TMZ Sports - Page 50

NBA star Caron Butler says he wants to help Lamar Odom conquer his demons -- and has reached out to his former teammate several times -- telling TMZ Sports, "I worry about him."

Butler appeared on "TMZ Hollywood Sports" to talk about his new book "Tuff Juice" -- in which he touches on how he overcame his own issues (arrested 15 times as a kid, drug dealing, etc.) to make it to the NBA.

And with Odom's well-documented personal issues, we had to ask if he's tried to extend a helping hand to his longtime friend.

Check out the clip ... Butler makes it clear he still cares for Odom and wants to help him get his life back on track ... there's just one problem, he can't seem to get a hold of L.O.

Still, Butler says he wants Odom to know he can always count on him for support.

Kyrie Irving is convinced he's gonna be a dad -- and the baby mama is a SMOKIN' HOT former Texas beauty queen ... this according to court docs obtained by TMZ Sports.

Michael Sam has landed a job in football, but it's not on the field ... it's on television.

Sam has scored a gig working for the Mizzou Network, where he'll be talking about his alma mater, the University of Missouri Tigers.

The job comes after Sam announced his retirement last month after a failed stint with the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL.

Michael Jordan's empire has expanded to college football ... because his "Jumpman" image is now front and center on the new University of Michigan football jerseys.

Michigan has a deal with Jordan Brand -- and has become the first major college football team to let MJ's line design their uniforms.

The final design -- revealed by UM tight end coach Jay Harbaugh (and brought to our attention by our friends at BSO) -- shows Jordan's basketball logo on the jersey and on the pants.

It's a pretty big move for Michigan ... considering their jerseys are iconic in the college sports landscape.

Bombshell allegations in the Patrick Kane rape case ... with the accuser's lawyer claiming someone stole the rape kit evidence bag and dropped it off at her mother's doorstep.

The accuser's attorney, Thomas J. Eoannou, held up the bag during a news conference -- verified its authenticity -- and said, "The rape kit evidence bag has been tampered with."

Eoannou says the bag was delivered anonymously -- and he's demanding law enforcement immediately open an investigation into how the bag was removed from police custody in the first place.

Eoannou added, "In my 30 years plus of being both a prosecutor and a defense attorney, I have never seen an evidence bag outside a of police lab, a prosecutor's office, or a courtroom, let alone find one in the door way of a rape victim's mother's home."

"This evidence bag has been ripped open. The purpose of an evidence bag is to protect the items of evidence from tampering. The bag itself is even critical evidence to the chain of custody."

A full scale dance brawl broke out at a high school football game in Dallas last week -- when a drill team member broke the golden rule of dance battle ... SHE MESSED UP A GIRL'S HAIR!!!!

Hilarious moment at a news conference for Wladimir Klitschko's next boxing match -- when his opponent stormed the room in a Batman costume ... and then beat up a guy dressed as the Joker.

It all went down in London Wednesday -- when Tyson Fury pulled up to the event in a sick yellow Lamborghini ... in full Dark Knight gear.

Fury -- who's set to fight Hayden Panettiere's baby daddy in October -- ran around the media room like a lunatic ... before issuing a threat to Wlad in his best Batman voice.

Eat your heart out Ben Affleck.

Looks like that goodwill meeting with Vladimir Putin worked ... because Roy Jones Jr. tells TMZ Sports he just booked his first fight in Mother Russia.

RJJ just reached out and told us he'll be fighting Welsh bigman Enzo Maccarinelli on November 28th.

Enzo is a former WBO cruiserweight champ ... who's fighting to regain his belt on October 10th.

If Enzo wins that belt, the Jones fight would be a title bout.

This is big news because Jones just flew out to Moscow for a face-to-face with Putin -- and asked for Russian citizenship so he could do business in Vlad's country.

Jones has said his ultimate goal is to help repair U.S./Russia relations.

The Cleveland Browns offensive line coach who was accused of beating and strangling his fiancee will NOT be hit with criminal charges ... TMZ Sports has learned.

As we previously reported, Andy Moeller's fiancee called police on September 5th claiming Moeller snapped during an argument at his home -- and physically attacked her. She claimed he had been drinking.

Enter the Berea City Prosecutor ... who says cops investigated the incident -- but can't prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Moeller actually attacked his fiancee.

In a statement, the prosecutor says he's convinced an "incident of a volatile nature" took place -- but he doesn't think he has enough to convict Moeller of a crime.

Doc Rivers says he had a MUCH better summer than Mark Cuban ... and we're guessing it all has to do with DeAndre Jordan.

We spotted Rivers out in L.A. Tuesday night... just hours after Cuban went on "The Herd with Colin Cowherd" and sorta took a shot at the Clippers honcho for the way he got DJ to back out of his handshake deal with the Mavs and resign with the Clips.

"I respect the fact that when his professional life was about to dissipate and disappear and go up in flames, they did what they had to do and they got DJ back," Cuban said on the show.

At the very least, it seems Cuban and Rivers aren't exactly on the best terms ... more reason to be excited for the Clippers vs. Mavs match up in October.

Yogi Berra, a New York Yankees legend and one of the most beloved American sports stars in history, died Tuesday.

Yogi was an All-Star catcher for the Yankees from 1946 to 1963, and also played one year with the Mets before retiring as a player in 1965. He played in the Bronx alongside the likes of Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle ... earning a record TEN World Series rings.

Yogi also caught pitcher Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series.

He was just as famous for his quirky sayings, known as "Yogi-isms," as he was his Hall of Fame baseball career. Some of the best include:

- "Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical."

- "It gets late early out there."

- "If you come to a fork in the road, take it."

- "It's like deja vu all over again."

Miller played off Yogi's idioms for a popular 1987 beer commercial that happened to co-star a young Jason Alexander -- who, coincidentally, worked for the Yankees years later on "Seinfeld."

Yogi, whose birth name was Lawrence Peter, served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and participated in the D-Day invasion. He started playing pro baseball when he got out of the service.

The Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center in NJ announced his death. Yogi was 90.

Mark Wahlberg might be adding another athlete to his entourage ... 'cause TMZ Sports has learned that the A-lister is in talks with NBA star Caron Butler about bringing his life story to the big screen.

Butler has a brand new book out called "Tuff Juice" -- in which the Sacramento Kings forward details how he overcame a hard life as a drug dealing youth to make it to the NBA.

Wahlberg has been all over "Tuff Juice" ... writing testimonials and tweeting his support for the book since its release. Caron tells us it hasn't stopped there ... and that the two men have talked about a feature film adaptation.

"It's a possibility ... I've spent some time with Mark Wahlberg. He loved my story."

Mark would be the guy ... with sports themed projects like "The Fighter" and his HBO show "Ballers" already proving to be huge hits.

Caron says while he's not getting too ahead of himself about the possibility of a big screen makeover ... he does know which A-lister he'd like to play him.

"Michael B. Jordan. I loved what he did in "Fruitvale Station." I think he would do a great job at sharing my story."

Listen up Cubs fans, the Curse of the dreaded Billy Goat's about to end, courtesy of some famed competitive eaters -- including the legendary Kobayashi -- and a 40 lb. spit roasted goat.

Pro eaters Tim Brown and L.A. Beast tell TMZ Sports they came up with a genius plot while boozing in Chi town Monday night ... "We said, 'lets eat a f**king goat! We can reverse the curse!!'"

So, L.A. and Tim called Kobayashi and "Deep Dish" Bertoletti to tag team the goat. Their only problem was ... WHERE to do the deed? Naturally, they wanted a spot as close to Wrigley, but Brown says, "This morning we called bars around Wrigleyville, but no one would have us."

After 70-years under the curse, superstition runs deep ... so Brown kinda gets it. "If we don't finish the goat, they don't wanna be associated with re-cursing the Cubs."

The guys are still going for it. They'll begin chowing down at 7:30 PM local time at "Deep Dish" and Tim's restaurant called Taco in a Bag. It's not near Wrigley, but it could work.

Then again, the Cubs are already a virtual lock for the playoffs (as a wild card team). One might say, why rock the boat?

UFC legend Tank Abbott is doubling down on his attack on female fighters -- saying NO WOMAN belongs in the octagon ... including Ronda Rousey.

Tank appeared on "TMZ Hollywood Sports' today after claiming he would post a $100k prize to any woman who could beat him in a fight ... but they would have to make him a sandwich if they lost.

Abbott -- who admits he'd been boozing -- says he's dead serious noting ... "I'll smack the living daylights out of any woman."

When asked what he would say to someone calling him a chauvinist pig -- Tank replied, "I'd say you're right and vote for Donald Trump."

Justin Bieber's BFF Lil Za had a better chance of fighting a jail cellmate than taking on an opponent in a boxing ring -- but the guy's turned his life around, and now he's throwing KO punches.

Za got pretty famous for getting in a ton of trouble with Bieber over the last couple of years -- he was busted for drugs during the infamous egging raid in Calabasas. The 21-year-old tells us, "When all that madness was going on, I decided to grab a hold of myself and do something positive."

Za's been training hard for the last year, and as you can tell from the video ... kid's got some skills. He came on TMZ Live to tell us about making the big change.

It's the shot James Harden's people don't want you to see ... the NBA star wearing Nikes -- AGAIN -- despite the fact he just signed a $200 MILLION deal with Adidas.

Harden was leaving his hotel in NYC -- when someone in his entourage aggressively tried to block the shot. And why? Maybe it had something to do with the Swooshes on his feet.

As we previously reported, Harden's deal with Adidas doesn't begin until Oct. 1st ... but the shoe company has made it clear to him they'd rather NOT see him out in public in Nikes!!!

There are reports that Harden is still under contract with Nike until Sept. 30th ... so, he's kind of between a rock and a hard place.

Who do you appease ... your soon-to-be-ex-employer or the people about to pay you $200 MILLION??

Side note ... Harden's PR person -- also wearing Nike.

SHOE WARS!!!!!