TMZ Sports - Page 50

Larry King says the whole "cotton-picking" controversy surrounding an OKC Thunder announcer is being overblown -- in fact, Larry says he'd take the expression as a compliment.

"That statement's been around forever," King told us on his way out of Craig's in West Hollywood ... "'Cotton-picking mind' was probably an adjective."

King -- a huge sports fan -- then showered praise on Russell Westbrook (who was at the center of the controversy) for being a beast on the court and said, "I would take it as a compliment."

"That's like saying 'You're crazy,'" ... "What about people with mental health problems?"

"So, if you say to someone 'You're crazy,' you're offending every mental health patient in America."

Larry does say there is one popular term that IS offensive that he would like to see be changed ASAP.

Cam Newton did a really cool thing in Atlanta on Thursday ... rolling through a DICK'S Sporting Goods store to help a bunch of Special Olympics athletes crush a $200 shopping spree!!!

We're told there were 17 athletes at the store -- all local kids (from the same area where Cam grew up) ranging in age from 5 to 18.

Each athlete got $200 to spend in the store ($3,400 in total) -- from shoes to training gear or jerseys -- and Cam made sure each kid got the best stuff!

In fact, when one of the athletes (a Golden State Warriors fan) was having trouble deciding between a Steph Curry jersey and a Kevin Durant jersey ... Cam helped the guy make up his mind.

Wanna guess which one he chose?

According to YG ... frozen yogurt, fresh-fallen snow, a baby's butt, and 1,000-count Egyptian cotton sheets are all harder than the NBA -- 'cause the rap superstar tells TMZ Sports the league is completely soft.

So soft, he thinks he could play.

We got YG out at the South Beverly Grill ... and after we asked him for his MVP of the soft-ass league, he told our guy the Association is NOTHING like it used to be back in the '90s.

In fact, YG ripped all the guys who were complaining about Russell Westbrook padding his stats by allegedly stealing rebounds ... saying Russell just has more heart.

"They play softer than a mother f**ker," YG said ... "I feel like I could play in the NBA with all these soft ass n****s."

Please, somebody give YG a 10-day.

Saquon Barkley was rockin' a NY Giants sweatshirt to a Pennsylvania barber shop and TMZ Sports has the photos.

Of course, there's a lot of buzz that the former Penn State running back is being targeted by the Giants -- who have the #2 overall pick in the NFL Draft.

Is it a good sign for NY Giants fans? Sure ... but don't go celebrating just yet.

Sources close to Barkley tell us the sweatshirt was a gift given to him from the Giants when he met with the team -- and it just happened to be laying around when he needed a shirt to go get a haircut.

FYI -- we're told players are often given team swag during pre-draft visits.

In other words ... Barkley's position is that he'd still be happy to be drafted by any team.

But S.B. is widely considered the best RB in the draft -- and ya gotta think Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr. are gonna be stoked when they see these pics.

Conor McGregor was an awesome rags to riches story ... before he went nuts and attacked a damn bus -- so says UFC star Justin Gaethje.

We spoke with Justin -- one of the top fighters in McGregor's 155-pound division -- and he told us Conor's an extreme example of broke fighters who get too much, too soon.

"McGregor wasn’t rich 5 years ago. Now, you put $100 million in his pocket and you see how it changes people," Gaethje told TMZ Sports.

"It’s a crazy world, this MMA game -- especially being at the top in the UFC."

With that in mind, Justin does NOT wanna see McGregor banned from fighting. He'd rather kick his ass, personally.

"He’s gonna pay multi-millions of dollars to people and that’ll be punishment enough."

There's more -- Gaethje told us why Khabib Nurmagomedov's no more of a champion than Conor ... and put an expiration date on his own MMA career (and it's sooner than you think).

Justin also dished on his scrap with Dustin Poirier this Saturday at 'UFC on Fox 29' ... and considering his last bout was 2017's Fight of the Year, we suggest you tune in.

Tristan Thompson's getting away from what's gotta be a very tense spot for him -- Khloe Kardashian's hospital room, hours after she gave birth to their baby girl.

The Cleveland Cavaliers star slipped out of the hospital a little less than 12 hours after the arrival of his and Khloe's first child together. Hard to miss 6'9" Tristan ... who, as TMZ reported, was in the delivery room early Thursday morning.

As we told you, Tristan was surrounded by Khloe's sisters -- Kim and Kourtney -- as well as Kris Jenner and Malika Haqq during the birth. We know the family's pissed about those videos of him with other women -- last weekend in NYC, and also 6 months ago in Washington, DC -- so y'know Tristan was feeling the heat.

Kinda the ultimate good news/bad news situation.

2:00 PM PT -- WWE has announced that Rusev will be replaced by Chris Jericho in the Casket Match vs. The Undertaker ... after Lana voiced a complaint.

"I’ve already spoke with WWE officials to change that match because I REFUSE to let my husband compete in a Casket Match," Lana wrote on social media.

Rusev added -- "Life is life ... it will be Rusev Day somewhere."

Unclear if this is a work or if an actual issue prompted Rusev's removal from the event.

Stay tuned ...

The Undertaker just smashed John Cena at WrestleMania, but his next opponent -- and his smokin' hot wife -- say he's gonna make the Deadman REST ... IN ... PEACE.

We got superstars Rusev and Lana just hours after WWE announced Undertaker vs. Rusev at their Greatest Royal Rumble event in Saudi Arabia ... and the power couple told us Taker's about to take his last ride in the ring.

"Undertaker is a little bit in the past," Rusev told TMZ Sports at The Henry in WeHo. "I'll beat him so bad it may be his last fight."

Lana chimed in -- "You're gonna obviously crush him. He's stronger and faster and better."

Rusev admits Undertaker's one of the GOATs, and has home-field advantage for their CASKET MATCH ... but says he ain't sweatin' it since "Rusev Day" is equally legendary.

We dunno, bro ... looks pretty intense.

Markelle Fultz's whip game is SERIOUSLY trailing his on-court abilities ... as the 76ers rookie found out on his way outta the arena Wednesday night.

You might've heard -- the #1 pick just dropped his 1st NBA triple-double, cappin' off his awesome late-season return for Philly.

But Markelle couldn't really bask in the moment after the game ... not after his Honda Accord got flexed on by Ben Simmons' $280k Ferrari!!

"I gotta step my game up, fellas. I got a triple-double ... it's terrible," Fultz said.

Also pictured was a near-$500k Lambo and $300k-plus Rolls-Royce. Guessing they don't all belong to Ben ... but ya never know.

The Accord, meanwhile, starts at $24k.

Khloe Kardashian has given birth to her first kid ... TMZ has learned.

Khloe delivered a baby girl early Thursday morning -- around 4 AM EDT -- at a hospital outside Cleveland ... according to our Kardashian sources. We're told the little girl does not have a name yet. Kourtney, Kim, Kris and Khloe's BFF Malika were by her side during the birth. Tristan Thompson was also there.

This is Khloe and the Cavaliers star's first baby together, but, of course, it comes smack in the middle of a tumultuous time for the couple.

TMZ broke the story ... Tristan cheated on Khloe back in October when she was only 3 months pregnant. As we reported, he was caught on video making out and motorboating 2 women at a hookah lounge outside of Washington, D.C. And just 5 days ago, he was seen taking a woman back to his NYC hotel.

Khloe revealed the sex of the baby on the season finale of 'KUWTK.' The baby shower was pretty baller, and her baby registry was no joke, too.

TMZ broke the story ... Khloe got pregnant not long after her sisters, Kylie and Kim (via surrogate).

We were told Khloe conceived naturally. She and Tristan have been dating for well over a year, but their current relationship status is murky, to say the least.

The Seattle Seahawks told Colin Kaepernick not to bother coming to a planned workout unless he promised he would NOT continue his kneeling protest ... sources with knowledge of the situation tell TMZ Sports.

We're told the Seahawks had invited Kaep to a workout roughly 2 weeks ago to potentially take a job as Russell Wilson's backup QB ... but the plans hit a snag on Thursday.

Our sources say the team reached out to Kaepernick with specific questions about his kneeling protest -- and essentially wanted him to stipulate that if signed, he would NOT kneel during the 2018 season.

In other words, the team wanted a guarantee Colin would stand during the anthem.

We're told Kaepernick would not agree to that stipulation -- so the Seahawks called off the workout, despite the fact travel plans had already been arranged.

There are reports the workout has been "postponed" -- but we're being told it's off the table.

Unemployment is VERY good for Victor Cruz ... 'cause check out these pics of the NFL star hanging out with his insanely hot, thong bikini-wearing girlfriend, Karruche Tran.

Makes ya wanna salsa dance, right?!

The couple was letting it all hang out in Miami on Thursday ... adding a little extra sexy to one of the best model-watching spots on the planet.

Victor and Karruche have been dating since at least December -- and even KT's ex-boyfriend, Chris Brown, has said, "They look really good together."

49ers linebacker Reuben Foster has been charged with felony domestic violence stemming from a February incident in which he allegedly beat up his GF so bad, he ruptured her eardrum.

Officials say ... on February 11, Foster's 28-year-old live-in girlfriend flagged down a stranger’s car to call 911. She called police. The victim claimed Foster dragged her by her hair, physically threw her out of the house, and punched her in the head 8 to 10 times.

The woman was hospitalized for her injuries and later released.

According to the Santa Clara District Attorney ... 24-year-old Foster faces charges of domestic violence with an allegation that he inflicted great bodily injury, forcefully attempting to prevent a victim from reporting a crime, and possession of an assault weapon – all felonies.

He is also charged with misdemeanor possession of large capacity weapon magazine -- since officials say they found a Sig Sauer 516 with a high-capacity magazine during the search of Foster's home.

FYI, it's illegal to posses a Sig Sauer 516 in the state of California.

Khloe Kardashian won't let Tristan Thompson's cheating ways deny him of the opportunity to witness the birth of his daughter ... TMZ has learned.

Sources familiar with the situation tell us Khloe's devastated by the recent revelations, but understands the importance of the birth in the lives of everyone involved. We're told Khloe doesn't want her personal feelings to ruin one of the most important moments in a person's life ... the birth of a child.

We're told Khloe's putting her feelings on hold, realizing for better or worse Tristan is the father of their child and knowing a bond between father and child can be cemented in the delivery room.

What we don't know ... if Tristan is game to participate or if any new allegations or actions may surface to sway Khloe's opinion.

TMZ broke the story ... Khloe started having early contractions Wednesday just hours after videos surfaced of Tristan hooking up with other women.

As we reported, Kris flew to Cleveland early Wednesday morning to support Khloe, and Kim and other family and friends plan to be there by Friday.

French Montana has three choices on how to react to news his ex-girlfriend, Khloe Kardashian, just found out her baby daddy Tristan Thompson is a cheat:

1) He could spike the football and do the whole "I wouldn't have done that to you" thing.

2) He could trash Tristan and leave room for him to replant his flag.

Or 3) He could take the high road and wish peace, love and happiness for everyone involved.

Wanna guess which option French went with?

Yeah, numero tres for the win!

"Lemme tell you something man, I just want everyone to be happy," French told us, on the way out of Poppy nightclub in Los Angeles.

"When there's negativity, I duck and move Papi."

French and Khloe dated back in 2014 -- and people REALLY liked them together.

Just sayin' ...

8:28 AM PT -- The OKC Thunder has issued a statement condemning the comments ...

"We find the term used by Brian Davis on our broadcast last night to be highly inappropriate and offensive."

"We’ve discussed it with the announcer and let him know that. He assures us it was not meant in any sort of offensive or derogatory manner and he apologizes."

"Nonetheless, he’s been told the use of that term in any manner is unacceptable."

An NBA game announcer is in hot water after saying Russell Westbrook was playing so well Wednesday night ... he was "out of his cotton-picking mind."

Dude. Bad.

We get it ... FOX Sports Oklahoma play-by-play guy Brian Davis (white dude) was trying to say Westbrook was playing on another level (he became the first player in NBA history to average a triple double 2 years in a row).

But, when you make a cotton reference about a black guy ...it's not usually well received.

That's exactly what happened Wednesday night -- people are losing their minds about the comment. Some people are even suggesting Davis should be fired.

There's been a long debate about the origin of the expression -- some people say it was used as a slur plantation owners used toward slaves.

Tristan Thompson avoided major backlash from fans for cheating on Khloe Kardashian by checking into tonight's Cavs game under the radar ... but he got a fair share of boos later.

The power forward checked in off the bench near the end of the 1st quarter during a timeout ... so he was able to take the court without the PA announcer saying his name. Good start for Tristan.

However, our sources at the game say boos rained down later when he was shown on screen, and more came when he got called for a couple personal fouls.

And, as if Tristan's first game in wake of his cheating scandal isn't awkward enough ... the Cavs also reportedly gave away a basketball signed by Thompson for fan appreciation night.

We broke the story ... Tristan was caught on surveillance video cheating on Khloe with 2 chicks at a hookah lounge near D.C. back in October -- making out, motorboating, and getting his junk grabbed.

Khloe was 3 months pregnant at the time, and we had just broken news of her being pregnant with Tristan's baby about a week before.