TMZ Sports - Page 50

The starting safety for the USC football team claims he got hit with a 28-MONTH suspension for an underage boozing incident back in February ... and he's so upset, he's leaving the school.

19-year-old Bubba Bolden was a HIGHLY recruited safety out of Bishop Gorman High School -- and was touted as a future star for the Trojans.

But, Monday Bolden announced he's leaving SC and it appears it's all because he feels he was unfairly punished over an incident involving alcohol and trash talk.

Bolden acknowledged he was at the party -- and "participated in mutual trash talking with fellow partygoers" -- but claims he left without incident and has witnesses that can back him up.

But, Bolden says the party hosts reported him to school officials claiming they had felt "threatened" by the football player due to his actions that night and wanted him to be disciplined.

Bolden says, despite the fact he was not charged with a crime and had witnesses that supported him, the school slapped him with a 28-month suspension based on the projected graduation dates of the hosts.

Bolden penned a goodbye letter on Monday -- and kept it classy -- but you can tell he's pissed off and plans to continue his football career somewhere else.

In his note, Bolden did say his behavior on the night in question was "not reflective of my character" -- which acknowledges he wasn't exactly a perfect angel that night.

We reached out to SC -- but a rep for the school declined to comment.

Bolden's listed at 6'3", 200 lbs and was recruited by some of the top schools in the country, including Ohio State, Michigan and Oklahoma.

The Houston Astros are back in the ALCS for the second year in a row ... but they're celebrating like it's their first time -- drenching their locker room with TONS of beer and champagne!!

The 'stros just finished off their sweep of the Cleveland Indians in the ALDS with an 11-3 win on Monday ... and Jose Altuve & Co. made themselves right at home in the visitor's locker room at Progressive Field.

What's more incredible than their blowout win over the Tribe -- the amount of booze that is flying through the air at one time.

LeBron James is straight-up PISSED that one of his NBA rivals lost a great player ... dropping an f-bomb when he learned Spurs baller Dejounte Murray was done for the season.

Murray's right knee buckled as he went up for a layup against the Rockets in San Antonio's preseason game Sunday ... and the team announced Monday he suffered a torn ACL.

Bron wasn't the least bit pleased to know one of his Western Conference rivals took that big of a blow, saying, "Man I feared that would be the case when I saw the play! F*#% man!"

In fact, the Lakers superstar made sure the 22-year-old knew he can lean on him if he needs him through the recovery process.

"You know how to reach me and where to find me if needed. Love lil bro!!"

As for Murray ... he was keeping his head up, writing on social media, "I Will Attack This Process Every Single Day And Use This Time To Become Even Sharper In All Aspects."

BTW ... Murray's still dating Jilly Anais ... which has gotta soften the blow at least A LITTLE bit, right??

Dana White says the Nevada State Athletic Commission is talking about keeping Khabib Nurmagomedov's entire fight purse from UFC 229 -- $2 MILLION -- over the post-fight brawl.

"They took his whole purse right now and they're talking about keeping his purse," the UFC honcho said on "TMZ Live."

"You should not be able to keep his whole purse."

Dana is referring to the post-fight melee at T-Mobile Arena in Vegas -- when Khabib choked out Conor McGregor and then jumped out of the Octagon to fight Conor's teammate, Dillon Danis.

A brawl ensued and cops rushed in to break things up.

Now, White says NSAC will undoubtedly hit Khabib with a fine -- but it should be closer to $250,000 ... not $2 MILLION.

White says he also thinks Khabib will get suspended -- and believes he deserves to be shelved for 4 to 6 months.

It's possible White could go around the Commission and book Khabib to fight outside the United States -- but Dana made it clear UFC will NOT do that. They will stand behind whatever suspension is doled out.

White also explains the difference between Conor's bus attack incident in New York and Khabib's crowd attack in Nevada -- and why it will be treated differently by the two governing boards.

As for Conor's fighting future -- Dana says he's still figuring that out ... but clearly likes the idea of Tony Ferguson being in the mix.

1:37 PM PT -- Dillon's team tells TMZ Sports ... Dillon absolutely did NOT fire the slur at Khabib -- saying the witness we spoke with is dead wrong.

For the record, we spoke with multiple groups of people who were sitting very close to Danis who insist they heard him shouting insults at Khabib.

But Dillon's is adamant the "f**king Muslim rat" line did not come from Danis.

Conor McGregor's teammate, Dillon Danis, called Khabib Nurmagomedov a "f**king Muslim rat" during the main event at UFC 229 -- and that's what set him off ... a ringside witness tells TMZ Sports.

We spoke with a fan who was sitting in spitting distance from Danis during the fight -- and we're told Danis was running his mouth throughout most of the fight.

There was a moment between the 2nd and 3rd rounds when Khabib shot a death stare right at Dillon, according to our witness who says it was obvious Khabib heard at least some of the insults.

But, we're told the final straw was the Muslim insult that Danis hurled toward the end of the fight.

Khabib threw his mouthpiece at Dillon and then jumped out of the cage to attack him in the stands.

Of course, Conor has been calling Khabib a "rat" for weeks -- and mocking Khabib's religion in public ... so, it was pretty much par for the course for Team McGregor.

WWE superstar Big Show was stoked to watch the NY Jets beat the Broncos this weekend -- but he was FAR more interested in some VIPs at the game who are battling cancer.

Big Show -- along with fellow WWE superstars Bayley and Curt Hawkins -- hit up MetLife Stadium as part of the "Crucial Catch: Intercept Cancer" campaign.

Behind the scenes, the wrestling stars got to hang with the real stars of the game -- the brave kids from Goryeb Children’s Hospital in New Jersey.

Besides the great seats and the cool meet-and-greet with the WWE stars, the kids also served as honorary captains during the coin toss.

The good news ... the Jets emerged victorious -- beating the Broncos 34-16.

We spoke with Big Show about the experience ... and he tells us why spending time with the kids is one of the best parts of being a WWE superstar.

Ryan Lochte called 911 on himself to report a late-night car crash in which he slammed his Porsche into another car ... and TMZ Sports has the recording.

"Um, yeah ... I would like to ummm, yeah ... we just got in an accident," the Olympic swimmer told the operator.

"I rear-ended the people in front of me."

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Lochte was driving in Gainesville, FL Thursday at around 9:45 PM when he rear-ended a car ... hours after he drunkenly kicked in a door at a hotel in Newport Beach.

During the call, Lochte initially tells the operator he doesn't think anyone is injured -- but then changes his answer a few times. He's unsure.

But, we know the driver of the car Lochte hit was taken by ambulance to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Lochte was okay and cited for "careless driving." There's no mention of alcohol in the police report.

Lochte had just flown to Florida after the booze-fueled incident in Newport Beach, CA.

Conor McGregor wants a rematch with Khabib Nurmagomedov ASAP ... and he's already hitting up Dana White to make it happen.

Just days after suffering a brutal loss at UFC 229, White says Conor called him to set up another fight with the Russian superstar -- but it doesn't sound promising.

"He has to go before the (Nevada State Athletic) Commission, we have to see what's gonna happen with Khabib with this whole mess," White told "First Take" on ESPN. "But, Conor McGregor has already called me wanting a rematch."

It probably won't happen until we find out if Khabib will be punished by the NSAC. But, it sounds like Dana's got his eyes on someone else for Nurmagomedov first.

Here's the clearest video we've seen so far of Conor McGregor getting socked hard in the face in the post-fight Octagon brawl at UFC 229 ... and the cage invader lands some pretty solid shots.

The dude in the red shirt has reportedly been identified as Zubaira Tukhugov -- a pro-MMA fighter who's a member of Khabib Nurmagomedov's team.

He's scheduled to fight Conor's teammate, Artem Lobov, on October 27.

In the footage, you can see Tukhugov attack Conor from behind -- connecting with a sucker punch to the side of McGregor's head.

He then pivots and cracks Conor from the front -- landing a barefisted blow to Conor's head.

Ultimately, security comes in and breaks the whole thing up.

Before Tukhugov's attack -- another dude from Khabib's camp sucker punched Conor too ... trying to land hammerfists from the top of the cage.

Wanna know how the Cowboys coulda avoided another tough road loss Sunday??

Have Dez Bryant on the roster -- at least, that's what the ex-Dallas wideout is saying.

The Cowboys' offense was trash again in a 19-16 loss to the Texans ... and owner Jerry Jones said afterward he sure would've liked a No. 1 WR for Dak Prescott to throw at in games like these.

Enter Dez ... who took to Twitter to say Jerry already HAD a No. 1 wideout -- but cut him last spring.

"Idk what Jerry meant by that #1 WR but I’m damn for sure would have kept them chains moving..." Dez said.

Dez has been begging for a shot to get back in the NFL ... posting workouts and even tweeting last week the Cowboys are still his top option.

But, Jerry brushed Bryant off before the Houston L last week ... basically saying that ship has sailed.

Conor McGregor is taking his L with a shot of his Proper 12 whiskey and a black eye from Khabib Nurmagomedov ... saying "we lost the match but won the battle."

It's the first time we've seen McGregor since he got choked out by Khabib in the 4th round at UFC 229 on Saturday night ... and all things considered, Conor looks pretty good.

Of course, Conor and Khabib got into a massive brawl with each other's crews after the fight ended ... with Nurmagomedov jumping out of the Octagon to confront Conor's training partner, Dillon Danis.

Conor didn't do any media after the fight and blew off his club appearances on Saturday ... but he appears to be moving forward.

Wiz Khalifa says punishing Khabib Nurmagomedov for attacking Conor McGregor's jiu-jitsu coach would be the height of hypocrisy -- it's just fighters being fighters.

We got the rapper at LAX Sunday, and he was still hyped after the UFC 229 insanity -- Khabib smoking Conor in the Octagon, and then sparking a massive post-fight brawl by going after Conor's jiu-jitsu coach, Dillon Danis.

Wiz says if Conor didn't get punished for the bus attack at Barclays Center back in April ... then Khabib also deserves a pass.

However, he does think one thing has to change ... and that's the level of trash talking before bouts. Sounds like he thinks the post-fight brawl was inevitable due to the things said leading up to UFC 229. Wiz says it's on the UFC to get a handle on this.

As wild as it was to watch Khabib Nurmagomedov jump out of the Octagon to attack Conor McGregor's training teammate on TV, it's even crazier with this angle from the ground floor.

TMZ has obtained footage that captured the insane moment Khabib -- who'd just defeated Conor for the lightweight belt -- hopped over the cage and try to fight Dillon Danis. This is a clear shot of the action ... and it gives you a sense of how chaotic it was on the ground level.

Tons of people -- including metro police -- immediately rushed in to break up the fight, and Khabib is quickly dragged away screaming. You also see Conor try to rush out as well and get into it with Khabib's teammate, before getting rushed himself by another guy in Khabib's camp.

Khabib later apologized for the incident, but it's unclear what punishment -- if any -- he may face for setting off the massive brawl.

How serious is Floyd Mayweather about running it back one mo' gin with Manny Pacquiao?

According to the top guy at Showtime Sports, he's serious as a heart attack ... as in DEADLY SERIOUS.

TMZ Sports talked to Stephen Espinoza -- Prez of programming for Showtime Sports (and Conor McGregor's archnemesis) -- about the proposed rematch, and if would ever ACTUALLY happen.

"Having spoken to Floyd, I know he's deadly serious about it. He's very, very serious about wanting the fight."

The first one was a PPV record setter, and although there are a ton of people that wonder if this one would be as big (basically, some people don't care) ... Espinoza says next year, it's LIT.

"2019 sounds perfect. After I get a little bit of sleep after this event, we'll go at Mayweather/Pacquiao 2, I think."

If you thought Deontay Wilder was taking a shot in the wallet by fighting Tyson Fury and not Anthony Joshua, bite your tongue. 'Cause Wilder says he could make SERIOUS money his next time in the ring.

Like $100 million serious.

Deontay sat down with the guys on the "TMZ Sports" TV show and when he was asked if he was bummed he wasn't fighting Joshua -- the biggest fight in the sport -- he broke some news.

"People always think the money is in Europe and it's over there. The money is not, it's here, because of the cap that they have there."

Wilder claims that there is a revenue cap on fights in Europe that doesn't exist stateside, and because of that -- plus the INSANE interest his matchup with Fury is generating -- he could make more here.

"Pay-per-view here we can do 59 all the way up to 100."

He's talking about millions of dollars by the way, and he's so jazzed about it he could barely talk.

The web of celeb burglaries just got a little more tangled -- one of the 4 people arrested for hitting Rihanna's crib had also been busted for a Chief Keef home invasion where shots were fired.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... 19-year-old Jshawne Daniels was nabbed by cops after hitting Keef's crib in the San Fernando Valley on Sept. 23. As we first reported, one round was fired before arresting 2 suspects, and a third got away.

We're told Daniels runs with the same crew that hit Yasiel Puig on Sept. 18. Days after the Keef incident, cops say different members of that same crew hit RiRi and Rams star Robert Woods.

We broke the story ... the 4 suspects taken into custody had a list of a dozen more stars they were targeting ... including LeBron James, Viola Davis and Matt Damon.