TMZ Sports - Page 50

The ex-girlfriend of NFL referee Carl Johnson has been arrested after cops say she LIED in a police report in which she accused Johnson of domestic violence.

As we previously reported, Johnson's ex-GF had gone to cops accusing Carl of engaging in a pattern of domestic violence beginning in Dec. 2016. The Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office opened an investigation into Johnson.

But now, LPSO Lt. Brennan Matherne tells TMZ Sports ... it's the GF who's in trouble now.

"The investigation is ongoing, but I can confirm we have filed charges against Sandra Brooks for Domestic Abuse Battery, Defamation, Criminal Mischief – Filing a False Police Report, and Filing a False Petition for a Protective Order."

"She turned herself in yesterday afternoon and was released after posting $2,500 bond."

Brooks is a former police officer.

We spoke with Brooks who is adamant she is telling the truth -- and claims she's the VICTIM in the case.

Johnson has also maintained his innocence from the very beginning.

Turns out, Ric Flair's hand has taken thousands of rides on "Space Mountain" too -- 'cause The Nature Boy says he masturbated twice a day in the prime of his pro wrestling career.

That's IN ADDITION TO the roughly 10,000 WOMEN he claims to have banged over the years.

Naitch made this new admission in his "30 for 30" documentary that aired Tuesday night -- which also confirmed he got tanked with anywhere from 15 to 20 drinks daily while he was on the road.

But Flair's penis was the big story -- 'cause if there's any truth to his claims, it deserves its own spot in the WWE Hall of Fame (if not the damn Smithsonian).

#Figure5HandLock

Another super fight for Conor McGregor??? Dana White says he won't rule out a throwdown with Georges St. Pierre.

Look, it ain't happening anytime soon ... White says he's got specific opponents in mind for Conor and GSP to fight next before they would meet up in the octagon.

But when it comes to Conor vs. GSP -- "Listen, I'll never say never but [GSP] weighs 185 and Conor weighs 155."

However White says he's convinced Conor would take that fight ... or ANY fight.

But for now, White says ...he's trying to lock up Conor vs. Tony Ferguson for UFC 219 on Dec. 30 -- but Conor's massive asking price seems to be holding up the deal.

LiAngelo Ball -- and his 2 UCLA basketball teammates -- have been released from jail in China after being arrested for shoplifting ... but they're NOT allowed to leave the team hotel.

Ball, Cody Riley and Jalen Hill were released on bail early Wednesday morning, according to ESPN's Arash Markazi, who is covering the team in China.

The 3 college hoops players are accused of stealing from a Louis Vuitton store next to the team hotel in Hangzhou just days before UCLA is scheduled to play Georgia Tech in Shanghai on Friday.

Per the terms of their bail, all 3 players have been ordered to stay at the team hotel in Hangzhou until the case has been adjudicated -- which could take days, weeks or months, according to Markazi.

As for LiAngelo's father, LaVar Ball told Markazi he's not worried -- "He'll be fine. Everybody's making it a big deal. It ain't a big deal."

TMZ Sports has obtained police footage of NFL star Junior Galette being run down by cops -- and then tased -- following an alleged fight in Mississippi back in April ... and the footage is insane.

It all went down on April 8 ... when a Biloxi PD officer saw the Redskins linebacker fighting with another man and instructed them both to freeze. The cop claims Galette ignored instructions and bolted.

You can see the cop -- who identifies himself as a "big white guy" -- sprinting after Galette while shouting, "Stop motherf*cker! I'm gonna taze your ass!!"

Galette continues to run so the cop pulled out his taser and fired -- striking Junior on the first shot and putting the 250 pounder on the ground. The cop is obviously impressed with his own speed.

"I may be a big white guy, but you know what? I told you to stop."

Once he's down, Galette insisted he did nothing wrong ...but the cop disagrees.

Cop: "You’re swingin’ and hittin’ this guy right in front of me. I tell you to stop."

Junior: "He hit me sir."

Cop: "Y'all both hittin’ each other. I tell you to stop and then you take off running. If you’re gonna run from me when I tell you to stop after I see you hit him, I’m gonna chase after you and I’m gonna tase you."

Galette was eventually arrested for disorderly conduct and failure to comply. After he was put in the squad car and taken to the police station, the arresting officer can be heard doing some post-chase breakdown with his colleagues.

One of the cops keeps it real and says the officer who gave chase should chill 'cause Galette's a linebacker ... not exactly known for blazing breakaway speed.

Officials tell TMZ Sports ... Galette eventually struck a plea deal with prosecutors, though the details are unclear. However, we're told the case is effectively closed.

Justin Bieber laced up his cleats, popped off his shirt, and got really pumped up while playing soccer with his bros.

The Biebs hit up UCLA's campus Tuesday afternoon for a pickup game on one of the soccer fields, and at one point was standing at full attention calling out a play.

We're told several college students gathered around the field to watch JB in action and get a peek at his new torso tattoo ... and he put on quite a show.

Chiefs superstar Travis Kelce says Dwayne Bowe's stripperpalooza ain't as crazy as we all think -- 'cause droppin' over $1K PER MINUTE at the club is pretty standard for his former teammate.

"It's the Dwayne Bowe show, baby," Kelce told us. "He shuts it down. That's what he do."

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Bowe went HARD at VLive in Dallas on Saturday -- making it rain $25k in just 20 minutes!!

Some people think Dwayne went a little overboard -- but not Travis, who says D-Bo's the man for keeping it all the way real.

Lamar Odom + nightclubs = danger ... so says John Salley.

Salley says it's simple math ... Odom struggles with substance abuse and the club scene is one of the WORST places for him to be.

Clearly, Salley isn't buying Odom's excuse that "dehydration" caused him to collapse at a Hollywood nightclub on Sunday morning.

So what should Lamar do? Get new friends that support a healthier lifestyle ... and STAY OUT OF THE DAMN NIGHTCLUBS!

Retired baseball superstar Roy Halladay died in a fatal plane crash Tuesday in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Pasco County Sheriff's Dept. in Florida is holding a news conference to reveal details of the crash. They confirm Roy was the only person aboard the ICON A5 light-sport aircraft when it went down 10 miles west of St. Petersburg.

The Sheriff's Dept. says Roy did not make a mayday call before he went down, and they've already recovered his body.

40-year-old Halladay proudly purchased an ICON A5 just last month ... the first one of the production line. He posted a video in which his wife expressed concern about the aircraft, but also said she felt more comfortable after flying in it.

Roy was an 8-time All-Star pitcher for the Phillies and the Blue Jays, and a two-time Cy Young Award winner. He's one of only 2 players in MLB history to throw a no-hitter in the playoffs. He also pitched a perfect game for the Phillies in 2010.

The Phillies issued a statement -- "We are numb over the very tragic news about Roy's untimely death. There are no words to describe the sadness that the entire Phillies family is feeling over the loss of one of the most respected human beings to ever play the game."

He's expected to be a first ballot Hall of Famer when he becomes eligible in 2019.

LiAngelo Ball -- along with 2 of his UCLA basketball teammates -- were arrested for shoplifting during a team trip to China, according to ESPN.

The UCLA basketball team was out in Hangzhou before their game with Georgia Tech on Friday.

Ball and his teammates allegedly jacked merchandise from a Louis Vuitton store next to the team hotel. According to ESPN's Jeff Goodman, players Cody Riley and Jalen Hill have also been arrested.

UCLA issued a statement to TMZ Sports saying, "We are aware of a situation involving UCLA student-athletes in Hangzhou, China. The University is cooperating fully with local authorities on this matter, and we have no further comment at this time."

LiAngelo Ball is the middle son in the ball family. His younger brother LaMelo Ball is expected to play at UCLA when he becomes college eligible. His older brother Lonzo currently plays for the Lakers.

For all that trash she talked before the fight, Joanna Jedrzejczyk was humble in defeat ... privately congratulating Rose Namajunas after losing at UFC 217.

"She came up and congratulated me afterwards and said, 'All the best,'" Rose tells TMZ Sports.

Before the fight, the former undefeated strawweight champ told Namajunas she was gonna snatch her soul from her body. Seriously. It was frightening.

But Rose says Joanna was a total pro backstage ... "just humbled and respectful."

So, what's next for "Thug" Rose? Don't expect an immediate rematch ... Namajunas says Joanna might still need some time to "process" everything after that brutal beatdown.

Diddy tapped out on his "Brother Love" shtick QUICK ... but the original Brother Love -- pro wrestling legend Bruce Prichard -- says he still wants to kick his ass!!

Here's the deal -- Puff announced his latest name change over the weekend ... not realizing it was already taken by The Undertaker's famous ex-manager.

After wrestling fans DESTROYED the hip-hop mogul on social media -- Diddy decided to give it back.

But Prichard ain't taking Diddy's attempted nickname robbery sitting down -- issuing a challenge to meet mano-a-mano inside the ring.

"I would do anything to wrestle with Diddy -- anytime, any place," Bruce told TMZ Sports.

"You stay in your world and I'll stay in mine, because I don't wanna have to get you inside of a solid steel cage and open up my own can of whoop-ass on you!"

Scottie Pippen LOVES Novak Djokovic -- and wasn't afraid to show it yesterday at lunch.

We got Pippen leaving il Pastaio in the Beverly Hills ... that is, until the NBA legend spotted Novak at an outside table.

Scottie made a hard cut over to the tennis superstar -- giving him daps, busting out his cellphone for a pic and just generally fanboying out.

Pip didn't wanna talk about him and Larsa getting back together ... but his bromance with Djoker's on lock.

Bonus: Scottie just shared his shot with the "tennis GOAT" -- and it's dope.

Big day for Pittsburgh Steelers WR JuJu Smith-Schuster ... the 20-year-old is FINALLY licensed to drive a car.

For some reason, the NFL rookie never got around to getting his license when he was 16 ... and had been using a bike (which was recently stolen) to get back and forth to the Steelers training facility.

UNTIL NOW!!

JuJu hooked up with the Rogers School of Driving in Pittsburgh -- and trained up to get behind the wheel. He tweeted, "Your boy finally did it ... just got my license!"

Just make sure you get a car with an alarm system ... okay JuJu??

Oakland Raiders stud lineman Donald Penn says allegations that the offensive line plotted to injure QB Derek Carr over his stance on taking a knee are total and utter bullcrap.

Penn is firing back at Miko Grimes -- wife of Bucs star Brent Grimes -- who went on "The Breakfast Club" and claimed there was an internal dispute during Week 3 ... and the line let Carr have it in Week 4.

"The reason Derek Carr got injured is because the Raiders offensive line allowed him to get injured because he was against them protesting. They had a fight in the locker room before that Monday night game with the Redskins," Miko said.

She continued -- "That's the only all-black offensive line in the NFL is the Raiders. ... When the whole offensive line said they were going to kneel, he was like, 'No, you're not kneeling. This is America, you're going to stand for the flag' ... so when they came out to play, they basically had a plan."

Enter Penn -- the leader of Oakland's O-line -- who shot Grimes down hard.

"It’s crazy how people will make up lies and tell a story so false and untrue 2 get them some attention," Penn tweeted. "I hope it was worth it. All lies."

Football seems to be the last thing on Johnny Manziel's mind -- he's chillaxing in Hawaii with his insanely hot fiancee Bre Tiesi ... and appears to be lovin' life.

Just 3 months after a workout with a team in the Canadian Football League, the 24-year-old QB surfaced in Maui ... soaking in the sun after a friend's wedding.

Manziel has previously said he's determined to play football again -- and even though he doesn't look NFL ready at the moment, we know he's been training.

By the way, last time we spoke with Johnny he told us he's sober and focused on playing again ... and credited Bre with being a tremendously positive influence in his life.

She's also really, really good lookin'. Enjoy the pics.