TMZ Sports - Page 50

Dwight Howard's all about gender equality -- which is why he and a female boxing trainer took turns PUNCHING EACH OTHER IN THE STOMACH!!

The NBA star laced up the gloves with Ann "Annimal" Najjar at the UFC Gym in San Diego -- where she challenged Dwight to hit first ... and he did. Hard.

In fact, Howard knocked her back twice in a row ... before ending it with a 3rd body shot that folded her in half.

The next day, Ann flipped the script and punished Howard's abs with more than 10 ferocious body blows in a row.

Terrell Owens ain't letting his NFL comeback die just cause he's "Dancing With the Stars" ... telling TMZ Sports he's still gunnin' for a roster spot.

We got T.O. in the Beverly Hills right before his 'DWTS' reveal ... and the 43-year-old doubled down on his comments from last week -- when he said it's "a joke" that he's not in the league.

"Yeah (it's a joke) ... considering the shape that I'm in."

"I'm an exception to the rule in terms of people playing well beyond their 30s."

We're not sure if Terrell's gonna get that shot -- dude hasn't seen a snap in 7 years -- but the Touchdown Dance MVP's gotta be an early favorite for 'DWTS.'

An 8 point spread is NOTHING to Tom Brady -- dude's gonna beat down the Kansas City Chiefs by WAY MORE than that ... so says a guy who played against him, Shawne Merriman.

The ex-NFL star says the New England Patriots are gonna beat KC to the tune of 30 to 13 ... more than double the spread on MyBookie.ag -- the place for all your online wagering needs.

By the way, the over/under is 48 points -- so, if you're gonna take Shawne's advice, LOW will get you DOUGH!

Kickoff is set for 5:30 PM PT -- but if you forget to plunk down before the game, MyBookie.ag offers in-game live wagering ... and they'll match your first deposit up to $1,000!

Nevada's largest police interest group is calling out Michael Bennett -- demanding the NFL take immediate action against the NFL star for "falsely" claiming they racially profiled him.

The president of the Las Vegas Police Protective Association fired off a letter to NFL commish Roger Goodell -- saying:

"On behalf of the rank and file members of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, I request that you conduct an investigation, and take appropriate action, into Michael Bennett's obvious false allegations against our officers."

"While the NFL may condone Bennett's disrespect for our American Flag, and everything it symbolizes, we hope the League will not ignore Bennett's false accusations against our police officers."

The LVPPA insists the officers involved in the August 27 incident had "reasonable suspicion" to believe Bennett may have been involved in a possible shooting investigation ... and they acted appropriately.

The Org. says Bennett's claims that he was detained only because he's a "black man in the wrong place at the wrong time" is "offensive to the men and women of law enforcement."

Calvin Pryor's stint in Cleveland is over -- the former 1st-round draft pick has been CUT by the Browns after allegedly fighting one of his teammates before practice this week.

The Browns had traded for Pryor during the off-season -- grabbing him from the NY Jets in exchange for linebacker Demario Davis.

NFL Network's Mike Garafolo says the fight was with WR Ricardo Louis. Coach Hue Jackson says the issue is an "internal matter." The story was first reported by Ian Rapoport.

Jackson says there are no plans to release Louis.

Ric Flair ain't just not dead ... The Nature Boy's doing so well, he could mount a WWE comeback -- so says Brooke Hogan, who just talked to Ric on a trip to see her dad.

Hulk Hogan's daughter told us Naitch was so fired up (WOOOOO!!) ... she wouldn't put it past him to return to the ring after he completes his recovery.

"He sounded like he was all full of piss and vinegar," Brooke told TMZ Sports.

"Guys like Ric are pretty indestructible ... they keep comin' back."

Flair's buddy, Stone Cold Steve Austin, basically said the same thing ... so don't rule it out.

As for Hulk ... Brooke says he's looking great at 64 -- and told us the one thing that would 100% get him to throw down again.

Hurricane Irma is poised to wreak havoc in the Miami area, and a bunch of enormous celebrity homes are in the line of extreme danger.

Gloria Estefan, Diddy, and 'Real Housewives of Miami' stars Roy and Lea Black all own homes on star-studded Star Island -- Gloria actually has 2 -- both in Irma's path.

Likewise for nearby Miami Beach, where celebs like Phil Collins, Shakira, Dwyane Wade, and Birdman are in the hurricane's path. Same goes for the Villa Casa Casuarina -- the famed Versace mansion. And there are a slew of other celebs with mega homes in the danger zone.

Irma's expected to hit with a vengeance over the weekend.

Jeremy Stephens is still gunnin' for Conor McGregor a year after their UFC 205 trash talk went viral ... telling TMZ Sports he'd GLADLY take the big money fight -- and KO Conor into oblivion.

"Hell yeah. Who wouldn't wanna fight Conor? You get paid."

"I'll knock him out!"

Of course, you remember the moment -- Conor turned to Jeremy after a routine call-out and famously said, "Who the fook is that guy?!"

Stephens is clearly looking for some revenge.

But first, he's got a couple other important dates -- a fight with Gilbert Melendez at UFC 215 ... and a wedding with his fiancee (congrats!).

If all goes well against Gil ... Jeremy wants Conor's head.

Kinda doubt McGregor's gonna respond ... but if he did, he'd probably say the same thing.

Boomer Esiason is backing Craig Carton after his longtime co-host's FBI arrest ... saying he's still got love for the sports radio personality despite the "shocking" news.

“I’ve loved my partner for 10 years and I still love my partner,” Boomer said on WFAN Thursday.

“I loved his family, loved his kids and I am praying every single day ... there’s nothing worse than having a family going through what they have to go through.”

Boomer added that he's been blown away by the support he's received since Carton's alleged ticket fraud scheme came to light ... but you can tell the NFL legend's still pretty emotional about it.

Esiason also confirmed that Carton's indefinitely suspended ... and says he'll continue bringing in different guests to fill his seat. On Thursday, Phil Simms was subbing in.

Remember that kid who singlehandedly sniffed out the SCUMBAG who stole Tom Brady's Super Bowl jersey??

Well, Robert Kraft definitely does ... and he just hooked that dude up with FRONT ROW TICKETS!!

Remember, 19-year-old Dylan Wagner was the guy who figured out it was Mauricio Ortega who jacked Tom's uniform and passed the tip to police ... which led to that raid in Mexico.

Well, Thursday morning Wagner got a personal visit from Pats owner Bob Kraft -- who came bearing some serious thank-you gifts.

Among the goods, Kraft presented Wagner with tix to NE's home opener against the Chiefs (seat #12, seriously) and an autographed (not stolen) Tom Brady Jersey.

He also got a pair of Robert Kraft Air Force 1s (which were released Thursday) -- which run $140 a pair.

As for Ortega ... anyone ever hear from that guy??

Oscar De La Hoya is addressing those infamous lingerie photos that have followed him around for years -- saying they were taken at a "bad time in my life" ... but he's a better person now.

The boxing legend was asked about the shots during an interview with "The Breakfast Club" -- when Charlamagne Tha God (of course) wanted to know the real story behind the pics of Oscar dressed up in fishnets.

"Just a bad time in my life," Oscar said ... "That's it."

Oscar didn't expand on why it was a bad time -- but noted the pics were taken 10 years ago ... before his 3 stints in rehab for substance abuse.

De La Hoya was asked if the pics have hurt his career as a boxing promoter -- but he shot that down saying he's only gotten "better" in his personal and professional life since the photos were taken.

Floyd Mayweather just went on an INSANE shopping spree with the bank he made from his Conor McGregor fight ... droppin' around a QUARTER MIL on purses!

We got Mayweather leaving Luxury Exchange in Beverly Hills after TBE binged on Hermes Birkin bags ... buying up a crazy expensive 4-pack.

The breakdown, courtesy of their online store:

-1 limited edition white crocodile ($125k!!)
-1 black crocodile (at least $35k)
-1 red crocodile (at least $35k)
-1 ostrich (at least $35k)

Not sure if Floyd got the Birkins for the hot chick he rolled out with -- he's rumored to be dating reality star Abigail Clarke, FYI -- but either way ... he clearly ain't trippin' on a tiny fraction of his $300 mil.

Reunited and it feels so goooood!

Tony Romo and Jerry Jones were back on the same team Wednesday night -- hanging out together at a Dallas steakhouse ... and TMZ Sports has the pic!

Here's the thing ... our Dallas sources tell us Romo and Jones arrived to Nick & Sam's separately with different parties -- but immediately noticed each other and had a friendly hello.

The best part ... it was Jerry who went to Tony's table to say hi -- and the two joked around like old friends.

Magic Johnson was lookin' like a million bucks (minus $500k) Wednesday night ... but the Lakers Prez ain't sweatin' his first fine as an NBA exec. ... telling TMZ Sports his team is doing great.

FYI -- the Lakers got hit with a tampering penalty after making illegal contact with OKC Thunder star Paul George. Magic took all the blame ... and said he'd cough up the half a mil from his own salary.

So we asked Johnson if Lake Show owner Jeanie Buss accepted his offer ... and he took the opportunity to assure fans that everything's A-Ok in L.A.

It ain't over yet for Colin Kaepernick ... so says NFL commish Roger Goodell who says he thinks the QB will get another shot to make an NFL roster.

Goodell appeared on FS1's 'First Things First' and was asked straight-up if he was "troubled" by the fact Colin's not on a roster while other QB's like Joe Webb have jobs.

"I want to see everyone get an opportunity, including Colin," Goodell said ... "but those decisions are made by football people."

"I don't make those decisions. I'm not a football expert."

Everybody relax ... MLB commish Rob Manfred says allegations the Red Sox stole signals from the Yankees with an Apple Watch just proves how competitive they are!!!

No, really ... that's what he told us!

We saw the Commish in D.C. this week and asked him about the biggest scandal in baseball -- claims a Red Sox trainer used an Apple Watch to relay Yankees signals to Boston players to give their hitters an advantage.

"Look, I think it's a reflection of competitive activity between two clubs," Manfred told TMZ Sports ... "I'm sure we'll investigate and reach a resolution that preserves the integrity of the game."

When asked if the Red Sox would forfeit the wins from the games in question, Manfred said, "I'm not gonna talk about potential discipline at this point. We haven't even completed the investigation."