TMZ Sports - Page 50

If Conor McGregor wants another crack at a top flight boxer, Keith Thurman says he's ALL THE WAY DOWN -- telling the Irishman straight up, "Box me, baby!!"

Of course, Thurman -- the WBA super welterweight champ -- is gearing up to face Manny Pacquaio on July 20 ... but says he's heard about Conor's desire to get back in the ring and wants that fight!

"You know you make more money in the boxing ring anyway. Box me, Conor!"

Thurman's not kidding ... he watched the McGregor vs. Mayweather fight back in 2017 and sees major holes in Conor's fight game.

"[In boxing], the advantage is do you have skills with the left? Do you have skills with the right? Do you have footwork? And, one thing [Conor] doesn't have is conditioning! He does not have conditioning. He is not ready for these championship fights."

"Floyd walked him down and beat him like he was playing 'Fight Night!'"

Thurman continued ... "He wanna talk that trash?! He wants to think actually got hands? Come on, man."

McGregor recently told Tony Robbins he wants a rematch with Floyd Mayweather because he's learned so much from the first fight and KNOWS he could get a win.

Here's the best Rookie of the Year trophy ever ... Quavo hooked up NBA star Trae Young with a custom diamond chain for his huge 1st season in the league -- and the bling is awesome!!!

"Welcome to the A," the rap star told Young as he presented the jewelry.

Trae killed it for the Atlanta Hawks this year ... averaging 19.1 points and 8.1 assists per game in 81 starts -- and to show his thanks, Migos' Atlanta superfan got him some ice.

The chain -- made by famous ATL jeweler Wafi -- is pretty epic ... it features a huge basketball pendant surrounded by dripping diamonds with the nickname "Ice Trae" on it.

The Hawks PG clearly loved the gift ... writing on Quavo's social media page, "YESSSSSSSSIR Much Love My Brotha!!!"

Of course, Trae ain't officially the NBA's Rookie of the Year ... the award won't be announced until the league has its end-of-season ceremony next month.

In fact, Trae ain't even the favorite to land the honor ... Dallas Mavericks PG Luka Doncic is expected to take home the hardware.

Kendall Jenner's far away from her family and chilling in France, and it might be a sign of a fresh start for the supermodel ... in the dating world.

Kendall was soaking up some sunshine Thursday in Cannes with Kardashian family friend and Kourtney's former fling, Luka Sabbat. It looks super casual, but the timing is interesting ... because Kendall and her NBA star boyfriend, Ben Simmons, have reportedly broken up.

They haven't been seen together much lately, so people were starting to wonder and although there's been no announcement ... splitsville's looking very real. Kendall flew into France Wednesday -- presumably to hit up some Cannes Film Festival premieres, and attend the amfAR Gala later Thursday.

That busy schedule explains why she missed out on Kylie's big skincare launch and roller skating party.

There's A LOT of money in this photo ...

Soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo traded the pitch for the pit on Thursday ... rolling over to the Monaco Grand Prix to hang with Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton had just wrapped up his opening practice session for the race -- he turned in the fastest practice time -- when he went back to the Team Mercedes-Benz garage to chat up CR7.

Of course, Ronaldo got the ultimate VIP treatment -- getting a full tour of the track and pit lane with his son by his side the entire time. CR7's girlfriend, Georgina Rodriguez, was also on hand in Monaco, just two days after slaying at the Cannes Film Festival.

It was interesting to see Hamilton -- considering he'd backed out of media obligations on Wednesday in the wake of the death of Formula 1 legend Niki Lauda.

FYI, Hamilton is the highest earning F1 driver of all time -- with a reported $489 MILLION in career race earnings!!

Ronaldo's got bank too -- he reportedly made more than $108 MILLION in 2018 ... and continues to chart as one of the most bankable celebrities on the planet.

The Dallas Mavericks have reportedly wrapped up their investigation into that Kristaps Porzingis fight in Latvia ... and concluded he was just "in the wrong place at the wrong time."

TMZ Sports posted video showing the 7'3" superstar bloodied and pissed off on May 12 outside of a bar in his home country, after apparently being jumped.

Our sources told us the attackers were a bunch of Russians who were pissed off that Porzingis had been traded from the Knicks to Dallas.

There were reports that Porzingis may have suffered a broken hand in the melee -- but the Dallas Morning News says they spoke with a team source who says that's not true and his hands are fine.

DMN is also reporting that team officials spoke "at length" with Porzingis who insisted he was truly an innocent victim who was just in the wrong place at the wrong time ... and the team is buying his story.

Of course, the NBA could step in and punish Porzingis -- so he's not out of the woods -- but this definitely bodes well for him.

Dennis Rodman allegedly slapped a man at his own birthday party in Florida last week ... and cops say the key witness in the case is DAVID LEE ROTH!!!

... unfortunately, it's just not THAT David Lee Roth.

It's all spelled out in the police report obtained by TMZ Sports ... in which the Delray Beach Police Dept. describe an alleged battery on May 17 at the Buddha Sky Bar.

The alleged victim is 30-year-old Jeff Soulouque -- who says he was hanging at the party when Dennis "unprovokedly turned around and smacked him," right in the face.

Soulouque claims Rodman immediately began apologizing for the incident and invited him out to dinner the following night in an attempted peace offering.

But, Soulouque tells TMZ Sports he was really hurt -- and went to the hospital where he was diagnosed with a left corneal abrasion. He went to cops the day after the incident and filed a report.

Cops launched an investigation and called up a witness named David Lee Roth -- who, shockingly, is NOT the Van Halen singer. Still, cops say DLR corroborated Soulouque's story.

"Roth stated he was about twenty feet away and he saw Rodman turn around and open hand smack Soulouque two times," the report states.

Cops are now on the hunt for video of the incident and have listed Rodman as an official suspect in an alleged battery.

As for Rodman, his attorney, Lorne Berkeley, denies his client slapped anyone, telling TMZ Sports ... “I’ve spoken with people who were with Dennis the entire night of the alleged incident at Buddha Sky Bar. No one saw any such incident occur and Dennis was sober the entire night.”

“Currently the matter is in its preliminary stages but we fully expect after a thorough investigation that no such incident will be substantiated. Dennis denies any such incident occurred.”

It's just the latest in a string of bizarre incidents involving the NBA legend -- who is also being investigated in California for his role in an alleged clothing heist at a Newport Beach yoga studio.

Sage Northcutt is on the mend ... and he's giving a positive update on his health after undergoing surgery on facial fractures he suffered when he got his ass knocked out in his ONE Championship debut.

The ex-UFC posted this picture from his hospital bed in Singapore on Wednesday night ... thanking all his fans for their prayers and letting everyone know he's recovering and getting better, day by day.

Sage looks to be in good spirits, given the circumstances ... he's giving two big thumbs up, and doing his best to smile -- which has gotta be difficult when you have surgery to fix 8 FRACTURES!!!

Check out that shiner under Sage's left eye ... that's gonna last a while.

As you know ... Sage's debut was a disaster. The 23-year-old got his face punched out by Cosmo Alexandre, crumbling to the canvas with a thunderous face plant 29 seconds into the match.

Sage went under the knife over the weekend ... and his coach, Urijah Faber, told us the fighter's injuries were way worse than originally thought because Sage also shattered his cheek into 30 different pieces.

Drake's courtside antics during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals has Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer in his feelings.

Sorry, we had to.

The 6 God did all but actually suit up for the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday ... yelling during free throws, laughing when Giannis Antetokounmpo missed said free throws, and even giving Toronto coach Nick Nurse a back rub.

Budenholzer weighed in on the Raps' ambassador Wednesday ... and he ain't happy with Drizzy seemingly getting special access to the hardwood.

"I see it in some timeouts, but I don't know of any person that's attending the game that isn't a participant in the game a coach -- I'm sorry, a player or a coach that has access to the court," Budenholzer says.

"There's certainly no place for fans and, you know, whatever it is exactly that Drake is for the Toronto Raptors.

"You know, to be on the court, there's boundaries and lines for a reason, and like I said, the league is usually pretty good at being on top of stuff like that."

Coach Bud ain't the only 1 pissed off ... Giannis' rep, Georgios Dimitropoulos, blasted Drizzy earlier today.

"Imagine a gig & an athlete on VIP seats, right next to the band, stands up on the stage just to show off during the entire game, knowing cameras are on him, occasionally even massaging the singer. Security&him both allow it. Never seen anything as disrespectful as this before..."

We've reached out to the NBA for comment ... so far, no word back.

As for Drake ... Game 5 is on Thursday in Milwaukee. Maybe he'll get some court-side seats??

NFL star Chris Long -- who just retired over the weekend -- is crediting weed for helping him last 11 seasons in the league ... saying regular marijuana use got him through the pain and stress during his career.

“I certainly enjoyed my fair share on a regular basis through my career,” Long told "The Dan Patrick Show" on Wednesday.

“If not for that, I’m not as capable of coping with the stresses of the day-to-day NFL life.”

We know what you're thinking ... how did Long successfully evade the NFL's rigorous drug testing program for all those years? It's actually pretty simple.

"The league, speaking plainly, knows damn well what they're doing. Testing players once a year for 'street drugs,' which is a terrible classification for marijuana, is kinda silly because players know when the test is. We can stop."

During that period away from weed, Long says players turn to more dangerous alternatives like pills and alcohol to deal with pain and stress ... and he's hoping the league eases up on testing to help.

“We should be headed to a place where we allow players to use what I wouldn’t even call drugs. It’s far less dangerous than players guzzling a fifth of alcohol and going out after a game.”

A second woman just testified that ex-NFL star Kellen Winslow Jr. threatened to murder her while raping her in 2018 ... echoing allegations from another woman who testified Tuesday.

The 58-year-old woman -- identified as Jane Doe #2 in court -- alleges Winslow picked her up on May 18, 2018 in the San Diego area in order to take her on a coffee date.

But, instead of getting drinks at a nearby cafe ... she says Winslow pulled over on the side of the road in a remote area and raped her.

She claims during the act, he put his hands around her neck and said, "'If you scream,' I don't know if it was, 'I'll choke you to death' or 'I'll murder you.'"

The woman says after Kellen was finished ... he drove her away from the area and again threatened to kill her "if you tell anyone."

The woman says she thought she was going to die multiple times during the encounter, telling the court Wednesday, "I was very afraid. The whole time I thought I was never going to get out alive."

Remember, on Tuesday, another woman using the alias Jane Doe #1 told a similar story -- claiming Winslow picked her up while hitchhiking in 2018 and violently raped her before threatening to kill her if she told anyone.

Winslow has been in court all week facing his accusers -- he's been charged with multiple felonies including kidnapping and forcible rape. If convicted on all counts, he faces life in prison.

Logan Paul laid the smack down on a dude ... knocking him unconscious with a vicious right-hand slap!!!

Ya gotta see, and hear, the video ... Logan winds up, cocks his right hand back with an open palm and connects with a brutal blow to the cheek that immediately sends his target tumbling to the ground!

After the one-slap knockout, Logan turns to the camera with a grin and FLEXES!!!

It all went down Tuesday during Logan's training session for an upcoming slap competition in Russia ... but the whole incident derailed his planned trip ... and now he's not going to compete.

Logan announced he's pulling out of the competition due to an "unforeseen and unfortunate" event that took place at practice. He says he no longer has the "desire to participate in any event that can result in serious injury to virtually anyone competing."

He further explained his decision on Mark Dohner's 'Livin' Large' Podcast.

Logan adds, "I feel my decision will preserve the health and wellness of everyone competing."

Bet you wish you were Danny Garcia right now.

The superstar boxer and his smokin' hot baby mama, Erica Mendez, are having the time of their lives out on vacation in Puerto Rico ... dancin' it up and putting it on display for all to enjoy.

And, yeah ... we're enjoying it, alright.

FYI -- Swift and the singer/model have been dating for years and have one child together.

But, it was Mom and Dad having all the fun on Wednesday ... showing off some serious moves to "Ella Quiere Beber" by Anuel AA and sippin' on some drinks.

Garcia (35-2) served up a knockout win in his last fight against Adrian Granados, but it's Mendez servin' up the KO looks this time around.

So, sit back and enjoy, wherever you are, and live vicariously through these guys. They're doing it right.

There will be no Tyson Fury nut sucking from Deontay Wilder ...

Just hours after the Gypsy King said Wilder can "suck my nuts" ... the Bronze Bomber responded to TMZ Sports -- saying Fury's trash talk is weak, considering Wilder KO'd him in their last fight!!!

"I gave him a memory loss to the point where he don't know how he got on the ground, nor do he know how he got up!"

The two are back trading barbs once again now that Wilder is looking for another opponent after beating Dominic Breazeale's face in over the weekend.

Fury told us Monday he's ready for a rematch, saying he'll take on Wilder anytime, anywhere.

But, when we got Deontay out in NYC ... he didn't seem so sure he wants that to be his next fight ... telling us his no. 1 goal is to be the UNDISPUTED heavyweight champ of the world.

Of course, that would require Wilder to fight Anthony Joshua next -- something both sides clearly want, but have failed to properly negotiate.

NFL investigators have still NOT spoken directly with Tyreek Hill about his child abuse allegations -- so says Roger Goodell who says the league is trying to stay out the court's way.

The K.C. Chiefs star was suspended from all team activities back in April after disturbing audio surfaced featuring the NFL star arguing with his girlfriend, Crystal Espinal.

During the argument, Espinal accuses Hill of breaking their 3-year-old son's arm and claims the kid is "terrified" of the NFL star ... to which Hill responds, "You need to be terrified of me too, bitch."

Fast forward to Wednesday ... when Goodell faced the media at the NFL Spring Meeting in Florida where he was asked how the league is handling the Hill situation.

"As you know, there's a court proceeding still going on involving CPS [Child Protective Services] and we will not interfere with that," Goodell said.

"The priority is this young child. So we will obviously be cooperative of whatever the court wants there."

Goodell explained, "We are prepared to go ahead and have an interview [Hill] whenever we have the permission to do so. And then we'll make a determination based on what information we have at that point in time.

"And so, again, I won't speculate on where we'll go but we'll certainly get all the information we can as soon as possible."

The Johnson County District Attorney's office is reportedly still considering levying charges on the star receiver ... and the couple is also currently in court fighting like hell to keep custody of the kid.

10:03 AM PT -- The Nature Boy is speaking out for the first time since being rushed to the ER last week ... thanking the doctors and hospital staff for their help, as well as family and fans for showing support during his hospital stay.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ric Flair has just been discharged from the hospital after 7 days of treatment -- and he was wheeled out with a smile on his face!!!

Ric -- wearing a Ric Flair t-shirt (gotta love this guy!) -- was flanked by his wife, Wendy Barlow (in the WWE hat), as the 70-year-old wrestling legend was taken to his car to go home.

As we previously reported, Flair was rushed to the hospital last week after experiencing a medical emergency. We're told Naitch was having trouble breathing.

Doctors initially postponed a surgical procedure due to complications but ultimately went forward with the operation on Monday.

We were told the procedure was a success -- and the fact Flair was discharged from the hospital just 48 hours later is probably a good sign!!!

Ric had been having heart issues in the past few months -- and had undergone several procedures over the past few months.

But, we're told he's been handling everything with a great attitude and has even been chatting up his famous friends who have called to check in over the past few days.

Now, Ric will focus on his recovery at home ... and he clearly knows his fans (including The Miz) are rooting hard for him!!!

Ex-NFL running back Robert Smith is celebrating 7 years of sobriety -- which is amazing -- but he knows he's gotta stay focused so he doesn't relapse again.

"I am an alcoholic- I always have been and always will be," the former Minnesota Vikings star said in a candid social media post.

"It's not my fault, but it's my problem. Today marks 7 years of sobriety but that can change if I believe for a second that I'm different from every other alcoholic. I'm grateful I know that today. One day at a time."

Smith was a BEAST on the field -- he rushed for more than 1,000 yards in each of his final 4 seasons before retiring at 28 after the 2000 season.

The 47-year-old has been open about his struggles with alcohol -- saying he knew he had substance abuse issues back in high school but thought he could control it.

Smith has admitted he would drive drunk and show up to the Vikings practice facility "stinking like alcohol" ... but somehow managed to hide his problem from team officials.

Smith says he bottomed out after retiring -- and tried to get sober in 2007 before relapsing in 2011,

That's when Smith hit rock bottom ... his wife (who was pregnant) moved out and threatened to leave him ... and that's when he decided to make sobriety the highest priority.

Now, Smith says he's been clean for 7 years and he clearly understands what's at stake if he falls off the wagon.