TMZ Sports - Page 50

Russell Westbrook is already giving back in his new city ... handing out backpacks, facemasks and his signature Jordans at a holiday drive in Washington, D.C. ... and it was COVID-safe!!!

Westbrook -- who was traded to the Washington Wizards earlier this month -- partnered up with The Children’s Guild D.C. Public Charter School for the early holiday celebration on Monday.

Nearly 300 kids from grades K through 8 came through for the drive-thru event ... where a masked-up Westbrook personally handed out the gifts -- and even took distanced selfies with lucky fans!!

Westbrook spoke about his decision to give back so early in his time in D.C., saying, "It is very important not just to come to a new place but to show that you actually care about a community."

"Because where I grew up, living in the city, being able to wake up on Christmas morning and be able to have a gift or a new pair of shoes or backpacks or whatever it was – you would be blessed to be able to have that."

Westbrook is known for helping out communities -- last month, he served over 1,000 meals in L.A. for his 9th annual Thanksgiving dinner event.

"I feel like this platform has blessed me to be able to do that."

Logan Paul is going NUCLEAR on Canelo Alvarez ... saying the champ has no room to call him "disrespectful" to boxing after testing positive for a banned substance.

LP is responding to Canelo's recent comments to TMZ Sports ... where the 30-year-old fighter said it's a "lack of respect" for pros to fight YouTubers like the Paul Bros -- claiming it's more about money than the love of the sport.

The social media superstar addressed Alvarez's comments on Monday ... and he didn't hold back.

“I think he’s the guy that got caught using steroids twice," Paul said on the Night Shift Gaming stream. "We want to talk about disrespecting boxing, talk about a guy who didn’t play by the rules."

Of course, Canelo was hit with a 6-month suspension after testing positive for Clenbuterol in 2018 ... which the fighter blamed on tainted meat.

Regardless of the explanation, Paul says it takes away Canelo's right to talk down on his own boxing endeavors.

"To say we’re disrespecting the sport, I feel disrespected especially as it’s coming from a guy who quite literally disrespected and spit on the ethics of the sport. Yeah, it upsets me."

Paul says Canelo's pissed that he has an upcoming fight with Floyd Mayweather ... when that's the only loss on the top pound-for-pound fighter's record.

"F**k you. Suck a d**k," Paul added. "I think he’s salty because I get a chance to beat Mayweather and he lost to him. That’s his one loss."

Logan -- who admits he idolizes Canelo and considers him one of the greatest fighters of all time -- defends his boxing pursuits ... saying he trains like a maniac and isn't half-assing anything.

Shannon Sharpe rubbed some serious salt into the Steelers' wounds Monday night ... clowning the hell out of JuJu Smith-Schuster for TikToking and then losing to the Bengals!!!

If you haven't seen it, the Pittsburgh star wideout has gained fame for doing TikTok dances on opponents' logos over the past few weeks.

But, seemingly every time he does it -- his team gets whooped ... and Monday night was no different.

Just a couple hours after JuJu grooved to Popp Hunna's "Adderall (Corvette Corvette)" at Cincy's midfield ... PIT took one of the worst losses of the NFL season this year, falling 27-17 to the 3-10-1 Bengals.

And, to make matters worse for JuJu, he got LIT UP during the game -- fumbling a ball that ended up costing the Steelers big time.

Enter Sharpe ... who was so clearly delighted to see JuJu stink it up after dancing on the logo -- he took to Twitter to straight-up clown the 24-year-old!!

"Ju Ju might need a new car," Sharpe said. "That corvette, corvette isn’t fast enough to get away anymore."

Sharpe later added, "Sent corvette,corvette to the body shop tonite. Don’t TikTok on the logo."

To make matters even worse for JuJu? The Bengals got in on the dancing shade too!!!

A teenage soccer player in Brazil was DECKED by a flying karate kick during an insane brawl in a championship game ... and the dude came away from the scrap with a gnarly wound.

The wild scene all went down Monday in Curitiba, Brazil, where Fluminense and Athletico Paranaense were duking it out for the U-17 Brasileirão title.

In the 93rd minute of a tight game ... Fluminense's João Neto was charging for a ball looking to add on to his team's scoring sheet.

The problem? He was tackled around midfield and was so pissed about it, he came up shoving.

That ignited a huge melee ... and when an Athletico Paranaense player tried to defend his teammates, he came in with an MMA style dropkick that connected squarely with Neto's face.

Check out a tighter angle of the violent kick ... it landed flush, and Neto dropped like a bag of sand.

More pushing, shoving and kicking went down between the two teams ... until, finally, the players were all able to separate themselves from the fracas.

In total, NINE players (including Neto) were reportedly sent off for their roles in the brawl ... and Neto showed off his cleat wound in the locker room a short time later.

Yeah. Ouch.

James Harden is too good of a talent to trade away just 'cause he's unhappy ... so says Kenny "The Jet" Smith ... who tells TMZ Sports the Rockets have to find a way to make things work with the superstar.

Houston has been trying to part ways with Harden for weeks ... after the 31-year-old baller expressed desires to play elsewhere earlier in the offseason.

Of course, after Harden's highly publicized trips to Atlanta and Las Vegas at the start of Rockets training camp, it appeared a breakup was on the horizon.

But, the "Inside The NBA" analyst -- who played in H-Town from 1990-96 -- tells us Houston should NOT give in to Harden's wishes ... and says the team needs to fix their relationship with the All-Star.

"Nah, I'm not trading my best player if he's not happy," Smith says. "He's gotta have a better reason. You gotta have a better reason."

"He's too good to just trade because he's not happy."

Smith adds the only way the Rockets should consider trading The Beard is if they get a player of the same talent level like Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James or Anthony Davis in return ... but let's be honest -- that ain't happening.

"James Harden is a player that doesn't come around every 10 years. So, you need a guy who doesn't come around every 10 years to match that."

Smith has a solution -- saying the front office has to sit down with Harden and break down their plan to bring the Larry O'Brien trophy back to Houston.

UFC fighter Rob Font brutally knocked out Marlon Moraes, and now the 135 lb. striker has his sights set on former champ, T.J. Dillashaw -- along with a warning -- "I hit hard."

Font tore his ACL during a fight last December (he still won) and has been out of the fight game for a year, but needed less than 4 minutes to smash 32-year-old Moraes ... the 3rd ranked UFC bantamweight.

So, after the super-impressive performance, who's next?

“In a perfect world, the belt, fighting for the belt. But it’s looking like I’m going to need at least 1 more. A big name like TJ Dillashaw. Cody Garbrandt is out there. Cory Sandhagen, Frankie Edgar’s booked, I wouldn’t mind filling in if God forbid anything happened with that fight. But in a perfect world, I get a title shot.”

Font was ranked 11th before his impressive win, and will certainly jump up in the rankings ... but he'll still need a win or 2 before fighting for a title.

Enter Dillashaw, whose 2-year performance-enhancing drug suspension is about to come to an end.

TJ is a former champ, and was one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world before he was popped by USADA ... but Font believes he's "the guy to welcome him back to the division."

“I get my range, with my accuracy, my heavy hands, and I’m putting any of these guys away. I’m excited," Font says.

"Big options after this, but I wouldn’t mind gettin in there with TJ, ex-champ. I honestly don’t even care about the whole PED situation. That’s in the past.”

It's clear Font's gunning to dethrone the biggest names in the division ... but does he believe it's his time to takeover?

Pro Football Hall of Famer Kevin Greene -- one of the most feared pass rushers EVER -- has died, the HOF confirmed Monday afternoon.

He was only 58-years-old.

"The entire Pro Football Hall of Fame family mourns the passing of Kevin Greene," HOF President and CEO David Baker said. "I regarded him as a personal friend and a true Hall of Famer in every sense. He possessed the most incredible can-do attitude of anyone I ever met."

"He was a great player, but more than that, he was a great man. Our thoughts and prayers are with Kevin's wife, Tara, and their entire family. We will forever keep his legacy alive to serve as inspiration for future generations. The Hall of Fame flag will be flown at half-staff in Kevin's memory."

No cause of death was given.

Greene was a monster in the NFL for 14 years from 1985 to 1999 ... piling up 160 total sacks for the Rams, Steelers, Panthers and 49ers.

The Auburn legend -- who was picked in the 5th round by the Rams in the '85 NFL Draft -- earned 5 Pro Bowl honors, 2 All-Pro nods and 1 NFL Defensive MVP award in his career.

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame alongside legends like Brett Favre, Orlando Pace and Marvin Harrison in 2016.

KG also gained fame in the wrestling world ... making some notable appearances in the WCW in the late 1990s.

Adam Silver is addressing the NBA's investigation into the L.A. Clippers' recruitment of Kawhi Leonard ... saying as of right now, he has "no reason to believe" any rule-breaking went down.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... a man named Johnny Wilkes filed a lawsuit last week, claiming Jerry West promised him $2.5 million to help bring the Klaw to L.A. in 2019.

While West, the Clippers and Leonard have all denied the allegations, the NBA launched a probe into the claims last Thursday to determine if the team broke league policy.

The NBA commish spoke about the investigation on ESPN's "First Take" Monday ... saying, "I have no reason to believe, based on what's been alleged so far, that there's anything inappropriate that took place."

"All I can say there is everyone's entitled to the presumption of innocent," he said. "Obviously, someone who is not known to me or the league office has made an allegation against the team."

Silver says the league will "look into it" for the sake of all 30 NBA teams ... but it's clear he ain't necessarily expecting to find anything.

Silver and an NBA lawyer also addressed the probe in a conference call with media on Monday ... saying the Clips are fully cooperating with league officials.

As for the lawsuit, Wilkes claims West addressed their relationship in an alleged voicemail from 2019 ... in which a voice sounding like the Clips exec. thanks the man for his efforts and refers to the Los Angeles Lakers as a "sh*t show."

U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams says LeBron James can help end the pandemic ... explaining Monday if the NBA superstar takes the COVID vaccine, others will follow suit.

"LeBron James, I know you’ve been a big supporter of masks," Adams said on KTLA. "I want to know when you’re going to take the shot. Not the basketball shot, but the COVID shot."

"Because I did it because I know it’s safe, and we want to make sure people understand this is how we end the pandemic.”

Adams says if LeBron publicly vouches for the vaccine ... he's confident it could send a HUGE message to anti-vaxxers.

"That's how we promote confidence," Adams said. "We want people to lead by example."

Adams says he hasn't been able to personally reach out to LBJ with the request -- but he said if he were able to get a hold of the L.A. Lakers champ, he'd tell him to urge others to donate plasma as well.

Tony La Russa pled guilty to reckless driving Monday -- nearly a full year after he was arrested in February -- and now, the White Sox manager is expressing serious remorse over the incident.

La Russa was busted back on Feb. 24 after cops believed he had been drinking and driving.

In police documents, cops said the 76-year-old had wrecked his car in Phoenix, AZ -- and officers claimed he exhibited all the signs of being impaired when they questioned him.

Cops said La Russa smelled like alcohol, blew a .09 (the legal limit is .08) ... and then became combative.

In the docs, police said La Russa -- who admitted to drinking wine prior to getting behind the wheel -- told officers, "I'm legit. I'm a Hall of Famer, brother. You're trying to embarrass me."

Cops say bloodwork on La Russa ultimately showed he had a BAC of .095 ... and he was eventually hit with two misdemeanor DUI charges.

Courts records, though, show La Russa reached a deal with prosecutors Monday ... in which he agreed to plead guilty to a reduced charge of reckless driving.

In exchange, prosecutors agreed to drop the other DUI charge.

As part of La Russa's sentencing, he was ordered to spend one day in jail -- though La Russa will be allowed to serve it via home confinement, according to his attorney, Larry Kazan.

Kazan also said La Russa will pay a $1,300 fine and do 20 hours of community service as part of his sentencing.

"Mr. La Russa knows he made a mistake last February and deeply regrets it," Kazan said in a statement. "He is embarrassed and concerned. He knows what he did was wrong."

Move over, LeBron James ... there's another basketball superstar in the family -- his 6-year-old daughter, Zhuri!!

The King's children took their talents to the driveway for a late-night hoop sesh recently ... and naturally, there were some awesome highlights.

While we've all seen Bronny and Bryce's skills on the court, it's Zhuri who may have gotten her dad's passing abilities ... tossing up a perfect lob for her oldest bro to throw down an alley-oop dunk!!!

Bu,t Z also put her shooting and dribbling on display as well ... draining a close shot and showing off her handles in the short clip.

Of course, 16-year-old Bronny is considered one of the best high school hoopers in his grade ... and 13-year-old Bryce has looked great on the hardwood as well.

The wrestling ring looked more like the set of an action movie Sunday night ... with a WWE superstar being LIT ON FIRE to end a highly-anticipated main event!!

And, just like a movie, the whole thing was not real and scripted ... but it was still insane to watch!!!

Bray Wyatt's "The Fiend" character was squaring off with Randy Orton in a "Firefly Funhouse Inferno" match -- where, in order to win, a wrestler has to set the other on fire.

And, after several minutes of brawling ... Orton did just that to Wyatt!!

Randy took control of the match, pushed Wyatt into some flames, and then did his signature "RKO" finishing move on the superstar to "KO" him.

That's when Randy doused Wyatt in gasoline and dropped a match on him!!!

The visuals were INSANE -- Wyatt's body went up in flames ... and announcers played up the moment by begging Orton to stop!!

"F*ck, Kirk! Come on! Throw the ball!"

Vikings superstar Justin Jefferson UNLOADED on his quarterback, Kirk Cousins, after an errant throw during Sunday's game ... and the wideout's mini-rant was all caught on a hot mic.

Here's the deal ... in the 2nd quarter of Minnesota's 33-27 loss to Chicago -- Jefferson was open in the back of the end zone for a touchdown.

The problem? Cousins was scrambling to his left and couldn't make an accurate throw -- leading to an incompletion.

Justin -- who's absolutely BALLIN' OUT in his first year in the league -- was NOT happy about it ... and screamed at the QB.

The clip went viral ... and after the game, Jefferson wrote on social media the outburst should not cause people to label him a "diva."

"y’all love blowing stuff out off proportion," the 21-year-old said. "And I ain’t no diva don’t get it twisted."

Shaquille O'Neal says everyone needs to chill about his "booty" comment to Megan Thee Stallion -- saying he was just showing love, not trying to smash.

People went crazy recently over a comment Shaq left while watching Megan Thee Stallion twerk it out during an Instagram Live.

The comment? "Watching that booty."

Yeah ... even his son, Shareef, commented ... saying, "I feel you pops."

So, was Shaq shooting his shot? The Diesel says it was just a compliment and nothing more.

"This is what happened America … I was in [the IG Live session]. Somebody said, 'What are you doing in there?' And, I typed what I typed. I wasn’t trying to hit on her."

When asked if Meg responded to Shaq's comment, O'Neal downplayed it ... saying, "I don't know, I didn’t even check."

Mmmmmmmhmmmmm ...

There's more ... Shaq also heaped praise on LaMelo Ball -- saying the #3 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft is straight ballin' right now.

He's right -- did you see that pass Melo hit during a pre-season game the other day? Good lord!

And, to cap it off ... Shaq also tried out a motorized tricycle (also called a standing scooter) -- and props to whoever made it, because it ran with some zip, even with a giant like O'Neal riding on it!

The Tiger Woods like-father-like-son saga continues -- not only does his boy have a natural swing like pops, but he can tap it into the hole like him too ... and their celebrations are almost identical.

Charlie Woods was lining up for a putt Sunday on the last day of the PNC Championship down in Orlando on the 10th hole ... and after hitting it ever so softly, the ball glided across the green and sank right into where it needed to go to get them a stroke under par.

Watch what 11-year-old Charlie does after realizing he made his shot ... he gives a subtle fist pump to show his jubilation -- the same kind of fist pump we've seen Tiger shoot out after an awesome shot, which often meant victory. BTW, both TW and CW were rocking his signature red polo and black slacks together ... just one more mini-me thing on display.

On Saturday, we saw Charlie's fairway swing ... and it too had echoes of Tiger's own. Safe to say, dad's been training his son well in the art of golf -- and it's paying off and then some.

Team Tiger is pretty far behind on the leaderboard as the relative duo tourney starts to wrap up. They're in 8th place as of right now ... behind groups like Team Daly, Team Kuchar, Team Singh and Team Thomas (who's in first place). Granted, a lot of those teams don't have young children as their partner-in-club ... so Tiger and Charlie are doing well all things considered.

Cops in Canada descended on an ice skating rink, arrested a player and threatened to tase him ... and it was all captured on video.

Calgary cops claimed the game defied the law limiting outdoor team sports to 10 participants, with 2 meters separating them. There were 40 people at the game ... thus the violation.

Two of the officers approached one of the players, who ignored their orders to get on the ground. One of the cops knees the player, but he stays upright.

Then one of the cops loses patience and yells, "Get on the ground! Get on the f***ing ground! Get on the ground before I f***ing taser you!"

The player was arrested for resisting arrest and violating the public health restriction.

The PD tells us the man was not arrested for playing hockey ... he was arrested because he refused to follow the officers' orders and wouldn't ID himself so they could issue him a ticket.