TMZ Sports - Page 50

Common is strongly siding with his ex-GF, Serena Williams -- telling TMZ Sports someone is trying to "take her down" by drug testing her more than usual ... and it's all because she's a black woman.

Hours before we spoke with Common, Serena went off about being drug tested more than any other female tennis player ... and accused officials of "discrimination."

Common clearly agrees -- saying, "As a black woman, do you think she's getting discriminated against? YES."

"If they're testing her more than anyone else, it's a reason for that. And there's conscious and subconscious and I would say conscious is the fact that she's a black woman and they're looking for some reason to be able to take her down and discredit her ... but she's the queen!"

Is Dwight Howard a Hall of Famer?

It's the question experts and fans have been asking for years -- so, we took it to the man himself.

Look, Dwight's numbers over the course of his 14-year career are pretty insane ...

8-time NBA All-Star, 5-time NBA 1st Team, 3-time Defensive Player of the Year and he's averaged a double-double (17 pts, 13 rebounds) over the course of his career.

But, the knock on Dwight is that he's become a journeyman who's jumped to 6 different teams -- and has a reputation for not exactly being the most beloved guy in the league.

One guy who DOES love Dwight is Lou Williams -- who invited D12 to his basketball camp in Atlanta this week and Howard accepted. He spent a bunch of time playing with the kids.

So, we asked Dwight for his take -- and he didn't mince words ... "I think my resume speaks for itself."

San Francisco 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo sounds like he regrets his very public date with porn star Kiara Mia ... implying that he's going to be much more careful when he's out in public.

It was just last week that Jimmy G and Kiara hit up Avra restaurant in Beverly Hills arm in arm -- and toasted wine together for everyone in the place to see.

Jimmy finally faced the media at a 49ers event moments ago and was asked about the date. He did not wear it like a badge of honor.

"Life is different now," Jimmy said ... "My life, off the field -- I've never really been big on being very public with things even on social media. I'm not on there a ton. But my life's looked at differently."

"I'm under a microscope. It's like [49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan] said, it is a good learning experience. Just have to take it in stride. It is what it is."

Remember, Kiara told us the date went VERY well and she sounded optimistic about seeing Jimmy again.

Don't hold your breath ...

Genie Bouchard injured her groin last weekend ... but she clearly didn't hurt her butt -- 'cause the tennis star was shakin' it all over the place in Morocco on Wednesday!!

The 24-year-old cruised over to Africa after an injury cut her run in the Swiss Open short ... and she looked no worse for wear gettin' some rehab work in by her luxury hotel's pool.

In a barely-there neon green and hot pink bikini ... Genie made sure to get a couple sets of champagne sippin' and booty poppin' to get right.

Yeah ... we think she'll make a full recovery.

BTW -- Genie's getting pretty good at this whole bikini thing ... she slayed the SI Swimsuit shoot this year.

Eat your heart out, Super Bowl bet guy.

Convicted child molester Larry Nassar was attacked in prison by another inmate and injured ... this according to his attorney.

Nassar is currently serving 40 to 175 years in prison for sexually assaulting more than 150 women and girls while serving as a doctor for Michigan State University and Team USA gymnastics.

According to court docs filed by his public defender, Jacqueline McCann, Nassar was assaulted within hours of being released into the general population back in May at the United States Penitentiary in Tucson, AZ.

Nassar apparently suffered injuries in the attack -- but the details surrounding the incident are unclear at this point.

Interestingly, Nassar's attorney is accusing the judge in his criminal case of essentially inciting the violence -- claiming the way she oversaw the proceedings empowered inmates to attack him.

McCann references specific quotes from the hearing in which Judge Rosemarie Aquilina "proclaimed, with apparent relish, that she was signing his 'death warrant.'"

In court docs, McCann says, "Unfortunately, Judge Aquilina's comments and conducting of the sentencing proceeding appeared to encourage this type of behavior."

Now, it seems Nassar could be moved to another prison.

Conor McGregor is firing back at the security guard who claims the UFC star injured him during that crazy 2016 bottle-throwing incident at the Nate Diaz fight presser ... saying his accuser sucks at his job.

The man who filed the lawsuit is William Pegg -- who was working for MGM security on Aug. 17, 2016 ... when Nate and Conor threw bottles and cans at each other during a heated exchange before UFC 202.

Pegg says McGregor chucked a can that struck him in the left shoulder and injured him.

But now, McGregor is telling his side of the story ... saying Pegg failed in his duty to provide security at the event and "did nothing" while Nate and his crew initiated the incident by throwing bottles at Conor first.

"Had [Pegg] met his obligations not only as a security guard on duty during the press conference, but moreover, the person purportedly in charge of security, and protected [Conor] and his friends and family, than this entire incident would have been avoided."

Conor also admits to throwing objects that day (obviously, it was captured on video) ... but says there's NO PROOF the projectile that struck Pegg was thrown by him.

Jacksonville Jaguars training camp opens up on Thursday -- but Jalen Ramsey won't be there ... because he'll be taking care of his newborn baby!!!

The 23-year-old star cornerback just broke the news ... essentially telling his squad he won't report to camp until he feels mom and baby are healthy enough to be on their own.

"For me, family is among the most important things in my life, along with my faith and football. Today starts a new chapter in my life, as Bre and I are blessed to welcome our baby into this world."

FYI, Bre is Breanna Tate -- sister of Detroit Lions wide receiver Golden Tate.

"I want to let everyone know that I'll be in Tennessee with my family," Ramsey said ... "and as soon as I'm comfortable knowing my family is healthy and happy, I'll return to Jacksonville to rejoin my teammates on our quest to handle some unfinished business."

Mazel tov!

DeMar DeRozan took Drake's "In My Feelings" challenge to a whole 'nother level last week ... going to the song's creator himself to figure out his feelings after the Raptors stunningly traded him.

The ex-Toronto superstar revealed one of the first people he confided in after the Raptors sent him packing to San Antonio was none other than the 6 God.

"The day it came out, I went to Drake's house," DeRozan told ESPN.

"Sat and talked for a couple hours, man. Not even on the hoops stuff, just my partner. Just to hear the words that come from him being the person that he is in this world, especially in Toronto. What I meant to the city -- it was what I needed."

Drake's one of the Raptors' biggest fans ... and he took the DeRozan news tough too -- writing on Instagram, "Thank you for being an incredible captain and an even better friend."

Of course ... Toronto did get Kawhi Leonard in the deal -- and he IS one of the best players in the NBA.

Sooo ... feelings might be down now, but something tells us Drake will come out of it fine.

They found love in an NBA place!!

OKC Thunder star Andre Roberson made his long-rumored relationship with the face of NBA 2K, Rachel DeMita, social media OFFISH this week ... and the two are adorable.

DeMita's been a meteor in the sports world, rising to national fame with her appearances on the Association's top video game and at Celebrity All-Star Games (she's a hooper too!).

She's picked up over a million followers on social media ... and Dre was clearly one of the biggest fans.

The two got all kinds of cozy over the last few months, including at a wedding overseas last week ... which appears to have prompted the long-awaited Insta move.

Rachel clearly appreciated it, dropping a "My whole heart" line in Andre's comment section.

NBA superstars seem happy about it too ... Russell Westbrook posted some praising hands emojis -- and Kevin Durant even liked the post!

Only one thing left for the couple to divulge ... this had to be how the meeting between the two ballers went down, right???

Randy Couture and his wife have a message for their friend, Demi Lovato -- "We love Demi and we're going to do whatever we can to help."

Couture has been helping Lovato train at Jay Glazer's Unbreakable gym in West Hollywood for years -- she's even credited him with helping her achieve her blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Randy says everyone in the gym has been well aware of her struggles with addiction -- and he was crushed to hear about her overdose on Tuesday.

But, Couture says the singer can count on his support and love as she begins to bounce back.

"Sometimes there are setbacks. We're here to help her get through them and keep moving forward."

Just because the NFL cut ties with Papa John's doesn't mean DeMarcus Ware will follow suit -- in fact, the ex-Broncos star is BRAGGING about ordering a PJ's pizza ... despite the n-word controversy.

Ware -- who's now a consultant with the Broncos -- had a hankering for some pizza Tuesday night and let everyone know the only shop that could satisfy his craving was Papa.

Interesting considering the NFL and several major sports teams (including the Yankees, Rangers and ATL Falcons) suspended their relationships with the company after it came out that founder John Schnatter used the n-word on a company conference call.

But, D-Ware clearly don't care ... ordering up a big ole pie at around 11 PM CT Tuesday night and captioning the act with, "It's about to go down!!!"

The order? Some sort of ham and ground beef mix ... with THREE garlic dipping sauces. Even D-Ware's dog wants in on the action.

Al Michaels has been covering pro sports in America for more than 50 years -- but, the legendary broadcaster admits ... he's never been to a single soccer game!

Michael says he really likes the sport -- and brags that his grandkids play -- but tells TMZ Sports he's never been to a real professional soccer game.

"People say to me, 'Don't you want to do the World Cup?' I'm going, 'Do the World Cup?' I've never been to a single soccer game."

For the record, Michaels has covered just about every OTHER major sport -- including football, baseball, hockey, horse racing ... and even figure skating and road cycling! Just no futbol.

Serena Williams is furious at the "random" drug tests in her sport -- claiming she's been singled out by officials and tested more than any other player ... and she's saying it's "discrimination."

The 36-year-old tennis superstar -- who just came in 2nd at Wimbledon -- went off Tuesday night on Twitter as she got ready to take another drug test.

"And it’s that time of the day to get 'randomly' drug tested and only test Serena. Out of all the players it’s been proven I’m the one getting tested the most."

"Discrimination? I think so. At least I’ll be keeping the sport clean #StayPositive."

She added, "But I’m ready to do whatever it takes to have a clean sport so bring it on. I’m excited."

Nikki Bella's taking a big step in her relationship with John Cena ... a step AWAY from him.

Sources close to Nikki tell TMZ ... she's started shopping on her own for a home in the La Jolla area of San Diego. Despite their breakup, we're told she's been living at John's place in that area ... but he's been traveling in China.

As we've told you, Nikki and John have been trying to reconcile since she broke off their engagement in April, but when we last saw them together on a dinner date last month ... things didn't look so good.

Our sources say Nikki really wants to have her independence back and "figure herself out" -- a sign things may be over with Cena, at least for now. We're told she's looking to stay in the same area to be close to her sister, Brie.

Nikki's a first-time home buyer, and we're told her budget is just over $1 mil. We're told she wants a place with at least 4 bedrooms, good security and a pool. She's already scoped out 2 homes in gated communities.

As for the breakup -- the moment Nikki called off the engagement happened on camera, and it's airing on Sunday night's season finale of "Total Bellas."

Fat Joe says he truly believes 50 Cent and Floyd Mayweather are "brothers" and need to end their feud -- but he's not the gonna be the mediator.

Joe is friends with both guys -- and says it's crazy to watch them bash each other so hard on social media.

The latest in the feud ... Floyd says 50 Cent is a "herpes infested rat." 50 says Floyd is a fake rich "sucker" who beats women.

50 also made some dark accusations about Mayweather's alleged role in the murder-suicide of one of his friends.

Enter Fat Joe ... who says he still believes in his heart of hearts that Floyd and 50 love each other -- but believes they need to call a truce.

"I'm tired of being the middle guy," Joe said ... "I'm tired of [being] the guy breaking everything up. I mean, you know, they're brothers, man. I don't like it. I don't like it. Because they're both beautiful guys to me, man."

Despite the hostility, Joe says there may be peace "somewhere down the road."

"I think maybe in the long run, they'll figure it out. I really believe that they sincerely love each other and they're brothers. Unfortunately, this is playing out on social media."

Meanwhile, Fat Joe is killin' it in the studio -- he just released a new track called "Attention" with Chris Brown.

Former NFL star and NFL Network analyst Eric Davis sexually harassed and groped a makeup artist, then confronted her about losing his job over it ... according to a new suit.

Erin McParland claims she was hired by NFL Network in 2014, and became the target of Davis' unwanted comments and advances ... including hugging her, rubbing his genitals on her leg and grabbing her butt.

Her allegations were reported on in December, but she hadn't sued until now ... and there are additional claims.

According to the docs ... she went to the company's HR department to complain, and they told her they'd look into it. McParland claims she told them, if any disciplinary action was taken against Davis, to make sure she wasn't around so he couldn't confront her about it.

However, McParland claims Davis was let go on a day she was working, and he was allowed to aggressively approach her afterward ... which she says made her fear for her safety. She also says he was allowed to take a job at ESPN ... where the NFL Network knew she also freelanced.

There's more -- McParland mentions Michael Irvin once grabbed her around the waist while she was working and made her feel uncomfortable. As we reported ... Irvin, along with Davis, Marshall Faulk, Donovan McNabb and others were sued in December by another makeup artist who worked at the NFL Network.

Davis and McNabb have since been fired by ESPN.