TMZ Sports - Page 50

Muhammad Ali will be laid to rest in truly hallowed ground because the cemetery is chock-full of celebs.

After his memorial services -- Thursday and Friday -- Ali will be buried in Louisville's Cave Hill Cemetery which is already the final resting place to:

- THE Colonel Harland Sanders of KFC fame
- Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr. ... who created the Kentucky Derby
- Patty Hill ... who wrote the "Happy Birthday" song
- Pete "The Gladiator" Browning ... the baseball player who popularized Louisville Slugger bats
- J. Graham Brown ... inventor of the Hot Brown Sandwich (look it up, it's delicious)

Australian rules football legend Richie Vandenberg got hit in the face with a glass at a NY bar early Thursday morning ... but despite his injuries, he refused medical attention, TMZ Sports has learned.

Here's what we know ... 39-year-old Vandenberg -- who captained the Hawthorn Football Club from '05 to '07 -- was partying at the Catch bar in NYC with a lady friend when someone came up to her and asked her to dance.

We're told she refused... and Richie came over to help get her point across, when the dude smashed Richie in the face.

Police were called and the suspect -- a 32-year-old man -- was arrested. Cops say Richie suffered a laceration to the forehead but didn't want to go to the hospital.

Australian rules football players are tough.

BTW, Vandenberg was a stud during his time with the squad ... and was hailed as turning Hawthorn into one of the most dominant clubs in the AFL.

Johnny Manziel got hit square in the chest with a lawsuit Wednesday night -- getting served with legal papers while clubbing in Hollywood ... and TMZ Sports has the footage.

We broke the story, Manziel is being sued for allegedly throwing a drug fueled bender at a rental home in the Hollywood Hills earlier this year ... and last night, the process server found him outside The Nice Guy.

But Manziel didn't let the lawsuit stop his party plans -- he got right inside his Rolls-Royce and moved over to Warwick ... where he partied (and left) with a beautiful lady.

By the way, interesting timing on the party plans -- earlier in the day, Manziel's lawyer issued a statement saying he was still focused on playing in the NFL.

A Dallas high school employee claims Deion Sanders' teenage son brutally attacked him on school grounds ... beating him so badly, he needed spinal surgery ... this according to court docs obtained by TMZ Sports.

There's NO WAY IN HELL Von Miller should sign the $114 MILLION offer from the Denver Broncos ... because it's insultingly low ... so says ex-NFL star Sterling Sharpe.

Sharpe -- a 5-time Pro Bowler -- says the key to the the offer is the guaranteed money ... which, according to ESPN''s Adam Schefter, is only about $40 million.

Sharpe says with all the risks pro football players take -- including CTE and joint damage -- a superstar like Von needs WAYYYY more guaranteed money ... we're talkin' more like $80 MIL!

Brock Allen Turner -- the ex-Stanford swimmer convicted of rape -- has been placed in protective custody while serving his sentence at Santa Clara County Jail ... to keep him safe from inmates who might harm him.

We told you it was in the works ... but now, it's official -- Aaron Hernandez has hired Casey Anthony's lawyer, Jose Baez, to represent him in his double murder case.

The ex-NFL star and convicted murderer met with Baez at his Massachusetts prison earlier this week -- and, moments ago, Baez announced Hernandez has made the move to retain Baez's firm.

"I can now confirm that my firm has been retained to represent Mr. Aaron Hernandez in his upcoming trial," Baez said in a statement.

"Mr. Hernandez strongly maintains his innocence, and I plan to establish that before a jury of his peers."

Besides being convicted of murdering Odin Lloyd in 2013, the former New England Patriots tight end is also accused of killing two men in a drive by shooting in 2012.

WNBA legend Candice Wiggins -- a superstar during her college career at Stanford -- says the judge in the Brock Turner rape case should be removed ASAP ... saying a 6-month jail sentence is "beyond ridiculous."

Turner -- who was a member of the Stanford swim team -- was convicted of raping an unconscious woman on the Stanford campus in 2015. He faced 14 years in prison, but was only sentenced to 6 months in jail.

People were pissed at the sentence -- claiming he was given a huge break because he's a white male star athlete. A Change.org petition calling for Judge Persky's removal has more than 700k signatures.

Count Wiggins as one of the outraged people -- telling TMZ Sports, "It was really hard to see what the judge, how the judge responded. He was totally wrong."

"The judge should be removed," Wiggins said ... "I honestly think that 6 months is beyond ridiculous and, I think whatever years whether it was 14 or 6 years, he needs to face what he did. And I think that’s the most important thing. Him understanding what he did was wrong."

Sugar Ray Leonard is heading to Louisville to attend Muhammad Ali's funeral -- telling TMZ Sports the man had a tremendous impact on his life and he wants to pay his respects in person.

Leonard says he's not scheduled to speak at the event -- but would if he was asked. However, he admits it's a pretty tough task to eulogize a man who accomplished so much.

He also has a message to the fans caught up in the melee over funeral tickets this morning -- CALM DOWN!!!!

Brock Lesnar DON'T know comparisons ... that's according to UFC legend Chuck Liddell who says Lesnar should tap out on likening himself to Bo Jackson.

Liddell was out in L.A. when we asked about Brock saying his dual UFC & WWE resumes make him the "modern-day Bo Jackson."

Of course Bo DOMINATED both baseball & football for a short (but brilliant) time back in the late 80's ... so when Lesnar made the statement a lot of people scratched their heads.

Looks like Liddell was one of 'em ... pulling a total "whatchu talkin' bout Willis" to our camera guy about Lesnar's comments ... but admitting he's SUPER PUMPED for the beast's return to the octagon.

The doctors who cleared Kimbo Slice to fight at Bellator 149 in February found NO SIGNS of serious heart problems during pre-fight health exams ... this according to Bellator.

A Bellator spokesperson tells us ... Slice was not only required to pass a physical exam before his fight (as with all fighters over the age 35), he also had to pass an EKG and an EEG in order to be cleared.

Slice passed away this week -- and doctors said his heart was in such bad shape in his final days that he needed a transplant.

But Bellator says Slice would have been pulled IMMEDIATELY if there were any red flags back in February.

“If there was ANY sign that Kimbo was not healthy enough to fight, we would NOT have allowed him to fight."

So Nate Diaz has an N-word pass.

The UFC star was rollin' into Bootsy Bellows nightclub last night ... when he used the word (with an "a" not the "er") during a friendly exchange with a photog.

Ex-NBA player and 76ers assistant coach Sean Rooks died of heart disease... this according to the Philadelphia Medical Examiner's Office.

Sources told TMZ Sports ... the 46-year-old suffered a heart attack during dinner on Tuesday night.

Now, a rep for the M.E.'s office says the coroner has examined Rooks' body and "believes Rooks died of heart disease."

We're told additional testing will take place to confirm that finding.

Maria Sharapova was just hit with a TWO YEAR BAN by the International Tennis Federation for doping ... but she claims it's "unfair" and vows to appeal.

The ITF just issued a statement saying Sharapova's urine tested positive for meldonium -- a metabolic modulator that's prohibited in the sport.

The ITF says it cut Sharapova a break when it comes to the punishment because she "promptly admitted" to the offense. Instead of starting the 2-year ban today, they will backdate the suspension to January 26 -- the date of the sample collection.

The ITF also ruled that her results at the 2016 Australian Open should be disqualified -- and she must forfeit her ranking points and prize money that she won at that event.

For her part, Sharapova says she did NOT intentionally use the substance -- and wants her fans to know she should not be considered a cheater.

"The ITF spent tremendous amounts of time and resources trying to prove I intentionally violated the anti-doping rules and the tribunal concluded I did not," Sharapova said in a statement.

"You need to know that the ITF asked the tribunal to suspend me for four years – the required suspension for an intentional violation -- and the tribunal rejected the ITF’s position."

Sharapova says she will fight the decision -- "I cannot accept an unfairly harsh two-year suspension ... I will immediately appeal the suspension."

"I intend to stand for what I believe is right and that’s why I will fight to be back on the tennis court as soon as possible."

An honest moment from legendary boxing trainer Freddie Roach -- who says he's sad about Muhammad Ali's death because it makes him think about "what I maybe have to look forward to."

Just like Ali, Roach has Parkinson's disease -- and while outside of Ecco in NYC, Roach told us the two actually bonded about their conditions when Ali came into his gym about 15 years ago.

"As soon as he started hitting the heavy bag, his tremors went away," Roach said ... "I said we have something in common, because when I do mitts, my tremors go away."

"I think it's more of our comfort zone. We're boxers, we're both very comfortable doing that."

He continued, "I'm a little bit sad that he passed away ... I wonder what I maybe have to look forward to sometimes."

Well, now we know what the J in J.K. Simmons stands for -- JACKED.

Check out the 61-year-old beasting out in an L.A. gym -- gearing up for his role in the upcoming 'Justice League' movie.

No, he's not playing Bane ... or Batman ... he's an insanely muscle-bound Commissioner Gordon!

Simmons has been training with retired Marine Aaron Williamson -- who reportedly got Zac Efron into shape ... and who's been known to push weights with The Rock.