TMZ Sports - Page 50

It's a beautiful day for Who Dat Nation -- Drew Brees just announced he's NOT retiring and will return to the New Orleans Saints in 2020.

There have been talks all offseason about the 41-year-old hanging up his helmet for good ... with reports Brees was "undecided" about coming back this year.

In fact, we spoke with Saints head coach Sean Payton and Saints legend Willie Roaf a few weeks ago ... and they adamantly denied Brees was ready to retire.

Now, we're hearing straight from the Super Bowl-winning QB's mouth -- he's comin' back!! ... and he's using a beautiful shot from his trip to Hawaii to express how he feels.

"My feelings about the 2020 season!," Brees' IG caption reads. "I look forward to the grind and the journey, for the reward at the end will be worth it!!! Love you #WhoDatNation. Let’s make another run at it!"

As Payton says, Brees ain't close to slowing down -- he threw for nearly 3,000 yards and 27 TDs in just 11 games in 2019.

Denny Hamlin tells TMZ Sports the only reason he celebrated his Daytona 500 victory on Monday night is because he had no idea Ryan Newman was badly injured in a crash.

As Hamlin took the checkered flag, 42-year-old Newman had to be rescued from his car following a terrifying crash during the final lap.

Newman's car not only flipped on it's top -- but it was rammed by another car and exploded into flames on the track.

While emergency responders rushed to help Newman, Hamlin was doing victory donuts on the track as confetti fell from the sky -- shocking concerned viewers, who felt the celebration was incredibly insensitive.

But now 39-year-old Hamlin is explaining the situation ... claiming he simply had no idea Newman was battling serious injuries.

"We didn't know until we got into victory lane," Hamlin told us on the way out of the Sirius XM building in New York ... "So, it's unfortunate circumstances, but certainly thinking about Ryan."

We asked if he had spoken with Newman since the crash -- "No, I haven't spoken to him, but obviously they updated last night."

James Harden had a front-row seat for a Desiigner performance in Vegas, but he got more than he bargained for ... 'cause the rapper fell off stage right into the NBA superstar!!!

Desiigner was in the middle of his hit song "Panda" Tuesday around 1:30 AM at JEWEL Nightclub when he misstepped. Seriously, he just missed a step and toppled off stage onto Harden's back. Chill, Houston ... you don't have a problem. The Beard and its owner were not injured.

Our sources say James was trying to keep it low-key inside the club -- he had his hoodie on when he arrived. That went out the window when Desiigner found out he was there and blew up Harden's spot.

The brush with Desiigner didn't ruin Harden's night or his All-Star break -- the Rockets are off until Thursday night. We gotta give JH props here ... for NOT flopping!!!

President Donald Trump just held a surprise media event at the White House to announce he's pardoning former SF 49ers owner Edward DeBartolo Jr..

Now, some back story ...

Back in the late '90s, DeBartolo -- who owned the 9ers at the time -- pled guilty to his role in a riverboat gambling scandal.

Long story short ... DeBartolo claimed he was being extorted by ex-Louisiana governor Edwin Edwards -- who demanded $400,000 in cash to get the last riverboat casino license offered up by the state.

In 1998, DeBartolo was found guilty of failing to report the transaction -- a felony -- and was sentenced to 2 years probation and ordered to pay $1 million in fines and other costs.

In 1999, DeBartolo gave up his stake of the 49ers.

Unclear why Trump decided to pardon 73-year-old DeBartolo on Tuesday -- the White House said a press release will be issued soon.

Jerry Rice and Jim Brown were at the White House for the announcement and praised Trump for the move.

Dwyane Wade admits the decision to go public with his 12-year-old child's gender identity story wasn't easy -- the family "struggled" -- but they ultimately decided it was the right thing to do.

The NBA star appeared on 'GMA' and opened up about how Zaya -- who was born as a boy named Zion -- came to him and Gabrielle Union to talk about wanting to "live my truth."

"I think going forward I am ready to live my truth," Zaya told the Wades ... adding, "I want to be referenced as 'she' and 'her.' I would love for you guys to call me Zaya."

Wade says the family spent a bunch of time researching and talking to people to try to understand what Zaya was going through -- and it made the family stronger in the long run.

And, with Dwyane working with ESPN on a documentary about his own life, Wade knew he would have to decide whether to include Zaya's gender identity story in the flick ... and it wasn't an easy decision!

"I struggled on how much I wanted to talk about in the doc," Dwyane said ... "I actually didn't talk about it a lot. But, I knew if I put it in the doc at all, it would be a big conversation. "

"Yes, we understand that our daughter's 12 years old. We struggled with what people would say about a 12-year-old making a decision about her life, but we also know our child."

Julius Erving's one of the GREATEST DUNKERS in the history of basketball ... and he tells TMZ Sports that Aaron Gordon deserved the dunk contest win!!

We talked to Dr. J -- who was in the building for the dunk contest -- at Reagan National Airport in Washington D.C. on Monday ... and we asked the hoops legend if the Orlando Magic star was robbed by the judges in Chi-town.

"I don't know if robbed is the right term, if it had ended in a tie, I don't think anybody would've been upset. But, a contest like that going into basically 2 overtimes. Third overtime. You hate to have a loser."

BUT, forced to pick a winner, Dr. J -- who won the inaugural ABA Dunk Contest in 1976 -- says Gordon's final dunk was justtttttttt a little better than Derrick Jones Jr.'s jam.

"I think [Gordon's] last dunk was cleaner. Neither one of them were 50's because they had shot their load in terms of their best stuff."

Of course, AG literally jumped over the biggest dude in the NBA -- 7'5" Boston Celtics giant Tacko Fall -- but somehow, someway, Scottie Pippen, Chadwick Boseman and Jones’ ex-teammate Dwyane Wade only gave him a 9.

Gordon missed tying Jones and forcing another round of dunks by 1 point ... and flat-out beating him by 2 points.

The Houston Astros' former No. 1 overall prospect was just banned 162 games ... and, no, it has nothing to do with the team's cheating scandal.

The MLB announced Francis Martes -- a pitcher who was touted as the team's next big thing back in 2016 -- has been suspended for a full season for testing positive for PEDs.

It's the second time Martes has been busted for violating the league's drug policy ... in March 2019, he was banned 80 games after a positive drug test.

Martes was a BEAST early in his career ... ranking as high as 15th overall on MLB prospect lists -- but he's struggled to reach his potential so far.

In his first big-league action with Houston in 2017, he posted a 5.80 ERA in 54.1 innings pitched. In 2018, he underwent Tommy John surgery.

What's interesting about all of this ... Martes now becomes the first player from the '17 Astros team since news of their scandal broke to get hit with a punishment from Rob Manfred.

Doubtful that's what Cody Bellinger was looking for ...

Mickey Wright -- one of the greatest females golfers EVER -- has died after suffering a heart attack ... her attorney said on Monday. She was 85 years old.

Sonia Pawluc, Wright's lawyer, told the Associated Press that Mickey had been battling health issues after she was hospitalized in Florida this past month following a bad fall.

"One of the best to ever play the game, she will be greatly missed," The World Golf Hall of Fame said in a statement Monday. "#RIPMickey"

Wright is a legend on the golf course ... she famously won 82 events on the LPGA Tour and also recorded 13 major championship wins.

In fact, her swing was so buttery smooth ... Ben Hogan called it the best he had EVER seen.

She joined the LPGA Tour in 1955 ... before retiring from playing full-time in 1969.

She died just 3 days after her 85th birthday.

Ryan Garcia was still TURNT ALL THE WAY UP at his victory party following his KO of Francisco Fonseca ... telling the crowd, "How about that f**king left hook?!"

Just hours after the 21-year-old boxing superstar put together another highlight-reel performance, Garcia and his crew celebrated at a house party in Orange County.

Garcia -- who barely broke a sweat -- grabbed the mic and thanked everybody in the crowd for supporting him in his meteoric rise to boxing stardom ... saying, "This is a team effort."

He also talked about the crazy work ethic that helped him become the WBC silver lightweight champ -- saying, he busts his ass "every f**king day!"

Garcia is 20-0 with 17 knockouts ... and his last 2 fights have lasted a grand total of 2 minutes and 58 seconds!

So, what's next for Garcia? His promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, says he's already reserved the Staples Center for a fight with former world champion Jorge Linares.

After that ... Garcia has said he wants everyone from Gervonta "Tank" Davis to Devin Haney.

Well, this was a garbage tee shot ...

Tiger Woods miss-hit his drive so badly at a hole during The Genesis Open on Sunday ... his ball ended up in a trash receptacle -- and the dude had to fish the ball out with his bare hands!!

The surreal scene all went down at the par-4 third at Riviera in Los Angeles ... where Tiger smacked a drive 294 yards straight into a garbage bag.

You can see in video ... after Tiger realized his ball was buried in the trash -- he reached in and grabbed it with no questions asked!!

Tiger took a drop and still finished the hole with a par ... but the garbage shot was the perfect metaphor for his run in the four-day-long tourney.

Woods finished dead last among guys who made the cut ... carding an 11-over 295 on the weekend -- and it was so ugly, he just had to joke about it all afterward.

"Good news is I hit every ball forward," Woods said with a laugh. "Didn't hit any backward. A couple sideways, but overall, it was -- I'm done."

Here's a side of Mike Trout you don't see very often -- he's PISSED -- claiming MLB should punish the Houston Astros players who cheated their way to a World Series victory.

Trout -- the best player in baseball -- went off on the situation to reporters at an L.A. Angels spring training workout on Monday ... saying the players are getting off WAY too easy.

"They cheated," Trout said matter of factly ... "I don't agree with the punishments, the players not getting anything. It was a player-driven thing."

"It sucks too, because guys' careers have been affected. A lot of people lost jobs. It was tough. Me going up to the plate knowing what was coming -- it would be pretty fun up there."

Trout added, "It's sad for baseball ... it's tough."

The 28-year-old -- an 8-time All-Star and 3 times A.L. MVP -- said he noticed the Astros trash can banging during the 2017 season but didn't connect the dots until now.

"I lost some respect for some guys ... all the stuff coming out, it's tough to see."

As for the players accused of cheating, MLB commish Rob Manfred says he gave immunity to players who cooperated with the MLB's investigation ... which means no major punishment to the individuals.

Shaquille O'Neal ain't going to like this ...

Ex-NBA stud Antonio Davis says Shaq and Kobe have NOTHING on Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen when it comes to the best duo in league history ... telling TMZ Sports it's all 'cause of Shaq's defense!

"Shaq can't come out and guard nobody!" Davis says.

The debate's been raging on for YEARS ... and when we got AD out at NBA All-Star weekend in Chicago on Saturday -- he told us there's no need for an argument anymore.

"I don't care what nobody says," Davis tells us. "Hands down. I don't care."

Of course, there's a lot of people in the hoops world that would disagree with Davis ... Shaq and Kobe won 3 titles together and both dudes have legit claims to be considered top 10 players ever.

Then again, Jordan and Scottie won 6 championships together ... and MJ is considered the game's best-ever -- so maybe Antonio's got a point?

Mike Tomlin is DOUBLING DOWN on his support of Mason Rudolph -- claiming there's zero evidence the QB used a racial slur against Myles Garrett ... and he feels a new interview with Garrett was unfair to Rudolph.

The Pittsburgh Steelers head coach appeared on ESPN's "First Take" on Monday and criticized the network for what he believed was a slanted piece against his quarterback.

Remember, Garrett told ESPN's Mina Kimes that Rudolph had called him a "stupid n*****" moments before Garrett swung a helmet at his head during a Steelers vs. Browns game in Nov.

Tomlin not only said he doesn't believe Garrett -- citing investigations by the Steelers and the NFL -- but knocked ESPN for not doing more to represent those findings.

"It was a thorough investigation done by us and the Nation Football League, I don’t think that was represented during that piece [that aired on ESPN]," Tomlin said.

"These accusations are serious, not only in terms of Mason Rudolph’s character but his professional pursuits."

"Nobody on that field as a member of the Cleveland browns or Pittsburgh Steelers corroborated what was said by Myles Garrett. That was founded by us and the National Football League, and at no point during that piece this weekend that was stated."

Steph Curry didn't attend the NBA All-Star game ... he had better plans!

The superstar is currently on a pretty sick beach vacation with his wife, Ayesha (looks like they're in Mexico) ... and clearly, they're super into each other.

Here's Steph bustin' out a little hip thrust while a bikini-clad Ayesha licks on his face.

Steph posted a caption, "Vacation vibes with my one and only like dat!"

Ayesha replied, "You coulda at least popped a filter on this. I love you though"

The couple got some social media love from Steph's NBA pals -- with people like Kevin Durant commenting, "Living your best life bro."

Dwyane Wade added, "Like That!!!"

Steph and Ayesha have been married since 2011. They have 3 kids together.

So, why didn't Steph play in the All-Star game? He's still recovering from a hand injury he suffered back in October. Curry insists he's still aiming to return to the court this season, but it doesn't really make a lot of sense since the Warriors are 12-43, the worst record in the NBA.

Just enjoy your vacation, bro.

Tim Tebow admits he had a "couple of conversations" with the people at the XFL -- but ultimately turned down Vince McMahon's new football league to continue his baseball career.

"There was some communication," Tebow told reporters at a Mets Spring Training media event in Florida over the weekend ... "We had a couple conversations."

But, the 32-year-old former Heisman Trophy winner says it's not the right move for him because he's laser-focused on making the NY Mets major league roster.

Tebow is entering his 5th season with the Mets -- where he's been trying to earn a spot as a power-hitting outfielder.

There's no bad blood between Tebow and the XFL -- in fact, it's the opposite. Tim showered the league with praise while explaining his decision to stick with baseball.

"I love what they're doing, and I think it has a chance to have success, and I think that's great."

"I think there needs to be a place for a lot of players that are really good, and should and could be playing in the NFL, and are better than a lot of NFL players. There's a chance they're going to be seen."

"So, I think it's awesome, and I think it's good for a lot of guys that are going to get a spot on an NFL roster because they're going to show a team they're worth it. But, for me, this is what I wanted to do and pursue it, and be all in."

The XFL also made a run at Colin Kaepernick -- but says the QB wanted a salary that the league just couldn't afford.

He dated Jennifer Lopez. She married Johnny Manziel.

And, now, Bre Tiesi and Casper Smart are together!!

The two have been dating on the down-low for a little while but finally went public on Valentine's Day ... with Casper buying Bre a fancy diamond ring (not an engagement ring!).

She even posted a kissy face V-Day pic with the caption, "Mines."

We previously reported, Bre -- a fitness model/ "Wild 'n Out" girl -- filed for divorce from Johnny back in December. They were married in March 2018.

As for Casper, the professional dancer dated Jennifer Lopez for 5 years before they broke up in 2016. They started dating after Lopez broke up with Marc Anthony.

People were shocked when they first heard about the relationship because J Lo is 18 years older than Smart.

Smart is currently a judge on "Mira Quién Baila" -- the Latin version of "Dancing with the Stars."