TMZ Sports - Page 50

The beef between Adrien Broner and Tekashi69 keeps getting crazier ... with Broner now saying he'll take Tekashi's $300k bet on his fight this weekend.

And he's got the check to prove it.

Before he hopped on a plane for New York on Tuesday, Broner shared a photo of a signed check for "Daniel Hernandez" (Tekashi's legal name) ... that came with a serious message for the NYC rapper.

"Just heard (6ix9ine) wanna make a small bet for my fight April 21st... well look your check is made bro just have my money when I beat the sh*t out Jessie Vargas."

"See you soon I’m pulling up to New York right now."

It's the same threat Broner made on Monday -- after he says Tekashi called him a "clown" on IG. Tekashi immediately clapped back, saying he'd throw 300 racks on "this p***y ass n**ga" losing to Vargas.

FYI, Broner vs. Vargas is this Saturday on Showtime ... but we wouldn't be surprised if we saw these 2 duke it out first.

Forget the Pacers ... the Cavs are gonna smash on EVERY NBA TEAM standing in the way of their quest for another ring -- so says UFC heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic.

We got Stipe -- a proud Cleveland native -- after the LeBrons got rocked in Game 1 of their series with Indiana ... and he told us everyone needs to chill the hell out.

"They're fine. It's one game. It happens," Miocic told TMZ Sports. "They'll start smashing people."

Stipe was so confident, he even Guaran-Sheed the Cavs would crush any Western squad that makes it to the Finals (so, the Warriors or Rockets).

"It's my Cavs, of course they're gonna win."

We also spoke to the champ about the 'Ultimate Fighter: Undefeated' reality show he coached on that premieres Wednesday on FS1 ... and he told us why the fighters this season are must-see TV.

Dwayne Johnson's finally got an answer to what The Rock is cooking ... tequila!!

Dwayne's company filed docs -- and obtained by TMZ -- to lock down the name "Mana" and slap it on tequila bottles. It pays to be in the tequila biz. Just ask these guys.

Dwayne's professed his love for the Mexican liquor in the past ... saying when it comes to booze on cheat days, his preferred spirit is tequila.

And speaking of spirit ... it's what "Mana" means in the Polynesian culture Dwayne grew up in. "Mana" is richly embedded in Dwayne's life, even in his tattoos. The gigantic bull tattoo on his arm, Dwayne says, epitomizes the term. He broke down its symbolism in an August 2017 post.

Dwayne included #TheMana in that post, but here's how he ended it -- #NowLetsBreakOutTheTequila.

Ditto!

It looks like Lamar Odom could be gearing up for a return to the hardwood ... and TMZ Sports has the video.

No, Lamar ain't crushin' it on the court ... but it's pretty clear the ex-Lakers star was getting back in game shape at the Gold's Gym in Glendale, L.A. earlier this week.

In the video, Odom hits the weights like a boss -- pumping out sets on his bis, tris and shoulders under the close watch of an apparent personal trainer.

Yeah, we know it ain't exactly "Rocky" ... but it's a great sign considering we've only really seen Lamar partying since he left rehab.

Remember -- L.O. first expressed interest in joining the Cube's BIG3 league last summer ... and just a couple months ago, told us he wanted in THIS SEASON to honor his late friend, Rasual Butler.

Better keep droppin' sweat, bro -- Season 2 tips off in June!

Paris Hilton says she loves Khloe Kardashian and wishes her the very best ... and has some words of wisdom for Tristan Thompson if he ever wants to get her back.

We got Paris and her sister Nicky in nearly matching dresses on Rodeo Dr. in Bev Hills Tuesday afternoon, and while Paris has some strong advice for Tristan on how to treat Khloe ... she holds back on the other way around.

Check it out -- Paris looks like she wants to speak up, but ultimately decides to just talk up her man instead ... while lending strong support to Khloe, too.

Randy Orton's tattoo artist is suing WWE and 2K Games -- the company behind WWE 2K18 -- claiming they used her designs without permission.

The woman behind the suit is Catherine Alexander -- a tattoo artist from Illinois -- who says she's been tattooing Orton going back to '03 ... and owns the copyrights to the designs.

Problem is, according to Alexander, Orton is depicted in the video games to a tee -- tattoos included -- and she says that's copyright infringement.

The artists claims she raised the issue with WWE in 2009 ... and was offered $450 for the rights to use the designs.

She says she declined the offer.

As for the tats in question ... Alexander says she gave Orton a tribal tattoo on his upper back ... as well as full sleeve with everything from a Bible verse to a dove, skulls and a rose ... among others.

FYI -- this ain't the first time we've seen a suit like this ... LeBron James' tattoo artist sued 2K last year ... making a similar claim.

Travis Scott is firing back at the promoter who sued him for bailing on a Super Bowl weekend concert, while keeping the dough he'd been paid ... TMZ has learned.

Travis filed a response to PJAM's lawsuit against him, but also filed his own countersuit against the company. According to the docs, Travis says the promoter never sent him a confirmed travel itinerary for the Minnesota show. He says right up to Feb. 3, the scheduled day of the show, he hadn't received the travel plans.

In his suit, Travis says he learned PJAM lacked the cash to cover his transportation or the remaining money he was owed for the performance. He admits they did pay him $150k in advance.

Travis is also pissed because he believes someone from PJAM spoke to TMZ about his gig ahead of time. He says that's a violation of the confidentiality agreement both sides signed for the show.

Sources close to Travis had told us at the time he canceled due to weather and logistics, but PJAM thinks he flat-out "refused to show up to the event."

PJAM was suing to get its money back, and damages. Travis is suing to get the additional payment he never got.

Travis' attorney, Howard King, tells us PJAM's lawsuit is “An obvious effort to shake Travis down and avoid the consequences of their breaches. Instead of pursuing a misguided attempt to spin the narrative and salvage their tattered reputation, the responsible step would have been for PJAM to pay Travis the balance of his fee and move on to their next opportunity."

He adds, "Travis apologizes to any fans who were duped by these "wannabe" promoters -- Alex Martini, Jefferson Agar and Patrick Johnston -- into showing up at the cancelled show even after the promoters failed to take the steps to get Travis there.”

Khloe and True are on their own now with Tristan Thompson, because her fam just hopped on a private jet out of Cleveland.

Kris Jenner and her daughters -- Kim, Kourtney and Kendall -- were wheels up and bound for L.A. Tuesday afternoon. Kris has stayed in Cleveland since last week when Khloe gave birth, but the sisters flew back into Ohio yesterday.

As we reported, Khloe and Tristan's relationship is in ruins right now, and her plan is to bounce out of Cleveland as soon as she and True are medically cleared to make the flight back to Cali.

Ric Flair has a message for all you Cavs fans fretting over that Game 1 beatdown the Pacers put on you ... CHILLLLLLL ... 'cause Nature Boy says LeBron James and the Cavs will win on Wednesday.

As long as LBJ goes for 40.

We got Ric -- a huge Cavs fan and the man LeBron credits with keeping him off the street as a kid -- out in NYC ... and asked if Cleveland is in trouble after the Pacers took it to them in Game 1.

"LeBron, you gotta do 40 tomorrow night, man."

Adrien Broner did not back out of an NYC event to promote his fight over threats made by East Coast rapper Tekashi69 ... at least that's what Showtime tells TMZ Sports.

Broner was supposed to attend an open workout on Wednesday to drum up publicity for his fight with Jessie Vargas ... but those plans were abruptly scrapped earlier this week.

And since Broner and Tekashi have been at war on social media, some people wondered if Broner feared the feud was about to turn violent since Tekashi claims to be a well-connected Blood ... especially in NYC.

But a rep for Showtime Sports tells us that's simply not the case ... Broner didn't back out of anything -- instead, Showtime's team changed the publicity strategy and canceled the workout for other media events.

More trouble for Florida State QB Deondre Francois -- who was just busted for weed in Tallahassee ... and immediately tried to throw his GF under the bus.

According to the police report obtained by TMZ Sports, cops raided Francois' home on April 12 over a tip he may have been dealing marijuana.

Cops say Francois' girlfriend, Diamond Simone Lindsey, was in the house at the time of the search -- and if you recognize that name, it's because she's the same person who accused the QB of domestic violence back in January.

Francois was detained while cops searched the place -- but they ultimately determined there wasn't enough evidence to prove he was slangin'.

Cops did however find 17 grams of "cannabis/tobacco mixture" and "items of drug paraphernalia" on the premises and asked Francois for an explanation.

Francois -- being the quality BF he is -- tried to pin the whole thing on Lindsey.

"Francois attempted to minimize his culpability by saying that he 'can't smoke right now' and saying that the cannabis belonged to [Lindsey]."

Cops ultimately didn't buy it and cited Francois for possession. FSU coach Willie Taggart says he's met with Deondre and is handling the matter internally.

Ice Cube's got a message for the Qatari investors he's suing for over $1 BILLION ... after they allegedly went back on their agreement with the BIG3.

"We gon’ win. Stay out of American sports if you don’t wanna do the right thing," Cube said on his way into Power 106 in L.A. to promote VH1 "Hip Hop Squares," which premieres Wednesday night.

TMZ Sports broke the story -- Cube and his BIG3 partner, Jeff Kwatinetz, are suing a bunch of Qatari investors who were supposed to invest $5 mil in Cube's pro hoops league.

In fact, they recently added the CEO of Qatar Airways to the list of defendants.

Cube says the Qataris made up every excuse in the book to avoid ponying up -- and now him and Jeff are seeking $1.2 BILLION in damages.

Clearly, Cube's confident these billionaire dudes are gonna get schooled in the courtroom -- and he ain't afraid to let 'em know.

The BIG3 founder also told us why fans should be hyped for Season 2 -- and we would be too with all the big names comin' in.

2:46 PM PT -- The investment group named in the lawsuit, Sport Trinity, has issued a statement saying:

"The Sport Trinity investors have to date contributed more than 3.5x any other investor in the BIG3, putting in close to half of all funds invested in the BIG3 and multiples of what Ice Cube and Jeff Kwatinetz themselves invested."

Look away, Spurs fans ... Gregg Popovich has done the unthinkable -- DECLARE HIS ALLEGIANCE TO THE WARRIORS!!

He's clearly just kidding around ... but it's funny!

After going down 0-2 against Golden State Monday night, Pop was spotted leaving Oracle Arena by a couple fans -- who gave him a shout-out for a solid Game 2.

That's when Coach Pop went full Benedict Arnold on his own squad ... which sent the Dubs faithful into a frenzy.

Jonathan Martin has received a judge's permission to leave a mental health treatment facility in the wake of his arrest for criminal threats ... but he'll be tracked by a GPS device.

TMZ Sports has obtained docs showing attorneys for the former Miami Dolphins lineman appeared in L.A. County Superior Court last week to ask the judge for his release from a facility in Malibu.

As we previously reported, Martin was arrested back in February after posting a threatening photo on social media featuring a gun and bullets. Martin had included a cryptic message aimed at former teammates and classmates.

When cops located Martin, they found several weapons including a loaded gun, a knife and an axe. He was immediately detained and transferred to a facility for mental evaluation.

The L.A. County D.A. later hit Martin with 5 charges ... 4 counts of making criminal threats and 1 count of possessing a loaded firearm.

Now, after the clinical director at the treatment facility vouched for Martin in court, the judge allowed him to be released with several conditions:

1) He must be fitted with a GPS and alcohol monitoring ankle bracelet

2) He must attend outpatient treatment 5 days a week from 9 AM to 5 PM

3) He's also been ordered to stay away from Harvard-Westlake high school in L.A. and the Miami Dolphins organization -- specifically, his former teammates Richie Incognito and Mike Pouncey.

How's this for turning the tables ... a former NBA lottery pick getting a massive $400,000 alimony check from his WNBA star wife?

That's exactly what happened between Candace Parker and Shelden Williams ... according to court docs obtained by TMZ Sports.

Candace -- one of the biggest stars in WNBA history -- married Williams back in 2008, two years after he was selected 5th overall in the 2006 NBA Draft.

Despite the fact Williams reportedly made more than $12 MILLION during his 6-year NBA career, Parker has apparently done better ... and agreed to shell out the $400k alimony payment. In exchange, she won't have to pay ongoing spousal support.

The couple also divided the profits on their former home in Encino, CA which they just sold for $3.75 mil.

As for their 8-year-old daughter, the couple agreed on joint legal and physical custody -- but neither party will pay child support. Instead, they both agreed to equally fund her education and split any major costs associated with her care.

Whoa.

Here's the man Stormy Daniels says threatened her and her daughter back in 2011 ... and he looks just like Tom Brady.

The backstory ... Stormy says this man approached her in Las Vegas 7 years ago and told her to "Leave Trump alone" and to "forget the story" ... or else.

Stormy gave her description of the man to a sketch artist last week who came up with this drawing.

Even if it's not Tom Brady ... dude's handsome.