TMZ Sports - Page 50

Ray Rice says the disastrous news conference he and Janay held together in May was a "horrendous mistake" ... but he's pointing the finger at the Baltimore Ravens.

Ray broke his silence with Matt Lauer during a stand-up interview in his kitchen for the "Today" show ... and said of the P.R. debacle, "I made a tremendous mistake not apologizing to my wife."

Ray and Janay also took heat over the May 23rd event because Janay APOLOGIZED for her role in the elevator incident.

"When we was going in, we were given what to speak about. It wasn't truly coming from us," Ray says.

So, who told them what to say? Janay claims the Ravens "gave us a general script" going in to the news conference that day ... and Ray and Janay did what they were told thinking the team would have their back.

During the interview, Ray also told Matt he had never laid a finger on Janay before the elevator attack.

UFC champ Anthony Pettis is a 3rd degree black belt in taekwondo. Vladimir Putin is a 9th.

So, who would win in a street fight? Don't bet on red.

Pettis -- who's fighting Gilbert Melendez at UFC 181 this weekend -- was out in NYC this week when he told us the 6 degrees of martial arts separation wouldn't matter if push ever came to shove.

For the record, here's how the tale of the tape would read ...

Anthony Pettis:
UFC Lightweight Champion
27-years-old
3rd degree Taekwondo black belt
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 155

Vladimir Putin:
Russian President
62-years-old
9th degree Taekwondo black belt
Height: 5'7"
Weight: Classified

The clip is awesome -- Pettis also tells us he spends time training at the same center as NFL superstar J.J. Watt ... and raves about how the guy CRUSHES weights in the gym.

The "Clawvin Johnson" era has officially begun ... and NFL great Boomer Esiason was on hand to deliver the news, presiding over the 2015 Kitten Bowl Draft.

The Hallmark Channel has rounded up a new crop of cats for Kitten Bowl II -- set to air on Feb. 1 (the same day as the Super Bowl) ... and in his official role as Commish, Boomer welcomed the newbies.

So, how'd it go down? Johnson went #1 ... followed by studs like "Cat Stafford" and "Ryan Fitzcatrick."

Pro skater Nyjah Huston is rich and famous, but that didn't impress cops who shut down his 20th birthday party not once, but twice.

Nyjah threw himself a blowout birthday bash Saturday night at an industrial complex in the OC, featuring Waka Flocka.

Here's one of Nyjah's problems ... when you throw a rager, don't let a drunk chick vomit in the road, because the fire department spotted her, treated her and then determined the party was out of control, so they shut it down.

Nyiah was undeterred and decided to throw an after-party at his OC house. Neighbors complained because the noise was ear-splitting, so he was cited for disturbing the peace.

We did some checking ... cops have paid more than 20 visits to Nyjah's home and that's just in the last year or so.

Bill Cosby has just resigned from the Temple University Board of Trustees, which is especially significant because the sexual assault case he settled in 2006 was filed by a Temple employee.

Bill, who attended the school in the '60s and played football as well as running track, says, "I have always been proud of the university and its students. As a result, I have tendered my resignation ..."

Andrea Constand, who worked for the women's basketball team at the university, filed suit against Cosby in 2005, claiming Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her. She filed a lawsuit and Cosby settled in 2006.

Cosby and his wife have donated money to Temple and a scholarship was created in their name.

Mickey Rourke's 29-year-old opponent Elliott Seymour is adamant he wasn't paid to take a dive in their big boxing match in Russia this weekend .. telling TMZ Sports Mickey beat him fair and square.

Almost everyone who's seen the fight has called BS on the "knockout" ... with Seymour going down for the count in the 2nd round after a weak ass body shot from the 62-year-old.

But Seymour -- who returned to L.A. after the Crumble in the Kremlin -- says, "The fight wasn't thrown. I only had one month to train."

Seymour confirmed reports that he's struggling financially and has been living on the streets -- but says he was paid to fight ... not to lose.

When asked how much cash he made from the bout, Seymour pointed to a photo of $100 bills on a bed ... and suggested that was his purse. It looks like $3,000 to us.

We also asked if he's planning to fight again to which he replied, "Who knows? I’m keeping an open mind."

Eric Decker is seriously "depressed" over the disastrous season he's having with the NY Jets ... and it's starting to affect his home life ... this according to his famous country singer wife Jessie James.

James appeared on the The Todd Show on 95.5 WPLJ in NYC (that airs tomorrow) ... and opened up about how the 2-9 season is taking an emotional toll on the high-priced wide receiver.

"It's been a really hard season. He's been, I don't wanna say depressed, but he's been depressed."

James says Eric is particularly frustrated because he's "not able to really show his ability right now and he's got a lot of doubters and that hurts him."

She adds, "It's rough."

Meanwhile, Emmanuel Sanders ... who replaced Decker over in Denver ... is having the best season of his life and says playing with Peyton Manning is "wide receiver heaven."

DeMarco Murray's former college teammate Brennan Clay tells TMZ Sports he's filing for divorce from his wife Gina ... after publicly accusing her of banging Murray behind his back.

Clay -- who played with Murray at the University of Oklahoma -- says the Dallas Cowboys superstar was his mentor at OU ... "the person who I looked up to the most as a running back and as a friend."

But Clay says everything changed when he found one of his wife's old cell phones -- which allegedly contained more than 50 "inappropriate" text messages between DeMarco and Gina which "made me disgusted."

Clay says he also found graphic cell phone pics that he believes Gina and DeMarco had sent each other.

Clay put both Gina and DeMarco on blast on Twitter Sunday -- saying, "So Demarco Murray was having an affair with my wife ..I'm done."'

Now, Clay says he's escalated the situation -- and filed for a divorce from Gina. The two have only been married for 4 months. Clay says he's currently meeting with lawyers to discuss the next step.

10:00 AM PDT -- As expected, Voynov pled not guilty. According to court docs, Voynov and his wife have been living together since the incident, though she did not show up with him. He's due back in court on December 15.

L.A. Kings star Slava Voynov just arrived to a L.A. courthouse where he's scheduled to be arraigned on a felony domestic violence charge stemming from an alleged altercation with his wife.

Voynov was silent on his way into the courtroom ... but he's expected to plead not guilty to the charge.

As we previously reported, the 24-year-old was arrested on October 20th after allegedly beating his wife so badly, she was hospitalized with injuries to her eyebrow, cheek and neck. Sources tell us she required several stitches to close facial wounds.

He's only been on Instagram for 3 weeks, but Muhammad Ali has already posted his very first selfie.

The 72-year-old champ was decked out in Louisville shirt to cheer on the Cardinals as they took on the Kentucky Wildcats this weekend.

Ali wrote, "#Louisville Game Day! Go Cards!"

It's the first time Ali has posted a new photo on any social media platform since he joined Twitter in 2010.

Ray Rice has finally returned to the bar scene -- partying at a NYC nightclub for the first time since he attacked his wife at an Atlantic City casino back in February ... and TMZ Sports has the pics.

Rice hit up Bounce Sporting Club in Manhattan late Saturday night/early Sunday morning -- where he posed for pics with fans and chatted with anyone who approached him.

We're told security was trying to keep fans away from Rice -- but Ray was talking and making conversation with people anyway.

The timing is interesting ... considering Ray won his appeal on Friday -- and then hit the club right after. It feels like a celebration.

One source tells us Janay was with Ray at the club -- though we can't confirm that yet.

Everyone we spoke with says Ray was NOT drinking at Bounce.

As we previously reported, Ray claimed he was highly intoxicated when he struck Janay in Atlantic City -- and says ever since that incident, he's cut hard liquor out of his life.

Janay Rice says the elevator attack was all part of God's plan -- telling Matt Lauer she believes she and Ray were "chosen" to help bring awareness to domestic violence.

Janay says she believes there is a "silver lining" to the incident ... explaining, "I feel like God chose me and Ray for a reason, and it was definitely to bring awareness to what people are going through every day."

Janay Rice says she's furious with the Baltimore Ravens -- telling Matt Lauer she feels completely betrayed by the NFL team for the way they hung Ray out to dry after the elevator incident.

During Part 1 of her interview with the "Today" show (which aired this morning), Janay explains that she never thought the team would turn their back on him ... and fire him ... after he was honest about what happened in February.

"The support system that I thought we had in the Ravens, that made me angry," Janay explained.

Janay also told Matt ... Ray had never hit her before the incident and hasn't laid a finger on her since.

Superstar rapper Kid Ink might not remember how many tattoos he has, but he tells TMZ Sports he remembers why he got them ... to be like NBA superstar Allen Iverson.

Ink was out in L.A. recently when we asked the "Main Chick" rapper which athlete has the best body art game of all time.

Watch the video -- Ink not only says A.I. is the best human canvas in the history of sports ... but also credits the guy for inspiring an entire generation of future tat-heads.

Michael Phelps is finally out of rehab -- but it seems like he's already picked up an old habit ... Miss California.

Nearly two months after entering a treatment center following his second DUI arrest, Phelps spent his Thanksgiving with family members ... and on-and-off girlfriend Nicole Johnson (Miss California 2010).

Phelps and Johnson have been together ... and then not together ... and then together again ... since 2007. According to Johnson, they're officially back-on ... and even had a movie "date night" last week.

Phelps was joined at Thanksgiving by his mother, sister and other family members -- and it's interesting to note there was wine at the dinner table ... since Phelps is clearly struggling with alcohol.

With the Ray Rice sweepstakes officially underway, rapper The Game tells TMZ Sports he would LOVE to see RR on his favorite squad ... the 49ers ... but there's one big caveat.

Game -- rockin' a pretty freaky masquerade ball mask -- was leaving his birthday party at the Supper Club in Hollywood Friday night when he explained why San Fran could benefit from #27.

But while Game says he's happy to see Rice reinstated -- there are 2 big things that could get in the way of the 9ers bringing the running back to S.F.