Drugs & Alcohol

O.J. Mayo says he's fighting his ban from the NBA after allegedly violating the league's drug policy -- and tells TMZ Sports he expects to be back on the court soon.

The league handed down the punishment back in July -- and said he'll be eligible to apply for reinstatement in 2 years. The league has not released any details about the substance that triggered the violation.

But when we got Mayo out in L.A. Monday he told us he's not taking the situation lying down -- saying he filed an appeal and the process is already "in the works."

(UPDATE: There's some debate over what Mayo says in the clip. Some people believe he says, "I already appealed it. It didn't work." Our photog says he believes he heard "it's in the works." Listen to the video and judge for yourself.)

As for the alleged violation, Mayo says he will tell his side of the story soon -- and noted that he's been focused on recovering from recent foot surgery.

Cheating allegations or not, Jon Jones is still the best fighter in the world ... so says UFC star Anthony "Rumble" Johnson.

Johnson was famously supposed to fight Jones at UFC 187 last year -- but Jon was pulled from the fight less than a month before the match when he was arrested for a hit-and-run in New Mexico.

Now, with a potential 2-year suspension looming, Rumble says Jones' reputation has taken another major hit -- but his skills are still world-class.

"Nobody trusts him," Johnson said ... "He's still, to me, the best fighter in the world. It's just, once again, his actions make him ... it degrades him."

Jon Jones clearly believes he will NOT serve a 2 year suspension for a positive PED test before UFC 200 -- saying he's got "really good news" and expects to be back in the Octagon pronto.

Jones just made a video to update his supporters -- "if there are any of you guys still out there" -- and says he has brand new information about the testing that seems to support his stance that he did NOT knowingly cheat.

Jones has been temporarily suspended by USADA (the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency) until his case goes before the Nevada Athletic Commission. He was expected to get the usual 2 year suspension.

Jones doesn't reveal why he's so optimistic -- but says, "We have found out lots of really good news and I am expecting to be back in the Octagon really soon."

The only non-murdered man who either dated or married a notorious killer is warning HBO -- trash talk him in the biopic starring Jennifer Lopez and he's suing your asses.

First, the backstory ... Charles Cosby infamously dated Griselda Blanco -- a Colombian drug lord dubbed the Cocaine Godmother who's tied to hundreds of murders, including the deaths of every man she ever dated, except Cosby. J Lo's playing Blanco for HBO.

Cosby wants NOTHING to do with the film ... telling TMZ there better be no references to him ... or else.

What's more ... Cosby -- who narrated a documentary about Blanco's life, "Cocaine Cowboys 2" -- says he's no Jennifer fan ... calling her unconvincing with no street cred.

And Cosby's got his own Griselda project ... a movie he's producing called, "Hustle."

#ThugLife

Running a mile while boozing is hard enough ... try doing it WHILE JUGGLING!!!

That's exactly what Michael "The Joggler" Kapral did in Toronto this week ... completing a full Beer Mile race while juggling 3 balls!!!!

Kapral has become famous for juggling during various marathons, half-marathons and 10k races -- but this was his first Beer Mile.

FYI, Beer Mile racers have to chug a full beer ever 1/4 mile!!

So, how'd Kapral do?

He finished the whole thing in under 9 minutes ... and didn't drop a single ball!

We're told Kapral is now training for his next big race -- the Chicago Marathon, which he hopes to finish in under 2 hours 50 minutes (while juggling the entire time!!).

A video of late Toronto mayor Rob Ford smoking crack has just been released to the public -- 5 months after he passed away from cancer.

In the video, shot in Feb. 2013, Ford hits a crack pipe while a friend trashes current Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, who was elected in 2015.

The friend says, "I'd like to get that f***ing Justin Trudeau and shove my foot as far up his ass because I'm sure it would go real far."

Ford laughs and says, "He's a fat dick."

Ford also says he's mad about the misconception that he's a right wing radical.

Important to note Ford doesn't realize he's being recorded until the very end of the video.

The video was used as an exhibit in the extortion trial of Rob's friend, Sandro Lisi ... who was charged with trying to extort a gang member to get the clip.

The court had ordered the video to stay private while the case was underway -- but on Thursday, the extortion charge against Lisi was dropped and the video was made public.

Ford admitted to smoking crack during his time as mayor -- though he denied he was an addict.

Liam Hemsworth needs a better handle of things if he's gonna booze hard.

Liam dropped an entire case of beer Wednesday as he left a Malibu store.

Hey ... at least he's got good beer taste.

A bunch of kids hit the bottle hard Tuesday night at a Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa concert ... sending 11 of 'em to the hospital.

Snoop and Wiz's The High Road Tour at Nikon Jones Amphitheater in Wantagh, NY was the place to be for big drinkers ... and 25 of the 35 people treated for alcohol poisoning were underage ... law enforcement sources tell TMZ.

We're told an 18-year-old was so wasted he fell face first, busting his mouth and nose.

We're told the concert was severely understaffed with security ... 16 cops were monitoring the 14,000 concertgoers who got the party started during a tailgate ... hours before Wiz and Snoop took the stage.

This all comes on the heels of 40 injured at Friday's concert when a railing collapsed.

The biological mother of Team USA gymnast Simone Biles says she's clean, sober and has a loving relationship with her daughter ... and is sick of being painted as an addict.

Simone's story is pretty well-known ... she was put in foster care when she was 2 because her mother struggled with substance abuse. Simone was eventually adopted by her grandparents.

TMZ Sports spoke with Shanon Biles who says she's been sober since 2007 -- and is proud of the fact she reestablished her relationship with Simone.

Shanon says she does have a beef with her father -- saying he was insensitive about the way he described her battle with addiction during an interview with NBC.

"He could have been more classy about it."

As for Simone, Shanon says she's incredibly proud of her daughter and has supported her for years -- in fact, she showed us a pic of the two of them with Gabby Douglas back in 2014.

"I just want to say I love you Simone ... I'm so proud of you! Go Team USA and I'll talk to you and see you when I can!"

A-Rod is a PED cheater who'd sully the Hall Of Fame with his inclusion ... so claims former MLB superstar Kenny Lofton, who says if he had his way, Rodriguez would NEVER be enshrined in Cooperstown.

We got Kenny out at LAX and asked the 6-time All-Star the question everyone's been asking since the Yankees announced Rodriguez was being released later this week.

Any chance ... even an outside one, he makes the Hall of Fame?

You know the issues ... Alex was busted for PEDs twice -- a stat that some baseball purists believe puts him on the Hall's persona non grata list next to Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds.

Kenny is definitely in that camp ... absolutely EVISCERATING A-Rod to our camera guy, saying flatly, "You can't put a cheater in. Once you put one in, you got to put them all in."

Future hosted the official Summer '16 After Party at ACES New York Thursday night ... and he got LIT in the VIP section.

Future was seen throwing around handfuls of cash, and we're told he bought 12 bottles of Ace of Spades champagne -- those are a grand each -- and spent $30k overall.

To make things even more tasty ... Pastry Chef Nerwan Khalife provided 6 dozen cupcakes for the VIP that were loaded with Hennessy and topped with pics of Future and Drake.

It was a packed house for Future, who was there for a couple hours until closing time. Young Thug also rolled through.

After-parties are the best parties.

The guys from Florida Georgia Line are throwing the ultimate tailgate party Thursday, complete with tons of free booze.

It's all to kick off the launch of FGL's new Old Camp Peach Pecan Whiskey. We're told the folks at Old Camp are rolling in 24 cases for a VIP pregame at the group's New Jersey concert.

Sorry fans, it's not open to the public -- they don't have THAT much liquor ... the tailgate is strictly for Brian and Tyler's close friends and entourage.

Brian tells us ... "It's a ritual we've had since our first shows, toasting and celebrating with our camp before taking the stage."

Fireball whiskey, you're on notice -- FGL's pregame is gonna be a peach.

A national smoothie chain wants athletes everywhere to know they are completely and 100% PED FREE ... this after an NCAA star publicly wondered whether or not the joint was safe.

It all started when Brad Kaaya -- the Miami Hurricanes QB projected as a top pick in next year's draft -- questioned whether the supplements at Smoothie King were okay by NCAA PED testing standards.

Kaaya was obviously trying to make a point about the testing ... but even still, a rep from Smoothie King (800 stores nationwide) was quick to tell TMZ Sports the athletes have ZERO TO FEAR.

"Our proprietary Gladiator Protein, which is available in smoothies and in retail, is free from banned substances and perfectly safe for all athletes."

Want iron clad proof? The company says their products have already been tested ... by the NBA ... as part of a deal to get naming rights for Smoothie King Center ... where the New Orleans Pelicans play.

"Our partnership with the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans requires that we meet the NBA’s rigorous standards for being athlete-friendly, and includes annual testing of all our ingredients."

The widow of original "Cocaine Cowboy" Jon Roberts is getting double-crossed in a deal Jon made to cash in on his life story ... according to the lawsuit she just filed.

Andrea Noemi Roberts says Jon struck the deal with financial adviser Daniel Merandi and his company, M & M Financial -- Jon would get 50 percent from any TV or movie projects related to his 2011 memoir, "American Desperado." Jon died shortly after the book came out, but Andrea says she inherited the deal with Merandi.

Andrea's fighting for every dollar, and with good reason. Jon's book has been linked to a Hollywood project with Mark Wahlberg, Peter Berg and Michael Bay attached ... and it's already been used to make a Telemundo documentary. She's suing to get the half she's due now, plus anything in the future.

Jon was a notorious player in Miami coke smuggling during the '80s -- as told in the award winning doc "Cocaine Cowboys."

President Obama is now officially the hero of Demaryius Thomas' family after cutting the wide receiver's grandmother a huge break on her life sentence.

Minnie Pearl Thomas is one of the 214 prisoners who got their prison sentences commuted by the Prez on Wednesday. Minnie got sentenced to life in prison in 2000 for running a cocaine distribution ring, but now she's set to be released Dec. 1 ... thanks to Obama.

Demaryius said this "Couldn't be a better day" ... as he gave the President a shout-out for giving families like his "second chances."

Abby Wambach says she's been "totally sober" since her DUI arrest in April -- telling TMZ Sports she's learned from her mistake and doesn't plan to repeat it.

As we previously reported, the Team USA soccer legend blew a .13 during her April 2nd arrest in Portland -- and later pled guilty to driving under the influence of intoxicants.

She immediately took responsibility for the incident -- and vowed to be a better role model.

Well, we got Abby at LAX -- and she essentially told us the DUI was a teachable moment ... saying, "You live and you learn."

As for the complete sobriety -- the judge will be very happy to hear that ... since he asked her to abstain from booze while she's in her 1 year court-ordered diversion program.