TMZ Sports - Page 50

We all know the backstory ... Dwight Howard and Kobe Bryant clashed during DH's first stint with the Lakers.

But, Howard says he's spent the entire 2019-20 season trying to prove to Mamba that he's a winner ... and he's devastated that KB won't be around to see him achieve his goal.

"There are nights where I just cry myself to sleep just thinking about it," Howard told reporters Tuesday after the Lakers beat the Spurs.

"It was just really hard, 'cause for me, a lot of people thought me and Kobe hated each other and stuff like that and there were times where we just didn't understand each other ... and I didn't get a chance to tell him how appreciative I was for our time together and how thankful I was to be back here in L.A. and stuff like that."

Dwight continued ... "All year long I wanted to show him that I was going to do whatever it takes to help this team win. I've been wearing his shoes since the season started. I wanted him [to help me] in the dunk contest and all these things."

This is one of the most violent college basketball fights EVER -- courtesy of the women of Alabama St. and Texas Southern.

ASU was being blown out 81-54 on Monday night in a super testy Southwestern Athletic Conference game in Montgomery ... when a fight broke out and escalated QUICKLY.

The benches cleared and a BUNCH of players threw wild haymakers -- some connected, some didn't -- but good lord, it was crazy.

Staffers and security rushed on to the court attempting to stop the brawl -- but the players overpowered them at first.

At one point, the fight spilled on to the scorer's table -- and the combatants came thiiiis close to knocking the whole thing over.

Eventually, officials were able to separate the teams and sent everyone to the locker rooms. A spokesperson for the ASU police tells us there were NO arrests made.

Reps for Alabama State were pretty pissed over the whole incident on Tuesday ... saying there WILL be repercussions for their players' actions.

"I am extremely disappointed by the behavior of our women athletes at the end of their game against Texas Southern University," ASU President Quinton T. Ross Jr. said in a statement.

"Alabama State University has a zero-tolerance policy for this type of behavior."

Ross added the school is now launching a full-blown investigation into the fight ... with suspensions and other disciplinary actions almost certainly on the way.

The woman who called 911 on NFL star Xavien Howard claimed he abused her multiple times in the past, but he convinced her not to call police because it would hurt his career.

... and it's all in the 911 call released by officials and obtained by TMZ Sports.

Howard -- a star cornerback for the Miami Dolphins -- was arrested on Dec. 29th after allegedly roughing up his fiancee during an altercation at their Davie, FL home.

Now, in new 911 audio from that day of the incident, you can hear the woman describe a pattern of abuse.

"My fiance continues to think he can just push me, throw me into the wall without me doing nothing just because of who he is," the woman says.

"But it's kind of getting to a point, it's just like, it's getting physical."

When the operator asks what she means by "who he is" ... the woman explains, "Because he plays football."

"So every time a situation happens it's always like, 'Oh, don't do this.' Or, 'Oh, well, you'll be OK. Don't call the cops.'"

The woman added, "But it's like, OK, like him just pushing me into the mirror, grabbing my arm, grabbing me by my neck, like this is probably the last day that's going to happen."

As we previously reported, Howard was arrested after the woman -- the mother of his children -- accused him of getting violent with her after an argument in their bedroom.

The woman told cops at the time Howard had grabbed both her arms and pushed her into a mirrored glass wall in the hallway. She claims once he let her go, she fell into one of the crutches he was using after an in-season knee surgery.

In the police report, cops say they noticed "visible scratches," redness and an abrasion on the woman ... and they arrested Howard on one charge of domestic battery.

Howard appeared in court just hours later on crutches ... but bonded out on the condition that he'd have NO contact with the alleged victim.

The former Pro Bowl corner has been fighting the case in court ever since -- pleading not guilty last month. There's another hearing scheduled for later this week.

Khabib Nurmagomedov says he has NO interest in fighting "idiot" Conor McGregor a second time -- even for $100 MILLION -- saying, "Why do I need that kind of money?!"

The UFC superstar was speaking with reporters in his native Dagestan Tuesday when he was asked about the comments his manager, Ali Abdelaziz, made to TMZ Sports about moguls in Saudi Arabia offering $100 mil to host the rematch.

That's when Khabib scoffed at the possibility -- saying he's only focused on fighting Tony Ferguson in April -- but says that kind of money could be better used by helping the needy.

"Why do I need that kind of money?" Khabib said ... "There are so many organizations. For example, there’s not only [soccer] for the blind, there’s sambo and other sports."

"Let [the UFC] give it to them if they don’t know what to do with the money. But giving me $100 million for me to beat up that idiot again? I don’t think that’s rational."

When asked if there was interest in a rematch with Conor -- as McGregor has called for numerous times -- Khabib replied, "Not at all."

The comment was met with cheers from the Dagestani crowd.

As for his April 18 fight with Ferguson, Khabib called it a "very serious fight" ... and he's been training like a maniac.

"For the past month and a half, I’ve been consistently training day and night. I’ve gotten myself in good shape to where I’m supposed to be 70 days before a fight. I feel great."

Guessing McGregor will respond.

Stay tuned ...

It's been nearly 2 days since the Chiefs won the Super Bowl ... but Travis Kelce is nowhere near done partying -- in fact, he's drinking booze straight off KC's new trophy!!!

Kelce posted the hilarious video Tuesday from what appears to be the Chiefs' team plane ... and it's everything you'd expect from the rowdy tight end.

There's a bud light ... there's a luge ... there's Chiefs bros cheering it all on -- it's amazing.

"Growing up playing hockey, I always wanted to chug out of the Stanley Cup after being crowned a Champion," Kelce said of the drink.

"No cup on the Lombardi, so I decided to take a ride down the Lombardi Luge!!"

It's a brilliant idea and we're pretty sure it's going to be a new tradition for SB winners down the road.

It's time for Good News, Bad News featuring Alex Rodriguez!!

The good news?? He's on TikTok. The bad news?? He suuuuuuuuucks!!!

Fresh off Jennifer Lopez absolutely dominating the Super Bowl halftime show ... A-Rod is here to prove that he's definitely NOT the most rhythmically gifted person in the relationship. By a mile.

The baseball superstar decided to get in on the TikTok craze this week .. and with the help of his daughter, Natasha, he took a stab at the trendy #RenegadeChallenge.

For those of you who don't know, it's a silly dance to K Camp's song, "Lottery." All the youngins are doing it.

To get a taste of what it's *supposed* to look like, watch Tashi ... or the vid below. Just whatever you do, do NOT watch A-Rod.

Okay ... A-Rod isn't THAT bad ... and he's definitely having fun. That's all that matters, right??

But, we must say, LeBron James' dance with his son, Bryce, to "The Mop" by Tisakorean is a bit more coordinated.

However, both dudes could probably use some pointers from J Lo.

Shannen Doherty is getting cancer treatment options from a famous survivor ... figure skater Scott Hamilton.

We got the Olympic gold medalist in NYC on World Cancer Day and asked if he had a message for Shannen ... who just revealed her breast cancer has returned and is now stage 4.

Scott says Shannen should seek as many medical opinions and options for treatment as she can because that's the best way to survive. Hamilton is definitely an expert on the subject, he's persevered through 3 brain tumors and overcome testicular cancer.

While the diagnosis sounds bleak -- Shannen says she's "dying of stage 4 terminal cancer" -- Scott says there are all kinds of things she can do ... surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, etc.

We also asked him about Shannen's decision to keep mum on her diagnosis because she wanted to prove she could still work. Scott explains why cancer stigmas don't help patients.

Le'Veon Bell says he has absolutely NO beef with his head coach Adam Gase ... and tells TMZ Sports he wants to play for the NY Jets for AT LEAST the next few years!!

"Me and coach Gase had our exit meeting," Bell says. "It was fine, so we straight. Yeah, we good."

Of course, it's unclear if his team feels the same way -- there are a ton of rumors casting a shadow on Bell's future in the Big Apple ... and most of them stem from reports Gase doesn't like Le'Veon.

It was reported last off-season Gase had no desire to sign Bell to his huge contract ... and, in December, the coach didn't seem thrilled about the idea of bringing the RB back in 2020.

But when we got Bell out at Unique Rides pop-up in Miami (a sick custom car shop where Bell's brother is opening a new Midwest location soon), he told us he thinks everything is fine with the Jets.

"Everybody blowing everything out of proportion," Bell says. "Water under the bridge -- we're fine. We good ... Jets for four more years unless something drastic changes."

As for what Bell is doing to blow off the steam of all the rumors ... he's been focused on his rap career -- releasing his "Catch Me If You Can" album this month.

In fact, the 27-year-old even put on a performance at Rockwell Nightclub on Monday night to celebrate the release ... and we're told clubgoers LOVED his new music!

Ja Morant might still be a rookie, but he's a seasoned vet in TALKIN' TRASH ... 'cause he just clapped back at Steph Curry for getting involved in his beef with Andre Iguodala with an epic troll job!!!

To get y'all up to speed ... 36-year-old Iggy is currently a member of the Memphis Grizzlies, but it was understood he'd be traded to a contender of his choice before Thursday's trade deadline.

The situation has current Grizzlies players pissed, with Dillon Brooks saying "I can't wait 'til we find a way to trade him so we can play him and show him really what Memphis is about."

Ja echoed Brooks' comments ... and Curry went to Instagram to defend his ex-teammate by posting a pic of Andre holding the NBA championship trophy along with a "shut up" emoji.

20-year-old Morant didn't back down though ... clapping right back with a pic of Kevin Durant, insinuating the Warriors wouldn't have all those rings if it weren't for KD.

As entertaining as it would be for Morant to go out and just start disrespectin' the Dubs dynasty, the young hooper made it VERY clear he's a fan of Curry's game ... and was just keeping it real.

Here's awesome video of lifelong Eagles fan Kevin Hart getting a game-worn, autographed jersey from one of the best players in franchise history ... and rightfully freaking out!!

Donovan McNabb came bearing gifts when he met with the comedian during Super Bowl week ... hooking Hart up with what will end up being one of his most prized possessions.

McNabb was a guest on Hart's "Laugh Out Loud" Radio show in Miami .. and told the movie star he had a little something for him ... and the dude's eyes LIT UP.

"It says 'official,' bitch!!" Kevin yells when he realizes the jersey is game-worn. "Look at this! An official f**king jersey!"

Remember ... Hart is from Philly and he's a HUUUUGE Eagles fan. In fact, he was front and center during the Super Bowl victory celebrations when the Eagles won it all in 2018 ... and even tried getting on stage with the players during the trophy presentation, but was rejected by security.

Kev's reaction is absolutely priceless ... and McNabb jokes that the jersey might be a bit too big for the smaller Hart.

Jessica Simpson claims Tony Romo broke up with her back in 2009 because he thought she was cheating on him with John Mayer.

Simpson spells out the whole thing in her new book "Open Book" -- in which she finally breaks her silence on the demise of her 2-year relationship with the former Dallas Cowboys QB. Long story short, Simpson claims she ran into Mayer at her parents house and didn't tell Romo, but he eventually found out through an email from John to Jess.

"[Tony] accused me of seeing John behind his back. I hadn’t cheated on Tony at all, but I could not lie and say I hadn’t even seen him," Simpson said.

Jessica told Tony "nothing happened" ... but Romo didn't buy her story because ... well, John Mayer.

"Tony didn’t believe that for a second. And within that second, he broke up with me right there. Two years, gone with an email."

Simpson says she knew Romo wouldn't blab to the media about the real reason for the split because "it would imply that he wasn't enough for me."

Jessica says eventually "Tony soon realized I was telling the truth. Of course I didn’t cheat on him."

"But our breakup had been so ugly that it shocked me into realizing it had been necessary."

As for Mayer, Jessica claims the musician made a full-court press to put a ring on it.

"[John] had said all these things, practically asking my parents for my hand in marriage while I was in a serious relationship. Swearing to me up and down that he was a changed man."

"Now here I was, ready to pledge my love back, and to kiss him as the curtain came down. And it fell on my head ... All this time, all those years, he was breaking up with me to torture himself enough to get good material."

In other words, Jessica was convinced John just wanted to try to be with her so he could get content for his music.

"It felt inevitable to be in love with John, so I continued talking to him for months. But I knew now not to let him get close enough to shoot me down again."

Everyone ultimately moved on with their lives ... Jessica married ex-NFL tight end Eric Johnson. Romo married beauty queen Candice Crawford.

And Mayer moved on to, Taylor Swift, Jennifer Aniston and Katy Perry. But he's currently single.

MMA champ Kayla Harrison -- one of the baddest fighters on the planet -- is going scorched-earth on Gervonta Davis after the boxer got physical with his baby mama.

As we previously reported, 25-year-old Davis -- the reigning WBA lightweight champ -- got into a heated altercation Saturday night with his ex-GF at a celebrity basketball game in Miami.

Davis claims he "never once hit her" but admits he "was aggressive." The video appears to show Davis using his strength to rip the woman out of her chair in a fit of anger.

Enter, Harrison ...  a 2-time Olympic gold medalist in Judo and the reigning PFL lightweight champion who tells TMZ Sports she was DISGUSTED by Gervonta's actions.

"Completely inappropriate and wild," Harrison told us at the Sports Illustrated party in Miami..

"I'm in a violent field of business and that's never unacceptable ... ever, ever, EVER."

Kayla continued ... "There's a line that we as women have very clearly established that we're not taking any sh*t anymore."

As for Gervonta's actions ... Kayla says, "That's not okay. It's never gonna be okay again. And, I hope that he has repercussions for his actions."

Kayla also has advice for anyone in a situation where they feel their safety is at risk ... and it involves ferocious kicks to the nuts.

An autographed box score sheet from the night Kobe Bryant scored 81 points has just hit the auction block -- and some of the proceeds will go to the families of the helicopter crash victims.

The rare document was personally signed by Bryant in blue ballpoint pen shortly after he dropped the incredible figure on the Toronto Raptors in that legendary 2006 performance.

You can see in the doc -- which, according to Goldin Auctions, was only given out to media members, players and staffers after the game -- Kobe was a flat-out BEAST during the Jan. 22 matchup.

Bryant took 46 shots and added 20 free throw attempts ... dropping 81 points with just 3 turnovers. What's even more incredible is only 2 other Lakers scored more than 10 points!

Of course, Bryant's squad won the game -- a sellout at Staples Center -- and Kobe said of it all afterward he couldn't have have imagined dropping that much "not even in my dreams."

We're told a portion of the proceeds from the auction will be donated to the MambaOnThree Fund -- a charity set up to help the families of the other passengers that died in the tragic helicopter crash that killed Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, on Jan. 26.

Kobe Bryant was like an uncle to Shareef O'Neal -- the two were EXTREMELY close -- and Shaq's son is telling TMZ Sports the most important message he learned from Mamba.

"He just told me to always be the best I can be. Always try hard and always try to work harder than everyone else 'cause every day you take off, there's always people trying to get better."

"So, he just told me to be the best I can be, I don't have to live up to my dad's name. I don't have to live up to anybody's name. Be the best I can be."

Shareef -- who's now strongly considering continuing his college basketball career at LSU -- says he plans to honor Kobe every time he steps in the court.

"I just plan on playing for him every time I play. I'm going to just do it for him, do it for the family, do it for the people that lost their lives."

"It's always gonna be in my mind," Shareef added ... "It's a crazy, crazy feeling to think about it, but its always gonna be in my mind."

Shareef has been greatly affected by the tragedy -- he's been posting about it a lot on social media and personally visited the tribute to Kobe and Gianna Bryant outside Staples Center last week ... where he left a pair of shoes in KB's memory.