TMZ Sports - Page 50

Conor McGregor just went NUCLEAR at an MMA event in Dublin ... slapping a regulatory official and pushing veteran UFC referee Marc Goddard for breaking up his post-fight celebration with training partner Charlie Ward.

It all went down after Ward won by 1st-round KO at Bellator 187 -- which prompted McGregor to jump into the cage to show his SBG Ireland teammate some love.

One problem -- Conor wasn't allowed in the cage since he wasn't a licensed cornerman for Charlie ... so Goddard and several fight officials stepped in to interrupt their bro moment.

McGregor was PISSED -- pushing Goddard from behind and getting in his face ... before the officials and BFF Artem Lobov escorted him from the cage.

But Conor wasn't done. He came back, climbed back on top of the cage and straight slapped one of the officials upside the head.

FYI, Goddard ordered McGregor to leave cageside last time Lobov fought in the UFC ... so that's probably what set Conor off.

Hope Solo's adding her name to the mounting list of women alleging sexual assault at the hands of powerful men ... and she points the finger at former FIFA president, Sepp Blatter.

The USWNT star revealed the alleged incident in an interview with the Portuguese newspaper, Expresso, in which she alleges Blatter "grabbed my ass" right before presenting an award to Abby Wambach at the Ballon d'Or awards ceremony in January 2013.

Blatter -- forced to step down and banned by FIFA amid a corruption scandal -- flatly denied the claim, and through his spokesman told Expresso, "This allegation is ridiculous."

New video has surfaced reportedly showing Roy Halladay performing concerning aerial maneuvers over water -- including extreme changes in altitude -- just 2 weeks before his fatal crash.

The video show's Roy's ICON A5 plane flying over the Gulf of Mexico on Oct. 20 -- it almost looks like he's practicing a water landing ... though he never lands on the water.

The person who shot the video told the NY Daily News he started recording because the plane was going so close to the water at a high rate of speed, he thought it was going to crash.

You can hear the man express concern as he watches Roy's plane.

Just 2 weeks later, the plane crashed near the very same area -- killing the ex-MLB star.

Multiple witnesses tell TMZ Sports Roy had been making similar changes in altitude -- just like in the video from Oct. One person described it as "aggressive flying."

Roy's family issued a statement saying he was not a reckless flyer -- and they're heartbroken over his death.

With Ezekiel Elliott expected to FINALLY serve his 6-game suspension (maybe) -- the Dallas Cowboys could be in the market for a running back ... so .... enter Reggie Bush??

Maybe not ...

The 32-year-old says he's really comfortable NOT playing right now -- even though he's still training -- and it wouldn't be an automatic "Yes" if Jerry Jones came calling.

Of course, the twist to the whole thing is Reggie told us back in Sept. he'd retire if he doesn't get picked up this season. So ... seems like we may have seen the last of Bush in the league.

Muhammad Ali. Jackie Robinson. Colin Kaepernick.

These names belong together in the history books -- so says Olympic legend John Carlos -- one of the two Americans behind the iconic "Black Power" salute at the '68 Games.

Carlos -- who raved about Kaepernick to TMZ Sports last month -- finally had the chance to meet the QB in person ... and shared a powerful message about Colin afterwards.

"Mr. Kaepernick, who needs no introduction, is this generation's iconic civil rights leader," Carlos said.

"Through his commitment and sacrifice to speak about the awareness of police brutality against blacks in America, Kaepernick has cemented his status in my books as one of many great individuals whose name will be spoken alongside the likes of Muhammad Ali, Jackie Robinson, Dr. Tommie Smith, Peter Norman, and myself."

Carlos also hinted he would be supporting Kaep's movement going forward, saying -- "We have a lot of more work to do. Stay tuned."

It may be November ... but it's 74 degrees in Honolulu -- so Alexis Ren decided to put on her tiniest bikini and hit the beach.

The "Queen of Instagram" (she's got more than 11 MILLION followers) was climbing all over some volcanic rocks ... and still managed to be the hottest thing on the island.

By the way, Ren is a 2018 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition rookie ... and judging by the behind the scenes footage from her debut S.I. shoot -- she's gonna have a future in this biz.

Yasiel Puig just made a HUGE mistake -- revealing his secret identity to TMZ Sports while leaving Delilah in Hollywood ... and the tip-off was the ridiculously hot car he was driving.

Yasiel Puig, Dodgers star, is Batman.

We know how it sounds, but consider the facts -- Puig, who always talks to us, didn't, then proceeded to hop in his black Lamborghini Aventador -- MSRP $400k -- and sped off like he was hiding something.

Our theory? Yasiel forgot to use his driver (Alfred), absentmindedly got into his work car (chicks dig the car, after all) and headed out to Delilah for dinner not realizing we would be there.

Now we know why he was bragging about having so much money the last time we got him (Wayne Enterprises) and why he's not worried about the crooks who robbed him. He'll take care of it.

O.J. Simpson is learning real quick ... it's WAY harder to hide your dirty laundry in 2017 -- so says Cuba Gooding Jr.

Case in point ... we broke the story ... O.J. was banned for life from a Vegas casino this week -- and Cuba says with everyone on the planet carrying a camera phone and having access to social media ... things like that don't go under the radar anymore.

Cuba's referring to the sexual misconduct and assault allegations surrounding some of the most powerful people in the business ... from Louis C.K. to Harvey Weinstein.

Another major Team USA gymnastics star claims she was abused by ex-USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar -- with Aly Raisman coming forward in the hopes of protecting future athletes.

Raisman -- a 2-time national team captain who won 6 gold medals -- opened up about the allegations to "60 Minutes" ... saying she met with the FBI after the '16 Rio Olympics.

23-year-old Raisman wouldn't get into the specifics of the alleged abuse -- she would only say she's very "angry" and looking for justice.

Nassar has been accused of sexually abusing scores of female athletes over the years -- including McKayla Maroney.

LiAngelo Ball has got 2 powerful forces trying to secure his release from China ... UCLA and Alibaba founder Jack Ma ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Ball and 2 other UCLA basketball players are currently under house arrest after allegedly stealing sunglasses at Louis Vuitton.

Our UCLA sources tell us, the University has deep ties with China for various reasons, and school officials are using their influence to try and secure the release of the 3 players. As for the nature of the influence ... UCLA is a prize school for Chinese students, many doctors have won research projects at the various UCLA medical facilities and UCLA sports has become popular in China.

We're also told Jack Ma -- a Chinese citizen worth an estimated $40 billion -- is also working to help free the 3 players. FYI, the team visited Alibaba headquarters Monday ... the day before the arrests.

Our UCLA sources also say there is no question the players pilfered the sunglasses so there's no attempt to prove them not guilty ... they are trying to use their considerable influence to ask for mercy. As once source put it, "UCLA and Ma are pulling out all the political stops to resolve this."

Jeff Gordon says Bubba Wallace isn't just important to NASCAR for being the first Black full-time driver at the top level in 46 years ... he's also a LEGIT badass behind the wheel.

Wallace will drive the legendary No. 43 car for Richard Petty Motorsports next season -- a tremendous honor ... since that's The King's car.

Gordon says it's important to acknowledge the historical significance of having a black driver in the full-time circuit -- but says the real focus should be on what he can do on the track.

Jeff also explains why he thinks there aren't more black drivers in the sport -- and how Wallace can help change that moving forward.

The family of ex-MLB pitcher Roy Halladay insist he was an extremely responsible pilot ... despite witness claims he was hot-dogging before the crash.

"Just as he was known for his work ethic in baseball, [Roy] was also widely respected by those who knew him in the aviation community for his hard work, attention to detail and dedication to safety while flying," the family said in a statement.

TMZ Sports spoke with multiple witnesses who say Roy's plane was making extreme and unusual changes in altitude while flying over the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday before the fatal crash.

One witness described it as "aggressive flying."

But Roy's family says that just doesn't sound like Roy.

"Since retiring from baseball, [Roy] has been actively studying, accumulating the required flight hours and obtaining multiple pilot certifications and licenses."

"He treated his passion for aviation with the same joy and enthusiasm as he did his love for baseball."

The Halladay family says they are "heartbroken" -- and will remember him for his success as a major league pitcher, an amazing father, loving husband and loyal friend.

The family also says they will hold a "celebration of life" for Roy on Tuesday in Florida and the service will be open to the public.

Pacman Jones says he's lucky to be alive -- after power lines fell down Thursday in the middle of the highway near the Bengals practice facility causing multiple cars to crash ... including his.

"I’m driving, these power lines just fall down out of nowhere bruh, in the middle of the highway. Almost got killed," the Cincinnati Bengals star said on video from the scene.

"I’m just so happy I’m alright man. If I wouldn’t have came across man I might be dead."

Jones showed damage to his black Dodge Durango -- but says he's not worried about that ... he's happy he wasn't hurt.

Former Patriots star Willie McGinest has some real talk for O.J. Simpson after he got drunkenly booted from a Vegas hotel ... SIT DOWN, SON!

"He should just sit his ass down somewhere. Stay out the way," Willie told TMZ Sports.

FYI, the Juice got way too loose Wednesday night at the Cosmo -- getting escorted out by hotel security before being slapped with a permanent ban.

McGinest says it should be an easy formula for his fellow USC football alum to follow ...

Legendary swimmer Diana Nyad -- who's shared her story of sexual assault for years -- says it's time to accept there are MILLIONS of victims, and start taking a closer look at the perpetrators.

Diana tells TMZ the rash of sexual abuse claims since the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke should be a wake up call for society to stop living in denial. She calls it an epidemic, and says much like the response to mass shootings ... people express shock, then do nothing to fix the problem.

Diana says she was repeatedly sexually assaulted by her swim coach, starting when she was 14.

Ezekiel Elliott's 6-game suspension is back on ... after the NFL superstar's motion for an emergency injunction pending appeal was denied by the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals.

A 3-judge panel determined Zeke's legal team didn't meet the requisite standard ... which means he'll officially begin serving his suspension against the Atlanta Falcons this weekend.

The NFL Players Association can still appeal (again) to the full 2nd Circuit Court ... which would be heard on an expedited schedule.