughter Dakota (aka Kota) back in January -- nearly 5 months before her due date.

Shirley says the baby was born at just 21 gestational weeks -- and many medical experts believed she barely had a chance at survival.

But Kota defied the odds and with the incredible treatment she received at Cleveland Children's Hospital, she finally got her eviction from the NICU on Tuesday.

J.R. and Shirley are clearly over the moon. Props to the doctors, nurses, staff and everyone involved!

Welcome home, Kota!

Cortez Kennedy took a young Shaun Alexander under his wing ... schooling him on life skills that he used during his All-Pro career ... the star running back tells TMZ Sports.

We talked to Alexander about the passing of his former teammate and friend ... a guy Alexander says was instrumental in his career.

Shaun reminisces about a day back in 1990 when Kennedy and Ricky Watters invited S.A. to chill and watch the Miami vs. Notre Dame football game.

There were nachos ... and a lot of life advice ... from how to spend money, to getting married.

Dennis Erickson -- who coached Tez at the U and in the pros at Seattle -- echoed Shaun's praise of the HOF'er ... saying Kennedy was just as great off the field as on it.

Barack Obama can't get enough of Tuscany -- or at least its killer golf courses, 'cause he's back driving the fairways.

Obama hit the links Tuesday at the Castiglion del Bosco Resort in Siena, Italy -- and looked focused on his form. Decent follow-through, too.

You'll recall ... the former Prez also got his golf on over the weekend. While Michelle's been taking in Italy's sights, shops and restaurants ... BO's all about honing his game on this vacay.

BTW ... the Castiglion resort is all about 2 things: golf and wine. Barack's choice is clear.

Cleveland police are boosting security for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals as a result of the terror attack at Manchester Arena, TMZ Sports has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us there will be more uniformed and undercover officers than usual at Tuesday's game against the Celtics at Quicken Loans Arena.

On top of that, we're told there will be more undercover security outside the venue as well.

NBA spokesman Mike Bass tells us in light of the recent attack, the league is "in communication with the appropriate authorities and taking all necessary precautions to ensure the safety of our fans, teams and staff.”

The Manchester tribute flag you're seeing all over the Internet was created by an artist who never signed off on his work being used by millions of people ... for free, mind you -- and yet he's not pissed.

Mark E. Tisdale, who's American, tells TMZ he created the original art back in 2013. He was surprised to see it become such a uniting symbol for the Manchester tragedy ... posted by tons of people, including David Beckham.

Mark says, obviously, he didn't design the flag years ago with tragedy in mind. However, in light of the bombing ... he's glad it's being used to help bring people together on social media.

And while his art's mostly being spread without crediting him ... he says he has gotten a lot more traffic on his website where he sells his digital art.

Mark's planning to donate any dough he makes off the Manchester flag to relief efforts.

Cortez Kennedy was unconscious and "cold" when EMTs responded to his house Tuesday morning.

In the emergency dispatch audio, obtained by TMZ Sports, you hear the dispatcher say they were responding to an "unconscious patient" with "no vitals." They said the patient was a 49-year-old male, although Kennedy was 48.

Cops say the call came in around 10:20 AM to his house in Orlando. It's unclear who called 911.

Lewis Hamilton is calling for his fans to "spread love and lift one another" in the wake of the Manchester Arena bombing that left at least 22 people dead Monday night.

The British racing superstar says he's in disbelief after the terror attack. "I don't understand what these people were thinking. There's no way they can win and there's nothing they can accomplish."

WWE is consulting with local officials to determine if an NXT event at Manchester Arena in 2 weeks should be canceled after the terror attack ... WWE tells TMZ Sports.

NXT -- WWE's developmental promotion that has produced huge stars like Finn Balor, Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins -- has a show scheduled for June 6th at the arena.

In light of the attack, WWE is consulting with Manchester officials to determine if they should call off the show.

A rep for WWE tells us, "WWE offers its heartfelt condolences to those affected by this tragedy. We are working with local authorities on the appropriate course of action as it relates to our event scheduled for Tuesday, June 6 at the Manchester Arena."

The Manchester event is part of a weeklong tour across the pond that also includes stops in Leeds and Brighton.

NFL Hall of Famer Cortez Kennedy is dead at the age of 48 ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Kennedy played 11 seasons for the Seattle Seahawks ... and was an 8x Pro Bowler. He was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2012.

We spoke to Orlando PD who confirmed Kennedy's passing ... but they added "there is nothing suspicious" about his death.

We've spoken to family members who say they're currently traveling to Orlando.

Cause of death is still unclear.

Pro Football Hall of Fame President David Baker said, "The entire Hall of Fame family is stunned and deeply saddened to learn the news of Cortez Kennedey's passing."

"Cortez will be remembered not only for all his great achievements on the football field but how he handled himself off the field. He epitomized the many great values this game teaches which serves as inspiration to millions of fans."

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