TMZ Sports - Page 50

Waffle House hero James Shaw Jr. appeared on 'Ellen' and revealed that his favorite player is Dwyane Wade ... so, guess who Ellen brought out onstage?!

BOOM! SHE BROUGHT OUT D-WADE!!!

The moment was incredible ... Wade told Shaw that he doesn't just consider him an "American hero" -- but he's also the perfect role model for his kids.

Shaw was clearly touched by Wade's words -- but it didn't stop there.

Wade asked Shaw what good he hopes can come from the terrible April 22 shooting in Nashville, TN -- and Shaw said he's now on a mission to bring awareness to mental health problems in the U.S.

Wade, again impressed, then brought out a special gift to help Shaw fulfill his mission.

Drake's beef with NBA player Kendrick Perkins went from 0 to 100 real quick ... the two shouted at each other during the Raptors vs. Cavs game -- with Drake reportedly calling him a "f***ing p*ssy."

The two started exchanging words at halftime ... with things getting so heated one of the Cavs players was holding Drake back.

Things continued after the game when Drake shouted to Perkins that he's a "f***ing p*ssy" and challenged him to come out of the tunnel, according to the Toronto Star's Bruce Arthur.

FYI, Perkins is 6'10" and 270 lbs.

After the game, Perkins told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, "What happened was I was talking to my old teammate Serge [Ibaka] walking into halftime telling him 'We about to win this game,' and Drake butted in talking sh*t to me. So I said something back to him."

Drake's a Raptors superfan -- but he's also friends with a ton of NBA stars.

Toronto Raptors fans got straight-up PERSONAL when taunting Tristan Thompson during Tuesday night's playoff game ... with hundreds of people in the arena shouting, "KHLOE!!!"

Tristan and the Cavs were at Air Canada Centre for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals -- when Tristan stepped to the free throw line in a VERY close game.

The fans tried to do their part in messing with Tristan's head ... and began chanting the name of his baby mama whom he famously cheated on with multiple women.

But somehow, Tristan was able to tune out the haters ... and hit ALL FOUR of his shots from the line. The Cavs ended up winning the game in overtime.

Kanye West shouldn't just laugh off gang threats in L.A. ... so says Matt Barnes who says the real gangsters in Los Angeles don't mess around.

The ex-NBA star was leaving Catch when we talked about Kanye's appearance on "TMZ Live" -- including Yeezy's reaction to Daz Dillinger's recent call for the Crips to "f*** up Kanye."

"You gotta be careful," Barnes said ... "They don't play out here with gangs so you're treading on thin ice."

Barnes also reacted to Kanye's confession about getting liposuction -- and says it shows Kanye is "not in a comfortable, secure place as a man."

Barnes says a lot of what Kanye is talking about these days -- from Trump to his views on slavery -- are "bullsh*t" -- but he believes the old Kanye can still be saved.

When you've just dropped hundreds of thousands of dollars at the Dubai Mall ... you don't have to WALK from store to store, you get DRIVEN -- just ask Floyd Mayweather.

The 41-year-old boxer and his massive entourage were spotted in a two-car caravan -- complete with chauffeurs -- being driven through the upscale mall with TMT bodyguards and a couple of bellhops in tow.

In fact, the bellhop carts were packed to the brim with shopping bags -- and knowing Floyd, the dude dropped a fortune.

Mayweather loves to vacation in Dubai and tends to spend a TON of money when he visits. Back in 2015, he dropped just over $1 MILLION on a diamond watch during a $1.5 million shopping spree.

So, yeah ... that's why he gets VIP treatment.

Kane is 1 step closer to running Knox County, Tennessee ... 'cause the WWE legend won the primary Mayoral election Tuesday ... and is now expected to be elected Mayor this summer.

Glenn Jacobs, aka Kane, first announced he was running for the gig last year -- a big job in a county with over 450k people -- and stumped hard til the very end ... hitting up several schools with campaign signs in hand earlier today.

Jacobs took down 2 other republican politicians in the hotly contested race -- including Bob Thomas ... who played radio host Slammin' Sammy in the "Friday Night Lights" movie.

Kane declared victory Tuesday night, but it was a VERY close race ... it reportedly came within less than 20 votes.

Tuesday's election night win all but guarantees Kane will become mayor when the general election rolls around in August ... 'cause Knox County almost always votes Republican.

Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson had a great day at Minute Maid Park ... rubbing elbows with some huge stars -- from Aaron Judge to CC Sabathia ... even Reggie Jackson!

Deshaun was a special VIP guest of the Houston Astros before they took on the New York Yankees -- and FOX 26's Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) was right there on the field as Watson came face-to-face with the MLB greats.

By the way, Watson is no small dude -- he's 6'2", 215 pounds and looks TINY next to 6'7", 285-pound Judge!

Watson got his own custom jersey and even got to hang with the team during batting practice.

Jimmy Butler can SAAAAANG!

Now that his Minnesota Timberwolves have gon' fishin' ... the NBA superstar took his talents back to Chicago where he decided to put his singing skills on display at PRYSM Nightclub.

The song? "Let Me Love You" by Mario ... and Butler didn't sound too bad!

In fact, the crowd loved it -- especially one female fan who got onstage and started dancing it out with the 28-year-old.

For the record, the headline performer that night was T-Pain ... but Jimmy Buckets stole the show!

We're told Jimmy's performance was totally random and unplanned -- and went down around 2:30 AM.

Of course, Jimmy's a fan favorite in Chicago after killing it with the Bulls for a few seasons.

Nice to see he's still getting love.

Another huge star is going to bat for WWE's Kane on election day ... this time, it is Hulk Hogan who says the man behind the red mask is a REALLY smart dude and would be a great mayor.

"You better vote for Kane or he'll hit you with that fire, brother," Hulk joked around at LAX.

But then he got serious and told us ... behind the scenes at WWE, Kane -- real name Glenn Jacobs -- was all business and handled everything like a pro.

So, now that Kane is running for mayor in Knox County, Tennessee -- Hulk is 100% on board.

The election -- the Republican primary -- is going on right now and it is expected to be a VERY close race between the 3 candidates.

Results should be in soon and we will let you know how he does.

Moment of truth for WWE legend Kane -- it's election day in Knox County, Tennessee where he's running for mayor ... and the 51-year-old is still campaigning his unmasked face off!

It's only the primaries ... but whoever wins the Republican nomination is the heavy favorite to win the general election -- and reports say Kane (real name Glenn Jacobs) has a real shot.

The competition is stiff ... Kane is up against 2 real contenders, Brad Anders and Bob Thomas, who are sorta famous in their own rights.

Thomas is the father of "Lizzie McGuire" star Jake Thomas and he was also featured as the main radio voice in the "Friday Night Lights" movie.

But, no one has had more celebrity support than Kane -- with friends like Ric Flair and Mick Foley coming out strong in support of the wrestling legend.

Will it be enough to put him over the top? Results are expected to come in by 6 PM PT.

The LAFC team wants to KILL a soccer fan tradition of chanting a homophobic slur at players during goal kicks ... and says any fan who uses the word will be immediately banned from the stadium.

The threat came hours after the newest MLS expansion team played its first game at Banc of California Stadium on Sunday ... when they beat the Seattle Sounders 1-0.

During the game, fans could be heard chanting the word "p*to" -- a word that many people and organizations, including OutSports.com, have labeled a gay slur.

Now, the LAFC is laying down the gauntlet ... saying any fan who uses the word moving forward will get the boot.

"The offensive goal kick chant is wrong and not what we are about," team officials said in a statement.

"We ask that all of our fans and Supporters work to hold each other accountable to eliminate this from Banc of California Stadium."

"Any fans identified as participating in this offensive chanting will be removed from the stadium and the Club will revoke their season membership."

John Gotti Jr. -- a guy known as one of the toughest guys ever -- says there's actually one person in the family even tougher than him ... his MMA fighter son, John III.

If you don't know who John Gotti Jr. is then we're assuming you don't know who John Gotti Sr. was ... and to be honest, we're not sure if we can tell you (google it, and let them be the rat).

John Gotti III is an MMA fighter whose first pro bout is May 4 at a Classic Entertainment & Sports show in New York -- and at a recent workout at Powerhouse Gym in NYC said he's got a clear dream opponent.

"Who wouldn't wanna fight Conor McGregor?"

John Jr. was on hand for the workout and said it's actually tough to watch his kid get in there and bang -- but was quick to give it up to his son, saying he and other MMA fighters are the "real" tough guys.

"I have an immense amount of respect for anyone who climbs into that cage, those are the tough guys. Because those are the guys that gotta get in there in front of all these people and inflict harm, and be harmed."

Did you google it? Yeah, told you, now keep your mouth shut.

'NFL on FOX' star Curt Menefee says he spoke with Josh Rosen right after the draft ... and he's CONVINCED the kid from UCLA will eventually be remembered as the BEST QB from his class.

"I liked the kid before [the draft], I loved him after," Menefee said of the new Arizona Cardinals quarterback.

Menefee and his 'NFL on FOX' crew analyze football for a living -- and he really believes Rosen has the skill and the attitude to make him a GREAT player in the league. Watch the clip and see for yourself how passionate Curt is about Rosen.

Here's a couple of VERY rich guys hanging out -- Patriots owner Robert Kraft taking in the Boston Celtics game Monday night with team owner Wyc Grousbeck.

Kraft and Grousbeck have been hanging out a lot lately -- they were also together at the Celtics game Saturday night with another member of the Boston Billionaire's Club ... Red Sox owner John Henry.

The Celtics beat the 76ers on Monday in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals -- Kraft and Grousbeck were high-fiving on the court during the end of the game.

So, who's got the biggest bank between the three? According to Forbes, Kraft's worth $6.2 billion and John Henry's valued at $2.5 billion ... but Grousbeck's net worth isn't listed.

With the Celtics valued at more than $2 billion, he ain't poor either.

The NFL season is still 4 months away ... but T.I. is already making his Super Bowl prediction -- Atlanta Falcons, baby!!!!

The rap legend was at Studio Space in Atlanta when we started talking about the NFL Draft -- and it's clear T.I. is fired up about the Falcons' 1st round pick ... WR Calvin Ridley.

"We're going to the Super Bowl this year! I said it ... I can't take it back!"

T.I. isn't the only star who likes the Ridley pick -- Deion Sanders raved about him right after the draft saying, "[Falcons] got a steal with Ridley at that pick so late. That kid can play and he will see all 1on1 coverage because of [Julio Jones]."

As for Tip, this ain't the first time Tip's raved about his Dirty Birds to TMZ Sports ... remember when he money shamed our photog when he tried to make a Falcons bet in 2016?

Good times ...

The Dodgers can still win the World Series -- even without star player Corey Seager ... so says W.S. champ and Dodgers analyst Jerry Hairston Jr.

On Monday the team announced that Seager -- the 2016 Rookie of the Year and 2x All-Star -- needed Tommy John surgery ... ending his season.

We called a guy who knows a thing about winning a ring ... Hairston Jr. won a World Series with the Yankees in 2009.

Rest easy L.A., the season ain't over ... 'cause Hairston Jr. says with Cody Bellinger and Clayton Kershaw the team still has enough talent to go all the way.

FYI -- the team is 12-16 ... and in 4th place in the N.L. West.