TMZ Sports - Page 50

If John McEnroe reconsiders and accepts Donald Trump's million dollar offer to play Serena or Venus Williams ... one major celebrity has already picked the women to win.

"Man, Serena and Venus all the way," Common told us.

Of course, Common's a little biased ... he used to date Serena back in the day -- but maybe that's why he's confident Johnny Mac would take the "L" if they really throw down on the court.

As we previously reported, McEnroe says Trump made a real effort to make the $1 Mil Battle of the Sexes match a reality ... but John says he had no real desire to compete against a female.

Matt Patricia was a graduate assistant for the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute football team while he was being prosecuted for sexual assault ... but the head football coach says he was kept in the dark.

Patricia played for RPI from '92 to '95 -- but his coaching career started the very next season when he was a graduate assistant for his alma mater.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ Sports, the alleged rape occurred on March 15, 1996 and Patricia was indicted on August 14, 1996 -- the same day as RPI's opening game of the '96 season.

So, how was Patricia allowed be a part of the program while being investigated for rape?

We spoke with Matt's coach, Joe King, who told us it's a pretty simple answer ... nobody ever told him Patricia was involved in a rape case.

In fact, King says he was completely unaware about the legal proceedings until this week -- when reports surfaced in the Detroit News.

For his part, King says Patricia was a model student athlete and an all-around great guy.

"He's as high a quality individual as I've ever coached, as I've ever known. I just find it hard to believe that this happened."

The NY Knicks made the "right choice" in hiring David Fizdale as the head coach ... but it wasn't the "best choice" -- so says Kenny Smith.

Of course, Kenny was in the running for the gig -- but the Knicks ultimately went with Fizdale, who has more experience as a head coach in the NBA.

"I think they made the right choice," Smith tells TMZ Sports ... "maybe not the best choice. I'm the best choice."

He then doubled down ... "They made the right choice, but not the best choice."

Soccer BEEF!!!!

D.C United coach Ben Olsen clearly wasn't too pleased about Alexi Lalas' comments on Wayne Rooney -- because now he's throwing some shade of his own.

Earlier this week, Lalas told us he wasn't too pumped about the MLS team working on a deal with Rooney -- because the guy's essentially a has-been.

"For me, Wayne Rooney doesn't move the needle," Lalas said ... "It might fill some seats, but not that many seats."

Olsen tells TMZ Sports ... the deal with Rooney isn't done yet -- but he's already going to bat for the striker ... with a shot at Lalas.

Blake Bortles -- along with 2 of his Jacksonville Jaguars teammates -- stopped an alleged thief from stealing the QB's truck from a Florida house party ... cops say.

It all went down late Wednesday night ... Blake and Jags lineman Chris Reed were all at a party at the Jacksonville Beach home of offensive lineman Brandon Linder when they noticed a strange young man skulking around the house.

Once the guys realized he wasn't an invited party guest ... they tracked him down inside the home, stopped him and called police.

This is where things got crazy ... cops checked the surveillance video from the home and saw the man walk up from the street and get into Blake's black Ford F-150 truck, which was unlocked with the keys inside.

Footage allegedly shows the suspect stealing Blake's wallet -- and then attempting to leave with the truck ... but he was boxed in by other cars and couldn't get out.

The video shows the man -- 18-year-old Joseph Horton -- going back inside Linder's house ... and that's when the players stopped him and held him until police arrived.

Michael Irvin says if Matt Patricia is telling the truth ... there's NOTHING in the world worse than being falsely accused of rape.

Irvin would know ... he was accused of sexually assaulting a 27-year-old woman in Florida hotel back in 2017. Irvin adamantly denied the allegations and prosecutors ultimately dropped the case.

Now, with Patricia denying all wrongdoing in his 1996 sexual assault case -- we asked Irvin for his thoughts.

"It's the worst thing in the world to have to go through when you are falsely accused of anything," Irvin said.

Bill Belichick says the New England Patriots didn't know about Matt Patricia's 1996 rape case ... but he's voicing his support for the Detroit Lions head coach.

"The New England Patriots were not aware of the matter which recently came to light," Belichick said Thursday.

"For 14 years in our organization, Matt conducted himself with great integrity and is known to be an outstanding coach, person and family man. We have always been confident in Matt’s character and recommended him highly to become the head coach of the Detroit Lions."

Patricia and a college football teammate were accused of raping a 21-year-old woman 22 years ago during a spring break trip to South Padre Island, off the coast of Texas.

Patricia publicly denied the allegations on Thursday, saying "I was innocent then and I'm innocent now."

Cops have arrested the final suspect in the Rob Gronkowski home burglary case ... making it the 3rd person busted for allegedly raiding the NFL star's home while he was playing in the Super Bowl.

As we previously reported, Gronk's Boston-area home was hit in February while the Patriots were in Minnesota to play the Philadelphia Eagles.

Cops say the burglars stole an Apple Watch, a Rolex, 2 rare coins and multiple firearms.

Two suspects had already been arrested back in March -- but now officials say a 3rd man was taken into custody in Maine.

26-year-old Shayne Denn was wanted for breaking and entering, 3 counts of larceny of a firearm, larceny more than $250.00, malicious destruction of property and trespassing.

More hockey domination from Russian President Vladimir Putin -- who racked up a Ushanka trick during a "Legends of Hockey" game in Sochi on Thursday.

65-year-old Putin strapped up the skates and full hockey gear for the "Night Hockey League" game -- in which Russian hockey greats played some of the top amateurs in the country.

Putin -- wearing his #11 jersey -- ended up with 5 goals (and a few assists) in his team's 12-7 victory.

It's not the first time Putin's taken to the ice -- he actually plays a lot ... and somehow always end up with a TON of goals.

In fact, he even won the face-off ... shocker, right!?

J Lo and A-Rod's one-of-a-kind matching Met Gala outfits are going from the red (and white) carpet to an auction to raise money for (RED)'s fight to end AIDS.

The couple slayed Monday night in custom-designed Balmain looks from the creative director ,Olivier Rousteing. The theme was "Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination," hence the cross on J Lo's chest.

Her dress took over a month to make ... the jewels on the feathers were sewn on by hand, which explains the $5k starting bid. A-Rod's tux starts at $1,500.

The auction is a cool concept ... if you can rationalize spending that much on clothes, and also considering there's zero chance they would re-wear this stuff. Rousteing's other designs from the night for 'Daily Show' host Trevor Noah, Juliette Binoche and more are also up for auction.

Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patricia says he's had to live with the "mental torture" of being falsely accused of rape 22 years ago ... but insists, "I was innocent then and I'm innocent now."

The background ... Patricia and a college football teammate were accused of raping a 21-year-old woman in 1996 during a spring break trip to South Padre Island, off the coast of Texas.

He was indicted, but the case was eventually dismissed.

Patricia just addressed the media about the case -- and stated over and over again that he was NOT convicted of a crime.

"There were claims made about me that never happened," Patricia said.

He noted it was "unfair and upsetting" that someone would bring this case back up more than 20 years after it was dismissed.

Patricia says he did not volunteer information about the case to the Lions during the interview process for the head coaching job -- but has never lied about the case when asked about it.

Patricia's position is clear ... since he wasn't convicted of a crime, he felt no obligation to disclose that he was falsely accused of anything.

As far as his job status, "I'm 100% the head coach of the Detroit Lions."

File Under: "You know you have wayyyyy too much money when ..."

Thursday's insane display of wealth comes courtesy of Floyd Mayweather -- who took some time on his ridiculously expensive annual vacation around the world to buy his dog some designer kicks.

Floyd claims the shoes are "red bottoms" -- though, we haven't been able to find actual Louboutin dog shoes yet.

Either way, who buys dog shoes?

Floyd's always been good to his pets -- flying them on private jets and making sure they only drink water out of crystal glasses.

If 50 Cent and Rampage Jackson actually throw down ... it's not gonna end well for the professional MMA fighter, so says "Power" star Joseph Sikora.

It's a beef that really came to a head this week when 50 posted a trash-talking post on Instagram essentially saying he'd wreck Rampage if they ever really fought.

Rampage responded with some trash talk of his own ... and now there are rumblings the two could actually be setting up a real bout.

Enter Sikora ... who's been working with 50 Cent on "Power" for years -- so, we had to ask if he REALLY thinks his boss can do what Chuck Liddell couldn't get done ... knocking out Rampage.

"I think he's serious," Sikora says ... "I got my money on Fif."

So, why the confidence?

Sikora says 50's in incredible shape and has some real accomplishments as an amateur boxer.

Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patricia says he was falsely accused of raping a woman in Texas back in 1996 ... and says it's "unfair" the allegations have resurfaced in the media.

Patricia is responding to a report by the Detroit News, which found court records showing Patricia was indicted by a grand jury on one count of aggravated sexual assault in 1996.

According to the report, Patricia -- then 21 years old -- was with another Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute football player during a South Padre Island spring break trip ... when they burst into a hotel room and sexually assualted a 21-year-old woman.

Despite the criminal charge, the case never went to trial and it was eventually dismissed. Patricia went on to become one of Bill Belichick's most trusted assistant coaches with the New England Patriots.

Now, Patricia -- along with the top Detroit Lions execs -- issued a statement saying the allegations were BS in the first place.

"As someone who was falsely accused of this very serious charge over 22 years ago, and never given the opportunity to defend myself and clear my name, I find it incredibly unfair, disappointing, and frustrating that this story would resurface now with the only purpose being to damage my character and reputation."

"I firmly maintain my innocence, as I have always done. I would never condone any of the behavior that was alleged and will always respect and protect the rights of anyone who has been harassed or is the victim of violence."

They haven't always had the best relationship, but Doc Rivers says there's no hard feelings when it comes to Chris Paul ... and he's rooting for him in the NBA playoffs.

Remember, when Paul left the Clippers last year ... he did an interview with Jay-Z and took a shot at the "culture" of the team, saying they weren't really trying to contend with the Warriors.

Doc took exception and fired back, "Listen, when you leave, you should just leave, honestly."

"I don’t think you have to try to burn the house down or justify why you left. That’s what I would say to it. I like our culture."

Now that some time has passed, we had to ask Doc how he felt about CP3 making his first conference finals -- and Rivers was nothing but supportive.

We also spoke about LeBron's historic playoff run -- and Rivers told us there is ANOTHER superstar who still may have the top spot when it comes to all-time great performances.

Antonio Gates is getting some career advice from his friend and former teammate LaDainian Tomlinson -- hang it up.

After 15 seasons with the Chargers, the team has cut ties with the 37-year-old tight end -- and he still hasn't been picked up by another squad.

So, when we saw LT -- who played 7 seasons with Gates in San Diego -- we asked if he thinks it's time for #85 to ride off into the sunset.

"I think he should retire a Charger," Tomlinson said ... "I definitely think he still can play, though."

"[Gates] became known as one of the greatest Chargers ever. I would hate to see him put on another uniform. It just doesn't seem right."

Interesting advice coming from Tomlinson, who played his final 2 seasons with the NY Jets after a legendary 9-year run with the Bolts.

Maybe he's speaking from experience ...