TMZ Sports - Page 50

Pro wrestling legend King Kong Bundy -- who famously battled Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania 2 -- has died, WWE confirms. He was 61.

Details surrounding Bundy's death are unclear. We're working on it.

Bundy was a monster in the ring -- billed at 6'4", 458 pounds -- he mauled opponents and usually made the refs count to 5 instead of 3 ... just to prove his dominance.

He made his WWF debut in 1985 -- while managed by the "Mouth of the South," Jimmy Hart. He became so popular, so fast, Vince McMahon smartly booked him to take on Hulk Hogan in a steel cage match at Wrestlemania 2 in 1986.

Bundy lost the match, but became an even BIGGER star. In fact, he booked national commercials and even had cameos on huge shows like "Married with Children," "Weird Science" and "Boy Meets World."

Bundy left WWE (then WWF) in the late '80s ... but returned in 1994 as part of The Million Dollar Corporation and picked up right where he left off, destroying people.

The wrestling world is already paying tribute to Bundy -- real name, Christopher Pallies.

Hulk Hogan issued a statement saying, "Overwhelmed by King Kong Bundy’s passing, only great memories,R.I.P. big man until we meet again."

Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake tweeted, "OMG can’t hardly believe my friend Chris Pallies aka King Kong Bundy has passed away."

"Very sad news he was a kind soul. Rest In Peace Brother until we meet again."

Mick Foley said, "Hate to hear about the passing of King Kong Bundy. He was so cool to me when I walked in that @WWE dressing room as an absolute nobody in 1986."

Story developing ...

Boxing legend Roy Jones Jr. says he'll GLADLY accept Vitor Belfort's challenge -- telling TMZ Sports he's down to brawl with the ex-UFC champ ... but needs 6 weeks to prepare.

Just last week, 41-year-old Belfort -- the former UFC lightweight champ -- called out Roy during a media event for the ONE Championship MMA promotion.

"One fight I'd really love is me against Roy Jones Jr. Roy, wherever you are, I wanna come challenge you for a boxing match, but with this condition: I'm gonna be able to dirty box with you."

So, we hit up Roy to see if he was game -- and good news, the 50-year-old is ALL ABOUT THAT SMOKE!!!

"This is what I do for a living. Y'all must've forgot. That's who I am. I love a battle. I love a challenge. So, if that's what you want, that's what you get. Ain't like you gotta ask me twice."

RJJ hasn't fought in over a year (he picked up his 66th pro win in February '18) ... but says he doesn't need long to get into fighting shape.

"Well, I would like 8 weeks, cause I like to get right. I need 2 extra weeks just to make sure I can showboat. But, 6 weeks, I can whip you."

We asked Roy if he had a message for Vitor ... and did he ever.

"I got nothing but the utmost respect for you. You were a helluva MMA fighter. You one of the best of all time. But, when it comes to boxing, this is what I do. I'm the ruler. I'm the king of this thing. Ya understand me?"

"Since Muhammad Ali is not on Earth anymore, I don't think there's nothing ever on this Earth as bad as I am with these hands."

Be careful what you wish for ... you just might get it.

Shane Ray is heading into free agency with some INCREDIBLE new body art ... the ex-Broncos stud just got his leg tatted -- and it might be the best $10,000 he's ever spent!

The stud pass rusher -- Denver's 1st-round pick in 2015 -- wanted to get some warrior-themed artwork done to represent all the battles he's faced in his NFL career so far.

So ... Shane hit up his friend and renowned tattoo artist, Katrina "Kat Tat" Jackson -- and they got to work.

Kat tells TMZ Sports she started on Ray's leg in L.A. a couple of weeks ago at Enigma Beverly Hills ... but the majority of the piece was done at Shane's Denver home this past weekend. And yeah, Shane paid for the plane ticket to fly her out. How baller is that!?

Kat says the sleeve took 3 sessions -- a 14-hour first day, 8 hours the next day and 4 more hours to cap it off ... and it all led to a SICK piece that features warriors of all shapes and sizes.

In all ... Kat tells us the tat took around 30 hours total to finish -- and cost in the area of $10,000 to complete!!!

By the way, Kat was the artist behind Shane's epic back piece that got the pass rusher in trouble with Denver fans because of the prominent Kansas City Chiefs logo.

(FYI, Shane's from the Kansas City area and the tat is a tribute to his hometown).

But, Ray is about to be a free agent later this month ... and Kansas City COULD always use another pass rusher -- so could that be where he ends up???

Stay tuned.

This is gonna be interesting ...

Ex-Broncos QB Chad Kelly pled NOT GUILTY to felony criminal trespassing stemming from allegations he broke into a Colorado home after Von Miller's Halloween party ... only to be chased out by a person beating him with a vacuum cleaner tube.

The 24-year-old appeared in court in Arapahoe County, Colorado on Monday to enter the plea. This is a huge deal for Kelly -- because if convicted, he faces up to 3 years in prison and a $100,000 fine.

The trouble for Kelly started after he left Von Miller's Halloween party on October 22 ... and allegedly wandered into a nearby home.

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

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

Broncos GM John Elway was clearly pissed about the whole ordeal ... and cut the 24-year-old QB just hours after the arrest.

Elway and the team said in a statement, "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."

Tim Tebow needs to get another J.C. in his life -- Jose Canseco -- with the ex-MLB slugger telling TMZ Sports he can turn Tim into a legit power hitter.

Jose is dead serious ... he wants to be Tim's personal hitting coach. And, he's offering up his services for FREE!

And, why? Jose sees real potential in Tim but says his swing sucks ... and he's just the guy to fix it.

"I can definitely turn him into a power hitter," Canseco tells TMZ Sports.

"He's extremely strong, extremely physical ... I can easily get him up to 35 to 45 home runs [at the MLB level]. At the AAA level, he could hit 50."

Jose says there's an art to power hitting -- and it doesn't appear like Tim has had proper instruction on how to hit the long ball.

This ain't a joke -- Jose says he really likes Tim, he's a big fan and he wants to help the guy make his MLB dreams come true.

Of course, Canseco has a pretty solid resume -- the guy hit 462 home runs during his MLB career. And, if you want to point to steroids, there were a TON of guys juicing up back then and Jose still outhit most everybody else by a mile.

Tyron Woodley says he'll DEFINITELY avenge his loss to Kamaru Usman and win back his UFC championship belt -- and believes he's STILL the greatest welterweight of all time.

Despite taking his first L since 2014 on Saturday night, Woodley was in pretty good spirits on Sunday at the L.A. release party for his new album, "Chaos Theory."

"You can't have a bad night in the Octagon," Woodley explained ... "Everybody knows that wasn't characteristic Tyron Woodley."

Woodley gave props to Usman for defeating him at UFC 235 -- but Tyron says he knows where he went wrong in his preparation for the fight ... and won't make the same mistakes again.

Usman is now expected to fight Colby Covington in his first title defense -- but Tyron says he's already hungry for a rematch.

As for his legacy, Tyron doesn't think the loss to Usman can take away from what he's already accomplished in his MMA career ... with big victories over guys like Robbie Lawler, Kelvin Gastelum, Carlos Condit, Josh Koscheck and Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson.

UFC rising star Johnny Walker says he's honored Jon Jones wants to fight him down the line -- telling TMZ Sports he's "not scared" to get into the Octagon with the greatest of all time.

Just last week, Jones named Walker as one of the guys he's eyeing to fight in his pursuit of 50 MMA wins.

So, we asked Walker for his thoughts on being on Jones' list -- and the 26-year-old was stoked!!!

"It feels so exciting," Walker told us ... "I feel proud about myself. People start to know me now, this is my dream come true."

Walker says he needs a few more fights under his belt before he's ready to take on a legend like Jones -- but he's definitely not afraid of the challenge.

"I need to beat [3 or 4 more guys] and this will give me more experience and I'll be ready for Jon Jones."

Of course, Walker is coming off of a sensational knockout performance against Misha Cirkunov at UFC 235 -- but suffered a shoulder injury while doing his worm celebration dance.

The good news ... Walker says he can move his arm but admits his shoulder is still "in a little bit of pain."

"I have to go to hospital to check everything," Walker says.

Walker believes he dislocated his shoulder -- but feels it popped back in ... and "aligned to the right place."

Donald Trump treated ANOTHER college football team to a fast food spread at the White House on Monday -- with the North Dakota State squad getting Chick-fil-A and McDonald's on a silver platter!

The NDSU Bison football team was invited to Trump's White House to celebrate winning the FCS Championship with a 38-24 win over Eastern Washington back in January.

The team reportedly wasn't expecting ANY food during the trip -- but after the success Trump had with the Clemson football team back in January, he decided to break out the fast food again!

You can see in the photo ... the spread was loaded with Big Macs and chicken sandwiches.

Remember when Clemson visited, Trump served up McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King AND pizza to celebrate their national championship win over Alabama.

At the time, Trump explained the menu by saying, "I would think that's their favorite food."

The food was a hit -- with Clemson's star QB Trevor Lawrence telling TMZ Sports, "It was awesome. We had McDonald's and everything. It was good."

The NDSU Bison have won the FCS Championship 7 times in the last 8 years -- but this is the first time they've gone to the White House.

Before the trip, head coach Matt Entz told the Grand Forks Herald ... "This isn’t a political trip, this is a Bison trip and, personally, I sold it as two things: It’s one more opportunity for the 2018 team to be together, but also in my mind the start of the 2019 season and the things we’re going to do together."

The big question ... how did the food go over with the players?

Even vacation can't stop Russell Wilson from dropping dimes ...

The Seahawks QB has been living it up with wifey Ciara in Brazil this past week ... hittin' parties, shoppin', catching soccer games and beachin' around.

But, Wilson decided to get in on some football action with a Brazilian league team in Rio de Janeiro over the weekend -- and the offseason clearly hasn't affected his arm.

Wilson tossed the pigskin all over the sand ... and even hit some dude for a deep-ball TD on a double-move route!!!

Of course, the action wasn't nearly NFL caliber ... seems RW was with the squad for promotional purposes -- they got new unis!! -- and guys were just joggin' around.

But, still ... that arm!!!!

As for the team ... they're known as the Flamengo Emperors and they tout themselves as the first grass football squad in Rio de Janeiro.

In fact, seems they're looking for more talent too ... they posted on their social media about a tryout for the 2019 season.

Daniel Cormier wasn't interested in watching Jon Jones fight Anthony Smith in person on Saturday ... he had other things on his mind -- like taking his family to Disneyland!!!

Despite the crazy feud between the two, DC tells us he wasn't going to let Jones dictate his weekend -- and instead opted to take his wife and kids to the Magic Kingdom in Anaheim, CA -- 260 miles from the Jones fight in Vegas.

There was a good reason for the trip ... DC's daughter, Marquita, turned 7 years old and the UFC champ wanted to do something special for her birthday.

Of course, while Cormier was enjoying the Happiest Place on Earth, Jones put a beating on Anthony Smith at UFC 235 ... boosting his official record to an impressive 24-1-1.

Jones doesn't acknowledge his 1 loss -- because it was due to a disqualification from an illegal elbow in a fight he was otherwise dominating.

It was almost deja vu for Jones this weekend -- he hit Smith with an illegal knee and was THIIIS close to being DQ'd again ... but Smith took the honorable path out and opted to continue the fight.

Jones won in a unanimous decision.

Cormier -- the reigning UFC heavyweight champ -- and Dana White say he's gunning to set up a 3rd fight with Jones before he hangs it up for good.

DC lost the first time he fought Jones and was KO'd in the rematch -- but that 2nd loss was later ruled a "no contest" because Jones tested positive for a banned substance.

So, will DC agree to one last brawl with his arch enemy?

Jennifer Lopez is all about that Magnolia Market life ... and who better to get the job done on J Lo's new beachfront crib than "Fixer Upper" star Joanna Gaines?!?

J Lo and Joanna finally got to work Sunday at J Lo and A-Rod's new Malibu home. The couple dropped $6.6 million last month for the house and, for their 2-year anniversary, J Lo revealed to Ellen DeGeneres the couple recruited Joanna to give the "Fixer Upper" house her magic touch.

For the uninitiated ... Chip & Joanna -- who made our hearts ache hard when they left TV in 2018 -- are coming back!!! Details are scant but here's what we know for sure ... the "Fixer Upper" stars announced last November they're teaming up with the Discovery Channel to get hammerin' and stylin' again. That explains the cameras on hand.

Ya gotta imagine this project's unlike any other for Joanna ... working with a power couple that's not all that worried about going a tad bit over budget. The 3-floor beach pad's pretty sick -- featuring 4 bedrooms, 3.25 bathrooms and a wraparound deck.

San Francisco Giants CEO Larry Baer says he's stepping away from the MLB team to take some "personal time" in the wake of a physical altercation with his wife that was captured on video.

TMZ Sports posted footage of Baer knocking his wife, Pam, to the ground during an altercation in a public park in San Francisco on Friday ... while his wife screamed for help.

Both Pam and Larry had chalked the whole thing up to a marital spat that got out of hand -- Pam said she would NOT be pursuing charges and had already forgiven her husband.

Now, Larry has issued a new statement admitting his behavior was "unacceptable" --- and will take time away from the team.

The Giants board of directors issued a statement saying, "Mr. Baer has acknowledged that his behavior was unacceptable, apologized to the organization and is committed to taking steps to make sure that this never happens again."

"He has also requested, and the board has accepted, his request to take personal time away from the Giants beginning today. The Board has asked the Giants executive team to manage the day to day operations of the Club during this period, reporting directly to the Board."

The team says they are also "closely monitoring the matter" and still gathering information.

"Major League Baseball is taking the lead in gathering all facts surrounding the situation. The organization is cooperating fully with the process."

Baer has been involved with the Giants organization for decades. He was named chief operating officer in May 1996, team president in October 2008 and CEO on January 1, 2012.

Gronk and his bikini model girlfriend have taken their hotness to sea ... 'cause the couple put on one hell of a twerk fest on a boat in Mexico ... and it's all on video!!

Rob Gronkowski and Camille Kostek are hanging out in Cabo with their equally-attractive friends, Eric Decker and Jessie James Decker, this week ... and it's been a great time for everyone (including us).

The Patriots superstar had a front row seat for Camille's private booty shakin' exhibition ... while everyone else on the boat cheered them on.

The gang took their talents to the beach for some volleyball ... and we're guessing Rob brought out the classic Gronk spike at some point.

Of course, the duo loves showing off what they got ... and even gave us a sneak peek of what was to come when they got to Mexico in matching swimsuits.

No word on when they'll head back to the States ... but we're sure the party is just getting started.

Meanwhile, the New England Patriots are still waiting for an official word on Gronk's NFL future. He's reportedly pondering retirement but wants some time to really think things through and reflect before making an official decision.

"Ship all them n***as out. Get a slave ship, and ship all them sorry motherf*ckers the f*ck outta here!"

That's just a tiny piece of Snoop Dogg's weekend rant against the Lakers ... and yeah, dude is PISSED Los Angeles is about to miss the playoffs again this season.

"These sorry mother f*ckers ain't going to do sh*t," Snoop said ... "These goofballs ain't going to do sh*t. They sorry."

Snoop's scorched earth comments came after L.A.'s second loss this weekend -- a 118-109 pounding to the last-place Suns -- when the rapper threw his camera into selfie mode and blasted EVERYONE not named LeBron.

"Somebody gotta go. F*ck this shit. Somebody gotta go. Matter of fact, a lot of n***as gotta go, starting with the coach."

As for his Staples Center tickets ... Snoop says he's so over L.A., he's giving away his box suite seats for just $5!!!!

Think Snoop's overreacting? With losses to the Bucks on Friday and Phoenix on Saturday ... the Lakers are now closer to 13th place in the West than they are to a playoff spot.

Snoop's begging the front office to intervene ... and as part of his rant -- he yelled, "Get LeBron some f*ckin' help!!"

NHL Hall of Famer Ted Lindsay -- who was instrumental in founding the NHL Player's Association -- died Monday. He was 93.

Lindsay had been in hospice care toward the end of his life. And, that's all the family is saying right now.

Lindsay is a hockey legend -- he scored 851 points in his 17-year NHL career and raised the Stanley Cup on 4 different occasions with the Detroit Red Wings, alongside teammates Gordie Howe and Sid Abel.

In fact, it was Lindsay who started the tradition of hoisting the Cup and skating it around the ice after winning the championship. How cool is that?!

He was also such a stud, the NHLPA named the annual MVP Award after Lindsay.

"Terrible Ted" lit up the NHL during the 1949-50 season when he won the Art Ross Trophy as the league's leading scorer with 78 points in 69 games. He also racked up 141 penalty minutes that season.

While still a force on the ice in 1957, Lindsay was also a key figure in establishing the original NHLPA -- teaming up with other players like Bill Gadsby, Doug Harvey, Fern Flaman, Gus Mortson and Jim Thomson.

After he retired in 1965, Lindsay went on to start the Ted Lindsay Foundation -- which raises money to autism-related causes. So far, the TLF has raised more than $4 million.

Lindsay was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966 -- with the following stat line: 379 goals, 472 assists and 851 points in 1,068 games.

Kylie Jenner seems to be putting the Jordyn Woods scandal, and Travis Scott's alleged cheating drama on the back burner ... because there's shopping to be done, damn it!

Kylie and bestie Heather Sanders (yep, they're still tight) hit up a mall Sunday in Calabasas and on the agenda were 2 retail therapy items -- shoes and jewelry. They browsed for shoes at Neiman Marcus and then made their way to Cartier to scope out watches -- which explains the smile on Kylie's face.

It's been a rough couple of weeks for Kylie, to say the least.

TMZ broke the story ... Kylie's relationship with her childhood friend Jordyn is uncertain after her BFF was involved in a cheating scandal with Khloe's baby daddy, Tristan Thompson.

Then Kylie accused her baby daddy of cheating on her. Travis flatly denied cheating, although he did some damage control while postponing a concert last week. This weekend he was back onstage, and offered much love to his "wifey."

Nothing like a little shopping to soothe the pain.