TMZ Sports - Page 50

The players hate his guts. The coaches hate his guts. The fans hate his guts ... but Donald Sterling is still a HUUUGE Clippers fan -- so says his wife Shelly.

Shelly and Donald had dinner TOGETHER last night at The Palm in Beverly Hills ... and on the way out, Shelly was in an extremely bubbly mood!!

That's when she told us Donald's still rooting the team that turned against him for being a tremendous racist. The team that's tried everything in its power to erase him from its memory.

Oh, and check out her answer when we ask if she's worried about the Lakers.

The mangled finger that "fell off" Jose Canseco's hand during a poker game WILL NOT be popping up on eBay -- 'cause the whole thing was a giant prank ... TMZ Sports has learned.

As we previously reported ... the former baseball star blew off part of his finger last month while cleaning a gun -- but got it reconnected in surgery.

Last week, Jose claimed the reattached digit went rogue ... tweeting, "I was playing in a poker tournament last night and my finger fell off."

Disgusting. Funny. And totally untrue. Jose now admits it was a HOAX.

We contacted Canseco about video he says he shot of the finger fail -- and when push came to shove ... he had to cop to the prank. Jose says he cooked up the plan when he came across the fake finger in a Halloween store.

As for the eBay auction he was pimping on Twitter -- sorry, sickos ... the real deal's still attached.

Phil Jackson dissed the Lakers ... saying his ex-team doesn't need him to coach, they just need better players -- which is funny, considering his new team in NYC is just as crappy.

The Knicks President was grocery shopping in L.A. when our photog asked him if the Lakers could pull out of the basement if he was running the show.

Phil refused to blast the Lake Show's new coaches, but instead dropped some Zen master wisdom about coaches -- even himself -- only being as good as the talent they have on the court.

100% true for the Lakers -- and also the Knicks. Isn't that right, starting center Samuel Dalembert?

Rap legend Fab Five Freddy has a message for athletes trying to moonlight as MC's ... put the mic down and back away slowly.

We asked Freddy -- the first host of "Yo! MTV Raps" -- about the trend of athletes busting rhymes. Shaq and Kobe did it back in the day ... and, of course, guys like Iman Shumpert, Lance Stephenson, and LeBron James are doing it now.

Here's the thing about OGs like Freddy -- they rarely mince words ... so you gotta see him explain why most of these guys are in for a "rude awakening."

When you've banged as many chicks as Derek Jeter ... running into exes becomes an occupational hazard, and Tuesday night it was Jessica Alba's turn for the awkward moment.

Jeter and Alba were both guest speakers at the Goldman Sachs technology conference in Las Vegas. Jeter was there for his new website (theplayerstribune.com) and Alba was talking about her Honest Company baby products.

The after party went down at Hyde Bellagio Nightclub -- and sources inside tell us Jessica and Derek did have a 10-minute chat while they were there. Nothing hot and heavy, we're told ... just enough to talk about her kids and his retirement.

Still ... Cash Warren and Hannah Davis can't be thrilled.

USC cornerback Josh Shaw -- who got busted lying about being a hero -- is back from suspension, but some of his Trojan teammates tell TMZ Sports they're not happy he's putting on the pads again.

Shaw was reinstated by the team Tuesday after he was suspended back in September for concocting a fake story about saving a drowning child to cover up how he injured himself.

We spoke to several Trojans who say they were "speechless" when they heard Shaw was rejoining the team -- because they don't think he deserves to start over players who didn't get in trouble and have been playing all season.

The team has 2 big games left this season -- UCLA and Notre Dame -- and although Shaw is not yet listed as a starter, many players think it's only a matter of time.

Shaquille O'Neal snatched up one of our camera guys and dragged him around NYC for a day ... and along the way our photog learned some big Shaq secrets!

Not the least of which being that it's impossible to escape from a 7-foot giant. It's the most entertaining kidnapping EVER!!!

LeBron James is finally wrecking something other than opposing defenses -- he's getting hands on to tear down and renovate a house in his hometown ... and it's all for his charity.

King James hooked up with Nicole Curtis, who hosts HGTV’s "Rehab Addict" ... and completely overhauled the home of a family in Akron, Ohio.

LeBron brought along his two sons and they didn't just watch ... they put in some work. 'Bron helped tear apart kitchen fixtures and even took a sledgehammer to a wall.

A seven-year-old boy should be having his birthday at Chuck E. Cheese's, NOT Hooters ... but that's exactly what Dwight Howard's baby mama did for their son's 7th birthday.

"Basketball Wives" star Royce Reed, the boy's mother, posted the photo on her Instagram showing Braylon grinning from ear-to-ear ... and it probably wasn't because of the wings.

As TMZ first reported ... Howard is angling for full custody, while simultaneously being investigated for child abuse.

In court docs, Howard has accused Reed of exposing Braylon to sexual situations. Howard claims his son has witnessed Reed engage in sexual acts with her "numerous companions."

We're told Howard believes this photo is just the latest example of his son being exposed to sex.

A source close to Royce says her son's birthday party was at a Monkey Joe's bounce house earlier in the day -- with his classmates -- and she merely stopped at Hooters for food. The source also says Royce has never had any man in and out of her house, and has never exposed Braylon to sex.

Floyd Mayweather's 14-year-old son is lashing out against his father -- claiming he's a coward for refusing to admit he beat the crap out of his mother Josie Harris back in 2010.

Koraun Mayweather spoke with USA Today with his mother's permission and described what happened in September 2010 ... when he witnessed Floyd punching and kicking Josie ... so he snuck out of his Vegas home and alerted security, who then summoned police.

"[My dad] said to lock my door and stay in my room. I sat there and thought about what I was going to do next ... just for like a minute."

Koraun said he eventually "ran back out my bathroom and then hopped over the gate and went to the main entrance gate. I just told [the guard] that my mom was getting hurt and to call the ambulance and the police."

Eventually cops arrived ... and Koraun told investigators what he saw. Mayweather pled guilty to a reduced battery domestic violence charge and was sentenced to 90 days behind bars. Koraun says he's upset that his father never apologized for the incident publicly.

Koraun also says he still spends time with his father -- but he's less than enthusiastic about it.

"We just hang out. We either watch a movie or something, or go bowling. I find [boxing] boring. It is just like how people sit in the ring and fight for 12 rounds and it gets boring after a while."

LeBron James is 29. The guy dating his mother is 32 ... and apparently, the NBA star is totally cool with it.

In fact, LeBron posed for a pic with his mom's BF -- a rapper known as Da Real Lambo -- after the Cavs beat the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday.

Lambo has reportedly been dating Gloria James for about a year ... and he's already referring to her as his "wifey" on Instagram.

Clearly, Lambo loves the lifestyle ... posting pics in private jets, boats and expensive-looking resorts ... but it appears LeBron doesn't have a problem with it.

Dwyane Wade hosted a huge fashion event in Miami last night ... invited a bunch of his famous friends ... and even busted out a Ferrari ... and TMZ Sports has the pics.

It was called "A Night On the RunWade" ... to benefit his Wade's World Foundation, which provides health and educational services in poor neighborhoods.

Wade was joined by his wife Gabrielle Union and teammates Chris Bosh, Shannon Brown and Mario Chalmers. Pat Riley and Alonzo Mourning were also in the house.

So, Shaquille O'Neal stole a TMZ photog yesterday ... right off the street ... and it was hilarious.

The "hostage" was our guy Adam -- who was shooting Shaq out in NYC when the former NBA star decided he was just gonna take him ... as payback for Harvey not answering his call last week.

(For the record, Harvey disputes ducking Shaq's call ... though he doesn't really remember).

Shaq and his prisoner went all over the city together ... from "The View" to "Good Morning America" ... with Adam documenting his captivity every step of the way.

A few things we learned about Shaq during the crisis ...

-- He loves Maury Povich (and bets with his friends on the "Who's the Daddy" segments)
-- He's a huge "Ray Donovan" fan
-- He actually uses Icy Hot in real life

As for Adam ... no word if Shaq ever let him go. We haven't gotten around to calling him back yet.

Floyd Mayweather shelled out $30k to get 10 strippers into his hotel suite for a crazy Instagram twerk video ... and he handpicked the women from a popular L.A. strip club ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The video blew up on social media Monday night when Floyd posted the 10-on-1 video to Instagram ... and the ass community went wild.

Now we've learned Floyd hired all of the women off the floor of Sam's Hofbrau Adult Cabaret in Los Angeles ... and forked over $3,000 per stripper.

We're told the women were hired to dance for an hour in Floyd's penthouse suite at a fancy L.A. hotel -- but some stayed later because Floyd had all sorts of food and drinks in the room.

But get this ... we're told there's a beef behind the scenes, because the women at Sam's who didn't get picked to twerk for Floyd are steaming mad ... and it's made for some serious tension at the office.

Strippers -- they have feelings too.

New England Patriots RB Stevan Ridley got a jump on the Xmas season -- dropping $20k on some sick bling for some of his favorite teammates ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Ridley -- along with Pats teammate Danny Amendola and former LSU teammate Ron Brooks -- recently hit up the Nialaya jewelry store in L.A. ... which happens to be owned by "Euros of Hollywood" star Jannik Olander.

We're told the guys picked out all sorts of rings, bracelets and necklaces ... but when the $20k bill came, Ridley picked up the tab.

Friends ... they're better when they're millionaires.

Check out the hardware ...

Hayden Panettiere and boxing champ Wladimir Klitschko are expecting their first kid ... and after seeing her in Hawaii, flaunting a womb the size of Oahu -- ya gotta wonder: Is she going C-section or pushing and praying for dear life?

Our advice: Don't be a hero, Hayden.