TMZ Sports - Page 50

It ain't just standing around and smiling ... the super hot models in the Sports Illustrated: Swimsuit Edition had to bust their perfectly sculpted asses for those iconic shots ... and we've got footage of the women in action.

The rock climbing ... the sand storms ... the punishing waves ... it was all captured by "SI: The Making of Swimsuit 2015" ... a 5-part series that will air this weekend on Travel Channel.

It's pretty crazy stuff -- you see all of the challenges that smokin' hot models like Gigi Hadid, Hannah Davis and the rest of the crew had to overcome to get those perfect shots.

Plus, have you ever seen a model rock climb in a thong bikini before?

Record scratch moment for DJ Shaquille O'Neal last night -- when the Big Fella spun a track laden with the N-bomb ... and it AIRED during the live broadcast of "Inside the NBA."

Ernie Johnson and the gang were signing off when they threw to Shaq to play them out with a music track. FYI -- Shaq was performing in front of a HUGE live audience from a DJ booth and was away from the broadcast table.

But as the crowd went wild, Shaq decided to play a version of Jay Z's "Tom Ford" ... complete with several unbleeped n-bombs ... apparently unaware that he was live on the air.

It appears the broadcast dipped to black early once producers realized what was happening.

File Under: YEEAAHHHHH GRONK!!!!

This is the story of Fort Myers Fox 4 reporter Tara Molina ... who tracked down Rob Gronkowski on the beach this week -- and decided to ask him how he plans to spend Valentine's Day.

His response? Well ... it's about as Gronk as it gets.

Just one tip for Molina -- don't plan on getting flowers ... we know how Gronk feels about those.

Dwyane Wade could be trading basketballs for Ben Wa balls -- the NBA star tells TMZ Sports he's taking Gabrielle Union to see "Fifty Shades" this weekend because "I wanna learn something!!"

This clip is awesome ... Wade (who's out in NYC for NBA All-Star Weekend) told us he's not gonna let his new wife drag him to see the movie -- instead, he proclaimed, "I'm taking HER!"

"I wanna learn something," Wade said ... "I'm married! You gotta keep it up!"

#LearnTheSafeWord

Either Beyonce and Jay Z need to stop going out in public, or NYC needs way more cops for NBA All-Star Weekend -- 'cause they damn near started a riot Thursday night just by stepping out of their SUV.

The scene in this video is ridiculous ... the massive crowd rushes the barricades in unison when Jay and Bey's ride pulls up outside Jay's 40/40 Club. Then, maybe to avoid even more chaos -- they walk in separately.

So, who was the opening act, and who headlined? Watch the vid to find out, but there's no doubt ... they're the reigning king and queen of NY.

Makes ya wonder why the hell they're moving to LA, right?

It was lights, camera, action for Brazilian soccer god Ronaldo Thursday night -- hitting up the Hollywood club scene ... and telling TMZ Sports he's considering a career in the movies.

Ronaldo started off at Ago Restaurant in West Hollywood -- where he told us he was in town for both business and pleasure.

So, what's the business side of things?

We asked if he's pursuing a career on the big screen, to which he replied (in Spanish) ... that he's thinking about it.

Moments later, the 38-year-old World Cup champ rolled on over to 1Oak nightclub on the Sunset Strip ... and partied until the club shut down at 2AM.

With the one year anniversary of his infamous elevator incident coming up, Ray Rice has issued an apology to the city of Baltimore ... saying, "I apologize for the horrible mistake I made."

In an open letter which begins "Dear Baltimore," Rice says ... "This is not a farewell or goodbye. The last seven years that my family and I have spent in Baltimore have by far been the best of our lives."

He goes on ... "To all the kids who looked up to me, I’m truly sorry for letting you down, but I hope it’s helped you learn that one bad decision can turn your dream into a nightmare."

"There is no excuse for domestic violence, and I apologize for the horrible mistake I made. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me, and I hope to make a positive difference in people’s lives by raising awareness of this issue."

"Thank you, Baltimore Ravens, for all you have done for my family and I. I’m very grateful to Steve Bisciotti, Ozzie Newsome, John Harbaugh, and everyone at 1 Winning Drive. I love you all very much, and I’ll always be proud to say I played for the Baltimore Ravens."

It's interesting Rice thanks Bisciotti -- since the Baltimore Ravens owner essentially backstabbed him ... by accusing Ray of lying after he told Ray he had his back.

Ray Rice has just received a $1 MILLION contract offer from a fantasy football website hoping to sign him as a spokesperson ... but there's a catch -- if you hit your wife, we get our money back.

TMZ Sports has learned ... Rice has been contacted by ProDraftLeague.com to be an official PRO Draft League Fantasy Insider.

CEO Mark Tadros tells TMZ, "Mr. Rice has shown deep remorse for his act of domestic violence and I feel he deserves a second chance."

We're told the job is a 1-year gig which pays a $500k base salary and includes another $500k in bonuses based on membership milestones.

Rice's job obligations would include:

-- 2 TV commercials
-- 2 viral videos
-- 1 photo shoot
-- 30 media interviews
-- weekly column with personal analysis on which NFL players to play
-- field reporter work, interviewing various NFL players for the site

Now for the catch -- "It's been one year since Mr. Rice physically assaulted his wife and we are very confident that he will not do it again," Tadros says.

"But in the event that he does while being employed by Pro Draft League, his contract will be immediately terminated and the entire $500k must be returned PLUS an additional $500k in damages that our brand will incur for being associated with Mr. Rice."

Former L.A. Kings coach Barry Melrose tells TMZ Sports he has proof that hockey players are the toughest athletes around ... and it all has to due with the harrowing story of one man's teeth.

Melrose -- who works now as an analyst for ESPN -- was at LAX when we asked if hockey players had an edge over other sports like football, basketball and golf (lol) when it comes to toughness.

That's when Melrose told the mic-dropping, argument-clinching story of Duncan Keith ... a hockey player who had SEVEN TEETH knocked out during a 2010 contest ... and freakin' returned to play in the game!

Here's is Keith's toothless interview after that game ... stop cringing and watch.

There could be an RG4 in Robert Griffin's future -- because the NFL star just announced his wife is pregnant with their very first child!!

Griffin -- who's celebrating his 25th bday today -- made the announcement on Twitter ... posting one of those baby announcement photos along with a caption that reads:

"BIG thank you for making this birthday a special day!!! This year's gift will change our life forever!!! #BoyOrGirl"

The photo is interesting though ... considering his wife Rebecca seemed to make a point to include a shot of her ring finger with her big honkin' diamond on it.

It almost seems like she's making a statement about the state of her marriage ... after reports a while back suggested things may have been rocky at home.

Or maybe she just wanted to remind everyone she's got a baller diamond.

Either way ... congrats!!

Hope Solo looks like the Terminator of soccer goalies -- posting a video that sends a message to her U.S. women's soccer teammates ... she'll be back!

Solo posted the video of herself running goalie drills like a champ -- even though she's currently serving a 30-day suspension for allowing her husband to drive a team van the night he got busted for DUI.

The Philadelphia Eagles tell TMZ Sports the fact that Riley Cooper was selected as the photo for February in the official team calendar was an "honest mistake" ... and they're looking into it.

Of course, Cooper made national headlines at a Kenny Chesney concert back in 2013 when he was caught on camera saying, "I will jump that fence and fight every n***** here."

The Eagles fined Cooper for his actions at the time. He later apologized and then-QB Mike Vick vouched for him and said he wasn't a racist.

Which is why it was surprising that the wide receiver was picked to represent February -- Black History Month -- in the official team calendar.

"If anything, it was an honest mistake," Eagles PR rep Brett Strohsacker tells TMZ Sports.

Strohsacker says an independent company was used to put the calender together -- and says the Eagles are investigating to find out why Cooper was selected to be February.

He adds, "I will look into this issue and see what the thought process was."

3:50 PM PT -- The Eagles have issued a new statement saying, "We do not oversee the production of the annual team calendar. We do not provide any input about the players who are featured or where those pictures appear in the calendar. The NFL licenses the production of that calendar to a third party and we do not have an opportunity to review the material."

Bill Bradley clearly agrees with Aaliyah about that whole "Age Ain't Nothing But A Number" thing ... 'cause at 71 he tells TMZ Sports he's willing to suit up for the struggling Knicks RIGHT NOW.

The former Knick -- and U.S. Senator -- was out in D.C when we asked him what exactly the Knicks need to get them out of the kingdom of suckdom that they have resided in all year.

"I'll go back for the average salary as a designated free throw shooter," Bradley said.

He was obviously joking around ... but he definitely turns serious when asked how many years he thinks it'll take his friend Phil Jackson to turn the team around.

New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman's stock is still on the rise after his impressive Super Bowl performance -- in fact, he's now on Jay Z's radar ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Our sources tell us ... Edelman has a meeting with Roc Nation Sports in NYC Thursday afternoon to see if there may be opportunities to work together.

We're told Edelman isn't jumping ship on his current representation (as one source put it, he's "super happy" with them) ... but when Jay Z calls, you listen.

Our sources say Edelman's camp believes there may be some marketing and branding opportunities with Roc Nation Sports ... which has already established relationships with some pretty big brands including Budweiser and Geico.

Aaron Rodgers and Olivia Munn had a double date with a semi-famous friend Wednesday night ... an actor who's pretty recognizable from a famous Quiznos commercial ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The Green Bay Packers QB and the "Mortdecai" star hit up Matsuhisa in Beverly Hills ... along with actor Tim Rock and his date.

Tim (who's been friends with Munn for a while) is an actor who's been in a bunch of stuff ... but we remember him from that Quiznos ad where the oven was like HAL 9000 from "2001: A Space Odyssey" (awesome btw).

Wonder who paid for dinner?

Here's something you don't see every day ... a multi-billionaire hailing a cab.

Donald Sterling -- who recently sold the L.A. Clippers for $2 BILLION -- was out in Bev Hills Wednesday when he decided to catch a cab to go home.

Interesting, considering most billionaires in this city either drive themselves ... or use a private chauffeur ... or at least use Uber LUX if they're gonna hit the town.

But not Sterling ... who quietly got in the back seat and was quickly whisked away.