TMZ Sports - Page 50

It's hard to envision just how close to death Ric Flair was in 2017 ... until you see the photo of the WWE legend while he was recovering in the hospital.

Nature Boy just posted a pic taken right around the time he woke up from his medically induced coma back in August. He looks extremely frail as he tries to walk with the help of a wheelchair.

The good news ... Flair also posted a "NOW" pic -- in which he's bulked up and crushing a stationary bike!

WOOOOO!!!

Eli Roth's got a grand idea for the NFL -- CANCEL THE DAMN SUPER BOWL ... 'cause no squad's got a chance in hell of overthrowing Tom Brady and the Patriots dynasty.

"It's over! Just give him the title! Brady's the GOAT," Eli told TMZ Sports outside Craig's in L.A.

The horror film guru clearly ain't impressed by the Eagles, Vikings and Jaguars -- who his Pats play this weekend -- so why waste time delaying the inevitable??

You might be looking at the BIGGEST VIKINGS FAN ALIVE ... Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar -- who might have gone to work in purple face paint if she was allowed.

Seriously, Klobuchar lives and breathes Vikings -- her dad even wrote a book about the team back in the day!

So, when we saw her on Capitol Hill -- rocking her Vikings scarf -- there was only one thing to talk about ... VIKINGS, BABY!

Klobuchar was at the stadium for the Minnesota Miracle on Sunday -- and gave us the blow-by-blow on how crazy it got in the stadium. She also told us about the bet she won with Louisiana Senator John Kennedy.

But, how does she feel going into the NFC Championship game against the Eagles?

Kim Kardashian went straight for Lamar Odom's jugular after he dissed Khloe Kardashian ... making fun of him for visiting brothels.

Kim replied to a tweet Thursday in which Lamar was quoted from his interview on BET's "Mancave" that read ... "I knew my marriage to Khloe was over 'when she was on her second or third NBA player.'"

Safe to say, Kim wasn't having it ... she responded ... "Or second or third brothel."

Lamar has been known to visit brothels in the past, most famously when he OD'd at one in Nevada a few years back. Khloe has dated NBA star James Harden, and is currently preggo with Tristan Thompson's kid.

No love lost here, apparently.

11:33 AM PT-- More info from the Harris County Sheriff's Office ... which says the incident in question took place on June 15, 2017.

"The complaint was thoroughly investigated and all involved parties, including Mr. Sanders, were interviewed by investigators."

"Upon completion of the investigation, evidence and witness statements were presented to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office to determine whether a criminal charge should be filed."

"The Harris County District Attorney’s Office presented the case to a grand jury, which determined on January 9, 2018 that there was insufficient evidence to support a criminal charge."

Denver Broncos WR Emmanuel Sanders will NOT be prosecuted for felony sexual assault after a grand jury in Texas decided there was not enough evidence to move forward with the case.

Officials in Texas are being very tight-lipped about the case ... but here's what we know so far.

Sanders was accused of sexual assault in Harris County, Texas -- where he still owns a home. He went to high school nearby.

Unclear when the alleged sexual assault took place -- but we know the case was classified as a felony 2 ... which means the allegations were very serious.

The case was kicked over to a grand jury and on January 9, the jury "failed to find a bill of indictment" ... meaning they felt there was not enough evidence to prove his guilt.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ Sports, Sanders is off the hook.

UFC star Cody Garbrandt says him and Jean-Claude Van Damme are totally cool ... but if they ever fought for real, he would straight-up DECAPITATE the Muscles from Brussels.

"I'd rip his f**king head off ... is that really a question??" Cody told TMZ Sports at the premiere of JCVD's "Kickboxer: Retaliation" event at TAO in Hollywood.

You might remember ... a few months back, JCVD accidentally kicked Cody in the mouth during a light sparring sesh -- a move that had Garbrandt seeing red.

But Garbrandt says Jean-Claude felt so bad he actually started crying ... and now they're bros again.

For Van Damme's sake -- we're glad.

Diddy says he's 100% serious about buying the Carolina Panthers, and the reason he's doing it couldn't be more important ... 'cause he says it's all to inspire and empower black America.

Puff sat down with the crew on "The Breakfast Club" when he was asked if there were any updates on his efforts to purchase the squad.

Diddy made it clear it's totally real -- he's putting an investment group together -- and told everyone why he thought it was important for the black community to have NFL ownership.

"It was never about me buying the Panthers, it was always about we. It was always about we need a team. I jumped out there to make sure that they understood that they have to consider some black ownership right now with 80%, 70% of the league being African-American. It's just time."

Diddy goes on to say he gets why some people think he won't be able to do it ... there's a lot of yellow tape -- but it's clear he doesn't think anyone can stop him.

Sebastian Telfair -- former NBA point guard -- has been ordered to stay at least 100 yards away from his estranged wife and kids after she claims he went on a violent window-smashing rampage at their home.

Samantha Telfair filed court docs, obtained by TMZ Sports, claiming Sebastian showed up to her home in Irvine, CA on Jan. 12 and went nuclear on the doorbell when he realized she wasn't home.

32-year-old Telfair began cussing like crazy and kicking the door -- even when the couple's two young kids came out of the house and begged him to stop.

When Samantha finally got home, Sebastian approached her aggressively -- but she was able to get into the house. Instead, Samantha claims, Sebastian bashed in the front windshield of her car.

Cops were called and an emergency restraining order was issued against Sebastian.

Samantha says she's worried about Sebastian's overall mental health -- saying he's threatened to kill himself and has "become increasingly hostile, unstable and violent."

She also gave police a photo of the guns officials confiscated from Sebastian during an arrest in NY back in June.

A judge granted a temporary restraining order against Telfair. There's a hearing in the matter set for next month.

UFC fighter Uriah Hall says he suffered a "slight heart attack" and "mini-seizure" the day before his fight with Vitor Belfort at UFC Fight Night: St Louis ... and doctors told him he's lucky to be alive.

"The doctor even said that even if I had made weight I probably would have died the next day because my body just wasn’t having it," Uriah said in an Instagram Live video.

Hall says his health scares were due to an injury that hindered his weight cut ... and he's refuting Dana White's claim that he was partying in L.A. -- insisting he was taking his training 100% serious.

The day before the event, the former 'TUF' finalist fainted on his way to the scale and was transported to a local hospital.

LaVar Ball was dead serious about starting his own semi-pro basketball league -- and now he's got the ball rolling when it comes to locking down the trademarks.

TMZ Sports has obtained documents showing LaVar (doing business as the Big Baller Brand) has filed applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to get the rights for the "JBA" aka the "Junior Basketball Association."

BBB is looking to use the league name and a logo (a silhouette of Lonzo Ball dunking) for athletic apparel, uniforms, hats, footwear, etc.

LaVar has previously said he wants to create the league for high school basketball players who don't want to play for free in college ... but can't get to the NBA yet.

He's stated he wants to pay players between $3,000 and $10,000 per month. He's looking to recruit 80 players to fill 10 teams.

LaVar is gunning to launch the JBA in the Summer of 2018.

It ain't too often you see off-court action like Rockets vs. Clippers ... but Jermaine O'Neal says when he balled, some players would make it a point to meet in the locker room.

"We've had a couple guys in the past that will make it known that if you camera talkers then we'll see you in the back," O'Neal told TMZ Sports. "Things a little bit different now."

Jermaine -- who was in the infamous "Malice at the Palace" brawl -- says players still gotta be careful what they say, and more importantly, WHO they say it to ... but clearly thinks his era was tougher.

No disagreements here.

Bonus: We also got Tracy McGrady to weigh in on Rockets-Clippers, and he told us why he's A-Ok with (most of) what went down.

Legendary college football coach Les Miles was just introduced to the fidget spinner ... and transformed from a 64-year-old man to a kid on Christmas Day!!

Not sure why they did it, but The Players' Tribune locked Les in a room with a spinner -- and what ensued was pure comedy.

The longtime LSU coach seemed kinda intimidated at first ... but once he starts toying with it, you can tell his mind is BLOWN.

"I guarantee people will buy this."

NBA players need to stop throwing punches and start shaking hands ... so says the guy who knows firsthand what can happen when you get in a fight on the court.

TMZ Sports spoke with L.A. Clippers star Danilo Gallinari ... who broke his hand throwing a punch in an exhibition in Italy this past off-season. He was also present when the Clips got in a scuffle with the Rockets earlier this week.

D.G. says he's vowed to stop the violence ever since the summer incident ... and says the rest of the NBA should follow his lead if they know what's best for 'em.

We also asked about whether Austin Rivers can actually scrap or if he's all talk ... and you gotta check out his answer.

Scumbag convicted sexual predator Larry Nassar wrote a letter to the court begging to end the witness statements ... saying the terrible stories of sexual assault are damaging his mental health.

Don't worry ... the judge shot his pathetic ass down.

The former Team USA gymnastics doctor was convicted on 7 felony sexual assault charges -- and his victims were invited to share impact stories to the court before the sentencing phase.

So far, 50 women shared their stories about how Nassar molested them while telling the women he was performing routine medical exams.

Some women have told Nassar he broke them emotionally. Some women shared how they considered killing themselves. There are still 51 more women scheduled to speak.

But Nassar wants out ... and wrote a letter to the court begging officials to make it stop -- calling the whole thing a "media circus" that was "detrimental to his mental health."

Judge Rosemarie Aquilina fired back in open court -- telling Nassar, "This isn’t worth the paper it’s written on, there’s no truth in there, it’s delusional" -- noting he agreed to hear the witness statements as part of his plea deal.

"I didn't orchestrate this, you did," she told Nassar.

"Spending four or five days listening to them is significantly minor considering the hours of pleasure you’ve had at their expense and ruining their lives."

Eli Manning still has strong supporters on the Giants -- with rookie running back Wayne Gallman telling TMZ Sports he's "ride or die" with #10 ... despite having the #2 pick in the draft.

Gallman was one of the bright spots for the G-Men this season in their 3-13 season -- with the 4th round pick out of Clemson flashing some real promise toward the end of the season.

Now, with the team at a crossroad -- stick with Eli or draft a QB -- Gallman is ready to pick a side ... and he's rockin' with the guy who has 2 Super Bowl rings.

UFC pound-for-pound king Demetrious Johnson says it's "an honor" Anderson Silva called him the greatest fighter of all time -- but tells TMZ Sports he does NOT think he's G.O.A.T. status.

That said, when the guys on "TMZ Sports" (airs weeknights on FS1) really pressed the flyweight champ for an answer -- he did admit he's getting close.

"I don't believe that," Demetrious told us ... before adding, "I do believe that I have, out of all the champions and all the opposition I've fought ... it's getting there."

FYI -- Mighty Mouse recently broke Anderson's UFC title defense record with his 11th straight ... but dude might be too humble to ever say he's the best.