TMZ Sports - Page 50

The entire city of Houston is gonna shun Kenny Smith after watching this clip* ... 'cause the Jet tells TMZ Sports why LeBron should NOT join the Rockets in free agency this summer.

We spoke with Smith about reports claiming LBJ could bail on Cleveland for the Sixers, Lakers or Rockets this off-season ... and he says moving to H-Town would be unfair.

Smith says Bron Bron can keep his throne on the shores of Lake Erie and still compete for a ring every year ... 'cause he can just recruit players to Cleveland, instead of the other way around.

*We're kidding. Everyone loves the Jet.

Meanwhile, LeBron looked awfully comfortable and happy chillin' at his L.A. crib while in town to play the Clippers and the Lakers.

FYI, L.A. was a nice 70 degrees and sunny today. Cleveland was 32 and snowy.

Tyrann Mathieu says it "sucks" that Richard Sherman has to go through a public breakup with Seattle -- considering the legendary run he had with the Seahawks.

"All those guys in Seattle really set a new standard of how guys wanna play DB," Mathieu said on the "TMZ Sports" TV show.

Mathieu says Sherman is still a BEAST and there are plenty of teams "that deserve a guy like him" -- so don't worry about Richard's NFL future.

You can tell Tyrann has serious respect for Sherman and the entire L.O.B.

O.J. Simpson never took the stand in his trial of the century, but his upcoming TV special is as close as you're gonna get to that ... according to Soledad O’Brien who's hosting it.

Soledad tells us 'The Lost Confession?' is the most bizarre 2 hours of TV she's ever worked on for a bunch of reasons. For starters, she says Simpson's mannerisms are suspect. We know ... understatement, but in particular, she was struck by the timing of his laughter.

Also, Soledad's stumped by Simpson's description of an accomplice named "Charlie." She points out investigators had zero knowledge of such a person -- but she's got a few theories.

We also told you about O.J.'s lawyer calling Judith Regan, the woman who published his book, 'If I Did It,' and straight-up said Simpson murdered Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman ... this according to Regan herself.

Here's Akon having more fun hooping than any of us ever will -- holding court with a SQUAD of hot chicks in bikinis and heels!!!

From the jump, you can tell Akon's not playin' ... showing off some serious lift as he posterizes his opponent in a green bikini thong. Nice D, young lady.

Not sure if that rim's regulation -- but either way, seems like the video vixens were impressed with the popstar's ups.

In case you're wondering why this went down -- the woman who shot the video, ATL-based casting director Lala Means, says "the girls thought they could beat Akon on the court."

MMA's 1-handed killer is BACK -- and this time, he says he ain't stopping til he gets to the UFC.

We spoke with former XFC lightweight champ Nick Newell -- who retired back in 2015 -- before he returns to the cage Friday night at LFA 35 ... and when we asked if UFC was still the goal, he didn't mince words.

Specifically, Nick fired back at Dana White -- who previously said it was "craziness" to fight with 1 fist.

"I am crazy ... and I'll wipe out that (UFC lightweight) division," Newell told TMZ Sports.

"Gimme the opportunity, send me over the papers, and it's gonna happen."

Nick's always been gunnin' for the big show ... and with other 1-handed athletes like NFL prospect Shaquem Griffin showing out right now, he says there's never been a better time for him to make his case.

John Bowlen -- son of Broncos owner Pat Bowlen -- has cut a plea deal in his DUI case ... the one where he told a cop, "So you know who my father is?"

As we previously reported, the 31-year-old -- who used to work for the Broncos -- was busted in July 2017 when cops say he was blazing down a California highway around 100 mph while drunk.

And to make matters worse ... he had a puppy in the backseat.

Now, we've learned ... John appeared in a San Luis Obispo court Thursday and pled no contest to driving under the influence. The good news for Bowlen? No jail time.

He ain't completely off the hook ... the judge sentenced him to 3 years probation and ordered him to pay $2,415 in fines and other costs. He must also complete a DUI education program.

FYI -- this wasn't Bowlen's first brush with the law ... back in 2015, he was arrested for domestic violence and told officials he was the "blood of the city."

Ex-NFL star Mark Gastineau broke down and cried live on the radio when describing the toll football has taken on his mind and body ... and he's begging Roger Goodell for help.

He can't remember names. He can barely get out of bed. His mind wanders to dark thoughts in the middle of the night ... and he opened up about everything on "WOR Sports Zone with Pete McCarthy."

"I'll tell you Pete, it's not good," Gastineau said about his daily struggle ... "When I'm laying in bed until 3, 4 or 5 ... it's not good."

The 61-year-old -- a 5-time Pro Bowler during his 10-year career -- says it breaks his heart that he needs his wife to take care of him. He can't enjoy life the same way he used to.

Gastineau has previously said he was diagnosed with dementia, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease -- and points the finger at football.

O.J. Simpson had his lawyer call Judith Regan, the woman who published his book, 'If I Did It,' and said flat-out Simpson murdered Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman ... this according to Regan herself.

This is the most damning part of the special, "OJ Simpson: The Lost Confession?," which will air Sunday on Fox. TMZ got this exclusive clip. BTW, the clip is an outtake ... it will not appear on the show.

It's really stunning ... Regan says Simpson's lawyer said the book couldn't be titled "I Did It" because Simpson needed cover in dealing with his children.

The Miz thinks Ronda Rousey's been AWESOME in WWE so far ... but says she's making enemies with the "wrong people" -- HER BOSSES.

We got Miz and his beautiful wife, Maryse, leaving Il Pastio in L.A. the other night ... and had to ask about Ronda -- who's been rampin' up her ring work on "Monday Night Raw."

The A-Lister gave Rousey 2 thumbs up ... but warned that body-slammin' her superiors (including one through a damn table) ain't gonna end well for her.

"I think she's messing with the wrong people in Triple H and Stephanie McMahon," Miz told TMZ Sports.

We know -- you think Miz is hammin' it up for his character, right??

Watch Ronda woman-handle Steph ... then get back to us.

Floyd Mayweather will start his MMA training with a bona fide UFC champ -- with Tyron Woodley saying he's spoken with TBE and has agreed to get him ready for his debut in the ocatgon.

"Floyd Mayweather is interested in taking an MMA bout, maybe a few of 'em," Woodley said on "The Hollywood Beatdown."

"So, who better than The Chosen One to teach him the ropes on how we get off the ropes and get in the cage!"

Tyron and Floyd have been friendly for a while -- and when the two connected in L.A. during NBA All-Star weekend, Tyron says they decided to work together to get Floyd MMA-ready.

By the way, Tyron says Floyd can ABSOLUTELY WIN -- even if his opponent is Conor McGregor -- and he's got a real game plan to help Mayweather get that W.

There's more ... Tyron also weighs in on Canelo Alvarez's PED excuse (Mexican cow meat) and claps back at rapper Tekashi69.

Imagine seeing the massive fist of a 7-foot-1-inch giant coming at your face ... then imagine having the cojones to throw a punch right back!!

Kobe Bryant gave a blow-by-blow of his very first physical altercation with Shaq on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" Thursday night ... revealing the Big Aristotle was the first to throw hands.

Black Mamba says the 2 Laker legends duked it out after trash talking throughout a scrimmage during the 1998 NBA lockout.

"I must've been the craziest 19-year-old in the world to fight this guy ... at that point, you just gotta say look man, you're either gonna beat the hell outta me, but you're gonna know that I'm not gonna back down."

You think the Kardashians would suit up and play softball against normies? Hell no -- the team they faced was Tito Jackson's family!!!!

That's right ... Kim, Kourtney, Kris and the rest of the Calabasas Peaches faced off against "Tito's Team" -- led by team captain Tito Jackson, his sons T.J., Taryll and Taj and the rest of their families.

The best part ... Tito ditched the traditional baseball cap for a bowler hat because #fashion.

So, who won the big game? Our sources tell us the Jackson family emerged victorious ... shocking for a couple of reasons. First, it's the Kardashians' show, and also because the Kardashians reached out to 14-time MLB All-Star Alex Rodriguez for coaching help!

Some good news, bad news for the Kardashian family -- they got Alex Rodriguez to coach their family softball game ... problem is, A-Rod tells us he SUCKS at softball!

J Lo's boyfriend showed up at the field Thursday and suited up for Team Kardashian -- aptly named the Calabasas Peaches -- featuring Kim, Kourtney, Khloe, Kris, Kendall and some other friends including Jonathan Cheban.

They were up against a team in red while cameras rolled for their show. We know Kendall and Kourtney got some practice swings in earlier this week ... we'll have to wait and see if it paid off.

Alex hit up Craig's in West Hollywood after the action where he admitted he's terrible at softball -- but says the game went well.

OKC Thunder star Steven Adams knocked his teammate OUT COLD in a game last night ... but they weren't fighting -- Adams was literally standing still!

The bizarre play went down at the Chesapeake Energy Arena ... when Thunder rookie Terrance Ferguson tried to stay with his man on D.

Unfortunately, standing in his way was 7 feet, 255 pounds of chiseled Jason Momoa-looking muscle (Adams) ... and Ferguson's svelte 6'7'', 184-pound frame couldn't handle the business.

The 2 collided heads -- and DOWN WENT FERGY. Adams was totally fine, BTW.

Steven, being the good dude that he is, quickly got the rook some medical attention ... and it looks like Terrance is gonna be OK outside of a possible concussion.

The Kansas City Royals held a seminar to educate players about the dangers of watching pornography -- and XXX legend Lisa Ann has a SERIOUS problem with it.

Royals general manager Dayton Moore first spoke out against porn last year -- saying it's connected to domestic abuse -- and brought in an org called "Fight the New Drug" to "educate" young players.

But, Lisa Ann -- who's starred in classics like "Who's Nailin' Paylin?" and "Doctor MILF" -- says the workshop is completely misguided and wrong.

O.J. Simpson was still married when he first laid eyes on Nicole Brown Simpson, but that didn't stop him from pursuing her and asking her out.

TMZ has obtained an exclusive clip from O.J.'s upcoming two hour sit-down on FOX where he says he met Nicole while she was working at a restaurant called The Daisy.

The Juice didn't get her digits the first time but, as they say, second time's the charm, and plus he had some help.

O.J. says he had to explain to Nicole he was still technically a married man, although it sounds like he was already separated from first wife, Marguerite Whitley. Their marriage ended in 1979.

The special "O.J. Simpson: The Lost Confession?" airs this Sunday at 8 PM.