TMZ Sports - Page 50

All hell ALMOST broke loose at a Kobe Bryant book signing in L.A. on Tuesday -- with cops responding to an upset crowd ... but sources at the scene tell us Mamba stepped in and diffused the situation.

Kobe was set to meet with 500 fans at Barnes & Noble at The Grove shopping center -- taking pictures and signing copies of his new book, "The Mamba Mentality: How I Play."

We're told everything was going fine until someone at the store let in an additional 300 people with less than 30 minutes left in the event.

When time was up and Kobe had to leave, sources say the crowd became upset -- and cops responded to keep the peace.

The good news -- one witness tells us Kobe grabbed the mic, thanked everyone for coming and said he would stay late until he met every person who came out to the event.

The Denver Broncos have axed backup QB Chad Kelly from the team after he was arrested Tuesday morning for allegedly trying to break into a Denver-area home.

Broncos general manager John Elway was furious after learning about the arrest and decided it was best to get rid of Kelly ... according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

Cops say Kelly broke into a home around 1:17 AM and sat down on the couch next to a woman who was holding her baby. Kelly was reportedly mumbling incoherently at the time.

Police say someone in the home chased Kelly out while striking him with a piece from a vacuum. He was ultimately arrested for criminal trespassing.

Kelly had attended Von Miller's Halloween party earlier in the evening ... and there are reports Kelly had to be escorted out after getting into a physical altercation with another guest.

Elway released a statement on the decision, saying, "Even though Chad's no longer part of our team, we've offered to help him however we can and are supportive of him in every way possible."

The Boys in Blue were looking out for the Boys in Blue during Game 1 of the World Series -- check out the heavy LAPD presence in front of Yasiel Puig's home on Tuesday!

As we previously reported, cops had reached out to several Dodgers players to help make sure their homes were protected during the series -- unlike last year when Puig's home was burglarized during Game 7.

Cops believe Puig -- and several other high-profile people -- were targeted by a burglary ring that knew when Yasiel (and others) would be out of their homes.

So, this time ... with Puig and the Dodgers in Boston, the LAPD sent a few units to Yasiel's house to make sure the bad guys know they ain't playin' around this time!

Former pro skateboarder Neal Hendrix has been accused of sexually assaulting a much younger female pro skater when she was just 14 years old .... and now cops are investigating.

25-year-old Julie Lynn Kindstrand Nelson -- known professionally as Julz Lynn -- went public with the accusations on Tuesday ... saying Hendrix "used his position of influence to pursue his own sexual ambitions, which included luring me to have sex with him" ... beginning when he was in his early 30s.

Julz told espnW ... Hendrix first met her at a skate park in 2006 and convinced her to come to his apartment for "sex lessons." She also claims Hendrix masturbated in front of her and took naked videos of her while she was underage.

Julz has reached out to the Costa Mesa Police Department in CA -- and has also called for other possible victims of Hendrix to come forward.

She's also pointing the finger at skate officials -- saying the International Olympic Committee and USOC "never cared to pay any attention or look into illegal inappropriate interactions with many underage athletes."

Julz says her experience with Hendrix took her innocence and destroyed her career ... and now she's "in the process of getting my life back together."

Hendrix -- now 45 -- won five X Games medals during his career ... and has been a TV commentator for big events like Dew Tour and X Games. He's also on the USA Skateboarding executive committee.

Ever wonder what a 1-on-1 game between Lakers legends Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant would have looked like????

Good ... 'cause Kobe spilled the beans to Jimmy Kimmel on Tuesday night's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" -- and the ex-L.A. superstar says it was actually pretty funny!!!

"He called every single foul," Bryant joked ... "even the ones that weren't there."

Mamba says the two basketball icons only squared off one time during a Lakers practice ... but Magic made sure to tweak the rules -- and the score -- in his favor.

"What's the score?" Kobe says Magic would ask.

"It's 10-6," Kobe would respond.

"No, it's not, it's 10-9."

"I'm like, 'Wait, what the? All right, I'm done.'"

Rae Carruth has informed officials he's planning on moving to Pennsylvania now that he's out of prison -- though it's unclear why he's chosen that state or what he's planning to do there.

TMZ Sports spoke with the Pennsylvania Parole Board and a rep confirmed that Carruth is now under their supervision.

We're told Carruth must still abide by the same release conditions imposed on him by the state of North Carolina, where he served his prison time -- which include routine meetings with a parole officer and staying out of trouble. The usual stuff.

Carruth was released on Monday morning -- nearly 19 years after he participated in the shooting death of his girlfriend, Cherica Adams, who was 8 months pregnant with their child.

Rae and Cherica's son survived the shooting -- though he now has severe disabilities -- and lives with Cherica's mother in North Carolina.

Joe Rogan doesn't think Logan Paul is a joke -- he watched the YouTube star's boxing match and thinks he has more fighting talent that at least one guy who's fought in the UFC ... CM Punk.

First off, Rogan says Punk is a real nice guy and he doesn't mean any disrespect -- but when it comes to his 2 fights in the UFC, Joe realized CM just doesn't have the raw talent it takes to win.

In fact, Joe -- on the "Joe Rogan Experience" podcast -- said Punk's brief stint in the UFC was a "nightmare" ... especially since he fought a guy like Mickey Gall who's "f**king good."

As for Logan, Joe heard Dana White slam the door on the possibility of Paul fighting in the UFC because he'd get hurt -- and says, "You had f**king CM Punk fight! This guy's way better than him."

Joe says he was impressed with Logan's striking skills and wrestling background -- and while he's no Canelo Alvarez, the guy clearly has some level of talent.

Joe isn't really campaigning for Dana to book Logan a fight -- he's just making the point that it wouldn't be the craziest thing the UFC has ever done.

Mike Vick would be rockin' a Super Bowl ring on his finger these days if somehow one of his teams had managed to trade for Chad Ochocinco ... so says the legendary QB himself.

We got Vick and Chad promoting WinView out in Bev Hills when we asked the two what would've happened if they were on the same team ... and Vick couldn't help but dream.

"Man, I mean, to have him, I would have probably had a ring for sure," Mike says.

Chad seemed to agree, saying, "That woulda been dope."

So, why'd it never go down?? Chad was locked in with the Bengals and Vick was entrenched with the Falcons during their primes.

"He woulda never got traded and I woulda never got traded, so we woulda had to have been drafted at the same time," Vick says.

As for how their careers went without each other and if they warrant busts in the NFL's Hall of Fame ... both surprisingly didn't seem too worried about that just yet.

"I'm not one that really needed validation," Ochocinco tells us.

Added Vick, "You leave that up to the people."

Too Short ain't exactly throwing Jon Gruden a vote of confidence ... telling TMZ Sports he's legit torn over the way the Raiders head coach is dismantling his favorite team.

We got the legendary Bay Area rapper leaving Sirius in NYC on Tuesday ... and he made it clear right away -- he ain't pleased with what's going down in Oakland.

"I'm really mad about 1-5," he says as he showed off all the silver and black he wore ... "I'm pissed about that."

Short's biggest problem with the team? Gruden ... 'cause Short says he's got some serious mixed feelings over Chuckie's first season back as Raiders head man.

"I'm just like everybody else, I'm mixed in between trading away all our players and bringing in the coach that beat us in the Super Bowl ... it's just we all got mixed emotions right now."

Short says it's gotten so bad for him ... he's legit on the verge of tears!!!!

But ... he does have one saving grace that he says makes him feel better ... "the Warriors, man!!"

As a diehard Yankee fan -- Michael Rapaport has a message for Red Sox nation before Game 1 of the World Series ... "KISS MY ASS!"

Here's why ...

"Listen, I grew up a Yankee fan hating the Dodgers, hating Rick Monday, hating Steve Garvey and his butt nose. That being said, I can not stand the Boston Red Sox. I want the Dodgers to kick their ass."

"I can't stand Big Papi, Pedro Martinez, Carl Yastrzemski, Jim Rice -- they can all kiss my ass," Mike added.

So, in conclusion ... Rap says he's "rocking with the Dodgers and Magic Johnson 150 percent."

One last shot -- "They should knock down Fenway Park and rebuild it!"

Tekashi69 is getting serious about protecting himself -- he's hired 2 dudes who've proved themselves guarding boxing champ Floyd Mayweather.

Sources close to the Brooklyn rapper tell TMZ ... Tekashi brought on a couple of dudes from Floyd's old security detail -- both of whom are simply known as "The Great Wall." They have actual names though -- Big Church (the biggest dude in the back here) and Big Adam (the slightly shorter dude in the leather jacket up front).

We're told 6ix9ine and his team decided they needed to beef up his security presence after a fan was able to rush him onstage, during a show in Moscow.

His crew stomped out the dude, but our sources say the incident made Tekashi and co. rethink his protection.

NFL player Chris McCain just dodged a bullet ... striking a plea deal that'll keep him outta jail after he was accused of spitting and grabbing a woman by the neck.

TMZ Sports has learned Chris McCain -- a 26 year old NFL free agent defensive end who at the time was on the Colts -- pled no contest to 2 misdemeanor counts of battery in an Los Angeles court.

We broke the story ... McCain was accused of spitting on a woman and forcefully grabbing her neck in L.A. on January 7.

In exchange for his plea, McCain was given a diversion program -- meaning if he keeps his nose clean for a year, he's in the clear.

He was also ordered to attend 12 anger management classes and complete 10 days of community service

If you thought you knew everything about the Rajon Rondo vs. Chris Paul fight, boy were you wrong ... Donnell Rawlings has the only breakdown you need to hear, and he's telling it to TMZ Sports.

We got Rawlings out in L.A. and asked him about all things Lakers, and that's when the "Chappelle's Show" star gave us a blow-by-blow, and a spit-by-spit analysis of the brawl Saturday night.

Highlights include ...

- The exact type of spit that was used, and how it affected the melee.

- How race was a factor (we know what you're thinking, you just gotta listen).

- Why the type of punch that was used meant that CP3 never had a chance.

9:26 AM PT -- A rep for Costume Agent, which originally created and distributed the controversial Caitlyn costume, tells TMZ they're not yanking it from their own site, and certainly not discontinuing it ... backlash be damned.

We're told the 'stume is one of their best sellers -- it's the #6 overall bestseller. Although they have received multiple threats over it this past week, they're standing by their product. The rep says, "It's a costume. It's funny."

A Caitlyn Jenner costume -- which harkens back to her Olympic glory days as Bruce Jenner -- is getting destroyed by critics who say it's insensitive to transgender people ... and it's already being yanked from at least one outlet.

The getup is called "I Am Cait" ... and features a decathlete's jersey with Bruce's number 935, a gold medal and those teeny tiny shorts -- all of that vintage Bruce from his 1976 decathlon victory. However, it also comes with a long-haired wig that's all Caitlyn.

eBay was flooded with criticism for selling the $44.95 costume -- several transgender charities are calling it out as mocking, instead of being an homage.

The caption for one online promo says, "Show your love for Caitlyn Jenner with this awesome adult costume."

The backlash has been enough for eBay to remove the costume, but as of now ... it's still available on Amazon.

Denver Broncos backup QB Chad Kelly was arrested in Colorado early Tuesday morning after cops say he broke into a home around 1 AM.

The Englewood Police Dept. says officers were called to the home at 1:17 AM in reference to a man standing outside the residence. While cops were en route, the man entered the home.

According to court records, Kelly sat down on a couch next to the home owner ... as she held her baby. The woman said Kelly was "mumbling incoherently."

Cops say a male inside the house hit Kelly in the upper back with a 2-3 foot stick shaped piece from a vacuum ... and was able to chase him outside.

Officers searched the area and were able to locate Kelly inside of a black SUV.

24-year-old Kelly -- a former star at Ole Miss -- was arrested and charged with 1st-degree criminal trespass, as first reported by Ian Rapoport.

He was transported to a nearby jail where he was booked and later released.

It's not Kelly's first brush with the law -- he was arrested back in 2014 after getting into a fight outside of a nightclub in Buffalo, NY. He later pled guilty to disorderly conduct.

9:55 AM PT -- The Broncos just released a statement on Kelly's arrest, saying ... "We are disappointed that Chad Kelly was arrested early this morning. Our organization has been in contact with Chad, and we are in the process of gathering more information.”

Alex Rodriguez says enough is enough -- he's been paying his ex-wife a king's ransom for a decade, his income has plummeted, she's now rich and he wants his support payments drastically reduced.

Sources connected to A-Rod tell us, the former Yankee has been locked in a spousal/child support war with Cynthia Scurtis for months. He's been paying $115,000 a month tax free in combined spousal and child support since the couple divorced in 2008. They have 2 daughters, 13-year-old Natasha and 10-year-old Ella.

We're told the agreement was always meant to be adjusted when A-Rod retired from the Yankees. A-Rod claims his income has dropped by 90% ... from $30 million a year, while he was on the Yankees, to around $3 million a year.

Our sources say Alex is especially vexed because he claims Cynthia is now a rich woman with millions in the bank, 3 homes and multiple cars. He grouses she has a master's degree in psychology yet chooses not to work. He also says she has a new child and a fiance, and he feels he's now bankrolling all of them.

A-Rod says the expenses for his 2 kids are somewhere between $7k - $12k a month, yet he's willing to pay $20k a month plus expenses for the kids, including tuition.

We're told Cynthia is negotiating, but wants nearly $50k a month so the ex-couple is at an impasse.

We attempted to reach Cynthia ... so far, no luck.