TMZ Sports - Page 50

Lamar Odom isn't ready to hang up his sneakers just yet ... the embattled ex-NBA star says despite getting cut from Ice Cube's BIG3 league, he WILL play pro basketball again.

Lamar was booted from the 3-on-3 org. earlier this month ... and our sources told us LO just wasn't in good enough shape to hang with the rest of the league.

But, the 2-time Lakers champ says it's not the end of his hoops career ... telling the guys on "TMZ Live" that getting kicked out of the league won't be the last stop in his pro hoops journey.

"I'mma play professional basketball again. Maybe in the Philippines or something like that. But, that's just another setback. When one thing gets taken from you, another beautiful thing pops up."

Jeremy Lin says he's hit rock bottom in NBA free agency -- and also feels like the league has given up on him.

The veteran point guard made an appearance at a Taiwan event over the weekend, where he opened up and spoke candidly about his off-season woes. Lin was onstage coming to tears as he explained that free agency was getting harder and harder for him.

He also said his personal bottom in professional basketball keeps getting lower and lower.

Through a translator, Lin said that each year he gives more of himself to God -- but despite that each year gets harder. He also makes reference to an American saying -- when you hit rock bottom, the only way is up -- but sadly said that wasn't the case for him.

He admits that this latest round of free agency has been tough on him, and in some ways ... he feels like the NBA has abandoned him. It's an incredibly vulnerable moment.

Ya hate to hear about Lin's struggles, 'cause he's a good dude, and he started out promisingly with the Knicks way back in 2012 ... when "Linsanity" was a thing for a sec. Since then, he's been relegated to a role player, and has become a journeyman in the league.

He's also been plagued by injuries, possibly career changing ones at that.

This past year, he was coming off the bench with the Toronto Raptors, but hardly saw any playing time in the playoffs, let alone the Finals. Still, the dude's got a ring ... even though he's openly questioned whether he deserves it or not. Hey, a ring's a ring.

Anyway, Lin remains a free agent on the market for now, but it doesn't sound like anyone's giving him a call. Time will tell if a team shows interest as camps start to get going later this summer, but as of now ... he's drifitng. There are rumors teams in Europe want him there, and he's even entertained the idea of playing in Asia, alongside his brother.

Wherever he goes ... hopefully he finds success. Best of luck, man.

Adrien Broner thinks Maxim Dadashev's death from in-ring injuries was tragic ... but the star boxer tells TMZ Sports nothing about the sport has to change going forward.

"Hell nah," Broner says ... "Ain't nothing got to change."

Dadashev -- a 28-year-old Russian junior welterweight contender -- took repeated punches to the face and head during his fight last Friday night with Puerto Rico’s Subriel Matias.

After his trainer threw in the towel to stop the bout ... Dadashev collapsed and was rushed to the hospital -- where he later died Tuesday from brain injuries suffered during the fight.

Broner tells us the tragedy was eye-opening ... and says people need to start appreciating him more now because "it only take one shot and we can die."

But, as far as putting in measures to prevent that from happening in the future, Broner says that's unnecessary for boxing.

"It's a part about growing up," Broner says ... "Who your teacher is. What he taught you. 'Cause when I grew up, my coach, Mike Stafford, the first thing he taught me was defense."

"And that's why my career is still lasting as long as it is."

As for whether Dadashev's corner let him down by not stopping the fight sooner ... Broner says their actions were fine by him.

Sorry, Mets fans ... David Wright will NOT be the next manager in NY -- so says the Mets legend himself, who tells TMZ Sports being a coach is something he has NO interest in!!!

"Zero chance," Wright says.

Of course, the Mets have had a rough year -- they're 49-55 and 12.5 games out of 1st in the NL East -- and many in New York are calling for Mickey Callaway's head.

And, with former players likes Rocco Baldelli, Alex Cora, Aaron Boone and Craig Counsell crushing it as new MLB managers -- people want Wright to be the new guy in NY.

But, the ex-Mets captain tells us that just ain't happenin' ... saying when we got him in NYC on Thursday, "That's a tough job."

Wright -- who, by the way, was SUPER nice to Mets fans outside the team's hotel -- said there's also no chance of him being a hitting coach down the road too.

David's currently got a front office role with the Mets ... and seems he's just fine doing that right now.

We also talked to Wright about the odds of Pete Alonso becoming the next Mets captain ... and we had to get his opinion on the MLB possibly juicing baseballs.

Ella Rose has the summer blues ... and you gotta love it.

The Swedish model rocked the hell out of a baby blue bikini under the burning sun on Santa Monica beach.

Ella -- who, by the way, is New England Patriots star Julian Edelman's baby mama -- rocked some shades, naturally, and glistened before taking a dip in the Pacific blue. It's one helluva show ... and sad to say, nobody seemed to be around to enjoy the scenery.

David Ortiz has been released from the hospital where he's been recuperating from a nearly fatal gunshot wound he suffered in the Dominican Republic.

Big Papi was reportedly discharged Friday from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and was sent home with his family. According to ESPN, the former Red Sox slugger will continue his rehabilitation at his house, where he'll be monitored by full-time nurses.

He'll also have his personal doctor regularly check in on him as he continues to heal.

This is great news for Ortiz, who was shot in the lower back at point-blank range. He went into emergency surgery there on the island nation, and was eventually transported to the Boston area hospital where he remained in the critical condition for a while.

He was taken out of the ICU late last month and was listed as being in good condition. Looks like that trend has continued ... now, he's out of the hospital and seemingly on his way to a full recovery.

As we reported ... doctors found the bullet that struck Ortiz had pierced his liver, his small and large intestines -- he even had to have his gall bladder removed during surgery.

LeBron James is living vicariously though his son's AAU team -- dancing up a storm when they score a bucket ... and low-key willing them to victory from the bench.

The King was in Vegas Saturday for a basketball tournament that Bronny Jr. and his Blue Chips teammates are competing in right now -- and killing in, BTW -- where he was wearing his dad hat and coach hat at the same time, dishing out pep talks from the sideline.

In this video -- obtained by TMZ Sports -- you can see Bron Bron high fiving the coaching staff and fellow players as they played against the New York New Heights Youth team, which was coming in hot at 5-0 ahead of Saturday's game. The Blue Chips were coming in undefeated as well (reportedly 4-0), although it's unclear if this was a final or not.

Either way, LeBron was definitely treating it like an important match, coaching up his boy before tipoff, and giving suggestions to players on the court as they D'd up against NHY.

At one point ... Bron even did a high-knee celebration dance after we're told his team made a huge dunk on the other end of the court.

Looks like the cheerleading paid off ... we're told the Blue Chips beat the New Heights 60 to 47 Saturday, with Bronny Jr.'s stat line at 10 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists.

John Cena is fully involved ... fully involved with his girlfriend, Shay Shariatzadeh.

John and Shay could not keep their hands and lips off each other as they dined Friday night at a Tampa restaurant, Ocean Prime.

They've been together since March ... so his former GF, Nikki Bella, is far, far away in his rear view. They broke up almost exactly a year ago. You'll recall, there was a thing over babies ... she wanted one, he didn't, he changed his mind, she wasn't moved by that, etc. etc.

BTW ... Shay is Canadian. She works as a product manager for a tech company in Vancouver.

If you're interested ... they ordered steak, potatoes, salad, a bottle of wine and a chocolate desert. And, get this ... they were at the table for 4 HOURS!!! She was holding his hand a lot and they laughed and talked through the evening.

J Lo returned the favor to A-Rod Friday night, stopping her show in its tracks to wish her fiance a big, big HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

She was in Miami performing her "It's My Party: The Live Celebration" tour at the American Airlines Arena when she put everything on pause, brought her kis and his kids onstage and then called A-Rod up. As he stood next to a gigantic cake, she led the crowd into a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday."

She professeed her love for him and conceded, it been all about her this week. J Lo turned 50 on July 24 and A-Rod threw an amazing party for her. His birthday is today, on the 27th, so she returned the favor Friday night.

BTW ... A-Rod's 4-tiered cake, which looked incredible, was from Divine Delicacies. Alex's name was created with swavorski crystals. It also had an edible baseball jersey, bat and ball. The whole thing costs around $3k.

TMZ Sports has obtained pics of UFC star Jon Jones and his brother Chandler Jones inside  TD's Eubank Showclub in Albuquerque on the night of an alleged incident with a cocktail waitress.

As we previously reported, Jon is being investigated over allegations he slapped a woman's vagina during a wild night out on April 19. The waitress told police Jon had been pestering her for a table dance before kissing up on her neck.

The woman also claims Jon later came up from behind her and put her in a "tight rear naked choke hold" and then lifted her up in the air in what felt like a "wrestling match."

The person who shot the photos tells us Jon was interacting with women all night ... but the witness did NOT see anything that resembled slapping, choking or any of the other violent allegations.

Obviously, that's just one person's perspective -- we're trying to speak with other people who were there that night too. Stay tuned on that.

You can see in the pics, Jon and Chandler were sitting right in front of the stage -- and we're told people inside recognized them. In other words, they weren't trying to lay low.

After Jon and Chandler left the club, the accuser went home and called police. After telling her story to cops, Jones was charged with misdemeanor battery.

A World Cup trophy wasn't enough bling for Ashlyn Harris ... the USWNT stud decided to get iced out to celebrate the championship too -- coppin' $40,000 worth of diamonds!!!

TMZ Sports has learned the goalkeeper hit up Greg Yuna at their NYC Diamond District store after winning the World Cup earlier this month to get some drip.

We're told Ashlyn came away with two pieces -- a gold diamond Cuban necklace and a matching bracelet -- and they're AWESOME!!!

The necklace has 200 grams of gold with 25ct diamonds. In the bracelet, we're told there's 100 grams of gold and 15ct diamonds.

All total, the bill was $40k ... but, don't worry, Ashlyn can afford it -- reports say she earned more than $100K for the World Cup run ... and got $23,000 more kicked in thanks to Secret's donation!!!

Baker Mayfield shouldn't be judged based off his drunken arrest in 2017 ... so says Stone Cold Steve Austin, who tells TMZ Sports the Browns QB is a "class act" with a great head on his shoulders.

We spoke with the WWE legend -- who got to hang out with Bake for his new show "Straight Up Steve Austin" -- and says he had a great time with the signal-caller ... noting BM isn't the villain some people make him out to be.

"It was awesome. That kid's got such a presence about him. What a head on his shoulders and the way he puts things into perspective," Austin says.

Of course ... Baker was arrested in Arkansas back in February 2017 ... where he was infamously blasted by a cop who caught him immediately after he tried to run from being questioned.

Austin says that one little action is not who Baker is ... praising the 24-year-old's character during their time together.

"(He) had a little slip up in Arkansas a lot of people like to bring up. Man, that one little action ... this kid is a class act. Super savvy. very alpha. Guys rally around him because he's such a gamer."

"As a young man, boy, I'll tell you what -- he has a lot of composure and a lot of 'it' factor, x factor, very charismatic and very confident."

Conor McGregor needs to stop selling whiskey and get in the Octagon with Al Iaquinta ASAP ... so says Al himself, who tells TMZ Sports he wants a scrap with the Irishman!!!

Of course, Conor hasn't fought since losing to Khabib Nurmagomedov in October 2018 ... and some think he ain't returning to fight at all unless it's for a rematch with The Eagle.

But, Al says that's bad for Conor ... 'cause he doesn't think McGregor will get a rematch, saying The Notorious looked like too much of a "sissy" in the first fight to earn a runback.

"His stock is not as high as he thinks it is," Iaquinta says. "He got finished in his last fight as far as everyone's concerned. He's dead. The ref had to pull the guy off of him."

Al added, "He looked like a sissy tappin' out like that, so, he's got to come back and get a win."

Good news for Conor? Al -- the 6th ranked lightweight -- says he's more than willing to give McGregor a shot to get that victory ... saying he thinks a Conor-Iaquinta fight "really makes the most sense."

But, if McGregor ain't down ... Al tells us he's gunning to fight at UFC 243 in October or 244 in November -- and says a scrap with Dan Hooker is possible.

By the way, if Conor does get a rematch with Khabib ... Al says it's going to be a murder, telling us straight-up, "He's gonna get beat again. That's a fight that you need heart for and he doesn't have it."

Melvin Gordon should stand strong in his holdout from the Chargers ... so says Rashad Jennings, who tells TMZ Sports the RB should do it until he gets a new, fully guaranteed deal!!!

MG has been playing hardball with Los Angeles for the past few weeks wanting a fresh contract ... and the negotiations appear to have gotten pretty ugly.

In fact, reports say the Chargers could ultimately end up trading the superstar tailback before the season begins.

Jennings -- a former NFL running back himself -- tells us Gordon should keep the fight going, even if it means a trade down the line ... saying, "Set a standard!"

"Matter of fact, get it all guaranteed, too!"

Jennings says it's rare that a player has this kind of leverage over a team ... and he's all for the player using it.

New York Knicks owner James Dolan is getting a lot of hate from fans ... but it's ALL LOVE when it comes to his players -- just ask Allonzo Trier!!

TMZ Sports spoke with the 23-year-old hooper about the state of the Knicks -- from their playoff chances (they won just 17 games last year) to RJ Barrett to their rivalry with the crosstown Nets ... but the most interesting answer came when we asked about the team's controversial owner.

"I like James Dolan," Trier says.

It's interesting to hear what the players think -- considering we know what most fans and some former players (see Charles Oakley) think of the guy ... and we DEFINITELY know what he thinks of hecklers.

But, it all seems to be okay with the dudes in the locker room ... at least, according to Trier -- who, BTW, has a sick Bentley.

MVP candidate Josh Bell looked legit sad when talking about Troy Tulowitzki's retirement this week ... telling TMZ Sports the MLB is going to "sorely miss" the former superstar shortstop.

"He was really fun to watch," the Pittsburgh Pirates 1st baseman said.

34-year-old Tulo -- who signed with the NY Yankees this offseason -- finally had enough of rehabbin' from injuries, and decided to hang up his spikes Thursday.

The sudden retirement crushed seamheads everywhere -- the 5-time All-Star was one of the best shortstops of this generation when he was healthy ... hitting .290 in his 13-year career.

Bell told us when we got him out in NYC before his game against the Mets on Friday that it was sad to see the career come to a close ... saying, "He's going to be sorely missed."

For his part, Tulo seemed at peace with his decision, saying, "I will forever be grateful for every day that I've had to live out my dream. It has been an absolute honor."

Tulowitzki is set to join the Texas Longhorns as an assistant coach for his next career.