TMZ Sports - Page 50

Conor McGregor wasn't always a monster in the cage -- he tapped out in his 3rd-ever MMA fight and wept in the cage ... but his opponent says the dude is FAR from a cry baby.

We spoke with Artemij Sitenkov -- the very first man to make Conor tap back in 2008 after putting the Irishman in a leg lock during a Cage of Truth fighting event in Dublin.

"He was 19 years old ... and it was his first defeat, so yeah, he was emotional."

You can see in footage from the event, Conor was shocked after the match -- sitting on the cage floor in disbelief.

But, Artemij says the tears don't make him any less of a man -- explaining, "When I was a kid and I lost my first fight, I was also crying. It's natural."

Conor's a different fighter now, according to Artemij -- "I didn't beat superstar McGregor. I beat teenager McGregor."

Artemij is still very involved in MMA -- he currently coaches young fighters ... and gave us a prediction on the upcoming Conor vs. Khabib fight.

Spoiler alert ... might wanna get the tissues ready.

WBC light middleweight champ Jermell Charlo says if Floyd Mayweather is looking for a pre-Pacquiao tune-up, he'll be Money's huckleberry ... that is, if Floyd is willing to fight him.

Charlo is undefeated at 31-0, and in the prime of his career at 28 ... so when we asked him and asked if he'd be willing to be Mayweather's Tokyo comeback fight he said he was down, but not hopeful.

"I'd definitely take that tune-up fight with Floyd." Later adding, "But, he ain't gonna step in there with no savage like myself."

Mayweather's people told TMZ Sports earlier this week that he was looking to get in a fight before a rematch with Manny ... making every boxer near the weight class dream of a HUGE payday.

Jermell is obviously no different ... except unlike most of them, he knows he can beat him, so much so that he's telling Floyd it's in his best interest to run and hide.

"Go back and fight that old Manny Pacquiao again ... or get a rematch with Conor."

J.B. Smoove LOVES "Space Jam" ... and he's pulling out all the stops to get in the LeBron-led sequel -- showing off his best basketball alien impression!!!

We got the comedian leaving Craig's on Wednesday and he was adamant he'd be perfect for a spot in the new flick.

"LeBron, if I don't get a part in 'Space Jam,' I would lose my marbles, man!" Smoove says.

That's when Smoove reveals he'd be the PERFECT Monstar ... and we gotta say -- his E.T. moves are LEGIT.

And ... just in case LBJ isn't moved by those -- Smoove says he'd make for a great assistant coach too!

There's nothing like the start of the NFL season that transforms people into freaks ... and TMZ Sports has the pics that give you a firsthand look at all that!!

Check out the female Bengal, the goat Jet and the Joker Saint ... proving NFL Sundays can turn any average Jane and Joe into a pigskin psycho.

The best part?? The season is only in Week 3 -- which means every one of these nuts' Super Bowl dreams are still alive!!

Conor McGregor vs. Tyron Woodley??

Tyron thinks it's just a matter of time ... and the time is right after Conor beats Khabib at UFC 229.

"If Conor wins, the only fight that makes sense for him is to fight me," Tyron said on 'The Hollywood Beatdown' ... "[he'll] try to get a 3rd belt."

Of course, Conor has already held the UFC featherweight and UFC lightweight titles ... but Tyron Woodley is currently the champ in the welterweight division.

So, if McGregor wants to make history as the Champ Champ Champ ... he's gotta go through Tyron.

It's not a crazy idea ... Conor fought at welterweight in BOTH scraps with Nate Diaz.

Tyron also says he and Conor have some unfinished beef stemming from a backstage altercation at UFC 205 back in 2016.

There's A LOT more this week ... Tyron tells us about his conversations with Jon Jones and why he does NOT think he'd be able to win a fight against the UFC legend.

Plus, Tyron demonstrates how to apply the Darce chokehold ... on Evan!

Michael Jordan played a little help defense Friday ... packing boxes full of food for Hurricane Florence victims.

The Hornets owner was front and center on the assembly line -- boxing up cereal and other goods for people affected by the storm that barreled into the East Coast last week.

It's a cause Jordan's clearly been affected by ... 'cause the NBA's best ever also donated $2 MILLION to the relief efforts Tuesday.

BTW ... M.J.'s shirt -- a Hornets logo sandwiched between North and South Carolina -- is for sale, with all the proceeds going to Florence victims as well.

Lil Wayne's highly anticipated 'Carter V' album is nowhere to be found on the day TONS of listeners expected to hear it ... and salivating fans have no one to blame but themselves.

A source close to Weezy's camp tells TMZ ... the hype surrounding September 21 as the release date for 'Carter V' was all generated by pure speculation that somehow morphed into conspiracies. Fact is ... all Young Money did was tease the cover and NEVER once mentioned an album release date.

The hype started after Floyd Mayweather posted the album cover on Instagram earlier this month and captioned it "[Goat emoji] #21." That led everyone to believe the album was dropping at midnight on September 21. But when midnight came and went ... fans were left scratching their heads, especially after Floyd deleted the post. James Harden followed suit with "#13" and also deleted it.

Making matters even more confusing -- Michael Vick and Kobe Bryant on Friday posted the same album cover on IG but captioned it "#7" and "#8," respectively. In retrospect, they were just posting the cover along with their jersey numbers. Wayne's daughter, Reginae, also posted the album cover on IG but her caption simply had "#C5."

Baker Mayfield's gonna have to wait until NEXT WEEK before he officially becomes the starting QB for the Browns -- which begs the question, WHAT'S THE HOLDUP?!

Cleveland's head coach, Hue Jackson, says he needs the weekend to process everything and won't touch the depth chart until AT LEAST Monday

"I've given the players the weekend off obviously, so I'm going to take my time because I have some time," Jackson told reporters Friday.

"And, I'm going to get an opportunity to meet with them here Monday morning and kind of go from there."

Some say Hue's just being respectful to Tyrod Taylor -- who was the 1st-string guy until he was knocked out of Thursday's game with a possible concussion.

Baker came in with 2 minutes left in the 1st half and LIT IT UP -- going 17-23 for 201 yards in a wild 21-17 come from behind thriller.

"I wanted to really watch tape and talk to the staff and talk to John [Dorsey] and then make a decision from there," Jackson says.

The drunk driver who killed Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson in February just got sentenced to 16 years in prison.

As we previously reported, 26-year-old Jackson and his Uber driver were hit by a pickup truck while they were standing on the shoulder of a highway in Indiana.

37-year-old Manuel Orrego-Zavala pled guilty to 2 counts of "DUI that causes the death of another" in July.

Today, he faced a judge in Indiana ... and was hit with the maximum penalty -- 16 years in state prison.

After his prison sentence, Orrego-Zavala -- who's a Guatemalan citizen in America illegally -- faces deportation.

The case became a national story when President Trump tweeted that it was "disgraceful" that Jackson was killed by a man who was in the U.S. illegally.

John Salley has a clear side in the Kanye West vs. Nick Cannon feud ... telling TMZ Sports West was 100% within his rights to send shots at Cannon for talking about Kim Kardashian West.

Ye fired off on Nick Thursday ... saying NC has no right mentioning Kim's name in interviews, and talking about her body ... even though Nick and Kim dated back in the day.

Cannon fired back, saying he's NEVER disrespected Kim but has answered questions about her honestly, and will continue to do so.

We got Salley leaving Catch in L.A. and asked him which side of the fence he falls on ... and he said it all goes back to a rule he learned during his NBA playing career.

"Everything was open except wives and fiancees."

Salley goes on to say Kanye is "kinda right" to be pissed at Nick Cannon, and that he thinks West's warning shot is enough that no one will talk about Kim Kardashian in a sexually objectifying way again.

Major League Baseball says Chicago Cubs infielder Addison Russell has been placed on "administrative leave" in the wake of new domestic violence allegations levied by his estranged wife.

Melisa Russell went into detail in her blog Wednesday -- claiming she was first "physically mistreated" by her husband in the months after their wedding in 2016.

"I couldn't wrap my head around what just happened," she wrote ... "Why did he get so angry? What did I do for him to want to put his hands on me?"

She added, "As time went on abusive behavior happened more often."

Allegations against Addison first went public in June 2017, but this is the first time Melisa has gone into detail about it.

A rep for MLB says the league launched an investigation into Addison back then -- but Melisa wouldn't cooperate with officials ... so nothing really happened.

Until today.

"With the new details revealed in today’s blog post by Ms. Russell, Mr. Russell has been placed on Administrative Leave in accordance with the Joint MLB-MLBPA Domestic Violence Policy."

"We are hopeful that this new information will allow us to complete the investigation as promptly as possible."

For his part, Addison has previously denied committing any sort of domestic violence -- but he has not commented on the new blog post.

Ex-Oregon Ducks wide receiver Jalen Hall -- one of the top 2018 WR recruits in the country -- was hit with criminal charges after allegedly robbing people at gunpoint earlier this month, TMZ Sports has learned.

The 19-year-old -- who was a star at Long Beach Poly high school -- was a 4-star recruit and touted as one of Oregon's prized freshman players in 2018.

But, he was released from the team earlier this month after he was arrested in L.A. Now, we've learned why ...

According to law enforcement, Jalen Hall and Milard Hill participated in a home invasion robbery in Norwalk, CA on Sept. 10.

Officials say Jalen was armed with a semi-automatic handgun -- and threatened 3 people inside the home before making off with jewelry and other valuables.

They fled the scene -- but cops tracked them down using an airship and arrested both men.

Hall has been charged with 3 counts of home invasion robbery, 2 counts kidnapping to commit robbery and 1 count of 1st-degree burglary.

If convicted on all counts, both men could face up to LIFE in prison.

Bail has been set at more than $2 million for each suspect.

Jalen is listed at 6'4", 190 lbs and was recruited by some of the best school in the country including Alabama, Florida State and LSU.

1:05 PM PT -- Milton PD responded to the Cordon news conference ... issuing a release addressing some of the claims made by the victim, Ms. Cordon.

In the statement, Milton PD notes that LeSean "has not been cooperative in the investigation" ... despite the fact multiple requests were made to his attorney.

LeSean McCoy's ex-girlfriend has DOUBLED the reward for information leading to the arrest of her attacker to $40,000 ... and once again, pointed the finger at the NFL running back.

Delicia Cordon held a press conference detailing the violent July 9 incident when a masked man broke into her home, pistol whipped her multiple times ... and stole expensive pieces of jewelry.

Cordon says she believes McCoy orchestrated the attack -- pointing to the fact her assailant was looking for specific items LeSean had gifted her in the past.

No arrests have been made and McCoy has denied having any involvement -- but Cordon doesn't believe him.

"I live my life in fear. Everyday not knowing if I’m walking past the man who savagely attacked me," she said.

"LeSean said he’s gonna deal with all this after his season -- I don’t have that option. I have to deal with this every day."

Cordon says McCoy is not cooperating with the investigation and refuses to hand over security footage from the night of the attack.

Josh Gordon seems to be making a good impression on his new boss -- with Patriots head coach Bill Belichick saying the WR is a "smart kid" who's been busting his ass.

Gordon was traded to the Pats on Monday after a rocky 6-year stint with the Cleveland Browns that included multiple suspensions stemming from substance abuse. The last straw for CLE was when Gordon said he injured himself last week during a promo shoot.

So, how's it going for Josh in New England? Not bad, according to Belichick.

"Josh is a smart kid. He's worked hard. He's picked up a lot," Bill said during Friday's press conference.

Bill noted Josh hasn't been in town for very long -- but noted that he's "done about as much as [he] can in the few days [he's] been here."

This is AWESOME!!!

Baker Mayfield's high school football coach, Hank Carter, tells TMZ Sports he couldn't be more proud of his former QB ... and tells Cleveland to strap in, it's gonna be one helluva ride!!!

Baker played for Hank at Lake Travis High School in Texas -- where the QB led the Cavaliers to the 4A state title in 2011. Dude racked up 6,255 yards and 67 TDs during his HS career.

So, we had to ask Coach Carter how he felt about Baker's insane NFL debut -- and guess what, HE WAS FIRED UP!!!

"It's fantastic! I'm so proud of that guy!"

Coach Carter says Baker's been loaded with potential for years -- and he's "not surprised" the guy is having success at the top level.

In fact, Carter says there's one thing Browns fans need to keep in mind -- this is just the beginning!

"No one will outwork that dude. That's the thing [the fans] gotta understand. He will not be satisfied with the success they had last night."

Congrats!

Shirtless J.R. Smith made his return Thursday night ... and we all have Baker Mayfield to thank for it -- 'cause the Cavs star WENT CRAZY after the rookie led the Browns to a win!!!

It all went down at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland ... where J.R. had luxury box seats to see the Baker-led Browns finally win a game for the first time since 2016.

You'll remember ... the last time J.R. celebrated a massive Cleveland victory -- he went topless in public for hours ... rockin' no shirt for the entire Cavs' championship parade.

Well ... about midway through the second half of the Browns-Jets game -- J.R. promised to make another shirtless appearance if they pulled out the comeback.

And then Baker did it -- AND OFF WENT THE SHIRT!!

"It's over! Let's go! Let's go!" a topless J.R. screamed after the win. "We outchya! No shirt shorty! We out here!"