TMZ Sports - Page 50

Tony Ferguson wasn't about to let a little infectious disease stop him from getting the W ... telling TMZ Sports he actually TARGETED the nasty staph infection on Kevin Lee's chest at UFC 216.

"I wasn't sure what it was -- something protruding from his chest," Tony said.

So, logically ... "I was like, 'Well sh*t, just aim for that sh*t.'"

Don't get it twisted -- T-Ferg told us he was super sketched out once Lee confirmed it was staph ... and has taken about 50 showers since the fight.

Bottom line -- staph is disgusting ... and Tony's a savage.

The man killed in the Venus Williams car crash suffered major internal injuries -- including lacerated organs and broken bones in his back ... this according to the autopsy obtained by TMZ Sports.

The Medical Examiner has released the report regarding 78-year-old Jerome Barson -- who was in the passenger seat of a 2016 Hyundai which slammed into Venus' Toyota Sequoia on June 9.

The reports shows Barson was rushed to the hospital with a lacerated spleen, a tear in his small intestine, damage to his colon, a broken pelvis and multiple spinal fractures.

The ME says Barson remained in critical condition in the hospital ICU until he died on June 22 from complications from injuries he suffered in the crash.

Barson's family is suing Williams -- claiming she's to blame for the accident since her car was in the intersection when it wasn't supposed to be ... causing Barson's car to slam into it.

Bears legend Mike Singletary is ALL ABOUT Mitch Trubisky ... but warns Chicago fans that things ain't gonna change overnight.

We spoke with Singletary after Mitch-a-palooza on Monday Night Football ... and the Hall of Famer told us he was genuinely impressed with the #2 overall pick.

But the bottom line for Mike ... the Bears need to let Mitch "be what he is, a rookie," which essentially means it's a growing and learning season -- not a Super Bowl contender season.

"I definitely think there’s a lot to work with."

ESPN host Jalen Rose tells TMZ Sports he wishes Donald Trump would stop going after his colleague Jemele Hill ... and focus on the "bigger issues" in our country.

The former NBA star is one of the more prominent figures on the network -- so with Trump tweeting about his co-worker, we asked for his thoughts.

"I just wish the President would focus on the larger issues we have to deal with in our country ... straight up, real talk ... as a tax paying citizen."

The Pittsburgh Penguins stopped by the White House to celebrate their latest Stanley Cup title Tuesday ... and President Trump took a jab at the Golden State Warriors right off the bat.

"By the way, everybody wanted to be here today," Trump said ... clearly referring to his beef with Steph Curry and uninviting the Dubs to the Oval Office.

The NAACP is furious with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones -- claiming his comments about sitting players who "disrespect the flag" are tone-deaf and misinformed.

Tony Covington -- a former NFL safety who's now an exec with the NAACP -- issued a statement on behalf of the organization blasting Jones.

"Jerry Jones’ comments are more than tone-deaf, more than misinformed and misguided -- they are a public commitment by an NFL owner to violate his players’ Constitutional right to free speech -- one of the principles on which our nation was founded."

Covington continued ... "They are proof that athletes like Colin Kaepernick who have quietly and peacefully used their platform to protest violence against communities of color do so at their own peril."

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People says it has reached out to NFL commish Roger Goodell for a private meeting "in order to determine how he can best protect his players."

Anthony Scaramucci says the NY Giants are an absolute dumpster fire -- but they're still probably gonna beat the crappy Browns.

Mooch was leaving Craig's in West Hollywood -- and since he's such a proud New Yorker and NFL fan, we asked how he felt about losing Odell Beckham Jr. for the season.

"I'm more disappointed about the 0-5 record -- it's been a disaster. They're done now," Scaramucci told TMZ Sports.

9:59 AM PT -- Baylor has now issued a statement in the wake of Gordon's comments saying:

"Josh Gordon was a football student-athlete from 2009 until 2011 at which time he was suspended indefinitely and ultimately left the program."

"None of the football staff from this timeframe are currently employed by Baylor. As such, we decline to comment further."

Suspended Cleveland Browns star Josh Gordon says a Baylor football coach helped him beat the drug testing system in college ... revealing he was given bottles of detox to clean his system.

Gordon opened up about his serious drug issues for the first time in a mini-documentary for "Uninterrupted" on Tuesday ... saying he's had experiences with Xanax, cocaine, weed and codeine.

The 26-year-old -- who had completed 70 days of his most recent rehab stint at the time the doc was filmed -- says he was taught how to pass drug tests after getting suspended for weed in 2010.

"That was my first experience with, like, getting over on the system and the authority not really being serious because it was kind of being guided by someone who was employed by the university."

Gordon says he eventually failed another drug test in 2011 after he ran out of detox drinks.

There's a lot more to the 13-minute doc ... Gordon talks about taking rehab seriously this time, his 2-year-old daughter, and his relationship with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

Floyd Mayweather got into a shouting match with a heckler on the streets of NYC on Monday night -- after the fan accused Floyd of running from Gennady Golovkin.

Oh, and the video ends with Floyd's bodyguard threatening to choke a dude out.

Good stuff!!!

It all started after Floyd and his TMT squad left the Knicks game at MSG -- when a very loud fan started screaming at Floyd that he's scared of GGG.

Floyd yelled back to explain why he's not scared ... more yelling ensued. Floyd tried to jewelry shame the heckler -- asking how many diamonds he has on his watch.

As for GGG, he previously told us he wants to fight Floyd BAD -- and guaranteed he would knock Mayweather out cold.

Forget the Gatorade bath, the L.A. Dodgers hit Cody Bellinger with a TRASH CAN downpour Monday during their NLDS sweep celebration.

Unclear what was in the trash can ... maybe beer, maybe champagne, melted ice? Who cares -- it was awesome.

And after Yasiel Puig and Kenley Jansen doused the rook, it got even crazier.

Highlights included:

- Belly sprayin' champagne straight up Kenta Maeda's nose

- Kenley strappin' on the goggles before a team-wide bottle-poppin'

- Clayton Kershaw yellin' like a maniac ... and manager Dave Roberts declaring them the best damn team in baseball ('cause who cares about jinxes, right?)

Congrats!

One of Jemele Hill's ESPN colleagues says she's sick and tired of Donald Trump's attacks on the "SportsCenter" host ... and is publicly calling for POTUS to back off.

Josina Anderson -- an NFL sideline reporter/insider -- tweeted, "Stop attacking our colleague Jemele Hill, any other journalists or media entities. We are doing our work."

Trump had previously tweeted that Hill was responsible for "tanking" ratings on the sports network -- this after she was hit with a 2-week suspension for comments about Jerry Jones.

Josina and Jemele are pretty tight off the air -- and it's clear Josina is upset with how things are going down.

FYI, Lindsay Czarniak‏ -- who also works at ESPN -- voiced her feelings about Hill's suspension on Monday saying, "The suspension of my friend @jemelehill is sad and disappointing on a number of levels."

Donald Trump is firing more shots in his war with Jemele Hill -- implying her anti-Trump stance is singlehandedly killing ESPN's ratings.

Less than 24 hours after ESPN hit Hill with a 2 week suspension for tweets about Jerry Jones' threat to bench players who "disrespect the flag," Trump has weighed in.

"With Jemele Hill at the mike, it is no wonder ESPN ratings have 'tanked,' in fact, tanked so badly it is the talk of the industry!"

Hill has previously called Trump a "white supremacist" -- and the White House called for her to be fired.

Common believes Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is exhibiting a "slave owner mentality" by saying he'd bench any player who "disrespects the flag" ... making HIM the unpatriotic one.

"It’s an owner mentality," Common tells TMZ Sports ... "like a slave owner mentality, to be honest. Like, 'You gonna do what I say on this.'"

"Other people choosing to put their hands over their heart. What makes that gesture better than somebody else who might be praying during the national anthem?"

Judge Mathis has Jemele Hill's back in a big way -- and says if she tried to sue ESPN over her 2-week suspension, "I think she'd win."

"I support her 100% in everything she has done to express her 1st amendment rights," Mathis told us ... "and if it violates policy of ESPN then perhaps ESPN has a policy that's unconstitutional."

Demetrious Johnson says Ray Borg's lucky he tapped out when he did at UFC 216 ... 'cause he was SECONDS away from breaking the dude's arm in two!!!

After catching Borg in that EPIC flying armbar, the guys on the "TMZ Sports" TV show asked DJ if he cut Borg a break by not snapping the limb ... out of professional courtesy.

But if you thought DJ was being merciful, think again.

"No, no, no -- I was trying to break it the whole entire time," Johnson said ... "I'm breaking your arm if I get the chance."

DJ says Borg tapped right before he could get the arm in perfect fracture position.

The good news -- "I didn't hear any popping, so he should be fine."

Gotta watch the entire interview tonight on FS1 -- we also talked to DJ's wife about why she was "nervous as hell" going into the fight. It's great stuff.

Another huge win for the Houston Astros, another chance for Josh Reddick to pay tribute to Old Glory on his crotch.

Reddick rocked his legendary American flag skivvies (again) for the Astros' post-game turn-up after eliminating the Red Sox in the ALDS on Monday ... bustin' out the Red, White & Blue for some champagne showers.

Everyone from Justin Verlander to Dallas Keuchel celebrated the 5-4 comeback win to close out the series ... but (thankfully) no one else stripped to their stars and stripes.