TMZ Sports - Page 50

When the angry little Bagel Boss guy makes his boxing debut in Atlantic City, there will be another jackass in the ring with him -- Bam Margera.

The "Viva La Bam" star is making a return to the public eye after a rough few months and another trip to rehab, by signing on to be the celebrity ref for Chris Morgan's fight -- against another viral star TBD -- at the Showboat Hotel on September 7.

Bam inked the deal with fighting promoter Damon Feldman. Of course, both sides agreed to it BEFORE Margera went off the rails this weekend and berated a Southwest Airlines employee and got booted from a flight.

The next morning, Bam posted a series of videos on social media pleading for Dr. Phil to help him out because his "family is in shambles," and claiming his troubles are worse than ever. No word how all of this might affect the reffing gig.

Regardless, Morgan signed on for the event last month shortly after his bagel shop antics caught the attention of the entire internet ... for better or worse. Okay, probably worse.

Despite his recent drama, Margera's not God, nor is he Morgan's father or his boss ... so he should work out just fine as the referee of his match. (If you don't get that ... watch the vid ... it's worth it.)

It's unclear what Bam's getting paid to get in the ring and watch viral stars of new and old -- like Antoine Dodson, who's also on the fight card -- slug it out, but we're told Bagel Boss guy stands to make anywhere from 5 to 6 figures ... depending on ticket sales and online streams.

Fun fact -- Bam's father, Phil, has actually fought in Damon's boxing events in the past ... so the family has a history with his company.

Chris Brown isn't just good at basketball "for a celebrity" -- he's got world-class talent and could've competed in the NBA ... so says Metta World Peace.

Metta sat down with Van Lathan on 'The Red Pill Podcast,' and was asked how he feels about rappers and entertainers actually trying to play professional basketball.

"I support that actually. I thought Chris Brown should've been in the league. Before, 10 years ago when I was playing with Chris? Yeah, definitely. He was better than a lot of people."

This isn't fake love. MWP, one of the best defensive players in the history of league, says CB's game was LEGIT, and he saw upper-level, elite hoops talent in him.

"He was very smooth, he could penetrate, really good penetrator, really good at attacking the basket."

Brown's hoops prowess is well known, he's been getting it in on celebrity games for years now, but this level of praise from this level of player we haven't heard.

Plus, Brown famously balled out in the Drew League -- playing with legit NBA superstars like John Wall, Paul George, DeMar DeRozan and he more than held his own.

Ex-MLB pitcher Tyrell Jenkins -- a 1st round draft pick in 2010 -- threw crazy haymakers in a huge brawl during a softball game in Texas this week ... and TMZ Sports has the video.

27-year-old Jenkins was a high school superstar who was recruited to play baseball and football at Baylor ... but signed a $1.3 mil contract with the STL Cardinals instead.

He made his MLB debut in 2016 for the Braves ... and kicked around with a few teams before moving back home to coach youth baseball. He's now heavily involved in adult softball.

Fast-forward to Wednesday ... when things got intense between Jenkins' Kekambas and the opposing team, Big Pimpins, in their USA Softball District 25 game when trash talk escalated into an all-out fight.

We're told gloves were thrown, a Big Pimpins player yelled "we're ready to go when you are" ... and the fight broke out within seconds.

You can see 6'4" Jenkins -- in a red shirt -- in the middle of the brawl. It's insane.

We actually spoke with Jenkins who tells us he got involved to defend his teammate ... and only threw punches after an opponent tried to hit him in the head from behind (which was not captured in our video).

Our softball sources tell us Jenkins, along with 3 other players, received a 1-year suspension from the league for their roles in the brawl.

Two other players got 2 years suspensions.

We're told law enforcement was NOT called to the scene ... and the incident was handled internally.

Jenkins has been a MONSTER in Texas softball scene (which is insanely competitive) ... dude hits bombs.

To say Machine Gun Kelly has high expectations for his Browns would be an understatement .... 'cause the Cleveland rapper/actor isn't hoping for a winning season or a playoff berth ...

HE WANTS THE FREAKIN' SUPER BOWL!!!

TMZ Sports spoke with Colson about his hometown Brownies now that they're on the rise with stars like Baker Mayfield, Odell Beckham, Jarvis Landry and Myles Garrett ... and let's just say the dude's expecting to make a trip to Miami in early February.

"Championship," MGK says. "You know where we're going ...100%"

But, that's not the only hardware Kels wants the team to get this season ... he expects Bake to keep Patrick Mahomes from winning back-to-back MVPs!!!

Nick Newell is a badass MMA fighter who happens to have 1 hand ... and Bellator signed him to a fight deal -- incredible story, right??

No, not if you ask Newell ... who tells TMZ Sports the shiny new contract doesn't mean a damn thing if he doesn't punch someone and get a W.

Nick -- who at 33 years old recently signed a 1 fight deal with Bellator -- is weeks away from his debut against Corey Browning (CB once beat Kimbo's son, Kevin Ferguson aka "Baby Slice") at Bellator 225 ... and he's far from happy just having a contract.

"I’m just showing up to win, being a part of something is not good enough for me," Newell says.

"I appreciate everything Bellator's doing for me, but just like showing up and being like, 'oh my god, I got signed by Bellator,' and getting my ass whooped, is not acceptable."

The 15-2 fighter went on to say ... "For me it’s nothing until I get my hand raised. I've accomplished nothing. Just by getting signed doesn’t mean that you're a big deal or that you're good enough."

"I'm not content. I have to win. When I win, then I'll be happy. Then I'll be excited for the future. I feel like I have to earn that."

Nick's journey to Bellator has been 10 years in the making, and while he might think it's no big deal to sign with 1 of the premiere fight promotions in the country, most in the MMA world are super impressed.

Newell will get his chance to earn a win on August 24.

Drew Brees would NOT have made the playoffs this season if the Saints hadn't cut a deal with Michael Thomas to end his holdout ... so says ex-New Orleans great Lance Moore.

"Without Mike," Moore tells TMZ Sports ... "I don't know if we're even talking about the Saints as a playoff team, to be honest with you."

Thomas had been in a contract feud with New Orleans the last few months, and even held out of training camp practices in July to prove he was serious about getting a new deal.

But, the Saints finally offered up a 5-year, $100 MILLION deal ... and Moore says it's a good thing Thomas signed it, because he doesn't think New Orleans' offense is all that good without the star wideout.

"Not to slight any of the other receivers on that roster, but there is nobody. Even putting all those guys together, they cannot make up for the loss of a Michael Thomas."

Moore is clearly super high on Thomas, but he says the praise is warranted because the guy has an unprecedented 321 catches in his first 3 years in the league!!!

By the way, Moore says there's ZERO chance Thomas regresses now that he's got a fat, new contract, telling us, "He's a guy that is very, very tireless in preparation. He's fanatical about football."

Donald Trump Jr. and his brother, Eric Trump, are getting the early bird special at the UFC fight in New Jersey this weekend -- 'cause they showed up hours before the big bout.

President Trump's sons are sitting cage-side right now at the Prudential Center in Newark for the UFC on ESPN 5 event, where welterweights Colby Covington and Robbie Lawler are facing off for the main event. Colby personally invited DTJ and co. -- they're pals.

Sources connected to the event tell TMZ Sports that Don, Eric and their brood -- which appears to include Don's GF, Kimberly Guilfoyle and at least one kid -- arrived Saturday around 10 AM PT ... an hour after the first fights kicked off at 9 AM.

Kinda interesting if you think about it -- that means the Trumps are going to presumably stick around for a bit until the Covington/Lawler fight at noon ... which makes for a jam-packed day of Octagon action. Five matches have already been decided, so you gotta imagine the Trump crew caught at least two of them, so far.

It also looks like ESPN followed through on their plan to not keep the famous family off camera -- despite backlash it may or may not spark. They're all getting a healthy amount of screen time at the moment on TV, which we were told was expected ahead of the event.

As you know, the UFC is made up of pretty diverse fighters ... and with their pops being labeled a racist of late, the Trump boys' inclusion in this event was expected to be a powder keg of sorts.

No issues so far though, from the crowd or otherwise ... hopefully it stays that way.

Lamar Odom has a new woman and he ain't afraid to show it ... puttin' on some major PDA with his girlfriend in Atlanta ... and TMZ Sports has the video!!!

The 39-year-old ex-NBA star went public with 32-year-old health and life coach Sabrina Parr on Friday ... days after he was spotted gettin' romantic on a Chipotle date on Monday.

No word on how long the couple has been a thing .. but judging by the way he was kissing all up on her in public, everything seems to be going well so far.

Of course, Lamar was famously married to Khloe Kardashian before they split in 2013 ... and has recently said he wants to reconcile with the KarJenners.

As for his basketball career, Odom was recently cut from his BIG3 team after the league says he simply wasn't ready to compete at a high level.

But, now that he's dating a fitness guru ... maybe he'll be back next season???

After all, the former Lakers and Clippers star recently appeared on "TMZ Live" and told us he plans on continuing his pro career ... even if it means heading over to The Philippines to get back in game shape.

Monica tells TMZ Sports ... there's no HATE when it comes to her ongoing divorce with ex-NBA player Shannon Brown -- in fact, they still heavily support each other.

We broke the story ... Monica filed for divorce back in March, seeking to end her 9 year marriage to Brown. The couple has 1 child together but they have also been raising multiple children from previous relationships together.

So, when we spotted Monica out in NYC, we asked if she was supporting Shannon's new career in the BIG 3, where he's a cocaptain for the Aliens.

"I'm gonna support everything he does," Monica says ... "We have children. That's automatic."

In fact, when Monica talks about their relationship, she explains ... "It started with love and it ended the same way."

Monica says she encourages her kids to support Shannon by attending his games -- and she's planning to go to a game herself in the near future.

See, not all breakups have to be scorched-Earth war.

Not to say the breakup has been easy for Monica, she appeared on VH1's "T.I. & Tiny: Friends & Family Hustle" earlier this year and admitted she's felt "overwhelmed" by the split.

"Me personal relationship has taken a major toll on me, I feel it every day."

Gervonta Davis says he's ready, willing and able to get in the ring with Vasyl Lomachenko -- and even gave message to the boxing superstar, "I think it's time."

Tank is coming off a ferocious 2nd round victory over Ricardo Nunez -- improving his record to an impressive 22-0.

Davis has generated a LOT of hype over the years, but fans are still waiting for him to get in the ring with a true top-flight opponent ... which brings us to Loma.

31-year-old Lomachenko -- the unified lightweight champ -- is widely regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. He's 13-1 and hasn't lost since 2014.

Just like Davis, Lomachenko fights around 130 pounds ... so, fans would LOVE to see the two stars face off.

So, when we spoke with Davis about it ... Gervonta told us he's all the way down to scrap.

"Of course [I'm interested in the Loma fight]. Just as a boxing fan, ya know, top guys fighting each other. Definitely looking for that. Maybe the beginning of 2020."

Davis is only 24 -- but he tells TMZ Sports he's "old enough to take on the challenge."

"I think I have enough skills. I’m maturing as a fighter, as a person. I think it’s time."

And, his message to Vasyl ...

"Just keep winning and someday we will get in there. We will get in there for sure."

Johnny Damon is sending a huge warning signal to the AL's top dogs ... telling TMZ Sports if the Yankees and Astros let Boston climb into the postseason -- the Sox might just win it all!!!

We got Johnny out in NYC this week and had to ask some baseball questions ... and that's when the 2-time All-Star told us teams NEED to be afraid of the Red Sox's potential.

"If they can somehow get above Tampa and make the playoffs, they're going to be scary," Damon says.

And, if you think Johnny is just blowin' smoke because he's a Sox legend ... he ain't -- he tells us he's still got some bitterness toward the way he left the team after the 2005 season.

"Boston and I, it was a little like a divorce," he says.

Johnny tells us the Red Sox are legit this year ... and if they had actually signed a closer in the offseason, he thinks they'd be much closer to the Yankees in the AL East standings right now.

Still, Damon says he thinks the Astros are the favorite for now ... saying when he watched Justin Verlander pitch earlier this week -- he didn't seem hittable!!!

What's it like to get a call from your boss telling you one of your fights will be forever memorialized in the UFC Hall of Fame?!

Check out this video of UFC legend Clay Guida telling us EVERYTHING in an amazing recap of the night his phone rang and Dana White was on the other line.

The fight that was enshrined is Clay's famous 2009 brawl with Diego Sanchez ... a 3-round bloodfest that's easily considered one of the greatest MMA fights EVER.

Clay lost the fight ... but man, what a war!!!

Clay and Diego were both on hand at the UFC Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Las Vegas on July 5 ... where they got dope jackets and trophies to commemorate the enshrinement.

During the ceremony, Guida thanked everyone who helped make that legendary fight possible.

But, now, Guida is focusing on the present ... he's taking on Jim Miller at "UFC on ESPN 5" in Newark on Saturday.

Chaos at Lollapalooza in Chicago where more than 50 people charged the gates "Game of Thrones"-style to get free entry ... but cops only managed to stop one dude -- a guy who only has 1 leg.

BRUH, REALLY?!?!?

It all went down around 2 PM -- where fans who obviously were stoked to see huge acts like Childish Gambino and Tame Impala.

There was clearly a "They Can't Stop All Of Us" mentality ... and they were mostly right. Mostly.

In the footage, a cop storms into the fracas with heroic intentions ... only to step in front of the only guy in the group with a prosthetic leg.

Officials say NONE of the fence-stormers actually made it inside the festival -- claiming the gate that went down was only a perimeter fence.

In other words, there was a gate behind the gate.

No word what happened to the one guy who got stopped.

Look, cops don't always take the easy way out ... there was that one time they ran down a world-class athlete who ended up being the #1 overall pick in the NFL Draft.

The creators of the Philadelphia Phillies' famous mascot, the Phanatic, are threatening to take it away from the MLB team ... and now, the Phillies are fighting like hell to keep it.

It's all spelled in a new lawsuit obtained by TMZ Sports ... where the Phillies say back in 1978,  then Exec VP Bill Giles had a vision for a "green, fat, furry, big-nosed" mascot -- and they worked with a design firm called Harrison/Erickson Incorporated to make the Phanatic.

The MLB team says everything went smoothly with the negotiations ... it paid the firm for its work and the character was an immediate success.

In fact, the Phillies say the mascot became SO popular ... they had to renegotiate with Harrison/Erickson in 1984 to keep the mascot "forever" -- paying the company $215,000.

But now, the Phillies say Harrison/Erickson have gone back on that agreement -- arguing the deal wasn't REALLY a forever contract -- and just hit them with a letter threatening to terminate the arrangement.

The Phillies say in the letter, Harrison/Erickson would not allow them to use the Phanatic after June 15, 2020 if they don't renegotiate ... and are even threatening to make the mascot a free agent if the Phils don't fork over cash!!!

Could you imagine the New York Yankees Phanatic?

But, the team is now suing in federal court to try to stop that from happening, claiming Harrison/Erickson has NO legal rights to terminate the "forever" agreement it signed in 1984.

The team also says it owns the rights to the Phanatic just as much as -- if not more than -- Harrison/Erickson ... and wants a judge to intervene.

The Phillies want legal docs stating Harrison/Erickson can't pull the mascot ... and also want any other team that attempts to use it to be punished for it.

Marshawn Lynch hurled F-bombs at a group of kids during a drill at his football camp in Seattle ... and when one of the moms confronted him, Marshawn asked, "Is there a man here with you?"

It all went down at Lynch's Fam 1st Family football camp on July 28 at a high school in West Seattle where Lynch was out on the field coaching up roughly 200 kids, some as young as 9 years old.

At one point, we're told 33-year-old Lynch tossed some of the kids out of a contact drill ... saying, "Get the f*ck out." It's unclear why Lynch booted the kids from the drill.

Some of the kids began to cry -- prompting at least one parent to intervene. We're told that parent went onto the field and pulled her kid out of the camp immediately, telling off a camp staffer in the process. The woman says she threw her son's jersey on the field in Marshawn's direction and stormed off.

Our video begins with Lynch walking up into the stands to try and speak with the upset mother and other parents at the camp.

The moms in our video (who have kids around 11 years old) wasted no time telling Marshawn they had huge issues with his language and conduct on the field.

Marshawn repeatedly asked the women, "Is there a man here with you?!"

In the video of the encounter, you can hear another parent tell Lynch, "What does that matter?!"

Lynch responds, "Because I want to speak to a man."

We spoke with Stephanie Siva, the mother who Lynch is speaking with in the video, and she told us she felt the question was incredibly sexist and she was offended by it.

During the intense interaction, Lynch acknowledged using obscene language -- including the F-word and the N-word -- and explained why the words are necessary to get the most out of the kids.

Lynch explains, "There's no disrespect ... I understand I'm not gonna be able to please everybody."

At no point did Lynch ever raise his voice or get aggressive -- in fact, he was very calm during the entire interaction.

As Lynch tries to end the conversation, he addresses one of the moms as "sweetheart."

Former MMA star, War Machine -- aka the scumbag who is serving a life sentence for brutally beating his ex-gf -- is getting married Friday, proving love really must be blind.

Sources close to the situation tell TMZ ... he will marry Ashley Farrington at Lovelock Correctional Center in Nevada. She's the woman who befriended him after writing letters to him back in 2017.

As we first reported ... their relationship evolved to visits in prison and eventually their engagement. There will be no traditional honeymoon -- the impending nuptials are happening despite Nevada's strict rule of no conjugal visits.

A rep for the State of Nevada Department of Corrections tells us, when someone in prison wants to get married, the prisoner must file a marriage request ... which is reviewed by the chaplain and warden. They both sit down with the couple and explain to the non-prisoner the seriousness of the crimes committed by the prisoner.

In this case, we're told Ashley did file for a marriage license in Nevada, and War Machine did make the prison marriage request. Ashley apparently still chose to marry him despite his heinous 2014 crime against Christy Mack.