TMZ Sports - Page 50

Bruce Lee's family LOVES that Steph Curry rocked a special pair of sneakers to honor the legend during Sunday's game ... especially since he's going to auction them off for a good cause.

The Golden State Warriors superstar teamed up with the Bruce Lee Foundation to create a custom pair of Curry 8s with Lee's image hand-painted on each shoe.

One image is a solo shot of Lee. The other image is based off a photograph of Bruce with his wife and children.

Steph wanted to show solidarity to the Asian community in light of the recent wave of anti-Asian hate crimes -- so proceeds from the upcoming auction will go toward the families of the 8 people killed in the recent attack on Asian-run spas.

Bruce's daughter, Shannon Lee, who runs the Bruce Lee Foundation, praised Curry in a statement.

"I think Stephen’s gesture is a beautiful example of allyship and solidarity in action," Shannon Lee said.

"I am honored he would choose my father and my family as the symbol for the idea that we are all one family, as my father said, and therefore must all stand for one another."

After Sunday's game, Curry also talked about the collaboration and why it's so important to him.

Things Lincoln Riley is good at ... coaching football, drawing up plays and winning games.

Things the OU head coach is bad at ... brisket -- clearly.

The 37-year-old Sooners head man showed off his Easter dinner on social media Sunday ... and the meat he cooked was so dry, some questioned whether it was actually pumpernickel!!

Check out the photo Riley shared ... the meat was cooked to a crisp -- and the poor dude was ROASTED over it!!!

The comments were relentless ...

"Dear Lord, please see what real TX brisket looks like and never cook a brisket again.  Ever."

"If you drop your phone in water you could put it in a bag with this brisket to dry it out."

"This mf loves football so much he eats it for dinner."

"Did you pull that out of Jesus’s tomb?"

"I don’t know why everyone is roasting this. That pumpernickel looks delicious."

For his part, Riley seemed to defend the cooked cow in the wake of the backlash ... writing to one critic, "Haha ask @BwylieSTRONG if it was legit....."

That guy, OU's Director of Sports Performance Bennie Wylie, had Riley's back ... adding, "Unbelievable... Brisket tacos on point!"

Good news, bad news for Chiefs fans ...

The good ... hey! Patrick Mahomes' family is absolutely adorable!!!

The bad ... despite having surgery TWO MONTHS AGO, the K.C. star quarterback's foot/ankle is still in a protective boot.

Mahomes' fiancee, Brittany Matthews, posted an Easter Sunday family pic featuring herself, Patrick and their newborn daughter ... and it created quite the stir in the NFL world.

You'll recall ... Mahomes injured his toe at some point in the Chiefs' playoff run last season, and the 25-year-old needed surgery just a few days after K.C.'s Super Bowl loss to repair the damage.

Most thought Patrick would be good to go for workouts at this point ... but Matthews' photo shows the quarterback still clearly has quite a bit of recovering left to do.

Thankfully, Mahomes said on Twitter late Sunday he's not worried about anything regarding the injury ... despite still being in the boot.

"Lolol yeah," Mahomes said in response to Pat McAfee asking about the injury. "all good."

The Chiefs are set to begin Organized Team Activities in just 2 weeks ... and seems unlikely Patrick will be good to go by then.

With the season 5 months away though ... probably not the time to be sweating things too much in K.C. yet.

Drake's little boy clearly takes after his old man ... because he loves to hoop.

The rapper shared a video of his 3-year-old son, Adonis, working on his jump shot on an indoor kid-hoop ... and he's got game!!

After sinking a jumper, Adonis points out that that bucket was actually 2 in a row ... then he casually hits another shot to make it 3. Silky smooth.

All the while, Drake's providing the hype music for his kid -- his new track, "What's Next" is playing in the background.

"Friday Night Lights" and "Glee" actor LaMarcus Tinker and his wife Brittany, are dropping back and punting on their marriage.

According to court records from Washoe County, Nevada ... LaMarcus and Brittany on Wednesday filed a joint divorce petition. It's unclear what led to them calling it quits, but it's the end of a 5-year run as husband and wife. The estranged couple has 2 minor children together.

LaMarcus -- best known for playing Dallas Tinker on the hit NBC series -- has been down this road before. As we first reported, he and his previous wife, Shari Butler, also filed a joint petition to end their 2-year marriage back in 2014.

Back then, LaMarcus was earning around $2,100 a month, just in royalties from previous acting gigs. Besides appearing on 'FNL' ... he played Kevin on the ABC sitcom "Cougar Town" -- and also had the recurring role of Shane on the third season of "Glee."

With marriage #2 coming to an end, this might be a good time for a throwback to that classic 'FNL' mantra -- "Clear eyes, full hearts ... can't lose."

Keep your head up, LaMarcus.

Francis Ngannou's Hit List:

- Stipe Miocic ✅

- Jon Jones

- TYSON FURY ?!

That's exactly right ... the newly crowned UFC champ tells TMZ Sports he's DEAD SERIOUS about boxing Fury -- the man many pugilism experts believe is the greatest heavyweight alive.

Why boxing? Why Fury? Here's the deal.

Before UFC 260, Stipe told us he was very interested in boxing 32-year-old Fury or 31-year-old Anthony Joshua.

Welp, his title defense didn't go as planned (lost via 2nd rd. KO) ... so, while Francis is taking things from Miocic -- we asked if he wanted to take Stipe's place vs. the Gypsy King.

"Absolutely. I'm open to that. Remember boxing was my primary dream and I still have the fire, the dream inside me and I believe at some point, I'm gonna make a step."

Of course, UFC honcho Dana White is currently working on a massive fight between Jones and Ngannou ... and Fury is set to take on Joshua later this year -- so any boxing match between the 2 giants would have to be in the future.

We also asked Francis about 54-year-old Mike Tyson ... who is looking to find an opponent after talks with forever rival Evander Holyfield fell apart at the negotiating table.

And not even 6'4", 263 pound Francis Ngannou wants a piece of "Iron" Mike ... despite a 20 year age difference!

"I don't want to fight Mike Tyson but I would like to fight another heavyweight boxer as such as Tyson Fury."

Heads up, Lamar Odom ... this summer's boxing match with Aaron Carter might not be a cakewalk after all!!!

TMZ Sports has obtained new workout footage of the 'Aaron's Party' singer ... and it's clear as day, in about a month, Carter's improved his jabs immensely!!

Remember, AC agreed in February to fight Odom at a celeb exhibition match in Atlantic City in June ... and the first clips we got of the guy on the mitts weren't exactly impressive.

Carter -- who ya gotta at least admit was bustin' his ass HARD -- struggled with power behind the punches ... and when Odom released his own workout vid just a few days later, there was obviously some concern for Aaron.

But, check out the new clip ... Carter's throwing punches with more authority -- and it's apparent the guy is taking this fight SERIOUSLY.

We're told Carter is now training with mixed martial arts specialist Josh Polit at FIGHTR Boxing Club in Santa Monica with the hopes of getting himself right before fight night.

Vicente Luque wants all the smoke after his UFC 260 victory over Tyron Woodley -- telling TMZ Sports he's begging for a shot at the winner of Nate Diaz vs. Leon Edwards!

Luque jumped to #6 in the UFC's welterweight division after his impressive performance last weekend -- and badly wants to put himself in a position for a title fight as soon as possible.

Remember, VL called out Nate Diaz in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan -- but days later, Diaz agreed to take on Edwards at UFC 262, spoiling Luque's plans.

But, he's not losing hope of a possible showdown with Diaz down the line.

"I'm interested in any of those two guys so whatever goes down with that fight, maybe one of them can be my opponent after they fight."

FYI, Luque has fought against Edwards before -- losing by unanimous decision in a 3-round scrap in 2017.

"Since then, I've changed a lot. I know that he has evolved a lot as well. We both have been on a great winning streak and yeah, I think that right now it would make a lot of sense to have that rematch. It would be a hell of a fight."

Luque has ripped off 3 straight wins and Edwards had won 8 straight before an accidental eye poke led to a "no contest" against Belal Muhammad in March.

In the meantime, Luque says he's down to be the backup fighter for Diaz vs. Edwards -- willing to step in if one of the guys has to drop out for some reason.

Anthony Davis quickly responded to a crash scene involving his security guard to see if he could help, and even had a stop-and-chat with cops who arrived ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The Lakers star was front and center Saturday on the heels of what we're hearing was a one-vehicle collision that involved a motorcycle ... which our law enforcement sources tell us resulted in one person being transported to the hospital.

It's unclear if the person transported was AD's security guard, but it'd be a safe bet that it was. We're told by people close to AD that he simply showed up to check on his guy -- but we've been assured AD was not involved in the accident himself .. and only showed up after the fact since he was nearby. What we do know for sure ... AD's security is said to be in stable condition.

We also got video and photos of AD on the scene -- in flip-flops, no less -- as he talked to police and also talked on the phone. As for what exactly happened and led up to the crash ... we're not quite sure, but are working on getting more info.

Based on pics from the scene, however, it looks like a flexible delineator post in the middle of the road might've been struck ... as cops were standing over one that was completely bent to one side. The motorcycle in question, meanwhile, was eventually taken away in a tow truck.

It also seems like AD's camp came by to check on him at one point ... we're told AD ended up getting into a Mercedes Maybach that arrived to get him, this after talking to someone in what looked to be a Rolls-Royce not too far from where the motorcycle was parked.

One eyewitness tells us AD looked pissed during the commotion, which is more than understandable. Assuming this is a good pal of his, his emotions running high would make sense.

Michael Strahan may have been joking about "fixing" his iconic gap tooth, but now lots of folks who actually want the real procedure are flocking to Strahan's doc.

Dr. Lee Gause, Strahan's dentist, tells TMZ ... he's been flooded with calls from people from all over the country who don't care if it was an April Fools' prank ... they feel Dr. Gause made Michael look way better, and they want of piece of that action. In all, more than 100 dentally-challenged people have called.

He says some prospective patients have already booked their flights to get the procedure done at his Smile Design Manhattan clinic in NYC.

The cost ain't cheap -- between $5k and $50k ... depending on how wonky the chompers. Now, it's possible people want something temporary like Mike ... the wax used to stage the joke -- a Prenew Preview -- runs a very reasonable $350.

Mark Grudzielanek -- a former MLB All-Star and Gold Glove winner -- has been accused of child abuse ... and he's now under police investigation, TMZ Sports has confirmed.

Police documents show Grudzielanek is alleged to have committed the crime at around 10:30 PM on March 16 in Scottsdale, Ariz.

In the docs, Grudzielanek -- a 50-year-old who played in the MLB from 1995 to 2010 -- is listed as an "offender" ... and the alleged victim is described as a 12-year-old boy.

Details of the alleged incident are unclear ... but a source close to the case tells us the allegations stem from a physical altercation.

We've reached out to Grudzielanek for comment, but so far, no word back yet.

Grudzielanek broke into the Big Leagues in 1995 with the Expos ... and he was named an All-Star the following year.

Long before Jason Kidd was an NBA legend, he was a top H.S. hooper recruited by CBB's best coaches ... and now a postcard to the future HOF'er -- hand-written by Roy Williams -- has been discovered in an abandoned storage locker.

... and it's pretty awesome!!

The "Memories of Hawaii" postcard was penned by Williams as he flew to Los Angeles with his Kansas Jayhawks squad after playing a game in Honolulu ... and on January 2, 1990, sent to Kidd's Oakland-area home.

Williams -- a HOF coach who retired this week -- wrote, "Jason, We're on the plane from Honolulu to Los Angeles & we had a great trip to Hawaii. Our players really enjoyed it & worked hard while we were there also. We're going again in two years & I hope you're with us."

Williams later continued ... "Jason -- I hope Kansas will be an option for you. I know I would love to be your coach."

But, KU wasn't the only top program recruiting Jason ... there are also letters from current Chicago Bulls head coach, Billy Donovan -- at the time, an assistant for the legendary Rick Pitino at the University of Kentucky.

"Jason, this past week was the Kentucky Derby which was the 2nd largest sporting event in the state next to a Kentucky basketball game. Sincerely, Billy Donovan"

There's more ... UNLV head coach Jerry Tarkanian and UCLA head coach Jim Harrick -- and others -- also vied for Kidd's talents.

They wanted J. Kidd for good reason ... he was Parade and USA Today's H.S. Player of the Year -- averaging 25 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds, and 7 steals as a senior, according to ESPN.

All of the postcards were recently discovered with a load of other memorabilia in an abandoned storage locker in Calabasas, CA.

It's unclear how or why the postcards got into the locker ... or why the valuable items were seemingly just left.

The locker was purchased by a collector ... who is now selling the items on eBay.

As for Williams, Donovan & Pitino, Tarkanian, Harrick and the other big time college coaches ... they all struck out.

MMA fighter Johnny Case -- who once fought on a Conor McGregor undercard -- was arrested in Las Vegas on Thursday for domestic battery, TMZ Sports has learned.

The 31-year-old fighter is still in custody in Clark County, Nevada according to online records.

Details surrounding his arrest have not been released -- but we're told the alleged victim is a female MMA fighter.

Case -- who goes by the nickname "Johnny Hollywood" -- is currently signed with the PFL (Professional Fighters League) and has a fight scheduled for the end of the month.

Case is 27-7-1 as a pro fighter and has had stints with some of the top MMA organizations in the world ... including the UFC, where he fought from 2014 to 2017.

In fact, Case fought Frankie Perez on the undercard of the Conor McGregor vs. Dennis Siver card back in 2015 ... and he won.

We reached out to Case's camp for comment but so far nothing.

The Houston Police Department says it's now launched a criminal investigation into Deshaun Watson ... this after a complainant formally filed a report against the NFL star on Friday.

Cops did NOT say the nature of the allegations against the QB ... and it's unclear if they're related to the claims of sexual assault that Watson is facing in a multitude of civil lawsuits.

In a statement Friday, though, Watson's attorney implied they may be.

"We welcome this long overdue development," Rusty Hardin said. "Now we will learn the identity of at least one accuser. We will fully cooperate with the Houston Police Department."

A police investigation into Watson does NOT mean he's facing criminal charges at the moment.

The HPD will investigate the allegations and likely then turn over its findings to prosecutors, who will then need to make a charging decision. That all could take weeks, if not months.

The interesting part is now that law enforcement is involved ... will the NFL step in and put the Houston Texans star on the commissioner's exempt list and bar him from playing games until the probe concludes?

The league had previously said it was already investigating the QB over the allegations made against the 25-year-old in the civil cases.

As we reported ... Watson is accused of being sexually inappropriate with at least 21 female masseuses in at least four different states over the past few years.