TMZ Sports - Page 50

Jorge Masvidal tells TMZ Sports the UFC knows he wants a crack at Conor McGregor -- but he REFUSES to jump through hoops to get it ... saying Conor knows where to find him.

"I'm not in the business of bullying," Masvidal tells TMZ Sports ... "I like beating up bullies and stuff but, if the dude don't want it, I'm not gonna beg him for it."

Conor has been flirting with several opponents since his last fight in the UFC -- including Justin Gaethje, Cowboy Cerrone and a rematch with Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Jorge previously told us he's down too -- but Dana White hasn't exactly been chomping at the bit to make it happen.

But, things might be changing ... this week, Dana changed his tune -- saying he would consider booking Conor to fight the winner of Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal when they clash at UFC 244 in November.

And, when we saw Masvidal in NY on Thursday, he claims the REAL reason White hasn't already booked the fight is because Dana knows how it would end.

"Would I f**k him up and Dana White knows it??? Hell yeah, bro!!! There's a reason we're not allowed to play with each other."

In the meantime, Masvidal says he's laser-focused on Diaz and explains why it's an absolute HONOR to fight at Madison Square Garden.

Paris Hilton is saying goodbye to her grandpa, Barron Hilton ... the former Hilton Hotels chairman and founding owner of the Los Angeles Chargers has died.

Paris posted a heartfelt tribute to her late grandfather on social media Friday afternoon, saying she's deeply saddened by his death and calling Barron a visionary.

Barron, the son of patriarch Conrad Hilton, died Thursday from natural causes ... according to the Conrad Hilton Foundation. Paris says she spoke with her grandpa only days before he died, and she told him how much of an impact he made in her life.

Barron expanded the family's Hilton Hotels empire and helped start the American Football League as the Chargers' first owner, paving the way for the modern NFL.

After serving in the Navy and spending two decades as an entrepreneur, Barron joined the family biz as Hilton Hotels' vice president way back in 1954 and quickly rose through the ranks to become the chairman, president and CEO.

In 1959, Lamar Hunt approached Barron and several other wealthy businessmen, and they formed the AFL. Barron founded the Chargers, buying the franchise for $25,000. Under Barron, the Bolts became the first pro-football team to put players' last names on the backs of their jerseys, and he was instrumental in the design of the team's iconic lightning bolt logo.

Barron helped Lamar negotiate the AFL-NFL merger in 1965, and in '66 Hilton sold his controlling interest in the Chargers to take over Hilton Hotels.

Barron is survived by his 2 daughters, 6 sons, 15 grandkids and 4 great-grandchildren.

He was 91.

Kawhi Leonard is officially on the prowl for his new home ... checking out some of the best available cribs in Los Angeles ... starting with an incredible $10 million pad!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... the Clippers superstar has been lookin' for a place to hang his hat recently ... exploring all the nicest houses L.A. has to offer (and there's a lot).

Leonard was spotted visiting a spot on the Sunset Strip earlier this week ... and we gotta say, the dude has great taste.

The home -- listed by Dustin Nicholas of the Nicholas Property Group -- has HUGE windows, high ceilings, a chef's kitchen ... and, of course, a pool and sundeck.

The crib is listed at $9,995,000 ... but remember, the dude's in a 3-year, $103 million contract.

Ex-Cincinnati Bengals safety Chinedum Ndukwe is suing a woman and her attorney claiming they threatened to lie and go public with a false sexual assault claim unless he paid her $10 million.

But, the woman's attorney says the allegation against Ndukwe is 100% real ... and he was the one who tried to buy her off in the first place.

Here's the deal ... Ndukwe -- who played in the NFL from 2007 to 2011 -- filed a lawsuit against attorney James Walker and his client, Jane Doe claiming extortion and coercion.

In his suit, the 34-year-old -- who now runs a real estate and development firm -- says the woman and her attorney sent him a demand letter earlier this month seeking $10 million or else she would file a civil suit against him and pursue criminal charges.

In his suit, Ndukwe does not specify the accusations against him -- but insists the accuser is lying.

The accuser's attorney James Walker, however, is firing back in a big way ... telling Cincinnati.com the ex-NFL player is twisting the facts.

The accuser and her attorney have filed a lawsuit of their own. Here's what they are alleging ...

Jane Doe claims she was an intern at Ndukwe's real estate business over the summer -- and says Ndukwe sexually assaulted her.

She also claims Ndukwe slipped her an envelope with $1,000 in cash after the incident in the hopes of buying her silence.

Ndukwe has issued a statement saying he will "vigorously fight these false claims to prove my innocence."

Bill Belichick has reached his boiling point in the Antonio Brown saga ... abruptly ending a press conference after reporters peppered him with Qs about his controversial superstar WR.

The New England Patriots coach faced the media on Friday -- just hours after the NFL opened an investigation into alleged texts Brown sent to a woman accusing him of sexual misconduct in 2017.

Of course, the media wanted answers ... but Belichick told reporters right off the bat he wouldn't be answering any questions about AB. He opened saying, "We take all situations with our team very seriously."

"There's some things we're looking into. But, I'm not going to have any comment on any of the off the field situations or questions on that."

Bill also suggested Brown would be active and playing on Sunday when the Patriots take on the NY Jets.

When Belichick tried to move past the Brown questions, the media stayed focused on the bigger story ... and Bill. Got. Pissed.

"I think I've already addressed this ... we're gonna get ready for the Jets here. Happy to answer any football questions. But, the rest of it ... I'm done with the rest of it."

When a reporter followed that up with another AB question ... Bill got fed up, interrupted him and left the podium.

"That's it. Yep, I'm good. Thank you."

Meanwhile, the NFL is still investigating Brown -- but it's theoretically possible league officials could take action on new text message development before Sunday.

The Ravens might not beat the Chiefs this weekend on the field ... but they'd WHOOP THAT ASS on the dance floor -- 'cause Baltimore's stars just showed all their moves, and they're insane!!!

Mark Ingram filmed the whole locker room party ... and it's the best few minutes of video you'll see all day.

The rug cutting begins with safety Tony Jefferson showing off some fancy footwork ... and then linebacker Matthew Judon and D-lineman Brandon Williams hop in the mix.

There's a tremendous rendition of the "Chicken Noodle Soup" dance ... and when the DJ switches tunes, there's even more greatness.

Hollywood Brown drops it low ... and Jefferson, who at some point took off his shirt for the party, shows off even crazier moves!!!

Seriously, it's all amazing.

Gardner Minshew was a football LEGEND long before he took his first NFL snap ... admitting he once smashed his own hand with a hammer to try and extend his college football career.

The Jacksonville Jaguars QB said it all went down in 2016 during his first year at East Carolina University ... where he was the 3rd string QB and planned on redshirting the season.

But, the 2nd string QB was moved to running back and the 1st string QB suffered a concussion halfway through a game in Week 4, so he was forced to go in and play.

The problem ... once Minshew took the field, the redshirt option was out the window -- and Gardner was pissed he was going to blow an entire year of eligibility for 30 minutes of playing time.

And, what did Gardner do next? He realized the only way to get that year of eligibility back was to get a medical redshirt ... which means he needed to prove he suffered an injury that knocked him out for the season.

"So, you know, I get an idea," Minshew told the guys on Barstool Sports' "Pardon My Take" podcast (go to 31:20).

"I go home, I grab a bottle of Jack Daniels and I grab a hammer. And, I go back into my room, I take a pull of the Jack Daniels, I put my hand down on the table and BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! 1,2,3 ... I hit the hell out of my hand dude!"

Another problem ... Minshew says he knew right away he didn't actually break his hand -- so he continued to smash away another 2 times. But, he failed with each attempt!

"I couldn't break my own hand!"

Oh, and get this ... Minshew says the hand he was smashing was his THROWING HAND because he knew he would be pressured to play through the pain if he broke his non-throwing hand.

At the end of the day, Minshew says he gave up with the fake injury attempt and just told the coach he slammed his hand in a car door.

Behold ... Serena Williams' butt in all its glory!!

Just a few weeks after taking an L in the grand slam final at the U.S. Open, Serena is chillaxing on a beach somewhere ... arms up, cakes out. It's good stuff.

Serena is 37-years-old and continuing to impress in all facets of her life. She's still a beast on the court. Killing it in business. And, her body ... good god.

Despite all the great things, there are still a bunch of racist jerks looking to cause drama in Serena's life, including some moronic Romanian TV host who crawled out of the gutter to describe Williams as a "monkey" during a recent broadcast.

The actual quotes 49-year-old Radu Bancui uttered on TV are so offensive and disgusting, we're not going to publish them here ... but it's been reported he's been fined by the body that oversees content on Romanian television.

Quite frankly, the fine isn't big enough.

Seems Williams has to deal with this kind of crap all the time from various racist idiots all over the world -- including in her home country.

Both Serena and Venus have talked openly about being called the N-word at the 2001 BNP Paribas Open tournament in Indian Wells, California.

But, today, Serena's tuning it all out and basking in her success ... and we couldn't be happier about it.

The NFL is now investigating new troubling text messages Antonio Brown allegedly sent to a woman who accused him of sexual misconduct ... and the texts are damning.

The woman at the center of the investigation is the unnamed artist featured in a Sports Illustrated article published this week who said a naked AB inappropriately hit on her while she was painting a mural at his home in 2017.

The woman never went to authorities with her story ... but the description she gave to SI is a terrible look for the NFL star in the wake of a lawsuit filed another woman accusing him of rape.

The artist claims on Wednesday, Brown initiated a group text -- including her and some of his own associates -- trashing her for talking to SI and calling for his crew to begin digging into her background.

The most troubling text allegedly sent by Brown is this directive to his crew -- which was accompanied by a photo of her children.

"Those her kids and ig Eric she's awfully broke clearly."

Two other people included on the text chain respond, saying they will obey orders to gather info on the woman.

Clearly, the woman felt the texts were sent with the intention of scaring her -- so she went to the NFL to report the incident.

The NFL reportedly reached out to the woman on Thursday less than an hour after they were contacted. League investigators are reportedly scheduling a follow-up interview with the woman.

As for his NFL career, Brown is still active and expected to play for the New England Patriots on Sunday when they take on the NY Jets.

What do two fight legends talk about on the sidelines at an NFL game? FIGHTING!!

Check out Mike Tyson and UFC Hall of Famer "Sugar" Rashad Evans chopping it up right before the Jacksonville Jaguars took on the Tennessee Titans on Thursday ... clearly trading fight tips.

You can see Evans measuring Tyson -- and doing a half roll -- while asking Tyson to evaluate his moves.

Tyson coaches him up and gives him a few tips -- while playfully throwing some kicks in the mix, something he obviously couldn't do in the boxing ring.

40-year-old Evans was just inducted into the UFC HOF earlier this year -- but he's been hanging with Tyson a lot recently ... and you gotta wonder if there's another fight in his future.

What's interesting ... Tyson has said publicly he doesn't fight, train or lift weights any more because he's afraid of snapping back into that hyper-aggressive mindset that got him in trouble back in the day.

Instead, he smokes a ton of weed ... and honestly, he seems a lot more chill these days.

Nate Diaz says anyone who has a problem with the UFC creating a special "Baddest Mother F*cker" belt for his fight with Jorge Masvidal is a "bitch" and needs to "shut the f*ck up."

Nate essentially created the belt after his impressive victory over Anthony Pettis last month after a 3-year hiatus from fighting ... saying he and Jorge are the baddest in the game and should fight for a "BMF" title.

The UFC obliged and booked the fight -- they're even creating a special "BMF" belt just for Nov. 2 fight at UFC 244.

Some MMA fans and reporters have taken issue with the belt saying the UFC is making a mockery of the sport by creating meaningless WWE-style fake belts.

We asked Nate about those funless prudes and and clapped back with some savagery.

"If there's any hate or negativity towards it and if there's anybody who's hating on it, like some of these journalists in here, it's like 'cause none of you guys are no fighters, you're bitches, so shut the f*ck up."

Diaz added, "Tell me I ain't the best motherf*cker in the game and watch me fight the whole game."

Diaz also talked about Conor McGregor and the chances of a 3rd fight -- telling TMZ Sports it's probably gonna happen because they fight in the same bracket.

"Whatever is gonna happen is gonna happen. Time will tell."

Conor McGregor's getting closer to his UFC return ... Dana White says The Notorious will fight early next year, and his opponent could be Nate Diaz or Jorge Masvidal.

McGregor hasn't fought since being submitted by Khabib at UFC 229 in October 2018 ... and many fans have wondered if Conor would ever fight again.

The answer to that question is hell yes.

"Early next year."

Khabib rematch??? No, not yet ... according to Dana.

"That's possible too down the road. I think Conor would fight somebody else before that."

That somebody else could be the winner of Diaz-Masvidal -- who are fighting at UFC 244 on November 2 at Madison Square Garden.

Conor against either guy would be HUGE. CM and Nate's first 2 fights are some of the biggest in the history of the UFC.

As for Masvidal ... he and McGregor have been talkin' trash, and both have said they want the fight.

White's previously said Masvidal -- who fights at 170 pounds -- is too big for Conor ... but it looks like the boss changed his mind.

We also talked to Dana about Khabib's future ... and who the lightweight champ will fight next.

"Tony Ferguson is the fight that needs to happen. We've tried to do it 4 other times so hopefully, we can do it this time. But, that's the fight that makes sense."

Khabib's openly said he wants a super fight with UFC legend Georges St-Pierre ... and when we asked White about a Nurmagomedov-GSP fight, he left the door wide open.

"That can happen too. So, we'll see what happens with Tony. Ya know Tony's had opportunities before that he didn't take, so if he doesn't, I'd be interested in talking about GSP."

Ex-NBA player Ty Lawson allegedly snapped and beat the hell out of a woman on a car ride to a club ... and now, he's being sued over the whole incident.

A woman named Jonae Keyes says back on May 5, she was giving Ty and her friend a ride to a club ... when Lawson and her friend began arguing in the backseat.

In the suit filed by Farid Yaghoubtil, Keyes claims the argument turned physical ... and when she tried to intervene -- she says the 5-foot-11, 195-pound former point guard unexpectedly turned violent toward her.

She says 31-year-old Lawson grabbed her by the neck, choked her and began punching her in the head. She claims she never fought back during the altercation.

She says she suffered physical and psychological damages -- and now, she's suing the former NBA player for an unspecified amount.

We've reached out to Lawson for comment on the suit ... but, so far, no word back.

Ty was a stud in the NBA for nearly a decade after being picked in the first round of the 2009 NBA Draft ... averaging 12.7 points per game over nine seasons.

Phoenix Suns stud Kelly Oubre Jr. claims his ex-girlfriend stole his two dogs after they broke up in May ... and now, he's suing her.

It's all in a new lawsuit obtained by TMZ Sports, in which the NBA player claims he's having a miserable time breaking things off with his ex, Makena Spooner LeDuff.

Oubre says the two began dating back in mid-2017 when he was a member of the Washington Wizards ... and things were going so well, they stayed together when he was traded to Phoenix in 2018.

In fact, Oubre claims when he rented a place in Beverly Hills shortly after the deal with the Suns ... he allowed her to live there with him.

But, Oubre says things took a terrible turn when the two broke things off in May ... alleging 27-year-old Makena has been a nightmare.

In the lawsuit, Oubre claims she's refused to leave his Bev Hills spot, slashed the tires on his car, stolen some of his stuff ... and worst of all, taken his two beloved dogs.

Oubre says he got the pups -- Saint and Soul -- before he met Makena ... and claims she is now "holding them hostage" in an effort to try to get money from the NBA player.

Oubre says he tried like hell to get them back from her -- even getting the LAPD involved in August -- but says she's successfully avoided returning them to him.

Now, Oubre -- who's in the middle of a 2-year, $30 MILLION contract -- is suing her for damages.

Jeanie Buss is teaming up with Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck to launch a new tequila company ... but don't worry, Laker Nation -- she still wants to WHOOP that Boston ass!!!

The Lakers owner spoke with TMZ Sports at Catch Steak in NYC about the launch of their new tequila, Cincoro -- along with Michael Jordan and Milwaukee Bucks owner Wes Edens.

Buss says even though all the owners are gettin' chummy and bonding over Cincoro booze, they're all focused on destroying each other when the season comes around.

"Just because we created a tequila doesn't mean I don't wanna beat him on the court ... and that is the whole goal, is to always beat the Celtics," Jeanie says. "And, he knows that and he wants to beat me too!!!"

"This is what the world needs to know, that even the people that you compete with, at the end of the day, you can lay down your swords and come together and be friends and respect each other. It's always important to respect your opponent."

Aww ... that's touching as hell, Jeanie.

Antonio Brown wouldn't answer when asked about an NFL probe into allegations he raped a woman ... telling Patriots media, "I appreciate that question. I'm just here to focus on ball."

The new New England superstar finally met with reporters for the first time since signing with the team earlier this month ... and took a whopping 4 questions from the media.

Altogether, the locker-room presser lasted about a minute ... and Brown sounded more like Bill Belichick when it came to the hard-hitting Qs.

"I'm super grateful to be here, to play for Bill Belichick and Tom Brady," Brown said to the first question about the looming NFL investigation.

"I've got a lot of the offense to learn and catch up. But, I'm excited and grateful to be here and be a part of these guys."

The league is currently trying to figure out what to do with Brown after Britney Taylor alleged he raped her in the Miami area back in 2018.

In her civil lawsuit against the receiver, Taylor also alleges he sexually assaulted her on two separate occasions in the Pittsburgh area in 2017.

BT reportedly met with NFL investigators for 10 HOURS earlier this week ... but so far, no word on what the league is planning to do with Brown after that meeting.