TMZ Sports - Page 50

Sometimes national pride gets in the way of picking a winner … and Steven Gerrard just learned that lesson the hard way.

Our photog caught the new LA Galaxy player at Craig’s Tuesday night and the first words out of his mouth were all about England’s chicks winning it all.

He’s totally soaking up the Hollywood scene … obviously getting acclimated to LA’s glitzy style and the flashes from all the cameras.

Too bad for Steven cause his home base England just got eliminated by Japan before they could even face USA in the finals.

The U.S. isn't just some dumping ground for aging international soccer stars ... it's becoming one of the toughest places in the world to play ... so says TV titan Nigel Lythgoe.

The former "American Idol" honcho is a huge soccer fan ... and says he's fired up that ex-Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has moved to the States to join the L.A. Galaxy.

But he has some advice for the 35-year-old ... "This is not an easy country. You can't take it easy 'cause you think you're coming to America to play soccer."

"It may not be the Premier League, but it's still tough out there."

In fact, when asked if the U.S. is where aging soccer stars come to die, Lythgoe said it's the exact opposite -- it's where big stars are coming to LIVE!

The college tennis player who called Michelle Beadle a "slut" has just emailed a personal apology letter to the ESPN star ... saying he was "extremely remorseful" ... TMZ Sports has learned.

A rep for the University of Texas at San Antonio confirms sophomore tennis player Gio Carrillo emailed the letter to Beadle moments ago.

As for the the contents of the letter, the rep tells us Carrillo wanted to keep it private ... but says it's essentially a full blown apology expressing that he's sorry and wants to learn from his mistake.

The rep also tells us the school did not demand the apology -- it was something Gio wanted to do.

Warren Sapp has BLOWN one of the greatest plea deals ever -- AZ prosecutors are gunning to put him IN JAIL for breaking their deal in his hooker case by getting charged with domestic violence in Vegas ... TMZ Sports has learned.

We broke the story ... Sapp cut a huge deal with prosecutors in AZ after he was busted with prostitutes in February in which he agreed to complete various counseling programs and stay out of trouble, and in exchange the charges would be thrown out.

Problem is ... the agreement specifically states that if he gets charged with ANY OTHER crime while enrolled in the program, the deal is off and Sapp would get 30 days in jail and 24 months probation.

Fast forward to Vegas ... where Sapp was just charged with 3 counts of domestic violence for allegedly beating up his longtime girlfriend stemming from an incident in April.

AZ prosecutors took notice ... and this week, they filed new court docs seeking to hold Sapp responsible -- looking to enforce the terms of the Arizona sentence, ASAP.

Now it's up to the judge to sign off on the request ... which means Sapp could be headed to the clink in the very near future.

Stay tuned ...

James Harden had a HUGE target on his back at an elite Nike event in L.A. this weekend -- but we're told he DESTROYED all comers ... including some of the top high school and college players in the country.

Harden -- along with NBA superstars like Kobe Bryant, LeBron, Kevin Durant and more -- hit up the Nike Basketball Academy at a private airplane hanger in Santa Monica.

The event was invite-only and allowed some of the best up-and-comers to test their skills against the pros.

Sources at the event tell us ... on the last day of the camp, a bunch of the amateurs took on a team comprised of Paul George, Demarcus Cousins, Anthony Davis, James Harden and others.

But, for some reason, we're told everyone was "trying to go hard" at Harden.

The bad news for the youngsters ... we're told Harden took the kids to school -- "destroyed everyone."

We're also told Paul George looked good -- as one source put it, "He got his bounce back. It looks like he never lost a step."

All in all, we're told the kids had an incredible experience -- Kobe spoke to the camp and gave people advice, LeBron led a skills session and DeMar DeRozan helped lead a spin class.

NFL legend Emmitt Smith is now distancing himself from Donald Trump ... backing out as a judge in the upcoming Miss USA pageant after Trump trashed Mexicans.

Smith was one of 5 celebrity judges that was scheduled to participate on the show.

Several high profile people have dropped out from the production including co-host Cheryl Burke, Flo Rida (who was supposed to perform) and Roselyn Sanchez.

Ex-New England Patriots linebacker Brandon Spikes has pled GUILTY in his hit and run case stemming from a June crash in his Maybach ... but he won't do one single minute behind bars.

Instead, Spikes has been ordered to pay more than $2k in fines and his driver's license has been suspended for one year.

As we previously reported, cops found Brandon's expensive Maybach on the side of the interstate in Foxboro, Mass. on June 7. At first, Spikes said he hit a deer, but was lying. Instead, he smashed into the back of an SUV -- leaving 3 people with minor injuries, including a 12-year-old girl.

Spikes was initially charged with leaving the scene of a personal injury crash, negligent driving, speeding and failure to stay in his lane.

But he struck a plea deal, and got probation for one year. His driver's license was suspended and he's been ordered to complete a safe driving course.

ESPN's Michelle Beadle is calling for the University of Texas at San Antonio to punish a sophomore tennis player ... after he called her a "slut" on social media.

Beadle had been tweeting about the San Antonio Spurs ... when Gio Carrillo tweeted at her, "Slut."

Beadle fired back with a message to UTSA saying, "Hey @UTSA @UTSAAthletics...tell me this dude isn't actually a part of a team. #StillTimeToGrowUp."

Moments later, Gio deleted his Twitter page ... and the University responded to Beadle with a note saying "We are so sorry this happened. This is not at all what our University stands for."

We called UTSA to find out what action will be taken -- but so far, they have not made any decisions.

Beadle has since said, "Never too soon to learn the dangers of social media."

Michelle tells TMZ Sports she doesn't want the kid to be cut from the team -- but says, "The Internet is forever. Better he learn now."

Boxer Peter "Kid Chocolate" Quillin says Bob Arum is spewing LIES about him in Arum's $100 MILLION lawsuit against Al Haymon -- with Quillin saying Haymon is not the monster Arum is making him out to be.

As we previously reported, Arum's Top Rank boxing promotions company is suing Haymon -- claiming Al is "rigging" the sport to monopolize the industry.

In his suit, Arum claims Haymon cajoled Quillin into not taking a HUGE bout in 2014 (which would have been his biggest payday) in a diabolical scheme to freeze out Jay Z's promotions company, which had already won the rights to promote the fight.

But Quillin says that's just not true ... telling TMZ Sports, "I had just had a baby and my uncle was dying of cancer and I wasn't in the right state of mind to fight."

"Al Haymon asked me if I wanted to fight and told me it was up to ME. I made the decision to not fight."

Manny Pacquiao's manager Bob Arum is declaring war on Floyd Mayweather's promoter -- claiming the guy is "rigging the boxing industry" ... and taking aim at everyone, including Jay Z ... this according to a lawsuit obtained by TMZ Sports.

Arum's Top Rank boxing promotions company just filed a $100 MILLION lawsuit against Al Haymon -- who many consider the most powerful man in boxing.

According to the suit, Top Rank claims Haymon has been using unsavory tactics to monopolize the boxing industry -- including illegally blocking fights, blocking venues and freezing out other promoters, including Top Rank and Jay Z's Roc Nation Sports company.

Top Rank claims Haymon -- who "famously runs his empire from an old school flip phone" -- is leveraging his impressive client list (which includes Mayweather, Adrian Broner, Danny Garcia and more) to monopolize the boxing industry.

For example, Top Rank claims Haymon cajoled one of his fighters -- Peter Quillin -- to turn down a $1.4 million payday in 2014 (the biggest payday of his career) because Jay Z had won the right to promote the fight and Haymon didn't want to let Roc Nation get his foot into the boxing game.

Top Rank is going after Haymon and his financial backers, the Waddell & Reed investment group for fraud and conspiracy.

Don't be a dumbass when it comes to posting on social media ... 'cause it could seriously hurt your career ... so say two NBA prospects who are heeding the lessons of the Larry Nance Jr. drama.

Michigan State star Denzel Valentine and Iowa State forward Georges Niang were at LAX yesterday -- when we brought up the super awkward situation with Kobe Bryant ... and the Lakers rookie who called him a "rapist" on Twitter a few years ago.

Check out the clip ... Valentine and Niang say they understand that you can't write "stupid" stuff on social media because you never know when it could come back around to bite you in the ass.

A super embarrassing moment on social media paid dividends for Robert Griffin III -- 'cause the NFL star says he's "good friends" with the U.S. women's soccer team now, after a mix-up back in 2012.

RG3 was out at Mastro's Steakhouse last night when he told us he's thrilled for Team USA -- especially since he's become tight with stars like Alex Morgan, Tobin Heath and Sydney Leroux.

So, what's the embarrassing part? Back in '12, he THOUGHT he met Alex Morgan at an event ... and even went to Twitter to thank her for being so nice.

Problem is ... it wasn't Alex Morgan -- who responded on Twitter, "I think u met @TobinHeath today but hopefully I'll see u around. Good luck in the draft!"

Oops.

The good news ... RG, Alex and Tobin all joked about it on social media -- and RG3 says they're all friends now. So, the public humiliation paid off!

Steak tastes A LOT better right after you sign a $145 MILLION contract -- just ask Anthony Davis, who got dinner with his new coach moments after inking the deal ... and TMZ Sports has the video.

David and New Orleans Pelicans honcho Alvin Gentry hit up Mastro's Steakhouse in Beverly Hills ... along with Anthony's family. You can tell from the video, the whole fam is PUMPED!!!!

But not nearly as excited as Gentry -- who told our photog he feels GRRRREEAAAT ... after inking a deal that will keep the 22-year-old in New Orleans for the next 5 years.

Question is ... who paid? The guy who just got the money? Or the guy who just made the deal?

If Jerry Jones wants to go to Orlando Scandrick's wedding, there might be a catch ... so says Orlando's brand new fiancee Draya Michele.

As we previously reported, the Dallas Cowboys defensive back popped the question to Draya earlier this month with a $400k engagement ring ... so when we saw Michele on the set of her new movie, we had to ask about the guest list.

Michele told TMZ Sports they haven't set a date yet -- but expect to extend an invite to Orlando's boss ... if he's still Orlando's boss when they finally do get hitched.

Paige VanZant doesn't seem to be afraid of anything ... except when it comes to confirming that she's OFFICIALLY dating a fellow UFC fighter -- though it's pretty obvious it's on and crackin'.

VanZant was out in NYC when we just had to ask her about UFC rising star Cody Garbrandt -- who she's been hanging out with A LOT recently.

In fact, they recently had a movie date night together ... and she made him her "Man Crush Monday" just two weeks ago.

Check out the clip -- Paige gets all adorably flustered when we mention Cody's name ... and plays coy when we ask if the two are a real deal item.

NHL officials have been notified that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police investigation into ex-L.A. Kings player Mike Richards involves the prescription drug oxycodone ... multiple sources tell TMZ Sports.

Our sources say Richards was stopped while crossing from the United States into Canada on June 17th ... and we're told he was questioned about oxycodone pills, a powerful painkiller.

For the record, Richards has NOT been charged with a crime.

However, he has since been cut from the team for "a material breach of the requirements of his Standard Player's Contract."

We reached out to Richards' agent for comment multiple times but haven't heard back. Canadian officials refused to comment, citing privacy laws.