TMZ Sports - Page 50

The WWE has issued an full apology after an on-air personality joked that one of the wrestlers was "like Kobe Bryant at a hotel in Colorado ... he's unstoppable."

It all went down during a live broadcast of "Monday Night Raw" ... when a manager named Abraham Washington -- who was wearing a live mic -- was ringside for a match involving a wrestler named Titus O'Neil ... and during the action, A.W. let the Kobe crack fly.

The comment is an obvious reference to Kobe's 2003 sexual assault case -- when he was accused of raping a woman in his hotel room in Eagle, Colorado. The accuser eventually reached a settlement with Kobe and dropped her case.

A rep for the WWE has issued a statement to TMZ ... telling us, "A.W. made an inappropriate comment and WWE immediately apologized."

The rep adds, "WWE has taken appropriate action in the matter." It's unclear what kind of "action" the org. has decided to take.

Sources tell us A.W. "felt horrible" after he made the comment ... claiming he simply "got caught up in the moment" ... and realizes the comment could be hurtful to rape victims and their families.

A.W. immediately apologized to WWE honchos, including the McMahon family, and several wrestlers ... and has also vowed to refrain from making similar comments in the future.

10:20 PM PT -- Washington has issued an apology on Twitter ... calling his comments "inappropriate and insensitive."

What do Katie Couric, Gloria Estefan, Jamie Lee Curits and Dennis Rodman all have in common? If you said "They've all been photographed in a wedding dress!" ... you're correct. But we also would have accepted ... they have all written children's books.

That's right ... the NBA Hall of Famer and occasional crossdresser is releasing his own book for kids called "Dennis The Wild Bull" ... set to be released sometime later this year.

Dennis and his people are tight-lipped about the premise, but the book's website says it will "convey good lessons to children based on Dennis’ own experiences as a world class athlete while overcoming obstacles as a child."

Dennis recently reconnected with his father ... and we're told he's been re-motivated to strengthen his relationship with his own children ... and believes this book will help the process.

Tired of roaming the halls of the former Spelling mansion, Petra Ecclestone left her $85 million home to take her brand new ridiculous pink Rolls Royce out for a spin in Beverly Hills this weekend.

While out on the town in her Barbiemobile, the 23-year-old heiress hit up a nail salon where an army of staffers tended to her hands, neck and feet.

Maintaining a "privileged" lifestyle requires a lot of grueling work.

Angry Vanessa Bryant is GREAT for the British economy ... 'cause Kobe's estranged wife has arrived in London ... and already taken a high-end shopping spree.

As we previously reported, Vanessa had planned to fly to the U.K. with the couple's two daughters long before she saw the pics of a topless Kobe hangin' with a couple of chicks at an afterparty in Barcelona.

We're told Vanessa was less than pleased with the photos, but Dolce & Gabbana can make you forget a lot.

DO YOU SMELLLLLLL .... something burning?

TMZ has learned ... the Cincinnati Fire Department raced to the US Bank Arena moments ago after a fire broke out on the stage at WWE rehearsals for tonight's "Monday Night Raw."

A rep for the WWE tells us the fire began due to a "minor incident involving the show's pyrotechnics" ... and as a precaution, the "limited number of people in the building during the incident were successfully evacuated."

Kobe Bryant's pre-Olympic shirtless exploits shocked his wife -- but not our guest host, former Olympian and MMA champ Ronda Rousey ... who knows the ins and outs of Olympic partying!

Kobe Bryant's wife has some serious questions about his judgment after seeing pics of him partying with women last week -- but that didn't stop her from flying to London to watch him play in the Olympics.

Sources close to Vanessa Bryant tell us she is "furious" and "embarrassed" over the photos -- one of Kobe chatting up 2 women at an afterparty last week in Barcelona ... the other showed him hanging with 2 different women in a nightclub.

But we're told Vanessa's anger is NOT because she thinks Kobe cheated ... instead she's mad that he put himself in situations where the photos could be taken.

As we previously reported ... a source close to Kobe says someone had spilled a drink on him, and he was only briefly shirtless -- while he sent for a cleaner, dryer shirt.

We're told Vanessa had planned to go to London -- and seeing the pics didn't change her mind. She flew to London over the weekend with their 2 daughters.

We're told Vanessa feels things have been going well with Kobe since she passed on filing final divorce docs last month.

The Game chalked up two points ... and two broken bones ... during a basketball game in L.A. this weekend ... when a slam dunk went terribly wrong.

TMZ has learned ... Game broke a bone in his thumb and his wrist during a playoff game in the famous Drew League in Los Angeles.

According to our sources, Game fell after a slam dunk ... and while he was on the ground, somebody accidentally stomped on his right hand ... crushing the bones.

It's possible the bone-breaker was a celebrity -- Game's team features a bunch of NBA stars including DeMar DeRozan, Paul George, John Wall and Metta World Peace.

Sources close to The Game tell us the rapper is expecting to be sidelined for a month.

Golf superstar David Duval has made more than $18 million on the PGA Tour ... which is why it's pretty shocking that his Colorado mansion is in the middle of some major foreclosure drama.

According to documents obtained by TMZ, David and his wife Suzanne took out a loan for $5.9 million back in 2005 to buy a $12.35 million home in Cherry Hills Village, CO ... a suburb of Denver near Payton Manning's new home.

But the bank claims Duval has failed to make his payments ... and now it's going after the golfer's home to get it's money.

According to documents, the home will be put up for public auction on November 7 ... unless Duval can come up with the money.

Kobe Bryant's interpretation of a topless party is WAYYY different than ours.

TMZ obtained photos of the Team USA star at an afterparty in Barcelona earlier this week ... hanging out with two hot chicks ... sans shirt.

One source close to Kobe who was at the party tells us Bryant was FORCED to strip down because "someone spilled an entire drink on him ... his shirt was soaking wet."

We're told Kobe sent someone to get him another shirt ... but he's jacked, so no one complained.

According to our sources, both women in the photo had their significant other with them at the after party (one husband, one boyfriend).

Kobe had one helluva time in Spain ... he was pictured chattin' with two different ladies at a nightclub earlier that evening.

Go USA.

Former NBA star John Amaechi came out of the closet after his playing career was over, but with the recent announcements by celebs in other fields ... Amaechi doesn't feel we'll see an active athlete come out any time soon.

Amaechi, who is in London covering the Olympics for the BBC, told the world he was gay three years after he retired ... in his autobiography.

With the recent announcements by Anderson Cooper and Frank Ocean, we asked him if any pro atheletes would come out DURING their careers. Amaechi told us, "I definitely don't think you should hold your breath at this point."

So we ask ...

"Best Damn Sports Show Period" host and former NFL star Rodney Peete is getting an early Christmas gift this year -- a $4,150 bill for a buttload of holiday lights.

A company named Christmas Lights Guys has filed a small claims lawsuit against Holly Robinson Peete's husband, claiming it installed the massive Christmas light assembly on the couple's L.A. home back in 2009.

According to the suit, the 1988 Heisman Trophy finalist agreed to pay $4,150 for the Christmas lights spectacular -- but never ponied up.

Now, CLG is going after Rodney in court demanding payment. Calls to Peete’s rep have been unreturned

Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton will always be a golden girl.

Here's the 16-year-old gold medal winner back in 1984 (left) -- and 28 years later, the 44-year-old at an event in NYC earlier this year (right).

Tens across the board.

Michael Phelps' Olympic reign has come to an end -- he finished in fourth place in the 400 IM, not even getting a medal.

American Ryan Lochte took the gold, the first for the U.S. so far in this Olympics.

Phelps barely qualified for the event after securing the eighth and final spot in the race by out-touching Laszlo Cseh by .07 seconds.

Phelps has 16 Olympic medals to his name and holds the all-time record for most gold Olympic medals, 14, and the record for most gold medals in individual events with nine.

We shot Lochte a few months back at the airport ... and we might have called him a d-bag once or twice. No hard feelings?

OCHOCINCO, PARTY OF ONE ... is what Evelyn Lozada will be saying for the next few weeks, since she's currently the only Ochocinco left in her family. Let us explain ...

When the "Basketball Wives" star got married in early July, she changed her last name to Ochocino to match her NFL star husband, Chad Ochocinco. A few weeks later, Chad went ahead with his pre-planned move to switch his name back to Johnson and Evelyn planned to change her name to Johnson as well, post-wedding.

Unfortunately, we're told Lozada has not received her official marriage paperwork yet ... and she can't legally change her name to match his until it comes in.

To make things even more complicated ... our sources say Chad still wants Ocho to be part of his life, so he's adding the Ochocinco BACK to his name (before the "Johnson") after the football season.

After all the name-changing is said and done, he's going to be "Chad Javon Ochocinco Johnson" and in a show of support, Evelyn will become "Evelyn Alexandra Lozada Ochocinco Johnson." Wow.