TMZ Sports - Page 50

The only thing Donald Trump should be giving teachers is more school supplies -- so says John Salley, who tells TMZ Sports he ain't down with POTUS' idea to have educators packin' heat in the classroom.

We got Salley at an event at NeueHouse in Hollywood ... and the 4-time NBA champ told us only people trained to protect should carry guns, and no one else.

As for Trump's classroom cop proposition -- "I think teachers should carry books and pencils and pads. You know what, they've been lacking those."

Sad news for Buffalo Bills legend Jim Kelly ... who just announced his oral cancer has returned.

Kelly was initially diagnosed with oral cancer back in 2013. He beat it once -- and then it resurfaced. He beat it again. Now, Kelly says he's facing round 3.

"The oral cancer we hoped would be gone forever has returned," Jim said in a statement.

"As our family has faced many trials and triumphs throughout the years, you have blessed us with your prayers. We are asking for those prayers once again."

"Although I was shocked and deeply saddened to receive this news, I know that God is with me."

He added, "With all of you by my side, we will fight and win this battle together. Staying 'Kelly Tough' and trusting God, will carry us through this difficult time."

Jim's wife, Jill, also commented ... saying, "The cancer is back. We are shocked, heartbroken, sad, angry, confused, and just darn tired."

"Yet, despite how we feel, we KNOW that God is a promise maker and keeper."

What's better than Marshawn Lynch and Gary Barnidge teaming up to explore Europe together??

Bringing L.A. Rams star Marcus Peters along for the fun, too!!

Beast Mode and the ex-Browns Pro Bowler are heading to Portugal for the 6th annual American Football Without Barriers camp next week to spread their football knowledge to the local fans.

TMZ Sports spoke with Barnidge ... who says AFWB will spend time in Algarve and Lisbon, with the Algarve Sharks of the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Americano hosting the camp.

Hall of Famer Andre Reed, DeAngelo Williams and many other pros are also slated to make the trip ... so expect even more hilarious content during their downtime like when the guys rode camels in Egypt and went ice swimming in Finland!!

Barnidge says there will be more adventures this year ... but he's not giving away ALL of the surprises just yet!

We also spoke with G.B. about returning to the field in 2018 after sitting out last season ... as well as Johnny Manziel's efforts to get back in the league.

Wow, talk about a twist!

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has just confirmed reports that his 38-year-old girlfriend gave birth to a secret baby -- but he insists he's NOT the daddy!

Ricki Noel Lander gave birth to the kid back in 2017 but nobody knew about it until Page Six broke the story Wednesday evening. It seemed 76-year-old Kraft was the father since they've been dating for about 5 years.

But, Kraft's reps just issued a "Billy Jean"-style statement saying -- the kid is not my son.

"Last fall, Ricki Noel Lander became the proud mother of a beautiful, healthy baby," the rep tells TMZ Sports.

"While Robert Kraft is not the biological father, he is thrilled with Ricki’s blessing of having a healthy child. With respect to her family’s privacy, we will not be commenting any further."

6:43 AM PT -- Kraft's reps just issued a statement saying he is actually NOT the father of his GF's baby.

"While Robert Kraft is not the biological father, he is thrilled with Ricki’s blessing of having a healthy child."

Age ain't nothin' but a number for Robert Kraft ... the 76-year-old Patriots owner's 38-year-old girlfriend has reportedly given birth to a secret baby -- and signs point to Kraft being the daddy.

Kraft's GF, Ricki Noel Lander, gave birth to the baby in 2017, according to Page Six ... but kept everything from the pregnancy to the delivery out of the public eye.

When reached for comment, the Patriots told Page Six, "This is a private matter."

Kraft -- who already has 4 adult sons -- reportedly bought Lander a home in Los Angeles and is taking care of both Ricki and the baby.

We've seen them out and about for years -- most recently back in December when they were strolling around Beverly Hills together and Kraft bragged that he was with a "lovely lady."

Sooooo ... congrats!?

Snoop's favorite UFC fighter -- "Sugar" Sean O'Malley -- says he's beyond stoked to make his Pay-per-View debut on the main card of UFC 222.

But, Sugar tells TMZ Sports he's just as excited for his post-fight party -- 'cause he's debuting his own custom weeeeeeed after the scrap!!

O'Malley says his buddha-smokin' bros just whipped up Sugar Show OG -- a brand new hybrid strain -- in honor of his big night ... and there'll be plenty getting passed around Saturday night.

Can't say we're surprised -- this is the same kid who smoked up with Snoop hours after winning a UFC contract.

Sugar says he's been getting his fair share of hate since then 'cause the UFC's been giving him Conor McGregor-level hype ... but told us he ain't trippin' off it.

Think we know why ...

Let's stop pretending D-1 college basketball players are just student athletes -- they're PROS who deserve to get paid already ... so says Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin.

Bevin just WENT OFF about the current state of college basketball -- slamming the way the NCAA treats players ... and explaining why the concept of amateurism in top-tier college sports is a lie.

"It's a multi-BILLION industry in America, college athletics ... and yet we're pretending these kids are just student athletes? Come on."

That said ... Bevin is a huge fan of college basketball and sports in general -- he just wants the players to be treated fairly.

"I firmly believe that for top-tier D-1 programs, these kids should get paid. They're professional athletes, for us to pretend otherwise is ridiculous."

He also referred to the top-tier programs as the "minor leagues of professional sports."

Sports Illustrated is going to bat for Ashley Graham after Toccara Jones called her twerking abilities subpar -- and this new video of her booty-shaking in the sand ... is the perfect re-butt-al..

SI posted the new clip on Wednesday ... showing more of Ashley's on location twerk-off with a photo shoot crew member. Interestingly, the video dropped AFTER Toccara, the "Queen of Thickness," called out AG's twerk skills.

She straight-up laughed, telling us Ashley was lacking some major pop.

In Toccara's defense ... she was looking at a different SI vid (below), where Ashley was shot from afar.

We have no clue if the new angle would sway Toccara's vote, but we'll say this -- Ashley's got plenty of swaying going on back there. Plenty.

The Golden State Warriors did NOT visit the White House during their trip to D.C. -- instead, they worked with kids in the community ... and the move is getting praised by a republican senator.

We spoke with John Thune [R-SD] who commended the NBA stars for taking local students to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

"I just think that they are a bunch of athletes who see themselves also serving the greater cause and I'm glad that they're willing to do that."

"They're willing to help people who are less fortunate than they are and maybe haven't had the breaks in life that they've had."

Of course, the topic of athletes and activism has been all over the news -- after Fox News host Laura Ingraham told LeBron James and Kevin Durant to "shut up and dribble" after they criticized Donald Trump.

By the way, Sen. Thune is a pretty good basketball player himself -- and had a reputation for being the BEST hooping politician in D.C. So, what's his advice for guarding Barack Obama?

Check out the clip ...

Officials have dropped the domestic violence case against Denver Broncos safety Will Parks -- after the alleged victim stopped cooperating with investigators ... TMZ Sports has learned,.

The 23-year-old rising star was arrested back in March 2017 after officials say he threatened his ex-girlfriend when she came over to his home to collect her belongings after they broke up.

Parks allegedly unleashed a verbal tirade at the woman -- accusing her of stealing some of his stuff.

At the time, the woman told police Parks threatened to have his cousin fly in from Philadelphia to "beat her ass."

Parks denied all wrongdoing -- but he was arrested anyway for misdemeanor harassment and domestic violence charges.

The case was supposed to go to jury trial on Tuesday -- but prosecutors tell TMZ Sports the accuser stopped cooperating. Even when they sent her a subpoena to appear in court, she blew it off.

Ultimately, prosecutors didn't feel they could get a conviction without her testimony -- so they dropped the case against Parks.

Ain't nuthin' but a g-string baby ... and Johnny Manziel loves it!!

The QB hit the beach in Miami for a little fun in the sun with his fiancee, Bre Tiesi -- who turned heads in a tiny electric green bikini ... and it was gooood.

Manziel has been training his face off for his football comeback -- recently doing sand drills with his former Cleveland Browns teammate, Joe Haden.

Of course, Bre looks amazing ... but Johnny looks great, too -- putting back some of the muscle he had lost when he was partying his way out of the NFL.

UFC newcomer Mackenzie Dern is flattered by all the Ronda Rousey comparisons, but says she's her own woman ... and wants to accomplish EVEN MORE than Ronda in MMA!!

We talked to the jiu-jitsu phenom before her debut at UFC 222 ... and she laid out why labeling her Rousey 2.0 ain't right -- even though both women are known for ripping their opponents' arms off.

"It's nice that people think that, but I'm not the next Ronda Rousey," Dern told TMZ Sports. "We are two different people, different personalities, different histories, different obstacles ... it's a new era."

That said, Mackenzie told us she's gunnin' for it all -- and hopes to achieve "at least as much, if not more" than the UFC's first female trailblazer.

Gonna have to tune in Saturday to see if she passes her first test, 'TUF' alum Ashley Yoder, but one thing's for sure ... she's got the look.

Packers running back Aaron Jones just got punished for his October arrest -- driving while high on weed -- and it's gonna cost him driving privileges for 6 months.

Jones was initially pulled over in Green Bay on Oct. 1 for going 79 mph in a 55. During the stop, the officer smelled weed.

And after Jones bombed a field sobriety test, he admitted on camera "I was smoking it."

The 23-year-old was initially charged with operating a vehicle with a restricted controlled substance, speeding and operating without a valid license. In exchange for pleading no contest to the weed charge, the remaining 2 charges were dropped.

Along with losing his license, Jones will have to pay a $1,047 fine and undergo drug assessments to make sure he doesn't mess up again.

Don't smoke and drive people.

LeBron better start knucklin' up ... 'cause the baller he's been beefin' with is getting boxing lessons from a UFC superstar!!

That superstar is former middleweight champ Chris Weidman -- who came through Knicks practice on Wednesday to chill with his hometown hoops squad ... including Bron's trash-talkin' rival, Enes Kanter.

Weidman shot around with Enes -- but it looks like they had more fun strappin' on the gloves to get the Turkish big man ready for a potential throwdown with the King.

"Hey @kingjames, I've been training my guy @eneskanter11. Best think twice before messing with the Orange and Blue again," Chris tweeted at LeBron.

FYI, Kanter called LBJ a "queen" and a "princess" after they got in each other's faces in November ... and trolled him after a game last month, too.

Stipe Miocic is from Cleveland, Bron -- might be time to reach out.

Rich Rodriguez is firing back at his ex-assistant accusing him of sexual harassment -- saying her claim he grabbed his wiener in front of her is such complete bullcrap, he took a lie detector test to prove it.

It's all outlined in RichRod's attorneys' response to Melissa Wilhelmsen's notice of claim filed with the AZ Attorney General's office ... where they denounce the allegations that the ex-University of Arizona football coach terrorized her for years.

In the 290-page document, Rodriguez's lawyers poke holes in Melissa's most serious accusations -- including the "shameless, outrageous lie" that RichRod began "grasping his penis beneath his basketball shorts" in a closed-door meeting.

His lawyers say Rodriguez took a "rigorous polygraph examination" administered by a member of the American Polygraph Association to fight this claim -- and the results prove their client's innocence.

"The relevant questions put to him were, 'Did you ever expose your genitals to Melissa?' and 'Did you ever show your genitals to Melissa?' Coach Rodriguez answered 'no' to both questions."

"The testing confirmed 'no deception indicated' ... this event simply did not happen."

Of course, the accuracy of polygraph tests are controversial to say the least. Most courts won't allow polygraph results to be submitted as evidence in a case.

In the new filing, Rich's attorneys also slam Melissa for claiming RichRod ignored a warning from a team staffer about his former player, Zach Hemmila, the day before he committed suicide.

"Of all the Wilhemsens' false claims, there is none more cruel and despicable than this one -- attempting to use the tragic accidental death of a young student-athlete to extort $7.5 million from the Rodriguezes."

They claim Rodriguez actually spoke at length with Zach in the days prior to his death ... and had also been in contact with his family.

The baddest woman on the planet ain't afraid of taking on Floyd Mayweather inside an MMA cage ... and she's laying out exactly how she'd smash him.

We spoke with UFC champ Cris Cyborg ahead of her 2nd title defense this weekend at UFC 222 ... and had to ask how she thinks she'd fare against Floyd, who's talked to Dana White about potentially taking a fight for the UFC.

Cyborg didn't back down -- telling TMZ Sports all the tools she'd have to bust out to put Mayweather to sleep.

Of course, that's a fantasy matchup we're never gonna see (well, maybe in Japan) ... so if ya wanna catch Cyborg, you're gonna have to tune in this Saturday when she scraps with Yana Kunitskaya.