TMZ Sports - Page 50

There ARE enough balls to go around for Julio Jones in Pittsburgh ... so says Chase Claypool, who tells TMZ Sports he'd LOVE it if the Steelers traded for the superstar WR!

"I would love him in Pittsburgh!" Claypool said outside The Farm in Beverly Hills this week.

Of course, Pittsburgh would have to get creative with its salary cap ... and it'd have to offer up a LOT to get Julio from Atlanta, but Claypool made it clear to us, there'd be no fight in the Pittsburgh receiver room if Jones was acquired.

Despite an uber-talented WR roster that includes Chase, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Diontae Johnson and James Washington ... Claypool said he'd still welcome Julio with open arms.

"We're stacked," Claypool said. "But, you can never get too many superstars."

As we previously reported, Jones wants out of Atlanta ... even telling Shannon Sharpe on live television this week that his days as a Falcon are done.

Atlanta has been reportedly shopping him around ... but it's unclear if Pittsburgh is a true frontrunner to land him.

One thing Chase says he knows for sure is that if Julio does come on board ... Jones will be a fan of his new QB -- with Claypool telling us Ben Roethlisberger is still his "G.O.A.T."

Sorry, fight fans ... Chuck Liddell says there will be no upcoming boxing match with Jake Paul -- the UFC legend tells TMZ Sports he'd HURT the YouTuber if a scrap ever went down.

Liddell told us out in L.A. that even though the two have beefed publicly over the past couple weeks ... it just makes no sense for Jake to box him, even at Chuck's current age.

"He's not good enough to fight me," the 51-year-old said of the 24-year-old.

"It just doesn't make sense for him. None of it makes sense for this guy. He's going to risk getting hurt like that?!"

If you're wondering why it's even being rumored ... it's 'cause the two went after each other on social media following Jake's huge win over Ben Askren.

A fan on Twitter asked Chuck to shut Jake up ... and Liddell responded, "I’m ready anytime for that clown."

Paul fired back a short time later, posting a pic of the two after the Askren fight and saying, "This guy Chuck Liddell begged me for a pic after my fight and now is talking s*** on Twitter."

Dominique Wilkins now has even more reason to be upset with a restaurant that turned him away, because Lamar Odom enjoyed a meal at the same spot -- wearing a similar outfit to Wilkins -- just months before.

We got this shot of the former Lakers star at Le Bilboquet in Buckhead, GA taken back in  February. Lamar was wearing a white track suit and sneakers during a friendly meal with local recording artist Morgan Reilly and a mutual guy friend.

As for why it matters? Dominique ripped the restaurant last week, accusing it of turning him  away because he's Black. However, LB said it wasn't about race ... it was only enforcing a "business casual" dress code, and Wilkins' "designer casual pants and a shirt" didn't cut it.

LB did issue an apology to the Hall of Famer, and said it's considering a revision of the dress code, and will try to be more consistent in enforcing. it. When ya take Dominique's situation and Lamar's wardrobe, it's pretty clear there was NOT consistency.

Mark Zuckerberg not taking any chances sharing the ocean with sharks ... because he's hooked himself up to a contraption that supposedly keeps them at bay.

Mark was out on his hydrofoil surfboard in Kauai, Hawaii Thursday, wearing an ankle bracelet called Sharkbanz. The promise is that sharks don't like what it emits, so they stay clear of surfers. The device sends out an electrical current that apparently drives sharks away.

But, there are other, more subtle deterrents. His board has a zebra pattern underneath ... the theory goes that sharks like seeing solid colors because it resembles food, so they're not into stripes. Good theory, but sounds a little sketchy.

Shark Week is coming up on Discovery ... they shoulda featured Mark on how not to get eaten!

Zuck posted video of him on the board, and gotta say .... he's really good in the water. It's pretty choppy, but Mark stays up and bounces atop the swells. He's been surfing for years.

A golfer was nearly mauled by a monster-sized swan after sinking a putt on a Georgia course this week ... and the wild attack was all captured on video!!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... John Walters was out on a round with his pals in South Georgia -- when the golf outing suddenly turned into a fight with a bird.

You can see in the crazy footage ... despite a massive swan parked on the green, Walters went ahead and putted out his 5-footer.

The problem? The made shot had serious ramifications -- 'cause the swan attacked!!

The bird nipped at Walters repeatedly, before the dude took off in a full sprint to get away!!

Walters' daughter tells us the bird has become famous on the course ... explaining it lives in a pond near the 9th hole and has a history of being protective of its green and fairway.

Guy Fieri smells a comeback in the restaurant industry ... and to celebrate he's throwing a huge party with the help of some famous friends.

The official Mayor of Flavortown will be on "TMZ Live" Monday and says he hopes America's reached the point it can finally be done talking about restaurant closures due to the pandemic ... and begin looking forward.

Enter Guy's Restaurant Reboot ... a live stream special set for June 12 at 7 PM across all of Guy's social media platforms. America's favorite chef calls it a celebration of local restaurants across America.

It's pretty sweet ... Guy and his team got huge backing from LendingTree and Pepsi to support the festivities. Shaq and Gronk will visit their favorite joints in Atlanta (Park Tavern) and Tampa Bay (Datz Restaurant) and actually cook their favorite items.

Diplo and Old Dominion will provide the music. And, $300k will be given away to restaurateurs and entrepreneurs to keep their businesses afloat.

Guy's on a mission to get restaurants up and running again after the pandemic pummeled the industry. More than 100k restaurants either temporarily or permanently closed.

Russell Westbrook just scored another W over an NBA heckler -- the $100 million lawsuit filed against the NBA superstar has been thrown out ... TMZ Sports has learned.

According to court docs, a judge ruled in favor of Westbrook on Thursday ... saying he didn't defame anyone by clapping back at a couple who harassed him during a 2019 game in Utah.

As we previously reported, Westbrook was sued by Shane Keisel -- a U.S. Army vet who got into it with the then-OKC Thunder player during a March 11, 2019 game against the Jazz.

In his suit, Keisel admitted he tried to heckle Westbrook by telling the NBA star “that he should just sit down and ice his knees.”

But, Keisel claimed Westbrook misheard him ... and interpreted his words not only as a homophobic insult, but also "racial."

Westbrook said he thought he heard, "get down on your knees like you used to.”

The point guard then went nuclear on Keisel and his girlfriend, Jennifer Huff -- and it was all caught on video.

"I’ll f*ck you up," Westbrook was heard saying. "You and your wife. I’ll f*ck you up."

Keisel said he was only not only banned from Utah Jazz games for life, but was fired from his job, kicked out of a pilot training program and received death threats.

Keisel and Huff sued Westbrook and the Jazz for $100 MILLION for defamation, among other things, claiming he was wrongly being painted as a racist homophobe.

But, in court docs obtained by TMZ Sports, the judge in the case rejected the arguments, explaining Westbrook's statements were just opinions, not defamation.

The judge explained, "whether a person is racist or whether a statement is racial is a matter of opinion which cannot be verified as true or false."

The judge added, "It is only in the free expression of these ideas that the nation can hope to heal the historic wounds of slavery and racial injustice that fester still today. That healing cannot occur if public dialogue about racism is silenced under threat of defamation liability."

The court also noted Westbrook’s in-game threats were "coarse and offense" ... but were not extreme and/or outrageous enough to recover damages.

The judge also said Keisel and Huff remained in the arena to watch the rest of the game and there was never any real risk that Westbrook would make good on his threats.

Danny Ainge says in the 26 years he's been playing and working for the Celtics ... he's "never" heard any racist remarks from fans at TD Garden -- but he did say he's taking Kyrie Irving's comments "seriously."

If you missed it ... Irving implored Celtics fans to treat him with respect when his Nets team arrives in Boston for its playoff games this weekend, insinuating he's been called racist things at the Celtics' arena in the past.

But, when Ainge was asked to comment on that on the 98.5 The Sports Hub on Thursday ... the Boston GM said he's simply never heard that kind of vitriol from people at the Garden before.

"Quite honestly, I've never heard any of it," 62-year-old Ainge said. "I'm not saying the city of Boston -- I'm saying [TD Garden]. I think our fans are very respectful."

Ainge, though, did say he'd look into Kyrie's comments ... explaining the team won't just brush them off.

"I think that we take those kinds of things seriously," said Ainge, who was the GM during Irving's 2-year Celtics tenure in the 2017 and 2018 NBA seasons.

"I never heard any of that, from any player that I’ve ever played with in my 26 years in Boston. I never heard that before from Kyrie, and I talked to him quite a bit. So, I don’t know."

As for whether or not Celtics fans will just plain boo Kyrie ... Ainge thinks that might be a little bit of a different story, saying, "Fans will do what they want to do."

Don't lie to yourself ... you're curious how Tim Tebow looks at tight end at Jaguars practice, despite all the naysayers.

So, take a look for yourself -- here's a gallery of Tim running through a bunch of typical tight end drills ... he's blocking, catching passes, working on his footwork.

You know ... typical football stuff.

But, it's Tim Tebow -- who hasn't played a meaningful snap in the league since 2012, back when he was a quarterback!

Sure, grumble to yourself about how it's a joke ... and blah blah blah ... but click the damn button and look through the photos already.

You know you want to.

And, if you need a reminder ... Tim signed a 1-year deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars, reconnecting with his old college football coach Urban Meyer.

So far, Trevor Lawrence -- the top pick in the 2021 NFL Draft -- has raved about Tim ... calling him a positive influence and a role model for other players.

Welp, they don't call him "El Mago" for nothing ...

Here's Javier Baez going OFF during the Cubs' game against the Pirates on Thursday ... completing what might very well be the most insane play in MLB history!!!

The crazy sequence all kicked off in the top of the 3rd inning at PNC Park ... when Baez hit a ground ball to 3rd base.

As Pittsburgh first baseman Will Craig received the throw from 3rd, though, he went to lazily tag Baez, who for some reason decided to run backward.

Instead of just stepping on 1st or even sprinting to get Baez out, Craig inexplicably jogged toward Javy -- and then all hell broke loose.

Chicago catcher Willson Contreras came home -- and because of Craig's indecisiveness, he actually scored!!!

But, it gets better ... 'cause after that, Javy ran to 1st, and Pittsburgh botched that play too -- underthrowing the toss, allowing Baez to reach 2nd on the play!!

Oh, and did we mention -- ALL OF THIS WAS WITH TWO OUTS IN THE INNING?!!?!

The official scoring goes down like this: "Javier Baez reached on fielder's choice, 3rd to 1st, Willson Contreras scored. Javier Baez to 2nd on Michael Perez's throwing error."

The NY Knicks have determined an idiot fan SPIT on Atlanta Hawks superstar Trae Young during Wednesday night's game at MSG ... and now the mouthy fan has been banned indefinitely.

It all went down with around 8 minutes left in the 4th quarter of the Knicks vs. Hawks playoff game ... when Young was trying to inbound.

Video footage shows someone sitting behind 50 Cent appear to spit at Young -- leading Young to comment after the game, "Damn ... crazy!"

Young also asked 50 Cent if he was "good" following the incident.

The NY Knicks were disturbed by the footage and launched an investigation to see if the fan had spit at Young intentionally -- and now, they have detrained it was, in fact, on purpose.

"We investigated the matter and determined that this patron, who is not a season ticket holder, did indeed spit on Trae Young," the team announced Thursday.

"And for that reason, [the fan] is now banned from The Garden indefinitely."

"We apologize to Trae and the entire Atlanta Hawks organization for this fan's behavior. This was completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated in our venue."

The team notes cops are now involved saying -- "We have turned the information over to the appropriate authorities."

In theory, the fan could be prosecuted if officials decide to pursue a case against him.

So far, the fan has not been publicly identified.

Story developing ...

Janoris Jenkins claims SOMEONE took his $250,000 Rolls-Royce after he parked it at the airport in Atlanta ... but says no one seems to have any idea where it went.

The Tennessee Titans cornerback claims he parked his luxury vehicle at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on May 5, before he caught a flight to West Palm Beach.

But, when he returned days later, "my vehicle was nowhere to be found."

Jenkins says he immediately complained to management and followed up with various staff members -- along with officials from "City of Atlanta Aviation" ... but no one gave him any answers.

"They gave me the complete run around," Jenkins said ... "I was told they have footage of my vehicle arriving but no footage of it leaving. Nothing makes sense!"

Jenkins says he later went to the ATL Police Dept. -- but still, no leads on his missing Rolls-Royce.

The NFL star is clearly upset about the car -- but seems more frustrated with the way he was treated by airport officials.

"I understand very well that unfortunate events like this do happen but these types of establishments are supposed to provide SAFETY, comfort and most of all a customer service that is unmatched."

"BE aware of this airport, it's distasteful staff, and please think twice before parking your vehicle here! I'm now short a quarter million dollars of an asset that I own with no help from this airport."

We reached out to the airport for comment, but so far no official statement. We’ll update when we hear back.

In the meantime, if you know anything about Jenkins' car -- HIT HIM UP!!

Tiger Woods is keeping it 100% real about his rehab for the injuries he suffered in his car crash -- saying it's the most painful experience of his life.

"This has been an entirely different animal,” Woods told Golf Digest ... "I understand more of the rehab processes because of my past injuries, but this was more painful than anything I have ever experienced."

As we previously reported, Woods suffered major injuries to his right leg in the Feb. 23 crash -- shattering multiple bones which required several complicated surgeries and a metal stabilizing rod.

After nearly a month in the hospital, Woods was eventually allowed to travel back home to Florida to continue his treatment and rehab.

The big question everyone wants to know about the 45-year-old superstar -- will he ever play golf again ... professional or recreationally??

Woods did not give a straight answer to Golf Digest -- fact is, he probably doesn't know yet ... but said he's currently more focused on learning to walk again.

"My physical therapy has been keeping me busy. I do my routines every day and am focused on my No. 1 goal right now: walking on my own. Taking it one step at a time."

Woods also acknowledged the worldwide outpouring of support -- saying it's been "incredible" to get so much love from fans and friends.

"I have had so much support from people both inside and outside of golf which means so much to me and has helped tremendously."

As for the accident, Tiger didn't get into specifics regarding the crash or the police investigation.

Remember, he was driving through Rancho Palos Verdes on his way to an L.A. golf course when he crashed his Genesis GV80 SUV down the side of a hill -- wrecking the car and suffering major injuries.

Investigators determined Tiger was doing driving at speeds between 82 and 87 MPH leading up to the crash -- more than 40 MPH over the 45 MPH speed limit ... and was doing 75 when he collided with a tree.

Russell Westbrook was LIVID after a fan dumped popcorn on his head Wednesday -- calling the person's actions straight-up "bulls***" -- and even LeBron James is pissed over it all now too.

Westbrook was on his way to the locker room after injuring his ankle during the Wizards' playoff loss to the 76ers in Philly ... when a fan poured their bucket all over the NBA star.

You can see in footage of the incident ... Westbrook could not have been more heated as the kernels bounced off his head -- with the D.C. point guard trying HARD to get to the stands to confront the fan.

Russ, though, was eventually calmed down and ushered into the locker room ... but after the game, he said the fan absolutely crossed the line.

"To be blatantly honest, man, this s**t is getting out of hand, especially for me," Westbrook told reporters. "The amount of disrespect, the amount of fans just doing whatever the f**k they want to do, it's just out of pocket, man. It's out of pocket, seriously."

Russ went on to say if the incident had happened in "any other setting," he insinuated he would've fought the person.

"A guy wouldn't come up on the street and pour popcorn on my head because he knows what would happen," Russ said.

Westbrook then pled with the NBA to "start protecting the players" ... adding, "We'll see what the NBA does."

LeBron James rushed in to defend his pal on Twitter shortly after ... saying he wanted the fan ID'ed and punished ASAP.

"WE AS THE PLAYERS wanna see who threw that popcorn on Russ while he was leaving the game tonight with a injury!!" LeBron wrote. "There’s cameras all over arenas so there’s no excuse! Cause if the [shoe] was on the other [foot]. #ProtectOurPlayers"

So far, no punishment from the NBA has been announced yet ... though high-ranking Wells Fargo Center exec Valerie Camillo did call the incident "classless" and "unacceptable" after the game.

It's unclear, meanwhile, if Russ' ankle injury will keep him out of Game 3 ... the series is set to return to Washington on Saturday with the Sixers up 2-0.

Incredible scene during Maple Leafs' workouts Thursday ... John Tavares was back on the ice just 1 week after severely injuring his head -- and he looked GOOD!!!

Tavares took a flying knee to the face last Thursday ... and the damage was so bad, the 30-year-old Toronto captain had to spend the night in the hospital.

But, great news, Tavares is already back on the ice ... reporters shot video of the dude skating around the Toronto rink Thursday morning as if nothing had happened!!

Check out the clip, Tavares appeared to be moving just fine ... ripping slap shots and weaving around the ice no problem.

According to TSN's Kristen Shilton, Tavares' on-ice work lasted about 20 minutes ... before he eventually headed back into the locker room.

It's unclear if this means a return to actual gameplay is nearing for Tavares ... last week, the Leafs said in a statement John would be out "indefinitely."