TMZ Sports - Page 50

Twins pitcher Mike Pelfrey thought it was his moment to be a hero -- he was getting the chance to pump up his alma mater Wichita State before an NCAA Tournament game -- but instead he was getting punked by his teammates.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire helped pull off the stunt ... calling Pelfrey into his office, and telling him he had the undefeated Shockers on the phone -- and they wanted the pitcher to deliver an inspirational speech before their game against Kentucky.

You gotta see how it plays out ... it's hysterical because Pelfrey CHOKES. Hard.

How hard? The highlight of his speech was ... "Just go out there and win, and that'll make everybody happy."

Hardly Rudy-esque -- though ultimately it didn't matter since Mike was only talking to teammates in the clubhouse.

Pelfrey tells TMZ Sports, "It was in good fun. I thought it was funny. I probably could've done without the whole world seeing it."

But the best may be yet to come -- MP says, "I got a lot of calls from people in Wichita that want me to give speeches -- car dealerships, my buddy's daughter's basketball team."

Jews don't play football, they RUN football ... so says Kiss frontman Gene Simmons.

The rock legend -- who happens to be both Jewish and the owner of a football team -- was leaving The Ivy in L.A. when he explained why there seem to be more Hebrews up in the owner's boxes than on the field.

Simmons also talked about the gynecology-meets-football ad campaign for his Arena League football team, The L.A. Kiss -- and said they had to SCALE BACK on the original concept because it was too edgy for TV.

Atlanta Falcons superstar Roddy White is no Aaron Rodgers -- he's finally decided to pay off his March Madness wager with a fan ... by hooking the guy up with Super Bowl tickets!

Everyone's been talking about it -- Roddy promised Falcons fan Dylan Hoyt season tickets on the 50-yard line if Mercer beat Duke last week, but then tried to back out of the deal.

Now Dylan tells TMZ Sports Roddy's coming up huge ... offering him pre-game sideline passes to ALL the Falcon home games -- AND his personal pair of tix to next year's Super Bowl!

Roddy took a ton of heat for not paying up, but Dylan says ... "He's a great guy. It wouldn't have mattered if he didn't pull through, but this is a dream come true."

Chicago Bulls star Carlos Boozer has filed for divorce ... for the second time ... from the same woman.

TMZ Sports has learned ... Boozer filed legal docs in Miami last week, alleging his marriage to Cindy Boozer was "irretrievably broken."

Here's what makes this interesting ... Carlos and Cindy divorced in 2010 after an 8-year marriage and 3 kids ... after allegations he had an affair with a contestant on "The Bachelor" in 2009. They remarried in March, 2012, but it clearly was not to last.

Ray Rice was indicted today for striking his fiancée in the elevator of an Atlantic City casino -- the alleged crime was caught on surveillance video first published by TMZ Sports.

Nude pics of Terrell Owens' estranged wife have popped up on the Internet ... and she's hinting that T.O. may be responsible for leaking them.

The photos of Rachel Snider hit Twitter today showing the ex-postal worker posing for bathroom selfies ... some topless, some bottomless ... and some that look like they're straight out of Hustler.

Gotta say ... some of 'em do make ya think T.O. should try to patch things up.

Snider confirmed the pics are definitely her, but adds they were taken for T.O. ... and intended for his eyes only.

Translation: she thinks he could be connected to the the Twitter handle sending out the pics.

Rachel says she's contacted Twitter HQ to report the user behind the x-rated tweets, but so far they're still up.

T.O.'s rep hasn't responded to our calls for comment.

Warning to Usain Bolt: Don't go thrusting your crotch at people in the U.S.A. because it could be criminal ... that's Ne-Yo's take on it, anyway.

The singer was out in NYC when we asked him about Usain's ridiculously dirty dancing ... called "daggering" -- and admits he's tried the super-sexualized move too.

But Ne-Yo makes it clear ... he only daggers when he's down in Bolt's homeland of Jamaica, where it's socially acceptable.

As for why he doesn't do it stateside ... Ne-Yo says, "In New York it's called something else. It's called rape."

Paula Deen's loss is Dominique Wilkins' gain ... the NBA legend is the new spokesperson for the diabetes medication that dumped Deen last year -- and he tells TMZ Sports he's focusing on educating urban kids about the disease.

Israel's sperm crisis -- there's a lack of donors over there -- could be handled (Olivia Pope-style) by one brave athlete! Ex-USC hoops star David Blu says he's ready to step up ... or rise to the occasion.

Plus, Robin Tunney has some baaaad (cursed joke) news for Cubs fans -- she says the World Series isn't EVER coming back to Chicago's North side. Seen enough evidence to buy what she's selling?

Just as Wichita State fans were starting to heal ... Arsenio Hall ripped open the wound again with a pretty funny spoken word take on all the March Madness carnage.

Arsenio did an awesome tribute to Def Poetry on his show last night ... debuting a poem about all the NCAA bracket busting -- and taking jabs at the Shockers, the Syracuse Orangemen, and degenerate gamblers in general.

Check it out ... the highlight might actually be his shot at Lauryn Hill.

Jalen Rose and Terrell Owens are boys ... but the former NBA star thinks T.O. is straight up NUTS for thinking he can beat Michael Jordan in a game of one-on-one.

As TMZ Sports first reported, T.O. talked all kinds of smack earlier this week ... saying he would destroy MJ on the court.

But when we asked Jalen about it last night at LAX, he didn't hesitate for a second ... saying MJ could take a 20-year break from basketball and STILL school Owens on the court. Jalen said even he would take T.O. to the hole.

Be sure to watch the end of the video for Jalen's March Madness picks. Conspicuously absent ... his alma mater Michigan.

Michael B. Jordan is playing up to his name -- BREAKING ANKLES with a sick crossover in his celebrity-filled basketball league ... and TMZ Sports has the highlight footage.

Larry Fitzgerald just got back from a 9,000 mile mission to Rwanda -- where the NFL superstar PERSONALLY handed out hearing aids to hundreds of people in need ... and TMZ Sports has the pics.

It's just the latest trip the Arizona Cardinals receiver took with the Starkey Foundation -- a charity dedicated to helping the hearing impaired all over the world

We're told Larry has been working with the organization since 2007 -- and has participated in more than 10 trips to various places with the group.

This time, Larry and S.F. went to Butare, Rwanda ... where they distributed more than 2,000 devices. We're told Larry doesn't just give out the ear-pieces, he also tests them out with their new owners to make sure everything's working properly.

Houston Texans running back Arian Foster just completed his FIRST role in a major Hollywood movie -- and it went so well, his co-stars say he might have a serious future in acting.

The movie is "Draft Day" -- about an NFL GM who's gunning to land the #1 draft pick -- and it's packed with huge actors like Kevin Costner, Jennifer Garner and Diddy.

Foster plays a potential draft pick ... and according to his co-star Wade Williams, he CRUSHED IT.

"Arian was very natural and enthusiastic," Wade says ... "[the producers] weren't gonna hire him if he couldn't act."

Wade knows what he's talking about -- he's been in a ton of movies and TV shows, including "Prison Break," where he starred as the main guard.

"He's a very talented actor. After the NFL he definitely could be a sportscaster or even act full-time."

As for Arian's role, Wade says it's nothing to sneeze at -- "It's not the lead, but it's a nice part."

A bunch of Shaquille O'Neal's co-workers at TNT are PISSED ... and it's all because the days of being attacked at the office by the ex-NBA star might be over for good.

We spoke to several people who work at the Turner building, where Shaq tapes "Inside the NBA" and they're all saying the same thing -- Shaq's sneak attacks make the office a FUN place.

As we previously reported, Shaq is known around the building for playfully tackling unsuspecting staffers over a couch in the building. But one target says he was badly injured during a Shaq attack and filed a police report against the guy.

Now, staffers tell us they fear management will put an end to Shaq's shenanigans -- and they're bummed.

In fact ... several people told us they enjoy being the "victims" of Shaq's tackles ... they also like conspiring with him to set up their friends for Shaq's pranks, just like in the video below.

Shaq actually addressed the situation on "Inside the NBA" last night ... and jokingly brushed off the allegations.