TMZ Sports - Page 50

NBA star Enes Kanter has a lot in common with Colin Kaepernick -- saying they're both trying to "stand up for what's right" in their countries ... and their presidents HATE them for it.

Of course, Enes has been labeled a terrorist in his native Turkey -- with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan trying to imprison him and his family members for speaking out against the regime.

Kanter tells us the guy is a "lunatic" -- and despite the threats and other attacks, the NBA star says he vows to continue "fighting for human rights and trying to do the best we can."

Which brings us to Kaepernick ... a man Enes praises as a righteous person who has his FULL support.

When we brought up the mayor in Louisiana, who recently tried to ban Nike products in his town because of the Swoosh's association with Kaep ... Enes says it reminds him of the situation back home.

"I just feel sad, because it's the same situation I'm having with my country," Enes says ... "but I'm standing for what's right, man."

Barry Bonds will be the first MLB player entrenched in baseball's PED scandal to make the Hall of Fame ... and he won't be the last -- so says former World Series MVP David Eckstein.

Eckstein managed to have a great career despite playing in the thick of the steroid era -- he was never implicated or tested positive for anything ... as clean as they come.

So, how does he feel about the possibility of juicers like Alex Rodriguez, Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens and others possibly being enshrined in baseball's holiest shrine?

Doesn't seem like he's THAT opposed to it.

"That will start with Bonds ... because Bonds was a Hall of Famer before this stuff. So, I think he'll be the first one," Eckstein says.

"I think at some point in time, when the older writers [who vote for the HOF] get out and the younger writers get in, I think at some point in time, you might see these guys get in."

Still ... David isn't holding a grudge (dude did beat Barry for one of his World Series rings) -- and says, ultimately, Bonds deserves a bronze bust one day.

"Bonds was a Hall of Famer prior [to PEDs]," David says. "We'll see. I mean, who knows? You just wish no one ever did it."

Greg Hardy vs. Shawne Merriman ... in a fist fight?!

Yeah, this could actually happen.

Shawne -- the former NFL superstar -- is about to compete in his first bare knuckle boxing match ... and if he wins, "Lights Out" says he'd LOVE to get in the ring against Hardy.

Of course, Hardy has been crushing everybody since transitioning from the NFL to MMA -- and has already earned a development contract with the UFC.

Now, Merriman is following Hardy's lead ... sorta.

The ex-Chargers Pro Bowl linebacker signed a deal with the World Bare Knuckle Fighting Federation to brawl on Nov. 9 against Mike Bourke -- a dude who once knocked out Ken Shamrock.

If Merriman wins, he tells TMZ Sports ... a superfight with Hardy would be awesome.

"I'll definitely be open to see what Greg Hardy got to offer."

By the way, this isn't some fun experiment for Merriman -- he's been seriously training for years and believes, since he's only 34, he can have a real future in combat sports.

It all starts with Mike Bourke -- and Shawne says he's already putting together his fight plan.

Carl Lewis tells TMZ Sports now that he and Usain Bolt are retired ... it's all about chasing a different kind of gold -- saying Bolt's gotta catch him in dimes, not times now.

"We're both retired, man," Carl told us when we asked who'd win in Bolt-Lewis race these days. "He's gotta beat my paper."

ICYMI ... Carl's been very critical of Bolt over the years, accusing him of using PEDs and saying the Jamaican sprinter didn't do enough to grow the sport of track.

Now, it appears Lewis is saying Bolt's gotta make some better investments in retirement too ... 'cause apparently Carl's way ahead of him there.

Big bummer for everyone ... 'cause 401ks ain't nearly as fun as 100 meters.

Justin Bieber ... Skrillex ... Lil Wayne -- they ain't got NOTHING on Hopsin when it comes to the skate park ... so says boarding legend Tony Hawk.

"Guy can do triple heelflips!" Hawk tells TMZ Sports. "He's no joke."

Tony was out in NYC earlier this week when he made the revelation to us ... and, gotta say -- we're pretty surprised.

Dudes like Logic, Wiz Khalifa, Rich the Kid and even Chris Brown have been spotted shredding on four wheels -- but Hawk tells us the "Sag My Pants" rapper tops them all.

"He's legit," Tony says.

By the way ... if Hopsin's name sounds familiar, it's 'cause he was the guy in a tiff with Tyler, the Creator (who also skates!) a few years ago ... dissin' the rapper in "Ill Mind of Hopsin 4."

Not sure who eventually won that beef ... but at least now we know who'd win in the halfpipe.

Josh Gordon's very strange 6 years with the Cleveland Browns have gone up in smoke ... the team just decided to release him.

Browns GM John Dorsey issued a statement Saturday, saying ... "This afternoon we informed Josh Gordon and his representatives that we are going to release him on Monday."

Dorsey added ... "For the past six years the Browns have fully supported and invested in Josh, both personally and professionally and wanted the best for him, but unfortunately we've reached a point where we feel it's best to part ways and move forward. We wish Josh well."

Earlier Saturday, Cleveland ruled Gordon out for Sunday's game against the Saints with a hamstring injury. Josh played week 1 in the tie game against the Steelers, making a single catch for a TD.

It's interesting -- Gordon missed the start of Browns camp as he continued to receive treatment for issues that kept him out of the NFL entirely in 2015 and 2016, but he returned before preseason ended and was expected to be one of their top receivers this year.

It's unclear if there was a major incident that led to the Browns' decision, but it's being reported that he showed up late to the team facility Saturday and was "not himself." Team docs were allegedly concerned he may have been struggling with substance use again.

As we reported ... he's also in the midst of a child support war and could be flirting with jail time if he doesn't get it straightened out

Kiara Mia isn't bailing on 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo after one bad game, because she says he "radiates greatness" ... and you can't hold him back for long.

We got the popular porn star at the Century City Mall in L.A. Friday night and asked about Jimmy G's poor week 1 performance -- in which he threw 3 interceptions against the Vikings and lost for the first time as a starter.

She tells us it's no biggie, and we can bank on Garoppolo bouncing back Sunday against the Lions because he's a star ... and that's what stars do. Kiara better be right ... otherwise, her Super Bowl prediction will be looking a bit dicey.

We broke the story ... Jimmy and Kiara made a big splash this summer when they were spotted on a date, resulting in mini-controversy in the football world. The QB later called it a "good learning experience" ... and we hadn't heard about it much since.

Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao have decided to put in another night's work ... a night that will produce a 9-figure payday.

Floyd says he and Manny will have a rematch later this year, saying, "I'm coming back to fight Manny Pacquiao this year another 9 figure pay day on the way."

It's not like Floyd needs the cash ... he made around $220 mil from his 2015 fight against Manny. Money Mayweather added to his 401k to the tune of $275 mil with his Conor McGregor fight last year.

Floyd's 50-0 and it sure seemed like the stat was right for hanging up the gloves, but $$$ is $$$.

The video (above) was shot Saturday at a Tokyo concert ... where Floyd and Manny are together.

Kinda funny ... they clearly don't hate each other, but are willing to beat the living daylights out of each other for a price ... and the price is right.

Oscar De La Hoya says some people were so PISSED at him after the first Canelo/GGG fight ended in a draw that they THREATENED HIS LIFE because they thought ODLH rigged the outcome.

The first fight was hotly contested, but most ringside observers thought GGG pulled it out. Couple that with a historically bad scorecard from judge Adalaide Byrd, and rumors of chicanery were afoot.

Oscar says he's hoping for a Canelo KO this time ... because it would be best for boxing -- AND HIS PERSONAL SAFETY -- for there to be no doubt about the outcome.

"You have no idea how many threats that I received because it was a draw ... People thought that I fixed it, as the promoter."

GGG and Canelo run it back Saturday night on HBO PPV ... and for his part, Oscar says he's as nervous for the fight as he's ever been for any of the times he stepped in the ring himself.

Hulk Hogan is weighing in on the Gennady Golvkin vs. Canelo Alvarez fight -- telling TMZ Sports his guy GGG is gonna beat on Canelo so badly, he'll turn him into "Canary" Alvarez.

"His feathers are gonna be flyin' and he's gonna be looking for some bird seed to try to get back on his feet, brother!"

We played the clip for Gennady -- and he loved it ... calling Hulk a legend and hoping he can turn Hogan's prediction into a reality.

The two finally get in the ring on Saturday night in Las Vegas. Gennady's camp is adamant Canelo is a cheater who purposely took a performance-enhancing drug.

In fact, GGG's trainer, Abel Sanchez, says Canelo's excuse that he unknowingly consumed tainted Mexican beef (and that's why he tested positive for Clenbuterol) is complete B.S.

Abel told us ... Canelo's nickname should be CCC -- "Canelo Con Carne."

LeBron James finally unblocked his new Lakers teammate, JaVale McGee, on Instagram this week ... so, when we saw JM at LAX, we had to ask ... WHY!?

Turns out, the whole thing dates back 5 years ... but JaVale tells TMZ Sports he's not sure if there's a specific incident that caused Bron to cut off access.

So, where was JaVale in 2013? He was playing for the Nuggets, and we can't seem to find any reports of an incident between the 2 guys.

The good news ... the unblocking seems to be an olive branch and JaVale says he and LeBron are getting along great now.

In fact, JaVale says he's confident the team has a real shot at an NBA title -- but notes, "Not gonna be easy of course. Hard work."

There's more ... we also asked about Shaq -- who's been pretty critical of JaVale in the past.

Now that JM's a Laker, will things finally be cool between the guys?

Former boxing champ Ray Mancini says Canelo Alvarez ain't like Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Ben Johnson ... cause unlike those guys, PED's won't hurt Alvarez's legacy.

Canelo is set to take on GGG Saturday in the biggest fight of the year ... but there are some people who think that an Alvarez win would be tainted by his positive drug tests from earlier this year.

You might remember, the fight was postponed because the Mexican champ twice tested dirty for Clenbuterol in his bloodstream ... blaming meat from his home country for the positive results.

We got Mancini out in NYC ... and asked the boxing Hall of Famer if Canelo's good name is ruined forever and Ray couldn't have been more clear ... NO.

"Either you can fight or you can't fight, you can punch or you can't, take a shot or you can't."

If it were up to David Eckstein, there would be no debate over how his former team should handle Shohei Ohtani -- telling TMZ Sports Shohei should still pitch and hit even if he has arm surgery!!

There's been a huge debate in baseball over what the Angels should do with their rookie phenom, whose pitching elbow is now so jacked up ... it requires Tommy John.

David says if it were his body and his arm ... he'd have the surgery and go back to both pitching and hitting when it recovers.

Some in the baseball world disagree ... saying Shohei is such a beast of a hitter -- he should drop pitching and just focus on the plate.

BUT -- Eckstein has a response to that ... telling us Ohtani can still rake while he's recovering from TJ -- using one of the game's top minor leaguers as his example.

And then once he's fully healed up ... S.O. can go back to being a dual threat.

So, seems pretty cut and dry ... somebody get Mike Scioscia on the phone.

Alex Smith is gonna make you a LOT of money this weekend -- if you put your cash on the Redskins to beat up the Colts ... so says Cousin Sal.

Sal's now a pro gambling adviser on FS1's new show, "Lock It In" -- so, with the NFL entering Week 2, we asked for a freebie.

And, why's he so confident Washington will cover the 6-point spread over Indy?

Two words -- Alex. Smith.

"Alex Smith is gonna expose [the Indianapolis defense]. I think he throws for like 2 or 3 TDs. They're gonna win like 30 to 13.

By the way, Sal is Jimmy Kimmel's real-life cousin (hence the name Cousin Sal) -- and the two have been making friendly wagers with their pal, Bill Simmons, for years.

And, what do they bet on? Everything from inappropriate Al Michaels comments to "Dancing with the Stars."

Everyone wants to know ... did Michael Irvin and Steve Smith throw fists after their heated smack talk session on "NFL Network" Thursday night???

Michael tells TMZ Sports ... when the cameras shut off, it was definitely more love than war -- but their dispute ain't over yet.

The whole thing started during the TNF pregame show -- Smith was offended when Michael said the Ravens haven't had a solid go-to WR since Anquan Boldin.

Smith shot back saying his stats (and his route running!!) dominated Irvin's -- and at one point, it seemed like the two might come to blows!!!

So, what happened after the show? Irvin says the two made peace ... sorta.

"Steve and I are great. I love Steve," Michael tells TMZ Sports ... "He's a competitor."

"He's a good friend but [being on the NFL Network pregame show] is also like a locker room."

Irvin also made it clear Smith's allegation that he wasn't a master route runner is B.S.

"I was pure route runner ... I ran routes that ended up in championships! That's all I keep telling people."

"Don't talk about how many receptions everybody had. Tell me about how many championships because that's all we're playing the game for."

"I understand you got those many receptions," Irvin said referencing Smith's impressive career stats ... "but I got the ring-a-ring-a-ring!!!"

Johnny Manziel hasn't played a snap of football since he was placed in concussion protocol a month ago ... but Eric Dickerson says the CFL QB needs to trust the process and "don't rush back" to the field.

TMZ Sports spoke with the L.A. Rams legend -- who says he's a fan of Johnny's and even golfed with him in the past -- about the Heisman winner getting sidelined after a vicious hit he took in a 24-17 loss to Ottawa on August 11.

"A concussion is serious. They take it more serious these days than when we played," Dickerson says.

Johnny vocalized his frustration to reporters on Thursday ... saying he feels like he's ready to get back on the field, but wonders if the team still believes in him.

"If the club had faith in me, I feel like I would be the guy ... I feel like I would've been the guy after I came back from the concussion,'' Johnny said.

"That hasn't happened. So, I need to continue to get out here. And, it's the hardest part about missing practice, I need these reps to try to leave as little doubt as possible in my ability to play.''