TMZ Sports - Page 50

Great news for Russell Westbrook ... he finally found a superstar willing to help him out ... Lil Wayne, who brought Brodie up onstage to turn up in Oklahoma city Thursday night.

The Thunder were smacked from the playoffs by the Rockets earlier this week, but you'd never be able to tell by the way Westbrook was cheesin' onstage while Tunechi performed his hit, "No Worries."

BTW, Thunder player Victor Oladipo was also onstage turning up, and looked like he was trying his best, but still didn't give Russell much help in the partying department.

Remind you of anything?

Has anyone EVER been this excited to be drafted by Cleveland?!

Here's ex-Michigan star Jabrill Peppers celebrating his name being called with the 25th overall pick in the NFL Draft ... busting out his fraternity's signature 'party hop.'

Peppers was a Heisman trophy finalist last season with the Wolverines, but many predicted his draft stock would fall after he reportedly failed his drug test at the combine.

That wasn't the case, and Breezy is clearly happy about it ... smiling from ear to ear as his family and friends bark and cheer like they're in the middle of the Dawg Pound.

Cool moment from Snoop ... when he sent a personal, emotional video message to his former youth football player, John Ross -- praising him on getting drafted in the NFL.

Ross famously played in the Snoop Youth Football League as a kid -- and his family has been tight with Snoop ever since.

So, when Ross got drafted in the 1st round by the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday, Snoop dug deep into his memory bank to deliver a pretty sweet message to the WR.

By the way, we got Ross right after the draft -- and he told us Coach Snoop can definitely expect some Bengals gear in the mail!

Where's the first place you go after getting selected in the 1st round of the NFL Draft and becoming a millionaire overnight???

MICKEY D'S, BABY!

That was the plan for ex-USC cornerback Adoree Jackson -- who was so excited after being taken with the 18th pick by the Tennessee Titans, he already had his order planned out!

Jackson was in a great mood -- and told us about his big plans to become an A-list crossover celebrity!

The Oakland Raiders "did a lot of work" investigating Gareon Conley before selecting him in the 1st round of the NFL Draft and believe he's NOT a rapist ... so says Ian Rapoport.

The NFL Network insider -- one of the best football reporters in the game -- says the Raiders dedicated serious resources to finding out as much as they could about Conley's rape case before they selected.

Conley insists he's been falsely accused of raping a woman at a Cleveland hotel on April 9. He has not been arrested or charged with a crime.

Get this, Rapoport says there was also interest from other teams -- Conley even took a lie detector test to prove he's telling the truth.

Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher says he's shocked his former running back, Dalvin Cook, wasn't selected in the 1st round of the NFL Draft.

Cook was widely regarded as one of the best skill position players in college -- but his name wasn't called during round 1.

Two other running backs DID get the call -- Leonard Fournette and Christian McCaffrey.

Fisher is out in Philly and told us he was surprised Cook got the cold shoulder on Thursday -- but he's confident someone will pull the trigger tonight during rounds 2 and 3.

Stay tuned ...

Houston Texans star linebacker Brian Cushing says he's pretty pumped for his team's new QB Deshaun Watson -- but he's not convinced he'll be the starter ... yet.

Cushing and his wife are out in Philly for the NFL Draft -- and after Houston selected the Clemson star with the #12 pick, we asked Cushing for his quick reaction.

Of course, Watson will have to battle for the #1 job with Tom Savage -- a 4th year QB out of Rutgers.

Lamar Odom stands to make a boatload of dough ... now that he's cutting ties with his Florida crib.

The former NBA star bought the Pinecrest pad back in 2003 for $2.975 million for his stint with the Miami Heat ... but he's finally ready to say deuces to the crib and possibly make a sweet profit cause he's asking for $5.2 mil!!!

LO's been renting out the 8,557 square foot house for a few years now.

The 6 bedroom, 7.5 bathroom compound sits inside an exclusive gated community, and it has all the bells and whistles -- from a grand foyer entrance and media room to a pool, spa, tennis court and, of course, a basketball court.

Gareon Conley is now an Oakland Raider -- the team picked the embattled football star in the 1st round of the NFL Draft ... despite being in the middle of a rape investigation.

Conley fell to the 24th pick (he probably would've gone higher if not for the allegations). We know Conley spoke with multiple teams before and during the draft -- teams that grilled him pretty hard about the allegations.

Clearly the Raiders believe he's telling the truth -- that he did not rape the accuser in a Cleveland hotel on April 9.

Conley was not at the NFL Draft in Philadelphia -- instead, he was celebrating with close friends and family members at a private gathering in Ohio.

His family previously told TMZ Sports they believe God is on their side ... and Gareon will prove his innocence.

Don't pop the champagne just yet ... Jeb Bush tells TMZ Sports he and Derek Jeter haven't officially closed the deal to buy the Miami Marlins -- though he seems confident.

Gareon Conley is not in Philadelphia at the NFL Draft -- instead he is with close friends and family at a private gathering in Ohio, and he's doing "great" ... so says his mother and stepmother.

TMZ Sports spoke with Sherry Robinson (mom) and Angel Conley (stepmom) who tell us Gareon is disappointed he's not with the rest of the 1st round prospects ... but he remains strong, confident, and believes God is on his side.

Conley has previously shot down allegations he raped a woman at a Cleveland hotel on April 9th ... and vows to prove his innocence. His family tells us they have his back 100% and expects him to be cleared.

Jesus walks ... in Philly. And he's an Eagles fan.

Our guy ran into J.C. at the NFL Draft -- where he was offering up prayers for Myles Garrett, despite the fact he's probably going to the Browns.

Jesus offered up some advice ... he did the prayer pose ... and then he led a bunch of locals in the E-A-G-L-E-S chant.

It's the biggest night of their lives and the top prospects in the NFL Draft dressed up for the occasion.

TMZ Sports has a live look at the top guys as they get ready to head to the Philadelphia Museum of Art for Round 1 of the 2017 NFL Draft.

Jewelry, shoes, suits, shades ... you better believe these guys are pulling out all the stops!

After all, they gotta one-up Ezekiel Elliott -- who rocked the crop top last year!

Good luck!

WWE legend Jim Ross' wife, Jan Ross, suffered a traumatic brain injury ... the official cause of death after she was struck from behind by another car while riding her Vespa home.

The Oklahoma Office of the Chief Medical Examiner tells TMZ Sports that, while the cause of death has been determined, a toxicology report's still pending. Amy Elliott, the Chief Administrative Officer, also tells us the death has been ruled an accident.

Cops tell us the crash remains under investigation.

As we reported ... Jan suffered multiple skull fractures on March 20 after a 17-year-old male driving a 2000 Mercury Grand Marquis struck Jan's Vespa from behind. She was thrown off the scooter and both vehicles caught fire. Jan was not wearing a helmet.

She was being kept on life support but died 2 days later.

The man who shot and killed Joe McKnight says the ex-NFL player was fueled by a mix of steroids, pain pills and weed during their fatal confrontation ... and he only pulled his gun out of fear.

Ronald Gasser filed new court docs in the murder case against him -- claiming he learned McKnight "was under the influence of marijuana, pain pills, and anabolic steroids at the time [he] attacked Mr. Gasser."

Unclear where Gasser got his information -- it seems his legal team may have had access to McKnight's toxicology results following the autopsy.

However, in the docs Gasser paints a picture of a man in full steroid rage -- saying McKnight was "violent and erratic" following an intense chase through the streets of Louisiana on Dec. 1.

Gasser says he did NOTHING that he would consider "aggressive" to provoke McKnight -- and says it was Joe who was screaming and yelling like a maniac.

Gasser says he ultimately shot Joe while "fearing for his life."

At the time of the shooting, McKnight was a pro football player in Canada -- a running back for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Deshaun Watston's uncle doesn't want a handout from the future NFL star -- he wants a job -- telling TMZ Sports he'll gladly be the QB's personal driver after he becomes a millionaire!

Watson's family is out in Philly for the NFL Draft and serving as the Clemson star's personal hype machine -- telling teams he's got the talent to be a "franchise changer."

But the best part of the video is DW's uncle who keeps it all the way real -- "I'm tired of working, nephew!"