TMZ Sports - Page 50

Nikki Bella played with fire when she tried messing with the paparazzi ... and it burned her ass.

Nikki tells TMZ ... a story floating around showing her "canoodling with a mystery man" on a Miami balcony does NOT mean she's interested in him. She says it was supposed to be a joke to mess with paps since they had been following her and the rest of the "Total Divas" crew for days.

Nikki says the bartender is a 21-year-old model the show hired to serve them drinks at their penthouse ... but by Thursday Nikki had had enough with the paps. With a little liquid courage, Nikki says she hatched a plan to bring the guy out on the balcony and do some faux flirting to screw with the photogs.

Paps snapped away and a story about her canoodling hit the web ... something she had NOT intended to happen. Nikki wants to set the record straight -- she is NOT dating anyone else right now. And as she told us already ... she's actively trying to work things out with John Cena.

All eyez are on Matt Barnes' right hand ... 'cause the ex-NBA baller just got the most insane Tupac tattoo!!

The artwork is crazy real ... and the story of how Barnes got it is even more wild.

The former Laker -- who's tatted all over -- was lookin' for a 'Pac piece ... and after seeing a Kobe Bryant tattoo that artist Steve Butcher did ... he hit him up on social media and locked down an appointment.

The dopest realistic tattoo artist we've ever seen flew all the way to L.A. (he's from New Zealand) to ink Matt's hand ... and he says the ex-hooper couldn't have been cooler!

The tat took about five hours to complete -- and we're saying, job well done.

BTW ... Butcher says Matt was the first NBA player he's tatted ... but he probably won't be the last. DeAndre Jordan's already told him he's interested in getting a piece done as well!!

Odell Beckham made 3 football fans LOSE THEIR MINDS when he took the time out of his day for a quick pic at the airport ... but there is one very minor problem here.

THAT'S NOT THE REAL ODELL -- IT'S A LOOK-ALIKE (aka FauxBJ ... or NOdell Beckham Jr.).

We're told the Beck-alike didn't exactly stop the fans from thinking he was the real #13 -- and totally played along when he was stopped at Nashville International Airport on Tuesday.

We're told the fans even asked FauxBJ whether he'd continue to play with the Giants or try to play for a new team this season, to which he replied "I plead the 5th."

Pretty hilarious actually ... hope he got an upgrade on the plane!!!

John Salley says the mother of the NBA G League player who died after collapsing on the court is "100% right" in her lawsuit against the league ... saying, "I think she has a case."

TMZ Sports broke story ... Zeke Upshaw's mother claims the team doctor didn't respond to her son for 4 MINUTES after he collapsed from a cardiac incident during a game back in March.

Upshaw's mother claims Zeke did not receive proper medical treatment that could have saved his life, and she's holding the Detroit Pistons and the NBA responsible.

Salley -- a 4-time NBA champ -- told us he stands with Zeke's mother, and says the league needs to do better moving forward.

"I think she has a case ... The fact that there was no professional EMS around would definitely have to fall on the squad."

In fact, Salley says he hopes the lawsuit will force the league to improve league standards when it comes to medical emergencies.

Brian McKnight is reminding the world that J.R. Smith isn't traveling alone on the screw-up train ... telling TMZ Sports George Hill deserves just as much blame for the Cavs' loss.

You already know the play by now ... but McKnight says Hill's missed free throw that led up to J.R.'s brain fart is just as bad ... and says the people are giving him the pass J.R. should've given LeBron.

UFC champ Tyron Woodley is ALL ABOUT Snoop Dogg's new foray into MMA -- and now he's breaking down Snoop's fighting video on "The Hollywood Beatdown!"

Snoop just started MMA training at Jay Glazer's Unbreakable gym in L.A. -- and Tyron says he'll probably get on the mat and spar Snoop himself at some point!

But the question ... which skinny, MMA-training rapper would win in a fight -- Snoop or Wiz Khalifa?

There's a lot more ... including Tyron's take on the Nick Diaz arrest and Cris Cyborg's future in the UFC.

Holly Holm says she's not shooting down a possible rematch with Cris Cyborg Justino -- but cautions she's gotta get through Megan Anderson first.

Earlier this week, Cyborg told us she'd love to get back in the Octagon for another crack at Holm after their extremely violent fight back in December.

But Holm says she's got a "one fight at a time" mindset -- and the fight she's focused on now is Anderson at UFC 225 on June 9.

Holm says her Cyborg fight was "really competitive" -- but she might consider switching back to the 135-pound weight class to try and get the bantamweight belt back from Amanda Nunes.

Earnest Byner knows what it's like to make a major mistake with the game on the line (remember the '87 AFC Championship?) ... so, he's got some advice for J.R. Smith.

Byner is a legend in his own right -- he's a 2-time Pro Bowler and won Super Bowls as a player and a coach.

But back in 1988, he fumbled on the 2-yard line with time winding down costing the Cleveland Browns a shot at the Super Bowl. It's been ranked as one of the biggest in-game mistakes in NFL history.

The good news ... Byner didn't let the play define him and went on to have a great career.

They love Floyd Mayweather in Mexico!!

Check out the welcome banner Floyd got at Los Cabos Mexico International Airport on Thursday ... when his private jet touched down for a little getaway south of the border.

We spoke with a rep at the airport who told us it was just a "friendly" little gesture to welcome Mayweather and his crew.

Floyd got the VIP treatment once his PJ landed -- a pimped-out sprinter van took Floyd and the rest of his Money Team to their fancy resort.

Floyd has REALLY racked up the miles this year -- vacationing everywhere from Dubai to Singapore and Monaco, Thailand, Bali, Turks and Caicos and L.A.

Ex-NBA player Jordan Hamilton straight-up SPIT on an opponent during an Israeli Premier League game this week ... and it's all on video.

It went down Friday when Jordan's Hapoel Holon squad took on Hapoel Eilat.

It's unclear why ... but Hamilton -- the Dallas Mavericks' first-round pick in 2011 -- hocks a nasty-ass loogie and sprays it all over the back of Amit Simhon's head.

Simhon tries to tell the refs on Jordan ... but he's only given a tech -- no ejection!!

Simhon got the last laugh in the whole drama -- his team won AND he was the game's leading scorer with 29 points.

Nick Saban finally took a major L.

The Alabama football coach took some of his players on a boat trip in Lake Tuscaloosa for some team bonding on Thursday ... which sounds like a perfectly great time, except for one minor detail:

Somebody forgot to fill the gas tank!!

Thankfully, national championship hero Tua Tagovailoa documented the players' hilarious reactions when they realized they were stuck ... while Saban appears to make a call for help.

But don't get too excited, Auburn fans ... the guys made it back to dry land.

The refs screwed up the Cavs-Warriors game so bad last night, the league should allow the teams to replay the final 60 seconds of the game ... seriously -- according to former NBA ref Tim Donaghy.

Here's the deal ... Donaghy was an NBA official for 13 years before he was sent to prison for gambling on games -- but knows the rulebook inside and out.

In fact, he even cites a REAL situation when the NBA acknowledged it screwed up a ruling -- and had the teams reunite to replay the end of a game nearly 4 months later (Hawks vs. Heat 2007).

In this case, Donaghy is honing in on that late 4th quarter foul involving Kevin Durant and LeBron James -- when two refs disagreed on who was at fault ... was it a charge or a block.

Donaghy says instead of going to the replay monitor and changing the call to favor the Warriors, it should have been ruled a jump ball.

Ever seen a bicycle kick in zero gravity? Well, you have now ...

A couple of Russian cosmonauts somehow got an official 2018 World Cup soccer ball on board the International Space Station ... and what ensued is pretty amazing!

Check out the spaced-out trick shot video -- featuring cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Oleg Artemyev doing sideflips, backflips and upside down acrobatics while trying to score on each other.

The World Cup starts on June 14 in Russia and features 32 teams from around the globe.

But, not the United States though ... because we couldn't beat Trinidad and Tobago.

"J.R. Smith ran away from that basket the way Pusha T claims Drake ran away from his responsibilities as a father."

That's why Charlamagne tha God awarded Smith his "Donkey of the Day" title on "The Breakfast Club" Friday morning ... blasting the Cavs player blunder that cost LeBron Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

"I don't know if J.R. Smith uses drugs," Char said ... "but if he does, I think it's his duty as an American citizen to tell us what the hell he's on or has been on so we don't make the same mistakes."

Charlamagne also blasted Smith for his explanation of the blunder ... saying Smith clearly did NOT know the game was tied.

Good signs from Jesse Jackson ... he's not letting his Parkinson's diagnosis stop him from attending massive public events like the NBA Finals!

The Reverend was front and center for Game 1 of the Cavs vs. Warriors series in the Bay Area on Thursday flashing a big old smile.

76-year-old Jackson was diagnosed back in 2017 and said, "recognition of the effects of this disease on me has been painful."

He also noted that he "must make lifestyle changes and dedicate myself to physical therapy in hopes of slowing the disease's progression."

But, the NBA Finals are clearly the exception!

Charles Oakley says it wasn't just the last play of regulation that J.R. Smith screwed up Thursday night -- he also made a crucial mistake in the 1st half that cost his team 3 points ... and maybe the game.

Oak was pretty upset with Smith's decision to go for a steal instead of playing shutdown defense on Steph Curry in the final seconds of the 1st half.

Smith missed the interception and Steph bombed a 3 ... Oakley says that was a major momentum change.

"Why are you going for a steal on the best shooter in the game?!"

Oakley says he hopes the Cavs can recover and bounce back strong in Game 2.