TMZ Sports - Page 50

Caitlyn Jenner's former decathlon teammate -- who competed for Team USA with Bruce in the '76 Olympics -- says he's struggling to "compute" the whole Jenner situation ... but still considers her a friend.

TMZ Spoke with Fred Dixon ... who reunited with "Bruce" at his 64th birthday party last year (a reunion featured on "Keeping Up with the Kardashians").

Dixon was extremely honest when we asked if he'd seen the new cover of Vanity Fair .... saying, "Bruce was one of the best athletes who ever existed. Now, to see that photo ... somehow it doesn't compute."

"I look at it and I don't understand it. I'm not in any way judging him ... but it's very different."

For the record, Jenner told Diane Sawyer he expected some of his old friends to feel this way ... and understands -- "Some people will get it, some people won’t get it, it’s OK."

As for Fred, he says the bottom line is simple -- "The soul that was and is Bruce Jenner is still my friend. I don't understand what's going on now ... but he's still my friend."

Caitlyn Jenner will make her first major public appearance at one of the biggest events in all of sports -- The ESPYS -- where she's set to receive one of the highest honors the network hands out.

Jenner -- who was an Olympic champion back when she was a he -- says ESPN has chosen her as the winner of the Arthur Ashe Courage Award.

According to ESPN, the award is given to those who truly personify the spirit of tennis great Arthur Ashe -- someone who shows "strength in the face of adversity, courage in the face of peril and the willingness to stand up for their beliefs no matter what the cost."

Previous winners include Muhammad Ali, Stuart Scott, Jim Valvano, Robin Roberts, Nelson Mandela and Michael Sam.

The ESPYS are set to go down in L.A. on July 15th -- and Caitlyn, along with her 10 children and stepchildren, are expected to be on stage when she gets the award.

He's 54-years-old ... but Jean-Claude Van Damme is still in RIDICULOUS shape -- and now, he's telling TMZ Sports the RIGHT WAY to get shredded in the gym.

JCVD was leaving Gold's Gym in L.A. when he gave his best tips on how to get a body like his -- right down to the number of reps you should be doing on a specific exercise.

There's more ... Van Damme also sounds off on weed, diet and the importance of form.

Plus, he busts out one of his trademark kicks.

Lil Wayne got so furious at a referee ... in a charity basketball game ... he charged at the guy, allegedly SPIT on him -- and sparked a bench-clearing fight at a "stop the violence" event!

The brawl went down in St. Louis on Sunday night. Wayne's Young Money team was taking on a team coached by the event promoter, Loose Cannon Slim -- and we're told Coach Weezy thought the ref was blowing a bunch of calls.

In the video, Wayne is running after the ref with his whole crew behind him -- and the ref is wisely retreating into the crowd. Witnesses claim Wayne had already spit on the ref at this point.

TMZ has learned someone called police to report an assault, and although cops responded ... no one was arrested.

Again ... this was all so a guy named Loose Cannon could promote NON-violence.

French soccer star Samir Nasri -- who plays professionally for Manchester City -- says the United States is the HERO in the big FIFA scandal ... saying the world "needed" America to put a stop to the corruption.

The 27-year-old -- who has played in 41 games for the French national team -- was leaving Craig's in West Hollywood when we asked about the FBI investigation that led to 14 arrests.

"Everyone knew [FIFA] was a little bit corrupt," Nasri told TMZ Sports ... "But at the end of the day, that's a good thing that you did ... that the Americans did."

Nasri says the international soccer community "needed" the U.S. to be involved "because in Europe they didn't do anything and it's been a long time that we've been talking about it."

She'd probably beat his ass in the end, but Ronda Rousey says she AGREES with Shaquille O'Neal -- that he could probably last 45 seconds in the Octagon before getting him to tap out.

Shaq made the prediction on "Inside the NBA" last week -- saying, "It's not a joke! I could last 45 seconds!"

So, when we saw Ronda at LAX this weekend -- we had to ask how she felt about the situation ... and she explains why Shaq is 100% correct.

BTW -- here's the tale of the tape:

Shaquille O'Neal:
Height -- 7'1"
Weight -- 325 lbs

Ronda Rousey
Height -- 5'7"
Weight -- 135 lbs

Bonus -- we also asked Rousey about the guy who tested a new "bulletproof cup" that some men could be wearing in MMA in the near future.

Here's that video, too ...

It's what every little girl dreams of ... a marriage proposal over text message ... complete with crazy Hollywood bribes and a demand that you change your crappy attitude, stat.

And that's exactly what Floyd Mayweather fired off to Shantel Jackson back in April '14 ... according to new court docs obtained by TMZ Sports.

Jackson put the proposal on display in new legal papers filed in her nuclear war with her ex-fiancee ... which shows how Floyd tried to convince Shantel into getting engaged for a 2nd time.

"This is what I offer to you. Let's get married move in together you can go back in forth to L.A and stay at the condo."

"I promise I will get you in 3 A list movies this year and I'm willing to go to counseling to make us work and you can get the stuff you want and I'm willing to change but I need you to have a better attitude."

How romantic, right?!

Shantel says she shot down the offer (shocker) ... and included several text messages dating back to April 2013 to show why Mayweather wasn't exactly her knight in shining armor.

Among the highlights ...

-- "I had your phone traced. I hired a detective. Your not slick."
-- "I got nasty videos too that I can put on Instagram and twitter"
-- "I took you from rags to riches now you back to rags bitch. that's why your out selling shit going on petty ass auditions fronting to people like your doing big sh*t."

Shantel also says Floyd got upset over a photo of her with rapper Nelly from April '14 and demanded she remove it from her social media page.

When she refused, Shantel says Floyd sent her a pic of them together in happier days with the caption, "Just tell me this didn't mean anything."

In the legal docs she also claims, "[Floyd] threatened that if I didn't take down the photo of me and Nelly, he would post 'naked photos' of me on social media."

BTW, Shantel and Nelly began dating ... and are still together.

Hell must be freezing over ... 'cause an extremely hot woman that has been connected to Tiger Woods tells TMZ Sports the two are actually NOT banging ... and get this, Tiger never even tried.

We spoke to Turkish bikini model Tugba Ercan, who has been linked to Woods ever since she posted a picture of the two hanging out at a World Poker Tour event last week.

Ercan says several websites ran with the story assuming that Tiger ... who just broke up with GF Lindsey Vonn ... was back up to his old birddoggin' ways.

"They made it seem like it was something it wasn't, it was really just a picture."

Ercan -- who once again, is SUPER HOT -- says that not only are her and Tiger totally not a thing, but that the notorious womanizer didn't even try anything ... and was a perfect gentleman.

"He was very nice and polite. One of the nicest people I ever met, the charity work that he does with the World Poker Tour for children is amazing and moving to me."

Good news? The extra eyes on Tugba have really been a shot in the arm to her modeling career ... leading to her being named S.I.'s "Lovely Lady Of The Day."

"I really would love to be the first Turkish model in the Swimsuit Issue. It's my dream."

It's now our dream too ... check out the pics below.

The legendary Mike Bossy "50 In 50 "hockey puck -- the puck he used to score his 50th goal in 50 games back in 1981 -- now has a brand new owner who shelled out nearly $7k ... TMZ Sports has learned.

We broke the story ... the seller, Jake Jacobson, says he got the puck years ago from Bossy's daughter as a thank you gift for swim lessons.

Jacobson says he had offered to sell the puck back to the NY Islanders star for a fair price -- but Bossy didn't want to pay anything ... believing Jacobson should've handed it over for free.

Jacobson eventually took the puck to eBay -- and now we've learned it sold to the highest bidder at whopping $6,850!

So far, the identity of the buyer has not been revealed.

As for Jacobson, he tells us ... "I tried to return it [to Bossy] for too long. He could've reached me. He could've made an offer. Now, it's time for someone else to have the puck."

10:08 AM PT -- A rep for the Irving PD tells TMZ Sports ... Johnny showed NO signs of intoxication.

As for how the whole thing got started, Manziel told police he was being harassed by an 18-year-old man who was hounding him for an autograph.

When the man realized Manziel wasn't going to give him one, Johnny claims the guy started "talking trash" and Johnny responded by throwing the water bottle.

Security stepped in ... and the cops came as well ... but in the end, no one was arrested and everyone went their separate ways.

Johnny Manziel allegedly got into a fight with a buddy of his after a golf tournament Saturday and according to one eyewitness ... Johnny's throwing arm was way off.

Johnny and a group of friends were leaving the Byron Nelson Golf Classic in Irving, Texas, near Dallas, when he got into an argument with a guy in his group. The eyewitness tells TMZ Sports, the guys were yelling at each other when Johnny threw a water bottle "really hard" at the guy, but missed.

The eyewitness tells us, Johnny's friend sarcastically screamed, "Nice throw, Johnny," which apparently enraged the Cleveland Browns QB. The eyewitness says Johnny charged his friend, but was stopped by someone in his group.

Off duty cops who were working security came quickly, spoke with Johnny and his friend, and calmed the situation down. The pic shows Johnny sitting in a chair and talking to a cop by the Four Seasons hotel.

We believe no arrests were made.

Johnny's rep told a reporter the QB was being harassed.

Cristiano Ronaldo can teach any guy a lesson ... assuming he doesn't have a hair on his body.

The 30-year-old soccer stud was showing his buddies some moves aboard a yacht in St. Tropez. It's unclear if it's rooted in martial arts or The Village People, but either way he looks good for sure.

Cristiano was on board with Chloe Green, the Topshop heiress. The boat is owned by her dad, billionaire Sir Philip Green.

NY Jets star Brandon Marshall is counting on one of his ex-college teammates (turned NFL player) to go to bat for him in a lawsuit stemming over an alleged attack outside of an NYC club ... TMZ Sports has learned.

FYI -- Marshall is being sued by a woman who claims the WR punched her in the face during a violent situation outside of a nightclub back in 2012.

The NYPD investigated the incident at the time, but Marshall was never charged with a crime. Brandon has always maintained he did nothing wrong.

But as the civil case continues to move forward, Marshall has listed ex-NFL wide receiver Mike Sims-Walker as a witness who will help prove his innocence ... according to court docs obtained by TMZ Sports.

Sims-Walker and Marshall go way back ... they were teammates (and both WRs) at the University of Central Florida back in the day.

But the accuser has an ex-NFL witness of her own -- Raymond Edwards, a defensive end who last played with the Falcons in 2012.

It's unclear what Edwards and Sims-Walker are expected to contribute as far as their testimony goes -- but the case is expected to move forward later this year.

LeBron James won't be "Hangin' With Mr. Cooper" anytime soon ... 'cause the star of the '90's sitcom Mark Curry tells TMZ Sports the KING has NO CHANCE against his Warriors in the NBA Finals.

Mark was at LAX when we asked the Oakland native if he's scared his hometown Warriors' championship run is in peril now that they're matched up with the Cavs -- and LeBron -- in the NBA Finals.

Check out the clip -- not only is Mark not afraid of LeBron ... he's straight up CALLING HIM OUT ... saying that Steph Curry and the boys from the Bay are gonna smack the crown right off Bronny's head (basketball wise).

Talk about turning lemons into lemonade ... U.S. soccer legend Brandi Chastain says that crazy international FIFA scandal is actually a POSITIVE thing for women's soccer.

Chastain -- the hero in 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup Final -- was out in NYC this week when we asked how the massive FBI sting operation into FIFA that exposed decades of alleged corruption would impact the women's game.

You gotta hear Brandi's take -- it essentially comes down to the old saying, "There's no such thing as bad publicity."

10 out of 10 active NBA players believe it's time to LEGALIZE medicinal marijuana in the NBA ... and the recent video of Kevin Durant dropping prescription pot in L.A. is only fueling the pro-weed fire.

Here's the dilemma ... since Rx weed is already legal in several states, should the league continue to outlaw the green stuff if a player has a legitimate prescription from a doctor???

We asked 10 active NBA players (all of whom wanted to remain anonymous) ... and they all made it very clear -- it's time to legalize it!!!

One player told us, "How can you tell a guy with a prescription not to use it?? They should be allowed to have their medicine."

Another said ... "The NBA shouldn't advertise for it, but I don't see an issue if a player uses [with a prescription]."

Overall, the players believe the league needs to change with the times -- though they agree, the NBA is more progressive than other major sports leagues like the NFL and MLB and could be a real trailblazer when it comes to pot policy.

But don't expect things to change overnight -- we spoke with the NBA Players Association ... which told us the issue could be on the table at the next collective bargaining session in 2017.

"It's too early to say if this is an issue that the members want to address in the next round of bargaining."

Jack Nicholson is officially UNDER ATTACK by a billionaire NBA superfan ... who claims the actor has TURNED HIS BACK on the Lakers -- and he's pissed!!!

The rich guy going after Jack is Jimmy Goldstein -- who the NBA says spends more money on tickets than any other person in the world. He's also a Lakers season ticket holder.

So, when Jimmy was leaving Mr. Chow the other day, we had to ask how he felt about Jack's decision to essentially turn his back on the Lake Show this year.

That's when Goldstein tore the Joker a new one.

#CelebrityFeud!!!!