TMZ Sports - Page 50

Derrick Lewis is a VERY happy man after getting the W at UFC Fight Night in Austin -- 'cause he won ... but mostly 'cause his wife says she's ending his booty ban!!

The bad news -- we talked to Derrick and April the day after the fight ... and they told us he's too injured to get it on.

"The ban is over. I've been trying to get him all day, but he's tired," April told TMZ Sports.

"I don't got it in me, man -- I'm hurtin' ... I can't put in a half-assed performance, lay there like a starfish," Derrick added.

Lewis ain't lying -- showing us a serious injury he sustained early on vs. Marcin Tybura. It looks bad.

But, the Black Beast says he wants another fight soon ... and he's callin' out the scariest dude in the heavyweight division!

The chick who missed her shot at Steven Adams on Twitter 3 YEARS AGO says she's pumped the NBA star finally got back to her ... and she's still VERY down to go on a date!!

Social media has been blowing up after Adams went DEEP into his Twitter history to respond to a 2015 tweet from Lauren Myers -- who asked him to be her date to her law school prom.

On Monday, February 19, 2018 ... Adams wrote back, "Absolutely."

Better late than never right?! Well, that's how Myers feels.

In fact, the 28-year-old lawyer (she's since graduated law school and passed the bar) tells TMZ Sports she's down for a basketball game, dinner, bowling ... "anything would be fun!"

Myers says she initially hit Adams up because he was a young, unknown player at the time and she thought there was a good chance she'd get a response. She never imagined hearing back now!

Serena Williams says she "almost died" after giving birth to her daughter, Alexis Olympia -- if not for a team of super doctors who removed a large hematoma from her abdomen.

The tennis star says her daughter was born by an emergency C-section on Sept. 1 after Olympia's heart rate plummeted during contractions.

The surgery went smoothly, Serena said on CNN.com ... "But what followed just 24 hours after giving birth were six days of uncertainty."

Williams says she suffered a pulmonary embolism -- which is when a blood clot blocks one or more arteries in her lungs.

Serena contacted medical professionals -- but the coughing from the embolism got so bad, her C-section wound popped open and she required another surgery.

"The doctors found a large hematoma, a swelling of clotted blood, in my abdomen. And then I returned to the operating room for a procedure that prevents clots from traveling to my lungs."

Serena eventually made it home and was ordered to spend the next 6 weeks in bed.

She credits the "incredible medical team of doctors and nurses at a hospital with state-of-the-art equipment" -- and urges people to support UNICEF, which provides medical services to mothers and babies around the world.

Seemed like a good idea at the time ... but now Rick Pitino's celebratory Louisville back tattoo (commemorating the 2013 National Championship) -- is technically incorrect and Rick's got some decisions to make.

Remember, Rick promised his players in the middle of the season that he would get a Louisville logo with the team's record and the words "NCAA Champions" tatted on his left shoulder if they won the NCAA tourney.

Problem is ... the NCAA just vacated all of Louisville's wins from that season -- along with the national championship -- over the sex party scandal in which team officials paid escorts and strippers for dances and sex acts for recruits and players.

Also, Rick has since been fired from Louisville in the wake of allegations he participated in a scheme to essentially pay recruits. He's denied all allegations and is now suing the school.

So ... if you're Rick Pitino -- keep the tat? Laser remove the tat? Get a new tat over the old tat?

Either way ... sucks to be that guy.

The University of Louisville is being forced to vacate all basketball wins from the 2011-12 season through the 2014-15 season -- including their 2013 National Championship ... and it's all over the sex party scandal.

An NCAA investigation found "a former Louisville director of basketball operations acted unethically when he committed serious violations by arranging striptease dances and sex acts for prospects, student-athletes and others, and did not cooperate with the investigation."

The punishment was initially handed down in June 2017 -- but Louisville appealed. Now, the NCAA is upholding the ruling ... which means the banner is coming down.

As we previously reported, the allegations made headlines back in 2015 when self-described madam Katina Powell claimed U of L staff paid her more than $10,000 for dances and sex services from her stable of escorts.

In her book, Powell singles out ex-Louisville staffer Andre McGee -- a graduate assistant who became director of basketball operations -- claiming he was the point man who paid Powell.

Powell claims her stable of dancers included her own daughters -- and they would perform for Louisville players at various off-campus locations from 2010 to 2014.

After the dances, Powell claims she would negotiate a separate fee for the players to have sex with the women.

Charlotte Hornets rookie Malik Monk -- the 11th overall pick in the draft -- was involved in a car accident early Sunday morning ... and was cited by cops for careless driving.

According to police documents obtained by TMZ Sports, Monk was driving near the University of Arkansas around 5:46 AM when his red 2002 Lexus ran off the road and crashed into a gate.

University police responded and cited the 20-year-old for careless driving and no proof of insurance.

The car was pretty jacked up and was towed to a nearby impound lot. Monk was allowed to retrieve his personal items which included money, basketballs, shoes and jerseys.

Monk told police, "I was driving, looked down for a second then I just hit a bump. Happened fast."

No word if he was injured in the wreck. The Hornets don't play until Thursday.

Talk about a power dinner ...

Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union met up with Dave Chappelle and Kevin Hart at one of the fanciest restaurants in Beverly Hills ... and TMZ Sports has the video!

Of course, they were all in town for the NBA All-Star Game -- but when we asked why they all met for dinner, D-Wade joked, "Black History Month!"

Clearly, they're all good friends -- and joked around together after chowing down at Mastro's Steakhouse.

At one point, Kevin told Dwyane that he didn't have his cell phone number anymore -- and Wade joked back, "I got traded and I changed my number!"

They weren't the only superstars in the building last night -- Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock and Usher were also inside!

Tito Ortiz is doubling down on his Chuck Liddell call-out ... telling TMZ Sports straight-up that he's down for a 3rd fight with the Iceman!

"I don't need to fight, but if Chuck needs to ... I'll be a good friend like he was once and give him a payday," Ortiz said ... adding that ONLY Chuck could pull him outta retirement.

The bad news -- Tito says he proposed Ortiz vs. Liddell 3 to a UFC matchmaker on New Year's ... and got shot down HARD 'cause they're worried about Chuck's health.

"He kinda looked at me and laughed and said, 'Chuck couldn't fight again! He's been knocked out unconscious 5 times! I guarantee you the doctor won't give him a license."

But that ain't stoppin' Chuck -- who tells us he's still training his ass off.

Spurs baller Dejounte Murray was the real winner of All-Star weekend -- ditching his NBA bros for his INSANELY HOT IG model GF ... and bae-cationing in Maui.

Yeah ... good call.

For those unacquainted, that's 21-year-old Jilly Anais -- the apple of Dejounte's eye for the past year and change.

Murray and Anais were all over each other at the Four Seasons' Wailea beach -- makin' out and ass cuppin,' splashin' around in the water ... basically doing the kinda stuff you'd expect from a man with the baddest chick on the island.

Seems like things are getting serious, too. Jilly captioned one of the pics, "Falling head over heels for you is easy" (shout-out to Chris Brown).

Lock it down, young man. Lock it down.

PyeongChang's Olympic village is hook-up central for alpine skiers ... who are hitting the dating app, Bumble, as hard as they hit the slopes.

Bumble says most competitors -- from all countries, not just the U.S. -- have seen a 50% spike in swipes since the games started a little over a week ago. Translation: someone's gotta help you "stretch" on your off days, right?

That mostly applies to athletes who love going downhill -- Bumble says the alpine skiers are getting more hook-up action than their fellow Olympians. According to the app ... hockey players rank second, freestyle skiers and cross-country skiers tie for third. Snowboarders and ski jumpers bring up the rear.

Ya won't get crucial stats like that on NBC!

Dikembe Mutombo says LeBron James shouldn't "shut up and dribble" -- he should continue to take a stand to defeat social injustice ... and he's not the only one, we all should.

Mutombo is reacting to the recent comments by FOX News host Laura Ingraham -- who said she doesn't care to get political advice from "someone who gets paid $100 million a year to bounce a ball."

The comments sparked a nationwide debate on whether athletes should use their platforms to speak on these issues -- and Mutombo says the answer is a resounding YES.

"I think everyone in the U.S. has rights to express themselves. When there's a problem affecting one part of the society, it becomes the responsibility of everybody."

We then asked if LeBron should continue to weigh in on polical topics -- and Dikembe told us it should be a team effort.

Vince McMahon's former real-life nemesis, Jeff Jarrett, is going into the WWE Hall of Fame ... and no one's as shocked about the news as Double J himself.

TMZ Sports spoke with Jeff just hours after WWE made the announcement -- and even though he got the call several weeks ago, the pro wrestling legend still can't believe it's happening.

"It's still surreal to me -- it really is," Jarrett said. "I'm getting goosebumps just sitting here talking to you."

The 11-time world champion was a huge star with WWF and WCW ... but had a rocky relationship with Vince -- culminating in him being fired ON LIVE TV after McMahon bought out WCW in 2001.

But even though the next decade-and-a-half outside WWE was filled with ups and downs, Jarrett told us -- "I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world."

Jeff adds that he's got nothing but love for the McMahons now ... and he's incredibly grateful and humbled to join Goldberg and others in this year's HOF class.

"There's no denying the fact I have given my professional and, at times, my personal life to this business. So, I wanna thank them and have already thanked them for giving me this opportunity."

FYI, the induction's going down at WrestleMania 34 in April ... where one of Jarrett's biggest stars for TNA Wrestling -- an org. he created to rival WWE -- is one of the headliners.

Ronda Rousey's set to debut at Mania, too ... and Double J is expecting BIG things from her.

Jamie Foxx made a super timely joke about Black History Month and white chicks ... which we're sure Katie Holmes is gonna love.

Jamie threw a super baller NBA All-Star basketball tournament "Chacha The Wave" Saturday at his house in Thousand Oaks, CA -- and stopped to talk to a photog about BHM and "Black Panther." That's when he declared, "No white girls 'til March 1st."

Great line from the comedian, especially considering what had happened the day before ... when he walked out of a live ESPN interview because they brought up Katie.

Maybe he was just respecting the white girls' ban.

JK. We all know he and Katie are waist deep into their relationship -- have been for years -- so, we're guessing, he's only making the joke because they're that tight.

Odell Beckham Jr. came out FIRING on his NBA bros from courtside at the All-Star game -- from James Harden to Russell Westbrook to Victor Oladipo -- and it was pretty damn hilarious.

To Dipo: "Little Foot! I seen you on 'Land Before Time' before!"

To Russ: "You like a human turtle man -- Donatello."

To Harden: "Beard man -- yeah, you ... is that thing attached to you or is it real?

To Team Steph (when they threw away the game): "YEEEEESSSSS!!!"

Odell also might've poked fun at Kyrie Irving's infamous flat-earth theory ... enlisting the help of Dave Chappelle to joke about the moon not being real.

But his best burn might've been on "Black Panther" star Chadwick Boseman (yeah, celebs weren't safe either).

Fergie has finally broken her silence on last night's botched NBA All-Star Game's National Anthem ... saying she was trying to take a risk, and it clearly didn't pay off.

The singer tells us, "I've always been honored and proud to perform the national anthem and last night I wanted to try something special for the NBA. I'm a risk taker artistically, but clearly this rendition didn't strike the intended tone. I love this country and honestly tried my best."

Fergie took a lot of heat after her slowed-down/jazzy take on "The Star-Spangled Banner" Sunday night ... and it appeared she had a lot of celebs and athletes in attendance cracking up, too.

At least one person had her back though ...

It seemed like a joke, but Barstool Sports president Dave Portnoy tells TMZ Sports the organization REALLY did fire Michael Rapaport this weekend after he insulted the company's fans.

It all started when Rap posted a tweet saying "Stoolies" are losers in life. Portnoy says he and the rest of the staff took offense ... "That was the ultimate deal-breaker."

Portnoy says Rapaport was under contract with Barstool -- as part of the deal, he would create original content like viral videos and Barstool would "rep" Michael's popular podcast, "I Am Rapaport."

It seemed the two sides had a great business relationship -- but Portnoy says it turned into an "utter and complete train wreck."

Portnoy tried to fire Rapaport over text message -- but accidentally sent it to NFL insider Ian Rapaport instead. Eventually, Michael got the message.

"To me, it was very personal. It was very real," Portnoy says.