TMZ Sports - Page 50

The 418-lb wrestler shaved his head last week ... and afterward, everyone said he looked like Rick Ross.

So of course ... he dressed up like Ricky Rozay for Halloween!

The real Rick Ross approved of the costume online afterward -- and gave the costume two thumbs up.

Boss.

David Ortiz wasn't chugging cheap champagne during his crazy World Series celebration last night -- the stuff Big Papi was pounding runs $100,000 per bottle ... TMZ has learned.

You've seen the pics -- Ortiz hoisting a giant gold bottle of bubbly, while the rest of his Boston Red Sox teammates celebrated their victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Now, we've learned ... the booze was a 15 litre bottle of Armand de Brignac Nebuchadnezzar Champagne, also known as "Ace of Spades" ... and it runs between $100k and $150k in the club scene.

These bottles are SUPER rare -- a Russian billionaire once splurged on a bottle for Zac Efron and Heather Graham when he spotted the actors at a bar in Chicago.

Colorado Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov showed no mercy during his alleged attack on his girlfriend this week -- his GF not only told police he kicked her ... she says he stomped her, dragged her around by the hair ... then said he'd beat her more if he could.

The alleged domestic violence incident occurred on Monday -- according to the Denver police report, Varlamov came to his girlfriend's house and assaulted her, kicking her in the chest and knocking her down.

Once on the floor, his girlfriend claims he stomped her chest, then grabbed her hair and dragged her out of her bedroom.

Still holding her hair, the GF says Varlamov pushed her face to the floor and told her (in Russian) that if this were Russia, he would have beat her even more. It's unclear what, if anything, provoked the argument.

The GF was interviewed by police yesterday, and the detective observed bruising on the girlfriend's arm and hip.

An arrest warrant was subsequently issued for Varlamov, but he has already turned himself in to authorities. He has since been arrested.

The Indiana Pacers cheerleaders are ALL ABOUT Halloween ... and to prove it, they threw on an array of slutty costumes and showed off their incredibly hot bodies.

Among the highlights ... slutty cat, slutty Barbie, slutty luffa, slutty lifeguard, slutty cop ... you get the gist -- it's awesome.

UFC badasss Ronda Rousey learned the hard way Hollywood can be a dangerous place -- and she's got the bloody knuckles to prove it.

Rousey -- the reigning UFC women's bantamweight champion -- just got back from filming "Expendables 3" with Sylvester Stallone in Bulgaria ... and tells TMZ she got some battle scars in the process.

Rousey says while she was shooting the movie -- in which she plays a gun-toting killing machine -- the calluses on her knuckles went away, which made her hands softer and more vulnerable to ripping open.

FYI -- generally, fighters enjoy having calluses on their knuckles, because it toughens up their hands for contact.

Someone should check Michael Jordan for feathers and a beak, 'cause the NBA legend CHICKENED OUT of a 1-on-1 basketball challenge from Bryon Russell after MJ called him out in his 2009 Hall of Fame induction speech, TMZ Sports has learned.

MJ's challenge is legendary -- on the day he was inducted, he stood on the podium and vowed to play Bryon anytime, any place ... saying, "From this day forward, if I ever see [Bryon] in shorts, I'm coming at him (see video below around 21:00)."

FYI -- the two have had a rivalry ever since Jordan beat Russell's defense in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals and sank the game-winning shot (though some people say, MJ illegally pushed off).

Well, TMZ Sports has learned ... that right after MJ's HOF speech, Russell placed a call to Jordan, challenging him to a televised 1-on-1 match ... and the profits would all go towards charity.

But Jordan REFUSED -- and according to Bryon, who called in to "TMZ Sports" Jordan didn't even give a good reason ... "he just didn't wanna do it."

The widow of late Atlanta Braves catcher Earl Williams says her trusted doctor robbed her blind ... stealing her husband's jewelry -- even a prized catcher's mitt, this according to court docs obtained by TMZ.

Williams (the 1971 National League Rookie of the Year) passed away in January at the age of 64, following a battle with cancer. And after he died, Earl's wife Linda says she began to notice several items had gone missing from her NJ home -- including $20k in jewelry and Earl's favorite catcher's mitt.

She claims a baseball signed by Earl's former teammate Hank Aaron was also MIA.

So, Linda called police ... and after a quick investigation, cops arrested Lynda Stambaugh-Lupo -- a doctor who had been making housecalls to treat Linda's lymphedema.

We spoke with Linda Williams ... who tells us cops discovered most of her missing items at the doc's home -- and they've already been returned.

As for the doc, she's been charged with the 3rd degree theft -- and faces up to 5 years in prison if convicted.

And there's this ... according to the New Jersey Board of Medical Examiners, Stambaugh-Lupo was not properly licensed to be practicing medicine at the time she was treating Williams, because her license was revoked in 2008.

Wanna see a bunch of grown men murder a terrible pop song?

Well, you're in luck, 'cause the Dallas Mavericks just spoofed "What Does the Fox Say" ... and somehow it's more hilariously painful than the original.

Dirk Nowitzki -- along with Vince Carter, Devin Harris, DeJuan Blair and the rest of the squad -- grabbed all sorts of ridiculous animal costumes and released their own parody version of that horribly addictive song.

Phil Jackson coached Lamar Odom to his greatest NBA glory -- but now he tells TMZ Sports L.O.'s chances of making a comeback with the Lakers are slim to none. Time for Lamar to go to Plan B?
Think he has one?

Plus, Eli Manning gets a Fantasy Football vote of confidence from a major Hollywood player -- but most of us (who are suffering in the office FF league) are calling BS!

And could Utah Jazz great John Stockton actually dunk? His ex-teammate Bryon Russell joined us with his insight -- but also revealed HUGE news about his archenemy, Michael Jordan being a ... giant chicken?!! You gotta see this!

Shaquille O'Neal's still calling the shots -- but now in the political arena -- telling TMZ it was HIS brilliant idea to endorse Republican NJ Gov. Chris Christie.

Shaq -- who's a native of Newark -- was in neighboring NYC last night when we asked about the Governor's newest strategy ... a 30-second campaign commercial featuring the big man (O'Neal not Christie).

Clearly, Shaq's a big fan ... telling us Christie's "a good man" who's done a lot for the Garden State. ... that's why he came up with what could be a game winning play for the Governor.

Huddle up ... 49ers legend Ronnie Lott just gave a Congressional hopeful in California an impassioned pump-up speech worthy of "Friday Night Lights" -- and it was all caught on camera.

Lott actually called for a huddle Monday night at the fundraising event for politician Ro Khanna -- who's currently running for a spot in the House of Reps -- unleashing motivational bombs like, "You've won the election ... because we close our eyes and we dream big. We dream greatness ... It's up to you. You gotta carry the torch. You gotta be the next Obama."

Lott was joined by fellow 49ers legends Harris Barton and Roger Craig. It was pretty cool.

All that's missing is the echoey guitar and snare drum. (Goosebumps. Every time.)

John Stockton is finally settling one of the great mysteries surrounding the NBA -- can he dunk a basketball????

The Hall-of-Famer was out in NYC yesterday promoting his new book," Assisted" when we asked if he ever got above the rim.

John's answer -- "Not anymore ... I could at one time."

For the record, trying to find a video clip of John dunking a basketball is like trying to find the Loch Ness monster ... it's virtually impossible.

So, here's the next best thing ...

Snoop Lion tells TMZ ... his football son is not a thug and SHOULDN'T have punched a rival player during a high school brawl earlier this month ... but hey, that's football.

Snoop was leaving Supperclub in L.A. last night when we asked about his 16-year-old son Cordell Broadus -- who, along with several players on his team, was suspended for a game after a bench-clearing fight a couple of weeks ago.

"It was a team fight," Snoop said ... "It was an unnecessary act on both sides."

As for Cordell -- considered one of the best high school wide receivers in the country -- he was caught on tape throwing a haymaker during the brawl. Snoop says he's apologized for his actions.

"He wasn't taught to be that way. He was taught to be an athlete and be sportsmanlike. So, it was a once in a lifetime situation, you learn from your mistakes ... he's a young kid, so hopefully, he'll learn from this and it'll never happen again."

There's more ... Snoop also TALKED SMACK to Clippers fans after the Lake Show beat 'em last night -- and specifically to Clippers head coach Doc Rivers.

He also talks about Lamar Odom -- telling TMZ, he considers L.O. a good friend ... and he truly believes the NBA star is finally getting his life together.

"NFL on Fox" sideline reporter Pam Oliver says she was only KIDDING when she ripped New Yorkers at a Super Bowl event in NY last week ... but Pam tells TMZ she refuses to apologize.

FYI -- Oliver's been taking some serious heat ever since she asked the Super Bowl Host Committee how they planned to "instruct people of this area, particularly New Yorkers, to be nice" when the SB comes to the Big Apple in a couple of months.

Yesterday in NY, Pam addressed the issue head on -- saying she understands why people are pissed ... but chalks the whole thing up to a bad joke.

Pam says she loves New York ... her husband's from NY ... and she even owns an "I Love NY" shirt.

But don't expect an apology -- because even though Pam says she learned a lot from the controversy, she doesn't feel like she did anything wrong.

The Aaron Hernandez jail ID badge fiasco has opened up a can of worms -- TMZ has learned, the former NFL star is now being INVESTIGATED for allegedly passing secret messages to other inmates.

As we reported, one of the inmates at Aaron's jail in Connecticut was busted recently for trying to steal AH's jail ID badge. The thief was caught and Aaron got his badge back, but it didn't end there.

Sources connected to the situation tell TMZ ... the inmate who tried to swipe the ID claims Aaron contacted him soon after the incident and gave him a copy of the 320-page book, "Bad Boy Brawly Brown" ... which contained a secret handwritten note on two pages inside.

We've seen the note and the handwriting appears to match up with the handwriting on Aaron's previous two jail letters (#1, #2).

Surprisingly, Aaron's message isn't angry -- it even sounds like Aaron is friends with the guy who took his ID. Aaron opens the note, writing, "I heard you are the one that tried to steal my ID! That's crazy lol!"

The rest of Aaron's letter rambles on about how he's innocent and can't wait to prove it in court. He also still believes he will play football again soon. Yadda yadda.

But the content of the note isn't the issue, at least as far as jail staff is concerned. A rep for the jail tells us, inmates are forbidden from passing each other notes such as this -- so if it turns out Aaron really did write the letter, there could be severe consequences for all involved.

Lamar Odom may have ruined his chances of EVER returning to his beloved Los Angeles Lakers ... so says his ex coach and NBA legend Phil Jackson.

Jackson didn't mince words to TMZ when we asked if he thought Lamar would ever return to the purple and gold. He said, "I think that bridge might have been burned."

In case you didn't know, Phil is pretty tight with Lakers execs -- he lives with team Prez Jeanie Buss.

And this is interesting. Phil tells us ... he's not blaming the Kardashian family for Lamar's woes, despite a recent interview in which he hinted that Lamar would have been better off without the K-fam.

He says although the reality show was "a distraction" for Lamar, there's a benefit that outweighed the negative -- "Lamar got a family and a caring unit."

He also said he worries that Bruce Jenner is out of the picture ... because Lamar related to him as an athlete.

As for what caused Lamar to unravel, Jackson said he's been dealing with "too many personal things," although he was not specific.