TMZ Sports - Page 50

Indiana Pacers superstar Paul George is one step closer to JUSTICE -- after cops say they busted the man who BURGLARIZED his home back in April, taking $15k worth of important stuff.

The Indianapolis Metropolitan PD arrested 43-year-old Michael Lewis -- and claim they were led to the suspect through evidence recovered at the scene of the crime.

As we previously reported, George claimed someone broke into his home on April 28 and stole his platinum All-Star ring, a pair of Air Jordan 4 'Toro' shoes and more.

Cops say they do NOT believe George was specifically targeted -- "detectives believe it was a random act."

What do Blake Griffin and Michael Richards have in common? They both tested their comedy chops at the Laugh Factory in Hollywood. Safe to say, one went better than the other ...

The L.A. Clippers superstar appeared at the legendary Sunset Strip comedy club to perform at open mic night ... and decided to read some of his "Slam Dunk Poetry."

Griffin's been reciting some of his work -- inspired by snap-off warm-up pants, mouthpieces and bobblehead dolls -- as part of an ad campaign for Vizio.

Now, it seems he's taken his show on the road. And so far, people seem to be diggin' it.

At the very least ... his comedy club debut went better than Kramer.

Boxing champ Andre Berto is coming out swinging HARD at Victor Ortiz ... telling TMZ Sports V.O. is INSANE for asking Floyd Mayweather for a rematch -- because Floyd would KILL HIM.

Berto was out at Katsuya in Hollywood last night -- when he said Ortiz sounded "crazy" and "desperate" for calling out Floyd ... saying, "[Victor] needs to fight me again. I''l f**k his ass up."

Berto says if Ortiz can beat him -- "which he won't" -- then he deserves a shot at Mayweather.

FYI -- Ortiz DEFEATED Berto when they fought back in 2011 with Ortiz getting the unanimous decision.

Still, Berto is fired up ... saying, "I need to go ahead to whoop his ass before it's said and done."

The Minnesota Vikings have reversed their decision on Adrian Peterson and decided to bar him from all team activities until his child abuse case is resolved.

Vikings owners Zygi Wilf and Mark Wilf announced they were placing Peterson on the NFL's exempt/commissioner's permission list, saying in a statement, "After giving the situation additional thought, we have decided this is the appropriate course of action for the organization and for Adrian."

The team had deactivated Peterson for last week's game following the allegations against their star running back, but on Monday announced their plans to play him this coming Sunday.

A superhero movie featuring NFL superstar Vernon Davis in the title role is a FINALIST for HBO's "Project Greenlight" show ... TMZ Sports has learned.

As we previously reported, the San Francisco 49ers star played Captain Torpedo in a recently produced short film by French Mustache ... a comedy production company.

In the 2 minute and 4 second flick, Captain Torpedo finds himself in a tough situation ... being held captive by a deranged military guy with an inconsistent accent.

SPOILER ALERT: The Capt. takes a slug to the dome.

Turns out, the head producer behind the flick decided to enter the movie into the HBO competition -- famously started by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon -- and the movie made it all the way to the final 20.

FYI -- the previous round contained 200 movies!

If "Captain Torpedo" wins (based on voting on the official website with ends on 9/26), the filmmaker will get the chance to direct a real-life feature film.

It's huge for Davis -- considering the producers LOOOVE him and believe he can be a major Hollywood star one day. In fact, one of the producers tells us, "This is not the last we will see of Vernon Davis."

Stay tuned ...

Arian Foster is GOING OFF on Anheuser-Busch for daring to criticize the league's handling of the domestic violence crisis -- saying the beer giant is, "Selling poison on that high horse."

The Houston Texans running back's blood was clearly boiling when he read AB's statement ... which said it was "not yet satisfied with the league's handling of behaviors that so clearly go against our own company culture and moral code."

Foster's response -- "Lol ok, alcohol company."

"Selling poison on that high horse," he wrote ... adding, "Domestic violence and alcohol damn near synonymous."

Foster was challenged on Twitter, with someone saying, "Finally a BIG time company taking a public stance AGAINST and you rip them? Huh?"

His response? "You need a company to tell you dv is wrong?"

First the S.I. Swimsuit edition ... and now surf pro Anastasia Ashley has shredded her way into Maxim for a super hot bikini photo shoot in the middle of the desert.

Ashley -- who's pre-surf twerking routine went viral a few years ago -- shot the whole thing back in July in the middle of Littlerock, CA (population 1,400).

Here's our two-word interview with Ashley:

TMZ Sports: How was the weather?
Ashley: Literally MELTING!

Rihanna is livid at the NFL and CBS ... claiming the league and the network had no right to make it look like she was part of the Ravens/Steelers Thursday night pre-game show ... and had no right to single her out when it was scrapped.

Sources connected with Rihanna tell TMZ ... the singer was pissed when someone sent her the joint NFL/CBS press release last week, with the headline, "CBS & NFL Network 'Run This Town' for Thursday Night Football Open with Music Featuring Rihanna & Narration by Don Cheadle."

In fact Rihanna never did anything special for the game ... all CBS/NFL did was license a Jay Z song that featured Rihanna.

Rihanna's rep tells TMZ, "Due to the misuse and misrepresentation of Rihanna's name and participation in connection to CBS TNF, CBS was not allowed to license and utilize the song 'Run This Town.' Roc Nation made the decision to not grant the song’s usage."

Translation: Because her name was used to promote the show, she felt she then had the right to block the production.

Rihanna also made it clear on social media Tuesday ... she is also angry that CBS yanked the production and insinuated it was because she was the victim of domestic violence.

CBS's plan was to use the Jay Z song along with a voiceover by Don Cheadle that would be customized for each match up -- but CBS said today the song will NOT be used.

Former NFL superstar Darren Sharper has been locked up in an L.A. jail for 201 days ... and despite the fact he hasn't been convicted of a crime, he ain't gettin' out anytime soon.

Of course, Sharper is behind bars because he's accused of drugging and raping two women he met at a West Hollywood nightclub back in October 2013.

He's also been charged with raping two women Arizona -- after allegedly drugging them as well ... and he's being investigated for similar crimes in Louisiana and Nevada.

Arizona is seeking extradition to try him for the alleged crimes in Tempe, but prosecutors will have to wait until L.A. is done with him.

But that could be a while ... because Sharper was due to appear in court today for a preliminary hearing -- but it was postponed until October and a trial date has yet to be set. He's currently in an L.A. jail and -- because the Arizona judge has ordered him held without bail -- the cell door remains locked.

For his part, Sharper has pled not guilty to the crimes in L.A. and his lawyers have denied the allegations in the other cases.

Cleveland Browns superstar Josh Gordon plead guilty to driving while impaired in North Carolina this morning ... and if he stays out of trouble for 12 months, he'll stay out of jail.

As we previously reported, the WR was pulled over on July 5 in Raleigh after cops say he was speeding -- and during the stop, officers noticed he was boozed up (blew a .09).

Gordon was sentenced to a 60-day suspended sentence -- with 12 months unsupervised probation ... which means if he does anything stupid during the next year, like break the law, he'll have to serve the 60 days.

Accused child abuser Adrian Peterson wants to remind you -- he's still one of the faces of Nike ... emerging from his home today decked out in Swoosh gear.

The embattled Vikings running back was leaving his pad in Minnesota Tuesday morning -- where he's expected to rejoin the team for practice this week ... and ya gotta think, he's clearly testing his relationship with his sponsor.

It was just yesterday that the Radisson hotel chain suspended its relationship with the Vikings following a news conference in which a team rep announced Peterson's reinstatement in front of a banner featuring the hotel's logo.

So now, with AP so proudly sporting the swoosh -- while legal proceedings continue in the child abuse case from May -- it'll be interesting to see if Nike stays with him or follows Radisson's lead.

Just a few days ago, Nike issued a statement saying it's "aware of the allegations" and will "closely monitor the situation."

24 hours after a dominant TWO touchdown performance, Washington Redskins running back Alfred Morris was already back to work ... as a waiter a fancy steak restaurant.

Morris -- and several of his teammates strapped on some aprons for "Celebrity Waiter Night" at Ruth's Chris in Arlington, VA ... where the guys served up appetizers to raise money for charity.

On his way into the steak joint, Morris told us being a waiter is CAKE compared to his job on the gridiron ... saying, "All you do is smile and be polite!"

The gang raised money for the Blitz for the Better foundation -- which helps out families in need in the D.C. area ... especially families with children who are ill, have special needs or are physically challenged.

Tickets went for $350-a-pop ... hopefully, the guy (who's one of the most underpaid players in the NFL) made out with a few tips.

Dwight Howard might be color blind -- 'cause officials in Florida say he ran 10 RED LIGHTS in 2-and-a-half years -- and now his license has been suspended ... TMZ Sports has learned.

According to official records, the NBA superstar was captured by those red light cameras in Orange County, FL over and over again ... starting in 2012, when he was busted 9 times in 10 months.

Then, after a year-and-a-half without a violation, Howard struck again in 2014 -- blowing through another red light on July 1st ... his 10th overall infraction.

Officials from the Orange County Clerk of Courts tell us ... Howard's license can be reinstated if he pays a $285 fine.

We're guessing he can afford it.

Boxing phenom Gerald Washington was arrested in Burbank, CA late Monday night ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Washington -- a former tight end at USC -- is 14-0 in the ring ... but last night, the 32-year-old found himself in handcuffs after a routine traffic stop went south.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... cops noticed Washington's Chevy truck was "straddling the lines" just before midnight ... plus, he had expired tags ... so they pulled him over.

During the stop, cops determined Washington was NOT under the influence -- but officers noticed a warrant out for his arrest stemming for a previous driving without a license incident.

He was taken into custody and bail was set at $5k.

NBA star Andrei Kirilenko says he's shocked that burglars broke into his Salt Lake City home and jacked a bunch of his stuff last week -- telling TMZ Sports they took a few special items that made him really upset.

The Brooklyn Nets player was heading to the Celebrity Dodge Barrage charity event at Basketball City in NYC -- when he opened up about the incident ... saying, "I know Utah is the safest place in the world and I'm very surprised it happened there."

Overall, AK47 (who played for the Jazz for 10 years) says he's staying positive about the incident -- even though cops have yet to make an arrest -- but it's clear he's bummed out that he'll probably never see some of his most treasured possessions ever again.

7:53 AM PT -- CBS released a statement saying they will NOT use Rihanna's performance going forward, saying, "Beginning this Thursday, we will be moving in a different direction with some elements of our Thursday Night Football open. We will be using our newly created Thursday Night Football theme music to open our game broadcast."

It took a few days, but Rihanna is finally lashing out about CBS' decision to yank her musical opening from "Thursday Night Football" last week and air it this week instead ... and let's just say she's not happy.

With the Ray Rice scandal still fresh, and the Ravens set to play the Steelers, CBS opted not to run a taped musical segment featuring Rihanna ... seeing as she had been the victim of high-profile domestic violence.

But with the segment now set to air this week, Rihanna took to Twitter to blast CBS, writing, "CBS you pulled my song last week, now you wanna slide it back in this Thursday? NO, F*** you! Y'all are sad for penalizing me for this."

As for what she means by "penalizing" ... it's pretty clear she feels CBS will not allow her to move on from getting beaten by Chris Brown 5 years ago.

She followed that up by writing, "The audacity ..."

Rihanna was in Barbados Monday ... looking extremely good.