TMZ Sports - Page 50

Boxing star Mikey Garcia says he's gonna kick Adrien Broner's ass ... and there's nothing his BFF, Floyd Mayweather, can do about it.

Broner and Mayweather are as thick as thieves -- Broner not only refers to him as his "Big Bro" but they they've trained and lived together. Floyd's like his mentor.

Garcia and Broner are set to face off on July 29 -- and while Mikey says he LOVES the Floyd connection because it helps with promotion, TBE is helpless to save AB from the punishment he's about to receive.

Broner has other plans ... telling TMZ Sports he expects to get through the fight unscathed so he can take on Nate Diaz on the Mayweather, McGregor undercard less than a month later.

Good luck with that ...

If you're a NY Knick who's NOT from Latvia, pack your bags ... 'cause Shaq thinks it's time for you to go.

The NBA legend was at an American Express Teamed Up event in NYC on Tuesday when we asked about reports that Phil Jackson is taking calls about possibly dealing away Kristaps Porzingis.

"Keep Porzingis and trade everybody else around him," Shaq said.

"Try to build around him. This kid's got a great future."

We also asked Shaq how he felt about the Lakers most likely taking Lonzo Ball with the #2 pick in Thursday's NBA Draft (despite some back and forth trash talk with his dad, LaVar).

Shaq's all for it ... "He's a great player. He makes his teammates better."

Mason Disick is no fair-weather fan because he's still wearing Tristan Thompson's No. 13 jersey.

Kourtney Kardashian and her 8-year-old tag teamed it Tuesday in Calabasas both looking sporty.

We're guessing Mason's jersey was a gift from Aunt Khloe, who's been dating Thompson since last Summer. His aunt's bf pick clearly came with perks, including seats to Finals games.

Could be worse ... like still rooting for the Lakers during last year's 26-56 season.

A major human rights org is calling for the Basketball Hall of Fame to BOOT Dennis Rodman over his relationship with Kim Jong-un -- saying it's not right to publicly support a "murderer."

The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation -- a non-profit org established by Congress in '94 -- is furious with The Worm over his recent visit to N. Korea and his ongoing relationship with the country's leader.

VOC says KJU has "blood on his hands" for the "murder" of American citizen, Otto Warmbier, and they're demanding Rodman either condemn Jong-un ... or else.

"Dennis Rodman’s complacency and coddling of Kim Jong-un romanticizes and makes light of how dangerous North Korea is to it's own people and Americans who travel there. Removing Rodman from the Hall of Fame will send a message that all Americans are united against this regime."

The VOC has started a petition on Change.org to get Dennis out of the HOF -- and exec. director Marion Smith is putting pressure on the NBA to essentially excommunicate him from the pro basketball community.

We've reached out to Rodman's camp for comment -- so far, no word back.

Kato Kaelin's not expecting to hear from O.J. Simpson after more than 22 years, when he becomes a free man, but if he gets a call ... he probably won't answer it.

The famed witness tells TMZ he thinks O.J. should go into hiding after his expected release from prison later this year.

You're looking at the most black people ever on the set of "Friends" ... courtesy of the L.A. Rams!

The Rams' rookie class hit up the Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, CA on Monday for a spectacular VIP tour of the backlot ... which included Central Perk.

Serious question ... these guys are in their early 20s. Do you think any of them have ever seen a full episode of "Friends"?

Doesn't matter ... the guys had a blast anyway visiting other iconic Warner Bros. movie stuff --- including Harry Potter's broom, the Batmobile and more!

WR's Cooper Kupp and Shakeir Ryan even went behind bars in the jail cell from "Suicide Squad."

Other must-dos ... visit the Hollywood sign, survive an earthquake, go to the Walk of Fame and leave disappointed and get stuck on the 405.

Welcome to L.A.!

Metta World Peace is devastated over the death of his good friend, Prodigy -- telling TMZ Sports the two were like family and would often perform at rap shows together.

Metta and Prodigy are both from Queens -- and hit it off right from the start. But they didn't just rap together, they were close personal friends. Metta would sometimes visit Prodigy in the hospital.

"Prodigy was definitely family," Metta says ... "It definitely sucks not to have him here."

Metta says the best thing people can do to honor the Mobb Deep rapper is "keep his name alive ... because it's very necessary."

"We gonna miss him."

O.J. Simpson is one step closer to being a free man ... his official parole hearing date has been set for July 20.

A rep for the Nevada Board of Parole Commissioners has confirmed the date and says if things go well, Simpson could be released as early as October 1.

Simpson will not attend the hearing in person -- he will be videoconferenced in from the Lovelock Correctional Center in Nevada.

69-year-old Simpson was arrested in 2007 on several armed robbery and kidnapping charges after stealing sports memorabilia from a Vegas hotel room. He was convicted in 2008 and has been locked up ever since.

He was sentenced to 33 years in prison, with the eligibility for parole after 9 years.

Grandmama has spoken ... with Larry Johnson telling TMZ Sports he REALLY hopes his NY Knicks don't trade away Kristaps Porzingis.

The rumors are spreading like wildfire ... that Phil Jackson is taking calls from other NBA teams looking to make a deal for the Latvian wonderkid before the NBA Draft.

So, when we saw the ex-Knicks star in NYC on Tuesday, we asked him to weigh in ... and it's clear he's against moving KP.

The Knicks and KP don't seem to be on the best of terms right now ... but LJ seems to think the team is better with him than without him.

Ex-NFL lineman Ryan O'Callaghan -- who played for the Patriots and the Chiefs -- has come out as gay ... and says it was an NFL team staffer who helped save his life.

O'Callaghan was selected by New England in the 5th round of the 2006 NFL Draft -- and protected Tom Brady in 2007, the year they won the AFC title and went to the Super Bowl.

O'Callaghan tells OutSports.com he wrestled with his sexuality during his entire football career -- and used football "as kind of my cover for my life."

"Football was the most masculine thing I could do," O'Callaghan told Cyd Zeigler.

O'Callaghan says when he knew his football career was ending in 2011, he planned on killing himself. He wrote a suicide note and had guns -- but didn't go through with it.

Fortunately, Kansas City Chiefs trainer, David Price, noticed he wasn't being himself and advised him to talk to the team's counselor.

Ryan says he took Price's advice and it saved his life. He later came out to family and friends -- and got the love and support he needed.

Now, O'Callaghan says he loves life and is glad he decided to go public.

He also says he never faced bigotry from teammates and believes NFL teams are ready for openly gay players in the locker room.

Warren Sapp says the head hits he sustained during his NFL career are affecting his memory -- saying it "ain't what it used to be" -- and he's donating his brain to science to help future players.

The NFL Hall of Famer laid out his plan to The Players' Tribune ... admitting, "Yeah, it’s scary to think that my brain could be deteriorating."

Sapp says examples include forgetting a grocery list or how to get to a friend's house he's been to a thousand times.

"So when it comes to concussions, CTE and how we can make our game safer for future generations, I wanted to put my two cents in -- to help leave the game better off than it was when I started playing."

Sapp says he was in denial about possibly having a football-induced brain injury -- but he's now come to terms with it and wants to be proactive in helping the younger generation.

Besides pledging his brain to the Concussion Legacy Foundation, Sapp also says he wants tackle football outlawed for pre-high school kids.

"The game is getting better. Let's make it better for everyone involved."

Another day, another guy saying Mayweather is going to kick the hell out of Conor McGregor ... this time it's George Lopez who says the fight is so lopsided, McGregor won't land a single punch.

George was out at LAX when he was asked his thoughts on the superfight set to go down at T-Mobile Arena (sorry, Ice Cube) on August 26.

Floyd's not only gonna win the fight, but George says it won't even be a watchable contest -- because McGregor will be swingin' at air.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a group of NFL Hall of Famers that his approach to peace is "no different" from how a football player prepares for victory ... be strong or else.

The meeting was arranged by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft -- who's leading a team of NFL legends including Joe Montana, Jim Brown and Jerome Bettis on a goodwill trip to Israel.

Part of the trip was a meeting with Netanyahu -- a meeting that included handshakes, autograph exchanges and even a quick game of catch.

But the key part of the meeting was when Bibi addressed the group and gave his take on the Israeli peace policy ... tailored to a football audience.

"You seek peace but you've got to be strong. If you're not strong you'll never get peace and if you're not strong you'll be more in turmoil and the worst thing is you'll lose."

"I'm sure that when you prepare for your games, you don't say, 'Well, do I need to be strong, fast, nimble? Is that a question? Your game is no different from ours."

"The only difference is if we lose the consequences are immutable. And we've had enough of that in our history. So we won't let that happen again."

Von Miller joined a different kind of Mile High Club Monday night -- getting a tattoo while flying on a private jet!!

The Denver Broncos star was flying back from a vacation in the Dominican Republic with a fully equipped tattoo artist on his P.J.

The dude went to work on the back of Von's right thigh -- but it's unclear exactly what was inked on his bod.

Matthew Modine says Nate Diaz personally told him that his 1985 wrestling flick "Vision Quest" inspired him to become a pro fighter ... how cool is that!?

Modine -- who starred as high school wrestler Loudon Swain in the movie -- ran into Diaz in L.A. last week and said the meeting was a "throwback because [Nate] was inspired by 'Vision Quest.'"

"He trained really hard as a young fighter and like so many young wrestlers they were inspired by that film."

WHO WANTS TO GRAB A LOG AND RUN SOME STADIUM STAIRS?!?!

Sidenote: Do people really actually do that?

Anyway, Modine says Diaz has big things ahead ... including a massive payday.

"Sugar" Ray Leonard thinks Conor McGregor is a very tough dude -- but when it comes to his fight with Floyd Mayweather he has one piece of advice ... "DUCK!"

The boxing legend -- who beat Floyd's dad in 1978 -- was at LAX when he told us why he believes the Irish superstar is in for a beating when they face off on August 26.