TMZ Sports - Page 50

Vernon Davis is helping a family cope with the tragic loss of their son by giving them Super Bowl tickets ... telling TMZ Sports he wanted to, "Bring some joy to their spirits."

The story is super sad ... 17-year-old Ryan Howey was a normal football-loving teenager until he was suddenly diagnosed with brain cancer last May.

Howey's illness was gripping ... the poor kid had to go through chemo and radiation 5 days a week for 6 weeks just to start treatments -- and even needed more rounds of chemo after that.

Howey was huge Redskins fan -- and when Davis got word of the boy's illness last month ... the tight end hopped in a car and drove two hours to visit the sick boy.

Tragically ... Ryan passed away just days later -- so Vernon pondered ways he could help out the family.

His solution?? Give 3 Super Bowl tickets to Ryan's mom, dad and sister ... and fly them out to Atlanta and put them up in a hotel for the big game.

"I Facetimed them ... I was explaining to them, 'Hey, I think it'd be great if you guys can go to the Super Bowl. I have three tickets for you all and I'm putting you up in a hotel and you guys get to see a good game.'"

Davis said, "Tears of joy" flowed from the family ... adding, "I don't feel like no one was really thinking of them in that manner. It was just on my heart, man."

The game is set to go down Feb. 3 ... props to Davis and the Redskins for the heartfelt move.

Zion Williamson needs to IGNORE Scottie Pippen's advice and NOT sit out the rest of the college basketball season because it could hurt his development ... so says Kenny Smith.

"When you play, you get an opportunity to hone your craft," Smith tells TMZ Sports ... "Iron sharpens iron."

Pippen sees it MUCH differently -- claiming the Duke superstar is the obvious #1 overall pick in the NBA Draft and he needs to sit out to avoid risking serious injury.

But, Smith says sitting will essentially stunt his growth -- because the constant competition with top college talent will make him more prepared for the jump to the NBA.

Check out the clip ... Kenny sends a personal message to Zion to keep playing ... and throws a little jab about the big UNC/Duke rivalry.

Chris Weidman has his sights set on Jon Jones for his next fight ... telling TMZ Sports he's, "Always imagined going up and taking his belt."

Of course, Weidman's dealing with a neck injury ... and says surgery might be an option -- but once he's cleared -- he's gunnin' for Jones.

"He's been on my radar since I was a champion and he was champion at 205. I always imagined going up and taking his belt."

Weidman even threw some shade Jon's way ... saying the guy can't be considered the G.O.A.T. 'cause of his positive PED tests!!!

Jon's next fight is Anthony Smith at UFC 235 -- but he is lookin' for a 'bout after that ... and Chris says even if he needs surgery -- he'll DEFINITELY be ready to fight sometime in 2019.

A little good news, bad news for skateboarding superstar Nyjah Huston ...

The good news -- dude just claimed his fifth career Street League Skateboarding World Championship title in Rio De Janeiro!!

The bad news -- the trophy he brought back home from the event was so big ... TSA had to check it for drugs!!!

Huston just crushed everybody in Brazil ... logging the highest final score in SLS series history -- and the gold trophy he earned was the size of his torso.

The problem with that?? TSA gave the dude a hard time for bringing it through airport security!!!

"They were checking it. But, I'm definitely not hiding any drugs in this thing, that's for sure!"

As for Huston's plan for the trophy now that he's successfully gotten it through the airport ... he says it'll look good with the rest of the 1st place awards he's earned over the years.

Former U.S. figure skating champion John Coughlin has killed himself in the midst of an internal investigation within his sport.

Coughlin -- a two-time U.S. Pairs champion -- took his own life Friday in Kansas City, according to his sister, Angela Laune, who revealed the news on Facebook. Police have reportedly confirmed his death as well.

The Olympic skater had recently been temporarily barred from participating in any skating events in any capacity due to an investigation launched by SafeSport last month. SafeSport is an independent body that investigates allegations of misconduct, and has "exclusive jurisdiction over allegations of sexual misconduct but also looks into other forms of abuse," per USA Today.

The investigation quickly escalated, as he was suspended by U.S. Figure Skating following a recommendation from SafeSport. The details of what he'd been accused of remain unclear for now.

Russell Wilson appears to be responding to Future calling him a whipped man by taking the high road ... or issuing a low blow, depending on how you look at it.

The Seahawks quarterback posted a photo Saturday that might very well be in direct response to an interview Future did on Friday, where he said Russ was "not being a man" by allowing Ciara to trash talk her ex-hubby on social media and in public.

There's a couple different ways to interpret Russ's post -- but regardless, it'd be pretty hard not to call it a clap back. The pic shows Future Jr. --who's Future's biological son -- nuzzling noses with his half-sister, Sienna -- who's Ciara and Russell's biological daughter.

Russ captioned the post, "All that matters. #Love."

While you could argue this is an integrity move on RW's part, you could also say he's strategically using Future's own flesh and blood against his pops in a petty feud ... which is eyebrow-raising at best. Both arguments would be valid on the face of this.

As you know ... Ciara and Future are in the middle of an ongoing custody battle, for which Ciara now wants a mediator to intervene so a travel schedule can get hashed out for Future Jr. She's claimed in court docs that Future has allegedly broken scheduled visits and hands off the kid to family members instead of spending personal time with him.

TMZ Sports has obtained surveillance footage which shows ex-Georgetown basketball star Victor Page attacking a 17-year-old girl during a 2018 incident ... and it's extremely disturbing.

First off, 43-year-old Page is currently locked up in a Maryland jail over the 2018 incident, and he's facing several serious criminal charges, including 1st and 2nd degree attempted rape.

We spoke to a rep for the victim's family who told us that they want the video to be out publicly -- and they're hoping Page is punished to the fullest extent of the law.

Here's the backstory ...

The victim was at her family's apartment in Camp Springs, Maryland on Dec. 30 when she claims Page tried to rape her inside the home.

She tried to run ... but as you can see in the video, Page follows her outside and eventually smothers her while she's on the ground for roughly 2 minutes.

Neighbors noticed the assault, and ran over to help pry Page off the girl. When they finally got him off, the girl ran away.

The victim went to authorities and Page was arrested a few days later. He's now behind bars at Prince George's County Detention Center awaiting a hearing on Feb. 1.

He's facing a bunch of charges including 1st and 2nd degree attempted rape, attempted sex abuse of a minor, 2nd degree child abuse and more.

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

Page has a long, sad history with the law -- he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for 2nd degree assault in 2013, but he was released early.

Page played with Allen Iverson at Georgetown and was a key part of the '95-'96 Hoyas team that went to the Elite Eight in the NCAA tourney. He led the Big East in scoring in the '96-'97 season.

Dana White says it's obvious to him ... Amanda Nunes is the greatest female fighter EVER.

But, when you add men to the mix -- is she better than Jon Jones?

White broke it down for us ... saying Nunes has not only beaten the best of the best, but destroyed Cris Cyborg -- "the most feared fighter out there" -- and made it look easy.

Don't forget, she also dominated Ronda Rousey, Valentina Shevchenko (twice) and Miesha Tate.

Dana says Jon's got a pretty solid case too ... beating the hell out of stars like Shogun Rua, Rampage Jackson, Alexander Gustafsson (twice), Vitor Belfort, Lyoto Machida and Ryan Bader.

Oh, and Dana says he's SUPER impressed by the fact JJ beat Daniel Cormier on two separate occasions because DC is an "unbelievable" fighter too!

So, who really is the G.O.A.T.?

Manny Pacquiao says that if he faces off against Floyd Mayweather again things will be "different," because his body is totally healthy, and he feels 20 years younger.

Translation: Manny thinks his shoulder held him back in the first Mayweather fight, and that he'd kick Floyd's ass now.

We talked to Pac Man ahead of his big fight against Adrien Broner on Saturday, and although the Filipino legend was totally focused on AB, we asked him about a possible rematch against Floyd.

Manny was dominated by Floyd in their first fight, but many blamed a shoulder injury for the bad performance ... an injury Manny says is now totally healed.

"I feel like I'm in my late 20s. The way I work hard, the way I move, it's still the same, nothing's changed."

So, the question is, now that Manny's found the fountain of youth, would the result be different if he and Floyd fought again? People think it might happen if he beats Broner.

"Of course, it's different. It's very big difference when you're healthy or not healthy."

Cody Rhodes is looking to staff up his new All Elite Wrestling organization with some killer new talent -- and tells TMZ Sports he thinks UFC fighters could be a real solid fit.

Rhodes has teamed up with fellow wrestling superstars the Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) and Tony Khan -- whose family owns the Jacksonville Jaguars and Fulham F.C. Together, they're launching the next major pro wrestling federation. It's got huge potential.

The former WWE superstar says now he's on the hunt for talent -- gunning for fresh new wrestlers who can kill it in the ring.

We brought up the possibility of hiring talent from the UFC -- especially with the pro wrestling success of ex-MMA stars like Ronda Rousey and Matthew Riddle.

Rhodes says the idea makes a lot of sense ... with one real important caveat -- they need to have a real PASSION for pro wrestling.

"That's one of my big knocks ... you can't teach passion."

"So, as long as it's somebody who's passionate about [wrestling] and knows it's kind of a hard gig ... I could imagine that would be a cool little crossover."

The New Orleans Saints take on the L.A. Rams on the field in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday ... but the REAL battle is actually going down on the sidelines ...

Yeah, we're talking cheerleaders, baby!!!

The 2 cheer squads have crushed it all season long ... and now it's up to you to decide which team's women take the pom-pom crown and deserve to move on to the Super Bowl!

Killer Mike insists all the controversy over black artists playing the Super Bowl Halftime Show masks the most important point -- which is huge financial opportunities for the black community.

We got the Run the Jewels rapper in NYC, where he's promoting his new Netflix series, "Trigger Warning." We asked Mike about the heat his pal Big Boi and Travis Scott have been taking for joining Maroon 5 ... instead of protesting the NFL in support of Colin Kaepernick.

Mike's heard about the push for the artists to take a knee during the show, and says more power to 'em if they do it. However, he's not coming down on them if they don't.

As an ATL guy himself, Mike says Super Bowl LIII's biggest impact won't be on the field, or on the halftime show stage -- it'll be in the bank accounts of thousands of people getting work because of the event.

What's better than a hole-in-one in a round of golf??

A HOLE-IN-ONE IN A ROUND OF GOLF WITH BARACK OBAMA!!!

Larry Fitzgerald knows that first hand ...'cause the Cardinals superstar aced the par-3 13th hole at Seminole Golf Club in Florida on Friday in front of the former President.

Golf Channel's Tim Rosaforte reports Fitz and Obama played a foursome at the prestigious course with club prez Jimmy Dunne and Obama Foundation board member Glenn Hutchins.

The story goes like this ... Obama hit his tee shot first -- striking the green about 20 feet from the hole.

Larry hit his tee shot next ... and with an 8-iron from 162 yards out -- HE JARRED IT!!!

Per Rosaforte ... Larry was JACKED, screaming, "I’m playing with the President of the United States and I just made a hole in one! This is unbelievable!”

Larry is no stranger to success on the links ... dude's a reported 10 handicap and has hit the course with guys like Tiger Woods in the past.

But ... bad news for Larry -- the ace means drinks are on him!!!

Something tells us that's a bill he won't mind footing, though.

Ex-Arizona State basketball star Jermaine Marshall -- who also had a brief stint in the NBA -- has died at 28 years old ... his French professional team announced Friday.

Marshall was reportedly found dead in his apartment. The cause of death has not been released.

The Pennsylvania native played 3 seasons with Penn State before transferring to ASU for his senior year. He played a huge role in the Sun Devils' NCAA tournament run in 2014, averaging 15 points.

ASU released a statement on Friday ... saying "He gave us so many big buckets en route to the 2014 NCAA Tournament. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Jermaine Marshall."

Marshall spent time with the Houston Rockets during the 2014-15 season ... and later moved to Europe to play professionally. He was most recently with the Hermine Nantes Basket in France.

Greg Hardy says he's a changed man -- telling TMZ Sports he's got a new attitude and a new perspective after dedicating his life to mixed martial arts.

You already know Greg's backstory ... the NFL star was accused of domestic violence against a woman back in 2014 and initially convicted. The conviction was overturned in 2015.

He was also arrested for cocaine possession in 2016.

Hardy was essentially blackballed from the NFL ... so he ultimately decided to train in MMA.

We're told he made a real effort to clean up his lifestyle and focus on the sport -- and so far, he's been incredibly successful in his new career ... racking up a 5-0 record in his first 5 fights.

Now, he's set to fight at UFC on ESPN+ on Saturday -- and acknowledges that his past has become an issue since the card also features Rachael Ostovich, a domestic violence victim.

Hardy tells us he's staying focused on his fight and trying not to be a distraction from all of the other fighters on the card ... since he knows how hard everyone worked to get to this level.

Hardy isn't getting into specifics about his legal past -- but says he's got a new lease on life and a new attitude and wants to be a respected professional moving forward.

As for his fight with Allen Crowder ... Hardy says he wants his opponent to know he's a "very dangerous man inside the Octagon and I'm very serious about what I do."

Gladys Knight is adamant she does NOT have a problem with Colin Kaepernick and his protest -- but says she's hoping her national anthem performance at the Super Bowl can unite the country,.

"I understand that Mr. Kaepernick is protesting two things and they are police violence and injustice," the 74-year-old said in a statement.

"It is unfortunate that our National Anthem has been dragged into this debate when the distinctive senses of the National Anthem and fighting for justice should each stand alone."

Of course, Knight is referencing Colin's decision to take a knee during the 'Star-Spangled Banner' during NFL games. Kap had said the demonstration is intended to put a spotlight on police violence against minorities.

Knight continued in her statement ...

"I am here today and on Sunday, Feb. 3 to give the Anthem back its voice, to stand for that historic choice of words, the way it unites us when we hear it and to free it from the same prejudices and struggles I have fought long and hard for all my life, from walking back hallways, from marching with our social leaders, from using my voice for good."

"I have been in the forefront of this battle longer than most of those voicing their opinions to win the right to sing our country’s Anthem on a stage as large as the Super Bowl LIII."

"No matter who chooses to deflect with this narrative and continue to mix these two in the same message, it is not so and cannot be made so by anyone speaking it."

"I pray that this National Anthem will bring us all together in a way never before witnessed and we can move forward and untangle these truths which mean so much to all of us."

Kaepernick -- along with his girlfriend, close friends and celebrities -- have been critical of musicians who have agreed to perform at the Super Bowl. Rap star Common has even called for Travis Scott to pull out of the halftime show.