TMZ Sports - Page 50

N.Y. Giants star Landon Collins is apologizing for his recent comments referring to teammate Eli Apple as "a cancer" ... saying he met with Eli in person and cleared the air.

ICYMI ... Collins ripped into Apple during a radio interview with 98.7 ESPN New York on Tuesday ... saying there's one major problem in the Giants' secondary ... and that's Eli Apple.

"That first-round pick ... he's a cancer," Collins said.

But Collins tweeted out Wednesday morning that he's extended an olive branch to Apple ... and has since apologized to the rest of his teammates.

"I never stop supporting my brother/teammate Eli and the rest of my teammates as we move forward. Just want him to know I'm always here for him."

The Miz had an AWESOME Christmas in the Middle East -- singing carols, shooting semis and SLINGSHOTTING OFF A FRICKIN' AIRCRAFT CARRIER ... and he documented all the action.

That's right ... while the rest of us were getting cozy by the fire, the WWE/MTV superstar was out in the desert supporting the troops on a 4-day USO tour with celebs like Adam Devine and Iliza Shlesinger.

There were plenty of highlights ... but The Miz said nothing could top his "COD TAC line launch" ... where he and Adam were literally boomeranged off the USS Theodore Roosevelt in a military plane.

"I’ve been on all kinds of rollercoasters and nothing beats this. I literally tell (Devine), 'My balls are in my throat.'"

Props to Miz, Adam and Iliza ... and, of course, THE TROOPS!

Happy holidays!!

Mark Wahlberg is PUMPED his New England Patriots signed James Harrison -- and he made a video straight from his boat welcoming the ex-Steelers star to the squad.

"Did you hear the news?" Wahlberg asked his wife, Rhea ... "James Harrison is a Patriot? Oh my. Defense just got a lot better."

He added, "Isn't it nice that [Tom Brady] got away without getting hit by him in the playoffs and possibly the AFC Championship?"

"Go Patriots. Go James Harrison."

Barack Obama just gave Michael Jordan the royal seal ... telling Prince Harry that he'd take His Airness over King James as the GOAT, without hesitation.

Obama sat down with Harry in a rare interview that aired Wednesday on BBC Radio 4 ... talking about everything from his presidency to Donald Trump.

But, when it came to the Prince's round of rapid-fire questions ... Harry immediately got Barack -- a HUGE NBA fan -- to close the book on the MJ vs. Bron debate.

"Jordan. Although I love LeBron, I'm a Chicago guy," Obama said.

Of course, Barack's pick ain't too surprising given his Bulls allegiance ... even though him and MJ haven't always seen eye-to-eye on everything.

American Airlines has issued an apology to two professional basketball players -- including ex-Chicago Bulls player Marquis Teague -- after they were kicked off a plane by a flight attendant who accused them of stealing blankets.

Teague -- the Bulls 1st round pick in the 2012 NBA Draft -- boarded a flight in Dallas on Sunday with his Memphis Hustle teammate Trahson Burrell. Both players are black.

As they headed back to their coach seats, two 1st class passengers handed the players their blankets. Problem is ... a flight attendant accused the men of stealing the blankets and kicked them off the plane.

American Airlines says the flight attendant involved is also black.

Floyd Mayweather is NOT in a committed relationship with 'Love & Hip Hop' star Nikki Baby ... so says the boxer's rep who tells TMZ Sports, "they're associates."

Floyd and Nikki have been friends for a while -- and ignited dating rumors after a flirty Instagram exchange that was captured by The Shade Room.

But when we reached out to Floyd's rep, Mayweather's camp shot it down saying when it comes to reports of dating, it is "not true."

Yo, Adrian ... Sylvester Stallone just bought the backup "Rocky" statue from "Rocky III" -- and all it cost him was $400,000!!!

It's a great story -- the statue was one of two Rocky statues made by the original artist, A. Thomas Schomberg. The original was used in the movie and is now on display in Philly.

The backup had been on display for years in the San Diego Hall of Champions, but that place closed down so the Rocky #2 statue hit the auction block last month with SCP Auctions.

A rep for SCP could only tell TMZ Sports ... the 9-foot tall, 1,800-pound piece was sold for $403,657 to a new customer (through a buyer) and the statue was shipped to L.A.

Fast forward to Christmas Day -- when Sly and Arnold Schwarzenegger posed in front of the statue at Stallone's house! A source connected to the auction confirms Stallone was indeed the mystery buyer.

So, Rocky has been reunited with Rocky ... just in time for "Creed II."

Add James Harden to the list of NBA players showing support for Meek Mill ... 'cause the Houston Rockets superstar visited the rapper in prison on Tuesday and says "his spirit is high."

Harden took some time in-between games to visit Meek at the State Correctional Institution in Chester, PA and reported back on social media.

"Got a chance to see my bro Meek Mill today. His spirit is high and hopefully we can get him out by February," Harden wrote.

"Told me to tell y'all when he get out he got some (fire) for y'all."

Sources connected to Meek tell TMZ Sports ... the NBA star had some special "Free Meek" sneakers whipped up and plans to rock them on the court on Thursday when the Rockets play the Celtics.

As we previously reported, Joel Embiid and 76ers owner Michael Rubin visited Meek last month and said he was doing well. Colin Kaepernick also spoke with Meek and said Meek was "humbled" by the support.

This could be very interesting for Vince McMahon ... ex-NFL star Greg Hardy says he'd be down to join his XFL league if the WWE honcho really does bring it back.

Of course, 29-year-old Hardy is currently fighting his way into a pro MMA career (he's already 2-0) -- but tells TMZ Sports he still loves the game of football and would be open to giving it another go.

"If I get paid ... I'd probably be there, man."

Meanwhile, Hardy says he's still VERY focused on climbing the ladder in MMA -- and ultimately has his sights set on fighting in the UFC so he can compete against the best in the world.

Don't get too comfy, Kobe ... Marco Rubio says "there's no doubt" the Heat are gonna retire LeBron's jersey -- giving the King two numbers up in the rafters (but in different arenas).

We got the Florida Senator out in D.C. ... and Marco told us there are no hard feelings over Bron taking his talents outta South Beach.

"He won 2 championships down there. We went to the finals 4 years in a row. Those were great days," Rubio told TMZ Sports.

So, #6 is goin' up in Miami just like #23 is goin' up in Cleveland.

Maybe not as epic as having 2 jerseys retired in 1 night ... but still pretty legendary.

Here are the perfect images for the day after you stuffed your face ... two completely perfect human beings flaunting their ridiculous bodies on the beach.

The specimens are SI swimsuit model (and Rookie) Chase Carter and her Olympic Gold Medal BF, Conor Dwyer, who scorched the sand in Miami over the Christmas holidays.

These two have been dating for a while, and definitely aren't shy about letting the world know, sharing some PDA on the beach between playing Frisbee, swimming, and not eating any carbs.

We're not jealous, we're just extremely upset we're not either of them.

1:44 PM PT -- Lewis has apologized for his comment, saying he meant no harm and did not mean to offend anyone. He says he realizes it's wrong to marginalize or stereotype anyone, and asks for forgiveness in his lapse of judgment.

Lewis Hamilton is in some serious hot water after posting a video in which he seems to shame a grade school-aged male family member for wearing a princess dress.

The video -- which has since been deleted from his social media -- shows Hamilton admonishing the kid, asking him if he asked for the dress for Christmas, then finally shouting at him.

"BOYS DON'T WEAR PRINCESS DRESSES."

The kid seems gleeful about his outfit, but Lewis is visibly disappointed and tells the camera (and his millions of social media followers) all about it.

Since posting the vid, Hamilton has been getting absolutely DESTROYED on Twitter (where the clip is still being circulated) with people accusing him of bullying and humiliating his nephew in front of the world.

The Seattle Seahawks were on a mission to shut down Ezekiel Elliott on Sunday ... because the team was totally pissed Elliott bet Eric Dickerson he'd gash the Seahawks defense for 200 yards.

Dickerson told TMZ Sports about the bet earlier this month ... telling us the Cowboys stud promised a 200 yard rushing game against the Seahawks, or he owed Dickerson a jersey.

Zeke didn't rush for 200 yards (although he did roll off 97 on 22 carries) and when asked about the bet after the game, Seahawks defensive star Frank Clark admitted the team played with chippy shoulders.

"Oh yeah, we heard about that."

LB Bobby Wagner seemed even more ticked, saying "He had that bet, we wanted to make sure he didn't win it."

Both are code for "We must break you."

We should say, while Zeke played okay, the Cowboys themselves were God-awful, managing only 283 yards against a particularly inspired Legion of Boom defense.

Don't poke the bear, or the Seahawk, if you actually know what a Seahawk is.

Lonzo Ball just won Christmas ... going full Big Baller style, copping a $350k Rolls-Royce for his dad, LaVar, and his mom, Tina ... and their first ride was caught on video.

Ball unveiled the new ride on his social media with the hashtag "It's the least I could do" ... though something tells us he knows he's doing the most.

Of course, the Balls aren't strangers to fancy cars -- all the boys push Lamborghinis -- but we're guessing Lonzo felt it was time his dad got in on the act as well.

We had our office car experts check the ride out, and it looks to be a Rolls-Royce Dawn, which retails around $350K ... good use of Lonzo's $6 million salary from the Lakers this year.

Ex-WWE star "The Coach" says his money's on Vince McMahon bringing back the XFL ... but thinks the pro wrestling mogul might have another huge plan for his fortune ...

BUYING THE CAROLINA PANTHERS!!

Coach ain't kidding ... telling TMZ Sports that Vince -- whose secret home base is North Carolina -- has what it takes to plop down a serious bid.

"He’s a billionaire, he could come up with the funds, and he’s also at the age where other owners would respect that," Coach said.

But Coach -- who was also an analyst for XFL -- is more confident in McMahon bringing back his own football league ... and says this time, it ain't gonna flop.

"Whatever this is, they’re gonna do it the right way."

Secret convo with Lonzo Ball? Buying another mansion in Brentwood?

LeBron James sure ain't quieting down the noise surrounding him coming to L.A. ... and ex-Lakers coach Byron Scott says the odds are damn good that happens.

"I think it's probably 50/50 right now," Byron told TMZ Sports outside Craig's in WeHo.

To be clear, Byron's assigning those odds to JUST the Lakers ... saying it ain't lookin' so good for the other team in Tinseltown.

But, when it comes to the Lake Show bringing in 'Bron (and Paul George) ... hell to the yes.