TMZ Sports - Page 50

THIS IS AMAZING.

Dikembe Mutombo flew an 8-year-old boy from Africa with a large tumor on his face -- who's been shunned by society -- to Los Angeles ... so he could be operated on by a team of American doctors.

TMZ Sports saw Mutombo at LAX ... when he told us the heartwarming story.

The NBA Hall of Famer says he met the young boy back in September at the hospital he built in Congo ... and immediately knew he wanted to help.

"I was touched by what he's going through as a young boy who's 8 years old. Not going to school. The way he's been pushed away by the society," Mutombo told us ... "His mom has to keep him in the bedroom every day because people are talking bad about him."

Dikembe -- who flew into L.A. earlier today -- was waiting at the airport for the boy's flight to get in from Africa ... and he invited our cameraman to watch the reunion.

Now, Mutombo set up the young boy to be operated on by Dr. Osborne in Beverly Hills for free ... before he returns to Congo where, the hope is, he'll be able to return to school and live a normal, happy life.

Anna Kournikova's all about that top-shelf life -- blame it on the Goose -- during a recent trip to the grocery store.

The former tennis superstar was leaving Costco Wednesday in Miami, and she loaded up with groceries and TONS of booze. How big a haul are we talking here? She needed help from 3 assistants to get her car loaded.

But, it's hard not to miss her cart ... loaded with 6 Ketel One bottles, 4 Grey Goose bottles, a bottle of Patron and champagne. Why the liquor haul? We don't know for sure, but Anna and Enrique Iglesias' twins are turning 1 in just a few days.

The kids might not know it's a party but -- from the looks of it -- the adults definitely will. Bottoms up!

December Fools??

Steph Curry says he got you all GOOD ... 'cause the Warriors superstar says he never actually thought the United States didn't land on the moon -- tellin' ESPN he was just kiddin' around!!!

"Obviously I was joking when I was talking on the podcast," Curry says.

Steph sent science and space geeks into another orbit this week when he claimed on The Ringer's "Winging It" podcast that astronauts never landed on the moon in 1969.

The claim went viral ... with everyone from athletes to even NASA's head, Jim Bridenstine, shading the NBA stud for the outrageous claim.

But, Steph says it was all one big joke -- and he waited until Wednesday to finally reveal that 'cause, "I was silently protesting how stupid it was that people actually took that quote and made it law."

Curry says, either way, he's definitely going to take NASA up on their offer to show him their moon rocks ... and says kids can learn a lesson from this whole drama.

"For kids out there that hang on every word that we say, which is important, understand that you should not believe something just because somebody says it."

"You should do your homework and understand what you actually believe. But I'm going to go to NASA and I'm going to enjoy the experience whole-heartedly."

Remember when TMZ Sports spotted Jimmy Butler drivin' around Beverly Hills in a freakin' minivan??

The Philadelphia Sixers superstar is finally dishing out the deets on why he prefers mom mobiles over luxury whips ... saying it's all a big scheme to throw people off.

And, that it does.

Not only does Jimmy Buckets rock vans -- he was in a Toyota Sienna when we shot him back in September -- he also has a "baby on board" sign in the back to top it all off.

"I'm telling you, you would never know it's me swanging that bad baby," Butler says.

"I stay real nonchalant with everything."

Hey, like we said ... the Sienna ain't a bad car at all -- 0 to 60 in 7 seconds with "spacious, high-quality interior," according to U.S. News and World Report ... and those 14 cup holders!!

It's all part of Butler's new YouTube channel, which documents his life on and off the court.

Nicki Minaj is threatening to sic her lawyers on Jesse Palmer for falsely claiming she supported her brother, who was found guilty of raping an 11-year-old.

The rapper went off on the "Daily Mail TV" host Tuesday for a segment that aired on the show. In talking about Minaj's new relationship with boyfriend Kenneth Petty -- a sex offender-- Palmer said Nicki's fans "are also worried because this isn't the first time Nicki Minaj has defended a sex offender."

Palmer then claimed Nicki has supported her brother, Jelani Maraj, who was found guilty of raping his 11-year-old stepdaughter. Here's the thing -- Nicki never had her brother's back ... she was only making a trip to visit him in jail to help support her mother.

Nicki went off on Palmer in a scathing Instagram post ... saying, "You just lied on me on nat'l TV & now you're being sued. You better be able to back up what you just said about me with FACTS."

Maraj has still not been sentenced for the rape.

Does Gisele want the G.O.A.T. to officially head out to pasture??

Sure seems like it ... 'cause Tom Brady's wife appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Wednesday and dropped a major hint that she's been trying to get the QB to hang up the spikes.

Ellen asked the legendary supermodel straight-up if her husband was planning on retirement ... and Gisele said, "You should talk with him about that. I haven't been very successful."

Ellen followed up with the obvious next question -- "Do you want him to retire?!?"

"I want him to do whatever makes him happy," Gisele said.

Sooo ... yes???

It would make sense ... Tom has made an effort to spend MUCH more off-season time with Gisele and the fam ... even saying recently he wouldn't host "Saturday Night Live" so he could be with them.

Of course, Brady is 41 now ... so the end of the road is coming, regardless -- but sure seems Gisele is trying to expedite that process.

Rob Gronkowski missed the game-saving tackle in the Dolphins game on Sunday ... but his S.I. model GF tells TMZ Sports it was NOT a mistake havin' him on the field.

We got Camille Kostek out at the Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year ceremony at The Beverly Hilton in L.A. ... when she explained why Bill Belichick should give Gronk more burn on defense.

"I don't play football, I don't make the rules -- I support whatever he does. So if he needs to be put at defense again, I say, 'Go for it, baby!!'"

Of course, Patriots fans were pissed ... and confused about why Gronk -- a 6'7" tight end -- was on defense in the first place for Kenyan Drake's miracle sprint.

But, Camille says her BF ain't one-dimensional -- and she knows her man will get it done if he's in the same spot again in the future.

"I mean, look what he does as a tight end. He doesn't just catch the ball and get in the end zone. He's blocking, he does it all. So, yeah, I think I can see him doing it again!"

As for the couple's future ... we had to ask if wedding bells are coming down the pipe ... and while Camille says not right now ... she definitely didn't say no to the idea down the road!!

Justin Gimelstob -- an ex-tennis star and current broadcaster -- pled not guilty to felony aggravated battery after he was accused of beating the hell out of a man during a trick-or-treating run on Halloween.

Gimelstob -- a former doubles champ who coaches tennis stud John Isner -- was arrested on the suspicion of roughing up a guy named Randall Kaplan while the man was trick-or-treating with his family in L.A. on Oct. 31.

In a restraining order Kaplan filed in November, he claims the tennis coach hit him from behind, pinned him down, punched him "more than 50 times" in the face and head and threatened to "f**king kill" him.

Justin showed up in court Wednesday in L.A. to face the battery with serious bodily injury charge -- a felony -- and pled not guilty.

If convicted, Gimelstob faces up to 4 years in prison AND a fine of up to $10,000.

While dealing with his case, Justin has reportedly taken a leave of absence from his role as an analyst at the Tennis Channel.

How much would you pay to grab dinner with one of the hottest young couples in sports??

For 3 lucky (and rich) Cleveland Browns fans ... we're told the answer is a whoppin' $32,000 each for a night out with Baker Mayfield and Emily Wilkinson ... and it's all for charity!!

The Browns stud and his fiancee were the hot item at the Providence House's Deck the House auction event on Tuesday night ... with their dinner date starting a fierce bidding war.

The original plan was to auction 1 dinner ... but when the price started to skyrocket, Baker agreed to 3 separate evenings out -- ultimately raising $96,000.

FYI -- the Providence House is a crisis nursery that protects at-risk children and families in crisis ... and the couple has been very passionate about the cause ... spending time with the kids at a recent visit a few weeks ago.

We're told Baker was the star of the night ... and even tried his hand at auctioning off some of the items.

On top of the dinner dates ... Baker's game-worn cleats went for another $14k!!

Bake also got in on the action ... bidding $9,250 to win a purple guitar autographed by PRINCE!!

Post Malone says he has the perfect opponent for Wiz Khalifa's first real MMA fight ... and it's UFC all-time LEGEND Anderson Silva ... which has us at TMZ Sports asking an important question ...

Why does Post Malone want Wiz Khalifa dead?

Wiz has been training MMA at Jay Glazer's Unbreakable Performance gym for a while now, and he looks GREAT, but Posty's answer on who he should fight first left us scratching our heads.

"I wanna see Wiz and Silva. They got the same type of body type, long and skinny." Post said when we got him out in L.A.

Yes, that Anderson Silva ... the same one that ran off a 17-match winning streak in the UFC and is regarded by some as the finest MMA fighter of all time. That guy.

Post and Wiz have worked together for years -- as a matter of fact, Wiz was instrumental in the early success of Post's breakout hit, "White Iverson" -- so we're not sure when Post decided Wiz had to die.

On the other hand ... maybe Post really thinks Wiz could compete with Silva.

Say no to drugs kids.

Aaron Donald says if you're jumpin' off the Rams bandwagon after their ugly loss to the Bears ... you're gonna regret it -- 'cause the big DL tells TMZ Sports, "We'll bounce back!!!"

L.A. got punished in Chicago on Sunday night -- lookin' like a soft team afraid of the cold in a 15-6 loss -- and many are callin' the 11-2 Rams a fraud now.

But, when we got their superstar D-lineman at the Sports Illustrated Sportsperson Of The Year ceremony at The Beverly Hilton ... his message for L.A.'s haters was simple.

"We'll be fine. It's a learning experience. It ain't going to do nothing but make us better, make us stronger. We ain't worried about it. We'll bounce back!!!"

Donald's probably not wrong ... L.A. likely won't have to go anywhere other than the Coliseum or the Superdome in the playoffs -- which means no more chilly temps for the squad.

But, A.D. wasn't guaranteeing a win over Chicago if they rematch in Los Angeles, telling us, "We're going to see!"

Canelo Alvarez is sick of trading insults with Floyd Mayweather -- he wants to trade punches ... telling TMZ Sports the time has come for the two to finally get back in the ring.

Just this week, Floyd trashed Canelo again -- saying he was an "old man" (at 36) when he beat Alvarez back in 2013 ... claiming Canelo was "some of the easiest work I had."

So, when we spoke with Alvarez on Tuesday, we asked if he had a response.

"The truth is I have nothing to say to him," Canelo told us ... "He’s bothered and I don’t know why. In reality, he said he was old, but I was too young for that fight."

"Those are just arguments that he can have and that I can have as well. It looks like it’s getting to him."

Canelo says a rematch would not only be great for boxing, but also for Floyd's bank account -- the insinuation from Alvarez is Mayweather ain't exactly as rich as he claims to be.

And, how would the rematch go? Much different than the first fight ...

"I’m different now, I have more experience and more confidence in the ring and it would be a different result, I can assure you of that and it would be a better fight and I know that the public would walk away very happy from wherever in the world that they’re watching."

In the meantime, Canelo is gearing up to fight Rocky Fielding this weekend on DAZN -- and Fielding tells us he's ready for war.

THE SON OF CLUBBER LANG IS COMING ...

That's because Sylvester Stallone says if Deontay Wilder really wants to play that very role in 'Creed 3' ... Sly is all about making it happen.

A little background ... We got Wilder out last week, and the heavyweight champ told us his career after boxing is gonna be on the silver screen -- and his dream role is to play Clubber Lang's kid in 'Creed 3.'

So, when Stallone was leaving Caffe Roma in Beverly Hills on Tuesday, we asked him if he could make Wilder's acting dream happen.

"The answer is yes ... come one, come all."

Before you think Stallone was just giving us lip service, he went on to say he thinks Wilder has a lot of hidden talents, and seriously would have no issue giving him a shot.

We also asked if Wilder could count on any special, one-on-one mentoring from Sylvester, and his answer was pretty definitive.

"No, I don't think so."

Chris Pratt is throwing off signs his relationship with Katherine Schwarzenegger is super serious ... so serious, he's already broing down with her brother.

Chris and Patrick Schwarzenegger hit up the Raptors-Clippers game (the Clips got clobbered) Tuesday night at Staples Center. Katherine was nowhere in sight, which makes the outing even more interesting.

It's not the first sign Chris and Katherine are showing they're in it for the long haul. He and Katherine hang out all the time with his son, Jack. And, Chris has already met papa Schwarzenegger.

Another good sign for Chris and Katherine -- when "Aint' No Mountain High Enough" came on during karaoke time on the jumbotron ... both Chris and Patrick joined in on the fun.

Kiara Mia says there's no way in hell her date with Jimmy Garoppolo cursed the Niners QB ... but the porn star doesn't exactly mind the take, saying, "I'm flattered!"

Of course, Jimmy's season came to a catastrophic end just a few weeks after his famous night out with Kiara ... and some fans pegged her as the bad juju that caused his ACL tear.

But, Kiara says, for as much as she's honored that people think she has that kinda power -- she tells TMZ Sports it's just not possible.

"I'm impressed that people look at me as a God," Kiara says.

"Like, only God has the power to, like, control someone's journey in life. So, I'm flattered people think I have that much power in my life to control somebody's life!"

Kiara tells us she really hasn't been keeping up with Jimmy or his team -- we had to break the news to her that the Niners really suck -- but she says she's already moving on to a new squad.

"I'm Mexican and I'm from L.A., so I have to say the Raiders!"

Sooo ... Derek Carr, WYD???

You knew Wiz Khalifa could scrap in MMA ... but did you know he could box too???

It's true ... at least, now it is -- after the rapper got a private, 1-on-1 fighting lesson from Evander Holyfield!!!

The Real Deal and Wiz hit up Jay Glazer's Unbreakable Performance Center in L.A. recently ... and the "Black and Yellow" spitter got in a dope training sesh with the champ.

Evander gave him some pointers on his defense ... Wiz explained how he's put some weight on his skinny frame -- and Glazer was there to document it all.

So ... why were the two hittin' the mitts together in the first place??

Wiz has a song dedicated to the boxing legend called "Holyfield" -- so, seems only right Evander gave him some fighting pointers in return.

Wiz has told TMZ Sports in the past he'd take -- and maybe even WIN -- a pro-MMA fight if the money was right ... but the question now is -- would he do the same for boxing?!?

Stay tuned ...