TMZ Sports - Page 50

Kyrie Irving came through with an incredible gesture for George Floyd's family ... with Stephen Jackson revealing the NBA superstar recently bought them a new home.

Jackson -- who personally knew Floyd and referred to him as his "twin" -- vowed to be a father figure for George's 7-year-old daughter, Gianna, after George's death in May 2020.

But, the ex-NBAer says he's not alone in supporting Floyd's family ... joining Etan Thomas' "The Rematch" podcast to praise other huge names who have stepped up in support.

"I'm just continuing to do what I said I was going to do," Jackson said on the podcast. "I said I was going to be my brother's keeper and take care of his daughter and make sure that her next days are her best days."

"A lot of my friends ... Kyrie Irving bought them a house. Lil Wayne's manager bought them a Mercedes-Benz. Barbra Streisand gave them stock in Disney."

As we previously reported, Lil Baby also stepped up to throw a lavish party for Gianna's 7th birthday ... and Jackson says the kind gestures have helped her deal with the tragic loss of her father.

"I think God has definitely blessed her," Stack continued. "Right now, she's doing the best she's ever done. She's happy."

Kevin Porter, Jr.'s time as a Cleveland Cavalier is all but over ... with the NBA player reportedly getting "combative" in a food-throwing incident in the team locker room.

KPJ hasn't played a minute of basketball this season due to "personal reasons" ... but returned late last week after his extended time away from the team.

According to The Athletic, 20-year-old Porter became super pissed when he arrived to the locker room on Friday and noticed recently-acquired Taurean Prince had taken over his locker ... and KPJ's new spot was among the "end of the bench" players.

The report says Porter started to yell ... and even threw food at one point.

Cavs GM Koby Altman and J.B. Bickerstaff tried to defuse the situation to no avail ... with the head coach being described as "shocked and disgusted" by Porter's comments.

Now, the team is washing their hands of the troubled rising star -- with the report saying the relationship will end either via trade or release.

Of course, it's been a rocky start to Porter's NBA career -- the 2019 30th overall pick was arrested in Ohio back in November following a one-car accident.

He faced multiple charges including improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle and weed possession ... but eventually, all charges were dismissed.

Porter -- who was also briefly suspended for "conduct issues" during his freshman season at USC -- showed serious upside during his rookie season ... averaging 10 points in 23 minutes per game.

Deshaun Watson is urging fans to NOT march in his honor ... begging Texans supporters on Monday to cancel a rally they had planned to try to keep the QB in Houston.

You'll recall ... Watson is currently in a messy spat with Texans brass -- believing he should have more input in the team's hiring process of its general manager and head coach.

In fact, things have reportedly gotten so contentious ... there's talk Watson could be traded from the team sooner rather than later.

Texans fans have obviously been furious about that ... and they had planned a march near NRG Stadium on Monday to send a message to Houston's ownership and to try to keep Watson on the roster.

But, when Deshaun caught word of the possible rally in his honor ... he pleaded with leaders to not go through with it because of the ongoing pandemic.

"I'm hearing there is a march planned on my behalf in Houston today," Watson said. "Although I am humbled I ask that whoever is organizing the march cancel for the sake of public safety."

"Covid is spreading at a high rate & I don’t want any fans to unnecessarily expose themselves to infection."

New York Yankees slugger Aaron Hicks just pulled off what some golfers only dream of -- ripping a 303-yard hole-in-one on a Par 4 on Sunday ... and Tiger Woods' niece was present for the feat!!!

The 31-year-old has been showing off his serious golf skills recently ... launching a 330-yard drive during a recent trip to Top Golf earlier this month.

Now, the center fielder has proven his talents translate to the links ... by hitting an insane hole-in-one shot at Silverleaf Club in Scottsdale, AZ with his 3 wood.

There's no footage of the accomplishment, but we gotta take Aaron and Cheyenne's word for it ... as the golf legend's niece shared vid of a rightfully stoked Hicks jogging up to the hole, pulling out his ball and giving a fist pump that would make Tiger proud.

It's been nothing but success for non-golf pro athletes on the links recently -- as we previously reported, Wayne Gretzky nailed a hole-in-one on New Year's Eve.

Floyd Mayweather penned an emotional and heartfelt message to his ex-GF and mother of his 3 kids, Josie Harris ... on her 1st birthday following her tragic death.

Mayweather posted a photo of Harris on social media ... and wrote "Happy Birthday to my Angel in Heaven🕊 Gone but never forgotten. RIP."

Floyd also visited Harris' final resting place, posting a photo from a mausoleum with a caption that said ... "I had to come see you for your birthday Josie. R I P my angel."

Harris died in the driveway of her Valencia, CA home in March 2020 ... from what the medical examiner determined was an accidental overdose of prescription medication.

Of course, Mayweather and Harris -- an aspiring actress -- famously had an up-and-down relationship but dated for 15 years ... and had 3 children together.

At the time, Floyd was so broken up about Harris' death (and his uncle and trainer, Roger Mayweather's passing -- only days apart) ... he delayed a possible return to the ring last year.

Ohio State superstar Justin Fields is moving on from the Buckeyes -- the QB just announced he'll enter the NFL Draft ... and it begs the question, is New York his next destination?!

The Jets are slated to pick #2 overall in April's draft ... and some believe they could take Fields and move on from Sam Darnold.

Of course, Jets star Quinnen Williams told TMZ Sports this month that he would NOT go that route -- preferring Alabama's Devonta Smith instead.

If the Jets do pass, Fields doesn't figure to fall too far -- he's considered either the 2nd- or 3rd-best QB in the entire draft.

As for leaving OSU, Fields was emotional in making the announcement Monday ... thanking his coach, his teammates and Buckeye nation for embracing him after he transferred to the school from Georgia.

"To my teammates, I will miss you more than you know," Fields said in his lengthy goodbye note. "I hope I have made the same impact on you that you have made on me. The bonds formed these last two years will last a lifetime; in you, I will always have brothers."

Tom Brady beat a Brees and then scored with one later ... 'cause after the Buccaneers superstar bounced Drew Brees from the playoffs Sunday -- he threw a TD to the QB's son!

The cool moment all went down an hour or so after the Bucs beat the Saints in the Superdome in an NFC Divisional Round game ... with Brady and Brees having what appeared to be a pretty emotional talk.

Brady gave Brees (who had just finished likely the final game of his historic career) a handshake and a long hug ... and then suddenly Brees' son came up to the two.

The young Brees handed a ball to Tom -- and TB12 knew exactly what to do with it!!!

The Tampa Bay signal-caller fired a perfect strike into the corner of the endzone ... and the little Brees came down with a pretty impressive catch!

"That a boy!" Tom told the kid. "We could have used you tonight. Got to get that ball in the endzone!"

Brees' wife then gave Tom a hug ... and Brady provided some strong words of wisdom to Drew's other son -- "Be nice to your sister." Tom then bolted for the locker room.

Cleveland Browns linebacker Mack Wilson shoulda been booted from the game over his hit on Patrick Mahomes ... so says the superstar QB's mother, who called the play "trash football."

Mahomes suffered a concussion and was knocked out in the 3rd quarter of the Chiefs vs. Browns divisional round game on Sunday ... after Wilson brought down the QB on a run play.

Mahomes' mom, Randi, was FURIOUS over the play ... calling for Wilson to be ejected from the game.

"#51 Wilson that’s some trash football leading with helmet, pulling his head and pushing helmet," Randi tweeted Sunday. "why are you not thrown out!?? Come on NFL"

FWIW -- Wilson spoke out after the game ... saying he's NEVER been a dirty player, and wished Mahomes a speedy recovery.

"Never been a dirty player in my life," Wilson tweeted after the game. "I just try my best to play fast and make plays. Don’t try to insult me & keep the threats to yourself."

Forget Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields ... Jets star Quinnen Williams tells TMZ Sports his squad should PASS on a QB in April's NFL draft -- and take Devonta Smith instead!!!

"I'm wishin'!" Williams says. "I'm saying it right now, I'm wishin'!"

Of course, NY will likely have the option to take the star 'Bama wideout at #2 overall in just a few months ... though most pundits believe the team should take a QB and move on from Sam Darnold with the pick.

But, when we spoke with Williams after his former Alabama team won the National Championship last week, he told us he'd prefer to keep Sam and select this year's Heisman Trophy winner instead.

"Devonta Smith got that 'Bama in him," Williams says. "We need someone with that. Man, he's amazing."

The selection would be fairly historic ... wideouts almost NEVER go in the top two picks -- in fact, only two have been selected in the top two since 2000 (Calvin Johnson in 2007 and Charles Rogers in 2002).

According to Williams, though, this is the perfect time to make it happen again.

"Any team that gets him -- not even the Jets -- any team that gets him they'll be getting a dominant player," Williams says. "And, you can see that now."

We're pretty sure Williams ain't wrong here -- Smith was incredible for Alabama this season, catching 117 passes for 1,856 receiving yards and 23 receiving touchdowns.

"If we get him," Williams says, "he's going to be a dynamic attribute for Sam."

Marshall Faulk says he's straight-up "worried" about Trevor Lawrence's possible future under Urban Meyer in Jacksonville ... telling TMZ Sports he thinks the Jags' new coach sucks at developing pro QBs.

"Outside of Alex Smith," the NFL legend says, "this man hasn't developed a quarterback that's playing in the NFL right now."

Faulk added, "I'm worried for Trevor Lawrence."

Of course, the Clemson superstar is not a Jaguar yet ... but damn-near everyone involved in the draft process believes Meyer will select the QB at #1 overall in the spring.

Faulk, though, says that could be a kiss of death for Lawrence's pro career ... pointing out Meyer's college QBs haven't had much success at all in the pros.

"He had some really good attempts with, I'm talking, top, four-star, five-star guys when he was at Ohio State and at Florida," Faulk says. "There's something to that."

Meyer's career list of notable starting college quarterbacks includes Alex Smith, Chris Leak, Tim Tebow, Braxton Miller, Cardale Jones, J.T. Barrett and Dwayne Haskins.

To Faulk's point, none of the above, aside from Smith, has done much of anything in the NFL.

"You put that together," Faulk tells us.

Faulk, though, thinks there's at least SOME chance Lawrence doesn't end up in Jacksonville -- the former Rams superstar says if he had the Jags' top pick, he'd pass on Lawrence and try to trade the selection for Deshaun Watson.

Netflix left a controversial episode from one of MTV's most popular shows on the cutting room floor ... an episode infamous for some severe bullying.

Here's the deal ... the streaming giant just added 2 seasons of MTV's 'Real World/Road Rules Challenge,' but fans will instantly notice something's missing ... some behind-the-scenes clips featuring 3 female cast members going after another female contestant.

The episode was titled "To Hell and Back: Hot Gossip From The Inferno 2" ... and the troubling scene showed Veronica, Rachel and Tina ganging up on Tonya Cooley by snapping nude photos of her while she was sleeping.

They later showed those pics to other houseguests. That episode was the show's finale in 2005, and aired instead of the usual end-of-season reunions.

As for why Netflix cut it? Well, there's the obvious ... 2005 was just a different time, and things that might have been seen as funny or entertaining back then, just don't fly today.

We reached out to Netflix and MTV for an explanation, but neither responded.

Pro Football Hall of Fame Finalist LeRoy Butler says there's a very good reason he belongs in Canton ... Deion Sanders and Rod Woodson are enshrined.

Prime, SA, and Woodson are members of the NFL's '90s All-Decade team -- along with Bruce Smith, Reggie White, Cortez Kennedy, John Randle, Junior Seau, Derrick Thomas, and Kevin Greene -- ALL who are members of the Hall.

Butler is the only guy on the All-Decade squad who isn't in Canton ... and he tells TMZ Sports that's a helluva reason to put him in.

"I really would love to be in the Hall of Fame this particular year, 2021. And, plus, it's a little embarrassing to be the only All-Decade member, 1st team, not in the Hall of Fame."

Butler says some of the other players have bigger names ... but when it comes to the football field, he contributed as much as the other HOF'ers.

"It's like 'generic' and 'brand.' You get Woodson, brand, put him in! Manning, brand. Generic, LeRoy Butler. But, I do the same thing as them. I'm just cheaper. I think they should put me in to say we close out the '90s to the 2000s. Done, start the new decade! So, I just pray."

BTW, there's a reason LeRoy made the All-Decade team ... he had a great, 12 season career in Green Bay. He made 1st team All-Pro 4 times, 4 Pro Bowls, and won a Super Bowl with Brett Favre and the Packers in 1997.

Butler also breaks down his foray into the liquor biz ... 'cause he just launched a new vodka, aptly named Leap Spirits.

Remember, Butler was the 1st player to Lambeau Leap back in 1993.

Calvin Kattar says his UFC on ABC main event match with Max Holloway is more than just a fight ... a win represents a better life -- more money, more opportunities.

TMZ Sports talked to the 32-year-old fighter before his Fight Island fight this weekend with the former featherweight champ ... and Kattar says only everything is on the line.

"I ain't got s*** to say to Max! I'm just going out looking to earn my respect and just get me a title shot, ya know? Change my life."

"I'm chasing the life on the other side of a win over Max Holloway. Things get better off wins, you get double the money, you get more opportunities and like I said, I'm just chasing the life off a win over Max Holloway."

Kattar -- the #6 ranked featherweight -- is 22-4 ... and coming off wins over Jeremy Stephens and Dan Ige.

Calvin's been super impressive ... but things don't get any easier on Fight Island ... 'cause Holloway is arguably the greatest 145 lb.'er of all-time.

As for blessed, he's looking to claw his way back to the top of the UFC mountain after 2 controversial losses to Alex Volkanovski ... and that's exactly what he tells us he'll do.

"Belt or no belt, I'm gonna always carry myself as a champion. The belt doesn't define me. I got 5 titles at home. The 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, all the way to 13, 20, whatever you wanna call it, I'm gonna get it. It's just in due time," Max tells us.

Dustin Diamond's got some pretty cool friends ... 'cause when one of them wanted to wish him well in his recovery from cancer the friend said screw Hallmark ... opting instead to plaster the message on NASCAR driver Josh Bilicki's car.

Dan Block, the president of Insurance King, is honoring his close friend and the "Saved by the Bell" star by giving Bilicki's car a new wrap that'll pay homage to the classic TV show while wishing Dustin get well soon.

We're told the car hasn't been wrapped yet, but TMZ's obtained a rendering of what the stock car will look like when it's done ... and you see the show's font and logo. The rear bumper also displays Dustin's mug ... with the words "Saved by the King" plastered on the hood. In case you didn't know ... Dustin stars in several Insurance King commercials.

In one of the commercials, Dustin speeds past a cop who pulls him over and writes him a ticket. When the cop asks how he can afford car insurance with so many speeding tickets, Screech Powers hits 'em with "C'mon. I'm saved by the king." Boom.

Block tells us the car will debut in time for the NASCAR Cup Series later this year.

As we reported ... Dustin's suspicion became a cruel reality when he found out he had stage 4 cancer. He's currently getting his first round of chemotherapy. The diagnosis came after he first discovered a lump on his throat.

Enormous praise from Bills legend Cornelius Bennett -- the former Buffalo star tells TMZ Sports he believes Lamar Jackson is "the closest thing that I've seen" to Barry Sanders.

Yeah ... heads up, Bills defense!!!

Bennett delivered the massive compliment to Baltimore's QB this week ... just before Buffalo will have to try to stop him in its playoff matchup with the Ravens on Saturday.

But, good news for the Bills ... Bennett says he believes Buffalo CAN slow down Lamar -- if they just use the same tactics he used against Barry in his career.

"I see so many times that guys are taking the big shot at him and missing him," Bennett says of Jackson. "It's all right to arm tackle him and lay him down softly or whatever and not get the kill shot on him."

"Because as soon as you do," Bennett continued, "you're going to be gasping for air. I know that personally trying to tackle Barry Sanders."

As for Bennett's take on the Bills' QB ... the 55-year-old tells us he's been SUPER impressed with Josh Allen's progression this season -- saying the quarterback actually reminds him a bit of Jim Kelly!

"He's grown tremendously," Bennett says.

Sorry, Patriots fans ... Quinnen Williams says Bill Belichick is NOT the greatest football coach ever -- the Jets star tells TMZ Sports that honor now belongs to Nick Saban!!

The NFL defensive lineman made the bold claim shortly after the Alabama head coach won yet ANOTHER National Championship this week ... saying, "I think, in my head, I think he's the greatest coach of all time."

"Just because, man, like, his resume speaks for itself, man," Williams said.

Of course, Williams is biased -- the dude played for Saban for three years with the Tide from 2016-2018 -- but it's getting harder and harder to disagree.

Saban's victory over Ohio State last Monday gave him his SEVENTH college football championship -- the most in the history of the game.

The 69-year-old also has a staggering college coaching career record of 261-65-1 ... and has routinely put players in the NFL year after year after year.

"He has a list of hundreds of NFL players who are either starters or big-time superstars or big-time players under his belt," Williams says. "To do the things that he does, and to have a consistent dynasty and a consistent winning team that he has, it's unheard of."