TMZ Sports - Page 50

Dennis Rodman says he doesn't hit people -- and never has in his life -- so the latest claim that he randomly smacked a guy at a bar is total BS.

TMZ Sports got Rodman in Orange County, CA Friday and asked about what allegedly went down last week in Delray Beach, Florida ... he didn't want to divulge much, but he clearly denies any sort of assault.

We broke the story ... 30-year-old Jeff Soulouque claims the former NBA rebound king slapped him at the Buddha Sky Bar on May 17 "unprovokedly," which injured his eye. He filed a police report the next day.

Cops investigated, and found a witness named David Lee Roth -- but not THE David Lee Roth -- who corroborated Soulouque's story.

Rodman's been listed as an official suspect in an alleged battery as police continue their investigation, but he doesn't seem too worried about it. He insists "nothing happened" ... and his lawyers are dealing with it.

Rodman's attorney, Lorne Berkeley, already told us Dennis denies the allegations and adds that he was sober the entire night in question and nobody he was with saw a slapping incident.

Adam "Pacman" Jones is retiring from the NFL after 14 years and 12 seasons that were a mix of success, turbulence and controversy ... but it was always interesting.

The former Bengals cornerback was drafted in 2005 by the Tennesee Titans and played there for 2 seasons, before missing the 2007 season due to suspension for violating the league's personal conduct policy.

He returned in '08 for the Cowboys, was out of the league again in '09 ... then made a solid comeback in 2010 with the Bengals, where he was named a First-Team All-Pro in 2014 and a Pro Bowler in 2015. After 8 seasons in Cincy, he finished his career in 2018 with the Broncos.

Pacman's retirement news comes on the heels of his arrest and guilty plea in an Indiana casino cheating case, in which he agreed to a short jail stint and serving a probation period that will bar him from drinking booze for a year and a half.

It could have been a lot worse for him, though -- he was originally hit with a bevy of charges including felony intimidation, felony battery against an officer and several misdemeanors. Video of the intense incident was obtained by TMZ Sports earlier this month.

Jones has been a lightning rod for years before the casino altercation too -- whether he's getting into airport scuffles, weighing in on the NFL kneeling discussion, going on hotel tirades, crashing cars or getting kicked out of other casinos.

Like we said ... always interesting.

James Holzhauer is making his alma mater proud with his "Jeopardy!" dominance, but he's gonna have to keep the streak going even longer if he wants the University of Illinois to award him a huge honor.

Illini Big wigs tell TMZ ... James is proving there are many ways to use a math degree from Illinois, but they're not ready to hand him an honorary doctorate any time soon. You might think it's because he kinda shaded his campus experience recently on the show.

James recently told Alex Trebek he "attended class as little as necessary" at Illinois and joked he majored in online poker -- but, we're told that's not why the University is holding out ... though, it can't help.

Fact is, the requirements for giving out honorary doctorate at Illinois are pretty strict, unlike other Universities where the Chancellor can unilaterally decide to hand them out like candy. At Illinois, faculty members must nominate and vote for candidates, and so far, no one's gone to bat for James.

The 2005 Illini grad recently extended his winning streak to 25 consecutive games, banking a whopping $1,991,135 and drawing huge ratings for "Jeopardy!" -- but his diverse knowledge clearly isn't impressing people on campus.

We know what you're thinking -- what if James writes a fat check? That might not do it either.

Case in point ... alum Larry Gies donated a whopping $150 MILLION to the University AND was this year's commencement speaker, but even he's getting iced out.

Now, if James wants to pay off some student loans for a graduating class ...

5/24 -- Drake is surely not one to let a diss go unnoticed, the rapper responded to Edens' T-shirt with a social media shout-out.

The "Nice for What" rapper changed his Instagram profile picture to a photo of the model and wrote on his story, "All is fair in war and war and trust me I'll still get you tickets to ovo fest."

The Milwaukee Bucks are firing back at Drake in the most awesome way — hitting him where it hurts ... Pusha T.

Mallory Edens, the daughter of Milwaukee Bucks owner, Wes Edens, is sitting courtside with Aaron Rogers for game 5 ... and she’s wearing a freakin' Pusha T shirt.

Of course, Drake and Push bad MASSIVE BEEF last year ... with each hip-hop star dropping super personal diss tracks about the other.

It got heated.

So, why the shot at Drake?

Remember, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks were PISSED at Drizzy after game 4 in Toronto — where the Raptors ambassador roamed the sideline, taunted MIL’s players.

Bucks coach, Mike Budenholzer, was hot at Drake’s antics ... saying, "There's certainly no place for fans and, you know, whatever it is exactly that Drake is for the Toronto Raptors.”

Now that the series is back in Milwaukee ... Mallory — a model — fires back with King Push.

This is The Story of Giannis.

Two beautiful people are back on the market ... NBA star Chandler Parsons and model Cassie Amato have broken up, TMZ Sports has learned.

But, you know what that means ... THE RETURN OF BACHELOR CHANDLER!!!

We're told the split wasn't nasty or anything ... they just grew apart and ultimately decided things weren't working out. They only dated for a year so it ain't the end of the world.

Plus, he's been based in Memphis while playing for the Grizzlies while she's an L.A. girl who operates out of Bel-Air (though we're told he'll be in L.A. this summer too).

The signs were there ... Parsons hasn't posted a photo of Cassie since October and he's essentially been scrubbed from her IG page too.

Speaking of her IG page, she's ridiculously good looking and instantly becomes one of the hottest single chicks in L.A.

Don't feel too bad for Chandler, he's gonna be just fine ... tall, handsome and entering the last year of his 4-year $94 MILLION contract with the Grizzlies.

Parsons has a reputation for dating beautiful women ... from Bella Thorne to Toni Garrn and Arianny Celeste.

Donovan McNabb says he's "absolutely" a Hall of Fame player ... telling TMZ Sports his career yards AND touchdowns should make him a shoo-in for Canton.

"My numbers are better than Troy Aikman," the ex-Eagles superstar says.

McNabb joined the guys on the "TMZ Sports" TV show -- airing weeknights on FS1 -- and said he unequivocally expects to be wearing a gold jacket at some point in his future.

"I'm not hesitating on that. I am a Hall of Famer," McNabb says ... "My numbers speak for themselves."

Of course, D-Mac's been out of the league since 2011 ... which means he's been eligible for the Hall for the past few years -- but has been passed over every time.

When the guys asked Donovan why he thinks that is ... he says he often asks that question himself.

"When they look at my numbers, yeah, but then they always want to add other stuff into it. 'Was he an All-Pro? Was he this? How many Super Bowl opportunities?'"

"But, people don't realize how hard it is to get to the NFC Championship and to get there five times, and then make it to a Super Bowl? It's tough."

For the record, McNabb has 37,276 passing yards, 234 passing TDs and 117 career interceptions. Cowboys legend Aikman has 32,942 passing yards, 165 passing TDs and 141 career picks.

Good news for McNabb ... he says now that his old Eagles team officially has two Hall of Famers -- Brian Dawkins and Terrell Owens -- he thinks his HOF case will be taken more seriously now.

UFC star Tyron Woodley says he's very confident he'll be ready to fight again this summer -- despite having a jacked up right hand -- and he's already working with the UFC to book a date.

The former UFC welterweight champ recently pulled out of his June 29 bout with Robbie Lawler -- explaining on this week's 'Hollywood Beatdown' that his hand simply isn't ready to go.

Woodley says he consulted with a top hand specialist who diagnosed him with chronic arthritis in his joint ... which is a problem going into a fist fight with a stand-up striker like Lawler.

The good news ... Tyron says he's eyeing an August date to get back in the Octagon, but there's a catch ... he only wants to fight in a state where he'll be cleared to get a cortisone shot 10 days before the bout.

As for an opponent, Tyron says he'll fight anyone as long as it gets him on the right path for a title shot ... because he's obsessed with getting his belt back.

There's a lot more ... Tyron also weighs in on the disturbing face injury suffered by his friend, Sage Northcutt and tells us if he thinks Sage will ever be able to get back to 100%.

Here's smokin' hot Playboy model Francia James ... she has 1.4 MILLION followers on Instagram -- and desperately wants to bang Neymar.

... and somehow, we think she might have a shot!!!

In fact, James was so shook when she saw that pic of the Brazilian soccer superstar hanging with Rihanna in Paris the other day ... she straight up called him out on camera!!!

"He should've gotten with me instead of Rihanna!! C'mon Neymar!!"

Remember, Neymar was so stoked at the opportunity to hang with RiRi, he blew off a major soccer award ceremony for his teammate, Mbappe, to meet up with the singer at her fashion event.

James is one of the most desirable women on the planet herself ... she's graced magazine covers from Playboy to FHM and has a pretty solid career in adult modeling.

As for Neymar, the 27-year-old broke up with his serious girlfriend, Bruna Marquezine, last year and had been connected with bikini model and YouTube vlogger Mari Tavares in early 2019.

So, what's his relationship status now? Unclear ... but the dude is clearly in demand.

NASCAR stud Joey Logano needs your help ... he says his family's searching for their missing dog, an adorable French Bulldog named Luigi.

Joey's wife, Brittany, says Luigi's been missing since Monday, and she thinks he figured out a way to get past the fence at their home in North Carolina.

The Loganos say they've been calling around to local animal shelters, dialing 311 and have been putting up flyers all around their neighborhood in Charlotte -- but to no avail.

Luigi is black and brindle, weighing in at 19 lbs and should be wearing a green collar with his name and a phone number for his parents. He's also got a microchip implant, but apparently, that hasn't helped his family find him. Poor little pup.

Joey addressed the scary situation Thursday at Charlotte Motor Speedway ... telling reporters he thinks the dog might've been stolen.

Kylie Jenner reveals her feelings about former best friend Jordyn Woods -- she done f****d up in the Tristan Thompson cheating scandal.

It's not just Kylie on the upcoming "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" ... you see and feel the torment Khloe Kardashian went through as you hear her primal screams over Tristan's tryst.

It's all pretty tense and emotional, from the phone call that starts, "I don't even know if I should tell you this" ... to Khloe breaking down and Kris addressing the fallout in Kylie and Jordyn's relationship.

There's also an apparent rift between Kendall and Kourtney.

As we told you ... Kylie recently cleared her home of all things Jordyn, when she finally got her ex-BFF to come get her stuff out of the guest house, where she was living up until the scandal broke. The duo were inseparable for years before the scandal.

The 2 have managed to remain amicable, though ... but this clip might just rip the scab off the healing wound.

Chuck Liddell now realizes the video he made to congratulate a man for coming out of the closet after 40 years was most likely a homophobic prank ... and the UFC legend is really upset about it.

Here's the backstory ... Chuck is one of the celebrities who works with Cameo, a company where people can pay celebs to make custom video messages for fans.

Someone named L-Dogg asked Chuck to make a video congratulating "Timmy" for going public with his sexuality ... and Chuck, believing it was a legitimate request, obliged.

The original video features Chuck delivering a heartfelt message to Timmy -- and saying he wishes Timmy would have been able to come out earlier in life.

But, now it seems pretty obvious L-Dogg was just using Chuck as part of a homophobic joke.

"If this is someone messing with somebody, that's messed up," Liddell told us at LAX.

"I assumed it was a guy who was actually coming out after 40 years."

Bottom line ... Chuck says he doesn't want to be used to make jokes in bad taste.

Mayor Pete Buttigieg is going to bat for Colin Kaepernick ... telling TMZ Sports he supports the QB's right to take a knee during the national anthem -- and he's ripping Trump for going after the protesters.

"The way I feel about it is the flag that was on my shoulder when I served represented, among other things, our right to free speech," Mayor Pete -- a Navy veteran -- told us in New York.

"You don't have to like it, but one of the reasons we serve was to defend that right, the right of peaceful protest and the idea that we can protest what is wrong with our country."

That's when Pete took a swipe at POTUS -- who has publicly called for the NFL to fire any "son of a bitch" who doesn't stand for the anthem.

"If the president had served," Pete says ... "Maybe he'd feel a little more strongly about some of those freedoms. And, I get that there's a lot of strong opinions about this, but that's part of why we served."

Colin began his demonstration in 2016 to shine a light on social injustice and police brutality. Several players joined his movement, which began a very polarizing political topic.

"[Bucks coach] Mike Budenholzer should be worried about his team. He shouldn't be worried about flexing on Drake."

That's how ex-NBA star Jay Williams feels about all the drama between the Milwaukee Bucks head coach and Drake ... after Budenholzer called out the league for allowing the rapper to have carte blanche court access during the playoffs.

Early Thursday, the Bucks head coach went off about Drizzy ... saying there's NO REASON Drake should be allowed to hang with Raptors players on the bench and shoulder rub the Raptors coaching staff.

"I will say, again, 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 said.

"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."

Enter, Williams who has this message for the Bucks players and staff -- DEAL WITH IT!!!

"[Drake] is like a 2019 Spike Lee ... just on steroids," Williams said referring to Lee's fan allegiance to the NY Knicks.

"You cant take one dude talking trash to you, I don't know what to tell you!"

The Bucks and Raptors play again Thursday night in Milwaukee -- but they return to Toronto for Game 6 on Saturday.

"How often have you suffered because of your last name?"

That's one of Tom Hanks' first-ever questions to Andrew Luck ... straight-up wondering how much the Indianapolis Colts QB has been made fun of in his life.

Don't worry ... Luck played off the awkward question well -- "It goes both ways!" -- and the two had a pretty fun first encounter Wednesday nonetheless.

Hanks and Luck were together for an event at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis ... when Hanks revealed he's a big Luck fan -- telling the QB, "I love watching you play."

The two talked for a while ... discussing everything from Indianapolis, to social media to dealing with haters. Tom was a co-host on NBC's 'Today' Thursday ... a special spotlighting Elizabeth Dole's Hidden Heroes' campaign.

They even posed for a pic too ... and the caption the Colts wrote for it couldn't have been more perfect -- "Andy and Woody."

"Who's the quarterback here?"

Um ... clearly you are, President Obama!!!

Barack delighted a bunch of kids -- especially one little wide receiver -- Wednesday by visiting the Washington Nationals foundation & Youth Baseball Academy in D.C. ... and he didn't hold back from showing off his athleticism.

He was appointed QB in a pickup football game, and uncorked a touchdown pass. Doesn't look like it was a tight spiral, but either way, the kid on the other end made a hell of a catch.

Then, 44 stepped up to the plate and ripped a double in the gap. Probably could have stretched it into a triple ... but he showboated a little running to first.

Obama also delivered a motivational speech to the kids, telling them to work hard and believe in themselves ... and they'll do great things.

He added, "I had a blast with all these extraordinary young people."

Life lesson ... text is text, and DM is DM.

Chris Broussard just learned this lesson HARD, courtesy of comments he made about his relationship with NBA superstar Kevin Durant.

This all started when Chris went on FS1's 'Undisputed' and suggested the Warriors playing well in Durant's absence was a "nightmare" for KD ... prompting Durant to clap back on Twitter.

So, Broussard went back on FS1 and discussed his relationship with KD -- saying he and Durant "text" all the time about a variety of topics ... some good, some bad.

Stay with us here ...

That prompted Durant to return to Twitter and let the world know he's NEVER texted with Broussard, and doesn't even have his phone number.

Soooooo ... who's lying?

Well, no one according to Chris ... who just made a video saying he does talk to Durant often, but when he said "text" he was referring to DMs on Instagram and Twitter.

So, he's never texted KD. But, he has texted KD -- explaining that he doesn't really see a difference between text and DM because a private convo is a private convo.

It's a fair point but fact of the matter is ... it's not the same.

Just to help everyone out ... here's the hierarchy of communication so everyone can navigate these newfangled technology streets:

1. Actual phone convo

2. Text

3. DM

4. Comments (back and forth)

5. Mere social media follow