TMZ Sports - Page 50

Jim Bridenstine -- the head of NASA -- says Steph Curry just HAS to be joking about his moon landing theory ... telling TMZ Sports, "I can't imagine he really believes that!!"

The Warriors superstar sent space nerds into a frenzy Monday when he declared on The Ringer's "Winging It" podcast that the moon landing in 1969 never happened.

Enter Bridenstine ... who says Curry's claim is so outrageous -- the point guard just cannot be serious.

"I think it's funny," Jim tells us ... "I can't imagine he really believes that. It's outside the realm of what's possible."

In fact ... Jim REALLY set Steph straight, saying, "Here's the thing, we didn't just go to the moon once, we went to the moon six times! And, we did it from 1969 to 1972!!!"

Bridenstine also doubled down on NASA's invitation to have Curry come check out all their evidence -- saying he'd LOVE to prove Steph wrong and get him involved in the space program afterward!

"My son is a HUGE fan of Steph Curry. So, if we can get him involved in space, I'm for it!"

Oscar De La Hoya says he's got big plans for Canelo Alvarez once he runs through Rocky Fielding this weekend ... telling TMZ Sports a 3rd fight with Gennady Golovkin will definitely happen.

Oscar confirmed that Golden Boy Promotions has locked up T-Mobile Arena in Vegas for Canelo to fight on May 4 -- but said he's not ready to announce the opponent.

When we asked if he was gunning for Gennady Golovkin, Oscar downplayed it.

"I haven't even spoken to GGG, I haven't even spoken to his handlers. I have that date for Canelo and that's it," Oscar said.

But, he did assure us a 3rd fight is coming -- whenever Canelo feels like it.

"Is he gonna fight GGG again? Yeah, whenever we say he's gonna fight him again. We call the shots now. Canelo beat him so if he's gonna fight him it's gonna be when we say."

Canelo and GGG have fought twice before. The first fight ended in a draw. Canelo took the rematch in a controversial decision.

Oscar said there are other fighters in the mix for Canelo as well -- including Daniel Jacobs, Billy Joe Saunders and the Charlo brothers.

"They're all gonna get it," Oscar says ... "Canelo fights the best."

Jon Jones is BACK!!

The UFC superstar just got his license to fight in California reinstated -- essentially clearing the way for him to fight at UFC 232 on Dec. 29.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Jones tested positive for the banned substance Turinabol (an anabolic steroid) before his fight with Daniel Cormier at the Honda Center in Anaheim in July 2017.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency meted out a 15-month suspension for Jones -- and the California State Athletic Commission said it would honor that punishment.

Even though Jon's upcoming fight against Alexander Gustafsson is set to go down in Vegas, the Nevada State Athletic Commission won't license him unless he's clear in California.

The good news for Jon ... he appeared at a CSAC hearing on Tuesday with his attorney and the board voted 6-0 to reinstate him and granted him a temporary license.

Jones also paid his $205,000 fine.

After he was reinstated, Jon had a message to the California State Athletic Commission -- "Make sure you guys watch."

For his part, Jones has always insisted he never intentionally took the Turinabol -- claiming he's not a cheater.

At the hearing, CSAC executive director Andy Foster actually defended Jones -- saying, "I do not think Mr. Jones is intentionally a doper."

He added, "I just don’t believe it. If he is, he’s the worst doper in combat sports. He fails the one test he knows is coming."

Ever seen a championship trophy get a lap dance before?!!

Well, the guys from the ATL United soccer team made it happen Monday night -- taking the MLS Cup to the legendary Magic City booty club just days after winning the title.

Cup got lit -- getting pulled onstage where it got an up-close and personal twerk session from one of the dancers while people in the crowd made it rain.

Some of the players who accompanied the trophy to the club included Chris McCann, Miles Robinson and Jeff Larentowicz.

The team had a championship parade in Atlanta on Monday -- after beating the Portland Timbers in the MLS championship game on Saturday.

It's ATL's first MLS cup -- in just their 2nd season in the league -- so, why not go big?!

Magic City is probably the most famous strip club in America -- having hosted huge stars like Jermaine Dupri, T.I., Usher, Drake, Future and more.

Wayne Rooney was happy to spread a little Christmas cheer with Donald Trump ... 'cause the soccer legend was 45's guest of honor at the White House over the weekend!!

It all went down at Trump's Christmas party Sunday ... where Rooney and his wife, Coleen, and their kids hit up 1600 Pennsylvania Ave to enjoy some holiday fun.

Of course ... Barron Trump is a HUGE soccer fan and an even bigger Rooney supporter -- so the D.C. United superstar's presence was a big-time gift from Papa Trump.

It's interesting ... many high-profile athletes -- from Steph Curry to LeBron James -- have turned down trips to Trump's White House 'cause of their political beliefs.

Great news from Brian Ortega's camp ... the UFC star is improving by the minute after that bloody loss to Max Holloway this past weekend ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Ortega suffered a broken nose and thumb during Saturday night's fight at UFC 231 in Toronto -- and his left eye was swollen shut. The doctor stopped the fight in the 4th round.

We spoke with Ortega's coach, Rener Gracie -- who's been coaching Brian since Ortega was 13 years old. The two are super tight and Gracie was working the corner during the Holloway fight.

Gracie tells us T-City was initially crushed by the loss ... and even apologized to his team at the hospital for letting them down.

But, Gracie says the apology was completely unnecessary -- telling TMZ Sports he's proud of the young fighter for the tremendous effort he displayed against "one of the best to ever do it."

Now, Gracie says Ortega is "doing much better" -- he's healing up and excited to getting back to work ... and tells us why the loss will ultimately be a GOOD thing for his career.

The Tennessee Titans have launched an investigation into Leonard Fournette's allegations that a fan was shouting racial slurs at him during Thursday night's game at Nissan Stadium in Nashville ... sources tell TMZ Sports.

We broke the story ... the Jacksonville Jaguars running back threatened to beat up a fan in the 4th quarter of his team's 30-9 loss in an incident caught on video.

Fournette later told The Athletic the fan had been shouting racist insults like "c**n" and "servant" -- though none of those words can be heard on the video obtained by TMZ Sports.

Now, sources tell us ... the team has launched an investigation to find out if other people seated in the area heard any of the alleged slurs. They're also working to identify the heckler so they can speak with him.

We spoke with the person who shot the video -- who is NOT the heckler beefing with Fournette -- who told us he did not hear any racist language.

The fan said he DID hear the fan hurling insults, but they were based on the score of the game.

Rap superstar YG says he's not choosing sides between Colin Kaepernick and the NFL ... saying he supports BOTH, and is explaining his stance.

YG sat down with Raquel Harper on "Raq Rants" and talked about his relationship with Kaepernick, including personal conversations he's had with the embattled QB about his protest.

The Compton native says he's 100% supportive of Kap and has told him so, but isn't boycotting the NFL -- as a matter of fact, he's been one of the most visible and vocal fans of the L.A. Rams all season.

"We African-Americans, we grow up looking as basketball, football and rap as our way to get out."

YG is essentially saying what a lot of people have pointed out ... that while he agrees the league is doing Kap dirty ... he feels it's up to him to support the young black men that are still playing and making a living.

LeBron James and Dwyane Wade faced off on the court for the last time on Monday night ... and the biggest names in Hollywood had front row seats for the epic showdown.

It was a bittersweet moment for NBA fans ... LBJ and Wade have had some insane matchups over the past 16 years, so there was no way the biggest Laker fans would miss this one.

Wade's wifey, Gabrielle Union, had a courtside seat with her "L.A.'s Finest" costar Jessica Alba ... and Rams studs Brandin Cooks and Jared Goff also grabbed floor seats for the big game.

Other stars include Future, Kevin Costner, Kate Beckinsale, Denzel Washington and Will Ferrell.

They picked a great game to go to ... with LeBron guarding Wade on a potential game-tying 3 in the final seconds of the game ... which he missed.

U.S. Olympic superstar Simone Biles says she's still traumatized from the sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of Larry Nassar ... and has sought professional help for treatment.

Biles appeared on "Good Morning America" on Tuesday where Robin Roberts asked her how she's been able to handle the emotional rollercoaster connected to the Nassar scandal.

"It's definitely not easy," Biles said ... "I have my ups and downs. I still go to therapy and I'm on anxiety medication now."

"I had a lot of ups and downs throughout the year and trying to figure out what was wrong, and so I go to therapy pretty regularly and it’s not easy but the people surrounding me are some of the best so it makes it a little easier."

Roberts thanked Biles for being so open about her treatment and said, "Bless you for taking care of you like you're doing."

Back in January, Biles revealed she -- like scores of gymnasts -- was abused by the former Team USA gymnastics doctor.

"I've felt a bit broken and the more I try to shut off the voice in my head the louder it screams," Biles posted on social media back in January along with the hashtag #MeToo.

"I am not afraid to tell my story anymore."

Nassar is currently serving a 60-year sentence in federal prison for child porn -- and has been sentenced to up to 175 more years for sexually abusing more than 140 athletes.

Doesn't matter if a heckler hurled the n-word, pro athletes like Leonard Fournette need to WALK AWAY from trash talkers ... 'cause if they actually fight, a pro could literally KILL a loudmouthed normie.

That's the advice coming from Charles Barkley -- who's dealt with plenty of hecklers during and after his NBA career.

Chuck knows trash talk is all fun and games until things turn physical -- and that's when things can get way too real.

"If you hit a fan and hurt them, you might KILL them," Barkley explained ... "But the main thing, you just gotta walk away or they're just gonna sue ya."

"Listen, they would never say that to you and fight you in the streets, but if you hit them you're gonna lose a lot of money," Barkley added on his way out of Matsuhisa in L.A.

It's not just Fournette who's been heckled lately, huge NBA stars have been targeted too -- including Kevin Durant, Patrick Beverley and Montrezl Harrell.

Steph Curry thinks the moon landing was a big hoax ... and now NASA wants to turn the NBA superstar into a believer ... giving him a personal invite to tour all the evidence that proves it all happened.

The Warriors All-Star and his teammates revealed their skepticism on the Ringer's "Winging It" podcast with Vince Carter and Kent Bazemore ... admitting they truly believe the moon landing in 1969 never happened.

A rep for NASA tells TMZ Sports they wanna put an end to all that talk ASAP ... inviting Curry to check out their lunar labs and all the evidence that proves it all really went down.

"There’s lots of evidence NASA landed 12 American astronauts on the Moon from 1969 – 1972," spokesperson Allard Beutel says.

"We’d love for Mr. Curry to tour the lunar lab at our Johnson Space Center in Houston, perhaps the next time the Warriors are in town to play the Rockets."

"We have hundreds of pounds of Moon rocks stored there and the Apollo mission control. During his visit, he can see first-hand what we did 50 years ago, as well as what we’re doing now to go back to the Moon in the coming years, but this time to stay."

Is Ben Simmons secretly the sweetest, sappiest boyfriend ever???

Maybe ... 'cause Kendall Jenner posted a SUPER romantic, handwritten love letter on social media Monday (but blacked out the name of the sender) ... and signs point to the 76ers point guard.

The letter begins, "Dear Kendall, We may be miles apart but my love for you grows stronger by the minute. My innermost feeling is of pure love for you."

"I will love you until death separates us. Right now this separation is killing me, but in my heart I know that nothing would come close to separating us."

It continues, "We are united into one forever, body and soul and I want you to know that I love you from the deepest part of my heart."

It's signed with, "Love," but Kendall blocked out the author ... which begs the question -- IS IT REALLY FROM BEN?!?!

Seems it could be ... the two have gotten super serious the last few weeks, ice skating, grabbing bites to eat and hanging out after Sixers games.

Plus ... Philly WAS just on a road trip in Toronto and then Detroit ...

So, is Simmons the author?? Here's a look at his handwriting -- you be the judge.

The sober streak is over for Dennis Rodman -- the NBA star admits he fell off the wagon and had started drinking again ... but now says he's still focused on cutting booze out of his life.

Rodman entered rehab after a DUI arrest back in January -- and has openly talked about the difficulties of going sober.

He slipped up in the past 2 weeks and hit the bar scene in Newport Beach, CA -- but tells TMZ Sports it was a mistake and he's now going back to AA meetings in the hopes of staying sober.

Rodman says he had stopped going to meetings because they got boring -- hey, at least he's honest.

But, after he started drinking again, Rodman reached out to his agent, Darren Prince (who's also battled substance abuse but is now going on 10 years sober) and his AA sponsor and asked them for help.

Rodman says he was ultimately convinced to go back to the meetings and already feels like he's making progress.

"It's a long process and it's gonna take time to get over the hump," Rodman says.

Rodman has been to rehab before -- once in 2014 ... and he was also featured on "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew" back in 2010.

We spoke with Rodman's agent, Darren Prince, who tells us, "Dennis is the king of rebounds and he'll rebound from this too."

Someone get Ted Cruz some Charmin ... 'cause the senator from Texas just took a big ol' dumparoo on the NFL over the way the league handled the national anthem demonstrations.

Ted had touched down in D.C. when we asked if Congress should look into overseeing the way the league handled investigations ... in the wake of the Kareem Hunt situation.

But, Cruz pivoted during the conversation and brought up the national anthem demonstrations -- and important to note, he's been strongly AGAINST players like Colin Kaepernick who took a knee.

"I think it has been amazing watching the NFL do unprecedented damage to their brand and the way they handled the anthem protest I think was spectacularly harmful to professional football," Cruz said.

So, we asked if Congress should have stepped in and gotten involved (outside of President Trump's public critiques) ... to which Cruz replied, "At the end of the day, I trust the fans to exercise the appropriate check."

Trump had called for the league to fire players who repeatedly took a knee. Instead, the league has imposed no penalty for kneelers.

The Dolphins had one of the most EPIC walk off winning touchdowns in NFL history ... and Miami guard Ted Larsen laid out the block that made the TD possible.

But, how could the play have been even better?

WITH A FAT GUY TOUCHDOWN!!!

At least, that's what Larsen's saying ... 'cause the Dolphins OL tells TMZ Sports that while Kenyan Drake's play was amazing -- he says it coulda been even better if he got the rock.

"Obviously we scored and we won -- I would have selfishly liked if they had pitched me the ball or something like that!"

Larsen, sadly, didn't get the ball in the epic play ... but he DID throw the key block that sprung Drake for the final yards of the game-winner.

As for if he DID happen to get the ball ... Larsen says nobody else was gonna touch it, 'cause, "I was going to try to take it right to the end zone myself!"

And, when it comes to the celebration -- Larsen says he woulda done the exact same thing that Drake did!!!!

Which, as it turns out, Kenyan is REALLY regretting today ...