TMZ Sports - Page 50

LeBron James is channeling his inner Donald Trump -- calling "fake news" on reports he wants to throw down with his teammate, Kyrie Irving.

It's been all over that LeBron is super pissed at Kyrie -- with some reports saying he's so unhappy that Irving wants a trade that, "LeBron James would be tempted to beat his ass."

Well, James has now broken his silence ... saying, "#NotFacts people! Boooo!!"

He added, "Get another source."

So, what's really going down with LeBron and Kyrie? Guess it depends on who ya wanna believe.

Here's the blueprint on how to get kicked outta China ... courtesy of Chelsea soccer star Kenedy.

Before Kenedy even took the pitch for his team's Asia tour last week, the 21-year-old Brazilian posted 2 videos on social media.

The first contained the caption, "Porra china" -- which some have translated to, "F*ck China."

The second showed an image of a sleeping Chinese security guard with a caption that translates to, "Wake up China, you idiot."

As you can imagine, the Chinese were PISSED ... with one powerful newspaper printing an editorial trashing the guy for "humiliating China" and suggesting he be kicked out of the country.

But Chelsea sent him packin' first -- and then issued a statement saying the player had been "strongly reprimanded and disciplined."

Kenedy tried to apologize ... but it was too late.

What an idiot.

Chicago Bears linebacker Jerrell Freeman says he nearly BROKE A MAN'S RIBS while giving him the Heimlich in an Austin airport ... but says he quick action saved the dude's life.

Freeman was on his way to the Bears training camp when he saw a guy choking on brisket at an airport restaurant and immediately snapped into action.

"I tried to squeeze the life out of him and bring him back," Freeman tells TMZ Sports.

At one point the man told Jerrell he thought he may have cracked a rib, to which Freeman responded -- "It's either one of your ribs or your life man! Gotta take one, leave the other one!"

In the end, Freeman says he successfully dislodged the food from the man's throat and the guy praised him as a hero and thanked him for saving his life.

Then he went back to eating his brisket.

Seriously!

Forget steroids, Jose Canseco's legacy is his smoldering daughter, Josie Canseco -- who set Miami Beach on fire this week during a trip with her boyfriend, Mike Stud.

The two showed some serious skin during a jet skiing session this week ... but all eyes were on Josie and the white hot bikini.

The fashion model and the rapper have been dating since 2015 -- with Stud even featuring Canseco in some of his music videos.

Can you blame him?

Another great day for J.R. Smith's miracle baby -- who took her first trip to Miami this week ... ON A PRIVATE JET!

Baby Kota joined her NBA star dad, J.R., and mom, Jewel, on a family vacation to South Beach where the kid went to the beach, the shops, the restaurants and of course ... the private jet.

Kota deserves all the spoils -- she's battled (and overcome) the craziest odds after being born around 21 gestational weeks and spending the first 4 months of her life in the NICU at Cleveland Children's Hospital.

Charles Barkley says any Laker fan thinking the team will make a playoff run behind new star, Lonzo Ball, is smoking purple and gold CRACK ... telling TMZ Sports the Lake Show has ZERO CHANCE.

The hype is officially here, Lonzo balled out so hard in the Summer league (winning the MVP), that a lot of fans are thinking postseason, so when we got Barkley out at LAX we asked him if it was possible.

"Hell no."

Pretty simple. In fact, Sir Charles says in his opinion the 76ers with their young core of guys like Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and Markelle Fultz are waaaay better than the Lakers are right now.

You'd think it was a diss ... if you didn't know any better.

But when Jimmy Butler took a shot at his friend Kyrie Irving in Malibu this week, we're guessing it's all in good fun.

With all the Kyrie rumors going around, we asked Jimmy Buckets if he wanted Irving to join him in Minnesota.

Jimmy's response: "I don't even know who that is."

Turns out, they're pretty tight -- they played on the '16 Team USA Olympic squad and Butler once hailed him as his favorite player in the NBA.

So, will Kyrie end up in Minnesota? Butler hopes so ... even if he doesn't wanna say it.

It's over for Lucky Whitehead in Dallas.

The Cowboys just confirmed the WR has been cut by the team after cops in Virginia claimed he was arrested for shoplifting back in June. Officials say he then missed a July court date and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

But get this, despite official court records with his name and birthdate -- and confirmation from the Prince William County Police Dept. of an arrest of a 25-year-old Rodney Whitehead Jr. -- Whitehead's rep says his client was NOT actually arrested that day because he was not in town.

We spoke with agent Dave Rich, who says Whitehead did not fly into Virginia until 6 hours after the reported time of arrest, information first reported by NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

Jon Jones wasn't crazy when he called himself the greatest UFC fighter of all time ... at least according to Daniel Cormier, who says ya just can't argue with Jon's resume.

"His level of competition is unmatched," Cormier tells TMZ Sports ... "He's beaten about 6, 7 guys that are going to the UFC Hall of Fame."

Jones bragged about his legacy on FS1's "Undisputed" on Monday -- saying there's no doubt he's the greatest fighter to ever step into the Octagon. He's beaten legends like Rampage Jackson, Shogun Rua, Lyoto Machida and more.

Given the hatred between Jon and DC, you'd think Cormier would blast him over the comments -- but that's not what happened. It was the closest thing to a compliment we've seen leading up to UFC 214.

Speaking of which, Cormier also says his weight is PERFECT leading up to Saturday's title fight -- despite the fat jokes from Jones. "This is the lightest I've been."

That's when he took aim at Jon's tiny chicken legs and ripped a few shots at the guy.

Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett is clearly pissed off about Lucky Whitehead's shoplifting arrest -- and isn't ruling out cutting the WR from the team.

After TMZ Sports broke the story, Garrett faced the media after Day 1 of Cowboys training camp and was immediately asked about Whitehead's standing with the team.

"We’re gathering information on it," Garrett said ... "We’ll respond accordingly."

When asked if firing Whitehead was a possibility, Garrett said -- "Oh, absolutely."

"Depending on what the situation is, we’re gonna respond accordingly. Do what’s in the best interest of the Dallas Cowboys."

Whitehead was arrested in June for allegedly stealing under $200 in stuff from a Virginia convenience store. To make things worse, a warrant was issued for his arrest when he failed to appear in court on July 6.

Whitehead was asked about the situation after practice -- and said he had no idea what was going on.

Michael Irvin says he doesn't want revenge against the woman who accused him of rape -- he wants to help her ... and he's willing to pay for her stint in rehab.

As we previously reported, the accuser's toxicology report came up positive for several drugs including cocaine and MDMA ... drugs the woman later admitted she took on her own.

Now that prosecutors have dropped the rape case against Irvin, he was asked if he's planning on suing her.

Instead of blasting her in the media, Irvin says he feels bad for her -- and as a person who struggled with substance abuse, he believes she needs help.

If you were expecting to sign a $300 MILLION contract, would you let someone hit flaming baseballs at you????

Kris Bryant did. And it's pretty incredible.

The Chicago Cubs superstar took the field in Tempe, AZ for a "hot corner"-themed Red Bull shoot ... where he fielded scorching baseballs that were lit up with gasoline and a blowtorch.

But fear not, Cubs Nation -- Bryant rocked flameproof gear and had the Tempe Fire Dept. on standby just in case.

Rising boxing phenom Gervonta Davis has a brand new training partner ... Drake!

The 22-year-old -- who's fighting in the co-main event at Mayweather, McGregor -- hit a 6-mile run with the 6 God in Houston over the weekend.

Not only did Drake keep up ... but he also provided the soundtrack for the run. Despite the fact it sounds like it could be new music from Drake, we're told it's NOT the rapper.

(Sounds just like him though!)

12:09 PM PT -- Prince William County PD has released a statement about the incident --

"On June 22 around 1:30AM, officers responded to the WAWA located at 2051 Daniel Start Sq in Woodbridge to investigate a larceny in progress.

An employee reported to police that a man ran out of the store without paying for some merchandise. When officers arrived, they located the man in the parking lot.

Following the investigation, the accused, identified as Rodney Darnell Whitehead - age 25, was charged with petit larceny and released on a court summons."

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Lucky Whitehead was arrested in Virginia in June for shoplifting -- and now a warrant has been issued for his arrest ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The 25-year-old was busted in Prince William County, VA on June 22 for shoplifting/petit larceny under $200. We're told Whitehead allegedly took stuff from a convenience store.

He was ordered to appear in court on July 6, but according to court records he didn't show up -- so a warrant was issued for his arrest. He's since been charged for failure to appear.

We reached out to Whitehead's rep -- so far, no word back.

FYI, Whitehead was undrafted but signed a 3-year $1.5 million contract with the team in 2015.

Whitehead isn't the first Cowboys player to be accused of shoplifting -- ex-Dallas running back Joseph Randle was busted stealing cologne and mens underwear from a Texas department store in 2014.

Wiz Khalifa's next big show could be in the Octagon because the superstar rapper -- who's known as a smoker, not a fighter -- has been busting his ass doing MMA training.

TMZ Sports got this video of Wiz hitting the mitts with FOX's Jay Glazer, and working on his kicks with UFC star Cat Zingano. Pretty clear from the video ... he's taking it seriously, and we hear he's been at it like this for about 3 months at Unbreakable Gym on Sunset.

What's most impressive about this workout sesh is Wiz was on vacay! He was in Napa for a wine tasting trip -- with his gf, Izabela Guedes, Michael Strahan and Glazer -- but brought his gear to do some training ... in between sipping cabs and zins.

Wine tasting and MMA? Just when ya think ya know a guy.

The woman who accused Michael Irvin of rape tested positive for several drugs in her system after the alleged incident, including cocaine and ecstasy ... this according to prosecutors.

According to a State Attorney report on the case, obtained by TMZ Sports, the accuser took a toxicology test at a nearby hospital just a few hours after the alleged incident in the early hours of Wednesday, March 22. She told officials she did not take any drugs that night and believes something was put in her drink.

But the toxicology report came back showing the presence of amphetamine, MDMA, cocaine and alcohol in her blood. Her B.A.C. was a .10 despite the fact she had stopped drinking hours before.

The woman later admitted to investigators that she took a "small amount" of Xanax and ecstasy on the 19th and 20th -- and fessed up to doing cocaine over the weekend. Officials didn't believe her cocaine excuse because coke metabolizes "almost immediately" and would likely not show up if taken that long ago.

Either way, officials say they couldn't prove that Irvin provided any of the drugs to her.

There's more ... officials also did the blacklight test in Irvin's hotel room and did find some semen -- on the corner of a seat cushion. But they couldn't prove if it was Irvin's or someone who had previously stayed in the room. Gross.

Investigators also found video of the woman partying with Irvin earlier in the evening and even gyrating her hips around him near his hotel room.

Officials also say the woman underwent a vaginal swab after the alleged incident but there was no trace of Irvin's DNA.

Ultimately, prosecutors came to the following conclusion: