TMZ Sports - Page 50

Floyd Mayweather's ex-girlfriend, Shantel Jackson, used his credit cards on the sly and helped herself to his piles of cash ... according to the lawsuit he just filed against her.

According to docs, obtained by TMZ Sports, Shantel got access to Floyd's credit card accounts, and scooped cash around his house, to go on personal shopping sprees. He claims she shipped all her illicit booty to a secret location to keep him in the dark.

Floyd claims Shantel would praise him in public when he got bad press purely to gain his confidence. In the docs, his lawyer writes ... "As a result of that confidence, Mayweather, who's education ended at eighth grade, did not audit or otherwise inspect either his cash or his credit card statements for theft by Jackson."

(NOTE: Floyd's reps tell us his lawyer has it wrong ... he left school in the 12th grade, not 8th.)

Translation: She pulled a rope-a-dope, and yeah ... Floyd was the dope.

According to the suit, Floyd only found out when a mutual friend told him Shantel had been bragging about her financial exploits.

Francis Ngannou -- the man Dana White says is the next UFC superstar -- tells TMZ Sports he hits so freakin' hard there literally ain't a human being alive who could eat his punch.

We got Ngannou -- who's fighting at UFC 218 this weekend -- in L.A. earlier this week ... and asked him about the video showing him absolutely destroying an arcade game that measures punch power.

"That force can put everyone down if you connect at the perfect position," Francis tells us ... "We are not a machine. We are just human."

We also talked to the man steppin' into the Octagon with Francis, Alistair Overeem, who tells us exactly when he's going to win the fight.

Just look out for that right hook.

Donald Trump. Steph Curry. Luke Walton. Julius Randle.

LaVar Ball won't stop trashing these guys, and he shouldn't have to -- so says ex-Laker A.C. Green.

We got A.C. chillin' at The Grove in L.A. ... and the 3-time NBA champ told us he's got ZERO problems with how LaVar's going about his business.

"There's no issue," Green told TMZ Sports. "LaVar's gonna do what he does ... people see and recognize that."

The Iron Man says LaVar's just exercising his 1st amendment right ... and it doesn't matter who he goes off on -- even if it's Lonzo Ball's coaches and teammates.

"He has an opinion, and you guys keep giving him the opportunity to share his opinion, and you should."

Alexi Lalas ain't hoppin' on the Tiger Woods comeback bandwagon just yet ... 'cause the U.S. soccer legend says we'll NEVER see Tiger return to his old dominant form.

TMZ Sports spoke with Lalas about Woods' impressive outing in his first tournament in almost a year ... and despite being only 3 strokes back from the lead after one round at the Hero World Challenge, Lalas wants to bring everyone back to Earth.

"He'll be a different type of Tiger Woods. And he'll have moments of brilliance that'll remind us of what he was, but I think his back injury ... that's difficult to come back for anybody."

This looks like French Montana's first attempt at surfing, and it's definitely unforgettable ... and we mean that in the funniest way possible.

French borrowed some dude's board down in Sydney, and tried like hell to catch a wave. We'll say this ... he did a great job at securing the leash around his ankle -- but after that it was totally comical.

We're guessing he'll find a better way to spend his next day off from his Australian tour -- but we hope not.

French, the idea is to stand UP on the board!

Here's a spirited defense for the job of Giants head coach Ben McAdoo from the LAST GUY you'd expect ... Eli Manning's dad, former NFL great Archie Manning.

Giants fans were livid at McAdoo for benching Eli (some say it's the end of Manning's career), saying the coach should be fired not just for the crappy year the G-Men are having, but for disrespecting a legend.

Archie is NOT one of those guys, because when we got him out at LAX and asked his opinion of the embattled coach ... the elder Manning said the terrible year was out of his control.

"Ben's a good coach," Archie says, "It wasn't his coaching that got all these people hurt."

We also asked Archie how Peyton took the news of the (probable) end of the Eli era ... and Archie's response told us all we need to know.

"You don't wanna hear what Peyton said about this."

John Cena is on Ford's $#&% list for allegedly flipping his new $500k '17 Ford GT -- violating a contract with the company -- and they're takin' him to court.

According to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Michigan, Cena was "selected from thousands of applicants for the opportunity to purchase the Ford GT."

Ford says Cena signed a deal in which he agreed to hold onto the car for at least 2 years ... prior to unloading it.

However, Ford claims, soon after receiving the car, Cena flipped it for a big profit.

"Mr. Cena has unfairly made a large profit from the unauthorized resale flip of the vehicle, and Ford has suffered additional damages and losses, including, but not limited to, loss of brand value, ambassador activity, and customer goodwill due to the improper sale."

Ford is demanding that Cena hands over all the profit from the sale, as well as other damages.

According to the suit, for his part, Cena told the company he sold the car, along with other property, to pay bills.

FYI -- Cena ain't the only celeb who's had the GT ... Justin Verlander and Joey Logano also own the whip.

Rick Pitino is suing the University of Louisville Athletic Association for 38 MILLION DOLLARS ... claiming they breached his contract when they gave him the ax in October.

In the lawsuit -- filed in U.S. District Court -- Pitino's attorney is attempting to recoup the $4.3 million his client was to make each year through 2026 ... 9 seasons worth of salary.

The suit states that the ULAA -- the part of the University that oversees athletics -- didn't give Pitino a 10-day notice prior to firing him -- as his attorney says was mandated by his contract.

2:25 PM PT -- The White House tells TMZ Sports they have not yet received the shoes ... but are currently "trying to track them down."

Donald Trump is officially a Big Baller -- this according to LaVar Ball, who says POTUS ZO2 kicks are in the mail ... on the way to the White House!

"I sent Trump his shoes," LaVar told TMZ Sports at Staples Center after Lakers vs. Warriors. "He should have them -- unless they took 'em!"

Unclear if White House security would let Trump receive the package -- especially with his mortal enemy's name on the return address -- but props to LaVar for following up on his weekend promise.

The BBB founder also threw some shade at Steph Curry before he rode off into the night -- saying the 2-time MVP ain't better than Lonzo Ball or even LaMelo!

Right.

Donald Faison went NUCLEAR on the streets of NYC over the Giants benching Eli Manning ... saying it's "the most disrespectful thing" he's seen in his whole damn life.

TMZ Sports spoke with Turk about the news ... and just mentioning Eli got him to shout at the top of his lungs: "That's some BS, yo! Everybody's saying it!! BS!!! IT REALLY IS BS!!!!"

Donald -- who loves the G-Men -- says he's got a good reason to be pissed considering all Eli's done for the franchise.

"The season's a wash anyway, so just let him finish the season at least."

That obviously ain't happening ... but maybe the "Scrubs" star will feel better knowing job offers are already rollin' in for Eli.

Arianny Celeste and her equally hot homegirls are knocking out the beaches in the Bahamas right now ... and tops are optional.

Unclear where the UFC Octagon Girl's hangin' loose in the video ... but Arianny and friends are clearly feelin' themselves, jammin' out to Manu Chao's old-school track about loving life (and weed).

If you like what you hear, Celeste -- an aspiring recording artist -- says you can cop her new single that drops on Friday.

Or ... you can just drink in her other talents. Your call.

Listen up, Hank Steinbrenner ... Jennifer Lopez says she's got the PERFECT candidate for the next New York Yankees manager ... her BF, Alex Rodriguez!!

The Yanks have been interviewing managerial candidates since they let Joe Girardi go last month. A-Rod -- who's been linked to the gig -- has publicly said he ain't really interested in the job.

But looks like things done changed ... 'cause J Lo just fired the ex-Bombers' hat into the ring ... saying, "It couldn’t be clearer...#arodforyankeesmanager" ... along with a link to an article titled, "The Best and Only Choice for Yankess Manager is obvious..." on Instagram.

Donald Trump is NOT Time magazine's Person of the Year ... the honor should go to Colin Kaepernick -- that's according to rap star Killer Mike, who says Kaep's a leader and Trump's an "entertainer."

We got Mike out in ATL ... and he told TMZ Sports he gets why Trump's in the running ... but at the same time, POTUS can't hold a candle to Colin.

"We like entertainers. Donald Trump is a successful entrepreneur but essentially he's an entertainer."

Mike says Kaep's an entertainer too in the sense that he's a pro athlete ... but the QB's used his platform to do A LOT more.

"I'm very, very proud of Colin Kaepernick and the stance he's taken. The man's essentially given up his career to bring social awareness to the fact that agents of the state -- police officers -- are killing citizens."

So, the award should be CK all day.

Colts LB Anthony Walker will be wearing his heart on his feet this Sunday ... sporting a special pair of cleats that honor slain teenager Trayvon Martin.

The cleats were made by sneaker artist Desmond Jones (aka Skilz) ... and will be Walker's contribution to the NFL's "My Cause, My Cleats" week where players get to use their shoes to push their social concerns.

As far as the look of the kicks, they're pretty awesome, and feature Trayvon's face on the side, and his tragically signature hoodie serves as the tongue of the shoes.

Walker is hoping to bring attention to the Trayvon Martin Foundation by rockin' the cleats this weekend in Jacksonville.

Well done, sir.

Jim Nabors, who starred in the massive '60s hit, 'Gomer Pyle,' died Thursday.

Nabors became famous as the bumbling mechanic on "The Andy Griffith Show" and then went on to do his own show, which ran for 5 years.

He also appeared in movies, including "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" and "Cannonball Run II."

He also was an accomplished singer, who recorded dozens of albums and scored 5 gold and 1 platinum records.

One of his iconic songs is the staple of the Indy 500 ... "Back Home Again in Indiana." He last appeared at the race in 2014.

Nabors was gay and long before social media there was gossip -- which was false -- that he secretly married Rock Hudson.

In real life, Jim was married to his partner of more than 40 years. They lived in Hawaii.

Nabors was 87.

RIP

Johnny Manziel is finally free and clear of his domestic violence charge in Texas ... almost 2 years after the alleged assault went down.

Manziel's then-GF, Colleen Crowley, told cops JM hit her several times after a day of boozin' in January 2016. He was indicted for misdemeanor assault.

JM struck a deal with prosecutors in Dallas last December ... agreeing to take an anger management course and keep his nose clean -- in addition to other terms -- in exchange for having the charge dropped.

In court docs obtained by TMZ Sports, the Dallas District Attorney asked the judge to dismiss the case ... and he signed off.