TMZ Sports - Page 50

Kenny Smith says he's praying for his good friend and ex-teammate, Danny Ainge ... and says his heart attack should send a message to retired players -- take care of your health!

The Boston Celtics GM was treated for a mild heart attack earlier this week in Milwaukee ... but is expected to make a full recovery.

TMZ Sports spoke with The Jet at LAX on Thursday ... and Smith says there's actually some positive that can come out of this situation.

"It's important for guys who are retired to keep a type of awareness of their body, and the health of their body, the way they do when they're playing. A lot of us don't," Smith tells us.

"So hopefully this could be messages to a lot of former players that are still out there now not playing anymore."

Smith and Ainge go way back ... they played together from 1988-1990 on the Sacramento Kings, and have been friends ever since.

9:40 AM PT -- CoCo's in trouble ... 'cause Conor's taken notice, saying he's totally down for a fight ... and even threw Mark Wahlberg into the mix as well!!!

"Challenge accepted Conan!" Conor tweeted. "I'll whoop you and Walhberg (sic) in the same night."

"Double shares for the Double Champ!"

If Conor McGregor REALLY wants a piece of the UFC, he's gonna have to get through Conan O'Brien first!!

CoCo was leaving UCLA on Wednesday after participating in a college signing day event with Michelle Obama when we brought up the fact he happens to be a minority owner of the UFC.

And, with Conor making so much noise about wanting an ownership stake in the company, we asked Conan if he would follow Mark Wahlberg's lead and offer to sell Conor a piece of his share.

"I will fight him for his [share]," Conan joked ... "If he can take me in the Octagon!"

O'Brien continued to tease ... saying he'd have to look at the paperwork before making any serious deal with Conor.

Look, he's obviously joking the whole way through -- but Conor wasn't kidding when he demanded ownership.

In fact, Conor still isn't signed on to take another fight in the Octagon after retiring via social media earlier this year.

Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge was treated after suffering a mild heart attack in Milwaukee on Tuesday ... and luckily, he's expected to make a full recovery.

The Celtics released a statement on Thursday ... saying the ex-NBAer received immediate medical attention and will be able to return to Boston, although it's unclear if he will be able to attend tomorrow night's Game 3 matchup in the Eastern Conference semis against the Bucks.

Ainge has had health issues in the past -- he also suffered a mild heart attack in 2009.

The 60-year-old won 2 titles with the Celtics during his 14-year career before taking his talents to the front office. He's widely considered one of the best execs in the league ... and helped put together Boston's 2008 title-winning roster.

Tom Brady, Matt Damon and Jimmy Kimmel bro'd down over some sushi in Beverly Hills ... they're super rich and super famous ... so, question is, who footed the bill???

The power trio hit the town after shooting a bit for "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on Wednesday ... getting a table at Yazawa Japanese BBQ.

Of course, Brady's been all over La La Land this week ... he was spotted throwin' the pigskin with some UCLA players earlier in the day before joining the stars for dinner.

So ... who pays the tab?! Let's break it down:

Kimmel -- Jimmy just had Brady and Damon on his show ... so a few sushi rolls as a thank you for coming on his show ain't out of the question.

Damon -- the actor's a HUGE Pats and TB12 fan ... so a congrats on winning a 6th SUPER BOWL dinner is definitely not out of the question.

Then there's Brady ... the dude's made more than $212 MILLION in his career -- and that's just his football salary -- and uhh, we might have our winner.

Regardless of who whipped out the wallet ... that's one helluva power table.

LeBron James produces and acts in movies and TV -- he's on his way to Hollywood mogul status -- but now he's the one being offered a role ... by an up-and-coming R&B singer.

The dude with the voice is TOBi ... and a bunch of athletes from Todd Gurley to DeAndre Hopkins have been rockin' out to his music -- so when we saw him in NYC earlier this week, we asked about all the baller support.

"Man, it's crazy, man, cause these are people that we look up to in the sports world, and they love my music, and they're working out to it which is f**king dope. I love that."

TOBi says his favorite athletes are LeBron and Kawhi Leonard (he's from Toronto) ... so we asked if there might be a King James cameo in one of his videos.

It ain't out of the question ... LBJ appeared in the music vid for Ohio rapper Al Fatz's song, "Came Down," back in 2007.

TOBi says ... "You never know, that might happen. That just might happen. We're gonna get it poppin'!"

RIP to Yasiel Puig's bat ... the Cincinnati Reds slugger snapped his lumber over his knee like the Hulk on Wednesday ... and it looked incredibly easy.

Puig Your Friend is no friend to the wood -- the dude is known for destroying his bat after frustrating plate appearances... and he put his special talent on display during the 4th inning of the Reds vs. Mets game after striking out swinging.

If you're not impressed by this ... pick up a wooden bat and try to do it yourself and NOT be in a world of pain after. Actually, don't do that ... just trust us.

Puig's been known to break bats during his career ... so he was able to regroup and walk back to the dugout without so much of a limp.

Sorry, Tom Brady ... Rob Gronkowski looks like he's OFFICIALLY moved on from football -- and onto acting -- 'cause the retired Pats star killed it as a fake cop at the Billboard Music Awards!!

It all went down Wednesday night ... when Gronk kicked off the BBMA show as a "security guard" who was bouncing Kelly Clarkson.

The skit was pretty funny ... Gronk pretended to kick KC -- who he called a "seat filler" -- out of her spot to let Florida Georgia Line take her place.

When Clarkson eventually moved on to sing her opening number ... Gronk came back for more -- pretending to drag her off the stage!!

Gronk later presented an award to Cardi B with Terry Crews -- and even joked about his potential next career there ... saying he wanted to be a TV host just like TC!!!

Oh, and the guy had amazing seats -- proving Hollywood is totally down to accept him -- 'cause he was sitting in the second row just behind Taylor Swift!!!!!

Of course, Rob's no stranger to Hollywood ... he's had plenty of movie cameos, he's done skits for the WWE, and he even hosts the show "Crashletes" on Nickelodeon.

By the way, Rob also brought his smokin' hot GF, Camille Kostek, to the awards show ... which begs the question, could there be some wedding bells along with a future acting career soon???

Robert Kraft still has some very powerful allies during his Asian Spa case ... including Jay-Z and Meek Mill.

Of course, Kraft has been friendly with both rap superstars for a while -- but teamed up with them on Wednesday as part of a meeting for the REFORM Alliance, dedicated to reforming the criminal justice system.

CNN's Van Jones -- who's the CEO of REFORM -- was also on hand along with Philadelphia 76ers co-owner Michael Rubin.

During the meeting, the group discussed everything from reform policy goals to employment rates and crime rates.

Earlier this year, the group pledged $50 MILLION in hopes of achieving their goal of getting 1 MILLION people released over the next 5 years.

For Kraft, his appearance at the meeting is interesting considering his lawyers in Florida had been battling all day long to keep officials from releasing surveillance footage in his spa case.

The guys could have easily asked Kraft to keep his distance from the group during his legal case because it could be viewed as a distraction -- but clearly, they don't feel that way.

Kraft not only had a seat at the table, but posed for a pic with the group -- everyone had big smiles.

U.S. Olympic legend Michael Johnson -- one of the fastest humans of all time -- says he's fully recovered after suffering a crippling stroke in 2018 ... and even sprinting again!!!

51-year-old Johnson -- who won 4 gold medals in 3 Olympics -- tells TMZ Sports he suffered a stroke on the right side of his brain following a workout in Sept. 2018.

At the time, Johnson said he felt discomfort in his left leg, numbness in his left arm and quickly began to lose balance. So, he rushed to the emergency room to get checked out.

"By the time I got to the hospital, I couldn't walk anymore. I couldn't stand on my left side," Johnson says.

"But, fortunately, I got there quickly and was able to get treated by a team of specialists."

Johnson spent the next several months working his ass off in several rehabilitation programs including physical and occupational therapy ... and says he approached rehab like he was training for the Olympics.

"[Rehabilitating was] a little more difficult on the one hand because no one's standing there clapping there for me when I finish my workout now," Johnson said.

"But, at the same time, this is my livelihood that was at stake."

Ultimately, Johnson was able to get back to the high level of physical fitness he was at before the stroke -- and now he's on a mission to spread awareness along with the American Stroke Association.

Wayne Gretzky ain't exactly up in arms about the punch Brad Marchand threw at the back of an opposing player's head Tuesday night ... telling TMZ Sports, "We've all been punched."

Marchand's been under fire -- some people calling the Bruins star a cheap shot artist -- after socking Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Scott Harrington in the 3rd period of Game 3.

Harrington was on his knees outside the crease when Marchand took a shot at the defenseless player -- before skating away before the refs could see what happened.

Despite the fact the dirty play was captured on video, Marchand is not expected to be punished by the league.

We asked "The Great One" if he thinks Marchand should face league discipline.

"First of all, that's not my prerogative. That's up to the National Hockey League," Gretzky said.

"What we have now in the NHL, we have great refereeing and analyzing what's best for the game and I'm sure the NHL will take care of it properly."

When we pressed on if Wayne thought the punch was dirty, he explained ... "I didn't see the game. You have to see the whole game to understand what happened."

Our guy replied, "What did you think of the punch though, was it cheap?"

Gretzky laughed and said, "We've all been punched!"

We also talked to Wayne about the Tampa Bay Lightning being swept in the 1st round of the NHL playoffs after tying the record for the greatest regular season in league history.

Ice Cube sees big things in store for Lamar Odom ... telling TMZ sports he thinks L.O. will return to glory in the BIG3 league this season.

Hours before the 2019 BIG3 Draft kicks off in Las Vegas, Cube was raving about the huge stars he's locked up for the upcoming season -- most notably Lamar Odom.

As we previously reported ... Odom has been training his ass off in hopes of playing pro basketball again. We're told he's looking pretty good in the gym.

Now it's time to see if a BIG3 team still believes in Odom when the draft goes live at 7 PM PT.

"A lot of people counted him out, but not us," Cube said. "I think he's gonna be our comeback player of the year."

Cube is also excited about Royce White, a former first-round NBA Draft pick who ended up playing up overseas because of conflicts with NBA teams over the treatment of his mental illness.

Feeling lost now that the Kentucky Derby favorite "Omaha Beach" is a scratch?!

Good news -- TMZ Sports has some betting advice straight from the mouth of the greatest racehorse trainer of all time ... Bob Baffert.

Yeah, it may be from a clip we shot back in June ... but when it comes to horseracing, Baffert seems to be WAY ahead of the crowd.

So, when we saw him last year after his horse Justified won the Triple Crown (his 2nd Triple Crown horse in 4 years) ... we asked if there was a horse we should be looking at in 2019.

He delivered a name ... and now that very horse is racing in the Kentucky Derby on Saturday!!!

Oh, and the horse Bob named is currently getting 6-1 odds ...

Robert Kraft has been ordered to appear in court IN PERSON in his prostitution case -- and it's all going down in 3 weeks.

Kraft has been sending his legal team to Florida over the past few months to battle it out with prosecutors in his place ... in an effort to block officials from releasing the graphic footage from inside the spa.

Kraft's legal team have been grilling investigators over the past few days -- and Wednesday, they made their closing arguments as to why the video should never see the light of day.

As we previously reported, cops say they have graphic surveillance footage from inside the massage room at the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter, Florida showing the 77-year-old New England Patriots owner receiving sexual acts from two spa employees.

Kraft has already apologized publicly for his actions -- but he's entered a not guilty plea in his solicitation case and plans to fight the charges. His attorneys have argued the footage was illegally obtained PLUS the release of the video would taint a potential jury pool and ruin his chances for a fair trial.

On Wednesday, the judge said he would make a decision soon that would impact the fate of the video -- and set a hearing date for May 21 ... ordering Kraft to appear in person.

Unclear why he wants Kraft to attend since the hearing is only listed a "calendar call" -- which generally just a status update in a case.

It would be the first time Kraft would appear in court for this case -- something he's clearly been trying to avoid since the information went public back in February.

Caron Butler says there's a diamond in the rough in the NBA playoffs ... a guy he says is "so special" the Trail Blazers better not sleep on him -- and that dude is Nikola Jokic.

The 7-footer from Serbia has emerged a force to be reckoned with this season -- and Butler says it's no fluke.

"He's so special," Butler tells TMZ Sports ... "I spent some time with the Denver Nuggets and his versatility is just amazing because he's able to shoot the basketball, ultimately facilitate and he has a high basketball IQ. He's just tough to stop."

24-year-old Jokic put his talents on display during Game 1 of his series with Portland -- pounding the Blazers for 37 points, 6 assists and 9 rebounds.

Game 2 is set for Wednesday night -- and Caron expects more of the same ... Jokic domination.

Tom Brady's BFF, Rob Gronkowski, is retired ... so TB12's taking his hunt for new offseason workout partners to UCLA!!!

The G.O.A.T. joined the Bruins for an impromptu throwing sesh Wednesday morning ... and seems the Patriots QB enjoyed it -- he smiled and took pics with all the guys afterward.

Of course, this is becoming an annual thing for the NFL superstar ... just 12 months ago, Brady was in town and ran an entire workout with the Bruins' offense.

This week's sesh seemed much less formal ... but UCLA studs like Chase Cota were still jacked up for the day anyway.

"Got to work with THE GOAT today," the Bruins receiver said ... "What an opportunity, go Bruins!"

By the way ... UCLA continued the tradition of throwing some shade at USC for the star-studded workout -- tagging their pictures once again with, "#OnlyAtUCLA."

11:42 AM PT -- According to our NYPD sources, Octavia is now a person of interest and wanted for questioning in the case.

Sebastian Telfair's estranged wife claims the NBA star's sister threatened to "kill my kids and cut my face" ... all because she testified against Sebastian in his NYC gun case.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... the LAPD responded to a call last week from Samantha Telfair, who claims Octavia Telfair called her roughly 52 times making various threats ... including a threat to "Slice [her] face and kill [her] children."

Samantha told cops Octavia was furious that Samantha took the stand earlier this month and told prosecutors she had seen Sebastian with multiple weapons, including the gas-operated submachine gun he was allegedly carrying when he was arrested in June 2017.

Sebastian -- a former NBA prodigy who flamed out -- was convicted in his gun possession case last week and now faces up to 15 years in prison when he's sentenced in June.

Samantha lives in L.A. which is why the LAPD is involved. We're told officers took a criminal threats report and the LAPD is now investigating.

We're told Octavia is believed to live in New York -- and sources tell us the NYPD is also involved in the investigation because Samantha filed an aggravated harassment report in New York as well.

Attempts to reach out to Octavia for comment were unsuccessful.

As we previously reported, Telfair -- a 33-year-old former high school phenom who spent 12 seasons in the NBA -- was arrested in June 2017 in Brooklyn when cops found several weapons during a traffic stop.

Officials say Telfair had 3 pistols and what appeared to be a semi-automatic rifle along with a ton of ammo and a bulletproof vest ... as well as some weed.