TMZ Sports - Page 50

Jean-Claude Van Damme put his money where his mouth is ... when he showed up to one of the top MMA training centers in the world and led a kicking workshop in front of 2 UFC superstars!!!

UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber and Cody Garbrandt were both on hand at Team Alpha Male in Sacramento on Tuesday night ... where JCVD did his sensei thing.

Jean-Claude has long talked about how he can make MMA fighters better -- and even gave TMZ Sports a tutorial in a gym parking lot back in 2016.

Well, the guys at T.A.M. were paying attention and invited him over to teach class -- and from the looks of it, the students loved it!

JCVD's 57 years old ... too late to take a fight????

Ex-NY Giants defensive tackle Matt Mitrione says Ben McAdoo is a crap coach ... that's why he calls him, "Ben McAdoo-doo."

It's pretty funny and brutally honest coming from a former Giants player -- with Mitrione explaining why Ben's gotta get the ax in NYC after a disaster 2017 campaign.

He holds Eli Manning's feet to the fire as well.

Mitrione isn't done taking shots yet -- he's an MMA fighter now who's competing at the 2018 Bellator heavyweight grand prix.

Floyd Mayweather was in attention-seeking mode Tuesday night -- taking his head-turning Rolls-Royce to the most paparazzi-packed restaurant in town ... while wearing a bright pink hat.

So, when we saw him walking into Catch LA -- we had to ask about Oscar De La Hoya calling out Conor McGregor ... since Floyd's beaten 'em both.

Mayweather was super nice to our guy -- but made it clear he didn't want to add fuel to that fire.

Why not? Perhaps it was because his cutman Rafael Garcia passed away earlier in the day. Maybe he doesn't want to take the focus off a MayMac rematch?

Either way ... condolences.

LiAngelo Ball and his 2 UCLA basketball teammates are finally back on U.S. soil after getting the green light to leave China ... one week after they were arrested for jacking sunglasses.

TMZ Sports has video of Ball, Jalen Hill and Cody Riley leaving LAX moments ago following a 13-hour flight out of Shanghai ... the guys stay straight-faced and mostly silent as they're hit with a barrage of questions and camera flashes from reporters.

The players had been holed up at the Hyatt Hangzhou -- while some of the most powerful people in the world, from President Trump to President Xi to Jack Ma, worked on their release.

Chinese officials reportedly dropped the shoplifting charges on Tuesday and allowed the guys to return home. UCLA says the school will launch its own investigation to decide whether or not to discipline the players.

Been a hell of a week. And with reports saying they could've faced 10 years in Chinese prison, guessing they're all gonna sleep pretty well tonight.

Steven Tyler's banged an astronomical amount of groupies over the years -- but even he's calling B.S. on Ric Flair's claim that he got 10,000 chicks to ride "Space Mountain."

We got the Aerosmith legend leaving LAX ... and you can tell he thought The Nature Boy's number was comical -- joking he had him beat before comparing him to rockstar Gene Simmons (who says he slept with 5,000 chicks himself).

But Tyler hit Naitch with a low blow before he rode off into the night, telling TMZ Sports how he really feels -- "that guy's full of sh*t."

As for Steven's number ... sorry, guys -- he was "too busy getting high" to count.

Roy Halladay was honored by teammates, family and friends at a memorial service in Florida on Tuesday ... remembering the star pitcher for his accomplishments both on and off the field.

Chase Utley -- who played with Halladay on the Phillies for 4 seasons -- praised Doc's work ethic ... saying he'd be done with his morning workouts by the time Utley showed up at the team facility.

Halladay's wife, Brandy, was the last to speak ... reminiscing about the first time they met as children ... and raising their 2 sons together.

Other speakers included Cole Hamels, Chris Carpenter and Halladay's former manager Charlie Manuel.

Halladay died in a plane crash in the Gulf of Mexico last week. He was 40 years old.

LiAngelo Ball's still got 1 person 100% behind him after his embarrassing arrest in China -- and we're not talkin' about LaVar, Lonzo or LaMelo.

LiAngelo's high school sweetheart, Isabella "Izzy" Morris, just shared a pic of her and 'Gelo with the caption, "Old pic, same love" ... essentially confirming she's stickin' by her man through the hard times.

Her timing's pretty on point -- the middle Ball bro is literally in the air flying back from Shanghai ... after Donald Trump hit up Chinese President Xi Jinping to help bring LiAngelo and his 2 UCLA teammates back to the States.

LiAngelo Ball's a free man, but it ain't got a damn thing to do with Donald Trump -- so says Lil Yachty.

We got Yachty at LAX ... and the rapper told us LiAngelo's about to be back in the U.S. 'cause of his Big Baller bankroll -- NOT 'cause Trump hit up the President of China.

"F**k Donald Trump, bro. Nobody give a f**k about Donald Trump," Yachty told TMZ Sports. "It's money, bro -- you got money, you can get outta anything."

Yachty would know after blowing up this past year -- though that didn't stop him from asking LaVar for some free BBB merch!!

Here's shirtless Cristiano Ronaldo and Cristiano Jr. proving they've got the best genes AND the best jeans -- reppin' dad's designer denim and looking fly as hell doing it.

The soccer mega-star teamed up with his 7-year-old kid for the launch of the CR7 junior collection -- expanding on the line of signature jeans he dropped earlier this year.

There are actual kid sizes, FYI ... the Cristianos were just having some fun letting Jr. twin out with Sr. for the photo shoot.

The real question -- are Ronaldo and son gonna be the next LaVar and Lonzo Ball?!

Ronda Rousey would be a "force to be reckoned with" in the WWE and Vince McMahon needs to sign her ASAP ... so says wrestling legend Torrie Wilson.

There have been rumblings that Rousey could join WWE soon (though it hasn't happened yet) and Wilson says it's the ultimate no-brainer.

"She's a badass," Wilson told TMZ Sports outside of Catch LA ... right before listing off several legit reasons why she would be an instant superstar in the squared circle.

By the way, Wilson looks AMAZING (did we mention she's a fitness-aholic?) ... so, check out some of the pics below ... which prove working out really does do a body good!

Conor McGregor is apologizing for storming the cage and getting violent with MMA officials during Bellator 187 in Dublin last week ... but he's still trashing the referee.

"I sincerely apologize for my behavior at last weekends fight event in Dublin," McGregor said ... adding he let his emotions get the best of him after watching his training partner Charlie Ward win the fight.

"As a multiple weight UFC champion, executive producer, role model and public figure, I must hold myself to a higher standard."

But Conor refuses to back off his criticism of referee Marc Goddard -- saying the ref made a "horrendous decision" trying to allow the losing fighter to continue into the second round.

McGregor says he's personally witnessed an MMA fighter die from injuries suffered in the cage during a fight in Dublin -- and he was afraid it could happen again.

FYI, the fatal incident McGregor is referring to occurred in 2016 -- and the man who died happened to be fighting Charlie Ward.

Conor says he has learned from his "mistakes" and vows to be better moving forward.

Jerry Jones says claims of a secret plan to force him to give up control of the Dallas Cowboys are "laughable and ridiculous" ... and says the idea of an overthrow is just plain silly.

FYI, the controversy stems from a PFT report saying some NFL owners have discussed a "nuclear option" to force Jones out for conduct detrimental to the league due to his war on NFL Commish Roger Goodell.

The Cowboys owner appeared on 105.3 The Fan -- where he shot down the suggestion he could be forced out ... and said he hasn't heard a peep about any such plan from the league or any other owner.

"I've had not one -- not one -- inkling of communication from the league office or any owner that would suggest something that laughable and ridiculous, and that's about where that is."

"If somebody is asserting that or thinking about that kind of thing, then they are not knowledgeable about how things work in the NFL."

Leslie Jones REALLY likes Dwyane Wade -- or maybe she's just an undercover sneakerhead??

Probably both -- 'cause check out the 'SNL' star fangirling out like a teeny bopper at a Britney concert when D-Wade hooks her up with his game-worn shoes ... after his Cavs took the Knicks' souls Monday night at MSG.

Wade gets down on a knee for the proposal ... and Leslie LOSES IT.

"It's my shoooeees! I get my shoooeees!"

"Will you accept my shoes?"

"YES!"

FYI, Leslie gave away 1 of Wade's Li-Ning kicks -- but NO WAY she was saying bye to both.

TMZ Sports has obtained video of LiAngelo Ball and his 2 UCLA teammates at the Pudong International Airport in Shanghai minutes before boarding their flight to the United States.

Ball -- along with Jalen Hill and Cody Riley -- were dressed in sweats and sporting UCLA team backpacks and sneakers as they made their way toward the boarding area Tuesday evening (local time).

The person who shot the video says the guys appeared pretty relaxed -- and it's reflected in the video.

All 3 men were arrested last Tuesday for allegedly shoplifting at Louis Vuitton and reportedly faced up to 10 years in Chinese prison if convicted.

Donald Trump, President Xi Jinping and Jack Ma were all involved -- and tried to get the charges reduced. They were successful -- all charges were dropped.

Here's Ben Simmons & Joel Embiid proving that nothing says criminal justice reform quite like beating the Clippers, 'cause after doing just that, the two young NBA stars want everyone set free.

And by everyone we mean Meek Mill & LiAngelo Ball (BTW, at the time this is being written 'Gelo is reportedly on his way back to the U.S. with his teammates, so Embiid is getting his wish).

The young 76ers hit up Poppy in West Hollywood Monday night after their victory in Staples, and our guy decided to ask Simmons about Mill and Embiid about Ball.

Embiid was down with cutting Ball a break (interesting considering his history with the family) and Simmons was all about Meek getting out from under his 2-4 year sentence.

It was like a scene out of the jock version of "The Notebook" ...

Vin Scully and Yasiel Puig spotted each other from across the street in Beverly Hills on Monday -- and made their way toward each other ... culminating a HUUUUUGE bear hug.

And it might be the sweetest thing ever.

Of course, Scully retired as the voice of the L.A. Dodgers before the 2017 season -- but he was always fond of Puig. You can really feel the love when you watch the clip.

There's a moment when a waiter interrupts and asks Vin to sign his hat. Vin asks if he's a friend of Puig. The waiter says, "No, I'm a friend of Joe Torre." Vin signs anyway.

After the reunion, we talked with Puig about some Dodger topics -- and he was super cool ... until he noticed our guy was wearing a St. Louis Cardinals hat.