TMZ Sports - Page 50

Need that extra push headin' into the weekend?? Here's the Auburn women's basketball team to get you hyped ... with one of the best locker room dance-offs you'll ever see!!

The Tigers turned their locker room into to a dance party with an incredible choreographed dance to Lil Wayne's "Uproar" ... and they went OFF!! ... with a mashup of all the best moves.

Dougie, shoot, Harlem Shake ... you name it, they killed it.

The girls clearly took their time to plan it all out ... and the results are incredible.

Usain Bolt and his GF are still going strong ... the two hit up Cabo this week -- and the bikini she was rockin' and the mojitos they were drinkin' say they're doing just fine.

Of course ... Bolt and Kasi Bennett have had a very unique relationship over the years -- 'memba the EPIC hall pass she allegedly gave him during the 2016 Rio Olympics??

But, doesn't seem all that other tail has put a strain on their relationship ... 'cause the two soaked in the Mexico rays just fine on Thursday.

There was rum ... white sand ... and Bennett even flaunted all her assets in a tiny bikini for the ex-track star.

Yeah, Bolt likey.

It all begs the question ... could Usain finally be ready to trade in Olympic rings for wedding ones???

Shaquille O'Neal is calling for people to back off Kevin Hart ... saying he shouldn't have to keep apologizing for his old homophobic jokes and wants everyone to "just move on."

"Some people feel he made a mistake," Shaq said ... "He apologized for his mistake. I always thought comedians were allowed to crack jokes."

"Anyone that knows Kevin Hart should know that anything he said was never malicious."

Of course, Shaq is referring to some of Hart's tweets and stand-up bits from 2009 to 2011 -- when the comic described how he'd react if he found out his son was gay.

"Yo if my son comes home & try's 2 play with my daughters doll house I'm going 2 break it over his head & say n my voice ‘stop that's gay,'" Hart tweeted in 2009.

The material resurfaced after Hart was named the host of the 2019 Academy Awards -- and after a backlash online and a demand for renewed apologies, Hart pulled out of the show and only apologized after stepping down.

"He shouldn't have to keep apologizing," Shaq said ... "He apologized twice."

"People should just move on. Everyone makes mistakes."

Of course, Shaq and Kev go way back -- Hart was a headliner Shaq's All-Star Comedy Jam back in 2009 and they've been friends ever since.

Shaq's not the only big star who's come to Hart's defense -- Ellen DeGeneres also went to bat for the comic ... backing Kev's stance that he's evolved and said it's his right to host the Oscars.

High school basketball superstar Maori Davenport will be ALLOWED to play in her game Friday night after a judge called off her suspension.

Davenport's story became national news when athletic officials in Alabama ruled her ineligible after learning she received an $857 check from Team USA basketball for playing in a tourney back in August. The check covered lost wages and expenses.

The check was sent to Davenport as the result of a clerical error -- she never sought out the payment.

Davenport initially cashed the check under the assumption it was a standard operating procedure for people playing for Team USA. When the organization realized the error, they asked for the money back and she returned it the next day.

Still, officials in Alabama believed cashing the check violated the rules -- and deemed her ineligible for her senior year.

It's a big deal considering 6'4" Davenport is one of the best players in the country -- and committed to attend Rutgers next year.

Huge stars like Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, Billie Jean King and more spoke out in Davenport's defense -- calling the suspension ridiculous and insisting she did nothing wrong.

An emergency motion was filed in Pike County Circuit Court and on Friday the judge decided to repeal the suspension -- pending the outcome of a hearing on the matter.

Translation, Davenport can play with her high school team for now.

Enes Kanter says he won't be bullied into silence by the President of Turkey -- saying jail threats against him and his family are only inspiring him to be MORE critical of Recep Erdogan.

The NY Knicks star is doubling down on his decision to remove himself from a team trip to the U.K. -- claiming he's more susceptible to Erdogan's hit squad overseas.

"If I'm in America, I'm safe. I feel very safe," Kanter told CBS News. "But, if I step outside of America, it will be a very dangerous situation."

Kanter says he's been under fire from Turkish officials for years for insulting Erdogan publicly -- even calling the guy the "Hitler of our generation."

Other U.S. officials, including Rep. Peter King, have told TMZ Sports ... Kanter's fears are warranted because Erdogan is a bad dude and runs Turkey like a police state.

Kanter has been labeled a terrorist for his comments -- and says officials have even locked his father as retribution.

"If you speak out against Erdoğan, that means you're a terrorist. If he cannot put you in jail, then he will take your family away and put them in jail and say, 'if you don't stop running against me, then I'm gonna keep your family in jail.'"

"That's what he's trying to do, did that to me, that he tried to put my dad in jail, so he thought that I was gonna stop talking, that made me even talk about this more so the world can see it."

As we previously reported, ex-NBA player Hedo Turkoglu -- who's also from Turkey -- ripped Kanter on social media ... saying his claims against the President are baseless and reckless.

There's trouble afoot ...

Jessica Simpson is beggin' for help after suffering an extreme case of edema during her pregnancy ... one that's caused her left leg to take on more water than the Titanic.

The 38-year-old reached out to fans for tips on Thursday night -- saying, "Any remedies?! Help!!!!"

Edema is pretty common but if you're in pain, you should DEFINITELY go see a doctor.

Unclear when she's due, but Simpson announced her pregnancy back in September -- and with most people going public around 12 weeks, the assumption is she'll pop around April. This is her 3rd child -- she already has 2 with husband Eric Johnson, a former NFL player.

Tons of people have already reached out to Jessica with tips. Our advice? Condoms. But, we're not doctors.

At least J Simp's toenail polish is on fleek. Feel better!

Former NFL All-Pro Arian Foster is facing a force more devastating than any defense he ever ran through ... ANGRY TUPAC FANS ... who are all over Arian, for giving a controversial Pac take.

FULL DISCLOSURE ... Arian is a rapper himself (he's really good) and a HUGE 2Pac fan, so much so that the name of his debut album is "Flamingo & Koval" the intersection where Shakur was fatally shot.

Arian says he named the album that because of how deeply Pac's music has affected him, but when he sat down on "Van Lathan's The Red Pill" podcast, he offered something most 2Pac fans don't, a critique.

"Pac is my favorite artist of all-time, but to pretend his music was just out of this world intellectually deep ..."

Arian's point was that rap has evolved since Pac was around, and when compared to some of the artists dealing with super cerebral topics now, Shakur's topics were more simple.

Welp, that's not how the WORLD saw it, and now Foster has been taking major heat from fans who still have a ton of California love for Pac.

Here are some of the best responses ...

"55 seconds of Arian Foster proving why NFL needs better helmets. Lmao. STFU dude."

"Yeah, I'm cancelling him before I even hear his music. I'm petty when it comes to Pac."

"Arianfoster your comment about Tupac is Kanye West-level crazy wrong."

BTW ... we should say, there were also A LOT of people who agreed with Foster, and a debate is happening. But, they were much more polite in their comments.

So, right now, it seems like it's just Arian against the world. Listen to the full episode of "Van Lathan's The Red Pill"

President Obama had "Luther" ... and now Manny Pacquiao has an anger translator of his own to tell us how he REALLY feels about Adrien Broner -- and it's hilarious!!!

Pacquiao is gearing up to fight Broner on January 19 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas -- and if you know Manny, you know he ain't exactly the greatest trash talker in the world.

So, he brought in his good friend, Michael Blackson, on Thursday to tell us what he REALLY wants to say about his opponent ... and yeah, there's A LOT of cussing.

For example, when we asked Manny how he felt about Broner predicting a knockout, MP politely told us, "That's easy to say but hard to do."

Okay ... but what he REALLY meant to say ... "We're gonna fuck him up! Punch him in his eye! Kick him in his nuts! That short bitch is going down!!!"

There's a lot more, it's really funny ... and obviously, salute to "Key & Peele."

Oh, one more thing -- what is Manny eating these days to gear up for the fight? Fish eyes. Seriously. He loves 'em.

Chicago Bears kicker Cody Parkey -- aka "doink doink" -- says he still feels HORRIBLE after that game-losing field goal in the playoffs ... which is why he's steering clear of Twitter.

Smart.

The 26-year-old appeared on the "Today" show Friday morning and said he can still barely believe he missed that 43-yarder against the Eagles with time winding down in the 4th quarter.

"I'm disappointed," Parkey said ... "I let the fans, my teammates and the whole organization down."

"But, I'll continue to keep my head held high because football is what I do, it's not who I am."

Of course, Parkey was booed off the field after missing that kick -- and the hate online has been ruthless.

"I haven't been on social media or anything like that," Parkey said.

He added, "I feel worse than anybody about missing that kick because I wanted to make it more than anybody ... but at the end of the day, I'm gonna hold my head high."

We got Parkey leaving the show and asked him if he felt safe going back to Chicago -- and the good news, he doesn't seem worried.

How dope would a 1-2 punch of Julio Jones and Antonio Brown look in Atlanta?!?!

Not that dope ... according to Julio himself -- who tells TMZ Sports he and the Falcons actually don't want to see that at all.

"Nah, man. We tight over here. We good over here."

Of course, the pairing will be possible in what appears to be a matter of days ... seeing as A.B.'s antics have pretty much ended his time in the Steel City.

But, don't expect Julio to openly recruit the stud wideout to the Falcons once that happens ... 'cause when we got Julio out in L.A. -- he seemed to want no part of it.

Why?? Sure seems like Jones thinks the baggage Brown would bring to the locker room wouldn't be worth his insane production on the field.

As for the guys currently on Julio's team ... Jet spoke with us about Steve Sarkisian's firing and what he expects to see from new OC Dirk Koetter.

Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez have apparently had enough of the first property they bought together ... because they're already trying to unload their NYC love nest, only 10 months after scooping it up!

We've confirmed the celeb couple is listing their kick-ass 4,000 sq. ft. Park Ave pad for a cool $17.5 million, as first reported by the NY Post. You'll recall ... J Lo and A-Rod bought the 3 bedroom, 4.5 bathroom apartment back in March, dropping $15.3 million on their first real estate purchase together.

As for why they're already unloading this primo location -- in the world's tallest residential building, btw -- think family planning. We're told the couple's on the hunt for something a little more modern family friendly ... remember they have 4 kids between them.

Colin Cowherd says there's a lot to like about Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns next season ... BUT THEY AIN'T MAKING THE POSTSEASON!

Colin and the Browns QB have an interesting relationship -- remember, they sparred on the FS1 star's show back in June ... and Mayfield still takes shots at him on Twitter now and then.

Now, after Baker's sensational rookie season (he broke the rookie TD record) we asked Colin if he's punched his ticket on the Browns hype train going into 2019.

"I don't dislike Baker," Colin told us at LAX ... "I actually think there's a lot that's incredibly charming."

On the positive side ...

"I think he's a gamer. I think he's tough, really accurate."

On the negative side ...

"I think there's a lot of nonsense, he needs to grow up."

As far as playoffs go, Colin told us not to go crazy -- saying, "They'll win games. They have too many good players."

But, they ain't gonna beat the Steelers and they ain't makin' the playoffs.

The Browns are coming off their best season in years -- with a 7-8-1 record -- and got REAL close to sneaking into the playoffs this year.

If the Philadelphia Eagles win another Super Bowl, they should cut the crap and make Nick Foles the full-time starter for the 2019 season ... so says Kevin Hart.

Kev is a HUGE Eagles fan (remember when he drunkenly tried to grab the Lombardi Trophy last year?) ... so when we saw him leaving the Barstool Sports offices in NYC on Thursday, we asked how he'd solve the looming QB battle.

TMZ: "If Foles wins you guys another Super Bowl, what do you do with Carson Wentz?"

Kev: "We tell Carson Wentz that he is the reason for our success ... we have to go with Foles right now 'cause Foles is the hot guy."

He continued, "Doesn't mean that Carson Wentz isn't our guy, but ultimately you gotta understand the underdog and the underdog story. Foles is helping build that story."

The QB issue is becoming a hot topic -- because Foles is now 4-0 in his last 4 playoff games ... and the team is playing pretty great right now.

Here's the problem ... if the Eagles want to keep Foles they'd have to pick up his $20 MILLION option -- which Foles has to approve. Lotta cash to spend on a backup QB.

Another option ... the Eagles could franchise Foles for $25 mil and then trade him if the plan is to go with Wentz as the starter.

Antonio Brown's time in Pittsburgh appears all but over ... 'cause Steelers owner Art Rooney II doesn't expect the NFL superstar to be on the team next season.

A.B.'s been at the center of controversy in Steel City after getting into heated exchanges with teammates, skipping practice, getting benched for a crucial game during a playoff push AND reportedly requesting a trade ... just to name a few incidents.

Rooney says the team will NOT cut Brown, but made it very clear the Steelers aren't afraid to move on from their top receiver ... and said it would be "hard to envision" he's with the team come training camp in July.

"There’s not much we can do right now. We have time to make a decision,” Rooney told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

“We’ll look at all the options. We’re not going to release him, that’s not on the table. But I will say all other options are on the table."

Rooney isn't completely shutting the door on reconciling with Brown ... he thinks making up is possible, but unlikely.

Tim Tebow is one step closer to swiping that V-card ... he just got engaged to his insanely attractive beauty queen girlfriend, Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters!!!

"Thank you for saying YES and making me the happiest man in the world," Tebow posted.

"You’re the love of my life, and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you."

Demi-Leigh -- the 2017 Miss Universe winner -- also commented, saying, "Any dreams I’ve ever had, you’ve exceeded them all! I love you and I can’t wait to spend forever with you!"

Demi-Leigh is 23 years old. She's from South Africa. The two have been dating for a while and she recently went home to Florida with him to celebrate the holidays ... a big sign a ring was on the way.

Congrats!!!

FSU running back Khalan Laborn -- the No. 1 RB recruit out of H.S. -- just cut a deal in his weed possession case that will keep him out of jail ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The former 5-star recruit was arrested at 1:30 AM on Nov. 19 in Leon County, Florida, after he was pulled over for driving on an expired vehicle registration with no headlights on.

When cops spoke with the 19-year-old running back ... they say he reeked of weed -- and after they searched his FSU backpack -- they found a glass jar containing the sticky icky.

Laborn was arrested for possession of marijuana less than 20 grams ... which, if convicted -- carries a 1-year jail sentence AND a $1,000 fine.

FOR WEED! (Now legal for recreational use in 10 states and D.C. for people over the age of 21).

But, Khalan copped a plea deal with the state attorney in court Thursday ... and is now off the hook once he completes a diversion program.

We're told Laborn has 90 days to pay a $100 fine and complete either 15 hours of community service or 1 day of Leon County work.

Khalan is one of the highest-rated recruits to ever enroll at FSU ... and flashed promise until a knee injury knocked him out for the 2018 season.

He's expected to be a huge part of the Noles' offense in 2019.