TMZ Sports - Page 50

Kendall Jenner and boyfriend Ben Simmons showed up to the same club as his ex, Tinashe, and things had to have been weird for everyone, although Tinashe brushed it off like a pro.

All three hung out at Delilah Thursday night in WeHo, but no one stayed out too late, which should be a sign things likely were awkward inside.

We got Kendall and Ben leaving the club first. After they leave, Tinashe follows and gets into her own car only a few minutes behind.

Then came the real shocker -- we ask if she and Ben are getting along, and Tinashe held up her phone. She says Ben was texting her WHILE he was in the club ... presumably right next to Kendall.

Ya can't REALLY blame soccer stars like Neymar for flopping worse than Vlade Divac in the '90s ... because there's a really smart reason behind the fake pain -- so says Trevor Noah.

The 34-year-old 'Daily Show' host is a massive soccer fan -- and has thought long and hard about the flopping epidemic that's taken over the World Cup ... particularly in regards to the Brazilian superstar.

You gotta watch Noah break it down outside of Mastro's Steakhouse in Beverly Hills ... and how he ultimately explains why guys like Neymar will flop to prevent themselves from suffering a major injury.

"Some people overdo it," Noah admits ... "Don't get me wrong. But, I understand where it came from."

A minor league baseball pitcher had the ultimate feather in his cap on Wednesday -- when he caught a bird with his glove ... and wore it on his head!!!

The bird collector is Jesus Cruz -- who plays for the St. Louis Cardinals' minor league affiliate, Peoria Chiefs.

Cruz was exiting the mound after pitching 4.2 innings -- when a little bird flew in his path.

The 23-year-old righty snatched the animal on his way to the dugout ... and when it fell to the ground, he scooped it up into his glove and appeared to say a prayer for his new feathery friend.

It worked ... the bird sprung to life -- so Cruz promptly placed it on top of his head!!

Don't worry ... the bird looked all good after the incident (hopefully, he's okay!).

3:56 PM PT -- A rep for the UFC tells TMZ Sports ... Cormier insists he's "fine" and will be okay to fight on Saturday.

Daniel Cormier slipped and fell while leaving the UFC 226 news conference in Vegas moments ago ... and it looked like he came up limping.

Cormier was getting up from the table after promoting Saturday's fight against Stipe Miocic when he slipped and hit the ground. You can see his championship belt go flying.

Cormier eventually got up and gingerly walked off stage. He returned to the stage minutes later to square off and pose with Stipe.

We're making calls right now to check on DC's health ... stay tuned.

Daniel Cormier says there's a secret about Jon Jones everyone should know ... HE LOVES DANIEL CORMIER!

"He may not like to admit it, but he's my fan," Cormier tells TMZ Sports ... "He enjoys watching me compete. He does!"

DC says there's not a doubt in his mind JJ will be tuning in when he fights Stipe Miocic at UFC 226 on Saturday because, despite all the trash talk over the years ... "he likes watching me."

Cormier has a secret, too ... and it has to do with Jon Jones -- admitting he'll use JJ when he's playing the UFC video game because his character is "the best guy in the game."

At the end of the day, Cormier hates Jones -- but he hates losing in video games even more!

Cormier says he's also aware that he's a heavy underdog going into the Stipe fight ... but has some advice for gamblers out there -- the smart money is on DC, and he explains why!

The reigning women's hot dog eating champion, Miki Sudo ... couldn't care less about getting equal coverage as men, she just wants the bread -- and we mean money, not buns.

Miki won her 5th consecutive title at this year's Nathan's Famous July Fourth Hot Dog Eating Contest -- but tells us she doesn't make nearly as much money as 11-time men's champ Joey Chestnut. He reportedly earned $225k one year from competitions, appearance fees and endorsements.

To be frank about it (LOL) ... Miki says she'd like a piece of that pie too.

Miki also has some gripes about people who dog her for not eating more weiners this year than she did last year. She downed 37, as opposed to 41 in 2017.

Human garbage disposal Joey Chestnut says he feels like pure trash after scarfing down 74 HOT DOGS on July 4th ... but he ain't about to retire anytime soon!

Of course, Chestnut set a new world record at the 2018 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest -- but tells TMZ Sports, his body is paying for it 24 hours later.

"It's not pretty, bro. There have been some double-flushers."

And at 34 years old, Chestnut says it's becoming tougher for his body to recover from the constant gluttonous abuse ... pointing out pain in his throat, jaw and stomach.

But don't even think about retirement -- at least not until he gets the championship matchup he's been dreaming about for years ... against former world champ, Takeru Kobayashi.

"Before I retire, I want Kobayashi to come back ... and I want to end things on my own terms against the best."

Cristiano Ronaldo could give Kim Kardashian a run for her money ... because the soccer star is reportedly in talks with Facebook for a new reality show.

CR7 is shopping the show to Facebook Watch and could score a $10 MILLION paycheck for 13 episodes ... according to Variety.

And, there's a Tom Brady connection -- the show would be produced by Religion of Sports, the media company that did "Tom vs. Time" for Facebook Watch.

Ronaldo definitely has an interesting life -- he's got 4 kids including newborn twins that were reportedly birthed by a mystery surrogate in the United States.

He's also rumored to be engaged to Georgina Rodriguez -- the mother of his daughter, Alana, who was born just over 7 months ago.

Ronaldo's son, Cristiano Jr., is 8 years old and a soccer prodigy -- could be interesting to see how CR7 is training him to become the next big thing.

The show would be the latest in a strong of Hollywood projects for Ronaldo -- who's launching a superhero series, "Striker Force 7," based on himself, along with a scripted soccer TV drama series.

They've partied together ... they're fans of each other ... and now rapper YG says he knows why Paul George ultimately decided NOT to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers -- Kobe Bryant.

It's not a personal thing ... YG says PG knows the Lakers are (and always will be) Kobe's team and Paul would rather create his own legacy in Oklahoma City, which is why he re-signed with the Thunder.

"Make your own legacy, my n****," YG said.

"That's Kobe Bryant's team right there. The Lakers are Kobe's team. [Russell Westbrook] and Paul George got a chance to make the f*cking Thunder their team."

There's more ... YG added, "Paul George ain't trying to be up under the curse of the Lakers."

NY Giants star Janoris Jenkins says the man who was killed at his New Jersey home was a "good friend" -- and it "hurts my heart to know that he's passed."

TMZ Sports broke the story ... officials found a dead body in Jenkins' basement on June 26. The body was identified as music producer Roosevelt Rene, aka Trypps Beats.

Janoris' brother William Jenkins has been charged with aggravated manslaughter in connection to the death.

Now, Janoris is speaking out, saying, "With regret and sadness I wish to inform the fans, and the public a good friend of mine Roosevelt Rene a.k.a. Trypps Beats was found dead at my place of residence."

"Trypps was a good friend and we were collaborating on music production together. It truly hurts my heart to know he has passed away."

"At the time of the incident I was in Florida preparing to finish off my promotional tour. As this is an ongoing incident, I cannot answer any questions related to the investigation."

Chuck Liddell says he's not just taking the Tito Ortiz fight because he's missing the sport -- telling TMZ Sports he wouldn't have signed on if he wasn't getting a fat ass paycheck.

We broke the story ... the 48-year-old legend hooked up with Oscar De La Hoya to return to MMA for the first time since 2010. Chuck and Tito finally signed their deals last week and Liddell is excited.

"I never get tired of hitting that guy," Chuck told us outside of Sushi Nishi in Calabasas ... "He never stops running his mouth. I really don't like him."

Chuck has scored the W in both of his previous fights with Tito -- and says he's going for the knockout this time around too.

As for the money, Chuck says he's getting paid handsomely -- and the size of his check was a huge factor in his decision to come out of retirement.

LeBron James may not be the richest guy floating off the Amalfi Coast right now ... because Jimmy Iovine just showed up!

The music mogul was spotted on a yacht with LeBron on the 4th of July -- as the NBA star continues to celebrate his new $154 million Lakers contract.

Unclear if LeBron is on Jimmy's yacht ... or if Jimmy is on LeBron's yacht -- but one thing is for sure ... they can both afford some sick boats!

By the way, they have a Beats By Dre connection -- Jimmy (who co-founded the company with Dr. Dre) made a fortune when Apple purchased it for $3.2 billion.

Did you also know ... LeBron ALSO made a ton of cash from the sale? He reportedly got a small stake in the company in exchange for promoting the brand back in 2008 and, when it sold to Apple, he made a cool $30 mil!

Todd Gurley wants ALL contracts to be guaranteed in the NFL ... and he says players might have to STRIKE in order to get 'em!

It's been a heated debate for years -- with NFL players like Eric Winston saying they're so serious about making NFL deals more like the NBA and MLB ... they're ready to call for a work stoppage to force owners to pay up.

The current NFL collective bargaining agreement ends in 2021 -- and Gurley made it clear he's ready to heed Winston's call when the time comes.

Over the weekend, NFL offensive lineman Russell Okung also spelled out his argument for guaranteed contracts:

"Considering football’s level of brute, immanent physicality, high turnover as well as the short life cycle of its participants, it would seem to me that NFL players are in the most need of fully guaranteed contracts."

FYI ... NFL players have gone on strike before ... but, the last time they actually missed regular season games to get owners to meet their demands was WAAAY back in 1987.

But, 2021 could be a different story ... even DeMaurice Smith, Executive Director of the NFLPA, says a work stoppage is a "virtual certainty."

Nick Diaz is finally breaking his silence on that domestic violence arrest back in May -- telling TMZ Sports, "I was framed."

The UFC star and his camp had been radio silent about the May 24 incident ever since Nick was arrested for allegedly choking a woman and slamming her to the ground at a Las Vegas home.

He was charged with felony domestic battery by strangulation and faces up to 5 years in prison if convicted.

So, when we saw Nick leaving Tocaya Organica in Los Angeles, we asked if he had a message for his fans. He cracked a smile and said, "I was framed."

Diaz also talked about his fighting career -- telling us he wants to get back in the Octagon next year -- with his sights set on fighting Georges St-Pierre.

"I win if he don't cheat," Diaz said ... "If he don't miss weight like he did last time."

UFC legend Matt Serra claims some drunk a-hole was threatening the servers at a Vegas cafe on July 4 ... so, he took action -- AND TOOK THE GUY DOWN!

Serra was chllin' at the Grand Cafe at Red Rock Casino -- the night before he's set to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame -- when he saw the alleged a-hole being a jerk to staff.

The former welterweight champ subdued the patron -- while the guy continued to yell at Serra, "I'm gonna f*ck you up."

Spoiler: he did NOT "f*ck" Serra up.

Security rushed to the scene and took over.

As if you haven't seen Josh Brolin enough on the big screen this summer, here he is again for the 4th of July ... getting his cornhole on with pro surfing legend Laird Hamilton.

The actor -- who's been in 3 blockbusters so far this year -- was out at a beach in Malibu Wednesday celebrating Independence Day with a good old-fashioned game of throw-this-sack-in-that-hole. Based on how damn happy he looks, we're guessing he scored well.

Laird was spotted on the beach alongside Thanos/Cable/Matt Graver too ... but he eventually made his way into the water and did what he, quite literally, does best -- surfed his heart out. This time, on an electric surfboard!