TMZ Sports - Page 50

NBA champ John Salley ain't buying into the rumors that LeBron James is unhappy with the Cavs ... but if the King decides to bail on Cleveland again, he's got the perfect destination in mind -- L.A.!!

We spoke with the ex-Laker about the news of LBJ's frustration with the Cavs' lack of off-season moves ... and, although Salley doesn't believe it, he still makes a pitch to get Bron to join the Purple & Gold in 2018.

It's been rumored that King James would end up in La La Land, especially since he owns a home in Brentwood ... and Salley says it would be an "unbelievable plan."

One of the greatest players in NFL history thinks Johnny Manziel WILL get another shot in the NFL ... Hall of Famer Anthony Munoz, who says America always gives second chances.

We got Munoz at LAX and asked him if the new Johnny Football has a chance to capture his old pigskin glory again, or if he's done too much to ever be taken seriously again.

When we say "new" we mean it ... Johnny has been keeping his nose extremely clean, working out, laying low, and hanging out with his brand new fiancee, Bre Tiesi.

Munoz says if that guy is here to stay, he thinks it's only a matter of time before some NFL GM gives Johnny a chance to redeem himself.

Good news Laker fans ... a new era of Showtime could be right around the corner, that's according to Magic Johnson's wife, Cookie, who says Lonzo Ball has what it takes to be the next Magic.

Lonzo's been KILLIN' it in the Summer League, serving notice to the entire basketball world that he's really, really, good.

Question is, just how good can he be?

Cookie thinks he can be as good as her All-Universe husband, and told us as much when we got her out in Beverly Hills.

We'd say it's unfair to put such Hall of Fame expectations on the kid, but for some reason we think he's used to it.

Terrell Owens is gettin' the cold shoulder from Ice Cube ... 'cause the ex-NFL superstar's plea to join the Big3 has been officially shut down by the league's founding father himself.

ICYMI -- We talked to T.O. last week about wanting to join ex-NBA hoopers like Allen Iverson, Chauncey Billups and Ricky Davis in Cube's new 3-on-3 league ... and he said he was 100% serious about joining in on the fun.



But Cube was quick to shut down the idea ... telling TMZ Sports T.O. ain't exempt from Rule #1 of the Big 3 -- ex-NBA players ONLY!!

So it looks like it's back to the celebrity games and the Drew League for T.O.'s hoop dreams.

Draymond Green is livin' it up like the world champion he is ... raging in Ibiza with international soccer superstar Neymar!!

Day Day and his boys -- including Dolphins DE Andre Branch -- have been in Spain this past week, and it's only right he hit up the Barcelona stud to show him around all the hot spots like Ushuaïa at Ibiza Beach Hotel.

In case ya didn't know, Draymond and Neymar are bros ... and the soccer stud even hit up the NBA Finals to watch Green beat up on the Cavs.

The partyin' is fresh off reports that Neymar has accepted Paris Saint-Germain's world-record $257 million transfer fee ... although FC Barcelona's honchos claim their star is going nowhere.

It's interesting ... 'cause Draymond has been rumored to be a HUGE PSG fan and has even been spotted wearing the French club's jersey several times. Sooooo ... maybe doing some recruiting?

Regardless, looked like one hell of a time.

Jerry Jones has spoken out following Ezekiel Elliott's alleged bar fight ... saying Zeke's got to do a better job dealing with the "rock star" lifestyle.

The Dallas Cowboys owner didn't address the incident ... but made it clear the superstar RB needs to be more careful cause the cameras are always rollin'.

"Because of his style and personality, it’s like a rock star wherever he goes in terms of attention,” Jones told reporters.

"Certainly Zeke is evolving and being subject to needing to learn how to deal with the media and social media the way it is today. ... We want to continue (to) educate ourselves as to how behavior, how it can be portrayed."

Basically, ya gotta watch every step you take.

FYI, the Dallas PD's still investigating the incident ... but hasn't named any suspects.

TMZ Sports obtained two videos of the victim from witnesses who told us Zeke threw a punch -- injuring another bar patron.

Michael Irvin just caught a HUGE break in his dream to become an MMA fighter ... 'cause UFC superstar Tyron Woodley says he's down to help kick-start the Hall of Famer's career in the cage!!

The 51-year-old told us last week that he's been training MMA and wants to take a real-deal fight ... but his wife's fears of injury have kept him from hittin' the mat.

We spoke to Woodley about Irvin's fightin' ambitions ... and the Chosen One says he's totally down to help the Cowboys legend out, saying he's gonna personally hit up #88 for some 1-on-1 training!!

The champ says he's had celebs and athletes like Wiz Khalifa and Devonta Freeman hit him up to work together on their MMA skills, and even hints he could start a fighting circuit for A-listers.

We also spoke to Woodley about his television special, 'In the Clinch,' airing on FS1 Tuesday night ... and T-Wood won't give out any spoilers, but says he's excited for fans to see how he evolved from a gangster to champion athlete.

Footage from the alleged Ezekiel Elliott incident has emerged showing the victim beaten, lying in a pool of blood ... before being carried out of a Dallas bar.

In the video obtained by TMZ Sports, the victim -- moments after the alleged altercation -- appears unable to stand under his own power.

The witness who took the video tells us they saw Elliott and the man arguing, and then saw Zeke punch the guy in the nose ... sending him to the floor of Clutch Bar.

The account syncs up with what other witnesses have told us.

Dallas PD are currently investigating the incident. They have not named any suspects.

Elliott's reps have only said their client was not arrested ... or charged with a crime.

Ex-boxing champ Jermain Taylor was arrested for allegedly biting and threatening to kill his girlfriend during an argument Tuesday morning ... TMZ Sports has confirmed.

Maumelle PD in Arkansas were called to Taylor's home around 2:40 AM for a domestic disturbance when Taylor's girlfriend, Ashley White, told cops that he bit her several times and broke her cell phone during an argument.

The GF claims Taylor bit her on the face and left arm while trying to escape the residence ... and says she had to pepper spray him before fleeing the home.

Taylor allegedly chased White out of the house and down the street while threatening to kill her. Once the girlfriend returned to the home, cops arrived on the scene.

Police say Taylor smelled of intoxicants at the time of his arrest.

Taylor's been charged with felony terroristic threatening and 2 misdemeanors -- battery and interference with emergency communication.

It's worth noting ... Taylor is currently on probation stemming from several incidents over the past few years, so there's a chance he'll end up behind bars again.

It's been kinda obvious for awhile, but now we know for sure -- Cristiano Ronaldo's hot model girlfriend is preggers!!

The soccer superstar confirmed the news in an interview with El Mundo Tuesday ... when he was asked if he was happy about his GF Georgina Rodriguez's pregnancy.

His answer: "Yes, very much."

Georgina's been sporting a baby bump for months, FYI.

It's gonna be kid #4 for Ronaldo ... who introduced his surrogate twin babies, Eva and Mateo, last month. CR7's also got a 7-year-old boy from a previous relationship.

Nicole Scherzinger and her Bulgarian pro tennis player boyfriend, Grigor Dimitrov, are far from splitting up, but that doesn't mean they can't pull off the splits.

The former Pussycat Doll pulled out some of her old tricks while lounging around Monday on the Italian isle of Capri.

Some people relax while on vacation ... Nicole and Grigor, who is ranked number 10 in the world and got beaten by Roger Federer in the fourth round of Wimbledon, got in a little yoga, a swim sesh and a whole lotta PDA.

Losing can't be that bad when you follow it up with Nicole on vacation.

Colin Kaepernick believes Mike Vick has been "brainwashed" -- and his advice to cut his afro is the result of Stockholm Syndrome.

Here's the deal ... Kap just posted an Instagram message that's clearly directed at Vick, despite the fact he never mentions Mike's name in the post.

Vick went on FS1's "Speak for Yourself" on Monday and said he wants Kap to cut his afro and go with a more clean-cut look to be more "presentable" to NFL teams.

Kap has remained silent until now ... posting the definition of Stockholmn Syndrome -- "When an abused victim, develops a kind of respect and empathy towards their abuser."

"This syndrome is also called 'traumatic bonding' or 'victim brainwashing.'"

Kap's post notes that the syndrome was named after a bank robbery -- when victims developed empathy toward their captors.

It seems obvious Kap views Vick as a victim and the captor is White America.

What's more badass than an Andre the Giant statue?

This silicone sculpture of the pro wrestling icon ... which looks so much like Andre we can't believe it ... ain't really him.

It took special effects artist Trent Taft months to put this thing together ... but we gotta say, dude NAILED it.

Down to every last hair (which Taft put in strand by strand, BTW), this epic tribute to the WWE Hall of Famer puts Madame Tussauds' wax celebs to shame.

Here's a couple more shots of Andre the Sculpture -- including one of the original head cast that will haunt your dreams.

Here's a video of terrifying UFC destroyer Khabib Nurmagomedov punching an average dude in the stomach super freakin' hard ... but don't worry, the guy actually ASKED him to.

Now, why this dude wanted to get popped in the guts by a guy who wrestles bears for fun is beyond us, but it 100% happened when Khabib was messing around with some fans in Tajikistan.

We don't know what Khabib says to the guy before the punch happens, but he seems to be telling him how the shot is going to rearrange his organs before he hits him.

Good news? After he delivers the dragon punch to the dude's stomach the two men hug, which is great, but watching the whole thing made us happy we give hugs to bond on this side of the pond.

You thought the last Mayweather, McGregor news conference was nuts?! Wait'll you see what happened outside!

As Mayweather's Rolls-Royce was leaving the SSE Arena in London on Friday, dozens of McGregor fans swarmed Floyd's ride ... flipping him off and shouting insults at the car.

Security tried like hell to keep the hooligans away ... literally ripping people from the car ... but during the process, one guy appeared to get rocked by the front of the Rolls.

You can't actually see the collision -- but you can hear it -- and you can see the security guy go flying down the street. He appears to be okay.

How does Marlon Wayans feel about Mike Vick telling Colin Kaepernick to cut his afro?

"Aw, Mike Vick! You had damn cornrows! What the hell!"

Marlon says Vick is dead wrong with his image makeover advice for the out-of-work QB -- telling TMZ Sports Kaep's hair has nothing to do with his current employment status.

Wayans says he's got a lot of respect for Colin for taking a stand -- but says at the end of the day, he needed to silence his critics by showing out on the field ... and that didn't happen.

"You can't kneel AND throw interceptions!" Wayans says ... "You ain't gonna score? You ain't gonna have them yards? You better stand up and pledge allegiance, sir!"