TMZ Sports - Page 50

Jamaal Charles was ALMOST attacked by a humongous spider ... but fortunately for the ex-NFL star -- he's still got some moves, and ducked away from the big-ass arachnid as it charged!!!

It all went down in the former Kansas City Chief's backyard ... where he was trying his best to capture an 8-legged beast and protect his Texas home.

The video is pretty intense ... Jamaal tries to calmly sweep the spider into a box -- but then it suddenly darts at his left leg!!!

But, the ex-running back is able to move out of the way ... and then he went on an offensive assault -- slapshotting the spider into a box.

Victorious, Jamaal zooms in on the spider ... and the thing is MASSIVE!!!!

Unclear what Jamaal's intentions are now that the spider is captured ... but we know one thing for sure, his family ain't letting it in the house, 'cause one of them says, "Lock that door. We are not bringing that in here."

"Jon Jones who? Cormier who? Conor McGregor who?" ... Henry Cejudo tells TMZ Sports he's the "greatest combat athlete of all-time."

Yes, you heard right ... Henry says he's the best ever.

The UFC's Flyweight champ (125 lbs.) came through the TMZ office days before his UFC 238 fight against Marlon Moraes -- where Cejudo's fighting for the Bantamweight title (135 lbs.) -- and entry into the exclusive champ-champ club.

For Cejudo ... it comes down to personal accomplishments -- and he believes there ain't a man or woman on Earth with a better resume.

"I feel like I'm the greatest combat athlete of all-time, and the credentials speak for itself," Henry tells us.

"Who's won Olympic gold medal? Who's won a flyweight title? Who's gonna fight for a second belt? Nobody. It's me."

FYI -- HC won a gold medal in freestyle wrestling at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

It's not just a second belt he's after ... Henry also wants to be #1 on the UFC top pound-for-pound list -- where he's currently ranked 4th.

It looked more like a WWE match than a basketball game ... and ex-NBA player Terrence Jones was at the center of it -- trading nut shots, vicious clothesline fouls and dance moves(!!) in one of the craziest on-court altercations of all time.

The ex-Kentucky Wildcats star -- who played for the Rockets and several other teams in the NBA -- now plays in the Philippine Basketball Association's TNT KaTropa ... and got into it with Calvin "The Beast" Abueva of the Phoenix Pulse in a game over the weekend.

It all started when Abueva knocked Jones down with about 7 minutes left in the game ... and TJ retaliated with a shot to the family jewels.

While Abueva recovered, Jones celebrated as Yung Joc's "It's Goin Down" played over the PA system (seriously, everything about this video is perfect).

Of course, a dude with a nickname like "The Beast" isn't gonna just let that slide ... so he retaliated with a clothesline on Jones after grabbing a rebound.

And, what did Abueva do right after??? He danced his face off.

The Beast was suspended indefinitely and fined 50,000 pesos (about $1k) for the hit ... and Jones was fined a total of 70,000 pesos for the whole altercation.

1:46 PM PT -- Young Thug has broken his silence about a video that shows his young daughter behind the wheel of a moving vehicle, and he seems to be putting the blame squarely on the adult his kid was with in the clip.

YT writes, "Never would I put my child's life in danger nor anyone else's life,i am out of town that video is clearly in Atlanta." He goes on to say, "I am a very safe man, especially when it come down to my kids. I am very smart, last thing I'm looking for is clout/fame I have both."

He finishes by adding, "Plus she (his daughter, we assume) wouldn't dare even ask me could she drive a car... But it'll be handled 'expeditiously.'"

It's unclear who his child was with during the joy ride, as Young Thug doesn't mention anyone specifically. Presumably, though, the kid was with her mom ... and it sounds like papa's gonna have a convo with someone about pulling stunts like this in the future.

8:50 AM PT -- A source close to Young Thug says his daughter was with her mother and driving just outside her home in Georgia. We're told no one else was in the area and she only drove for a short time ... less than 30 seconds. Young Thug was not aware of the situation.

One of Young Thug's young daughters -- who seems to be under 10 -- drove a car on a public road while an adult sat right next to her, recording the dangerous incident.

The video surfaced on social media, reportedly showing one of YT's children -- this one a little girl -- behind the wheel of the car, and slowly driving down a residential road. The child is IN the driver seat, NOT on someone's lap ... and is struggling to see above the steering wheel.

At one point, an adult hand reaches in to assist with steering, and that person is recording the video. There's no audio.

It's unclear who the adult is, but it appears to be a woman's hand and not Young Thug's.

Several celebs commented on the video after it was posted on The Shade Room. Tyrese said, "I'm almost sure DFCS is gonna see this." Ex-NBA star Matt Barnes chimed in, "Stupid" -- and 'Love & Hip Hop' star Milan Christopher simply said, "Oh he going to jail."

We've reached out to Young Thug's camp for comment on the disturbing video ... but no word back yet.

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!

Here's the cutest video EVER ... Jarvis Landry introduced his daughter to a baby deer Monday -- and they became best friends!!!

Unclear where or how the Cleveland Browns star encountered the fawn ... but we're all thankful he broke out his camera when the baby deer walked up to his daughter -- because the video is awesome.

The deer strolls up to Jarvis' baby ... and it allows her to pet it -- "it's soft," she says -- and then she wants to bring it into the house!!!

Landry tells her they just can't do that ... but they CAN try to find it some food -- and that's when the deer follows the little girl up to the porch.

Tony La Russa says the Red Sox had a good visit to Donald Trump's White House last month ... telling TMZ Sports they made the trip to show support for their country.

"The flag, anthem, White House," La Russa says ... "Anything that represents our government, we support."

Of course, some of Boston's biggest names decided not to go to 1600 Penn Ave. for political reasons ... guys like Mookie Betts and David Price, as well as manager Alex Cora, skipped it.

But, La Russa -- who's now the Sox's vice president -- says the guys that did go enjoyed it, saying, "Anything that represents the United States is a good experience."

Kyler Murray congratulated the guys who had their names called in the MLB Draft by posting a pic of himself in an Oakland Athletics uniform .... and killed all the fun by clarifying he's not playing baseball.

The A's drafted Murray with the 9th overall pick in the 2018 draft ... but after winning the Heisman and going to the Arizona Cardinals with the top pick in the NFL Draft, he decided to put baseball on hold.

Murray posted the pic Monday night in his A's threads ... but made it clear he's not having second thoughts on choosing the NFL.

It's probably a smart decision financially, considering he inked a $35 million deal with the Cards ... but there were people like Joe Theismann who said he shoulda stayed on the diamond.

"Congrats to everyone who got drafted today! #JustAPic #History #NoNeedForTheSpeculation #AllLuv," Murray said.

"I just kept going, you know what I mean? Whatever, who cares, f**k it. Let's just throw down."

That was UFC fighter Anthony Smith's reaction to BREAKING HIS HAND in the 2nd-round of his UFC fight with Alexander Gustafsson on Saturday in Stockholm, Sweden.

Smith -- who won via rear-naked choke in the 4th -- tells TMZ Sports it was "super painful" (as you'd expect) ... but there was NO WAY Lionheart was quitting over a broken bone.

"I definitely felt the break and it hurt, but as the fight went on it got worse for sure," Smith tells us.

"Honestly, man, here's my mentality. I'm here, I'm hurt, let's just fight. I don't want any regrets. I don't want to wonder, ah, maybe I coulda pushed it or whatever. I just go do it."

"I told [my coach] Mark, he said, 'How are you feeling?' I said, 'my hands broken.' He said, 'alright we're gonna start throwing elbows.' And, I said, 'Nah, I'll just keep throwing it."'

How the hell did Smith continue?

"I know this sounds silly. But, I remember sitting down in between rounds. My hand was broken. We're going into the 4th. I just kept thinking, man, I just wanna get home and go camping."

Anthony's home, and he's having surgery to fix the break on Wednesday ... and then he says it'll need 4 months to heal.

So, Shaquille O'Neal was on his way to the gym in L.A. ... when all of a sudden he got caught up IN JONAS BROTHERS MADNESS!!!!

It's hilarious ... Shaq starts off asking our guys why hundreds of people are screaming and going crazy across the street -- and when he finds out it's all because of a Jonas Bros. event, he LOVES IT!!

But, we also talked hoops with Shaq ... specifically about Drake, who's been heavily criticized for taunting Golden State Warriors players and going crazy on the sidelines during the NBA Finals.

"Drake is a smart guy," Shaq says ... "He knows what he's doing. It's called marketing, people!!"

Shaq also tells us he thinks the criticism of Drake is a load of crap -- and compares Drake to Clippers' chairman Steve Ballmer, who's famously animated at Clippers games.

"[Drake] is just having fun, having a good time ... as a guy sitting there watching on TV, it's very entertaining."

Shaq also weighs in on the NBA Finals drama between the Warriors and the Toronto Raptors -- and explains why this series is GREAT!!

But again, the best part of the clip is Shaq's unbridled passion for Nick, Joe and Kevin -- even though he only knows one of their names!!!

George Foreman says Anthony Joshua can be champion again ... and he's offering to help the former undefeated fighter, telling TMZ Sports, "He needs someone like me."

Joshua lost via TKO at the hands of Andy Ruiz Jr. at MSG Saturday night ... in one of the most shocking boxing upsets of all-time.

The loss made a lot of people question Joshua's greatness ... and whether he's truly elite.

Not former 2x heavyweight champ George Foreman ... who actually believes the loss could HELP the UK superstar become an even better fighter.

"They're gonna have to go back to the gym. I think he'll be a greater fighter, Joshua now. If he goes back and gets his mind together. He's gonna even be better, but right now he better learn to box and he better get a good manager. I'll do it."

We asked Foreman if he was serious about the offer ... and his response?

"That's certain. He needs someone like me."

If Foreman was steering AJ's career, there's 1 bigtime move he'd make straight away -- NO REMATCH.

"If I'm Anthony Joshua's manager, I say, 'let sleeping dogs lie.' I don't want to fight that guy anymore, because you don't know what you did wrong. You go back and you're gonna do the same thing. Let it slide" ... Foreman tells us.

"Leave Ruiz alone. Let him alone."

So, does the loss take Joshua out of the conversation with Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury for best heavyweight in the world? Foreman's answer ... 6 emphatic "no's".

"No. No, no, no, no, no."

"One punch, uh huh. One punch is not gonna change that, or one knockdown is not gonna change that. He'll be back. He's in the mix. And, probably he'll be better."

Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias just caught a major break in his domestic violence case -- 'cause he won't be prosecuted if he takes care of some business.

The L.A. City Attorney's Office tells TMZ Sports ... Urias will NOT be charged with domestic violence, but only if he completes certain requirements first. We're told he needs to participate in an informal hearing before the City Attorney, which brings in both parties to talk things out.

Urias also must not commit any acts of violence against anyone, while also being required to complete a 52-week DV counseling program in person. If Urias doesn't keep his nose clean for a year, the City Attorney's Office reserves the right to prosecute him on this case.

As we reported ... Urias was arrested last month in L.A. after witnesses saw him getting into an argument with a woman, allegedly shoving her around. When cops arrived, the woman denied anything physical had taken place.

The NFL needs to take a page out of NBA's book when dealing with social issues ... so says "Power" actor Omari Hardwick, who tells TMZ Sports the Association's "leaps and bounds" above other leagues.

As we previously reported ... multiple teams have moved away from using the "owner" title over the past year ... given that the term can feel racially insensitive in a league of mostly black players.

We asked Ghost -- who played college football at Georgia before switching to acting -- what he thought of the idea ... and while he says it's a great move, he's not surprised one bit that NBA teams are taking action ... essentially saying being woke is the NBA's style.

"It's smart ... it only adds to the brand of the NBA," Hardwick says. "The NBA has curated for a while now -- with David Stern and Adam Silver -- a different style of environment."

Kawhi Leonard is suing Nike over his "Klaw" logo ... claiming he drew the symbol himself -- and saying the footwear giant has NO right to copyright it.

It's all in a new lawsuit filed by the Toronto Raptors superstar ... in which he says the famous logo of a "K," an "L" and his jersey number actually came from his own hand, pen and paper back in 2011.

"Leonard traced his notably large hand, and, inside the hand, drew stylized versions of his initials, "KL," and the number that he had worn for much of his career, "2," the lawsuit states.

The problem for Kawhi? He says he permitted Nike to use the logo after he signed a contract with the shoe giant in 2011 ... but they filed for a copyright of the logo "without Leonard's knowledge or consent."

Now, Leonard is suing ... saying they had no right to do that -- adding that when he initially gave permission to use the symbol, it was to "mutually benefit" both parties.

In his lawsuit, Leonard wants control of his logo back ... and is also claiming Nike "committed fraud on the Copyright Office" by registering his logo.

Andy Ruiz will be known for WAY MORE than just beating Anthony Joshua ... so says Oscar De La Hoya, who tells TMZ Sports AR is going to have a long run as champ!!!

"Imagine all the confidence he has now," De La Hoya says.

Ruiz shocked the world on Saturday night when he knocked down Joshua FOUR times and made the heavyweight champ quit in the 7th-round.

But, some have already pegged Ruiz as the next Buster Douglas -- as in a 1-fight wonder ... and not the next big thing in boxing.

Enter De La Hoya ... who told us out at his foundation's 19th annual Golf Classic on Monday that he sees things way differently, saying Ruiz will put together a nice run as the new champ from here.

"Ruiz is the man, now, man," De La Hoya says ... "He's the man."

Of course, the Golden Boy is biased -- he has Mexican bloodlines and tells us he was rooting like hell for Ruiz in the fight!!!

Former NFL WR Jabar Gaffney just cut a deal with prosecutors after his ex-teammate, Lito Sheppard, accused him of wrecking his car ... and he'll avoid jail time if he keeps his nose clean for the next few months.

For the record, Jabar still DENIES the allegations ... saying prosecutors had the wrong guy all along.

Here's the backstory -- Lito says last year, on June 17 ... his 2013 BMW suddenly stopped working in the middle of the road when he was on his way home from a restaurant in Jacksonville.

Sheppard says when he viewed surveillance footage of his car in the restaurant's parking lot ... he claims he saw Gaffney and Gaffney's GF pouring sugar into his gas tank and slashing his tires.

Cops arrested Jabar a few weeks later ... charging him with felony criminal mischief -- and he was facing up to 5 YEARS behind bars for the offense.

But, Gaffney -- who was teammates with Lito in Philadelphia in 2006 -- just cut a deal with prosecutors last month ... agreeing to enter into a pretrial intervention program -- this according to court records and a rep for the state attorney's office.

Gaffney's attorney, Seth Schwartz, tells TMZ Sports the ex-WR will have to pay around $840 in restitution to Sheppard as part of the deal ... but if he keeps his nose clean for the next 6 months -- the charge will be dropped.

As for Jabar, he adamantly denies he was the man seen on video destroying Lito's car ... saying the guy looks nothing like him.

In fact, Jabar's attorney says in surveillance photos prosecutors relied on to build their case ... there don't appear to be tattoos on the alleged suspect's left neck ... but Jabar is covered in ink.

So, why did Jabar take the deal? Schwartz tells us it would have cost Gaffney thousands of dollars to take the case to trial and fight the charge.

"The cost of trying the case was extreme," Schwartz says ... "But this was a not guilty all day."

JuJu Smith-Schuster went to prom and danced to his favorite song -- which is apparently a bunch of high schoolers chanting profanities towards his ex-teammate, Antonio Brown.

JuJu hit up Chartiers Valley High School's senior prom in PA over the weekend ... after student Anthony Molinaro slid into his DMs and said he didn't have a date.

Not only did JuJu show up, he went all-in -- getting matching turquoise velvet suits for the duo to wear for the big dance.

Now, JuJu is no stranger to dancing on and off the field ... but the dude let extra loose when his fellow prom goers started a "F*** AB" chant during the party.

FYI -- Smith-Schuster told us back in April that AB is "his guy" and there's no beef between the two ... but a LOT has happened since then. So, yeah ... shade.