TMZ Sports - Page 50

Hurricane Florence victims are getting a huge assist from Michael Jordan ... 'cause the NBA's best-ever is sending $2 MILLION to help anyone affected by the storm.

Jordan -- who owns the Charlotte Hornets -- says he's giving $1 mil to the American Red Cross and another million to the Foundation For The Carolinas' Hurricane Florence Response fund.

The Hornets are also donating food boxes.

The team says it's also created "Carolina Strong" shirts ... and says 100 percent of the profits will be donated as well.

By the way ... Jordan and the Hornets aren't the only big-league club pitching in on the relief efforts -- the Atlanta Braves handed out free tickets to those forced to flee last week.

NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France ain't exactly rolling over in his DWI and Oxycodone possession case ... 'cause he pled not guilty to multiple charges in an NY court.

France -- who's currently on a leave of absence from NASCAR -- was arrested August 5 in Sag Harbor, NY.

Cops say they pulled BF over and suspected he was intoxicated ... so they gave him a field sobriety test -- which they say he bombed.

During the stop, police say they also found Oxycodone pain pills.

To make matters worse, we're told France name-dropped President Trump during the arrest ... in an effort to skate on the charges.

France's attorney appeared on his behalf in Sag Harbor Village Court on Friday ... and pled not guilty to misdemeanor criminal possession of a controlled substance, aggravated DWI, and DWI.

He's facing up to a year in jail for each charge.

The Pittsburgh Pirates held a moment of silence for Mac Miller before their game Monday -- honoring the late rapper with a tribute video on the PNC Park jumbotron.

Starling Marte, Colin Moran and the rest of the Pirates squad paused for a minute to honor Mac -- a Pittsburgh native who died of an apparent overdose earlier this month.

The Pirates' PA announcer said over the park's loudspeakers as a video of Miller in a Pirates jersey played, "Mac was a rapper, a singer, a producer and had a very bright future in the industry ahead of him."

"Locally, Mac is remembered as a hometown kid who sang about our city where his heart clearly remained."

"Our thoughts are with his parents, his grandmother and all of his family and friends who mourn his passing."

A 22-year old champion golfer from Iowa State University was found beaten and murdered on a golf course in Iowa ... and now cops have arrested and charged a man with her killing.

Celia Barquin Arozamena -- the Big 12 champ -- was found dead on the Coldwater Golf Links in Ames, Iowa ...near the university's campus.

Cops were initially called after golfers located an unattended bag on the course. Police searched the area ... and found Barquin Arozamena's body.

Officials say she had been assaulted ... and died as a result of the injuries.

A subsequent investigation led cops to arrest 22-year old Collin Daniel Richards ... and charged him with 1st-degree murder.

ISU released a statement ... “Celia had an infectious smile, a bubbly personality and anyone fortunate enough to know her was blessed."

The Patriots got rocked by the Jaguars on Sunday ... and for that reason, Kevin O'Leary is OUT on them -- at least, that's what the "Shark Tank" star is telling TMZ Sports.

ICYMI -- the Pats got demolished by a team in the regular season for the first time in a long time, laying an egg in Jacksonville, 31-20.

Well ... O'Leary -- who's a huge New England fan -- sat through that whole loss ... and wasn't happy with ANYTHING he saw.

"Tom, listen to me buddy," O'Leary said of his message to the Pats Hall of Fame QB. "Pull it together, man. We can't watch that sh*t anymore. That's bad."

It wasn't just the G.O.A.T. that drew O'Leary's ire ... 'cause the businessman also had something to say about the defense Blake Bortles shredded for four quarters.

"Defense, you guys sucked!" Kevin says. "Pull it together!"

Cecil Shorts says the Jaguars can EASILY follow the 2000 Ravens' blueprint all the way to the Super Bowl ... telling TMZ Sports Blake Bortles' win over Tom Brady on Sunday only helps prove that.

Of course, Cecil's a little biased -- dude did play four of his six NFL seasons with the Jags -- but the ex-wideout is confident Jacksonville has that '00 Ray Lewis-type D to win it all this season.

"You've seen defenses of this caliber win Super Bowls," Shorts tells us.

"With the Ravens when they had [Trent Dilfer] and you can go back further with other teams."

Remember ... the '00 Ravens are considered the second-best defense of all-time, only behind the '85 Bears ... so it's high praise from Cecil.

But ... if Bortles plays like he did against the Pats -- Shorts is confident that won't seem like a farfetched comparison by the end of the year.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic says he's a big fan of David Beckham's plan to bring Lionel Messi to MLS -- telling TMZ Sports the Argentinian superstar should "absolutely" come to the U.S. in 2020.

Beckham is reportedly targeting Messi to lead Inter Miami for the team's inaugural season in 2020 -- and there's talk Becks is willing to write a MASSIVE check to get the deal done.

Of course, Messi is in the middle of a deal with Barcelona -- which doesn't end until the end of the 2020-21 season ... but hell, anything's possible if the price is right.

Enter Zlatan ... who left Manchester United to play for the L.A. Galaxy earlier this season -- and seems to be loving it.

So, when we saw Zlat leaving Avra in Beverly Hills on Monday -- We asked what he thought about Messi possibly following his lead.

He likes it.

Meanwhile, you see the insane goal Zlatan scored this weekend? The 500th goal of his career??

Insane.

Forget Dior and Chanel ... "Black-ish" star Jenifer Lewis was all about NIKE at the Emmys -- rocking a Swoosh sweatshirt to support Colin Kaepernick.

"I am wearing Nike to applaud them for supporting Colin Kaepernick and his protest against racial injustice and police brutality," the actress told Variety.

Lewis says she was swimming the other day when she started brainstorming fashion ideas that would be "meaningful" on the red carpet ... and that's when Nike came to mind.

"I'll wear Nike to say 'thank you' ... thank you for leading the resistance. We need more of corporate America to stand up also."

She added, "Thank you, Colin. Thank you for all that you do. Thank you for being brave. Thank you for taking a knee. Thank you."

Nike signed Colin to a new deal recently -- and will be dropping everything from a new custom shoe to a Kaepernick-themed apparel line.

Le'Veon Bell is stayin' afloat during his holdout -- zippin' around Miami on a jet ski ... and TMZ Sports has the video.

Bell was chillin' on a yacht on Monday -- living it up -- when he decided to take one of the jet skis out for a spin.

Another rider in the area started chattin' Bell up -- and the running back agreed to make a short video with the guy.

"You already know what it is man, we out here coolin' on the jet skis," Bell said.

At one point, the other jet skier says, "Give my man his f**kin money" -- to which Bell smiles and replies, "You already know! You already know!"

Interesting to see Bell so happy considering his Steelers lost on Sunday, leaving them winless with an 0-1-1 record after 2 games.

Of course, Bell is pissed the Steelers won't pony up and give him a fat longterm contract -- and refuses to show up to practice until they do.

Gabriel "G-Rod" Rodriguez, the actor who stepped in the middle of Machine Gun Kelly's beef with Eminem ... is absolutely dying to step into the Octagon for a one-on-one fight with MGK.

G-Rod was already training in the gym Monday morning when he reiterated there's no need for lawyers to seek retribution for Kelly's crew beating the crap out of him ... he just wants to settle the score with his fists!

If you're not sold on Gabriel's fighting skills ... check out the video for a preview of his MMA moves. If you're in MGK's camp, think about hiring a trainer.

G-Rod explains his reasons for confronting MGK Friday at an Atlanta restaurant ... and why Kelly's diss track pissed him off in the first place.

G-Rod clearly knows his way around a punching bag ... and says he's even willing to drop weight classes to get on Kelly's level. So far, Kelly's not responding.

Talk about an upgrade -- Josh Gordon just got shipped from Cleveland to New England where his new quarterback is TOM BRADY!!!

The Browns announced they were parting ways with the embattled WR on Saturday -- after he injured his hamstring in a photo shoot.

The Browns had felt they had reached their breaking point with Gordon -- after sticking with him through multiple suspensions stemming from substance abuse issues.

Cleveland had initially (reportedly) planned to cut Gordon but then realized there was a market for the superstar wideout ... and eventually hammered out a deal with the Patriots.

In exchange for Gordon, Cleveland will get a 5th round draft pick.

As for Gordon's hamstring -- ESPN's Adam Schefter says he's healthy enough to play THIS SUNDAY if needed.

Kicker sympathy is real ... with ex-NFL star Martin Gramatica says he feels Zane Gonzalez's pain and calls for huge stars like LeBron James to be NICER to the guy.

Of course, Gonzalez was fired by the Cleveland Browns on Monday after missing several key kicks during Sunday's loss to the Saints.

LeBron made a video going off about Zane's terrible play and warning Gonzalez not to say "my bad" or "he might get his ass whooped."

That didn't sit well with Gramatica -- a former Pro Bowl and Super Bowl winning kicker who says Zane already feels terrible -- he's been fired -- and now he's got the biggest name in sports mocking him on social media.

"When I see guys piling on like LeBron ... LeBron, c'mon. You're like the biggest figure in sports and you know it's gonna be painful for this kid to hear probably from one of his heroes."

"LeBron should be just a little nicer to the poor guy. This is a young kid that probably looks up to him."

He's right -- Gonzalez is just 23 years old and was only drafted in 2017.

DeSean Jackson says Ryan Fitzpatrick looked SO GOOD in his borrowed clothes after Sunday's game ... he's gonna make it his mission to keep him fresh all season long!!

TMZ Sports spoke with the Bucs star WR after he lit up the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday -- a team he takes great pleasure in torching ever since they let him go back in 2014.

"It felt like no other, bro" DeSean said when asked about that 75 yard TD on the first play of the game ... "It was like surreal. It was a great feeling."

Jackson says the whole team is in a good place after the win -- but tells us they're staying focused on the long-term goal, "We're not peaking too soon."

As for Fitzpatrick, DeSean says he's been getting high praise for the way he dressed up his QB after the game ... some even compared Fitz to Conor McGregor ... so DJ says he's gotta keep the tradition going!

"I had him looking fresh ... I might [have to dress him] every week!"

We also talked about Jameis Winston -- and how he's handling watching the team kill it while he serves his 3-game suspension.

Jackson says Jameis has been nothing but supportive and the team can't wait to have him back.

As for who will get the starting nod once Jameis returns ... DJ says, "I'm not sure how that's going to play out."

Ex-NFL wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham has pled guilty to misdemeanor DWI stemming from a December arrest in Missouri ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The story behind the arrest is crazy ...

The 25-year-old had gotten a call around 3 AM on Dec. 30 from a friend -- who was being arrested for DWI -- and needed Dorial to come pick him up.

When the WR arrived to the scene in his white Cadillac Escalade, cops say they noticed Dorial seemed drunk too and administered field sobriety tests ... which he failed. So, Dorial was arrested too.

Green-Beckham was later charged with misdemeanor Driving While Intoxicated -- and, according to court records, he appeared in court on Monday and pled guilty.

Sentencing is set for October -- he's facing up to 6 months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Dorial Green-Beckham was one of the top high school WRs ever -- but never reached his potential in college or the NFL due to off-the-field issues.

He was drafted by the Titans in the 2nd round of the 2015 Draft but didn't last there long. The Eagles picked him up in 2016 and he played 1 season -- racking up 36 catches for 392 yards and 2 TDs.

Forget GGG-Canelo and Conor-Khabib ... the fight EVERYBODY wants to see just took a real step towards happening -- 'cause Greg Hardy is ALL IN on a fight with Shawne Merriman!!

Remember ... the ex-Chargers superstar told TMZ Sports he's down for a fight with Hardy if he wins his first tilt in the World Bare Knuckle Fighting Federation in November.

Well ... Greg just got word of the challenge -- and says he's DEFINITELY in for the match.

"All I’m saying is if you like entertainment as much as I do, you would deff enjoy this one," Greg says.

"Pro-Bowl battle royal. #iamthestorm let’s make it happen baby lol."

Of course -- Greg's been running through dudes in his transition from the NFL to the Octagon and has already earned a development contract with the UFC.

But, Merriman's legit serious about his fighting career as well ... having trained in the ring even during his NFL playing days.

Josh Gordon is reacting to reports he's being shipped out of Cleveland for "breaking the team's trust" -- and he ain't exactly broken up about it.

The Browns announced on Saturday they're moving on from the troubled WR after he injured his hamstring during a photo shoot.

Gordon was on thin ice with the team after racking up multiple suspensions over the years for substance abuse. The latest incident (though not substance-related) was clearly the breaking point for the Browns.

Gordon couldn't help but laugh at the reports that Browns management couldn't trust him anymore ... though he hasn't exactly opened up about his side of the story yet.

He did give a few shout-outs to some of his Browns teammates -- including Baker Mayfield, Jarvis Landry, Antonio Callaway and Tyrod Taylor ... calling them "Brothers 4 life."

So, what does it all mean? Seems Gordon doesn't think the reports are accurate or that he's getting a fair shake.