TMZ Sports - Page 50

Kanye West took us all for a crazy ride ... and brilliantly created that bizarre media firestorm as part of a diabolical plot to promote his new album -- so says Tyron Woodley.

The UFC champ had always been skeptical about Kanye's outbursts -- including the one during "TMZ Live" -- and had been adamant Yeezy was putting on an erratic front to grab headlines.

And after listening to Kanye's new album ... Tyron says he is CERTAIN he's right -- because he thinks it is the work of a pure genius.

Woodley spells the whole thing out in this week's "The Hollywood Beatdown With Tyron Woodley" -- where he also blasts hecklers and finally addresses UFC contender Colby Covington ... threatening to beat his ass.

Mike "The Truth" Jackson says he's already got his victory party planned if he beats CM Punk at UFC 225 this weekend ... FOOD AND HOT CHICKS!

"I'm knocking him out, man," Jackson tells TMZ Sports ... "I'm knocking him out."

Jackson knows Punk will be the fan favorite when they step in the Octagon since it's all going down in Punk's hometown of Chicago ... but Mike says all the fans in the world can't save CM.

"These people can't fight for him. He can't tag them in."

Afterward, Jackson says he ain't about to hit the clubs -- he wants some delicious Chicago-style pizza to go along with his W.

Wanna play a game that's more competitive than the current NBA Finals??

Grab some buddies and take a guess at which Cavs or Warriors players are rockin' which tattoos!!

Who has a Michael Jordan jersey tatted on his abs? Who's got a red "It" balloon inked on his right arm? And which Finals MVP contender has his little baby tattooed on his left forearm?

New England Patriots WR Julian Edelman is breaking his silence about his positive PED test ... saying, "I am very sorry."

"I don't know what happened," Edelman said in a statement.

"I've taken many, many tests obviously over the course of my career, and nothing like this has ever happened."

"I apologize to the Kraft family, my coaches, teammate and fans. As this matter is being appealed, I can’t say anymore but no matter what, I will be ready to play and pursue another championship with our team and for Patriots fans around the world."

Wanna hear the most annoying sound in the world?

Good, because a bunch of Milwaukee Brewers pitchers just recreated that famous "Dumb and Dumber" scene ... and it's actually pretty good.

Brent Suter (Harry), Josh Hader (Joe) and Jeremy Jeffress (Lloyd) reenacted the famous "Dumb and Dumber" scene to help the squad promote mini-replica bullpen cars ... and it's hilarious.

With Kendall Jenner apparently out of the picture, Ben Simmons MIGHT be trying to rekindle things with Tinashe ... because the two hit the same nightclub on Thursday.

The 21-year-old Philadelphia 76ers star and the 25-year-old singer both hit up Poppy nightclub in West Hollywood ... and left right around the same time.

Ben left solo at 1:37 AM on Friday morning and Tinashe left about 20 minutes later at 1:56 AM.

The two had dated for a couple of months before recently splitting -- Ben was seen out a short time later going on dates with Kendall.

But, Kendall was sucking face with Anwar Hadid in New York City earlier this week -- a sign it's probably over with Ben -- and now, he coincidentally shows up at the same club as his ex?

The only thing that could distract the Washington Capitals from their Cup celebration was ... another couple of cups.

D cups, that is.

In one of the most incredible moments from the Caps' historic win over the Las Vegas Golden Knights Thursday, a chick sitting rinkside in a skin-tight white dress pulled out her boobs ... pressed 'em against the glass -- and Caps players couldn't help but stare.

A parade around T-Mobile Arena -- led by Alex Ovechkin hoisting his first-ever Stanley Cup -- was temporarily paused as the boobs were on display.

Andre Burakovsky stopped to applaud. A few other players -- including Brooks Orpik and Devante Smith-Pelly -- hit the breaks temporarily to get a good look.

Joel Embiid refuses to trash ex-Sixers GM Bryan Colangelo ... telling TMZ Sports the disgraced exec is a "great guy" ... despite the burner account scandal.

"He was a great guy. He did a great job for us, so I wish him luck," Embiid told us in Beverly Hills on Thursday night.

Shocking response since Embiid is one of the 76ers players who was targeted by the burner account tweets that Colangelo's wife claims she posted.

In fact, we asked Joel if he REALLY believes Bryan had nothing to do with the burner accounts and if he thinks Barbara Bottini truly acted alone.

"I have no idea," Embiid said ... "I'm sure there was an investigation for a reason. But if it was his wife, there's nothing you can do about it."

Embiid didn't seem concerned about the future of the 76ers -- in fact, he told us the Colangelo drama won't slow down "the Process."

"The Process is never starting over and it's never going to be over. There's a process for everything. It takes a lot to get where you wanna go and that's the process."'

Diddy says he's GLAD he didn't win the bidding to buy the Carolina Panthers -- because he's pissed at the league for the new national anthem rule ... claiming it nothing short of "oppression."

Diddy appeared on BigBoyTV and said he was one of the last 2 bids for the Panthers -- and at the time he really wanted to be a part of a positive change.

But after the new anthem rule, requiring players on the field to stand -- "I don't even wanna own an NFL team no more."

"I don't want to be associated with oppressing black men. I don't want to be associated with telling grown ass men what they can do and not do."

Diddy then calls for black athletes to stick together and fight back against the league ... and says he has their backs.

"This is a defining time."

Ex-NFL star Kellen Winslow Jr. was arrested for residential burglary Thursday after cops say he broke into a home at a mobile home park near San Diego.

Officials say cops got a call about an incident around 2:39 PM PT -- someone reported a black male adult walked into a neighbor's home.

The person who called police confronted 34-year-old Winslow -- who then got into a waiting SUV and left, according to police.

Cops say they found Winslow in a matching SUV a short distance away and arrested him for felony burglary.

FYI, Winslow made more than $40 MILLION during his 10-year NFL career as a tight end for the Tampa Bay Bucs, Cleveland Browns, New England Patriots and NY Jets.

Winslow was held on $50,000 bail -- which he posted. He has since been released. He faces up to 6 years in prison.

It's not Winslow's first run-in with the law ... he was arrested for allegedly masturbating in a Target parking lot back in 2014. Cops say they found vaseline in the car and synthetic marijuana.

Donald Trump is making an offer to NFL players -- telling them he wants their recommendations for people who deserve a presidential pardon ... and promises to take their requests seriously.

Trump was speaking with reporters in front of the White House when he talked about his new plan to help determine who should be pardoned.

"What I'm thinking to do, you have a lot of people in the NFL in particular ... they're not proud enough to stand for our national anthem ..."

"I'm gonna ask all of those people to recommend to me ... people that they think were unfairly treated by the justice system and I'm gonna ask them to recommend to me, people that were unfairly treated, friends of theirs or people that they know about and im gonna take a look at those applications."

Lenny Dykstra claims he was essentially kidnapped by an erratic Uber driver -- and now, we've learned the driver's been hit with a criminal charge.

The night in question (May 23) is the same evening Dykstra was arrested in NJ for allegedly threatening to shoot the driver when cops say they also found Dykstra in possession of weed, cocaine and ecstasy.

The driver had claimed Lenny asked to change destinations in the middle of the ride and when the driver refused, Lenny flipped out and threatened to shoot him.

But, Dykstra says that's B.S. -- admitting he did ask to change locations, but it was the DRIVER who flipped out ... locking the doors and driving 100 mph in the wrong direction.

Dykstra says the driver eventually pulled up in front of a police station -- where Lenny claims the driver lied to cops about what really happened.

Cops investigated and according to court documents, the driver has been hit with 1 count of false imprisonment.

Lenny says he was afraid for his life and called 911 several times from the back seat. Lenny says when the driver realized he was talking with police, the driver freaked out even more.

Dykstra's charges have not been dropped -- but now, it seems both the driver and the passenger could go down together in what may be considered as one of the most bizarre Uber rides ever.

8:40AM PT -- Dykstra and his attorney Matthew Blit held a news conference this morning in NYC .. where they described the incident. Lenny says he was kidnapped by the driver and was in fear for his life.

"I literally thought this guy was going to kill me."

Sen. Ted Cruz is ready to play some tight D on Jimmy Kimmel in a one-on-one basketball game -- and vows there's no chance the late-night host will throw down a dunk in his face.

The senator and late-night host are squaring up on June 16 for what might be the most random hoops matchup ever -- but Cruz was in trash-talking mode Thursday on Capitol Hill. He says he played ball in high school, admittedly not very well ... but thinks he's got enough skills to take down Jimmy.

We're guessing Cruz is engaging in a psych-out here ... just trying to get in Kimmel's head. He's a politician after all. It's kinda what they do.

From what Cruz told us, sounds like he's already been training. They've got high stakes in the game, and some ridiculous ground rules ... courtesy of Kimmel.

The Washington Capitals didn't have to go far to get the party started Thursday night ... 'cause the Stanley Cup champs turned all the way up in a Vegas nightclub ... and TMZ Sports has the video.

Alex Ovechkin and company hit up Hakkasan at the MGM Grand -- where the entire team, coaching staff, management, owners and fans went berserk to celebrate the victory over the Vegas Knights.

DJ Tiesto was in charge of the music and invited the team over to the VIP area behind the booth to party with the cup.

We're told team management paid the entire bill for all Caps players -- which ended up around $100,000 ... and that covered all of the champagne, beer and liquor the guys poured into the cup.

Early Friday morning, President Trump tweeted at the team -- "Congratulations to the Washington Capitals on their GREAT play and winning the Stanley Cup Championship."

"Alex Ovechkin, the team captain, was spectacular - a true Superstar! D.C. is popping, in many ways. What a time!"

Bad news for Conor McGregor ... Floyd Mayweather's changed his mind about an MMA fight -- telling TMZ Sports he's way too busy to take a fight in the Octagon any time soon.

"I'm not thinking about fighting right now," Floyd told us while shopping with his crew in Beverly Hills.

Remember, Floyd was flirting with the idea of taking an MMA fight in 2018 -- with his eyes on McGregor -- and even reached out to UFC champ Tyron Woodley to set up a training program.

But Floyd says life has gotten in the way ... and he's been spending way too much time focusing on his family and growing his real estate business.

In fact, Floyd says he's a MAJOR investor in One Vanderbilt -- which he says will be the tallest skyscraper in New York.

Floyd says he's got more than $100,000,000 invested in NYC real estate projects -- and that's more important to him right now than learning a new combat sport.

The good news ... Floyd isn't completely closing the door on MMA, and insists he's keeping himself in shape just in case.

Stay tuned ...

UFC superstar Yoel Romero has a big rematch with Robert Whittaker this weekend ... but there's a MUCH bigger opponent he's already got his sights on -- SHAQ!!

TMZ Sports started asking The Cuban Missile about meeting The Big Aristotle at an event in Miami back in May ... and that's when Y.R. revealed he wants to get in the Octagon with the 7'1" giant to give him the whoopin' of a lifetime.

FYI, Yoel is 6'0" and 185 lbs.

Yoel might be teasing about the fight ... but one thing he's NOT joking about is what the outcome would be if he DID end up fighting the NBA legend.

As for Whittaker at UFC 225 ... Romero says he's gonna get his revenge on the loss at 213 and hints he's gonna make sure the outcome is indisputable this time around.

As for Shaq ... dude can fight -- he's been in the ring with both Oscar De La Hoya and Sugar Shane Mosley and held his own!