TMZ Sports - Page 50

TMZ Sports has obtained photos of the injuries Matt Barnes claims he sustained in the NYC nightclub brawl early Monday morning ... injuries he claims prove he was NOT the aggressor.

The photos were literally taken minutes after Barnes left Avenue Nightclub around 3:30 AM -- and show scratches and minor cuts to the front and back of his neck.

Barnes also took pics of his fists -- which don't appear to show any injuries. The idea is that if Barnes was swinging and connecting, he'd have swelling or bruising around his knuckles. He does not.

Barnes and his Sacramento Kings teammate, DeMarcus Cousins, are being sued by the other two people involved in the fight -- a man and a woman who claim the NBA stars went off in an unprovoked violent rage.

Barnes and Cousins claim the allegations are BS -- insisting they were attacked first and did what they had to do to protect themselves.

The next time you're murdered by a blood elf rogue in World of Warcraft ... there's a good chance the person killing you is Ronda Rousey.

Turns out, the UFC star is SUPER into World of Warcraft -- and that's actually how she became friends with Vin Diesel on the set of "Furious 7."

He's usually a chatty guy ... but John Elway shut down when asked about the Von Miller sex tape case Wednesday night.

The Broncos GM was leaving Madeo with his smokin' hot wife when we asked how he felt about his biggest star being involved in a crazy sex tape war. It's clear it's a touchy subject.

Elway was down to talk the last time Von was involved in a big controversy -- saying it was "too bad" when Miller cut Elway out of a White House photo because he was mad about contract negotiations.

Howard Stern, Tracy Morgan, Jimmy Fallon, Bill O'Reilly ... a TON of huge stars hit MSG Wednesday night to watch LeBron and the Cavs take on the Knicks ... and we got the video.

The footage sorta feels like that old 'SNL' sketch with Rob Schneider by the copy machine -- "Tracy! Trace! The Trace Man!"

Still, cool to see all the big celebs.

As for the game, the Cavs killed NY ... 126-94.

They play 'em at home again in February ... we'll see who shows up for that one.

Kordell Stewart says the University of Colorado should honor Rashaan Salaam by erecting a statue of the Heisman winner right in front of the football stadium ... and it's not like they don't have the cash.

TMZ Sports spoke with the Buffs great who says Salaam was like his "little brother" -- and says he loved reminiscing about the good ol' days with the running back ... just like he did a few months ago.

But Stewart is passionate about making sure the University honors Salaam -- not just for what he did for the football program but for the "human being" who gave so much to the institution.

"The institution that has so much money ... we can take that chump change and put a statue up of Rashaan Salaam."

Here's Ronda Rousey's badass comeback "Rocky" style montage -- complete with grueling workout sessions, full-speed wind sprints ... and a sick look at her mansion in the hills.

It's all part of the new promo for UFC 207 on Dec. 30 in Vegas -- and the message is clear ... Ronda has heard all the doubters and haters and CAN'T WAIT to prove 'em all wrong.

She's your problem now, Amanda Nunes.

Knicks guard Brandon Jennings says the team is fully aware LeBron James will try to punish the team for Phil Jackson's "posse" comment in Wednesday night's game -- but he has a message for the King to hear ...

WE AIN'T NEVA SCUURRRED!!!!

TMZ Sports spoke to Brandon ... whose Knicks are playing pretty well ... and asked him if the team is ready for a potentially angry LeBron to show up at Madison Square Garden tonight.

Why would Bron be mad? This is the first meeting of the teams since Knicks Prez Phil Jackson referred to Bron's business team as a "posse" ... offending Bron in the process.

Jennings -- who's getting the start tonight with Derrick Rose out -- says the squad knows LeBron is motivated ... but they're ready for it all.

Matt Barnes and DeMarcus Cousins have just been SUED over the nightclub brawl at Avenue in NYC this week ... with the alleged victims claiming they were brutalized by the NBA stars.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... the Sacramento Kings teammates were involved in a violent altercation with two people at the VIP booth next to them around 3 AM on Dec. 5.

According to the lawsuit filed in NYC, Jasmine Besiso and Myrone Powell claim they were innocently hanging out when Barnes approached Jasmine and began to choke her.

In the suit, Powell says he saw the attack and tried to intervene but that's when Cousins stepped in and punched him in the face.

At that point, Barnes allegedly released Jasmine's neck and elbowed her in the face -- knocking her unconscious. Myrone claims he was taken to the ground and Barnes and Cousins proceeded to kick and punch him in the head and body.

The NYPD was called to the scene but Barnes and Cousins had left by the time they arrived.

A rep for the alleged victims calls the incident a "vicious and unprovoked attack" And says Cousins' initial blow was a "blindside punch."

The rep also says the two were transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital where they were treated for "serious injuries."

A rep for Barnes has previously told us that the NBA stars were the real victims -- who were attacked by the other clubgoers over an accidental bump in the VIP section.

Golden State Warriors players and coaches have stepped up to donate $75,000 to the Oakland fire relief efforts ... just days after a deadly warehouse blaze took the lives of 36 people.

Steph Curry, Draymond Green and fellow Warriors teammates made a brief PSA at practice asking fans to contribute to the cause.

"We're all devastated by the recent Oakland fire that claimed so many lives and affected so many others," Curry says. "As players, we are joining forces to make a donation to the relief efforts."

The donation comes on top of the organization's $50,000 contribution to relief efforts announced last Saturday.

Dak Prescott RARELY makes a mistake ... but he accidentally elbowed a clubgoer in the head Saturday night ... and immediately apologized for it.

Dak and Ezekiel Elliott were at Dos Jefes in Dallas on Saturday night (don't worry, they didn't have a game on Sunday) ... and were hanging out with a group in an upstairs area.

As the woman was going to pick up a jacket off a couch, Dak turned around and accidentally popped her in the face with his elbow.

You can see in the video it appears the two made up -- and were even laughing about it.

Still, might wanna ice up ...

IT'S TRUE!!

Conor McGregor DID shoot some scenes for "Game of Thrones" -- and will appear on the show next season ... so says Dana White.

The UFC honcho appeared on "Fox Sports Live" with Jay and Dan and confirmed Conor will be mixing it up with the Starks and the White Walkers and the Lannisters and everyone else n Westeros! (go to 4:30 in the clip)

"I knew that a few months ago that they were interested in putting him in the show," White said ... "And I'm glad he did it. It'll be great."

Dana didn't expand on McGregor's role -- but he's gotta kill someone, right????

Ex-New Orleans Saints running back Pierre Thomas says he personally tried to stop the road rage altercation involving his friend Will Smith ... but he was too late.

Thomas has been called as a witness in the murder trial of Cardell Hayes -- the man who shot Smith during the incident in New Orleans on April 9th.

Thomas was in one of the three cars in Smith's caravan -- which included several people who had eaten dinner together at a New Orleans restaurant earlier in the evening.

Pierre testified that during the caravan ... Smith's Mercedes SUV was involved in a crash with a Hummer. Thomas couldn't immediately figure out what was happening but says he saw Smith had gotten out of his car and was jawing at the men in the Hummer.

Thomas says Smith's wife tried to hold Will back -- saying things like, "We have kids" -- but the men continued to yell at each other. One of the men in Smith's party, Richard Hernandez, took his shirt off as if he was ready to fight.

Thomas says he got out of his car and tried to de-escalate the situation -- but before he could step in, shots rung out ... and Smith was killed.

Thomas is adamant he believes Smith's death should be considered murder.

The woman who co-starred in the Von Miller sex tape says the judge gave her 3 DAYS to hand over her copy ... or else.

We spoke with Elizabeth Ruiz on her way out of the L.A. courthouse where she was ordered to appear in her sex tape war with the NFL superstar.

As we previously reported, Miller is trying to block her from releasing the footage -- which they both shot on their cell phones during a trip to Mexico earlier this year. Miller claims Ruiz tried to extort him for $2.5 million. Ruiz says the allegations are 100% false.

Ruiz says she's frustrated over Tuesday's court order to fork over her copy -- insisting she's done NOTHING wrong.

"It was consensual. I own 50% of the rights of it and it's just not fair."

"I already complied to not releasing it, duplicating or showing it to anybody, but I want to keep my copy."

Ruiz says she likes to watch it privately -- and should be able to enjoy it by herself.

Ruiz was representing herself in court -- but says she plans to get a lawyer before the next hearing.

Chad Johnson dropped $4,000 to take 200 people to the movies Tuesday night -- just because he felt like it.

The movie -- "Office Christmas Party."

The location -- Davie, FL.

Johnson tells TMZ Sports he sent out flyers and email blasts and comped the first 200 people to arrive just because he "wanted to keep the holiday spirit alive." He's been doing stuff like this for years.

By the way, he also played cupid ... hooking up single guests with other singles.

Santa Claus is 6'3" and once ran the 40 in 4.41 seconds ... 'cause 7x Pro Bowler Andre Johnson just hooked a bunch of underprivileged kids up with almost $20,000 worth of toys.

Johnson invited a group of kids to a Houston, Texas Toys "R" Us store ... and gave them 80 seconds (he wore #80 as a Texan) and a shopping cart to grab WHATEVER THEY WANTED!!

Johnson's rep tells TMZ Sports once all the toys and electronics were added up ... the bill came to roughly $20,000.

BTW -- this is the 9th year Andre's hosted the Christmas shopping spree. He was joined by the Texans cheerleaders!

The kids also got a gaming console -- along with games -- in addition to whatever they grabbed off the shelves.

#SantaWearsAHelmet

Michael Westbrook says he's devastated over the death of his U of Colorado teammate, Rashaan Salaam ... saying he's in "utter shock" and wishes he could've helped his friend.

Westbrook and Salaam DOMINATED as a WR, RB combo in college -- especially during their 11-1 season in 1994 (the year Rashaan won the Heisman).

Michael says he's been an emotional wreck since learning about Rashaan's death this week -- and says looking back, there may have been a warning sign.

Westbrook says Salaam missed an event at the Colorado Hall of Fame last month -- and teammates scrambled to get in contact with him. Teammates were puzzled at his absence but didn't think much of it.

"I think that maybe should've been a sign or something for us."

(Obviously, Westbrook couldn't have known he was in as bad of a place as he was)

Westbrook goes on to share his favorite memories with Rashaan ... from always having a smile on his face to giving his offensive line all the credit for his 2,000 yard season.

R.I.P.