TMZ Sports - Page 50

Lucky Whitehead's unemployment didn't last very long -- the WR's been claimed by the NY Jets after the Cowboys fired him.

Whitehead was waived by Dallas on Monday after police said he was arrested for shoplifting back in June. Cops later admitted the man they popped was NOT Lucky, but rather an imposter.

Still, the Cowboys refused to back down and said they were done with Whitehead.

Lucky hit the waiver wire and according to Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport, the Jets pulled the trigger.

On Tuesday, Jacksonville Jaguars star Dante Fowler pled not guilty to attacking a man in a brutal parking lot incident.

On Wednesday Fowler was apologizing for the incident and saying it won't happen again.

As we previously reported, the 2015 1st round pick was arrested on July 18 in Florida for allegedly punching a man in the face during an altercation in the parking lot of an apartment complex.

He was charged with battery and criminal mischief -- but later pled not guilty to the charges.

Fast-forward to Wednesday, when Fowler took the stage at a Jaguars media event and apologized to the team, the fans and the city of Jacksonville for "for my actions, for what happened, what went down."

He added, "I just wanna let people know and everybody know that's not me as a person. I'm a better person than that, and it won't happen again."

Danny Tartabull has finally been captured -- more than 5 years after a warrant was issued for the ex-MLB star's arrest on deadbeat dad charges ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Oh, and the reason he was caught? DUMBASSERY.

Quick backstory: Officials say the former NY Yankees star -- who played in the MLB from '84 to '97 -- owes more than $275k in unpaid child support stemming back to a 2011 deadbeat dad conviction.

He violated his probation in 2012 and was ordered to surrender and serve 180 days in jail but never turned himself in. A warrant was issued.

54-year-old Tartabull has basically been under the radar ever since ... until July 24, when he called police himself to report that his car had been broken into near his apartment in Agoura, CA.

When cops arrived, they ran Tartabull's name through the system and noticed the active warrant -- and immediately arrested him.

He was taken to a nearby station where he was booked in connection with the deadbeat dad case and has been locked up ever since.

Tartabull is set to face a judge some time Wednesday.

Fun Fact: Tartabull was the AL's highest paid player in 1992 after signing a 5 year, $27 million deal.

10:32 AM PT -- Tartabull's attorney, Jacob Glucksman, tells TMZ Sports his legal team is working to obtain Danny's release from custody and settle this matter.

Pro golfer Jarrod Lyle already KO'd cancer twice ... and he's ready to do it again after a third diagnosis.

“Just another bump in my road. I will fight like no other,” he told PGATour.com.

Lyle, 35, shared the news from a Melbourne hospital on Wednesday ... where a series of tests revealed another relapse.

The Aussie's in an uphill battle ... but he has a history of sensational comebacks.

He was first diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia at age 17, but came back 2 years later ... eventually winning two PGA tourneys. Lyle suffered a relapse in 2012, and again fought his way back to the Tour.

Rootin' for you, J.L.

It's 89 degrees in Miami ... which means MORE HOT CHICKS IN BIKINIS!

Here's Camille Kostek -- ex-New England Patriots cheerleader and possible Rob Gronkowski GF -- struttin' around the beach in a butt baring bikini.

Kostek is currently vying for a coveted spot in the upcoming Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition and seems to be a front-runner ... at least, judging by the positive response on social media.

It's clear Camille's feeling herself these days -- check out the bathroom video she posted.

Swag.

Cavaliers superstar Kyrie Irving arrived at his reported decision to ask out of Cleveland the same way Justin Bieber chose to end his tour -- through long chats with pastor Carl Lentz of Hillsong Church ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Church sources tell us Kyrie, who's been an active member for a long time, met with Lentz earlier this month about his desires to step out of LeBron James' shadow. We're told Lentz didn't tell Kyrie to "leave Cleveland" -- instead he listened to Kyrie's concerns, and encouraged him to make the decision he felt was best.

There's a reason it sounds so similar to Justin's Purpose tour shocker -- Bieber, Lentz and Irving all hung out together in L.A. just over a week ago. You could say they were on Kyrie's turf ... playing pop-a-shot at Dave & Buster's.

We're told Kyrie and Carl have been close for years, but Justin and the NBA star are more like acquaintances.

NBA fans have been baffled as to why Kyrie would want to leave a team that's been to the NBA Finals 3 years straight. Now we know -- it's God-approved.

Close your eyes, Clippers fans ... here's the first footage of James Harden & Chris Paul hooping together since CP3 joined the Rockets, and the guys look pretty freakin' good together.

The game went down in L.A., and Paul and Harden weren't the only NBA guys playing -- they were joined by Rockets teammate Trevor Ariza and NBA champion JaVale McGee.

It's a pretty sick video uploaded by YouBall Training honchos Thomas Scott and Anthony Davis (not that one).

Ready to call 'em a superteam yet?

Andre Drummond is keeping it pretty real when it comes to his future -- telling TMZ Sports when it comes to blockbuster trade rumors, "Anything is possible in this league."

The rumors are heating up that the Detroit Pistons star could be shipped out before the season starts -- and even engaged with a Twitter fan this week who suggested Drummond could be part of a mega trade to Cleveland for Kyrie Irving.

But when we asked about it, he didn't exactly rule it out -- "I play for Detroit now, so we'll keep it at that."

That said, Drummond still has big hopes for the Motor City -- telling us the Pistons picked up a lot of great talents in the off-season including Avery Bradley.

"We got a lot of great pieces to be a great team."

Golf superstar Jordan Spieth brought his 2017 British Open trophy to Dallas Tuesday night -- where he filled it with booze and chugged it onstage at the Randy Rogers concert!!!

Randy and fellow country star Wade Bowen were performing their Hold My Beer & Watch This show at the House of Blues in Dallas when Spieth made a cameo with the Claret Jug.

Everyone took turns swiggin' out of the trophy -- and the crowd went wild!

No word on what was inside ... but it's a safe bet it wasn't water.

Spieth won the British Open last weekend and he's been using his trophy as a cup nonstop.

Hey, it's your trophy ... do whatcha want.

Les Moonves has as much interest in landing the first O.J. Simpson interview as he does in having his tongue nailed to a table -- ZERO.

The CBS honcho was leaving Craig's Tuesday night when we asked if he's gunning for that first sit-down after Simpson's released from prison. He'll be out on parole as early as October 1, and it's anticipated he could get as much as $1 million for the interview.

One of Floyd Mayweather's TMT members tells TMZ Sports ... he's courting Nate Diaz to walk out with Floyd for the McGregor fight -- and says there's a REAL chance it will happen.

The man with the plan is "Love & Hip Hop" star, Jason Lee -- who's so close with Floyd, he was part of the boxer's entourage during the McGregor news conference in London.

Lee also happens to be from Stockton, CA -- home of Nate Diaz -- and says he's making a serious run to get Nate to be a special TMT VIP for the fight ... to essentially troll Conor.

Venus Williams accelerated from 0 to almost 20 MPH in about 4 seconds as she pulled through the intersection where she had a fatal accident ... according to the attorney for the victims' family.

Michael Steinger, who reps the estate of Jerome Barson -- the man who died -- tells TMZ Sports his team obtained the black box data Tuesday from Venus' SUV. He says it shows she was traveling at 19.9 MPH when Jerome and his wife T-boned her.

He also says the numbers show Venus got up to that speed in 4.2 seconds. His take on the data -- Venus probably "looked up, saw the red light and gunned it."

Remember, the surveillance video shows Venus start into the intersection, but stop to allow another vehicle to turn left in front of her. Up to now, we only knew Venus told cops she was doing about 5 MPH as she started into the intersection. The police report also put the Barson's Hyundai at 25 MPH.

If, as Steinger says, Venus was doing 20 MPH after the light had changed, the obvious question becomes -- was she reckless in her attempt to clear the intersection?

Aaron Judge is killin' it, but don't go retiring his number just yet ... so says Yankees legend Reggie Jackson, who told us the rookie phenom still has a lot more to prove.

Mr. October was RAVING about Judge when we ran into him at LAX -- saying he's showing serious signs that he could be one of the best to ever do it -- but notes, "One half season doesn't make a great player."

It's been a helluva 1/2 season -- already racking up 32 HRs (tied for the MLB lead).

But Reggie warns it doesn't get easier -- Judge is gonna have to make some key adjustments if he wants to be one of the greats.

BONUS -- Reggie also talks sex at the end of the clip ... by accident.

One less problem for the Dallas Cowboys ...

Rookie cornerback Jourdan Lewis was just found not guilty of attacking his then-girlfriend after a 2-day domestic violence trial.

The 3rd round draft pick had been charged with domestic violence after allegedly roughing up his then-girlfriend at their apartment in Ann Arbor on March 15.

Lewis' girlfriend told cops that the U of M cornerback threw pillows at her during a fight about the electricity bill and then locked himself in a closet for a while.

She said he then dragged her across the living room floor and grabbed her by the throat.

Lewis told cops she had been hitting him in the face, so he picked her up by the shoulders to try to get out of the room.

The case went to trial and a jury found him not guilty. After court, Lewis told the media, "I'm elated."

Lewis' attorney John Shea says, "It’s always gratifying to represent someone that you believe in and have the jury tell me I’m right."

"We’re just happy it came out the way it did. He’s letting it sink in. He’s been under this cloud for awhile and he’ll need some time to put it behind him but this is a good first start."

Michael Phelps isn't taking a shred of blame for viewers' disappointment over him not racing an actual great white shark, and says he stands by the "incredible" made-for-TV event.

The 23-time Olympic gold medal winner opened himself up to his critics on Facebook and addressed the backlash from his Discovery Channel special. You'll recall, no doubt, Phelps lost to the shark ... but it was a CGI shark.

Phelps claims everyone involved in the man vs. beast production made it very clear what the "race" would entail, but people chose not to listen and now they're hatin' ... which he calls "shocking."

Speaking of shocking -- Michael didn't race a real shark, but REALLY did swim in 53 degree water!

Hot chicks in bikinis, anyone?

SI's model search hit the runway to cap off Miami Swim Week ... and it was good.

Rob Gronkowski's on-again, off-again GF, Camille Kostek, was one of 15 finalists rocking the new beachwear line ... which is for ladies of "all shapes and sizes."

There's a lot of All-Pro talent in the field -- but just 1 is getting picked to be in next year's swimsuit issue.

Bonus video: Some of the ladies got loose in a behind-the-scenes dance-off ... and it was kinda goofy. But still really hot.