TMZ Sports - Page 50

Billie Jean King says society is making progress in the battle against sexism, and she's pointing to the Harvey Weinstein scandal -- and the women speaking out -- as her proof.

King is a trailblazer in every sense of the word, spending her entire career not just winning on the court, but winning in society as an advocate for women's rights (she founded the WTA tour, btw).

When we got her out at LAX and asked if she's been able to see any progress since the days she began her crusade in the early '70s, King said yes, but reminded us the war isn't over.

"Sure, but every generation has to continue to start over and fight for equality and inclusion."

Our guy brought up the scores of women who have made sexual misconduct allegations against Harvey Weinstein -- and BJK says the scandal just proves things are moving forward.

"That is progressing, when people speak up."

Former Louisville basketball star Kevin Ware is standing up for Rick Pitino amid his suspected involvement in the NCAA recruiting sting ... saying his ex-coach is being unfairly fingered by the feds.

"What are you doing a full FBI investigation on? ... That don't make a lot of sense to me unless you were already digging, trying to make Rick to be that culprit and take that fall," Ware told TMZ Sports.

Kevin says he didn't notice anything fishy when he was playing for the Cardinals from 2011-2014 ... including any sign of Katina Powell -- the escort whose prostitution scandal rocked the university last year.

Ware told us he's got nothing but respect for the man Pitino is off the court ... calling him "a very loving and caring person."

But even Kevin can see Coach P's days in college hoops are done -- which he says is for the best.

Ware also weighed in on Gordon Hayward's gruesome injury since he suffered a brutal leg-break while he was at Louisville ... telling us why the NBA superstar should be A-OK.

How do you celebrate a touchdown in your opponent's stadium that says, "Yeah, we're still getting blown out, but I don't give a F**K"??? Like this!!!

Tennessee defensive back Rashaan Gaulden just gave Alabama fans the finger -- twice at the same time -- after his teammate picked off a pass and ran it back 97 yards for a TD ... and it was all seen clear as day on national television.

There was no penalty on the play, but the worst part for Gaulden and the Volunteers -- Bama was up 28-0 before the TD ... and just drove down the field for another score.

Current score in the 4th quarter: Alabama 31 - Tennessee 7

Jemele Hill is breaking her silence -- telling TMZ Sports she doesn't blame ESPN for hitting her with a 2-week suspension over anti-Jerry Jones tweets saying ... "I put ESPN in a bad spot."

Hill was put in the penalty box for encouraging people upset with Jerry Jones' national anthem policy to boycott his sponsors. ESPN claimed her comment was a violation of the network's social media policy. Several of Hill's coworkers, celebrities, athletes and activists spoke out against ESPN ... and Hill says she appreciates all the support, but believes she was treated fairly by the network.

"I deserved a suspension," Hill told us at LAX ... "I violated the policy. Going forward we'll be in a good, healthy place."

As for her public statements against Donald Trump ... Hill says she won't take back what she said -- but she regrets putting her show in a bad position. She's moving forward with ESPN, saying ... "I don't feel suppressed. I love ESPN as much as ever. I am okay. I feel good."

We spoke with Hill about a ton of stuff -- which you can see in the raw video below.

Jemele says she will return to work on Monday.

Wanna buy the ORIGINAL Rocky Balboa sculpture from "Rocky III?"

Too bad, it's not for sale. But the BACKUP statue is on the auction block.

The artist behind the piece, A. Thomas Schomberg, made two versions of the iconic sculpture back in the 80's for the 1982 flick ... #1 was used in the movie and #2 was a backup in case anything bad happened.

The original sculpture from the movie is still in Philly. The backup had been on display for years in the San Diego Hall of Champions, but that place closed down and now Rocky #2 is for sale.

We spoke with a rep for SCP Auctions -- which has auctioned everything from game-worn Babe Ruth uniforms to Michael Jordan game-used shoes -- and they're expecting the Rocky statue to fetch somewhere between $500k and $1 mil.

Still interested? Hope you've got a freight truck -- 'cause the bronze Balboa stands at nearly 9-feet tall and weighs 1,800 pounds.

Bidding ends November 4 ... good luck!!

Lonzo Ball should thank Clippers PG Patrick Beverley for giving him the business Thursday night ... 'cause in the long-run, it's really a good thing -- so says Master P.

We got P -- a HUGE NBA fan -- droppin' knowledge on Lonzo's debut at LAX ... telling us the Lakers rookie will only get better when grinders like Beverley beat him up.

The good news for Lonzo ... he's gonna get it all season long -- there's a LONG LIST of NBA stars looking to take a piece of his ass.

Colin Kaepernick still hasn't taken the podium to address the NFL national anthem protests, and that's OK -- so says famous TV pastor T.D. Jakes.

Since he's an expert public speaker, we asked T.D. if now's the time for Kaep to break his silence ... and the pastor told us Colin didn't need his advice -- 'cause he knows exactly what he's doing.

"I'm sure he has a plan and a strategy, and I'm sure he's gonna work that."

FYI, Donald Trump came hard after Kaep this month ... saying the QB shoulda been suspended as soon as he took his first knee.

Conor McGregor might have to wait ... another huge fighter says he's gonna take a chunk out of Floyd Mayweather's ass if he returns, and this guy is a boxing superstar.

The guy is WBC super welterweight champ Jermell Charlo, who's fresh off a devastating first round knockout of Erickson Lubin a couple of weeks ago.

Charlo hit the Lakers game Thursday night with Brandon Watson -- co-owner of the Team Watson Boxing Gym in L.A. -- and told us if Floyd (who's been working out) is serious about a comeback, he's down.

For the record, Floyd and Charlo are pretty good buddies -- and Charlo respects Floyd immensely -- but wouldn't you fight your pal for a $100 million payday???

Us too.

"So, how old were you when you first ate a butt?"

That's a real question Sway asked Gabrielle Union during his radio show in a conversation about sexual reciprocity ... a conversation that has everyone grabbing some Scope.

Gabby appeared on "Sway in the Morning" and talked openly about sex -- and that's when tossed salads appeared on the menu.

Dwyane Wade's wife says even though men will deny it, they enjoy a little backdoor love from women ... and they're singing a completely different tune in the bedroom.

Demi Lovato can fight -- in fact, she's such a beast in the gym, UFC champ Tyron Woodley is convinced she could hold her own in a real MMA bout.

Lovato has been training her ass off at the Unbreakable gym in L.A. for more than a year -- and owner Jay Glazer has previously told us she WANTS to fight for real.

Well, Tyron says ... IT'S TIME!

The UFC star spelled it out on this week's "Hollywood Beatdown w/ Tyron Woodley" -- where he said he's been in the gym with Demi and saw her fighting skills first hand.

There's more ... Woodley also tells us what's REALLY going down behind the scenes with Jon Jones.

Lonzo Ball needs to back up his dad's trash talk or it's gonna be a looong season ... so says Kenny Smith.

The "Inside the NBA" star says LaVar Ball's antics have "put a bullseye" right on Lonzo's back -- and Patrick Beverley ain't gonna be the only one who's gonna take a shot.

The good news for Lonzo ... Kenny says it's "just one game" and he'll shut up the haters if he bounces back strong.

There's no grey area when it come to Jennifer Lopez's best asset, which was on full display Friday in NYC ... in yoga pants.

J.Lo still had a glow to her leaving her SoHo gym, but you'd never notice it if her butt caught your eye first.

So what does J.Lo's workout include? If it ain't downward dog, we're guessing it's a ton of squats because that booty is only getting better with age.

John Wall saw this coming from a mile away ... telling us back in Feb. that NBA players like Patrick Beverley are gonna come for Lonzo Ball all season long to "leave a statement."

He was right.

Back when LaVar Ball was first firing up the Lonzo-hype machine, we spoke with Wall about how LaVar's braggadocious statements could affect the Lakers rookie on the court.

Wall told us LaVar's comments would add "fuel to the fire" for Lonzo's opponents, explaining:

"A lot of people try to leave a statement, you know let 'em know how the league is ... especially if they're gonna be going against him for the next couple years."

Beverley was DEFINITELY trying to send a message Thursday night -- beating up on Lonzo the entire game in a dominating Clippers victory.

And it sounds like it ain't gonna get easier for Ball as the season moves along ...

It would be awesome if it happened ... but the Dodgers tell TMZ Sports ... Vin Scully will NOT be firing up his legendary microphone for a World Series cameo.

The greatest Dodgers broadcaster of all time retired last year -- but many are holding out hope he will come back to work to call an inning or two now that the Blue Crew is playing in the WS.

But unfortunately, it ain't gonna happen.

We spoke with Dodgers exec. Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Lon Rosen who tells us, "Neither Vin Scully nor Sandy Koufax will be returning to action for the World Series. They will be enjoying the Dodgers like all the rest of our great fans."

Scully watched the Dodgers clinch the NLCS from the couch with his wife and daughter -- and they were so excited, they tweeted out a celebratory pic!

Early Friday morning, Vin emailed with L.A. Daily News reporter Tom Hoffarth about the possibility of a World Series broadcast booth cameo and said, "I honestly don’t feel I belong there and I would not want anyone to think I was eager for a spotlight."

We reached out to Vin's daughter Cat who tells us Vin's "really enthused" about the Dodgers making the World Series and is considering going to at least 1 game ... but as of now, there's "nothing percolating" about a comeback.

Kobe Bryant went all Globetrotter during a Nike photo shoot -- hitting a sweet bounce shot while one of the models captured the whole thing on video.

Mamba was with Neymar, Winnie Harlow and mega-designer Riccardo Tisci to shoot a NikeLab X RT collection promo ... when Winnie handed him the rock.

Kobe did Kobe things ... made the shot (nothin' but net) ... and the place went crazy!

He wasn't done though ... Kobe then took a shot from wayyyy downtown (behind the HALF COURT LINE) and hit again.

Kendall Jenner had the best seats in the house to support her man Blake Griffin on Thursday night -- sitting courtside as BG's Clippers beat up on the Lakers at Staples Center.

And to prove that supermodels really do eat ... she indulged on a giant caramel apple for all to see!

Kendall was just one of the many superstars in the arena -- Flea, Gal Gadot, Floyd Mayweather and, of course, Jack Nicholson were all on hand for Lonzo Ball's pro debut.

Oh, and check out this bonus pic we've unofficially titled, "Belly, Boobs, Billionaire."

Good times ...