TMZ Sports - Page 50

In a superfight between the Rocky Balboa and Dr. J statues in Philly, it's a KNOCKOUT win for the doc -- so says Julius Erving himself.

You might've heard ... Erving just got a 2nd statue in The City of Brotherly Love decades after his 1st one was unveiled -- a slam-dunkin' sculpture on the 76ers' Legends Walk.

So when we saw doc at LAX, we had to ask who's effigy gets more love -- his, or Sylvester Stallone's?

Julius told TMZ Sports he gets the nod 'cause he's got 2 ... and 'cause his are "a real person, engaged in real battles."

DOWN GOES ROCKY!!!

We didn't hear about any 911 calls Friday in Miami, but it appears either Karrueche Tran or Victor Cruz were in some sort of distress.

Chris Brown's ex and the ex-NFL wide receiver were soaking up the sun as they sucked face pool side at the Setai hotel.

Just a guess, but we're thinking they are saying, "Who the hell needs Coachella?"

They've had some epic matchups over the years ... but Josh Norman is willing to bury the hatchet and play nice with Dez Bryant if he signs with the Redskins!

We actually broke the news to the Redskins star cornerback about the Dallas Cowboys parting ways with Bryant -- and he seemed a little shocked by the move.

But then ... he quickly started the recruiting process!

"He wouldn't be a bad addition -- hell, come on over!"

"If he can help us win, that's all that matters at the end of the day."

Of course, Norman and Bryant have gone head-to-head a bunch of times over the years -- and formed a true rivalry that got really heated at times.

But Norman is willing to move on in the name of winning.

The boy band basketball turf war just got REAL -- with Brian Littrell telling Joey Fatone that Backstreet will straight DOMINATE 'NSYNC on the hardwood.

And get this -- Brian says it'll only take 2 of the Boys to hoop up 'NSYNC's entire roster!

"They’ll lose, plain and simple," Littrell told TMZ Sports at LAX. "You can take myself and Nick against all 5 of those dudes and we’ll be cool."

Brian ain't playing -- telling us he's got a court at home to keep his game tight.

So, if Joey, JT and co. really want it like Fatone said, Littrell's down ... and says he wants 10 racks on it!!

"When we win, I’ll donate my $10,000 that I have on the game to charity. Joey can pick it."

Conor McGregor, Georges St-Pierre, Tony Ferguson ... Khabib's next opponent is way up in the air, so UFC star Dustin Poirier says not to sleep on him skippin' the whole damn line!

We spoke to Dustin ahead of his scrap with Justin Gaethje this weekend ... and he told us things are so crazy atop the UFC's 155-pound division, he could get the nod with a violent W at UFC on Fox 29.

"I go out there and perform Saturday night, I'm a huge step closer, and maybe I'm next," Poirier told TMZ Sports. "Maybe one more after that, we'll see. But I can't look past this fight."

Smart man. Gaethje's the UFC's "King of Violence" ... but Dustin's also been putting bloody beatdowns on fools his whole career.

Alex Rodriguez ain't no dumb jock -- he's a legit business mogul who should be a ROLE MODEL for pro athletes who wanna STAY rich after their playing days are over ... so says Kevin O'Leary.

The "Shark Tank" star says he was REALLY impressed with A-Rod when he appeared on the show last season ... saying, "The guy is, for an ex-athlete, very savvy on business."

In fact, Mr. Wonderful heaped all sorts of praise on the guy for figuring out how to invest and run a company while he was still playing ball ... so the transition was easy.

"He's kind of a model of what should happen to athletes," O'Leary says ... "Learn something while you're in the game, you've got your cash to reinvest it."

Martellus Bennett has bad news for Kanye West ... because in the battle to be the "Black Walt Disney" there can only be one, and according to Bennett HE is that one.

You might remember it was a couple of years ago that Kanye West proclaimed that it was HE who was the Black Walt Disney -- really just the next Walt Disney -- during an interview with Sway.

Bennett CRUSHED West's dreams when we got him out in NYC, telling our guy his new career as a children's book author is going to put him over the top in the race to build a chocolate Magic Kingdom.

Now we don't think he was taking a direct shot at West -- he didn't mention his name except to say that Kanye was "cool" -- question is, how will 'Ye take it?

Regrets? Bruce Arena doesn't have a few ... even though Team USA didn't qualify for the 2018 World Cup.

Now that it's been a couple of months since the heartbreaking and shocking failure ... we asked the former Team USA head coach if he had any regrets for the way things went down during the qualifiers.

"I don't have any regrets," Arena told us ... "I'm disappointed, but I don't have any regrets."

'I and my staff and the players ... we gave everything we had and we fell short."

The good news -- Arena is VERY stoked about one of the young Team USA stars and says we've got a real shot to make a run in 2022.

So, who will Arena be rooting for in the 2018 World Cup now that we're not competing?

Shaquille O'Neal saw potential danger, and decided he needed to help after spotting a 2-car wreck Friday afternoon.

The accident -- Honda vs. BMW -- went down in one of L.A.'s busiest intersections ... Sepulveda and Santa Monica Boulevards, and Shaq happened to be driving by in the aftermath. We're told the big fella thought it looked bad enough that he should stop, and try to be of assistance. Y'know, in case a door needed to be ripped off or something.

Luckily, it turned out no one appeared to be seriously hurt. Some passersby saw Shaq on the scene, and thought he was in the accident, but he was really just a giant Samaritan.

We're told Shaq surveyed the situation, realized everyone was okay, shook a few hands ... and went on his way. No paramedics or cops were involved, just a tow truck.

No truth to rumors Shaq handed out cards for the General.

Colin Kaepernick has been told flat-out he can't get an NFL tryout unless he quits kneeling ... and Common says that ain't right, especially not in this country.

"This is America so he gotta be free to express himself," the rapper said.

"You gotta allow human beings to be human beings ... they express themselves and then go play the game."

TMZ Sports broke the story ... the Seahawks straight-up 86'd a planned workout with Kaep 'cause he refused to stop his kneeling protests.

Common says he gets why NFL teams are requesting that Colin stand -- they got a business to run -- but it's still a damn shame that's the only reason "a great quarterback" can't do what he loves.

"Hopefully ... Kaepernick will make his choice and he'll be able to play in the league."

Conor McGregor is on a collision course to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov -- and it ain't gonna end well for the Irishman ... so says Tyron Woodley.

"If they fought 100 times, i think Khabib would win 99," Woodley said on "The Hollywood Beatdown."

"Conor would not be able to stop him from doing what he does."

Woodley essentially believes the publicity from the bus attack will only draw more interest in a Conor vs. Khabib fight somewhere down the road ... so, don't be surprised if they square off eventually.

There's more ... Woodley also tells us if he's scared to train Floyd Mayweather after someone ambushed the boxer's entourage Monday and opened fire.

He's also weighing in on the Tristan Thompson cheating scandal with Khloe Kardashian and punching himself in the face for his freestyle performance on "The Breakfast Club."

Make sure to check out "The Beatdown" every Friday on the TMZ Sports YouTube channel.

Dr. J doesn't think the baby Philadelphia 76ers have to wait to get to the top of the NBA mountaintop ... telling TMZ Sports he thinks the team can win it all THIS SEASON.

Philly is playing OUT OF THEIR MINDS RIGHT NOW, having won 16 games in a row. Despite that dominance, most experts still think the team is too young to take the whole enchilada THIS SEASON.

"Based on how they're playing now, they can go all the way."

BTW, Dr. J is part of the last team to hoist the O'Brien in Philly, so it's a huge vote of confidence for the young guys.

Hank Baskett is taking the high road in his divorce from Kendra Wilkinson ... defending her against haters, and admitting he's fully open to reconciliation.

The normally reticent ex-NFL player opened up on the split when we saw him Friday afternoon at LAX, and told us he hasn't lost all hope on reuniting with Kendra. They've kept things amicable -- after Kendra filed divorce docs, Hank filed his response asking for the same things she did.

They were also together last weekend at their daughter's soccer game.

Hank says he's not pissed about the divorce these days, it's more the conclusions people jump to about Kendra that's got him heated.

Albert Belle is off the hook for allegedly shaking his genitals at a 15-year-old girl while peeing outside of a soccer stadium ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Belle was arrested in Scottsdale, AZ on March 24 and charged with 2 counts of indecent exposure (1 felony, 1 misdemeanor) after officials said he shook his penis at a man and his daughter while relieving himself next to an SUV.

Cops said 51-year-old Belle reeked of alcohol and had been yelled at by the family to stop urinating in public because there were kids present. Belle allegedly responded by shaking his dong at them and yelling at them to stop looking.

Now, officials tell us ... both indecent exposure charges have been dismissed -- but we don't know why.

Belle had also been arrested for DUI during the incident -- but officials never moved forward with that charge.

The OKC Thunder commentator who said Russell Westbrook was "out of his cotton-picking mind" is being punished for his terrible choice of words ... the team just announced.

Brian Davis, the play-by-play guy for Fox Sports Oklahoma, has been suspended for Game 1 of the Thunder-Jazz playoff series ... after making the racially insensitive call in OKC's regular-season finale.

Davis maintains he didn't mean to offend anyone -- but says he's cool with the suspension 'cause it was a pretty stupid thing to say.

“It is with great remorse and humility that I accept this suspension for the insensitive words I used during Wednesday’s broadcast. While unintentional, I understand and acknowledge the gravity of the situation."

Todd Gurley ain't wasting any time recruiting the newest top WR in free agency -- sending a message to Dez Bryant, "Come to the Rams!"

"I'd love to have Dez, man," Gurley told us at LAX moments after Bryant was released from the Dallas Cowboys ... "He's a beast!"

Fun Fact: Gurley and Bryant have the Jay-Z connection, they're both repped by ROC NATION Sports and who knows ... it could pay off in a big way for the Rams.

This clip is awesome ... you gotta see when Gurley spots a fan rocking his #30 jersey in the terminal and stops dead in his tracks to dap the guy up. It's pretty great.

Plus, Gurley also weighs in on Colin Kaepernick ... saying he hopes the QB gets another shot in the league.