TMZ Sports - Page 50

Could Jack Nicholson quit on the Lakers completely ... and become a Clippers fan?!

That's what Clippers prodigy Austin Rivers is hoping for ... especially with Jack telling TMZ Sports this week that he's not as obsessed with the Lake Show as he used to be.

Rivers -- the son of Clippers president/coach Doc Rivers -- was out in L.A. and told us, "I'm trying to get him over on our side man!"

Here's the thing ... we already know Jack has pro-Clippers tendencies ... he went to a Clippers playoff game last season. And they definitely have a brighter future than the Lakers.

Plus, Jack already knows his way around the stadium ... since the Clips and the Lakers both play in the Staples Center.

Jeanie Buss ... it might be time to panic.

Beast Mode went Surprise Mode on a bunch of middle school kids ... when he quietly rolled up to campus to kick it with the football team -- and the students went crazy!

It all went down at Brentwood School in L.A. -- where Marshawn Lynch's former Seattle Seahawks teammate Mike Williams is the coach for the middle school football squad.

Mike tells us he's still tight with Lynch -- and since Marshawn happened to be in L.A., he invited the RB to come hang with the kids ... and Lynch obliged.

"He came to campus for an hour and took pics with kids and staff and signed autographs," Williams tells us ... "That's who he is though, a guy who enjoys bringing joy to kids, and he's not fake with it."

And how'd the kids react?

"He was like a rock star to them."

Michael Phelps is officially out of the dating pool ... the swimming legend announced he's engaged to former Miss California Nicole Johnson.

29-year-old Phelps has been off-and-on and on-and-off with Johnson for years ... but they've been super on for the past couple of months (ever since Phelps got out of rehab following his DUI) ... and last night, Phelps revealed that he finally popped the question.

Phelps made the announcement on Instagram -- posting a pic of the two frolicking in the snow ... gigantic ring to camera of course.

With cheap tickets going for around $4,000-a-pop, even the rich and famous are thinking twice about going to the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight ... including "Jane the Virgin" star Gina Rodriguez.

Besides the fact it's going to be the biggest "who's who" event of the year, Gina also happens to be a huge boxing fan ... and her father was a famous boxing referee (who worked the last Pacquiao fight).

But when we saw Gina out yesterday, she told us it's just too rich for her blood ... and with dad having retired, she doesn't even have the hookup anymore!!

FYI -- some experts believe ringside seats to the fight could go for anywhere from $50k to $100k on the secondary market.

Lookin' for some insane courtside seats to the Lakers game?

Jack Nicholson tells TMZ Sports he's willing to sell you his for face value ... since he's not as motivated to go the Staples Center as he used to be.

It's actually pretty sad ... Nicholson -- who's been a staple at the Lakers games for decades -- was leaving Madeo in Beverly Hills when he told us he's just not as into the Lake Show as he used to be.

We're guessing the team's abysmal record has a lot to do with it.

ALL HAIL KING JOFFE JOFFER ... 'cause Snoop Dogg straight up transformed into the ruler of Zamunda last night for an INSANE "Coming to America" themed bday party for his son ... and we've got in the footage!!

Snoop threw the mega-bash to celebrate his 18-year-old football star son Cordell Broadus (who just committed to UCLA) ... recreating the famous wedding scene from the 1988 Eddie Murphy flick.

There were dancers ... there were rose petal throwers ... there was even a THRONE!!!

You gotta watch the video ... it's one of the craziest things we've ever seen.

BTW, we know what you're thinking ... and no, we have no idea if Cordell got himself a bath too.

With Kanye West still complaining about not making his 8th grade basketball team, NBA superstar DeAndre Jordan says he wishes he could've delivered a message to 13-year-old Yeezus -- "F**k basketball"

The L.A. Clippers star clearly subscribes to the theory that all things happen for a reason -- and while he knows it must've been frustrating for 'Ye at the time, he would've told middle school Yeezy to let it go ... 'cause you're gonna be RICH AS HELL!!!

Fun Fact -- Jordan says he's not just a huge Kanye fan but also relates to the guy -- "I feel like I'm the 6'11" Yeezus ... So it's good!"

The Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight isn't just the biggest sporting event of the year -- it could SAVE the entire sport of boxing ... so says boxing superfan Mark Wahlberg.

After Floyd Mayweather officially announced the fight of the century last night, TMZ Sports spoke with Wahlberg out in L.A. -- and he explained why the mega-rumble could impact the sports world for generations to come.

This is not going to make twerking cool again -- in fact, former WWE star Chyna put the final nail in the dance craze's coffin.

Chyna dropped the video on her social media channels claiming one of her fans requested the twerk session ... and she was happy to oblige.

The only problem? Well, take a look ... think, mom from Orange County who just watched a Miley Cyrus music video.

What do killer omnipotent robots, Floyd Mayweather, and Manny Pacquiao have in common?

"The Avengers" are going to kick all of their asses in May ... because Marvel Studios tells TMZ Sports there are no plans to bump the biggest movie of the year ... because of the fight of the century.

We spoke to reps for Marvel who tell us despite the fact that "Avengers: Age Of Ultron" is slated to open on May 1st -- the same weekend as Mayweather vs. Pacquiao -- there are ZERO plans to push the release.

It's an interesting dilemma for Marvel ... do you really want your big blockbuster going up against a global event that's expected to rake in more than $300 million?? Especially on its 1st Saturday?

Despite the competition, the company says it's riding with "Captain America" and "Iron Man" because when we asked if there were any plans to jiggle the schedule the response was simply, "Nope."

He killed it at USC ... and spent several seasons in the NFL ... but now ex-wide receiver Mike Williams has a new goal -- to be USC's first black head coach ... and he's starting by coaching at an L.A. middle school.

The 31-year-old tells TMZ Sports he officially hung up his cleats -- but says he's always had a passion to coach. So when he moved back to L.A., he started hunting for jobs to get his new career off the ground.

"I applied for a couple of high school jobs ... schools that I thought would have good athletes ... but some of those schools didn't even call me back for an interview," Williams says.

But one place that did have interest was the prestigious Brentwood School in L.A. -- where tuition runs $35k ... and boasts famous alumni like Fred Savage and Adam Levine.

"Brentwood really presented a great situation for me. I was able to assist with the varsity team, and then head the middle school team."

Williams says he's having a blast so far -- and is excited to share the wealth of football knowledge he's picked up over the years ... especially what he learned from Pete Carroll, who coached him in college and in the pros.

"What I learned from Coach Carroll is he allows guys to be exactly who they are ... as long as it's in the confines of what the team is trying to do. That's why you see all these personalities coexist ... and in a winning fashion. Be who you are as long as you ballin."

Ex-NFL star Michael Clayton is getting his Ty Pennigton on ... 'cause the Super Bowl champ is going makeover mad on Tampa area homes ... all for the benefit of at-risk youth.

Clayton -- who won the Super Bowl with the Giants back in 2012 -- started the LAF project in the Tampa area a couple years ago, which provides housing and mentorship for kids who have aged out of the foster system.

"They are 18-23 and have no assistance, not prepared for life at all. The goal is to get them to the point where they can exist in society."

Michael tells TMZ Sports he sank $50,000 of his own money into the project and that the 12 young men staying in his housing will have top-notch digs to call home.

"I got seven construction crews around the Tampa area -- the place has all the bells and whistles, granite table tops, brand new baseboards the whole nine."

Clayton says he plans to be involved in every area of the young men's lives while they live on the property, including mentoring them personally, providing hands on life coaching.

"I'm around there every day, a lot of them aren't ready to go out into the world, they're rough, but once we're finished, hopefully they'll be polished enough to get out there."

The WWE says it has proof that CM Punk NEVER had a baseball-sized lump on his back at the Royal Rumble -- and insist they have the video that shows he's lying through his singlet.

Punk first brought up the alleged lump on a podcast back in November -- when he claimed he was misdiagnosed by a WWE ringside doctor ... and it eventually led to a life-threatening staph infection.

The doctor filed a $1 million defamation lawsuit against Punk -- and now, the WWE is making it clear they have the doc's back.

"WWE continues to have the utmost confidence in the ability and expertise of our world-class team of physicians, including Dr. Amann," the organization said in a statement.

This is where it gets aggressive ...

WWE says it completed a full investigation into Punk's allegations and made the following conclusions:

-- "CM Punk did not discuss this alleged condition with WWE’s team of physicians and trainers, nor did he discuss it with anyone in our Talent Relations department. WWE has no medical records documenting this alleged condition.
-- The first time WWE was made aware of this alleged condition was when we received a letter from CM Punk’s attorney on August 22, 2014 after WWE terminated his contract.
-- "There is clear video evidence from the 2014 Royal Rumble, which allows all to decide whether there is any appearance of a baseball-sized growth on CM Punk’s back."

Check out the clip ... you seein' a lump?

Better book your hotel rooms for May 2nd quickly ... because Vegas is selling out like crazy -- in fact, the MGM Grand's official booking page showed the hotel is already SOLD OUT for the night of the fight.

Minutes after Floyd Mayweather posted the official announcement on his Shots page, the MGM Grand -- the venue for the fight of the century -- showed all rooms have been booked.

And the surrounding nights ... well, those are going fast too.

3:19 PM PT -- Floyd just posted a picture of the signed contract on his Shots page ... saying, "What the world has been waiting for has arrived."

He added, "Mayweather vs. Pacuiao on May 2, 2015, is a done deal. I promised the fans we would get this done and we did."

Floyd Mayweather Jr. is making it official what we already knew was coming for weeks -- TMZ Sports has learned his fight with Manny Pacquiao is set, the deal is signed -- and they'll be getting it on in Vegas on May 2nd.

As we previously reported, the two fighters reached an agreement to get in the ring back in January -- and the major issues, including date and location have been set for weeks.

Good work if you can get it folks ...

Danica Patrick was looking to brawl with fellow NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin after they wrecked at Daytona -- grabbing him and yelling, "Don't be up my ass!"

Taken out of context ... this could be the sexiest fight ever -- but who would do that?