TMZ Sports - Page 50

Andre Drummond says he's learned a very important lesson about the NBA -- "there's no friends or loyalty."

The 6'11" All-Star -- who's been with the Detroit Pistons since he was drafted in 2012 --ripped the team moments ago after learning he was just traded to the woeful Cleveland Cavaliers, the 2nd worst team in the NBA.

"If there’s one thing I learned about the NBA, there’s no friends or loyalty," Drummond said.

"I’ve given my heart and soul to the Pistons, and to be have this happen with no heads up makes me realize even more that this is just a business!"

Drummond added, "I love you Detroit. You will always have a special place in my heart! But on to the next @cavs hope your ready! Let’s finish the year off the right way."

The 26-year-old center is a stud -- he's a 2-time All-Star who's currently leading the league in rebounds. In fact, he went off Wednesday night against the Suns scoring 31 points and 19 boards in that game.

Anthony Davis' tribute tattoo to Kobe Bryant was revealed this week ... and you can see in a new detailed photograph of the artwork, the piece is pretty amazing.

Remember, just days after Kobe and his daughter, Gianna, tragically passed in a helicopter crash ... both AD and LeBron James went under the needle for Kobe-inspired ink.

LeBron revealed his tat before the Lakers' game last Friday ... showing off artwork that featured a black mamba, Kobe's numbers, two roses and a "Mamba 4 Life" inscription.

But Davis hadn't publicly released his art until just this week ... when his tattoo artist showed off the piece on social media.

The ink is beautiful ... featuring a black mamba circled around Bryant's famous brand logo.

"I am mortified. I am embarrassed and I am very angry."

That's Gayle King going NUCLEAR on her own network, CBS, for releasing an interview clip with Kobe Bryant's good friend, Lisa Leslie, in which King asks about Kobe's rape case ... claiming CBS simply did her dirty.

Here's the deal ... earlier this week, CBS released a teaser clip from King's big interview with the WNBA star in which she asks if Bryant's legacy is "complicated" because of the 2003 sexual assault case.

King received a TON of backlash online from people who claim the question was insensitive and inappropriate -- including 50 Cent and Vivica A. Fox.

In a video she made Thursday morning, Gayle admitted she's been reading the tidal wave of negative comments on social media and it's been driving her crazy!

"I know that if I had only seen the clip that you saw, I’d be extremely angry with me too,” King said.

She continued, "I am mortified. I am embarrassed and I am very angry."

"Unbeknownst to me, my network put up a clip from a very wide-ranging interview -- totally taken out of context -- and when you see it that way, it’s very jarring. It’s jarring to me. I didn’t even know anything about it."

King says the sexual assault question was only a small part of a larger conversation about Kobe's life ... and she felt it WAS appropriate to ask that question at the time.

"We talked about that court case because that court case has also come up. And, I wanted to get Lisa’s take on it as a friend who knew him well, what she thought, where that should stand."

"It was very powerful when she looked me in the eye, as a member of the media, to say, 'It’s time for the media to leave it alone and to back off.'"

"I felt really good about the interview ... so, for the network to take the most salacious part when taken out of context, and put it up for people who didn’t see the whole interview, is very upsetting to me and that’s something I’m going to have to deal with them."

"There will be a very intense discussion about that."

Awesome gesture from PGA Tour star Justin Thomas -- the golfer is auctioning off his custom Kobe Bryant wedges ... and says the proceeds will go to the families affected by Bryant's tragic helicopter crash.

Thomas paid tribute to the Black Mamba often this past weekend at the Waste Management Phoenix Open in Scottsdale, Ariz. ... even rocking a Bryant high school jersey while playing.

But, his best Mamba ode came courtesy of the clubs he used to shoot ... 'cause each of Thomas' wedges had some cool Kobe-isms etched into the iron.

"Mamba Mentality," "Black Mamba," "Kobe Bean Bryant" and "81 Points" were inscribed on his Titleist Vokeys for the four-day tourney.

Now, Thomas -- who finished third in the event -- says a lucky fan can have them for a price ... and says all the money will go toward The MambaOnThree Fund.

Of course, that's the charity Vanessa Bryant set up to help the families of those killed in the tragic helicopter crash in Calabasas, Calif. on Jan. 26.

Thomas was particularly hit hard by the tragedy ... he's been a noted HUGE Kobe fan throughout his career, famously yelling "KOBE!" before tough shots in the past.

UFC star Tyron Woodley says he's been training like a MANIAC in the jungles of Thailand -- and has a warning for his next opponent Leon Edwards, "You gonna get f*cked up."

Woodley and Edwards are set to throw down at UFC Fight Night on March 21 in London ... and Tyron says he realizes he can't have ANY distractions, so he flew out to a remote part of Thailand to train.

"I was in the motherf*cking jungle for real," Woodley says ... "There were monkeys walking on my window sill. Snakes. Bats."

Tyron says he liked Thailand so much, he plans to go back for his full training camp leading up to the Edwards fight ... explaining he's laser focused on getting the "W."

"My kids need to see their dad win again ... so the most important thing for me is the victory."

As for Edwards, Tyron says he knows Leon's been talking trash -- and he LOVES it -- because it's giving him even more motivation to win.

"I'm just gonna f*ck Leon Edwards up so bad that everybody's gonna be like, 'Why did you match them up?' This is a mismatch. Dana, you should lose your job for this."

There's a LOT more in this week's episode of "The Hollywood Beatdown" ... including Tyron's thoughts on the rest of the UFC welterweight division -- from Kamaru Usman to Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal.

Tyron also breaks down the Offset strip club incident, the Gervonta Davis arrest and Beyonce and Jay-Z at the Super Bowl.

Miami Dolphins star cornerback Xavien Howard is off the hook in his domestic violence case ... TMZ Sports has learned his battery charge was dropped Thursday.

Howard's attorney, Michael C. Grieco, says it was announced at a short hearing in a Broward County courtroom that the case against the NFL player has been dismissed.

It's huge news for the 26-year-old, who was facing jail time after his fiancee alleged he roughed her up after an argument at their Davie, Fla. home on Dec. 29.

In the police report, obtained by TMZ Sports, the woman says Howard grabbed her, pushed her against a mirrored wall, and when he let her go, she fell on one of his crutches.

Cops say in the report they noticed visible scratches, redness and an abrasion on the woman's body ... and arrested the 6-foot-1, 200-pound cornerback.

What's worse ... in 911 audio from the incident, the woman -- who has three children with Howard -- insinuated the NFL player had repeatedly abused her in the past.

It's unclear what prompted the state attorney's office to not pursue charges this week ... we're working on it.

Howard -- who made the Pro Bowl in 2018 -- is still subject to NFL discipline under the league's personal conduct policy.

Kyler Murray touchdown pass to ... Antonio Brown?!?!

AZ Cardinals safety Budda Baker tells TMZ Sports he would not hate seeing that one bit in 2020 ... saying he and his Cardinals squad would welcome the troubled receiver with arms wide-open.

"I feel like a lot of teams can use Antonio Brown," Baker tells us. "He's a great player ... Hopefully he can get back to the league because the league is definitely better with AB."

A Brown signing would make the Cards pretty damn elite on offense -- there's Murray, Larry Fitzgerald, Kenyan Drake, Christian Kirk and others -- and when we brought that possibility up to Budda, he loved the idea.

"That would be crazy!" he said.

The problem with the vision? It's unclear if the NFL will ever let Brown play again.

AB is currently in the middle of civil cases and a criminal investigation ... with rape allegations from his former trainer and assault accusations from a moving truck driver hanging over his head.

The NFL is probing all of the claims ... and when commissioner Roger Goodell was asked about all of it earlier this week, he said the league is working to make sure AB is healthy off the field first and foremost.

Patrick Mahomes and even Paul Rudd firing up clubgoers

It's good to be the CHAMPS ... just ask Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and the rest of the Chiefs who all got the super-VIP treatment at the Post Malone concert.

Post -- a HUGE football fan -- invited the Super Bowl champs to his Kansas City show at the Sprint Center on Wednesday where the QB, TE and others players got a special roped-off section all to themselves.

And get this ... Malone -- a hardcore Dallas Cowboys fan -- even paid tribute to the Chiefs by rocking a Mahomes jersey on stage! You can see in the clip, Patrick LOVED it!

Before the show, Post invited the guys and their gals backstage for a private dance party and some beer pong action!!

The most impressive part ... the Chiefs had been drinking HARD since like 10 AM on Wednesday because of the Super Bowl parade in K.C. Mahomes and Kelce were pounding beers on the parade bus like it was water!!!

So, to keep it up for more than 12 straight hours ... man, that's good stuff.

Hopefully they can beat a hangover like they beat those 49ers!!

Here's what you get for the man that has everything ...

Cristiano Ronaldo was surprised by his smokin' hot GF with a brand-new Mercedes for his 35th birthday ... and TMZ Sports has learned the whip cost nearly $1 MILLION!!

The insane present was given to Ronaldo after a dinner date in Italy on Wednesday night ... and CR7 -- a dude who's worth a BAJILLION dollars -- seemed legit stunned by the gift!!

The ride -- reportedly a 1-of-10 vehicle -- was draped in a red bow ... and Ronaldo's friends helped him celebrate it by dousing him in confetti and a rendition of "Feliz Cumpleanos."

Ronaldo's longtime GF, Georgina Rodriguez, said of the present in Spanish, "Congratulations to the man of my life! I can't wait to transport our love with your gift."

The ride is seriously insane ... it's got 800 horsepower, goes 0-to-60 in 2.9 seconds, and reportedly costs around $875,000!!!

Of course, Ronaldo is a huge car collector ... the dude reportedly owns around 20 super fancy rides -- so Georgina definitely won this bday.

Dennis Rodman says he's heartbroken over Kobe Bryant's death -- calling the guy "a mini-Michael Jordan" -- but he tells TMZ Sports the NBA should NOT change its logo to honor him.

"That's a tough one," Rodman said outside of Staples Center on Tuesday ... "Kobe has the charisma for the signature of a logo, but I'm holding my vote on that one."

Of course, tons of people have been in favor of the change -- celebs from Snoop Dogg to Julian Edelman have tweeted their support for it -- and an online petition earned more than 3 MILLION signatures last week.

On top of that, Paul Pierce recently told us he's all for the league making Mamba the logo and retiring both of his jersey numbers.

But, Rodman says Jerry West has just meant too much to him and too much to the game to pull him off the Association's iconic trademark, telling us, "I'm a good friend of Jerry West."

"He's been a mentor of mine for a long, long time," Rodman says ... "[It should] stay the way it is."

Don't get it twisted ... Rodman says he's been torn up ever since he learned of Kobe's tragic helicopter crash on January 26 -- telling us KB was one of "the most" exciting and inspirational people "in the world."

"Miss you so much"

That's Vanessa Bryant posting about Kobe Bryant -- remembering him on social media as a "loving husband" and "The Best Daddy."

Vanessa went to Instagram on Wednesday to post about her husband -- referring to Kobe as "my best friend" and saying she misses all of the funny, sweet little things he would do during their marriage.

"Miss you saying, 'Bonjourno principessa/reina'" Vanessa wrote ... referencing Kobe's ability to speak Italian.

"#mybestfriend #theBestdaddy Miss you so much. #handsome #sweet #funny #silly #lovinghusband ❤️Miss you saying, “Bonjourno principessa/reina."

Vanessa also posted a clip from a recent "Extra" interview in which Kobe was asked to name his best friend -- and he responded, "My wife."

Just a few days ago, Vanessa posted a painting of her daughter Gianna Bryant dressed up in Lakers gear -- and wrote, "Seeing my babygirl smile and happy again with a basketball 🏀 under her arm, wrapped in 💜💛love just warmed my heart."

"Thank you for this. @_vivalareina thank you!! My Gigi.❤️ #Mambacita."

Kobe and Gianna passed away January 26. We're told the Bryant family is working on putting together a public memorial for them but nothing is set in stone yet.

Originally Published -- 9:50 AM PT

Southern Methodist Univ.'s women's basketball coach Travis Mays told his players to kill themselves if they weren't willing to try harder ... this according to former team members.

The first player to go public was ex-player Klara Bradshaw who wrote a blog post saying Mays was so upset with how the team was performing during a 2017-18 season practice, he said the following:

"If y'all don't want to get it together, if y'all don't get together and get connected, you might as well go and commit suicide."

Bradshaw -- who lost her father to suicide 2 years prior -- was so upset by the comment, a team trainer removed her from the workout.

The Dallas Morning News reports Mays -- a 1990 1st round pick in the NBA Draft -- later apologized to Bradshaw for the comment ... but other players also spoke out about the toxic culture surrounding his coaching style.

Ex-player McKenzie Adams recently tweeted the same 2017-18 season was "one of the most mentally traumatic experiences ever."

SMU's athletic director, Rick Hart, condemned Mays' comment to the Morning News, saying "It's absolutely a term that shouldn't be used in any capacity or any form."

Mays addressed the claim in a statement, saying, "It's one of those things where sometimes you can push. And it's our job to push people outside of their comfort zones."

"And sometimes you can say things, whether it's using the wrong verbiage or at the wrong time when you don't need to express some of that."

Chiefs WR Byron Pringle says now that he's a Super Bowl champ, he's the PERFECT candidate to be a rep for Pringles ... and he wants the chip co. to reach out to him ASAP!!

"Once you pop, you're never going to stop. You know?" Pringle tells TMZ Sports.

Of course, 26-year-old Byron's been angling for this sponsorship for YEARS ... he says dating back to high school, teammates and friends have constantly told him he NEEDS to be a rep for the canned chips because of his last name.

And, now that he's about to add some title bling to his finger ... he says he's ready to get into serious talks.

Pringle tells us his demands in the deal are pretty simple ... "some commercials" and "life-long Pringles chips, any flavor" are high on his list.

But, he also says vending machines at his former schools that dispense free Pringles to students would be a sweet add-in as well.

As for his pitch to Pringles and what he'd bring to the company moving forward ... he says he's got star potential on the gridiron.

"Every time I'm in, I'm always making a play," Byron says. "Doing my assignment in the play, for the play."

Jon Jones says he's radically changed his diet for his upcoming fight with Dominick Reyes -- telling TMZ Sports, "About 80% of my meals have gone plant based now."

The UFC superstar has been a big fan of meat in the past -- he even promoted the ButcherBox meat company on his Instagram in 2019.

But Jones tells us he's switching things up for his UFC 247 fight against Reyes -- and decided to cut a bunch of animal protein out of his diet this time around.

"I switched up my diet a little bit, I started eating plant based," Jones says.

"Cardio feels great, I’m lighter than I normally am. Normally I weigh at least 222 around this time. Right now I’m already 215. So I’m ahead of schedule majorly in my weight cut, which just allows me to focus on happiness and relaxation, and I just feel perfect."

Jones says he's laser-focused and ready to fight on Feb. 8 -- and is gunning for a highlight reel-style knockout -- but as long as he gets the "W," that's all that matters.

"It’d be nice to make WorldStarHipHop for some awesome KO, or make TMZ for some awesome KO. But that’s not really my style."

"I feel like when you go out there and you tell people, ‘I’m gonna knock this guy out right away’ and then you find yourself going into the 4th round and you still haven’t gotten that KO. You start panicking in your head a little bit when your plan is going wrong."

The smokin' hot model tackled on the Super Bowl field while trying to go streaking, claims stadium security roughed her up ... and she says she has injuries to prove it!!!

Kelly Green -- aka Kelly Kay -- tells TMZ Sports ... she's still hurting from her stunt gone wrong, and the bruises covering her arms are from security guards. She claims they manhandled her on the field.

Kelly says her adrenaline was pumping after jumping over a railing and trying to strip ... so she didn't notice the effects of the gang tackle until her adrenaline rush subsided.

The treatment allegedly got worse from there. Kelly claims she was held in a freezing-cold cell in the bowels of Hard Rock Stadium for 8 hours wearing nothing but her skimpy bathing suit ... waiting to be processed.

And, all those stories you hear about intense Super Bowl security are dead-on, according to Kelly ... who says FBI and Homeland Security agents even interrogated her.