TMZ Sports - Page 50

Think Kevin Durant is gonna let a little thing like a devastating Achilles injury keep him from a Summer yacht trip to the Amalfi Coast with smoking hot bikini babes?!

Yeah, neither did we ...

The NBA superstar is floating around off the coast of Italy on a sick boat with some friends and a bevy of attractive ladies.

Don't worry Nets fans, KD was getting treatment for his injury on the yacht in his down time ... and from the pics, it seems he's keeping that leg elevated as much as possible!

Still, guy's gotta relax right!

The ladies seem to be keeping themselves busy too -- with some amazing yoga poses on the deck of the yacht.

It's good to be rich and famous ... ain't it?!

Huge moment at the U.S. Open in New York ... where Colin Kaepernick and Kobe Bryant were spotted together in the stands to watch Naomi Osaka do her thing!

Kobe spotted Colin in the stands at Louis Armstrong Stadium and went over to say hi ... and when CK realized what was happening, he sprung up from his seat with a huge smile on his face!!

The guys did the ol' bro hug and talked for a bit before going back to watching the match.

And, get this ... Naomi's rap star boyfriend, YBN Cordae, was sitting right by the guys when the whole thing went down.

We also noticed Kap and Kobe were surrounded by security -- for obvious reasons.

"My truth is that I'm a talented football player, a damn good writer, a loving son, an overbearing brother, a caring friend, a loyal lover, and a bisexual man."

Former Dallas Cowboys pass rusher Ryan Russell just announced he's bisexual ... and says his motivation for revealing his sexual identity is that he's flat-out tired of hiding it.

The 27-year-old -- who was a Cowboys' fifth-round pick back in 2015 -- is currently an NFL free agent ... and says his last job interview with a team made him realize he needed to make his sexual preferences public.

"Out of love, admiration and respect, I want the next team to sign me valuing me for what I do and knowing who I truly am."

It's all in an ESPN.com article that Russell wrote himself ... where the 6'5", 267-pound defensive end says it's his goal to be an openly LGBTQ player in the NFL.

"I want to live my dream of playing the game I've worked my whole life to play, and being open about the person I've always been."

Russell also went public with his relationship with his boyfriend, who wrote of the NFL player on his Instagram page, "This man is the top headline on @espn this morning for speaking his truth as a player in the NFL and as my boyfriend. I couldn’t be more proud."

Russell -- who sat out the entire 2018 season with a shoulder injury -- had a solid first 3 years in the league ... playing in a combined 23 games with the Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

He logged 3 sacks and 20 combined tackles in those games ... and says he's still confident he can produce at a high level for an NFL team.

NASCAR superstar Kurt Busch says the death of racing star Jessi Combs was a "terrible accident" -- but at least she went "pushing the limits."

36-year-old Combs was a star in the racing world -- and died on August 27 while attempting to break the women's land-speed record she set back in 2016.

Combs was behind the wheel of a "jet car" in the Alvord Desert in Oregon trying to break the 600-mph barrier when something went wrong and she died. Officials aren't saying much about the incident other than "there was a fire involved."

Now, some of the biggest stars in racing are paying respects to Combs ... including Busch, who spoke to us briefly outside of "Good Morning America" in NY.

"It was a terrible accident, man," Busch said ... "We'll find out all the details later on but she was pushing the limits, man."

We asked if Busch respected that she was trying to break her own record -- "absolutely."

J.J. Watt is giving the 2-year update on his massive Hurricane Harvey relief fund ... saying the donations have helped repair and rebuild more than 1,100 homes in the area!!

Of course, the Houston Texans superstar initially started a campaign to raise $200k in the wake of the natural disaster that resulted in more than $127 billion in damage.

The efforts spread all over the country ... and Watt eventually raised more than $37 MILLION to help rebuild the city.

Watt shared an update on where that money is going on Thursday ... saying the donations have helped clean, repair and rebuild over 1,183 homes.

On top of that, there have been over 971 childcare centers and after school programs that have helped more than 108,000 kids.

Watt adds that the relief fund has served 239 MILLION meals to victims of the hurricane ... and has been able to provide physical and mental health services to nearly 9,000 victims.

But, Watt didn't just raise a ton of money for relief efforts ... he was on scene personally helping families move back into their homes, like this video he shared back in January 2018.

"None of this would be possible without your generosity," Watt says. "Thank you for continuing to shine a light on the beauty of the human spirit."

We've never seen anything like this ... ever.

BJ Penn is getting a SERIOUS offer from the man he's supposed to fight in October -- with Nik Lentz telling TMZ Sports he wants Penn to come live and train with him to help get his life back on track.

Remember, Dana White said Penn's last ever UFC fight would be against Lentz later this year -- but after Penn was KO'd during a street fight in Hawaii, it seems the bout could be in jeopardy.

Lentz tells us he "needs" this fight to happen for the sake of his own family -- but also he cares about Penn and wants to help him get cleaned up.

"Clearly, there's something wrong here," Lentz says about Penn's recent altercations ... "You need to get your life together."

Lentz says he wants Penn to move out of Hawaii -- where he thinks Penn is running with the wrong crowd and it's dragging him down.

"There's people there that are not good for you."

Instead, Lentz says Penn should relocate to Florida -- where he can train at his gym and sleep in his home.

"I'm gonna teach you how to be a man because right now you're a monster" ... adding, "You can't be getting knocked out in front of the Lava House."

But, don't mistake Lentz's kindness for weakness -- Nik says he won't have mercy with Penn when they step into the Octagon.

"I'm going to help him more than he's ever been helped in his life," Lentz says ... "I'm gonna kick his ass for money at the same time, but I'm still gonna help him."

Dwight Howard is breaking his silence on Shaq's most recent barbs ... firing back at the big man's criticism by saying, "It's irrelevant to what I'm trying to do."

The Big Diesel has taken a couple shots at the newest Lakers center the past few days ... he shaded Howard to TMZ Sports on Monday and purposely misspelled his name in a tweet Wednesday. It's a beef that's more than 10 years old.

Howard finally responded in an Instagram Live post late Wednesday ... saying, "It's okay, I'm not here to talk about Shaq. What he said, what he did. It's irrelevant to what I'm trying to do."

"So, don't talk to me about what anybody else said about me. My focus is on one thing."

The two NBA superstars have had a history of going at each other's necks ... it all seemed to start in 2007 in an All-Star Game dance battle -- and continued with a feud over the "Superman" nickname.

Seems Shaq's all kinds of down for keeping the beef alive. As for Dwight, pretty clear the dude just wants to move on and focus on basketball.

When it comes to street fights, Chuck Liddell has one important piece of advice for BJ Penn -- "It really isn't worth it at this point in our lives."

Liddell and Penn came up around the same time and are both members of the UFC Hall of Fame -- and both had a reputation for fighting ANY opponent, any time, any place.

But, after 40-year-old Penn got knocked out in a street fight in Hawaii this week, Liddell says Penn should probably take some time to think about his decisions.

In fact, when we saw Liddell leaving Rafi Anteby's birthday celebration at the Sofitel in L.A., we asked how he deals with potentially violent situations when he's out in public ... and Chuck told us he kills people with kindness these days.

"I usually have fun with them," Liddell says about hecklers ... "I usually just joke around with 'em. I have a good time."

It was like 1985 all over again when Dolph Lundgren and Carl Weathers came face-to-face in Venice Beach this week ... and we could only think one thing -- RUN, APOLLO!!!!!!

Remember, a juiced up Ivan Drago beat Apollo Creed to death during that exhibition bout in "Rocky IV" ... why didn't you throw in the damn towel, Rock!?!

But, here we are 34 years later ... Apollo died after secretly knocking up a woman who had a kid named Adonis ... and the rest is history!

There were rumors Carl Weathers was upset at Sylvester Stallone when the Rocky franchise came back with Creed ... and Apollo Creed wasn't a part of it -- but all of that seems to be overblown.

Of course, Lundren's Drago character DID come back to train his own gigantic Russian son in "Creed II" ... a movie that made more than $200 mil at the box office.

Carl is now 71, Dolph is 61 and they both still lift ... they ran into each other at the legendary Gold's gym in Venice!

He's 7'1" ... but somehow Shaquille O'Neal managed to squeeze himself behind the wheel of an insanely tiny Smart car in NYC ... and it looks like a scene straight outta "The Simpsons."

The NBA legend was leaving a Steady App event in Manhattan on Tuesday and appeared to be in a rush to get to his whip.

The camera guy was clearly on the lookout for the usual massive SUV or some other giant car that could comfortably fit the Big Man.

Instead, Shaq opened up the door to what appears to be a Smart EQ Fortwo Prime Coup -- stuffed his body into driver's seat ... and somehow managed to get both of his massive feet in driving position.

It's not the first time Shaq has crammed himself into a micro-car ... he was spotted in an itty-bitty mobile back in 2008 ... but he was a lot thinner back then and the car had no top!!!

No word on where Shaq was headed ... but we hope he got there fast!!!

NBA players have had similar problems in the past ... like when 7'6" Yao Ming struggled to fit in the front seat of an SUV back in 2014. Hey, it's hard being tall!!!

"They treated us like s**t over here so we don’t care for them much."

That's Oakland A's star closer Liam Hendriks talking about Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors ... and yeah, dude clearly HATED being neighbors with the former NBA champs!!!

Hendriks -- who's been an absolute beast for the A's on the mound this year -- just did an interview with The Athletic, and when it came to the Warriors, dude didn't hold anything back.

"When the Warriors sucked and the A’s were good, the A’s would give them tickets," Hendricks said.

"When the Warriors became good they decided to cut all ties and become a**holes. So, no love lost for them leaving."

In fact, Hendriks says even the Warriors' parking lot attendants treated him like dirt after the Warriors got good, saying, "I got told I’m not as important as a player for the A’s as a fan for the Warriors is."

"He wouldn’t let us out of the F Lot. We’re trying to get out and he wouldn’t let us out."

Good news for Hendriks ... the Warriors are no longer the A's' neighbors -- they're moving into a swanky new place in San Francisco next season.

And, if ya think Hendriks will miss them even a tiny bit ... you'd be dead wrong!!!

Iso Joe has been straight-up KILLIN' IT in the BIG3 this season ... and his old employer has taken notice, 'cause Ice Cube tells TMZ Sports NBA scouts have been coming to watch Joe Johnson!!

The ex-NBA star was just named the 3-on-3 league's MVP ... and it was an absolute no-brainer. The guy led the league with 21.9 points a game and 3.9 assists a game for the Triplets.

Johnson was a helluva NBA player too ... he was a 7-time All-Star and, at one point in his 17-year career, averaged at least 20 points a game in 5 straight seasons.

We spoke with Cube about JJ's dominance in his league ... and he says it's gotten the attention of at least 2 NBA teams -- the Dallas Mavericks and New Orleans Pelicans.

As we previously reported ... Mavs owner Mark Cuban was front and center at the BIG3 Ballout in Dallas earlier this month ... and the dude must've liked what he saw.

So ... what happens if the Association steals his best player?? Cube ain't mad at all!!

"That's fine!" the rap legend says. "That's what it's all about. It's all about showing these guys can still play at a high level. And, if the NBA come calling, we're with that. We will definitely welcome that."

"Our players should go and play in the NBA if they can."

Bug - 1, JaVale McGee - 0

The 7-foot-tall L.A. Lakers center posted hilarious footage of his battle with the flying insect in his driveway on Tuesday ... but he's insisting this wasn't no regular bug. Suuuuure.

"Got in a fight today w the biggest flying insect I’ve ever seen!" JaVale said. "I know you guys are gonna say 'your 7foot! Dont be scared of a bug!'"

He continued ... "Well this wasn’t some ordinary bug! This bug had timberlands on, and two cuban links... he was his own man and probably had a family to feed."

The vid is hilarious ... seriously, the guy BOOKS IT when the flying bug attacks.

UFC legend BJ Penn was involved in another bar fight in Hawaii -- this time, the 40-year-old was sprawled out on top of another man raining down punches, and TMZ Sports has the video.

Penn was at the Lava Shack on the Big Island on Tuesday when he got into it with another dude -- and in classic Penn fashion, the fight ended up on the ground. We have a pic of Penn at the bar earlier in the night. You can see the clothing is the same.

Penn had his opponent mounted -- and his legs were hooked in -- and he threw at least 4 ferocious shots to the other man's head ... and it looks like all of the shots landed pretty clean.

You can see several men in red "Security" shirts move in and try to break the whole thing up.

Unclear what started the fight -- but we're told law enforcement responded to the scene. It does NOT appear Penn was arrested and cops say they have no record so far.

The situation is similar to a fight Penn got into back in June on Oahu -- where he pummeled a man outside of a strip club while a group of people looked on.

Cops were called to that incident as well -- but again, Penn was NOT arrested or charged with a crime.

We reached out to Penn's camp for comment -- so far, no word back.

Penn is slated to fight Nik Lentz in the near future but no date has been set. Dana White has said the fight will be the last of Penn's legendary career.

Penn is a UFC Hall of Famer with victories over legends like Matt Hughes and Matt Serra.

Jessi Combs -- the professional racer known for breaking land-speed records -- died in a car crash while attempting to go nearly 500 mph.

The "Fastest Woman on Four Wheels" died Tuesday in Oregon in a jet-powered car ... according to multiple reports. The Harney County Sheriff's Department was called to the scene of the fatal crash in the Alvord Desert around 4 PM.

Terry Madden, a member of Comb's crew, confirmed her death on Instagram Wednesday morning. He calls Jessi "the most amazing spirit that I have ever or will ever know." He adds that he was the first one on the scene of the "horrific accident" and everything possible was done to save her.

The cause of the crash is under investigation by authorities.

Combs was reportedly trying to break her own land-speed record, which she set in 2016 by driving nearly 478 MPH in the same desert where Tuesday's crash took place. She had tried previously in September of last year.

She earned her nickname in 2013 when she broke a 48-year-old record by reaching 398 miles per hour in her North American Eagle Supersonic Speed Challenger.

Jessi was also known as a TV personality, with notable appearances on "MythBusters" and "Overhaulin'." She was 39.

Rory McIlroy got sick and tired of watching his Pro-Am partner Justin Timberlake getting stuck in the sand ... so he stopped down and gave the pop star one of the coolest personal lessons ever!!!

It all went down this week in Switzerland ... where Rory and JT were teamed up to compete in the Pro-Am event at the Omega European Masters tournament.

Timberlake is a VERY serious golfer (he's a 2 handicap) who has a reputation for being one of the best celebs on the links. So, when Rory decided to give him a little 1-on-1 bunker clinic, you can see Justin was all ears.

And, when it came time for Rory to demonstrate how a bunker shot SHOULD be hit ... man, HE ALMOST HOLED IT!!! Incredible.

Timberlake brought the whole family to Switzerland -- and was seen playing around with his kids on the course ... good times for everyone!!!