TMZ Sports - Page 50

Think Kristaps Porzingis called it a night after his triumphant return at MSG on Wednesday?

Hell no ... KP put in OT at the club with a smokin' hot chick!!

The Knicks superstar kept it flowin' at Marquee ... cuddling up with a mystery blonde outside the venue before they bounced to the after-party.

Unclear if she's Zinger's GF -- but they look pretty cute together.

Either way, Kristaps was cool enough to make time for all the fanboys flanking him on the street ... talkin' hoops and droppin' high-5s like the true King of NY (sorry, LeBron).

LeBron James is making himself right at home in L.A. ... buying his second crib in the area. Hear that, Lakers?

The King has chosen yet again the ritzy area of Brentwood for his second crib in as many years. This time he dropped $23 million for a brand spankin' new 8-bedroom, 11-bathroom crib that features an elevator and sweeping views of DTLA.

The 15,846 square foot house was built in 2017 and it's truly fit for a king -- it's got a theater room, wine cellar, cigar room with air purifying technology and an onyx bar. The rooftop terrace also has elevator access.

This crib's considerably bigger than the other Brentwood pad he bought 2 years ago ... dropping nearly 21 million bucks for that traditional-style home.

16-year-old LaMelo Ball has signed with sports agent Harrison Gaines and will NOT play college ball at UCLA, his father told ESPN.

LaVar Ball had pulled LaMelo out of Chino Hills High School earlier this year and said he was going to train the kid himself to get him ready for UCLA.

But now, with LaMelo's older brother, LiAngelo Ball, in the middle of a nasty breakup with UCLA (after the China shoplifting incident) ... LaVar has decided both sons will play professionally overseas.

"I don't care about the money," LaVar Ball told Jeff Goodman ... "I want them to go somewhere where they will play them together on the court at the same time. The priority is for the boys to play on the same team."

LaVar told TMZ Sports this week that China is still a possible landing spot for the boys -- Chinese teams would be happy to have the Ball kids.

As for LaVar's oldest son, Lonzo Ball -- he claims the decision to pull LiAngelo out of UCLA was made by the entire family with LiAngelo's best interests in mind.

Dr. Larry Nassar is probably going to die in prison -- the disgraced former Team USA gymnastics doc just got 60 YEARS in his child porn case.

The 54-year-old was just sentenced by a judge in Michigan -- after being convicted of having more than 37,000 child porn images in his possession.

Prosecutors say they found the images on computer hard drives while investigating the sexual assault claims against him.

Of course, besides the child porn ... Nassar also sexually assaulted more than 100 female athletes while working with Team USA gymnastics and Michigan State University.

His victims include some of the most famous gymnasts in the world -- from McKayla Maroney to Gabby Douglas and Aly Raisman.

Nassar will be sentenced in that case in January.

Conor McGregor fueled Rita Ora dating rumors on Wednesday night ... shouting her out at the club while patting his heart BEFORE showing love to his baby mama, Dee Devlin.

C'mon bro ...

Remember, it was just a few days ago Conor was hanging out with Ora at the British Fashion Awards. She posted pics of the 2 of them together with the caption, "Date night."

Fast-forward to Wednesday night at Cirque le Soir in London ... where The Notorious was out with his bros, letting loose on the dance floor to The Notorious B.I.G.

Conor hopped on the mic and said, "What's up, Rita Ora!" ... and then put his hand over his heart.

Moments later, he shouted out Dee ... but no heart gesture that time.

McGregor's probably just trolling (since that's what he does) -- but he and Rita did look awful cozy Monday night ...

LiAngelo Ball WILL be an NBA player, so says rap superstar Flo Rida, who tells TMZ Sports he's so hyped on Gelo that he wants him on his favorite team, the Miami Heat.

We got Flo out at LAX and asked him the million dollar question for the Ball family right now (actually a lot more than $1 million) -- does Gelo actually have an NBA future now that he's left UCLA?

It's been hotly debated by all the sports people that hotly debate things, but Mr. Rida seems to think he's a lock, telling our guy Gelo will get it done, and he hopes it's with his hometown, Miami Heat.

Hey, Khloe ... Tristan Thompson called and he wants his trench coat back.

Khloe was out in Santa Monica Wednesday for a doctor's appointment and it just seems like she's wearing her 6-foot-9 BF's drab to hide what the world knows is a very obvious baby bump. It's clear she wanted to go to great lengths to hide the ever elusive sign of pregnancy.

She tried the ol' hide-the-bump-with-this-huge-bag-and-loose-sweater play the other day. But this is something else. C'mon, Khloe. You're pregnant. We know it and want to help celebrate!

TMZ broke the story ... Khloe's preggo with her first kid and her NBA star BF is the baby daddy.

No job? No problem!

Johnny Manziel is still living VERY large -- despite the fact he hasn't had an NFL paycheck in a very long time.

The embattled QB pulled up Wednesday to Barneys in Beverly Hills -- one of the most expensive stores in town -- in the driver's seat of a custom Rolls-Royce.

Later that night, he hit up Warwick in a Givenchy sweatshirt, which retails for more than $1,000.

He's also planning a wedding, renting expensive places to live and traveling. So, the question is ... how can he still afford to live so lavishly?

The answer? Manziel is said to have raked in about $7.8 mil from his rookie deal with the Cleveland Browns -- plus, he made a ton of cash from endorsement deals with companies like Nike and Snickers.

Plus, the family reportedly has oil money -- though it's unclear if Manziel has access to it.

The Minnesota Timberwolves still had so much energy left after beating up on the Clippers Wednesday night, they hit the Hollywood club scene after the game ... and TMZ Sports has the video.

Karl-Anthony Towns and Taj Gibson hit up Warwick nightclub looking relaxed after the 112-106 victory over L.A. Towns had 21 points, Taj had 16.

They weren't the only big stars in the club -- Johnny Manziel also rolled through Warwick on Wednesday.

Fun Fact: All 3 guys rocked designer hoodies to the club -- and get this, Taj's Gucci sweatshirt ain't cheap ... $1,280 on the Gucci website!!!

Here's former baseball star Sammy Sosa keepin' things light at a huge festival in Miami Beach.

Sosa hit up DuJour's Miami Beach's Art Basel Kick-Off at The Confidante where he posed for pics on his way into the event ... weeks after T.I. blasted him for his alleged skin bleaching.

Sammy's complexion has very obviously changed over the years. We can only find one interview where he addressed it -- from 2009 -- saying the lightening was an unexpected result of a skin softening cream.

T.I. called B.S. and said it was more about "self-hate" -- but, judging by the way Sammy was smiling and laughing on the red carpet, he really doesn't seem to care what anyone else thinks.

LaVar Ball tells TMZ Sports China would be PUMPED on his son, LiAngelo, coming back to their country to play pro ball ... now that he's done at UCLA.

We got LaVar and LiAngelo at LAX ... and the Big Baller dad told us the door's wide open for his middle child to hoop in the same place he was ARRESTED for shoplifting last month.

"Of course! Why not?!" LaVar said, when we asked if China would welcome Gelo back. "They would be happy to have him."

LiAngelo wouldn't comment on a possible China reunion ... but quietly told us he's ready to take his talents overseas.

Ex-NFL star Shawne Merriman says O.J. Simpson absolutely should get to use his Heisman vote now that he's outta the slammer ... telling TMZ Sports it all boils down to a basic formula.

On the field ... O.J. was a legend who (fun fact) won his Heisman award by the largest margin of victory EVER.

Off the field ... the former Chargers linebacker says it doesn't matter what Simpson did or didn't do -- 'cause he's voting on a football award!

Warren Moon has denied the allegations made by his former assistant ... and his attorney released the following statement:

“Warren Moon has yet to be served with the lawsuit filed by Wendy Haskell, but he is aware of the claims contained in it. Mr. Moon denies the claims by Ms. Haskell. Mr. Moon contends these claims are meritless, and he has every intention to vigorously defend himself in court."

“Mr. Moon recognizes that his duties as a commentator on the Seattle Seahawks radio network will be impacted as he defends himself against these claims, and he has requested a temporary leave of absence from his duties with the Seahawks, which has been granted.”

Warren Moon is being sued for allegedly sexually assaulting and harassing his former assistant -- making repeated advances and once grabbing her crotch.

According to multiple reports, Wendy Haskell, 32, who worked for Moon's Sports 1 Marketing company, filed a lawsuit against her former boss in Orange County, CA ... alleging a pattern of sexual abuse perpetrated by the Hall of Fame QB.

Among the allegations ... Haskell claims Moon would pressure her to wear revealing clothing, make inappropriate sexual remarks and advances, and force her to sleep in the same bed with him on business trips.

She claims once while asleep in bed with Warren ... she woke up to his hand on her crotch. She says she removed his hand, but was then forced to sleep while he has his hand on her butt.

Colin Kaepernick could be BALLINNN' again real soon ... 'cause the free agent QB just got a personal offer from rapper Jim Jones to join the arena football team he just bought!

TMZ Sports spoke with the proud new co-owner of the Richmond Roughriders of the American Arena League ... and Jones says he's down to pay big bucks to get Kaep to suit up in the Green and Black.

Jones notes Kaep would be joining a winning atmosphere, 'cause the Riders were league champs last season. JJ also says national anthem demonstrations are N.B.D. -- he even encourages it!!

There's more ... Jones also says he's serious about courting Johnny Manziel to the squad.

Soccer legend Abby Wambach says she's the victim of a hate crime -- claiming some "idiots" stole her car for a joy ride ... and then returned it with hate speech scribbled all over the inside.

"They stole valuables including a purse and wallet (gift to my wife)," the former Team USA star said in a post on Instagram ... "and wrote hate speech in Sharpie all over the inside of our car."

Wambach says the incident occurred Wednesday morning (between the hours of 1:34 AM and 4:30 AM) at the Florida home where she lives with her wife, Glennon Doyle.

"They were Caucasian (3 of them). One had a hoodie with cargo shorts. The driver had an Ohio State hat on (O on front of hat) of red or black hat. Same guy had grey top, Nike shorts and Nike shoes. Also, they left finger prints on the car door when they left it back with us."

Wambach says surveillance cameras captured the license plate of a car they believe belongs to the scumbags.

"This neighborhood has each other’s backs. Neighbors camera got you, you idiots!! If you turn yourself in now, and return the stolen property, and pay for the car damages we won’t press charges. If you don’t, you are going to go to jail. You have 24 hours. If you have any info get in touch. Thanks everyone."

TMZ Sports spoke with local law enforcement and we're told they are "aware and investigating."

Sprained MCL be damned ... Blake Griffin fought through his knee pain Tuesday night to hang out with Kendall Jenner -- and he didn't even need crutches!

The L.A. Clippers superstar gimped over to the Improv comedy club -- where he met up with his rumored girlfriend. Blake tried to go incognito, but it's hard when you're a 6'10" black redhead.

Griffin suffered a sprained MCL during a collision with Austin Rivers last week -- and he's expected to miss around 2 months.

Good news ... he was moving around pretty good at the comedy club -- but jumping, sprinting and cutting is a whole other ball game.