TMZ Sports - Page 50

Two USC fans have been charged for allegedly vandalizing UCLA's on-campus statue and now face up to 3 YEARS in JAIL.

Louis Torres (19) and Willie Johnson (18) allegedly hit up UCLA's campus on Nov. 13 -- just days before the Trojans' rivalry game with the Bruins -- and sought to violate the bear statue.

Officials say the two men doused the statue in Trojan-colored paint ... and also inked the letters "SC" into the landmark's pedestal.

It's interesting ... 'cause in preparation for the big game -- UCLA officials actually boxed up the bear ... which means the vandals had to go the extra mile to get to it ... physically prying open the box to get to the statue.

Reports estimate the vandalism caused $15,000 worth of damage ... and now, officials say both suspects could face up to 3 years in jail, if convicted.

This ain't the first time the Bruin bear has been subject to USC antics ... back in 2009, it was also doused in red and yellow paint -- which caused a reported $20,000 of damage.

Gotta love Miami Beach ... Devonta Freeman sure does -- because ya can't walk 3 feet without bumpin' into a smokin' hot lady in a bikini!!!

The Atlanta Falcons running back was doing some conditioning drills on the beach when he stopped his workout to chat up a few pretty young things who caught his eye.

The 26-year-old superstar is a local -- he was a stud at Miami Central High School back in the day before taking a full scholarship to Florida State.

In fact, dude rushed for 2,208 yards and 26 touchdowns as a high school senior -- not too shabby, right?

Now, Freeman's RICH -- he signed a $41 million contract extension in 2017 ... which is why he left the workout in a sick Rolls-Royce!!

It's gonna take a minor TRAGEDY to get Carmelo Anthony back in the NBA -- so says Jalen Rose who thinks Melo's pro hoops career is over unless a team loses a player to injury.

34-year-old Anthony hasn't played in the league since parting ways with Houston earlier this season -- but there have rumblings he'll team up with LeBron James on the Lakers before the All-Star break next month.

Rose ain't holding his breath ... unless an NBA team loses a player to injury and they could plug Melo in to fill the role. Still, Jalen explains why it's complicated.

"He can still contribute. It's just ... finding the right opportunity is tough because unless there's a major injury, a contender team probably wouldn't add him. And then, a lottery team is probably looking to 'Stop tryin' for Zion,' so they're tanking in a lot of ways."

"Maybe an injury happens and he gets back in the league."

Rose says Melo is a surefire NBA Hall of Famer -- and he really doesn't want to see his career end after a less-than-memorable 10-game stint in Houston.

Ex-NY Giants DL Barry Cofield -- a key member of the '07 Super Bowl team -- has pled not guilty to all charges stemming from an insane police chase where he allegedly smashed into a cop car.

... oh, while allegedly carrying heroin in his pocket.

Cops in Seminole County, Florida say they found the 34-year-old passed out behind the wheel of a Cadillac Escalade around 2:40 AM on July 3 ... and when they tried to wake him up, he punched the gas and led cops on a wild chase.

Cops say the 6'4", 250-pounder drove into a white 4-door vehicle -- but didn't stop -- and eventually led officers into a gated community ... where he continued to drive like a maniac.

Eventually, cops say they used a squad car to block Cofield in -- but he tried to ram through the vehicle. That's when cops got out of their cars and tried to smash in Cofield's window in an effort to drag him out of the driver's seat.

Cofield ultimately surrendered -- and cops say during the arrest they found two small baggies of heroin in his pocket.

Cops also say Cofield reeked of alcohol.

He was initially booked on 5 charges -- heroin possession, assaulting an officer, DUI, resisting arrest and fleeing from police.

But, the charges were later reduced to just heroin possession and DUI causing damage or injury.

Cofield's attorney appeared in court on Wednesday and entered a not guilty plea on the ex-NFL player's behalf.

If convicted, he faces up to 5 years in prison.

McKenzie Milton -- the UCF QB who nearly lost his right leg after a gruesome on-field tackle -- is making incredible progress in his recovery ... already leg pressing on the injured knee!!!

The Golden Knights superstar took a shot to his leg in a game against South Florida on Nov. 23 ... and the carnage resulting from the hit was gnarly.

Milton dislocated his right knee completely ... and nearly lost the leg after blood flow to the injury site had ceased.

But, McKenzie underwent successful reconstructive knee surgery ... and is clearly now on the right track to being 100 percent again -- 'cause dude's already hitting the leg press!!

"Thanking God for the miracles I see everyday in my life. Went from almost losing my leg to leg pressing 40lbs in a little over a month," Milton wrote on social media.

"Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. God is definitely at work..it’s gonna be a long process but it’ll be one hell of a story."

Lonzo Ball was a human highlight reel Wednesday night ... and he had his biggest little fan in the front row cheering him on the whole time!!

Zo's baby mama, Denise Garcia, brought 5-month-old Zoey -- decked out in her own little Ball jersey -- to the Lakers vs. Pistons game at Staples Center ... and they picked a great one to go to.

Ball had a handful of incredible plays in his 11-assist game that had everyone -- including Baby Baller -- going crazy. The Lake Show ultimately beat Detroit in a 113-100 butt-kicking.

We broke the story ... Zo and Denise welcomed Zoey into the world back in July.

Unclear if this was Zoey's first time watching her daddy at work ... but it's great to see the fam together after the whole "deadbeat" drama.

Other celebs at the Laker game include Charlize Theron, model Kaia Gerber and Andy Garcia.

But, if Lonzo plays like this every time his daughter's in attendance ... expect to see her a LOT more from now on.

Cristiano Ronaldo claims the former U.K. "Celebrity Big Brother" star who publicly accused him of emotionally abusing and threatening her is lying ... insisting he's never even met the woman.

As we previously reported, fashion model Jasmine Lennard went off on social media this week -- claiming she had secretly dated Ronaldo for a decade and was subjected to all sorts of disgusting behavior, including death threats.

Lennard even posted audio clips she claimed captured Ronaldo making offensive comments -- but there's one huge problem, Ronaldo claims the voice on the tapes is NOT him.

"Mr. Ronaldo has no specific recollection of meeting Ms. Lennard 10 years ago or at any point," his legal team tells TMZ Sports.

"He has not had a relationship with her and he has not had any contact with her, whether in the last 18 months as Ms Lennard suggests, or otherwise."

"The voice notes posted by Ms Lennard on social media are not of Mr. Ronaldo. Mr. Ronaldo will take appropriate legal action in due course."

UFC badass Polyana "Iron Lady" Viana is telling TMZ Sports exactly how she disarmed and throttled a man who was allegedly trying to rob her at gunpoint ... and it's VIOLENT.

Dana White has already heaped praise on Viana -- a 26-year-old fighter with a 10-2 pro MMA record -- but now, she's giving us the blow-by-blow herself.

It all went on Saturday night when she was approached by a man outside of her Rio de Janeiro apartment. Viana claims he pulled out something claiming to be a gun and demanded her cell phone.

Worst. Mistake. Ever.

Polyana says she noticed the so-called gun "bent" when the guy touched it -- realized it was made of cardboard (not metal) ... and realized the only person who was in danger was the crook!!!.

"[I] thought, 'That's not a real gun.' So, I got up and threw 2 hooks."

"After that [I] just threw a kick to his face and that's the damage you all saw in the photos."

Polyana says those shots took the fight outta the alleged thief ... so then it was just about subduing the guy 'til cops arrived.

"He sat where he was and [I] grabbed him in a rear naked choke. He tried to hip escape a little bit. [I] was afraid he had a knife or anything that could hurt [me.] So, [I] didn't want to lose that position."

Authorities showed up, arrested the man and hauled him off to jail.

As for Viana, Dana White -- who's a helluva smart businessman -- booked her to fight a UFC 235 card in March.

#IronLady

1:22 PM PT -- Ronaldo's attorney, Peter S. Christiansen, tells TMZ Sports, "Mr. Ronaldo has always maintained, as he does today, that what occurred in Las Vegas in 2009 was consensual in nature, so it is not surprising that DNA would be present, nor that the police would make this very standard request as part of their investigation."

Cristiano Ronaldo has been asked to submit a DNA sample as part of the police investigation into his Las Vegas rape case ... and we're told he plans on cooperating 100%.

As we previously reported, the Las Vegas Metro PD has reopened the investigation into claims made by Kathryn Mayorga ... that CR7 sexually assaulted her in his hotel room back in 2009.

Mayorga went to cops back in '09 but didn't identify Ronaldo by name out of fear of retaliation.

Just a few months ago, Mayorga filed a new lawsuit against the soccer star saying Ronaldo and his team of "fixers" coerced her into signing a settlement at the time -- and paid her $375k in exchange for her silence.

When that lawsuit went public, cops said they would reopen the case now that they had the name of the alleged assailant and, as part of the renewed investigation, they went to Ronaldo within the last week and asked for a DNA sample as part of standard sexual assault investigation protocol.

Our Ronaldo sources tell us the 33-year-old continues to deny all wrongdoing and plans on cooperating with investigators to prove his innocence.

NBA star Nick Young has been named a suspect in an alleged robbery that went down last week -- in which Swaggy's accused of striking a guy in his testicles and stealing his phone.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... the LAPD received a call on Jan. 4 from a man who claims he was assaulted by Swaggy P when he tried to take his photo at a popular L.A. car wash.

We're told the alleged victim does not appear to be a paparazzo -- just a basketball fan who recognized the former Lakers star and wanted a photo.

The man acknowledged Young didn't want to be photographed but he snapped a pic anyway -- and that's when Young snapped ... confronting the fan, allegedly firing off a nut shot and swiping the phone.

We're told cops took a report and are investigating. So far, no arrests have been made.

It's not the first time Young has been accused of wrongdoing -- he was arrested in August 2018 for obstruction of justice after he was pulled over by police.

And in 2016, Young was sued for allegedly attacking a man at a pickup basketball game at a church.

We've reached out to Young for comment -- so far, no word back.

Floyd Mayweather has one helluva watch collection -- 41 time pieces in total -- including a crown jewel, the $18 million "One and Only."

Seems Floyd was just bored on Wednesday and felt like stuntin' on all of us normies -- so he broke out the briefcases with his super expensive man jewelry ... and showed it all off.

"When I go on pay-cation for 30 days," Floyd said ... "I take 30 watches with me."

"But, you know what, if we add 10 more days, I take 10 more watches," he explained while opening a 2nd case.

And, then the big daddy ...

"But then, I say 'f*ck it. If I wanna bring out the one and only, then I'll take out the watch that costs $18 million."

The watch is technically called "The Billionaire Watch" -- made by Jacob & Co. back in 2015, it features 239 emerald-cut baguette diamond stones, each weighing up to 3 carats.

Floyd says he bought the watch last summer from a Japanese jeweler named Tadashi Fukushima -- and claimed he'd never buy any jewelry from anyone else ever again.

But, if he sees the right watch somewhere else ...

Floyd has made a ton of money during his pro boxing career -- $300 mil to fight Pacquiao, $300 mil to fight McGregor ... and $9 mil to fight Tenshin Nasukawa.

Why are so many people smiling at "Mean" Gene Okerlund's memorial event in Florida on Wednesday??? BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT MEAN GENE WOULDA WANTED!!

Tons of wrestling stars from years past -- from Diamond Dallas Page to one of the Nasty Boys -- gathered in Sarasota, FL to honor the late wrestling announcer.

Gene's wife Jeanne -- along with their children -- was at the event where friends and family members told stories about the greatest WWE voice of all time.

Among the guests ... The Killer Bees (B. Brian Blair and Jim Brunzell), Brian Knobbs (of the Nasty Boys), Greg Gagne, Dave Hero and former WWE ref Mike White.

WWE execs Kevin Dunn and Kerwin Silfies were also in attendance.

We spoke with DDP who tells us everyone had a great time honoring the late, great "Mean" Gene -- who's widely regarded as one of the nicest guys in the history of the biz.

Okerlund passed away on January 2. He was 76.

Baker Mayfield will be hittin' dingers for a cause this weekend ... signing on to join Christian Yelich, Charlie Sheen and more in a celeb softball game to raise money for CA fire and shooting victims.

Yelich -- along with Ryan Braun, Mitch Moustakas and Jared Goff -- created the California Strong campaign in the wake of the recent tragedies. They're all from California and decided it was their duty to help out.

Besides launching a website and partnering with the YMCA, the guys decided to host a celeb softball game to help raise money for people affected by the Borderline shooting in Thousand Oaks and the wildfires that ravaged the state.

It's all going down at Pepperdine University on Sunday, January 13 -- featuring huge names like Reggie Miller, Justin Turner, Mira Sorvino, Camille Kostek, Rob Riggle and Patrick Schwarzenegger.

The cause hits home for Yelich ... who told us last month he would consider donating his MVP trophy to his old hot spot, the Borderline Bar, where 12 people were killed in November.

Props to all involved.

Shaquille O'Neal says the shooting death of 7-year-old Jazmine Barnes is such a sad tragedy, he couldn't imagine the family having to raise money for the funeral ... and that's why he stepped in.

"With something that terrible to have happened, I don't want people to have to worry about trying to raise a few thousand to pay for a funeral," Shaq explained.

As we previously reported, huge stars like Shaq and Houston Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins opened their wallets to help out Jazmine's family after she was senselessly shot and killed during a morning drive with her family.

Jazmine -- along with her mother and sisters -- were going on a coffee run in Houston around 7 AM on Dec. 30 when two men in a pickup truck pulled up next to the car and opened fire.

Jazmine was killed. Her mother was shot but survived. Her sisters were wounded by shattered glass.

Jazmine was laid to rest on Tuesday at the Community of Faith Church in Houston in front of roughly 1,000 mourners.

Cops have arrested the two suspects.

By the way, this isn't the first time Shaq has reached into his pockets to help a family in need -- we've covered a bunch of stories over the years featuring the ex-NBA star using his own funds to help people.

It helps that he reportedly made more than $280 mil during his NBA career -- but also, he continues to work his ass off.

In fact, Shaq recently signed a deal to become the global ambassador for Zyppah -- a product that helps people who suffer from sleep apnea.

Turkey president Recep Erdogan is a dangerous person and NY Knicks player Enes Kanter sounds justified in fearing for his life ... so says U.S. Congressman Peter King.

Remember, Kanter just backed out of an upcoming team trip to the U.K. because he believes Erdogan has access to assassins in England who would "easily" kill him for his constant criticism of the regime.

Kanter -- who's been labeled a terrorist in his home country -- has repeatedly called Erdogan as the Hitler of our generation.

The criticism has pissed off fellow Turkish NBA player Hedo Turkoglu who blasted Kanter in the media ... saying Enes is spreading false information to damage Erdogan.

So, when we saw Rep. King [R-NY] out in D.C. we asked if he thinks Kanter's fears are legit.

"I do know that Erdogan runs a police state, that he's capable of violence," King told us.

"And, if a player for the Knicks or any person here working in the U.S. thinks there's a real threat to his life, I can understand why he wouldn't wanna go over."

L.A. Chargers defensive lineman Brandon Mebane rejoined his team Wednesday after taking time off to be with his hospital-stricken infant daughter, who passed away last week.

While still in the womb back in July, Mebane's daughter, Makenna, was diagnosed with a heart defect as a result of a chromosomal condition called trisomy 13.

The family moved to Omaha, Nebraska where Mebane's wife, Amena, and unborn child could be treated by doctors who specialized in the condition.

Makenna was born more than 1 month premature in November and later developed an intestinal infection known as Necrotizing Enterocolitis (also known as NEC) -- a fast-striking, devastating condition that can be fatal if not caught and treated immediately.

Doctors treated Makenna for weeks -- and Mebane used the team owner's private jet to travel to the last 2 regular season games when Makenna's health seemed to be stabilizing.

But unfortunately, her health took a turn for the worse earlier this month and she passed away on January 3.

Obviously, Mebane is devastated -- but says he plans to play in the Chargers' playoff game against the New England Patriots this weekend.