TMZ Sports - Page 50

LiAngelo Ball's still got 1 person 100% behind him after his embarrassing arrest in China -- and we're not talkin' about LaVar, Lonzo or LaMelo.

LiAngelo's high school sweetheart, Isabella "Izzy" Morris, just shared a pic of her and 'Gelo with the caption, "Old pic, same love" ... essentially confirming she's stickin' by her man through the hard times.

Her timing's pretty on point -- the middle Ball bro is literally in the air flying back from Shanghai ... after Donald Trump hit up Chinese President Xi Jinping to help bring LiAngelo and his 2 UCLA teammates back to the States.

LiAngelo Ball's a free man, but it ain't got a damn thing to do with Donald Trump -- so says Lil Yachty.

We got Yachty at LAX ... and the rapper told us LiAngelo's about to be back in the U.S. 'cause of his Big Baller bankroll -- NOT 'cause Trump hit up the President of China.

"F**k Donald Trump, bro. Nobody give a f**k about Donald Trump," Yachty told TMZ Sports. "It's money, bro -- you got money, you can get outta anything."

Yachty would know after blowing up this past year -- though that didn't stop him from asking LaVar for some free BBB merch!!

Here's shirtless Cristiano Ronaldo and Cristiano Jr. proving they've got the best genes AND the best jeans -- reppin' dad's designer denim and looking fly as hell doing it.

The soccer mega-star teamed up with his 7-year-old kid for the launch of the CR7 junior collection -- expanding on the line of signature jeans he dropped earlier this year.

There are actual kid sizes, FYI ... the Cristianos were just having some fun letting Jr. twin out with Sr. for the photo shoot.

The real question -- are Ronaldo and son gonna be the next LaVar and Lonzo Ball?!

Ronda Rousey would be a "force to be reckoned with" in the WWE and Vince McMahon needs to sign her ASAP ... so says wrestling legend Torrie Wilson.

There have been rumblings that Rousey could join WWE soon (though it hasn't happened yet) and Wilson says it's the ultimate no-brainer.

"She's a badass," Wilson told TMZ Sports outside of Catch LA ... right before listing off several legit reasons why she would be an instant superstar in the squared circle.

By the way, Wilson looks AMAZING (did we mention she's a fitness-aholic?) ... so, check out some of the pics below ... which prove working out really does do a body good!

Conor McGregor is apologizing for storming the cage and getting violent with MMA officials during Bellator 187 in Dublin last week ... but he's still trashing the referee.

"I sincerely apologize for my behavior at last weekends fight event in Dublin," McGregor said ... adding he let his emotions get the best of him after watching his training partner Charlie Ward win the fight.

"As a multiple weight UFC champion, executive producer, role model and public figure, I must hold myself to a higher standard."

But Conor refuses to back off his criticism of referee Marc Goddard -- saying the ref made a "horrendous decision" trying to allow the losing fighter to continue into the second round.

McGregor says he's personally witnessed an MMA fighter die from injuries suffered in the cage during a fight in Dublin -- and he was afraid it could happen again.

FYI, the fatal incident McGregor is referring to occurred in 2016 -- and the man who died happened to be fighting Charlie Ward.

Conor says he has learned from his "mistakes" and vows to be better moving forward.

Jerry Jones says claims of a secret plan to force him to give up control of the Dallas Cowboys are "laughable and ridiculous" ... and says the idea of an overthrow is just plain silly.

FYI, the controversy stems from a PFT report saying some NFL owners have discussed a "nuclear option" to force Jones out for conduct detrimental to the league due to his war on NFL Commish Roger Goodell.

The Cowboys owner appeared on 105.3 The Fan -- where he shot down the suggestion he could be forced out ... and said he hasn't heard a peep about any such plan from the league or any other owner.

"I've had not one -- not one -- inkling of communication from the league office or any owner that would suggest something that laughable and ridiculous, and that's about where that is."

"If somebody is asserting that or thinking about that kind of thing, then they are not knowledgeable about how things work in the NFL."

Leslie Jones REALLY likes Dwyane Wade -- or maybe she's just an undercover sneakerhead??

Probably both -- 'cause check out the 'SNL' star fangirling out like a teeny bopper at a Britney concert when D-Wade hooks her up with his game-worn shoes ... after his Cavs took the Knicks' souls Monday night at MSG.

Wade gets down on a knee for the proposal ... and Leslie LOSES IT.

"It's my shoooeees! I get my shoooeees!"

"Will you accept my shoes?"

"YES!"

FYI, Leslie gave away 1 of Wade's Li-Ning kicks -- but NO WAY she was saying bye to both.

TMZ Sports has obtained video of LiAngelo Ball and his 2 UCLA teammates at the Pudong International Airport in Shanghai minutes before boarding their flight to the United States.

Ball -- along with Jalen Hill and Cody Riley -- were dressed in sweats and sporting UCLA team backpacks and sneakers as they made their way toward the boarding area Tuesday evening (local time).

The person who shot the video says the guys appeared pretty relaxed -- and it's reflected in the video.

All 3 men were arrested last Tuesday for allegedly shoplifting at Louis Vuitton and reportedly faced up to 10 years in Chinese prison if convicted.

Donald Trump, President Xi Jinping and Jack Ma were all involved -- and tried to get the charges reduced. They were successful -- all charges were dropped.

Here's Ben Simmons & Joel Embiid proving that nothing says criminal justice reform quite like beating the Clippers, 'cause after doing just that, the two young NBA stars want everyone set free.

And by everyone we mean Meek Mill & LiAngelo Ball (BTW, at the time this is being written 'Gelo is reportedly on his way back to the U.S. with his teammates, so Embiid is getting his wish).

The young 76ers hit up Poppy in West Hollywood Monday night after their victory in Staples, and our guy decided to ask Simmons about Mill and Embiid about Ball.

Embiid was down with cutting Ball a break (interesting considering his history with the family) and Simmons was all about Meek getting out from under his 2-4 year sentence.

It was like a scene out of the jock version of "The Notebook" ...

Vin Scully and Yasiel Puig spotted each other from across the street in Beverly Hills on Monday -- and made their way toward each other ... culminating a HUUUUUGE bear hug.

And it might be the sweetest thing ever.

Of course, Scully retired as the voice of the L.A. Dodgers before the 2017 season -- but he was always fond of Puig. You can really feel the love when you watch the clip.

There's a moment when a waiter interrupts and asks Vin to sign his hat. Vin asks if he's a friend of Puig. The waiter says, "No, I'm a friend of Joe Torre." Vin signs anyway.

After the reunion, we talked with Puig about some Dodger topics -- and he was super cool ... until he noticed our guy was wearing a St. Louis Cardinals hat.

6:06 AM PT -- President Trump was asked about the UCLA situation before boarding Air Force One ... and praised Chinese President Xi for helping out.

The 3 UCLA basketball players accused of shoplifting in China are finally leaving the country Tuesday -- and flying back to the United States, this according to the Wall Street Journal.

LiAngelo Ball, Jalen Hill and Cody Riley were spotted at the Pudong International Airport in Shanghai early Tuesday -- getting ready to board a Delta plane bound for Los Angeles.

The players had been confined to their hotel after officials say they jacked sunglasses from a Louis Vuitton store during the team trip to China.

Bodybuilding superstar Rich Piana would snort lines of pre-workout powder like it was cocaine ... this according to the death report obtained by TMZ Sports.

We broke the story ... investigators found white powder at the apartment where Piana suffered a medical emergency back in August. He died 18 days later.

Law enforcement spoke with Piana's girlfriend to try and find out what the powder was -- and she told investigators it was CON-CRET PRE workout powder (Lemon-Lime) ... which is advertised as a high-caffeine booster.

Piana's GF told cops, "He would snort this powder" ... and she does not believe it was anything illicit.

So, what did cause Piana's medical emergency? Officials say the autopsy was essentially inconclusive ... though it revealed Piana had heart disease.

Unclear if the 20 bottles of steroids found in his home contributed in any way either.

Piana was 46.

Meek Mill's supporters filled the streets of Philadelphia to demand his release from prison ... as Rick Ross and Dr. J provided some inspiration.

The #FreeMeek campaign got several hundred people marching Monday evening, with his label honcho, Rick, right in the middle of action.

NBA Hall of Famer, Dr. J made a speech to the crowd, but was nearly drowned out by "Free Meek" chants. In addition to the rally, an online petition pushing for Meek's release now has over 350,000 signatures.

Donald Trump's absolutely doing the right thing by trying to bail out LiAngelo Ball and his UCLA teammates after their shoplifting arrest in China -- so says Kenyon Martin.

"That's his obligation. That's his responsibility," K-Mart told TMZ Sports ... when we asked him about POTUS hitting up Chinese President Xi Jinping to resolve the situation.

The ex-NBA star says LiAngelo and his bros are only guilty of being young and dumb ... and "shouldn't be punished" for that. Not by China, at least.

Kenyon says he fully expects UCLA to drop the hammer -- and that should be enough.

The guy who got KO'd in the cage right before Conor McGregor LOST HIS DAMN MIND feels pretty much how we all do about the situation ...

"You can't f**kin' jump out of a crowd in a sporting contest and do all that type of stuff," John Redmond told TMZ Sports. "In no place in life is that really tolerated."

John's being pretty cool to Conor, all things considered ... saying he's got no plans of taking legal action even though McGregor's outburst almost got him trampled.

That said, Redmond tells us there's only 1 way Conor can make it right -- A REMATCH (with his teammate, Charlie Ward).

"Tell your boy to bleedin' gear up again and get in and fight me!"

Doesn't seem like McGregor's in the mood to make amends with anyone ... but maybe for a fellow countryman??

Colin Kaepernick is going to bat for Meek Mill -- saying the rapper is a victim of the same "radicalized injustice" that has been screwing black men for years.

FYI, Meek was sentenced to 2 to 4 years in prison after a judge ruled he violated probation stemming from a 2008 drugs and weapons case by getting busted for a St. Louis airport fight ... and his reckless driving arrest in NYC.

Even though both cases were dropped, the judge said the arrests alone were violations. People are furious about this ... including Kaepernick.

"Sadly there are Black folks going through the same radicalized injustice(s) within the justice system that Meek Mill has experienced for over a decade EVERY SINGLE DAY," Kaep tweeted.

"This requires more than just gradual reform in laws -- It requires a swift overhaul."