TMZ Sports - Page 50

A 27-year-old man was arrested Friday for sending a letter to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver that essentially demanded Silver to let him play in the league ... or else.

"If you don't let me play, I'm going to come up there and kill you with my f*cking gun," David Pyant allegedly wrote in an email sent to NBA offices ... police sources tell us.

It doesn't appear Pyant has any real professional basketball experience -- but he does have a criminal record ... 13 prior arrests, according to the NY Post.

We're told Pyant was arrested on May 11 and charged with aggravated harassment. A judge granted a temporary restraining order requiring him to stay away from Silver.

Pyant was eventually released without bail.

Oscar De La Hoya is issuing an ultimatum to Gennady Golovkin -- sign the deal to fight Canelo Alvarez in September ... or he'll find someone else who will!

Of course, Canelo and GGG were locked in for the rematch on May 5 -- until Canelo tested positive for PEDs and pulled out. Golovkin fought Vanes Martirosyan instead and destroyed him.

Now, the two sides are trying to hammer out another deal to get the rematch going ... but GGG hasn't signed on yet. Oscar says his priority is to make the fight, but he isn't gonna sit around and wait.

"He doesn't want to fight," De La Hoya told TMZ Sports ... "Regardless, Canelo's fighting in September so it's all gravy."

Oscar didn't name specific replacement fighters, but noted he'll search for the toughest guy out there -- which could be anyone from Jermall Charlo to Billy Joe Saunders to Daniel Jacobs.

Wiz Khalifa says he completely AGREES with Jay Glazer ... that he's good enough to take a pro MMA fight if he wanted to.

There's just one catch ... HE NEEDS A CRAPLOAD OF MONEY!

Earlier this week, Glazer raved about Wiz ... saying the rapper is an absolute beast in the gym -- and has legit power.

So, when we saw Wiz at LAX we asked if there was a chance ... and he didn't say no!

"You got to pay me a whole bunch of money to get me to fight, man."

Wiz says he still likes rapping better than fighting -- but he really enjoys training with some of the best MMA stars in the world.

"It's just fun, man."

Ex-NFL star Christian Okoye says marijuana has changed his life -- freeing him up from opioid-based pain meds -- and now his body is "almost pain free."

The Nigerian Nightmare says his body was a wreck after his NFL career wrapped up back in 1992 ... to the point where even a slow jog was a major challenge.

But now, Okoye says he's using CBD treatment -- aka Cannabidiol (a marijuana-based substance) -- and Christian says it's working so well he's kicked his other pain medication to the curb.

In fact, Okoye recently signed a deal to become a spokesperson for Kannaway -- and says he's trying to get his message to other NFL players, past and present.

"I think it's a way for players to help themselves be pain free."

Of course, the challenge ... marijuana is still on the NFL's banned substances list -- but several players are trying to change that.

In other news, Okoye recently learned The Rock's character in "Rampage" -- Davis Okoye -- is named after him ... and he's totally stoked about it!!!

Jimmy Garoppolo used his magnetic force Saturday night to connect with a hot blonde ... and no surprise -- it worked like a charm.

TMZ Sports got video of Jimmy leaving a San Jose cocktail lounge called Paper Plane. He was inside drinking with a couple of friends, including Fox Sports star Jay Glazer. We're told he was flirting with the girl in the video inside the bar and then took it outside.

Chris Long's quest to be the wokest man in the NFL continues -- he tells TMZ Sports he didn't celebrate his Super Bowl win in Vegas, L.A. or Miami ... instead going to Africa to build wells with his charity.

Long was out in NYC when we asked if he's still celebrating the Eagles' victory over the New England Patriots -- he isn't -- then we asked what huge party spot he hit to turn up after the historic win.

Prepare to feel bad about yourself.

"I went to Tanzania actually, to work on my charity called Waterboys.org."

If you didn't know, Waterboys.org is an organization started by Long that unites players from the NFL for the goal of bringing life-sustaining well water to East African countries.

One of the biggest fights of the year is only months away ... Logan Paul vs. KSI -- and Amanda Cerny and her boyfriend can't wait!

Paul and KSI -- both huge YouTube stars -- are on a collision course for August, when they will both step into the ring and fight.

Yes, it's real -- and the hype behind the fight is massive already.

For the record, KSI -- one of the biggest gamers in the world -- already fought YouTube star Joe Weller back in February and dominated. He called out Logan Paul in a post-fight victory speech.

Paul accepted and they signed a 2-fight deal. The first match will go down on August 25 in Manchester, England.

Enter Amanda Cerny ... who has 20 MILLION followers on IG and more than 120 MILLION views on YouTube. She's a social media force and she knows the KSI vs. Paul fight is a big deal.

"I think it'll show how powerful social media is," Cerny says with her BF, Johannes Bartl.

By the way, KSI is training with Floyd Mayweather's family at his TMT gym in Vegas.

The betting odds are out and KSI is the slight favorite at -150. Who ya got?!

Sam Darnold should thank his lucky stars ... New York Jets legend Curtis Martin is about to give the team's newest QB a lesson on how to succeed under the bright lights of the Big Apple.

Martin is the Jets all-time leading rusher and a member of the NFL Hall of Fame, so when we got him in NY we wanted to know if he had any advice for Darnold, who was drafted #3 by the team last month.

WNBA legend Tamika Catchings says Becky Hammon should get the Milwaukee Bucks head coaching job ... and it's not so the NBA can make history, it's because Hammon DESERVES the gig.

Hammon -- a San Antonio Spurs assistant coach -- reportedly interviewed for the Bucks job, making her the first woman to ever be seriously considered for an NBA head coaching spot.

We got Catchings -- a 10-time WNBA All-Star -- out in NYC and asked if it was time the NBA hired it's first-ever female HC ... and Catchings agreed Hammon should get the hire, but gender ain't the reason.

"She's a great coach, I wish people would stop looking at female vs. male and just look at who's the best fit for the job."

When we asked if that person was Hammon, Catchings was very clear ...

Dillon Danis needs to stop "living in the shadow" of Conor McGregor ... so says undefeated Bellator star and potential D.D. opponent Neiman Gracie.

Danis -- Conor's training partner and friend (he bailed McGregor outta jail) -- made his pro MMA debut last month ... winning his first fight in under 2 minutes.

After the fight, Dillon gave a Conor McGregor-esque promo in the cage ... calling out the entire roster.

So, who's next for the rising star?

Neiman -- a 4th generation member of the Gracie fam who's 8-0 -- says he is ... if Danis has the balls to fight him.

"I talked to the Bellator guys. They say they're going to offer him the fight."

Stay tuned.

UFC superstar Nick Diaz says he was poisoned "with some kind of weird ass drug" before he fought Georges St-Pierre back in 2013 ... telling TMZ Sports there was a diabolical plot against him.

Diaz was leaving Catch in L.A. Friday night when we asked about the allegations his brother Nate made about GSP -- that he was a steroid cheater at UFC 158, a fought Nick lost in a 5-round unanimous decision.

Nate had previously said he will not fight GSP until he admits he cheated publicly.

Enter Nick ... who doubled down on the cheating allegations and then accused someone -- he doesn't name anyone specifically -- of poisoning an IV he was administered before the fight in Montreal, GSP's hometown.

Diaz insists he was in the best shape of his life at the time but something caused his body to fail on the night of the fight ... and he believes he was sandbagged.

Nick also touched on his previous allegations that the Quebec Athletic Commission didn't really test the fighters before his match with GSP, and his proof is ... he knows he should have tested positive for weed, but didn't.

Rob Kardashian isn't willing to forgive or forget when it comes to Tristan Thompson cheating on Khloe ... and thinks his big sis can and should do better.

Sources close to Rob tell TMZ ... he's still furious with Tristan, and regardless of the couple seemingly getting back together and working their relationship out -- he's not having it.

We're told Rob thinks Tristan's an "a**hole" ... and he'll never be able to let go of him disrespecting and embarrassing his closest sister while she was pregnant.

Rob's apparently not on board with the rest of the family's approach of not pressuring Khloe to dump him either. We're told he's adamant she deserves better and should move on.

With Dwane Casey out as the head coach of the Toronto Raptors, Metta World Peace says he knows the right man for the job ... Drake.

We broke the news about Casey's firing to Metta on the streets of Beverly Hills -- and since Metta's been vocal about wanting to be a coach, we asked if he'd be interested.

Of course, Metta said he'd be down ... but seemed more excited about the idea of Drake taking over the role, since he already has an official position with the team.

(For the record, Metta says Drake has an ownership stake, but it appears he's wrong -- he works with the team as the global ambassador).

Cowboys WR Cole Beasley says if you think he's just another athlete-turned-rapper you're dead wrong ... because he's just the opposite, telling TMZ Sports he's actually a rapper-turned-athlete.

Cole released a single "80 Stings" back in January, and the critical consensus from most people was that Beasley spit hot fire like Dylan.

We talked to Cole and his producer "Phazz" Clark ... and CB says the toughest thing about being an athlete that raps is that he isn't that at all.

"For this album to be a success, for me it's really just opening the door for people looking past the athlete trying to rap, to he's just a rapper who happens to play football."

FYI -- Cole's debut album, "The Autobiography," drops Saturday ... and Cole says his album release party is gonna have all the Cowboys there, bringing together one thing athletes and rappers do have in common:

Groupies. (Cole is married ladies).

Here's a disappointment ... turns out Zlatan Ibrahimovic's arrogant ways are all for show ... because his Galaxy teammate Sebastian Lletget says the Big Z is a big sweetie, and a GREAT teammate.

Remember it was Zlatan who announced his arrival in L.A. with a full page ad in the L.A. Times that simply said "You're Welcome" ... but when we got Lletget out at LAX, he told us not to believe the hype.

"He's not arrogant," Lletget says. "He's a good teammate."

He went on to gush about Zlatan -- praising him a solid dude behind the scenes.

Not sure if we believe this ... remember, it was Zlatan who dissed U.S. soccer on the streets of L.A. back in '14, and it was Zlatan who once said, "I can't help but laugh at how perfect I am."

Kendall Jenner went from being barely covered in a bathing suit earlier in the day to practically naked walking a red carpet at Cannes.

Kendall required a mandatory double take in her sheer dress at the Chopard Secret Night party ... she arrived with very little support underneath. All she's wearing under her dress is a pair of nude underwear. They're hard to see but they're there.

Fact is, camera flashes have been known to expose a boob or two underneath sheer dresses ... and Cannes is known for being flash-heavy.

Still ... it appears Kendall knew exactly what she was doing, even if she played dumb on her Instagram.