TMZ Sports - Page 50

Albert Pujols just signed a massive $250 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels, so it would take a pretty hefty tax lien to dent his wallet. This is not that tax lien.

According to documents filed in St. Louis County, Pujols had two separate tax liens filed against him by the Department of Revenue in Missouri in 2011. One is for $423.57, the other is for $306.37.

Kobe Bryant's wife has filed for divorce ... and as details about his alleged infidelities emerge, we gotta ask ...

NY Giants linebacker Michael Boley -- who signed a $25 million contract in 2009 -- is being investigated for allegedly abusing his 5-year-old son earlier this year ... TMZ has learned.

According to the official incident report, taken by the Gadsden Police Department in Alabama -- Boley is accused of the repeated willful abuse of a child under 18 from May 30 to June 5.

Officials will not release details surrounding the nature of the alleged abuse.

A rep for the Gadsden PD tells us the case was investigated and has been handed over to the District Attorney's Office, which will present the case to a grand jury. The grand jury will then decide if there is enough evidence to formally charge Boley with a crime.

Boley's attorney, Randall M. Kessler, tells TMZ ... "These allegations were brought to our attention along with outrageous monetary demands in a contested child support case which she filed over a year ago."

Kessler added, "At final trial about a month ago, she did not seek an order restricting visitation. The only relief she requested from the judge was that child support be more than quintupled to, in her words, 'increase her lifestyle.'"

In light of the allegations, another woman who has a 2-year-old child with Boley, has filed court papers in Georgia asking a judge to require the NFL star to be supervised when spending time with their child.

Kobe Bryant's wife has filed for divorce ... TMZ has learned.

Vanessa Bryant filed legal docs Friday afternoon, citing "irreconcilable differences."

Sources connected with the couple tell TMZ ... Vanessa -- who stuck by Kobe after he was charged with sexually assaulting a Colorado woman in 2003 -- decided to end the marriage because she believes Kobe has been unfaithful ... again.

As one source puts it, "She's been dealing with these incidents for a long time and has been a faithful wife, but she's finally had enough," adding, "This one is the straw that broke the camel's back."

And our sources say ... Kobe "desperately" wants to win Vanessa back and will do "whatever it takes" to save their 10 1/2 year marriage.

According to the legal docs, Vanessa is asking for joint custody of their 2 daughters -- 8-year-old Natalia and 5-year-old Gianna -- but Vanessa is asking that Kobe get visitation rights, which means she wants the kids in her care most of the time.

We've learned the couple has NO PRENUP, so 29-year-old Vanessa is entitled to half of the empire Kobe built over the last decade.

She's also requesting spousal support ... which is typical in divorce cases. Kobe, who filed his response to the divorce minutes after Vanessa filed her petition, says he will pay her spousal support.

According to the docs, Vanessa is being repped by disso-queen Laura Wasser and attorney Samantha Klein. Wasser reps oodles of celebs, including Britney Spears, Angelina Jolie, Maria Shriver and Kim Kardashian.

Kobe went to the Jay-Z concert Tuesday night in L.A. without Vanessa, and people who saw him there say he looked miserable.

Vanessa signed the divorce petition on December 1. Kobe signed his response on December 7.

Oh yeah, that $4 million ring Kobe gave Vanessa after the 2003 scandal .... It's all hers. A gift is a gift.

The Bryants released a joint statement ... saying they have "resolved all issues" privately, with the assistance of counsel.

Former Chicago Bears star Willie Gault has his 1985 Super Bowl ring back ... after it was stolen from his L.A. home last month ... and Willie says TMZ played a huge role in the recovery!!

Willie just called the TMZ newsroom and gave us the great news ... saying LAPD officers from the West Valley division managed to locate the ring and some of his wife's jewelry -- and it's now back in the right hands.

TMZ broke the story ... Willie's home was burglarized in early November ... and some soulless, pathetic scumbag (or scumbags) made off with $100k in jewelry, including the famous ring.

Willie says ... when he picked up the items, cops informed him that the original TMZ story "ignited a nationwide manhunt that allowed [law enforcement] to locate the ring and some of the jewelry. "

Willie says, "Me and wife were huge TMZ fans before, but now we're even bigger fans."

Gault told us cops informed him that an investigation into the burglary is still ongoing -- and so far, no arrests have been made.

Willie added, "The ring didn't define me as a person, I knew the accomplishments I made ... I came to peace that I wouldn't get it back ... but, of course, I'm THRILLED that I did."

An LAPD spokesman tells TMZ ... a sports memorabilia collector spotted the ring at a downtown L.A. jewelry store ... and notified detectives because he knew the ring had been stolen.

Detectives went down to the store and found the ring ... along with some of the family jewelry.

Barry Bonds has just been sentenced to 30 days of house arrest -- for lying to a grand jury during a 2003 federal investigation into steroid use by MLB players

Bonds was also sentenced to two years probation.

Bonds was found guilty in April of felony obstruction of justice after a jury found he lied during a 2003 federal investigation into the alleged steroid use. The jury deadlocked on three other charges against him.

Mike McQueary says he's not 100% positive Jerry Sandusky was anally raping a young boy in a Penn State shower back in 2002 ... but he's CERTAIN Sandusky was sexually molesting the child.

McQueary -- a Penn State assistant coach -- took the stand in a preliminary hearing for 2 former PSU officials this morning, and said he became suspicious when he heard skin-on-skin slapping sounds coming from one of the showers.

McQueary says he peeked into the shower and personally saw Jerry and the boy naked in the shower together -- with Jerry grabbing the boy's waist from behind, while the boy was facing the wall.

McQueary says he peeked in the shower several times -- and by the last time, they had separated. But McQueary told the court, "I know they saw me. They looked directly in my eye, both of them."

"Seeing that they were separated, I thought it was best that I leave the locker room," he explained.

McQueary says he went to Penn State football coach Joe Paterno to report the incident the following morning -- but didn't use the words "sodomy" or "anal intercourse."

McQueary says Paterno slumped back in his chair and appeared disappointed, but told Mike he had "done the right thing."

When asked why he didn't report the incident to police, McQueary explained that he had spoken with PSU Vice President Gary Schultz and felt that was good enough because Schultz oversaw the campus police.

If Pat Summitt -- the all-time winningest coach in NCAA basketball history (male AND female) -- thinks a woman ever coaching in the NBA is a "longshot" ... then you better believe it won't be happening any time soon.

Here's upcoming season 16 "Bachelor" Ben Flajnik in L.A. on Tuesday (left) -- and Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal last year (right).

One has got game.

Verne Troyer showed off his bowling skills in Belfast, Northern Ireland yesterday ... at an event for a local youth charity.

The 42-year-old actually bowled a strike in this pic and proved he's in a league of his own.

Los Angeles Dodgers star Matt Kemp has Ryan Braun's back -- claiming the reigning National League MVP shouldn't be branded as a cheater ... despite reports he tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs.

Kemp -- who finished 2nd to Braun in the MVP voting this year -- was at The Grove in L.A. last night when we asked about the allegations surrounding Braun. Kemp told us, "Nobody's proven anything man ... we don't know anything."

He added, "That's a good dude. That's my homie."

Lamar Odom's trade to the Mavericks could be a great thing for the Kardashian family business ... 'cause TMZ has learned the family is now hoping to open a DASH store in Dallas.

Sources close to the K-squad tell us ... the family is thrilled that Odom went to Dallas because they have several cousins that live out that way ... and the fam is familiar with the area since Kourtney went to college at SMU.

Khloe is currently in L.A. ... but plans to join up with her hubby in the next couple of days ... and we're told the entire family will head out to Big D to support the couple as soon they can.

As far as DASH is concerned, one source tells us the family is already researching possible store locations ... and they want to move quickly.

Scottie Pippen claims he's been unfairly portrayed in the media as a walking financial disaster -- and now he's suing every media outlet that reported he went bankrupt ... claiming he hasn't been worth LESS than $40,000,000 in the last 10 years.

Pippen has filed a lawsuit against TONS of online media outlets -- including CBSsports.com, CNBC.com, Arizona State University and more -- claiming they all falsely reported the former Chicago Bulls star had gone belly up.

According to the docs, filed in federal court in Illinois and obtained by TMZ ... Pippen claims, "It is a most foul libel indeed to be falsely accused of being bankrupt."

The lawsuit continues, "Scottie never filed bankruptcy and indeed has a substantial net worth, which has not been less than approximately $40,000,000 in the last ten years."

Pippen claims CNBC.com included him in an article titled, "15 Athletes Gone Bankrupt" ... and CBSsports.com posted a photo of Pippen along with a story about NBA players and bankruptcy.

As for ASU -- Pippen claims he was tagged as a person who had gone bankrupt in a law blog operated by the University.

Rick Fox, Kobe Bryant ... and Laker fans everywhere seem so distraught over Lamar Odom's move to the Mavericks -- the trade shoulda been sponsored by Kleenex. WAHHHH!!

The 2 men behind the Syracuse sex scandal accusations are adamant ... they're not making up stories about ex-coach Bernie Fine molesting them as children -- and now, they're suing the University's head coach for calling them liars.

The alleged victims, 39-year-old Bobby Davis and 45-year-old Mike Lang, announced their lawsuit in a news conference today -- Gloria Allred presiding -- claiming head basketball coach Jim Boeheim destroyed their reputations by publicly calling BS on their stories.

After their ESPN interview aired -- in which Lang and Davis accused ex-Syracuse coach Bernie Fine of abusing them as children -- Boeheim gave several statements to the media ... calling the two "liars" just looking for money, crawling out of the woodwork after the Penn State scandal.

Some of the top criminal defense lawyers in L.A. tell TMZ ... they are "astonished" that Jerry Sandusky's lawyer waived his right to a preliminary hearing, because it would have been the only possible way the former Penn State assistant coach could've beaten the child molestation rap.

The lawyers were unanimous -- the prelim was the ONLY opportunity Sandusky's attorney had to test the veracity of the alleged victims before the trial. As one criminal defense lawyer put it, "The prelim is where the lawyer can lock down the victim's story. It's the only time Sandusky's lawyer can probe as to why such a long delay in reporting the crime."

Crimes that are not reported for years create inherent problems for prosecutors, not the least of which are fading memories and exaggerations over time. There's also a "me too" dynamic in these cases -- people riding the wave and saying they were also victims. The prelim is where the defense can mine these weaknesses.

One of the defense lawyers we spoke with scoffed at Sandusky's statement this morning ... that he will fight for four quarters: "Waiving the preliminary hearing is like laying down on the field for the first half of the game."