TMZ Sports - Page 50

McKnight was a longshot to make the team as a wide receiver ... but we all thought he had a chance because he's tight with QB Mark Sanchez ... and the NY Jets staff must have LOVED the fact that Hayden P. was coming out to support the squad.

The fact McKnight was cut so early into the preseason still gives him a shot to sign with another team ... though there aren't that many squads looking for an average wide receiver this early in the year.

The Olympic water polo referee who was fired from the London Games for blowing a game-deciding call is taking FULL RESPONSIBILITY ... telling TMZ he wants to apologize to Spain.

In case you didn't know ... Boris Margeta was banned from officiating any more 2012 Olympic matches ... after he disallowed a goal that should have counted in Spain's July 31st match against Croatia.

TMZ spoke to Boris and he tells us ..."It was very bad. After I saw the replay I knew I made a mistake." He adds, "My apologies to Spain's team."

Spain lost the game 8-7 and Croatia went on to take the lead in their bracket.

WWE diva Rosa Mendes told police her fiancé is a habitual woman-beater ... and she's afraid the guy will eventually try to kill her ... this according to a police report obtained by TMZ.

And sources tell TMZ ... the guy Mendes is afraid of is a former WWE talent.

According to the report, the San Antonio Police Dept. found Mendes crying in a bathroom stall at San Antonio International Airport late Sunday night, repeatedly stating that she needed help. Mendes had just flown from her home in Vegas to S.A. for a WWE event.

According to the police report, Mendes -- real name Milena Roucka -- told cops her fiancé had "hit her several times at their shared residence in Las Vegas."

Sources connected to the case tell TMZ ... Rosa's fiancé is Andy Slocum ... a former WWE talent who went by the stage name Jackson Andrews. Slocum was fired by the WWE in 2011 for breach of contract after continually blowing off training sessions.

In the report, cops note Mendes was under the influence of alcohol at the time they made contact with her.

Cops say Mendes told them "she was afraid [her fiancé] would try and kill her. She also stated the abuse had been an on-going thing."

S.A.P.D. spokesman Officer Matthew Porter tells us Mendes filed a battery report around 10:17 PM. Cops took roughly 30 photos of her body ... which appeared to show bruising and scratches.

A rep for the WWE tells TMZ ... "Milena Roucka contacted a WWE Talent Relations representative this morning to notify WWE that, upon her arrival in San Antonio last evening, she contacted police at the airport to report alleged domestic abuse that occurred just prior to her flight."

The rep adds, "WWE is supportive of Rosa and will provide her with professional assistance."

All that glitters is not gold ... sometimes it's silver too -- and Michael Phelps partied with BOTH last night in London, hitting up a nightclub with his 2 silver medals from the 2012 Games ... in addition to his 4 gold.

As we reported, Phelps hit the party scene in Soho with his gold medals -- but turns out ... Phelps is an equal opportunity boaster ... bringing out his silver medals too.

Dude's got more hardware than Home Depot.

Take off your yarmulke ... put down that gin and tonica ... 'cause Hall-of-Famer Rod Carew isn't Jewish after all ... despite the lyrics in Adam Sandler's famous "Hanukkah Song."

Everyone knows the lyrics:

"O.J. Simpson ... NOT A JEW!!!
... but guess who is ... Hall of famer Rod Carew ... (he converted)."

But when we ran into Rod at LAX this weekend, the baseball legend set the record straight .. he never actually converted back in the day.

Don't worry, Rod says he and Adam talked about the mistake after the song was released ... and the two even struck up a friendship over the mix up.

Nothing says party time like a pair of boobs in your face -- which is exactly how 11-time Olympic medalist Ryan Lochte celebrated in London last night.

According to sources, Lochte -- along with American teammates Nathan Adrian, Cullen Jones, and Matt Grevers -- hit up Chinawhite nightclub in the Big Smoke around 11PM ... and left around 3:30AM.

We're told they drank gold bottles of champagne all night -- obviously -- and even ordered some Patron and Grey Goose for good measure.

But they didn't leave empty-handed -- they piled into a cab with several, very excited females ... one of whom sat on Lochte's lap, placing her fun bags a mere nuzzling distance away from his face.

Meanwhile, Michael Phelps was partying a few miles away -- with his medals.

U.S. judo fighter Nick Delpopolo says he had NO IDEA the baked goods he consumed before the Olympics contained weed. Really, he swears.

Nick was booted from the 2012 Games after failing a drug test ... and now he says he has a perfectly good explanation -- he was tricked into eating pot.

The 23-year-old just released a statement saying his dirty test was "caused by my inadvertent consumption of food that I did not realize had been baked with marijuana."

The International Olympic Committee draws a hard line when it comes to drugs ... they expelled Delpopolo from the games, stripped him of his accreditation, and will change the standings in his event. He had placed 7th in the competition.

In a statement released by the USOC, Delpopolo says, "I apologize to U.S. Olympic Committee, to my teammates, and to my fans, and I am embarrassed by this mistake."

The man who Montee Ball allegedly attacked at a house party on July 27 says the 2011 Heisman Trophy finalist beat him so badly, he split his tongue open ... and TMZ has the gruesome photo of the injury.

TMZ broke the story ... the Madison Police Department is investigating the July 27 incident ... and believe it may be related to the campus attack on Ball which occurred two days later.

Cops initially LIED to the media, insisting they were NOT checking into the fight ... and even blasted a TMZ story in which we said detectives were following up on tips about the melee.

Of course, the MPD later admitted they were completely full of crap ... and now believe they have evidence proving Ball WAS at the house party during the July 27 beating.

TMZ has learned ... the alleged victim met with investigators on Friday ... and told them Ball, along with other members of the University of Wisconsin football team, beat him so badly, he suffered a concussion, bruises and his tongue was split open.

The alleged victim took a cab to the hospital the night of the attack ... but never went to police.

Now, TMZ has learned ... two of the alleged victim's friends were interviewed by police this weekend to see if he ordered a retaliatory strike on Ball.

Ball insists he was not involved in a fight on July 27.

Michael Phelps took three of his closest friends out clubbing in London this weekend -- gold medal, gold medal and gold medal.

Just hours after swimming the last race of his career, Phelps -- the greatest Olympian in the history of the Olympics -- hit the party scene in Soho ... along with 3 of his 18 gold medals ... and a mystery blonde.

Phelps and his medals partied responsibly ... after they partied themselves out, they all piled into the backseat of a waiting SUV and got a ride home.

Current free agent Plaxico Burress could really use an NFL team right now ... because the unemployed wide receiver just had a tax lien filed against him in the State of New York for more than $59,000.

According to legal docs, Burress didn't quite pay all his personal income tax for the year 2007 and now the Empire State is looking to collect on the $59,241 he owes.

Burress was the top receiver for the NY Giants and under a 6-year $25-million contract ... but a stint behind bars after a gun charge put an end to all that. If he doesn't cough up the cash, the state can seize his assets.

Not to worry, we're sure some NFL team will pick him up ... any ... minute ... now ...

Former WWE star Kharma tells TMZ ... she fell into a deep depression after suffering a miscarriage last year ... and put on so much weight, she fell out of wrestling shape.

But now, Kharma says ... she's finally broken out of her funk and is on a renewed mission to shed the fat so she can get back in the ring.

We broke the story ... Kharma's baby died before she was able to give birth on December 31. Kharma says she had put on a lot of weight during the pregnancy and believes the extra pounds caused her health to suffer and may have contributed to the miscarriage.

In the months that followed, Kharma became depressed, put on even more weight and was dropped by the WWE.

But in the past couple of weeks, with the help of some friends, Kharma motivated herself to get back into fighting shape ... and has vowed to reclaim her career.

We're told she's already recruited a team of fitness experts and therapists ... and plans to document the transformation in the hopes of scoring a reality show. In fact, sources tell us ... Kharma has already been in touch with multiple production companies.

The biggest race in track and field just went down at the Olympics.

8/6 -- Hawkins spoke to reporters about her financial history in London yesterday ... saying, "It's my story, it's part of me. I'm not even embarrassed about it."

She added, "It shows that even though I didn't like to have to do it, I'm glad there was something there for me to be able to protect my home."

Just a few months before Gabby Douglas won her gold medal -- and opened the door to countless opportunities that will undoubtedly score her millions of dollars -- her mother filed for bankruptcy ... TMZ has learned

According to documents filed earlier this year in Virginia, Natalie Hawkins filed for Chapter 13 ... which is far less severe than Chapter 7. The docs state Hawkins has assets totalling $163,706.10 and debt totaling $79,754.14.

Her creditors include:
Capital One -- $1,534
Student loan -- $4,350.23
Sprint -- $158.78
T-Mobile -- $413
Orthodontist in Iowa (where Gabby trained when she was 14) -- $408

With the Chapter 13 filing, Hawkins has agreed to a monthly payment plan. She began making payments of $408/month back in February ... to a trustee who will divvy it up among her creditors.

However, with Gabby’s new found fame and the potential to make a bloody fortune, it's likely her mother will never have to worry about bankruptcy or money problems ever again.

Deion Sanders desperately wants to liquidate his 5,000 sq. ft. condo in Dallas -- putting the luxury property up for sale smack in the middle of his bitter divorce proceedings ... for way less than the market value.

Deion listed the condo -- located in the swanky celeb-filled Azure building -- back in March ... soon after his divorce from estranged wife Pilar went nuclear, when Pilar claimed Deion's aunt had attacked her in her own house.

Deion listed the home for $4.8 million -- but according to a realtor for Azure, the property is valued at roughly $6.5 million. In fact, Deion's neighboring unit is currently listed for exactly that amount.

And not only is he lowballing his own property, we're told Deion's doing some last minute renovations to speed up the sale -- such as re-plastering the pool.

Good thing too ... because this week, a judge ordered Deion to pay $10,000-a-month in child support and cough up another $275,000 for Pilar's attorneys' fees.

The oldest son of Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid was found dead this morning in a dorm room at Lehigh University, this according to several reports.

The Lehigh University Chief of Police confirmed that Garrett Reid, 29, was found dead at Eagles training camp after a 911 call was placed at 7:20 AM ET. Reid was in camp assisting strength coaches.

Police said that at this point there is no evidence of foul play and the coroner’s office said that an investigation is ongoing.

Eagles GM Howie Roseman announced the news to the press this morning, saying of Reid, "He's been strong for us, we’re going to be strong for him right now."

Reid had a troubled past which included multiple drug-related arrests.

Michael Phelps received his 19th Olympic medal by winning gold in the 4 x 200m Freestyle with the help of his fellow ripped and shaved smooth teammates Conor Dwyer, Ryan Lochte and Ricky Berens.

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