TMZ Sports - Page 50

Presidential candidate Marco Rubio believes in Cam Newton -- telling TMZ Sports he'll end up in a "BUNCH" of Super Bowls ... after learning a hard lesson this past Sunday.

Rubio was on Capitol Hill -- when we asked if he had any advice for the embattled Carolina Panthers QB.

"He's got a huge future ahead of him," Rubio said ... "He's gonna be better after this Super Bowl, he's gonna learn from it."

Rubio also says his own football experience has prepared him for this presidential campaign -- comparing the primaries to his days a young cornerback ... and vowing to continue the fight.

Beyonce's show of black power at the Super Bowl has T.I. fired up, and he thinks you should be too ... if you're a red-blooded American, that is.

We asked T.I. what he thought about the backlash against Bey -- some people saw her halftime show and song, "Formation," as an attack on police. He says those people, including Rudy Giuliani, totally missed the point.

As for planned protests of Beyonce, he says they will "lose in the end." And then he got real patriotic about the whole thing.

Check out the clip. Agree or disagree ... T.I. will make you think.

U.S. track superstar Sanya Richards-Ross says she's definitely concerned about the Zika virus scare in Brazil ... but it won't keep her from competing in the Olympic games in Rio later this year.

It's an issue athletes from all over the world are dealing with -- especially with the Zika virus spreading at a frightening rate in Latin America.

But SRS -- who's won gold before in the 400m and the 4x400 relay -- says she's not ready to cancel her travel plans.

"As of right now ... no, I would not consider not going to the Olympic games because it just means too much to me. This will probably be my last hurrah."

Sanya does however, acknowledge the Zika virus -- which can cause birth defects -- is still a real concern.

The search is over ... Andy Dalton's missing luggage has finally been recovered!

The Bengals QB lost his bags early Wednesday morning -- when they went flying out of the bed of his truck while on the way to the airport in Dallas.

The search became a social media sensation with its own hashtag -- #bagsearch2016 ... but finally, the good news arrived!

We spoke with the Richardson PD -- who tells us someone found the bags on the side of the road and turned them in to police!

Andy just tweeted ... "#bagsearch2016 is officially over! Thankful that Robert found our bags. The power of social media is real!"

LeSean McCoy has surfaced in public for the first time since the bar fight early Sunday morning -- and it sounds like he's acknowledging he "made a mistake."

McCoy was leaving the Misconduct Tavern in Philadelphia on Wednesday night when a reporter from the Philly Influencer asked if he had a statement to his fans.

It's hard to hear ... but it sounds like McCoy says, "I made a mistake but sooner or later I'll have my say." The reporter on the scene says he believes that is in fact what McCoy said.

It's a big deal -- 'cause if that is what he said, he's basically acknowledging he was a part of the brawl.

As we previously reported, McCoy and 3 friends are accused of attacking 2 off-duty police officers early Sunday morning -- causing several bad injuries including broken bones and bad lacerations.

Story developing ...

TNA wrestling star Raquel says she was REALLY savagely attacked at an indy wrestling match in Miami over the weekend ... suffering nasty injuries including a broken jaw and a cracked tooth.

Raquel appeared on the "TMZ Sports" show on FS1 (airs Wednesday at 9:30 PM) -- and says her match with another woman named Regina was supposed to be a regular performance ... but things turned violent when she was attacked with a flurry of real punches and kicks.

"I cracked my tooth and I had to get a root canal and a crown on my tooth ... and I have a little hairline fracture on my jaw."

We asked Raquel if she plans on taking legal action, why she believes she was targeted and why she didn't fight back -- she answers everything.

U.S. Olympic legend Amy Van Dyken just got a full-fledged apology from the U.S. Postal Service -- after a USPS truck blocked her from parking in a disabled spot at her neurologist's office.

Amy -- who uses a wheelchair after suffering a spinal cord injury back in 2014 -- took video at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix ... showing a truck parked in the disabled space despite the fact there are BUNCH of other open spaces in the parking lot.

Now, we've learned the USPS has reached out to Amy to apologize calling the situation "absolutely unacceptable."

In fact, the USPS sent a statement to Van Dyken saying ... "The action documented in your video is against Postal Service policy and is absolutely not acceptable behavior."

"We sincerely apologize for your experience, and assure you we are looking into this situation to ensure it does not happen again in the future. Thank you for bringing this to our attention."

USC athletic director Pat Haden was taken away from USC by ambulance moments ago after a medical emergency outside of the athletic facility.

We spoke with USC's sports information director who tells us ... "Pat didn't collapse. It was similar to the Notre Dame incident."

"He felt lightheaded. We sat him down. We got medical personnel. He was alert."

"At one point, we walked him to his office and we got him some hydration. The ambulance came and transported him to seek medical assistance. I'm not sure if he was taken to a hospital or his personal doctor."

As we previously reported, a USC journalism student reported at least one student saw 63-year-old Haden collapse.

USC journalism student Kelly Reinke tweeted, "Annenberg student sees @PatHadenSC carried to ambulance on stretcher outside Heritage Hall."

Back in October, Haden was hospitalized before the USC vs. Notre Dame game after feeling lightheaded.

He recently announced he would be stepping down from his position so he could spend more time with his family.

Here's a case of actually adding insult to injury ... because a former NFL wide receiver accidentally shot himself with a loaded gun -- and was then charged with a crime ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The man behind the trigger is 30-year-old Josh Morgan -- who spent 7 seasons in the league with the 49ers, Redskins and Bears.

TMZ Sports has learned ... cops in Virginia responded to a report of a man with a self-inflicted gunshot wound around 9 PM on January 31st.

We're told Morgan claimed he was cleaning the weapon when it accidentally went off ... leaving him with non-life threatening injuries.

He was hospitalized and we're told he'll be okay -- but now he's got a new set of problems because he's been charged with misdemeanor reckless use of a firearm and has a court date in March.

Jerry Jones is in the running to host a possible Gennady Golovkin vs. Canelo Alvarez fight at AT&T Stadium in Dallas ... Triple G's promoter tells TMZ Sports.

There are tentative plans for the two boxing superstars to fight in September (if contracts can be worked out) ... and GGG's promoter, Tom Loeffler, says one of the possible venues is Jerry's World.

"Jerry Jones has watched GGG's last few fights and he expressed a big interest in having the fight in Dallas at his stadium," Loeffler tells us.

"GGG will fight anywhere, but he's aware of Jerry Jones and the atmosphere in his stadium. Whenever Jerry Jones gets involved, he takes promotion to a new level."

"You hear 70,000 people screaming ... the huge video board... it's an amazing venue. And GGG understands the popularity of the Cowboys, the influence they have in the U.S. and around the world."

"I'd love to see that happen."

Loeffler says there are two other venues in the running -- the MGM Grand in Vegas and Madison Square Garden in NYC.

If the two fighters do manage to hammer out a contract, we're told the fight will go down on Sept. 17th. But first, GGG has to emerge victorious in his upcoming fight with Dominic Wade on April 23rd at the Forum in L.A.

NBA superstar Andre Drummond was so impressed with the last second heroics in a Special Olympics hoops game this week -- he came on "TMZ Sports" to deliver a special message to the star of the game!

As we previously reported, Dustin Walston of Sumner High hit a buzzer beater -- to give his team the victory over state powerhouse Rogers High ... and the crowd went wild!

Check out the clip ... Andre says he knows exactly how tough it can be to hit those kind of shots -- and praises Dustin's "incredible shot!"

"TMZ Sports" is on weeknights on FS1.

Here's Floyd Mayweather out in Milan ...rocking the insanely expensive diamond necklace he bought back in December -- while surrounded by his massive security team.

As we previously reported, Floyd bought the piece on a crazy end-of-the-year jewelry shopping spree -- dropping between $10 and $15 mil for the necklace and a matching diamond ring.

We're told the chain he's wearing in the pic is valued at $3 million -- and the watch is a special diamond Audemars Piguet time piece worth $1.3 million.

#ItsGoodToBeRich

Here's 60 seconds with Dodgers legend Tommy Lasorda ... and it's glorious.

Tommy talks Dodgers (Vin Scully deserves a statue in front of Dodgers Stadium)

Tommy talks Kobe Bryant ("He's a great guy")

Tommy totally rubbernecks a hot chick in a tight dress who walks by (can't blame him)!

BTW, the other guy in the video is Mitchell Modell -- owner of Modell's Sporting Goods (once featured on "Undercover Boss").

Enjoy!

Dennis Rodman has a big supporter ... John Salley -- who says he LIKES the idea of The Worm as an NBA coach and thinks Phil Jackson should give him a shot.

Rodman threw his hat in the ring for Knicks job earlier this week after Derek Fisher got the ax -- and even called in to the "TMZ Sports" show on FS1 to make his pitch to the team.

Salley says his former Detroit Pistons is a defensive genius -- and could definitely help a team ... and should be taken seriously!!

Question is ... will Phil take the chance?

It takes more than 1,000 thread count sheets to sway Magic Johnson's presidential loyalty ... cause Mr. Laker says he's 100% voting for Hillary Clinton ... even as he leaves one of Donald Trump's hotels.

Magic's endorsement is a HUGE deal in the political world ... so when we got him leaving a Trump hotel in NYC we wanted to know if he was kinda thinking about making America great again.

The answer is NO ... We didn't even get our question out before Magic assured us that he's still in Clinton's corner and there doesn't seem to be anything that can change that.

Bonus NBA talk? Magic also told us that he hopes former Knicks head coach Derek Fisher gets another job in the league, saying in his opinion D-Fish is "a good leader."

Check out the clip.

Kobe Bryant is leaving the NBA but his memory will live forever ... in Brandy's closet ... 'cause the R&B singer says she still has the dress she wore 20 years ago ... when Mamba took her to prom.

Once upon a time in '96 Brandy was the worldwide superstar adored by all and Kobe was a young Philly hoops prodigy who somehow managed to score a prom date with the princess.

So when we got Brandy out in NYC promoting her new show we had know ... what happened to the dress that she wore on her big night with KB?

If you remember, she already told us she kept the corsage Kobe gave her ... and it turns out she still has the dress too.

Chill Vanessa ... this all happened when 'Pac was still alive.