TMZ Sports - Page 50

Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury just nearly came to blows after Fury's weigh-in in Belfast ... the question is -- do the guys REALLY want smoke or was it all for show?

Or both?

Fury is set to take on Italian rumbler Francesco Pianeta in Belfast Saturday night -- and, at the weigh-in Friday morning, Wilder got all up in Tyson's face, prompting a crowd of people to separate the men.

Wilder & Fury have a fight scheduled for November -- so, there's a good argument to be made that this is showmanship, but then again Fury did just publicly rip Wilder, saying he doesn't have one brain cell in his head.

LaVar Ball's JBA league is now facing allegations from a former player that he got stiffed out of his full paycheck ... but, just last week, LaVar was adamant he's paying ALL of his guys.

Brandon Phillips -- who played for the L.A. Ballers this season -- claims he's only been paid roughly one-third of what he was promised ... and had to come out of pocket to pay for travel expenses.

Phillips told Cycle Media's Thomas Duffy that no one from the league has returned his calls regarding the 2 paychecks he never received.

But, we spoke with LaVar on August 10 -- and he didn't seem like a man with anything to hide.

In fact, he was bragging about how his league pays their players -- saying, "We ain't letting you play for free!"

Tiger Woods just can't get a win these days ... 'cause the golf legend faced off with two other PGA Tour stars in a chipping contest earlier this month AND TOOK ANOTHER L!!

TMZ Sports has the video ... Tiger, Matt Kuchar and Bryson DeChambeau headed out to the green as part of a private dinner for fans after the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational -- and went head-to-head in golf's version of HORSE.

Tiger fell just short -- just like he did at The Open and the PGA Championship -- as Kuchar was the surprising winner.

We're told Tiger was gracious in defeat ... with one witness saying, "He was really humble about it."

As for Bryson ... we're pretty sure that was the only loss he took that night -- 'CAUSE HAVE YOU SEEN HIS GIRLFRIEND?!

The demonstrations in the NFL continued in Foxboro on Thursday night -- where three Philadelphia Eagles players stayed inside the tunnel during the national anthem.

Malcolm Jenkins, Michael Bennett and De'Vante Bausby stood quietly in the field entrance tunnel while "The Star-Spangled Banner" played out before the Eagles took on the New England Patriots.

All three came out onto the field when the song ended.

Jenkins and Bennett have been leaders in the demonstration movement -- Jenkins has raised his fist during the anthem while Bennett has sat down.

Both players have said they are demonstrating to help put a spotlight on racial injustice and police violence in minority communities.

Dana White once hated Tito Ortiz's guts so much that the two men almost had a real-deal boxing match in 2007 -- but we're told the two are actually on good terms now.

It's no secret that White and Ortiz clashed -- but things got so bad back in the day that Dana says the guys were gonna duke it out FOR REAL in a boxing match until, at the 11th hour, Ortiz got cold feet.

White tells Harvey Levin the story about how he brought in a boxing coach and a team to prep for the fight and it'll all be featured on "OBJECTified," which airs Sunday on FOX News Channel.

What's really interesting ... White is CONVINCED he would've won the fight over the UFC Hall of Famer, telling Harvey he had real boxing experience back in the day and felt he is a superior striker.

"I absolutely would've won that boxing match."

It's been 192 days since Super Bowl LII ... but in case anybody in New England forgot what happened that game -- Eagles fans have them covered WITH A BIG-ASS FLYING BANNER!!

The Pats and Eagles play in a little S.B. rematch Thursday night ... and Philly fans were kind enough to remind New England how their last go-around went -- with an airplane over Gillette Stadium.

The sign -- in big, bold, red letters -- reads, "41-33 Philly Philly SB LII."

Of course ... the Eagles whooped the Pats, 41-33, to win their first-ever Super Bowl back in February.

A lot less is on the line in preseason Week 2 ... but we're pretty sure Tom Brady's still pissed.

If someone told you, "Your mom should have killed you when you came out of the womb" -- would you consider those "fighting words?"

Ex-NBA star Tom Chambers certainly did -- admitting he got physical with a trash-talking 22-year-old at an Arizona bar ... and now he's been charged with assault.

It all stems from an April 15 incident at Isabella's Kitchen in Scottsdale -- where Tom says he was innocently hanging out when another patron started insulting him.

Witnesses told police the other patron, Alexander Bergelt, began to take verbal jabs at Tom including, "You're not sh*t," "You're tall and scrawny" and "Look at your big head."

Tom told police the final straw came when Bergelt said, "Your mom should have killed you when you came out of the womb as ugly as you are, your arms are skinny, your chest is this. Your belly is big."

Tom admits he "absolutely put hands on [Alexander]" but never punched him. Tom says he was trying to get Alexander to "show respect."

Alexander told police a different story -- saying Chambers came at him from across the bar, grabbed him by the throat and threw him backwards.

Cops say Alexander had a mark on his neck and a bruise on his lip.

When cops arrived, Alexander told police all he wanted was an apology -- he didn't get it.

Cops investigated and decided to press charges against both parties -- Chambers was hit with assault and Alexander was charged with disorderly conduct.

Chambers was a 4-time NBA All-Star and famously had one of the greatest dunks in NBA history over Mark Jackson.

Almost 50 YEARS after Arnold Schwarzenegger won the 1969 Mr. Universe competition -- he has finally been reunited with his 1st place trophy ... after it went missing decades ago!!

The story is wild ... Arnold won the contest in London back when he was around 22 years old -- during his second year as a pro bodybuilder.

But, he gave the hardware to his mother ... who ended up giving it away to a fan without telling her son and it went missing for years!

Arnold got a tip about the trophy during a visit to a local gym in Budapest -- when the owner put him in touch with a bench press champion named Lorand Berke ... the fan who visited Arnold's mom!

Berke brought the trophy back to Arnold -- who verified it was authentic!

Now, Arnold says he's "pumped up" to get it back and promises to get Lorand a replacement trophy as a reward.

Pretty cool, right?

Ex-NHL superstar Bryan Berard -- the 1st overall pick in the '95 Draft -- is suing the NHL claiming the league failed to protect him from brain injuries during his 12-year career.

The lawsuit is similar to the ones pro football players filed against the NFL -- essentially saying the NHL concealed the risks of traumatic brain injuries resulting from pro hockey and failing to take adequate steps to protect the players.

In his suit, Berard says he sustained "repetitive brain injuries" during his career and now has serious medical problems as a result.

Berard says the NHL had a duty to "cease their patent glorification of, and profiting from, fist-fighting and violence in the league"

He adds, "The time has come for the NHL to not only care for those former players on whose backs and brains the League reaped billions of dollars, but also finally to put long-term player safety over profit."

In his suit, Berard says he suffered at least 5 concussions and became blind in one eye during his career (though the blindness was due to a hockey stick to the eye from a 2000 game).

He's suing for unspecified damages.

Berard's suit says he's also filing in memory of "the late Jeff Parker, a former NHL player who was posthumously diagnosed with having Stage 3 CTE."

Josh Gordon's off-season is WAY more complicated than we thought -- the Browns WR is in the middle of a nasty child support war ... and if he doesn't make things right, he could go to jail.

Christina Lockhart has been fighting like hell to get the troubled NFL star to fork over child support for their 3-year-old daughter for years ... but it's been a fight every step of the way. She clearly feels Gordon's screwing her over.

Lockhart recently got a court order forcing Gordon to pay $6,765 per month starting August 1 ... but her lawyer told WKYC she has NOT received the payment.

The child support figure is tied to Gordon's 2018 salary with the Browns -- $800,000 -- but there's a catch.

Gordon's attorney claims in court docs the WR won't get his first paycheck until September 9 -- Week 1 of the NFL season.

But, in court docs obtained by TMZ Sports, the judge clearly outlines the penalty for missing payments -- up to 30 days in jail for the first violation, 60 days for the second violation and 90 days for the third.

Ex-NBA player Al Harrington says Zion Williamson should do one thing if he wants to have a long career dominating on the NBA level ... and that's lose about 20 pounds.

Zion has the Internet going nuts right now ... with his crazy dunk videos (including a free throw line joint) from Duke practices going viral because of the sheer amazingness of his athleticism.

But, Williamson is physically MASSIVE ... with reports saying all that jumping ability is coming from a guy who weighs upwards of 280 pounds.

Harrington says that's fine for now, but if Zion wants his body to withstand the night-in, night-out grind that is the NBA, he might wanna shed a little.

"I think in order for him to have longevity in the league, he'd have to lose like 20 pounds maybe."

Harrington goes on to say that Zion should learn from guys like LeBron, who've had to slim down in order to add years to their careers.

Al knows what he's talking about, he was a beast for 16 years in the NBA ... but if you look at the video below, the kid looks alright. Like, DAMN.

Dez Bryant just touched down in Cleveland ... and the dude's already signing Browns gear!!

The free agent wide receiver was spotted scribbling his signature on a Browns helmet at Cleveland Hopkins Airport on Thursday ... right before he's scheduled to meet with the team.

FYI -- Cleveland's had a lot of trouble getting a hold of Dez ... with Browns GM John Dorsey saying Bryant wasn't returning any of his phone calls last week.

But, Dez quickly responded with a tweet saying he would be making a visit to The Land this week ... adding he "wouldn't mind playing for the Browns."

Before he fought guys 1-on-1 in the Octagon, UFC star Derrick Lewis says he once destroyed TEN GUYS at the same time during a crazy brawl ... and he's telling the story to TMZ Sports.

It all went down back when Derrick was a high school student back in Houston, Texas -- when Lewis says he confronted a bunch of "greaser guys" in a back alley near his friend's house.

"It was about 10 guys ... all like greaser guys with their sleeves rolled up. Something that you would see in the movies, they all in white shirts with jeans on."

"They didn't expect me to come out there -- a black guy in type kind of neighborhood to come outside and I just started whooping up on all of 'em because they were at my buddy's house starting all this mess."

"That was a fun night -- I just started knocking 'em out left and right."

The Detroit Lions are remembering the city's greatest singer -- sending their "deepest condolences to the family and friends of Aretha Franklin."

The Lions tweeted out, "Aretha was a groundbreaker and an icon whose legacy will live on forever."

Aretha famously busted out a FOUR-AND-A-HALF MINUTE rendition of the Star Spangled Banner at a Lions game on Thanksgiving 2016 ... one of the greatest National Anthem performances ever.

Former Detroit Pistons star Isiah Thomas also showed Aretha some love -- tweeting, "Rest In Peace dear friend, I will remember your wisdom, laughter and music you gave us. #aintnoway #natuaralwoman #sayalittleprayerforyou."

The Detroit Tigers honored Aretha by posting a tribute on their video board ... with the message "Forever our queen."

ESPN's Jemele Hill -- who's from Detroit -- also weighed in ... saying, "Rest in power, Aretha. You were not only the Queen of Soul, but a warrior, a survivor, an icon, and a protector. You are Detroit’s heartbeat. Rest well, Queen."

Hill added, "Aretha was Detroit’s sister, auntie, momma, Queen and homegirl — all in one career. There are few people that defend, honor and protect someone the way we did Aretha. You can talk about our economy, and our crime, but say something about Re-Re, and you’ll get dealt with. Quick."

Here's proof they DO make bikes big enough for Shaquille O'Neal!!

The NBA Hall of Famer felt the urge to go on a bike ride during his vacation in Nassau, Bahamas on Wednesday ... so he ducked into a local shop and asked for the biggest 2-wheeler they got.

The shop delivered -- and Diesel was so happy, the 7'1" giant took the whip out for a quick cruise around the neighborhood ... while wearing some amazing floral-pattern shorts!

As we've previously reported ... Shaq loves his 2-wheelers, but usually has to get them customized to fit his gigantic body size.

NASCAR star Kasey Kahne says he's stepping away from being a full-time driver -- explaining the grind is taking too much of a toll on his personal life.

"I've thought about this decision for many months, if not longer," the 38-year-old said ... "It's time for me to step away from racing in NASCAR full time."

Kahne says he's "at ease" with his decision because when it comes down to it -- "The highs didn't outweigh the lows and the grueling schedule takes a toll on your quality of life."

"I need to spend more time doing the things I enjoy and love and that's spending time with [my son] Tanner and my sprint car teams."

"I've had a great career in racing and met so many amazing people and fans along the way, some that I'll remain in touch with for life. We still have some work to do this year in the #95 and I look forward to finishing the season with this team."