TMZ Sports - Page 50

Boxing superstar Ryan Garcia tells TMZ Sports he's gunning for a 2-fight deal with Henry Cejudo -- one boxing, one MMA -- and he's ready to scrap on the 4th of July.

Garcia and Cejudo have been talking A LOT of trash to each other ever since the UFC superstar's surprise retirement after his victory over Dominick Cruz on Saturday night.

Cejudo called the undefeated 21-year-old boxer an "Oscar De La Hoya wannabe" ... and threatened, "I’d make you bend the knee in your own sport."

When we spoke with Garcia, King Ryan told us he's sick of talking -- he wants to fight already.

"Chicken Little, he got very disrespectful in my honest opinion," Garcia said.

"I came at him in a respectful way but he came at me in a disrespectful way so, in that regards, that needs to be handled."

"I haven't found an opponent for July 4th but I feel like we can make that happen if he really wants that work."

And, get this, Garcia says he has a secret weapon to help him lock up a deal with Cejudo -- TOM BRADY!!

"I'll hit up Tom," Ryan says ... "Me and him are cool. He's a partial owner of the UFC. I feel like he's a fan of both sports and I think he's a fan of both of us. I know he follows me and I know that that's gonna cause interest in him so I feel like I can hit him up and be like 'Lets make this happens' so I might do that today."

As for how the 2-fight deal would work, Ryan explained it to us this way ...

"First, we gotta have it in the boxing ring cause he called me out ... Once I knock him out, as a man I'll respect him enough and be like 'Aight, I'll hop into your thing now.'"

"There's no way he'll KO me in the Octagon. The only thing he'll ever do to me is submit me ... and I'm cool with that."

Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson do NOT have another bun in the oven, despite lots of speculation otherwise ... TMZ has learned.

While rumors and reports started swirling Wednesday morning saying Khloe was pregnant with the NBA star's child, our sources tell us that's not the case.

Sources close to Khloe tell TMZ ... she is NOT pregnant and the rumor mill started simply because eagle-eyed fans noticed she was posting a lot of pink flowers recently, which they mistook as a sign of another daughter on the horizon.

Fans also noted a lot of the photos and videos Khloe's been posting on social media are from the waist up or throwback pics ... but we're told it's not a sign she's actually expecting.

As you know ... Khloe and Tristan have one child together already, True Thompson, who recently celebrated her 2nd birthday.

Sounds like things are good between Khloe and TT, even though they don't live under the same roof ... our sources say they've been seeing each other from time to time during Cali's stay-at-home order because of their daughter, and the family celebrated Mother's Day together.

Khloe's still a mother of one ... and that's not changing any time soon.

COVID-19 fighters just got a super-charged lift from Ferrari ... the exotic sports car company announced it's built ventilators to help battle coronavirus!!

The guys who make the sweet vehicles say in just 5 weeks ... they designed and manufactured "reliable, versatile" and "easy to use and assemble" ventilators that are ready to be rolled out to hospitals soon.

Of course ... the machines weren't built with super parts from the legendary whips -- Ferrari execs say the ventilators needed to be constructed with normie equipment to make it easier to mass-produce.

Disappointing, we know ... but still -- AMAZING gesture!!!

Ferrari said in a statement Wednesday they partnered with the Italian Institute of Technology (ITT) to make the pieces ... which have been touted by Italian docs as "effective, advanced and performs well, while also being safe and durable."

Ferrari says the name of the equipment is FI5 ... F for Ferrari, I for ITT and 5 for "the number of weeks required to produce a fully functioning prototype, starting from a clean sheet of paper."

#BALLER!!!

It's been a year since LeSean McCoy ruined the ending to the insanely anticipated "Avengers: Endgame" movie ... and the NFL star is FINALLY apologizing for the huge mistake.

Of course, Shady infamously tweeted out "RIP my dog TONEY STARK" on April 26, 2019 -- before most people were able to check out the Marvel flick for themselves ... and instantly became Public Enemy No. 1 on social media.

BTW -- for those who haven't seen the flick, Iron Man dies at the end of "Avengers: Endgame." You've had a year to watch it. It's not our problem anymore.

McCoy was asked about the epic spoiler on "Good Morning Football" Wednesday ... and it's safe to say the dude will never live it down.

"That was the worst decision of my life, okay?"

"I didn't know like, the reaction of the people. I didn't know that. If I knew that, I would've never tweeted that. I didn't know that people really got into them cartoons like that." (yes, he called them "cartoons").

Shady says people STILL ask him why on earth he'd ruin the superhero saga while out in public ... but he's learned from his mistakes and will keep all spoilers in his drafts from now on.

"I apologize. It was terrible. It was a bad decision."

Huge news for NFL running back Mark Walton -- prosecutors have dropped the aggravated battery charge stemming from an alleged violent incident in Florida with his pregnant girlfriend.

"The case was dismissed," Walton's attorney, Michael A. Gottlieb, tells TMZ Sports.

When asked why prosecutors decided to drop the charge, he told us, "The only thing I'm going to say is after months of talking with prosecutors, this was the most appropriate way to resolve this case."

As we previously reported, the 23-year-old -- who played for the Miami Dolphins before the incident -- was facing 15 years in prison after allegedly attacking his pregnant girlfriend around 4 AM in November 2019.

The woman called 911 and told the operator straight-up -- "My boyfriend beat me up."

When cops arrived, the woman told officers Walton pushed her against a wall and punched her several times in the face and head, even though he KNEW she was 5 weeks pregnant.

A responding officer reported the woman had swelling on her left eye.

Walton was ultimately arrested and booked for aggravated battery against a pregnant person -- a 2nd-degree felony which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.

But, during a hearing (over Zoom) on Wednesday, prosecutors formally dropped the case against Walton, Gottlieb says.

Walton isn't entirely out of the woods ... NFL Network's Ian Rapoport says the NFL is still investigating and he could be subject to league discipline if he signs with another team.

Michael Jordan's motivational name-calling wouldn't have worked with Udonis Haslem -- the Miami Heat star says he would've straight FOUGHT Jordan if he was ever called a "bitch."

"If I’m one of them people Mike talking to like that, I might put hands on Mike," Haslem said Tuesday during an IG Live with Richard Jefferson.

"I might put hands on Mike."

"And, I love Mike to death. Mike the greatest of all time. But, you can’t call me the b-word and the h-word."

"Nah, all right Mike. We gonna have to square off."

Of course, MJ let the expletives fly in an attempt to motivate his Chicago Bulls teammates in the '90s ... which was showcased in the most recent episodes of ESPN's "The Last Dance."

One of the targets of MJ's trash talk was ex-Bulls teammate Scott Burrell -- but when we spoke with SB this week, he said he's not mad about it at all!

"I loved it! I loved the way he pushed me, I loved the way he motivated me," Burrell said.

"I think Michael had different techniques maybe some people didn't think were great leadership qualities."

One person who did fight back -- Steve Kerr -- who famously punched MJ in the chest during a heated practice, only to get socked right back in his eye.

MJ later said he felt bad about beating up "the littlest guy on the f*cking court."

Haslem, on the other hand, is not a small guy -- he's 6'8", 235 pounds.

HOLYFIELD-TYSON III IS REALLY GONNA HAPPEN ISN'T IT?!?!?!

Here's further proof Evander's gearing up to fight Iron Mike for the 3rd time ... posting video that sure feels like a clap back at Tyson to us!!!

Just hours after Mike released more training footage of him terrorizing mitts and claiming he's "back" ... Evander posted similar clips, capping them off with an "I'm back" of his own.

That definitely means a rematch is on the way, right?!?!?!

Of course, the two former champs have already publicly stated they're looking for charity fights in the upcoming months ... with Holyfield even telling TMZ Sports the other day he's down to make another rematch with Tyson happen.

If it does eventually get scheduled ... we're not sure we've ever been more fired up to see two 50-somethings square off -- 'cause did you see Mike's clips Monday?!

But, Evander DID win their first two matchups ... and he ain't looking bad against the mitts himself!!

Soooo ... just tell us when and where the fight's happening now, please!!!

UFC fighter Anthony Smith CAN'T WAIT to walk into an empty arena Wednesday night and throw down with Glover Teixeira ... happy to do his part to entertain during the pandemic.

"I think the world just needs something to look forward to and I think right now we're the only thing that's giving them that," Smith tells TMZ Sports.

Smith vs. Glover is the main event at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena -- and it's the only live sporting event on TV, creating a huge opportunity for the fighters.

"Selfishly, I'm excited I'm going to have a lot of eyes on me that I wouldn't typically have ... Gonna be a lot of fans looking for some sort of live event."

And, while Smith doesn't think fighting without a crowd will affect his performance -- he certainly thinks it had an impact on Justin Gaethje at UFC 249 this past weekend.

"I think no fans being there actually helped him a little bit because ...  he was dropped in that 2nd round and typically, Gaethje comes out in the 3rd round, guns blazing, trying to get that one back."

"If he would've went down, the crowd would've went crazy.  He would've felt that energy and that momentum swing."

"His coach was able to bring him back in and settle him down, get him calm and get him back focused on the task, back to the game plan."

"I think that would of been harder to do with feeding off the crowd, the energy of the crowd."

One of the most anticipated college football games of 2020 will NOT go down as scheduled ... so says FS1 star Colin Cowherd, who reports USC vs. Alabama in Sept. won't happen.

"Told by two people I trust -- USC v Alabama isn't happening," "The Herd" host said. "Trojans can’t even practice in LA potentially for several months. This is why Bama already talking to other possible opponents."

The game's currently scheduled for Sept. 5 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas ... but with the Pac-12's home schools' states still imposing some of the most strict stay-at-home orders in the nation ... the game is in serious jeopardy.

In fact, with officials in Los Angeles -- home of both UCLA and USC -- announcing Monday their coronavirus lockdown orders could last all the way until AT LEAST August, things are looking super grim for the season as a whole, let alone the schools' opening matchups.

And, Cowherd says he's already hearing the Bama-SC opener cancellation is coming.

"Not official but understood," Colin reported Tuesday night.

There have already been reports the Tide is looking into replacements for USC ... with the school reportedly in talks with TCU for a new season opener.

But, SC athletic director Mike Bohn said in a statement late Tuesday the Trojans still regularly communicate with the Tide and "have every intention of playing our game against Alabama" despite the pessimism.

The 5-year-old boy, whose joyride went viral, won't have to dream about driving a Lambo ... a celeb car broker made his dream a reality, with an assist from Jamie Foxx and Shaq.

ICYMI ... Adrian Zamarripa was pulled over by Utah Highway Patrol last week after he was spotted driving 32 MPH down Interstate 15 in the family's SUV. The trooper wanted to know where he was headed. Adrian -- who barely made it 3 miles from home -- told the trooper he was headed to L.A. to buy a Lamborghini ... with the $3 from his piggy bank.

The story spread like wildfire, and one of the many who heard about it was celeb car broker RD Whittington, who owns the luxury brand, Wires Only. We're told RD flew Adrian and his family out to L.A. just days after the infamous traffic stop, and hooked him up BIG TIME.

We're told RD took the fam out to Malibu where they visited a luxury car dealership. The best part ... Adrian got in the driver's seat of a Ferrari, a Hummer and other fancy rides. His face lit up when he got to rev the Ferrari's engine ... but nothing like when he saw Shaq and Lil Pump show up via FaceTime.

And, it didn't end there ... Adrian got in the passenger's seat and RD got behind the wheel as they cruised down PCH. And, again, it didn't end there. RD and Adrian eventually pulled into Jamie's crib in the hills. They cracked a few jokes ... but it wasn't all fun games.

As you might have figured ... Adrian got in a lot of trouble after his joyride. His mother reportedly said he's being punished, and fortunately for the parents, the Weber County District Attorney said they will NOT face charges because there was no evidence of neglect.

Josh Norman says a return to superstar status is coming in 2020 ... telling TMZ Sports he's going to be "All-World" in his first year with the Bills!!!

The former Pro Bowl corner tells us he's speaking it into existence now ... saying a reunion with Sean McDermott is the move he needed to make in order to become one of the game's best again.

"I feel like 'All-World' is coming," Norman says.

Of course, Josh was the NFL's best DB with the Panthers back in 2015 ... but some nagging injuries prevented him from regaining that form in Washington.

But, Norman is now with McDermott again (Sean was Josh's DC during his Carolina days) ... and he's confident that'll put him back on top of the CB pedestal.

As for how the Bills will fare overall as a team in '20 ... Josh is oozing confidence there as well -- telling us even if Tom Brady had stayed in the AFC East, he liked Buffalo's chances regardless.

"Coming in, I know the philosophy of the head coach and the GM already," Norman says. "Mindset-wise, it didn't matter who was at the quarterback position for the opposing team."

There's more ... Norman also had a strong take on his former teammate, Cam Newton, when we asked about the QB still being unsigned ... with Josh telling us it's perplexing.

The State of Arizona is removing its stay-at-home order on Friday May 15 -- clearing the way for pro sports teams to resume team activities.

As part of the reopening plan, Gov. Doug Ducey says gyms and swimming pools will reopen to the public.

But, the biggest news has to be the pro sports component -- which could clear the way for Major League Baseball, the NHL, the NFL and possibly the NBA to resume play down the road.

MLB has reportedly put together a plan to potentially play a shortened season in Arizona ... with all 30 MLB teams moving to AZ to conduct games in several ballparks in the Phoenix area.

There are already a bunch of stadiums in the area -- since many clubs use Arizona as their home base for Spring Training.

As for why Arizona is pulling back on COVID-19 restrictions, Gov. Ducey is pointing to data which he claims shows a decline in positive tests for COVID-19 in his state.

Plus, Ducey says he feels AZ hospitals are well-equipped to handle coronavirus cases.

Meanwhile, in Los Angeles ... officials are moving to keep stay-at-home orders in place for the next 3 months.

Can you imagine being the son of the most famous athlete on the planet?!?

TMZ Sports spoke with someone who knows exactly what it's like ... and he's revealing the highs and lows of being Michael Jordan's kid.

SPOILER ALERT -- there aren't many lows.

We spoke with MJ's second son, Marcus Jordan, about growing up with His Airness ... and asked when he realized his dad was Michael freaking Jordan, the global superstar.

"So, in 8th grade, I was playing in middle school and I was number one in the state," Marcus tells us.

"Everybody was coming to our games and we were getting bigger crowds than usual and that's when it really started settling in for me."

Marcus says he started picking his dad's brain ever since ... asking for advice on becoming the G.O.A.T. at anything on and off the court.

Naturally, being MJ's son has to come with a ton of perks ... but when we asked Marcus the best parts about being a Jordan, we realized how awesome it really is.

"I grew up playing Playstation on a private jet."

Baller.

Marcus says his mom did a great job keeping the family humble and reminding them how blessed they are ... but also admits he didn't travel on a commercial flight until his junior year of high school.

Marcus says the worst part is always having to live under the assumption that people are always wanting something from him -- whether it's sneakers or a connection -- but says that one negative is outweighed by all the dopeness.

The Mamba Sports Academy says it will honor Kobe Bryant's memory by removing the word "Mamba" from its name forever.

And, if you're confused ... you're not alone.

Kobe partnered up with The Sports Academy (a youth sports training business) in 2018 -- which led to the name change "Mamba Sports Academy."

Kobe was very involved with the Academy -- and was traveling to a MSA facility in Thousand Oaks, CA with his daughter, Gianna, and several other people when their helicopter crashed on January 26.

Now, Sports Academy founder and CEO Chad Faulkner says the company will make significant changes as a tribute to the NBA legend.

"Today, with respect for an unparalleled legacy, the Academy will retire the 'Mamba' in the Mamba Sports Academy name -- to raise it to the rafters, where it belongs," Faulkner said in a statement.

Faulkner expanded on his decision to ESPN's The Undefeated ... saying, "Our beliefs and thoughts are Kobe is one of one. 'Mamba' is one of one."

"And with that as we carry on as The Sports Academy, it's more appropriate to put Kobe in another Hall of Fame, if you will, and to really respect a legacy that is really unrivaled, frankly, and let that live on its own. We will continue to do the work we do."

"We were fortunate to learn from Kobe. We will carry on much of those learnings that we have in a respectful way."

Of course, there is another school of thought that Kobe would want the Academy to use his name because it would help to attract more young athletes ... but clearly Faulkner doesn't feel that way.

The Sports Academy has already changed its website to reflect its new name -- and says it will make changes to signage at its buildings in Thousand Oaks and Redondo Beach.