TMZ Sports - Page 50

Ex-NFL star Michael Clayton is getting his Ty Pennigton on ... 'cause the Super Bowl champ is going makeover mad on Tampa area homes ... all for the benefit of at-risk youth.

Clayton -- who won the Super Bowl with the Giants back in 2012 -- started the LAF project in the Tampa area a couple years ago, which provides housing and mentorship for kids who have aged out of the foster system.

"They are 18-23 and have no assistance, not prepared for life at all. The goal is to get them to the point where they can exist in society."

Michael tells TMZ Sports he sank $50,000 of his own money into the project and that the 12 young men staying in his housing will have top-notch digs to call home.

"I got seven construction crews around the Tampa area -- the place has all the bells and whistles, granite table tops, brand new baseboards the whole nine."

Clayton says he plans to be involved in every area of the young men's lives while they live on the property, including mentoring them personally, providing hands on life coaching.

"I'm around there every day, a lot of them aren't ready to go out into the world, they're rough, but once we're finished, hopefully they'll be polished enough to get out there."

The WWE says it has proof that CM Punk NEVER had a baseball-sized lump on his back at the Royal Rumble -- and insist they have the video that shows he's lying through his singlet.

Punk first brought up the alleged lump on a podcast back in November -- when he claimed he was misdiagnosed by a WWE ringside doctor ... and it eventually led to a life-threatening staph infection.

The doctor filed a $1 million defamation lawsuit against Punk -- and now, the WWE is making it clear they have the doc's back.

"WWE continues to have the utmost confidence in the ability and expertise of our world-class team of physicians, including Dr. Amann," the organization said in a statement.

This is where it gets aggressive ...

WWE says it completed a full investigation into Punk's allegations and made the following conclusions:

-- "CM Punk did not discuss this alleged condition with WWE’s team of physicians and trainers, nor did he discuss it with anyone in our Talent Relations department. WWE has no medical records documenting this alleged condition.
-- The first time WWE was made aware of this alleged condition was when we received a letter from CM Punk’s attorney on August 22, 2014 after WWE terminated his contract.
-- "There is clear video evidence from the 2014 Royal Rumble, which allows all to decide whether there is any appearance of a baseball-sized growth on CM Punk’s back."

Check out the clip ... you seein' a lump?

Better book your hotel rooms for May 2nd quickly ... because Vegas is selling out like crazy -- in fact, the MGM Grand's official booking page showed the hotel is already SOLD OUT for the night of the fight.

Minutes after Floyd Mayweather posted the official announcement on his Shots page, the MGM Grand -- the venue for the fight of the century -- showed all rooms have been booked.

And the surrounding nights ... well, those are going fast too.

3:19 PM PT -- Floyd just posted a picture of the signed contract on his Shots page ... saying, "What the world has been waiting for has arrived."

He added, "Mayweather vs. Pacuiao on May 2, 2015, is a done deal. I promised the fans we would get this done and we did."

Floyd Mayweather Jr. is making it official what we already knew was coming for weeks -- TMZ Sports has learned his fight with Manny Pacquiao is set, the deal is signed -- and they'll be getting it on in Vegas on May 2nd.

As we previously reported, the two fighters reached an agreement to get in the ring back in January -- and the major issues, including date and location have been set for weeks.

Good work if you can get it folks ...

Danica Patrick was looking to brawl with fellow NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin after they wrecked at Daytona -- grabbing him and yelling, "Don't be up my ass!"

Taken out of context ... this could be the sexiest fight ever -- but who would do that?

2:55 PM PT -- NASCAR just suspended Busch indefinitely.

NASCAR star Kurt Busch sounded like he rehearsed all his answers, and may even have lied under oath when he testified in his domestic violence case ... according to the judge.

As we reported ... Busch's ex-gf Patricia Driscoll got a restraining order last week, and in new docs, obtained by TMZ Sports, the judge explains why he ruled against Busch.

According to the docs ... Busch came off like he had practiced reciting his version of what happened during the alleged incident last September ... in a very specific order. Anytime he was asked to break from that "memorized" order of events ... he got flustered.

The judge said "an honest witness" should be remember the truth in any sequence.

Further, the judge feels Busch "has so much to lose" -- his NASCAR career and endorsements -- he has "powerful incentive" to lie on the stand.

L.A. Dodgers legend Tommy Lasorda sat front row for a smokin' hot burlesque show at an L.A. blues club Thursday night ... but he wasn't gettin' off ... he was nodding off.

It all went down at Harvelle's Blues Club in Santa Monica ... where a dancer named Miss Dakota set the stage on fire in front of Tommy and several of his friends.

We're told Tommy's wife was not at the club -- but she had nothing to worry about because Lasorda was more interested in talking with his friends and taking the occasional nap than ogling the talent.

Tommy hasn't let his age keep him from hitting the club scene -- the 87-year-old hit up Bootsy Bellows nightclub on the Sunset Strip back in April.

#legend

12:12 PM PT -- A spokesman for the stadium insists the heater is NOT broken ... and says there's a perfectly good explanation.

"There is NO broken heater – but we opened the garage to let buses and allow a few packages to be delivered to the stadium – and that allowed the freezing air to come into the stadium."

"It was like opening the back door and letting the record temps into the building."

"The heater isn't broken -- and fans can expect it to stay that way ... and should be able to enjoy the game with no problem."

It's 14 degrees in Philadelphia ... and it seems like the heater has broken inside the Wells Fargo Center -- so the visiting Indiana Pacers are warming up in full sweats and winter gear.

Unclear when the heater crapped out ... but multiple team sources tell us the same thing -- "It's f**king freezing in here."

One player tells TMZ Sports, "It's like we are outside playing ball ... this ain't cool."

Pacers' star Paul George is at the stadium ... and tweeted, "Crazy my guys have to practice under these conditions in philly! #CutThatHeatOnDamnIt."

The game is scheduled to begin in less than 6 hours ... and as far as we know, the game is scheduled to go on as planned.

Turns out ... Pete Carroll's pretty jacked.

The Seattle Seahawks coach was flexin' the guns during an island getaway in Hawaii ... and let's get serious, the dude's physique is pretty impressive.

Especially since he's 63-years-old.

#nosuperbowljokes #thistime

Talk about holding a grudge ... Kanye West is clearly still pissed at his 8th grade basketball coach --who didn't put Yeezy on the squad ... despite the fact West claims his try-out was Jordan-esque.

Kanye opened up about the hoops snub on "The Breakfast Club" radio show ... telling Charlamagne tha God that he vividly remembers hitting every free throw and every lay up ... but got screwed by the coach.

"I looked at the list and I wasn't on the list ... and then the coach just gave me the Kanye shrug."

He continued, "You not gonna have somebody hit all the shots and you not gonna give him that credit."

A bunch of Minnesota Timberwolves fans are trying to exchange their tickets to tonight's game -- after learning Kevin Garnett won't make his re-debut with the team until Wednesday ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Of course, Timberfans went CRAZY Thursday ... when it was announced the future Hall of Famer was returning to the team that drafted him in 1995.

The box office went crazy -- with people trying to buy tickets to KG's first game back ... many of whom assumed Friday would be the night.

But the team announced Garnett won't hit the hardwood 'til Wednesday ... and box office sources tell us, "There were a lot of people who bought tickets for tonight's game because they thought it'd be KG's first game back. Now they're all calling, trying to exchange the tickets for Wednesday's game."

Unclear how the team plans to handle the situation -- but a team rep tells us they're excited for Kevin's return ... especially since Timberwolves home attendance is the worst in the NBA.

NY Jets wide receiver Eric Decker may have found his second calling ... MUSIC VIDEO VIXEN ... 'cause the guy plays "sexy model" in his wife's new video ... complete with bad fake guitar playing.

FYI -- Decker's married to country music superstar Jessie James ... who just released a video for her new song, "Clint Eastwood."

The video has all the traditional staples of a country song -- a trailer, daisy dukes ... and dudes playing guitars.

One of those guys is Decker ... who chews on a stogie and pretends to play along in Jessie's backup band while she belts out the main tune. It's pretty funny to watch.

Danica Patrick showed quick hands in a post-crash confrontation with NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin Thursday night at Daytona ... getting up in his face after he allegedly spun her out.

Patrick was FIRED UP after losing control of her car ... and immediately got up in Hamlin's face to accuse him of tapping her left rear ... and causing her ride to spin out in the first place.

The clash was intense -- with Danica grabbing Denny by the chest ... and Denny trying to explain that it wasn't intentional.

At one point, Denny tried to explain that he's her friend -- and no one has her back like he does -- but Danica doesn't let him off the hook.

Question is ... if the roles were reversed and Denny grabbed Danica ... ya gotta think Denny would be in a world of trouble this morning.

David Beckham could have TWO future stars in his family -- because his 12-year-old son Romeo got a shot with Arsenal's youth team ... and Thursday he scored a goal in a match!

Beckham went crazy on the sidelines ... as Romeo scored the second goal in a 3-2 victory over Liverpool.

Beckham's older son, Brooklyn, has been crushing it with the Arsenal training squad as well -- the 15-year-old was recently called up to the Under-18 squad ... and experts say he's got real potential.

Two former WWE superstars have been hit with a huge lawsuit from the WWE ringside doctor -- who claims the duo defamed him on a podcast ... when they trashed him over the way he treated a growth on CM Punk's back.

The man behind the lawsuit is Dr. Chris Amann -- who claims Punk and Colt Cabana defamed him on Colt's "Art of Wrestling" podcast back in November ... when Punk spoke out for the first time about his departure from WWE.

During the podcast, Punk repeatedly tore into Amann -- essentially saying he was a crappy doctor.

Amann says the two also claimed he misdiagnosed a growth on Punk's back -- a growth that Punk says later turned into a full blown staph infection.

But Amann says it's all BS -- claiming the statements are false and defamatory ... and now he wants the wrestlers to pony up more than $1 million in damages to his reputation ... plus punitive damages.

Colt and Punk had no comment about the lawsuit.

He doesn't talk much, but when he does, it's powerful ... so when Marshawn Lynch took the stage at a rap show in Oakland last year, he had a strong message for the crowd -- STOP KILLING EACH OTHER.

TMZ Sports obtained footage of an emotional Lynch addressing the crowd at The New Parish in his hometown of Oakland, CA in the summer of 2014.

Beast Mode tells the crowd he's extremely proud to "represent where I'm from on the national mother f**king stage" ... but says, "I've been losing too many of ya'll."

Marshawn is obviously referring to the fact that Oakland is consistently ranked among the most dangerous cities in the country ... and had the 2nd highest rate of violent crime in 2014.

"We need to be here for each other," Lynch said ... who also explained why it's IMPERATIVE that the young people hear his message.