TMZ Sports - Page 50

NOOOOO!!!!!

Serena Williams' highly-anticipated showdown with Maria Sharapova at the French Open ain't happening on Monday ... after Serena pulled out of the match due to an injury.

It's a total bummer for the tennis world ... which has waited 2 years for the superstars to face off after Sharapova served a 15-month suspension for testing positive for a banned substance.

For the record -- Williams OWNS Sharapova on the court. She's won 18 straight against the cheating Russian and has a 19-2 record overall against her.

We were particularly stoked for this match to watch a post-pregnancy Serena deliver karmic tennis justice to a PED user.

As for the injury, Serena says she's got a nagging pectoral issue that wouldn't allow her to serve properly.

We love Dennis. Love him. So much.

But what he did to this piece of meat is nothing short of homicide. He managed to kill something that was already dead.

Dennis decided to pan sear (and then bake) a bone-in rib eye steak Sunday night and documented it on Twitter.

There was a ton of garlic. Some side-searing action ... and a $9 nonstick pan. It's hard to watch.

For the record, Dennis insists the final product was "delicious."

None of us actually believe that.

Remember V. Stiviano?

She's the one who recorded Donald Sterling's racist rant about Magic Johnson -- which led to the NBA forcing him to sell the Clippers.

Well ... she's BACK -- and this time, we're talking about Roseanne!

"Everyone's making such a big deal over every small little thing," V. told us outside of Craig's.

"No one has freedom of speech anymore! No one can say what they feel because if they do, they're gonna lose their job."

Stiviano explained why EVERYONE'S at least a little bit racist -- and she wants to live in a world where everyone expresses their bigotry, so we can all know who we're dealing with upfront.

Just one question ... what happened to the legendary face shield?

John Cena says he doesn't just want to have kids to win Nikki Bella back -- telling TMZ Sports he's had an epiphany about wanting to have a family outside of his career.

The 41-year-old WWE superstar says he KNOWS his new outlook is a complete "about-face" from what he's been preaching publicly for decades ... but insists it's because he's grown as a person.

"I would love to be a dad," Cena says ... "and I realize very much that I have been steadfast in saying that I don't want children."

So, why the change of heart?

"Because I dedicated my life to my work and now I'm realizing that there is life and life exists and it's beautiful and I think part of that is being a parent."

Nick Diaz isn't letting his domestic violence case get in the way of meeting new women -- the UFC star was out in Vegas this weekend getting hot and heavy with a new lady ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Diaz hit up XS Nightclub at the Encore Hotel on Saturday night -- where our sources spotted Nick kissing a new mystery lady right in front of everybody!!

Unclear if they're dating or if they were just having a fun night.

We're told this is NOT the woman who accused Diaz of domestic violence.

As we previously reported, Diaz was arrested a few weeks ago after another woman -- who told police she had been in a sexual relationship with Diaz for years -- claimed Diaz attacked and choked her at a Vegas home.

This is interesting ... Lionel Messi posing with a live goat for a photo shoot -- while explaining that he doesn't consider himself the greatest soccer player alive.

"I don't consider myself the best," Messi tells Paper ... "I think I am just another player."

Yeah, right.

As Paper points out, Messi has one of the most impressive resumes in pro sports.

"He has helped his team, FC Barcelona, win 32 trophies -- including nine Spanish Liga titles and four in the Champions League. He led the Argentine national team to the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and brought them victory at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in 2005."

He's also got 5 Ballon d'Or awards, 5 Golden Shoes and holds the Guinness World Record for the most goals officially scored in a season (50 in the 2011-12 La Liga season).

But sure ... just a regular player.

"On the field, we are all the same when the game begins," Messi adds.

Messi also talked about everything from his upbringing in Argentina to his charity work with UNICEF in the full PAPER x Sports article.

No word on who had to clean up after the goats.

Seems there's only one way Shaunie O'Neal would attend Gloria Govan & Derek Fisher's wedding ... OVER HER DEAD BODY ... telling TMZ Sports that's one party she ain't down for.

Derek & Shaq won 3 rings together as Lakers and were tight bros, so one might assume Shaunie could possibly want to attend the nuptials.

Hell no. We got Shaunie at LAX and asked her if she plans on attending, and if the words out of her mouth didn't tell the whole story, the look on her face CLEARLY did.

"No, I don't so. No, I don't think I'll be going to that."

If you didn't know, the ladies have deep issues, stemming from Shaunie's belief that Gloria's sister, Laura, was messing around with Shaq while Shaunie was married to the Diesel.

It led to a HUGE blowup on a past episode of 'Basketball Wives' where Shaunie confronted Gloria ... and it's clear the whole thing isn't water under the bridge.

It's been about six months since Kendall Jenner was linked to a rumored NBA BF, but as her biking date with Ben Simmons shows ... you never forget how to date one of 'em.

Kendall was seen getting her ride on this weekend with the 76ers star point guard -- on a bicycle, folks ... relax. Eyewitnesses tell us they were cruising near The Grove in West Hollywood Sunday -- and we gotta say ... Kendall looks like the pro out of the two.

She's got solid form, AND she's got a purse on her, too, which looks perfectly in sync with her body. Much improved from 2016, when she ate s*** riding down a dirt road.

Ben, meanwhile, looks a little too big for his own bike here ... perhaps struggling to peddle, even. The dude is like 6'10", though ... maybe raise the seat next time, yeah?

Either way, it's nice to see Kendall switch up the activity for her 3rd NBA pal. Can't say we ever saw her hit the outdoors like this with Blake Griffin, or Jordan Clarkson either.

Adam Rippon just signed off on LeBron James' interesting pre-Game 1 attire, saying suit shorts are totally acceptable ... all because the King set the trend.

We got the Olympic figure skater Saturday at LAX and asked what he made of Bron's lack of pants heading into Oracle Arena Thursday ahead of his first game against the Warriors. Faux pas, or fashion genius? Adam seems to think LeBron falls into the latter category.

The Olympian has a perfectly reasonable explanation for why shorts on a suit are a-OK -- especially as we start heading into the summer months here. If anything, LeBron's ahead of the curve ... and or maybe just doing what feels good, we guess? Hard to say.

Either way, Adam's definitely the guy to weigh on such matters ... you might recall his Moschino harness suit to the Oscars this year ... which got a lot of people doing double takes.

So ... yeah, LeBron's in good company. At least Adam's got his back on the Urkel-inspired outfit. BTW ... LeBron is rockin' the suit shorts AGAIN for Game 2. Yep, it a thing now.

Rick Fox says he's got the $100 MILLION Fortnite prize money in his sites -- and he's got his people scouting the world looking to put together the best squad he can find.

Fox is one of the big dogs in eSports -- his team, "Echo Fox," is a perennial contender in games like "League of Legends" and 'CS:GO.'

So, with Fortnite taking over the world and announcing a $100 MILLION prize pool next season -- we had to ask if he was making a run at that money.

"Our ears have been to the ground there, and our front office has been completely on top of finding the talent that would represent Echo Fox in a Fortnite setting."

Shouldn't be hard for Fox to put together a killer group -- his "Echo Fox" team dominated the H1Z1 competitions and won a ton of money there.

Wrestling superstar Johnny Impact is back!

TMZ Sports has learned that Johnny -- formerly known as John Morrison, Johnny Nitro and Johnny Mundo -- is returning to the squared circle for Impact Wrestling's Slammiversary in July.

A.J. Styles, Matt Hardy and Sting have done their thing at Slammiversary in the past -- so the event's a big deal.

Johnny has been wrestling on the International circuit for the past few months -- but we're told he's finally inked a deal to return to Impact Wrestling.

Kenyon Martin says "there's no such thing as simple flirting" anymore ... and it's all because men have crossed the line too many times when it comes to picking up women.

The ex-NBA star says he's well aware of the problems many women face in the workplace and other areas in their lives when men come on way too strong ... and it's not right.

"Over the years, men have abused their power," Martin tells TMZ Sports.

So, what happens now? Martin has advice for young men, including NBA players -- "Be smart. Notice the signs."

"No means no! Some resistance? Gotta turn away."

Jordan Clarkson's a Cleveland guy now ... but the dude just can't shake his old stompin' grounds, 'cause the ex-Laker just dropped $3.2 MILLION on a brand new L.A. home!!

The Cavs baller is currently in the NBA Finals ... but once the offseason hits, he'll be able to enjoy his 5 bedroom, 8 bathroom pad in Woodland Hills listed by Gabriel Ostrow.

Clarkson will have plenty to do ... his home's complete with a chef's kitchen, wine closet, dope home theater, saltwater pool and spa and a BBQ center.

Clearly the beef ain't squashed between Red Sox owner John Henry and Johnny Damon ... 'cause the former outfielder tells us he's ROOTING FOR THE YANKEES in the renewed rivalry with Boston!!

It's an interesting stance considering Damon is a Red Sox legend -- a key part of the team that broke the curse and won the World Series in 2004. He later played for the Yanks.

Now, with the two teams battling it out for 1st place ... Damon says he loves the renewed rivalry.

"They're bringing back the rivalry that we had in the early 2000s and it's going to be a fun year," Damon told us.

But when we asked Johnny who he's pulling for -- that's when it got interesting.

"I'll be rooting for New York."

Remember, Johnny went on "Celebrity Apprentice" a couple years ago and said he and John Henry weren't exactly on speaking terms after contract drama in 2005.

Kendall Jenner and Ben Simmons can't get enough of each other, even though they're acting like they're strangers.

Kendall and Ben hit up The Cheescake Factory Friday for lunch in L.A. at The Grove. They arrived separately and left separately.

They've been out together a bunch this week. They went to dinner Wednesday night at The Nice Guy and hit up a club later that night. They ended up at the fancy schmancy Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Bev Hills.

LaVar Ball has weighed in on the NFL's national anthem policy -- and it's not exactly what you'd expect.

"It's their league. If you don't want to do it, get out their league."

Don't get it twisted, Ball says he thinks the NFL has gone too far in requiring players on the field to stand ... but says the NFL has the right to create and enforce their own policies.

"That's why I got my own league," Ball tells TMZ Sports ... "Do what I want."

Ball is referring to his new junior basketball league, the JBA -- which he plans on running himself.

So, what's LaVar's policy on the national anthem going to be in his league?