TMZ Sports - Page 50

Change Shaq's name to Bennett, cause he says he AIN'T IN IT when it comes to the beef between Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley ... telling TMZ Sports he's staying all the way out of the discourse.

Shaq would actually be a good candidate to Jimmy Carter the situation ... he's close to both men, working alongside Barkley on TNT ... and being frat brothers and friends with MJ.

But when we got him out in DC he made it clear ... he ain't the big Henry Kissinger ... saying he's totally on the sidelines when it comes to the Hall Of Fame beef.

'RHOA' star Cynthia Bailey isn't rushing into a romantic relationship with Nigerian boxer Yahu Blackwell -- right now she's only getting down with him for business.

Cynthia and Yahu, a cruiser weight boxer, were spotted at an Atlanta restaurant this week. Fans and many friends thought they were banging -- they do look good together -- but sources close to both tell us it was strictly a biz meeting.

We're told Yahu's starting a boxing app and wants access to models at The Bailey Agency for upcoming photo shoots. That was the main topic at their power lunch, but we're told there's a chance he might cameo on 'Real Housewives of Atlanta' ... if their deal goes through.

Freshman sensation Lonzo Ball wasted no time taking college hoops by storm ... and now former UCLA star Baron Davis is showing a LOT of love for the young hooper ... proclaiming Ball a future NBA All-Star.

TMZ Sports spoke with B.D. about the freshman phenom -- who leads the NCAA in assists (9 per game) as a freshman -- and it's clear Baron expects nothing but greatness.

"He will definitely be a UCLA Hall of Famer," Davis says. "He's following right after Russ (Westbrook) and all the rest of the great point guards."

Dominating ain't new for Ball. He's been hyped up since his high school days, taking his Chino Hills H.S. team to a perfect 35-0 record and a state title.

Isaiah Austin -- the ex-college basketball star who was diagnosed with a rare heart condition before the 2014 Draft -- says his doctors have finally cleared him to play again ... and it sounds like he's gunning for the NBA.

The 23-year-old was a stud at Baylor -- but his basketball career came to a screeching halt when he was diagnosed with Marfan syndrome and doctors told him it was too risky to play pro ball.

Austin was an honorary draft pick that year -- and Isaiah told TMZ Sports NBA Commish Adam Silver offered him a job with the league after he got his degree.

But now, Austin told Cassy Athena's Thru The Lens that doctors gave him the green light 4 months ago to get back on the court ... and I.A. says he got very emotional when he got the news.

He never straight-up says his goal is to play in the NBA ... but it seems pretty obvious he wants a shot.

Congrats!

It's that time of the year again when nobody can agree on the College Football Playoff rankings ... so here's LaVar Arrington explaining why he believes the whole system is messed up.

TMZ Sports spoke with the former Nittany Lion about the most recent CFP rankings (Penn State is currently #7), and Arrington questions why conference champions might be left out of the Top 4.

"Why even have conferences? There's no reason to have conferences. If we wanna get down to it, it's money."

Arrington points out that #2 Ohio State's only loss came at the hands of Penn State, so if the Nittany Lions beat #6 Wisconsin in the Big Ten title game on Saturday, he thinks they should be bumped into the Top 4.

Iman Shumpert says he would boycott Donald Trump's White House if the Cavs repeat as NBA champs and are invited back to 1600 Pennsylvania.

The Cavs star was speaking with Complex when he was asked if he would boycott Yeezys after Kanye West expressed support for the President-elect.

"I understand people’s stance on Trump. I can’t get caught up in the racial, sexist bulls**t he’s got going on. That’s his personal thing, ya dig."

He added, "I do think he’s crazy -- straight up."

Complex followed up with the White House question:

Complex: "Will you go to Trump’s White House if the Cavs win the championship again this year?

Iman: "I’m not going to the White House."

Talk about determination ...

Lindsey Vonn broke her arm just over 2 weeks ago ... and she's already back in the gym working out like the freak athlete she is.

Vonn fractured her humerus while training in Copper, Colorado ... but it's hard to tell in the video she just posted on Instagram.

The world-class skier provided an update Wednesday, proving that she's not gonna let a broken arm keep her from getting in a few pull ups.

She got in huge trouble for saying WWE was trying to court Hulk Hogan for WrestleMania ... but Brooke Hogan ain't exactly backing off her claim.

We saw Hulk's daughter at LAX and asked her why she suggested Vince McMahon was reaching out to Hulk if that wasn't the case.

Watch the clip ... she never says her comments were untrue -- and when asked to clarify she told us:

"How can I put it? What is a way that wont get me in trouble? ... He's capable of anything."

Remember, Hulk adamantly denied it. But after watching this ... it seems there's more going on behind the scenes than Hulk wants you to believe.

Spencer Pratt's haters -- and there are many -- are gonna LOVE this clip.

Heidi Montag's hubby just earned his brown belt at Paragon Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in the Valley ... which means he's now a certified badass. He's one step away from a black belt, after all.

But the former 'Hills' star celebrated his martial arts achievement by taking a thrashing from everyone in his dojo ... even little kids.

Fact: David Carr was the most sacked rookie QB in the history of the NFL ... 76 sacks in 2002!

Fact: He was so determined to make sure his little bro, Derek Carr, didn't suffer the same fate, he personally ran him through an anti-sack clinic back in college!

We spoke with Tim DeRuyter -- Derek's old ball coach at Fresno State who says David would spend hours with the future Raiders QB ... giving him all the tips he needed to avoid eating turf at the next level.

Tim says NFL scouts were concerned that Derek could be sack-prone like David -- so David made it his mission to prove them all wrong!

Seems the clinic worked ... Derek's been killing it this season with more than 3,000 yards and 22 TDs through 11 games ... and he's only been sacked 13 times.

UFC superstar Nick Diaz says he's the "face of weed for athletes" ... and isn't afraid to admit it.

In fact, Diaz says he's the "Number 1 athletic stoner besides Michael Phelps."

Diaz -- who's tested positive for weed on several occasions -- appeared on "The Jasta Show" and explained why athletes should be ALLOWED to smoke marijuana ... especially after a fight.

You gotta listen to Diaz explain it ... but essentially says he relies on weed to get his head right ... especially after he's been knocked out and he's discombobulated.

Diaz admits weed can be performance enhancing ... but no more so than vitamins.

There's also this ... Nick says his brother, Nate Diaz, was NOT smoking CBD oil after his UFC 202 loss to Conor McGregor -- he was blazing up good ol' fashioned weed.

The "baseball players aren't real athletes" crowd is gonna be seriously quiet for a while ... 'cause here's Pirates pitcher Tyler Glasnow crapping all over that idea with a CRAZY NBA level dunk.

Tyler -- who's 6'8" -- posted the video up of him doing a dunk known as the "Eastbay" -- putting it through your legs in mid-air (shout-out to Isaiah Rider) before stuffing.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, you've seen it before ... but have you ever seen it pulled off this smoothly by a guy who doesn't dribble a basketball for a living?

We didn't think so ... give the man his props ... he did it just as easy as Kobe did.

Here's Greg Hardy looking blue during a court hearing in Dallas Wednesday ... where he's facing a cocaine charge stemming from a Sept. arrest.

Nothing big happened inside the courtroom -- the hearing was kicked to Dec. 19 -- but outside, Hardy's attorneys hinted at his possible defense ... saying footage of the arrest is disturbing, according to FOX 4.

As we previously reported, Hardy was arrested on Sept. 25 and charged with 1 count of felony possession of a controlled substance ... after cops say they found coke in his wallet.

Denver Broncos linebacker Shane Ray has a fallback plan if the whole NFL thing doesn't work out -- he's a master Benihana chef ... and he's got the certificate to prove it!

The 23-year-old donned the trademark Benihana chef hat and apron -- and got cookin' on the teppanyaki ... grillin' up everything from shrimp to fried rice!

He even did the "spin the egg" trick!

Ray's teammate, Taurean Nixon, documented the whole thing -- and though Ray was strugglin' at times ... he did well enough to get certified!

Big Baby Spielberg? It just might be ... 'cause one of the most colorful characters in NBA history tells TMZ Sports he's putting his court career on hold ... for a career behind the camera as a movie director.

We got Glen Davis out grabbing a bite (okay, probably more than just one bite, he's a big dude) at Catch in West Hollywood and asked the NBA free agent when he's expecting to be back bouncing balls.

This past summer Glen told us he was definitely looking to get back in the league ... but he sang a different tune this time, saying he's got other things on his mind than just hoops.

What did the 5 overly-tanned fingers say to the face? SLAP!!!

Greek bodybuilder Giannis Magos went all Rick James, Zsa Zsa Gabor on a judge at a bodybuilding competition this weekend ... delivering an open hand power slap after losing the championship.

Magos was reportedly pissed off he didn't win the 2016 IFBB Diamond Cup during the competition in Greece. There are reports he took out his dong before getting violent ... but that part wasn't captured on video.