TMZ Sports - Page 50

Metta World Peace is devastated over the death of his good friend, Prodigy -- telling TMZ Sports the two were like family and would often perform at rap shows together.

Metta and Prodigy are both from Queens -- and hit it off right from the start. But they didn't just rap together, they were close personal friends. Metta would sometimes visit Prodigy in the hospital.

"Prodigy was definitely family," Metta says ... "It definitely sucks not to have him here."

Metta says the best thing people can do to honor the Mobb Deep rapper is "keep his name alive ... because it's very necessary."

"We gonna miss him."

O.J. Simpson is one step closer to being a free man ... his official parole hearing date has been set for July 20.

A rep for the Nevada Board of Parole Commissioners has confirmed the date and says if things go well, Simpson could be released as early as October 1.

Simpson will not attend the hearing in person -- he will be videoconferenced in from the Lovelock Correctional Center in Nevada.

69-year-old Simpson was arrested in 2007 on several armed robbery and kidnapping charges after stealing sports memorabilia from a Vegas hotel room. He was convicted in 2008 and has been locked up ever since.

He was sentenced to 33 years in prison, with the eligibility for parole after 9 years.

Grandmama has spoken ... with Larry Johnson telling TMZ Sports he REALLY hopes his NY Knicks don't trade away Kristaps Porzingis.

The rumors are spreading like wildfire ... that Phil Jackson is taking calls from other NBA teams looking to make a deal for the Latvian wonderkid before the NBA Draft.

So, when we saw the ex-Knicks star in NYC on Tuesday, we asked him to weigh in ... and it's clear he's against moving KP.

The Knicks and KP don't seem to be on the best of terms right now ... but LJ seems to think the team is better with him than without him.

Ex-NFL lineman Ryan O'Callaghan -- who played for the Patriots and the Chiefs -- has come out as gay ... and says it was an NFL team staffer who helped save his life.

O'Callaghan was selected by New England in the 5th round of the 2006 NFL Draft -- and protected Tom Brady in 2007, the year they won the AFC title and went to the Super Bowl.

O'Callaghan tells OutSports.com he wrestled with his sexuality during his entire football career -- and used football "as kind of my cover for my life."

"Football was the most masculine thing I could do," O'Callaghan told Cyd Zeigler.

O'Callaghan says when he knew his football career was ending in 2011, he planned on killing himself. He wrote a suicide note and had guns -- but didn't go through with it.

Fortunately, Kansas City Chiefs trainer, David Price, noticed he wasn't being himself and advised him to talk to the team's counselor.

Ryan says he took Price's advice and it saved his life. He later came out to family and friends -- and got the love and support he needed.

Now, O'Callaghan says he loves life and is glad he decided to go public.

He also says he never faced bigotry from teammates and believes NFL teams are ready for openly gay players in the locker room.

Warren Sapp says the head hits he sustained during his NFL career are affecting his memory -- saying it "ain't what it used to be" -- and he's donating his brain to science to help future players.

The NFL Hall of Famer laid out his plan to The Players' Tribune ... admitting, "Yeah, it’s scary to think that my brain could be deteriorating."

Sapp says examples include forgetting a grocery list or how to get to a friend's house he's been to a thousand times.

"So when it comes to concussions, CTE and how we can make our game safer for future generations, I wanted to put my two cents in -- to help leave the game better off than it was when I started playing."

Sapp says he was in denial about possibly having a football-induced brain injury -- but he's now come to terms with it and wants to be proactive in helping the younger generation.

Besides pledging his brain to the Concussion Legacy Foundation, Sapp also says he wants tackle football outlawed for pre-high school kids.

"The game is getting better. Let's make it better for everyone involved."

Another day, another guy saying Mayweather is going to kick the hell out of Conor McGregor ... this time it's George Lopez who says the fight is so lopsided, McGregor won't land a single punch.

George was out at LAX when he was asked his thoughts on the superfight set to go down at T-Mobile Arena (sorry, Ice Cube) on August 26.

Floyd's not only gonna win the fight, but George says it won't even be a watchable contest -- because McGregor will be swingin' at air.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a group of NFL Hall of Famers that his approach to peace is "no different" from how a football player prepares for victory ... be strong or else.

The meeting was arranged by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft -- who's leading a team of NFL legends including Joe Montana, Jim Brown and Jerome Bettis on a goodwill trip to Israel.

Part of the trip was a meeting with Netanyahu -- a meeting that included handshakes, autograph exchanges and even a quick game of catch.

But the key part of the meeting was when Bibi addressed the group and gave his take on the Israeli peace policy ... tailored to a football audience.

"You seek peace but you've got to be strong. If you're not strong you'll never get peace and if you're not strong you'll be more in turmoil and the worst thing is you'll lose."

"I'm sure that when you prepare for your games, you don't say, 'Well, do I need to be strong, fast, nimble? Is that a question? Your game is no different from ours."

"The only difference is if we lose the consequences are immutable. And we've had enough of that in our history. So we won't let that happen again."

Von Miller joined a different kind of Mile High Club Monday night -- getting a tattoo while flying on a private jet!!

The Denver Broncos star was flying back from a vacation in the Dominican Republic with a fully equipped tattoo artist on his P.J.

The dude went to work on the back of Von's right thigh -- but it's unclear exactly what was inked on his bod.

Matthew Modine says Nate Diaz personally told him that his 1985 wrestling flick "Vision Quest" inspired him to become a pro fighter ... how cool is that!?

Modine -- who starred as high school wrestler Loudon Swain in the movie -- ran into Diaz in L.A. last week and said the meeting was a "throwback because [Nate] was inspired by 'Vision Quest.'"

"He trained really hard as a young fighter and like so many young wrestlers they were inspired by that film."

WHO WANTS TO GRAB A LOG AND RUN SOME STADIUM STAIRS?!?!

Sidenote: Do people really actually do that?

Anyway, Modine says Diaz has big things ahead ... including a massive payday.

"Sugar" Ray Leonard thinks Conor McGregor is a very tough dude -- but when it comes to his fight with Floyd Mayweather he has one piece of advice ... "DUCK!"

The boxing legend -- who beat Floyd's dad in 1978 -- was at LAX when he told us why he believes the Irish superstar is in for a beating when they face off on August 26.

Here's some nice, cool SHAAADE ... courtesy of Ice Cube.

As we previously reported, Cube's BIG3 basketball league is in a standoff with Mayweather, McGregor over the T-Mobile Arena for August 26.

BIG3 says it booked the venue first and won't budge (unless the price is right) -- while the boxing promoters aren't backing down either.

So, we asked Cube about the big fight when we saw him at LAX on Monday -- his response?

"Oh, that fight is uh happening?"

LaVar Ball isn't letting the headlines get to him -- telling TMZ Sports he's still 100% convinced the Lakers will call Lonzo Ball's name with the #2 pick in the draft.

Tiger Woods says he's getting "professional help" for his issues with prescription medication in the wake of his DUI arrest -- but he's not describing the situation as rehab.

"I'm currently receiving professional help to manage my medications and the ways that I deal with back pain and a sleep disorder," Woods said in a statement.

"I want to thank everyone for the amazing outpouring of support and understanding especially the fans and players on tour."

As we previously reported, Woods was arrested on May 29 in Jupiter, FL -- and was extremely out of it. He could barely stand up straight and couldn't tie his shoes.

Woods blamed his state on a bad mixture of prescription medication.

Woods going public about the professional help could well be a strategy in his pending DUI case. It's often used to show the judge that he's taking his problem seriously, which could affect sentencing.

Woods was spotted out in Florida with his kids over the weekend -- so it doesn't appear he's in a live-in facility for his treatment.

Adrien Broner just called out a BIG name for the Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor undercard ... telling TMZ Sports he wants to fight UFC badass Nate Diaz.

There's just one minor issue ... Broner is taking on undefeated Mikey Garcia in a big Showtime boxing event on July 29 at Barclay's Center -- one month before MayMac. But AB has a plan.

"If I come out unmarked ... like I usually do, I’ll be willing to fight on Floyd’s undercard," Broner said. "If we can make it happen, let’s do it."

Might sound crazy -- but remember, Broner is Floyd's boy -- they're super tight -- and Team Mayweather has complete control when it comes to booking the undercard. Don't completely rule it out.

No response yet from Diaz ... who has been chillin' since his rematch with Conor in August.

And get this ... Broner also explains why he thinks McGregor has a REAL SHOT at beating Floyd.

The Golden State Warriors got a bikini welcoming committee at a massive pool party in Vegas this weekend ... proving once again, it's good to be the champs.

Draymond Green, Matt Barnes and JaVale McGee hit up Encore Beach Club Friday ... boozin' on all kinds of alcohol from Don Julio 1942 to Hennessy to Jack Daniel's and Grey Goose -- while chilling in a private cabana.

The Dubs stars also downed a giant bottle of Perrier Jouet Rose as well, 'cause why the hell not?!

Lawrence Taylor pled guilty to DUI stemming from a crazy 2016 incident where he drunkenly smashed his Bentley into a police cruiser ... but luckily for LT, he ain't goin' to jail.

The 58-year-old NFL great was arrested back in Sept. in Palm Beach Gardens, FL -- and cops say he fessed up to boozing right before he was arrested.

Taylor initially pled not guilty to DUI -- but has since changed his tune after striking a deal with prosecutors.

Here's how it plays out ... LT pled guilty to 1 count of misdemeanor DUI causing or contributing to injury to person or property -- and in exchange he got 12 months probation and his license was suspended for 9 months.

He also got 75 hours of community service, ordered to complete a DUI education program and must stay clean from drugs and alcohol for the entirety of his probation. He must submit to random testing to make sure he's clean.