TMZ Sports - Page 50

Oakland Raiders star lineman Donald Penn will NOT be charged with a crime stemming from an alleged domestic violence incident ... TMZ Sports has learned.

We broke the story ... Penn was named a suspect in an April 29 incident when cops were called to his L.A. home to respond to a call about an altercation with his wife.

Cops were told Penn got handsy and, at one point, he allegedly poured a drink on her head.

Later, both Penn and his wife denied the altercation ever turned physical.

The case was kicked over to the L.A. City Attorney's Office which ultimately decided to NOT move forward with charges against Penn.

"The office rejected this case because of lack of corroboration and on the ground that there is no reasonable likelihood of conviction on the domestic violence matter," a spokesperson says.

"Bottom line, lack of sufficient evidence."

LeBron James got Michael Rapaport to cut the trash talking and shut his mouth ... and even Rapaport says he's pretty damn impressed.

Look, Rap has said a lot of crap about Bron over the years -- he famously called him a "motherf*cker" for dissing his kids back in the day.

But now, Rapaport says LeBron is playing on such another level ... he's been rendered speechless.

"I've never seen anybody do what he's done this playoffs," Rapaport says ... "The biggest sh*t-talker, myself. I've got nothing to say. He's been unbelievable."

There is one guy who's still getting the wrath of Rap -- Drake -- who didn't show up to Game 4 of the Cavs vs. Raptors series to watch his team get swept out of the playoffs.

Wiz Khalifa can hang up his mic anytime he wants, because Jay Glazer says another career is on the table for the platinum-selling rapper ... kicking ass as a pro MMA fighter.

Wiz has been training at Glazer's Unbreakable Performance gym for a while now, and when we got Glazer out we wanted to know the $1 million question ... how good is Wiz?

Really good, according to Jay, who told our guy Wiz is the only guy to EVER hurt Glazer with a body shot (over guys like Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture) and if he wanted to, could definitely go pro.

"Yeah, oh yeah. 'Cause he's in it and his work ethic is ridiculous."

But will it actually happen ... don't hold your breath, according to Glazer.

"I hope he continues to make his money without getting punched in the face."

Check the video below, the guy would kick your ass.

He's 3 years older than the AARP minimum age, but 53-year-old Rafael Palmeiro is still playing pro baseball -- signing a new deal with an independent league team in Texas!

The 4-time MLB All-Star has agreed to play for the Cleburne Railroaders of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball.

What's really cool ... he'll be teammates with his 28-year-old son, Patrick!

Palmeiro REALLY wanted to get a shot with an MLB team, but since that didn't happen ... he signed with the Railroaders.

"Nobody gave me a chance to go to spring training," Palmiero said in a text message to the Dallas Morning News ... "so I will just take this path."

Listen up, Dez Bryant ... Nuggets guard Devin Harris is about to give you pro athlete to pro athlete advice on where you should end up, now that your time with the Cowboys is over.

Harris played in Dallas for YEARS and knows what it's like to leave big D behind, so when we got him in Beverly Hills we wanted to know if he had any potential landing spots in mind for Dez.

Devin says he has the perfect team ... and while you're gonna have to watch to see what he says, we'll be kind enough to give you some hints.

Hall of Fame QB (1st ballot lock) ... Bryant already has history there (infamous moment) ... he'll need some heavier coats if it happens ... and lastly, it's a spot close to Harris' heart.

It's been more than a year since Charles Oakley was arrested at the Knicks game ... but he's still pissed at owner James Dolan and SCOFFED at the idea of making peace with the guy.

We spotted Oak leaving the BTIG Charity Day in NYC and asked how he felt about David Fizdale taking over as head coach for his former team.,

"I hope he do a great job," Oakley said ... "[that's] all I can say!"

But when we turned the conversation to Dolan -- you can tell right away, Oak is still furious over the Feb. 2017 arrest.

"Why would you bury the hatchet with someone who dragged you out of the place?"

Of course, Oakley was arrested for getting physical with security who tried to remove him from MSG after a heated exchange with Dolan. It took an army of security to subdue Oakley.

The ex-Knicks star was charged with assault, harassment and criminal trespass, but later cut a deal with prosecutors and the case has been thrown out.

Eric Dickerson ain't worried EVEN A LITTLE BIT about Saquon Barkley breaking his NFL rookie rushing record -- telling TMZ Sports straight-up, "[the Giants] got no offensive line!"

The Hall of Famer was speaking with kids at Van Nuys Elementary School when he educated us about why he's confident the #1 pick in the draft won't come close to the 1,808 yards he put up in 1983.

"You gotta have a line," Dickerson said ... "Nothing against their line, but you gotta have a line!"

Zach Randolph is ALL ABOUT having a female head coach in the NBA -- especially after working with a female asst. coach on the Kings ... telling TMZ Sports it was one of best experiences of his career.

The entire NBA is buzzing about Becky Hammon -- an assistant with the Spurs who's in the running for the head coaching job in Milwaukee. If hired, she'd be the first female head coach in NBA history.

Enter Z-Bo who was out in ATL when he stopped to rave about Jenny Boucek ... an assistant player development coach with the Sacramento Kings.

"This was the first year we had a [female assistant coach]. This was my first year ever experiencing that and it was a great experience ... probably one of the best experiences."

Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside isn't getting down or out of shape over his team's early playoff exit ... because he just gets to spend more time with his smoking hot girlfriend.

A totally ripped Whiteside and his lady, Ashly Ariza, were spotted at the beach in Miami Tuesday ... and both had no problem showing off their bods. Of course, Ashly's bikini highlighted her assets a little more.

Hassan's been the subject of trade rumors since the Heat got bounced from the playoffs early by the Sixers, but he doesn't seem to be sweating that either ... perhaps because he's still got $52 million left on his contract.

Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson are taking their rekindled relationship to the next level ... with a daytime movie date.

The 2 were at a cinema a few miles outside Cleveland Tuesday afternoon, and looking very much like a couple again. Khloe and Tristan grabbed snacks together before the movie and were seen leaving in the same car afterward. No word on which flick they caught.

We broke the story ... Khloe's family is the opposite of thrilled about her getting back together with Tristan, but they're backing off pressuring her to dump him for good.

Victor Cruz says he still wants to play in the NFL -- and he's got a team in mind ... the New York Giants!

The 31-year-old wide receiver hasn't taken a regular season snap since 2016 -- but at the BTIG Charity Day event in NYC, he made it very clear he doesn't want to retire yet.

Of course, Cruz's exit from the Giants wasn't exactly sunshine and rainbows -- he accused the team of icing him out of the offense in 2016 to keep his stats down so it would be easier to cut him.

"And if I played well, they were due to -- they owed me a ton of money that next year so it was like ... let's get Cruz off the books," he said last year on the Breakfast Club.

She's beaten everyone from Gina Carano to Holly Holm ... and now Cris Cyborg just beat a parking ticket -- and it's all on video!!!

The UFC superstar was talking with TMZ Sports about her fighting future and how Conor McGregor inspired her to transition into boxing after her next 2 MMA fights ... when the law came knocking at her door!

Turns out, Cyborg was parked in a no-parking zone and was thiiis close to getting a ticket -- when all of the sudden Johnny Law recognized Cris ... and gave her a pass!!

You can even hear the guy fanboy out -- throwing some compliments Cyborg's way before letting her off the hook.

As for Cyborg's career -- she's dead serious about boxing ... telling TMZ Sports she's always dreamed about lacing up the gloves and watching Mayweather vs. McGregor gave her real hope!

FYI, Cyborg sparred with ex-boxing champ Mia St. John just last year and she looked pretty solid.

Stay tuned on this one ...

How awesome is this?!

We just got Yankees manager Aaron Boone rushing to Yankees Stadium for Tuesday night's big game against the Boston Red Sox -- and he was cool enough to talk to our guy!!!

The big talk -- the rivalry ... which has gotten more intense this season for two reasons -- the Yanks and Sox have the best records in baseball PLUS the teams got into a brawl the last time they faced off in April.

So, with pride and 1st place on the line ... how does Boone feel about the situation?

"It's always big when these two teams get together," Boone said.

"They're a great team. We think we have a good team ... so it's fun to be a part of."

As for concerns that tonight could get violent?

"Nah, all good ... hopefully we'll just see a lot of good baseball."

Oscar De La Hoya says he's one step closer to getting Chuck Liddell back in the cage ... telling TMZ Sports he's "finalizing contracts" for a Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz fight!

We broke the story ... Oscar is starting his own MMA company and he's targeting the 48-year-old UFC Hall of Famer as his first fighter.

"We're finalizing contracts, getting everything rolling," Oscar says ... "I'm excited man!"

Oscar says he's been talking with 43-year-old Tito since he and the Ice Man have a crazy history -- but it's not a done deal yet.

"I think both guys are beasts, man ... they wanna fight each other? Hey, I'm ready."

Chuck hasn't fought professionally since June 2010 when he lost to Rich Franklin at UFC 115. Tito fought back in January 2017 when he submitted Chael Sonnen by rear naked choke at Bellator 170.

Roger Mason is changing course in his war against the BIG3 -- he just agreed to move his lawsuit against Ice Cube's basketball league out of a Delaware court and pursue his claims in arbitration ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Mason -- the former commissioner of the BIG3 -- had filed court docs claiming league execs used him as a scapegoat for their money woes. In the docs, Mason also accused BIG3 co-founder Jeff Kwatinetz of making racist comments about black players and Qatari investors.

But, according to court records, Mason has agreed to drop his case in Delaware after both sides agreed it would be more efficient to fight it out in arbitration.

Obviously, this doesn't mean the war is over -- this just changes how Mason will fight it.

BIG3's attorney, Mark Geragos, is definitely considering this a victory -- saying, "We knew this was a cheap publicity stunt and pleased that BIG3 has been vindicated."

Mason's attorney Robert Wolf has also issued a statement saying, "BIG3’s own lawyers agreed with Mr. Mason that it would be more efficient to have all of his Delaware lawsuit claims added to Roger’s already pending New York arbitration against BIG3 and Jeff Kwatinetz for breach of contract and defamation."

"It is undisputed that Roger’s entire case remains intact and will continue to move ahead with full force. If Mark Geragos considers this a victory, BIG3 must be pretty desperate."

The LeBron James effect is VERY REAL ... 'cause the hat he wore to the Cavs game Monday completely sold out at an insanely fast rate ... and now the company behind it is scrambling to restock!!

The black ball cap sporting the message "Don't Trip" blew up on social media last night ...and fans immediately searched the web to get one of their own.

We spoke with Kevin Circosta, founder of the Free & Easy company, who says they'd sold out of all 6 colorways by the time he woke up Tuesday ... and on top of that, they've received thousands of back orders for the hats.

Circosta says he has no idea how Bron got a hold of the merch ... admitting he didn't send anything to James' people, but says he's happy for the "organic" interaction.

Circosta says his entire team is working to re-up production ASAP ... in the meantime, his website has a friendly message saying "Thanks King James! This hat is backordered but more are coming soon."