TMZ Sports - Page 50

Wrestling legend Mick Foley is the godfather of ear-related fight injuries (sorry, Evander), so when UFC fighter Leslie Smith had her's bashed in over the weekend ... who better than Mick to offer up support.

In case you missed it, Smith was fighting at UFC 180 in Mexico City when she took a right hand to the head that turned her left ear into mush. It's as gross as it sounds.

Foley -- who had his ear destroyed all the way back in 1994 -- says he spoke with Smith after the incident and then explained to our photog one of the biggest things he can't do without an ear.

Shockingly, "hear" was not the thing he mentioned.

Dwight Howard was cleared of child abuse in Florida ... but now we know the doctor who examined his child determined the boy was hit with a belt buckle, struck with excessive force and was the victim of abuse.

As TMZ Sports previously reported ... Howard was investigated in Florida for hitting 6-year-old Braylon with a belt. Howard admitted to authorities he hit the kid but says he didn't know it was wrong because that's how he grew up.

TMZ Sports has obtained documents from the Dept. of Children and Families (DCF), summarizing the findings of the doctor who examined Braylon. It says, "Dr. Kesler noted Braylon to have a linear bruise and patterned abrasions consistent with the history given by Braylon of being struck with a belt numerous times by his father."

The report goes on to say the injuries were "consistent with Braylon being struck with the buckle end of the belt ... with excessive force, resulting in soft tissue injuries such as bruising and abrasions."

And the report indicates Dr. Kesler found the injuries lasted longer than 24 hours and were "consistent with a medical diagnosis of physical abuse."

And the doctor recommended that Howard participate in parenting classes and use methods other than corporal punishment to discipline his son.

DCF concluded the child abuse allegations were "not substantiated," but in Florida that means there is "credible evidence" of child abuse, but not enough to warrant action. What's curious is why the doctor's findings weren't enough.

Howard's rep tells TMZ, "The Florida Dept. of Children and Families thoroughly examined all of the evidence and determined that there was insufficient evidence of child abuse," adding the case has been closed in Florida. It appears this is the first time Howard's people have acknowledged some evidence of child abuse, although they insist there was no child abuse.

Howard's people are lashing out at baby mama Royce Reed, saying, "It is appalling to see a mother use her son as a pawn against his father in an attempt to extract money, which is what is happening in this case."

Did you know ... World Series MVP Madison Bumgarner and country music superstar Eric Church are from the same small county in North Carolina?

And did you also know that tonight county officials are going to vote on whether they should honor its two heroes with giant signs bragging that Eric and Madison grew up there??

Well, it's all going down in Caldwell County, NC (population: 80,000) in just a few hours.

We know ... the Caldwell County Board of Commissioners are voting to decide if they should go to the N.C. Dept. of Transportation and request the signs.

Each sign would say something like, "Caldwell County ... Home of Madison Bumgarner."

We're told the vote is likely to pass -- everyone in town seems to LOOOVE these guys -- and then it will be up to Dept. of Transportation to make the final decision.

Kevin Hart went right up to Jameis Winston's face this weekend and delivered some cold, hard advice -- "YOU NEED TO STOP DOING DUMB S**T."

The star of "The Wedding Ringer" hit up Florida State University as part of his college tour and met with some of the football players ... including Winston.

And that's when he started an impromptu roast of the Heisman Trophy winner.

"I started to bring a bunch a crab legs to see if you was gonna take 'em!" Hart joked.

There's more ... it's hilarious.

But check out the look on Jameis' face -- doesn't seem like he was too happy about it.

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant was officially welcomed to the Roc Nation Sports family this weekend with a huge party at Jay Z's NYC nightclub ... complete with champagne, hot chicks and expensive jewelry.

It all went down at Jay's 40/40 Club ... where Dez sipped on expensive Ace of Spades champagne and D'USSE Cognac.

Also, check out Dez's brand new chain -- the Roc Nation Sports logo -- we're guessing a gift from his new agency.

Of course, Dez fired his old agent and signed with Jay's group earlier this month -- and clearly, he's fired up about it.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would be PROUD of LeBron James ... so says Jesse Jackson who tells TMZ Sports LeBron's work off the court makes him "great."

Rev. Jackson was leaving Boa Steakhouse on the Sunset Strip this weekend when we asked about a recent interview Jackson gave to the Northeast Ohio Media Group ... in which he praised LeBron for all he's done for the city of Cleveland

"His work in the community beyond the court makes him very great," Jackson said ... "Dr. King would be proud of that."

Jackson notes that LeBron has helped to lift up the housing projects ... he built a playground for the kids ... and made the poor feel better about themselves.

Even MORE shots fired in Michelle Beadle's war on Kim Kardashian ... and it's all on video.

Beadle already blasted the reality star on Twitter last week over the nude shots for Paper Magazine -- and this weekend at LAX, Beadle made it clear she isn't backing off.

"What else is she gonna do? She's got no talent," Beadle said.

"She doesn't have anything else to show off ... so I get why she's doing it."

"And photoshop's wonderful."

So far, no word from Kim on the situation.

The star of a viral video that featured a disabled man being mocked on the street by dozens of people was contacted by an NBA star over the weekend and given the VIP treatment ... TMZ Sports has learned.

We've learned Toronto Raptors star Greivis Vasquez saw the video posted by Andre Arruda -- a Toronto comic who suffers from Morquio syndrome ... often associated with Dwarfism.

In his video (by Key Fork TV), Arruda shows how he's taunted, mocked and stared at on a regular basis because of his physical appearance ... and his story is starting to blow up in the Canadian media.

Enter Vasquez ... who was so moved by the story, he reached out to Arruda's camp over the weekend and invited him to the Raptors game on Saturday night.

Not only did he hook Arruda up with courtside tickets, he got him pregame and postgame passes and took photos with him on the court.

We spoke to Vasquez's rep, who tells us the NBA star simply "wanted to put a smile on Arruda's face."

Mission accomplished.

Former NBA star Joe Smith claims his ex-girlfriend, "Love & Hip Hollywood" star Moniece Slaughter, bilked him out of a ton of money ... and he's pissed that cops have done nothing about it.

According to a report filed with the Manhattan Beach Police Department, Smith claims that between October 2011 and March 2012, nine checks were written from his checkbook to a Timothy Clayton Carr ... totaling $109,000.

Smith told police he did not write the checks and does not know a man by that name.

In June 2012, police were able to get a hold of Carr, who told them he was a friend of Slaughter and that he was cashing the checks for her as a favor because she didn't have a bank account. Carr told cops he was unaware the checks were stolen or that anything was wrong until Smith canceled the last check.

Carr also told police Slaughter had agreed to pay him back for the canceled check, but it when it came time to meet up ... she disappeared.

But Slaughter told police an entirely different story. According to the report, Slaughter claims Smith knew all about the checks and signed them personally. She claims Smith only canceled the last check because the pair broke up.

After talking to Slaughter, police went back to Smith and explained her story. His response ... "She's crazy."

Smith has told police he wants to press charges, but nearly 2.5 years later ... nothing has come of it. He tells TMZ Sports he's frustrated the case remains unresolved and feels police have been giving him the runaround.

First Tosh ... now Ed Lover is accusing ESPN of ripping off a signature bit -- with the former "Yo! MTV Raps" host telling TMZ Sports HE originated the famous "C'mon Man" segment ... but ESPN says he's full of crap.

Lover -- who used to host a popular radio show in NY -- says one of his signature segments was called "C'mon Son" ... where he'd call out celebs who screwed up and scream, "C'mon son!"

"I came up with an original idea where I'd get at celebrities when they messed up, I had everyone on there -- Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Beyonce, everyone -- and at the end I'd say, 'C'mon Son.'"

Ed claims after his segment got hot, ESPN added a segment to "Monday Night Countdown" called "C'mon Man!" where the on-air talent would call out athletes ... and scream, "C'mon man!"

"I was shocked when I saw that man," Lover says ... "They can't say they started it. It's just not original."

Lover says he seriously thought about taking legal action against the network, but one thing stopped him ... his granddaughter.

"They're owned by Disney, man. I wanna be able to take her to Disneyland and get on the rides an everything."

But a rep for ESPN is basically saying, "C'mon Ed!!" ... telling us the segment is "something Keyshawn Johnson and other ESPN analysts said to one another while watching games together, so we decided to make a segment using the phrase."

The rep adds, "That was the sole inspiration behind it."

Bruce Jenner got tossed into a Mexican ditch, and is lucky to be alive ... after wrecking his million dollar ride in the legendary Baja 1000 off-road race.

Bruce and his son Burt Jenner were taking part in the brutal competition -- in which multiple drivers and spectators have been killed -- when their suped up truck rolled on Thursday.

We're told Bruce was behind the wheel around mile 170 ... when he veered into the ditch and ripped off the power steering line. He and Burt had to wait a few hours for their crew to make it to their location.

As we previously reported ... sponsors and investors sunk a million bucks into the truck so Bruce and Burt could race.

During the break, the Jenners drank beer and ate pizza with some locals. When the crew showed up the team leader said they'd have to pull out of the race because -- keeping it real -- they lost too many hours after the wreck. They had no chance of winning.

At least Bruce still has his gold medal.

The Navy Seal Team 6 member who shot Osama Bin Laden is a huge Washington Redskins fan -- and met with the team last night to motivate the guys to take out Tampa Bay.

Rob O'Neil attended the team meeting on Saturday and even took a photo with superstar wide receiver Pierre Garcon.

"We had the honor of meeting and listening to a real HERO tonight before our game tomorrow and he's a Redskins fan," Garcon wrote.

"Navy Seal Team 6 Rob O'Neill thank you for the inspiring words. #HTTR"

9:15 AM PT -- We now have confirmation that the Florida Dept. of Children and Families closed the investigation, concluding, "The investigation is being closed with no substantiated findings of physical injuries." The report also states Howard was interviewed by authorities.

7:25 AM PT -- Royce Reed posted a statement on Instagram saying, "The case is not closed and he is/was not cleared! The investigation is still open as he refuses to speak to the police. So whoever these reps are that are trying to slander me, just know the gloves are off and I'm not the one to play with when it comes to my son. That is all."

Dwight Howard was under investigation for child abuse and gave precisely the same excuse Adrian Peterson used, but it appears in this case authorities found Howard did not break the law.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ Sports ... Howard's baby mama Royce Reed went to Children's Services in the Orlando, FL area in August and complained he had whipped their 6-year-old son Braylon with a belt, leaving bruises and abrasions on his leg.

We're told the case worker sent the former "Basketball Wives" cast member to a nearby medical facility to evaluate the boy and document the injuries.

Authorities interviewed Howard and he confessed to the belting, but said he didn't realize there was anything wrong with it because he was disciplined the same way as a kid. Howard's lawyer filed legal docs claiming he never caused marks, bruises, welts or injuries requiring medical treatment.

Sources connected to Howard tell TMZ ... Children's Services closed out the case after determining the injuries depicted in the photos were not caused by a belting. In other words ... whatever Howard did was not that serious.

And there's this twist ... Howard filed legal docs Wednesday and he's gunning for full custody, claiming Reed is a shockingly unfit mother who gives the kid psychotropic drugs just so she can have a "chemical babysitter."

Howard's rep tells TMZ, authorities found the allegations "frivolous," adding, "It's no coincidence that these false allegations were 'leaked' on the heels of Dwight filing for major custody of his son."

Before he became an international music star, Daddy Yankee was a real-deal baseball prodigy ... until one bullet changed everything.

The reggaeton king was out in NYC last night and told us he had a shot with the Seattle Mariners back in the day ... when he played 3rd base.

But Yankee was shot in the hip during the peak of his baseball career -- and had to abandon his MLB dreams. Fortunately, things worked out and he became a megastar.

Yankee's not bitter about it -- even though the bullet is still lodged in his hip ... which can be a pain in the ass in airports.

Check out the clip.

Jameis Winston is rubbing top NFL agents the wrong way -- with several top flight dealmakers telling TMZ Sports there's no way in hell they would ever consider signing the Heisman winner.

Winston has been involved in all sorts of off-the-field drama during his short career at Florida State ... from a rape investigation to crab leg theft to cussing on campus to alleged soda-jacking and more -- and we're told his reputation is scaring off the agencies.

One agent, who reps several Pro Bowl NFL stars, says ... "It's been a topic of conversation at the agency. Everyone around the table feels it's best to be hands off."

"Personally, I wouldn't touch him."

Another big agent, who also reps several NFL superstars, tells us he doesn't even want Jameis on the same teams as his clients.

"I wouldn't want him playing with my guys -- too much of a distraction."

The agent continued, "He’s a great athlete but he has too much going on off the field. We don't want that kind of drama around here."

We also spoke with several sports management companies who shared similar sentiments -- and explained that top level agents and managers don't want to waste their valuable time on someone who seems like a headache.

Iggy Azalea has no tolerance for pain ... 'cause she claims she "smashed" herself in the face while dunking a basketball ... despite strong video evidence to the contrary.

Iggy was hoopin' around with her BF Nick Young on Friday when she decided to test out her dunk skills.

She went up. She threw down. Ball sorta love-tapped her in the face.

So, of course, she immediately went to Twitter and injected faux drama ...

"Somehow while trying to dunk a damn ball i smashed myself in the face. i won't quit my day job anytime soon. lol."