TMZ Sports - Page 50

As if you needed any more proof John Cena and Shay Shariatzadeh are "official" -- here's Cena DROPPING HER OFF AT THE AIRPORT ... and even giving her a kiss goodbye!

An eagle-eyed traveler spotted the WWE superstar at the San Diego Airport on Wednesday -- sharing a kiss and loving embrace with his rumored girlfriend before she caught a flight back home to Canada.

But, c'mon -- look at these two!!! They're definitely serious now!!!

We spotted the two out on a date last month -- and clearly, things have escalated, because what grown person takes someone to the airport these days if you're not romantically involved?!

It's John's first serious relationship since things ended with ex-fiancee Nikki Bella back in July 2018.

We're told John and Nikki are still on good terms -- and still talk every now and then, but nothing will ever go back to how it was.

Ex-Dallas Cowboys WR Terrance Williams NEVER fixed up the expensive Lamborghini that he wrecked in Texas last year ... and now the smashed up supercar is up for auction at a HUGE discount!!!

Remember, back in May 2018 ... cops found TW's 2017 Lambo Huracan wrapped around a light pole in Frisco, Texas with no driver in sight.

Cops later found a drunk Williams trying to bike to the crash scene (he fell down) with the Lambo key still in his pocket. Despite the evidence, he denied being the driver who crashed the car. Suuuuuuure.

Instead of taking the car in for repairs, which could cost a FORTUNE -- the car was eventually handed over to the insurance company ... which ultimately decided to auction the wreckage.

Now, the car is up for sale through Crashed Toys Dallas -- which specializes in selling used and damaged exotic cars.

Starting bid ... $75,000!!!

Seems to be a bargain because the estimated retail value is $218,460, according to the site.

But, buyer beware -- Crashed Toys says, "Unit is sold as is and without guarantee."

The problem, of course ... there's tremendous damage to the front driver's side, including tire damage.

If you can fix this baby, it's worth it -- the car goes 0 to 60 in 3.2 seconds!!!

Bidding ends May 1 ... hope you know a good mechanic!!!

Bill Laimbeer wants to hand Michael Jordan one more "L" ... 'cause the NBA legend says LeBron James is the greatest of all time "every day of the week!!!"

Bill knows what it's like to beat MJ -- the "Bad Boys" Detroit Pistons defeated the Chicago Bulls on their way to back-to-back titles in 1989 and 1990 ... and he had his fair share of tense moments with Jordan.

But, Laimbeer ain't saying this because he's still got a grudge against MJ ... telling Fox Sports Radio's "The Odd Couple" his reasoning behind his choice.

"[LeBron] came into the league involving his teammates from the start, at 18 years old," Laimbeer says.

"He understood how to play team basketball, both offensively and defensively, from day one. Jordan had to learn that."

"No one has single-handedly done what LeBron's done," he added ... noting LBJ has taken some awful teams to the NBA Finals (we're looking at you, 2007 Cavs).

As for how LBJ would fare in Laimbeer's era ... the dude is not backing down, saying straight-up, "If he was in our generation, he would've been by far the greatest that you've saw in your entire, whole world."

Ex-NBA star Sebastian Telfair has been convicted of possessing a firearm ... and could be sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Telfair -- a 33-year-old former high school phenom who spent 12 seasons in the NBA -- was busted back in June 2017 in Brooklyn .... after cops found several weapons during a traffic stop.

Officials say Telfair -- who played with the Trail Blazers, Celtics, Clippers and Timberwolves, to name a few -- had 3 pistols and what appeared to be a semi-automatic rifle.

Cops say he was also carrying a ton of ammo and a bulletproof vest ... as well as some weed.

Telfair pled not guilty and fought the charges ... but was found guilty by a jury in NYC on Wednesday of felony criminal possession of a weapon, according to our law enforcement sources.

Aaron Nola -- one of the MLB's best pitchers -- says baseball should NOT move on from umpires in favor of automatic strike zones, telling TMZ Sports, "I don't think it should happen."

Of course, balls, strikes and umps have been a huge topic in the sport recently ... especially after Nola's famous teammate, Bryce Harper, got ejected for arguing a strike earlier this week.

It's led to all kinds of baseball players and pundits wondering if the game should ditch the guys behind the plate in favor of some sort of laser-like strike zone.

But, when we got Nola out in NYC before the Phils took on the Mets on Wednesday ... he told us, "No, I don't think it should happen."

It's interesting, 'cause Nola would be one of the biggest beneficiaries of an automatic strike zone -- dude is one of the league's most precise pitchers ... he had 224 strikeouts last season!!!

LeBron James is firing back at a report he's beefing with the L.A. Lakers -- saying it's "NOT TRUE" -- and he can prove it.

Bron was working out Wednesday morning when he saw an ESPN report by Dave McMenamin about how Lakers have a lot of work to do to "repair the relationship" with James.

Of course, there's been a lot of drama in Lakerville ... the season was a disaster, Magic stepped down, Luke Walton's gone and nobody knows who's gonna fill the head coach position.

But, is the relationship between LeBron and the Lakers really fractured?

"THAT. IS. NOT. TRUE," LeBron said on Instagram ... "It's not true at all!"

He added, "It's just not!"

LeBron also pointed out that while he saw the report, he was working out at the Lakers facility -- "I'm actually at the Lakers facility right now ... HAHAHAHA!"

There you have it. LeBron James loves the Los Angeles Lakers.

1:30 PM PT-- The D.A. announced he hasn't spoken with either the Kansas City Chiefs or the NFL regarding the investigation.

He did say the NFL reached out, but he hadn't yet responded to their inquiry.

1:25 PM PT -- District Attorney Steve Howe, in addressing the Hill investigation, said his office is "deeply troubled by this situation and are concerned about the health and welfare of the child in question."

He added, "We believe that a crime has occurred. However, the evidence in this case does not conclusively establish who committed the crime against this child."

"Criminal cases must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt by admissible evidence, not speculation, rumor or hearsay."

Even though no charges were filed, the D.A. says there is a child protection investigation that is ongoing to make sure that the child is safe.

1:05 PM PT -- Kansas City Chiefs star Tyreek Hill and his GF, Crystal Espinal, will NOT be charged after an investigation into 2 incidents involving their child at Hill's Kansas home ... the Johnson County D.A. announced.

The D.A. is currently spelling out the details of the case as we speak ... explaining they believe a crime occurred -- but there was not enough evidence to prove who had committed the crime.

Prosecutors are set to speak about an investigation into alleged child abuse incidents at Tyreek Hill's Kansas home ... and TMZ Sports will be live streaming it all.

As we previously reported ... the Johnson County District Attorney's Office has been investigating the Chiefs star and his GF, Crystal Espinal, for weeks after police were called twice to their Overland Park, Kansas home earlier this year.

In the first incident ... cops say there was a "child abuse/neglect" situation on March 5 -- with the case report listing both Hill and Espinal as "others involved."

That case was listed as closed on March 8.

But, a separate incident report was filed just days later on March 14, listing battery involving a juvenile victim. Hill is NOT named on that report ... but Espinal was listed again as "others involved."

Prosecutors AND the Kansas Department for Children and Families both launched an investigation into the incidents ... and now prosecutors are set to speak on their findings at 1 PM PT.

Luke Walton's attorney was clearly watching Kelli Tennant spell out her case against the NBA coach on Tuesday -- and his takeaway is simple ... YOU HAVE NO EVIDENCE!

"Yesterday's press conference was a poorly staged attempt to portray the accuser as a viable spokesperson for an important movement," attorney Mark Baute tells TMZ Sports.

"These claims are false and Luke’s innocence will be proven in court."

"[Tennant's] lawyers want to create a public circus to distract from their complete lack of evidence to support their outrageous claims. We will not try this case in the media or pay them a dime."

Tennant and her attorneys held a press conference on Tuesday -- where she fought back tears as she walked reporters through her sexual assault claim against Walton.

Tennant claims Walton pinned her down and forcibly kissed her in his hotel room during a 2014 encounter. She claims she repeatedly told Walton to stop and fought to escape.

During the press conference, TMZ Sports asked Tennant and her attorneys if they had any hard evidence -- injury photos, video, etc. -- and they essentially said no.

Clearly, Walton's team picked up on that -- and feel Tennant's case has no legs.

Walton has previously denied the allegations and said the accuser is nothing more than an "opportunist."

When Tennant and her lawyers were asked why she never went to police, she claimed she was too scared to come forward.

They also said their goal is not to put Walton behind bars -- but rather win a civil lawsuit against the NBA star. However, they did not mention a specific financial sum they're looking for.

Kelly Stafford returned to the hospital days after a scary, 12-hour brain surgery ... saying the pain had gotten too much to handle as she recovers from the serious procedure.

The Detroit Lions superstar QB's wife had surgery to remove a brain tumor over the weekend ... and managed to return home in time for Easter Sunday.

Kelly -- who has been very open about the challenges she's faced since the tumor was discovered -- says she was taken to the emergency room Wednesday morning ... after experiencing "pain and massive headaches."

"I thought I could power through the pain and massive headaches that were challenging me throughout the day," Kelly said.

"I thought I could do it. They told me tapering off the steroids was going to be very difficult."

Kelly says she looked to her husband for support and thought his strength would help her get through the suffering ... "I told myself the pain would succumb to me, I wouldn’t succumb to it."

"I was so wrong. The pain got so far ahead of me I couldn’t keep anything down, including meds. I ended up in the ER very early this morning, back on steroids and pain medication."

"At first, I felt like I had failed, like I couldn’t handle it.. but what I really failed at was listening to my own body. A lesson I feel like I am going to have to keep reminding myself of."

Kelly says she'll stay in the hospital overnight -- hopes to return home Thursday -- and thanks everyone who has reached out with kind words during her recovery.

Ex-pro tennis player Justin Gimelstob has filed court docs to get a restraining order against the man he beat up back in October ... claiming the man is hellbent on revenge.

Gimelstob was involved in a physical altercation with Randall Kaplan in Brentwood, CA on Halloween 2018. Kaplan claimed he suffered injuries from the incident. Gimelstob claimed Kaplan instigated the fight.

Gimselstob ultimately pled no contest to felony battery -- which the judge later reduced to a misdemeanor. He was sentenced to 3 years probation and 60 days of community service.

Now, 42-year-old Gimselstob wants a restraining order issued against Kaplan claiming he's convinced Kaplan is "willing to go to great lengths -- both physical and non-physical -- to hurt him."

In his petition for the order, Gimelstob also claims his attorney, Shawn Holley, was contacted by someone in Kaplan's "inner-circle" who said Kaplan is obsessed with Gimelstob and is "seeking to destroy him."

Gimelstob also wants the order extended to include his 5-year-old son.

Gimelstob's attorney Suann MacIsaac tells TMZ Sports, "Justin Gimelstob pled no contest to a misdemeanor battery charge to accept responsibility for his role in the events on Haloween and to move on with his professional life and focus on his family."

"Today, he filed a civil restraining order against Mr. Kaplan -- who has been obsessed with Mr. Gimelstob for years and provoked the events of Halloween evening to carry out his repeated threats to destroy Mr. Gimelstob. Justin simply wants Mr. Kaplan to stay away from him and his family so he can move on."

A hearing on the matter is scheduled for May.

This is the GREATEST reaction to Damian Lillard's game-winning shot Tuesday night -- his sister storming the court while screaming "That's my brother" ... and she got the whole thing on video!!!

LaNae Lillard was sitting courtside at the Moda Center in Portland to watch the Trail Blazers take on the OKC Thunder in Game 5 of their NBA playoff series.

And, almost like she KNEW Dame was gonna sink that buzzer-beater, she busted out her phone and began recording the whole thing to her IG story.

Dame shot. Dame scored. LaNae went WILD -- rushing over to the celebratory pile in the middle of the court while yelling at the top of her lungs, "THAT'S MY BROTHER! THAT'S MY MOTHER F**KING BROTHER!!!"

It's an amazing video -- the shot clinched the playoff series for the Blazers, eliminating Russell Westbrook and company ... which must have been especially sweet for Dame, considering the two had been going at it the whole series.

Congrats to the whole Lillard family -- amazing night!!!

Tom Brady wins EVERYTHING ... including fans' credit cards -- 'cause the NFL says the Patriots legend is its leader in merch sales AGAIN!!!

So, the big question ... where does the league's HIGHEST-paid player rank on the list? Russell Wilson isn't even in the Top 10!

The NFL Player's Association just dropped the numbers which show fans spent more money on TB12 items from March 1, 2018 to February 28, 2019 than ANY other player.

How does the rest of the list shake out? It's interesting ...

#2 -- Dak Prescott

#3 -- Carson Wentz

#4 -- Ezekiel Elliott

#5 -- Patrick Mahomes

#6 -- Saquon Barkley

#7 -- Aaron Rodgers

#8 -- Deshaun Watson

#9 -- Khalil Mack

#10 -- Drew Brees

Some other notables on the list ...

Baker Mayfield was #12, Odell Beckham clocked in at #13 ... and Russell Wilson was all the way down at #19 behind guys like Mitchell Trubisky and Adam Thielen.

Some other shocking numbers ... JJ Watt was down at #34, Cam Newton was down at #39 and Matthew Stafford was at #43.

Jimmy Garoppolo -- who's only played 26 games in 5 years -- was #23 on the list ... though it might have to do more with people supporting his off-the-field game!

Ex-Baylor superstar and NFL prospect Shawn Oakman says legal expenses from fighting a false rape allegation broke him ... so much so that he had to sell one of his Bowl game champion rings.

The defensive end was accused of sexual assault in 2016, just days before the NFL draft would've likely made him a millionaire. He went undrafted and hasn't stepped foot on an NFL field yet.

Shawn was exonerated back in February -- with a jury deliberating just 45 minutes before finding him not guilty, citing evidence that the sex was consensual.

Oakman recently sat down for an interview with Ben Raymond for a special called "Shawn Oakman: The Rebirth" and opened up about what the entire ordeal cost him, and the cost was HIGH.

"I went through two paid lawyers. The second lawyer, it got all the way to trial. The week before she needed $60k just to step in the courtroom. I already gave her $60k ... but she needed $60k just to step in the courtroom, so she dropped my case. I didn't have it."

"That's when I got a public defender," Oakman said.

Shawn, who had yet to sign a pro contract, went on to describe exactly the way he came up with the cash for his defense.

"Before that, basically I had one of my bowl game rings. I sold my bowl game ring on eBay to pay for my lawyer."

Oakman is now 27, has lost three insanely important years of his career, and might not ever get his NFL chance ... but he insists he's not at all depressed about the situation.

"I think that it's perceived as kind of a douchey thing to do, but that's why it's funny!"

That's Steve-O -- the man who made getting tattoos of himself on himself famous -- weighing in on Ezekiel Elliott's tat ... and, spoiler alert, the guy LOVES what the running back did!

"Everybody's favorite topic of conversation is themselves," the former "Jackass" star tells TMZ Sports ... "So, why not just celebrate that?"

Remember, Steve-O once inked a GIANT pic of himself on his back ... and in case ya forgot what it looked like, watch the clip -- he showed us how it's aged over the years.

So, when got him out in L.A. on Tuesday ... we had to ask for his thoughts on the Dallas Cowboys superstar getting his mug etched into the side of his calf earlier this month.

No surprise here ... Steve-O says he's ALL FOR IT!!!

"You gotta have the ability to not take yourself too seriously. Poke a little fun at yourself. 'I'm self-centered, I enjoy myself,' and I think that's funny, you know?"

If Kyler Murray is thinking about using his first NFL paycheck to buy some crazy jewelry ... IT'S NOT A TERRIBLE IDEA!!!

... this according to Donald Trump's chief economic adviser, Larry Kudlow.

Kudlow -- the director of the National Economic Council -- was in D.C. when we asked if he could dish out some financial advice for the football stars about to become millionaires when the NFL Draft kicks off on Thursday night.

Of course, Kudlow encouraged all of the players to get good financial advisers and invest ... but he also got SPECIFIC about where the players should put their money!

"Buy the indexes and hold them," Kudlow said.

"Buy the broad indexes! They're cheap ... don't buy a million, but buy SOME and hold them ... and bet on America!"

As for the jewelry stuff ... Kudlow laughed at first, but then got serious and told us, "Actually, a good portfolio SHOULD have some gold!"

See that, GET THAT BLING!!!

We also asked Kudlow if Russell Wilson buying $12,000 in Amazon stock for all 13 of his Seattle Seahawks linemen is a good idea ... and you gotta hear Kudlow's response.

Remember, Kudlow's boss, Donald Trump, HATES Amazon's top guy, Jeff Bezos -- which makes Kudlow's answer all the more interesting.

Not everyone is a fan of Wilson's gift -- we spoke with actors Michael Ealy and Meagan Good ... and it's clear some people think Russ should have cut BIGGER checks, considering he just signed a $140 MILLION contract.

But hey, a gift is a gift ... right?

Justin Bieber PRAYED TO GOD his Toronto Maple Leafs would emerge victorious in Game 7 of their NHL playoff series ... so, when they lost, he REALLY needed comfort from his wife Hailey Baldwin.

Justin and Hailey were sitting in a private VIP box at TD Garden in Boston to watch his Canadian team take on the Boston Bruins.

Before the game, Justin offered up a prayer for his players on IG -- saying, "Dear lord please be with Austin Mathews, Mitch Marner and all of the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight as they play game 7 against the Boston bruins."

JB's prayers went unanswered -- his Maple Leafs got SHELLACKED in a 5-1 blowout.

You can see video of Hailey rubbing Justin's shoulders as she quickly realizes things aren't going his way ...

After the game ... Boston Bruins star David Pastrnak rubbed the win in Bieber's face -- tweeting, "Not today [Justin Bieber] #BostonStrong."

And, get this ... Justin's out of Canadian teams to root for in the NHL playoffs -- the Winnipeg Jets and Calgary Flames were both eliminated, too.