TMZ Sports - Page 50

Peyton Manning says he was pressured to REJECT President Donald Trump's invitation to golf with him last month ... but #18 didn't listen ... saying turning down the POTUS would be "un-American."

The NFL legend appeared on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and said he happened to be in D.C. back in June when he got a call from the White House asking him to join Trump for golf.

"I gotta tell ya Jimmy, I had a lot of people telling me not to do it," Manning said.

"I think it would have been almost un-American to have said 'No.'"

Manning said Trump was a gracious host and they had fun golfing together.

When asked if Trump cheated -- as Samuel L. Jackson has previously alleged -- Peyton shot that down too and said he counted Donald's strokes.

Alberto Del Rio -- aka Alberto El Patron -- has been suspended indefinitely by Global Force Wrestling amid an investigation into an alleged domestic violence incident.

GFW -- which is owned by Impact Wrestling -- says the suspension is effective immediately "until the investigation is resolved following a recent incident in Orlando, Florida."

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Alberto -- real name Jose Rodriguez -- is being investigated over an alleged incident Sunday at Orlando International Airport involving his fiancee, WWE superstar Paige.

We obtained audio of the incident in which you can hear Paige scream, "Leave me the f*ck alone" and "Stay out of my life."

Paige had previously claimed there was a 3rd party involved -- a female fan who threw a drink on Alberto -- but police say the case is only being investigated as a domestic dispute ... meaning Alberto and a significant other.

Here it is ... your first Lonzo Ball, Michael Jordan comparison ... courtesy of ex-hoops star Jay Williams.

J-Will is FIRED UP about the Lakers star's potential -- and tells TMZ Sports, "That kid is gonna make passing what Jordan made scoring."

"He makes the game so damn easy for everybody."

Clearly, the ESPN analyst was impressed by the rook's 11-assist triple-double over the weekend.

That was 'Zo's first big summer league game for the Lakers, but Jay's already convinced the kid's special -- and he's predicting a $200 MILLION contract down the line.

Oh, and J-Will's got a message for everyone hatin' on Lonzo's funky shot ...

IT DOESN'T MATTER!!

Tony Ferguson has a loud, finger-waggin' message for Conor McGregor ...

I'LL SEE YOU AFTER FLOYD, SON!!

We got T-Ferg leaving the first Mayweather-McGregor press conference at Staples Center Tuesday ... and the UFC lightweight contender wasted no time telling Conor -- the UFC lightweight champ -- what's up.

That said, Ferguson -- whose next fight isn't booked -- is open to other matchups ... like one with Justin Gaethje -- who dropped one of the most violent/awesome UFC debuts EVER last week.

"If he wants his a** kicked we'll handle that," Tony told TMZ Sports.

Blake Griffin rolled out the welcome wagon for one of his new Clippers teammates last night -- taking Sam Dekker and his ridiculously attractive fiancee to a fancy dinner in Bev Hills.

BG and his girlfriend/baby mama, Brynn Cameron, hit up Georgio Baldi with Dekker and his fiancee Olivia Harlan early Tuesday evening before attending a Players' Tribune party.

Dekker was drafted by the Houston Rockets but became a Clipper as part of the Chris Paul deal.

Welcome to L.A.

Peyton Manning turned a grown ass woman into a full Mary Katherine Gallagher.

It all went down outside "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" in L.A. -- when Peyton and his brother, Cooper Manning, were leaving the studio after the show and stopped to sign an autograph for a fan who was wearing Peyton's jersey.

The woman absolutely LOST HER MIND -- pumping her fists in sheer excitement after getting #18's signature.

Can't blame her ... signed Manning jerseys can sometimes sell for $1,000 a pop!

Nice pull!

Floyd Mayweather Sr. says he doesn't see anything racist about Conor McGregor telling his son to "dance for me, boy" during the news conference ... despite outrage on social media.

"Racist? I don't know what that got to do with race," Floyd Sr. told TMZ Sports moments after the news conference at Staples Center.

"This is a boxing match. I don't know what that got to do with no racists."

Of course, referring to a black man as "boy" in America has an extremely negative history that goes all the way back to slavery. Don't do it.

Conor did ... but Floyd Sr. is clearly giving him a pass.

Dana White says he got a call from Donald Trump's camp about the McGregor vs. Mayweather fight -- but says POTUS likely won't attend because he feels like he "ruins events."

Of course, Dana and Donald are longtime friends (Dana spoke at the RNC) -- and White has previously told us Trump has an open invitation to attend any UFC event.

So, we asked if Trump would be at T-Mobile Arena on August 26 and White replied -- "Funny you say that. They called me yesterday."

White says Donald is 100% interested in the fight but feels he'd be too big of a distraction to attend in person.

"He feels like he'll ruin events," White said ... "Secret Service is going to have to go through the place, shut down streets and create crazy traffic."

Two things you don't say to black men in America ...

1) "Dance for Me"

2) "Boy"

Conor McGregor said BOTH of those things to Floyd Mayweather at the big fight news conference in L.A. and people are pissed.

The reaction on social media was swift with FS1's Chris Broussard tweeting, "'Dance for me, boy!' Ohh, ohh. Does he know what he just said?"

Not the first time Conor's gone racial to hype a fight -- he famously called Nate Diaz a "cholo gangster" before UFC 196.

Conor McGregor promised to K.O. Floyd Mayweather in 4 rounds ... and Floyd responded by saying he's gonna beat that ass!!

The trash talk was nothing short of epic as Floyd and Conor faced off in L.A. for the first time since their super fight was announced, with both fighters trading insults ... and dance moves!!

Here are some of the most notable quotes:

Conor: "He's in a f***in' track suit. He can't even afford a suit anymore!!"

Floyd: "I ain't back down from no f***in' body. You line 'em up, and I knock 'em down like bowling pins. And August 26th, I'ma knock this bitch out too!!"

Conor: "How's this suit look? ... Got my own line of suits coming out. If you zoom in on the pin stripe, it says 'f*** you!'"

Floyd: "Let me show you motherf***ers what a $100 million fighter looks like. Still got 100 million, and ain't even ever touch this s**t!!"

Floyd: "I'm an old man ... I'm not the same fighter I was 10 years ago. I'm not the same fighter I was 5 years ago. I'm not the same fighter I was 2 years ago ... but I got enough to beat you. And we know Mr. Tapout like to quit!!"

MLB superstar Miguel Cabrera says his family has been targeted in Venezuela -- and he's been forced to pay protection bribes to keep them safe.

It's unclear exactly why Cabrera believes his family is in danger -- possibly because he's worth a fortune. Cabrera signed a $248 MILLION contract extension in 2014.

In a series of videos posted to social media, Cabrera says Venezuela can be a very dangerous place if you cross the wrong people ... and he's frustrated.

Cabrera says he's a proud Venezuelan -- but the constant fear that someone will kidnap a family member is weighing on him. He admits to paying "vacunas" -- or protection money -- but doesn't say how much he's paid or to whom the money has gone.

Cabrera says he's suspicious of everyone from police officers to street thugs -- and doesn't know where the real danger lurks.

Boxer Jeff Horn says there's NO DOUBT in his mind he beat Manny Pacquiao -- telling TMZ Sports the WBO's rescoring of his July 2 fight proves he's the real-deal champ.

The Australian fighter just touched down in L.A. and told us he just found out the results of the WBO's review -- in which they had 5 independent judges from around the world rescore the fight without sound.

The judges scored the fight in favor of Horn -- and he told TMZ Sports the new information should silence his critics once and for all.

"There should be no argument," Horn said ... "It's exactly what I felt on the day and Pacquiao said the same thing after the fight that he thought he'd lost. So the decision stands."

Congrats, champ.

Antonio Brown's 29th birthday party was LIT -- with big stars, crazy jewelry ... and a seat at the dinner table for a $350,000 Rolls-Royce!!!

For real ... they drove the car INSIDE the Cipriani restaurant in Miami as a centerpiece for AB's big birthday shindig.

The Pittsburgh Steelers star flashed a sick new diamond watch while rubbing elbows with his celebrity friends like rapper Ace Hood, NBA star Hassan Whiteside and agent Drew Rosenhaus.

The biggest guest at the Haute Living event was the brand new Rolls-Royce Dawn Inspired By Fashion Edition ... a car that reportedly starts at $350k.

On top of that, A.B. was also given a $20,000 Shawn Kolodny painting of Muhammad Ali.

Happy birthday, indeed.

Valentina Shevchenko is callin' B.S. on the reason behind Amanda Nunes' UFC 213 title fight withdrawal ... telling TMZ Sports she's "not believing 100%" that Nunes pulled out over health issues.

We spoke with Bullet about Nunes pulling out due to chronic sinusitis ... and Shevchenko says she doesn't believe the excuse because Lioness seemed perfectly healthy the week leading up to the fight.

As for why Nunes would make up the claim, Shevchenko speculates the withdrawal happened because Nunes was "feeling (her) energy" and wanted to reschedule the fight to throw off her rhythm.

Demi Lovato says Conor McGregor is straight LOCO ... and his insanity is what gives him a legit shot to shock Floyd Mayweather.

"Conor's crazy! And sometimes you can't beat crazy," Demi told TMZ Sports outside Break Room 86 in L.A.'s K-Town while promoting her new single "Sorry Not Sorry."

Demi's a HUUUUGE fight fan -- she's been training at Jay Glazer's Unbreakable Gym in L.A. with some of the top fighters in the world ... and Jay says she's no joke. We've seen video. He's right.

But when it comes to the Floyd, Conor thing -- Demi says she's siding with the Irishman ... explaining that a McGregor victory would be massive for the sport she loves.

The war over the T-Mobile Arena is over -- with the BIG3 basketball league striking a sweet deal to move to another venue so Mayweather and McGregor can square off there on August 26.

As we previously reported, Ice Cube's BIG3 league had previously booked T-Mobile for the league championship game months before the fight was announced.

Cube had said he was open to striking a deal to move -- and now, that is indeed what has happened ... BIG3 will now play its final game at the nearby MGM Grand Garden earlier in the day. The game will be aired live on FOX.

"We are grateful to MGM Resorts, Mayweather Promotions and UFC for presenting us with a generous offer that we could not refuse, ensuring that our fans will have the best experience possible at our Big3 Championship Finals at the MGM Grand Garden Arena,” says BIG3 co-founders Ice Cube and Jeff Kwatinetz.

Dana White also issued a statement saying he appreciates the BIG3 for "their willingness to work together on bringing the Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor fight to T-Mobile Arena."