TMZ Sports - Page 50

If you think being LeBron James' kid is all about living the good life ... you're wrong ... because when it comes to sports, they might have it harder than ANYONE.

It's called "I'm the S**t Syndrome" ... at least according to "Chappelle's Show" star Donnell Rawlings who says 'Bron is super concerned over whether his children will be able to compete on his level in the sports world.

Essentially, Rawlings says LeBron is putting pressure on himself to make sure his kids are just as dominant as he is.

Rawlings says LeBron isn't the first superstar to deal with the issue -- pointing out Michael Jordan and his kids also battled with ITSS.

Case in point ... MJ's Hall of Fame induction speech when he told his children, "You guys have a heavy burden. I wouldn't want to be you guys if I had to."

Hopefully, LeBron handles it better than MJ did ...

Ricky Williams says he doesn't believe Adrian Peterson did ANYTHING wrong when he beat his 3-year-old son with a switch ... saying it's just the way black people raise their kids.

The former NFL star appeared on "Jim Rome on Showtime" and explained why he thinks there's no way in hell a jury comprised entirely of black people would ever find Peterson guilty of a crime.

Check out the clip ... Ricky insists corporal punishment is the status quo in the African-American community ... and Rome pushes back pretty hard.

The Lakers are rallying around their new teammate Wayne Ellington ... after getting the news that the guard's father was murdered in Philadelphia.

Ellington's father was killed Sunday night. The Lakers say they've given Wayne an indefinite leave of absence while he copes with the tragedy.

Ellington's 57-year-old father was shot while sitting in his car Sunday night. Police say an unknown gunman shot him in the head, and he died later at the hospital. So far they have no leads on a suspect.

It's Veteran's Day ... and NFL star Pierre Garcon is giving back in a pretty awesome way -- WITH FREE PIZZA!!!

The Washington Redskins wide receiver is offering free slices to military vets at the SpinFire Pizza restaurant he owns in Ashburn, Virginia.

We're told several of Pierre's teammates are at the restaurant RIGHT NOW taking pics with fans and hanging with military vets ... including Robert Griffin III.

Pretty cool, right?

Matt Lauer has won the war for Ray Rice -- booking the disgraced NFL star to appear on the "Today" show for an exclusive sit-down interview during sweeps ... TMZ Sports has learned.

It's unclear if Ray's wife Janay Rice will participate in the interview.

We're told the interview is expected to air sometime between now and Nov. 26th.

It's a huge score for NBC ... especially since Rice and Janay have been radio silent with the media ever since we published the elevator footage showing Ray KOing Janay in an Atlantic City casino.

A source connected with Rice just contacted us and said Rice has made no commitment to sit-down with "Today" and will not do anything until after the arbitration decision on his suspension is made. The source says "Today" was really only interested in Janay, not Ray. Our NBC sources dispute that and say Rice is the prize. The Rice source says they will consider the interview but only after arbitration.

Ray Rice wasn't the only athlete in Eminem's cross-hairs -- the rapper also dropped a few lines about Adrian Peterson's child abuse case on his new album.

Em takes aim in a new song called, "Detroit Vs. Everybody" on his new compilation album "Shady XV" -- in which he spits the following lyrics:

"What's makin' you think I need a switch? I'm Adrian Peterson ...
When he's raging and heated and on the way to go beat his kid ...
On the track I spank like he just did."

So far, no response from AP.

Serena Williams is pretty open about wanting to find a man ASAP ... and now she's going on the offensive -- posting a pretty hot body selfie to show off the goods.

The tennis star hit the pool at a fancy resort in the Bahamas with her BFF Caroline Wozniaki ... when they broke out the camera phones and starting firing away. The results were good.

As we previously reported, Williams just said last week that she "desperately" wants to settle down and have children -- but noted that she's currently single ... "not by choice."

Wozniaki was engaged to golf star Rory McIlroy ... but he broke things off earlier this year while they were sending out their wedding invitations.

Talk about post-breakup hotness ...

He lost 7 games in a row. He lost the starting job. And now Geno Smith has lost the support of a HUGE NY Jets fans ... "Game of Thrones" creator George R.R. Martin.

Martin is such a big Jets fan, he writes a blog about the team -- and in his most recent post, George took some shots at the sophomore QB ... basically saying he sucks and it's time to move on.

George was waxing poetic about the Jets' victory over the Steelers ... writing, "For the moment, I will enjoy the win and wonder what might have happened if Rex [Ryan] had only benched Geno Smith earlier. (I was distressed to see Geno back as second string and Matt Simms inactive. Simms showed more in his brief appearance last week than Geno has all season)."

He continued ... "Gang Green DOES have some good players, if only they could get a quarterback."

Martin also muses about the downside to winning games so late in the season.

"It is certainly more fun to watch the Jets win than to watch them lose, but if they start racking up victories now, all it will do is ruin their chances of getting a real franchise QB in the draft."

Eminem is under fire over controversial lyrics in a freestyle he just released -- in which he threatens to punch Lana Del Rey in the face ... like Ray Rice.

Slim just released a new video featuring a freestyle in which he goes off on several topics -- before taking a shot at Del Rey.

Here's the verse in question ...

"I may fight for gay rights, especially if they d*ke is more of a knockout than Janay Rice."

"Play nice, bitch I'll punch Lana Del Rey in the face twice like Ray Rice in broad daylight in plain sight of elevator surveillance 'til the head is bangin' on the railin' ... then celebrate with the Ravens."

So far, Del Rey has yet to respond.

The NY Jets felt SOOO GOOD after beating up on the Steelers on Sunday ... the team hit the catwalk 24 hours later, busting out their best Zoolander impersonations for a NY fashion show.

Mike Vick -- along with guys like Nick Mangold, Eric Decker, Calvin Pace, Quinton Coples and more -- strutted his stuff Monday night at the Taste of the Jets charity event at the World Trade Center.

The event raised money for Food Bank for New York City to fight hunger -- and the guys took their modeling jobs pretty seriously ... at least judging by the way they dominated the runway.

#Work

Justin Bieber ain't playin' around ... the guy could fight at a pro level if he wanted to -- so says his trainer Floyd Mayweather Jr.

As you know, Bieber and Mayweather are tight -- and Floyd spent several hours training the pop star at a famous L.A. boxing gym last month.

So when we saw Floyd out over the weekend we had to ask if the Biebs had any real potential ... and Floyd couldn't sing his praises enough.

One more thing ... we also asked about the stupidest thing Floyd has spent money on lately.

Watch Floyd's GF's face when he gives us his answer.

Bruce Jenner will be showing off his immense huevos by competing with his son in the legendary Baja 1000 this week ... thanks to more than $1 million in sponsorships.

Bruce and Burt Jenner will attempt to tame one of the world's most dangerous off-road courses through the Mexican desert at insane speeds -- and the 5-day race ain't cheap.

Sources connected to Team Jenner tell us entry fees alone are $125K minimum, the truck cost $500K ... plus several hundred thousands more in expenses and equipment. All in, we're talking more than $1 million, but Bruce isn't spending a cent of his own dough.

Team owner Craig Potts, along with sponsors Gladiator Tires and House Beer, are putting up all the cash. We're told Burt will drive the 1st 400 miles with Bruce navigating, then Bruce will take the wheel for the 2nd leg ... and Potts gets the home stretch.

The race, which begins Wednesday, is no cake walk. X Games star Kurt Caselli was killed last year, and multiple drivers and spectators have died during the event over the years.

Buena suerte, señors!

Did you know ... Dean Cain is super good friends with Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett?

Like total BFFs

So, when Dean told us he's picking the 'Boys to win the Super Bowl -- is he using his head ... or his heart???

Mark Cuban wrapped up his jury duty by reaching a verdict in the one day trial ... and then shouting out his fellow jurors on Instagram.

As we told you ... Cuban was selected for a Dallas jury in a civil lawsuit over a car accident -- and amazingly, the billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks tells TMZ Sports he did NOT have a ton of influence over his fellow jurors.

Mark says they wanted him to be the foreman, but he turned it down. Ultimately, the jury ruled in favor of the defendant -- saying he was NOT negligent.

As soon as the trial was over ... Mark posted what looks like a pic of the jurors deliberating, with the caption -- "Verdict reached and we are dismissed. World's best jury :)" Important to note he didn't post the pic until AFTER the trial. Doing it before would've been a major no-no.

By the way ... Mark took home a whopping $6 for his service.

He called in to TMZ Hollywood Sports right after court. Make sure you check it out on Reelz at 8 PM ET ... 5 PM PT!

Former New England Patriot Mike Vrabel could be one step closer to recovering his stolen Super Bowl rings ... because cops finally have a couple suspects.

Vrabel -- who is currently a linebackers coach with the Houston Texans -- tweeted over the weekend that someone broke in his backdoor and stole the rings.

Police in Bellaire, Texas believe the break-in is part of a string of recent break-ins in Vrabel's 'hood. The cops believe the crimes were committed by a black male and black female.

According to police ... they believe the woman waits in a newer model Chrysler 300 down the block while the guy rings the doorbell of the targeted home. If nobody answers ... they go around back and break into the home.

Local pawn shops have been put on alert to keep an eye out for the rings.

Investigators say the video below shows the alleged suspects leaving a ransacked house (not Vrabel's) last week.

Florida State University head football coach Jimbo Fisher just addressed questions about the NCAA investigation into Jameis Winston -- saying it's completely out of his hands.

Fisher just spoke with the Orlando Sentinel ... and when asked about the NCAA's probe into allegations Winston was involved in a point shaving scheme to help a high school buddy win a bet, here's what he said:

"How many reports do we get on guys all the time? We send it to the proper channels and they handle it and you move on."

Fisher did not specify what the proper channels are ... or what information he gave them.

When the Sentinel again pushed about the NCAA investigation, Jimbo reiterated ... "I just send it to the proper channels."