TMZ Sports - Page 50

Bryan Clauson -- one of the top short-track dirt-car drivers in the world -- died Sunday following injuries sustained in a bad crash from a race on Saturday ... officials confirm.

The 27-year-old was racing in the 39th Belleville Midget Nationals in Kansas when he made contact with another car and flipped several times. His car was then slammed into by another car.

Clauson was airlifted to a nearby hospital -- but died from his injuries the following day.

Clauson's family issued a statement saying, "Our Bryan fought to the end with the same desire that he demonstrated behind the wheel of all the various race cars he would park in victory lane."

"However, we were more proud of our Bryan that took a moment to make a young fan's day, or demonstrated his uncommon kindness and appreciation toward his friends, family and fans."

Clauson had made 26 starts in the NASCAR XFINITY Series.

Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree ... especially when that tree is FREAKIN' GIANT ...

TMZ Sports has exclusive video of Bol Bol -- son of late NBA player Manute Bol -- hooping against some high school competition at a recent high school hoops tournament ... and it just ain't fair.

Manute was one of the tallest players in league history at 7'7" and his kid, Bol, is already 7 ft -- AT 16 -- which is why peeps we talked to at the tourney say the kid is a lock to be a future NBA lottery pick.

Seahawks superstar Richard Sherman is following in Peyton Manning's footsteps ... by opening his very own fast food joint -- a Wingstop -- in Seattle ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The All-Pro CB was inspired to open the biz after one of his former teammates, Sidney Rice, had a lot of success -- aka made a lot of money -- owning several of the wing joints.

A rep for Wingstop tells us Sherman grew up a fan of their delicious chicken wings ... so partnering up was a no-brainer.

Sherman's a newbie to the restaurant biz ... so we're told he's been spending a lot of time making sure things at his first spot run smoothly. However, word is he's scoping out other locales in the hopes of opening more wing franchises.

As if it couldn't get any worse for French Gymnast Samir Ait Said ... after breaking his leg dismounting from the vault, paramedics dropped him while he lay on the stretcher.

The gymnast underwent surgery Saturday and says he wants to try again in 2020.

We'll be watching.

A-Rod barely held back tears as he announced his retirement from professional baseball.

The 41-year-old star held an emergency press conference Sunday morning at Yankee Stadium ... saying he didn't want to leave the active roster, but after conversations with honcho Hal Steinbrenner, is "at peace" with the transition.

The Yankees said A-Rod will play his last game Friday in the Bronx ... and then serve as a special adviser for the organization through the remainder of his contract next year.

He's still owed $27 million ... but his GF is worth billions ... so he'll be ok.

#ARODAARP

If you bleed Kobe Bryant ... or Michael Jordan ... or Mike Tyson ... or any sports legend, there's a tattoo artist in New Zealand who's become the go-to guy for hyper realistic tats of the biggest sports stars in the world.

Greg Louganis’ good looks are making a splash!

Here’s a 24-year-old version of the Olympic diver posing after his gold medal wins during the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California (left) and 32 years later ... the Team USA legend in New York City last month (right).

Tens across the board.

The question is...

Lawrence Taylor's wife is off the hook in her domestic violence case with the NFL star -- after prosecutors announced they have DROPPED the battery charge against her.

We broke the story ... Lynette Taylor was arrested on June 2nd after allegedly throwing an object at Lawrence's head during a heated argument ... opening up a huge gash on the NFL star's dome.

During the arrest, cops say Lynette ADMITTED to the violence -- saying, "Yeah, I beat [his] ass. I made him bleed."

LT told cops he did NOT want his wife prosecuted -- and now, it appears he's getting his wish.

But Lynette isn't out of the woods yet -- because she's still facing one charge for resisting arrest. That charge is still alive.

Fear not, Philly fans ... your beloved 76ers will finally BE GOOD AGAIN next season ... so says Jahlil Okafor.

The 20-year-old forward was out in Bev Hills when we asked how he felt about all the young talent on the squad ... including #1 overall pick Ben Simmons and the long-awaited debut of Joel Embiid.

"I'm excited," Okafor said ... "We'll be good."

Pro skater Nyjah Huston says the crazy all-night ragers that got him in trouble with the po-po WILL RETURN ... in about 2 years ... 'cause he's shut them down based on a judge's orders.

Nyjah was ordered to stop having his (epic-sounding) Orange County parties earlier this year ... after being slapped with a litany of criminal charges surrounding the nocturnal disturbances he was causing (click here for the details).

The judge was super specific ... telling Nyjah to shut it down between the hours of 8 PM and 8 AM, and when we got Nyjah out in L.A. recently he assured us ... he's obeying the long arm of the law.

"I'm on probation ... maybe in a couple years."

The fist day of the Rio Summer Olympics just got off to a REALLY tough start for a French gymnast.

Samir Ait Said severely injured his leg while vaulting during team preliminaries Saturday. Spectators say Samir landed awkwardly and the snap of his leg echoed through the arena.

The gymnast was taken out on a stretcher to a standing ovation.

Drake whipped the crowd at Madison Square Garden Friday night into a frenzy with 2 special guests ... Derrick Rose Jr. and his dad.

File Under: "Nooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Dennis Rodman says he's had 3 MAJOR ACCIDENTS involving his penis ... snapping it multiple times over the years during sex ... and it got bloody every single time.

Rodman gave the gory details to Vice -- explaining how pushing the boundaries during certain sexual escapades resulted in emergency room visits to repair his wounded soldier.

So, the big question ... does The Worm's worm still work?

Light heavyweight boxing champ Sergey Kovalev says he's driven to be a champion by the memory of Roman Simakov ... the man who died 3 days after fighting Sergey back in 2011.

We talked to Kovalev about Conor McGregor revealing he's been seriously disturbed by the fact he trained MMA fighter Charlie Ward for a match where the opposing fighter ended up dead.

That's when Kovalev opened up to us ... saying after Simakov slipped into a coma and died three days following their 2011 fight, he immediately decided to dedicate the rest of his career to his memory.

"I will be champion for me and him ... this helped me and still helps me to fight."

You gotta check out the clip -- Sergey says there's one thing he wishes and thinks about every time he steps into the ring.