TMZ Sports - Page 50

OVERKILL - noun - 1) the amount by which destruction or the capacity for destruction exceeds what is necessary. 2) excessive treatment or action; too much of something.

Eight people connected to that infamous Columbia, SC pot party where Michael Phelps was photographed taking a bong rip back in November have now been arrested by the Richland County Sheriff's Department -- seven for possession and one for dealing.

Included in Sheriff Leon Lott's arrest extravaganza: The suspected owner of the bong -- who wasn't even at the party -- but was allegedly trying to sell the bong on eBay for $100,000, according to WIS.

The bong is reportedly not responding well to Lott's questioning -- and is blaming it on a loss of short-term memory.

Don't worry -- Phelps is still a free man.

Smokey McSpeedo's "extracurricular activities" have perked the interest of a Gurkha Cigars, who just offered Phelps a cool $25,000 to be their official "smokesperson."

Now the 22-year-old Spanish stud can give anyone a ride.

Cheater Rodriguez told ESPN's Peter Gammons, "When I arrived in Texas in 2001, I felt an enormous amount of pressure. I needed to perform, and perform at a high level every day."

Liar Rodriguez continued, "Back then, [baseball] was a different culture. It was very loose. I was young, I was stupid, I was naïve. I wanted to prove to everyone I was worth being one of the greatest players of all time."

Ruiner of Sports Rodriguez also said, "I did take a banned substance. For that, I'm very sorry and deeply regretful."

Blah, blah, blah cheater.

Charles Barkley has finally admitted how "stupid" he was for drinking and driving -- and it only took him two months to publicly admit it.

For the first time since his Dec. 31st arrest, Barkley is finally addressing the subject, telling a Florida paper, "Clearly, I made a mistake drinking and driving. And I'm getting penalized for that, and rightfully so."

He added, "Drinking and driving is a very serious thing. It was stupid, and it was 100 percent my fault,''

Chuck also felt compelled to weigh in on Michael Phelps, saying, "I don't think he's the worst person in the world. Everybody's a hypocrite right now ...I guess they want us to take him out back and shoot him. He made a mistake and I wish him nothing but the best.''

Barkley's next court date is yet to be determined.

The WWE is officially weighing in on the Chris Jericho brawl in Victoria, BC yesterday, by releasing the following statement to TMZ:

"After leaving a live event in Victoria, British Columbia on Saturday evening, Chris Jericho's car was attacked by a mob when he was stopped at a stop sign. Unable to proceed, Chris Jericho exited his car to ask the crowd to clear a path so he could continue through the intersection. A man and a woman physically and verbally assaulted Mr. Jericho. Arena and WWE security arrived to establish enough order to allow Mr. Jericho to re-enter his vehicle and depart. The local police arrived minutes later. Mr. Jericho was unharmed in the incident. The WWE is working with local authorities who are investigating the incident to identify the man and woman who fled the scene."

Another former Falcon's behind bars -- this time it's a running back.

Jamal Anderson, the former superstar who invented the "Dirty Bird" endzone dance, was busted at an Atlanta area tavern last night and charged with felony possession of cocaine and misdemeanor possession of marijuana

Cops say they found some powdered coke and a joint on Anderson's person, and whisked him off to Fulton County jail.

Anderson has a hearing set for Monday morning.

UPDATE: TMZ has learned former Atlanta Falcons running back Jamal Anderson was busted inside a bathroom stall -- with another -- at the Peachtree Tavern after a patron heard someone making a "snorting noise."

The patron reported the "noise" to a bar security guard -- who happened to be an off-duty Atlanta Police Officer.

The Atlanta PD tells TMZ the security guard went into the bathroom to investigate when he heard the suspicious noise. We're told the guard then popped over the top of the stall and claims to have seen Anderson and another man doing lines of coke off the toilet tank. He immediately arrested both men.

It all went down after a WWE event at the Save-On Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria, BC -- an angry crowd began heckling Chris Jericho as he was driving out of the parking lot. When Jericho stared down a female fan, that's when things got violent...

In the video, it appears she spit on the wrestler -- Jericho flipped out and the woman was knocked to the ground. At that point, one of the dudes in the crowd rushes in to attack Chris.

Jericho managed to shove that guy away -- and others who got close. During the melee, Chris can be heard screaming at security to "do your f***ing job." Finally, security tackled one of the men to the ground and Chris was able to get in his ride and take off.

Cops in Victoria -- who are currently investigating the incident -- called it a "minor event."

Everyone knows the first rule of marketing is to know your audience -- the kind of audience that orders two foot longs and a bag of chips a little past 4:20 each day.

Either way, Subway has decided not to ditch Michael Phelps following his incident with the device that's generally sold "for tobacco use only."

Subway says "Like most Americans, and like Michael Phelps himself, we were disappointed in his behavior. Also like most Americans, we accept his apology. Moving forward, he remains in our plans."

At least Michael knows where he can get his next meal, even if it isn't a bowl of Kellogg's cereal.

In 2003 Alex Rodriguez posted high marks on nearly every important test: MVP, American League home run title, and ... anabolic steroids!

According to a Sports Illustrated report, A-Rod joined the ranks of 104 other MLB players that year who also tested positive. But back in '03 there were no penalties for a positive result.

For now, there has been no comment from A-Rod, the Yankees or the players union.

One of the hard body trainers from "The Biggest Loser" claims she's feelin' the burn from an exercise video deal gone bad -- and now she's suing the spandex off the company behind the DVDs.

Jillian Michaels claims she should have raked in more than $550,000 in royalties and bonuses from her 2005 instructional tape series "The Biggest Winner: How to Win By Losing" -- instead she claims all she got was a measly $100,000 cash advance.

In a lawsuit filed Friday in L.A. County Superior Court, Michaels claims Genius Products -- the home video company -- utilized "fraudulent and unfair accounting methods so as to avoid paying additional sums."

Michaels also claims Genius refused to sell videos on request "in an attempt to avoid paying Plaintiff additional bonuses."

Now she's looking for some serious jack -- at least $550k -- to "punish [Genius] for wrongdoing."

Dude just pleaded not guilty to 10 counts of making false statements to a grand jury about taking steroids -- but last night at LAX, the only statements Barry Bonds would make were with his thumbs ... over and over and over again.

Michael Phelps has been suspended for three months by USA Swimming after the whole bong thing.

The organization has cut off financial support to Phelps for the three months as well.

USA Swimming said, "This is not a situation where any anti-doping rule was violated, but we decided to send a strong message to Michael because he disappointed so many people, particularly the hundreds of thousands of USA Swimming member kids who look up to him as a role model and a hero."

Apparently the taste of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes are not supposed to bring out the pothead in you -- because the company is officially kicking Michael Phelps to the curb.

After the bong shots surfaced, Kellogg was none too happy with their spokes-dolphin, and have just released the following statement: "We originally built the relationship with Michael, as well as the other Olympic athletes, to support our association with the U.S. Olympic team. Michael's most recent behavior is not consistent with the image of Kellogg. His contract expires at the end of February and we have made a decision not to extend his contract."

Interesting move ... considering Frosted Flakes are great for the munchies.

When Phelps was asked if he had stopped all drugs, he cracked a smile and responded, "I don't take drugs ... and I get drug tested all the time ... you can look at the records and you can see."

Our records only contain one photo...