TMZ Sports - Page 50

Charles Barkley is going to bat for his old friend, Tiger Woods -- saying people like Jack Nicklaus who say Tiger needs help don't REALLY know what they're talking about.

Barkley appeared on 97.5 FM The Fanatic Philadelphia on Wednesday and was asked for his thoughts on Tiger's DUI. He's clearly upset with people assuming Tiger has a serious substance abuse issue.

"Even Jack Nicklaus, somebody I really respect, talking about, 'Tiger really needs help.' Well he don't KNOW that. We don't know if Tiger has a drug problem."

Barkley added, "He just had a bad reaction [to prescription medication]. He wasn't out there drinking and driving."

Barkley says the "haters" are "in heaven right now because they get a chance to dump on the guy."

Barkley and Tiger were very close friends before 2009 -- and would regularly hit Vegas together. But Tiger cut him off after his marriage fell apart.

Jerry West insists he knows NOTHING about the Clippers reportedly trying to steal him away from the Golden State Warriors ... but watch the video -- and pay attention to that smirk!

West is currently an executive board member for the Warriors -- but ESPN's Marc Stein reported the Clippers are actively courting him to L.A.

So, when we saw West in Beverly Hills on Wednesday, we had to ask him straight-up -- what's the deal?!

Laci Kay Somers wants no part of a Tiger Woods scandal ... the wildly popular, and smoking hot, Instagram model is denying rumors she was hanging with him prior to his DUI arrest.

Laci tells TMZ ... multiple reports claiming she was in Florida Sunday night with Tiger are completely false. She insists she was in L.A. all weekend with her mom, and more to the point ... she's NEVER met Tiger.

Fact is, Laci fits the mold -- smoking hot blonde a la Tiger's current squeeze Kristin Smith ... not to mention Lindsey Vonn and Elin Nordegren. However, the model, who has 8 million IG followers, says she has zero history with him ... no phone calls, no texts, no sliding up in the DMs.

She has no clue how the rumor started, but we'll say this ... Tiger's done worse.

The New York Mets have FIRED Mr. Met and apologized after their beloved mascot was caught giving fans the one-finger salute during Wednesday's game.

A fan captured the encounter as Mr. Met headed into the tunnel during the 7th inning -- claiming he was just trying to get a high 5 -- but got only 1 digit in return.

The Mets called it an "inappropriate action," and issued an apology saying "we do not condone this type of behavior. We are dealing with this matter internally."

The team later confirmed that the person wearing the costume Wednesday night has been canned from the position.

One thing to note: Mr. Met -- who only has 4 digits on each hand -- doesn't actually have a middle finger. But yeah ... we get the point.

Cops have just released the police video of the Tiger Woods DUI arrest -- showing the golfer zonked out during the stop and bombing field sobriety tests.

The footage was shot early Monday morning from a Jupiter PD dash cam. Cops say Woods was passed out behind the wheel when they approached the car.

He's almost like a zombie in the footage -- swaying, incoherent ... and unable to even tie his own shoes.

At one point during the stop, an officer tells Tiger he smells the "odor" of alcohol on him -- though Woods insists he did not drink. A breathalyzer later showed Tiger's BAC was .000.

The incident took place roughly 8 miles from Tiger's home in Jupiter, FL. An obviously disoriented Woods told cops he believed he was in L.A. ... driving toward Orange County.

Woods insists alcohol was not a factor and blames it on an "unexpected reaction to prescription medications."

In an obvious response to the intense hate he got for baring his gross feet on TV, Shaquille O'Neal took a trip to the nail shop ... and got a full monster foot makeover.

It was kinda like that scene from "Dumb and Dumber" at first (see below) -- but Shaq decided to end his session with a layer of sparkly toenail polish.

No word on how much he paid the woman for the foot job ... but it wasn't enough!!!

LeBron James says the racist vandalism at his Brentwood home proves one thing -- no matter how much money or fame he has, "Being black in America is tough."

TMZ Sports broke the story ... someone spray painted the n-word across the front gate of Bron's $20 million estate. Cops are hunting for the perpetrator.

LeBron spoke about the incident Wednesday afternoon at a media event for the NBA Finals -- saying his family is safe ... and that's the most important thing.

He also said the incident proves that "racism will always be a part of the world and a part of America."

LeBron also referenced Emmett Till -- the 14-year-old black kid who was brutally beaten to death by racist white people after they accused him of whistling at a white woman.

"I think back to Emmett Till’s mom actually. It’s one of the first things I thought of. The reason she had an open casket was because she wanted to show the world what her son went through as far as a hate crime and being black in America."

Tiger Woods was left flat on the road before his arrest ... and the pics cops released make that clear.

Tiger's 2015 Mercedes had 2 flats and it's apparent from the photos he was unable if not incapable of driving further than he did.

Dana White tells TMZ Sports he has 3 simple words for Oscar De La Hoya -- "WHAT THE F**K?!"

The UFC honcho is furious with the boxing legend after Oscar publicly trashed the Mayweather vs. McGregor negotiations ... calling it a "joke of a fight" that could kill the sport of boxing.

Earlier Wednesday, White posted a video on Instagram showing Oscar praising a UFC vs. Boxing fight four months ago ... and then trashing it now.

White says Oscar is coming off as an insecure hypocritical weirdo for changing his position so drastically -- and says it makes it sound like Oscar has no confidence in the boxing match he's promoting, Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin.

You gotta watch the clip ... Dana goes absolutely nuclear -- plus, he gives the latest on the Floyd vs. Conor negotiations.

Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos and his teammates took their chiseled bods and hot lady friends on a massive (and expensive) yacht this week ... days before the Champions League Final.

Ramos, Luka Modric, Lucas Vazquez and their significant others met for some R&R leading up to the game against Juventus this Saturday ... chillin' with jet skis and catchin' some rays in Ibiza.

As for the yacht ... the 101-foot KIRIOS comes at a hefty $64,000 A WEEK and features 5 cabins with luxurious interior.

No sign of Cristiano Ronaldo, though ... but it sure looks like he was able to rest his legs a bit on his own.

James Harden literally went head over heels for Travis Scott's new music video ... teaming up to star in the Houston rapper's visuals for his hit single, "Way Back."

FYI -- the 5-time All Star and Travis are tight ... and were even seen turnin' up together after the Rockets were eliminated from the playoffs.

It's only fitting La Flame enlisted the Beard as the focus for the self-directed vid ... given the hook's lyrics, "James Harden with the range on me n***a way back."

Harden shows off that range by playing 1-on-1 with himself and hanging upside down midair while Travis plays video games in the background.

It's weird ... but in a good way.

Keshia Knight Pulliam's fed up with late child support payments, and now wants all future dues ripped from her estranged husband's NFL pension ... no middleman.

Keshia filed new court docs in her pending divorce from ex-NFL player Ed Hartwell, asking that all of his future child support payments come directly from his NFL retirement or disability money. She says Ed's been late a lot lately, and he hasn't paid for May.

Keshia also claims Ed hasn't been allowing her to travel outside of the country for work since he's been dragging his feet on signing consent forms to allow their 5-month-old daughter to leave with mom.

Serena Williams' genetics cost her MAJOR dollars, according to former NBA star Jim Jackson ... 'cause JJ says if her dad was LaVar Ball, and not Richard, Serena would be a BILLIONAIRE.

Jim's point? That if Serena and other stars like LeBron James had parents who started their own companies like LaVar, they'd be even wealthier than they are today.

FYI -- LeBron James and Serena Williams are very, very wealthy.

Jackson told us this when we got him out in Beverly Hills ... and he's got a point ... especially if Lonzo becomes what Williams and James are ... WHICH IS ONE OF THE GREATEST EVER.

Sex and trash talk.

That summed up Kevin Hart's poker experience in Vegas -- after he trashed a bunch of poker pros and then banged the table after winning a big hand.

It was HILARIOUS!!

Kev was playing in PokerGO’s Super High Roller Bowl at the Aria in Vegas -- and in his quest for the $6 million grand prize, Hart got locked in an "all in" battle with pro poker player Brian Rast.

Kev promised if he won the hand, he was gonna bang the table.

He won -- and the table got railed.

The Indianapolis Colts lineman who attacked a taxi cart driver in Arizona and then threatened police just got 2 years probation ... but he still faces even MORE punishment.

As we previously reported, 25-year-old David Parry went on a crazy drunken bender in Scottsdale, AZ on Feb. 25 -- that culminated with the 300-pounder puking his guts out in a jail trash can.

During the incident, Parry allegedly carjacked a taxi cart, drove it around -- and then called police "f**king f**gots," "fat f**ks" and "p**syboy."

The case was divided to be prosecuted in two separate courts.

Maricopa County Superior Court handled 3 of the charges -- including misdemeanor disorderly conduct, robbery and felony attempt to commit unlawful means of transportation.

The other charges, mostly related to the DUI part of the incident, are being handled by Scottsdale City Court.

Today, Parry was punished in MCSC -- getting 2 years probation as part of a plea deal.

The catfish-throwing Nashville Predators fan is NOT A CRIMINAL -- and will no longer be prosecuted for slangin' the fish on the ice at the Stanley Cup finals.

Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala has announced the charges against Jacob Waddell will be withdrawn immediately after officials realized prosecuting the guy is a ridiculous waste of time, energy and money.

"Having reviewed the affidavit involving Mr. Waddell as well as the television coverage of the incident, District Attorney Zappala has made the determination that the actions of Mr. Waddell do not rise to the level of criminal charges," a rep for the D.A. said.

Waddell faced up to 6 years behind bars for chuckin' the dead fish on the ice at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh during Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals.

The Preds and Penguins play Game 2 in Pittsburgh Wednesday ... so watch out for more flying fish.