TMZ Sports - Page 50

Buffalo Bills WR Zay Jones says he ain't just grateful to be back out on the football field after his bloody, naked arrest in March ... he's happy to be alive, telling reporters at Bills camp, "I could have lost my life."

TMZ Sports broke the story ... the Buffalo WR was involved in a bizarre naked struggle with his brother in a downtown L.A. apartment building -- where he allegedly tried to jump from a 30th floor window.

Zay was asked about the incident on Sunday -- and, while he explained he didn't want to relive the "very traumatic" moment, he did say the whole ordeal almost killed him.

"I'm grateful. I could have lost my life," Jones said.

"I'm grateful to just be here. And to be on this field and to be with my teammates. To see my family. I don't think there's any other words to describe it but just thankful and grateful."

Jones was arrested for felony vandalism after the incident ... but he won't face criminal charges after his family agreed to cover the cost for repairs.

Reggie Bush isn't throwing in the towel on Johnny Manziel just yet ... despite his atrocious 4-interception debut in the CFL.

"He's still got time," Reggie tells TMZ Sports ... "He'll be alright."

Of course, Manziel's first start in the CFL on Friday really couldn't have gone worse -- 4 picks before halftime as his Montreal Alouettes got beat up by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in a 50-11 rout.

Manziel only had 4 practices with Montreal before taking over the starting role -- and he was hurt by some key drops by his WRs. Johnny did flash moments of real athleticism though, so don't abandon all hope.

"I'm a Johnny Manziel fan so I hope he figures it out," Bush tells TMZ Sports.

Johnny's next game is Saturday against Ottawa -- we'll see if Manziel can right the ship.

UFC flyweight champ Henry Cejudo -- the man who defeated Demetrious Johnson -- tells TMZ Sports he's ALL THE WAY DOWN for a rematch ... saying, "Let's make it happen, baby!"

Cejudo was pushing his newly earned UFC belt around on Sunday in a stroller -- calling it his "baby." It's pretty hilarious.

But, when we got down to Henry's fighting future after shocking the world on Saturday night, Cejudo told us he wants the biggest money fights available ... whether it's a rematch or a fight with T.J. Dillashaw.

Dillashaw -- the bantamweight champ -- seemed to accept Cejudo's challenge after he defeated Cody Garbrandt at UFC 227 ... and Cejudo wants to make sure he follows through.

No matter who Cejudo fights, he's fired up about his future -- and for good reason.

LeBron James Jr. has picked his 8th grade destination -- he'll be attending the ultra-exclusive Crossroads School in Santa Monica, TMZ Sports has learned.

Multiple sources confirm ... 13-year-old Bronny has enrolled at Crossroads with the intention of being a student when the school year begins.

Bronny, of course, is one of the top young basketball players in the country. The assumption is that he'll join the school's middle school basketball team until he's eligible to play for the high school team next year.

FYI, Crossroads is where Shareef O'Neal played his high school ball. It's also where Baron Davis went to school back when he was a high school star.

Other famous alumni include ... Evan Spiegel, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Hudson, Jack Black, Maya Rudolph and Jonah Hill.

Of course, Bronny could always change his mind and go somewhere else -- but we're told, as of right now, the plan is to attend Crossroads.

8/6 -- A source close to Kendall tells us her dog never made contact with the child -- it was startled by the little girl -- and it never bit her. We're told Kendall didn't leave the deli until she was sure the dog didn't bite the girl as there were no physical injuries.

Kendall Jenner had cops called on her this weekend while out with her boyfriend, Ben Simmons, after her dog allegedly bit a little girl.

Law enforcement sources tell us a call to LAPD came in Sunday morning regarding a dog bite at the Beverly Glen Deli in L.A. that was allegedly inflicted by Kendall's Doberman Pinscher.

We're told a mother and her young daughter were eating on the patio of the restaurant -- where Kendall and Ben were also seated -- when for some reason her harnessed dog nipped the girl. Sources say there were no obvious puncture wounds from the bite, so the deli's staff simply administered ice from inside for her injury.

We're told when the mother came back outside to confront Kendall and Ben, they'd already paid their bill and vanished -- leaving behind no contact info or note.

TJ Dillashaw took care of business in short order Saturday night, knocking out mortal enemy Cody Garbrandt for a second time ... and retaining his bantamweight title.

The bad blood between the 2 fighters was evident ... they didn't touch gloves when the fight began and both were clearly out for blood. TJ took the title from Cody last November and for Cody -- this was a revenge fight.

TJ ended the fight flurry with a flurry of punches at 4:10 of the first round.

Henry Cejudo stunned everyone with a split decision win over Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson. It's all the more impressive because Mighty Mouse hadn't lost a fight in nearly 7 years and was widely regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC.

DJ had staved off 11 fighters in a row in title fights ... until Saturday night at the Staples Center in downtown L.A.

Odell Beckham is taking training camp ice baths to a whole 'nother level ... 'cause the NY Giants star just got a handful of diamonds implanted onto his tooth!!

OBJ had the procedure done a few days ago ... and it wasn't cheap -- coming in at around $5,000 -- and his dentist tells TMZ Sports it wasn't exactly easy to do, either.

"I got my ceramist to make a porcelain veneer that looked just like his tooth," New York dentist Dr. Lee Gause says.

"And then, on that porcelain veneer, I got a diamond cross made from Odell's jeweler that he actually made on a 3D rendering that I printed and sent to his shop."

Gause tells us he then locked in the jewels on Odell's canine tooth ... and they ain't removable unless Beckham returns to the dentist's chair.

Val Chmerkovskiy has become the latest in Hollywood to recruit a member of the LeBron family ... with the two-time Mirror Ball trophy winner callin' out Bronny to join the cast of "Dancing with the Stars: Juniors"!

Remember ... L.A.'s biggest celebs have already lined up to work with LeBron now that he's a Laker -- and just a few days ago, Jackie Christie begged Savannah to join "Basketball Wives."

Now ... Bronny's getting the Tinseltown pitch, courtesy of new 'DWTS: Juniors' judge Chmerkovskiy -- who tells TMZ Sports he really wants to see LBJ Jr. on the dance floor.

"It'll be awesome for you," Val says. "You're welcome, you should come on the show!"

It wouldn't be the most farfetched thing we've ever seen ... after all, we already reported Scottie Pippen's 9-year-old daughter is slated to be on the show.

NBA player Denzel Valentine got embarrassed at the Drew League in L.A. recently ... and now the man responsible for dropping 44 on DV is telling us why it had to be done in such savage fashion.

The man's name is Frank "Nitty" Sessions ... the reigning Drew Leauge MVP and triggerman for The Game's team, "Birdie's Revenge."

Sessions' beatdown of Valentine instantly went viral ... and when he spoke with TMZ Sports, he told us in this case it was a little more than a day's work ... it was PUNISHMENT.

"He said something that bothered me, that most NBA guys I play with would never say to me."

We asked Nitty what Valentine said to him ... and, while he wouldn't say exactly, he gave us an idea when we asked if DV referenced the difference in the two men's bank accounts.

"Oh, of course he did. That's why I lost it. It's two lines and we both playing for free right now. In between these lines that don't got nothing to do with it."

BTW -- Sessions ain't broke. He's been getting money playing ball overseas for years, and basketball pays all the bills for him.

Frank says he wants to test his game against Chris Paul or Patrick Beverley next ... but until that happens, relive what he did to Valentine below ... might not be suitable for kids, it's that nasty.

Reggie Theus says HE'S the reason Michael Jordan is what he is today ... and he's waiting on Bulls fans to finally respect that -- telling TMZ Sports, "I'm looking for a check actually."

The former NBA star was leaving LAX when he explained to us that if it weren't for him, the '90s Bulls might have never been a thing.

"I take a lot of credit for their success," Reggie says. "Because, if we weren't so bad, they would have never gotten Michael Jordan."

Theus laughs off the comment ... but Reggie WAS part of the Chicago team in the 1983-84 season that was so awful, it allowed the Bulls to get the No. 3 pick and take M.J. the following season.

It looks like KFC's found its next Colonel Sanders -- The Mountain from "Game of Thrones" ... and he's in the Colonel's duds doing something very Mountain-esque.

TMZ got video of Hafthor Julius Bjornsson -- aka Thor, the 2018 World's Strongest Man -- decked out in the famous white suit for a one-of-a-kind video shoot ... for the record books.

We're told it was a success, and along with also being a 4-time Europe's Strongest Man winner and a 7-time Strongest Man in his native Iceland ... he now holds the record for pulling the most fried chicken!

That's finger lickin' impressive.

It's unclear if The Mountain's officially joining the club of actors turned KFC spokesmen like Darrell Hammond, Norm Macdonald, Jim Gaffigan, George Hamilton and Rob Riggle, but if he does ... he'll easily be the strongest of the group.

Melania Trump's not going to bat for her husband after his derogatory and utterly disrespectful tweet Friday night ... and is instead lending her support to LeBron James.

Scoreboard?

FLOTUS addressed Donald Trump calling both LeBron and Don Lemon dumb, through a statement by her spokesperson to CNN saying ... "It looks like LeBron James is working to do good things on behalf of our next generation."

According to her statement, Melania would also be open to visiting LeBron's I Promise School in his hometown of Akron as part of her "Be Best" initiative.

So -- instead of backing POTUS on this one -- seems like the First Lady's more down to team up with Bron.

Donald Trump, the man who callously separated children from their parents and forever traumatized them in the process, has viciously attacked LeBron James, the man who just opened a school for hundreds of poor children and probably saved them in the process.

The most vile President ever to hold office tweeted late Friday night, "Lebron (sic) James was just interviewed by the dumbest man on television, Don Lemon. He made Lebron (sic) look smart, which isn't easy to do. I like Mike."

LeBron was on CNN this week, unveiling plans for the I Promise School in his hometown of Akron -- which has opened its doors to 3rd and 4th graders, and set to expand to 1st - 8th graders by 2022. LeBron is giving every student all sorts of benefits, from bicycles to free tuition at the Univ. of Akron.

Trump, who bumbles through speeches and brags how he is unprepared, is clearly continuing his campaign of hatred and prejudice.

What's especially amazing ... LeBron actually exercised restraint on Lemon's show in criticizing the President. The grossly insecure President, who is manic over and obsessed with cable news, simply cannot handle criticism and responds with wild and baseless personal attacks.

Don Lemon responded by saying, "Who's the real dummy? A man who puts kids in classrooms or one who puts kids in cages? #BeBest."

10:15 AM PT -- Michael Jordan just weighed in on Trump's tweet, as well, telling NBC News ... "I support LJ. He’s doing an amazing job for his community.”

It's the least surprising thing this week ... that sports stars and other celebs are appalled by the President of the United States calling LeBron James dumb in a late Friday night tweet. If this were a limbo contest, Donald Trump would blow everyone away, because no one could go lower.

Here's a sampling.

NBA All-Star Karl Anthony-Towns

WNBA Star Elena Delle Donne

NBA Rookie Sensation Donovan Mitchell

Ohio Gov. John Kasich

YG, whose song "Big Bank" triggered a fierce war that goes to the heart of civil rights and racial prejudice in America, says the Madden CEO called him to express regret over editing out Colin Kaepernick from the song ... but it may be too little, too late.

YG was leaving Craig's in WeHo Friday night, before his album release party, and he said Andrew Wilson, the CEO of Electronic Arts, which got on the horn to say Colin's name would be back in the Madden game come Monday.

As you know, YG's version included Colin but it not-so-mysteriously disappeared when the game was unveiled, triggering outrage. It can only be viewed as kneeling to NFL fans who embrace Donald Trump's version of America.

The UFC will not discipline Conor McGregor for the bus attack at Barclays Center in New York -- with Dana White explaining that his punishment through the legal system is good enough already.

TMZ Sports spoke with the UFC honcho about the upcoming superfight between Conor and Khabib Nurmagomedov and how he put things together behind the scenes.

"Obviously, I've been telling you guys forever we had to wait until Conor's stuff was handled in New York. [That] got done. It was very favorable for Conor. Time to roll."

As we previously reported, Conor was sentenced to 5 days community service and ordered to complete an anger management course as part of a plea deal with prosecutors.

We asked Dana if the UFC had considered slapping Conor with a suspension as well.

"Suspended? He hasn't fought in 2 years. How much longer should we suspend him?"

"He's obviously lost lots of money. Millions of dollars in what went down in New York. What more could we do to him? He went through the legal process and got what he got. That's it!"