TMZ Sports - Page 50

TUPAC LIVES ... on Chris Johnson's new cleats.

The AZ Cardinals running back got some custom "Juice" cleats -- inspired by the 1992 flick ... featuring images of Pac, Omar Epps and the other two guys on the movie poster.

We spoke with the genius behind the shoes -- Desmond "Skilz" Jones -- who says CJ2k plans to rock the cleats before and during Sunday's game against the 49ers.

Skilz says Johnson hit him up and specifically asked for the movie-inspired paint job ... and it took him 10 HOURS to create the final product.

Pretty sweet, right?

Colorado Christian University says there is some student resistance to the school's ban on national anthem protests ... but CCU believes the disagreement is a positive thing.

As we previously reported, CCU (which has several varsity sports teams competing at the NCAA D2 level) reaffirmed its school policy against athletes protesting during the national anthem.

TMZ Sports spoke with CCU's Vice Pres. of Public Policy Jeff Hunt who says for the most part the student body has been supportive -- but "we have students that disagree with it."

However, Hunt says the school welcomes healthy debate.

"I'm glad we do have students that disagree. We like disagreement on campus, we don't mind that. We just think [the protests] need to be done in the right and proper order."

2 Chainz is calling for people to "pledge allegiance on one knee" -- in a direct response to Donald Trump ... and it's all part of a new song with NBA star Victor Oladipo.

The Indiana Pacers star just dropped his 2nd single called "Rope a Dope" (dude can really sing) -- and it features a rap verse from Tity Boi himself.

A rep tells TMZ Sports the song "serves as a response to President Donald Trump's attack on athletes who have been kneeling during the National Anthem."

"I wanted to address what was going on and bring awareness to it, but in a positive manner,"Oladipo says.

"We need to come together as a country to deal with these problems. We aren't going to solve anything unless we're united."

The Legends Football League -- made up of women playing in lingerie -- have taken an official position on the national anthem ... "WE STAND"!

The LFL just issued a video statement on the issue taking over the country -- saying the flag, "symbolizes all the blood, sweat and tears that have been shed so that we as Americans can raise our flag across our nation."

"The LFL salutes all those who make this the greatest the country in the world, and we stand in salute of our flag."

Khloe Kardashian's birthday pics with Tristan Thompson -- which she captioned "Dad + Mom" -- were NOT some sort of secret pregnancy announcement ... TMZ has learned.

Our Kardashian sources tell us ... her social media post on June 25 is purely a coincidence -- she had no idea she was pregnant at the time. We're told Khloe's just shy of 3 months pregnant now ... and the surprise 33rd bday party Tristan threw her was 3 months ago.

We're also told "Dad" and "Mom" are just lovey dovey nicknames the couple have for each other ... though they now have a deeper meaning.

Want more proof Khloe didn't know she and her bf were going to have a baby? Here's what she tweeted the day after the party ...

It's gone from bad to worse for Louisville ... the school's top high school recruit says he's officially DECOMMITTING to UL in the wake of the NCAA bribery scandal involving the university.

Anfernee Simons -- a 6'3" point guard from Florida -- was hailed as UL's top recruit, a 5-star player who's ranked in the Top 20 on every major recruiting list. He just started his senior year in high school.

But with Louisville referenced in the FBI probe into corruption in college basketball -- and a possible link to 6-figure bribery involving one of the top marketing people at Adidas -- Simons says he's out.

"Due to the recent events that have taken place, it's in my best interest to de-commit from the University of Louisville," Simons says.

"This was a very tough decision to make and I am deeply saddened by this. I appreciate all of the support from the Louisville fans."

Simons says he will be "reopening my recruitment" -- which is huge for schools that had gone after him in previous years ... including Florida, OK State, Tennessee and more.

10:06 AM PT -- University of Louisville interim president Greg Postel says Rick Pitino has technically been placed on unpaid administrative leave, effective immediately.

Rick Pitino has just been fired by Louisville, according to multiple reports ... marking the first big-name head coach to get the ax after the FBI corruption sting that rocked NCAA basketball on Tuesday.

Federal prosecutors say an Adidas executive worked with basketball coaches from Louisville in an illegal scheme to pay high school recruits to ultimately attend the University.

Neither the University nor any Louisville coaches have been formally accused of wrongdoing ... at least not yet. However, the Adidas exec has been arrested.

Pitino has maintained his innocence since the allegations came to light ... with his lawyer, Steve Pence, promising "a bare-knuckle fight" should the university choose to fire him.

"These allegations come as a complete shock to me," Pitino said in a statement.

"If true, I agree with the U.S. Attorney's Office that these third-party schemes, initiated by a few bad actors, operated to commit a fraud on the impacted universities and their basketball programs, including the University of Louisville."

"Our fans and supporters deserve better, and I am committed to taking whatever steps are needed to ensure those responsible are held accountable."

Hey, NCAA -- here's a simple solution to all your corruption problems ... PAY YOUR DAMN PLAYERS -- so says former NBA star Stephen Jackson.

Stack wasn't too in the know on college basketball's recruiting scandal when we got him at LAX ... but he told TMZ Sports he was 100% behind the idea of NCAA hoops stars makin' bank.

"If you can go to war at 18 and kill yourself, why you can't get paid for basketball?"

Eric Decker says playing for the sucky NY Jets made him long for the days when he was a Denver Bronco.

Cameras were rolling on the WR the day after he was cut by the NY Jets back in June -- and now his reaction is a part of his E! reality show, 'Eric & Jessie' (airs Wed. at 10 PM).

"It's weird, I was fired," Decker says ... while discussing how it sucked not making the playoffs during his 3-year run in NY.

Jessie asks where he wants to play next -- and Eric replies, "I do wanna go somewhere where I have a good chance to get back to the playoffs because I think I took for granted how (great it was)."

"We did it almost every year in Denver and ... I thought it was the norm."

College hoops icon Dick Vitale is taking the NCAA to task ... blasting the league for having a dirty underbelly and calling for the jobs of any coaches found guilty of corruption.

"There’s a cesspool that’s existing in college basketball and on the scholastic level," Vitale said -- taking aim at NCAA eligibility requirements and AAU basketball.

Dicky V says he's "crushed" over the FBI corruption sting that came to light this week ... where 4 CBB coaches were arrested and charged with federal crimes.

The legendary analyst tells us to reserve judgement until the coaches have their day in court ... but stresses that these allegations cannot be taken lightly now that the feds are involved.

College hoops hall of famer Jay Williams says the world of college hoops didn't JUST get dirty ... telling TMZ Sports he was offered money during his recruitment but turned it down.

Jay sat down with the guys on the "TMZ Sports" TV show and talked about the scandal rocking the NCAA ... 4 big-name coaches and an Adidas honcho being arrested after an FBI corruption sting.

Williams claims the money grab game is nothing new, and when asked if he himself had been offered any money during his recruitment -- he was the nation's #3 recruit in '99 -- Jay kept it real.

"Yes, we did. I was lucky enough because my mother and father both had jobs. My mother had been involved in education, and my dad had been involved with Amex for 20 years, and they're like, 'We don't need that.'"

Despite the fact he turned down the cash, Jay says he doesn't blame any kid for taking the greenbacks -- acknowledging they all don't have the same advantages.

"I'm not gonna use my experience to slight somebody who does need that. You are going into a business, regardless of whether the outside world looks at you like you're going into the purity of college basketball, it's not that way at all. Everybody is profiting off you."

CBS honcho Les Moonves is calling #FakeNews on Donald Trump -- saying the President's claims that NFL ratings are "way down" are just wrong.

"All I know is our ratings were up 4% this weekend for the NFL," Moonves told TMZ Sports while leaving Craig's in L.A. with his wife, Julie Chen.

(To clarify, the CBS PR dept. says, "Strong NFL ON CBS ratings for week 3, Up +4% overall vs last year.")

Moonves added, "The NFL is still the best thing on television."

Of course, Trump has tweeted out a different story over the past few days -- saying there is a "tremendous backlash against the NFL and its players" and proclaiming "ratings for NFL football are way down."

Clearly, CBS and Trump are not seeing eye to eye.

Steven Seagal says the NFL protests are "outrageous" and "disgusting" and it makes him sick to his stomach to watch.

And he said this all while sitting in a chair in Moscow.

Seagal joined Piers Morgan on "Good Morning Britain" on a satellite feed from Russia (he was granted Russian citizenship in 2016) and went off on the kneeling demonstrations.

"I believe in free speech. I believe that everyone's entitled to their own opinion. But I don't agree they should hold the United States of America and the world hostage by picking a venue where people are tuning in to watch a football game and imposing their political views."

"I think it's outrageous, I think it's a joke. It's disgusting."

Seagal -- who's worked with various law enforcement departments in Arizona, Louisiana and New Mexico -- continued, "I respect the American flag and I myself have risked my life countless times for the American flag and I don't understand or agree with this kind of behavior. I think it's an outrage."

Seems Donald Trump wasn't too bothered by the Dallas Cowboys' pre-national anthem kneel -- 'cause POTUS says he spoke with Jerry Jones and everything is gravy, baby.

"Spoke to Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys yesterday. Jerry is a winner who knows how to get things done. Players will stand for Country!"

Jerry -- who owns the Cowboys -- locked arms with his players and took a knee BEFORE the American flag was unfurled for "The Star-Spangled Banner" on Monday Night Football.

Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett says the team had talked over their plan for days and the players agreed on how they would demonstrate.

Gotta wonder if this new tweet will have an effect on the team moving forward.

Porn legend Ron Jeremy says there's NO WAY Ric Flair banged more than 10,000 chicks ... telling TMZ Sports, in his opinion, it just ain't possible.

Jeremy knows a little something about ... um, puttin' in work. He's been named #1 on AVN's 50 Top Porn Stars of All Time ... and when we talked to him, he said he ain't buyin' what the Nature Boy is sellin'.

"To overview, I think he's lying."

Jeremy explains why he thinks Naitch is fibbing, saying that number would require a full-time woo-hoo regimen that he doesn't think Flair is humanly capable of.

"It's very difficult to get numbers like that," Jeremy says. "Every second of the day, he'd have to be going like this (as Ron does his world-famous humpin' motion).

Lil Wayne's got another one ... not a rap hit ... but another huge athlete for his Young Money APAA Sports & Entertainment Agency, this time signing a champion boxer to the team ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Wayne's new kid ain't some no-name prospect, its Erickson Lubin who's 18-0 and about to fight for the super welterweight championship of the world.

Lubin is fighting champion Jermell Charlo at the Barclays Center on October 14 and recently struck a pose with Young Money president Mack Maine, the guy responsible for bringing him to the team.

This is a huge move into boxing for Young Money, Lubin is a budding superstar and if he beats Charlo -- who's undefeated, too -- could be in line for some HUGE money fights.

Keep your hands up, kid.