TMZ Sports - Page 50

1:31 PM PT -- Cameras finally spotted Kraft at the meetings, though he was clearly in no mood to stop to chat ...

The most powerful people in the NFL touched down in AZ over the weekend for the Annual League Meeting ... and while most of the owners and GMs strutted around Phoenix, Robert Kraft was unusually low key.

Everyone from Jaguars owner Shad Khan to Denver Broncos general manager John Elway was spotted in Phoenix -- where the league's top guys meet every year to discuss rule changes and other NFL issues.

Elway looked pretty jacked, Eagles head coach Doug Pederson was scooting around after his foot surgery and Raiders owner Mark Davis was rockin' his usual white blazer with his patented hairdo.

While Kraft was seen walking with his son, Jonathan, and NFL commish Roger Goodell, he didn't speak with the media and seemed to make an effort to lay low.

Obviously, Kraft has a LOT going on right now -- he's due in court in Florida later this week to deal with his prostitution case where he's facing two counts of solicitation.

Kraft broke his silence on the legal issue this weekend -- essentially admitting wrongdoing and apologizing for his actions.

"I am truly sorry. I know I have hurt and disappointed my family, my close friends, my co-workers, our fans and many others who rightfully hold me to a higher standard."

He's facing up to 1 year in jail if convicted -- but it's VERY unlikely he'll serve one minute behind bars.

WHOAAA!!!!!

Two pro motorcycle racers just got hit with 2-year suspensions over one of the CRAZIEST fights we've ever seen on a race track!!

It all went down at the National Motorbike Championship in February in Costa Rica -- where racer Marion Calvo got pissed after Jorge Martinez bumped him during the race and caused him to lose control of his bike.

Somehow, Martinez clung to Calvo's bike and forced Calvo to pull over, while Martinez was hanging off the back of his opponent's bike.

When the bike finally came to a stop, Martinez reached back and threw a HAYMAKER shot right at Calvo's face -- knocking the racer on his ass!!

But, kudos to Calvo ... who got up ... and ran back after Martinez, trying to continue the fight ON THE TRACK while other racers zoomed by.

Eventually, things broke up ... but wow. Insane.

Both racers were disqualified on the spot -- but now the Latin American Motorcycle Association has doled out the bigger punishment -- and it's 2-year suspensions for both fighters.

It's a wrap for Nikki Bella in the WWE ... the former champ says she's closing the book on her wrestling career -- claiming her body just can't handle the punishment anymore.

Bella said she realized she needed to retire after returning from a recent tour of Europe -- saying, "[The tour] was good but I just feel like I'm too old for that travel."

"The travel was really, really rough," Bella said on her reality show, "Total Bellas" ... "So, I realized, I was like, why am I doing this? I don't feel good."

Nikki said she feels the women at WWE are doing amazing things and she doesn't feel she needs to keep wrestling ... explaining, "I really am ready to hang up the jersey, like I can say it fully."

Nikki's sister, Brie -- who announced her retirement on a "Total Bellas" episode earlier this month -- gave her full support to Nikki, saying she can hang her WWE jersey "right next to mine."

35-year-old Nikki explained her body just doesn't feel great anymore -- and she wants to turn her focus on other business endeavors ... including her fashion brand.

"Here's to closing one chapter and the next one opening."

Bella is a sure-fire WWE Hall of Famer -- she is a 2-time WWE Divas champion and one of the most popular women in the history of the company.

TMZ Sports has obtained a 911 call made by Tony Ferguson's wife during an incident in February -- and the way she handled the call may have saved Tony's life ... and the lives of several cops.

As we've previously reported, Tony's wife, Cristina, called police to their Santa Ana, California home several times over the past couple months when the UFC star was having manic episodes and acting erratically.

Cristina has made it clear she loves Tony and wants him to get treatment -- but during a Feb. 16 incident, things got to a point where she was scared and needed police to intervene.

During the call, Cristina says she needs help -- but warns police that Tony is a professional fighter. She notes, "I don't want no cops to get injured."

The operator responds, "We don't want anyone to get hurt."

Of course, Tony is not just a pro UFC fighter, he's one of the greatest mixed martial artists in the world ... currently, the #1 ranked contender in the UFC's lightweight division.

When cops arrived to Ferguson's home, officers used the information from the call to help diffuse the situation ... and according to the police report, Tony told officers he would seek help.

Unfortunately, cops were called back to the house a few days later -- but the good news, Tony has since agreed to get serious about treatment and appears to be doing better.

In fact, just last week, Tony posted on social media that he's seen a psychologist and that it "went well."

4:14 PM PT -- Tom Brady has responded to Gronk's announcement with a heartfelt message. He posted a photo of the two of them on the field, and added a caption that read ... "What an honor and privilege to play with you these past nine years @gronk! You accomplished so much and our team was almost unbeatable when you were on the field! Your fun-loving, inspiring, and positive energy made an impact on everybody you came into contact with! Not just that, but for as great as a player you are, you are a better teammate and person. The NFL was a better place with you in it! But I have no doubt you will be a success in anything you do!!! Love you pal!"

New England Patriots star Rob Gronkowski says he's finally hanging it up and retiring from football at age 29 ... this after months of speculation.

The longtime tight end broke the news on Instagram Sunday with a lengthy caption attached to a shot of him holding the Lombardi Trophy. He wrote, "It all started at 20 years old on stage at the NFL draft when my dream came true, and now here I am about to turn 30 in a few months with a decision I feel is the biggest of my life so far. I will be retiring from the game of football today."

He goes on to thank Patriots owner Robert Kraft and his head coach, Bill Belichick, for the chance they gave him when "drafting my silliness in 2010." Gronk continued to reflect on his time with the Pats' organization, saying ... "My life experiences over the last 9 years have been amazing both on and off the field. The people I have meet, the relationships I have built, the championships I have been apart of, I just want to thank the whole New England Patriots organization for every opportunity I have been giving and learning the great values of life that I can apply to mine."

Gronk then went on to thank Pats fans for accepting him for who he is, while adding that it's time to move on knowing Patriot Nation is a huge part of his makeup. He ended with one last thank-you to his teammates -- past and present -- by saying, "To all my current and past teammates, thank you for making each team every year special to be apart of. I will truly miss you guys. Cheers to all who have been part of this journey, cheers to the past for the incredible memories, and a HUGE cheers to the uncertain of whats next."

Rob is a 3-time Super Bowl champ with the Pats, a 5-time Pro Bowler and has made First-Team All-Pro 4 times. He's widely seen as a shoo-in to get into the NFL Hall of Fame one day as well.

Johnny Manziel's wife, Bre Tiesi, appears to have broken her silence on why she stopped following him on social media ... and all signs point to a looming divorce.

Bre responded to a number of comments on one of her more recent IG posts, which slapped down any notion that she was after money in the wake of their presumed split. As we reported ... Bre scrubbed her social media of all traces of Johnny Football.

There seems to be a more clear reason as to why now. She responded to one IG user, saying ... "maybe u should wonder why I would leave him instead of worrying about ‘money’ lucky for him I don’t air out personals and lucky for u you are behind a screen u low life."

In another comment, Bre made it crystal clear that there was alleged wrongdoing on Johnny's part ... saying in response to another IG user ... "u been married? U been betrayed? I don’t do betrayal for a person I was devoted to period. Vows were broken f*** money and f*** u and every other loser on here."

Bre makes no bones about it ... she believes Johnny betrayed her trust, and strongly suggests he cheated on her. She also bats off the idea that she's after any of his fortune by referring to a prenup they might've signed. No one has filed for divorce yet, but by the way she's talking here ... it looks like that may be in the cards for Manziel.

Adrien Broner got in trouble with the law again .... and he ended up in cuffs.

Eyewitnesses tell TMZ the former boxing champ was in South Beach at around 9 PM Saturday, walking with fellow boxer Gervonta Davis, when he jaywalked on busy Collins Avenue and a driver honked at him. We're told Adrien got angry and smacked the hood of the car and began yelling at the driver.

Cops were already out in force because it's Spring Break, they heard the commotion and warned him to calm down or else he'd be arrested. We're told Broner then started yelling at the police so they cuffed him for a time but did not arrest him.

Broner didn't let the incident dampen his night. He went to Exchange Miami nightclub where he did the Bust Down dance and even jumped onstage.

Earlier this week Broner threatened to attack and even shoot gay people in a vile video posted to his social media account. He said, "If I got my gun on me, I'm shooting you in the f***ing face, and that's on God and them ... I don't like gay sh*t." The comments were directed at social media star Andrew C. Caldwell, the famous "I'm Delivert" guy. Caldwell had said Broner was flirting with him. Broner's response was to "punch the testosterone out you GAY ASS."

Brandon Adams -- one of Georgia Tech's rising football stars -- has died suddenly, according to his own football team.

Georgia Tech's Sports Department announced the sad news Sunday, saying their hearts were broken over the sudden passing of their defensive lineman. The school sent their condolences to his friends and family. No cause of death has been revealed yet.

Adams appeared in 33 games over the course of his GT career between 2016 and 2018. He was having a tremendous year in terms of stats too this past season ... 24 tackles, five tackles for loss and 2 forced fumbles in the 13 games played.

Tons of tributes were pouring in Sunday, with many people describing Adams as a "gentle giant" off the field.

Colby Covington better watch his mouth around Todd Gurley ... 'cause Kamaru Usman tells TMZ Sports the NFL superstar would whoop his ass if they ever scrapped!!!

"Todd Gurley would maul him," Usman says ... "He would maul him. He'd maul him."

Of course, Kamaru's talking about this 'cause he says he saw the Rams RB get into a spat with Covington seconds before his championship fight with Tyron Woodley at UFC 235.

So, we had to ask ... who'd win if Gurley and Covington were NOT separated that night?!

His answer -- Gurley ... and he ain't just sayin' that 'cause he HATES Covington ...

"These running backs, they have low centers of gravity, big butts, strong legs. All they have to do is -- it's not going to take them long, once they learn the technique, they're throwing hammers."

"So, yeah, I think he could take him."

The tale of the tape IS interesting ... Gurley outweighs Covington by over 60 pounds and is two inches taller -- so, is Kamaru right??

The wrestling ref who's threatening a lawsuit over the viral dreadlock-cutting incident is "blatantly racist" and has NO CASE ... so says Lil Jon ... who tells TMZ Sports the guy's claims are ridiculous.

High schooler Andrew Johnson -- who is black -- was forced to either cut his dreadlocks or forfeit during a December 2018 match. The story made international news .... and the ref was accused of being racist.

As we previously reported ... the ref, Alan Maloney, is claiming he's been defamed in the coverage following this ... and he's demanding $100,000 in damages.

Enter Lil Jon -- who has famously shown off his dreads throughout his career -- and he explains why Maloney's actions were inexcusable.

"Dreads are considered to be like a man's crown, that's a lion's mane ... it's sacred," Jon says.

"For this guy to be blatantly racist as he was on that one and to claim he can't get work or whatever, well ... too bad, you shouldn't have been an a**hole."

Maloney says he was strictly following the rules that prohibited wrestlers from having long hair ... but many people have called it a bogus excuse to cover up racism.

Lil Jon agrees with them.

As if 6 Super Bowl rings ain't enough ... Tom Brady has what it takes to compete for ANOTHER set of rings if he wants ... 'cause Mohamed Hadid says he's got Olympic skiing talent!!

TB12 has been hittin' the slopes all week ... freaking Pats Nation out while he posts videos shreddin' through the snow (Hadid thinks he was going around 70 miles per hour).

Naturally, we had to find out how Brady's ski skills compare to the pros ... so we asked Bella and Gigi's dad -- an Olympian for Jordan in 1992 -- if he thought the QB could have been good enough to rep the USA in the Games.

"Oh, for sure ... he has amazing form," Hadid says ... adding Brady should KEEP skiing, despite how scared fans get watching their superstar fly down the slopes.

CM Punk ain't lettin' his 2 UFC ass-whoopings stop him from training to fight ... 'cause his teammate and UFC star, Anthony Pettis, says Punk is STILL hitting the gym hard.

TMZ Sports talked to Pettis -- the former UFC lightweight champ who's moving up to welterweight to fight #2-ranked Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson on Saturday at Fight Night 148 -- about his Roufusport gym mate's fighting future.

"He is still training. I don't know what his plan is. I know he's doing some movies and a couple other things, but I'm not sure if he plans on fighting again or what. But, I know he's still training ... That dude's a hard worker."

Remember, Punk was dominated and choked out by Mickey Gall in September 2016 ... before returning to face Mike "The Truth" Jackson.

Punk lost to Jackson via a unanimous decision ... but looked like a much-improved fighter.

Pettis says he respects the hell outta CM Punk ... even with an 0-2 record.

"Not many people in the world can do what he did. I mean, it's on the biggest stage, and he fought some good guys too. It's not like he was fighting scrubs. He's fighting good guys in the UFC."

"He's training with killers. He's training with me, Woodley. He comes in day and day, and he's getting his butt kicked, and coming back, showing up, so I give him props, man. No matter what, he did it."

We also talked to Wonderboy -- who hasn't fought in 10 months after sustaining an injury fighting Darren Till -- about exactly how he plans to become champ by the end of 2019.

Adrien Broner just took another L ... but, at least this time, it had nothing to do with boxing.

The prickly prizefighter was trying to get into the Voodoo nightclub with his crew Friday night when he was stopped at the door by security.

In the vid -- shot by @theNYguys -- Broner and the bouncer are seen having a long conversation in which he appears to be pleading to let them in ... but to no avail.

Surprisingly, everything appears to end amicably, despite the boxer's group being denied ... Adrien extends a friendly handshake and leaves peacefully.

It's unclear what the issue with their entry was ... we're working on it.

As we reported ... the boxer didn't have a very good week, either -- he kicked things off by posting a vile, homophobic rant threatening to shoot gay people and attack social media star Andrew C. Caldwell.

This resulted in Broner being hit with a restraining order.

Robert Kraft is finally speaking out about getting caught in the South Florida prostitution sting ... and he's apologizing to his friends, to Patriots fans and to all women.

Kraft says, "In deference to the judicial process, I have remained silent these past several weeks. To correct some of the misinformation surrounding this matter, my attorney made his first public comments on Friday night. I would like to use this opportunity to say something that I have wanted to say for four weeks.

"I am truly sorry. I know I have hurt and disappointed my family, my close friends, my co-workers, our fans and many others who rightfully hold me to a higher standard."

His statement continues, "Throughout my life, I have always tried to do the right thing. The last thing I would ever want to do is disrespect another human being. I have extraordinary respect for women; my morals and my soul were shaped by the most wonderful woman, the love of my life, who I was blessed to have as my partner for 50 years."

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Kraft's legal team, along with 14 other defendants, filed for a protective order earlier this week which would prevent all evidence in the case -- especially the surveillance video from inside the Orchids of Asia spa -- from going public. Kraft's lead attorney, William Burck, insists that video, recorded on cameras set up by police, was illegally obtained.

Burck told the NY Post, "We’ve looked at the law around the warrant for the video surveillance inside the spa, and we think it is a violation of the fourth amendment. We also believe the traffic stop [made by police as the men left the spa] was illegal and a violation of the constitution."

As we first reported, Palm Beach County prosecutors have refused to sign off on the protection order to keep the video from going public -- despite police insisting they are concerned about victims of human trafficking.

Burck also addressed the alleged "trafficking," calling out law enforcement in Palm Beach and Martin Counties. He says they "have said this is a human trafficking case, but have produced no evidence [to corroborate that]. They have falsely connected Robert Kraft and other men to human trafficking. Now they should correct the record. I have asked that the record be corrected and there’s been no response."

Kraft and his legal team have not accepted a plea deal offer ... which would require him to admit he would have been found guilty if the case went to trial.

Frank Shamrock says he didn't mean to hurt the dog he tied to a truck and left at an airport ... telling TMZ Sports, "I know what I did was wrong, but there was no way out of it."

As we previously reported, the UFC legend is under investigation after cops say he abandoned a dog at Dallas Love Field Airport ... leaving it tethered to the bed of a pickup truck for 5 days.

Now, Shamrock is explaining to us why he did it ... saying, "I had no other solution to solve that problem."

The former fighter tells us his mother is ailing, and when he traveled to Texas earlier this month to take care of her ... he realized she was in no condition to own dogs anymore.

Shamrock says he tried his best to find new homes for the animals ... but just could not find a place for Zelda.

"I called everybody in Dallas, I tried everything humanly possible to get care for the dog, to let people know that we could not take the dog."

Shamrock says his search for a new home for Zelda lasted up until just minutes before he had to board a plane back home ... so he decided the best thing to do was to tie her up with food and water and call security to come get her.

The problem? Security never found her, and she was stuck in the pickup bed for 5 days before police officers rescued her.

Now, Frank tells us he's heartbroken over the whole ordeal ... mostly because he can't believe people at the airport let her stay in the truck for that long without getting her.

"The dog stayed there for five days. I can't believe that," Shamrock said through tears ... "That wasn't what I was intending. I thought they would come get it."

Frank is now under investigation by the Dallas Police Department, who tell us they are expecting to file a charge of Cruelty to Non-Livestock Animals -- a Class A Misdemeanor -- against the former fighter.

Shamrock says he'll accept any charges, telling us, "I take responsibility for what has happened."

As for Zelda, a spokesperson for the SPCA of Texas tells us she's doing just fine since the incident -- and has received "a ton of TLC" and care while she's been in the organization's custody.

The spokesperson also tells us they expect to put Zelda up for adoption within the next few days.

Mike Tyson says Conor McGregor needs to quit talkin' UFC ownership and focus on what made him a superstar to begin with ... telling TMZ Sports the fighter should do just that -- FIGHT!!!

As we previously reported ... The Notorious demanded a piece of the UFC in a rant at a Chicago bar last week ... following up on what he's been saying for YEARS.

"Give me my rightful shares in the UFC company. That’s all I ask," Conor said at the time.

Tyson says Conor's WRONG ... 'cause ownership is a whole different kinda game ... and Mike seems to think McGregor should get his money the ol' fashioned way -- by kickin' ass.