TMZ Sports - Page 50

The Atlanta Hawks didn't spend New Year's Day in bed trying to shake a hangover -- they visited the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. ... and TMZ Sports has the video.

The team traveled to D.C. to play the Washington Wizards on Wednesday -- but 24 hours before stepping on the court, the team got on a bus and hit up the museum.

Players like Trae Young and DeAndre' Bembry took the tour along with the rest of the team. The mission of the museum is to "teach millions of people each year about the dangers of unchecked hatred and the need to prevent genocide."

Darryl Strawberry believes marijuana is DANGEROUS -- telling TMZ Sports it should NOT be used as pain management because it's a gateway drug that can ruin lives.

... and Strawberry says he's living proof.

Of course, the ex-MLB superstar battled addiction himself -- he was suspended 3 times for cocaine during his baseball career.

Now, with so many pro athletes calling for the legalization of marijuana for pain management, Strawberry says it's the WRONG thing to do.

"Most people don't understand marijuana is a drug," the 56-year-old tells TMZ Sports ... "It's just the beginning. Starting people off when they're young and then it leads to everything else."

Strawberry also says America is "spiritually broken" when it comes to the use of prescription medication ... blaming pharmaceutical companies for "flooding the gates" with opiates that are killing young people.

But, the root of the problem, according to Strawberry, is weed.

"Most young people start off with marijuana ... it's a gateway. I started with marijuana when I was young -- 14, 15 years old -- and it led me to everything else."

We asked Darryl if he advocates for any Rx drug for pain management and he told us -- "There's no such thing as pain management for prescription drugs. They've gotten totally out of control."

Kobe Bryant and his wife, Vanessa Bryant, are having another baby ... and it'll be a girl.

The couple made the announcement on their social media pages Sunday, with both parents' posts reading, "New year, new baby! Baby Mamba on the way 2019."

Vanessa added ... "Kobe and I are so happy to add another baby blessing to our family! Bianka will have a new baby sibling with and Natalia and Gianna are super excited to welcome another little baby sister to love."

As for Kobe, he wrote ... "Vanessa and I are beyond excited to announce that we are expecting another #mambacita to go along with Natalia, Gianna and Bianka #blessed #bryantbunch #daddysprincesses #love #2019."

Kobe and Vanessa already have three daughters together -- Natalia, Gianna and Bianka ... aged 15, 12 and 2, respectively. KB and VB have been married since 2001.

Congrats!!!

Montae Nicholson's violent street fight got so out of hand that several people called 911 and frantically described a "huge fight" scene ... according to audio obtained by TMZ Sports.

The Washington Redskins defensive back pummeled a man in the middle of a Virginia street around 2 AM ... and the video we obtained shows the brutal knockout punch.

Seems the brawl went on for some time and created quite the scene ... 'cause several witnesses frantically called 911 for help, describing a wild fight.

"I don't want to interfere in the interaction whatsoever, all I'm saying is I'm in the car and there's a male unconscious on the ground," one witness says.

Another adds, "I need you to come immediately ... we need an ambulance and a fire rescue here immediately!"

Another witness tells dispatch, "There's a fight going on out here ... there's a fistfight that's been going on now!"

23-year-old Nicholson -- 6'2", 215 lbs -- was arrested and booked for assault and battery, and drunk in public.

The Redskins announced just days later they placed Montae on the Reserve/NFI list.

Nicholson played in 14 games for the 'Skins this year, starting 7 of them.

The Texas Longhorns' mascot, Bevo the steer, was NOT down to meet its University of Georgia counterpart in Uga the bulldog, and it might be 'cause it'd just seen red.

UTA's live animal mascot was brought out to the football field Sunday ahead of the Sugar Bowl game between the two teams for what appeared to be a photo-op between Bevo and Uga. As Uga's handler trotted out the pup, Bevo started charging everyone on the scene.

Luckily, Uga was pulled to safety, and no one seemed to be harmed in the incident. Bevo calmed down shortly after going wild, and its own handlers whisked the animal away.

Considering Bevo is at least 22 times heavier than little Uga ... it's a miracle the bull didn't seriously hurt the doggo, or worse.

If this is any indication of how today's game will go ... we'd have to give the advantage to the University of Texas.

Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez's New Year's resolution appears to be a simple one -- keep looking good together ... and they got it started with a trip to the gym.

J Lo and A-Rod were spotted hitting Gold's Gym Tuesday morning in Venice Beach, where they showed off their toned figures heading in and out of the building.

It's interesting ... Jen appeared on NBC's New Year's Eve broadcast Monday night, but the performance might've been prerecorded ... as she showed up on Alex's Instagram story throughout the day and night surrounded by her family as they celebrated.

Either way, it's clear how she maintains that killer bod. No. Days. Off.

There's no better time of year for Drake to reinforce @champagnepapi than New Year's Eve ... and he definitely didn't disappoint on Monday night with his famous pals.

Tons of celebs showed up and showed out to Drizzy's year-end bash at Delilah in West Hollywood, which was aptly dubbed The Mod Selection Champagne New Year's Party. Some of the folks in attendance ... LeBron, KD, Klay Thompson, Kate Beckinsale, Diddy, Nas, Chris Brown, Madison Beer, Idris Elba, and more.

People were coming and going throughout the night, and most weren't all that chatty. One thing we did learn, though ... Kate has no New Year's resolution for 2019. Good to know!

Interestingly enough, Travis Scott and Kylie Jenner were also at the shindig -- and, perhaps, unsurprisingly ... no sign of Kanye or Kim here at all.

Olivia Culpo and Danny Amendola may have forgotten old acquaintances -- at least one of them -- because it looks like they're back together.

Danny and Olivia each posted identical videos of fireworks to their IG stories ... videos obviously shot on New Year's Eve.

The videos were shot at a beach location, and the fact he plays for the Dolphins may be a geographical clue.

Olivia and Danny broke up a few months ago after he hit the beach with a super hot woman. After the pic surfaced, Olivia proclaimed she was keeping the $12,000 Rolex she bought for Danny's birthday.

If this is real, it will be the third time Danny and Olivia got together. They met in 2016, dated for 2 years, broke up, got back together last year but the woman in the bikini buzz killed that one. But, old flame don't douse easily.

The Conor McGregor-Khabib rematch WILL go down in 2019 -- so says Dana White ... who tells TMZ Sports it'll happen as long as everything goes according to plan.

The UFC honcho popped by the TMZ offices last week ... and told us there are still some hurdles to clear -- but he thinks Khabib-Conor II will get set sometime in the next 12 months.

"As long as everything goes right, this fight should happen."

Of course, Khabib and Conor are still facing suspensions for their roles in the brawl that broke out at UFC 229 ... and guys like Tony Ferguson and even Max Holloway could get shots at Khabib before Conor does.

But, Dana says if everything lines up the way he thinks it will ... the rematch will happen.

Khabib dominated Conor at UFC 229 on Oct 6 -- forcing the Irishman to tap out in the 4th round.

After the fight, Conor gave a round-by-round breakdown explaining why he lost the fight -- but gave credit to Khabib and vowed to return "with my confidence high."

Antonio Brown is gunning for G.O.A.T. status -- and he's starting with a sick new diamond ring!

Check out AB's new jewelry ... 6.5 carats, 1,000 diamonds and some serious meaning behind it.

Here's what we know ... the Steelers WR hit up Gabriel the Jeweler -- who works with superstars like Odell Beckham and Jarvis Landry -- and said he wanted a custom piece to symbolize his quest to become the greatest receiver to ever play.

Gabriel tells TMZ Sports ... he spent countless hours blingin' out the ring with 1,000 micro-pave set VVS diamonds -- explaining, "it's a very precise job."

If you've seen A.B. before ... you've seen Gabriel's work. He's the guy behind Brown's $200,000 gold and diamond birthday pendant, which features the names of Brown's children.

Gabriel was tight-lipped on how much Brown dropped for the G.O.A.T. ring ... but we're told it's valued at $20k!

Eric Decker threw in the towel on his NFL career, but it looks like he hasn't lost a step in retirement ... because Jessie James Decker had to throw a towel over her husband's manhood while showing off his toned bod in a super revealing photo.

It seems Eric didn't just hang up his cleats when he retired from pro football back in August, he apparently hung up ALL his clothes ... and it's clear Jessie is totally on board!

Jessie shared Eric's nude on her Instagram Monday with a simple caption, "#retirement."

Eric called it quits on his NFL career in training camp after playing 8 seasons with the Denver Broncos, New York Jets and Tennessee Titans, but it looks like he's still physically ready to play on Sundays.

Yeah, #retirement looks good on Eric.

Matt Barnes just got a massive reduction in how much he'll have to pay Gloria Govan in child support for their twin boys.

Barnes -- who was paying Govan $20,000 a month -- will now have to pay just $7,500 per month. The two have 10-year-old twins, Carter and Isaiah together ... so it works out to $3,750 per kid.

The reduction comes on the heels of Barnes getting awarded sole legal and physical custody of the twins last month ... and an 18-month restraining order against Govan.

TMZ previously reported, Gloria was arrested the Friday before Labor Day after Matt claimed she put the lives of their twin boys at risk by allegedly flying into a rage in her car, blocking Matt and the kids from driving away from their school.

LeBron James just settled the G.O.A.T. debate, at least the way he sees it ... claiming the crown for himself thanks to the Cavaliers win against the Golden State Warriors for the 2016 NBA Championship.

James was chatting with a couple buddies on "More Than An Athlete" Sunday when the GS series came up. Without hesitation, LeBron says he knew winning that series made him the greatest player of all time.

You'll remember, LeBron's Cavaliers found themselves in a 3-1 hole that year and battled back to win it all in Game 7. LeBron burst into tears at the buzzer when celebrating with his teammates.

Warrick Dunn says the NFL missed a huge opportunity by picking Travis Scott for its Super Bowl halftime show ... saying it shoulda been an Atlanta artist instead.

The former Falcons RB tells TMZ Sports he's got no issues with the "SICKO MODE" rapper ... but says an ATL legend could have had a much bigger impact during the SB show.

"Atlanta has its own unique feel," Dunn says.

Warrick tells us the plan from the start shoulda been to have Outkast be the headliner -- with other ATL music legends like T.I. and Jermaine Dupri joining them on stage.

"You show them the flavor of the history of all the great music that was produced that helped propel young careers today."

Dunn added that show could have "Showed America what really good music could be."

Floyd Mayweather's fight with Tenshin Nasukawa is a complete joke and is nothing but a money grab ... so says Bob Arum, who RIPPED Floyd for even taking the fight.

"It is a non-event. It is not a sporting event," Bob tells TMZ Sports.

Arum was out at Craig's this week when he made sure to stop for our photog, to crap all over Mayweather's highly-anticipated New Year's Eve exhibition in Japan.

"That's pretty much a joke, isn't it? I think so. I think so. Because, it's not a real fight ... the people who are watching that nonsense are pretty well jerks."

In fact ... Bob tells us he thinks the ONLY reason the tilt is going down is 'cause Mayweather straight-up NEEDS the cash!!

"He needs money for Christmas and the New Year, and this is a good way for him to make some money. God knows Floyd always needs money!"

Khabib's manager tells TMZ Sports Floyd Mayweather has been texting him CONSTANTLY ... saying the boxing legend has been "begging" for a fight with Nurmagomedov!!!

"Me and him have been texting each other for the last month," Ali Abdelaziz says ... "He's very much begging for the fight."

Of course, the potential tilt has been talked about for months -- ever since Khabib and Ali called out the boxer after beating Conor McGregor back in October.

But ... seems Floyd is getting deadly serious about putting pen to paper on a contract for the scrap -- 'cause Ali says he's been blowing up his phone.

"If he say he did not, I'm going to put everything online. Don't lie, Floyd! Do not lie, Floyd!"

The holdup on Ali's end?? The money ... 'cause Abdelaziz tells us, "At the end of the day, if he want it, the fight is here. I like this fight. But, he has to come a little bit better. He knows what I'm talking about."