TMZ Sports - Page 50

Here's some menacing threats ... courtesy of Deontay Wilder.

Wilder says he's on Anthony Joshua's ass in a big way -- doing everything in his power to make the heavyweight superfight happen ... soon!

So, what's holding it up? Wilder says he's convinced Joshua genuinely fears him -- and he's afraid Deontay could put such a savage beating on him, it could destroy his career.

Wilder tries to make Joshua feel better ... but it only comes off as terrifying -- especially after that beating Deontay put on Bermane Stiverne last weekend (seriously ... it was scary).

The LiAngelo Ball shoplifting arrest was NOT captured by the family's reality TV crew -- and now producers are debating whether to even cover the arrest on the show at all, TMZ Sports has learned.

"Ball in the Family" producers initially sent cameras to China to document the family as they support LiAngelo during his first game with the UCLA basketball team. LaVar and LaMelo were also on the trip. It was supposed to be the usual zany Ball family drama.

But we're told LiAngelo's trip to the Louis Vuitton store was NOT on the production schedule -- and there was no crew in tow when he (and two teammates) allegedly jacked expensive sunglasses.

We're told the subsequent police raid on the team hotel -- which resulted in LiAngelo's arrest -- was also NOT captured by the reality show cameras.

Instead, the TV crew followed LaVar and the rest of the family on several China outings -- from sightseeing to shoe promotions.

Here's the problem ... LaVar has already reportedly gotten LiAngelo in deeper trouble by publicly downplaying the incident. He was reportedly told to shut his mouth and keep a low profile on the matter until the legal issue is resolved.

So, to shoot ... or not to shoot? That is the question for the reality show.

Obviously, producers know covering LiAngelo while he's being investigated would be reality gold -- but it could also send the wrong message to Chinese officials that he's not taking the matter seriously.

One "Ball in the Family" source says show honchos are still trying to come up with a plan -- "It's too early to say how, or if, the incident will be covered in the show."

If LiAngelo is convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison -- or as little as 20 days under house arrest in the team's luxury hotel.

WWE legend Mick Foley says Ric Flair had a "superhuman" sex drive back in the day -- but he still ain't sold on the Nature Boy's claims of spankin' it twice a day AND bangin' 10,000 chicks!!

Foley -- who's hilarious, BTW -- told TMZ Sports his boy, Naitch, was a God among men when it came to wrestling and womanizing ... but even then, the numbers might not add up.

"I'm doing the math in my head ... that's (10,000) in addition to snappin' off 2 a day for 30 years? I'm sure it's in the high 5 -- well, I don't know!"

Mick told us his number's A LOT lower ... and advises WWE's new blood to keep their count closer to his than Ric's -- 'cause there's only 1 "Space Mountain."

WOOOOO!!!

Slaughterhouse rapper Joell Ortiz thinks Ryan Fitzpatrick sucks sooo bad, when we told him Fitz was getting the start vs. his Jets this Sunday, this was his reaction ...

"I WILL TAKE THE FREE WIN!!!"

Joell tells TMZ Sports he didn't even like Fitz when he was low-key ballin' for NY ... so he can't wait to watch the destruction, now that a Jameis Winston injury is forcing the QB under center for the Bucs.

Legendary UFC announcer Bruce Buffer has introduced thousands of people throughout the years -- including tons of celebs -- but says he'd NEVER utter the name "O.J. Simpson" on the mic.

Bruce hates O.J.'s guts -- wants nothing to do with him -- to the point where he turned down a paying offer to introduce The Juice before UFC hit the big time.

"I was asked to announce O.J. in Florida at an event some 10 or more years ago and I said, 'I refuse,'" Buffer told TMZ Sports. "Get another announcer."

Tyron Woodley just put Georges St-Pierre on the spot -- telling the UFC legend straight to his face ... LET'S FIGHT ALREADY!!!

GSP appeared on "The Hollywood Beatdown" where Tyron congratulated him on his "warm up fight" against Michael Bisping ... and challenged him to "get it in" with The Chosen One!

Then, Tyron threw down the gauntlet ... asking GSP straight up if he's back in the UFC to solidify his place as the greatest of all time -- or if he's just in it for the money???

Conor McGregor just went NUCLEAR at an MMA event in Dublin ... slapping a regulatory official and pushing veteran UFC referee Marc Goddard for breaking up his post-fight celebration with training partner Charlie Ward.

It all went down after Ward won by 1st-round KO at Bellator 187 -- which prompted McGregor to jump into the cage to show his SBG Ireland teammate some love.

One problem -- Conor wasn't allowed in the cage since he wasn't a licensed cornerman for Charlie ... so Goddard and several fight officials stepped in to interrupt their bro moment.

McGregor was PISSED -- pushing Goddard from behind and getting in his face ... before the officials and BFF Artem Lobov escorted him from the cage.

But Conor wasn't done. He came back, climbed back on top of the cage and straight slapped one of the officials upside the head.

FYI, Goddard ordered McGregor to leave cageside last time Lobov fought in the UFC ... so that's probably what set Conor off.

Hope Solo's adding her name to the mounting list of women alleging sexual assault at the hands of powerful men ... and she points the finger at former FIFA president, Sepp Blatter.

The USWNT star revealed the alleged incident in an interview with the Portuguese newspaper, Expresso, in which she alleges Blatter "grabbed my ass" right before presenting an award to Abby Wambach at the Ballon d'Or awards ceremony in January 2013.

Blatter -- forced to step down and banned by FIFA amid a corruption scandal -- flatly denied the claim, and through his spokesman told Expresso, "This allegation is ridiculous."

New video has surfaced reportedly showing Roy Halladay performing concerning aerial maneuvers over water -- including extreme changes in altitude -- just 2 weeks before his fatal crash.

The video show's Roy's ICON A5 plane flying over the Gulf of Mexico on Oct. 20 -- it almost looks like he's practicing a water landing ... though he never lands on the water.

The person who shot the video told the NY Daily News he started recording because the plane was going so close to the water at a high rate of speed, he thought it was going to crash.

You can hear the man express concern as he watches Roy's plane.

Just 2 weeks later, the plane crashed near the very same area -- killing the ex-MLB star.

Multiple witnesses tell TMZ Sports Roy had been making similar changes in altitude -- just like in the video from Oct. One person described it as "aggressive flying."

Roy's family issued a statement saying he was not a reckless flyer -- and they're heartbroken over his death.

With Ezekiel Elliott expected to FINALLY serve his 6-game suspension (maybe) -- the Dallas Cowboys could be in the market for a running back ... so .... enter Reggie Bush??

Maybe not ...

The 32-year-old says he's really comfortable NOT playing right now -- even though he's still training -- and it wouldn't be an automatic "Yes" if Jerry Jones came calling.

Of course, the twist to the whole thing is Reggie told us back in Sept. he'd retire if he doesn't get picked up this season. So ... seems like we may have seen the last of Bush in the league.

Muhammad Ali. Jackie Robinson. Colin Kaepernick.

These names belong together in the history books -- so says Olympic legend John Carlos -- one of the two Americans behind the iconic "Black Power" salute at the '68 Games.

Carlos -- who raved about Kaepernick to TMZ Sports last month -- finally had the chance to meet the QB in person ... and shared a powerful message about Colin afterwards.

"Mr. Kaepernick, who needs no introduction, is this generation's iconic civil rights leader," Carlos said.

"Through his commitment and sacrifice to speak about the awareness of police brutality against blacks in America, Kaepernick has cemented his status in my books as one of many great individuals whose name will be spoken alongside the likes of Muhammad Ali, Jackie Robinson, Dr. Tommie Smith, Peter Norman, and myself."

Carlos also hinted he would be supporting Kaep's movement going forward, saying -- "We have a lot of more work to do. Stay tuned."

It may be November ... but it's 74 degrees in Honolulu -- so Alexis Ren decided to put on her tiniest bikini and hit the beach.

The "Queen of Instagram" (she's got more than 11 MILLION followers) was climbing all over some volcanic rocks ... and still managed to be the hottest thing on the island.

By the way, Ren is a 2018 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition rookie ... and judging by the behind the scenes footage from her debut S.I. shoot -- she's gonna have a future in this biz.

Yasiel Puig just made a HUGE mistake -- revealing his secret identity to TMZ Sports while leaving Delilah in Hollywood ... and the tip-off was the ridiculously hot car he was driving.

Yasiel Puig, Dodgers star, is Batman.

We know how it sounds, but consider the facts -- Puig, who always talks to us, didn't, then proceeded to hop in his black Lamborghini Aventador -- MSRP $400k -- and sped off like he was hiding something.

Our theory? Yasiel forgot to use his driver (Alfred), absentmindedly got into his work car (chicks dig the car, after all) and headed out to Delilah for dinner not realizing we would be there.

Now we know why he was bragging about having so much money the last time we got him (Wayne Enterprises) and why he's not worried about the crooks who robbed him. He'll take care of it.

O.J. Simpson is learning real quick ... it's WAY harder to hide your dirty laundry in 2017 -- so says Cuba Gooding Jr.

Case in point ... we broke the story ... O.J. was banned for life from a Vegas casino this week -- and Cuba says with everyone on the planet carrying a camera phone and having access to social media ... things like that don't go under the radar anymore.

Cuba's referring to the sexual misconduct and assault allegations surrounding some of the most powerful people in the business ... from Louis C.K. to Harvey Weinstein.

Another major Team USA gymnastics star claims she was abused by ex-USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar -- with Aly Raisman coming forward in the hopes of protecting future athletes.

Raisman -- a 2-time national team captain who won 6 gold medals -- opened up about the allegations to "60 Minutes" ... saying she met with the FBI after the '16 Rio Olympics.

23-year-old Raisman wouldn't get into the specifics of the alleged abuse -- she would only say she's very "angry" and looking for justice.

Nassar has been accused of sexually abusing scores of female athletes over the years -- including McKayla Maroney.

LiAngelo Ball has got 2 powerful forces trying to secure his release from China ... UCLA and Alibaba founder Jack Ma ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Ball and 2 other UCLA basketball players are currently under house arrest after allegedly stealing sunglasses at Louis Vuitton.

Our UCLA sources tell us, the University has deep ties with China for various reasons, and school officials are using their influence to try and secure the release of the 3 players. As for the nature of the influence ... UCLA is a prize school for Chinese students, many doctors have won research projects at the various UCLA medical facilities and UCLA sports has become popular in China.

We're also told Jack Ma -- a Chinese citizen worth an estimated $40 billion -- is also working to help free the 3 players. FYI, the team visited Alibaba headquarters Monday ... the day before the arrests.

Our UCLA sources also say there is no question the players pilfered the sunglasses so there's no attempt to prove them not guilty ... they are trying to use their considerable influence to ask for mercy. As once source put it, "UCLA and Ma are pulling out all the political stops to resolve this."