TMZ Sports - Page 50

Talk about a complete 180 for the National Anthem performance at this year's NBA All-Star Game ... sorry, Fergie.

Anthony Hamilton took the reigns Sunday to do his own rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner," and he absolutely killed it ... even with a slowed-down version -- unlike his predecessor.

The soul singer took his time, and hit every note he needed to ... and the crowd seemed to thoroughly enjoy it. Even more telling ... no NBA players were laughing. You'll recall ... Fergie had guys like Draymond Green and others giggling on the court.

Fergie eventually came out and apologized for her performance after it was roasted by just about everyone, saying she tried her best.

No question ... Anthony's got Fergie beat. But the real question now is, who did better ... AH or Marvin Gaye??? In case you didn't know, MG belted out what many consider to be the best rendition of the National Anthem during the 1983 NBA All-Star Game.

Reese Witherspoon and her husband scored courtside seats to watch the Harlem Globetroters this weekend -- but they also got an unexpected Motown serenade out of it.

The actress and her hubby, Jim Toth, hit up the Staples Center in L.A. Sunday to watch the Globetrotters perform their magic on the court. The good thing about sitting so close ... ya might get called up and be put under the spotlight, which is exactly what happened to Reese.

She and Jim were then treated to the soothing tunes of The Temptations ... with "My Girl," of course. And, naturally, the couple got to two-stepping hand-in-hand.

Colin Kaepernick is far from a sellout by settling with the NFL -- because he shed an important spotlight along the way that won't soon be forgotten ... so says Common.

We got the rapper leaving WeHo Sunday, where we asked what he thought of the ex-QB recently coming to terms with the NFL out of court. Common's got nothing but good things to say about Kap here and gives a good reason why he hasn't compromised his principles.

According to Common ... Kaepernick exposed the NFL and its owners through his collusion case and thoroughly highlighted what Common considers exploitative practices over their black players. He says nothing can take away from the work CK's done on that front.

When our photog asks point blank if his settlement -- which is rumored to be in the $100 million range -- makes him a sellout, Common shoots that notion down hard.

Jermaine Jones might've been on to something when he said David Charvet banged his wife and ruined their relationship, 'cause now there's photos that seem to back him up.

The former "Baywatch" star was spotted at a restaurant in Malibu Saturday night with J.J.'s estranged wife, Sarah, following close behind. It looks like a classic date night situation, even though there are no immediate signs of intimacy in these pics.

Still, the shots could give credence to Jermaine's public accusations of David being a homewrecker and sleeping with Sarah a few months ago ... depending on who you ask.

It all might be moot, though. David got a temporary restraining order against Jermaine after claiming the U.S. soccer star threatened him with violence. Sarah got a TRO against her soon-to-be ex-hubby as well, claiming he was stalking and harassing her.

She also filed for divorce from Jermaine last month, so it's clear the door is closing on their marriage. An outing like this doesn't bode well for any type of reconciliation either.

Floyd Mayweather is warning Ryan Garcia -- if the 20-year-old boxing star actually steps in the ring with Gervonta "Tank" Davis, "He's gonna get f*cked up."

Garcia and Davis have been talking TRASH to each other for months and it seems the super featherweight stars are on a collision course to fight in the very near future.

With Davis being a Money Team fighter, we asked Floyd if that fight is actually going to happen -- and that's when Mayweather laid out the terms.

"Ryan Garcia says he wants to fight 'Tank' ... well, I'm putting up the money right now."

Long story short, Mayweather says Garcia must fight TMT boxer Rolando "Rolly" Romero first ... and if Garcia wins, Floyd will give Garcia a $200,000 check plus he'll make the Davis fight happen.

But, if Garcia loses against the undefeated Romero (7-0), "I don't want him to ever say Tank's name again."

Mayweather added, "If [Garcia] gets through Rolly, he gets Tank."

Ex-NFL star Larry Johnson is sick of watching young players like Kareem Hunt make the same STUPID mistakes he made as a player ... and wishes they'd "get their heads out of their asses" and reach out for help.

"I hope these guys will start realizing that there's nothing you've done that other players haven't done already," the former K.C. Chiefs running back told us.

Of course, Johnson was a STUD in his prime -- but, his NFL career was marred by off-the-field issues ... including violent incidents with a woman.

But, Larry says he's a changed man now -- he's learned the hard way -- and wants to make sure other talented players don't throw away their careers because they're too dumb to learn from his mistakes.

"Hopefully young guys will start reaching out to older players who have been in these situations before they get themselves in these situations," Johnson said.

"I wish these young players will get their heads out of their ass and really use the veterans to help them stay away from these issues."

Louisiana legend James Carville says if Anthony Davis doesn't wanna be in New Orleans he can GET LOST because the Pelicans deserve a player that actually WANTS to play for them.

He also cannot stop talking about the surging LSU Tigers basketball team.

Carville is a Louisiana sports superfan, so when we got him out we had to ask about the Bayou state's latest pro sports drama ... AD trying to make his way to L.A.

That's when James gave it to Davis ... saying if the beauty and majesty of magnolias, swamps, amazing food, and rich culture aren't good enough for the superstar, he can kick rocks.

"If he wants to go, go. I don't want to have somebody who doesn't wanna be here, but I want to get something for him."

JC wasn't finished talking basketball ... and decked out in all LSU gear asked our camera guy if he saw that LSU had beaten Kentucky in Kentucky ... a rare feat for the Tigers ... James was downright giddy.

Hall of Famer Ty Law says he owes part of his booming bouncy business to the advice and counsel of one of the greatest basketball players businessmen of all time ... Magic Johnson.

Law -- who was just elected into Canton (congrats) -- has been trying to make history in another profession ... as the owner and franchisee of a series of trampoline and action parks with basketball, dodgeball and laser tag.

He currently operates 23 Launch Trampoline Parks (there'll be 40 open by the end of 2019) in 13 states and says a lot his success making that guap came from a sit down he had years ago with LeBron's boss.

"I came out to L.A. He spent like 4 or 5 hours with me. Took me through his office. His operation. He let me explain my business to him. What my vision is. It was just awesome. From that point on, it was a totally different perspective of what could be."

"I had an opportunity to just sit down and just hear him speak. It's so inspiring. It's like you walk in and you smell money."

Ty says the biz is making a lot of dough ... but the best part of his empire is he's created 3,000 jobs.

Dope.

Demaryius Thomas -- who was just cut days ago by the Houston Texans following his Achilles injury -- has been hospitalized with minor injuries after a single-car crash in which he was the driver.

According to the Denver PD ... the NFL wide receiver lost control of the vehicle in the downtown area a little after midnight, causing it to roll and come to a stop in the grassy median.

Cops say, 2 men, including Thomas, and a woman were found inside the vehicle and all 3 were transported to the hospital. Demaryius was ID'd as the driver.

Thomas and the other guy suffered minor injuries and are expected to be treated and released, but the woman's injuries are possibly more serious. They do not appear to be life-threatening, though.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

The settlement is confidential, but Colin Kaepernick sure looks happy the day after striking a deal with the NFL.

Colin posed with his legal team -- led by Mark Geragos and Ben Meiselas -- early Saturday morning with a big ol' smile on his face.

There are reports the settlement could be close to $100 million, but so far nobody is saying anything.

As we previously reported ... Colin agreed to end his suit against the NFL, in which he accused team owners and league officials of colluding to keep him off of an NFL roster because of his kneeling demonstration.

Colin filed the suit back in 2017 and deposed some of the most famous and important people in the NFL -- including Jerry Jones and Roger Goodell -- but now that CK has agreed to drop it, the public will likely never know what they said in those depos.

Kap has come under fire from critics like ex-NFL star Larry Johnson who says he is a "sellout" -- because they believed his case against the NFL was more about exposing racism than reaching a fat settlement.

WWE superstar Matt Riddle thinks a major change is coming ... saying 'NXT' is on a trajectory to explode and take over as the No. 1 show in the WWE Universe.

For years, 'NXT' has been viewed as WWE's developmental brand -- used to springboard up-and-coming wrestlers on to shows like 'Raw' and 'Smackdown Live' ... where the top stars play.

But, Riddle -- along with other young stars like Ricochet, Adam Cole and Johnny Gargano -- have turned 'NXT' into arguably the most must-see WWE show ... and it only seems to be getting better.

Riddle says 'NXT' is "different" and "fresh" -- and not "the same kind of watered-down child's product that WWE's kind of turned into a lot."

He adds, "People watch us, even though it's scripted a lot of the time, it's more real. It's more believable."

Riddle says he can feel the momentum behind 'NXT' -- and it's affected the way he sees his career with the WWE.

"Funny enough, I was thinking about that the other day. And, I want to get to the main roster, but then I was thinking, 'Maybe I'm thinking about it wrong,' because 'NXT' is so hot, maybe we should stay and try to build 'NXT' and make it bigger than 'Raw' and 'Smackdown' and just be the big guy, which isn't impossible."

There's more ... Riddle -- a former UFC fighter -- also says he'd LOVE a shot to go 1-on-1 with John Cena, but not in a traditional pro wrestling match ...

"I think I wanna fight John Cena. He might wanna wrestle, but I kind wanna fight him."

Lakers super fan Ice Cube says Scottie Pippen is WRONG when he says LeBron James doesn't have the clutch gene ... but RIGHT when he says LBJ is no Michael Jordan ... or Kobe Bryant.

Pippen took some shots at LeBron recently ... actually, he pretty much destroyed the guy on "ESPN First Take," saying the King turns into a peasant during crunch time in games.

We got Ice Cube at LAX and asked the lifelong NBA fan if there's any truth to Scottie's scathing critique, and the West Coast legend said no ... and yes.

"I think he does have the clutch gene, but not too many people in the world got the Kobe and Jordan gene."

So ... LeBron is clutch, just not Kobe or Jordan clutch. So, he's not like a high-priced Gucci clutch bag (no disrespect to T.I.) he's more like a Coach clutch bag (no disrespect to Coach).

Makes sense ... Cube went on to say LeBron shouldn't sweat Scottie's opinion, because he's got 3 rings and it doesn't matter, but we think Cube forgot one thing.

Eli Manning deserves to be immortalized in bronze at his alma mater ... so says Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker, who tells TMZ Sports the former-Ole Miss QB needs a campus statue!!!

Of course, Eli's big bro, Peyton, already has a monument built for him in Indianapolis ... and the Mannings as a fam have been recognized in a few different ways already at Ole Miss.

But, Wicker says Eli -- who's a legend with BOTH the Rebels and the NY Giants -- "absolutely" should have his own statue at the school.

"Eli Manning is a great athlete. Two Super Bowl rings. A good family man. A good humanitarian. And, he volunteers his time."

Think Wicker's just playing to his constituents?? Think again ... the senator actually attended Ole Miss with Archie himself!!!

Elvis Dumervil says he belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame ... telling TMZ Sports, "I'm able to compete with anyone in my era of rushing the passer."

The ex-Broncos and Ravens star is widely considered by NFL pundits as a fringe HOFer after playing 11 seasons ... but, he says his resume is good enough in his mind to get in.

"Do I feel like I belong? Of course I feel like I belong."

Dumervil might have a point ... dude was a 5-time Pro Bowler and 2-time All-Pro -- AND he finished with 105.5 career sacks.

In fact, of the 25 players ahead of him on the all-time sack list that are currently eligible for the Hall of Fame -- only 7 are still waiting on the call.

But, Elvis says you shouldn't even compare him to those guys ... he's telling us it's his own draft class -- one that featured Mario Williams -- that he should be up against.

BTW, while Dumervil waits to become HOF eligible -- he's building up a pretty successful real estate business in Miami ... telling us, he's the owner of over 600 multi-family units!!!

Darius Leonard's mom better start prepping for the surprise now ... the Colts superstar says his gift giving won't stop with a Mercedes -- he's gunning to get her a new house too!!!

"That's the goal," the LB tells TMZ Sports ... "That's the ultimate goal."

ICYMI ... Leonard surprised his mom with a new set of wheels just a couple days ago -- and she went CRAZY after seeing the present ... doing full-sprint laps in the parking lot!!

The video was epic ... and Leonard says she reacted that way 'cause, "It's something that she's always wanted. She's always wanted a Mercedes-Benz."

In fact, Leonard tells us she's been driving it around town at dangerously slow speeds 'cause she doesn't want to get even a scratch on her new baby!!!

But, Darius says there's more in store for Momma ... he's telling us he's got plans to get her a new house next.

As for why ... Leonard obviously LOVES her -- but, he says she's a big reason he's such an athletic freak.

And, if his play on the gridiron this year didn't prove those genes ... he explained to us why he might've been in the NBA if his football career didn't get in the way!!!

Jaylon Ferguson -- the projected 1st-round pick who was disinvited and then reinvited to the NFL Combine -- ain't sweating the drama one bit ... telling TMZ Sports, it's only gonna HELP his draft stock.

Here's the backstory ... the 23-year-old Louisiana Tech pass rusher was reportedly arrested for fighting at a McDonald's during his freshman year. He was later convicted of simple battery.

Per NFL rules ... if a player is found guilty of a misdemeanor or a felony involving violence -- their Combine invite will be pulled.

Since Ferguson went on to become the NCAA's all-time career sack leader (with 45) -- NFL teams are VERY interested in him. Which makes the Combine drama even more interesting.

Ferguson's story has blown up on social media -- where people are arguing Ferguson deserves an opportunity to attend the Combine if only to explain his side of the story to GMs ... and on Friday, the NFL caved.

Jaylon still won't be able to work out at the annual event ... but, he's at least now able to go and interview with teams -- and he says he's JACKED for the opportunity.

But, Ferguson also says this whole drama is only going to HELP him get picked higher in April's NFL draft.

"Now that I got my name out there more, more people know me. More people heard of me."

As for the fighting incident ... Jaylon says it's a non-issue, telling us, "I'm not even the same person."