TMZ Sports - Page 50

Not many people can say the best hoops player on the planet sang his heart out for their birthday ... but that's exactly what LeBron James did for Anthony Davis on his big day!!!

... and the vid is hilarious!!!

The Brow is officially 27 years old on Wednesday ... and LBJ made sure his teammate knew he didn't forget about AD's cake day ... belting out a special rendition of "Happy Birthday" in the locker-room.

"Happy birthday, AD ... happy birthday, homie ... happy birthday, my guy guy-y-y-y-y" the King sang with all his might.

It's worth noting ... LeBron is one of the greatest basketball players of all time, he's killing it in Hollywood and has made a huge impact on lives in his hometown of Akron, Ohio.

With that being said ... singin' ain't his thing.

But, hey, it's the thought that counts ... and AD loved it!! The guy even pretended to be embarrassed at the end and threw his towel at James.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AD!!

Jimmy Butler is opening up about his decision to leave the 76ers ... admitting he felt like he had no idea what was going on or "who the f*** was in charge."

Butler's time in Philly was short and had its fair share of drama ... and now the 30-year-old is explaining to 'The JJ Redick Podcast' what was so challenging for him last season.

“Hell yeah, it was difficult. It was so different,” Butler told his old teammate. “And, on any given day, me as a person and as a player, I didn’t who the f*** was in charge."

"I think that was my biggest thing. I didn’t know what the f*** to expect whenever I would go into the gym, whenever I go into the plane, whenever I got into the game.”

"I think I was as lost as the next motherf***er."

Butler explains his frustrations stemmed from so many voices trying to be heard ... and meetings where "nothing got accomplished at all."

The now-Miami Heat star -- who signed a 4-year, $141 million deal this off-season -- shares the moment he knew he'd leave ... saying someone had asked if he could be "controlled" if he stayed in Philly.

"I was like, ‘You don’t got to worry about it. Sh*t, can’t nobody f***ing control me.’"

"For one, I ain’t just out there doing no bullsh*t. But, the fact that you’re trying to control a grown man? Nah, I’m cool. 'Cause I don't do nothing that's just drastically f***ing stupidly crazy. I do not do that."

Dallas Cowboys receiver Ventell Bryant -- who caught a touchdown pass from Dak Prescott late last season -- has been arrested for DUI ... TMZ Sports has confirmed.

The 23-year-old wideout (who played college ball at Temple) was pulled over at around 2:30 a.m. in Tampa, Fla. ... after cops say they had spotted him driving with his headlights off.

Police told FOX 13 after they spoke with the NFL player ... he admitted he had drank multiple margaritas before getting behind the wheel.

Cops say Bryant -- who played in 12 games for the 'Boys last season -- failed sobriety tests and eventually blew a .102 and a .099 ... both numbers over the .08 legal limit.

Bryant was arrested on the scene and booked at the Hillsborough County jail on a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence.

Ventell is facing up to six months in jail and fines if convicted on the charge.

Bryant -- a rookie last season -- was scooped up by the Cowboys before Week 1 ... and was a key special teamer for Dallas for most of the year.

Kevin Durant enlisted one of his good buddies to keep his spirits high during his Achilles recovery on Tuesday night  ... hitting up an L.A. hot spot together for a night on the town.

Oh, yeah ... and that friend is Drake!!!

Of course, KD is still working to get back on the court following the devastating injury he suffered in Game 5 of the NBA Finals last season ... and it's been going VERY well -- the dude is already dunking in pick-up games again!!

The Brooklyn Nets superstar stayed busy while his team was in town to play the LA Lakers ... hitting up The Nice Guy in West Hollywood for a good time.

FYI -- Drake and KD are solid buds despite their teams going against each other in the Finals last season ... and Drizzy was very emotional in the crowd when Durant went down with the injury.

On top of that, Aubrey loves to name-drop Durant in his songs ... so the meet-up ain't all that surprising.

Great news from Ryan Newman ... the NASCAR star who's recovering after an insane crash last month tells TMZ Sports he's back to driving, and has even hit a racing simulator!!

The 42-year-old miraculously survived a wild wreck at the Daytona 500 on Feb. 17 ... and when we got him out in NYC on Wednesday, he said things are starting to get back to normal.

Newman says he's feeling good ... and even got in a laugh with our photog about the coronavirus!

Ryan also tells us he's had ZERO thoughts about retiring from the sport in wake of the accident ... and says he's been cleared to get behind the wheel of his daily driver.

As for a return to the NASCAR wheel ... he says he has no timetable for that yet, but he did tell us he's already been in a race simulator to prepare for his comeback.

By the way, Newman says his outlook on life has changed a bit since he was hospitalized ... telling us, "I'm a little bit more appreciative."

Josie Harris -- who has 3 children with Floyd Mayweather -- was found dead at her home in Valencia, CA on Tuesday night ... TMZ Sports has confirmed.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... officials were called to the home around 9:30 PM and when they arrived, they found 40-year-old Harris unresponsive in her car.

She was pronounced dead at the scene. We're told there does not appear to be any foul play and the case is being treated as a death investigation as opposed to a homicide probe.

Josie had a tumultuous relationship with Mayweather. He was convicted of attacking her back in a 2010 domestic violence incident and later served 2 months behind bars.

Harris claims she was abused on 6 different occasions. But, the criminal case was centered around a Sept. 2010 incident when Harris claimed Floyd entered her Vegas home while she slept, pulled her hair and then attacked her in front of their children.

Harris claimed their oldest son, Koraun, snuck out of the home and alerted a security guard to call police.

Years later, Mayweather denied the violent allegations during an interview with Katie Couric ... saying, "Did I restrain a woman that was on drugs? Yes, I did. So if they say that’s domestic violence, then, you know what? I’m guilty. I’m guilty of restraining someone."

Harris was outraged by the interview and later sued Mayweather for more than $20 MILLION for defamation. The case is still ongoing.

Rob Gronkowski is "deep in talks" to sign a contract with WWE -- and reportedly could make his first official appearance with the company later this month.

The 30-year-old ex-New England Patriots star has been talking about a career with the WWE for years -- but now that he's seemingly closed the door on an NFL comeback, it's becoming real.

In fact, ProWrestlingSheet's Ryan Satin appeared on FS1's "WWE Backstage" and cited multiple sources who say Gronk's very close to finalizing his deal.

Satin says if things move according to plan, Gronk is expected to appear on "Friday Night Smackdown" in New Orleans on March 20.

Gronk LOVES pro wrestling -- and the McMahon family. Just last month, he was pictured with Triple H during Super Bowl weekend in Miami.

And, don't forget when he famously jumped in the ring to help out his pal, Mojo Rawley, at Wrestlemania 33 in 2017 -- and looked like a natural.

In fact, Gronk even told us a short time after that bout he wanted a WWE match of his own with Rawley!!

If Rob does ultimately get into the sport full-time ... he'll have no shortage of rivals -- everyone from Becky Lynch to Lio Rush and Bobby Lashley have talked smack about the 30-year-old.

As for Gronk's ability to wrestle full-time despite having no real background in the WWE world ... Rawley told us last year, "All I know is whatever he does next, or what he's doing currently, he's gonna be the best at."

Gronk famously retired from the New England Patriots back in 2019 ... finishing his career with 3 Super Bowl rings and 79 total receiving touchdowns.

Michael Strahan is going to war with one of his ex-wives over custody of their twin girls ... and he claims his ex is abusing their kids.

Michael claims his second ex-wife, Jean Muggli Strahan, is physically and emotionally abusing their teenage daughters, Sophia and Isabella, and the ex-NFL star is gunning for a judge to strip Jean of primary custody and give it to him ... according to new legal docs obtained by TMZ.

Michael claims Jean's been engaging in a "pattern of abusive conduct towards the children for years" ... he claims he's got proof of the physical and emotional abuse and says he's gonna detail it in sealed docs.

Strahan paints his ex as a bad parent ... claiming Jean's not taking their kids to court-ordered therapy sessions and says she's the reason Sophia and Isabella keep missing their volleyball matches and equestrian events.

Michael, who has visitation rights, wants the girls to move in with him in New York ... and he wants his ex held in criminal and civil contempt for her alleged actions. As for Jean, who currently lives in North Carolina with the 15-year-old girls, he wants her to have the same visitation he currently has, but that's it.

Conor McGregor is being hailed as a HERO by a foundation that helps the families of emergency responders who died in the line of duty ... claiming CM's $1 million donation will have a REAL impact on families in need.

The UFC star, along with Proper Twelve Whiskey company, officially wrote a $1 million check to the Tunnel To Towers Foundation ... which was founded by the brother of FDNY hero Stephen Siller, who was killed in the World Trade Center attack.

We spoke with Stephen's brother Frank Siller ... who tells us McGregor's gesture is nothing short of incredible.

"What we do as a foundation is that we relieve the mortgages of the first responders who died in the line of duty that have young kids left behind," Siller tells us.

"So, this will go to many, many houses, depending on what part of the country it is -- but that's what Conor wanted."

Siller even offered up an emotional personal message to McGregor ... and warning -- you might wanna get some tissues ready.

"Conor, you're gonna change the lives of many great heroes and the families left behind."

"You're telling them that people care, that America cares. And, that if somebody goes out there and gives their kids a kiss goodbye and doesn't come home, Conor McGregor is gonna make sure that those families are taken care of."

"Thank you and God bless you, Conor.

There could be a baseball Hall of Famer between the pipes when the Colorado Avalanche plays on Sunday ... 'cause none other than Larry Walker will be the official emergency goalie!!!

Of course, the chances are slim the 53-year-old ex-MLB slugger will see any PT ... but it's not impossible. Walker would just have to beat out the other 2 goalies on the roster.

Remember, just 2 weeks ago, 42-year-old David Ayres -- the Carolina Hurricanes Zamboni driver -- had his name called after the team's 2 goalies got injured ... and the dude helped secure the win!!!

As for Walker, the guy ended up playing a sport with a different kinda stick and was damn good at it -- he won the National League MVP in 1997, 7 Gold Gloves and 3 Silver Sluggers.

But, baseball wasn't the only first love for the Canadian ... he grew up playing street hockey and had dreams of being an NHL goalie.

Former L.A. Sparks GM Penny Toler says her firing in 2019 is complete B.S. ... and now she's suing the team claiming she was only axed because she complained about fellow executives' inappropriate behavior.

Remember, Toler was canned during last year's WNBA postseason ... after she used the n-word during what she claims was a pump-up locker room speech.

At the time, it was reported the Sparks had fired her over the speech ... but in a new lawsuit, obtained by TMZ Sports, Toler claims that wasn't the case at all.

Toler says the REAL reason she was 86'd has to do with complaints she filed about multiple key personnel within the Sparks organization ... including the head coach.

In her suit, Toler says players had complained to her about Brian Agler -- the head coach at the time --  claiming he had made them uncomfortable with "sexually predatory conduct."

Toler says she pushed for the team to investigate ... but said her boss refused to.

Toler also claims she tried to blow the whistle on an extra-marital affair involving high-level team execs -- but her complaints went nowhere.

In her suit, filed by attorney Dawn Collins, Toler also says she wanted to trade Sparks star player Candace Parker -- but former team president Christine Simmons intervened and used her influence to stop the trade talks and get Toler fired.

Why? Toler claims Simmons and Parker are close personal friends and it was more important to keep Parker in L.A. than to do what was in the best interests of the team.

Toler's rep, Holly Baird, tells TMZ Sports ... "It's ridiculous that the organization used Toler's use of the word 'n***a' during a locker-room speech to rally the team against her when during practices and workouts songs played from Spotify, were laced with the same slang expletives or worse."