TMZ Sports - Page 50

Terrell Owens says the Dallas Cowboys could be 9-3 by the end of November ... IF Jerry Jones would just fire Jason Garrett already!!!

"I guarantee if he made a change right now, it would probably re-liven, rejuvenate that locker room," Owens says. "If they get rid of him, they may go on a six-game winning streak!"

Owens -- who trashed the hell out of his former coach on Twitter over the weekend -- elaborated on his disdain for JG on 95.7 "The Game" on Tuesday.

TO says it's blatantly obvious to him that Garrett has lost the Cowboys' locker room ... and a viral clip of Dallas players ignoring the coach's high-five attempts proves his point.

"Clearly, he doesn't have the heartbeat of that locker room," Owens says. "I'm telling you, if they got rid of Jason Garrett today, tomorrow -- these guys are going to play lights out."

Owens -- who played receiver for the Cowboys in 2007 and 2008 when Garrett was the offensive coordinator -- says he has no idea why Jones insists on keeping the guy around.

"Maybe Jason Garrett has something on Jerry Jones," Owens joked. "Some personal information that if he cuts him, maybe he's going to be whistleblower or something!"

Who needs a translator?!? Not Aaron Rodgers!!!

The Green Bay Packers QB flexed his Espanol during a post-game interview with ESPN Deportes on Monday night ... and it wasn't bad!!!

Of course, he wasn't exactly giving a lecture on geopolitics in Spanish ... he just used a few short phrases to praise his teammates' 23 to 22 victory over the Detroit Lions, but still -- impressive!!!

"Esto es un equipo increíble," Rodgers said ... "Te amo estos hombres."

Loose translation ... "This is an incredible team. I love those guys!"

The guy doing the interview, John Sutcliffe, was impressed -- and when Rodgers described himself as the old man on the team, Sutcliffe gave him a new Spanish nickname, "El Viejito."

By the way, Rodgers had a pretty decent game given his top WRs were all out with injuries -- completing 24 of 39 passes with 283 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT.

Rob Gronkowski is putting the rumors to rest once and for all ... saying he is NOT coming out of retirement to return to the New England Patriots.

There have been rumblings for weeks that the All-Pro tight end was considering a comeback after retiring last season ... with the 30-year-old himself even teasing he'd be back in Week 14.

But, Gronk has finally put the speculation to rest on WEEI's "The Greg Hill Show" on Tuesday ... when one caller asked to give a definitive "yes" or "no" to whether there was a chance he could throw on the #87 jersey again.

"When I retired, I retired for a reason: because I needed to step away," Gronk said. "So, it would be a 'no.' There it is."

"I never say 'no,' because I've said 'no,' and everyone's like, 'Yeah ... he's kidding. He's coming back,' ... But it's a 'no.' In my mind, that's how it is. It's a no."

Of course, Gronk has moved on to promoting CBD Medic and has explained how it has kept his body finally pain-free after years of wear and tear.

He's also said he's had probably 20 concussions and 5 blackouts throughout his football career, so it shouldn't come as a surprise he's ready to put that behind.

North Korea faced off with South Korea in a historic soccer World Cup qualifier ... but nobody saw it -- 'cause North Korea didn't allow fans in the stadium OR a TV broadcast.

The meeting between the two teams on Monday -- which ended in a 0-0 tie -- was surreal ... it was reportedly the first match between the two national squads in Pyongyang EVER.

But ... North Korean officials reportedly put massive restrictions on who could view the game -- with no TV coverage, no fans in the stands and no journalists allowed.

Check out the pics ... it's straight-up eerie.

Of course, North Korea and South Korea have a tense relationship ... the two countries are technically still at war -- and reports say everything surrounding the match was strained.

According to international reports ... the South Koreans were forced to leave their cell phones at the South Korean Embassy -- and communication to and from the game was nearly impossible.

As for fans who wanted to follow the match ... their only option to watch it live consisted of brief posts about the match on FIFA and Asian Football Confederation websites.

But, North Korea will reportedly hand over a DVD of the game to South Korea this week so it can broadcast the match to its fans on tape delay at a later date.

Backlash over the blacked-out match has been strong in South Korea ... with many fans upset over the lack of coverage.

He's wrestled live bears and sprinted up mountains, but now Khabib Nurmagomedov is taking his training to the next level ... swimming a freezing cold Dagestani river!

Oh, and he's swimming against a pretty strong current!!!

THIS IS INSANE!!

Khabib -- who recently defeated Dustin Poirier -- is gearing up for a tough fight (presumably against Tony Ferguson) and he's not wasting any time getting into fight shape.

Which is why he ended up taking a dip in a river in Kizilyurt -- a small town in Dagestan.

Khabib's pal (who goes by King Farruh) shot the footage and gave his account of the session.

"Hard work and dedication from champ khabib_nurmagomedov. Today was very cold, he doesn’t care."

"Water was very cold I tried to put my feet and almost freeze my a$$ off. Tony you’re in trouble!"

Enes Kanter has a message for LeBron James -- "FREEDOM IS NOT FREE."

Moments after LeBron broke his silence on the situation with China, the Turkish-born Boston Celtics player went to Twitter to express his disgust, as illustrated by the green "sick face" emoji.

Oh, and when LeBron pointed out that he and his team had a "difficult week" dealing with the fallout of Daryl Morey's pro-Hong Kong tweets while the Lakers were in China, Kanter essentially had this to say to Bron, "Boo hoo!"

Tito Ortiz's love for the Trump family is definitely mutual -- with the UFC legend getting invited to hang with the President after a private lunch with Don Jr. and Eric Trump.

Tito's camp tells TMZ Sports ... Eric personally reached out to Tito last week when he heard the MMA superstar was in New York -- and the two sides quickly arranged a lunch date at Trump Tower.

"Secret Service walked us through crowds to a private room in Trump's restaurant," Tito's rep tells us.

"They talked fights and politics before Donald Jr. came down to join before heading off to a campaign event."

An NBA player being compared to Charles Barkley isn't always a good thing -- especially when it comes to golf ... because Mortiz Wagner is giving Chuck a run for his money for WORST SWING EVER!!!

NO EXAGGERATION -- THIS DUDE IS A PRO ATHLETE AND COULDN'T HIT THE BROADSIDE OF A BARN!!!

Here's the deal ... 22-year-old Mortiz joined the rest of his Washington Wizards teammates for an outing at Top Golf in Virginia on Monday -- and saying it went poorly for Wagner is a gross understatement.

Watch the vid ...the 6'11" power forward missed so badly, he nearly took a chunk out of the floor mat ... and his Mulligan swing wasn't much better.

But, is it worse than Barkley??? Watch and compare ...

And, get this, Mo's swing was so terrible ... Wagner's ex-Lakers teammate, Josh Hart, went to social media to make fun of him.

"Bro what is this...." Hart wrote.

Wagner tried to defend his painful assault on golf balls by firing back, "This was literally my worst try. I hit that thing over the net one time I swear."

Sure, Mo ...

As for the Hart-Wagner rivalry ... the two have been good for a TON of laughs over the last year -- remember when Josh got after Mo for his Michigan ring last season?!?

Forget the Eiffel Tower ... S.F. Giants rookie Mauricio Dubon turned to Paris' version of Mickey Mouse to propose to his smokin' hot GF -- and it worked, 'cause she told him yes!!

Dubon -- one of the top minor league prospects in the MLB heading into this season -- was on an offseason vacay with his girlfriend, Nancy Herrera, when he decided to get down on one knee at Disneyland Paris.

Right in front of a pond and Mickey shrubbery ... the 25-year-old shortstop asked Nancy to marry him -- and she said of course!!

The video is adorable ... the two look SUPER happy -- and Nancy wrote on social media afterward, "I LOVE YOU and what a great blessing to be able to share the rest of my days with my best friend and the love of my life"

Mauricio ain't a star yet -- he's still an up-and-comer in the big leagues ... but he sure knows how to pick out a ring -- check out the INSANE rock!!!

Don't worry, Dubon can afford it ... he played on a 1-year, $555,000 deal this season -- and he could be in line for a fat contract if he lives up to his potential in 2020.

Congrats!!!

Rule #1 of celebrating a championship -- MAKE SURE YOU DON'T FALL OFF THE PARADE TRUCK.

Members of the Gaelic football team Enniskerry GAA ended up having to celebrate their  Wicklow Junior B-level football championship in the hospital over the weekend ... after several players fell off the parade bus when the railing gave out.

The video is INSANE ... members of the team were losing their minds celebrating the big win ... right when they went tumbling to the ground.

Somehow, the team says the 9 players involved are expected to make a full recovery after being transported to a nearby hospital.

"Thankfully all the lads are doing ok, 3 were sent home in the early hours of this morning, another 2 have been sent home earlier today with another expected this evening leaving 3 remaining in Vincent’s."

"No injuries are life threatening however some do require surgery," the team added.

"Thankfully all injured will pull through this and the team are under strict instructions from Barto to make sure they finally have a drink out of that cup later this evening!!"

Drink up, lads ... you're champions!! And, stay away from railings. They can no longer be trusted.

Ice Cube says he knows how the L.A. Dodgers can finally stop choking in the playoffs -- SIGN MORE BLACK GUYS!!!

He's not joking ... we spoke with Cube (briefly) about the Blue Crew's habitual crashing and burning in the MLB playoffs and the rap legend summed it up this way.

"They need to get some black ballplayers."

We checked out the Dodgers roster ... and yeah, they're definitely lacking when it comes to black players.

UFC star Joanna Jedrzejczyk says Dana White is right ... she intentionally misled the media to think she was in danger of missing weight before fighting Michelle Waterson as part of a "mental game" to mess with her opponent.

"It was a head game, mental game," Joanna tells TMZ Sports ... "Everything work out so good. I was not even close to missing the weight."

Remember, Dana White blew up at the MMA media -- including ESPN -- claiming reports suggesting Joanna's main event fight this past Saturday was in jeopardy were just wrong.

There were stories that Joanna was coming into fight week heavy and if Waterson didn't accept a catchweight, the fight would be called off.

But, Joanna says she was never in danger of missing weight ... adding, "We should trust Dana always!!!"

In the end, Joanna DID make weight and dominated Waterson -- despite badly injuring her right foot in the 2nd round of their 5-round war.

Shockingly, Joanna says she was just informed the foot is NOT broken -- and she'll get back to training soon to get ready for a strawweight title fight with Zhang Weili.

Meantime, Joanna is chillin' on the beach in Miami -- enjoying the fruits of her labor.

Michael Rapaport ain't taking too kindly to Kevin Durant's uncool assessment of his beloved NY Knicks ... and sent this message to the Brooklyn Nets star:

"You got a big task in front of you -- you and your flat-earth friend, Kyrie Irving -- don't worry about the New York Knicks right now."

KD set social media on fire last week when discussing his decision to sign with Brooklyn instead of the Knickerbockers ... saying "The cool thing right now is not the Knicks.”

Durant basically said the Knicks haven't been good in decades and young people see the organization as more of a joke (since that's all they know) than a legendary franchise.

Enter Rapaport -- who'll stop at nothing to defend his beloved hoops team. He tells TMZ Sports KD is DEAD WRONG about the Knicks ... even if they've had their recent struggles.

"The Knicks are always gonna be cool," Rapaport told us Monday. "Don't worry about us. We know our deficiencies."

Rapaport has some advice for Durant, who's recovering from a torn Achilles he suffered during the NBA Finals ... saying the Knicks should be the last thing on his mind.

"You should just be chilling in a hyperbolic chamber getting your blood spun so we can see you back on the court."

Rapaport ain't holding a grudge against the superstar baller, though ... telling us he hopes to see Durant 100% in no time.

MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz -- who reps UFC champs like Khabib, Henry Cejudo and Kamaru Usman -- was cited for misdemeanor battery over an altercation with a rival manger, cops tell TMZ Sports.

Abdelaziz -- who runs Dominance MMA -- got into it with Abe Kawa, Vice President of First Round Management, during a PFL event at the Mandalay Bay on Friday.

We're told ... Las Vegas Metro Police Dept. officers were on scene when the two got into a heated verbal altercation, which escalated into a physical incident.

Law enforcement sources tell us officers on scene say they witnessed Abdelaziz deliver two "open palm strikes" -- aka slaps -- to Kawa's face.

Abdelaziz was NOT arrested, but he was detained and cited on scene ... and if the case moves forward, he'll be notified to appear in court.

Footage of the incident was posted on social media. UFC star Anthony Pettis, Kawa's client, was in the middle of the action and told ESPN's Marc Raimondi "Abdelaziz slapped Kawa 'like a bitch' and 'was gone in 15 seconds.'"

Cops note Abdelaziz was cooperative with police during the incident, as was Kawa.

Barstool Sports honcho Dave Portnoy is officially OFF the Antonio Brown bandwagon ... telling TMZ Sports he hates the WR now -- but he's open to change!!!

Remember, Portnoy sort of defended Brown after the Raiders cut his ass back in Sept. and then sung his praises once Dave's beloved New England Patriots brought him on board.

But, now that Bill Belichick and company kicked AB to the curb, how does Dave feel about the embattled wideout now?!?

"Hate him now," Portnoy says ... "when he's on the Patriots, I love him. When he's not on the Patriots, I hate him."

But, Portnoy admits he's not really trying to judge AB's character -- he's a fan of anyone who can help his team win. And, it seems obvious Dave thinks Brown can help (let's face it, the guy's a monster on the field).

Brown -- who recently filed a grievance against the Patriots and Raiders -- went on social media last week and suggested the Pats give him a second chance since he believes New England is gonna be on the hook for paying him roughly $10 mil in salary anyway.

Dave ain't opposed to the idea ... but says if Pats management makes it clear they want no part of AB, Portnoy will "fall in line" and swear off the WR too.

Wanna see the most adorable NFL smack talk ever? Great!

Here are Matt Stafford's adorable 2-year-old twin daughters expressing their utmost DISDAIN for the Green Bay Packers ... before being distracted by a shiny red truck.

C'mon, this is SUPER CUTE!!

Of course, Matt's Detroit Lions are facing Aaron Rodgers and company tonight on "Monday Night Football" in a crucial NFL North match up.

Since Matt and the Lions are on the road ... the QB's wife, Kelly Stafford, made a cute pump-up video for dad showing their support for Detroit!

It's a big game for Detroit -- they're 2-1-1 and if they don't beat the Packers, it could already spell the end for their hopes of a division title since Green Bay is 4-1 and look strong right now.

As for Matt, he's having a pretty solid season, statistically, at the moment -- with 1,122 passing yards, 9 TDs and only 2 INTs with a QB rating of 102.6. Not bad!

Will it be good enough to beat Green Bay? The gamblers don't think so ... Detroit is a 3.5 point underdog.