TMZ Sports - Page 50

7:20 PM PT -- Russell's rep tells TMZ Sports, "Russell was simply an ambassador for the company at one point, but no longer has any active involvement. He simply has nothing to do with this situation and has no knowledge of the current status of Eat the Ball."

Russell Wilson's tasty edible ball business is blowing up in his face ... this according to two former employees who claim they got the stiff-arm when their paychecks were supposed to come.

The Seattle Seahawks QB is being sued along with a food company called Eat the Ball -- which makes bread in the shapes of footballs, baseballs, basketballs and soccer balls. All of the balls.

Russell has been a spokesperson for the company since it launched -- and according to the lawsuit, he's also a minority owner.

The two people suing are Joseph Carter (who says he was hired as managing director for annual starting salary of $170k) and Bridget Botting (who says she was hired for marketing with an $85k salary).

Both Carter and Botting say they didn't get paid on several occasions -- and haven't gotten a dime since July.

They're suing for a ton of cash plus damages ... and since Wilson's on-board, they've included his name as a defendant along with the company.

We reached out to Wilson's rep for comment -- so far, no word back.

If you think it's time for Tom Brady to retire ... PUT DOWN THE CRACK PIPE, so says Brady's old teammate ... who believes anyone saying he's washed up has gotta be on drugs.

TMZ Sports spoke with Jermaine Wiggins -- who won Super Bowl XXXVI with the Pats -- about New England's week 1 loss to the Chiefs ... and he says TB12 naysayers don't know football.

"The people that say he's finished, those generally are the people that have no clue what they're talking about," Wiggins says. "They don't know their ass from their elbow."

Floyd Mayweather says his friend Donald Trump's infamous "grab them by the p***y" comment is no big deal ... because Trump was just talking like a "real man."

Floyd appeared on the "Hollywood Unlocked" show when he was asked about the leaked Access Hollywood video from 2005 -- you know the one.

Floyd agrees with Trump that it was just "locker room talk" ... and explains how the language Trump used is simply how "real men" speak to each other.

"Real men speak like, 'Man, she had a fat ass. You see her ass? I had to squeeze her ass. I had to grab that fat ass.' Right? So he talking locker room talk."

"I’m the man, you know what I’m saying? You know who I am. Yeah, I grabbed her by the p***y. And?"

Bottom line -- Floyd thinks Trump was just keepin' it real.

Ric Flair has a new tag team partner as he pushes through physical therapy -- Charles Barkley!

The pair snapped a pic at a rehab center in Georgia on Thursday -- with The Nature Boy bragging, "Look who popped in today! Sir Charles."

Of course, Ric's on the road to recovery after undergoing emergency surgery to address organ problems ... and is looking great considering he was in critical condition last month.

Unclear if Chuck just happened to be in the same facility -- he had hip replacement surgery last year -- or was there specifically to visit Naitch ... but the NBA legend looks like he's ready to drop sweat.

FYI, Barkley and Flair have known each other for decades ... cutting a promo for WCW together back in the day.

WOOOOO!!

UFC superstar Jon Jones so badly wants to convince you he's not a steroid user, he just swore it on God and his kids.

Jones just broke his silence about his B test from UFC 214 coming back positive for the banned anabolic steroid Turinabol ... a test that led to officials erasing his victory over Daniel Cormier.

Jones went to Twitter to answer a fan who demanded the UFC star should "just tell the truth any why!!everybody will respect you more for it."

Jones replied, "Dude the truth is I would never do steroids, I put that on my children and I put that on my Heavenly Father."

Mia Khalifa says she loooooves Houston Texans rookie Deshaun Watson ... but insists it's strictly platonic.

The ex-porn star wished the QB a happy 22nd birthday Thursday with a video of them playing mini basketball in her apartment this past June ... leaving people speculating whether they were a "thing."

But we spoke with Mia who tells us there's nothing but serious friendship goin' on ... and it all started over a home-cooked meal when Deshaun moved to H-Town.

Mia says she lives close to Watson and, with him being new to the area, she invited him to her place for some hospitality ... and they've been tight ever since. No sex though.

Still ... good for you, Deshaun. Good for you.

Good news Dodger fans ... the team's epic collapse ain't NOTHING to fret about -- so says ex-GM Ned Colletti, who assured TMZ Sports that everything was A-OK when we got him out in Beverly Hills.

Okay, so here's the thing -- the Dodgers are in the middle of an EPIC slump, losing 16 out of their last 19, and seeing a 20 game NL West lead shrink down to 9.

They've won their last 2 though, and we guess that's enough for Colletti to pop some champagne ... 'cause when we found him in the 90210 he told us, and all the fans, to just CHILL.

Darryl Strawberry says there's only one thing that saved him from the despair of drug addiction ... God ... telling TMZ Sports it was the man upstairs who was finally able to pull him from his habit.

We got Straw out in NYC and asked him what finally helped him kick the notorious cocaine addiction that derailed his MLB career, and the World Series champion's answer was simple.

"My faith, my faith in God, and my wife, Tracy."

Straw chronicles his struggles kicking the white stuff in his new book "Don’t Give Up on Me: Shedding Light on Addiction," but it's clear the former All-Star has his head on straight now.

UFC superstar Mark Hunt says he's "fine" with fighting until he dies ... but he's calling for it happen in a sport free of steroid users.

"I will probably end my life fighting," Hunt wrote in a piece for The Players Voice. "If I die fighting, that’s fine. I just hope that if it does happen, it will be in an honest and fair competition."

The timing of Hunt's article probably ain't a coincidence ... released just after results from Jon Jones' B sample drug test -- confirming the presence of anabolic steroid Turinabol -- were made public.

Mark's fought several fighters who've gotten popped for PED use -- most notably, Brock Lesnar at UFC 200. The Super Samoan called Brock's win "pre-meditated assault" ... and wants to make sure that doesn't happen to him, or anyone else, in the future.

"I’ve fought a lot of drug cheats and copped a lot of punishment from guys who were cheating and that’s not right. The cheats get all the advantages."

Hunt says he accepts the damage he's taken throughout his career -- which he claims has led to slurred speech and lost memories -- but he's PISSED that cheaters may have prevented him from becoming a UFC champ.

You'd think there was a Jennifer Lopez convention going on -- Marc Anthony, Casper Smart and Alex Rodriguez were all chilling in Hollywood and WeHo Wednesday night.

J Lo's exes -- Marc and Casper -- were actually at the same restaurant, Viva Hollywood, checking out some "f**king dope" music ... as Marc put it. Meanwhile, A-Rod did dinner at Craig's just a few miles away.

Jennifer wasn't around -- probably less drama that way -- but she was the hot topic. We asked the exes if Jenny and Alex get married -- as rumored -- would they be down to attend the wedding? One is a definite yes ... but the other not so much.

A-Rod tried to dodge all topics ... as you'd expect from a groom-to-be. Kidding. Sorta. We think.

If Donald Trump doesn't wanna be called a "white supremacist," he shouldn't do so many white supremacy things ... so says Marlon Wayans.

The "Marlon" star made it clear he stands with Jemele Hill after White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders suggested ESPN should fire her for a series of anti-Trump tweets.

Hill has since issued a statement ... saying, "My comments on Twitter expressed my personal beliefs. My regret is that my comments and the public way I made them painted ESPN in an unfair light."

ESPN also weighed in ... "Jemele has a right to her personal opinions, but not to publicly share them on a platform that implies that she was in any way speaking on behalf of ESPN."

"She has acknowledged that her tweets crossed that line and has apologized for doing so. We accept her apology."

CBS Radio wasted no time removing all evidence that Craig Carton ever worked at WFAN -- with his old broadcasting partner, Boomer Esiason, even announcing the name of his show has changed.

It all went down less than 24 hours after Craig Carton announced his resignation from the "Boomer & Carton Show" -- one of the top sports radio shows in the country.

Of course, Carton is being investigated by the feds for allegedly running a bogus multi-million dollar concert ticket scheme to pay back massive casino debts.

Boomer says the resignation is a good thing -- and he hopes Carton will be able to save his family and his career.

O.J. Simpson's actually got some misgivings about his impending release ... he feels a bond with his comrades in lockup and is finding it hard to say goodbye.

O.J.'s lawyer, Malcolm LaVergne, tells TMZ ... Juice has been bored and sad in his current situation -- in an isolated cell for his own safety since he was granted parole in July. He says the decision was bittersweet for Simpson, because he's developed close friendships during his 9 years behind bars.

LaVergne says O.J. actually "loved being in general population" because he's super social and feels most comfortable around other people, and he even misses his prison jobs ... like being commissioner of the softball league.

Still ... LaVergne says O.J.'s ready for a return to normal life, and there's a chance he'll get to say goodbye to his prison buddies.

LaVergne tells us O.J. is working on paperwork to get himself moved to Florida to be with his family once he's released ... which he expects to be the second week of October.

Canelo Alvarez is gonna make a FORTUNE for his fight against Gennady Golovkin ... with Oscar De La Hoya suggesting he could break $50 mil when the dust settles.

Oscar joined the guys on the "TMZ Sports" TV show on Wednesday when we asked straight up if Canelo would clear $50 mil.

"It's gonna be a no-brainer," Oscar said ... "He's gonna make a lot of money, let me tell you."

Daniel Cormier has been reinstated as the UFC's Light Heavyweight Champion after his loss to Jon Jones at UFC 214 was officially changed to a "no contest" in the wake of JJ's positive steroid test.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Jones was flagged for Turinabol -- a banned anabolic steroid. The results from Jones' B sample were made public Tuesday -- confirming the bad news for Jones. As a result, the California State Athletic Commission overturned Jones' victory and now has it ruled as a "no contest."

Cormier appeared on "UFC Tonight" and said he's already been contacted by Dana White ... who informed him that the belt will be returned to him.

"Once again, I'm the UFC champion," Cormier proclaimed.

Sports radio host Craig Carton -- one half of the famous "Boomer & Carton" show -- officially quit his job ... amid a federal investigation into an alleged multi-million dollar concert ticket scheme.

As we previously reported ... Carton was arrested by FBI agents last week after officials say an investigation revealed he bilked investors out of millions of dollars in an effort to pay off a massive casino debt.

Now with charges looming, Carton has tendered his resignation at WFAN -- which is owned by CBS radio.

Carton says ... "For 10 years I've had the great privilege of showing up to work every day at my dream job. I have nothing but love and respect for my co-host, the show and the entire CBS Radio family and I've always tried to represent them in the best possible light."

He continues ... "Unfortunately, the unfounded legal issues currently plaguing me will only be a distraction to everyone at WFAN and the show I helped build. With that in mind, I have submitted my resignation to the station and they accepted."

"I am sad to see this chapter of my life close but know that it will allow me to focus on my family, my well-being and clearing my name, while giving the show the best opportunity to succeed without further disruption."

Carton says he badly wants to tell his side of the story to his listeners, but "can't at this time."