TMZ Sports - Page 50

A hip-hop legend says don't look for Justin Timberlake to bring out Janet Jackson during his Super Bowl halftime show, telling TMZ Sports the reunion would be too risky for the NFL.

We got Pras -- one of the founding members of The Fugees -- out at Madeo in L.A. and asked if he thought Justin should do Janet a solid and bring her back to the big stage.

Janet's been banned ever since nipplegate back in '04, but let's face it, Justin was an accomplice and a lot of people think if JT's back in the fold, JJ should be too.

Not Pras, who told us there was "no need" to bring Janet back (ouch, bro) and went on to explain to us why he felt like the NFL might not be over Ms. Jackson being a little nasty.

The Dodgers keep winning -- first the NL pennant, and now Stevie Wonder tells TMZ Sports he's willing to pick up his harmonica and perform the national anthem at the World Series!!!

Of course, there's some backstory here ... Wonder famously took a knee (and then a 2nd knee) during the height of the NFL national anthem demonstrations earlier this year.

Which begs a few questions ... would the Dodgers be cool with Stevie? Would Stevie use the massive platform to demonstrate again? Who are they gonna get bigger than Stevie Wonder?!

Stay tuned ...

Greg Hardy made a damn good decision switching over to MMA ... 'cause the former NFL star is already takin' out UFC fighters -- so says his boxing coach, Billy Padden.

Billy wouldn't name names ... but told us Hardy's killin' it at American Top Team (ATT) -- an MMA gym stacked with heavy hitters like Junior dos Santos and "Bigfoot" Silva.

"He actually knocked 2 UFC fighters down in sparring," Padden told TMZ Sports.

Billy says Greg's a "natural born fighter" -- and even has a shot to be 1 of the best in the world.

So when it comes to the opponent for his first amateur fight -- Joe "The Legend" Hawkins -- Padden told us The Kraken's gonna dominate.

Billy also defended Hardy from the haters ... explaining how he's making the most of his 2nd chance.

Justin Timberlake is coming back to conquer the Super Bowl halftime show this year ... according to Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon.

JT posted a vid Sunday that confirmed reports he was performing at Super Bowl LII, with his and Jimmy's mini skit playing on the phrase "have the time" ... which quickly morphed into "You're doing the halftime show at the Super Bowl??!!"

As we reported ... the rest of 'NSYNC could possibly join Justin onstage during his performance, which seems even likelier now that he's definitely got the gig.

Can't say the same for Janet Jackson, though. She was recently mum on rumors about a possible reunion, ya know ... after 2004 and all.

We got this feeling ... there probably ain't gonna be a next time.

Hines Ward is calling BS on all that Ben Roethlisberger retirement talk ... saying his old QB still has "plenty left in the tank" -- enough to win a Super Bowl.

Big Ben admitted he contemplated hangin' 'em up after the 2016 season -- but decided to come back. Then there was the "maybe I don't have it anymore" comment earlier this month.

But Ward ain't buyin' any of that retirement garbage -- telling TMZ Sports #7 is still a championship-caliber player, period.

Hulk Hogan's son, Nick, says he's got one tiny problem with Ric Flair's pro wrestling Mount Rushmore -- The Rock.

Naitch posted a hilarious photo of his 4 GOATs last weekend -- Rock, The Hulkster, Stone Cold Steve Austin and (of course) himself. WOOOO!

At first, Nick told TMZ Sports he woulda picked the exact same superstars ... but after thinking about it, he couldn't 100% commit to the People's Champ.

Sounded pretty crazy at first ... until you hear his other 2 picks (they were really good).

Do ya smelllllllllllll ... what Nick Hogan is cookin'??

Billie Jean King says society is making progress in the battle against sexism, and she's pointing to the Harvey Weinstein scandal -- and the women speaking out -- as her proof.

King is a trailblazer in every sense of the word, spending her entire career not just winning on the court, but winning in society as an advocate for women's rights (she founded the WTA tour, btw).

When we got her out at LAX and asked if she's been able to see any progress since the days she began her crusade in the early '70s, King said yes, but reminded us the war isn't over.

"Sure, but every generation has to continue to start over and fight for equality and inclusion."

Our guy brought up the scores of women who have made sexual misconduct allegations against Harvey Weinstein -- and BJK says the scandal just proves things are moving forward.

"That is progressing, when people speak up."

Former Louisville basketball star Kevin Ware is standing up for Rick Pitino amid his suspected involvement in the NCAA recruiting sting ... saying his ex-coach is being unfairly fingered by the feds.

"What are you doing a full FBI investigation on? ... That don't make a lot of sense to me unless you were already digging, trying to make Rick to be that culprit and take that fall," Ware told TMZ Sports.

Kevin says he didn't notice anything fishy when he was playing for the Cardinals from 2011-2014 ... including any sign of Katina Powell -- the escort whose prostitution scandal rocked the university last year.

Ware told us he's got nothing but respect for the man Pitino is off the court ... calling him "a very loving and caring person."

But even Kevin can see Coach P's days in college hoops are done -- which he says is for the best.

Ware also weighed in on Gordon Hayward's gruesome injury since he suffered a brutal leg-break while he was at Louisville ... telling us why the NBA superstar should be A-OK.

How do you celebrate a touchdown in your opponent's stadium that says, "Yeah, we're still getting blown out, but I don't give a F**K"??? Like this!!!

Tennessee defensive back Rashaan Gaulden just gave Alabama fans the finger -- twice at the same time -- after his teammate picked off a pass and ran it back 97 yards for a TD ... and it was all seen clear as day on national television.

There was no penalty on the play, but the worst part for Gaulden and the Volunteers -- Bama was up 28-0 before the TD ... and just drove down the field for another score.

Current score in the 4th quarter: Alabama 31 - Tennessee 7

Jemele Hill is breaking her silence -- telling TMZ Sports she doesn't blame ESPN for hitting her with a 2-week suspension over anti-Jerry Jones tweets saying ... "I put ESPN in a bad spot."

Hill was put in the penalty box for encouraging people upset with Jerry Jones' national anthem policy to boycott his sponsors. ESPN claimed her comment was a violation of the network's social media policy. Several of Hill's coworkers, celebrities, athletes and activists spoke out against ESPN ... and Hill says she appreciates all the support, but believes she was treated fairly by the network.

"I deserved a suspension," Hill told us at LAX ... "I violated the policy. Going forward we'll be in a good, healthy place."

As for her public statements against Donald Trump ... Hill says she won't take back what she said -- but she regrets putting her show in a bad position. She's moving forward with ESPN, saying ... "I don't feel suppressed. I love ESPN as much as ever. I am okay. I feel good."

We spoke with Hill about a ton of stuff -- which you can see in the raw video below.

Jemele says she will return to work on Monday.

Wanna buy the ORIGINAL Rocky Balboa sculpture from "Rocky III?"

Too bad, it's not for sale. But the BACKUP statue is on the auction block.

The artist behind the piece, A. Thomas Schomberg, made two versions of the iconic sculpture back in the 80's for the 1982 flick ... #1 was used in the movie and #2 was a backup in case anything bad happened.

The original sculpture from the movie is still in Philly. The backup had been on display for years in the San Diego Hall of Champions, but that place closed down and now Rocky #2 is for sale.

We spoke with a rep for SCP Auctions -- which has auctioned everything from game-worn Babe Ruth uniforms to Michael Jordan game-used shoes -- and they're expecting the Rocky statue to fetch somewhere between $500k and $1 mil.

Still interested? Hope you've got a freight truck -- 'cause the bronze Balboa stands at nearly 9-feet tall and weighs 1,800 pounds.

Bidding ends November 4 ... good luck!!

Lonzo Ball should thank Clippers PG Patrick Beverley for giving him the business Thursday night ... 'cause in the long-run, it's really a good thing -- so says Master P.

We got P -- a HUGE NBA fan -- droppin' knowledge on Lonzo's debut at LAX ... telling us the Lakers rookie will only get better when grinders like Beverley beat him up.

The good news for Lonzo ... he's gonna get it all season long -- there's a LONG LIST of NBA stars looking to take a piece of his ass.

Colin Kaepernick still hasn't taken the podium to address the NFL national anthem protests, and that's OK -- so says famous TV pastor T.D. Jakes.

Since he's an expert public speaker, we asked T.D. if now's the time for Kaep to break his silence ... and the pastor told us Colin didn't need his advice -- 'cause he knows exactly what he's doing.

"I'm sure he has a plan and a strategy, and I'm sure he's gonna work that."

FYI, Donald Trump came hard after Kaep this month ... saying the QB shoulda been suspended as soon as he took his first knee.

Conor McGregor might have to wait ... another huge fighter says he's gonna take a chunk out of Floyd Mayweather's ass if he returns, and this guy is a boxing superstar.

The guy is WBC super welterweight champ Jermell Charlo, who's fresh off a devastating first round knockout of Erickson Lubin a couple of weeks ago.

Charlo hit the Lakers game Thursday night with Brandon Watson -- co-owner of the Team Watson Boxing Gym in L.A. -- and told us if Floyd (who's been working out) is serious about a comeback, he's down.

For the record, Floyd and Charlo are pretty good buddies -- and Charlo respects Floyd immensely -- but wouldn't you fight your pal for a $100 million payday???

Us too.

"So, how old were you when you first ate a butt?"

That's a real question Sway asked Gabrielle Union during his radio show in a conversation about sexual reciprocity ... a conversation that has everyone grabbing some Scope.

Gabby appeared on "Sway in the Morning" and talked openly about sex -- and that's when tossed salads appeared on the menu.

Dwyane Wade's wife says even though men will deny it, they enjoy a little backdoor love from women ... and they're singing a completely different tune in the bedroom.

Demi Lovato can fight -- in fact, she's such a beast in the gym, UFC champ Tyron Woodley is convinced she could hold her own in a real MMA bout.

Lovato has been training her ass off at the Unbreakable gym in L.A. for more than a year -- and owner Jay Glazer has previously told us she WANTS to fight for real.

Well, Tyron says ... IT'S TIME!

The UFC star spelled it out on this week's "Hollywood Beatdown w/ Tyron Woodley" -- where he said he's been in the gym with Demi and saw her fighting skills first hand.

There's more ... Woodley also tells us what's REALLY going down behind the scenes with Jon Jones.