TMZ Sports - Page 50

Lil Pump tells TMZ Sports he can dunk a basketball ... and TMZ Sports says PROVE IT, YOUNGBLOOD!!!

But, before we get to the Great Lil Pump Dunk Challenge of 2019 ... let's provide some context.

The "Harverd Dropout" rapper is featured in the uber-popular "NBA 2K20" video game this year. Although, only Pump can play as himself in the game, you can play against him in the game's "Neighborhood" feature.

The 19-year-old rap superstar says he's got serious "2K" skills in the game and warns cocky gamers, "Nobody wanna see me in '2K.' I'm the G.O.A.T. in '2K.'"

But, the big question ... does 5'8" Pump have the same REAL-LIFE skills that his video game character has on the digital court???

In other words, can you dunk, bro? Pump says ABSOLUTELY.

Okay ... let's see it then!!! Challenge made.

Now, we're not calling Pump a liar, but there are some important issues we'd like to point out ...

First -- the Internet says Pump is 5'6". We believe the Internet because the Internet never lies.

Second -- if Pump could dunk, we'd know that by now. How many closet dunkers do you know??? Exactly. None. 'Cause if you can really dunk, you post it on Instagram. Everyone knows that.

So, here it goes, Sir Pump -- name a time and a place, and we'll send a camera guy to document your rim glory for all the world to see. Let's see these hops.

Oh ... and P.S. -- 10-foot rim.

Major accusations from Odell Beckham ... who claims former Cleveland Browns coach Gregg Williams ordered his players to "take [Odell] out" of a 2017 preseason game.

And, Odell says he's got proof ... current Browns teammates who straight-up told him about the dirty hit mandate.

First off ... yeah, Gregg Williams is the same guy from the 2012 "Bountygate" scandal, where New Orleans Saints players had cash incentives to injure players on opposing teams.

Williams is now the defensive coordinator for the NY Jets -- and Odell and the Browns are playing them on Monday night. Odell was asked about Williams during a media session Thursday and went off on the guy.

"Just gotta watch out for the cheap shots and the dirty hits and all of the things that he likes to teach," Beckham said.

That's when the allegations came out ... with Odell saying current Browns players told him that Williams made him a target in a 2017 preseason game against OBJ's NY Giants.

"I had players on this team telling me that that's what [Williams] was telling them to do, take me out of the game."

Beckham suffered an ankle injury during that game due to a low hit from Browns cornerback Briean Boddy-Calhoun -- and you can tell Beckham's still PISSED.

"It's something that I will never forget, it changed my life forever."

Beckham says the injury led to other injuries (including a season-ending fractured ankle) -- and it almost tanked his NFL career. He clearly blames Williams and still hates the guy's guts.

"If I were a coach, I would never teach what he teaches," Odell said at practice on Thursday. "But, that's just him and what he does."

Scary revelation from Rob Gronkowski ... who says he's probably had 20 concussions in his life from playing football including 5 blackout moments -- but he feels like he's "fixed" now.

The New England Patriots legend was talking football to CBS News when he was asked if he'd ever let his child (if and when he has children) play the sport he loves.

“I would let my son play football, but first off I would educate him on the game," Gronk said ... "Educate him on what I went through."

But, here's the scary part ...

"I truly believe any injury that you receive is fixable though. I went through it. I had 9 surgeries. Probably had like 20 concussions in my life, like, no lie. I remember 5, like, blackout ones."

Of course, with CTE concerns at an all-time high, Gronk's statement is concerning, to say the least.

He also described having a pint of blood drained from his body following the Super Bowl loss to the Philadelphia Eagles ... an issue he chalks up to internal bleeding.

But, the NFL superstar -- who recently signed a deal with a CBD medical company which focuses on pain management -- says straight-up, "I'm fixed."

As we previously reported, Gronk has said he's open to an NFL comeback if he feels passionate about playing the game again ... and recently joked that he'd join the Pats in Week 14.

We love Gronk ... but man, 20 concussions is A LOT.

Be careful, bro.

James Harden is being sued by a man who claims the NBA star LIED to his face about how he intended to use a MASSIVE $30 mil Beverly Hills mansion ... claiming The Beard turned his spot into a party house!

The man behind the suit is George Santo Pietro who owns a 14,500-square-foot estate in the heart of Beverly Hills ... 8 bedrooms, 10 baths, gym, spa, wine cellar, pool, etc.

In other words, the place is INSANE!!!

Santo Pietro claims Harden signed a contract to use the home as a vacation rental for 1 week starting August 11, 2019 ... paying $82,200 for the stay.

But, Santo Pietro says there was specific language in the rental contract saying Harden could not have any more than 7 adults on the premises at any one time.

A larger gathering would be considered a "party" -- and Santo Pietro says he typically charges $150,000 for big events on the property.

In his suit, Santo Pietro says Harden agreed to the deal -- but threw at least TWO parties anyway with more than 15 people at the house.

Santo Pietro claims the property was damaged during the parties and neighbors are pissed -- and he wants Harden to fork over AT LEAST $300,000 to cover the usual party fee he charges.

Santo Pietro also claims Harden KNEW he would be throwing the parties before signing the contract and knowingly lied to Santo Pietro's face. He's also suing for punitive damages for fraud.

Santo Pietro claims he tried to work things out with the Houston Rockets superstar privately, but Harden wouldn't play ball ... so he filed his lawsuit.

Harden is currently in the middle of a 6-year, $228 million contract ... so he can afford it.

Look out, NBA ... ISO JOE IS BACK!!!

Ex-NBA All-Star-turned-BIG3 dominator Joe Johnson just signed a new contract with the Detroit Pistons on Thursday ... agreeing to a partially-guaranteed 1-year deal.

Don't be surprised ... 38-year-old Johnson LIT UP the BIG3 this season -- averaging 21.9 points a game and 3.9 assists a game for the Triplets, hitting 6-game winners during the season while leading his squad to a BIG3 championship. He was also named league MVP.

As the season wrapped up, there was a buzz NBA teams were interested -- and Ice Cube told us straight-up Joe was getting serious looks. In fact, NBA owners were attending games just to check out Joe's talents.

Johnson had been flirting with teams since the BIG3 wrapped up a couple weeks ago ... working out for the Bucks, Nets and Pistons and ultimately Detroit pulled the trigger.

Just a few weeks ago, we spoke with Johnson about a potential NBA career and he told us he willing to play his ass off for whoever signed 'em ... telling us he still has a blast playing basketball.

The 7-time All-Star last played for the Rockets in 2018 before joining Cube's league this past season.

It's not just a big move for Joe, but it also proves the BIG3 is a real option for players looking to prove they can still compete in the NBA.

And, if you think the BIG3 is bitter they're losing their best player, you're wrong. This was always the point of the league -- to flex real talent.

Oakland Raiders tight end Darren Waller says he's GLAD the world knows about his battle with substance abuse ... because he's inspiring others and it "feels like I'm living with a purpose."

Waller's story is incredible ... the 26-year-old is insanely talented but almost watched his career go down the toilet after multiple violations of the NFL's substance abuse policy over the years.

The Raiders gave him a shot in late 2018 and now he's become a key part of the Oakland offense ... catching 7 passes for 70 yards in the Week 1 win over the Broncos.

Waller's addiction issues were featured on the HBO series "Hard Knocks" -- and Darren tells TMZ Sports the reaction has been amazing.

"A lot of people are reaching out relating to my story and that’s the kind of stuff that makes me feel like I’m living with a purpose," Waller says.

"When I go out there, I kind of try and do it for them."

Waller says he still makes it a point to attend AA meetings and other support groups regularly -- even when the team is on the road.

And, get this ... Waller says he never expected a second chance in the NFL, but now that he's got it -- he's determined to make the most of it. He's making sure to use all resources available to him to stay sober, understanding it's a constant battle.

As for the football side of things, Waller says he ain't surprised by the Raiders' performance in Week 1 -- even without Antonio Brown -- saying the guys busted their asses all offseason and don't want to let the fans down!

Kim Kardashian hit up one of the more than 30,000 restaurants in NYC ... and somehow her sister's ex, Tristan Thompson, ended up there too.

Kim and some buds -- La La Anthony and Jonathan Cheban -- hit the town Wednesday night and ended up at arguably the best seafood place in the city -- Milos. Unbeknownst to her, Khloe's ex was also in the mood for a little surf action.

Khabib Nurmagomedov sat down with Vladimir Putin on Thursday -- and the President of Russia showered him with praise for another impressive UFC victory.

It all went down in Khabib's homeland of Dagestan (which is part of Russia) -- and the leader of Dagestan, Vladimir Vasilyev, was on hand to honor the 30-year-old for his UFC 242 victory over Dustin Poirier.

Putin is known for being a massive combat sports fan -- and he's been a huge supporter of Khabib for years.

In fact, when Khabib smashed Conor McGregor back in 2018, Putin summoned the Eagle for a little celebratory snack in a dinky room with a dinky food spread in the city of Ulyanovsk.

But, this time, the gang upgraded to a nicer meeting spot with big leather chairs and a fancy table -- where Putin praised Khabib's father, Abdulmanap, for raising a champion.

"I'll start with you: I want to congratulate you on the victory of your son. A well deserved victory and a challenging opponent ... He's a strong fighter."

Putin continued with Khabib ... "I congratulate you, a very good match, beautiful, honest. I looked, a good asphyxiation."

Putin called Khabib an "excellent athlete" and said the victory over Poirier was "convincing."

If future Hall of Famer Joe Thomas wanted to make an NFL comeback, the dude wouldn't be returning to the O-Line ... 'cause the guy looks less like a hog and more like a GOD!!!

Remember ... the 34-year-old -- who holds the record for most consecutive snaps played -- usually weighed around 312 pounds during his 11-year career with the Cleveland Browns. But, the days of XXXL t-shirts are HISTORY -- Thomas says he's lost nearly 60 pounds since retiring in 2017!!!

So ... how did he do it??? Thomas says he's been swimming like a maniac ... and the results are incredible. Seriously, look at this physique. Abs. Arms. Shoulders. Is it getting hot in here???

The Browns legend (10-time Pro Bowler and future Hall of Famer) says he got back into the sport because he's had 5 knee surgeries and needed low-impact workouts to prevent more injuries.

To say the swimming is working would be an understatement ... and Thomas says he's hoping to swim for the rest of his life.

Get this man a Speedo contract!!!

Stephen Jackson is saying what a lot of people are thinking ... he doesn't understand why Antonio Brown's accuser would continue to work with the NFL star after he allegedly sexually assaulted her, TWICE.

"At the end of the day, if you still work with someone that's been sexually assaulting you, how is that sexual assault?"

Jackson is referring to the timeline in Britney Taylor's lawsuit against AB -- in which she claims she continued to work with Brown as his personal trainer after he allegedly exposed himself to her on two separate occasions in 2017.

As we previously reported, Taylor says weeks after the first incident, Brown snuck up from behind and masturbated onto her back while she was watching a church service on her iPad.

Despite the alleged incident, Taylor says she continued to work with -- and hang out with -- Brown until he allegedly forcibly raped her in May 2018. She didn't file her lawsuit until Sept. 2019.

"I don't know what's going on but at the end of the day, I just don't understand the timing of it," Jackson told TMZ Sports on his way out of a Viola Lifestyle event in L.A.

"There's a lot of stuff that's been going on with AB and she decides to come out with it 3 years later, around the time AB's going through all this other stuff. Like, it's kind of tricky."

"But, at the end of the day, I'm on the side of the athlete until he's proven guilty. So, shout-out to AB. Ya'll know how I rock."

For her part, Taylor says the incidents nearly destroyed her life ... but in her lawsuit, she doesn't specifically explain why she didn't go to police or come forward with allegations sooner.

Of course, there's a ton of research about why rape victims don't come forward right away -- from the fear of not being believed to retaliation from the accuser and others.

The New York Times wrote a piece about it in 2018.

Brown has adamantly denied the allegations and says he will fight the case.

Jackson he will "ride with AB" until/if he's found guilty -- but the problem is, Brown isn't being prosecuted right now. The lawsuit filed against him is a civil matter, with Taylor seeking a financial award.

The MLB barred the Mets from wearing NYPD hats during their game Wednesday ... so Pete Alonso took matters into his own hands, and bought his whole team custom 9/11 cleats instead.

The rookie MLB superstar wanted his squad to do something special to remember the tragedy Wednesday ... and thought wearing unique NYPD and FDNY hats would be awesome.

But, after the MLB told him no (they've denied teams from wearing the caps during actual game play every year) ... Alonso skirted the rules by getting his squad amazing spikes.

"It's really important and it's just a little gift from me to my teammates," Alonso said. "I'm really happy that everyone wore the shoes. We could've gotten fined for it, but everyone was willing to back up the cause."

The cleats were awesome ... some of them featured American flags, some had World Trade Center pictures on them, and some said, "We Will NEVER Forget."

"No one really knows how deep those emotional scars can be," Alonso said of the spikes.

"Living here, just kind of interacting with everybody, I've tried to immerse myself in the New York living. I see traces of it every single day. Little bits and pieces of it ... I just want to show recognition to all the people who are heroes."

"#911 ... Neither here nor there, but just think: If you were born on that terrible day, tonight is your last night of being jailbait anywhere in this country"

Yep, those words were tweeted out from Lenny Dykstra's verified Twitter account the day before the 18th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

Yeah, that's bad ... yet somehow, it was made even worse because the tweet included a map of the U.S. showing the age of consent in each of the 50 states.

Bad.

But, the ex-MLB slugger INSISTS his fingers were not responsible for typing those words -- instead, blaming the whole thing on his "college-student intern."

Of course, there was blowback from some rightfully offended people ... so Dykstra went back to Twitter to try and explain his way out of this.

"The college-student intern responsible for the tweet about age of consent and 18 years since 9/11 is going to be taking a break to focus on schoolwork," Dykstra said.

"I had indeed mentioned to her how quickly time had flown by. She meant no harm and will learn from the experience."

Right ...

LEBRON JAMES BLOCKED!!!!! By ... the United States Patent And Trademark Office!!?!?!

Yep, The King's quest to trademark the phrase "Taco Tuesday" was REJECTED by the USPTO on Wednesday ... with the org saying the phrase is just too damn common for LBJ to own.

Bron's "Taco Tuesday" celebrations became a worldwide hit this summer due to hilarious videos of him screaming at the top of his lungs every Tuesday over his delicious meals.

The trend has caught on so much, LeBron -- who even made T-Shirts for the occasion -- tried to trademark the saying back in August to use as a marketing tool online.

But, in docs filed by the USPTO late Tuesday night, they shot down James' request ... citing it as a "commonplace message."

Essentially, the org says too many people use the phrase "Taco Tuesday" to describe their weekly Mexican meal ... and denied Bron's quest to own the saying.

Also, the USPTO says a "Taco Tuesday" trademark would infringe on a separate trademark that's already been registered, "Techno Taco Tuesday."

For real.

Doesn't seem LeBron will mind too much ... his "Taco Tuesday" game appears to be still going strong.

Which means ... MORE TIME FOR ANTHONY DAVIS TO PREPARE FOR THE NEXT ONE!!!

Kobe Bryant is continuing to explain himself after calling out a 7th grade girl on Instagram for missing a youth basketball game for a dance recital ... saying he did the same thing when he was a kid.

... and there's video proof!!!

Here's a 12-year-old Kobe -- in the green hat -- dancing his face off to "Ice Ice Baby." Nice moves.

Kobe included the caption, "When I was 12, I skipped basketball for two weeks so I could dance in a school show. I’m all about diversifying while young, then locking in on your passion."

What's interesting is Kobe is trying to dance his way out of the hot seat over the caption he posted on Wednesday ... in which he calls out a girl from his daughter's youth basketball team for attending a dance recital instead. Kobe updated the caption after catching hell online but the Internet sees all.

Here's the original caption ...

"Here’s our fourth place 'winners' picture lol six of the kids in the picture stayed with me and worked every single day to get better and continue to work to this day. The 7th player (not in pic) missed this game for a dance recital so that should tell you where her focus was at this time."

"From the original 7 we have added a player TWO years YOUNGER (6th grade now) a player who's team in our area folded and a player who's family moved here from Tennessee. The beauty of coaching is growing te players from the ground up. That journey continues. #Mambas."

Kobe later updated the caption to explain himself ... saying the photo is 2 years old and the girl now lives and breathes basketball:

"The 7th player (not in pic) missed this game for a dance recital so that should tell you where her focus was at this time, meaning she enjoyed dance more than ball which is fine. Now? She eats sleeps and breaths the game. So from this original group of 7 we have added a player TWO years YOUNGER (6th grade now), a player who’s team in our area folded and a player who’s family moved here from Tennessee."

The backlash continued ... so Kobe continued to explain himself online.

Deep breath Pats fans, the drama around Antonio Brown will NOT derail New England's season ... so says Super Bowl MVP Deion Branch.

Branch had 2 stints with the Pats ('02-'05, '10-'12) and won 2 Super Bowls with Brady, Belichick and Kraft ... so he knows the organization inside and out and he's confident the legendary coach knows how to handle controversy.

"Everything starts with Bill," Branch says. "It starts with your leader on the team. Coach Belichick, out of all the years he's been coaching and been a part of numerous different organizations, trust me, this ain't the first time something like this has came up with some of his players. He will do what's best for the organization, that we all know."

As we previously reported, Brown -- in a lawsuit in Florida -- was accused of sexually assaulting and raping a woman on 3 occasions. AB adamantly DENIES the allegations.

On the football field, the Pats had a DOMINANT week 1 performance -- thrashing the Steelers 33-3 -- and Antonio didn't even suit up.

Victor Cruz is all-in on Odell Beckham flossin' with a $350k watch during NFL games ... telling TMZ Sports he LOVES it!!!

It's been a hot topic since OBJ wore an insanely expensive Richard Mille watch in the Browns' match-up against the Titans on Sunday ... considering it's uncommon for a player to wear a timepiece mid-game.

Of course, Cleveland got ROCKED by Tennessee ... but that was almost overshadowed by Odell's accessory, which is NOT approved by the league's rule against wearing "hard objects."

So, when we asked the ex-Giants great about the issue ... Vic is siding with his old teammate.

"The rich get richer, baby," Cruz told us at Cantor Fitzgerald in NYC on Wednesday. "I love it, I love it!!!"

Odell's gonna need the support -- he says he's gonna keep wearing it during games ... no matter what the league says and what fines come his way.