TMZ Sports - Page 50

John Cena's elbow is on the road to looking quasi normal again after one of the most famous surgeons on the planet operated on the limb he destroyed during a live wrestling event just a few weeks ago.

Cena -- who injured his left arm during a match at a live event in July -- showed off the gnarly looking damage on Monday Night RAW a few nights ago ... and his elbow looked as big as a baseball!

Turns out, Cena had a massive tricep tear -- requiring surgery.

Enter Dr. James Andrews -- a living, breathing god in the sports world who's worked on superstars like Michael Jordan, Brett Favre, Jack Nicklaus, Troy Aikman, Charles Barkley, Robert Griffin III and even Bo Jackson.

Cena went under the knife this morning -- and emerged with a huge bandage on his arm -- but he was still in the mood to tweet, writing:

"Surgery went very well, Dr Andrews has more than done his part, now I will do mine."

Fun Fact – Going to the bathroom with one arm in a full cast is not fun.

Aaron Maybin's career took a surprising turn for the better last night -- 'cause after the linebacker was 86'd from the Cincinnati Bengals on "Hard Knocks," demand for his artwork went through the roof ... TMZ has learned.

Maybin's demise from the team was chronicled on the HBO docu-series last night -- along with his passion for painting. Cameras rolled as he worked on two pieces ... and his stuff was actually pretty good.

In fact, after the show ... Maybin tells TMZ his online gallery had “one of, if not THE biggest nights” of sales he’s ever seen.

AM says he was bummed out that his release from the team was televised -- telling us, "I turned my phone off last night, I just didn’t want to talk to anyone.” But when he turned it back on, Aaron says he was bombarded with messages from people asking how to get their hands on his artwork.

Maybin says he's feeling much better about his future today -- saying, "Regardless of whatever happens football-wise, I'm probably gonna make more money in my art career."

NBA star George Hill stands by his decision to ditch the Team USA basketball training camp to attend a kids charity event instead ... even if it means he blew his shot to don the red, white and blue.

The Pacers guard shocked the sports world last month, when he bailed on Team USA's invite-only camp to attend a bball camp for kids in Texas -- a move that could cost him any chance of making the team.

So when our photog spotted him in L.A. Sunday, he had to ask -- are there any regrets now that he's had a few weeks to reflect on blowing a HUGE opportunity?

Denver Nuggets player Ty Lawson and his girlfriend say their domestic violence arrests this past weekend were a GIANT misunderstanding -- and they're still together.

Ty and "Bad Girls Club" star Ashley King spent 3 days in jail after being arrested Saturday morning for domestic violence, stemming from a fight at Ty's Denver home.

Now sources close to the couple tell TMZ ... they simply had a bad night and the arrest was a misunderstanding. They are back at home, still together and focused on moving forward.

Ty and Ashley are due back in court Friday for their arraignment -- when they're hoping to put the entire case behind them.

High school marching bands are NOT to be trifled with -- just ask one Chicago woman, who claims she was attending a charity event for Dwyane Wade's foundation last year ... and took a beating to the head with a bass drum mallet.

Andrea Alexander filed the lawsuit against Wade's World (EXCELLENT!) claiming she had an aisle seat at the foundation's "Chicago Has Talent" event last year when a high school marching band blared and crashed its way past her.

Alexander claims the aisles were so narrow, one of the band's bass drummers whacked her in the head with his bass drum mallet ... causing her "severe and permanent injuries."

Alexander says its Dwyane's foundation's fault for negligently allowing the band to play in the narrow aisles ... and she wants at least $50,000 to make up for her pain and suffering.

11:20 AM PT Richie Incognito is a seriously forgiving dude ... telling us, "Football is an intense game. I've been there. Emotions run high. People lose their cool ... thank God no one got hurt."

No blood no foul in the case of the violent helmet swinging incident between Houston Texans Antonio Smith and Miami Dolphins Richie Incognito -- because Incognito is willing to let it slide ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to the Dolphins offensive lineman tell us he has no plans to press criminal charges for the vicious altercation during Saturday's preseason game.

The video, first aired on FOX Sports 1, is ugly – while the players were grappling, Smith ripped off Incognito's helmet and swung it HARD right at his noggin.

We're told Incognito's totally fine, so at worst it was probably a grazing shot -- but considering NFL helmets weigh as much as 6 pounds of hard plastic -- Smith could've done some serious damage.

Houston police and the Harris County Sheriff tell us they would only take action against Smith ... if Incognito filed a complaint.

Denver Nuggets star Ty Lawson allegedly shoved his pregnant girlfriend before he was arrested for domestic violence on Saturday, this according to the police report -- but the girlfriend was arrested too.

According to the report, police were called to Lawson's Denver home around 9AM Saturday morning in response to a report of a domestic argument involving Lawson and his gf Ashley Pettiford -- aka Ashley King from "Bad Girls Club" -- who is six months pregnant.

When they arrived, Pettiford was crying, and explained that she and Lawson had been arguing because she overheard him talking to another woman on his phone the night before.

She told police she tried to pack her things to leave Lawson because she'd had enough, but he stopped her and pushed her onto their bed. She says she responded by throwing his phone and breaking it. Lawson then allegedly grabbed her phone and dunked it under water.

Pettiford said she knew her baby was okay despite the incident because she felt it moving afterward, but Lawson was still placed under arrest on suspicion of domestic violence, as well as criminal mischief (for throwing Pettiford's phone) and harassment.

Pettiford was arrested for criminal mischief (for destroying Lawson's phone) and domestic violence. They have both since been released on $1,000 bond.

It doesn't matter if they played like crap last night (and lost to the sorry ass Marlins), the Dodgers can GO CLUBBIN' all they want, as long as they stay in first place ... so says Magic Johnson.

The Dodgers played like crap last night -- with Yasiel Puig (0-for-5) and Carl Crawford (1-for-4) looking especially bad ... no surprise considering they hit the Miami nightclubs HARD just hours before the game.

But Dodgers co-owner Magic Johnson doesn't seem to mind an off night every now and then ... as long as the team keeps destroying the majority of their opponents.

"We just gotta come back and win tomorrow," Johnson said ... "They're grown men. They can hang out. They can party. I mean ... they're grown."

He added, "We're having a great season ... so, one game is not gonna hurt us."

Johnson said there will absolutely be NO disciplinary action taken against the players -- who dropped more than $20k at LIV nightclub early Monday morning while partying with LeBron James.

An official high up in the Dodgers organization tells TMZ ... "They party all the time. It's no big deal."

Miami Dolphins legend Mercury Morris ain't a fan of the N-word -- as in, Nixon ... Richard Nixon.

The unofficial mouthpiece for the undefeated '72 Super Bowl champs arrived in D.C. this week ... and told TMZ he’s glad his victory trip to the White House is coming 40 years after the fact -- so he doesn't have to deal with a racist President like Tricky Dick.

FYI -- The Fins never got a chance to meet the POTUS after their undefeated season because the President was dealing with some issues of his own at the time ... issues that rhyme with shmatergate.

But today, members of the team have finally been invited to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. to get their long-awaited congratulatory handshake from the Commander In Chief ... and running back Mercury Morris is pumped.

The best part of the encounter -- we asked MM if he would rather meet Obama or Nixon, and he couldn't have been more clear ... telling us, "OH PLEASE MAN. Didn't you see the Nixon tapes? He may have called me a name man."

QUICK HISTORY LESSON -- "The Nixon Tapes” were explosive recordings in which R.N. could be heard referring to black people as ... well, do we really need to spell it out?

Of course, the '72 Fins aren't the only team to finish the regular season undefeated -- the 2007 Pats also accomplished the feat. But you won't see them at the White House anytime soon ... thanks to Eli Manning and one sticky helmet.

Competitive eating superstar Joey Chestnut shockingly lost a battle against newcomer Matt Stonie -- but by inhaling a few less gyoza he might actually win a war ... on heart disease.

Now serving silver linings!

Paulina Gretzky's engagement is great news ... for one man -- that golfer dude who snagged the Great One. Sorry, we mean ... the Great One's daughter.

The rest of us are stuck with the Internet ... which, luckily, is laced with absurdly hot Paulina pics.

Santonio Holmes made a triumphant return to NY Jets practice after his devastating foot injury, and let's just say ... dude's got a way to go before he's game ready.

The Jets' star receiver (aka Mark Sanchez's best chance to keep his starting QB job) was practicing today at MetLife Stadium -- coming off a foot injury that benched him for almost all of last season.

In the vid, Santonio runs a pretty tight pass pattern -- but you gotta watch to see how the play ends.

The Miami-Dade Police Department tells TMZ, its officers BROKE PROTOCOL to give LeBron James special treatment ... by helping the NBA star skip traffic in order to get to a Jay Z concert.

As we reported, Miami-Dade PD initially denied involvement in the police escort -- blatant favoritism -- but a rep for the department now tells us its officers were the ones who accompanied LeBron to the Jay Z show.

The rep says LeBron was stuck in standstill traffic at 191st street Friday night and its officers escorted him to the Sun Life Stadium on 199th street ... a total of 8 blocks. You can see the route they took below.

The rep tells us, "This should not have happened." The rep says the department is still looking into which officers were involved and will determine what punishment, if any, is appropriate.

Dear NBA,

Kobe Bryant is running again ... just 4 months after tearing his Achilles tendon.

LeBron James has police departments all over South Florida throwing up their hands ... disavowing any involvement with the police escort LBJ got to a concert -- but TMZ has learned Miami-Dade PD is now officially investigating the matter.

TMZ spoke with four police agencies -- Miami City PD, Miami Gardens PD, Florida Highway Patrol, and Miami-Dade PD -- and all stated on the record that it was not one of their cruisers leading LBJ to the Jay Z/Justin Timberlake show on Friday night.

LeBron posted an Instagram video of himself riding behind the police car with its strobe lights flashing as they drove down the wrong side of the road.

However, several law enforcement sources kept pointing us back to Miami-Dade PD, claiming that would be the agency with jurisdiction at Sun Life Stadium, where the concert was held.

While Miami-Dade initially denied involvement ... an officer with the agency now tells us they are "investigating" because LBJ's escort would've been a break from protocol.

Joey Chestnut -- perhaps the greatest competitive eater in the history of food -- had a giant helping of DEFEAT at the World Gyoza Eating Championships this weekend ... and TMZ was there for the whole thing.

Chestnut -- the reigning Gyoza eating champion (266 in 2012) -- was chewed up and spit out by 21-year-old eating prodigy Matt Stonie ... the #4-ranked eater on Planet Earth.

It all went down at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center in L.A. ... where Chestnut stomached 251 gyozas and Stonie threw down 268!!!!

After the competition, Stonie told TMZ he plans to fart a lot this week -- "It's competitive eating. What do you expect?"

As for Chestnut -- who still holds titles in hot dogs and chicken wings -- he said, "I just didn't find my rhythm and Stonie came out hungry."

Never one to lack confidence, Chestnut added -- "I'll be back next year. I'll win it."