TMZ Sports - Page 50

Jake Paul says his team is actively in talks with KSI's people to make a boxing super-fight happen ... but tells TMZ Sports he thinks Logan's foe is too chicken to get in the ring!!!

Of course, the younger Paul bro has vowed revenge following Logan's controversial loss to KSI back in November ... and now that he bulldozed his way past AnEsonGib, there's only one fight to make.

We spoke with JP about his fighting future ... and he sees another easy W coming at the hands of KSI VERY soon.

"Our teams are talking," Jake tells us. "I'm telling you, I'm gonna knock this kid out in the 1st round," he said. "I have to avenge the family name."

Jake even adds a direct message for KSI, saying, "I know you're going to be watching this. Stop being an embarrassment. You said you'd fight me and I embarrassed your friend, who you said was gonna beat me. I think you have to take this fight."

Jake believes his words are gonna fall on deaf ears though .. saying KSI watched his fight and realized Paul might be too skilled in the ring now.

"I think deep down, (he) saw my performance and is like, 'wow, do I really need to like risk this? I can just YouTube and make shitty music.' That's what he's thinking."

As for a fight date?? Jake makes it clear he doesn't wanna waste any time -- he says he's down to scrap right now!!

Mark Richt said to hell with a steak dinner at a 5-star restaurant for his birthday ... the ex-Georgia and Miami coach is going with "hot dog delight" for his big day.

And, it looks horrific.

Of course, the 60-year-old broke down the unique dish during Miami media day back in 2018 ... saying it's a combo of 2 pieces of bread, a sliced hot dog and American cheese HAMMERED with baked beans and ketchup.

Richt says it's "delightful." We're calling BS.

But, the birthday boy proved he's really about that HDD life on Tuesday ... and you gotta appreciate his dedication to the meal.

"Hot dog delight! My favorite birthday dinner!" the coach tweeted.

Naturally, the Twittersphere opened fire in the replies ... asking if the coach is okay, calling the dish a "dumpster fire" and predicting a long night in the bathroom is in his future.

Others were actually open to the idea ... asking how to copy the travesty.

Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez will NOT be denied -- not when they're looking like this on their way into a schmancy Bev Hills boardroom.

The power couple dressed to the nines Tuesday, reportedly for a business meeting. Go ahead ... tell us who's gonna reject whatever they're pitching? We'll wait.

J Lo's never one for modesty -- we all still remember the Super Bowl halftime show, right? She showed off those famous dancer's legs in a mini-skirt and knee-high boots ... while stepping out of their drop-top Bentley.

If this is the new business casual ... go get that MBA, kids!

A-Rod's no slouch ... in his blue blazer, red tie and brown dress shoes, but even he knows his place when it comes to the couple's fashion hierarchy. Bonus points though, Alex, for the stylish bag ... bigger than J Lo's!!!

Okay, so ... who was saying no to them, again? Still waiting.

What was supposed to be a display of sportsmanship turned into an all-out BRAWL at a college basketball game in Texas ... when things got violent in the post-game handshake line!

Prairie View A&M had just defeated the Jackson State Tigers in a home game in Waller County -- but things had been chippy between the teams during regulation.

Things finally exploded in the handshake line when Jackson State's Dontelius Ross took exception with PV's Darius Williams ... who appeared to have bumped Ross during the handshakes.

Ross was PISSED and immediately tried running after Williams, but his teammates and a police officer used all of their might to hold him back.

But it didn't end there ... another fight broke out on the opposite side of the court involving other players and, again, officials raced on to the court to break it up.

It doesn't appear anyone was injured in the fracas -- but you can bet there will repercussions ... most likely suspensions to come soon.

Crazy night.

LeBron James is going scorched-earth on the Houston Astros -- saying if someone ever cheated their way to a title he'd be "f**king irate!"

The NBA superstar is joining the chorus of top athletes blasting both the Astros AND the man in charge of punishing them, MLB commish Rob Manfred.

"Listen here baseball commissioner," Bron said ... "Listen to your players speaking today about how disgusted, mad, hurt, broken, etc etc about this."

"Literally the ball(⚾️) is in your court (or should I say field) and you need to fix this for the sake of Sports!"

Bron added, "I know I don’t play baseball but I am in Sports and I know if someone cheated me out of winning the title and I found out about it I would be F*^king irate! I mean like uncontrollable about what I would/could do!"

Obviously, Bron is referring to the fact the 2017 Houston Astros used technology, bats and trash cans to steal signs and tip-off their hitters about upcoming pitches.

Everyone from Mike Trout to Cody Bellinger, Justin Turner and Aaron Judge have ripped Manfred for not punishing Astros players who participated in the cheating.

A bunch of players also want the MLB to strip the Astros of their 2017 World Series title.

In fact, Atlanta Braves star Nick Markakis says he believes everybody on that team deserves a "beating" for tainting the sport he loves by cheating.

H.S. hockey players in Illinois turned themselves into human missiles over the weekend, launching their bodies at each other in a wild brawl ... and footage of the fight is insane.

Evanston's varsity squad was facing off with Lake Forest on Saturday at a local college rink in the Chicago area ... when a fight broke out and escalated IN A HURRY.

You can see in the video ... there's pushing and shoving. At one point, a Lake Forest player LAUNCHED himself into an Evanston player ... who crashed head first into the boards.

Later in the fight, ANOTHER Lake Forest player did the same thing ... violently throwing his body at the pile and sending two Evanston players crashing to the ice.

In another angle of the scrap ... you can see the massive magnitude of the brawl -- with haymakers, wrestling and pulling going down all over the rink.

Eventually, order was restored ... but it's unclear if any injuries were suffered. It's also unclear what started the melee. We reached out to reps from both programs, but so far, no word back yet.

In a bulletin post on Evanston's website Tuesday ... an official wrote, "Dear All - please do not share photos or videos from last weekend's game."

Atlanta Braves outfielder Nick Markakis just went SCORCHED EARTH on the Houston Astros -- saying he feels the cheating players "needs a beating" for tarnishing the sport he loves.

"It's damaging to baseball," Markakis told WSB's Zach Klein ... "I feel like every single guy over there needs a beating."

Markakis also went off on MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred ... saying he should be "embarrassed of himself" for the way he handled the scandal.

This clip is straight fire -- and it seems like a BUNCH of MLB stars agree with him.

Mark Cuban is ripping Manfred as well -- essentially saying Rob's the laughingstock of pro sports for the way he's handled the Astros cheating scandal.

"Baseball is a mess right now," Cuban said Monday ... "and they have zero vision to see them out of it. I’m thankful they didn’t let me buy a team."

Cuban is clearly pointing out that players and fans are PISSED Manfred is refusing to punish individual players for their role in the cheating scandal that many believe helped Houston win the World Series in 2017.

In fact, people want Manfred to strip the Astros of their '17 title -- but Manfred ain't moving on that.

Everyone from Mike Trout to Justin Turner and Cody Bellinger has spoken out about the way Manfred is handling the issue.

For his part, Manfred says he promised immunity to players who participated in the MLB investigation.

Enter Cuban -- who famously tried (and was unsuccessful) in buying the Texas Rangers back in 2010 ... and now Mark thinks the failed attempt was a blessing in disguise.

Instead, Cuban can continue to focus on his other endeavors ... running the Dallas Mavericks and starring on "Shark Tank."

In case you need a refresher ... the MLB investigation found Astros players and staffers were involved in a complex scheme using cameras, spies and trash cans to alert batters to which pitches they were about to face.

Mike Trout -- the best player in baseball -- says the tip-off is a HUGE advantage to the hitters and creates a ridiculously unfair advantage.

The S.F. Giants will NOT allow Aubrey Huff to be a part of their 2010 World Series reunion later this year ... and they say it's all 'cause of their ex-star's actions on Twitter.

"Earlier this month, we reached out to Aubrey Huff to let him know that he will not be included in the upcoming 2010 World Series Championship reunion," the Giants said in a statement Monday.

"Aubrey has made multiple comments on social media that are unacceptable and run counter to the values of our organization."

Huff has used his Twitter page to send off controversial tweets almost weekly throughout the past couple years ... but it was a series of comments he made about the Giants' hiring of a female bench coach last month that really landed him in hot water.

Just hours after SF made Alyssa Nakken the first full-time female coach in MLB history ... Huff ripped the move, writing, "Couldn’t imagine taking baseball instruction from an ex-female softball player."

He later added, "I got in trouble for wearing a thong in my own clubhouse when female reporters were present ... Can’t imagine how it will play out with a full-time female coach running around. This has #metoo & #BelieveAllWomen written all over it."

Huff -- who also made headlines last year for his pro-Donald Trump tweets about teaching his kids to use guns just in case Bernie Sanders becomes the next president -- was NOT happy about the Giants' decision to bar him from the celebration.

"Quite frankly, shocked," Huff told The Athletic on Monday. "Disappointed. If it wasn’t for me, they wouldn’t be having a reunion ... But if they want to stick with their politically correct, progressive bullsh*t, that’s fine."

Huff went on to blast team CEO Larry Baer -- who was caught on video last year in a fight with his wife -- for the move, writing, "I find this whole thing very hypocritical coming from a man who has had his share of real controversy for pushing his wife."

He added, "And while I'm disappointed the Giants are so opposed to President Trump, and our constitutional rights that they'd uninvite me to my team's reunion, it shows me that now more than ever we have to stand up for our first 1st amendment rights."

Huff was a superstar for the Giants in 2010, hitting .290 with 26 home runs and 86 RBIs. He finished seventh in the MVP vote that season.

The Giants, though, say there's no chance they let him be a part of their planned reunion on Aug. 16, saying, "While we appreciate the many contributions that Aubrey made to the 2010 championship season, we stand by our decision."

An MLS soccer coach is learning the hard way ... DON'T SING ALONG WITH SONGS THAT FEATURE THE N-WORD!!

FC Cincinnati head coach Ron Jans just resigned after a player complained he used the n-word out loud in the team's locker-room.

The player filed the complaint with the Major League Soccer Players Association -- which notified FC Cincinnati team officials ... and an investigation was conducted.

Jans has admitted he used the n-word in the locker-room but insists he wasn't trying to attack anyone ... he was simply singing along with a song that was playing.

And no, we don't know which song he was singing along with (we're curious too).

Jans spoke with the Cincinnati Enquirer about the incident and when asked if he has any regrets about the way things went down, he gave this response ...

"I wouldn’t have sung the word, that’s for sure. I learned that lesson. But I am who I am and if it doesn’t fit in this locker room, I think for a lot of players it was a good match and sometimes an excellent match but not with all of them."

There are also allegations Jans made insensitive comments about slavery during a team trip to Washington D.C.

Jans was initially suspended pending the results of the investigation, but club president Jeff Berding announced Tuesday the coach has officially resigned.

“As Major League Soccer’s investigation unfolded and some themes emerged, Ron offered his resignation and we agreed that it was the best course of action for everyone involved with FC Cincinnati,” Berding said.

“We place the utmost importance on a strong culture within our club, beginning in our locker room, and that every person connected with FC Cincinnati feels valued, respected and trusted."

The statement continued ... "Racial and cultural diversity is a major part of what makes the game of soccer so special, and we place the highest priority on respecting every person involved in our game."

"This includes absolutely everyone associated with our club, from our locker room and front office, all the way through to our fans."

NHL star Jay Bouwmeester is speaking publicly for the first time since he collapsed from a cardiac episode during a game last week ... saying he's now "on the road to recovery."

"My wife and daughters are forever grateful for everyone's support," Bouwmeester said Tuesday, "and we will continue to have a positive outlook for our future."

It's an amazing update from the 36-year-old ... considering his dire situation during the Blues-Ducks game on Feb. 11.

Jay passed out on the team's bench during the first period of the game -- and GM Dave Armstrong revealed doctors needed to use a defibrillator on the scene to revive him.

Bouwmeester was rushed to a Southern California hospital ... where he later had surgery to place an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) in his chest to prevent future issues.

In his first public statement since it all went down, Jay said he's recovering nicely ... and thanked everyone for their well wishes.

"I would sincerely like to thank all of the trainers from both the St. Louis Blues and Anaheim Ducks, as well as, all of the first responders, the Anaheim medical staff and the team at the UCI Medical Center for their quick actions on Feb. 11."

Jay continued, "Our family has felt the support of the entire National Hockey League family and the city of St. Louis during this time. We have all been greatly comforted by your genuine concern."

A super passionate (and rich!) Kobe Bryant fan tricked out his Lamborghini to honor the Black Mamba ... and now the guy says the amazing whip can be all yours -- if you've got around $170k!!

Joe Carbonara tells TMZ Sports he was so devastated after Kobe and his daughter, Gianna, died in a helicopter crash ... he wanted to honor them with his 2015 Lamborghini Huracan.

Carbonara says he took the ride -- which used to be a generic silver color -- to X-Treme Graphics near Chicago to get the tribute art put on.

We're told the shop's owner, Steve Zielinski, loved the idea of the project so much ... he spent TWO FULL DAYS wrapping it in Lakers purple and gold vinyl.

"I had to make sure it was good and not overdone," Zielinski tells us. "And, we didn't charge for it."

The results of the work were impressive ... Kobe's numbers, pictures of Bryant and Gigi, the Mamba's logo and even the names of all nine crash victims are featured on the ride.

In fact, the job was so well done ... the Lambo -- now dubbed the Kobe24Lambo -- gained national attention when it was seen driving around NBA All-Star Weekend in Chicago.

But now, Carbonara -- who was trying to unload the Lambo prior to wrapping it -- says he's willing to let a new owner enjoy the car ... saying the ride is officially up for sale with a price tag of $170k.

In the meantime, Carbonara says you might be seeing the car in music videos and at special events ... saying he's been getting requests to show off the ride EVERYWHERE!!

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."