TMZ Sports - Page 50

Erin Andrews took a break from being yelled at by NFL superstars to remind you ... she's actually in pretty good shape.

Andrews and L.A. Kings star Jarret Stoll are on a little couples retreat at the moment -- and decided to spice things up with a stand-up paddle board session.

Not as exciting as getting screamed at by Richard Sherman ... but still, impressive.

Kobe Bryant didn't have to go through the regular NBA hazing rituals when he was a rookie -- in fact a bunch of retired Lakers GREATS came out to initiate the Mamba including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ... so says Cedric Ceballos.

The former NBA All-Star appeared on the "TMZ Sports" TV show and told us ... back when Kobe was drafted in '96, most of the team took it easy on the guy since he was fresh out of high school ... but he definitely had to pay his dues.

"We'd make him chase balls into the stands of the huge arenas, or take bags off the plane in the freezing cold. Or we'd say, 'I need coffee from Starbucks and donuts from Krispy Kreme' -- and it'd be 2am in a town we just arrived in."

And who was behind the hazing?

Cedric says Eddie Jones used to make Kobe bring him Gatorade right before every game ... but the fun didn't stop there!

"Even the veterans who are retired ... James Worthy, Kareem, Wilt Chamberlain ... all those guys came down to give him a little bit of rookie hazing, knowing that he was going to be the great player he is."

Cedric says Kobe "understood what it was all about" and didn't remember the Mamba resisting ... but says the hazing was all about having fun -- "We don't belittle the guys."

A New Jersey police chief is stepping up for Richie Incognito ... telling investigators he was there during an allegedly explosive night between R.I. and Jonathan Martin ... but the cop says Richie did NOTHING wrong.

TMZ Sports has a letter written by the police chief and sent to investigators connected to the Ted Wells investigation which was launched in the wake of the bullying allegations.

The letter describes an April 26 dinner involving Martin, Incognito, Will Yeatman and Anthony Fasano ... where Martin allegedly stormed out after Richie dropped the N-bomb.

In his letter to investigators, the police chief says he was also there that night ... and based on his years of experience as an officer and a detective, says he witnessed NO inappropriate behavior on Richie's part.

In fact, the chief says the Dolphins players all participated in a "fun" Vine video that night, in which they were all smiling and laughing.

"At no time did I ever hear Ritchie speak condescendingly to or attempt to intimidate Jonathan or anyone else at this restaurant."

The chief says Martin never stormed out -- or mentioned that he was uncomfortable in any capacity.

The chief also says he has spent a lot of time with both Martin and Incognito over the years and says, "They have always appeared to me to have a close and amiable relationship -- very much like best friends."

Charlie Sheen should tread lightly ... 'cause Ashton Kutcher has just earned his advanced blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu -- meaning, the guy can fight.

Kutcher has been training with MMA badass Rigan Machado ... and last night in Beverly Hills, the "Two and a Half Men" star was promoted to a "two stripe blue belt" -- which means he's spent hundreds of hours on the mat learning all sorts of new techniques.

Also in the house ... UFC fighters Josh Barnett and Cub Swanson. It appears Barnett was promoted to an instructor level.

Still, Kutcher is hardly the most dangerous sitcom star -- that honor probably goes to Ed O'Neil ... who's a frickin' BLACK BELT!!!

In fact, Rorion Gracie once described Ed as "As tough as they come."

It doesn't matter that Ben McLemore was the 7th overall pick in the NBA draft ... or the fact he's considered a legit future star ... he's still a rookie -- which means, he's gotta carry a "Hello Kitty" backpack around NYC.

We spotted the Sacramento Kings shooting guard on his way to the team bus -- but it wasn't the fact that he's 6'5" that drew our attention ... it was the bright pink bag on his shoulder.

The 21-year-old admitted, "It's a rookie thing right here" ... yeah, no kidding.

Could be worse -- at least he didn't have to shave his head like Friar Tuck, right Tim Tebow?

Team USA is obsessed with Tinder -- the app that helps you find people to bang -- but now, the company's co-founder is begging the athletes to KEEP IT IN THEIR PANTS until after their events.

Earlier this week, gold-medal winning snowboarder Jamie Anderson told US Weekly, "Tinder in the Olympic Village is next level ... There are some cuties on there.”

She added, "There was a point where I had to be like OK, this is way too distracting. I deleted my account to focus on the Olympics.”

We spoke with Tinder co-founder Justin Mateen, who has a surprising message for the Olympians: Focus on kicking ass ... not tapping it.

"Tinder is a great way to meet new people when you're traveling and want to get the most out of your experience in a new city, but for now, focus on giving it your all while competing."

"Tinder will always be here when you're done."

Of course, Olympic Village has a reputation for being a "debaucherous" sex party ... and the app only makes it that much easier to find an athlete to bone.

Former NBA player Quentin Richardson was just booted off his flight after a dispute with a flight attendant ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Q was in the 1st class section of a flight out of Orlando, FL headed for LAX ... but he never got off the ground.

We spoke with Quentin who confirms he was escorted off the plane and claims it was all over a failure to return his seat to the full and upright position.

Quentin says the flight attendant told him to move his seat up so the flight could take off ... and next thing he knew, he was being asked to leave the flight.

It's unclear exactly what happened between the two ... we suspect the flight attendant is going to have a much different story.

We do know Richardson was NOT arrested ... and the flight eventually took off without him.

Kevin Hart Fun Fact: He refers to his penis as a "weapon."

Kevin Hart Funner Fact: He guarantees that if he three-peats as MVP of the NBA Celebrity Game at All-Star weekend, he's gonna pull out said "weapon" and walk off the court NAKED.

The "Ride Along" star made the promise on tonight's episode of Jim Rome on Showtime ... warning, "I suggest you get your blur signs ready 'cause I'm gonna let it all hang out."

Hart's got some serious competition this year ... like Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Victoria's Secret model Erin Heatherton and his arch rival from last year, Nick Cannon.

Johnny Football got hops.

The former Texas A&M quarterback -- who could be the #1 pick in the NFL Draft -- was messin' around on the basketball court with his college WR Mike Evans ... both showing off their dunking abilities.

Evans (6'5", 225) is clearly the superior dunker ... dude even threw down a nice 360 jam.

Oh, did we mention he did it all while wearing FLIP FLOPS?!

But Manziel (6'1", 210) proved he's got hang time too ... throwing down a two-handed dunk.

He was in basketball sneakers, tho.

​Magic Johnson is FINALLY setting the record straight about his battle with HIV -- revealing he is NOT cured, he's NOT taking special medication ... and he's definitely not seeing any Kenyan witch doctors.

The Lakers legend went on HipHopNation on Sirius XM radio today, and talked about the myths surrounding his treatment, telling Renada Romain ... "I do have it and have had it for 22 years, it's just laying asleep in my body."

Magic also says he's not winning his battle because of his enormous wealth ... saying he only has access to the same 30 something drugs everyone else does, and explained he's taking a cocktail of 3 of them.

MJ was recognizing National Black HIV/AIDS awareness, and the Hall of Famer made sure to clear up the biggest myth -- that just because he's survived this long, everyone can.

UFC legend Randy Couture says there's serious momentum in the fight to get MMA back in the Olympics ... with more than 30 COUNTRIES on board and ready to roll.

Couture was leaving an event in L.A. this weekend when he said, "I think there's 34 or 39 countries that have signed petitions" for a sport called pankration ... an ancient form of MMA.

FYI -- pankration was an olympic sport in ancient Greece. The only rules were no biting or eye-gouging.

So, when should we expect to see MMA fighters competing for the gold? Probably not any time soon ... in fact, a UFC exec recently said he thinks it's still 20 years away.

Question: Darryl Strawberry and Charlie Sheen walk into a party in the '80s ... who does the first line of primo Colombian coke??

Turns out, Eric Davis can probably answer that question ... 'cause the former MLB superstar (who was BFFs with Darryl) tells TMZ Sports the Warlock was a member of his party crew back in the day.

Sheen is a die-hard Reds fan ... and Davis says Charlie used to hang out and practice with the squad during his run with Cincinnati.

Gabrielle Union is lying through her big, beautiful teeth ... at least when it comes to her pre-nup -- because she says she's demanding one with Dwyane Wade ... and it makes NO sense.

Union went on "Arsenio Hall" last night and said she's demanding a prenuptial agreement before they tie the knot "at my insistence."

She explained, "I gotta protect my stuff" ... adding, "When you have your own stuff you don't need to worry about anyone else's stuff."

Only problem is ... it's not HER stuff that needs protecting, since Dwyane has gotta be worth at least 10 TIMES what she's worth. In fact, he's currently toward the end of a 6-year, $107 million contract with the Miami Heat.

AND he's expected to sign ANOTHER HUGE CONTRACT sometime in the next year ... some say it could be worth as much as $100 mil.

Let's do some simple math. Even if she's worth $20 mil ... he could be somewhere in the $200 MILLION range.

So, if they continue that financial pattern and he makes 10-times what she makes ... she's saying she would rather walk away with a tenth of what she COULD get.

The eyes have it ... infections, that is ... and now, FINALLY, Bob Costas will take a night off from Olympics coverage so his peepers can heal up.

Costas tapped Matt Lauer to take over the hosting duties from Sochi Tuesday ... saying, "Reluctantly, I was trying to throw a complete game here, but we're going to have to go to the bullpen, and I don't know if you're aware of this tonight, but you're Mariano Rivera, at least tonight."

Bob started his Olympic coverage with what appeared to be pink eye -- it was red and swollen shut -- and after a few days it appeared the other eye came down with the P.E. too.

So, the question remains ... WHO KEEPS FARTING ON BOB'S PILLOW???

Michael Sam's college quarterback tells TMZ Sports ... he and other teammates "accepted" the openly gay football star during their time at Missouri ... but they don't "support" homosexuality.

We spoke with James Franklin -- who just completed his senior year at U of M and just like Sam, is expected to be selected in the upcoming NFL Draft.

"I don't drink. I don't curse. I don't support [homosexuality] -- but it doesn't mean I don't accept Michael," Franklin says.

When asked if he was supportive of Sam when he made his announcement in August, Franklin said ... "I wouldn't say supportive, but accepting. A lot of people confuse supporting and accepting."

Still, Franklin says ... "Michael respected us. He didn't make us feel uncomfortable in the locker room."

Well, Michael Sam ... here's what you're up against.

Former NFL coach-turned-ESPN analyst Herm Edwards went on the air last night and declared that Sam's sexual orientation is considered "baggage" and coaches will have to decide if they want it in their locker rooms.

"He's a player that has issues," Edwards said referring to Sam's sexual orientation ... "Off the field issues."

He continued, "The thing you talk about in your organization with the G.M. and obivously the owner is, 'Can we handle this guy?' Can we handle the media that's gonna come along with this situation?"