TMZ Sports - Page 50

One of Mark Cuban's "Shark Tank" business partners says the billionaire always acted like a consummate pro with her ... and she'd be SHOCKED if he really did know about the horrible things happening with the Dallas Mavs.

We spoke with Raven Thomas who got Mark to invest in her gourmet food business -- The Painted Pretzel -- during a 2012 episode of "Shark Tank."

Thomas had nothing but positive things to say about her 6-year work relationship with Cuban -- and says he's always been a respectful partner and honorable business owner.

In fact, Thomas says she was "shocked" by the allegations that the Mavs' front office was a nightmare for women ... saying, "I would be surprised, shocked if he had any knowledge of this and didn't do anything about it."

Thomas says she's also spoken with other people who work with Mark and has not heard anything negative about their experiences.

Wanna own a home with its own baseball field, indoor basketball court, full gym ... and a private fishing pond?!!?

Good news -- Cal Ripken Jr. is putting his incredible Maryland home on the auction block ... which means it could all be yours if you've got roughly $10 million to spend!

Ripken initially put the 24-acre estate on the market for $12.5 mil back in 2016 -- but the price was just too damn high ... so Cal chopped the asking price down to $9.75 mil back in April 2017.

Still, no takers -- but Cal's motivated to sell ... so he's bringing the home to auction with no reserve on May 12.

Here are the highlights ... the home is roughly 22,000 square feet and has 6 bedrooms, 15 bathrooms, a home theater, 10-person spa, private hiking trails, pool and a kitchen that can fit 100 people!

Rick Pitino is not the cheating monster he's being made out to be in the media ... he's actually a REALLY good dude who STILL takes care of his former players ... so says one ex-Louisville hoops star.

We spoke with Luke Hancock -- who was the Final Four "most outstanding player" during the 2013 national championship run ... and he's going to bat for his coach in a big way.

"I feel honored to have been a Louisville Cardinal," Hancock says ... telling TMZ Sports the allegations surrounding Pitino's basketball program do not reflect the man he truly is.

In fact, Hancock says Pitino personally took care of him when his father was gravely ill and he still looks to Rick as a "father figure."

Of course, the NCAA moved to vacate Louisville's national championship and dozens of wins after finding that officials in the U of L program were organizing sex parties for recruits and players.

But Luke says the NCAA will never be able to erase the fact that their team was one of the best ever -- and he's still got the rings to prove it!

Metta World Peace says he's got 10 new brothers and sisters after "Celebrity Big Brother" -- including Omarosa, who ain't a villain like she's portrayed on TV.

"To me, Omarosa, she's just a nice lady, a big sister that I really love," World Peace told TMZ Sports the day after being eliminated from the show.

Metta also told us he got even closer to his boy, Chuck Liddell, through boxing (and chess!) ... and says he knows the REAL reason the UFC Hall of Famer was the 1st cast member to get the boot.

MWP explains that he was ultimately happy to get the axe, too, 'cause it was too hard being away from his real fam.

"I was crying more than I ever cried in my life."

Feb 21. 9:06 AM PT -- The San Francisco Giants released a statement saying Cepeda was hospitalized due to a "cardiac incident" ... and is in critical condition.

7:45 AM PT -- Cepeda "suffered a severe blow to the skull" after falling in the parking lot of his gym on Monday ... Orlando's family friend, Minor League Dodgers coach Paco Figueroa, told Puerto Rican newspaper El Nuevo Dia.

Baseball Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda, 80, was rushed to a Bay Area hospital on Monday night ... according to an SF Giants team official who spoke with one of Cepeda's family members.

The official had no information on Cepeda's current condition or the reason he was hospitalized.

Orlando's last public appearance was at AT&T Park in January ... when he joined Willie McCovey and other former Giants teammates for Mac's 80th birthday party.

Cepeda is one of the greatest players in Giants history, making 7 All-Star teams (6 with SF) and winning NL MVP in 1967 with the Cardinals. He also played for the Braves, A's, Red Sox and Royals.

He became the 2nd Puerto Rican player to make the Hall in '99, joining Roberto Clemente.

Stop us if you've heard this one before ...

Floyd Mayweather hit up a crazy expensive restaurant sporting a crazy expensive watch -- and couldn't wait to show off his jewelry on camera!

This time, Floyd -- surrounded by his TMT bodyguards -- was in the mood for fancy Chinese food at Mr Chow in Bev Hills ... and on the way out it, he let his blinged-out wrist do the talking.

As we've previously reported, Mayweather has an insane watch collection -- including a $2 MILLION diamond-covered timepiece ... which he showed off back in 2016.

He also bought a $1.1 million diamond-covered Hublot watch during a shopping spree at a mall in Dubai back in 2015. It's one of the most expensive watches in the world.

No word if the watch he rocked on Tuesday is brand new or an old favorite -- but one thing's for sure ... it's expensive.

Mark Cuban says he's already begun firing and suspending Dallas Mavericks front office employees over a Sports Illustrated article that paints the company as a nightmare place for female employees.

The article came out late Tuesday and contains quotes from several current and former female employees who say they experienced sexual harassment and "predatory sexual behavior" while working with the Mavs.

Among the allegations in the article ... former Mavericks president and CEO Terdema Ussery allegedly told one female employee, "You're going to get gang-banged, aren't you?"

When the woman told Ussery she was actually going to the movies with friends he replied, "No, you're definitely getting gang-banged." Terdema has denied the allegations.

Another claim from the article ... a former Mavs website writer committed multiple acts of domestic assault, including against a female employee he was dating.

Both employees -- Ussery and the writer are no longer with the team.

Cuban has essentially said he didn't know about the alleged incidents -- claiming he would speak with his head of human resources and was assured he didn't have a problem in the Mavs organization.

When he learned of the incidents via the Sports Illustrated reporters, Cuban says he immediately took action -- hiring an independent law firm to investigate and a 3rd party company to handle harassment complaints.

Cuban says he's also fired his head of H.R.

"I want to deal with this issue," Cuban told SI ... adding, "There's a problem in the Mavericks organization and we've got to fix it."

Miley Cyrus elevated Shaun White to Almighty status (holy hell ... check out that candle!!!). Just some of the perks of winning a gold medal.

Miley hung out with the Flying Tomato a week after he brought home gold for crushing the halfpipe event in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Dude landed back-to-back 1440s on his final run to help the U.S. clinch its 100th all-time gold medal at the Winter Olympics.

NFL superstar Aldon Smith is begging a judge to drastically reduce his child support obligations immediately ... claiming he can't keep up the high payments while suspended by the league.

28-year-old Smith hasn't played a snap in the NFL since 2015 -- when he was suspended for a hit and run arrest in which cops say he was also drunk. Smith says he's currently awaiting reinstatement.

The issue ... back in 2013, Smith was ordered to pay $9,007 per month in child support to his baby mama for their now 5-year-old son.

He has since fallen behind almost $79,000 in payments -- and he's concerned it's only going to get worse unless the judge cuts him a break.

Smith says, at the time the child support amount was determined, he was making $3 million per year ($250k per month) ... so he could easily afford the payments. But things have changed ...

"I have had no income since November 2015," Smith states in court docs obtained by TMZ Sports ... "I have done my best to stay current, but without an income I have fallen behind."

One source connected to the case tell TMZ Sports ... Smith is full of crap and continues to live a lavish lifestyle while blowing off child support.

Kevin Hart says he's got a foolproof plan to avoid picking up the check at epic dinners like the one he had with Eddie Murphy and Dave Chappelle -- and he also revealed who DID pay.

We got Kev Tuesday leaving the gym in Encino, and had to ask about the all-star comedy summit he attended Monday night at Mastro's Steakhouse -- Eddie, Dave, Chris Rock, Chris Tucker ... and Usher and Dwyane Wade, too.

Kevin explained why the boss move is offering to pick up the check before anyone else does -- and it's not because you WANT to pay. It's a good tip. Pun fully intended.

But best of all ... he told us which comedy legend threw down his Black Card (we're guessing) to cover the meal. We got most of the crew right after the meal, when they were all in great spirits, and now we know why -- the person who paid was NOT with them.

UFC legend Anderson Silva is still adamant he never knowingly used steroids -- but says if the positive test results are accurate, the only explanation is "contaminated supplements."

Silva tested positive for two banned substances in a U.S. Anti-Doping Agency drug test conducted back in October. Silva is now facing a maximum 4-year suspension from fighting.

But, "The Spider" tells TMZ Sports he would NEVER knowingly juice up -- saying it would be a "stupid" thing to do at the tail end of his career.

His explanation -- "Maybe the supplements I'm using are contaminated."

Silva says his lawyers are still fighting to clear his name -- and he's confident he'll fight again.

In fact, he's still focused on getting a fight with boxing legend Roy Jones Jr.

And get this ... if 42-year-old Silva IS banned for 4 years -- he does NOT plan on retiring ... insisting he'll still take a fight even in his late 40s because he loves the sport so much.

Bill Belichick didn't win the Super Bowl -- but he's winning at life.

Here's Bill's long-term girlfriend, Linda Holliday, stuntin' in a fishnet 1-piece somewhere a hell of a lot warmer than New England ... and lookin' damn good.

No sign of Bill -- guessing he's behind the camera in a hoodie.

It's the second beach pic Linda's shared since the Super Bowl ... but play time's over for her Coach Belichick, 'cause she also mentioned they just got back to Boston.

Sure Bill's stoked to get back to work -- though we bet he prefers hangin' with a half-naked Linda.

By the way, Bill and Linda reportedly met back in 2007 and began dating shortly after that. Since they've been together, the Patriots have been to 5 Super Bowls and won 2 of 'em.

Washington Capitals forward Devante Smith-Pelly is glad the fans who heckled him for being a black hockey player were dealt with ... but he says it ain't enough.

"I don't really have all the answers, but something needs to change," Devante told TMZ Sports.

DSP was in the penalty box during a game at the United Center on Saturday ... when a group of nearby fans starting chanting "basketball" at him.

No surprise -- he was triggered.

Those 4 fans were booted from the arena -- and later hit with a lifetime ban -- but Devante told us addressing this one incident doesn't solve the larger problem.

"It shouldn't happen anywhere -- hockey, baseball, basketball -- it shouldn't happen in the world."

FYI, there have been several instances of black athletes dealing with racist fans in recent years.

Ex-Louisville basketball star Kevin Ware says he doesn't understand why the NCAA is forcing the school to vacate their 2013 NCAA Championship ... saying the sanctions are a "joke."

Ware was a member of that championship team -- but suffered a catastrophic leg injury that sidelined him during the Elite Eight round of the tournament.

Still, Ware says he's incredibly proud of his team -- despite the NCAA vacating the title and all of the team's wins due to the stripper sex party scandal involving players, recruits and team officials.

"It's a joke, honestly," Ware tells TMZ Sports ... "Just my personal opinion."

Ware says at the end of the day, Louisville still beat Duke, Wichita State and Michigan to win the tourney -- and the NCAA can't change that history.

Steph Curry's All-Star team lost to LeBron's Sunday, meaning his charity of choice received less than half the donation as Bron's ... until now.

Brotherhood Crusade was picked by Curry as the community outreach program to rep for the All-Star Game, which ended up getting $150k since Team Steph lost (LeBron's charity got $350k).

Charisse Bremond, president and CEO of the organization, tells TMZ ... Warriors exec Erika Glazer felt bad it didn't get the winning money, so she pledged to match the donation and give an extra $150k from her own pocket. We're told the check will be there by week's end.

Bremond says Glazer's donation and the Team Steph donation -- $300k total -- will go toward operating costs, bolstering a variety of programs for its kids, providing mental health services and paying its high-quality staff.

Brotherhood Crusade helps around 3,000 kids a year in South L.A. and was the unanimous choice by the stars on Team Steph to play for. Several kids from the program attended the All-Star festivities last weekend and got to meet the players.

If we told you we had video of Dwight Howard playing pick-up basketball with random gym dudes at San Diego State ... you'd probably expect to see DH destroying them, dunking repeatedly on their normal heads.

You'd be wrong ... because we actually have video of Howard hooping with some random gym dudes at San Diego State and the dude who got kinda dominated was Dwight.

Apparently Howard was looking for some fun Sunday night and hit up the Aztec Rec Center at San Diego State University to get some night ball in with the 100-ish kids in the gym.

Dope for those kids ... but it's not like they took it easy on him for blessing them with his presence -- they went at him hard, with one dude actually ripping Dwight on defense and then freaking a reverse dunk!

Dwight also horribly bricked a three.