TMZ Sports - Page 50

Dana White is FURIOUS with Jason Aldean -- telling TMZ Sports the country singer's team lied to him about why he couldn't perform in front of Vegas shooting survivors and 1st responders at UFC 216.

White says he had reached out to Aldean's camp to sing the national anthem at UFC 216 in Vegas on Saturday night ... an event in which 15 survivors and hundreds of 1st responders were in the crowd.

White says Aldean's people turned down the offer -- saying he was shaken up from the shooting and might never perform live again.

White says he stressed that the survivors who would be attending UFC 216 were shot while watching Aldean perform and it would mean a lot to them ... and the city of Las Vegas. Still, he declined.

Instead, Aldean flew to NYC and performed on "Saturday Night Live" at the same time as UFC 216. Needless to say, White is pissed.

"His image was more important than coming back to Vegas and playing for the people who are his fans and who got shot watching him play," White says.

"F*ck you, Jason Aldean. Stay out of Vegas."

White says he also reached out to several country music stars -- telling us, "Country music was attacked. Those were country music fans."

White says every single country act turned him down.

"Those are people who buy your albums and none of you country music people could sing the anthem in front of survivors and 1st responders?"

White offered a ton of praise to Everlast -- who stepped in and performed instead.

Out with the old, in with the new -- that's Dannon Yogurt's philosophy after dumping Cam Newton and signing the Dallas Cowboys' Dak Prescott ... less than a week later.

Dak signed a sponsorship deal with Dannon the same day Cam got the boot last week after making a sexist comment to a female reporter during a press conference. He's reportedly already set to start filming commercials in Dallas this upcoming week.

As we reported ... Cam publicly apologized after Dannon dropped him on Thursday.

Looks like it was too little, too late.

O.J. Simpson's getting the friendly neighborhood treatment in the Vegas community where he's shacking up, and it should stay that way ... unless a media circus spoils it.

Several homeowners in the area where Simpson's hanging out tell TMZ ... they have no problem with him being there as long as media presence in the 'hood doesn't get crazy. We're told restaurants and other business establishments nearby don't care if O.J. pops in ... and one restaurant owner says he'll gladly serve him a steak, just like anyone else.

As for Simpson's favorite hobby, golf ... our golf course sources tell us he's welcome everywhere within driving distance. We couldn't find any course enforcing an O.J. ban, and one golf course staffer told us they might even invite Simpson to participate in a tournament.

As we reported ... O.J.'s staying in a sprawling Las Vegas estate in a gated community, right next to a golf course.

Terrell Owens ain't winning over the "Dancing with the Stars" judges ... but he's got the horny women of America on his side -- so says Lisa Lampanelli.

Lampanelli's a huge 'DWTS' fan -- so when we got the raunchy comic out in NYC, we asked her who she likes on the new season.

"This T.O. -- he keeps taking his shirt off, he has Lisa Lampanelli's vote!"

Lampanelli told TMZ Sports she ain't horndoggin' like she used to ... but says Terrell's signature 6-pack has her seriously thinking about goin' back to her old bro-bangin' ways.

Watch your back, T.O.

There might be another party to be tardy for very soon, because Brielle Biermann and her baseball playing BF aren't ruling out a spin-off show ... if the couple were to tie the knot.

We got Brielle and her beau, Michael Kopech -- a flamethrowing pitcher in the White Sox organization -- and after BB stopped dissing baseball (she likes football better) we asked about their future.

Specifically, are wedding bells and TV shows in their future?

If you're thinking these two 20-somethings are gonna rule it out, you're wrong -- they didn't -- which means only one thing ...

Colin Kaepernick surfaced in the streets of Harlem on Friday -- rockin' a dashiki and posing with a diverse group of young people ... and TMZ Sports has the video.

It was all for a photo shoot that the people behind the production didn't want you to see -- despite the fact it all took place on a public street in the middle of the day.

Unclear what the big secret is ... but there were people on set with GQ promo materials.

Kaep has been spending time in Harlem lately -- he recently donated $25k to the local DREAM Charter School as part of his $1 million pledge.

Hey, WWE -- want a bigger, scarier version of Ronda Rousey?

Look no further ... 'cause women's MMA giant Gabi Garcia says she's down to step inside the squared circle!

"I love the show, I love watching WWE, so why not?" Gabi told us at LAX.

Don't get it twisted -- the Brazilian says she's not even close to being done fighting ... but tells TMZ Sports pro wrestling is a definite possibility if Vince McMahon's interested.

He should be. Garcia's got the skill -- she's a 10-time jiu-jitsu world champ -- and she's FOR SURE got the size at 6' 2'', 200-plus pounds.

But for now, she's focused on finding her next opponent.

Girl, guy ... doesn't matter to Gabi.

1:45 PM PT -- We've spoken with a rep for Grey Flannel Auctions who tells us they've done their homework authenticating the jersey. They say unique features of the jersey -- rips, stitching pattern, etc. -- have been matched with high-quality photographs from the game.

"We believe photos show this is the same jersey," GFA says.

8:45 AM PT -- Troy Aikman says the jersey is not authentic. The auction house believes it is. We are going to make some calls and try to clear it up.

Start saving up, Cowboys fans ... 'cause Troy Aikman's GAME-WORN Super Bowl XXVII jersey is hitting the auction block ... and it ain't gonna come cheap!!

Aikman's threads -- which he wore during his 4-touchdown MVP performance against the Buffalo Bills -- have remained in original condition (unwashed) since the 1993 game.

If that ain't enough to make you reach for your wallet ... O.J. Simpson did the coin toss, and Michael Jackson performed at halftime.

A rep for Grey Flannel Auctions tells TMZ Sports ... the bidding will start at $5,000, but the final price could end up being more than $100K!!

So yeah, you shoulda started saving like ... 10 years ago.

Bidding starts at the beginning of November.

High school or no high school, LaMelo Ball is gonna kill it for UCLA -- so says Bruin legend Tracy Murray ... who tells TMZ Sports it's still all about Ball in Westwood.

We talked to Murray, a 2-time All-Pac-10 player for UCLA and current announcer for the team -- and he told us LaVar's decision to take LaMelo out of HS won't change a damn thing when it comes to college.

"He's already committed to UCLA. With that already happening why play HS basketball when you already know where you're going?"

Some people have expressed concern that LaMelo might miss critical development as a player if he missed the last 2 years of school, but Murray says there's something else that's more important.

"The only thing that really matters at this point is that he's taking college prep courses that prepare him for UCLA."

Kenyon Martin says he's sorry for saying Jeremy Lin was biting black people's swag with his new dreadlocks ... but is sticking by his belief that Lin's hair is freakin' weird.

Martin got destroyed on social media for comments he made about Lin's new 'do, specifically his belief that Jeremy chose the hairstyle because he "wants to be black."

We spoke to K-Mart, and he says he's far from the racist he's being depicted as, and wants to apologize to Lin for the comment he said was a joke, which was taken totally wrong.

As for the subject of Lin's polarizing new look, Kenyon still had to keep it real, even while he was eating a little crow.

"Is it still funny that he has dreadlocks? Yes."

GOP House Whip Steve Scalise just threw out the 1st pitch at Game 1 of Nationals vs. Cubs in D.C. ... just 6 months after being shot and seriously injured at a Congressional baseball game.

With the help of a walker, Steve made it out to the mound and fired a perfect strike to home plate -- garnering a standing O from the crowd.

Pretty amazing considering Scalise was fighting for his life after taking a bullet in the hip back in June.

FYI, Steve returned to Capitol Hill on Sep. 28 after months of rehab -- tweeting, "I'm back."

What's new with returning UFC superstar Georges St-Pierre?? 

He's FINALLY OFF 'ROIDS -- so says Michael Bisping ... who wasted no time trashing GSP at their UFC 217 media event in Vegas.

In addition to accusing GSP of being a former juicer ... Bisping also called him fat, slow and a cheap-ass. He also said he looked like a history teacher and a lizard.

"C’mon, Georges, you got some money man – buy a new suit. What the f**k!"

If Kevin Lee wouldn't have been able to make weight, Tony Ferguson woulda fought him at UFC 216 anyway ... so says Tony's manager.

TMZ Sports spoke with Audie Attar after the dramatic weigh-in Friday morning when Lee initially weighed in 1 pound over the 155 lb limit ... putting the fight in jeopardy.

Officials gave Lee an hour to lose the extra pound -- and if he didn't, Tony could have opted out of the fight.

But Attar says Ferg wasn't about to let Lee off the hook that easy -- "If Kevin wanted (to) move forward, Tony definitely did."

Ultimately, Lee made weight ... and the fight is on.

Of course, this ain’t the first time Tony’s had an opponent with weight issues -- his UFC 209 fight was scrapped after Khabib Nurmagomedov had medical complications during his weight cut.

FYI, the winner of Ferguson vs. Lee could be the next in line to face undisputed lightweight champ Conor McGregor ... especially with Nate Diaz demanding BIG money for a trilogy fight.

Baby boy? Baby girl? Nah ... UFC superstar Cody Garbrandt is having A WHITE KID!

Cody and his model wife, Danny Pimsanguan, were pretty confused at their gender reveal party ... when they cut open a cake expecting to see blue or pink.

But they didn't. It was plain white.

"We’re having a white kid! It’s WHITE!!" Danny joked.

Garbrandt literally dug through the cake with his bare hands ... but still nothing.

Their friends eventually let 'em in on the prank ... and hooked Mr. and Mrs. Garbrandt up with a confetti-filled balloon instead.

Hilarious. Congrats!

Fresh out the shower ... here's Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell spittin' bars in the team locker room -- in a towel.

With Antonio Brown as hype man, Bell and a few other players fired off some lyrics in a team cypher -- with Le'Veon rapping about everything from money, to girls to his hairdo.

Bell is experienced when it comes to rap -- he's released several tracks under the name "Juice" ... and it's good stuff.

Martin Gramatica -- one of the greatest Tampa Bay kickers of all time -- is vouching for Nick Folk ... saying his beloved Bucs should NOT fire the guy ... at least not yet.

Gramatica won a Super Bowl with the Bucs back in 2003 -- and as you can see in the back of the shot, his trophy room is filled with game balls from making clutch kicks.

So, after Folk crapped the bed on Thursday Night Football -- going 0-3 -- we hit up Martin for his take.

"I felt horrible for him," Gramatica tells TMZ Sports ... "that feeling that you get, only kickers understand."

But Martin says he knows Folk -- and if you look at his stats, he's a good kicker -- and he hopes the Bucs give him one more shot to prove it before cutting bait.