TMZ Sports - Page 50

Sorry, James Harden ... you are NOT the MVP of this year's NBA, so says Rip Hamilton -- who tells TMZ Sports, "I might have to go with Giannis."

The Association's MVP race is basically down to Harden vs. Giannis Antetokounmpo with only a handful of games left to play ... and Rip tells us he's giving the nod to the Bucks star for now.

And, why? The Detroit Pistons legend says he's gotta reward Giannis' win-loss record.

"You gotta give credit to Giannis, man. He's on the No. 1 team. He could be All-NBA on defense. So, right now, with Giannis being the best team, I might have to go with Giannis."

Antetokounmpo's Bucks are No. 1 in the East with a 59-20 record ... while Harden's Rockets sit at No. 3 in the West at 51-28.

But, Harden's numbers KILL Giannis' ... James is averaging almost NINE more points per game AND more assists and steals per contest too.

Beyonce did NOT walk out of a meeting with Reebok because it lacked diversity contrary to reports ... this according to the shoe company.

A rep for Reebok tells TMZ ... "The report that Beyoncé walked out of a meeting with Reebok due to lack of diversity is categorically false. Our discussions with Beyoncé and her team continued for several months after our initial meeting. We are disappointed that false information is being reported as fact."

It is not yet clear why the deal ultimately fell through.

ICYMI ... ESPN reported during a segment on Rachel Nichols' show, "The Jump," claiming Bey walked out of a meeting with Reebok after realizing its corporate structure wasn't at all diverse.

As we reported ... it was just announced Beyonce ultimately signed with Adidas, which will relaunch Bey's Ivy Park line.

Rams head coach Sean McVay's L.A. home was burglarized Thursday night by men who broke in and made off with a bunch of valuables ... law enforcement sources tell TMZ Sports.

We're told 3 men wearing hoodies, bandanas and gloves smashed through the back door of the home ... before stealing $20k worth of jewelry and expensive purses.

No one was home ... and McVay's security system went off -- alerting police to the break-in -- but when they arrived, the thieves were gone.

In addition to what was stolen, we're told there was damage done to the house ... which is still being assessed.

McVay lives with his longtime girlfriend, Veronika Khomyn.

Our law enforcement sources tell us cops are trying to identify the men using surveillance from McVay's home ... as well as from his neighbors' cameras.

McVay isn't the first L.A. Ram to get burglarized ... receiver Robert Woods had his home broken into last year during a Thursday Night Football game.

Forget a Kamaru Usman rematch ... Tyron Woodley says the fight he REALLY wants is with Donald Trump's hair!!!

"Dana, set it up. Tyron Woodley versus Donald Trump's hair, UFC whatever the f**k."

OKAY, Woodley's just playin' around ... but it doesn't make his rant over Trump's hair any less HILARIOUS!!!

The UFC superstar was cruising through his TV channels when Trump popped up ... signature hairdo on full display for the cameras.

Woodley's reaction? "What the f**k are you doing, bruh?"

Tyron continued, "He should wear a bandanna, man. It's terrible. It's so f**king horrible. I hate your hair, man. I don't know you, but I hate your hair. I want to fight your hair."

For his part, Trump knows the look ain't exactly great ... the Prez admitted during a speech last year, "I try like hell to hide that bald spot, folks. I work hard on it!!"

As for Tyron ... he's reportedly agreed to rematch Robbie Lawler in late June.

Conor McGregor appears unretired from fighting ... and Justin Gaethje tells TMZ Sports he BADLY wants to be locked in a steel cage with The Notorious.

But, does Conor want to fight him? Gaethje says nah, doubt it.

"[Conor's] a warrior. I know that it would intrigue him for sure. But, I also think his mind would be like, 'no, thank you.'"

"He can't take my leg kicks. If I wanted to wrestle him, I could wrestle him all day. And, I could knock him out. The last thing he needs to be is f**king on his back reaching for the sky and I will, I could do that to him."

Gaethje's coming off a crazy impressive performance ... he starched Edson Barboza -- one of the scariest dudes in the UFC -- with a vicious right hook in the 1st round last weekend.

Earlier in the week, JG -- the 5th ranked UFC lightweight -- told us he wanted the Holloway-Poirier winner and then Khabib ... but when he was in the TMZ offices on Thursday, clearly things done changed.

"I wanna fight [Conor]. I wanna fight him in Ireland. I know it's not gonna happen in Ireland, but that's my dream. To go over there and be in that sorta chaos. That's what f**king wakes me up every day."

"I'm going out there. I'm gonna stand. I'm gonna stand, I'm gonna knock him out. If he wants to retire, I can help him on his way out."

Conor-Gaethje would be a sick fight ... both guys have great power in their hands and ain't afraid to stand toe-to-toe and mix it up.

Ronda Rousey will straight-up QUIT the WWE if she loses to Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania this weekend ... so says The Man herself.

"She won't be able to hack it," Becky said of Ronda on "TMZ Live" ... "She won't be able to take it. She won't be able to look defeat in the face and say I can come back from this."

Becky says this has actually been her plan for MONTHS ... saying she's allowed Ronda to build up wins just so she can be the one that beats her and forces her to quit fighting for good.

"When Ronda feels untouchable, that's when she gets put to sleep. That's when she gets knocked out."

"And, we all know what happens to Ronda when that happens, she goes and she cries under her blankey for a year or whatever."

Becky added, "The only thing she knows how to do is either be invincible or be gone." She also had a lot more to say about the women's revolution in WWE, and being the main event at Wrestlemania. Tune in for Friday's TMZ Live to see why The Man saw this coming years ago.

BTW, if you think Becky is just talking trash? Maybe not, 'cause Ronda did tell us when we got her out in NYC this week that Wrestlemania 35 is "a do-or-die moment" for her.

The match is set to go down Sunday night ... could it really be Ronda's last in the squared circle?!?

Forget being the best DB in the NFL ... Jalen Ramsey is gunnin' for best BF honors -- 'cause the Jacksonville Jaguars superstar got his baby mama a DOPE Rolex for her birthday!!!

Of course, JR is famously dating Giants WR Golden Tate's sister -- Breanna Tate -- and for her cake day ... he got her some ICE for her wrist.

Unclear which make and model the Rollie is ... but similar gold & diamond Rolexes run in the $35,000 range!!!!!

"My Queen gon stay fresher & icier than me I PROMISE," Ramsey wrote of the gift.

24-year-old Jalen and Breanna have been going strong for a while now ... and the two just had a little baby girl together last summer.

In fact, Jalen missed a portion of Jags training camp last season for the birth of their child, writing, "family is among the most important things in my life."

Kit Harington absolutely HATES that he was born on Boxing Day, but ya can't hate on him for squaring up like a champ in the ring.

The "Game of Thrones" star worked up a sweat at a gym Thursday in NYC ... where he was attending a boxing class with a buddy, but clearly the spotlight belonged to him. Kit -- aka Jon Snow -- started off looking like a newbie but didn't take long before finding his rhythm.

Check out the pics and this vid ... his right hook's got potential.

It's a big weekend for Kit ... he's also hosting 'SNL' this weekend. As we reported ... the entire cast got together Wednesday for a huge 'GoT' bash also in the Big Apple. Kit, of course, was there looking dapper as hell in an all-black ensemble.

BTW ... Kit hates Boxing Day -- the day after Christmas in the UK -- because there's nothing more annoying than the dual birthday-Christmas gift. December babies know what we're talking about.

LeBron James and the Lakers paid tribute to the late Nipsey Hussle on Thursday ... with Bron rocking a shirt honoring the slain rapper at the game.

The NBA superstar was crushed after Nipsey was shot and killed outside his L.A. store on Sunday ... sharing recent convos he had with the rapper and listening to his music during workouts.

LBJ honored Nipsey with his wardrobe choice for L.A.'s game against the Warriors on Thursday night ... wearing a shirt with his face on it.

"Man Nip I promise I’ll continue to fly high for you bro!! The Marathon Must Continue On!! 🏁," Bron said on IG.

"And while you’re resting and enjoying paradise I hope I can make you proud down here below. "

The Lakers honored Nipsey with a moment of silence during the game as well.

JR Smith -- LeBron's old teammate -- also repped Nipsey while out in Hollywood on Thursday ... wearing a red Crenshaw hoodie.

A lot of hoopers and other athletes have paid tribute after Nipsey's death this week ... with Russell Westbrook dedicating his 20-20-20 game to him on Wednesday.

Nipsey was 33 years old. RIP.

Kyler Murray's too darn short to play quarterback in the NFL and he chose the wrong sport ... so says Joe Theismann.

"From my perspective, I think he's going to be challenged in the NFL," the Redskins legend tells TMZ Sports ... "I think he should've taken baseball. That would have been my suggestion to him."

Of course, Kyler's height has been a HUGE talking point ever since the Heisman Trophy winner decided to forgo a baseball career with the Oakland A's to enter this month's NFL draft.

The Oklahoma QB measured in at 5-10, 207 pounds at February's combine ... and count Theismann in as one of the doubters who says that's way too small for an NFL QB.

And why? Joe tells us he's worried Kyler won't be able to throw over taller defensive linemen ... saying, "It's the mechanics of playing the quarterback position."

Theismann also says he's concerned Kyler won't have as good of an O-line as he had at OU ... and thinks that could have devastating results on his style of play.

But, don't get it twisted ... Theismann tells us he's actually rooting for the QB to succeed at the next level -- and thinks he's "a wonderful athlete."

Dak Prescott is lucky his dogs are still alive ... TMZ Sports has obtained video of the day the QB's pets allegedly attacked his neighbor -- and it shows a cop had an assault rifle trained on the animals with a finger on the trigger.

It all went down on Feb. 25, when two of Dak's pit bulls managed to escape his Frisco, Texas home ... and made their way down the street to a neighbor's yard.

Officials say the dogs chewed through the neighbor's fence ... attacked her dogs -- and when she tried to intervene, one of the pit bulls chewed off the top of her finger.

Police body cam footage shows the aftermath of the attack ... when cops arrived on the scene and found the two animals running loose in the streets.

The video is extremely intense ... in order to keep the Dallas Cowboys star's pets at bay, one officer trains his assault rifle on the dogs and yells, "GET BACK!"

Luckily for all parties, Dak's dogs weren't aggressive ... and when Prescott's good friend showed up with leashes -- they quickly retreated and the situation was diffused.

Dak's dad, Nathaniel Prescott, also eventually showed up to help squash the situation ... ensuring cops he wouldn't let the dogs get out ever again, apologizing repeatedly for their actions.

As we previously reported, one of Dak's dogs, Icon, was punished for the incident ... with officials only releasing him back to Dak under the condition he is removed from Frisco.

For his part, the QB never commented on the issue ... and multiple attempts to reach his camp for comment were unsuccessful.

If Conor & Khabib don't chill out with their vicious and very serious beefing, someone's gonna get seriously hurt ... as in shot ... so says UFC star Kelvin Gastelum.

Khabib and Conor have been going at it on social media lately, after McGregor lobbed what some thought was an anti-Muslim insult directed at Khabib, prompting Khabib to launch an ultra disrespectful clap back.

We got UFC Star Kelvin Gastelum -- who was in L.A. promoting his UFC 236 title fight against Israel Adesanya -- and he says if the rhetoric from both men has the potential to end up tragic.

"I think there are some lines that have been crossed, and it's escalating to a point where it shouldn't have to. I feel like if it keeps going the way it's going, somebody's gonna end up injured, somebody's gonna end up hurt, somebody's gonna end up shot."

Kelvin is 100% serious and you can hear it in his voice, he told our camera guy he believes there's only so much Khabib and his side will take.

"Khabib don't play no games, man. This is real life for him."

We should say, Conor seemed to apologize for his statements on Twitter yesterday, along with a pledge to be better in the future. But, is Khabib accepting it?

Ronda Rousey says WrestleMania is a "DO-OR-DIE MOMENT" for her ... that's how seriously the WWE superstar is taking her soon-to-be, history-making match.

TMZ Sports saw Rousey out in NYC on Thursday ... and asked her about the first ever all-female Mania main event against Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair.

We also asked Ronda about her post-Mania plans ... 'cause there's been a lot of speculation from wrestling fans about Rousey's future -- but let's just say she's ultra-focused and pumped for WM.

And, judging by the crazy crowds around Ronda ... so are the people.

So, Ronda and the fans are psyched ... but how do other WWE stars feel about the historic event?

We also talked to Kofi Kingston -- WWE superstar and member of the 5x tag team champion trio The New Day -- about his WM35 match with Daniel Bryan.

"It's gonna be difficult because as much of a jerk as Daniel Bryan is, he's actually very good in the ring. Probably one of the best, maybe one of the best of all-time. But, I feel like I do have momentum on my side."

It's one of the most anticipated matches of the night ... so, we asked Kofi if he believes it should be the main event.

But, he's fully on-board with Rousey, Flair and Lynch making history.

"The women have done such an amazing job," Kofi says ... "They deserve everything that they are getting right now to be in the main event."

"I'm so proud of all of them, and I can't wait to watch."

Sonny Vaccaro -- a LEGEND in the shoe brand industry -- says he'd offer Zion Williamson a $100 MILLION endorsement deal ... telling TMZ Sports the Duke star deserves more than what LeBron got out of high school.

"There are particular, singular athletes that can move the needle," Sonny says ... "Zion Williamson has moved the needle before he even became a professional."

Of course, LBJ currently holds the record for biggest shoe brand contract ever given to an NBA prospect ... scoring a $90 million deal from Nike before he took the court for the Cavaliers in 2003.

Sonny -- who helped broker the first-ever Michael Jordan-Nike deal back in the day -- says he'd have no problems eclipsing that LBJ number for Zion.

"Zion Williamson is known to 14-, 15-, 13-, 60-, 70-, 80-year-old people because of his brilliance, his charismatic presence. That's why he's different."

Seems a lot of people agree ... when we got former Blue Devils star Jay Williams out in NYC over a month ago -- he said a 9-figure contract for Z wouldn't surprise him.

Does this look like a man with two healthy knees?!?

That's the question that's surrounded Todd Gurley for MONTHS -- and when TMZ Sports got him out at Craig's in L.A. on Wednesday with what appears to be a hitch in his gate -- it had us asking it all over again.

The L.A. Rams superstar seemed to have some sort of limp after dinner ... and if ya watch the clip, he ain't exactly moving like an RB ready to carry the ball 250+ times next season.

TG appears to use his buddy as a crutch as they exit the restaurant ... and while he's making his way to his car, there seems to be SOMETHING going on with his leg.

Of course, Todd battled a knee injury late last year -- sitting out the final two games of the Rams' regular season -- and struggled throughout the playoffs when he returned.

But, both Gurley and Rams coach Sean McVay have said the guy is OKAY ... and, in fact, team officials tell us Todd's been at the facility working out THIS WEEK and looks just fine to them.

So, does this clip prove anything?? We're not sure, but it's a helluva lot of fun to debate.

Clemson's epic national championship rings feature 2 trophies ... 32 signature stones ... and one perfectly executed piece of shade at Alabama football!!!

TMZ Sports has learned the "Best Ever" line inscribed into the side of the Tigers' national title rings -- which the team received at a ceremony Wednesday -- is a subtle shot at the Tide.

We're told Clemson heard the constant media talk about Bama being the greatest college football team ever ... and had to hear it for months while they quietly ran through their season, undefeated.

So, after they beat Nick Saban's guys 44-16 in January's National Championship game, designers made sure to include the words "Best Ever" on the rings to rub it in.

The ring's other features are dope too ... we're told the two CFP trophies represent the Tigers' 2016 and 2018 wins -- and the 14 stones inside the Tiger paw print are for Clemson's 14 straight bowl game appearances.

We've also learned the 18 stones at the top and bottom of the ring represent Clemson's 18 ACC titles ... and the mottos inscribed all over the ring are hat tips toward Dabo Swinney-isms.

The Tigers also received two other sick rings -- also made by Jostens and helped create by Thomas Rhodes -- for their championship season ... one for their ACC title and one for their run in the CFP.

As for how the team feels about them?? Check out the vid below -- something tells us the Tigers are #Allin on 'em!!!