TMZ Sports - Page 50

Sam Darnold should thank his lucky stars ... New York Jets legend Curtis Martin is about to give the team's newest QB a lesson on how to succeed under the bright lights of the Big Apple.

Martin is the Jets all-time leading rusher and a member of the NFL Hall of Fame, so when we got him in NY we wanted to know if he had any advice for Darnold, who was drafted #3 by the team last month.

WNBA legend Tamika Catchings says Becky Hammon should get the Milwaukee Bucks head coaching job ... and it's not so the NBA can make history, it's because Hammon DESERVES the gig.

Hammon -- a San Antonio Spurs assistant coach -- reportedly interviewed for the Bucks job, making her the first woman to ever be seriously considered for an NBA head coaching spot.

We got Catchings -- a 10-time WNBA All-Star -- out in NYC and asked if it was time the NBA hired it's first-ever female HC ... and Catchings agreed Hammon should get the hire, but gender ain't the reason.

"She's a great coach, I wish people would stop looking at female vs. male and just look at who's the best fit for the job."

When we asked if that person was Hammon, Catchings was very clear ...

Dillon Danis needs to stop "living in the shadow" of Conor McGregor ... so says undefeated Bellator star and potential D.D. opponent Neiman Gracie.

Danis -- Conor's training partner and friend (he bailed McGregor outta jail) -- made his pro MMA debut last month ... winning his first fight in under 2 minutes.

After the fight, Dillon gave a Conor McGregor-esque promo in the cage ... calling out the entire roster.

So, who's next for the rising star?

Neiman -- a 4th generation member of the Gracie fam who's 8-0 -- says he is ... if Danis has the balls to fight him.

"I talked to the Bellator guys. They say they're going to offer him the fight."

Stay tuned.

UFC superstar Nick Diaz says he was poisoned "with some kind of weird ass drug" before he fought Georges St-Pierre back in 2013 ... telling TMZ Sports there was a diabolical plot against him.

Diaz was leaving Catch in L.A. Friday night when we asked about the allegations his brother Nate made about GSP -- that he was a steroid cheater at UFC 158, a fought Nick lost in a 5-round unanimous decision.

Nate had previously said he will not fight GSP until he admits he cheated publicly.

Enter Nick ... who doubled down on the cheating allegations and then accused someone -- he doesn't name anyone specifically -- of poisoning an IV he was administered before the fight in Montreal, GSP's hometown.

Diaz insists he was in the best shape of his life at the time but something caused his body to fail on the night of the fight ... and he believes he was sandbagged.

Nick also touched on his previous allegations that the Quebec Athletic Commission didn't really test the fighters before his match with GSP, and his proof is ... he knows he should have tested positive for weed, but didn't.

Rob Kardashian isn't willing to forgive or forget when it comes to Tristan Thompson cheating on Khloe ... and thinks his big sis can and should do better.

Sources close to Rob tell TMZ ... he's still furious with Tristan, and regardless of the couple seemingly getting back together and working their relationship out -- he's not having it.

We're told Rob thinks Tristan's an "a**hole" ... and he'll never be able to let go of him disrespecting and embarrassing his closest sister while she was pregnant.

Rob's apparently not on board with the rest of the family's approach of not pressuring Khloe to dump him either. We're told he's adamant she deserves better and should move on.

With Dwane Casey out as the head coach of the Toronto Raptors, Metta World Peace says he knows the right man for the job ... Drake.

We broke the news about Casey's firing to Metta on the streets of Beverly Hills -- and since Metta's been vocal about wanting to be a coach, we asked if he'd be interested.

Of course, Metta said he'd be down ... but seemed more excited about the idea of Drake taking over the role, since he already has an official position with the team.

(For the record, Metta says Drake has an ownership stake, but it appears he's wrong -- he works with the team as the global ambassador).

Cowboys WR Cole Beasley says if you think he's just another athlete-turned-rapper you're dead wrong ... because he's just the opposite, telling TMZ Sports he's actually a rapper-turned-athlete.

Cole released a single "80 Stings" back in January, and the critical consensus from most people was that Beasley spit hot fire like Dylan.

We talked to Cole and his producer "Phazz" Clark ... and CB says the toughest thing about being an athlete that raps is that he isn't that at all.

"For this album to be a success, for me it's really just opening the door for people looking past the athlete trying to rap, to he's just a rapper who happens to play football."

FYI -- Cole's debut album, "The Autobiography," drops Saturday ... and Cole says his album release party is gonna have all the Cowboys there, bringing together one thing athletes and rappers do have in common:

Groupies. (Cole is married ladies).

Here's a disappointment ... turns out Zlatan Ibrahimovic's arrogant ways are all for show ... because his Galaxy teammate Sebastian Lletget says the Big Z is a big sweetie, and a GREAT teammate.

Remember it was Zlatan who announced his arrival in L.A. with a full page ad in the L.A. Times that simply said "You're Welcome" ... but when we got Lletget out at LAX, he told us not to believe the hype.

"He's not arrogant," Lletget says. "He's a good teammate."

He went on to gush about Zlatan -- praising him a solid dude behind the scenes.

Not sure if we believe this ... remember, it was Zlatan who dissed U.S. soccer on the streets of L.A. back in '14, and it was Zlatan who once said, "I can't help but laugh at how perfect I am."

Kendall Jenner went from being barely covered in a bathing suit earlier in the day to practically naked walking a red carpet at Cannes.

Kendall required a mandatory double take in her sheer dress at the Chopard Secret Night party ... she arrived with very little support underneath. All she's wearing under her dress is a pair of nude underwear. They're hard to see but they're there.

Fact is, camera flashes have been known to expose a boob or two underneath sheer dresses ... and Cannes is known for being flash-heavy.

Still ... it appears Kendall knew exactly what she was doing, even if she played dumb on her Instagram.

Nate Diaz says Georges St-Pierre was on steroids when he fought Nick Diaz back in 2013 -- and won't accept a fight with the UFC legend until he admits he was on the sauce.

Nate leveled the allegation in a fiery Facebook post ... saying, "Gsp cheated when he fought my brother he was on steroids."

FYI, GSP defeated Nick by unanimous decision while defending the UFC welterweight title at UFC 158.

Diaz continued ... "He was overweight and they let him be because we were in Montreal (GSP's home turf) and his boy gave nick a bad iv."

Now, with Dana White saying he's trying to make a fight between Nate and GSP ... Diaz has issued an ultimatum.

"Gsp you can clear that sh*t up or fight yourself cheater."

Nick Diaz made the GSP steroid allegations back in 2015 -- claiming the Quebec Athletic Commission never properly tested the guys before the fight because if they had, Nick admits he would have been popped for marijuana.

Kelly Slater invited some huge stars over to his cutting-edge surf park in Lemoore, CA -- where Shaun White murdered a wave session ... and it's all on video.

Slater's wave park has become famous -- it's located 100 miles from the ocean ... and creates an artificial wave that surfers can ride for up to 500 yards. It's insane.

Enter White ... who's not just a snowboarding star but also a damn good surfer -- and he grabbed his board and shredded the gnar like a pro!

Tony Hawk and Eddie Vedder were also at the wave park ... though we haven't been able to find footage of them surfing yet -- but we're assuming it went well.

Slater discussed the park on HBO's 'Real Sports' -- which noted that Slater's machine took 10 years to develop and could change the sport forever.

Pretty cool stuff.

Tyron Woodley says Georges St-Pierre and Nate Diaz have something in common -- they're both punk bitches.

The Chosen One went off on both fighters on 'The Hollywood Beatdown' ... blasting the UFC stars for refusing to fight him over the past 6 months while working on a deal to fight each other instead.

He's mad. You gotta watch.

There's a lot more ... including Tyron's take on that brutal fight after the Met Gala involving Cardi B's entourage ... and his blunt advice for DJ Khaled, who refuses to participate in certain activities with women.

Tyron also breaks down the new Conor McGregor sparring footage and tells us why he's actually impressed!

Plus, Tyron wants to take Evan for a real-life streetfight ... good times!

The 76ers lost ... but Ben Simmons is still winning in life -- hopping out of his super expensive Ferrari with his smokin' hot famous girlfriend, and TMZ Sports has the video.

The NBA star and his singer GF, Tinashe, pulled up to the Aloft hotel in Downtown Philadelphia in his Ferrari 488 Spider on Friday ... just two days after the Sixers were eliminated from the playoffs.

It's only May ... and Jalen Ramsey is already trying to get into Josh Allen's head!

The Jacksonville Jaguars star saw some video of the Buffalo Bills QB taking his first snaps during minicamp ... and decided to weigh in with some friendly trash talk.

"That's a pick waiting to happen," Ramsey posted in a response to the Buffalo Bills tweet.

But within minutes, Ramsey decided to pull back ... and deleted the tweet -- replacing it with another comment, "imma chill."

Ramsey will get a chance to back up his twitter talk when the Jaguars play the Bills during the regular season on November 25.

Meanwhile, Allen got some 1-on-1 time with Bills legend Jim Kelly ... who came down to the training camp to impart some wisdom on the rookie.

The two posed for pics in front of the media before heading to the locker room for a private conversation.

Props to Kelly who seems to be in great spirits while recovering from a major surgery to remove cancer from his jaw.

To the victor go the shears!

Cleveland Indians star shortstop Francisco Lindor had made a bet with his old high school baseball team ... you guys go undefeated, I'll shave my entire head!

Well, guess what ... the Montverde Academy squad in Florida went 25-0 -- and Lindor let the guys 86 his locks!!

The 24-year-old surprised the Eagles at a school assembly and let the players take turn shaving off his blonde curls.

Hope it works out for the players in baseball, because they're TERRIBLE barbers.

The man who allegedly broke into Roquan Smith's car and stole the Chicago Bears linebacker's rookie playbook has been arrested ... officials say.

Smith -- the 8th overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft -- called police on Saturday to report someone raided his car at an apartment complex in Athens, Georgia ... stealing jerseys, his helmet, headphones, watches, shoes and an iPad containing the Bears playbook.

Now, officials say the suspect, Landyn Shane Durham -- a student at the University of Georgia -- has surrendered to Clarke County Sheriffs.

He's been charged with felony suspicion of entering an automobile.

Officials say Durham was also charged with hitting a second car in the same parking lot belonging to a Georgia lacrosse player.

Cops say most of the stolen items have been recovered -- but the iPad with the Bears playbook is still M.I.A.