TMZ Sports - Page 50

Nick Turturro went NUCLEAR on Dodgers star Joc Pederson over the weekend -- with the actor claiming Joc FLIPPED HIM OFF during the game ... and now they're enemies for life!!!

FYI, the "NYPD Blue" star is a HARDCORE Yankees fan -- and was sitting front row at Dodgers Stadium on Sunday to watch his Bombers take on the Blue Crew at Dodgers Stadium.

Nick was going crazy during the game -- celebrating and cheering so hard, he was featured several times during the broadcast on FS1.

But, after Joc's first at-bat (a solo home run), Turturro claims Pederson looked right at him and shot him the bird ... for essentially no reason!!!

"Can you believe this?! I'm sitting here in the front row, Joc Pederson just flipped me off for nothing! I was just looking at him," Nick said.

"I guess 'cause I got a Yankee jersey??? It's alright, Joc. Now, you're on my s**t list!!! Now, I'm in your head!"

Nick's rant continued ... "I'M OFFICIALLY IN YOUR HEAD!!! I can't wait 'til you come up again!!!"

Yep, the Turturro curse was in full affect ... and it worked!!! Joc didn't get another hit the rest of the game and the Yankees ended up winning 5-1, taking the series 2 games to 1.

This beef is far from over ... with the Dodgers and Yankees killing it right now, it's VERY possible they could meet up again in the World Series, which would be AMAZING!!!

Tom Brady is clapping back at the Andrew Luck haters -- saying, "It's his life. Everyone has the right to choose what they want to do."

Luck was showered in boos from Colts fans on Saturday who were pissed at the 29-year-old for retiring just 2 weeks before the season.

Some ex-NFL players and reporters have also trashed Luck -- essentially saying he's screwing over his teammates, coaches and fans.

But, Tom Brady ain't hearing that crap ... essentially defending Luck during his weekly appearance on "The Greg Hill Show" on WEEI.

"Everybody wishes they could be healthy all the time," Brady said ... "It is a contact sport and he’s certainly had his fair share of injuries, so guys retire at different times."

Don't worry, Tom ain't going anywhere ... the 42-year-old QB made it clear he wants to keep playing as long as he can -- and says his family, friends, teammates and trainer are behind him all the way.

"It feels great when you have that support because a football season is like a marathon. There’s moments where it is very challenging whether it’s physically, emotionally, or mentally -- you need somebody to help you push through the hard parts because it’s not all easy."

Brady added, "It’s a great challenge, but it is very rewarding when you meet the challenge, too."

What's interesting is that Tom's wife, Gisele, has spoken publicly about her concerns for Tom's long-term health ... saying in 2017 he has concussions all the time that "we don't talk about."

She also went on Ellen in late 2018 and suggested she tried talking Tom into retiring ... but "wasn't very successful."

Tom's not the only star QB defending Luck -- Troy Aikman came out swinging at Doug Gottlieb, who tweeted, "Retiring cause rehabbing is 'too hard' is the most millennial thing ever."

Aikman fired back -- "That's total bulls**t Doug. What qualified you to decide how someone should live their life?"

Sore losers?!?

The director of the University of Florida marching band was attacked on the way back to the bus after the football team beat the Miami Hurricanes ... and everyone seems to be pointing the finger at an angry 'Canes fan.

After Florida secured a 24-20 win over their in-state rivals Saturday night in Orlando, Jay Watkins was leading the UF band out of the stadium and to the waiting buses when he tried to block a female fan from cutting through the formation, according to school officials.

Moments later, someone grabbed Watkins from behind and threw him to the ground -- causing a laceration on his head.

The suspect fled the scene -- but most people believe the culprit was a Miami fan who took the rivalry too far.

The good news for Watkins ... he was treated by a paramedics but ultimately traveled home on the bus with the rest of the band.

Watkins spoke with Florida State University band director Patrick Dunnigan on Sunday -- and told him, "he is very sore today and has a nasty bump on his head."

Dunnigan says he's sick and tired of band members being targeted by stupid, violent fans.

"Students in band uniforms are an easy and all-too-common target for disgruntled fans — especially these idiots who attend Miami games," Dunnigan said on Facebook.

The battle continues ...

Shaquille O'Neal is throwing shade at Dwight Howard again ... proving that a Lakers jersey won't protect DH from the wrath of the Diesel.

Shaq and Dwight have been going at it for years -- some people trace the feud back to a 2007 dance battle ... when a young Dwight tried to eat Shaq's metaphorical heart (don't worry, Shaq battled back and took his head).

Over the years, the shots continued ... with Dwight even trying to use Shaq's famous "Superman" moniker at one point. That didn't go over well with O'Neal.

So, when we saw Shaq at Papa John's in ATL -- where he was giving away free pizza to kids -- we had to ask how he felt about the Lakers signing D12 in the wake of Boogie Cousins getting injured.

"Who?!? I don't know him," Shaq cheekily told us ... trying to turn the focus back on the food.

Point is ... Shaq's a Lakers legend with his own statue on the side of the Staples Center -- so if Dwight wants to win back Lakers Nation, he's gotta figure out a way to win over Shaq, quickly.

Rob Gronkowski's retirement will end THIS SEASON ... so says ex-Patriots TE Jermaine Wiggins, who tells TMZ Sports, "You heard it here first, he's going to be back this year!"

30-year-old Gronk famously hung up his spikes this past spring ... but there haven't been many people who have believed he's truly done with football.

Wiggins -- who's still plugged in with the Patriots -- says count him on the side that thinks Gronk's going to make a comeback ... telling us, "I would bet money -- at this point in time, I'm, like, 97% sure he's going to come back."

And, why? Jermaine thinks Rob is just going to miss playing too much to not eventually come walking back into Bill Belichick's locker room later this year.

"He loves the limelight," Wiggins says ... "And, what better way to keep continue to build the Gronk brand by being out on the field?"

As for how successful Gronk will be after such a long layoff from football, Wiggins says he thinks the future Hall of Famer will have no trouble getting back into form.

In fact, Wiggins tells us he thinks the time off will actually HELP Gronk!!

The angry short guy who threw a fit in a Bagel Boss shop a month ago is all fired up again -- only this time, it landed him in cuffs.

Chris Morgan was restrained by cops Sunday at Bay Shore Marina in New York, where eyewitnesses say he'd allegedly gotten into it with another guy just moments prior. Police were on the scene and pounced -- and most of it was caught on camera.

You can see the officers tell Chris to lay on his stomach and get his hands behind his back. He complies, mouthing off throughout the whole ordeal.

Chris was placed in cuffs and led to a police cruiser -- you see that here in video TMZ obtained. It's unclear if he was placed inside, or if he was arrested or not -- we're working on getting more details now. Point is though ... this is a bad look.

Of course, Chris has been riding his 15 minutes of fame since his viral meltdown in the bagel shop, where he lost his cool over a number of things, including lady troubles. As we've noted, he's had a long history of public confrontations and face-offs with folks.

Chris has since signed on to partake in a celebrity boxing match with Lenny Dykstra, who's already taken some personal shots.

No word yet on whether this is gonna affect Chris' boxing deal.

Kendrick Lamar may be small, but the man is mighty -- that much we can tell by the way he trains in the ring.

The Grammy-winning rapper has been getting his box on lately at a gym in Northridge, CA -- about 20 minutes north of L.A. -- and TMZ Sports got a hold of what appears to be the only footage of Kendrick in the ring doing his thing. This clip is from earlier this year.

Dude's from Compton, but it seems he's been looking to keep an even lower profile than usual ... 'cause we're told this specific facility is pretty dang discreet.

As for what Kendrick has been getting into inside, welp ... take a looksy for yourself. As it turns out, Kung Fu Kenny's got hands -- you can see him doing a vigorous round of focus mitt drills with a trainer ... and we gotta say, KL could go toe-to-toe with any Joe there.

We're told Kendrick went about four rounds of mitts on this outing -- and he looked sharp all the way through. It's unclear what he's training for -- maybe he's just keeping fit?

Either way, the MC is no stranger to combat in his art. During his "DAMN" tour, he embraced the martial arts aesthetic in a video that accompanied his set, and homeboy could move.

Whether it's boxing or kung fu fighting ... Kendrick has made major strides from the way he used to throw down (jokingly, of course).

Mark Zuckerberg's summer of Man vs. Wild 2019 is in full swing up in Lake Tahoe -- where he's now a boating captain ... with a little assistance from the crew, of course.

The Facebook founder and CEO was at one of his two new Tahoe waterfront estates Saturday -- properties he reportedly dropped around $60 mil for this past winter -- and Zuck was getting briefed on a new operating system ... it's called HowToSteerVessels 2.0™.

Eyewitnesses tell us Mark and some pals were being taught how to steer this boat, and that he even got behind the wheel at one point as it drifted away from the dock.

It must've been a successful outing, 'cause we're told Mark and co. had the boat out on the water for a few hours before returning to shore. Now, it's unclear if MZ owns this thing -- it's possible he's just learning how to drive on it and someone was doing him a favor.

Ya gotta imagine when he gets it down, he'll shell out for something a bit nicer -- dude's worth an estimated $66 billion, after all. He can afford to be among Tahoe's finest, no doubt

It's interesting too ... Mark's been getting in the water A LOT over the past year or so, including what look like some cool ventures there in Tahoe this summer as well. He posted a photo last month of him paddle boarding on the lake and taking in a gorgeous sunset.

Stipe Miocic stepped out of the Octagon as the big winner, and then stepped right into this club a week later an even bigger birthday boy.

The MMA fighter celebrated winning the heavyweight card at UFC 241 against Daniel Cormier last weekend by raging at Cleveland's Barley House Saturday night, where he was met with a massive bottle of Luc Belaire bubbly ... which he promptly started drinking.

Nothing says 4th-round TKO victory like champagne to the face.

The party served two purposes as it turns out -- Stipe was also celebrating his 37th birthday, which had just come around this past Monday. That's why you're seeing cake here too.

The pastry came courtesy of Colossal Cupcakes, and it ended weighing in at 20 lbs. of pure edible gold in the shape of a UFC trophy. Looks like Stipe was diggin' lickin' it.

The Cleveland native was joined by some good friends, including Browns player Myles Garrett, whose team has looked pretty solid this preseason, but lost on Thursday night.

David and Victoria Beckham are flexing their British roots with some of the best company the UK has to offer -- Sir Elton John is onboard with the couple on the same yacht.

The Beckhams and their children are riding on a luxury yacht right now with the legendary singer, his husband David Furnish and their kids -- where they're all enjoying the steady waters in the South of France ... and diving in feet first when the mood strikes, it seems.

Well, Dave is anyway -- he was snapped holding hands with his daughter, Harper, and one of Elton's boys ... jumping off the side of the yacht into the ocean as a group.

Based on what we can see here, the wife had a little something for him when he came back up dripping wet. Yes, you can feel the love today with these two ... it's as strong as ever.

As for boat wear ... DB went with the classic shirtless look, Victoria rocked a sun dress and Elton was in a floral design getup ... rockin' his shades too, per usual. Looks like he kept Victoria company at one point while Dave was splashing around with the kiddos.

"Come on, man."

Ninja seems straight-up annoyed that Donald Trump would even hint video games are the problem when it comes to gun violence in America ... telling TMZ Sports that's just a ridiculous claim.

"Violence, it's not video games," the Fortnite legend says ... "It's just how it is, man."

Of course, No. 45 would strongly disagree ... after the tragic mass shootings in both Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas this month, Trump said, "We must stop the glorification of violence in our society."

"This includes the gruesome and grisly video games that are now commonplace."

28-year-old Ninja -- real name Tyler Blevins -- is one of the most famous gamers on the planet ... reeling in millions of viewers and even more dollars for playing in the virtual world.

And, when he was leaving Catch earlier this week, he let us know he thinks Trump's just flat-out wrong.

"Come on, man. Have you seen Minecraft? What's violent about Minecraft, bro? Nothing, man."

NYC radio legend Angie Martinez says she's got all the confidence in the world Jay-Z can change the NFL ... if people just give him time to get the job done.

Criticism of Hova is at an all-time high, with some people accusing him of selling out Colin Kaepernick by getting in bed with the NFL.

Not Angie ... she was IN THE ROOM when Jay and NFL Commish Roger Goodell took questions from the media earlier this month and says she came away believing the partnership will bare major fruit.

"I believe him being in the room and sitting at the table can change things in a big way."

When we asked if she thinks Jay taking a deal with the same league he'd criticized in the past is in any way hypocritical ... she couldn't have been clearer.

"I do not. That's my opinion. I understand why people could feel that way."

Angie - whose brand new TV show "Untold Stories Of Hip Hop" debuts this Fall -- says she's not sure if Jay will push for Kap to get an NFL job, but having a seat at the table with NFL honchos can't hurt.

"I think that would be phenomenal. I don't think one excludes the other, but if both happen we should have a party in the streets!"

Jon Jones is "soft as baby sh*t" ... so says Corey Anderson, the guy who claims he's living rent-free in Bones head.

There's zero love between the fighters ... in fact, Anderson -- the #7th ranked UFC light heavyweight -- recently confronted Jon at an autograph signing near Corey's gym in NJ.

Anderson told TMZ Sports his version of what went down ... and had some, lets say, not nice things to say about Jones.

"You made yourself look like you just sensitive, bro. You soft body. You soft like Charmin. All that G.O.A.T. talk, boy, you soft as baby sh*t. I ain't even say nothing to you and you got in your feelings."

Corey says since the incident, he's noticed guys from Jones' team are keeping a close eye on his social media accounts -- and Anderson thinks he's in Jon's head.

"Watch me, see that I'm developing, get scared. I want you in the gym. I want you to relapse and start doing drugs again because you don't think you can beat me. I want to get in your head before we get in the cage."

Anderson continued ... "I'm the real deal. Like I said, I got fight IQ and I'm a mixed martial artist. I'm not a one hit wonder. You hit me, I'mma hit you. you kick me, I'mma kick you. we gon' wrestle and we gon' do Jiu-Jitsu. We can go all over, and it ain't gonna be an easy battle. Believe that."

But, before a fight with Bones ... Corey has a scrap with UFC rising star Johnny Walker at UFC 244 on November 2.

Anderson's plan -- derail the JW hype train, and then ... "I want that belt, and I want [Jon's] head on a platter."

Forget a MayMac 2 ... there's a NEW fight to be made -- Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather SENIOR!!!

"I would beat the s*** out of Conor RIGHT NOW," 66-year-old Floyd Sr. told us while shadow boxing right in the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.

... And, by the way, dude can still throw a punch!!!

So ... how'd this all come about??? TMZ Sports spoke with the boxing legend about the video of the UFC superstar socking a 50-year-old man at a pub back in April ... and asked Floyd Sr. what he'd do in the same situation.

"I'm double his age and I'd whoop his ass."

Of course, Floyd Sr. ain't fighting Conor ... but his son might.

In fact, he recently told us he believes Floyd will come out of retirement for a rematch with Manny Pacquiao ... so why not book another bout with McGregor (and bank another $300 mil) while he's at it?!

Corey Brooks couldn't fight his way to the top spot in the "Big Brother" house, but he's fully prepared to whoop someone's ass in the Octagon ... or he will be soon.

The former season 18 contestant -- he finished in 4th place, BTW -- hit up Santa Monica Beach for some MMA sparring. Shirtless, of course, because when you've got washboard abs like Corey's ... ya flaunt 'em! Who's gonna complain?

The MMA workout's also no gimmick. For starters, it's one of Corey's preferred workouts -- he's been doing it for years. And, even though a UFC contract's not likely in his future, these pics leave no doubt about his athleticism.

In fact, he was a pitcher at Texas A&M and he's also a baseball coach for elite young players in his hometown of Dallas.

A lightning bolt struck a PGA Tour Championship golf course this weekend -- and it ended up hurting a number of people ... including one kid.

The scary moment happened Saturday afternoon at the East Lake golf Club in Atlanta, GA at 4:45 PM ET, when lightning struck a tree in the middle of the third round of the FedEx Cup Championship -- which was on a brief break amid stormy skies.

The lightning reportedly sent a bunch of debris flying, and that struck at least six people ... one of whom was reportedly a child. Nobody was hit by the thunder bolt itself, and thankfully ... no one is said to have suffered life-threatening injuries. Terrifying, nonetheless.

Paramedics arrived shortly thereafter to treat the victims, and the scene couldn't have been more chaotic with folks lying out, waiting for help ... and being carried away on stretchers. Eyewitnesses on the ground say the moment sounded like a bomb going off on the course ... and you can see why.

The moment the lightning hit the tree was captured on camera from afar, and even in the still images of the strike ... you can see sparks, if not outright fire, emitting from the tree. There are reports of the tree catching fire, but it must've been put out quickly.