TMZ Sports - Page 50

What's it like to be attacked with chicken tortilla soup? IT SUCKS.

And now, the guy who was on the receiving end of J.R. Smith's infamous broth beatdown is spilling the beans on what REALLY happened that night.

It all went down in March 2018 ... when Smith got into it with his Cleveland Cavs assistant coach, Damon Jones, and things got so heated, J.R. used his meal as a weapon.

"For a long time I refused to talk about the soup incident, "Jones told ESPN's David Jacoby ... "It's okay now because I've moved on."

That's great and all ... but WE WANT DETAILS -- and Monday morning, Jones dished 'em all up!

Question -- Did Smith throw the entire bowl ... or just fling the soup?

Answer -- "It was the bowl PLUS the soup!"

Question -- Where did it hit you?

Answer -- "It went everywhere. I was standing up ... it hit me in the shoulder, the arm, the wall. It was a mess."

Question -- Did it hurt?

Answer -- "It was the first bowl out of the pot so it was hot. Very hot ... all I remember is the soup was on my arm and it was hot as hell!"

Question -- Were you and J.R. ever able to squash the beef?

Answer -- Yes.

Jones says roughly 3 months after the incident, the guys sat down and talked ... and agreed to let bygones be bygones.

The high school referee who told Andrew Johnson to cut his dreadlocks or forfeit is now threatening to sue ... claiming he's been DEFAMED and he's demanding $100,000 in damages.

The wrestling match made international headlines when Johnson -- who is black -- appeared humiliated when he was essentially forced to cut his hair during the Dec. 2018 match.

The ref, Alan Maloney, has not reffed a single high school wrestling match since ... and he's pissed -- claiming he did nothing wrong.

In fact, Maloney believes he was simply following the rules laid out by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association ... and should NOT be subject to any sort of punishment.

In his letter, Maloney states his case ... saying Johnson's hair length violated the rules. Maloney claims he gave Johnson time to get a hair covering, but Johnson did not have one.

So, in accordance with NJSIAA policy, Maloney says "provided the wrestler with the time to correct the deficiency" -- aka, a haircut.

Once the video went viral, many people accused Maloney of operating out of racism and he feels the NJSIAA did nothing to correct the narrative.

Now, Maloney has fired off a letter to the NJSIAA saying he's planning to take legal action because he feels the association has participated in DEFAMING him, causing him to lose income and suffer emotional distress. He's claiming damages of $100k.

We spoke with Johnson's attorney Dominic Speziali who tells us, "To the extent that [Maloney] plans to file a claim as a victim in this incident is outright absurd."

The University of Michigan gymnastics coach who was arrested for having sex with one of his gymnasts in public was punished in court Monday with a fine ... TMZ Sports has learned.

39-year-old Scott Vetere was arrested back in October after cops say they caught him and an 18-year-old member of the UM gymnastics team banging in a parking lot near the Ann Arbor campus.

Vetere's been in court ever since fighting an indecent or obscene conduct in public charge -- a misdemeanor that carries a maximum of 90 days in jail if convicted.

But, court officials tell us Scott reached an agreement with prosecutors this week ... and got his charge reduced to a civil infraction. He paid off a fine and now the case is closed.

Vetere -- a former stud gymnast who was the 2000 Big Ten Gymnast of the Year -- was suspended by UM after the incident last fall. He later resigned from his position and left the school.

Conor McGregor says he has no problem being the CO-MAIN event of a future UFC card -- he just wants Dana White to give him OWNERSHIP in the brand before he returns to the Octagon.

Of course, UFC legend Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone recently claimed McGregor refused to sign a fight contract unless their fight would be the sole MAIN event.

The issue ... neither Cowboy or Conor hold a UFC title at the moment and Dana White has said they want every major card to have a championship fight in the main event slot.

Enter McGregor ... who finally broke his silence on the issue Friday while speaking with fans at a bar in Chicago, Binny's -- saying, "I’m ready to fight, I’ve said that. No problem."

But, Conor says he doesn't want to fight for a paycheck anymore ... he wants a legit stake in the company, as he's demanded for years.

"Me sliding into the co-main event ... it’s now boosting [the UFC's] brand over fighter rhetoric that they have. And, there's no problem with that," Conor said in video captured by BJPenn.com's Mike Pendleton.

"If they want me to push that and I have no problem with pushing that, give me my rightful shares in the UFC company. That’s all I ask."

"You can put me on the first fight of ESPN+, no problem ... let's see how it goes ... but I'm still prepared and ready to fight."

Conor has demanded ownership in the UFC for years -- and at one point, UFC minority owner Mark Wahlberg offered him a piece of his stake in the company.

Wahlberg later rescinded the offer. But, ya gotta wonder if the UFC is considering Conor's demand with the kind of money McGregor's fights bring in.

How does Cam Newton feel about his Carolina Panthers offensive lineman, Taylor Hearn, getting knocked out in a street fight?

Exactly how you think he would feel ... telling TMZ Sports, "It's unfortunate."

Cam didn't wanna get too into the situation involving Hearn ... but noted he hasn't spoken with the 23-year-old since the incident.

We broke the story ... Hearn -- 6'4", 315 pounds -- tried to fight several people outside of a bar in Augusta, Georgia ... only to get KO'd by a guy half his size.

The one thing Cam DID want to talk about ... HATS!!!

Turns out, Newton is a part owner of the Meshika hat company -- where our photog, Charlie, gets all his cool headwear and the two talked about their obsession with lids!

In fact, Cam told us he's got roughly 50 HATS from legendary hat maker Alberto Hernandez -- and he still remembers the very first one he ever bought!

The hat obsession ain't cheap -- some of Alberto's hats can run upwards of $1,800!!

Dallas Cowboys defensive end Tyrone Crawford -- a defensive team captain -- shoved TWO police officers while they were making an arrest during a bar brawl in Florida, TMZ Sports has learned.

Crawford was at the Coyote Ugly Saloon in Panama City on March 15, when things got violent around midnight. Sources tell us Crawford's crew had gotten into it with bar staff.

The fight was epic -- in a bad way -- multiple people suffered bloody injuries, including bar staff. One employee suffered a broken foot in the melee.

Cops raced to the scene ... and witnessed 8 to 10 people still fighting outside, this according to the police report obtained by TMZ Sports.

The report does not mention Crawford by name, but we've spoken with witnesses who are adamant Crawford was a key player in the incident.

At one point, Crawford -- 6'4", 285 pounds -- bull rushed his way through two cops and aggressively put his hands on TWO officers who were in the process of handcuffing one of the alleged combatants.

Multiple cops swarmed Crawford and restrained him -- while pushing him away from the arrest scene.

The incident involving Crawford was captured on the bar's surveillance video and shows the scene play out clear as day.

Despite the chaotic scene, Crawford was NOT arrested.

UFC champ Kamaru Usman says he REALLY wants to punish Colby Covington in the Octagon ... telling TMZ Sports the hatred is real and it's time to beat some respect into him.

Usman says Colby has been trolling him for months -- spitting out some of the most disrespectful insults Kamaru's ever heard. Usman says the guy crossed a line and needs to pay.

"Every opponent that I've faced, I've never really had ill will towards ... I've never had bad blood to where I was in there maliciously trying to hurt them. This is a guy that I have that towards."

Of course, the two almost threw down at a buffet line in the Palms hotel the day after Usman beat Tyron Woodley for the UFC welterweight title ... but it got broken up.

Kamaru says he only approached Colby that day to address their beef face-to-face ... but Colby got scared and "grabbed an old lady and put her in front of him."

Usman says, "You can't be that troll and then when I see you in person you want to hide behind an old lady!"

So, when will they throw down? Kamaru says there have already been talks with Dana White about making the fight happen.

The only problem ... Kamaru is concerned Colby is a moron who will say something stupid to piss off the powers that be at the UFC, who will take the fight away from him.

Mikey Garcia is in "good spirits" after that crushing loss to Errol Spence over the weekend ... but that doesn't mean he's looking to do it again any time soon.

We spoke with Mikey's brother, Robert Garcia -- who also trains the boxing star -- and he told us everyone is still sad for Mikey because they were expecting a legacy-defining victory.

Obviously, that's not what happened ... Mikey lost nearly every round to Spence -- who proved to be the superior fighter in just about every way.

So, what's next for Mikey? He's got options ... and just about all of them include fighting someone not named Errol Spence.

Robert says he thinks it's best for Mikey to drop down from 147 pounds to the 140-pound weight class and take some big fights there.

Some of the top guys fighting in (or around) that weight class include stars like Terence Crawford and Vasyl Lomachenko.

40-year-old Drew Brees will be playing in the NFL for AT LEAST two more years ... so says Jonathan Vilma, his ex-Saints teammate.

"I think that Drew has, in my objective opinion, about another 2-3 years left."

Of course, Drew's future is back in the news 'cause Teddy Bridgewater just turned down the Dolphins' starting QB job to return to New Orleans to be Brees' backup.

Most figured it's 'cause Drew's days in the league are numbered and he needs a successor ... but Vilma -- who played with Brees for 6 seasons in New Orleans -- tells us Teddy could be waiting a while for that.

"If you ask Drew, he's got like another 10 or 15 years left!"

But, that doesn't mean Vilma hates Bridgewater's choice to stay ... in fact, the former linebacker tells us he thinks Teddy "made a smart long-term decision."

As for Bridgewater, he told reporters after re-upping with the Saints last week that, "I’m still 26 years old. The way I look at it is that I’ll have another opportunity to start in this league at some point."

Alessandra Ambrosio is serving up a little sex on the beach ... looking stunning as ever during a game of beach volleyball.

We got pics and video of the retired Victoria's Secret supermodel putting her amazing curves to work, having fun in the sun over the weekend at a beach in Los Angeles. Mother nature gets an assist on this one for turning up the heat so Alessandra could turn heads in a skimpy black bikini.

The mom of 2 is about to celebrate her 38th birthday ... and she's looking fine as hell! We're convinced this MILF could still work the runway.

Alessandra isn't afraid to get down and dirty ... diving for balls and laying it all out on the court. Sexy beach vball sessions are kinda her thing.

Johnny Football's back!!!!!

Just a few weeks after being cut from the entire Canadian Football League ... Johnny Manziel is out on the field with another pro football team -- and his new squad seems damn proud of it!

The Alliance of American Football league's Memphis Express inked the embattled QB to a contract Sunday ... and immediately put him out on the practice field Monday.

JFF was rockin' his familiar no. 2 ... and, of course, had his famous swagged-out visor screwed into his facemask.

No word yet on how he looked throwing during his first day on the job ... but his new league seemed STOKED to hire him over the weekend.

"We are pleased to welcome Johnny Manziel to the Alliance of American Football, which we’ve always described as a league of opportunity for talented players to launch or revitalize their pro football careers,” cofounder and head of football for the Alliance, Bill Polian, said.

Added Express GM Will Lewis, "I’ve always viewed him as a viable option, so we’ll look into that situation and see how that works out for us.”

Of course, Manziel was just booted from the CFL on Feb. 27 after the league says he violated the terms of his agreement.

But, it doesn't appear that's fazed the AAF ... 'cause they say they did "extensive background work" on the QB -- and think it's fine for him to play in their league.

As for Johnny's future with the Express ... their starting QB, Zach Mettenberger, just injured his ankle -- so immediate playing time is available.

Sooo ... does that mean #ComebackSZN is officially on again?!?!

12:16 PM PT -- Osaka has lawyered up with attorney to the stars Alex Spiro and he's attacking Jean's claim as straight-up "absurd."

"While it comes as no surprise that Naomi's meteoric rise as an international icon and inspiration would lead to some false claim, this silly 'contract' that Naomi never saw or signed -- which purports to give away part of herself at the age of 14 -- is particularly absurd," Spiro says.

"This case has no merit and we will move past it.”

The tennis coach who began working with Naomi Osaka back when she was 13 claims her father signed a contract promising him 20% of her career earnings ... and now he's coming to collect.

The man behind the lawsuit is Christophe Jean -- who says Naomi's father, Leonard Francois, hired him to work with Naomi and his other daughter, Mari, back in 2011.

Jean says Francois couldn't pay his rates at the time, so they struck a deal in which Jean agreed to accept 20% of Naomi and Mari's tennis prize money and endorsement deals forever.

That's not a typo ... Jean says he has a copy of the contract where Francois agrees that the term of the deal is "indefinite." It's included in Jean's suit, filed in state court in Florida.

Of course, Naomi -- now 21 years old -- has blossomed into a tennis superstar, currently ranked #1 in the world ... and famously beat Serena Williams at the 2018 US Open.

According to the official WTA website, she's made more than $10.8 MILLION during her career -- and that's not including endorsement money.

So, Jean wants his cut -- at least $2 million -- which is why he's suing Naomi, Mari and Leonard.

The other possible issue ... can a parent promise a cut of a minor child's future adult earnings? And, can a judge enforce such a contract?

It's not exactly cut and dry. We're looking into it.

You come at the king, you best not miss ... and Ice Cube thinks Walt Frazier missed HARD when saying LeBron James doesn't care about the Lakers ... telling TMZ Sports, "that's bullsh*t."

Frazier went OFF on LBJ during Sunday's game between the Knickerbockers and L.A. ... saying, "when you’re the face of the NBA, you should be more a part of your team."

"No matter what is going on. In the public, you gotta be a part of the team. Maybe in the locker room you’re not, but you have to exude that type of togetherness in public, folks," Frazier added.

"And right now, we see he doesn’t really care."

Cube says the Hall of Famer is WRONG -- "LeBron cares, that's bullsh*t."

The rap legend doesn't deny there might be some issues in the locker room ... he actually thinks everyone is trade bait at this point.

Cristiano Ronaldo wants to save you from BALD SHAME -- so he's opened up a new hair transplant clinic in Spain.

Seriously.

The international soccer superstar has launched Insparya in Madrid -- and Monday, the 34-year-old and his girlfriend, Georgina Rodriguez, faced the media to promote the place.

So, why???

Ronaldo says "image" is important to him and he wants to make sure other people have more control over the way they look.

When asked if he has ever had the procedure -- or ever would -- CR7 replied, "When I think it’s necessary [to have a transplant], of course I’ll do it."

In other words, Ronaldo claims his current hair is 100% his ... for now.

Oh, and Ronaldo says the clinic will also do eyebrow hair transplants too.

Ronaldo isn't the first athlete to get in the hair business -- ex-NFL star Brian Urlacher had a hair procedure done after his football career wrapped up.

Byron Scott is a fan of Luke Walton and thinks he's doing the best he can with the Lakers -- but tells TMZ Sports it's obvious his job as head coach in L.A. is just about over.

"Listen, I think Luke did a great job under the circumstances," Scott tells us ... "He's in a situation that's extremely, extremely tough."

"At the end of the day, I can tell you this from past experience, coach is always first to go. That's just how it is."

Of course, Scott is referring to his own run as head coach of the Lakers which lasted from 2014 to 2016 ... when an injury-stricken Kobe Bryant was wrapping up his NBA career.

As for Luke, Scott says he'd love to see the guy get another shot leading Los Angeles ... but he understands the optics considering the Lakers have a terrible record and didn't come close to matching expectations.

"I don't think [firing Walton] is something that is warranted but if you look at their team, you look at their record, you look at the season ... everybody thought they would make the playoffs."

Here's an amazing photo ...

Jim Brown, Emmitt Smith and Barry Sanders all got together at a massive autograph signing event over the weekend -- and it begs the question, how do you rank these guys!?

All 3 have routinely been brought up in the age-old "Who's the greatest running back of all time?" debate. They're all in the Hall of Fame. They're all legends.

So, when they got together for a pic at the Chicago Sports Spectacular, it forced us to do some real debating in the office.

Barry Sanders ... 15,269 yards on the ground in just 10 NFL seasons. 10 Pro Bowl selections. 6-time All-Pro. All this without a great offensive line.

Emmitt Smith ... 18,355 yards rushing in 15 seasons. 164 rushing TDs. 1993 MVP, 3 Super Bowls, 8 Pro Bowls, 4-time All-Pro.

Jim Brown ... 12,312 yards rushing in 9 seasons, 106 rushing TDs, 8-time NFL All-Pro, 9 Pro Bowls, 3 NFL MVPs.

We looked at the autograph prices this weekend ... here's how they stack up in terms of value.

Barry Sanders ... autographs start at $135, photo ops are $135.

Emmitt Smith ... autographs start at $235, photo ops are $200.

Jim Brown ... autographs start at $150, photo ops are $150.

So, go ahead ... rank 'em.