TMZ Sports - Page 50

Charles Barkley is going scorched earth on "idiots" who are criticizing the NBA's handling of the China situation ... calling people "jackasses" and hypocrites for blasting the league!!

The ex-NBA superstar says he can't believe the way people are coming at Adam Silver ... saying there are BILLIONS of dollars on the line, and he understands why the league is trying to finesse its way through the drama.

In fact, Barkley says those criticizing the association are a bunch of hypocrites ... saying the same people who grilled Colin Kaepernick for taking a stance are now the ones hating on the NBA for NOT taking one!

"First of all, you guys have been killing Colin Kaepernick for the last X amount of years," Barkley said on the 'Dan Patrick Show' on Thursday.

"Now, all the sudden you want to control what happens in a foreign country?"

If you missed it ... Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey incited an international controversy just a few days ago when he tweeted his support for protesters in Hong Kong.

For the most part ... NBA players and execs have shied away from backing Morey -- and Barkley says he certainly gets why.

"They have billions of dollars at stake," Barkley says. "It's a business decision. I understand the NBA. The players and the owners both got billions of dollars at stake."

As for those who don't get it ... he didn't hold back on ripping them, by calling them "idiots and jackasses and fools."

"No one f*cks with us, ever!"

That's St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Shildt GOING OFF in a spectacular f-bomb-laced locker room speech after his team upset the Braves -- and it's AWESOME!!

"Now, I don't give a f**k who we play. We're gonna f**k them up!"

Atlanta and St. Louis had a chippy NLDS ... and after the Redbirds closed it out 13-1 in Game 5 Wednesday -- Shildt broke out all the cuss words!

"They started some s**t. We finished the s**t," Shildt says in the vid captured by St. Louis outfielder Randy Arozarena. "And, that's how we roll."

Arozarena apologized for posting the footage because it was supposed to be a private moment, but it was still awesome to watch.

"We're gonna take it right to them the whole f**king way. We're gonna kick their f**king ass!"

By the way, "they" is now the Washington Nationals. The two squads are set to face off in the NLCS, a best of 7 series.

As for Shildt, he's known for being a super nice and calm dude -- remember how awesome he was to TMZ Sports when we got him out in NYC earlier this year???

But, clearly, he's got a fiery side ... 'cause his locker room speech was EPIC!!!

As for why he was so jacked up ... St. Louis was pissed off at Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr. all series long for his antics at the dish (there were bat flipping and base-running dancing).

Dodgers fans were SO PISSED at Clayton Kershaw for blowing yet another playoff game Wednesday ... they straight-up invited people at Dodger Stadium to run over his jersey!!!

L.A. was up 3-1 late in Game 5 of its NLDS finale with the Nationals ... when Dave Roberts tabbed Kershaw to help close out the game.

But the 3-time Cy Young winner -- who has a long history of fumbling in the playoffs -- choked ... and gave up the Dodgers' lead on back-to-back homers in the 8th.

Of course, the Dodgers went on to lose the game in the 10th inning ... and that's when L.A. fans took to the stadium parking lot with Kershaw jerseys in hand.

You can see in video shot by LZ Granderson ... people laid the No. 22 jersey just beneath tires, and fans happily ran it over.

For his part, 31-year-old Kershaw admitted to sucking once again ... telling reporters after the game, "Everything people say is true right now about the postseason. I understand that."

He added, "Nothing I can do about it right now. It's a terrible feeling. It really is."

The star pitcher ultimately gave up 5 earned runs in 6.1 innings in his two appearances in the series ... and added after Game 5, "I might not get over it."

For their part, his teammates tried to stick up for him and are already forgiving the guy for his poor postseason.

LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Dwight Howard and the rest of the Lakers have taken the floor at the Mercedes Benz Arena in Shanghai to play an NBA game, despite protesters at the venue.

With the Chinese government fuming at the NBA over Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey's support of Hong Kong, there were questions if this game would even happen.

But, it's definitely going down right now ... the Lakers are taking on the Brooklyn Nets in one of the most controversial preseason games ever ... since it's now at the center of an International incident.

Protesters outside of the arena held Chinese flags and a sign reading, "F*ck You Morey."

Inside, it seems to be a different story ... with fans cheering LeBron and wearing jerseys of their favorite NBA teams. Some fans even painted their faces.

LeBron was wearing headphones while warming up, seemingly to tune out the noise surrounding the game.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver is currently in Shanghai trying to salvage the league's relationship with China but it doesn't seem to be going great right now.

China has already blacklisted the Houston Rockets and have removed NBA signage from around the country.

Move over, Trey Songz ... there's a new Mr. Steal Your Girl in town -- Philadelphia Flyers' mascot, Gritty ... who just pulled up from half-court to shoot his shot at Lindsey Vonn!!

The equally lovable/scary orange thing(?!?!) went after New Jersey Devils star P.K. Subban during pregame warm-ups Wednesday night ... crashing the boards with a hilarious sign that read "Lindsey could do better" ... and a bunch of arrows pointing up to that unforgettable Gritty grin.

Of course, P.K. and the Olympic skier have been dating for a while now ... and the defenseman popped the question back in August.

The couple *was* planning to tie the knot ... but who knows if that's still the case now that Gritty's jumped into the picture.

P.K. seemed unfazed by the hilarious taunting ... but the Flyers still came away with the 4-0 win over the Devils.

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."