TMZ Sports - Page 50

Dr. Oz says he wants to help Sterling Shepard figure out what's wrong with his brain ... but he's warning the New York Giants star retirement might be his recommendation.

Sterling has been held out of Big Blue's last four games because of complications with a concussion ... and his head coach, Pat Shurmur, just called it a "serious injury" this week.

When we got Dr. Oz out in NYC on Thursday ... he offered to lend the receiver a hand -- saying he wants to conduct some tests on the 26-year-old to see if he's legitimately okay.

"If Sterling Shepard's brain is still functioning as a young man's should, then I'm fine with it," Dr. Oz says. "If it's not, he should be reconsidering returning to the gridiron."

Dr. Oz says he has a battery of tests he's personally used to make sure his own brain was okay after his football career at Harvard ... and he tells us he'd love to use the same exercises on Shepard as well.

As for some prescriptions he'd currently recommend to Sterling? Dr. Oz says the receiver needs to chow down on fish, walnuts and avocados to keep his brain strong.

President Trump finally came to a sporting event where the fans didn't totally hate him -- or at least partially hate him -- and it only took a trip out to MAGA country to do it.

DT flew out to Tuscaloosa, Alabama Saturday to catch the Crimson Tide play the LSU Tigers at Bryant-Denny Stadium -- and when his presence was announced ... the crowd lost their minds, cheering on the Prez and giving him a resounding round of applause and standing O.

That's gotta feel nice for 45, considering he's kinda been getting s**tted on lately at public events like this, including on his own turf in Washington D.C. ... where he got booed.

Some members of the Nats crowd even chanted "Lock Him Up!" and even hung an "Impeach Trump" banner. There were, of course, some cheering too -- but mostly boos.

Ditto for the UFC event Trump attended just last week in Madison Square Garden, where he was booed and cheered alike -- with the bad reactions coming through just a tad louder. Trump wrote that he felt it was like a Trump rally, but the videos speak for themselves.

Fast-forward to Saturday ... and DT seems to be back in good company. BTW, DT won Alabama in the 2016 presidential election by about 30% or so. He got nearly 63% of the electoral votes at the time, while Hillary Clinton racked up just 34%. Alabama's traditionally votes red.

Former Jets star Mark Gastineau says he was raped as a child for years.

The ex-defensive end -- a five-time pro-bowler who played for the team between 1979 and 1988 -- made the shocking revelation this weekend to the NY Post after emerging cancer-free following a years-long battle with stage 3 colon cancer and several rounds of treatment.

He told the outlet that his sexual abuse started at age 11 and continued until he was 14, allegedly at the hands of what he describes as a Mexican farmworker on his family farm in Arizona. He says the guy was his own father's "right hand" on the 80-acre ranch.

Despite holding in the story for years, Gastineau didn't say he doesn't attribute any off-field trouble he found back in the day -- including assault and drug abuse problems -- to the trauma he experienced as a child, which he didn't elaborate on much with the Post.

UFC superstar Israel Adesanya says he will "eventually" brawl with Jon Jones ... and he's spelling out the situation to TMZ Sports.

"He will face me eventually, but I'm gonna respect the game," the UFC middleweight champ told us.

"I'm gonna honor the game and defend my belt. I mean, he didn't jump up to heavyweight right after he won the belt. I want to do the work. If he wants to come down, come see me. But if not, shut the f**k up and wait 'til I come see you."

BOOM.

Seems Israel and Jon are on a collision course ... but first, Israel wants to continue to wreck everyone in the middleweight division, starting with Yoel Romero.

"I've called the guy out. I've said I want to fight him. The UFC don't think it's gonna sell, but f**k records, I just want to fight," Adesanya tells us.

Israel says he's got a plan B in case the Romero fight doesn't come together, but it's clear Yoel is the priority.

"I said I want Yoel. F**k records, he's a great fighter. I want to beat all the greatest of this era. I've taken Whittaker, I've taken Gastelum, I've taken Silva."

"I've said I've wanted to fight [Romero]. I've never backed down. I'll see you soon, boy."

And, get this ... Adesanya -- who put together one of the greatest ring walkouts EVER for the Robert Whittaker fight -- says he's already planning to TOP IT!!

"Expect the unexpected. I might f**king fly from the rafters like Shawn Michaels right into the Octagon!"

It's been 11 years since Dwight Howard won the NBA Dunk Contest with that insane Superman slam ... and now DH says he's given serious thought to doing it AGAIN!!!

"I thought about it. I'm getting my legs back. I feel young again," 33-year-old Howard told us outside The Window burger joint in Venice.

When we asked if entering the 2020 contest was a real possibility, Howard wouldn't commit ... instead telling us his main focus this season in winning an NBA title with the Lakers.

"I have thought about it, but winning the championship is the most important thing. I have all the individual accolades but I don't have the trophy so hopefully, we can win this title this year, which I believe we can."

There's A LOT more with Dwight ... including why he thinks his second stint with the Lakers is going so much better than his first time in L.A. back in 2012.

"We're all healthy," Howard said. "We all have one goal and one mission and the Most High has really blessed us."

Howard says the Lakers locker room is solid this season -- the guys support each other on and off the court ... and he still can't really believe he's teammates with LeBron James!

"LeBron has been amazing. I can't believe we're on the same team."

Vladimir Putin, you up?

Greg Hardy says he's got one wish for his UFC fight in Moscow this weekend -- AND IT'S FOR THE RUSSIAN PRESIDENT TO SHOW UP FOR IT!!!

"I been hoping to meet him since I got here," Hardy says. "I'm a big fan. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. It's going to be super hyped."

Of course, Hardy's fillin' in for the injured Junior Dos Santos this weekend against #7 ranked UFC heavyweight Alexander Volkov ... and GH tells TMZ Sports he's STOKED for the bout.

But, Greg says there's one thing that could make him EVEN HAPPIER to step in the Octagon on Saturday ... and that'd be if Putin himself is sitting cageside for it!!!

Hardy says he's bummed he didn't get to fight in front of Donald Trump at the last UFC event ... and says a Putin appearance would DEFINITELY help make up for it.

"It would be a big deal for me," Hardy says. "That's royalty for me, man. And, you know, I'm the Prince of War. I'm all about the royalty!"

As for how Hardy's enjoying his time in Russia so far, he says he's actually loving it, telling us he feels like he's treated better over there than in the US!!!

Hardy also talked with us about his disdain for Derrick Lewis ... and he broke down how he sees the fight with Volkov ending on Saturday.

"C'mon man, that s**t is easy. I don't care what people say. You can't tell me SC, Florida State, Florida, Miami, UCLA, I don't care who it is. How are they not winning? I don't give a s**t, man. You call me dumb, or blindsided, or whatever, ignorant. Give me a polo, man, and let me go to work."

That's "Last Chance U" star and former Independence Community College head football coach Jason Brown telling TMZ Sports how frickin' easy it'd be for him to win at a powerhouse university like FSU.

Coach Brown -- star of Netflix's hit show -- resigned from ICC after texting a German player he was his "new Hitler."

So, Brown's chillin' in his Cali home (he says he's got a cigar and whiskey line coming out, and he wrote a book, "Hate Me Now, Love Me Later") ... and even though he's a coach at heart, he says he's not exactly dying to jump back in the saddle.

Well, "unless Florida State calls," Coach Brown tells us ... and if that happens, he says lots of big-time coaches around the country are gonna be shook.

FYI, Florida State head coach Willie Taggart was fired only 21 games into his tenure at the school ... after getting smashed 27-10 by rival Univ. of Miami.

"Make no mistake about it. The D1 coaches know me. They're scared of my ass taking a D1 job, let's be real about it. Give me a Florida State polo, brother, and let's see what happens."

Brown says all the top recruits would flock to his program.

"They'll have the best players in America overnight. That's what it will be. That's a guarantee. Everybody in the country knows it too. That's what they're scared of."

But, realistically -- at least not now -- the call from the big-time program isn't coming ... and Coach Brown knows that and says it's a huge mistake.

"It's all image. Those guys want these name guys that don't know s**t from Shinola. Can't relate to the kids. Can't go into the home. They can only go into 1 home, they can't go into all the homes."

Drake + Weed = GREAT FOR EVERYONE!!!

... So says Al Harrington, the former NBA player turned marijuana mogul who tells TMZ Sports a superstar like Drake is HUGE for the entire pot community.

As we previously reported, Drake is launching the More Life Growth Company ... hoping to cash in on the crop craze by selling everything from vapes to pipes, rolling papers, hookahs and more.

Harrington has been in the weed game for a while -- he created Viola Extracts Inc. after retiring from the NBA and it's been growing like crazy.

Now, with Drake entering the space ... we asked Al if he viewed Drake as a competitor or an ally.

"I hope he win, bro! I need him to win because then I'll win," Harrington said.

Harrington says Drake's foray into the ganja biz is "amazing ... a huge announcement for the industry."

Oh, and Al says if Drake wants to team up and collaborate on a product ... HIT HIM UP!!!

It ain't over for University of Memphis star James Wiseman ... at least, not yet!!!

The 7'1" college basketball superstar -- the projected #1 overall pick in the '20 NBA Draft -- got a court order allowing him to play Friday night, minutes after the NCAA had deemed him ineligible.

The scandal is bizarre and complex but boils down to this ... the NCAA claims ex-NBA star Penny Hardaway provided $11,500 in moving expenses to Wiseman's family in 2017.

At the time, Hardway was an assistant basketball coach at Memphis East High School -- where Wiseman played his final two years of prep ball.

Hardaway later became the head coach at U of M -- and now the NCAA says the transaction makes Penny a "booster," which is a big problem.

On Friday, the NCAA announced Wiseman was ruled ineligible to compete and it seemed the 18-year-old's college career was basically over.

But, the University immediately filed for an emergency court order to restore Wisman's eligibility and it was GRANTED late Friday ... so he was able to take the court against the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Wiseman was a 5-star recruit coming out of Memphis East HS and flashed big-time in his college debut, scoring 28 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.

Deion Sanders would smash Dabo Swinney on the recruiting trail if he were hired at Florida State ... so says LeRoy Butler, who tells TMZ Sports there ain't a kid in America who wouldn't sign up to play for Prime Time!!!

Of course, LeRoy is biased ...  the Green Bay Packers legend went to FSU with Deion and is still good buddies with the Hall of Fame cornerback.

But, LeRoy tells us he knows for a fact Deion would be able to out-recruit Dabo's Clemson -- and just about every other big-name school in the country at FSU regardless.

"If Deion Sanders goes into your living room -- now, Dabo from Clemson could have just left -- they're going to take that meeting from Deion Sanders and probably attend Florida State!"

LeRoy has no idea if Deion is legitimately interested in the open FSU job ... and he tells us he's got no clue if FSU is seriously considering Prime either.

But, LeRoy does tell us it'd be an awesome hire for his alma mater -- saying there's no one out there he's confident could do better!

"He can't do any worse than any other re-tread out there," LeRoy says.

As for the X's and O's outside of recruiting ... Butler's confident Deion could put together a hell of a coaching staff, telling us even he would agree to be on that roster!!!

"That's one guy you don't say no to," Butler says. "You say yes to him before you say yes to your wife!"

O.J. Simpson has belatedly fired back at the Cosmopolitan in Vegas ... suing the hotel claiming it defamed him by banning him in 2017 after falsely accusing him of being drunk and disruptive.

The incident in question went down just weeks after Simpson was released from prison. Simpson -- who had been frequenting the hotel in the days prior -- allegedly got into an altercation on Nov. 8 at Clique Bar after flying into a drunken rage.

Sources told us ... glasses were broken during the melee and the ex-NFL star was eventually told to leave, given a trespass notice and told to never come back.

But, in his lawsuit, Simpson is adamant he was NOT drunk, he was NOT belligerent and did NOT break any glasses. In fact, he says earlier in the evening a manager at the steakhouse in the hotel actually thanked him for being a gracious guest.

O.J. says when he was leaving for the night ... someone from the hotel handed him a trespass notice and repeatedly said it was private property and he was not welcome back ... ever.

Simpson says he was shocked by the move, claiming he was never involved in an incident that night that could warrant a permanent ban.

Simpson says his parole officer saw our story and visited him at his residence the next day and gave him a drug and alcohol test ... which both turned up clean.

Simpson claims the PO also went to the Cosmo to investigate and told Simpson there was no evidence he did anything that would violate his parole.

In fact, in his suit, Simpson refers to himself as a "model parolee with perfect performance."

Reality is ... Simpson is WELCOMED at many famous spots all over town and regularly poses for pics and signs autographs. In a way, he's become a draw.

Shortly after the incident, Simpson spoke on camera and he said he had no clue what happened.

Simpson was released from prison on Oct. 1, 2017, after spending years behind bars for an armed robbery conviction.

Since he's been out, O.J. has been a regular on Vegas golf courses and fancy restaurants. He's also joined social media where he often talks about fantasy football topics.

Oakland Raiders stud Erik Harris -- a former D2 walk-on who BALLED OUT on Thursday -- just gave an awesome pump-up speech to everyone who's doubting themselves, saying, "Keep pushing forward!"

Harris' story is amazing ... the dude turned himself from an undrafted free agent in 2012 into the star of "Thursday Night Football" this week -- and when we asked him about the whole journey, he said it's been pretty epic.

The 29-year-old tells us he was about to give up his dream of playing pro football a few years ago ... but he decided to spend $80 on a Canadian Football League tryout, and it changed his life.

"It was special," Harris said of his time in the CFL. "It was special. Definitely part of who I am."

Harris was able to latch on in the NFL after his time in Canada ... and for the past two years, he's been a regular in Jon Gruden's Oakland lineup.

And, finally, on 'TNF' -- he showed the country all the fruits of his labor ... intercepting the hell out of Philip Rivers THREE TIMES (one was called back because of penalty).

So, when we asked the guy to give a message to all those who are currently in the shoes he wore back in 2012 ... he delivered an epic pump-up speech about never giving up.

"Believe in yourself," Harris said. "Find that confidence within yourself and keep pushing forward because if you continue to have that focus on that vision, then things will come true."

Nyjah Huston -- the #1 skateboarder in the world -- made an amazing wish come true for an 11-year-old shredder ... throwing the kid a private skate party and the pics are AWESOME!!!

The reigning Street League Skateboarding champ got word that a brave 11-year-old named Jaydon -- who's been battling a severe kidney disorder -- has been dreaming of skating with his hero, Nyjah.

In fact, we're told Jaydon -- who lives in Florida -- is a hardcore skate fanatic who watches skate videos of Nyjah almost every day!

So, the good people at the Make-A-Wish Foundation put the two in touch -- and Nyjah hooked up one of the coolest 1-on-1 skate sessions EVER!

Nyjah invited Jaydon to the famous The Berrics indoor skatepark in Los Angeles -- owned by pro skaters Steve Berra and Eric Koston -- where Huston personally hooked the kid up with dope shoes and gave him pointers on how to hit the ramps and grind rails.

AND, THAT'S NOT ALL!!!

Huston and Make-A-Wish also brought in a taco guy -- because Jaydon loves tacos -- and they mowed down all the food their stomachs could hold!

When the day was over, Jaydon didn't only leave with a super memorable experience ... Huston sent him packing with a boatload of signed gifts and Nike merch.

LeBron James says Deion Sanders would be the PERFECT hire for the Florida State head coaching gig ... saying, "it would be so dope" to get Prime Time on the sidelines.

Of course, FSU just paid Willie Taggart around $18 million to NOT coach their team after starting 9-12 in his first 2 seasons ... and there have been rumblings Deion could be his replacement.

Enter King James ... who's calling for the Seminoles to pull the trigger and pick up Prime to be the next head coach at Florida State.

"Man it would be so dope and just seems PERFECT for Prime Time @DeionSanders to be the HC of FSU! I mean right??"

"One thing about it he would get in any household on the planet to talk with a kid/parent/s. #ItsTimeforPrime"

FYI -- Bron is an Ohio State guy through and through ... but also grew up a Dallas Cowboys backer, which could be one of the reasons he's so high on Prime.

Sanders has spoken out about people like Miami legend Uncle Luke calling for him to take the gig ... and it doesn't sound like he's against it.

"Storage Wars" star Rene Nezhoda just found a virtual pot of gold buried in a Dallas storage locker -- because it's filled with trinkets from "The Dude Perfect Show."

Rene -- who runs the Bargain Hunters Thrift Store featured on the reality show -- tells TMZ ... he and two buddies, Jeremy Hales and Justin Grimes, dropped $2,770 on a storage unit this week in Texas, and when they got inside they realized it used to belong to the super-popular YouTube stars.

"Dude Perfect" has a massive following -- 47.1 million subscribers -- so you've probably seen their insane sports trick shot videos, or recognize them from their Super Bowl commercial.

It's quite a haul for Rene ... the storage locker is filled with "Dude Perfect" props dating back to their first season -- trophies, a massive baseball mitt, the famous panda costume and more.

There was definitely no love in this tennis match ... as 2 female pros got in an intense shove-off after the final point on Thursday ... and it was all over an aggressive handshake!!!

The match was between Canadian player Katherine Sebov (white shorts) and American Alycia Parks (pink shorts) in the round of 16 of the ITF W60 tournament in Las Vegas.

Sebov won the match in straight sets, but things got physical after Parks claims Sebov squeezed her hand too hard at the net following the match ... and made it clear she didn't like it one bit.

Parks -- who was already heated and had thrown her racket after the final point -- went after Sebov following the shake and that's when all hell broke loose ... with the 2 players shoving each other!!!

The line judge had to interfere ... and Parks' dad jumped a fence (hilarious BTW) to get on the court to help break it up.

Things finally cooled down ... and Parks addressed it with reporters after the match, saying, "She squeezed my hand very hard."

Another pro, Sachia Vickery, also backed Parks' claim, saying, "I was there she def squeezed her hand at the net. I hope they don’t try to spin this."

"The ref clearly says he saw it . Won’t be shocked if nothing is done about it tho"