TMZ Sports - Page 50

Boxing champ Peter "Kid Chocolate" Quillin is making his silver screen debut next year -- as none other than the original Black Mamba himself Roger Mayweather ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Quillin tells us he auditioned, and landed the small role in an upcoming flick entitled "Bleed For This" -- a true-life story centered around the life of world champion boxer Vinny Pazienza, played by "Divergent" actor Miles Teller.

"Only Roger Mayweather can be Roger Mayweather," Quillin says ... "What I tried to do is bring a fighter's mentality to his character."

The 31-year-old champ says the hardest part of the job was nailing down the fight choreography -- since he's not used to scripting out his moves in the ring -- but says there's one part of the gig that came naturally.

"I remembered all of my lines. I didn't f**k up."

Wladimir Klitschko might be in trouble ... 'cause his number one enemy Shannon Briggs is hanging out with an '80s movie star who might posses a weapon capable of dethroning the champ.

The all powerful "Glow."

Briggs spent some time recently with Taimak -- that's right, the dude who played Leroy Green in the urban Kung Fu classic "The Last Dragon" -- and says the two worked on some "deep breathing techniques."

Yeah right fellas ... this was a "Glow" session.

If you're not aware, "The Glow" is an ancient fighting weapon that can only be achieved when mind, body and soul become one.

It covers your whole body in badassness and helped Leroy Green defeat Sho'nuff ... and now Briggs might have this (entirely fictitious) weapon at his disposal.

Sorry Wlad, it's all over. Check out "The Glow" in action below.

David Beckham and his 16-year-old son Brooklyn were involved in a car crash Saturday in England ... and luckily, they both avoided serious injury.

According to reports ... the crash went down after Beckham picked up his 16-year-old from soccer practice -- he plays for a popular youth club team -- and we're told the father/son duo were shaken up.

We're also told both passengers in the other car were unharmed as well.

Multiple active NFL stars from multiple NFL teams tell TMZ Sports they would ABSOLUTELY welcome Ray Rice on their squads ... because as one player put it, "everyone deserves a second chance."

Of course Ray is now eligible to sign with a team ... if a team decides to make an offer ... and we're guessing there are several owners currently trying to take the temperatures of their players and fans to see how signing Rice would go over.

Of the NFL stars we spoke to ... all of them said they were open to playing with the former All-Pro running back.

"I know Ray and his wife. I believe they've forgiven each other," one prominent player told us ... adding, "I would accept him, and I think that my teammates would accept him."

Another major NFL star told us, "I believe that everyone in life deserves a second chance."

A third player -- who played with Rice at one point in his career -- says, "He seems very remorseful. As much as I am against domestic violence, I do believe in second chances. No more chances after that, though."

Gronk say line ... Gronk be funny ... Gronk dominate new "Entourage" movie like puny linebacker ... so says Kevin Dillion who tells TMZ Sports the Pats tight end KILLED IT in his big screen debut.

We got Johnny Drama out in L.A. the other day ... and he told us Gronk was THE BEST of all the jocks who had a cameo in the flick ... which is saying something considering it's packed with huge stars like Russell Wilson, Kevin Durant, and Ronda Rousey.

50 Cent's son can hoop -- and mixtape footage showing him ballin' out went viral this week -- but Marquise Jackson says sometimes having a famous dad can work against him on the court.

The 18-year-old prep basketball star appeared on "TMZ Hollywood Sports" on Reelz this week and said he's sometimes targeted on the court by rivals looking to make a name for themselves.

But as Marquise says he welcomes the challenge because "at the end of the day I show that I can play."

Jackson says he hopes the publicity from the mixtape can help him lock up a spot with a big college program -- and says he's hopeful he'll land a scholarship.

Check out the clip -- dude's a really humble guy ... except he brought out the trash talk when we asked if he could take his dad on the court.

Didn't take long for Fantasy Football owners to forgive Ray Rice -- because just hours after he was reinstated, Ray has become the MOST picked up player in Yahoo! fantasy leagues.

As we previously reported, Ray's fantasy stock sank like a stone after TMZ Sports published the inside-the-elevator footage back in September.

But now, according to Yahoo! "Transaction Trends" page, Ray has already been added to more than 168,000 fantasy teams ... the #1 added player today ... BY FAR.

In fact, the #2 guy is Vikings running back Matt Asiata who was added to 14,000 teams.

Funny thing is ... Ray hasn't been signed to a real team yet.

Ray Rice just issued a statement about the judge's decision to overturn the NFL's indefinite suspension -- saying, "I am thankful that there was a proper appeals process in place to address this issue."

Here's Ray's statement in its entirety:

"I would like to thank Judge Barbara Jones, the NFL Players Association, my attorneys, agents, advisors, family, friends and fans - but most importantly, my wife Janay."

"I made an inexcusable mistake and accept full responsibility for my actions. I am thankful that there was a proper appeals process in place to address this issue."

Janay Rice has finally broken her silence about the ENTIRE Ray Rice elevator saga ... from the fight to the cover up to the reason she decided to NOT divorce the NFL star.

Janay spoke with ESPN on November 5th in an interview that the network agreed to hold until after the U.S. District judge issued their ruling on the NFL's actions.

In the interview, Janay says she doesn't remember what she and Ray were fighting about in Atlantic City back in February ... but says she does remember Ray got physical first.

"As we were arguing, he was on his phone and not looking at me. I went to reach for his phone, and when he grabbed it back, he spit at me and I slapped him."

On Apologizing for Her Role in the Incident at Ravens News Conference:

" I know some people disagreed with me publicly apologizing. I'm not saying that what Ray did wasn't wrong. He and I both know it was wrong. It's been made clear to him that it was wrong. But at the same time, who am I to put my hands on somebody? "

On What Ray Was Thinking After He Hit Her:

"I asked him how he felt when he saw that I was unconscious. He told me he was in shock. I asked him what happened when we got out of the elevator. He told me he was terrified because security was there. I asked him how he felt seeing me like that. He said he was thinking, "What did I just do?" I didn't watch the video again."

On What Ray and Janay told Roger Goodell:

"Ray told the commissioner, and his colleagues, everything that happened. There was no reason to lie because we knew that there was a video and we assumed the NFL knew what was in it, even though we didn't know whether or not they saw it.

On Anger at Baltimore Ravens for Cutting Ray:

"I was extremely surprised and angry that the Ravens released him, because they know him. They were our family, but I felt like the Ravens completely disregarded the past six years with him. Anytime the Ravens needed someone for a community event, Ray was their man.

On Being a Martyr for Domestic Violence:

Two of Ray Rice's former teammates are voicing their support of the ruling -- saying they're happy Ray will get a second chance in the NFL.

Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith tweeted ... "Second chances are only as good as you make them....my boy will do the right things."

Ray Rice just won a HUGE victory ... his indefinite suspension has been overturned.

Short story ... a judge just ruled NFL Commissioner Rodger Goodell abused his authority when he changed Rice's discipline from a 2-game suspension to an indefinite one.

The judge ruled Rice had told the truth when he was initially interviewed by Goodell and company and the Commish had no right to alter the punishment after TMZ posted the elevator video.

It could be something of a hollow victory ... Rice is now a man without a team, and his prospects of new NFL employment is iffy at best.

In decision, U.S. District Judge Barbara S. Jones explained ... "Rice did not mislead the Commissioner at the June 16th meeting, and therefore, that the imposition of a second suspension based on the same incident and the same known facts about the incident, was arbitrary."

"The Commissioner needed to be fair and consistent in his imposition of discipline. Moreover, any failure on the part of the League to understand the level of violence was not due to Rice's description of the event but to the inadequacy of words to convey the seriousness of domestic violence. That the League did not realize the severity of the conduct without a visual record also speaks to their admitted failure in the past to sanction this type of conduct more severely."

Rice issued a statement saying he's thankful.

62 year-old Mickey Rourke won his big boxing match in Russia ... when he sorta kinda tapped a guy with a body shot ... and the guy went crumbling to the ground.

The fight was against Elliot Seymour -- a 29 year-old fighting well above his weight with a 1-9 record -- and during the second round he appeared to take a dive after getting hit in the side.

Rourke celebrated by putting some dude on his shoulders and parading around the ring.

Ramses Barden won a Super Bowl in 2012 with the New York Giants -- but now the former wide receiver is looking to win whatever you get for winning in Australian rules football (we're guessing a koala or something.)

Barden has signed up for a new docuseries called "American Footy Star" ... which features several ex-NFL and ex-NCAA players who are attempting to make it in the Australian Football League.

Ramses -- a 3rd round pick in the 2009 draft -- was a physical specimen at 6'7" and 224lbs ... but injuries prevented him from ever becoming an NFL superstar.

He was on the Jacksonville Jaguars practice squad earlier this year ... but was cut before the season began.

But Ramses is confident there's a future for him Down Under -- saying, "I definitely believe there is a place for me in Australian Footy based on my athleticism, wide receiver skill sets, and my NFL experience."

Good luck ... mate.

Mickey Rourke is getting major support from boxing legend Bernard Hopkins -- who tells TMZ Sports he's PROUD of the 62-year-old for getting back in the ring ... and thinks he has a real shot to win!

49-year-old Hopkins -- who says he's still open to fighting into his 50s -- says he commends Rourke for taking a fight with a 29-year-old fighter in Russia on November 28th.

"The only way you're gonna know what you're capable of is by challenging yourself," Hopkins says.

"Most people can't see themselves doing what I or Mickey have done. So they talk down to it. That's a motivation for me. And I'm sure it is for him."

So the question ... can Rourke actually win the fight?

"I'm gonna go with the experienced guy [Rourke] who knows how to take care of himself," Hopkins says ... "It's not a slam dunk that he'll win, but at the least I think it's going to be a competitive fight."

As for Bernard's future in the ring -- he tells us, "I'm going to make a decision if I'll fight again after the holidays. But I do have an option with HBO."

Nothing like a little celebrity trash talk on Thanksgiving ... so, here's Kevin Hart explaining why he'd dominate Justin Bieber in a little 1-on-1.

Here's the thing ... Hart says he's bigger and stronger than JB -- but according to our research (some intense google searches) Bieber's 5'9" and Hart's 5'4".

In fact, we've also found some shots of them together -- and it's clear Justin has the edge when it comes to height.

Still, Hart's no joke on the court ... he's been the MVP of the NBA Celebrity All-Star game 3 years in a row.

These guys both play in a bunch of celeb charity games -- so it's only a matter of time 'til they face off. Can't wait.

Former WWE Champ CM Punk claims he never quit the famous wrestling company ... he was FIRED -- and it all went down on his wedding day.

Punk spoke out on the Art of Wrestling podcast with Colt Cabana for the first time since walking out on the company in January ... and went into extreme detail about why he left.

The wrestling star says he never technically quit ... he got the 'ole heave ho -- delivered in the mail on his wedding day to WWE Diva AJ Lee.

The whole interview is almost 2 hours long -- Punk talks about wrestling with a staph infection for months ... and how he threatened to sue the company over royalty payments.