TMZ Sports - Page 50

Tim Donaghy ain't goin' back to prison ... 'cause officials in Florida are NOT filing charges against the ex-NBA ref after allegedly threatening a man with a hammer ... TMZ Sports has learned.

We broke the story ... Donaghy was arrested on December 19, 2017 and booked for aggravated assault -- a 3rd-degree felony. He was facing up to 5 years in prison.

For his part ... Tim claims he was only trying to rescue his daughter ... who he believed was doing drugs, and in a dangerous environment.

Good news for Donaghy ... according to a court doc filed earlier today, prosecutors in Manatee County will not file charges ... meaning he's off the hook.

The one catch ... the state still has the right to file charges in the future ... but that seems unlikely.

A USA swimming exec admits she once kissed Sean Hutchison -- the former Team USA swimming coach accused of sexual abuse by ex-Olympian Ariana Kukors -- and says she's stepping down to avoid being a distraction.

“In order to keep the focus on the tremendous efforts of my friends, colleagues and personal heroes working every day to keep kids safe, I have submitted my resignation,” Susan Woessner, the Director of USA swimming's "Safe Sport" program, said in an open letter.

Earlier this month, Kukors told law enforcement officials in Washington that Hutchison sexually abused her for nearly a decade -- with the first assault happening when she was 16 years old. Hutchison has denied any wrongdoing.

Woessner says she kissed Hutchison on "a single occasion" in 2007 ... but insists she never slept with him or had any other romantic contact.

The problem -- in 2010, she was ordered to investigate a romantic relationship between Hutchison and "a 21-year-old athlete" (Kukors) for Safe Sport -- a program created to "safeguard the well-being of all of its members, with the welfare of its athletes members as a top priority."

Kukors claims she was scared when an investigator called to interview her about their purported relationship, so she denied anything happened ... and the case was ultimately dismissed. Hutchison resigned while the investigation was ongoing.

Atlanta Hawks resident DJ Big Tigger is callin' on his squad to make the biggest pickup of the NBA season -- Quavo!!

"I think we should give Quavo a 10-day (deal) -- I don't know if he can play any defense but he can get us a couple buckets," Big Tigg told TMZ Sports outside the V103 radio station in ATL.

You'd think the former BET host was joking, but let's face facts ...

-- Quavo CRUSHED the NBA All-Star celeb game, winning MVP after Eurosteppin' on fools like James Harden.

-- Quavo's one of the biggest rap stars in the world right now, especially in his home state, and the Hawks have the lowest attendance in the league.

-- The Hawks are also last in the East, so they really got nothing to lose!!

Conor McGregor has been ducking Frankie Edgar for years and never REALLY wanted to fight him at UFC 222 in March ... this according to Frankie's manager, Ali Abdelaziz.

And by the way ... that's putting it mildly.

Ali just WENT OFF on Conor -- comparing him to a prostitute and guaranteeing Frankie would "Beat the sh*t out of him and the entire nation of Ireland."

It's all over Conor's new comments in which the Irish superstar claimed he offered to step in and fight Frankie at UFC 222 on March 3 but the UFC shut it down claiming there wasn't enough time to promote it properly.

Ali says if Conor was serious about fighting Frankie -- he's had PLENTY of time to come to terms on a deal over the years. Instead, Ali says, "He's scared."

Conor McGregor says he's ALREADY reached out to the UFC to fight in the Octagon again -- insisting, "I put my name forward to step in at UFC 222 to face Frankie Edgar when Max Holloway pulled out."

McGregor has seemingly just responded to Dana White's comments to TMZ Sports ... in which White said he didn't know if Conor would ever fight again because he's got sooo much money now.

"I am fighting again. Period," Conor says.

"I am the best at this. I put my name forward to step in at UFC 222 to face Frankie Edgar when Max Holloway pulled out, but I was told there wasn't enough time to generate the money that the UFC would need."

"I was excited about bouncing in last minute and taking out the final featherweight, without all the rest of the stuff that comes with this game. Please respect the insane amount of work outside the fight game that I have put in."

"On top of the fighting. I am here. It is on them to come and get me. Because I am here. Yours sincerely, The Champ Champ."

UFC 222 is scheduled for March 3 in Vegas. Max Holloway pulled out of the main event against Edgar on February 3 after suffering an injury.

Hip-hop superstar Kid Ink has some advice for NBA GM's looking to hold on to their jobs long-term ... TAKE TRAE YOUNG AS EARLY AS YOU CAN.

We got Ink out at a party for Ethika underwear when he began raving about the record-breaking Oklahoma freshman, who Ink says is his favorite basketball player on the planet.

Ink says Young -- who's averaging 28 points and 9 assists a game (that's after a mini-slump, mind you) -- should be the first player selected cause the dude's got game ... and SWAG!

There's only one point the Ink-Young lovefest won't go to, and that's when we asked Kid if he'd be getting a tattoo (he has hundreds) of Young to show his respect for him.

"That's taking it a little too far."

We get it.

Ex-NFL linebacker Robert Eddins -- who played briefly with the Buffalo Bills -- was shot to death in a basement by 3 drug dealers ... officials say.

Eddins and another man, Ricardo McFarlin, were murdered in 2016 in an "execution style" shooting at Robert's grandmother's home in Detroit.

Now, officials have charged 3 men in connection with the killings -- Michael Griffin, Dennis Epps and Mariano Garcia. Officials say all three men were part of a plot to deal more than 5 kilos of cocaine and heroin.

Prosecutors say the suspects traveled from Alabama to Detroit specifically to kill Eddins -- and in the process, killed the other man as well.

Cops say both victims were found with gunshots to the head.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration issued a statement on the case ... saying, "The murders of Eddin and McFarlin is just another example of how violence is intertwined with drug trafficking."

Eddins signed with the Bills in 2011 after going undrafted out of Ball State. He also played with Buffalo in 2012 but only appeared in 1 regular season game.

Ex-NFL star Warrick Dunn believes Saquon Barkley is gonna run roughshod over the NFL, but it ain't gonna be a cakewalk -- so, Warrick's giving him some RB-to-RB real talk.

We got the 3-time Pro Bowler at LAX ... and he gushed about Saquon -- the Penn State burner who's probably gonna be the first back taken on April 26.

"I love his game. He's versatile, he can do it all. And he's proven," Dunn told TMZ Sports.

That said, Warrick knows it takes more than raw talent to succeed at the next level ... so he's giving Say-Say a few tips -- and they're all money.

How do you celebrate after winning the gold medal in Women's Hockey?!

YOU POUND SOME BREWS ... just like the badass members of the U.S. Women's Hockey team!

TMZ Sports obtained footage of Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson, Hilary Knight, Amanda Kessel and the rest of the squad turning up at the Czech House in South Korea -- hours after defeating Canada in the gold medal game.

The best part might be the fact the DJ bumped Lenny Kravitz's version of "American Woman" while the champs got their celebration on!

Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson's insane shootout goal -- which essentially clinched the gold for Team USA -- is one of the TOP 3 MOMENTS in hockey history ... so says Jeremy Roenick.

Roenick was at the Women's Hockey gold medal game at the Olympics in South Korea -- and tells TMZ Sports the energy in the building was INCREDIBLE when Jocelyne hit the shot.

What's more impressive, Roenick says ... is the fact Jocelyne was able to perform such an incredibly difficult move under such incredible pressure!

Roenick also says the fact the women's team was able to bounce back after a power play loss at the last Olympics and win gold -- with 10 rookies on the team -- is simply amazing.

Roenick still hasn't gone to sleep after the game -- he was very excited -- and told us everyone should be proud of Team USA!

Brock Lesnar's tearin' it up as WWE Universal Champion right now, but there's a very real possibility he goes back to the UFC -- so says the guy closest to Brock in WWE.

We asked Lesnar's advocate, Paul Heyman, about his client potentially stepping back inside the Octagon after WrestleMania (when his WWE contract runs up) ... and he told us why the Beast is ready as ever.

"The time away (from UFC) actually makes him better because his body gets a chance to heal," Heyman told TMZ Sports.

"Brock Lesnar's probably the healthiest fighter to enter UFC if he decides to do that."

The timing's pretty interesting -- Dana White recently said he wouldn't be surprised if Brock gives it another shot.

FYI, there were also rumors of Brock wanting to come back to fight Jon Jones ... before Jones' positive steroids test in August.

If ya think Bob Costas is bitter about Mike Tirico holding his old seat in Pyeongchang, think again -- 'cause Bob tells TMZ Sports Mike's doing "a great job" with Olympics coverage.

Costas wasn't keen on talking gun control (remember his Sunday Night Football speech?) when we got him out in Bev Hills -- but he was as friendly as ever to our guy, and seemed legitimately happy for his NBC successor.

There were some rumors that Bob's passing of the torch might not have been entirely up to him ... but either way, looks like things are all Gucci.

Guessing it helps that he's in L.A. instead of freezing his ass off.

Heavyweight champ Deontay Wilder boldly claimed he's so good, he would have even knocked out Mike Tyson is his prime.

Mike Tyson respectfully disagrees.

"Iron Mike" was leaving Mastro's Steakhouse in Beverly Hills on Wednesday when we asked him about the statement Wilder gave us last month -- that there's no fighter in history who could beat him.

That includes a 1986 Mike Tyson.

"I don't think so," Tyson told TMZ Sports.

Lennox Lewis has previously weighed in on the debate -- taking Tyson over Wilder.

"I like Wilder but he’s never been in there with someone that ferocious who truly wants to break his ribs with every punch. I don’t see it!"

It's official ... Dana White tells TMZ Sports he's definitely stripping Conor McGregor's lightweight title, so Khabib and Tony Ferguson can fight for the "real" belt.

So, what does that mean for a possible Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor rematch?

Don't worry ... we talked about that, too.

"The only way a rematch makes sense in that fight is in the UFC," White says. He also confirms the two sides are talking.

White says he doesn't think Floyd needs the money -- but if he's serious about an MMA fight against one of the baddest combat sports athletes on the planet ... "he absolutely should be worried about his skills."

White insists there is NO deal done right now -- but says, "Anything is possible."

As for Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson ... Dana says Conor understands that he must strip the belt so the two guys can fight for the title.

He hopes Conor returns to the octagon in August or Sept. to fight the winner of that match.

MLB prospect Bubba Derby -- who heroically used his body as a human shield during the Las Vegas massacre -- has reported to Brewers spring training with a "58 Strong" glove to honor the people who were killed in the shooting.

The 23-year-old pitcher was in the crowd at the Route 91 Harvest Festival on Oct. 1 when a deranged man opened fire on the crowd from the Mandalay Bay hotel.

Derby threw his body over two women in the crowd to shield them from the bullets -- and then stayed with the girls until they were reunited with their friends.

We reached out to Derby who tells us he's dedicating the 2018 season -- and every season -- to the 58 people who lost their lives in the shooting ... "They will never be forgotten."

Derby says he plans to use the "58 Strong" glove for the entire 2018 season.

Angie Everhart has filed for divorce ... TMZ has learned.

Everhart cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for ending her marriage to Carl Ferro. The couple married in 2014.

Sources tell us there is no prenup, so community property laws apply, which provides a 50/50 of assets acquired during the marriage.

Angie, a model who also appeared in numerous TV shows and movies, including "Last Action Hero," also wants spousal support from Ferro, who owns Sunfare, a meal delivery service.

Angie and Carl each have one child from previous relationships but none together.

TMZ broke the story of their engagement. He popped the question in 2014 ... in an elevator.