TMZ Sports - Page 50

"My first option when Tony's out, I tell, 'Hey, where's Conor? I need Conor. He's champ. Bring this guy.'"

That was Khabib Nurmagomedov's reaction when he found out Tony Ferguson injured himself and couldn't fight at UFC 223 ... he wanted Conor McGregor first, not Max Holloway.

"When UFC call [Conor], he say, 'Oh, I am not ready,'" Khabib tells TMZ Sports.

For the record, Dana White says he didn't want to rush Conor into a short-notice fight because he wants more time to promote a McGregor scrap. Plus, weight could have been an issue.

Instead, UFC booked Holloway -- and Khabib says he's 100% confident he'll smash the Hawaiian easily.

In fact, Khabib says he's already thinking about his next opponent ... and it ain't Conor -- it's another UFC legend.

"After this fight, I'm gonna ask UFC -- 'Hey, Madison Square Garden, me vs. Georges St. Pierre. November. 155 (pounds)."

Khabib had a message for Ferguson, too ... and he didn't hold back.

Before Offset took the field for Quavo's charity football game in Georgia, the Migos MC was stylin', profilin' and DRIPPIN' with Ric Flair on the sidelines ... and TMZ Sports has the video.

WOOOOO!!!

FYI, Offset LOVES The Nature Boy -- and his track paying tribute to Naitch's swag, "Ric Flair Drip," has been blowin' up.

Flair's got love for Offset, too ... so, he crashed "Huncho Day" at Berkmar High and got the rap star on a video call with his WWE superstar daughter, Charlotte!

It's pretty awesome -- Offset tells Charlotte how dope he thinks her dad is, gives her props for killin' it in WWE, and, of course, shows off his QUARTER-MILLION-DOLLAR ice.

The whole time, Naitch is cheesin' hard in the background -- clearly impressed by his protege.

Sister Jean needs a break -- which means no raging party for the NCAA title game Monday night ... so says a rep for Loyola-Chicago.

The 98-year-old superstar is apparently exhausted after rolling with the Ramblers during the team's incredible run to the Final Four after traveling with the team for 2 weeks of March Madness.

"Sr. Jean is getting a much needed break after all of our travel and her media commitments these last few weeks," a rep for the school tells TMZ Sports.

"I am not certain if she will be watching the game in the confines of her room, but she will not be watching with the team."

As for her future, the school seems to be easing back on her travel schedule as well -- saying, "[She will not] travel with any our other teams this spring."

Kendra Wilkinson says she and NFL star husband Hank Baskett are officially no more in an emotional video.

Wilkinson posted several videos Monday after rumors swirled in recent months of ongoing issues in their relationship that signaled a split was imminent.

She also broke down in tears on video recounting her time with Hank, saying she'll always love him and, "I did everything I could."

She and Hank have 2 kids together -- 8-year-old Hank IV, and 3-year-old Alijah. The couple got hitched in 2009 at the Playboy Mansion -- with Hugh Hefner and her other 'Girls Next Door' castmates in attendance. When we saw Kendra last week in Calabasas, she tried to keep a positive outlook ... but she was, pretty obviously, stressed.

She wished for Gronk ... SHE GOT GRONK!!

Lauren Meizo -- a hardcore Patriots fan waiting for her 2nd heart transplant in 5 years -- got a helluva surprise Monday when Rob Gronkowski and his brother, Gordie, visited her in the hospital!

27-year-old Meizo had made a YouTube video saying her wish was to meet the Pats tight end and begged her friends to share the message with anyone who knew Gronk.

Her plan worked ... the video went viral and Gronk answered the call -- rolling up to the Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Massachusetts with his brother Gordie to hang with Lauren!

"Surprised Lauren Meizo w @gronk," Gordie posted on Instagram ... "It was great you allowed us to have a meet and greet with you! #gronksandwich #meizostrong."

FYI, Meizo has been living in the hospital for the past 3 months awaiting her heart transplant and a kidney transplant.

Get well soon!

Tiger Woods got his ex-girlfriend Kristin Smith to sign a non-disclosure agreement to make sure she kept her mouth shut about their nuclear breakup ... but she wants out of their deal -- and now they're locked in a nasty legal war.

TMZ Sports has learned ... Woods and Smith (who dated from 2015 to 2017) are currently in arbitration -- and sources familiar with the situation tell us it's all over a non-disclosure agreement.

We're told Smith believes Woods cheated on her in 2017 and that's what ended their relationship. To save himself from another embarrassing sex-fueled PR nightmare, we're told Woods offered Smith money to sign an NDA, but it's unclear if she ever accepted it.

But now, something's changed ... and Smith is trying to invalidate the NDA claiming it's not enforceable.

Our sources say Smith claims Woods has threatened to release embarrassing pictures of her if she doesn't honor the NDA -- and the situation has escalated enough to get lawyers involved.

Of course, Woods' history of cheating is no secret -- with his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren, divorcing the golfer after it came out he was nailing all sorts of women behind her back.

NFL linebacker turned actor Anthony "Spice" Adams pulled out one of the coldest April Fools' pranks we've ever seen -- sending his own kids on a FAKE Easter egg hunt!

It's heartless, but also hilarious ... and we still can't decide whether it's OK to laugh.

In the video, Spice describes his devious plot before bustin' up in laughter ... and sending his kids on the pointless search through their backyard.

You'd think he'd let them in on the joke after a couple minutes ... but it seems like he let his youngins loose for A LOT longer.

But don't feel too bad for 'em ... TMZ Sports spoke to the "Ballers" star and he told us they got PLENTY of candy before the fake-out.

Here's former NCAA stud Derrick Williams answering a question that always gets asked -- but to some here at TMZ Sports, it doesn't make any damn sense.

We got Williams at LAX and after talking to him about the turmoil his Arizona Wildcats program is going through -- we wanted to know if he thought Villanova could beat an NBA team.

Before you drag our camera guy, we should say this came after 'Nova obliterating Kansas in their Final Four matchup ... looking every bit like the most dominant team in COLLEGE basketball.

Obviously, Derrick understands that COLLEGE hoops is a different game than the pros, because he says "No way" ... which is obviously the right answer.

BTW ... the worst team in the league right now is the Phoenix Suns, and they're pretty bad so MAYBE if 'Nova got hot from 3 ... they could lose by 30 instead of 40.

Ex-USC quarterback Todd Marinovich is back in jail after getting arrested twice in 4 days in March.

48-year-old Marinovich -- who has a long history of substance abuse -- was arrested on March 19 (he was released the same day) AND March 23. According to jail records, he's still behind bars.

It's unclear why Marinovich was arrested ... however, in March '17, the former star QB was sentenced to a year probation for an August '16 incident where TM was caught wandering naked in a random person's backyard -- with meth and weed in his possession.

As we reported, Marinovich sought help ... and seemed to be sober and doing well.

In fact, when we spoke with Todd back in April 2017, he told us he was fighting like hell to stay clean for the sake of his kids.

"I've been running [from my addiction] for years and it definitely came a time, especially after the arrest, the humiliation that that brought, the self-loathing that I was feeling, where I was finally willing to do the things necessary to get better."

Villanova or Michigan??

Nick Young doesn't give one single "f**k" who wins the game ... telling TMZ Sports he doesn't care for NCAA basketball.

Swaggy P hit Nightingale nightclub in West Hollywood after his Golden State Warriors beat up on the Phoenix Suns earlier in the day ... so, we tried talking to him about March Madness.

But, Young told us straight-up, "You know, I don't give a f**k about the NCAA."

He didn't explain why ... but maybe it's because his USC Trojans didn't get an invite to the tourney this year.

Interesting note ... Swaggy's not the only one who's turning the channel -- ratings are reportedly down 3% from last year.

For those who DO care ... Villanova takes on Michigan in the NCAA Championship Monday night.

UFC star Max Holloway is stepping in to fight arguably the scariest dude on planet, Khabib Nurmagomedov, on 6 DAYS NOTICE ... and he's somehow super chill about it!

Max got interviewed at the airport on his way outta Hawaii ... and made it clear that he's pumped to be the late replacement for Tony Ferguson at UFC 223.

"They called the right guy. I'm here. 6 days notice. April 7th. It's gonna be a great night," Max told KHON's Rob DeMello.

As for his thoughts on Khabib, a 25-0 fighter who used to WRESTLE BEARS as a child -- "Animal. Animal."

"But, you know what they say -- to be the best you got to beat the best, and the best is Blessed, baby, so I can't wait."

FYI, the winner gets the UFC lightweight belt, and probably the next shot at Conor McGregor ... so you can see why Holloway, the featherweight champ, ain't sweatin' it too hard.

Ezekiel Elliott ... linebacker?

The Cowboys stud RB made it clear NO ONE was getting any easy yards against him during Quavo's Huncho Day charity football game on Sunday ... putting 21 Savage right on his ass!

It all went down at Berkmar High School in Georgia where the Migos rapper was raising money for the high school's football program.

A ton of huge stars came out to play -- from Von Miller to Zeke to Julio Jones -- it was awesome!!

Some of the highlights ...

Quavo has a CANNON for an arm -- and he put it on full display.

Julio has skills as a DB and got himself an interception!

And 21 Savage tries to get revenge on Zeke for the hit across the middle!

Before Larsa Pippen went egg huntin' with the kiddies on Sunday, she hit the sunny shores of South Beach to brighten up everyone's Easter weekend.

And yes, there was plenty of cake to go around.

No sign of Scottie or the kids ... but seems like Larsa was enjoying her solo outing.

The 40-something mother of 4 frolicked in the sand rockin' an itty bitty bikini ... looking absolutely incredible, as she usually does.

Josh Rosen could "set the world on fire" if NFL coaches can figure out how to properly deal with the fact he's a "millennial" ... so says his ex-UCLA coach, Jim Mora.

“He needs to be challenged intellectually so he doesn’t get bored," Mora told the MMQB ... "He’s a millennial."

So, what does that mean for the 21-year-old? Mora explains ...

"He wants to know why. Millennials, once they know why, they’re good."

"Josh has a lot of interests in life. If you can hold his concentration level and focus only on football for a few years, he will set the world on fire. He has so much ability, and he’s a really good kid."

Don't get it twisted ... Mora says Rosen's a stud -- but says teams can't ignore the millennial thing.

Former NFL running back Isaiah Pead ain't gonna let a life-changing accident rob him of his athletic dreams ... telling TMZ Sports he's now on a quest for Paralympic gold!!

We spoke to Isaiah 16 months after he lost most of his left leg in a car crash ... and he told us he's planning on hittin' the track in hopes of crushing the 2020, 2024 and 2028 Summer Paralympics.

"If they let me on the track, I'm goin' for the gold, period."

Pead says he's still in the early stages -- getting a prosthesis and sponsorship -- but he's confident everything will come together.

If and when it does, the ex-Rams and Dolphins RB says he's gunnin' for the podium in the 400 -- an event he dominated back when he was a high school sprinter.

As for his long-term goals -- "3 gold medals, 3 Paralympics. God willing, that's a hell of a career right there."

LiAngelo Ball will be suiting up for an NBA team next season, and it ain't just 'cause of his talent -- so says Shareef O'Neal.

We spoke to Shareef -- a top NCAA prospect -- after LiAngelo dropped 72 POINTS in an exhibition game out in Lithuania earlier this week ... and asked if he thought the middle Ball bro was NBA-bound.

Reef told us he did, but not because of Gelo's breakout performance.

"I think he's gonna make it on a team just 'cause his brother's already there, and I feel like just the platform that that family has he can make it on a team," O'Neal told TMZ Sports.