TMZ Sports - Page 50

With just hours left until his MMA debut, former WWE champ Bautista has been prepping for his big match by hanging with an experienced fighter ... "Real Housewives" star Teresa Giudice.

TMZ obtained a photo of the two kickin' it at a hotel in Rhode Island -- where the 43-year-old will get in the ring for the first time ever on Saturday night to take on Vince Lucero.

Turns out Teresa the table-flipper is in town for a breast cancer awareness event and just happened to be staying at the same hotel as Bautista. We're told the two immediately hit it off ... and even had a convo about MMA.

As for the fight, Dave's rep tells TMZ he plans to watch the Bruce Lee classic "Enter the Dragon” in his hotel room tonight because "it's the greatest martial arts movie ever made."

Linda Hogan was arrested yesterday in Malibu on suspicion of DUI ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ, Linda -- real name Linda Bollea -- was arrested at 1:34 AM Thursday morning and taken to a nearby police station where she was booked and put behind bars. According to the citation, her blood alcohol level is listed as .084, barely above the legal limit in California (.08).

The 53-year-old was released several hours later on $5,000 bail.

An inmate information operator at the jail tells us, she was also booked for driving on a suspended license.

A rep for Linda tells TMZ, Linda sincerely regrets the arrest. The rep claims Linda was on her way home from a jewelry function in L.A. where she drank a glass of champagne on an empty stomach -- in combination with antibiotics that exacerbated the effects of the alcohol. The rep insists Linda was NOT booked for driving on a suspended license.

The rep says Linda was initially pulled over for speeding. It's unclear if Linda was the only person in the car at the time of her arrest.

It's been a rough week for the Hogan family. Linda's ex-husband Hulk Hogan is currently in the middle of a sex tape scandal after footage was released on the Internet yesterday.

1:07 PM PT -- Law enforcement sources tell TMZ, Larry's alleged victim is his ex-girlfriend whom he dated for four years.

We're told the incident occurred at the Bellagio hotel. Hotel security called police, and when officers arrived at the scene around 4am, law enforcement sources tell us, they found the alleged victim crying with visible bruises and scratches on her neck. Johnson had small scratches on his face.

The ex-GF told police Larry had choked her to the point of unconsciousness.

Former NFL running back Larry Johnson was arrested in Las Vegas, Nevada this morning for domestic violence ... TMZ has learned.

According to Clark County Jail records, Johnson has been accused of strangling someone. It's unclear who the alleged victim is.

Johnson -- who once signed a $45 million contract with the Kansas City Chiefs -- is being held until he can see a judge tomorrow morning.

32-year-old Johnson has been arrested 4 other times since 2003 -- each time he was accused of assaulting a woman.

In 2008, he was sued for allegedly spitting on a woman in a nightclub. He paid $100k to settle that case.

In 2011, LJ was sued for allegedly beating up a man in Miami Beach.

Hulk Hogan's leaked sex tape did NOT catch the wrestler with his pants down -- at least figuratively -- because TMZ has learned, he's already got his lawyers on the counter-attack, threatening to SUE if the tape isn't taken off the Internet.

Gawker posted a minute-long clip of the sex tape on its website yesterday -- but sources close to Hogan tell TMZ, it won't be up for long ... because Hogan's currently drafting a nasty cease-and-desist letter to the website, demanding the footage be taken down.

Hogan's claiming the site has no right to post the footage -- and if it doesn't remove it, he'll sue.

Hulk's lawyer David R. Houston tells TMZ, "This tape was made secretly without Hulk's knowledge or permission. We are going to do everything in our power to figure out who did it. Anyone displaying the tape will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law."

As we first reported ... the Hogan tape was being shopped around to the highest bidder beginning earlier this year. Screen grabs hit the Internet in April, but video only surfaced yesterday.

Gawker says it obtained the tape from an anonymous source -- who gave the footage to the site for free.

Liam Neeson appeared on "SportsCenter" yesterday to talk football -- problem is, he doesn't know a damn thing about the sport ... and when he realized the interview was being aired live, he totally dropped an S-bomb.

Neeson is currenty on a hardcore promotional tour for his new movie "Taken 2" ... and someone thought it would be a good idea to let ESPN grill him about the NFL.

After the first question, a stumped Liam said, "Ok, we better start again -- can we? Are we live? Oh, sh*t."

When the anchor continued to press ... asking about Tim Tebow, the replacement refs and the 49ers ... Neeson responded, "See, you're speaking ancient Arabic to me buddy ... I swear to you ... I just don't understand the game."

New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez is simply not reproducing ... TMZ has learned.

Despite reports that he knocked up his GF Eva Longoria, the actress' rep tells us, "Rumors of the couple being pregnant are false and absolutely not true."

Still, sources close to the couple tell us Mark is "truly serious" about his relationship with Eva ... with one person telling us it already seems like "true love."

L.A. Clippers star Matt Barnes is apologizing for calling the cop who arrested him a fa**ot and a pu**y. In case you're really bad at "Wheel of Fortune," one word is derogatory toward gays ... the other toward women.

Barnes tells TMZ, "I would like to apologize for the unfortunate language I used. I know that certain words are extremely hurtful."

Barnes goes on: "I meant absolutely no disrespect to anyone. This comment, spoken in the heat of a difficult moment, does not accurately reflect my actual point of view."

As we first reported, Barnes and the cop clearly had beef. The same officer stopped Barnes twice before and waited nearly 2 hours in a Manhattan Beach, CA parking lot last July for Barnes to leave a restaurant -- then arresting him for driving on a suspended license and resisting arrest (see dash cam video below).

Barnes eventually pled no contest to misdemeanor interfering with a cop and driving while not in possession of a license. He got off with a fine and informal probation.

Barnes tells TMZ, "I hope that any and all offended parties can accept my sincerest apologies."

Mike Tyson tells TMZ he "feels great" following a recent neck surgery ... and despite the gnarly scar on his neck, Mike says he should be back to normal in just 3 weeks.

Tyson turned heads (not his own) when he showed up to a media event in Vegas this weekend sporting a neck brace. The former champ reportedly had titanium pins put in his neck to add support to a degenerative disk.

Tyson's rep tells us, "Its a very common surgery, especially for athletes."

The rep adds, "He feels great ... just has to wear the neck brace to keep everything stable for the next 3 weeks.”

TMZ has obtained video of cops arresting L.A. Clippers star Matt Barnes in Manhattan Beach, CA ... and it's clear Barnes and the cop have beef with each other ... and at one point a very angry Barnes shouts a gay slur: "You're the f**king fa**ot who followed me."

The incident occurred July 30, outside a restaurant where Barnes and his wife, "Basketball Wives"star Gloria Govan just had dinner. Officer David Gibbons was waiting for 2 hours for Barnes to exit the restaurant.

When Barnes emerged, Gibbons told him he was under arrest for an outstanding warrant -- driving on a suspended license. Barnes asked to see the warrant and Gibbons said he'll see it when he gets to jail. Barnes said if Gibbons didn't produce the warrant he was leaving.

Barnes started to walk and Gibbons ordered him to stop. Apparently Gibbons then grabbed Barnes, who said, "Touch me and see what happens."

Barnes called Gibbons a bitch, Gibbons cuffed Barnes and in the process Barnes tried to give his wife the keys. Gibbons grabbed Barnes' arm and Barnes pulled away. That's when Gibbons placed Barnes under felony arrest for resisting an officer.

The two have a history. We've learned Gibbons stopped Barnes twice before -- on May 19 Gibbons impounded Barnes' car because he was driving on a suspended license. Barnes, whose ankle was injured, asked for a ride and Gibbons refused. Barnes angrily describes the incident on the tape of the July arrest.

The Baltimore Ravens are a team divided ... at least when it comes to the topic of gay marriage ... but one of the players tells TMZ he's adamant the war behind the scenes will NOT affect the team on the field.

The gay marriage debate was kicked in to high gear this week when center Matt Birk published an article defending "traditional marriage" ... in response to the pro-gay marriage letter punter Chris Kluwe had written to an anti-gay marriage politician in Maryland.

Now, linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo -- a longtime, outspoken defender of gay marriage -- tells TMZ ... the topic is SHELVED when the guys put on the pads.

“On the field, we’re on the same accord ... When we come to work, we’re on the same page. One goal and that’s to win a championship.”

Ayanbadejo tells us ... many of his teammates have discussed the issue with him ... but Birk wasn't one of those guys.

However, Ayanbadejo says Birk did give him a heads up about the anti-gay marriage letter before it was published.

“We had a conversation about other things, about him and our relationship, not about us being on different sides,” Ayanbadejo told TMZ.

Brendon says his family and Matt’s family spend time together socially, and their kids like to play together. That won’t change. But Brendon says he hopes to have a deeper discussion about the issue with Birk sometime in the future.

“Of course I disagree with his stance, but I’m not gonna tell someone how to raise their kids,” Ayanbadejo tells us. “He wants the world to be a better place for his kids."

The New York Jets are NEVER going to win with Mark Sanchez ... and should unleash Tim Tebow on the NFL as soon as possible ... this according to "Football Night in America" analyst Rodney Harrison.

Harrison says if the Jets don't make the switch, they're doomed to a 4-12 season.

Michael Vick has blown through nearly $30 million since filing for bankruptcy in 2008 -- nearly 95% of his total income -- TMZ has learned.

According to legal docs filed in his bankruptcy case, Vick made $31 million since he went belly up -- that includes his Eagles salary and various endorsements and other business ventures.

The math is pretty simple -- Vick had to pay a total of $29.6 mil -- of that, $10.9 went to taxes, $9.2 mil went to creditors, $2.7 went to lawyers and accountants, and the rest is for various things, including child support and living expenses.

All tolled, Vick is now left with around $1.5 mil. That's nothing to sneeze at, but considering what he made it's pretty shocking.

Things are looking up for the NFLer. Vick signed a 6 year, $100 million contract in 2011 ... with almost $40 mil in guaranteed money, so he won't be poor -- in rich terms -- for much longer.

Former WWE Star Shawn Daivari says he used a REAR NAKED CHOKE HOLD to save a train full of people last week ... after an unruly passenger allegedly threatened to kill them.

TMZ spoke to Daivari ... who says the incident went down last Thursday on an airport bound train from Minneapolis. The WWE star says an uncontrollable passenger in his car became violent ... shouted racial slurs and threatened to kill his fellow passengers.

Daivari says multiple people pressed the emergency button to call for help -- but NOTHING happened.

The pro-wrestler then took matters into his own hands telling TMZ, "I wasn't going to wait any longer to see if a cop showed up." Daivari says he threw the guy down, slapped on a rear naked choke hold on him and then threw his ass out at the next stop.

One witness, who was on the train when it all went down, tells us Daivari choked out the passenger so hard ... he peed his pants.

Bautista's very first professional MMA fight was nearly scrapped this week when his opponent was arrested for a probation violation ... but TMZ has learned organizers have dug up a replacement fighter just in the nick of time.

The fight has been in the works for months ... the ex-WWE champ was slated to get in the ring with Rashid Evans (not the one from the UFC) at a CES MMA event in Providence, Rhode Island.

But a rep for the event tells us ... Evans was scratched from the fight card when he was arrested for violating his probation some time last week ... and once again, it seemed like fate was going to prevent Bautista's MMA career from ever getting started.

Event organizers scrambled to find a replacement fighter -- a guy named Vince Lucero stepped up ... which could be a HUUUUGE problem for Bautista because Lucero has been in more than 40 pro fights.

In fact, Lucero has gone toe-to-toe with a bunch of legitimate MMA studs ... including former UFC Heavyweight champ Tim Sylvia (Sylvia won that fight).

The fight is still scheduled to go down Saturday at 8pm ET.

Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano has been diagnosed with a treatable form of leukemia, the team announced today, and will miss several games to receive treatment.

Colts owner Jim Irsay made the announcement at a news conference today, saying, "He is ready to take this fight on and he is a fighter."

Pagano, 51, had been experiencing what he believed to be fatigue, but a blood test revealed he was suffering from leukemia. He has been receiving treatment in the intensive care unit at an Indianapolis-area hospital since Wednesday.

Bruce Arians, the team's offensive coordinator, will serve as the interim coach in Pagano's absence.

Brooklyn Nets guard Joe Johnson insists ... he's no jewel thief -- and now, he's lashing back against a lawsuit that says he stole $125,000 worth of bling from an Atlanta diamond dealer.

Aydin & Company filed a lawsuit against Johnson earlier this month, claiming the NBA star entered into a purchase agreement back in October 2010 for $125,500 worth of jewelry.

The items in question -- a white gold watch with diamonds, diamond beaded bracelet, black diamond stud earrings and a white gold bezel set rosary.

According to the suit, Johnson took the swag, but never foot the bill -- so Aydin's suing for the price of the jewelry PLUS legal fees, PLUS interest (which grows at a monthly rate of 2%) ... for a grand total of $266,333.05.

But sources close to Johnson tell TMZ ... the lawsuit is total B.S -- explaining, the owner of the store asked Johnson to wear the items on loan and allowed him to return them when he was done.

But when Johnson tried to give the items back, we're told the jeweler refused and slapped him with the bill instead.

Sources tell us, Johnson NEVER agreed to purchase the items and has since tried to return them on numerous occasions -- but no cigar.