TMZ Sports - Page 50

Dana White says he's extended an invitation to both Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump to be his VIP guests when Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov clash in Vegas next month.

Of course, Dana is tight with POTUS and even spoke at the Republican National Convention during Trump's campaign.

And Putin ... well, Conor recently became friends with the Russian president. And, Khabib is a Russian citizen.

But, Dana knows they probably won't come -- acknowledging that having a world leader at a fight would be a nightmare as far as security is concerned. Instead, White says Trump has assured him he'll watch the fight on Pay-Per-View.

We also asked White if Conor's crew of hooligans will be allowed at the fight -- considering they participated in the bus attack at Barclays Center back in April.

Despite the violence, White says the crew is NOT banned -- and UFC is already drawing up a security plan to make sure Team Conor and Team Khabib don't clash at the event.

If you thought NY Jets running back Isaiah Crowell was going to take it easy on his former team on Thursday Night Football ... you thought very wrong.

Crowell just scored his second TD of the first half to the put the Jets up 14-0 over the Browns, and to celebrate ... he wiped his butt with the ball and threw it in the stands for the Cleveland fans.

That's right, it was touchdown No. 2.

Crowell spent his first 4 years in the NFL with the Browns -- enduring a 1-31 record the past 2 seasons -- before heading to the Jets this offseason.

9/20 5:07 PM PT -- The LAPD has now released a video of the crime going down ... showing one of the suspects smashing in the front door with several kicks. Cops are asking for help in identifying the men involved.

7:07 PM PT -- LAPD has just released a photo of one of the suspects, captured by Puig's home security system.

Cops also provided further details, saying the 3 men -- 2 of which are believed to be black males in their early to mid-20s with slim builds -- ransacked Puig's home then located a safe in the second-floor master bedroom. They allegedly dragged it down the stairs through the living room, but fled without it ... leaving it in the doorway.

LAPD claims the suspects caused about $10k in damages. They have no description so far of the third suspect, who was the driver.

The 3 suspects are believed to be the same burglars who hit Puig's house on August 30.

Yasiel Puig really needs to do something about his home security, 'cause he was burglarized yet again -- the 4TH TIME he's been hit ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us cops were called to Puig's San Fernando Valley home Tuesday night around 8 PM after one of the Dodger's assistants got a security alert on his phone, which showed 3 men leaving Puig's property.

Yasiel has a security camera set up that captures motion, and it automatically sends the video to a cell phone programmed to receive it. When Yasiel's associate saw the footage, he immediately called police ... but the bad guys had already fled.

We're told the men broke in through the back door ... smashing it open. It's unclear at this point if anything was taken.

Yasiel wasn't seen celebrating with his team at Dodger Stadium Tuesday night after their walk-off win against the Rockies, but the game went late ... and he presumably left when he got called about the break-in.

If you're keeping track ... Yasiel's been burglarized now a total of 4 times. He initially got hit last spring while he was away for spring training, then again during the World Series last year ... and a third time just last month. Our sources say cops aren't sure if the burglaries are connected, but it's clear someone is keeping track of Yasiel's work schedule, 'cause he's never been home.

Time to get a watchdog or something, Yas. That's our advice.

President Trump's pissed off a bunch of canoers who say in a new lawsuit his excessive golfing's gotten them banned from the Potomac River.

The Canoe Cruisers Association of Greater Washington sued Trump's Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and the Coast Guard claiming an Administration rule prohibits canoers from accessing 2 miles of the Potomac River near Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia.

In docs, the canoers claim the Coast Guard and DHS initially had temporarily imposed restrictions but have created a "permanent security zone" in June 2017, and they've been turned away at least 32 times.

Carlos Hyde is about to have a hell of a birthday night ... 'cause dude's about to have a baby -- then play against the New York Jets!!!

The Browns star running back is currently at a hospital in Cleveland, waiting for the birth of his child -- NFL Network's Omar Ruiz reports.

Carlos' soon-to-be-baby-mama had labor induced last night ... so the little Hyde is expected to come out any minute.

The plan from there??

HEAD TO FIRSTENERGY STADIUM TO GET THE BROWNS THEIR FIRST WIN SINCE 2016!!!

Conor McGregor says if Khabib Nurmagomedov stepped off that bus at Barclays Center, he would have MURDERED him and gone to prison for life.

Yeah, it was all part of the insane UFC 229 media event in NYC on Thursday -- where Conor pounded whiskey and fired off dozens of explicit slurs at his opponent.

Conor called Khabib every name in the book -- and made up some new ones -- including:

-- "Little rat, little weasel."

-- "You little fanboy bitch."

-- "You'll do nothing."

-- "You mad backwards c*nt."

-- Regarding the bus incident, Conor said, "When the person you were looking for showed up, you took a sh*t on the back of the bus, so shut your f*cking mouth!!!"

-- "You're a fake lying rat. I'm real."

-- "We don't have to lick no one's a**hole for a check, like f*cking you!!"

There's more about the bus incident ... Conor blames Khabib for the people who were injured in that attack -- saying everything would have been fine if Khabib had the stones to get off the bus and fight.

"I just thank the Lord Jesus Christ that that man doesn't have the balls to step off that bus ... this man would be dead right now."

"He would be in a box and I would be in a cell and we would not have this great fight ahead of us."

Wilt Chamberlain's rookie card just sold at auction for more than 600 TIMES what he once scored in a basketball game ... 'cause TMZ Sports has learned somebody paid over $60k for it!!

The ultra-rare card was a 1961 Fleer piece -- graded in PSA 9 Mint condition -- featuring the NBA legend in his Philadelphia Warriors jersey.

Unclear who the new lucky owner of the card is ... but PWCC Marketplace tells us 56 total bids were placed before Thursday's winner was crowned.

We're told the same card of Wilt -- who's famous for dropping 100 points in a single NBA game back in 1962 -- previously sold for $45,000 in May 2017.

By the way ... apparently anything Wilt's previously graced is going for big money these days -- remember when his old mansion hit the market for $18.99 MILLION in June?!

Stormy Daniels claims she was "terrified" when Ben Roethlisberger tried to kiss her during an incident in Lake Tahoe back in 2006 ... insisting she shot the QB down cold.

It's all in her book, "Full Disclosure" -- where she primarily talks about her sexual encounter with Donald Trump.

The day after she allegedly banged "The Apprentice" star, she met the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback at a VIP section of a golf course ... where Ben had been talking with Trump.

At the end of the night, Stormy claims Trump asked Ben to walk the porn star back to her hotel room -- and when they got there, he allegedly asked for a "good night kiss."

Stormy claims she turned him down -- but he pushed lightly on the door while they both stood outside and said, "Come on."

Stormy says she eventually went inside her room alone -- while Ben continued to knock on the door for several minutes before giving up and walking away.

"I was terrified," Stormy says in the book (via CNN) ... "I am rarely terrified."

We reached out to Ben's camp for comment -- so far, no word back.

It's not the first time Big Ben allegedly acted inappropriately with women in Lake Tahoe -- in 2008, a woman claimed the NFL player raped her at the Harrah's Hotel during a celebrity golf tournament.

The father of NBA star Richard Jefferson was killed in a drive-by shooting in Compton on Wednesday evening ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Law enforcement tells us ... 65-year-old Richard Jefferson Sr. was in front of a liquor store in a primarily residential area around 6:52 PM when a vehicle rolled up and someone inside opened fire.

Jefferson Sr. was struck multiple times in the torso. He was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Sources say Jefferson Sr. was with 2 other men at the time of the shooting. It's unclear if Jefferson Sr. was the target.

We're told the L.A. Sheriff's Dept. is investigating.

Jefferson was born in South Central. His mother and father split when he was very young and his mom took him to Phoenix, where she raised him with her new husband.

Richard Jr. went on to have a solid NBA career -- winning an NBA title with the Cleveland Cavs in 2016.

The woman who stole a Louis Vuitton bag filled with cash and jewelry from pro boxer Jermall Charlo just caught a huge break ... in part 'cause officials say she's a pediatric nurse!!

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Charlo was partying at Jay-Z's 40/40 Club in Manhattan last March when he got into a fight with another group of people ... and left his bag unattended.

Sources say the bag had a $15,000 diamond bracelet, a $75,000 championship ring, a $10,000 Cartier ring and more in it ... and held around $40,000 in cash as well.

A 40-year-old Connecticut woman, Sarah Morin, nabbed the bag ... and after police asked the public for help identifying her -- she turned herself in.

She was facing felony charges of grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property ... but officials say they cut a deal with her on Thursday to let her off easy because the whole thing appeared to be a misunderstanding -- and because she's a nurse.

Officials say Morin was given the bag to watch by an associate of Charlo's ... and while she bolted from the club with the bag -- she did return it with the jewelry ... and appeared to try to do so even prior to being contacted by police.

Officials say even though no cash was returned ... they were unable to verify if there was even any in the bag.

Officials also say her status as a pediatric nurse who works with children with cancer influenced their decision to let her walk with just a disorderly conduct charge.

LeBron James is lashing back at Donald Trump -- saying he didn't give a crap when POTUS called him dumb because, "I'm not."

"That's like somebody saying I can't play ball," LeBron told The Hollywood Reporter.

"That doesn't bother me at all. What bothers me is that he has time to even do that. He has the most powerful job in the world. Like, you really got this much time that you can comment on me?"

LeBron is referencing a tweet Trump put out on August 3 in the wake of LJ's interview on CNN, when the NBA superstar said the President is using sports to divide America.

Trump tweeted, "LeBron James was just interviewed by the dumbest man on television, Don Lemon. He made Lebron look smart, which isn't easy to do. I like Mike!"

Antonio Brown says he does NOT want to be traded from the Pittsburgh Steelers ... just days after saying the opposite on Twitter.

Brown spoke with reporters on Thursday about his now-infamous tweet ... saying he "obviously" doesn't actually want to leave the Steelers after clapping back at a tweet suggesting Ben Roethlisberger is responsible for his success.

AB84 explained he fired back at the guy who sent the tweet -- a former Steelers PR guy -- because he thought it was a personal shot.

"I'm still grateful to put on my uniform, grateful to be a part of this organization," Brown said. "I don't take that for granted. Obviously it was a stupid remark."

Brown also said he's pissed the Steelers haven't won a game yet ... but wouldn't reveal why he missed practice on Monday.

If Jon Jones wants a piece of Stipe Miocic ... he might have to wait -- because the former UFC heavyweight champ says his priority is a rematch with Daniel Cormier!

Remember, Stipe was on a 6-fight win streak (including 3 title defenses) when he lost to Cormier at UFC 226 back in July.

And, even though a superfight with Jon Jones could mean a much bigger paycheck -- Stipe says his focus is getting his belt back.

We spoke with Stipe's manager, Jim Walter, who tells us, "We will fight anyone, including Jones. But our priority is to rematch DC for the title."

"After carrying the torch in the heavyweight division for years, fighting 2-3 times per year and defending the belt more than any heavyweight ever I feel we have earned that right."

The hurdle for Stipe ... D.C. wants to fight Brock Lesnar -- a fight that's a priority for the UFC.

The Tune Squad is gonna need a coach ... and who better than LeBron James' coach in real life -- Luke Walton -- to lead the Looney Tunes to victory in the "Space Jam" sequel?!

TMZ Sports asked the Lakers coach if he's down to star alongside LBJ in the highly-anticipated follow-up to the 1996 classic starring Michael Jordan ... and L.W. says he's IN!!!

... as long as LeBron wants him.

It seems like a perfect fit -- after all, the dude had a cameo on "The Young and the Restless" in 2006 ... and Luke's tight with Hollywood big shot Jeffrey Katzenberg (they were leaving Craig's together when we shot Luke last night).

Khabib Nurmagomedov has landed in New York -- and says he's not worried about Conor McGregor going crazy at today's press conference ... Khabib's focused on going crazy on Oct. 6!!

The UFC superstar admits he's tired from the long flight to the U.S. but insists he's in fighting shape and ready to destroy Conor when they do battle at UFC 229 in Vegas.

"I'm gonna make him tired and make him look bad," Khabib says ... "This is my plan. He cannot fight all 25 minutes. Maybe he think he can knock me out, we will see."

Khabib has previously told TMZ Sports he believes Conor is a "tap machine" -- and it's clear he wants to wear down the Irishman and put that machine to work.

The Pride of Dagestan also sounded off on USADA -- claiming the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency is "#1 Bulls**t" for reducing Jon Jones' suspension.

"USADA give my friends 2 years. 2 years. Their first time," Khabib says ... "Okay, what about Jon Jones? Second time problem and they give him one and half year!"

"And ... you know ... I think I think it's very bad. I think it's very bad."

Khabib also praises his friend Daniel Cormier for being a clean fighter -- and "the greatest champion inside the cage and outside the cage."

But, as for Jones ...

Colin Kaepernick and Tom Brady ... on the same team???

That seems to be the suggestion coming from Colin's attorney, Mark Geragos -- who's teasing to TMZ Sports that two NFL teams could be interested in signing the QB.

"I would just say, 'Stay tuned' ... that next week there may be some news."

Our guy pushed to get more information -- and Geragos started dropping hints about the 2 teams.

The first clue obviously points to the Oakland Raiders.

"I'll say this ... if Al Davis was still alive."

The interesting part of that comment -- Al's son, Mark Davis, took over the Raiders when his father passed away ... and Mark recently told us he thought it was a good idea for Nike to sign Kaep.

The other clue was a little more abstruse, but he suggests Patriots owner Robert Kraft could be interested in Colin.

There's more to the clip ... Geragos also says Colin and his girlfriend, Nessa, are NOT boycotting the NFL. They're watching games (they're fans) and they're supporting players like Kenny Stills.