TMZ Sports - Page 50

Former pro baseball star Gabe Kapler has filed for divorce from his wife of 14 years ... and in the divorce docs he's made it clear -- he wants his maiden name back!

Kapler -- who's now an analyst on Fox Sports 1 -- filed the docs in L.A. County Superior court in an effort to end his marriage to Lisa Kapler, who he married back in 1999.

According to the docs, Gabe is serving as his own lawyer in the divorce ... and appears to have filled out the complicated docs himself ... which might explain some of the strange requests.

For example -- Gabe checked the box asking to have his former name restored ... and included the name "Jansen" ... his wife's maiden name. Oops.

Kapler also checked the box asking for spousal support ... odd, considering he earned millions of dollars over his 12 year MLB career. Again, ooops.

The couple has two minor children together. Gabe is asking for joint custody.

7:36 AM PT -- Well, our suspicions were correct ...

We spoke to Gabe who confirms there WAS a clerical error made on the document and that he's now "looking into it."

NFL free agent Braylon Edwards has been named in a battery report -- after a photog told cops the ex-49er grabbed him by the ankles outside a Detroit nightclub ... and shook him upside down, TMZ has learned.

A rep for the Detroit PD tells us ... the guy who filed the report claims he shot video of Braylon pushing someone outside a club in Downtown Detroit -- and that's when things turned ugly.

Edwards allegedly told the photog he needed to look at the video -- but when he refused ... Braylon flipped him upside down Suge Knight style to the concrete.

The victim refused medical attention because he only had minor injuries ... and luckily, he held onto the phone containing the video.

The Prez was asked about the issues renewed controversy over the past few months ... and proclaimed nostalgia isn't a good enough reason to keep the name.

Saying if he were team owner ... there'd be serious discussion about changing it.

However, Barack doesn't think fans of the name are being racist -- they're just passionate for team history.

Obama joins a growing movement of people once again pushing for the change -- including NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

McGregor tweeted photos of he and "Nasty" Willie Roaf hitting up The Library Thursday night in Las Vegas ... and the no-touching policy obviously wasn't in effect.

Fun Fact: Willie's mom was the first black woman to serve on the Arkansas Supreme Court ... and his sister is an Episcopal Priest.

Ducharme says the scaffolding was defective or damaged ... and it was the ex-WWE champ's responsibility to make sure the equipment was safe.

Ducharme wants more than $15k to cover the pain, disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life, yada yada yada.

A rep for Cena had no comment.

Check out the clip below -- it's not an actual re-creation ... but you get the idea.

We've all seen athletes do regular push ups. And clapping push ups. And diamond push-ups ... but have you ever seen anyone do BACKFLIP PUSH-UPS?!

Meet UFC fighter Chad Mendes ... who showed off his acrobatic workout skills at a media event for his upcoming fight against Nik Lentz at "UFC on Fox 9" in December.

For good measure, Chad also knocks out a "clapping behind the back" push-up.

Last time we saw anyone pull off push-ups like these ... was right before we turned off "Don't Mess with the Zohan."

9:05 AM PT -- MLB is lashing out against Alex's lawsuit -- calling it "nothing more than a desperate attempt to circumvent the Collective Bargaining Agreement."

MLB adds, "While we vehemently deny the allegations in the complaint, none of those allegations is relevant to the real issue: whether Mr. Rodriguez violated the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program by using and possessing numerous forms of prohibited performance-enhancing substances, including Testosterone and human Growth Hormone, over the course of multiple years and whether he violated the Basic Agreement by attempting to cover-up his violations of the Program by engaging in a course of conduct intended to obstruct and frustrate the Office of the Commissioner's investigation.”

A-Rod has come out swinging by filing a lawsuit against Bud Selig and MLB, claiming they paid off the star witness against the Yankee slugger ... paid him millions of dollars to help force A-Rod out of baseball.

The suit claims Selig and MLB paid $5 million to Anthony Bosch, head of the Biogenesis Clinic -- the place A-Rod allegedly went to in order to obtain undetectable steroids.

The upshot -- A-Rod believes the testimony is tainted by the hefty price tag.

The suit claims A-Rod has been unfairly targeted for a 211-game suspension -- which A-Rod's lawyer claims is a witch hunt.

The suit claims Selig and MLB interfered with A-Rod's contracts and business relationships.

Sources connected with A-Rod tell TMZ he's been tested for performance enhancing drugs 11 times since 2011 and they've come up clean every time.

Whatcha' gonna do, brother -- when Hulk Hogan puts his 60-year old ass into a THONG and rides a wrecking ball around like Miley Cyrus?!!

You're probably gonna watch the video. We did.

Now for the back story: Hulk's a partner in a new web hosting company called Hostamania (which is trying to compete with Go Daddy) ... and he wanted to do something big to draw attention to the biz.

Naturally, the wrestler decided the only logical move was to strip down to a G string and wiggle around his evenly-tanned butt cheeks on video.

Before 49ers safety Donte Whitner can officially sport a "Hitner" jersey on the field, he's REQUIRED to get Nike's blessing ... and it could cost the player a ton of money.

By now you know, Whitner's vowed to legally change his name to Hitner after the NFL fined him $21k for an illegal hit on a St. Louis Rams player earlier this season.

But it's not gonna happen for AT LEAST another month, because the NFL requires players to legally change their name before they can change their jersey. And in Donte's home state of Ohio ... an applicant has to publish a notice of the name change in a widely circulated publication at least 30 days before a judge will even consider signing off on the move.

Court officials in Ohio tell us the process usually takes AT LEAST six weeks from start to finish.

Then, there's the Nike factor -- an NFL rep tells TMZ before the league will allow a player to change the name on his jersey, he has to purchase any remaining Nike inventory featuring his old name.

But whatever the cost, Donte can probably afford it -- he's reportedly raking in $3.8 million this season.

So, if all goes according to plan, you could see a Hitner jersey on Nov. 17 ... when the 49ers play the Saints.

Olympic hurdler Lashinda Demus -- who won a silver medal at the 2012 Olympics -- says her husband tried to strangle her and threatened to kill her ... and she's now desperate for protection ... TMZ has learned.

Demus just got a temporary restraining order against her husband, Jamel Mayrant -- who was arrested and jailed a couple of weeks ago for domestic violence. She claims the attack left her with bruises and a lump on her head.

The restraining order also protects their twin 6-year-old boys and her parents -- because she claims he threatened all of them as well.

Demus also claims her husband is trashing her and damaging her career, saying in court docs, "I'm a professional athlete ... so I need no derogatory emails, pictures, texts, phone calls released about me on the web or to other people."

Shaquille O'Neil got one of those dreaded parking boots on his truck -- and all he had to do to get it removed for free was choke out the dude who did the the booting ... TMZ has learned.

Ok, Shaq was playfully strangling Spence Beck of ABS Booting in the video he posted on Instagram Tuesday night -- but it was all the boot man's idea.

Spence tells us a few hours after he slapped the device on Shaq's ride outside an Atlanta restaurant (someone forgot to feed the meter) ... he got a call, and instantly recognized the Diesel's voice.

According to Spence, Shaq played his cop card, saying ... “I’m a U.S. Marshal, I need you to remove this boot."

If you didn't know ... Shaq really was deputized back in 2005 when he helped feds track down sexual predators -- and that was good enough for Spence.

Spence says he told Shaq he'd waive the $75 fine in exchange for a co-starring role in one of Shaq's Instagram vids.

David Beckham in his underwear used to send our newsroom into a frenzy -- but something's happened to him since retiring from soccer, and the proof is in his ... nipples.

Don't get us wrong. We'd still do him.

Baltimore Ravens badass Terrell Suggs ripped Tom Brady apart ... trashing the QB for his smug attitude, his god-like status … and worst of all, HIS HAIR!!!

Suggs spit the venom during an interview with ESPN's "E:60" when Lisa Salters asked T-Sizzle how he truly felt about the Pats superstar. T's response:

“I don’t think it’s appropriate for camera. I don’t like him. He don’t like me. I don’t like his hair.”

Suggs will have a chance to tell Brady how he feels about him in person on Dec. 22 – when the Ravens take on the Pats.

Still, we gotta ask …

In case you haven't seen the images, 2K14 LeBron is WAYYYYY balder than 2K13 LeBron ... and conspiracy theorists are suggesting the designers are anti-LBJ fans who were just trying to troll the guy.

But we spoke with a rep for the company behind the game ... who tells us the digital art is simply imitating real life -- "We strive for current realism with all our players."

LeBron now joins the ranks of other legendary bald video characters ... including King Hippo, Dhalsim, the guy from Hitman, Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man and Kirby.

Congrats.

Ex-NFL running back Ricky Watters -- a 5-time Pro Bowler -- has resigned from his job as a high school football coach in Orlando, FL in the wake of a school investigation into the former Super Bowl champ.

Watters had been on paid leave at Oak Ridge High School since September 20 ... when the Orange County Public School district launched a private investigation -- the details of which have not been released by the district.

But today, Watters announced his resignation from the job -- telling WESH he was getting sick of the drama.

"There was a complaint that I used profanity on the sidelines,” Watters said ... adding, "[the investigation] was just going on and on. I think it’s just best we clear it."

Calls to school officials have not been returned.

L.A. Lakers center, Pau Gasol, is optimistic that Lamar Odom -- his friend and former teammate -- will make a triumphant return to the NBA ... but admits he's still in the dark about what's going on in Lamar's life.

All 7-feet of Pau hit up Katsuya in Hollywood last night ... where he told us he hasn't had any contact with Lamar since he began his crack-fueled downward spiral ... but he still thinks Lamar can come back.

"The main thing is that he's healthy and happy," Gasol told us ... but he also knows what it's gonna take for Lamar -- or any pro-baller -- to be competitive in the NBA.