TMZ Sports - Page 50

Aaron Rodgers' girlfriend, Olivia Munn, says she's proud of the Packers for the way they faced adversity this season -- both on and off the field -- leaving some wondering if she's referencing the drama with Aaron's family.

Of course, the Rodgers family rift has been making headlines all season -- but it got a shot in the arm last week when Aaron's dad gave an interview to the NY Times ... suggesting the QB turned his back on the family after he got famous.

Enter Munn ... who wrote a nice letter to Packers Nation thanking them for the support after the NFC Championship loss.

"So proud of this team," Munn wrote ... "They faced adversity on and off the field, but battled to get this far."

Then came this ... "THANK YOU to those of you who encouraged and supported them by choosing to put out only *positive* energy. It helped them get this far."

As for Aaron, he's not talking about the rift -- and we're guessing he won't anytime soon.

Here's 74-year-old cancer survivor Arthur Blank GETTIN' DOWN with his bad self after the Falcons beat up on the Packers.

The Falcons owner let the music take control of his arms ... his hips ... his feet ... everything ... while Jermaine Dupri's "Welcome to Atlanta" blasted from the stadium speakers.

Blank has a history of dancing after big wins -- he cut a rug in the locker room after the team beat the Seahawks last week.

Wonder what he's got in store if they beat the Pats?!

The Atlanta Falcons had some major celebrity support on the sidelines during the NFC championship -- Usher, Ludacris, Jeezy, Jermaine Dupri, Bow Wow, Da Brat and more ... and TMZ Sports has the footage.

Dirty Bird Nation represented strong -- and the fact the Falcons CRUSHED Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers meant everyone was in a great mood the entire afternoon!

Ray Lewis was also there!

Nothing brings people together like winning!

K.C. Royals fans flocked to Kauffman Stadium on Sunday to pay tribute to Yordano Ventura -- the 25-year-old pitcher who was killed in a car crash in the Dominican Republic over the weekend.

Flowers, notes, balloons, candles and more were placed around the stadium ... most tributes bearing his nickname, "Ace."

Ventura was a favorite among Royals fans -- not only did he have a blazing fastball, but he was a fiery competitor ... and the people loved it!

Ventura was part of the Royals club that won the World Series in 2015 -- the same year he signed a 5-year deal reportedly worth more than $20 million.

Investigators are still trying to figure out what caused the crash.

R.I.P.

Pissed off at the Chargers for leaving San Diego ... right after you got that sweet Bolts logo tatted on your arm???

Ex-Laker Smush Parker wants to squash the beef with Kobe Bryant and team up to compete in Ice Cube's Big3 League!!

In case you didn't know ... Kobe made it clear during his playing days that he wasn't a fan of Smush ... and even told him not to speak to him until he "had more accolades."

TMZ Sports spoke to Smush about wanting to reunite with Mamba and old teammate Lamar Odom ... and he says their triangle offense would dominate against guys like Allen Iverson, Chauncey Billups and Mike Bibby.

When we asked if there would be any hard feelings with Kobe ... Smush says it's all water under the bridge.

Kansas City Royals ace pitcher Yordano Ventura was killed Sunday in a car crash in his native Dominican Republic ... the same day former MLB player Andy Marte also died in a separate crash in the same country.

Ventura was known for his electric fastball, but also for his short temper. He was suspended for 9 games last season for throwing a ball at an Orioles 3rd basemen.

His nickname was Ace Ventura, and he was on the team when the Royals won the World Series in 2015. Ventura finished 6th in the Rookie of the Year vote in 2014.

At his last game, Ventura wore a hat honoring the late and fellow pitcher Jose Fernandez. The hat also paid tribute to the late St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Oscar Taveras, who also died in a car crash in the Dominican Republic a few years ago.

The Royals confirmed Ventura's death Sunday, saying "Our prayers right now are with Yordano's family as we mourn this young man's passing."

As for Marte ... he was a third basemen in the MLB for 14 years, having played with the Braves, Red Sox, Indians, and the Arizona Diamondbacks. Ventura started in Marte's last professional game with the D-backs in 2014.

Ventura was 25 years old, Marte was 33.

Herschel Walker has a message for people protesting President Trump not one day into office ... GIVE HIM THAT DAY ... AT LEAST ONE!

We got the All-American out Saturday at II Pastaio in Bev Hills, where he says while it's good for protesters to get their grievances off their chests ... pouncing on day 1 is inexcusable.

He's also still got that lead position for the President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition on his mind ... but it sounds like he's still waiting to talk to the Prez.

He's one of the most well-liked and respected people in sports and business ... but Magic Johnson says there's no way he'll ever run for President.

The NBA legend was leaving Craig's in West Hollywood when we talked about the future of the Presidency -- including if he thinks we'll have another African-American POTUS.

We also asked Johnson -- a huge Hillary Clinton supporter -- if he thinks Trump will do a good job ... since he knows the guy.

Diamond Dallas Page tried doing a diamond cutter on Justin Moore during a concert ... and failed.

DDP was a guest at Justin's show in Atlanta Saturday night, when he went into full-on wrestling mode on the country singer and tried doing his signature move on the guy.

Kelly Rowland is nothing but excited for Lady Gaga's upcoming Super Bowl halftime show ... but knows it will be the runner-up compared to the Destiny's Child show.

We got Kelly leaving Serafina in L.A. Saturday night, and we ask her if she's stoked about Lady Gaga doing the Pepsi halftime show at Super Bowl LI.

She definitely is ... but the DC alum clearly thinks Gaga's won't touch the one she did with Beyoncé. A wink and smile says a lot here.

More drama in the Reggie Bush alleged baby scandal ... the woman claiming to be his mistress is MARRIED and now her husband wants out.

As we previously reported, a Miami nightclub waitress named Monique claims Bush (who is also married) sperminated her last year and approached him about child support. The baby is due in February.

Now, we've learned Monique was married at the time of the alleged tryst -- and her husband is PISSED. He's filed for divorce and it's clear from the docs he's convinced Bush is the father of her unborn kid.

He's named Bush several times in his divorce papers and is demanding she hand over any documentation proving he could be the father ... such as DNA tests, confidentiality agreements or payments he may have made to her.

The husband also notes he didn't have sex with his wife around the time of conception -- so there's no way HE could be the daddy.

A rep for Bush had previously called the baby allegations "rumors" and noted he's still "happily married."

We've also learned a lawyer for the husband reached out to Reggie's camp to try work out a private deal to keep the NFL star's name out of the court papers. Obviously, no deal was reached.

TMZ Sports has obtained photos of the blunts that got Green Bay Packers WR Geronimo Allison arrested back in September ... and we gotta say, dude needs some work on his rolling skills.

Allison was pulled over for speeding in Wisconsin back on Sept. 4 and during the stop, the cop smelled marijuana. He searched the car and boom ... blunts.

Cops finally released pics of the evidence and while rolling job needs work ... the weed looks like some quality stuff.

MLB great Curt Schilling tells TMZ Sports he's fed up with the Baseball Hall Of Fame ... and at this point couldn't care less if he's ever voted into Cooperstown.

Schilling missed the Hall again this year, garnering only 45 of the 75% percent needed to make the cut ... and there are people who think it's Curt's outspoken politics, not his stellar career, keeping him out.

We spoke with Schilling ... who says no matter the reason he's not making the Hall, one thing's for sure ... HE DOESN'T CARE ... calling the voting "an arbitrary process done by humans."

The Braylon Edwards college comeback is in full swing -- and why? Because the ex-NFL star says a degree will unlock the door to get him into business with his BILLIONAIRE friends.

Sounds like a damn fine reason to us!

33-year-old Braylon has re-enrolled at Michigan -- where he was huge football star from 2001 to 2004 -- telling TMZ Sports he NEEDS that degree to crush it in the next phase of his life.

"I moved in a lot of circles with a lot of millionaires a lot of billionaires that have business ideas and concepts and they wanna work with you. They wanna invite you to that circle," Edwards says.

"But that's the one thing they ask you ... 'Do you have that degree?'"

There's more ... Braylon says he's also down to work with the football team while he's back on campus.

Aaron Rodgers' family drama won't bleed over onto the playing field this weekend ... 'cause he's an expert at tuning out off-the-field drama ... so says his ex-teammate Greg Jennings.

Aaron's family been all over the news after his father came out this week and talked about their fractured relationship. People are wondering if the "distraction" will affect Aaron's play.

But Jennings points out that the family issues didn't just pop up ... he's been dealing with it for a while and it hasn't affected his performance one bit.

If anything, he's been playing BETTER.