TMZ Sports - Page 50

TMZ Sports obtained audio of the farewell speech LeBron James gave to the "Space Jam" cast and crew on his last day of shooting ... and it's emotional stuff.

The NBA superstar addressed the cast and crew in Summer 2019 (before the COVID pandemic) ... and explained why it was so important for him to take the role in the first place.

"I'm gonna be honest completely with you guys -- when I found out about the project, I was like it's 'Space Jam'! It’s a movie that I grew up watching. People in the movie that I idolize. I was like absolutely, I gotta do it. There’s no way I can turn down 'Space Jam'!"

Bron joked that he had second thoughts when he realized the production schedule was so demanding, but ultimately decided it was the opportunity of a lifetime.

"I’m just a small kid from Akron, Ohio -- a very small town outside of Cleveland. From a single-parent household, I’m the only child, my mother had absolutely nothing. She was walking around high school when she was 16 years old and she was pregnant with me as a high school sophomore. So, I’m really not supposed to be here."

"Growing up in the inner city, as an African-American kid, there’s no way you’re supposed to f*cking make it out. And, the fact that I’m who I am as an African-American adult now with 3 kids of my own, and I made it out of the situations that I was in. This sh*t is like extra credit for me man."

Bron proceeded to thank everyone involved with the movie -- saying, "Y'all say you appreciate me, but I’m sh*t without y'all."

As we previously reported, James invited some of his NBA pals and teammates to participate in the movie -- including  Damian Lillard, Klay Thompson and Anthony Davis.

Kendall Jenner was true to form -- as in looking amazing -- as she stepped out of Nobu restaurant in Malibu Saturday night, with a guy she's said in the past she's not dating, but if Kendall and NBA star Devin Booker are just friends, they're REALLY good friends.

Kendall and Devin have chowed down at Nobu in the past. They've been seen together in various places over the last few months, including a road trip through Sedona, AZ. They've also been flirting online, so there's definitely some smoke here.

As for Devin, he was sprung from the NBA bubble Friday after the Phoenix Suns failed to make the playoffs.

UFC honcho Dana White has anointed Stipe Miocic the greatest MMA heavyweight of all time after scoring a victory over Daniel Cormier Saturday night, but it was a real shot in the eye.

Daniel was rendered blind in one eye -- hopefully just temporarily -- after Stipe poked him in the eye in the third round of their UFC 252 rematch. Stipe won by decision, making him a 2-1 victor in their trilogy of fights.

The referee didn't see the poke, but it was squarely caught on camera, and it's pretty gruesome. You see Stipe's finger go right in DC's left eye.

As for the injury ... it's reportedly a tear in his eye, although the extent of the injury has not been disclosed.

DC made it clear after the fight, he couldn't see anything out of his left eye.

Stipe was ahead in rounds 1 and 2, and the eye poke came in round 3 of the 5-round fight, but Dana White says the decision is legit ... “They both got poked in the eye. That eye was hurt before the poke. We got a big group text that goes out and I was like ‘There’s something wrong with Cormier’s eye.’ And then he got poked after that. That didn’t help. But they both got poked. You can’t use that as an excuse.”

Jake Paul says you can bet your mortgage on him knocking out Nate Robinson early in their celeb boxing match ... which might explain him messing with Big Macs without worry.

The YouTube star was leaving BOA in L.A. Friday night when he dished on how he thinks his undercard fight with the ex-NBA star will go in November -- spoiler alert, the dude's very confident, so much so ... he says putting your own house on the line would be worth it.

Check it out ... Jake tells us he's guaranteeing a FIRST-ROUND knockout, regardless of how much time Nate has to train. Remember, their match was originally scheduled for September, but reportedly got pushed back to the late fall ... which he seems to confirm here.

In any case, Jake's got a word of advice for people criticizing his pre-fight diet -- namely, the fact he's been spotted at McDonald's lately and getting weird stares. His suggestion ... sshhh, 'cause he says he can eat anything he wants because of how fast he'll get a K.O.

Like we said, Jake is super confident -- dare we say, cocky as hell??? Sure, that's probably accurate, 'cause he says he can basically slow walk this fight ... running ain't necessary.

Magic Johnson and his wife Cookie refuse to let that whole global pandemic thing stop them from their annual super-expensive, ballerrific Euro-Trip -- because they've just touched down in Croatia!

We've been covering Magic's summer trips for years -- he typically spends MILLIONS to rent fancy yachts for MONTHS to sail around the Amalfi Coast with his rich and famous friends.

But, with COVID still rearing its ugly head, the Johnson's are keeping more of a low profile this time around -- even rocking masks to try and limit their exposure. Smart!

Still, Magic and Cookie were spotted by fans in Dubrovnik -- and naturally, they smiled and posed for pics with anyone who asked while trying to keep a safe distance.

In previous years, we've seen Johnson Family Trip cameos from superstars like Samuel L. Jackson, LL Cool J, Holly Robinson Peete, Steve Harvey and more.

Unclear if the same crew will make it out this time around with the pandemic still affecting parts of the world.

Magic's vacations usually last around 6 weeks and can cost anywhere from $4 mil to $6 mil just on yacht fees!

In 2019, Magic's yacht featured a dining room area, movie theater, hot tub and massive outdoor deck.

Another COVID coupling -- this time, it's boxing champ Devin Haney and IG superstar Lira Galore!

We're told the two are officially dating -- and things are so serious, they just took a romantic trip together to Cabo!

The 21-year-old undefeated (24-0) boxing superstar recently flew 26-year-old Galore -- who has 4.2 million followers on IG -- down to El Pedregal, Mexico where he rented a ridiculously awesome mansion.

Our sources say the romance is relatively new -- but these two can't get enough of each other and spent the getaway doing fun things like riding ATV's, swimming in the mansion's Infinity pool, and feasting on meals cooked up by a private chef.

Haney is one of boxing's brightest young stars -- he's the reigning WBC lightweight champion and seems to be on a collision course with other top guys like Ryan Garcia, Gervonta Davis and Vasyl Lomachenko.

As for Galore, she's no stranger to high profile relationships having previously dated Rick Ross, Quality Control Music CEO "Pee" Thomas, and others.

Haney was connected with Blac Chyna back in July 2018 -- but they both moved on after that.

Yep, Stipe Miocic has seen that footage of Daniel Cormier training with Steven Seagal back in the day ... but he ain't worried about it!

The footage was shot back in 2015 when Cormier was getting ready to fight Jon Jones at UFC 182.

Seagal -- who considers himself a martial arts expert -- hit it off with Cormier and offered to share some of his secret fight moves ... but only if UFC turned off the cameras.

Cormier and UFC obliged, and now -- in theory -- he's been trained up in the ways of the guy from "Under Siege."

So, when we spoke with Stipe this week as he preps to headline UFC 252 on Saturday -- we had to ask if he was concerned that Cormier could unleash some of that "Hard to Kill" knowledge on him during their final fight?

Spoiler Alert: Stipe ain't worried ... but he was complimentary of the actor.

"Seagal's a savage. Ya gotta look out for that guy."

There's more ... Stipe also told us why he's not planning to retire any time soon and why he doesn't feel bad sending Cormier into retirement with an "L."

Bellator star Corey Anderson says he literally feared for his life after a super scary medical incident ... which ultimately lead to him leaving the UFC.

Remember, the 30-year-old MMA star "blacked out and collapsed" on February 21 while outdoors scouting land ... smashing his face on the gravel road.

Corey was rushed to the hospital ... where 1 doctor told him something was wrong with his heart.

Anderson -- one of the most feared fighters in the world with wins over guys like Johnny Walker and Glover Teixeira -- admits he was literally afraid he was going to die.

"It was a scary process. You don't know if one, is your heart gonna be okay, two, every night you go to sleep, is my heart gonna stop in the middle of the night?"

Shortly after the incident, Anderson -- a top 5 UFC light heavyweight at the time -- asked Dana White to release him from his contract (which DW did) ... before ultimately signing with Bellator.

Long story short, Corey said his decision was financially motivated -- he thinks Bellator will be more lucrative for him in the long run, so he signed on the dotted line.

We asked Corey who his first Bellator opponent will be -- but they're still working out those details

Brooklyn Nets star DeAndre Jordan is doing his part to personally assist those combating the coronavirus -- by surprising 200 frontline workers with free meals!!

TMZ Sports has learned -- the 6'11" center popped up at the myCovidMD in Los Angeles on Thursday ... teaming up with Postmates to provide the large group of workers administrating COVID tests with food from one of his favorite local joints -- Harold & Belle’s.

We're told Jordan hooked the workers up with chicken creole and his personal fav -- veggie jambalaya.

Of course, it's a great gesture coming from Jordan -- who was unable to compete in the 2020 NBA restart after testing positive for COVID-19.

NEW FEUD ALERT!

Here's UFC middleweight Martin Vettori trying to trash-talk his way into a fight with Chris Weidman ... and guess what, Chris responded!

26-year-old Vettori -- who's on a 3-fight win streak -- is trying to get to that next level ... and feels a victory over Weidman would boost his stock and lead to bigger, more lucrative fights.

His plan is to try and embarrass Chris by calling him his GF -- hopefully, baiting the former champ into some back-and-forth that will build interest for a violent showdown.

And, guess what ... it's working!

After Vettori compared Weidman to a woman on social media and again during an interview with us (see above) ... Weidman fired back.

"Yo, Dork hop off my nuts and get a win over someone in the top 15 for 1st time in ur life," Weidman said.

"I have been beating guys in the top 15 for ten years straight. Relevant? There's a reason you are calling me out. I'll fight again when I'm ready too.. And btw you aren't that good."

So, what happens next? Marvin says he's followed up with UFC about putting a fight together ... but so far, nothing official.

He's even got a fight plan ready if Weidman accepts the challenge.

"I would grapple the sh*t out of him until he's dead tired and then just put him out."

Frightening moment during the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers game ... when forward Derrick Jones, Jr. had to be stretchered off the court following a hard collision.

Jones -- the 2020 Slam Dunk champion -- collided with Pacers player Goga Bitadze in the second half of Friday's matchup ... when the center set a pick that sent DJJ to the ground.

Reporters on the scene say Jones, Jr. was lying face-down on the court for several minutes before he was put on a stretcher with a neck brace.

Jones -- who grabbed his neck as soon as he started falling to the ground -- was chasing forward Doug McDermott as he collided with Bitadze's shoulder.

No word on Derrick's status ... but here's hoping he's okay.

Another solid tribute for Kobe Bryant -- this time it's rap superstar, Lil Baby, teaming up with Money Man in a track paying homage to the NBA legend.

The two rappers dropped a song called "24" -- which includes several shout-outs to Kobe ... and some pretty incredible cover art which based around Black Mamba snakes, basketball and #24.

Some of the lyrics ...

"R.I.P. Kobe Bryant, R.I.P. 24
I can make a cool $50K in less than 24 hours."

Also ...

"Grew up in the trap watching Kobe yam on a n***a
Pull up in the Porsche, yeah, the Pan' on a n***a
Yeah, pull up in the Dodge, yeah, the Ram on a n***a
Anybody try, yeah, I'ma blam on n****s."

There's a gratuitous shot at NFL quarterback Joe Flacco ...

"White collar diamonds, n***a ballin' like Lonzo
These n****s overrated like Joe Flacco."

FYI, Flacco did win a Super Bowl!

Anyway, Money Man and Lil Baby are just the latest to honor Kobe ... following Lil Wayne, Amine' and others.

Kobe Bryant was big into hip-hop -- famously dropping a single with Tyra Banks back in 2000. He also appeared on some other tracks.

Heavyweight boxer Otto Wallin -- the man who took Tyson Fury to the brink in 2019 -- says he's fully recovered from his battle with COVID and can't wait to fight again on Saturday.

Remember, Wallin is the guy who bloodied Fury badly during their Sept. 2019 bout -- opening 2 huge gashes on the champ's face. He ultimately lost by unanimous decision, but gained a ton of respect in the boxing world.

Wallin later contracted COVID-19 in March -- but tells TMZ Sports he beat the virus pretty quickly and got back to training hard in a matter of weeks.

"I was out for maybe a week and a half, 2 weeks when I had it," Wallin says ... "But then we started training. Took it slow because we didn't know if it would affect me but we haven't noticed anything and we stepped it up from there."

"Now we've had a few months with good training. I feel like I've improved since the Fury fight so hopefully, that will come out."

Wallin steps back into the ring on Saturday to fight Travis Kauffman -- and another impressive performance could put him back in the mix for a rematch with Fury ... or a shot at other top fighters like Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua.

"I already showed Fury I'm very good ... I'm not too far off from those guys."

Kauffman ain't exactly rolling over -- he's been talking a bunch of trash too.

"If I don’t beat Otto Wallin, I’m retiring," Kauffman told BoxingScene.com.

"And, here’s why: I have a lot more experience and I have a lot more ability than Otto Wallin has. His claim to fame is truly losing to Tyson Fury."

Police in Florida say a homeless man posted up in a luxury suite at a pro soccer team's stadium for 2 WEEKS while the facility was closed due to COVID ... helping himself to food and merch the whole time.

The St. Petersburg Police Dept. tells TMZ Sports ... on July 26, Daniel Neja -- who cops say is homeless -- somehow got into the closed home of the Tampa Bay Rowdies and began squatting in the facility.

Cops say surveillance cameras captured the 39-year-old moving around Al Lang Stadium freely ... eating and drinking things from the concession area, as well as snagging Rowdies clothes and memorabilia from the team store.

Cops say Neja ultimately ended up taking more than $1,000 worth of stuff ... and an additional $250 from the concession area.

Officials say Neja was only caught because a cleaning crew noticed personal items like shaving cream and razors in the suite he had allegedly been living in.

Eventually, an officer showed up to the stadium Monday and found Neja ... and arrested him for burglary. Cops also say Neja refused to provide his name during questioning, so he was booked on an additional charge of resisting as well.

Baker Mayfield is holding firm to his promise to kneel for the national anthem ... saying he's proud to use his platform to speak out for human rights.

Remember, the Cleveland Browns QB clapped back at a fan who begged him to NOT take a knee this upcoming season ... saying, "pull your head out. I absolutely am."

During a virtual media session Friday, Bake was asked if he regretted going public with his kneeling plans because of social media backlash he received afterward.

"I don't have any regrets," Mayfield says. "I think being in my position, which is a blessing, to be out on a platform where I can speak on issues that ... they're just wrong."

"Right is right, wrong is wrong. This is a human rights issue that's been going on for a long time and I believe in that."

#6 continued ... "It's nothing against military, anybody who served. And anybody who knows my history knows that I completely support military and the people that serve our country for the right reasons and do it for justice."

Mayfield isn't all talk -- he's shown serious love for those who have protected the country over the years ... and even met with every single member of the military who attended Browns training camp in the past.

Baker's also helped the Browns send a bunch of care packages to the military in 2019 ... so yeah, the dude does a lot more for the troops than what some anti-kneelers will ever do.

How did Gregg Popovich deal with his Spurs missing the NBA playoffs for the first time in 22 years? By mocking Donald Trump!

Pop's squad didn't exactly thrive in the NBA's bubble environment and played their last game of the 2020 season Thursday against the Utah Jazz. They lost and will now exit the bubble.

More importantly, it means Pop will miss the NBA playoffs for the first time in 22 seasons ... and when he was asked about his historic run coming to an end, he channeled his inner Trump.

"Who told [the media] that the streak ended?" Pop joked ... "That’s fake news!!"

"That’s total fake news. Lots of guys have been telling me the streak hasn't ended. I talk to people all the time, they call me, they tell me ‘Pop, the streak didn't end.'"

"It didn't. It didn't end. I don't know where you guys are getting this."

Pretty funny, right?! Unless you're a Trump supporter.

Of course, 71-year-old Popovich HATES Donald Trump and isn't quiet about it -- blasting #45 any chance he's gotten. He's referred to Trump as a "deranged idiot" and a "coward" in scathing comments at the height of the George Floyd protests back in June.

Trump's largely ignored the coach's criticism ... but could Thursday's impression finally be the one that gets Pop a tweet from the Pres?