TMZ Sports - Page 50

Houston fans, listen up ... you better be cheering for the Rays on Wednesday night -- 'cause Oakland legend Dave Stewart says the A's can DEFINITELY beat the 'Stros next round!!!

"Houston has been dubbed the American League champions already," Stewart tells TMZ Sports. "But, if the A's get there, I think there's going to be a big challenge for the Astros."

It sounds crazy -- Houston won 107 games this season and has TWO Cy Young candidates on its staff -- but Stewart is convinced the A's can beat the 'Stros.

And, why? The former World Series champ says it's simple -- the A's hit power pitchers VERY well.

"They're not afraid of high-velocity fastballs," Stewart says. "This is a team that swings the bats aggressively."

Of course, in order for the A's to get their crack at Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander ... they've gotta get through the Rays on Wednesday night.

Justin Trudeau is trying to fight his way out of his blackface scandal ... by stepping into the ring with a black boxing champion.

The embattled Canadian Prime Minister put on a pair of gloves, slipped into some boxing trunks and threw on a sleeveless shirt to spar with boxing champ Ali Nestor Wednesday, ahead of the leader's huge debate in his quest for re-election.

Justin looked like he got in a great workout with Ali, a retired boxer who now runs a non-profit geared toward helping disadvantaged youth. Trudeau got some boxing tips from Ali, but more than anything ... this seems all about optics.

As you know ... Trudeau is embroiled in controversy after photos surfaced showing him in blackface when he was 29 years old.

Trudeau's apologized for what he says was a racist lapse of judgment when he dressed up as Aladdin back in the day, but some Canadians have been calling for him to step down and bow out of the race ... and Al Sharpton told us Justin's mea culpa rings hollow.

Great news for David Ortiz and baseball in general -- Big Papi will return to MLB on FOX this weekend for pre and post-game coverage ... just months after he almost died in a shooting.

The 43-year-old was shot in the Dominican Republic on June 9 and underwent several life-saving surgeries since. Ortiz made his first public appearance on Sept. 9 to throw out the 1st pitch at a Red Sox Game in Boston.

But, now another huge step for the MLB legend ... he's healthy enough to join his FOX colleagues Alex Rodriguez and Frank Thomas in the studio to help cover the MLB Playoffs.

Ortiz first worked with MLB on FOX as a guest analyst during the 2014 World Series and he was so good, FOX hired him full-time.

Earlier this week, Ortiz had hinted at his TV return ... showing a picture from last year's World Series coverage when the Dodgers took on the Boston Red Sox.

Lolo Jones says her LSU Tigers are in trouble after the new California NCAA bill got signed ... telling TMZ Sports recruiting could suffer BIG TIME if things don't change!!!

Lolo is a huge LSU fan -- she went there back in the early 2000s -- and she keeps up with the school's athletics regularly.

So, when we got her out in NYC ... we had to ask about the new bill Gavin Newsom just inked which makes it legal for athletes at California universities to profit off their names and likenesses without penalty.

That's when Lolo told us Louisiana better adopt the law too ... OR ELSE!!!

"Right now, California passing this, it gives them an advantage in recruiting," Lolo says.

"Because let's say an athlete is choosing between USC or LSU. Well, now if they know they can monetize their likeness and make money, they will go to USC all day over LSU."

The bill isn't set to go into effect until 2023 ... so states have time to hop on board -- and it seems Lolo is saying they better get on that train ASAP.

"They're going to have to make it fair for all the athletes in the U.S.," Lolo says.

Would you give up your FAVORITE food in the world to lose 15 pounds?!?

NY Knicks rising star Dennis Smith Jr. did ... revealing the key to his Summer weight loss was cutting out the fried deliciousness from his favorite fast food spot on the planet, Bojangles!!!

For those who aren't familiar with the chicken 'n’ biscuit chain, it's HUGE in southeastern states like North Carolina (where Smith Jr. is from). Cam Newton's raved about it too!!!

So, when the 21-year-old showed up to training camp looking slimmer and trimmer than usual ... the media pressed him to reveal his weight-loss secret.

"Yeah, I had to change some of the things I ate," Smith Jr. said, "I’m a country boy, man. We eat DIFFERENT down there."

"I ain’t eat Bojangles for most of the summer ... it helped!"

Of course, Smith says he also ate a bunch of green stuff like kale and spinach ... but it SUCKS compared to Bojangles.

Smith says he feels lighter and stronger and thinks the weight loss will help him better endure the long NBA season. He's probably right.

Also worth noting ... there are NO Bojangles franchises in New York -- so he's out of the danger zone during home games.

But, NY plays on the road in Charlotte, D.C. and Atlanta ... where there are a TON!!!

Evander Holyfield is just a few weeks shy of his 57th birthday ... but he's still ready to throw down -- and will fly to Japan for a charity exhibition in 2020.

Holyfield hasn't fought professionally since May 2011 (he beat Brian Nielsen) -- but "The Real Deal" says he's kept himself in prime shape ever since and he's ready to get back in the ring.

The details about the exhibition fight are unclear but Holyfield says he still thinks he's got the at signature knockout power.

Don't get it twisted, Holyfield says the goal is to raise money for people in need -- and not to annihilate his opponent -- so the bout will be more of a performance than a no-holds-barred fight.

"The big thing is to give people in Japan the opportunity to see the only 4-time heavyweight champion of the world."

In related Holyfield news, Evander's 21-year-old son Evan "Yung Holy" Holyfield is about to make his pro boxing debut on the undercard of the Canelo Alvarez vs. Sergey Kovalev fight.

Evan is taking on Nick Winstead in a 4-round junior middleweight matchup.

"Yung Holy" previously told TMZ Sports he thinks he can be better than his Hall of Fame father.

"My dad always tells me every generation gets better. It's pretty much easy to believe, number one it's in the bible, and the bible don't tell no lies."

Wanna hear about the time Julian Edelman walked in Bill Belichick taking a soak in a hot tub while BUTT-ASS NEKKED?! Well, good news for you!

The New England Patriots WR broke down the hilarious tale from his rookie year in a deleted scene from his Showtime documentary "100% Julian Edelman" -- describing the run-in as you'd expect ... "extremely uncomfortable."

"I saw that he saw that I was in there, and then he got up and got out," Edelman says, "And, real good party foul by coach. I mean, we’re supposed to have shorts on."

"But, I guess at 11 o’clock [at night], when you’re the G.O.A.T. of coaching, you go wherever you want ... freeball."

YO EVERYONE -- BILL BELICHICK LIKES TO HOT TUB NAKED!!!!! This is crazy!!!

What did Edelman do after seeing his coach in the buff?? He jumped right in the tub and tried to forget about it ... but clearly, he couldn't.

"So, I sit in the hot tub, I’m already extremely uncomfortable, I don’t know what to think. I didn’t know that people went into hot tubs without swim trunks at a public facility. I accepted it ... it’s coach.”

Of course, the awkwardness didn't end there -- Edelman and BB ended up having ANOTHER encounter after the hot tub incident ... and somehow the star receiver was able to gather up the courage to say how impressive it was to see him at the facility so late at night.

And, coach's response?? "It beats being a plumber. See you tomorrow."

Edelman's reaction?? "I was mind f**ked."

Police have released body cam footage of Tennessee running back Jeremy Banks' September arrest ... where the player is heard saying, "Where I'm from, we shoot at cops."

The 19-year-old running back was arrested for an outstanding warrant after he was initially pulled over for an illegal U-turn on Sept. 15 (hours after the Volunteers' win over UT-Chattanooga).

During the arrest, Banks tells officers he plays for the Vols ... and asks them several times to have them call head coach Jeremy Pruitt.

Once on the phone, Pruitt says he was aware of the previous traffic ticket, but didn't know there was a warrant out for Banks' arrest for failing to appear in court.

When in the back of the police car, Banks starts going OFF on the cops, saying, "I don't like the police, bro. Hell nah," and "Y'all police are some p*****s, bro. Real s**t, I don't f**k with y'all."

At one point, Banks says the following to a female intern who's participating in a ride-along -- "You don't wanna be an intern because where I'm from we shoot at cops. I'm from Memphis, Tennessee."

Banks eventually calms down -- even singing and giving compliments to the officer on his way to the detention center.

The running back released a statement on Tuesday, saying, “I want to sincerely apologize to my family, the University of Tennessee and the law enforcement community. I deeply regret my language and attitude in the video."

Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott have separated -- either temporarily or permanently -- but they don't see the need for a child custody agreement, and that follows a long tradition in the Kardashian clan.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us, none of the sisters have ever put pen to paper to set the ground rules for custody. Our sources say Khloe and Tristan don't have a written custody agreement regarding True, and Kourtney and Scott also don't have anything in writing -- mind you, they have 3 kids.

When relationships hit the rocks and kids are involved, it's typical for parents to run to their lawyers and to court with a very specific custody arrangement -- how much physical and legal custody does each parent get, who gets the kid(s) for various holidays, who pays child support, etc. There are no such agreements with Kylie, Khloe and Kourtney.

Comedy titan Keegan-Michael Key has an idea to stop Vontaze Burfict-style helmet-to-helmet hits in the NFL ... and while it's definitely out there, he might have a point.

He's suggesting the end of the helmet. The way he sees it ... no helmet means no helmet-to-helmet hits.

We got Key out on the town in L.A. (super nice guy BTW) and asked him what he thought of the league suspending Burfict for the 2019 entire season for that nasty hit on Colts tight end Jack Doyle.

Key said the hit was definitely over the line, but floated that idea that the head will always be used as a weapon, if the head is protected.

"There's this idea that if we have armor on or pads on that we're invincible. I think that ... in a way ... it encourages the helmet to helmet [hits]."

Key says if the NFL outlawed the helmet, player would think safety first ... and not head first.

"I think it would be interesting if we didn't have the helmets then people's natural instinct to take care of themselves would take over."

KMK isn't the first person to suggest getting rid of helmets, with some pointing to rugby as an example of a rugged, physical, sport that has less issue with head trauma then the NFL.

However, after dipping into the issue a little bit, we've learned CTE is becoming a HUGE issue in the rugby world, with very strict rules being implemented to protect the players.

Arizona Cardinals owner and billionaire businessman Bill Bidwill died on Wednesday ... the team announced. He was 88 years old.

"Bill Bidwill was a person of faith, family and football ... and throughout his life, the 3 were intertwined," Cards superstar Larry Fitzgerald said in a tribute video.

"In the NFL, Mr. B was consistently at the leading edge when it came to embracing diversity and providing equal opportunities," Fitzgerald added.

Bidwill hired the NFL's first black female executive (Adele Harris) and first head coach/GM combination (Dennis Green and Rod Graves).

Prosecutors ain't going down in their case against Robert Kraft without a fight ... they just filed docs saying a judge was wrong to bar them from using the graphic sex spa video in court.

78-year-old Kraft scored a huge victory in the case last May, when a judge ruled police surveillance video of him allegedly receiving sex acts inside the Orchids of Asia spa in Florida could NOT be used in the case.

The judge claimed when cops executed their search warrant and planted cameras inside the spa ... they didn't do enough to protect people who were inside the spa getting perfectly legal massages.

In court docs filed this week ... prosecutors are firing back at that ruling, saying the judge was DEAD WRONG -- and want the video to be allowed in the case against Kraft.

In the docs, they argue cops handled everything the right way in the investigation ... saying if police had taken bigger steps to protect potentially innocent people, it would have "frustrated the objectives of the search."

They claim that of the 39 massage recordings ... only 4 didn't capture illegal activity.

Prosecutors are asking the court reverse the suppression order ... and if it's granted -- it would mean the Kraft video has a chance to go public once again.

It's unclear when the Courts of Appeal is expected to make a ruling ... but it could be soon.

Kawhi Leonard is REALLY embracing the Hollywood life now that he's an L.A. Clipper -- because his new workout partner is ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER!!

The NBA superstar hit up the legendary Gold's Gym in Venice Beach on Tuesday ... where Arnold was ripping off a set of 1-arm preacher curls.

The two were seen chatting it up in the gym while a camera crew captured the entire interaction. Unclear what the guys were filming, but they looked like they were having fun.

Fun Fact: The Gold's Gym in Venice is the ORIGINAL Gold's Gym ... made famous in the 1977 bodybuilding flick, "Pumping Iron," which featured Arnold in all of his shredded glory.

So, does this mean Ahnald roots for the Clippers over the Lakers this year?! Not so fast ...

Derek Carr is going to bat for his Oakland Raiders teammate, Vontaze Burfict -- insisting he's not the violent monster people think he is ... he's just misunderstood.

The Raiders QB was asked about the linebacker Wednesday morning after the NFL suspended Burfict for the rest of the 2019 season for a dirty hit on Indianapolis Colts tight end Jack Doyle.

The NFL justified its severe punishment based on Burfict's well-documented history of dirty hits throughout his career ... including a nasty shot on Carr's former Raiders teammate, Antonio Brown.

But, Carr says Vontaze is "a great person" and thinks he's getting a bad rap.

"I think he's one of the most misunderstood people in the NFL," Carr said.

Carr says he didn't know anything about Burfict before the Raiders signed him during the offseason ... but "he quickly turned into one my favorite teammates I've ever had."

"He's one of the most genuine, awesome people I've been around. He's a great teammate. He works his tail off and he's a great guy."

Carr added ... "I know he's had history in other places, but I think people change."

"I don’t think he was trying to hurt that man. The man was going down, you know we can, you see it all the time, there's flags flying everywhere, but if we think about football, the guy caught it here and he's already going to hit him and he starting to go down, obviously you’re going to hit him a little higher than you expected."

"We see other people choking people out and they're going to play this Sunday. We see other people hitting people in the helmets and they're going to play this Sunday. And, Vontaze won't play for the rest of the year? I think that’s a little excessive if you ask me. I don’t think it's fair."

Carr says Burfict's "heart is broken" over the suspension ... "He just wants to play football."

Raiders head coach Jon Gruden also weighed in on the punishment ... saying, "It hurts our team really bad. And, I'm anxious to see what the appeal says. I'm not happy about it, at all. And, I don't want to say anything else about it. I'm obviously upset about it."

Some bad news, good news for Dodgers fans ...

Bad news ... Corey Seager was involved in a minor car crash Tuesday afternoon before a workout at Dodger Stadium.

Good news ... he's fine, no injuries.

The superstar shortstop was driving in L.A. when a person in a parked car opened their door, and Seager struck it, according to Bill Plunkett of the O.C. Register.

Both cars suffered damage, but no one was hurt, Plunkett says.

Seager eventually made it to Dodger Stadium and looked unfazed during workouts.

Of course, the Dodgers are gearing up for Game 1 of the Division Playoffs against the Washington Nationals on Thursday night ... so they're gonna need a healthy Seager!!!

The only possible lingering issue for the 25-year-old star ... he's probably gonna have to cough up some dough to fix the car he hit.

Seager reportedly raked in $4 million in salary for the Dodgers in 2019 ... but the guy's an absolute stud so a FAT  payday is coming in his future.

Justin Bieber is siding with Logan Paul in his boxing rematch with KSI next month ... and guess who ain't happy about that???

Yup ... KSI tells TMZ Sports he has one message for Bieber -- "F*** you, Justin!!!"

The Biebs made his Team Paul allegiances known in the IG comments when the Nov. 9 fight at Staples Center was announced last month ... telling Logan to "rip his head off."

KSI admits it's pretty cool to know that Bieber knows who he is, but makes it VERY clear he's gonna prove JB backed the wrong boxer.