TMZ Sports - Page 50

Jay-Z's ex-business-partner-turned-nemesis, Damon Dash, claims the mogul's new NFL partnership has exposed him as a backstabber who "ain't s**t!"

Dame fired that brutal shot while talking to Adam22 on the No Jumper podcast. Dash, who started Roc-A-Fella Records with Jay, was asked about Jermaine Dupri's claim Jay talked him out of making the very same deal with the NFL that Jay just made (which JD's walked back a bit).

Dash said matter of factly, "If you ask anyone in the industry, it's a common knowledge that Jay ain't s**t." He added, "He's about the bag. We all know that. He's self-preserving. Period."

Now, full context ... Dame's beef with Jay goes back to the fall of Roc-A-Fella records. He claims Jay left him out in the cold and caused the label's collapse. So, Dame taking the shot isn't all that surprising.

However, of all the criticism Jay-Z's taken since announcing he's partnering with the NFL -- while Colin Kaepernick's still frozen out of the league -- Dame's is the most scathing.

The man who was punched in the face by Conor McGregor at a pub in Ireland is breaking his silence ... and he's BRAGGING that he can take a punch!!!

The victim spoke with the Irish Daily Star on the condition of anonymity -- and explained why he thinks Conor socked him with a left during an incident caught on video back in April.

"I am sitting on the bar stool just having a quiet pint with my friend then all of a sudden because I refuse his drink I get a punch," the man said ... "You don’t need that in life."

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Conor had been pouring shots of his Proper 12 whiskey to people at the Marble Arch Pub in South Dublin when one man refused ... and Conor let his fist fly.

The man took the punch like a champ -- with UFC star Stipe Miocic praising the dude's "chin of steel" -- and now the guy is bragging about his toughness too.

"Look-it, I can take a punch,” he told the Irish Daily Star.

Despite the way it played out on video, the man claims the punch really hurt and he was in pain for a week ... and went after Conor during his interview.

"He is a bit of a bully, a bully with money ... I'm glad people saw the video. I don't like him."

The man still has one major beef -- but it seems to be with the media. It was reported the guy was 60-years-old ... but the man wants to set the record straight.

"I'm 50."

As we previously reported, Conor has not been arrested or charged with a crime for the attack ... and cops in Ireland say they're still investigating, which is crazy because the whole thing is ON VIDEO!!!

Nate Diaz ain't the only member of his family who thinks he can beat down Conor McGregor ... his bro Nick Diaz tells TMZ Sports, "I'll whoop his ass!"

The elder Diaz bro was leaving Warwick with his pal, Bellator fighter AJ Agazarm when we brought up the possible trilogy fight between Nate and Conor ... a fight EVERYONE wants to see!

"I'll whoop his ass," Nick told us ... which triggered his pal AJ to start talking a TON of crap about the Irishman.

"I can't believe he hit that old man! That was crazy! Who would do that?! If he's gonna hit an old man, I'll hit him," Agazarm told us.

By the way, Agazarm is a highly decorated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner who trains with the Diaz Bros at the Nick Diaz Academy ... so he's no punk.

In fact, AJ just defeated Jacob Landin at Bellator 224 in July ... and he wants a crack at Conor too!!!

"F*ck Conor, I'll f*cking choke him in the 1st round!"

Obviously, AJ will have to get in line ... Conor's got business to handle with Nate, Khabib and a long list of others before he gets a shot.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. says he's still VERY sore after surviving a plane crash just 7 days ago -- but he's already getting himself ready to RACE again next week.

"My lower back is bruised up real bad," the 44-year-old NASCAR legend told a fan on Twitter.

"Lots of swelling and I just need that to go down and the pain to chill out."

Of course, Dale, his wife, his 1-year-old daughter, his dog and two pilots were involved in a terrifying wreck last Thursday when their plane crash landed in Elizabethton, Tennessee.

Dale and his family's injuries were initially described as bumps and bruises ... but now Earnhardt's revealing he's actually pretty banged up.

The good news ... Dale says he's gunning to get healthy enough to race in the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW200 at the Darlington Raceway on August 31, which features the biggest stars of NASCAR's XFINITY Series.

"I been treating the area [lower back] every day solely to get well to race," Dale says.

"I have a plan B but hope not to use it."

It's still unclear what caused Earnhardt's plane to go down last week ... but in a press conference, National Transportation Safety Board officials said the scene was scary, adding Earnhardt's plane bounced TWICE on the runway before it skidded to a stop.

Is this cultural appropriation???

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers touched down in Winnipeg on Wednesday wearing traditional Canadian garb -- denim from head to toe -- and it was pretty amazing!!!

The 35-year-old paired his "Canadian Tuxedo" with a strong mustache Burt Reynolds would have been proud of ... all to get ready for a Thursday night pre-season game against the Oakland Raiders.

The Canadian tux is an outfit steeped in tradition ... everyone from Bing Crosby to Justin Timberlake and even Britney Spears have embraced the look at one point of their lives.

... and yeah, even Tupac sported the look back in the day.

Mario Woods would be "honored" to know his 2015 shooting death inspired Colin Kaepernick to begin his social justice campaign ... so says Mario's mom who's praising CK as a hero.

We spoke with Gwendolyn Woods who tells us she was "overwhelmed" when she read the PAPER Magazine article in which Colin says Mario's "execution" at the hands of San Francisco police officers essentially led to his kneeling protest during the National Anthem.

Woods tells TMZ Sports ... she believes Colin has been doing great work putting a spotlight on police violence and applauds him for "putting his money where his mouth is."

As we previously reported, Mario was shot 21 times by SFPD officers who were responding to reports of a stabbing in the area. Mario was holding a knife and cops claimed he was a threat so they opened fire. But, cell phone video NEVER showed Woods getting aggressive with police. Gwendolyn sued the City of SF and got a $400,000 settlement in 2018.

Now, with Colin mentioning Mario's name again -- his story is back in the headlines and Gwendolyn says she's extremely grateful to Kaepernick.

"He should know that he's impacted a family and a community that never had a platform, never had a voice," Woods says ... "I am very proud of him."

Gwendolyn says Mario was a huge 49ers fan -- so aside from the social justice work, she thinks Mario would have gotten a huge kick out of knowing the starting QB of his favorite team was inspired by him.

Lamar Odom has some hefty competition standing in his way from "Dancing With The Stars" greatness ... but there's one fellow world champ who specifically has him SHOOK.

The ex-NBA star is competing on the newest season of 'DWTS' with celebs like Hannah B. from the 'Bachelorette', Kel Mitchell and James Van Der Beek ... but revealed to Adam Glyn who he thinks is his biggest threat.

"I think it'll probably be Ray Lewis," Lamar says.

Odom has reason to fear Ray ... you've seen his trademark moves on the gridiron (and, we gotta say, for a 6'1", 240-pound Hall of Fame linebacker, he was nimble AS HELL).

On top of that, fellow NFL players have won in the past -- like Emmitt Smith, Hines Ward and Donald Driver.

Floyd Mayweather's father tells TMZ Sports he's "pretty sure" his son is down for the rematch with Manny Pacquiao ... and he's warning PacMan that TBE will "kick his ass" again!!!

"I'm pretty sure that they gonna fight," Floyd Sr. told us on the way into the Beverly Wilshire hotel ... "If Pacquiao says he wants to fight, I'm pretty sure they're gonna fight again."

Floyd Sr. would know ... he's pretty tight with his son. In fact, Floyd Jr. gave a heartfelt speech at his father's Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame induction earlier this month.

And, Fun Fact -- Floyd Sr. was his son's trainer for the first Pacquiao fight back in 2015, a fight Floyd easily won.

Speaking of Manny, he called out Floyd on social media after he beat up Keith Thurman back in July ... telling Floyd, "If you want to be relevant again #MayPac2."

Manny looked VERY impressive in his victory over Thurman -- but Floyd Sr. says he ain't worried about the 40-year-old Filipino superstar.

"Man, my son will kick his ass the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th [time]!!!"

Only one way to find out ...

"Imma whoop Till ass, ain't no bones about it."

That's Derek Brunson -- fresh off his UFC 241 win over Ian Heinisch -- declaring to TMZ Sports that he'd beat Darren Till to a pulp.

"It ain't no beef, it's just business at usual, you know? Darren Till looking to move up to middleweight. He's a top guy. Fought for the title at welterweight. I feel it'd be a good challenge. A guy with a lot of hype behind him. I think we should definitely mix it up next."

Brunson is a 35 years old UFC vet who's been with the organization since 2012 and has messed up dudes like Lyoto Machida and Uriah Hall.

Till -- a 26 year old fighter from Liverpool -- is coming off the only 2 losses of his career (Tyron Woodley & Jorge Masvidal) ... but is still regarded as one of the baddest, brightest young stars in the UFC.

That's why Brunson wants this fight.

"It ain't I'm calling Till out cause I think I can just beat him up. I think I can beat everybody, but it's also about fights that make sense. Big fights, stuff like that."

Derek's dead serious about makin' this happen ... he already has his rep, Ali Abdelaziz, working on making the match.

"My agent reached out," Brunson told us ... "I'm yet to hear from [Till]."

Be afraid, NFL kickers ... Martin Gramatica says after USWNT star Carli Lloyd hit a 55-yarder at Eagles' practice Tuesday -- she can legitimately take someone's job and make a team's roster!!!

Oh, and the legendary kicker says he's willing to help her do it!!!

After Lloyd showed off her insane leg at Philly's workout this week ... we had to give Gramatica a call to get his thoughts on her giant boot -- and, no surprise, the guy was impressed.

In fact, 43-year-old Martin tells us, "If she put her mind to it and started training, I could see her going all the way."

Gramatica says he's seen Lloyd kick footballs before and was impressed with her ability back then ... but he had no idea she had a 55-yard range.

"55, that's impressive," Martin says ... "I think a lot of the NFL guys better be ready. Better watch their jobs. I know there's some openings, so be careful out there!"

Gramatica says he does see some flaws in her form that he's willing to help fix ... and he knows she'll have to adjust to learning how to kick with pads on.

But, Martin tells us if she truly devotes herself to the craft ... he could see her on a real NFL field someday.

Trae Young is going to bat for his NBA buddy, Devin Booker ... saying the dude had every right to throw a tantrum in a pickup game Monday -- adding it's insane people were double-teaming him!!!

"DBook speaking facts," Trae said of the Phoenix Suns superstar Wednesday ... "There should be NO Double Teaming in pick up."

Of course, Booker went off on some guys in an open-run sesh earlier this week when he was doubled on the baseline while trying to attack the basket.

"Hey, bro, we not doubling in open gym, bro!" Booker yelled.

Devin caught a ton of heat for the blowup, with people claiming he was being a baby ... but Trae came to his defense on Twitter, saying Booker SHOULDA been pissed.

"When you trying to work on your game, and work on the moves and things you do individually in pick up... it’s annoying getting double teamed in that type of setting."

Trae added, "Just Sayin.. #OnlyAFewUnderstand"

For his part, Booker clearly appreciated the backing ... writing, "Only a few."

Scottie Pippen's estranged wife, Larsa Pippen, says she is NOT hooking up with NBA superstar Ben Simmons ... adamantly denying she was getting close to the hooper earlier this week.

There were reports Pippen and Kendall Jenner's recent ex-boyfriend were looking like a couple at The Highlight Room on Monday night ... with the non-couple leaving within minutes of each other that night.

The news would be a MAJOR deal in the Kardashian world since Larsa is BFFs with Kim and Kourtney. #SCANDALOUS!!

But, Larsa is having NONE of that talk ... saying she never even saw the 23-year-old Sixers point guard that night ... and would NEVER betray a family friend a la Jordyn Woods.

"I never even saw him, let alone left with him," Larsa said in a heated IG story. "He dated my bff's sister and I would never."

Seems like a low-key shot at Woods -- Kylie's ex-BFF -- who hooked up with Tristan Thompson which led to a messy split with Khloe Kardashian.

Ben and Kendall dated for a year and broke up sometime around May ... and he famously dated singer Tinashe prior to that.

Touching moment on the baseball field Tuesday ... Aaron Judge took time out of his pregame warmup to surprise a little kid whose dad just recently died -- and their meeting was awesome.

Kellen Wilson's father, Kyle -- who attended Judge's alma mater, Fresno State -- tragically passed away last October at the age of the 36 ... and Judge was so moved by the story, he sent the kid a jersey a few weeks later.

But, when Aaron's Yankees made the trip to Wilson's hometown to play the A's on Tuesday ... it was unclear if Judge would be able to meet up with Kellen in person, especially after the team bypassed pregame batting practice.

But, Judge made the time to go seek out Kellen anyway ... and the two had an awesome meeting -- which Kellen's mom said was a complete surprise to everyone.

"He [Kellen] had no idea, though [that he was going to meet Judge]," Chelsy Wilson told MLB.com ... "And we had no idea. And when the Yankees didn’t take batting practice, they thought no way."

"But Kyle is pulling strings from above. We are so grateful to Mr. Judge. He has been an incredible role model to Kellen, even sending Kellen a jersey back in December."

6-foot-7 Judge took a picture with Kellen on the field, signed his jersey and autographed his bat ... and the two were even able to have a short conversation.

Then, Judge went out and hit one of the most monstrous home runs of the season ... blasting a 474-footer!!!

"He is exactly the kind of human and player Kyle told Kellen to look up to," Chelsy said. "How hard he works. How he treats others. And all he stands for."

Roger Federer caused insane pandemonium out in the Big Apple on Tuesday ... when a crush of passionate fans crowded together to try to get a brief glimpse of the tennis superstar.

TMZ Sports got video of the insane scene outside Uniqlo on Fifth Avenue in NYC ... where Federer was doing a Q&A for the clothing brand.

Of course ... Federer -- currently the #3 ranked male tennis player -- famously left Nike for the Japanese company last year for $300 MILLION.

Just by looking at the scene outside the store, it's clear 38-year-old Federer is still one of the biggest sports superstars on the planet.

Of course, it's something that tends to happen when international ballers hit up NYC ... remember how bonkers it got when Manchester United superstar Paul Pogba hit up the Adidas store last month?

Mario Williams -- the #1 overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft -- was arrested for trespassing Tuesday after an incident at a woman's home in Houston, TMZ Sports has confirmed.

The 34-year-old defensive end -- who hasn't played in the NFL since 2016 -- was allegedly inside of the home without permission.

Sources connected to the incident tell us Williams "broke into the home and began yelling at" the woman who lives there. We're told the woman was extremely emotional and screamed at him to get out.

Cops were called to the scene and Williams was arrested and taken to a nearby jail where he was booked for trespassing. Bond was set at $100, which Williams has already paid. He's now out of custody according to official records.

Court records show Williams is listed at 6'7", 290 lbs.

Records show Williams has been ordered to undergo a mental health or intellectual disability assessment. According to the KHOU.com, the woman has previously filed a restraining order against Mario.

Williams is due back in court August 27.

Williams was a beast in the NFL -- making the Pro Bowl in 4 different seasons, along with 3 All Pro Teams.

After being signed with the #1 pick -- over Reggie Bush -- he signed a 6-year, $54 million rookie contract. After that, he famously signed a massive $100 million contract in 2012 with the Buffalo Bills -- with $25 million guaranteed. He last played with the Miami Dolphins in 2016.

Cristiano Ronaldo says 2018 was "probably my worst year ever" after publicly being accused of raping a woman more than 10 years ago in Las Vegas.

The soccer superstar was accused of sexual assault by Kathryn Mayorga in June 2009 after meeting her at a nightclub. She claims he took her back to his hotel room and raped her.

Cops opened an investigation last year and eventually decided that CR7 will NOT be charged in the case ... but Ronaldo says it was hard to have people question his character.

"When people question your honor, it hurts, it hurts a lot," Ronaldo told Portuguese television TVI.

Ronaldo did not address the case specifically, but really didn't need to. It's obvious he's referring to the allegation.

"When people attack your honor, it is difficult."