Drugs & Alcohol

Darryl Strawberry says there's only one thing that saved him from the despair of drug addiction ... God ... telling TMZ Sports it was the man upstairs who was finally able to pull him from his habit.

We got Straw out in NYC and asked him what finally helped him kick the notorious cocaine addiction that derailed his MLB career, and the World Series champion's answer was simple.

"My faith, my faith in God, and my wife, Tracy."

Straw chronicles his struggles kicking the white stuff in his new book "Don’t Give Up on Me: Shedding Light on Addiction," but it's clear the former All-Star has his head on straight now.

UFC superstar Mark Hunt says he's "fine" with fighting until he dies ... but he's calling for it happen in a sport free of steroid users.

"I will probably end my life fighting," Hunt wrote in a piece for The Players Voice. "If I die fighting, that’s fine. I just hope that if it does happen, it will be in an honest and fair competition."

The timing of Hunt's article probably ain't a coincidence ... released just after results from Jon Jones' B sample drug test -- confirming the presence of anabolic steroid Turinabol -- were made public.

Mark's fought several fighters who've gotten popped for PED use -- most notably, Brock Lesnar at UFC 200. The Super Samoan called Brock's win "pre-meditated assault" ... and wants to make sure that doesn't happen to him, or anyone else, in the future.

"I’ve fought a lot of drug cheats and copped a lot of punishment from guys who were cheating and that’s not right. The cheats get all the advantages."

Hunt says he accepts the damage he's taken throughout his career -- which he claims has led to slurred speech and lost memories -- but he's PISSED that cheaters may have prevented him from becoming a UFC champ.

9:07 AM PT -- A rep for Aaron tells TMZ ... he didn't storm off the set of "The Doctors" after having rehab recommended, but rather left "quietly and professionally" after hanging out for at least half an hour when taping finished.

Aaron Carter is willing to talk about his prescription drug abuse, but bolted as soon as the topic of rehab came up on "The Doctors" ... according to family members.

Aaron agreed to a drug test when he taped the show about a month ago -- it airs this week -- and results came back positive for benzodiazepine (Xanax-like drugs) and hydrocodone (generic Vicodin). He claimed the doctors were helping him more than any therapist had, but a Carter family source tells us Aaron drew a line at the suggestion that he gets treatment.

We're told the doctors made the rehab recommendation after the show was done taping -- and they even said the show would pay for it, but Aaron got defiant and insisted he would NOT go.

Our sources say he stormed out of the studio, hopped in his car, and drove from L.A. to Florida the next day.

Daniel Cormier has been reinstated as the UFC's Light Heavyweight Champion after his loss to Jon Jones at UFC 214 was officially changed to a "no contest" in the wake of JJ's positive steroid test.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Jones was flagged for Turinabol -- a banned anabolic steroid. The results from Jones' B sample were made public Tuesday -- confirming the bad news for Jones. As a result, the California State Athletic Commission overturned Jones' victory and now has it ruled as a "no contest."

Cormier appeared on "UFC Tonight" and said he's already been contacted by Dana White ... who informed him that the belt will be returned to him.

"Once again, I'm the UFC champion," Cormier proclaimed.

Sacramento Kings star Zach Randolph just struck a pretty sweet deal in his marijuana case ... and all he has to do is a TON of community service.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Z-Bo was arrested for felony weed possession with intent to sell back in August when cops say they busted him with more than 2 pounds of pot in Nickerson Gardens.

The charges were later reduced to misdemeanor possession of more than 1 ounce of marijuana and resisting arrest ... and Randolph was facing up to 1 year in jail if convicted on both accounts.

But now, we've learned Randolph struck a deal with prosecutors to plead no contest to misdemeanor resisting arrest ... and in exchange, the pot charge was tossed completely.

Randolph was sentenced to 150 hours of community service as part of a diversion program, which means if he completes the hours and keeps his nose clean for 12 months, the resisting arrest conviction will be wiped from his record.

One more thing ... Randolph was specifically told he may not associate himself with or be around drug dealers as part of the terms of the deal.

The case is due back in court for a progress report in December. Good luck!

Jon Jones can deny it all he wants ... but he cheated before BOTH his fights with Daniel Cormier, which makes DC the true champ -- so says UFC superstar Luke Rockhold.

The "B" sample for Jones' failed drug test came out on Tuesday ... which revealed a positive test for the same banned steroid he got popped for last month. Now, Luke says it's time we all faced the truth.

"People can be in denial about Jon ... but he's taken things all along the way. And that's what USADA's here for -- to clean up the cheaters."

Rockhold feels terrible for his BFF, Cormier, and Jones too -- calling the whole situation "unfortunate" -- but told TMZ Sports he's not dwelling on it cause he's got a huge comeback fight this weekend.

Eric Chase Bolling, Jr. died in his bed, TMZ has learned, after enduring "emotional torture" over the humiliation his dad was suffering, but the circumstances surrounding his death remain a mystery.

Sources familiar with the death investigation tell TMZ, Eric Chase was "destroyed" by his dad's departure from Fox News Channel ... forced out because years ago Eric Sr. had texted pics of his genitalia. Sources connected with Eric Sr. tell us he actually made the decision to part ways earlier than he wanted because he knew his son was having trouble dealing with the publicity and the embarrassment.

Our sources say Eric Chase was found in his bed Friday afternoon with the covers over him in normal position. There was no suicide note, we're told, and no pill bottles or drug paraphernalia. Nevertheless, the operating theory is that this was some form of overdose. As one source tells TMZ, "19-year-olds just don't go to sleep and not wake up."

Eric Sr. found out about his son's death 2 hours after making his exit deal with FNC.

We're told the coroner is conducting toxicology and other tests to determine cause of death.

Lil Wayne's manager, Cortez Bryant, says the only thing Lil Wayne is addicted to is work, and brushed off an early retirement, despite Sunday's hospitalization for seizures.

We got Cortez at LAX Wednesday and he told us Weezy has no plans to slow down. Doctors have sidelined him for 2 weeks, but Cortez says Wayne will be back.

As for what caused the recent episode, Cortez didn't blame it on lean, but did offer an explanation.

Wayne's been spotted double-cupping at shows throughout the year, but seemed fine the night before he was taken to the hospital.

Don't villanize Wayne Rooney after his drunk driving arrest -- he's a good dude -- so says Rod Stewart.

The British rock legend -- who's a HUUUGE soccer fan -- was leaving Catch in L.A. over the weekend when we asked about the biggest football news in the U.K. ... Rooney's DUI arrest in England.

"He's been a great English football [player] and we all make mistakes," Stewart said ... "And he's still a great guy. A great influence on all the youngsters."

Rooney was busted early Friday morning when he was pulled over in a VW Beetle and failed a breathalyzer.

Ty Dolla $ign's got some advice for Lil Wayne ... whether he takes it is another story.

Ty was leaving TAO Monday night when we asked him about the codeine cough syrup concoction Weezy can't seem to get enough of. TMZ broke the story ... Wayne suffered multiple seizures this weekend and was hospitalized in Chicago, which forced the cancellation of a Vegas gig.

Dolla's crystal clear on how he feels about lean ... but it's apparent he subscribes to the "do you boo boo, do you" theory.

Finding weed in Amsterdam is hard (?!) -- so says JaVale McGee, who just got back from what most consider the weed capital of the world.

Not that he was on the hunt for any himself -- we think.

We got JaVale touching down at LAX ... and had to ask the Warriors big man if he got down with any extracurriculars while he was Euro-trippin'.

"No ... try not to," McGee told TMZ Sports. "It's not as accessible as you would think -- you have to go search for stuff."

Chris Brown would have to disagree.

A woman is suing her ex-boyfriend and his employer, Monster Energy Drink, after he allegedly tried to bite her finger off during a work trip.

The woman claims her BF was Monster's head of music marketing and flew her out to the 2016 Country Music Awards in Nashville. In legal docs, she says he got them a hotel room and her plane ticket from L.A. all at Monster's expense.

She claims he was drunk from the moment he picked her up at the airport, and his heavy drinking led to a fight later in their hotel room. According to the suit, he choked her and the only way she could free herself was by poking him in the eye, and when she did ... he bit her thumb.

The woman says the bite got infected, and she had to be hospitalized for 24 hours. She claims Monster knew he had a drinking problem, but didn't do anything about it.

DMX says he's opting to check outta house arrest and into rehab -- taking full advantage of a judge's decision ... TMZ has learned.

X says, "House arrest wasn't working for me, so I made the decision to do something positive and better for myself." Our DMX sources tell us he's getting treatment for substance abuse at a facility in New England.

We broke the story, a judge approved DMX breaking his house arrest for tax evasion ... specifically to enter a rehab program. He can even go without wearing a GPS ankle monitor.

X's manager, Pat Gallo, tells us the rapper's already been working with recovery coach Joseph Griffin, and has made "great progress." He recently took a community outreach trip to a firehouse with his rehab group.

The DEA nixed a happy ending for 5 people busted for pushing candles ... shaped like penises and made outta meth.

The federal agency tells TMZ ... 4 men and 1 woman were arrested last week in New Jersey for trafficking and conspiring to distribute more than1,300 pounds of wax candles laced with meth. TMZ obtained photos of the haul which show the knickknacks could totally double as dildos.

Agents grabbed 27 boxes in all. We're told the DEA got a whiff of the plan when one of the suspects drove an undercover agent to the warehouse where they planned to store and convert the candles to crystal meth. The DEA, along with the NYPD and Homeland Security, swooped in to make the arrests.

Each suspect faces 10 years to life in prison.

TMZ Sports has obtained video of Kansas City Royals pitcher Danny Duffy face-to-face with cops while being popped for DUI in a Burger King drive-thru.

It all went down in Overland Park, Kansas around 7:35 PM on Sunday evening. The person shooting the video thought it was crazy that someone could get a sobriety test in the BK parking lot -- she had no idea it was the World Series star.

You can see 6'3" Duffy with the shaved head and the green sweatshirt.

BK employees told KCTV5 that he ordered a combo meal and some burgers -- but passed out behind the wheel before getting to the pickup window. Cops woke him up and he was cited for DUI before being released to a friend.

He never got that combo meal.

A Stipe Miocic vs. Jon Jones superfight ain't on the table anymore ... but was it ever??

We spoke to the heavyweight champ on the heels of Jon's failed steroids test ... and Stipe says he hadn't heard of a potential matchup with Jones till Dana White mentioned it to reporters.

"I had no idea. I was like, 'That's news to me,'" Miocic told TMZ Sports.

Stipe's not ruling out a fight with Jones down the road -- but with JJ sidelined for who knows how long, he says he's looking to pull a Conor McGregor ... and fight heavyweight boxing champ Anthony Joshua!

Stipe would be a BIG underdog, just like Conor was against Floyd Mayweather ... but tells us he can hang with Joshua, no problem.

Dude was a Golden Gloves champ ... so never say never.