TMZ Sports - Page 50

There was a mad scramble to protect Conor McGregor's genitals in the minutes before the Mayweather fight ... when he realized he left his protective cup at home!

Conor had just had his hands wrapped -- while still wearing his pimped out suit -- when he realized he was missing his custom jockstrap/cup combo and his mouthpiece.

He immediately remembered he left 'em both at his Vegas home and sent one of his team members racing out of the T-Mobile Arena to retrieve his junk protection, ASAP.

The good news ... the guy made it back with plenty of time to spare.

But why did Conor have a custom cup? We'll just refer you back to the weigh-in ...

Kobe Bryant has played in a lot of venues, but never the Hollywood Bowl ... until Friday night.

Kobe took the stage at the best venue in L.A. and read his now-famous retirement letter, "Dear Basketball," accompanied by the L.A. Philharmonic Orchestra no less.

The conductor was definitely as famous as Kobe, at least in orchestra circles ... John Williams.

And there's more ... an animated film by Glen Keane of Disney fame played on the big screen.

Awesome night for sure.

LaMelo Ball's $395 shoes officially have their first celeb buyer ... cause O'Shea Jackson Jr. (aka Ice Cube's son) says he's gonna cop a pair ASAP!

Not that O'Shea thinks The MB1s are worth the scratch -- dude's just a HUGE Lakers fan ... and backs all things BBB.

If you need proof ... the "Straight Outta Compton" star already knew about Melo's kicks when our photog found him at LAX -- just HOURS after they dropped.

"If it has the name Ball on it, the sh*t is HOT," Jackson told TMZ Sports.

"I’ma get mine. I’ma get some of Lonzo’s. If LaVar gets some, I’ma get them too."

Speaking of LaVar ... O'Shea says he's a "genius" -- and even plugged the Big Baller dad for president!

Looks like Jay-Z ain't the only big name on the bandwagon.

Handle business. Keep your nose outta trouble. Stay the hell away from sketchy situations.

These are all different ways of saying Ezekiel Elliott's gotta man up to move past his domestic violence saga -- courtesy of Eddie George.

We got Eddie at LAX ... and asked the former NFL superstar to weigh in on Zeke as the RB fights to reduce his 6-game suspension.

George was an Ohio State legend just like Elliott ... but unlike Elliott, stayed out of trouble once he made it big as a pro.

So ... George dropped some knowledge on Zeke -- and made it clear he's got faith Elliott can turn it around with the help of Jerry Jones and his Dallas Cowboys fam.

Master P says his co-ed hoops team is so legit, they could face off with some NBA teams right now ... and his squad would come out with the W!!

We spoke with the Global Mixed Gender Basketball league honcho about his huge haul of talent -- from Glen 'Big Baby Davis to Metta World Peace to the Gonzalez twins -- and Percy says the Lisa Leslie-coached team can hang with the big boys.

"I feel we could beat a couple NBA teams," P tells the guys on the "TMZ Sports" TV show on FS1. "You guys gotta see how good we is and how fast-paced."

Ezekiel Elliott says there's NO WAY the woman whose top he pulled down at a St. Patty's Day parade in March could have been mad at him ... because they had sex later that night.

The Dallas Cowboys running back testified to that incident during his appeals hearing in front of an arbitrator in NYC on August 29th.

During cross examination, lawyers brought up the St. Patty's Day parade -- where Zeke can be seen on video reaching over and pulling down a woman's top ... exposing her breast for all to see.

The NFL referenced that incident in its domestic violence investigation report -- and considered it when meting out Zeke's 6 game suspension.

But Elliott says the NFL didn't have all the facts -- insisting the woman is a friend and he believes he had "consent" to grab her shirt because she "wanted" him to.

Elliott testified that she didn't give him explicit permission before the incident but he found out later she was okay with it.

When asked during the hearing if that's what he thinks "consent" means -- Elliott replied, "I mean, I think consensual to me means it's wanted. I mean it's okay."

Elliott says the two went home and had sex after the parade -- and again at a later date -- which proves she didn't feel he committed any wrongdoing.

Serena Williams has gone into labor and is set to give birth any minute ... and of course it's all going down in the middle of the U.S. Open!

The 35-year-old superstar was admitted to St. Mary's Medical Center in Palm Beach, FL on Wednesday and she was induced on Thursday evening, according to CBS12.

Williams is all set for the big moment -- in fact, she and baby daddy Alexis Ohanian went on a grocery run recently to make sure her house is all stocked up and ready to go when she comes home with the kid!

Soccer legend Wayne Rooney was arrested for drunk driving in England on Friday morning after cops stopped the superstar behind the wheel of a black VW beetle.

The 31-year-old Everton striker was pulled over around 2 AM in Cheshire (North West England) and it was determined he was over the legal limit to drive.

Rooney -- the all-time scoring leader for both the England national team and Manchester United -- was released and is due back in court on Sept. 18th.

What's worse ... Rooney was reportedly driving with a 29-year-old woman in the car at the time of his arrest. His pregnant wife Coleen was vacationing in Spain with their children when she got the call about Wayne's arrest.

So far, no comment from Rooney's camp.

Ezekiel Elliott told NFL investigators he was NEVER in a serious, exclusive relationship with the woman accusing him of domestic violence ... she was just one of many chicks he was nailing.

Problem is ... the NFL says his text messages tell a completely different story.

It's all spelled out in the NFL's 199 page investigative report on Zeke, dated June 6, 2017.

In the section titled, "Background of the Relationship" -- the NFL says Tiffany Thompson described their relationship as "boyfriend/girlfriend."

But Elliott told investigators, "She was just one of the many girls he was having sex with."

Zeke explained, "they 'liked each other,' 'cared about each other,' but were never in a 'relationship,' she was never his 'girlfriend.'"

The NFL says that's a lie ... things were so serious between the two, Elliott told Tiffany in text messages he loved her and wanted to marry her.

"In numerous text messages recovered, Mr. Elliott told Ms. Thompson he loved her and that he had had sex with other girls but she was the one he loved."

"In others, he talked about how he didn’t know why he fell in love with her, how he missed her after one day apart."

"In others, he referred to her as his 'girlfriend,' told her that he didn’t think he would ever find anyone better to have a 'relationship' with, and at one point after she had said they should break up because they were fighting so much, he said, 'Maybe we should take a break. I’m not ready to commit & don’t want to put you through this anymore.' 'I hope one day when you come back to me I’ll be your husband.”

There was also a discrepancy about when the two lived together -- Thompson said she moved in with Zeke in Fall 2015 and stayed with him until Jan 2016.

Both Zeke and his father told police she NEVER lived with him -- but Thompson was able to produce written documentation and a car insurance bill that proved she lived at his address.

The league says the inconsistency may have to do with everyone's definition of what "living together" means .

The date went so nice, they did it twice!!

Blake Griffin and Kendall Jenner spent ANOTHER night out together -- hitting up Nobu in Malibu for dinner on Thursday ... their 2nd date night in a row.

The two have been hanging out a lot lately ... spending several nights out together in August -- including a double date with Chandler Parsons and Hailey Baldwin on Wednesday.

Back in July, Griffin had been rekindling with his ex Brynn Cameron-- the mother of his 2 kids -- but it seems that's taken a backseat to Kendall ... at least publicly.

Ezekiel Elliott is firing back at the NFL in court -- with the NFL Players's Association filing a lawsuit on his behalf to vacate his 6 suspension for domestic violence ... claiming the league's investigation was a farce.

The NFLPA filed the lawsuit in Texas -- and says the 6 game suspension "threatens irreparable harm to [Elliott's] season, career and reputation."

The Association says Zeke is the real victim in a "League-orchestrated conspiracy by senior NFL executives ... to hide critical information which would exonerate Elliott."

In the suit, the NFLPA argues league investigator Kia Roberts independently concluded that Zeke's accuser Tiffany Thompson "was not credible in her allegations of abuse and there was insufficient corroborating evidence of her incredible allegations to go forward with any discipline against Elliott."

The NFLPA says the league found "overwhelming evidence" undermining Thompson's credibility including:

-- Thompson lied to investigators and encouraged her friend (a witness) to lie to police

-- Thompson destroyed relevant evidence from her cell phones

-- Thompson changed her account of critical events repeatedly

-- Thompson considered extorting Elliott with alleged sex videos and took steps to effectuate such a plan

The NFLPA says Roberts recommended no suspension for Elliott based on the evidence -- but was ultimately blocked by another NFL investigator from laying out her case to NFL commish Roger Goodell.

The arbitrator in the case has not ruled on Ezekiel's appeal.

Iman Shumpert says he's not worried about facing off against his old teammate and friend, Kyrie Irving, when the Cavs take on Boston ... because he knows all Kyrie's moves!!

Shumpert was actually pretty candid about the whole situation when we asked if there will be a heated rivalry when playing the Celtics since the blockbuster trade sent Kyrie out of Cleveland.

Shumpert says he's excited to play with new teammate Isaiah Thomas -- and has a message for him, "Get your work shoes on!"

As far as LeBron goes, Iman says the Cavs all have a group text going, but they haven't gotten together to talk about all of the changes going into next season.

Honestly, it's a great clip -- Shumpert keeps it all way real.

Time for a medical update on Isaiah Thomas' hip ... courtesy of his good friend (and former NBA player) Jason Terry.

Obviously, IT's hip has been all over the news -- with the Cavs almost pulling out of a trade with the Celtics due to concerns over the injury he suffered in the playoffs.

So, we spoke with Terry -- who's super tight with Thomas -- and he essentially told Cavs fans to CHILLLLLLL ... the hip is solid.

In fact, Terry says Isaiah is so good, the Cavs should build the whole team around him if LeBron James bails again ... and if that happens, "The Brink's truck WILL come out."

Post Malone is exonerating Ezekiel Elliott with his suspension appeal ongoing -- saying the Dallas Cowboys RB "did NOTHING wrong" and shouldn't have to sit out.

"Free Zeke -- you did nothing wrong, Zeke," Post told TMZ Sports outside TAO in Vegas.

Post is a HUGE Cowboys fan -- and clearly thinks the NFL's gotta ease up on his 6-game ban for allegedly attacking his ex-girlfriend.

Even if they don't, the rapper told us his "Boys are goin' ALL THE WAY this year" ... as long as they don't toke up too much during the season.

But don't get it twisted -- Post is 100% down with weed being legal -- in the NFL and in general.

MMA fighter Sergio Da Silva -- who fought at "Bellator 180: Sonnen vs. Silva" in June -- was arrested Thursday for allegedly robbing a bank in Queens, NY ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... the 31-year-old is accused of single-handedly busting into a Citibank in Queens on August 24th and making off with thousands of dollars in cash.

One source tells us the loot is estimated at around $50,000.

We're told cops believe it was Da Silva who put on a ski mask and jumped over a glass counter in the teller area during the incident. He allegedly claimed to have had a gun and said he would shoot people.

We're told cops were able to identify Da Silva by his fingerprints at the scene -- and tracked him down and arrested him Thursday morning. He lives right around the corner from the bank (same street).

Ric Flair is doing so well in his recovery, he's now taking phone calls from his famous wrestler friends ... including Stone Cold Steve Austin who says the two had a great convo earlier this week!

"All I can say is that I had a great conversation for about 5 minutes and we were both laughing," Austin said Wednesday on Sean Waltman's "X-Pac 12360" podcast .

Steve says Flair's still got a ways to go after undergoing major surgery for multiple organ issues -- but the fact he's got his personality back is a huge deal.