TMZ Sports - Page 50

Paulie Malignaggi says he was NOT a plant sent by Floyd Mayweather to spy on Conor McGregor ... despite Floyd's claims.

Conor's former sparring partner appeared on "The Herd" on FS1 on Wednesday -- where Colin Cowherd asked him straight up about the pre-fight video in which Floyd bragged about using Paulie as a mole.

Long story short ... Paulie says the whole thing was a joke and Floyd never asked a single boxing-related question about Conor or his training camp.

Paulie says Floyd only said 1 thing about Conor during the meeting ... "I'm gonna knock his ass out."

Mike Tyson is finally giving Conor McGregor some credit as a boxer -- saying he truly gained some respect for the Irish superstar after watching the Mayweather fight.

Remember, Tyson gave a pretty brutal prediction back in July ... telling Pardon My Take, "McGregor is gonna get killed in boxing."

There's more ... "McConor put his dumbass in a position where he's gonna get knocked out because this guy's been doing this all his life since he was a baby."

Kendra Lust has a huge bone to pick with K.C. Royals G.M. Dayton Moore -- claiming the baseball honcho is dead wrong about linking porn to domestic violence.

Lust -- AVN's reigning "MILF Performer of the Year" award winner -- came out swinging hard against Moore ... claiming she's sick of people blaming adult videos for their problems without a shred of evidence.

"In all honesty, I think that porn helps keep people's relationships healthy," Lust says.

"It helps keep [people] safe from maybe going out and being unfaithful to their spouse ... it helped my life a lot."

Lust slams Moore's insinuation that porn is dangerous like booze and drugs as a "cop out" -- and says he needs to support it ... instead of demonizing it.

It seemed to be just another normal night out for Johnny Manziel on Tuesday -- despite reports that he got the cold shoulder from a CFL team following a workout last week.

Johnny, his sister and his fiancee, Bre Tiesi, hit up Catch in West Hollywood for some takeout -- hours before news broke that Manziel had a private workout for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

According to reports, the Canadian Football League team passed on Johnny -- with one source telling TSN there were "too many red flags" with the former Heisman Trophy winner.

Manziel is not giving up -- according to his fiancee. When we saw Bre at the Mayweather fight over the weekend (after the workout) she told us Johnny was doing "great" and continuing his football comeback.

Things got downright X-rated in the Legends Football League ... when Chicago Bliss star running back ChrisDell Harris invited a linebacker to prove her skills as a cunning linguist -- if you catch our drift.

It all went down when the Bliss took on the Atlanta Steam in an August 20 match up -- where things got pretty chippy between the two squads.

Harris -- aka "The Ferrari" -- wasn't too happy about getting slammed into a wall during an option play ... and launched the oral attack.

With a freshly shaved line on the side of his head, soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo joined a training session with the Portugal national team ... gearing up for a 2018 World Cup run.

Ronaldo looked Ronaldo-ish ... skilled, agile, rich ... and ran drills with teammates Pepe and Fabio Coentrao during the practice sesh in Lisbon.

By the way, the World Cup is gonna be here before you know it ... it's set to kick off on June 14 in Russia.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has found the secret to boosting his Uber rating -- MONEY!

The NASCAR legend got the Uber blues on Saturday when he learned his rating was a crappy 4.0 on the 5.0 scale. He tweeted about it, "That's complete sh*t."

Uber immediately reached out to Dale and tried to help him with some quick tips ... and Junior says his rating's been way up ever since.

"I've been tipping really good and been nice to the driver ... and it's working out! My ratings are up!"

Earnhardt says he's cool with the company now -- and says it's the best way to go out if you plan on boozing.

LaVar Ball just dropped the trailer for his new reality show -- which puts a spotlight on his wife's recovery from a stroke that was so severe, the family admits they didn't know if she would live or die.

Tina Ball suffered the stroke back in February -- and has essentially stayed out of the spotlight as her sons Lonzo, LaMelo and LiAngelo rose to basketball superstardom.

LaVar has been working with her in their Chino Hills home -- and finally allowed reality show cameras to document her recovery.

One powerful scene shows LaVar re-teaching Tina how to say "I love you."

At one point, Lonzo admits his mother's medical emergency "hit me kinda hard."

The 10-episode series, "Ball In the Family," debuts Thursday and also features much less serious topics -- like Lonzo's relationship with his girlfriend and LaMelo's youth basketball career.

TMZ Sports has obtained video of Kansas City Royals pitcher Danny Duffy face-to-face with cops while being popped for DUI in a Burger King drive-thru.

It all went down in Overland Park, Kansas around 7:35 PM on Sunday evening. The person shooting the video thought it was crazy that someone could get a sobriety test in the BK parking lot -- she had no idea it was the World Series star.

You can see 6'3" Duffy with the shaved head and the green sweatshirt.

BK employees told KCTV5 that he ordered a combo meal and some burgers -- but passed out behind the wheel before getting to the pickup window. Cops woke him up and he was cited for DUI before being released to a friend.

He never got that combo meal.

Art Briles is already on the hunt for another job after getting the boot the from CFL -- and his lawyer tells TMZ Sports he's obviously upset with the way things went down in Canada.

"Coach is disappointed that he won't be helping the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, but knows he will be coaching again," attorney Mark Lanier tells us.

"He is optimistic that at some point, there will be full disclosure and his name will be restored."

"People who know the facts, know how maligned he was in the press, and at some point the truth will come out."

The Tiger-Cats claimed it was a "large and serious mistake" to hire the former Baylor coach -- who had lost his job in Waco following a sexual assault scandal involving several Baylor football players.

Hardcore porn will make you a bad baseball player ... this according to KC Royals general manager Dayton Moore.

The Royals exec was talking to the media about pitcher Danny Duffy's DUI -- when he was asked if there were "educational protocols" in place to help keep other players out of trouble.

That's when Moore revealed team programs to educate players about the dangers of drugs, alcohol and porn.

"We talk about pornography and the effects of what that does to the minds of players and the distractions ... And how that leads to abuse of -- domestic abuse -- to abuse of women."

Moore said the team also discusses how porn impacts relationships.

Moore says the goal is to help his players become better people -- husbands, brothers, teammates.

Teddy Bridgewater just issued a strong statement about the health of his left knee without saying a word -- in the form of a LOCKER ROOM DANCE PARTY!

Almost 1 year to the day after suffering a catastrophic knee injury -- and with questions if he'll be able to play in 2017 -- the Vikings QB turned up the music and busted out the dance moves to prove he's on the mend.

Teddy looked like he could be an extra in the next "You Got Served" flick -- though when he busted out the C-Walk, he used his healthier right leg as his main support.

The Vikings have 1 week to decide if they should put Bridgewater on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list ... which would mean he'd have to sit the first 6 weeks.

Teddy is clearly trying to convince his bosses he's ready to go.

Here's the very first pic of Mr. and Mrs. Ronda Rousey and Travis Browne!!

You can see Ronda with a big 'ol smile on her face while sporting a fancy Galia Lahav wedding gown during the wedding festivities in Hawaii this past weekend.

Ronda had said the reception was going to be a Hawaiian-style backyard BBQ with their closest friends and family ... and judging by their faces, it was everything they hoped for!

Dana White had said he got an invite to the ceremony -- but it was on the same day as the McGregor vs. Mayweather fight ... so, he couldn't make it.

Ronda's sisters served as the bridesmaids and her mother, AnnMaria, was also there!

Congrats!

Master P got another one!

TMZ Sports has learned ex-NBA star Glen "Big Baby" Davis has signed on to play in the Global Mixed Gender Basketball league ... along with 2 other former NBA players.

We're told Davis -- along with Stromile Swift and Tyrus Thomas -- are all on board and will play in the GMGB's first exhibition game on Sept. 23 in Las Vegas.

Stromile was the 2nd overall pick in the 2000 NBA Draft. Tyrus was 4th overall in 2006.

"We are thrilled about signing these three for a few reasons,” Miller says.

"They are all former NBA players with a lot of game still in them, former LSU Tigers and all Louisiana guys! It will make for great fan participation to have them on the team."

The big loser in the Matt Stafford contract situation is Tom Brady -- because if a guy who won ZERO playoff games is making $135 mil, Brady needs a raise, stat ... so says Eddie George.

The ex-NFL running back wouldn't go as far as to say Stafford doesn't deserve the fat new deal -- but says it's Brady who should be the highest paid player in the league.

"[Stafford] is 0-3 in the playoffs. Tom Brady has 5 Super Bowl rings. I think that money should go to Tom!"

By the way, Brady signed a 2-year, $41 million contract ... so he ain't exactly starvin'.

Still, George says Stafford's a great talent -- but "he's gotta produce some wins man. 0-3's not gonna cut it in terms of that!"

Derek Fisher has pled no contest to DUI stemming from a June 5 crash in which he flipped his SUV on the 101 Freeway in Los Angeles.

Fisher previously pled not guilty to 2 misdemeanor counts of DUI -- but struck a plea deal with prosecutors in which he pled no contest to driving with a B.A.C. of .08 and got probation and 100 hours of community service (or 10 full days).

He's also required to install an ignition interlock device in his car -- which will monitor his breath before he can start the vehicle.

There's more ... Fisher must participate in a MADD victim impact panel where he will speak with families of victims in drunk driving accidents. Plus, he's been ordered to complete a 3-month-long alcohol education class.

Miraculously, no one was injured in the crash -- including his passenger/girlfriend, Gloria Govan.

After the incident, Fisher told his fans the situation will NEVER happen again.