TMZ Sports - Page 50

76er and Lakers fans REJOICE ... the broke ass jump shots of Markelle Fultz & Lonzo Ball can be fixed ... according to a pro shooting coach who says he knows the antidote to their bricks.

Fultz is befuddling the basketball world with his sudden inability to find the hoop, with videos of 76ers practice showing the #1 pick can't even draw iron anymore.

We spoke to Chris "Lethal Shooter" Matthews, an ex-pro hooper, who's worked with huge NBA stars on their form, and drawn millions of views on social media for his shooting exhibitions.

He says he can help Fultz, and Lonzo, another young player who can't seem to hit the broad side of a barn.

"I really truly believe I can help take those guys to the next level when it comes to the art of shooting."

Matthews goes on to tell us -- with all due respect -- exactly what he thinks the 76ers are doing wrong with Fultz ... and how he'd change things up.

Watch Chris in action below, the teams might wanna take the help.

Here's Denver Broncos MVP Von Miller scaring the hell outta John Elway ... sitting on top of a living, breathing ALLIGATOR!

Miller is in Orlando, Florida for the Pro Bowl and decided to use some of his free time to visit Gatorland --the self-proclaimed, "Alligator Capital of the World."

The 28-year-old got the VIP gator treatment -- with park officials allowing him to "wrestle" a gator ... which means he got to climb on top of the animal while its jaws were taped shut.

Gator Fun Fact -- alligators can bite down with an insane amount of force (300 pounds per square inch) ... but barely have any muscle power to OPEN their mouths. Crazy, right?!

The XFL is making a big mistake when it comes to requiring its players to stand for "The Star Spangled Banner" -- so says Jaguars star Marcedes Lewis.

We got Marcedes right after Vince McMahon announced he was resurrecting the league ... and the stud TE told us certain players (see: Colin Kaepernick) won't have anything to do with the XFL if that's their stance on free speech.

"They may not play ball ... that might affect who you're able to get in that league," Lewis told TMZ Sports.

Cool moment for Shaquille O'Neal -- he got to watch his kid, Shareef, hit the game-winning shot in a big high school hoops tournament ... and Papa Diesel couldn't have been prouder!

Shaq and the entire "Inside the NBA" team were broadcasting live from the CBS Studio Center in L.A. -- where Shareef's Crossroads high school team was participating in the Future of Flight showcase tourney.

The big matchup was Crossroads vs. Beverly Hills High School ... which was tied up at 61 to 61 with seconds left in the game.

Shareef got the last shot -- and made it count ... locking up the victory while Shaq, Barkley and Ernie Johnson went wild!

Of course, Shaq took full credit -- explaining he's been teaching Shareef how to shoot since he came out of the womb!

By the way, after the game Shareef went to the Travis Scott concert, where stars like Terrell Owens were hanging out. Good night for that guy!

Yasiel Puig had 11 of the strongest barbers on the planet give him a brand new look Thursday night ... getting a fresh bald haircut from kids battling cancer!!

The Dodgers superstar rolled into Cedars-Sinai hospital in L.A. where he decided to get his head shaved as a show of solidarity with all the tough kids in the hospital going through chemotherapy.

The kids loved it -- and so did Puig, who addressed every kid as his "new barber."

Greg Hardy will take a pro MMA fight in February and take the field for Jim Jones' arena league football team in March.

And that's why Jim says Greg could be the modern-day Bo Jackson -- a "beast" in TWO pro sports.

As we previously reported, Greg is pursuing a career as a pro MMA fighter -- he beat the hell out of his first 2 opponents.

But he also wants to play pro football again -- and with Jim owning the Richmond Roughriders in the American Arena League, the rap star saw a great opportunity to get the ex-NFL star back in the field.

"That man is a BEAST," Jones said on the "TMZ Sports" TV show ... "He's not one of the regular players. He's one of the best in his craft."

If any NBA team's looking for a point guard, Brandon Jennings says SIGN ME UP -- 'cause dude's back from China and ready to ball out!

We got Brandon out at South Beverly Grill ... and he told us he's ready for another shot with the big boys after taking his talents to the CBA.

FYI, Jennings has bounced around the last few seasons with the Wizards, Knicks and Magic ... but he's still just 28 and says he's still got A LOT of years left in him.

One big change the XFL can have over the NFL? Let the players use marijuana -- so says Tommy Chong!

Chong's argument is simple ... weed's good for athletes dealing with pain and concussion issues.

He also claims since so many states have legalized marijuana (either medically or recreationally), allowing players to use cannabis wouldn't really go against Vince McMahon's strict no-lawbreakers rule.

Of course, Vince has vowed to ban any player with a whiff of a criminal record -- but he didn't speak specifically to marijuana use ... at least not yet.

Fletcher Cox says his relationship with a married woman ain't the result of some master seduction ... but just some good ol' fashioned mutual attraction between consenting adults.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Cox -- Eagles star DT -- was sued by Josh Jeffords, a North Carolina man who claimed Fletcher seduced and banged his wife Catherine ... destroying his marriage.

In N.C., that can constitute "alienation of affection" ... what Cox is being sued for.

But in docs filed by Cox's attorney, he's adamant he's no homewrecker ... saying the relationship "was not the result of seduction," but just "mutual attraction" with a woman who "knowingly and voluntarily consented to the relationship."

In fact, Cox says she never told him she was married ... and says it wouldn't matter anyway, 'cause "no genuine love or affection existed" between Catherine and her husband.

The 6'4," 310-pound Pro Bowler does admit to having explicit text conversations with the woman ... including telling her, "I want to get you pregnant."

Cox's attorney is asking the court to dismiss the case ... and make Josh Jeffords pay for his lawyers.

What do Future and Nick Foles have in common??

THEY GOT THE KEYS, KEYS, KEYS!! ... 'cause the mayor of Philadelphia says the Eagles' backup QB has already earned his honorary set of keys to the city!!

TMZ Sports spoke with Jim Kenney about the Eagles gettin' back into the Big Game ... and asked whether a Super Bowl win would give him royalty status in Philly.

The NFL Network is firing back at the former wardrobe stylist who claimed she was sexually harassed by on-air talent like Marshall Faulk and Donovan McNabb ... saying she approved of the inappropriate behavior.

NFL Enterprises -- which runs the football network -- filed its response to Jami Cantor's lawsuit on January 18 ... denying all of her claims and asking the court to throw it out.

As we previously reported ... Cantor made several claims of sexual harassment from 2006 until she was fired in 2016. She alleges Faulk pulled out his genitals in front of her and asked invasive questions.

Cantor also claims McNabb sent texts to her asking if "she was a squirter" and telling her she "looked like the kind of girl that squirted when getting f***ed," ... and accused Warren Sapp of urinating in front of her.

Ike Taylor, Eric Davis and Heath Evans were also named in the suit.

The response claims Jami "approved, consented to, authorized, and/or ratified" all of the misconduct ... translation -- she was cool with it.

The response also claims the network properly addressed any concerns that may have been raised by Cantor during her time with the company.

Alex Rodriguez's private jet just made an emergency landing only minutes after leaving a runway in New Jersey.

The multi-million dollar Gulfstream IV took off from Teterboro Airport Thursday morning, and the pilot declared an emergency shortly after. We're told he attempted to land the plane in Albany, but aborted, and headed back to Teterboro where he he was able to bring it down safely.

A-Rod was not on board, and it appears the issue was mechanical.

TMZ obtained air traffic control audio, and you can hear the pilot mention a problem with a flap. Air traffic control opened a runway for the emergency landing, which was successful.

A source connected to A-Rod tells us the landing was made mostly as a precaution, and the pilot was making a test run. The FAA tells us it's investigating.

As we reported, A-Rod just took delivery of the G4 last month.

It's official ... Vince McMahon is bringing back the XFL -- and Tim Tebow already has an invite to play.

The WWE honcho made the announcement Thursday afternoon ... saying the new XFL will launch in 2020 and will focus on more exciting football with zero political distractions.

That means players will be required to stand for the National Anthem.

Vince says the league will launch with 8 teams -- 40-man rosters -- and nobody with a criminal background will be eligible to play. Vince says the quality of the individual matters as much as the quality of the play.

When asked specifically about 3 players -- Johnny Manziel, Tim Tebow, and Colin Kaepernick -- Vince danced around Johnny and Colin ... but extended a casual invitation to Tebow.

McMahon insists there will be no crossover between the WWE and the XFL -- which means completely different announcers.

Vince also says he will not be the face of the league and will hire an accomplished people to run the XFL.

As far as the length of the game, Vince says he's gunning for 2-hour games.

Vince says he's confident the league will succeed this time around, 'cause the team has a 2-year runway ... and will be listening closely to what the fans want.

He even asked fans to submit ideas to the league office.

FSU QB Deondre Francois was worried his ex-GF was going to wreck all his stuff -- including 2 flat screen TVs -- according to the 911 call obtained by TMZ Sports.

Cops responded to an incident at Francois' apartment earlier this week. Francois claims his GF became enraged and started breaking things at his apartment before she tried to hit him.

Francois' GF told a different story ... saying the FSU QB flew into a jealous rage, knocked down a door and threw her to the ground.

In the 911 call made by DF, he tells Tallahassee PD that his girl is "tearin' up everything in my house."

Francois tells the operator the girl threatened to call cops and say he physically hurt her ... "She's trying to say I was domestic violent. But my best friend is sitting right here. He just seen her trying to take everything down."

"I just want someone to come get her please."

Here's Adrien Broner being Adrien Broner ... telling basically the entire boxing world how much he hates them ... TO THEIR FACES.

It went down at Showtime's boxing Upfronts in NYC Wednesday which were hosted by radio superstar and rabid Boxing fan Charlamagne Tha God.

All of Showtime's biggest stars like Errol Spence, Keith Thurman, Deontay Wilder and Mikey Garcia were there, but when AB got the mic, he decided to tell the rest of the guys how he felt about them

Floyd Mayweather Sr. adamantly denies attacking a woman after the Gennady Golovkin-Canelo Alvarez fight ... pleading not guilty to a battery charge in a Las Vegas court.

In case you missed it ... cops say Sr., 65, got into a heated confrontation outside T-Mobile Arena after the fight. They say Sr. grabbed the woman before punching her in the leg.

Sr. was charged with battery and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Floyd turned himself Tuesday ... and the warrant was canceled. On Thursday, Sr.'s attorney appeared before a Vegas judge ... and pled not guilty on Mayweather's behalf.

As we previously reported, FM Sr.'s rep told us he's totally innocent ... and never laid a hand on the alleged victim.