TMZ Sports - Page 50

Ice Cube's BIG3 basketball league has officially thrown in the towel on their 2020 season -- but they're adamant they WILL return next season.

"Due to a confluence of issues including safety, uncertainty of testing, changing government regulations, insurance and liability issues, sponsor and advertiser challenges of their own, and the changing nature of the virus itself, the decision was made to focus on a great return in 2021," the league announced.

Some takeaways ...

-- BIG3 says it explored playing at a single location like a Los Angeles studio sound stage, but ultimately decided it just wasn't feasible.

-- BIG3 will also push forward with its "Big Brother" style reality show.

"BIG3: Not in My House" will be premiering sometime before the regular season begins, the league says.

"The BIG3, along with Endemol, was ready to proceed with this show immediately, but were faced with issues because US networks mostly cannot start reality show and studio productions until at least September. We will have to wait until network studio production and scheduling stabilizes."

Ice Cube also issued a statement saying, "We tried everything in our power to give our fans a nice 2020 season but with a long list of obstacles, we decided to shift our focus to having a great 2021 season with our fans in the stands."

"Our goal from day one has always been to provide a remarkable experience full of top-level competition and entertainment."

"The Last Dance" wasn't just huge for Michael Jordan fans -- it's provided a HUGE boost for The Alan Parsons Project ... with people playing MJ's famous intro music in record numbers.

You know the song ... it echoed throughout Chicago Stadium and the United Center every single time MJ's Chicago Bulls squad was intro'd before a game.

The Bulls played "Sirius" by T.A.P.P. -- which was originally released in 1982 -- during their epic 6-title run between 1991 and 1998.

But, with the success of "The Last Dance," the good people at Spotify tell us there has been a huge surge of interest in the song ... in 2020.

We're told plays have gone up 335% across the world since the series premiered on April 19.

Fact of the matter is ... the song still slaps -- especially if you have a basketball hoop in your driveway, and you still have the urge to Be Like Mike!!

The Bulls STILL use "Sirius" at home games ... but have swapped out The Alan Parsons Project version for renditions from local musicians.

Tristan Thompson is fed up with what he calls out-and-out lies about him fathering a child... so he's followed through with a lawsuit against his accuser.

Tristan just filed the suit against Kimberly Alexander ... the woman who's very publicly claimed the NBA star is the father of her 5-year-old son -- something he's repeatedly denied. In the lawsuit, Tristan says the paternity test he took back in January "definitively concluded that [he] is not the father." Paging, Maury Povich!

According to the suit, obtained by TMZ, after the test results came back ... Kimberly posted the DNA report -- which was supposed to be confidential -- on her Instagram page. In the caption, she accused the lab of sabotage, and insisted, "I know for sure that Tristan Thompson is the father of my child."

As we first told you ... Kimberly's also pissed off Khloe Kardashian by accusing her of paying off people to fix the test results. Khloe and Tristan fired off a cease-and-desist letter, but Kimberly turned around and even posted that on social media.

In the docs, Tristan says Kimberly also publicly lied about him by claiming on social media he had actually taken an "at-home paternity test." Tristan says the reality is the test he took was administered by one of the most reputable labs in the country.

He's even offered to take a second test to appease Kimberly ... provided they use another reputable third party facility.

In fact, the whole matter reminds Tristan's attorney, Marty Singer, of an iconic #1 song. He says in the docs, "To quote Michael Jackson, 'The kid is not [his] son.'"

Tristan further alleges Kimberly "Billie Jean" is only barking about this now -- when the child is 5 -- because she's fallen on hard times, financially. The docs claim Kimberly has been evicted from 5 residences in the last 7 years. They also say that she was recently dropped by her celeb attorney, Lisa Bloom.

Michael Jordan's autographed Jordan VII Dream Team kicks -- rocked by His Airness during the Olympic qualifiers in 1992 -- just hit the auction block!!

Historically, Jordan's are the most sought after shoe ... now, imagine signed Jordans worn by, well, Michael Jordan ... while part of the most dominant and historic basketball team of all-time.

The 7's are on the auction block at Lelands Auction ... and there's already a $16k bid -- with over a month remaining in the auction.

In other words, these are gonna go for a FORTUNE!!

Jordan wore the shoes during the gold medal game of the Tournament of the Americas ... a qualifying tourney for the '92 Summer Games in Barcelona.

10 teams from North, Central, and South America competed. Team USA -- with MJ, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley and a bunch of other Hoops Hall of Famers -- were the #1 seed.

On July 5, 1992 ... MJ -- wearing this pair of J's -- along with his Team USA ... obliterated Venezuela in the tourney finals, winning 127-80.

The win sent the United States to the Olympics ... where they continued to DOMINATE the world on the hardwood.

Lelands says MJ gifted the white size 13 J's to a Dream Team staffer the night of the game ... and the employee held onto them for years.

Jordan memorabilia has EXPLODED in value (not that it was ever cheap) since "The Last Dance" docuseries ... with everything from MJ's baseball cleats to canceled checks to Donald Trump's casino going for big bucks.

Gov. Gavin Newsom says pro sports could re-open in California by June 1 ... but there's a serious catch.

The NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and more would all be impacted since every major sport in the state (besides horse racing) is shut down at the moment due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

But, Newsom offered a real glimmer of hope on Monday.

"Sporting events, pro sports, in that first week or so of June WITHOUT SPECTATORS and modifications and very prescriptive conditions also can begin to move forward,” Newsom said.

The key, Newsom says, is the trend lines in California must continue to hold steady showing a decrease in people testing positive.

If not, the plans could change.

In other words, everybody keep your masks on, keep your distance and don't mess this up!!!

The announcement comes days after the NBA asked players whether they wanted to return to the 2020 season after suspending play back in March.

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has been outspoken about continuing the season ... saying "As soon as it’s safe we would like to finish our season. I’m ready and our team is ready. Nobody should be canceling anything."

Ben Roethlisberger's days of looking like Tom Hanks in "Cast Away" are OVER -- 'cause the Pittsburgh Steelers QB is back throwing on the football field ... and he's got a new look.

Remember, Big Ben went down with an elbow injury in 2019 ... and promised to not shave or cut his hair until he could throw a football again "like, a legit NFL pass."

Steeler fans (and Ben's wife) have gotta love the clip Roethlisberger posted on social media on Monday ... showing the QB finally getting back to work at 100%.

The hype vid is proof Roethlisberger earned his fresh cut, 'cause Ben is seen throwing bombs to his guys, JuJu Smith-Schuster, James Conner and Ryan Switzer.

"He's baaaaack," JuJu says in the vid. "Stay tuned."

Of course, the 38-year-old played just 2 games in 2019 and had surgery to repair his elbow ... so naturally, some fans showed a bit of concern over the status of their QB.

But, Ben looks a LOT better on and off the field now ... 'cause that beard is gone!!

Shocking new details in the arrest of Cody Latimer ... cops say a witness claimed the NFL player threatened to "kill everybody" after a dispute over a poker game -- this according to court docs obtained by TMZ Sports.

Cops arrived at a Douglas County, CO residence around midnight Friday, the docs show, after they received a call about possible shots fired.

Once they showed up ... officers say in the docs they interviewed Latimer's friend, Roderick English, who explained to them the Washington Redskins receiver snapped after an argument over a card game.

Cops say English told them he was playing host to a poker night at his place with his GF, Latimer and a few other buddies ... when Latimer got into a dispute with another person.

English claims he broke up the altercation and booted everybody out ... but told cops Cody showed up a half-hour later, pissed off.

Cops say English told them Latimer pulled out a firearm and said he had saved two rounds of ammunition for English and his GF. Cops also say English told them Latimer threatened to "kill everybody."

English told officers Latimer calmed down ... said he wouldn't kill anyone and "removing the magazine and clearing the chamber" of his gun.

But, according to the docs, Latimer grew angry again ... and that's when English says Latimer fired two shots near him.

Cops say English told them he then wrestled with Latimer ... but claims the 27-year-old hit him on the head with the gun, causing a contusion and a cut on his head.

Ultimately, the altercation was broken up ... and officers arrested Cody, booking him on several felony charges, including assault and illegal discharge of a firearm.

For his part, Cody's attorney said in a statement to ESPN's Adam Schefter regarding the incident, "There’s an entire back story to this situation that constitutes one of the most highly provocative situations you can imagine. Please withhold judgment until all the facts of what took place that night are known."

Latimer, who was a second-round pick of the Denver Broncos in 2014, has a court hearing set for Monday in the case.

Wanna see a dude who throws 100 MPH toss a ball through the windows of a moving, autopiloted Tesla???

Good ... 'cause here's MLB super prospect Hunter Greene hitting the insane trick pitch -- and the video is wild!!!

Greene -- a Cincinnati Reds pitcher who's famous for hitting 103 MPH on an MLB radar gun -- hit up an L.A. parking lot Sunday for the trick, getting his fancy ride and his buddy to help with the shot.

It's unclear how exactly the dudes got the car to drive by itself without a passenger in it ... but if you know anything about Teslas, there's a "Summon" mode that can get the whip to drive by itself for short distances.

So, 20-year-old Greene let the car drive by ... and then fired a heater that passed straight through the windows and into the catcher's mitt!!

INSANE, RIGHT?!?!

Of course, Greene's hit similar shots recently ... famously throwing a football to his friend on the Tesla back in November.

Michael Phelps says he idolized Michael Jordan growing up and tried to act just like him ... right down to being an "asshole" to his teammates.

But, Phelps says it was all in the pursuit of greatness -- and guess what, IT WORKED OUT!

"To put it quite blunt, everyone saying he was an asshole," Phelps said to Yahoo Sports ... "But I would say the same thing about myself."

"I was an asshole when I was training because I wanted to help everybody make sure they had the same exact chances I had."

Phelps added, "We're all in there working together as a team even though it's an individual sport. We want the best for each other so I'm gonna challenge them and I'm gonna make sure that they're getting stress in practice that they're gonna face in a meet."

It worked out pretty well for Phelps ... who became the most decorated Olympian of all time with 28 total medals (including 23 gold).

"That was the guy I wanted to be," Phelps said of Michael Jordan ... "I wanted to do in so many ways what he did in the sport of basketball."

Carl Crawford's home became the site of a double drowning Saturday when a woman and a boy she was watching landed in his pool ... TMZ has learned.

Sources connected to Carl tell us ... the ex-MLB star and current record label chief was hosting a small gathering of 6 people at his north Houston home. The guests included a woman and a young boy -- no more than 5 years old -- in her care for the day.

We're told, at one point while Carl was inside, the boy wandered off and fell into his swimming pool out back. The woman went in after him, but neither were able to exit the pool safely. Our sources say Carl tried reviving them the best he could on the spot, but was unsuccessful.

Paramedics arrived and tried life-saving measures themselves, but to no avail. We're told both have died.

The woman and boy were both unresponsive when taken by ambulance, per KHOU 11 ... which also captured some on-the-scene footage that appears to show Crawford talking to cops. For the record, gatherings of 10 or less are currently allowed in Houston under the stay-at-home order.

Michael Jordan is coming clean about his epic flu game performance in the 1997 NBA Finals ... saying he didn't actually have the flu -- it was some bad pizza.

Remember, #23 was dealing with "flu-like symptoms" before a crucial Game 5 against the Utah Jazz ... and fought through the pain for a 38-point performance to give the Bulls a 3-2 lead.

But, MJ's trainer, Tim Grover, revealed it was actually food poisoning -- not the flu -- that had Jordan under the weather ... after a late-night order from the only place that was open -- a pizza shop.

When the pie was delivered, Grover says 5 dudes pulled up to Jordan's hotel room ... and the trainer hinted there could have been something fishy going on, saying, "I’ve got a bad feeling about this."

Glover's instincts were right ... 'cause MJ woke up at 2 AM "throwing up left and right."

"So, it really wasn’t the flu game. It was food poisoning," MJ admitted on ESPN's "The Last Dance."

MJ's mom thought it was best he didn't play ... but as we all know, he didn't listen and went on to put up one of the most iconic performances of his career.

No, you can not have sex with the female plastic dolls in the crowd at FC Seoul soccer games.

Sorry.

Still, the club is apologizing to fans anyway ... expressing "sincere remorse" after allegations they put sex dolls in the bleachers Sunday for a game at Seoul World Cup Stadium.

Here's the deal ... with no live fans allowed at games because of COVID-19, the South Korean soccer club put plastic butts in the seats instead as a funny way to make things look normal.

The team had contacted a company called Dalkom to get the dolls -- and since Dalkom also makes sex dolls, some fans thought the mannequins in the stands were plastic sex workers.

It's also worth noting that ALL of the mannequins in the stands were female.

But, FC Seoul claims the dolls are not actually bangable -- they're just normal, regular fashion mannequins ... and they've apologized for the controversy in the first place.

Unclear if the club will bring the non-sex dolls back for future games.

7. 16. 27. 44. 52.

Those are the numbers that Gilbert Arenas claims won him more than $300,000 last week in the California lottery!!!

$309,694 to be exact.

The former NBA superstar claims he hit all numbers (but missed on the Mega number) to cash in on the 2nd place prize on the May 12 Mega Millions draw.

The Mega Number was 5. Arenas picked 25 -- and had Gilbert gotten that right, he would've won the $248 MILLION grand prize.

The craziest part of the whole story ... Arenas -- who reportedly made more than $140 MILLION in NBA contract money -- says he didn't even buy the ticket himself.

Arenas says he had stopped at a gas station because he was low on fuel while on his way from the usual gas station where he buys his lottery tickets ... when he was approached by a homeless man.

Arenas says the guy initially asked for cash but Arenas told him he was on his way to buy lottery tickets and the man made a deal with Gilbert instead.

"After u WIN hook me up with $20."

By the time Gilbert got to his usual gas station, the place was closed -- and Gilbert thought he missed his chance to buy a ticket.

But, the next morning, he got a text from the gas station employee who says he played Gilbert's usual numbers for him anyway (figuring that's what Gilbert would want) ... AND THEY WON!!

So, Gilbert says he hooked up the homeless guy with his cut (as promised) ... and calls the whole thing a blessing.

NY Giants cornerback Deandre Baker has surrendered to officials in Florida in his armed robbery case, his attorney Bradford Cohen tells TMZ Sports.

Baker is facing multiple charges including armed robbery and aggravated assault for his alleged role in a May 13 incident at a cookout.

Officials say Baker along with Seattle Seahawks corner Quinton Dunbar -- along with a 3rd masked man -- robbed several partygoers during a cookout, taking cash and jewelry before escaping in exotic getaway cars.

Cops say Baker brandished a gun during the robbery -- though Baker's attorney insists his client is innocent and he has multiple witnesses to back up his story.

Dunbar has also denied the allegations against him and like Baker, he also claims to have witness statements which back his story.

Michael Jordan's son, Marcus, says he once WHOOPED his dad on the court in a game of 1-on-1 ... and he's telling TMZ Sports all about the huge accomplishment!!!

Marcus -- MJ's 2nd son -- says he used to play a modified version of 1-on-1 called "Cutthroat" with his dad ... and one day, he actually came away with a WIN!!!

"I had a quick victory," Marcus tells us. "I can't remember the score, but I did win."

So ... how did the G.O.A.T handle it?? Exactly like you'd expect.

"He ran it right back and he obviously won on me and it was over," Marcus says. "We really didn't play too much after that."

Of course, Marcus has a TON of insane stories about growing up with MJ ... and we had to ask him about the craziest memories he had.

The dude didn't disappoint.

"When I was a kid, Jay-Z and Beyonce came to our house. My dad and Jay-Z actually really played 'around the world' in our gym."

The moment was even immortalized in a Hov track, "N***a Please" ... where Jay says "I damn near beat Jordan in around the world."

Somehow ... Marcus has another memory that can even top that ... saying he went to the White House when his dad got the Presidential Medal of Freedom ... and got to chop it up with the First Family!!

"But, being who I am, it's just so natural that you kinda interact with people on day to day so there's not a lot of other people other than them."

Can't relate.