TMZ Sports - Page 50

Johnny Manziel says he was initially EXCITED about being drafted by the Browns -- but when he finally got to Cleveland ... all he wanted to do was leave.

"Once I landed and went to Berea, Ohio for the first time, I was like, 'Can I go back to college?'"

"I don't know anybody, I don't know where I'm at. It's cold. I don't like it," Manziel told Kevin Hart while taking an ice bath on his show, "Cold as Balls."

Manziel opens up like a book to Hart -- talking about everything from his drug use in college to wanting kids with his new wife, Bre Tiesi.

On the drug topic, Manziel said while playing at Texas A&M he felt like "I was the guy who had to party to be able to play good."

Manziel said he later realized he didn't like who he had become and wanted to change his life for the better.

"I'm at a point now where I can look back, I can reflect and realize that I was one way -- that was wrong. What can I do moving forward? Because I can't change how I was."

"That's all I can do and just try to stack enough good days together and stack enough things together to get back to where I wanna be."

Johnny says he's determined to work his way back to the NFL.

He also farted during the interview.

Arghhhhh ... the star of the VH1 reality show "Black Ink Crew" is also a PIRATE who allegedly stole the Floyd Mayweather, Conor McGregor fight -- this according to a new lawsuit.

Ceaser Emanuel -- who owns the Black Ink tattoo shop featured on the show -- is being sued for a FORTUNE after he allegedly rigged the TVs at the parlor to play the fight without paying the proper fees.

Remember, the fight cost most people $99 on Pay-Per-View -- but if you wanted to show the fight in a commercial business, you had to pay thousands of dollars extra in licensing fees.

Well, according to the suit ... Emanuel was so cheap, he tried to bob and weave his way out of the fees by illegally obtaining the fight and showing it at his Atlanta location ... hoping he wouldn't get caught.

Problem is ... the company in charge of the licensing, Joe Hand Promotions, said they busted him red-handed.

Larry Nassar has a new home ... a high-security federal penitentiary in Florida that's home to notorious mobster James "Whitey" Bulger.

Nassar was originally serving his 60-year federal sentence for child porn in Arizona ... but his attorney claims he was attacked in May only a few hours after being released into general population.

Officials transferred Nassar to a temporary facility in Oklahoma ... before sending him to Sumter County, Florida -- about 50 miles from Orlando.

USP Coleman II is a high-security federal prison that currently holds about 1,400 inmates ... and has been home to famous convicts like Bulger.

The facility has been described by some as a special needs prison ... known to be a place where especially vulnerable inmates have a higher degree of safety and protection.

Fresh off kickin' Deji's ass... Jake Paul is already getting challenged to step back into the ring ... by All-Pro wide receiver Dez Bryant.

Dez apparently tried to congratulate Jake's brother, Logan, via Twitter DMs on his fight with KSI ... except he got the 2 Paul's confused and accidentally messaged Jake.

After Dez explained the mistake, Jake clapped back by congratulating the current free agent on his massive contract extension ... pretending to mix Bryant with L.A. Rams superstar Todd Gurley, who just signed a 4-yr., $57.5 mil contract this past July.

Jake (who happens to be a Cleveland Browns fan) made the interaction public ... saying "Dez Bryant don’t want the smoke💨 & no team wants Dez Bryant!! GO BROWNS!!"

When Dez was asked about Jake, he said "I guess he called himself trying to clown..we can get in the boxing ring tho if he want smoke."

Of course, Jake just got done beating up on Deji this past Saturday ... and proceeded to call out Chris Brown as his next opponent.

Floyd Mayweather has a warning for Khabib Nurmagomedov -- Conor McGregor is coming for your head!!

One year after Floyd and Conor faced off in the boxing ring, TBE says he learned firsthand McGregor is a "warrior" who's not afraid of anything ... and he's passing on a warning to his UFC 229 opponent.

"Conor's not gonna back down and he's not a scared fighter at all, win, lose or draw," Mayweather said at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City ... "Conor gonna come to fight."

Despite their rivalry, Floyd says he actually wants to HELP Conor this time around ... saying he'd love for CM to train at his home gym in Vegas.

"I know that UFC got a training facility but we'd like for him to work out at the Mayweather Boxing Club."

So, who's Floyd picking to win the fight?

"I don't really have a prediction because I've never seen the guy fight that's facing Conor McGregor -- from what I know he's a hell of a guy that's on the ground -- hell of a grappler -- and he can wrestle."

"But, the fans want to see you stand up and fight. That's what the fans like to see. But, Conor McGregor, he's a tough competitor, like I said before Conor McGregor's not gonna back down from anyone, he's not scared, he's a warrior."

Cancel your Jiggy Butzalea shirts -- they're not dating!

After Iggy Azalea was spotted with NBA star Jimmy Butler in Malibu over the weekend, some speculated the two were an item.

But, Iggy says that ain't it -- the two just happened to be "standing next to" each other in a restaurant parking lot.

"Can we please stop saying every man who is single you see me standing next to is someone I'm on a date with," Iggy said.

Iggy insist the two were simply having "normal in passing conversation" -- not finishing up a date, as the photo agency who shot the pics suggested.

So, bottom line. He's single. She's single.

9:03 PM PT -- EA Sports has made the decision to cancel all 3 remaining Madden NFL 19 tournament qualifying events. A rep for the company tells TMZ, "We have made a decision to cancel our three remaining Madden Classic qualifier events while we run a comprehensive review of safety protocols for competitors and spectators."

The statement continues, "We will work with our partners and our internal teams to establish a consistent level of security al all of our competitive gaming events.

The next Madden NFL 19 tournament is going on as scheduled, days after the shooting in Florida, but organizers are making major changes ... TMZ has learned.

Dennis C. Wiltshire -- a rep for FIAD Entertainment Group, which is putting on the EA-sponsored event in Dulles, VA -- tells us, his organization had a knee-jerk reaction after hearing about Sunday's shooting in Jacksonville, FL that left 3 people dead, and many others injured.

He says within minutes, they started scrambling to beef up security for their event which is going down Saturday and Sunday. Wiltshire says their efforts included contacting local law enforcement and their independent security contractors for the event. The Madden tourney will be part of a larger gaming convention called GEXCon.

Wiltshire tells us, in addition to ramped-up security and police officers on site, they've strictly prohibited all guns inside the event. He wouldn't comment on specifics of security screenings, to avoid tipping their hand to the public. BTW ... Virginia's an open carry state.

As we reported ... police say 24-year-old David Katz opened fire Sunday, injuring 11 people and killing 2 others before shooting himself. Audio of the opening shots were broadcast live.

A moment of silence is being planned for the Virginia tournament. Wiltshire says EA has yet to reach out to offer any official guidance on how to proceed.

Originally Published -- 9:52 AM PDT

6:56 PM PT -- Vince Russo, the former WWE writer who said he reached out to Jason Sensation, has reportedly said he was able to get in touch with Jason, and everything is fine. Russo allegedly claimed Jason told him he was only joking, and was nowhere near the arena. The show has gone on as planned.

A WWE fan threatened suicide at a "WWE Raw" event in Toronto after claiming he snuck his gun into the venue ... and vowing to off himself on the air.

The man -- who goes by Jason Sensation online -- tweeted out an ominous message Monday afternoon, saying ... "I got my gun through security & will shoot myself in the head & kill myself during tonight's #RAW in Toronto. Don't ya dare miss it!!! Thanks for the memories @WWE."

Jason has some history with WWE -- he portrayed wrestler Owen Hart during a comedy skit in the late '90s. His Twitter bio also said that he's battling depression.

Law enforcement sources tell us Toronto PD is aware of Jason's tweet, and is currently looking into the matter. However, we're told no evacuation of the area is currently planned.

Multiple people in the WWE community -- including ex-WWE writer Vince Russo -- have been reaching out to Jason, pleading with him to reconsider and refrain from any potential violence.

UFC star Junior Dos Santos -- a former heavyweight champ -- claims he's been FALSELY identified as the violent maniac who knocked out several people in a nightclub rampage ... and he's pissed.

The video is insane -- showing a muscular dude dancing in a club on August 19 before another patron accidentally bumps into him. That's when it all goes to hell.

The man in the video explodes -- throwing haymakers at EVERYONE and sleeping dudes left and right. One of the men was knocked out cold and looked to be seriously injured.

The maniac continues brutalizing everyone in his path while onlookers try -- in vain -- to control him.

The security footage was posted online and identifies Junior by his nickname, "Cigano."

But, we spoke with Junior's attorney who is adamant the assailant is NOT her client -- claiming he was in Turks and Caicos with his family at the time and didn't set foot in a nightclub that evening.

We're told Junior's team has already reported the video to YouTube in the hopes of removing Junior's name from the title and description, claiming it's already hurting his reputation.

Ever try doing your job while an NFL superstar farts in your face?

That's what happened to the guy testing Antonio Brown's body fat percentage on Monday -- who weathered ass rip after ass rip while trying to administer the test.

Dude must have a nose of steel -- because he was unfazed by the Pittsburgh Steelers' WR's overactive butthole.

In the end, the test showed Brown has 3% body fat -- which the fart-enduring administrator described as "pretty f**king good."

As for Antonio, he chalked up his gas problems to having too much fiber in his diet.

Brown returned to practice with the Steelers on Monday and looked pretty good catching balls from Ben Roethlisberger.

AB had missed some time after suffering an injury to his quad -- but he appears to be doing much better now.

The Steelers have their final preseason game on Thursday -- playing the Panthers in a final dress rehearsal. Don't expect Brown to take any snaps though.

Ice Cube was so fired up after Team Power won the BIG3 title over the weekend, he went to the locker room and kicked off the champagne-spraying party all by himself ... and TMZ Sports has the video.

Cube actually got to the locker room so fast, he beat some of the players to the celebration -- but when Corey Maggette, "Big Baby" Davis and "Birdman" Andersen arrived, they got the full spray treatment.

It all went down Friday night at Barclays Center, where Team Power took on (and beat) 3's Company -- comprised of players like Baron Davis and Drew Gooden.

Big Baby was particularly pumped up -- grabbin' everybody around him and soaking them in Luc Belaire champagne. Not even coach Nancy Lieberman was spared.

And, by the way ... did you know Nancy Lieberman became the first woman to coach a men’s pro team to a championship?

Tony Gonzalez says if he were in Antonio Gates' cleats ... the pair would be hung up in the closet for good -- 'cause the ex-NFL superstar says he'd retire if he were A.G.!!

"I'd probably be done," he says.

Remember ... the Chargers cut ties with the superstar tight end this offseason -- but after Hunter Henry's knee injury, there were rumors L.A. could bring him back.

With just over a week until the regular season begins ... that doesn't seem like it's happening -- and Gonzalez tells us that would spell the end of his career if he were Antonio.

"I probably [would hang them up], but that's me," Tony says.

Odell Beckham, you're about to sign the largest contract extension for a WR in the history of the NFL -- what are you gonna do next??

Forget Disneyland, Odell just had a locker room dance party with Sterling Shepard while bumping "For The Love Of Money" by The O'Jays.

... and it's awesome!!!

Odell is reportedly about to finalize his new deal with the New York Giants -- a 5-year deal worth up to $95 MILLION with $65 guaranteed, according to ESPN and NFL Network.

For perspective ... the largest WR contracts are currently held by guys like Antonio Brown (4-years, $68 mil) and Mike Evans (5-years worth up to $82.5 million).

Think Odell's happy about it? Judging by the video, he's over the moon -- dude is dancing like he just won the lottery ... and he kinda just did!

Ex-NFL running back Marcel Shipp just caught a huge break in his domestic violence case ... 'cause the charges were dropped after a key witness failed to show in court Monday ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Shipp -- a former Cardinals RB from 2001 to 2007 -- was facing over a year in prison after he allegedly got physical with a woman on a sidewalk in downtown Scottsdale in February.

40-year-old Shipp was hit with 3 misdemeanor charges -- including assault and disorderly conduct.

A hearing in the case was scheduled for Monday morning -- but the key witness was a no-show, prosecutors say.

Officials wouldn't specify if the witness was in fact the alleged victim -- but it seems likely.

It's not uncommon for domestic violence victims to stop cooperating with prosecutors after the initial report. Generally speaking, prosecutors often find it difficult to get a conviction without having a cooperative accuser, so when an accuser goes M.I.A., it usually means the case has sunk.

So, what does it mean for Shipp? He's off the hook for now -- but officials say the case CAN be refiled if the witness changes course and cooperates.

Less is more when it comes to training gear for Novak Djokovic ... 'cause dude went for a run on the beach in Spain wearing sneakers and a Speedo.

Djok was hangin' out in Marbella when he decided to get in a workout while taking in some sun -- so, he hit one of the public beach gym places and started grindin'!

... in his budgy smuggler.

He ran. He did pull-ups. Leg press. All while leaving little to the imagination.

Look, he's from Europe (Serbia) and was in Europe (Spain) ... and everyone knows they love their man panties across the pond.

Plus, Novak's got a killer bod.

Of course, Novak is now in New York for the U.S. Open ... so, it's all business from here on out.

Iggy Azalea had an interesting Sunday ... spending some time with NBA superstar Jimmy Butler in Malibu.

Soooooooooo ... was this a date???

The photographer certainly believes it was -- saying the two left a restaurant in Malibu together after dining together.

Buuuuuut ... it's also ENTIRELY possible the two just happened to be leaving the same restaurant at the same time and were being cordial in the parking lot.

The two seem to be each other's types -- he's a good lookin' NBA superstar. She's smokin' hot.

But remember, Jimmy was recently out to lunch with ANOTHER really attractive lady -- India Love -- and when we asked if they were a "thing," Jimmy played the whole thing down.

By the way, Love is an aspiring rapper who's been romantically linked to stars like The Game, Rick Ross and Drake. She's also got 3.7 million IG followers.