TMZ Sports - Page 50

6:06 AM PT -- President Trump was asked about the UCLA situation before boarding Air Force One ... and praised Chinese President Xi for helping out.

The 3 UCLA basketball players accused of shoplifting in China are finally leaving the country Tuesday -- and flying back to the United States, this according to the Wall Street Journal.

LiAngelo Ball, Jalen Hill and Cody Riley were spotted at the Pudong International Airport in Shanghai early Tuesday -- getting ready to board a Delta plane bound for Los Angeles.

The players had been confined to their hotel after officials say they jacked sunglasses from a Louis Vuitton store during the team trip to China.

Bodybuilding superstar Rich Piana would snort lines of pre-workout powder like it was cocaine ... this according to the death report obtained by TMZ Sports.

We broke the story ... investigators found white powder at the apartment where Piana suffered a medical emergency back in August. He died 18 days later.

Law enforcement spoke with Piana's girlfriend to try and find out what the powder was -- and she told investigators it was CON-CRET PRE workout powder (Lemon-Lime) ... which is advertised as a high-caffeine booster.

Piana's GF told cops, "He would snort this powder" ... and she does not believe it was anything illicit.

So, what did cause Piana's medical emergency? Officials say the autopsy was essentially inconclusive ... though it revealed Piana had heart disease.

Unclear if the 20 bottles of steroids found in his home contributed in any way either.

Piana was 46.

Meek Mill's supporters filled the streets of Philadelphia to demand his release from prison ... as Rick Ross and Dr. J provided some inspiration.

The #FreeMeek campaign got several hundred people marching Monday evening, with his label honcho, Rick, right in the middle of action.

NBA Hall of Famer, Dr. J made a speech to the crowd, but was nearly drowned out by "Free Meek" chants. In addition to the rally, an online petition pushing for Meek's release now has over 350,000 signatures.

Donald Trump's absolutely doing the right thing by trying to bail out LiAngelo Ball and his UCLA teammates after their shoplifting arrest in China -- so says Kenyon Martin.

"That's his obligation. That's his responsibility," K-Mart told TMZ Sports ... when we asked him about POTUS hitting up Chinese President Xi Jinping to resolve the situation.

The ex-NBA star says LiAngelo and his bros are only guilty of being young and dumb ... and "shouldn't be punished" for that. Not by China, at least.

Kenyon says he fully expects UCLA to drop the hammer -- and that should be enough.

The guy who got KO'd in the cage right before Conor McGregor LOST HIS DAMN MIND feels pretty much how we all do about the situation ...

"You can't f**kin' jump out of a crowd in a sporting contest and do all that type of stuff," John Redmond told TMZ Sports. "In no place in life is that really tolerated."

John's being pretty cool to Conor, all things considered ... saying he's got no plans of taking legal action even though McGregor's outburst almost got him trampled.

That said, Redmond tells us there's only 1 way Conor can make it right -- A REMATCH (with his teammate, Charlie Ward).

"Tell your boy to bleedin' gear up again and get in and fight me!"

Doesn't seem like McGregor's in the mood to make amends with anyone ... but maybe for a fellow countryman??

Colin Kaepernick is going to bat for Meek Mill -- saying the rapper is a victim of the same "radicalized injustice" that has been screwing black men for years.

FYI, Meek was sentenced to 2 to 4 years in prison after a judge ruled he violated probation stemming from a 2008 drugs and weapons case by getting busted for a St. Louis airport fight ... and his reckless driving arrest in NYC.

Even though both cases were dropped, the judge said the arrests alone were violations. People are furious about this ... including Kaepernick.

"Sadly there are Black folks going through the same radicalized injustice(s) within the justice system that Meek Mill has experienced for over a decade EVERY SINGLE DAY," Kaep tweeted.

"This requires more than just gradual reform in laws -- It requires a swift overhaul."

Pay attention, normies -- here's how you turn up for your birthday if you're worth over $300 MILLION like MLB superstar Giancarlo Stanton (even though you're probably not).

Stanton turned 28 on Nov. 8, but celebrated this past Friday at Hyde in West Hollywood with rap stars Wiz Khalifa and G-Eazy ... plus a bunch of hot chicks with signs spelling out his name, 'cause why not??

But the slugger's rumored boo Lexy Panterra was MVP of the night -- serenading the b-day boy with a booty-ful rendition of her new song, "So Good."

FYI, Giancarlo and Lexy spawned all kinds of hookup rumors after they got half naked together in a music video ... and this Marilyn Monroe-esque performance won't do anything to calm that down.

We just got Congresswoman Maxine Waters out in NYC and asked what she thought about Colin Kaepernick being named GQ's Citizen of the Year.

To put it simply ... she LOVES it.

"I think he has absolutely sacrificed an awful lot for what he believes in. And people with courage to do what they think is right -- despite the consequences -- must be respected and honored."

Obviously, not everyone in D.C. feels the same way -- especially President Donald Trump who has essentially called for NFL owners to blackball Kaepernick from the league.

Meek Mill is getting some high-powered support -- Rick Ross and NBA legend Dr. J will lead a rally Monday afternoon in Philadelphia ... TMZ has learned.

Sources connected to the rap honcho tell us Rick and Julius Erving are on a private jet right now heading to Philly. Several Philadelphia Eagles and other local entertainers are scheduled to show up at the event ... which has also been promoted by Kevin Hart and Diddy.

The rally comes on the heels of Meek being handed a controversial sentence last week that has sent him back to prison for 2-4 years after he violated his probation.

As we reported ... Meek's attorney, Joe Tacopina, says the judge's harsh sentence is nothing more than the result of a personal vendetta against the rapper. His team has since said they'll be requesting a new judge ... and filing a petition to reverse his prison stint.

Sammy Sosa hates himself and that's why he's turning himself whiter ... that's according to T.I. who went in on the ex-MLB star when we got him out at LAX.

Sammy's complexion has very obviously changed over the years. We can only find one interview where he addressed it -- from 2009 -- saying the lightening was an unexpected result of a skin softening cream.

But T.I. ain't buyin' Sammy's excuse -- shaking his head and saying it was more about "self-hate" than moisturizing.

If you don't know what Tip means, he's referring to the idea that black people who bleach their skin are doing it to fit in with a European beauty standard and are selling out their race, something a lot of black people think is despicable.

Then again, it's his life ...

It's all water under the bridge for Allen Iverson and the BIG3 basketball league -- we're told the NBA legend will RETURN after a rocky 2017 season.

Iverson -- who was a player coach last season -- was in the BIG3 dog house after no-showing for a game without a reason. He was suspended 1 game.

It seemed his future with the league may have been in doubt at the end of the season -- but now we're told he WILL get another go ... this time as a coach only.

One of Iverson's issues ... he gambles A LOT. He was spotted out in a casino in almost every city he traveled to during the BIG3 season and there are concerns the gambling could have interfered with his commitment to the league.

Here it is ... Josh Beckett's mug shot -- taken moments after the ex-World Series MVP was arrested for drunkenly diving onto a country music band.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... the former pitcher was arrested in Texas on Oct. 26 for public intoxication after cops say he was boozed out of his mind and tackled the singer of a country music band while he was performing at an open mic night.

The lead singer says he suffered injuries -- and cops tell us they have opened an assault investigation into Beckett.

Beckett's attorney told us the whole thing was simply "horseplay" -- he meant no harm and he's vowed to make things right with the singer.

FYI, Beckett reportedly made more than $124 MILLION during his MLB career. We're sure he can find a way to make things right.

Want the ultimate proof that heated rivals can become total bros??

Michael Jordan not only attended Patrick Ewing's head coaching debut for Georgetown on Sunday ... he got invited into his locker room for a post-game photo op!!

Pretty dope shot -- M.J. huddled up with the G-Town ballers up front ... while all 7 feet of Coach Ewing kept as low of a profile as humanly possible so his guys could fanboy out.

Classy move from Pat -- who went toe-to-toe with His Airness for years way back when the Bulls and Knicks were the beasts of the East ... and before that in college:

The UCLA shoplifting situation has been escalated to the White House -- with President Donald Trump calling Chinese President Xi Jinping to ask for help.

Trump spoke with President Jinping about the issue while in Beijing last week -- one day after LiAngelo Ball and 2 teammates were arrested for allegedly stealing sunglasses from Louis Vuitton.

According to the Washington Post, President Xi promised to look into the issue -- and said the players would be treated fairly.

Sources told the Post charges against the players have already been reduced and a resolution is expected shortly.

As TMZ Sports previously reported, Alibaba founder Jack Ma -- one of the richest and most powerful men in China -- has also personally gotten involved to help get the players home quickly.

If convicted, Ball and the other players could reportedly face up to 10 years in prison.

Tom Brady says Colin Kaepernick is a "damn good quarterback" who's proven he can play at a high level -- but the Pats superstar says he "has no idea" if Kaep's actually being blackballed.

Brady appeared on WEEI's "Kirk and Callahan" Monday morning where he was asked straight-up if NFGL owners are colluding to keep Kaepernick out of the NFL.

Brady took a long pause and then delivered his answer ...

"You know, I don't ... I have no idea if he's being blackballed."

"I think he was a ... I competed against him. I thought he was a damn good quarterback. And he's played at a high level, brought his team to Super Bowls."

"You know ... that's how I feel about him."

Jay-Z stopped down his 4:44 Tour concert Sunday night in Miami to explain why he's thrown his support behind NFL player protests -- and also to take a shot at his haters.

On Veterans Day weekend ... Jay directly addressed critics who say the movement started by Colin Kaepernick is an insult to the U.S. flag and military. His point was those critics are twisting the message, which is really "about justice and injustice" ... regardless of race.

During this tour, Hova's made it abundantly clear he's fully in Kaepernick's corner -- sometimes wearing jerseys bearing his name.