TMZ Sports - Page 50

Ronda Rousey's coach is trying his best to stay positive in the wake of her crushing defeat at UFC 207 ... and tells TMZ Sports he's tuning out the hate.

Cody "No Love" Garbrandt says he was MERCIFUL to Dominick Cruz -- claiming he could've knocked him out "multiple times" at UFC 207 ... but was having too much fun toying with the guy.

Cody joined the guys on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs Tuesday night on FS1) -- and said he could pinpoint the moment he knew he had the fight locked ... but carried Cruz to the 5th round "for fun."

Garbrandt says he had such a great time beating Cruz he wants a rematch -- and says next time, Cruz won't make it past the 2nd.

USC quarterback Sam Darnold could be the next Aaron Rodgers ... so says his offensive coordinator, Tee Martin.

Yep, that Tee Martin.

The ex-Tennessee Vols QB called the plays at SC this year -- and did one helluva job. And he kept up the good work Monday night at the Rose Bowl where SC hung 52 on Penn State.

We spoke with Martin -- who was celebrating at Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles (legendary) -- and hit him with some questions, including:

-- Who's the better college QB ... you or Sam Darnold?

-- Did USC and Penn State deserve to be in the college football playoffs?

-- Are you gunning for a head coaching job?

-- Thoughts on his mentor, Steve Sarkisian, taking over as offensive coordinator at Alabama?

By the way, Tee was SOLID at Tennessee ... leading the Vols to a national championship in 1998.

Good news, Raider Nation -- broken leg expert Joe Theismann says he's 100% confident Derek Carr can rebound from his fractured fibula ... he knows from experience.

We got the Super Bowl champ out in NYC earlier Tuesday where he told us he was brokenhearted for the Raiders QB ... and knows firsthand what it's like to recover from that same exact injury.

Yeah, turns out Thiesmann broke his leg more than a decade BEFORE that infamous run in with Lawrence Taylor in 1985 (that gruesome compound fracture on MNF) ... the one that ended his career.

Theismann says he broke his fibula in 1972 while he was in the Canadian Football League -- but recovered and went on to have a pretty solid career with the Washington Redskins.

Good news, bad news for Jimmy Snuka ... a judge has dismissed the murder charge against him -- but only because she thinks the ex-wrestler is too mentally gone to stand trial.

Snuka's legal team had argued that he had terminal cancer and only had months to live ... and also suffers from such a bad case of dementia that he doesn't realize he's been charged with murder.

Prosecutors had claimed Snuka was faking the dementia to get out of the case.

But Tuesday, the Lehigh County judge officially sided with Snuka's camp -- ruling the wrestler is still incompetent and she's convinced he will not regain competency and "that it would be unjust to resume the prosecution."

Can you hear me now?

Johnny Manziel brought back the MONEY PHONE at a Miami strip club Monday night ... hollering at a fat stack of cash while his new smokin' hot chick, Bre Tiesi, was right by his side.

It all went down at the legendary King of Diamonds strip club -- Johnny's party crew included Diddy's son, Justin Combs, and of course ... the money phone.

The last time Manziel made a cash call -- he was days away from signing his rookie contract with the Browns. Glad to see it still works.

Maria Sharapova might be in the middle of her 15 month suspension for doping but she's still dope.

Maria enjoyed a little R&R on the island of Lanai over the New Year and, judging by her rock hard body in that tiny black bikini, she's been keeping up with her tennis training.

Ronda Rousey's biggest sponsor is reaffirming its support for the UFC star ... even after her big loss at UFC 207 ... with Reebok telling TMZ Sports the company "stands with Ronda 100%."

Ronda signed an individual deal with the athletic wear company in 2014 -- when she was at the top of her game. Now, after 2 devastating losses in a row, we asked if she was in danger of being dropped.

76ers stud Joel Embiid wants to be an NBA All-Star for the best reason ever ... because he thinks landing the honor will bring him closer to the experience of a lifetime ... a date with Rihanna.

Here's the story ... Embiid has been trying to drum up All-Star votes from fans saying he needs the All-Star tag to have a shot with a famous mystery "crush" he's been chasing for years.

He's tweeted about the mystery girl and even referenced her during a post-game interview last week ... but never mentioned her by name.

Well now, our Embiid sources are telling us the girl in question is definitely RiRi ... who he's had a crush on FOREVER.

In fact, when Embiid was first drafted into the league, he shot his shot with the singer on Twitter -- but he claims she shot him down ... insisting she told him to "come back when you're a All Star."

Fast forward to right now and guess what ... Embiid is one of the best young players in the league -- averaging 19 points and 8 rebounds a game ... meaning he's definitely in All-Star territory.

If he gets enough votes, he makes the team ... if he makes the team we'll see if Rihanna is a woman of her word. After all, a deal's a deal, right?

Noooooooooooooooo!!

It's over for Demi Lovato and UFC stud Luke Rockhold ... the two have called it quits, multiple sources connected to the former couple tell TMZ Sports.

We broke the story ... the two began dating back in the summer after meeting at an MMA gym in L.A. and went public with their relationship in November.

But things didn't work out ... and the two split.

The good news for Demi ... seems she's already rebounding with a new MMA fighter -- Guilherme "Bomba" Vasconcelos ... a Brazilian welterweight who currently fights with Bellator.

In fact, the two spent New Year's Eve together ... and then hit a movie on New Year's Day.

New year, new relationship?

Johnny Manziel's New Year's Day party exploits have caught the attention of prosecutors in Dallas -- after he was seen clubbing at the same place as his ex-girlfriend, Colleen Crowley.

He's coached some of the best football players of all time ... guys who went on to have Hall of Fame careers. So, who was the BEST athlete to ever play for Bobby Bowden at Florida State??

The legendary FSU coach was in NYC promoting his new book ... when he revealed the guy he thinks is the #1 athlete to ever come through his program.

By the way, here's a short list of some of the greats who played under Bowden:

Conor McGregor's always ready to fight ... even when he's dancing.

The UFC superstar let the beat take hold at his sister Aoife's New Year's Eve wedding in Ireland -- and unleashed some dance moves that would even make Michael Flatley jealous.

Dude gets so hyped, he starts throwing punches at one point ... while standing right next to Aoife's husband, Mark Elliott.

Lucky for everyone, he didn't connect.

ESPN's Brent Musburger didn't seem to understand why people would criticize him for wishing Joe Mixon well in the NFL ... and lashed out at his critics LIVE during the Sugar Bowl.

It all started in the 2nd quarter, when Musburger -- who was announcing the game -- said he hopes Mixon makes the most of his 2nd chance and goes on to have a career in the NFL.

Social media went crazy asking how Brent can support a guy who brutalized a woman ... which led to Brent's very agitated response live in the 3rd quarter.

As for Mixon, he led Oklahoma to a victory over Auburn ... despite chants from the crowd of, "He Hits Women."

We reached out to ESPN for comment and got this statement:

"We have covered this sensitive and important topic aggressively across our entities and will continue to do so. The initial discussion during the game telecast was an attempt to put everything into context and should have also included the impact on the young woman."

"Brent followed up in the second half because he wanted to reiterate and clarify how strongly he felt about the horrific actions captured on the recently released video."

7:10 AM PT -- The Bengals released a statement, saying "We are aware and working to gather full information, but policy is that it's inappropriate for the Club to comment on unresolved legal matters."

Another off-season ... another Pacman Jones run-in with police.

This time, the Cincinnati Bengals star was arrested Tuesday morning after allegedly getting violent at a Hyatt hotel ... and then spitting on a jail staffer.

Jones allegedly went ballistic at around midnight -- banging on a door and screaming and at one point, cops say he pushed and poked someone ... according to WLWT.

When cops arrived, he allegedly resisted arrest and then spit on a jail staffer while he was being booked.

The 33-year-old was eventually booked on misdemeanor assault, disorderly conduct and obstructing official business charges.

He's also facing felony harassment with a bodily substance for the alleged spit attack.

Jones just appeared in court, wearing a red vest and appearing frustrated. The judge set his bond at $37,500 and said he must stay away from the alleged victim.

Jones is no stranger to legal trouble ... back in 2015, he was kicked out of a casino for disorderly conduct.

In 2013, he struck a woman in a nightclub incident (he was found not guilty).

In 2011, he was arrested for disorderly conduct while intoxicated and resisting arrest.

He was also arrested in 2005 ... and 2006.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was off the mark in his scathing critique of "The Bachelor," because love blossoms the same way on TV as it does in real life ... so says a contestant.

We got "Bachelor in Paradise" star Jared Haibon -- who's been on 2 seasons of "BIP" and 1 season of "The Bachelorette" -- and he says the idea that people aren't their true selves on the reality shows mirrors what happens with everyone on a date ... they put on a good but sometimes false face.

Jared's got a point ... but it seems like Kareem was getting at something a lot deeper than being phony for the cameras. Kareem rails on the shows, saying it portrays "cartoonish physical and mental restrictions" on relationships. He also comes close to calling the shows racist, saying, "If you're black ... you're usually kept around as a courtesy for a few weeks before being ejected."