TMZ Sports - Page 50

Gilbert Arenas' lady Laura Govan is serving notice to all basketball wives -- there's only one (engagement) ring to rule them all ... and it's the MILLION DOLLAR stone she rocks on her hand.

Laura was out in Calabasas when our camera guy asked her about Russell Westbrook's endearing display of love to his fiancee -- a sick $700k engagement ring.

That's when the bombshell was dropped -- Laura told us she thinks the Westbrook ring is "cute" ... but can't touch the million dollar MONSTER on her ring finger!!

Sure, she put a hurtin' on a heavy bag in that new Under Armour ad -- but how would Gisele do in a real fight with fellow supermodel pugilist Adriana Lima?? She'd get her perfectly sculpted ass kicked.

At least according to actual boxing champ Peter "Kid Chocolate" Quillin.

By now you've seen the Gisele ad -- and it's impressive -- but she can't hold a candle to Lima ... who's been boxing for years and even trained with Manny Pacquaio.

"Seeing [Lima] hit the pads, I expect her to do better in the ring than Gisele," Quillin says ... noting her form, her power and her precision.

"Hitting the pads is different than hitting the bag ... it's harder. You have to have more direction with the pads. But you really never know what kind of fight someone has until they step in the ring."

But Quillin says he was definitely impressed with Gisele too ... especially when it came to her physique.

Floyd Mayweather's ex-fiancee Shantel Jackson is suing the boxer -- claiming he attacked her on multiple occasions and once PULLED A GUN ON HER and threatened to shoot.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ Sports, Jackson claims Floyd first got violent with her back in 2012 ... right after he was released from the slammer in a domestic violence case involving another woman.

Joan Rivers made one hell of an impression on her former "Celebrity Apprentice" co-star Herschel Walker ... who just told us a story about Joan that's pretty awesome.

First off, Walker says Rivers was one of the nicest people he'd ever met -- and says he's "very depressed" after learning about her passing.

"I didn’t know much about Joan before 'Apprentice' besides the fact she's a comedian -- but she’s much more than that. She taught me a lot. She's an amazing person."

Now for the story ... Walker says," After 'Celebrity Apprentice,' she asked for my mom’s address. Then, she sent my mom a letter saying how I was such a nice man and sent her a charm necklace by the Joan Rivers collection."

How cool is that?!

"So, unexpected and kind of her," Walker tells us.

R.I.P.

Thiago Silva just scored the biggest victory of his life -- prosecutors DROPPED all of the charges against the ex-UFC star stemming from an alleged domestic violence incident earlier this year that ended with a S.W.A.T. team standoff.

As we previously reported, Silva was arrested in South Florida February 6th after rolling up to an MMA studio and allegedly pointing a gun at his wife.

He was initially charged with attempted murder -- but that charge was quickly thrown out. Instead, Silva was hit with two counts of aggravated assault with a firearm.

But TMZ Sports has learned ... prosecutors decided to nuke those charges as well -- which means Silva is essentially off the hook.

The Broward County Attorney's Office tells us ..."All charges against Thiago Silva were dropped. The victim was uncooperative, and investigators determined that she has likely moved out of the country."

Silva's attorney, Scott Saul, says the fighter has always proclaimed his innocence and is looking forward to moving on with his life.

"Thiago was described as some sort of rabid bird, [the allegations] made him look like a crazy person. But he was not," Saul says.

After Thiago's arrest, UFC honcho Dana White swore he would NEVER allow Silva to fight in the UFC again. It's unclear if he'll change his position now that Thiago is in the clear.

Yasiel Puig tells TMZ Sports ... he was PUMPED to get Mo'ne Davis to sign his baseball ... and says it's already on display at his house -- right next to a Kobe Bryant autographed basketball.

"She's the best pitcher I've ever seen at her age," the L.A. Dodgers star says ... adding that he couldn't wait to meet the 13-year-old Little League phenom when she threw out the first pitch at Dodgers Stadium earlier this week.

"I think [throwing out the first pitch] was a great moment for her. I was very happy for her."

10:06 AM PT -- IT'S A $700,000 RING!!!!

We've learned ... it was made by Jason of Beverly Hills ... who's made engagement rings for all sorts of stars including Gabrielle Union and Evelyn Lozada.

As for Russell's ring -- we're told it's a 6-piece elongated cushion cut ring with VVS clarity ... and in total, the whole thing is worth $700k.

We're told Russell knew exactly what he wanted when he hit up Jason's shop. It was very important to him that he got a ring with the highest quality possible.

Dude did a helluva job.

Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook is the next NBA star in line for a wedding -- 'cause he popped the question last night ... with a massive diamond ring ... and his GF said yes!

Westbrook and longtime GF Nina Earl made the announcement on social media Wednesday night ... showing off the gargantuan rock with a caption that read, "Nothing even matters..@ninamri3_ forever my lady! LOVE YOU!!!!"

Earl is a former UCLA basketball player -- and the two met during their college days ... before Westbrook signed his $80 MILLION contract extension.

Floyd Mayweather says he doesn't care that 50 Cent and Manny Pacquaio call him "uneducated" -- because he says if it's true ... "it makes my story that much more interesting."

Mayweather was talking with Brian Shapiro from The Vegas Take on Fox Sports 670 -- when he said personal attacks are just part of the job.

"When you get to this level, people are gonna take shots at you in every way possible."

A college Athletic Director has resigned after he was caught talking about a player's mom's giant boobs on a hot microphone.

Oops.

The dude behind the gaffe is Chris Peterson from the University of Arkansas-Little Rock -- who went off about a female soccer player's mother's jumblies during a game back in August.

"Remember her mom was here a few years ago? Member her Pete? She had her sh*t hanging out too, remember that?"

He went on ... "We gotta make sure we know when Parents Day is ... I'm gonna make sure I'm in town for the weekend. We might have to have a function. I might have to call a function for her."

The leaked photos of Kate Upton and her boyfriend didn't get out because of an iCloud security breach ... but instead she may have been the victim of one of the oldest tricks in the online scamming game.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... FBI investigators are looking into whether Kate and at least 3 other celebs -- Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jennifer Lawrence, and Lea Michele -- were prime targets of phishing.

If you don't know, here's how it works ... you get an email informing you there's some sort of problem with your account, and in order to fix it you'll need to send personal info -- such as a username, phone number, credit card, or even a password. So, you unwittingly give the crooks all they need to jack your data.

We're told in this case ... the email sent to the celebs might have been doctored up to look like it was coming from Apple. Phishing's been going on since the early days of the Internet, but scammers are so sophisticated now ... their emails look identical to the real deal.

J-Law and Kate's pics -- some with her BF pitcher Justin Verlander -- were among the first ones released Sunday by the hacker.

L.A. Clippers star Matt Barnes admits ... he's not proud of all of his tattoos -- in fact, Barnes says there's one piece of ink he hated so much, he HAD to go out and cover it up.

Barnes was out at Kitson in L.A. Wednesday to support teammate DeAndre Jordan when he told us about the regrettable work he got on his arm back when he was a teenager ... and why he had to make it go away.

Jamie Foxx is keeping his preparations for his upcoming Mike Tyson movie pretty close to the vest, but he did let it slip that he met with Iron Mike himself to get ready for the part.

Foxx and his adorable daughter were in Calabasas Wednesday where the Oscar winner deflected any idea that he's bulked up for the role ... by crediting his small shirt.

But the best part of the clip ... when Jamie's adorable daughter PUT HER DADDY ON BLAST as he tried to tell our photog that he's got a policy about keeping his movie details under wraps.

Seriously, one of the cutest things you're gonna see all day.

LisaRaye McCoy knows her way around a strip club ... and says the skin biz is doing better than ever ... thanks to the heavy-hitter of making it rain.

LisaRaye, who starred as a stripper in "The Players Club," told us ... where there's big money, there's opportunity -- and she agreed with our photog that there's one athlete in particular who's attracting more and more women to exotic dancing.

She even thinks his extravagant spending is helping the country's bottom line. So, give that man another lap dance, please ... for America!

Dez Bryant is gunning to trademark his famous Twitter hashtag -- #ThrowUpTheX" -- in an effort to make sure he controls the use of his slogan on social media ... TMZ Sports has learned.

FYI -- the Dallas Cowboys star has been throwing up an "X" signal with his arms as a TD celebration for years ... and it's become his signature move with fans who often tweet pics of themselves to Dez "throwing up the X."

Now, we've learned Dez has filed documents with the United States Patent and Trademark Office ... looking to trademark #ThrowUpTheX for use in "news bulletins."

We did some digging ... and essentially, the "news bulletins" category covers computer software and other digital platforms that seems to cover social media.

So why trademark a hashtag? We spoke with Dez's rep who says they want to make sure no one else can take the hashtag and use it for unapproved non-Dez related activities.

Bryant has also started a "Throw Up The X" clothing line ... and we're told he hopes to grow the brand into an Under Armour-type company ... eventually signing other stars to endorsement deals.

Currently, the trademark for #ThrowUpTheX is pending -- and could take months until officials make a decision.

If you can't execute a rear naked chokehold, you're looking at a group of chicks you have no chance of scoring with ... ever.

TMZ Sports spoke with the cast of UFC's "The Ultimate Fighter 20" (which starts next week on Fox Sports 1) ... bona fide bad ass chicks ... who tell us they only date dudes who are as deadly as they are.

The lovely (and lethal) ladies were out in NY when we asked them if guys are (rightfully) intimidated by them ... being they could prolly beat up most of the Earth's human population.

Peep the clip -- the ladies make it clear the type of men they date would never be intimidated by ANYONE.

Churchill Downs has no problems with Wes Welker -- with reps telling TMZ Sports there were no signs he was doing drugs during the Kentucky Derby ... noting that he's welcome back to the track anytime.

Welker was suspended by the NFL for 4 games for testing positive for amphetamines -- and there are reports he was poppin' Molly (MDMA) during the Kentucky Derby in May.

But Darren Rogers -- Senior Director of Communications at Churchill Downs -- tells us there were no problems concerning Welker during the Derby.

"We have no issues with Mr. Welker," Rogers said ... "We hope to see him back at the track soon."

There was buzz that someone may have filed a complaint about Welker dabbling in illegal substances at the track during the race -- but Rogers insists that's simply not true.

"We received no reports [indicating Welker used drugs at the track]."

For his part, Welker has denied doing any drugs -- ever.