TMZ Sports - Page 50

Tyron Woodley says his true love is boxing, and his dream match-up is Canelo Alvarez. Oh, and T-Wood says if he landed a power shot, it'd be lights out for the Mexican star.

The UFC superstar joined Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weeknights on FS1) ... when Tyron revealed that boxing -- and not mixed martial arts -- was his first love.

"All I wanted to do is box when I came up. I just started MMA at 23, so I felt I was a little old to start boxing at that age. But, since I was a kid, that's the only sport I've ever wanted to do. So, most of my training is boxing training."

And, just 'cause he hasn't officially stepped into the ring, doesn't mean Woodley couldn't knock high-level boxers on their asses.

"I still can box right now."

We asked Tyron for his dream match-up ... and it ain't Logan Paul.

"I want Canelo. I wanted Canelo. I want the number 1 guy."

Tim Tebow -- the GREATEST Florida Gators football player ever -- is issuing a warning to UF fans ... our team's good, but Death Valley is a HARD place to win!!

TMZ Sports saw Tim Wednesday morning in NYC ... and we asked him about #7 Florida vs. #5 LSU in Baton Rouge this Saturday.

The college football world is pumped for one of the most highly anticipated games of the entire season ... but what's Tebow think?

"They're doing well, this is a big weekend for them, though. Going to Death Valley is never easy."

If ya don't know ... Tiger Stadium, where LSU plays, is colloquially known as Death Valley -- and it holds over 100,000 fans.

So yeah, it's hard to beat LSU in their house.

But, if the Gators can topple star QB Joe Burrow and LSU, Tim put the would-be win into perspective in terms we can all understand.

"It'd be a big one for them."

The answer to the international crap storm of an incident between the NBA and China ... well, it's Dennis Rodman, according to, Dennis Rodman.

In case you somehow haven't heard ... China's relationship with the NBA is super strained after Rockets GM Daryl Morey expressed support for protesters in Hong Kong.

China cut bait with the NBA -- and that's a HUGE financial blow for the league -- but all may not be lost.

Enter, The Worm.

Rodman posted a video on Twitter Wednesday ... calling on the NBA to put him on a plane to China so he can smooth over the situation.

"Commissioner Adam Silver, I know a thing or two about diplomacy. Book me a ticket to Shanghai with you, Ambassador Rodman."

In the video, Dennis is holding 2 images ... a photo of him and President Trump, and another of him and Kim Jong-Un.

That's the thing ... if nothing else, Rodman does have personal relationships with some very powerful people.

Maybe it's just crazy enough to work???

Evelyn Lozada has beelined it to court asking for a restraining order against "Basketball Wives" costar OG Chijindu.

Evelyn's filed legal docs asking for a temporary restraining order against OG in light of all their beef over the last few months. A judge has yet to rule on Evelyn's request for a restraining order. Evelyn's been down this road before back in September ... following a meltdown on the show's reunion.

As we first reported ... Evelyn sued OG claiming she's called her a racist bigot on social media ever since Evelyn posted a cryptic message back in September.

The Atlanta Braves did NOT pass out their traditional foam tomahawks prior to Game 5 of the NLDS on Wednesday ... after St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Ryan Helsley -- a member of the Cherokee tribe -- spoke out against the promotion.

FYI -- the Braves have passed out the foam tomahawks on each seat in the stadium for postseason games in the past ... and adopted the accompanying chant from Florida State when Deion Sanders played for Atlanta in the 1990s.

Helsley made it clear he wasn't a fan of the props -- or the "Tomahawk Chop" chant that comes with it -- earlier in the Cards' series with ATL ... saying it misrepresents Native Americans.

"[It] just depicts them in this kind of caveman-type people way who aren't intellectual," Helsley told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Presidential candidate Julian Castro says the NBA should seize the opportunity to push America's constitutional principles in China, even if it ends up costing the league millions.

The Democratic hopeful came on "TMZ Live" Wednesday to discuss the international feud between the league and the Republic, over Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey's comment supporting Hong Kong protesters.

Julian firmly believes the NBA -- and other American companies doing biz in China -- have to draw an ethical line in the sand ... even if that means pressuring a foreign country to adopt America's ideals about freedom of speech and the right to protest.

Post Malone is making good on his $20,000 bet with YG ... finally paying up 9 months after his beloved Dallas Cowboys lost to the L.A. Rams in the NFL playoffs.

Posty had his manager, Dre London, personally deliver the cash to YG in a manila envelope Monday in Los Angeles. The handoff went down on the set of Tyla Yaweh's music video shoot for his collab with YG, "I Think I Luv Her."

As you know ... Post Malone is a huge Cowboys fan, and he put a ton of action on their playoff game, back in January, against the Rams. YG's a big supporter -- the Compton rapper sits in an endzone suite at pretty much all of the Rams' home games -- and loves talking trash to his opponents.

President Trump is BLASTING Steve Kerr ... calling him a hypocrite who acted like a scared little boy when asked to comment on the relationship between the NBA and China.

If you missed it, Rockets GM Daryl Morey sparked an international crap show when he Tweeted support for protesters in Hong Kong ... infuriating China.

Since Morey fired off the Tweet, the NBA has done virtually everything to get back in China's good graces ... with team owners, the commish and even James Harden apologizing.

Fast-forward to earlier this week ... Warriors head coach Steve Kerr -- who's extremely outspoken when it comes to American politics -- was asked if he had a comment on the China/NBA situation ... and he didn't exactly take a hard stance.

"Um, actually, I don't, I mean, it's a really, it's a really bizarre international story, and a lot of us don't know what to make of it, so um, it's something I'm reading about, just like everybody is. But, I'm not gonna comment further."

Oakland Raiders linebacker Vontaze Burfict had support from his coach and star QB during his appeal of a season-ending suspension … with Jon Gruden and Derek Carr vouching for the controversial player.

Burfict was banned from the league for the remainder of the 2019-2020 season after his violent helmet-to-helmet hit on Colts tight end Jack Doyle during their Week 4 match-up.

The 29-year-old spoke with league officials for more than an hour on Wednesday ... in an attempt to get back sooner than next season.

According to ESPN's Josina Anderson, the Raiders pointed out that despite Burfict's violent history, he hadn’t been flagged in over 190 plays ... until the one against Doyle.

Burfict himself reportedly broke down the play in question, explaining why the hit happened and emphasizing that he was not trying to injure Doyle.

The Raiders also pointed out that Burfict has been trying to change his playing style and was named team captain for his leadership.

Carr praised Burfict last week, saying, “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.”

The NFL seemed adamant to make an example out of Burfict, handing him the longest suspension for an individual play in league history.

Rihanna is opening up on her decision to turn down the NFL's invitation to perform at the Super Bowl last year ... saying she "couldn't dare do that" to Colin Kaepernick.

It was widely reported RiRi rejected an offer to perform on Feb. 3 2019 for the SB 53 halftime show -- the biggest entertainment event in the world -- because she believed the controversial NFL QB was being blackballed.

In her cover story with Vogue, the singer confirmed she was taking a stand against the league.

"I couldn’t dare do that. For what? Who gains from that? Not my people," Rihanna says ... "I just couldn’t be a sellout. I couldn’t be an enabler."

"There’s things within that organization that I do not agree with at all, and I was not about to go and be of service to them in any way.”

The 76ers are explaining why 2 fans with "Free Hong Kong" signs were kicked out of Tuesday's game against a Chinese basketball team ... saying the couple was a "disruption of the fan experience."

A man and woman -- holding signs and wearing pro-Hong Kong protester shirts -- were escorted out of the Wells Fargo Center in Philly during the first half of the Sixers' game against the Guangzhou Loong Lions.

The Sixers released a statement Wednesday breaking down the Wells Fargo Center staff's decision to eject the fans ... claiming they were warned several times to keep the peace.

"At last evening’s game, following multiple complaints from guests and verbal confrontations with others in attendance, two individuals were warned by Wells Fargo Center staff about their continuing disruption of the fan experience," the team said in a statement.

“Ultimately, the decision was made by Wells Fargo Center personnel to remove the guests from the premises, which was accomplished without incident.”

Wells Fargo Center officials say they warned the couple 3 separate times before kicking them out.

On the way out of the arena, one of the ejected fans reportedly told a local news outlet that security said, "no foul language, no politics."

Antonio Brown says the Patriots are gonna have to cough up the money he believes they owe him ... and he wouldn't mind catching some TDs for them in the process.

The controversial NFL superstar has made it clear that he wants back in the league after getting cut by New England last month ... and on Wednesday, he told his followers to "tell [the Patriots] to call me" during a mid-workout live stream on IG.

"They still gotta pay me, might as well let me earn it," Brown said.

Of course, Brown filed grievances against the Patriots earlier this month in an attempt to get his $9 million signing bonus and remaining guaranteed salary from New England.

A banner promoting the Lakers-Nets preseason game in China -- featuring LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis -- was torn down Wednesday ... in the wake of the international crap storm sparked by the Rockets GM's support of protesters in Hong Kong.

The teams were scheduled to play a preseason game Thursday in Shanghai ... but that was before general manager Daryl Morey tweeted, "Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong" ... igniting an international incident that led to China basically cutting ties with the Rockets and the NBA.

The Lakers-Nets game hasn't officially been canned ... but for those Chinese fans hoping to peep Bron, AD and Kyrie on the court ... the gigantic banner being ripped down ain't a good sign.

Richard Sherman wants to extend an olive branch to Baker Mayfield ... saying he's sorry for causing a massive controversy by alleging the Browns QB snubbed him of a handshake before Monday's game.

Sherman went OFF on Bake after the San Francisco 49ers destroyed Cleveland on Monday Night Football ... saying, "What's amazing and annoying was him not shaking hands at the beginning ... "That's some college s***."

The 4-time Pro Bowler went on to say Bake's non-dap was "disrespectful to the game" and the Niners saw it as motivation.

But, after footage seemed to contradict Sherman's side of things ... he decided to come out and say Mayfield deserves an apology for all the hubbub he started.

"It's definitely my bad," Sherman told "The Pat McAfee Show" on Wednesday. "I never want anybody to have to deal with some stuff that they didn't do."

"And, so the questions that he's gonna get and the annoying, nonsense questions about some stuff that happened in a game that's already been done, sure he'll get an apology for that."

"I'll probably reach out to him via text or social media to actually get ahold of him and talk to him on the phone."

"Yeah, because that sucks. He definitely deserves an apology, and that's my bad on that."

Sherman says he meant what he said though ... that he DID feel disrespected by how Baker acted at midfield prior to the beatdown on the Browns.

Baker has yet to speak out on "HandshakeGate" ... but it's only a matter of time.

"That gentleman just barehanded the ball, he was excited. He got an $8 baseball!"

That gentleman is Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end O.J. Howard, who went home with a souvenir after impressively snagging a foul ball during the Rays playoff game against the Houston Astros Tuesday night!!

Of course, the 24-year-old was the offensive MVP at Alabama when the Tide won the title in 2016, and went on to be a first-round pick to the Bucs in 2017.

The video is great ... Howard throws his arm up in the bottom of the 8th inning to grab the ball with ease, like he was catching a throw from Jameis Winston.

O.J. secured the ball, and proceeded to lose his mind with excitement!!

At first, the announcing crew didn't recognize O.J. ... but when they showed the replay of the highlight play, they weren't as shocked the pro TE was able to come down with the ball.

"Of course, he has good hands, it's Bucs tight end O.J. Howard!!," Kenny Albert said on the broadcast.

"Yeah, he better catch it!!" Joe Girardi joked.

Jon Jones is in a war of words with Israel Adesanya ... and UFC star Corey Anderson says there's a good reason why he's doing anything he can to avoid fighting Anderson.

TMZ Sports got Anderson -- 7th ranked UFC lightweight -- at a media event for his management company, Dominance MMA ... and we asked him about a prospective fight with Jones.

"At this point I think he's just trying to avoid me. I showed up to one of his autograph signings, he wanted to crack jokes and everything. So, I walked up to the fence to say something to him and he called security."

"He knows what it is. He knows I'm there. He knows I'm the real deal. He knows I'm gonna be the biggest threat."

Corey also sent a message to the light heavyweight champ ... "Mr. Jon Jones, go ahead, keep the throne warm for me, baby. Keep my seat hot cause I'm coming and I'm ready for it."

These guys clearly don't like each other, and Corey BADLY wants to fight Jones ... but before that can happen, he's got a fight with one of the biggest rising stars in the UFC, Johnny Walker.

Anderson and Walker are fighting at UFC 244 in November ... and he tells us he has 1 main objective.

Derail the hype train.