TMZ Sports - Page 50

Rob Gronkowski has a new teammate -- Redfoo -- who tells TMZ Sports he signed, sealed and delivered to join Gronk's party cruise ... and says the whole thing is gonna be insane!!!

As we previously reported, the New England Patriots tight end is taking a 3-day party cruise out in the Bahamas in February ... culminating in a rager on a private island!

Last night, Redfoo told us he's fully committed to be part of the festivities -- and even issues a challenge to Gronk when it comes to partying on the boat.

This thing is gonna be insane ...

The man accused of shooting up Lil Wayne's tour bus now says the notion he'd try to off Weezy is as absurd as Drew Brees trying to kill rival QB Matt Ryan.

Lawyers for Jimmy Winfrey -- who's currently behind bars, awaiting trial for the shooting in April -- claim their client did not have a motive to hurt Wayne. The lawyers acknowledge Winfrey was an associate of Young Thug, but they say Y.T. idolizes Wayne.

The lawyers acknowledge there's rivalry in the rap game, but that doesn't mean rappers automatically want to kill each other. Winfrey's lawyers say, "Clearly, the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons are rivals because they are fighting every year to win the same division: the NFC South. Yet, this does not provide a motive for Drew Brees to kill or maim Matt Ryan."

It's not just the Browns fans who want Johnny Manziel to start at QB -- several Cleveland players are also calling for #2 ... telling TMZ Sports it's "f**ked up" he's still riding the bench.

We spoke with 3 starting players on the Browns offense -- all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity -- who tell us the team wants Manziel under center on Sunday ... not Josh McCown.

One player who admits he's extremely frustrated with the QB situation says, "I love both Johnny and Josh but its f**ked up when you have Johnny come in and play well and has proven to the team that he is the right person for the job."

"It’s frustrating to him and us when you sit a player down when he is playing well. Coach has got to understand you are messing up the chemistry and timing with players and its f**ked up."

Another player tells us, "The team plays better when [Manziel] is in the game. I play better when he plays."

"You can’t get better unless you play. We won when he played and coach has got to trust him like he trusts Josh."

A 3rd player added, "When Johnny in the game it puts the defense on edge. He doesn’t just sit in the pocket, he makes plays. Coach has got to make the change now."

Action sports star Erik Roner -- one of the stars of MTV's "Nitro Circus" -- died in a freak skydiving accident in Lake Tahoe, California ... this according to the resort where it happened.

Jonathan Papelbon should stick to baseball ... 'cause his fighting skills SUCK ASS ... so says someone who would know, UFC badass Daniel Cormier.

Cormier -- who's gearing up for UFC 192 this weekend -- says he watched Papelbon try to choke out Bryce Harper during a Nationals game Sunday ... and says was less than impressed.

"Terrible ... you won't find that in the octagon."

Ya gotta watch the clip ... Cormier says Papelbon deserves an "A for effort" ... but says the fight is a perfect example of why baseball players would never make it in the UFC.

Good news for Miami Dolphins player Brent Grimes ... his wife will NOT be banned from attending future Dolphins games after allegedly headbutting a cop at the stadium ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Miko Grimes was arrested right around kickoff on Sunday after cops say she flew into a violent anti-cop rage when they tried to stop her from walking into a restricted area ... culminating in an alleged Miko-vs-Cop headbutt.

Miko's facing all sorts of criminal charges for the alleged incident ... but as long as she's not in jail, she's free to come back to the field and cheer on her hubby whenever she wants ... so says a Dolphins spokesperson.

So, if (allegedly) going forehead to face with law enforcement doesn't get you blacklisted from Sun Life ... does anything???

Jonathan Papelbon is on the outs in Washington D.C. -- at least his jerseys are ... because staffers at the stadium team shop confirm the pitcher's jerseys have been pulled off the shelves.

TMZ Sports spoke with an employee at the stadium shop at Nationals Park who confirmed ... one of the shop honchos ordered staff to yank all of Papelbon's jerseys off the floor Monday -- after the team suspended the pitcher 4 games for attacking Bryce Harper on Sunday.

A picture of the jersey removal was taken by Nationals fan Jennifer Shiffman -- who noted the switch happened as the Nationals took to the field for Monday's game.

Cool moment in Houston today ... when James Harden went out of his way to track down NBA broadcaster Craig Sager so he could give him a hug as Craig continues to battle cancer.

It all went down in Houston ... where Sager has been receiving treatment for leukemia ever since the cancer returned back in March.

Sager hopes to return to the NBA sidelines this season -- and judging by his outfit, he's already getting wardrobe on point ... rocking a weird ugly shirt -- 'cause that's how Sager rolls.

Scottie Pippen's watch game just got stronger -- after Hublot made the NBA legend a custom $70,000 timepiece ... complete with more than 100 DIAMONDS ... and his own face on the back!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... Pippen was gifted the watch at his 50th birthday party over the weekend ... given to him by the CEO of the company himself.

The watch is a Hublot Power in King Gold -- complete with a picture of Scottie in his #33 Bulls jersey laminated inside the case back of the time piece and valued at $70,000 ... according to Haute Time, which threw the party.

And get this ... MICHAEL JORDAN was in the flesh at the shindig to see the whole thing go down ... Michael B. Jordan, that is.

Still pretty cool. Happy birthday, Pippen.

J.J. Watt is going from the end zone to the friend zone ... 'cause super freakin' hot model Lindsey Pelas is saying her crush on the NFL stud is officially OVER.

Pelas proclaimed her affection for the Texans star when TMZ Sports got her out at LAX last month ... saying she wanted Watt to "Slide into her DM's" so they could get things crackin'.

Apparently Watt proceeded to slide into absolutely nothing ... 'cause when we got Lindsey and her busoms out with her fellow model Abigail Ratchford, Pelas told us the play clock has run out on J.J.

FYI to Lindsey -- J.J.'s been online flirting with Tiffani Thiessen aka Kelly Kapowski on social media lately ... so there's no shame in losing out to a classic babe.

Still ... there are four HUGE reasons to watch this clip. Happy Monday, guys.

Antonio Cromartie says he refuses to back down from comments he made to the son of the NY Jets tight end coach -- saying bluntly, "You don't take a picture of my kids and talk trash."

The war began over the weekend ... when the son of NY Jets tight end coach Jimmie Johnson tweeted a pic of Cromartie playing with some of his kids after the Jets game and wrote, "Antonio Cromartie with 2 of his 15 kids."

Cromartie -- who actually has 10 kids -- felt Johnson was mocking him ... and fired back, "Y the f you worried about my family. If it wasn't for your dad you woul dnt be nothing in life @JimmieJ82. You better watch yourself son."

Johnson later apologized -- but Cro is still pissed ... telling TMZ Sports, "I'm not going to apologize for what I said in regards to my kids. You don't take a picture of my kids and talk trash."

He continued, "People are constantly talking about me and I never say anything. I am a father, and I Love ALL my kids, and I will not allow anyone to disrespect them."

Better late than never ... at least when it comes to bachelorette parties -- 'cause even though U.S. soccer star Sydney Leroux already tied the knot, she still made time for a belated girls weekend.

As we previously reported, Leroux got married back in January in a very small ceremony -- but since it was during soccer season, she postponed the reception until mid-October.

But just because she's technically not a bachelorette, it didn't stop her from hitting Vegas with her BFFs this weekend ... where the gang partied at Surrender Nightclub while poppin' bottles of Dom and Grey Goose.

As for the celebrity cameo, we're told the group ran into The Fat Jewish while leaving dinner at Andrea's right before they hit the club ... and stopped to pose for a picture.

No one believes Floyd Mayweather is really retired from boxing ... nobody ... including boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard who says he's convinced Floyd will get back in the ring to chase his 50th victory.

Of course, there's a huge buzz in the boxing world that Mayweather will "unretire" for a rematch with Manny Pacquiao ... who happened to announce Monday that his shoulder is all healed up.

Stay tuned on that one.

Side note ... Sugar Ray listed his top 3 greatest boxers of all time ... and Floyd didn't make the cut. Check out the clip.

The wife of Miami Dolphins cornerback Brent Grimes headbutted a female officer in the face at Sun Life Stadium on Sunday ... this according to the police report obtained by TMZ Sports.

Footage of Miko Grimes surfaced on social media yesterday ... showing the sports talk radio host being pinned to the ground by officers right around the time the Dolphins game started.

Now, the Miami-Dade Police Department is explaining the arrest ... saying Miko had not only disobeyed cops when she was specifically instructed to stay away from a restricted area ... but she became physically combative.

Cops say 40-year-old Miko "started screaming obscenities saying 'f**k you cops you can't tell me what to do.'"

Cops say a struggle ensued ... with Grimes kicking her feet and flaring her arms. At one point, she "cocked her head back and head-butted [an officer] in the left side of her face."

Cops say they threatened to use the taser on Miko -- but she calmed down.

She was eventually arrested on charges of battery on a police officer, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. On the police report, she was listed as 5'10" and 120 pounds.

The Oakland A's definitely put the "A" in T&A Sunday night ... when they put their rookies in a bunch of sexy dresses and made them hit the L.A. club scene -- and TMZ Sports has the footage.

A bunch of rooks including Max Muncy (Supergirl), RJ Alvarez (french maid), Pat Venditte (Reno 911) and more hit up Greystone Manor nightclub in their rookie hazing costumes ... well, because it was funny.

Muncy even tweeted about it ... saying, "Sometimes when you're a rookie you have to dress up."

True.

Ex-NFL superstar Shawne Merriman tells TMZ Sports ... he was approached to be a part of Will Smith's "Concussion" movie but SHOT IT DOWN.

The former San Diego Chargers linebacker says he's convinced the movie is "definitely going to give the NFL a black eye" ... but says he didn't feel right jumping aboard the project.

The movie -- set to come out in December -- is supposed to blow the lid of an alleged NFL conspiracy to hide the debilitating life-long effects of concussions from players.

"I turned it down and said 'No' ... I don't want to be a part of it because I didn't know how they were going to make it look."