TMZ Sports - Page 30

Charles Barkley has some pretty strong words for the Philadelphia 76ers ... telling TMZ Sports it's time they stop being stubborn and trade disgruntled star Ben Simmons already.

We spoke with Charles at LAX ... and asked whether he agreed with Doc Rivers' son, Austin Rivers, who told us he thought Simmons' Sixers career was over.

And it's safe to say Chuck agrees.

"He's never going to play another game in Philly," Barkley said. "The fans won't forgive him."

"They have to make a trade," he added. "You have to move on from a bad relationship. They're not using him and Joel Embiid has been playing great this year, so they're wasting his talents."

Barkley -- who spent 8 seasons with the Sixers -- is familiar with how ruthless Philly fans can be ... recalling times they were hard on him when he played for the org.

"I know those fans very well," Barkley said. "I thought my name was Charles Barkley Son of a Bitch for a long time when I was there."

CB offered some suggestions on how to end the Simmons saga ... saying Philly needs to hop on the phone and call the Boston Celtics, the Houston Rockets, or the Sacramento Kings to help get a deal done.

Speaking of the Kings, Barkley wasn't too fond of SAC trolling Lakers star Russell Westbrook for his shooting slump the other night ... telling us, "The Sacramento Kings should not be making fun of anybody."

Warriors part-owner Chamath Palihapitiya is attempting to clarify his controversial comments made about Uyghur concentration camps in China ... acknowledging his initial statements came off as cold, and claiming he really does care about human rights.

Palihapitiya -- who owns a minority stake in the Warriors franchise -- came under fire for his recent appearance on the "All-In Podcast" ... in which he said, "Nobody cares about what’s happening to the Uyghurs."

According to the U.S. Dept. of Labor, more than 1 million Chinese Uyghurs have been detained in mass detention camps. There are reports that they've been subjected to slave labor, sterilization and rape.

But as Palihapitiya put it, "Of all the things I care about, yes it is below my line."

The Warriors quickly denounced the billionaire's comment ... saying, "his views certainly don't reflect those of our organization" ... adding he has zero day-to-day operating functions within the team.

Amid the backlash, Palihapitiya released a short statement Monday trying to put out the fire.

"In re-listening to this week's podcast, I recognize that I come across as lacking empathy," Palihapitiya said. "I acknowledge that entirely."

"As a refugee, my family fled a country with its own set of human rights issues so this is something that is very much a part of my lived experience."

"To be clear, my belief is that human rights matter, whether in China, the United States, or elsewhere. Full stop."

Chinese affairs have become a huge issue within the NBA ... starting with now-Philadelphia 76ers GM Daryl Morey tweeting support for protesters in Hong Kong ... and more recently, with Enes Kanter Freedom calling on the Association to take a stand against the Chinese government over human rights violations.

Snoop Dogg is a man of his word -- the rap legend just held up his birthday promise and delivered a "Death Row" chain to Eli Manning for his birthday ... and the QB is stoked!!

Remember, the hip-hop legend appeared on ESPN 2's "Manning Cast" with Peyton and Eli earlier this month ... and revealed the gift to the ex-Giants QB for his 41st birthday.

But, Snoop wasn't just blowing smoke -- the 2-time Super Bowl champ had it delivered to him on Monday ... and commemorated the gift with an unboxing of sorts on social media.

"Oh yeah! There she is!" Manning said picking up the gold and diamond chain, "This is what we're talking about!"

During the clip, Manning hilariously struggles to get it on over his head ... admitting he's "never had a chain like this before".

Once he was able to put it on, Eli thanked the rapper for the gesture.

"Snoop, thank you pal," he said. "Now I'll finally fit in with all my neighbors."

Eli says the b-day gift might also get some screen time on Monday night's "Manning Cast" ... saying, "I'm definitely gonna be wearing it in the playoff game on Monday Night Football. Thanks a lot!"

Maybe the hip-hop bling will give the Manning bros. the urge to spit a couple of bars again ... remember their "Football On Your Phone" ad??

Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul?! In a boxing ring?! Well, despite a report the men were deep in negotiations to fight, Iron Mike says it flat out ain't true.

The 55-year-old former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world took to his Twitter page to shoot down the news.

"This is new to me. I just saw Jake in St. Barths and he never mentioned it," Tyson wrote on the social media platform.

Mike was responding to a story published by The Sun on Monday ... where the outlet said Mike and Jake were in "advanced talks" for a $49 million boxing match.

Tyson and Paul do know each other. In fact, Jake became a boxing star on the undercard of an Iron Mike fight ... when the heavyweight stepped in and fought Roy Jones Jr. in November 2020.

That's the night the Problem Child flatlined former NBA star Nate Robinson.

Since, Paul's gone on to KO MMA champ Ben Askren in the first round of their fight ... before beating former UFC champ, Tyron Woodley twice (once by brutal knockout).

Not to mention, Jake just turned 25-years-old TODAY ... meaning Mike is more than 30 years his elder. Also, Paul fights professionally ... and any bout with Tyson would in all likelihood be an exhibition.

"Heavenly Happy Birthday Josie! 🕊 There’s not a day I don’t think about you"

That's Floyd Mayweather reflecting on the birthday of his late, longtime-girlfriend and mother of his 3 children, Josie Harris, who would've turned 42 years old today.

Harris was tragically found dead at her Valencia, CA home back in March 2020.

Emergency responders received a call around 9:30 PM for a woman, Josie, who was found unresponsive in her car. Unfortunately, medics weren't able to save Harris ... and she was pronounced dead at the scene. Foul play was not involved.

Tragic news for the Mayweather family.

Floyd and Josie dated for around 15 years ... reportedly from about 1990 to 2005. They have 3 kids together ... Kouran, Zion, and Jirah Mayweather.

And, even though almost 2 years have passed, it's obvious Floyd -- not typically one to show emotion -- is still having a tough time dealing with the loss.

Mayweather went to Instagram and posted a photo of the mausoleum where Harris was laid to rest.

The stone is marked with a "Happy Birthday" decoration ... and a bouquet of flowers.

Shaquille O'Neal is putting his ass on the line with his latest bet -- literally -- saying if Phoenix wins the NBA title this year, he'll walk two blocks with the word "Suns" written on his butt cheeks.

Seriously.

The Big Aristotle came up with the idea on "The Big Podcast with Shaq" ... after his co-host, Nischelle Turner, claimed it wasn't a foregone conclusion that the Warriors would win it all in 2022.

"Place a bet on it," Shaq told Turner. "Let's do something crazy and embarrassing."

O'Neal then came up with the wild idea ... saying that if Phoenix were to win the championship this season instead of Golden State, he'd slap the team's name on his keister.

The Hall of Famer -- who played for several teams throughout his NBA career -- even said he'll post the footage of him fulfilling the bet live on his IG.

Of course, both the Suns and Warriors have been two of the best teams in the league all season ... so Shaq's bet could very well blow up in his face.

Phoenix and GSW have played each other three times already ... with the Dubs winning two out of the three matchups.

Buccaneers and Eagles fans got into an insane brawl in the upper level of Raymond James Stadium on Sunday ... with one fan violently throwing another down a row of stairs.

The wild scene all went down during the Eagles vs. Buccaneers playoff game in Tampa Bay ... when two Philly fans appeared to start a fight while their team was down 31-0.

You can see in video filmed by bystanders, a man in a Fletcher Cox Eagles jersey got into a scuffle with a Bucs fan -- and then all hell broke loose.

A fan in a Brian Dawkins jersey hurled a Tampa Bay fan down some stairs -- and then he was immediately whaled on by a group of pissed-off Bucs fans.

No word on how the fight was broken up or if anyone suffered injuries in the melee. We've reached out to cops, but so far, no word back yet.

Stephen A. Smith says his battle with COVID-19 included pneumonia in both his lungs as well as a 103-degree fever "every night" ... and things got so bad, he wondered if he was going to die.

The ESPN personality -- who returned to "First Take" this week after being away from the show to fight the virus the past several weeks -- spoke in-depth Monday about his bout with corona, and he revealed it was pure hell.

Smith said there were night sweats, fevers, headaches and a cough -- and he said it was all so awful, he was forced to spend New Year's Day in the hospital.

"I can't tell you how lucky and sincerely blessed I am to be sitting here with you guys today," Smith told his co-hosts, "because two-and-a-half, three weeks ago, I didn't know if I was going to make it."

Smith said doctors told him if he hadn't been vaccinated, he likely would be dead.

"That’s how bad it was," Smith said. "I had pneumonia in both lungs. My liver was bad. It ravaged me."

No playoffs, no problem for Christian McCaffrey ... the NFL superstar just revealed he's doing fine without post-season football, showing vacation is treating him and Olivia Culpo REALLY well in a steamy pic on Monday.

The Carolina Panthers running back's girlfriend posted the sexy photo of the two on their Mexico vacay this month ... and, yeah, there's clearly not much sadness going on over not playing this weekend.

McCaffrey's 6-pack and massive biceps are on full display, while Culpo's insanely toned figure pops in a red bikini.

Olivia -- who's been with McCaffrey in Cabo for the past few days -- captioned the pic with a red heart, and comments about their stunning bodies are already flowing in, with Jessie James Decker writing, "Danggggggg🔥🔥🔥🔥."

We're sure McCaffrey and Culpo would prefer to be prepping for a Super Bowl right now (remember, Culpo had told us earlier this season she thought the Panthers could make a run) ... but after getting to see this pic, we're glad they're not.

A Michael Jackson impersonator got the best of a dude on the mean streets of Las Vegas, and ... well, it's hilarious!

There's not a whole lot of info on what's behind the fight, but it went down on Fremont Street.

The fight looks almost slapstick ... MJ and the dude squaring off with fists raised, and then they tangle.

Michael's ground game is far superior to the guy in green, and he eventually gets the guy in a headlock and begins to squeeze. At a point, it's not funny anymore, and it looks like the guy might lose consciousness. Some passersby disentangle the 2 and no one seems worse for wear.

We don't know what started the fight, but the shirt on the guy in green reads, "CAN'T FIX STUPID."

It's the most entertaining lookalike fight since SpongeBob squared off with 2 women.

Jake Paul stripped all the way down to his birthday suit for his 25th cake day on Monday ... going buck naked for a sexy photo with his model girlfriend.

The Problem Child just posted the spicy pic to his social media page ... showcasin' his naked bod while a bikini-clad Julia Rose did just enough to cover up his junk.

Jake rocked a hat and some expensive jewelry -- and not a thing more -- while Rose had her hands draped all over him.

Jake captioned the photo with some of his goals for his next calendar year -- one of which included "go to outer space with Jeff, Richard, or Elon."

The b-day love for the YouTuber-turned-boxing superstar, meanwhile, has poured in all day ... with Rose writing on her social media page, "happy birthday dubba dubba…I can’t wait to feed you popcorn and kiss your nose until you turn 80."

Jake's older bro, Logan Paul, added, "happy bday @jakepaul love you bro."

By the looks of his social media activity, seems Jake is spending the special occasion in Utah -- and riding around in helicopters while there.

Of course, dude has every reason to celebrate this past trip around the sun ... he became a huge fight star -- and also reportedly made $45 million.

LeBron James is quickly getting over the Lakers' struggles and focusing on the positives ... by losing his mind over his wife's latest Instagram post.

The Lakers are below .500 with a 21-22 record so far this season, forcing the King to publicly apologize via social media on Sunday.

While LBJ's social media activity seemed like a downer, it got much better once Savannah posted a gorgeous look on Instagram Sunday night ... with Bron gushing multiple times over the shot.

"When you walked downstairs I said to myself 'GODDAMN!!! That’s MINE'🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥," LBJ said in response to Savannah's red hair and black outfit.

"SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL Queen 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍"

James didn't stop there ... he reposted the video on his own IG, saying, "GODDESS QUEEN 👸🏾!!"

"Lucky Black Man I am. SHEESH she’s BAD!!," he added. "It’s gone be a great week when you start it off with a Monday like this!"

Of course, LeBron and Savannah -- who were were high school sweethearts -- got married in 2013 and have three kids together ... Bronny, Bryce and Zhuri.

Ex-NBA superstar Yao Ming says he spoke with tennis star Peng Shuai last month ... the former Wimbledon doubles champ who vanished from public eye after accusing a powerful Chinese official of sexual assault.

“We had a pleasant chat,” Yao said Monday, as he fielded questions at a news conference to promote the Beijing Olympics which open in 18 days.

Ming -- the current president of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) -- said he's known Peng for about 20 years ... and the two attended a winter sports exhibition with other prominent Chinese sports figures.

"We asked many questions about the game as we were not familiar with snow sports," the ex-NBA star said.

Of course, Peng's disappearance raised international concern after a post on her verified Weibo social media account claimed a powerful government official sexually assaulted her.

36-year-old Peng has since denied making the claim ... telling a Singapore newspaper, "I have never said that I wrote that anyone sexually assaulted me."

Everyone from Naomi Osaka to Novak Djokovic expressed public concern for Peng ... whose recent public appearances haven't done much to quell concerns for her safety.

Speaking of Djokovic -- who was recently deported from Australia after losing his appeal -- Yao said it's unfortunate the Serbian tennis star won't be able to compete in the Australian Open.

Stick a fork in it -- Novak Djokovic's Australian Open vaccine drama is officially over for now ... as the tennis superstar landed back in Serbia after getting deported from Down Under.

34-year-old ND touched down in Belgrade on Monday and was met by a small group of fans ... with one sneaking in a selfie with the controversial player.

As we previously reported, the 9-time champ fought like hell to be able to defend his title in 2022 ... but his vaccine status eventually led to his one-way ticket outta Australia.

Now, as Novak was set to take the court on Monday ... he's back home and will be forced to watch from the couch.

While his AO hopes have disappeared, Djokovic now has the French Open to worry about in May. French officials recently announced a new law requiring the jab in order to attend sports events would not have exceptions ... meaning Novak could run into the same issue again.

Minutes after the Cowboys and 49ers fought it out on the field ... their fans duked it out outside of the stadium, getting into a wild brawl that actually spilled into a flower bed.

The scene appeared to go down yards away from AT&T Stadium following the two teams' Wild Card matchup ... when a swarm of Dallas fans got into it with what looked like Niners supporters.

At least half a dozen people were involved in the melee ... which was so chaotic, the action ended up in some flowers and shrubs near a busy street.

You can see in footage filmed by bystanders, fans threw wild kicks and punches, all while people screamed for help.

Eventually, nearby officers raced into the scene to break the fight up. It's unclear if any arrests were made, we reached out to cops, but so far, no word back yet.

The robe worn by Muhammad Ali in the leadup to his famous 1965 fight with Sonny Liston is up for auction ... and TMZ Sports has learned it's such a rare piece of boxing history, it could sell for over $500,000.

Ali donned the garment on his way to the ring in his rematch with Liston -- which many consider one of the most memorable fights ever.

Ali not only knocked out Liston in iconic fashion in the ring (you've no doubt seen the picture of the KO at this point) ... but the fight also marked the first time he had boxed under the name Muhammad Ali.

You'll recall, following his first match with Liston in 1964, Ali changed his name from Cassius Clay, calling it "a slave name." He never fought using the moniker again.

For the rematch with Liston a year later, just before he won in convincing fashion, Ali donned a white piece with "Muhammad Ali" emblazoned on the back in red letters.