TMZ Sports - Page 50

Al Michaels has been covering pro sports in America for more than 50 years -- but, the legendary broadcaster admits ... he's never been to a single soccer game!

Michael says he really likes the sport -- and brags that his grandkids play -- but tells TMZ Sports he's never been to a real professional soccer game.

"People say to me, 'Don't you want to do the World Cup?' I'm going, 'Do the World Cup?' I've never been to a single soccer game."

For the record, Michaels has covered just about every OTHER major sport -- including football, baseball, hockey, horse racing ... and even figure skating and road cycling! Just no futbol.

Serena Williams is furious at the "random" drug tests in her sport -- claiming she's been singled out by officials and tested more than any other player ... and she's saying it's "discrimination."

The 36-year-old tennis superstar -- who just came in 2nd at Wimbledon -- went off Tuesday night on Twitter as she got ready to take another drug test.

"And it’s that time of the day to get 'randomly' drug tested and only test Serena. Out of all the players it’s been proven I’m the one getting tested the most."

"Discrimination? I think so. At least I’ll be keeping the sport clean #StayPositive."

She added, "But I’m ready to do whatever it takes to have a clean sport so bring it on. I’m excited."

Nikki Bella's taking a big step in her relationship with John Cena ... a step AWAY from him.

Sources close to Nikki tell TMZ ... she's started shopping on her own for a home in the La Jolla area of San Diego. Despite their breakup, we're told she's been living at John's place in that area ... but he's been traveling in China.

As we've told you, Nikki and John have been trying to reconcile since she broke off their engagement in April, but when we last saw them together on a dinner date last month ... things didn't look so good.

Our sources say Nikki really wants to have her independence back and "figure herself out" -- a sign things may be over with Cena, at least for now. We're told she's looking to stay in the same area to be close to her sister, Brie.

Nikki's a first-time home buyer, and we're told her budget is just over $1 mil. We're told she wants a place with at least 4 bedrooms, good security and a pool. She's already scoped out 2 homes in gated communities.

As for the breakup -- the moment Nikki called off the engagement happened on camera, and it's airing on Sunday night's season finale of "Total Bellas."

Fat Joe says he truly believes 50 Cent and Floyd Mayweather are "brothers" and need to end their feud -- but he's not the gonna be the mediator.

Joe is friends with both guys -- and says it's crazy to watch them bash each other so hard on social media.

The latest in the feud ... Floyd says 50 Cent is a "herpes infested rat." 50 says Floyd is a fake rich "sucker" who beats women.

50 also made some dark accusations about Mayweather's alleged role in the murder-suicide of one of his friends.

Enter Fat Joe ... who says he still believes in his heart of hearts that Floyd and 50 love each other -- but believes they need to call a truce.

"I'm tired of being the middle guy," Joe said ... "I'm tired of [being] the guy breaking everything up. I mean, you know, they're brothers, man. I don't like it. I don't like it. Because they're both beautiful guys to me, man."

Despite the hostility, Joe says there may be peace "somewhere down the road."

"I think maybe in the long run, they'll figure it out. I really believe that they sincerely love each other and they're brothers. Unfortunately, this is playing out on social media."

Meanwhile, Fat Joe is killin' it in the studio -- he just released a new track called "Attention" with Chris Brown.

Former NFL star and NFL Network analyst Eric Davis sexually harassed and groped a makeup artist, then confronted her about losing his job over it ... according to a new suit.

Erin McParland claims she was hired by NFL Network in 2014, and became the target of Davis' unwanted comments and advances ... including hugging her, rubbing his genitals on her leg and grabbing her butt.

Her allegations were reported on in December, but she hadn't sued until now ... and there are additional claims.

According to the docs ... she went to the company's HR department to complain, and they told her they'd look into it. McParland claims she told them, if any disciplinary action was taken against Davis, to make sure she wasn't around so he couldn't confront her about it.

However, McParland claims Davis was let go on a day she was working, and he was allowed to aggressively approach her afterward ... which she says made her fear for her safety. She also says he was allowed to take a job at ESPN ... where the NFL Network knew she also freelanced.

There's more -- McParland mentions Michael Irvin once grabbed her around the waist while she was working and made her feel uncomfortable. As we reported ... Irvin, along with Davis, Marshall Faulk, Donovan McNabb and others were sued in December by another makeup artist who worked at the NFL Network.

Davis and McNabb have since been fired by ESPN.

Todd Gurley celebrated signing a four-year, $60 million contract extension Tuesday by going ALL OUT ... in the weight room.

The Los Angeles Rams tailback -- and now the richest-ever RB in NFL history -- didn't take a day off to enjoy his fat new paychecks ... and instead decided to get some shoulder work in.

Todd pressed some heavy-ass kettle bells and got in some footwork drills ... not exactly ballin' out on fillets and champagne.

Of course, training camp starts Thursday ... so the celebration might be on hold for a while.

This is interesting ... Daniel Cormier tells TMZ Sports he wants to line up at least one more opponent BEFORE he gets in the Octagon with Brock Lesnar!

Cormier is currently nursing a broken hand from his victory over Stipe Miocic at UFC 226 -- the same night Lesnar rushed the Octagon and shoved him, hyping up a Cormier vs. Lesnar superfight!

But as Cormier pointed out, Lesnar won't be cleared to fight until early 2019 -- so, he wants another big fight while he waits for the WWE superstar.

So, who's it gonna be? Cormier says he's not even thinking about Jon Jones -- but if he miraculously gets cleared before DC retires, ya gotta think he'd strongly consider it.

Cardinals TE Ricky Seals-Jones told police multiple times the reason he was involved in a scuffle at a hotel in Scottsdale earlier this month was because he had to take a leak.

Seriously.

TMZ Sports got the police body cam footage showing the moment cops came across a subdued RSJ ... when he revealed that he got into a shoving match with W Scottsdale employees over his use of a private bathroom.

"Literally, I had to piss," Seals-Jones says.

Ricky tells cops he was denied entry at the front of the hotel ... and when he went to the side door in a second attempt to gain entry to the bathroom -- employees tackled him.

W workers tell a little different tale ... saying the bathroom was only for hotel guests at that hour -- and when Seals-Jones "didn't want to take no for an answer," he charged in like an "offensive lineman."

Cops reviewed the video surveillance and believed the hotel ... Seals-Jones was arrested on three misdemeanor charges of assault, disorderly conduct and third-degree criminal trespass.

International soccer star Jesse Lingard is feeling himself so much after Team England's epic World Cup run -- he's now partying in nightclubs WITH A CROWN ON HIS HEAD!!!

The 25-year-old stud -- who scored a goal in England's 6-1 thrashing over Panama -- hit up Mokai Lounge nightclub in Miami with a royal headpice and a jacket that said, "The King."

FEEEEELIN' HIMSELF!

On top of that, dude had a royal procession of bottle ladies bringing him drinks with sparklers -- as the DJ announced his presence ... "Jesse f**king Lingard!"

Lingard's been on a tear ever since England locked up 4th place in the World Cup -- partying in Hollywood with Paul Pogba before jumping on a private jet bound for Florida.

Scary moment for Lamar Odom ... someone pulled a gun and fired multiple shots during an altercation with the NBA star ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Here's what we know ... cops were called to a Hooters restaurant in Queens, NY in the early hours of July 20 after gunshots were fired.

We've learned ... witnesses told police Lamar and his group of friends were leaving the restaurant when they got into a verbal altercation with another group. Part of the argument was captured on surveillance.

One witness told cops a man from the other group pulled out a gun and fired multiple shots into the air -- nobody was hit. That group fled the scene, according to the witness.

Law enforcement sources tell us the NYPD is actively searching for the shooter. So far, no arrests have been made.

Odom is not accused of any wrongdoing -- and we're told he's been cooperating with police.

Lamar's attorney Saam Zangeneh tells us "Lamar did nothing wrong and was not arrested."

Gary Payton spent his 50th birthday smackin' a whole lotta butt -- and TMZ Sports has the video.

The NBA Hall of Famer celebrated his half-centennial at a raging nightclub in Vegas -- surrounded by a bunch of hot chicks in thongs and pasties.

They grinded on Gary. He danced and threw money. At one point, he handed out some spankings. Good times had by all.

Oh, yeah ... there was cake too, along with the cakes. But, let's be honest, no one gave a crap about that.

Ex-NBA star Ben Gordon won't go to jail for his 2017 fire alarm pulling meltdown in L.A. -- but he ain't exactly off the hook either.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... the former Chicago Bulls player was arrested back in June 2017 after witnesses say he freaked out and pulled a bunch of fire alarms at his apartment complex.

LAPD and L.A. City Fire raced to the scene -- but when they realized there was no fire, Gordon was arrested for falsely activating a fire alarm.

He faced up to a year in jail -- but struck a deal with prosecutors in which he pled no contest and, in exchange, got 18 months probation. He was also ordered to pay various fines and fees.

No big deal for Gordon ... who reportedly made $84 MILLION during his NBA career.

The man suing Odell Beckham for an alleged brutal beatdown at the NFL star's home is escalating the war -- now claiming he has proof Odell tried to illegally pay a woman for sex.

But, Odell's team claims it's all BS.

It's all in new court docs filed in California ... in which Ishmael Temple claims he was at Beckham's Beverly Hills home back in January, when the NFL star turned on him and allegedly ordered his employees to beat him up.

Temple claims he suffered major injuries, including broken teeth. He initially sued for $15 mil.

Odell's camp vehemently denied the allegations -- claimed Beckham had no involvement in any violence -- and claimed Beckham was being extorted by a man who filed a frivolous lawsuit.

But, Temple's lawyers have filed new docs -- including an alleged email exchange with Beckham's attorneys -- and it's loaded with new bombshell allegations.

Among them, Temple's attorney claims, "We have evidence of your client offering $1k to sleep with a girl from Arizona visiting L.A. known to my client."

Temple's lawyer also says they have "evidence of drugs of the most prohibited types readily available and consumed at his parties."

In the docs, Temple's lawyer claims he initially offered to drop his case against Beckham for a $225,000 settlement -- but later rescinded that offer. Unclear why.

We reached out to Odell's camp for comment and were told -- "Odell Beckham Jr., through his attorney, denies all of the allegations."

One thing's for sure ... this case is as nasty as it gets, and it doesn't look like it's going away any time soon.

Nashville Predators forward Austin Watson just got a slap on the wrist in his domestic violence case -- after admitting to roughing up his baby mama at a Tennessee gas station.

As we previously reported, the 26-year-old -- who was a first-round pick in the 2010 NHL Draft -- was arrested on June 16 after admitting that he pushed his girlfriend during a heated argument.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ Sports, Watson told police that he and his GF were arguing about her drinking and not being able to attend a wedding when things got physical.

Watson admitted to pushing the woman and cops found red marks on her chest.

Watson was arrested for misdemeanor domestic assault and was facing 12 months in jail.

But, Watson appeared in court on Tuesday and cut a deal with prosecutors in which he pled no contest to the charge ... and in exchange got probation.

He was also ordered to complete a 26-week battery intervention program. If he violates probation, the judge can throw Watson behind bars for up to a year.

If he completes the program and keeps his nose clean, the conviction will be expunged from his record.

Watson scored 14 goals and logged five assists in 76 games for the Preds last season.

The NHL and the Predators have said they were reviewing the matter. Unclear if they will impose a punishment as well.

Pro gaming star FaZe Censor just chose Duty over booty -- breaking up with his smokin' hot celebrity weathergirl GF, Yanet Garcia ... so he can focus on playing video games.

Censor and Yanet started dating 3 years ago and have become one of the most famous couples in the gaming world ... because they're both insanely good looking.

But, the love train is OVER -- with Censor saying he broke up with the 27-year-old Mexican meteorologist because he wants to direct all of his energy on winning a Call of Duty championship.

In a 10 minute speed rant, Censor praised Garcia as an "awesome girl" -- who's smart and talented -- but says they're just not on the same page anymore.

"I gotta do what's right for me," Censor said ... explaining that Garcia recently took a job in Mexico City where she can focus on growing her career as a model and an actress.

Censor made it clear his eye is on the prize -- "I'll do whatever it takes to be a champion."

Dude ... after this move, you BETTER win.

More trouble for ex-WWE superstar Brian Christopher Lawler -- aka Grandmaster Sexay -- who was arrested for DUI and evading cops in Tennessee earlier this month ... TMZ Sports has learned.

According to official docs obtained by TMZ Sports, cops spotted the 46-year-old pro wrestler speeding and swerving around 1 AM on July 7.

Cops attempted to pull him over, but Lawler failed to stop -- because, according to police, he was trying to make it home.

Once Lawler finally stopped, cops say he reeked of booze and had an open 12 ounce can in his center console. So, they arrested him on the spot.

Lawler -- formerly part of the tag team Too Cool with Scotty 2 Hotty -- was taken to a nearby station where he was booked for DUI and evading arrest. Bail was set at $40,000.

The arrest comes just 1 month after he was busted for allegedly running from a hotel bill in Memphis.