Los Angeles Dodgers

This is the picture that triggered the conversation between L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling and his girlfriend ... the conversation in which he said he did not want her bringing Magic Johnson or any other African American to his games.

In the pic -- obtained by TMZ Sports -- V. Stiviano is on the right. The woman on the left is V's friend, Rachel Rodriguez.

Stiviano says on the audio -- and Sterling acknowledges -- he made her take the pic off Instagram because he didn't want her seen in public with an African American.

In another tape ... Sterling expressed similar disdain for posting this pic (above) -- also obtained by TMZ Sports -- of Stiviano with L.A. Dodger Matt Kemp.

L.A. Dodgers superstar Matt Kemp has just spoken out about being mentioned in the new Donald Sterling recording ... saying it would be "tough" for him to attend Clippers games as long as Sterling owns the team.

As we previously reported, Sterling can be heard instructing his girlfriend to remove a photo of Kemp from her Instagram account because Sterling doesn't believe she should be seen with a black guy in public.

Moments ago, Kemp addressed the situation to the media saying, "Racism is kind of old."

Hours after the L.A. Dodgers returned from their series in Australia ... Yasiel Puig did what anyone would do after a long flight around the world -- HE HIT THE CLUBS!!!!

Puig -- along with fellow Dodgers star Juan Uribe -- hit up Greystone Manor in Hollywood last night ... and just to make sure everyone knew he was there, Puig rolled up in his $300,000 Rolls Royce Ghost.

Talk about a bad day getting worse ... 'cause after Clayton Kershaw lost to the SF Giants yesterday, the Dodgers ace LOCKED HIS KEYS IN HIS CAR ... and had to call in a lefty for the save.

Ya gotta feel for the guy ... you can see the look on his face when he realizes he's locked out.

Come on ... we've all been there.

Kershaw -- along with several members of the Dodgers organization (including teammate Justin Turner) -- scrambled to break into the Ford ... but to no avail.

Eventually, a hero in a reflective green vest arrived to the scene on his noble white steed (his AAA truck) ... and managed to jimmy open the door.

Kershaw kept his cool during the ordeal ... and offered the guy some chips and a bottle of water.

L.A. Dodgers star Andre Ethier says his life flashed before his eyes when he smacked the line drive shot that struck Sandy Koufax in the head on Friday ... telling TMZ Sports, "I'm glad he's OK."

78-year-old Koufax was carted off to receive medical attention after taking a shot off the bat of Ethier during spring training hitting practice in Arizona. Koufax was bleeding, but was never knocked off his feet.

"My heart was pumping out of my chest," Ethier says ... "Scary moment!"

Andre says he and Dodgers skipper Don Mattingly rushed over to Koufax ... and immediately began to apologize.

Ethier said Koufax forgave him ... but still, Andre says he was sorta freaked out for a minute -- "This is not what I want to be remembered for."

As for Sandy, he underwent a CT scan which ruled out internal bleeding -- and he's expected to be just fine.

L'chaim!

Jackie Robinson ... Don Drysdale ... Lasorda ... Fernando ... Kirk ... so many legendary Dodgers -- but when we asked Peter O'Malley to name the greatest of all, only one name came to mind.

O'Malley's opinion counts -- he and his family owned the Blue Crew for nearly 5 decades before selling the club in 1998 (He's now the owner of the San Diego Padres).

So, who'd he pick? Here's a hint: He once gave up an inside the park home run to Mr. Ed.

Dodgers superstar pitcher Brian Wilson's 100+ MPH right arm ain't the only gun in his arsenal anymore ... 'cause the guy just got a sweet revolver permanently inked on his non-pitching hand.

The '10 World Series champ was walking his beard out of a tattoo parlor in L.A. yesterday ... when he unholstered the freshly-inked pistol on the back of his left hand.

Wilson's already one of the most tatted up players in MLB ... but unfortunately, this one's going to get covered up by his glove while he's on the mound.

Seems the cop in the Yasiel Puig case overreacted when he said the Dodgers star could've killed his mom on a FL highway ... because officials have now dropped the reckless driving charge saying Puig is nothing more than a common speeder, TMZ Sports has learned.

We posted the video of the crazy arrest ... in which Puig, sporting pink shorts, was pulled out of his Mercedes and berated by an angry Highway Patrol Officer who caught the MLB star doing 110mph with his mom in the car.

At the time of the Dec. 28th arrest, the cop insisted Puig was driving recklessly and hauled him to jail. If convicted, Puig could have been sentenced to 90 days in jail.

But today the State dropped the case against the 23-year-old ... saying speeding alone on an open highway doesn't constitute "reckless driving" and he wasn't doing anything else to warrant a charge other than "speeding."

So in the end ... Puig gets a speeding ticket ... and that's it.

Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Carl Crawford says his baby mama is trying to shake him down for more cash ... despite the fact he gives her AT LEAST $10,000 per month, this according to docs obtained by TMZ Sports.

Crawford -- who's in the middle of a $142 MILLION contract -- is also in the middle of a custody war with ex-girlfriend Amy Freeman, the mother of his 2 minor children.

As we first reported, Crawford's pissed that Freeman recently picked up and moved the family from Arizona to L.A. -- claiming she's trying to squeeze him for more money with the help of CA's more favorable child support laws.

Now, Crawford has filed new docs claiming the judge should force her to stay in AZ because it's not only best for their children ... but because he takes damn good care of her in the Grand Canyon state.

Crawford says he's not only paying for the kids to go to fancy schools, but has showered his ex with multiple homes, cars and $10k per month in child support.

L.A. Dodgers star Yasiel Puig has something in common with one of the fastest pitchers ever -- they both reach speeds of 110 miles per hour. The only difference ... the pitcher gets in the Hall of Fame and Puig gets arrested.

Yasiel was pulled over this morning in Collier County, Florida. Cops say they clocked him at 110 in a 70 MPH zone. He was arrested for reckless driving and taken to the local jail.

This is Puig's second arrest this year for the same offense. He was arrested in April for going twice the speed limit.

12/29 -- The L.A. Dodgers tell TMZ Sports, "We have spoken to Yasiel and made it clear that we, as an organization, are very disappointed in his recent behavior."

Larry King's wife pulled a risky move Friday night ... throwing a surprise birthday for her 80-year old husband ... but don't worry, the T.V. legend made it out alive.

Larry's wife Shawn King planned the whole thing without her husband having a clue ... and the look on his face when he realizes it's a surprise party is classic.

Guests like Pat Boone, Paul Anka and Warren Beatty arrived early to hit some balls on the field ... and they all had a fancy dinner after the big reveal.

It reportedly costs upward of $25k to rent out Dodger Stadium for a private event.

Take that Kim and Kanye!

This is L.A. Dodgers star Andre Ethier stealing a page from serial fashion assassin (and TBS sideline reporter) Craig Sager ... and rocking an aggressively ugly plaid suit near the team bus.

It appears the pic was taken outside Dodger Stadium today as Ethier and the team boarded the team bus for their trip to St. Louis for Game 6 of the NLCS.

We're not saying Ethier's outfit is the worst we've ever seen (we're looking at YOU Dwyane Wade) ... but it's definitely up there.

Diggin' the yellow bow tie though.

It's bad enough that he can't play, but injured Dodgers star Matt Kemp isn't traveling with the team either -- and TMZ has video of the All Star gimping his way through LAX today on a scooter.

With the rest of the squad already in St. Louis for the NLCS, Kemp -- nursing two injuries -- wheeled through the airport Thursday afternoon on a medical scooter designed to help him keep the weight off his busted right ankle.

Kemp seemed pretty bummed out about the situation -- and for good reason -- telling us that having to ride around on the scooter, while the rest of the guys are prepping for the Cards, straight up blows.

But don't feel too bad for Matt -- he still raked in roughly $20 million this season ... so it's not a total loss.

The L.A. Dodgers will NOT pay for the cameras that Yasiel Puig broke during the frenzied Gatorade-fueled celebration after winning the N.L.D.S. last night ... and that's exactly the way TBS wants it, TMZ has learned.

Well-placed sources connected with the Dodgers tell TMZ, broken cameras are all part of the drill during a celebration.

As one source put it, "TBS would never approach us for that. It's all part of the celebration."

Those cameras are nothing to sneeze at -- they can run anywhere from $50k to $75k.

What's more, one well-placed Dodgers source tells TMZ ... other cameras were broken in the locker room during the champagne celebration and nobody from the outside saw it happen ... but no one is complaining.

The cost of doing business ... it ain't always cheap.

Former pro baseball star Gabe Kapler has filed for divorce from his wife of 14 years ... and in the divorce docs he's made it clear -- he wants his maiden name back!

Kapler -- who's now an analyst on Fox Sports 1 -- filed the docs in L.A. County Superior court in an effort to end his marriage to Lisa Kapler, who he married back in 1999.

According to the docs, Gabe is serving as his own lawyer in the divorce ... and appears to have filled out the complicated docs himself ... which might explain some of the strange requests.

For example -- Gabe checked the box asking to have his former name restored ... and included the name "Jansen" ... his wife's maiden name. Oops.

Kapler also checked the box asking for spousal support ... odd, considering he earned millions of dollars over his 12 year MLB career. Again, ooops.

The couple has two minor children together. Gabe is asking for joint custody.

7:36 AM PT -- Well, our suspicions were correct ...

We spoke to Gabe who confirms there WAS a clerical error made on the document and that he's now "looking into it."

This video of Dodgers superstar Matt Kemp -- limping around on crutches -- is gonna make you really sad ... or really pumped up for the baseball playoffs.

Talk about bittersweet ... the Dodgers are heading into the playoffs, but Kemp will be benched due to a swollen bone in his foot.

So, last night when we caught Matt gingerly making his way into a movie theater he confessed ... "I'm sad" -- but then added a prediction about the Dodgers' NLDS against the Atlanta Braves.

In Kemp's words ... "We gonna win."