TMZ Sports - Page 50

The UFC fighter Thiago Silva would've faced next -- had he not been busted for allegedly pulling a gun on his wife -- tells TMZ Sports ... he's DEVASTATED the fight's scrapped saying "you gotta be f-ing kidding me."

Ovince St. Preux was set to square off against Silva at UFC 171 on March 15 ... but after the Brazilian fighter's insane meltdown, UFC prez Dana White permanently banned him from the Octagon.

St. Preux tells us he's bummed the match is cancelled ... but agrees with the ban, saying "I understand where Dana White is coming from, he has to protect the brand ... Plus, he's my boss."

As for why he thinks Thiago snapped ... St. Preux says "we don't know what he was going through" ... adding, "If he's having personal problems, anyone in his position might've done the same thing."

"Thiago took on the bad boy role ... and he played it well," St. Preux said, "I thought it was an act, but maybe he was being himself."

Chiefs QB Alex Smith is so desperate to put his 8 years in San Fran behind him ... he just slashed a cool $300K off the asking price on his CA mansion, TMZ Sports has learned.

Smith originally listed the 5,650 sq ft, Los Gatos home for $3.25 mil -- after getting traded to the Chiefs last year ... but now he's settling on $2.95 mil in a last ditch effort to unload the place.

The 4 bedroom, 4 bath crib includes a massive 1,200 sq ft master bedroom ... and sits on a shaded hilltop an hour south of soon-to-be demolished Candlestick Park.

Here's what's inside -- high vaulted ceilings, hardwood floors, and huge windows with amazing views. What's NOT inside? A Lombardi Trophy, cause y'know ...

Well, that didn't take long ... TMZ Sports has learned Terrell Owens' wife is already demanding a divorce from the former NFL star ... just two weeks after tying the knot.

It was only back on January 23rd that T.O. married Rachel Snider in a secret ceremony at a courthouse in Newhall, CA.

But now, we've learned ... Rachel has left T.O. -- moved out of California -- and plans on filing for a divorce asap.

Rachel tells TMZ Sports ... she believes Terrell only married her for money -- and claims he used her so he could get a loan for a $2 million home in Sherman Oaks, CA.

"I felt in love ... and now I feel betrayed and heartbroken," Snider says.

Snider adds, "I really valued his love and friendship for 5 years. Out of the love in my heart, I tried to help him. We had a secret relationship for 5 years and I married him for love."

The first big Olympic showdown is between beer companies -- Heineken headed to Sochi, just as Budweiser pulled out. Did the Dutch beer just make America's fave brew look soft?

Plus, David Beckham wants everyone to pay attention to his new soccer team -- but instead they're focused on his arms. How Becks sparked a new fashion trend for men.

Thiago Silva's wife Thaysa told law enforcement ... the UFC fighter has a "drug problem" ... and has abused her for months, this according to documents obtained by TMZ Sports.

We've obtained documents Thaysa filed in Florida back in January seeking a restraining order against Silva -- in which she checked a box saying he has a "drug problem."

In the docs, she also detailed an alleged violent incident with Thiago and says she fears for her well-being.

"I am not safe in my own house," Thaysa wrote ... adding, "I can not live more saying 'yes' and 'forgive' everything."

"I am very afraid of him."

In the documents, filed on January 6, Thaysa did not go into detail about Thago's alleged drug problem -- but she did say Thiago got violent with her while she was in a friend's home on Jan. 5th. In broken English, Thaysa seems to explain that Thiago went on a rampage and cut up her work uniform.

She also claims, "Months ago he grabbed me and pulled me."

The restraining order was granted. But last night, Thiago confronted Thaysa in front of a martial arts studio and allegedly threatened to shoot her and her supposed lover.

8:21 AM PT -- The judge has THROWN OUT the attempted murder charges against Silva, claiming there isn't enough evidence to prove the UFC fighter ever intended to kill his wife, despite allegedly pulling a gun on her on multiple occasions and sending threatening text messages to her.

The judge explained, "It just seems if he wanted to shoot Mrs. Silva, he would've done it. He didn't do it."

Instead, Silva was hit with two counts of aggravated assault with a firearm ... and the judge has decided to hold him in custody without bond.

Silva was not only deemed a flight risk, due to his connections in Brazil -- but the judge says there's a high risk he'll commit violence against his wife.

Thiago's lawyer had argued that his fighter was being unfairly judged because of his occupation as a UFC fighter -- saying, "There's an overreaction [with the charges] simply because the man, what he does for a living."

During the hearing, Silva's lawyer said the fighter is dead broke ... and desperately needs the paycheck he'll receive for his scheduled fight in Dallas at UFC 171.

However, UFC honcho Dana White tells TMZ Sports ... "This guy will never fight in the UFC again."

THE ALLEGATIONS -- Silva's wife told police Thiago went nuclear because he suspected his wife was having an affair with MMA instructor Pablo Popovitch, who runs a jiu-jitsu center in South Florida.

According to the police report, obtained by TMZ Sports, Thiago pulled up to Pablo's training center Thursday night ... pulled out a GLOCK and pointed it at his wife.

Thiago allegedly told his wife, "You have ten seconds to bring Pablo outside and if he does not come out, I will go in the gym and start shooting everyone."

Cops say the class was filled with 25 students at the time of the altercation.

Thiago's wife told cops Pablo raced out of the center to protect Silva's wife -- and that's when Thiago threatened to kill them both. Pablo then raced inside the gym to call 911. That's when Silva drove back to his home.

There's more ... cops say there was ANOTHER violent incident between Thiago and his wife on January 30 -- when he accused her of cheating on him.

Thiago's wife says he got so angry, he pulled out a silver revolver and shoved it into her mouth -- while threatening to shoot her. Thiago's wife eventually got free and obtained a restraining order against the UFC fighter.

THE ARREST -- UFC fighter Thiago Silva was arrested Thursday night for attempted murder following a standoff with a SWAT team after he allegedly threatened people at a jiu-jitsu school and barricaded himself inside his home -- and we have footage showing the moment he was finally captured.

Cops in Broward County, FL say the incident began just before 8 PM, when Silva went to the school owned by famed instructor Pablo Popovitch. Silva -- sporting blue board shorts -- allegedly threatened people there and then went back to his home.

According to police, Silva barricaded himself inside the home. The SWAT team arrived a short time later and surrounded the place as officials tried to get him to surrender. Silva finally gave himself up around 11:15 PM.

TMZ Sports has obtained video of Silva in the back of the cop car. The photog asked him if he pulled a gun on his wife. Silva responded no, adding, "She wants my house, she wants my money." And then he says, "Just don't report this. Can you do that for me?"

Once in the police station, Silva flipped off photogs as officers booked the fighter on 4 criminal charges -- 2 counts of attempted felony murder, one count of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and one count of resisting arrest.

The 31-year-old Brazilian-born fighter is 16-3 in the UFC -- and was expected to fight at UFC 171 in March. We're guessing that ain't gonna happen now.

Indiana Pacers superstar Paul George tells TMZ Sports ... he never EVER offered to pay a woman $1 million to abort her unborn child -- but if the kid is his, he's ready and willing to do the right thing.

We're told ... back in 2013, George had a relationship with a woman from Miami named "Daniela" -- a woman who is currently pregnant. The releationship went through the end of the summer ... but in November, Daniela informed George she was pregnant and she believes he is the father.

In a statement to TMZ Sports, George says ... "If and when there is legal confirmation that I am the father, I will fully embrace my responsibilities. This is a personal matter that is still being sorted out, so I hope you can respect my privacy. "

There are rumors that George offered the woman $1 mil to abort the baby -- but George's camp is adamant that's total B.S.

A spokesman tells us, "There is no truth to the rumors that Paul offered money for [Daniela] not to have the child."

Rocky drank raw eggs for protein ... but Manny Pacquiáo takes things a step further ... 'cause TMZ sports has learned, the eggs he likes to eat are filled with UNBORN BABY DUCKLINGS.

It's true ... the boiled duck fetuses -- called Balut -- are all the rage in the champ's native Philippines. The little duckies are cooked ALIVE right before they hatch ... and are eaten out of the shell.

Pac-man was at a press conference for his upcoming Timothy Bradley fight in NYC today ... when we asked him if the popular Filipino snack tastes as nasty as it looks.

Check out the clip ... Manny's face tells the whole story.

The Winter Olympics are finally underway, which means all over Sochi ... stray dogs are running for their lives, and tourists are trying to figure out how the hell to take a crap!

But there's also good stuff happening. Just not in Sochi.

Babe Ruth's most famous signed ball -- and possibly the most storied artifact in baseball history -- just sold for a whopping $250,642 at an online auction tonight ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Here's the story -- Babe gifted the ball to a seriously ill little boy named Johnny Sylvester during the 1926 World Series ... inscribed with the promise "I'll knock a homer for Wednesday's game."

Sure enough ... the Bambino blasted three homers that Wednesday against the Cardinals in Game 4 of the World Series -- and miraculously, Little Johnny recovered from his potentially fatal illness.

88 years later the ball has a new home ... after Johnny Jr. -- who inherited the heirloom when his dad passed away in '90 ... decided to hock the thing for major cash at GreyFlannelauctions.com.

The auction house tells us, "We're very happy! It's a huge number!"

For a $250K price tag ... seems like a real home run.

The guys at Google appear to have just flipped the bird at the Russians for their anti-gay laws ... posting a rainbow Olympics search bar to their homepage.

The art work popped up on the site minutes ago ... and the message sure seems loud and proud ... Google supports gay rights at Sochi.

As you know -- the Russians are enforcing a strict "no gays allowed" policy in their country ... which includes everyone traveling there for the Games this winter.

Legendary wrestling villain Paul Heyman recently hacked off his iconic ponytail ... but he insists it was NOT because the WWE's head honcho wanted him to update his look.

Heyman recently returned to the WWE with Brock Lesnar ... but his signature ponytail was nowhere in sight.

In Thursday's WWE Inbox Paul was asked if Triple H ordered the chop.

The ECW pioneer blanched and said he had a very good reason that had nothing to do with HHH.

R.I.P. -- Heyman's Ponytail

Heineken ain't afraid of no terrorism -- unlike Budweiser -- TMZ Sports has learned, the Dutch beer company has REFUSED to cancel its Olympics party in Sochi ... after its American cousin pulled out.

A rep for Heineken tells us, the beer titan's party house in Sochi officially opened for business today ... and it's already turnt up big time.

It's a big move ... considering Budweiser shut down all plans to have a presence in Sochi because the company is afraid of the looming threat of terrorism.

But Heineken says Bud's fears are unsubstantiated ... with one rep telling us, "Sochi is actually OK safety-wise."

You can't separate a man from his surf board ... even during an extreme financial wipeout ... at least according to Warren Sapp who BOUGHT BACK his old board in the middle of his bankruptcy crisis.

We broke the story ... a trustee seized Sapp's most valuable possessions to sell off as part of his bankruptcy case in 2012 -- including his huge Air Jordan collection and other personal items.

But according to new docs, filed on January 31, 2014 ... Sapp managed to scrape together enough cash to buy BACK several items that were seized ... including his surf board, his University of Miami Hall of Fame ring and his High School championship ring.

There's more -- Sapp also bought back his pool table, golf clubs, sound system, computer stuff and several pieces of sports memorabilia.

In total, Sapp paid $7,812.50 to buy back his old stuff -- and the money went toward paying back his creditors to whom Sapp owed millions of dollars.

So, where did Sapp get the cash to buy back his stuff? Any money that he's made in a contract he signed AFTER declaring bankruptcy is off-limits to creditors ... so, he can stay afloat.

The Jamaican Bobsled team is officially back in business ... after their missing luggage was finally located in Sochi.

Team Jamaica's Winter Olympics experience got off to a bad start when they arrived to Russia ahead of their luggage ... which contained clothing, uniforms, helmets and other important bobsledding stuff.

But good news ... the luggage finally arrived to Sochi around midnight ... and today, the team hit the track for a pre-Olympics training sesh.

Don't worry ... the lucky egg* was probably a carry-on.

Cedric Ceballos wants Budweiser to BE STRONGER in its stand against the situation in Sochi ... saying pulling out isn't enough -- he wants the company to declare an all out P.R. war on Russia.

We broke the story ... Budweiser decided NOT to throw its traditional Club Bud party at the Winter Olympics this year -- and according to internal documents obtained by TMZ Sports, it's all because Bud fears the terror threat in Sochi is looming too large.

Bud has not issued a public statement explaining the decision -- but the former NBA star tells TMZ Sports, he thinks the company has a duty to back up their actions with strong words.