TMZ Sports - Page 50

1:12 PM PT -- TMZ Sports talked to Bills legend Andre Reed -- who spent time with Pancho at the 2018 NFL Draft ... and the HOF'er reflected on his tragic passing.

Beloved Buffalo Bills fan Ezra Castro -- better known as "Pancho Billa" -- has died after a long battle with cancer ... his family announced Tuesday.

"Our hearts broken as we have lost our dear brother ezra "Pancho Billa" this morning," the family said in a statement.

"We are thankful and forever grateful for all the love and support during this journey. Ezra was surrounded by family and loved ones."

If you've ever seen a Bills game since 2008, you've probably noticed Pancho -- whose trademark sombrero and mask costume was a huge hit among Bills Mafia. He was the first fan inducted into the Buffalo Fan Wall of Fame late last year.

When he was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer after a mass was discovered on his spine in 2017, the team rallied around Pancho and hosted him at games and the team facilities.

The 39-year-old Pancho played a big role in the Bills drafts the past 2 seasons ... personally announcing their 3rd round pick on stage in 2018 ... and gave GM Brandon Beane his stamp of approval before the team picked Ed Oliver with their first round pick last month.

Oliver visited Pancho in the hospital last week ... and even Bills legend Jim Kelly has shown support during his battle.

A GoFundMe has been set up for Pancho ... with all donations going to his family.

Tiger Woods is breaking his silence on a lawsuit that claims his restaurant is responsible for a man's death ... telling media members Tuesday, "It was a terrible, terrible night."

We broke the story ... the parents of Nicholas Immesberger just filed a lawsuit claiming their son was overserved booze at Tiger's, The Woods, restaurant in Jupiter, Florida ... and they say that led to his 2018 drunk driving death.

Tiger was asked about the incident during his PGA Championship press conference ... and Woods said, "We're all very sad that Nick passed away. It was a terrible, terrible night."

"A terrible ending and just we feel bad for him and his entire family. It's very sad."

24-year-old Immesberger worked as a bartender for the restaurant ... and his parents say he knew Tiger personally. In fact, they claim it was Tiger's girlfriend -- restaurant general manager Erica Herman -- who recruited him herself.

According to the suit, Immesberger finished a shift on Dec. 10, 2018 -- but stayed at the restaurant for hours where he was served alcohol to the point of "severe intoxication" before he was sent out to his car to drive home.

Immesberger crashed on his drive home and died in the accident. His blood alcohol level was a .256, more than 3 times the legal limit.

Now, at a press conference of their own Tuesday morning ... an attorney for Immesberger's estate and his parents believe Woods' restaurant DESTROYED video evidence showing Nick drinking at the bar for hours after his shift.

Immesberger's attorneys want Tiger, Erica and The Woods restaurant to be held responsible for the tragedy ... saying they all personally knew Immesberger had a problem with alcohol but allowed him to be overserved anyway.

James Harden enlisted the Gucci Gang to get over that crushing playoffs loss to the Warriors ... partying his face off with Lil Pump and Smokepurpp in Miami!!

The Beard's Houston Rockets just got booted from the postseason after losing to the Dubs in Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinals on Friday ... and naturally, Harden jetted to South Beach for some well-deserved R&R.

The Miami rappers -- along with Adrien Broner -- showed off their ice and partied like rockstars while partying through the night at Mokai Lounge.

The guys danced to a bunch of hits -- including "Yes Indeed" by Drake and Lil Baby and "Put a Date On It" by Yo Gotti and Lil Baby.

But, Pump wasn't done partying after hanging with Harden ... moving on to "rent out" a strip club to himself and throwing singles 'til early in the morning.

A major TV network in Turkey will NOT be televising this year's NBA Western Conference Finals ... and it's all 'cause the country believes Trail Blazers stud Enes Kanter is a terrorist.

S Sport -- Turkey's main broadcaster of the NBA -- says it will ignore the Golden State vs. Portland matchup because of Kanter ... who's been VERY critical of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.

Kanter has publicly said the allegations are FALSE -- insisting he's NOT a terrorist -- and claims the government is out to get him and his family because they have been critical of Erdogan's regime.

Remember, Kanter has previously called Erdogan the "Hitler of our century" who tortures and brutalizes anyone with an opposing political view.

Because of this, Turkey has labeled the NBA player as a threat ... and actually charged him with belonging to a terrorist group in a Turkish court just last year.

Now, S Sport commentator Omer Sarac is telling Reuters the network will NOT run any of the Blazers' upcoming playoff games, saying, "I can say clearly that we will not be broadcasting the Warriors vs. Blazers series."

"Furthermore, if Portland makes it to the finals, (that) will not be broadcast either ... This situation is not about us, but it is what it is."

Kanter's been a star for Portland in the playoffs this year ... averaging 12.9 points and 10.5 boards in their run to the WCF.

By the way, the network says it WILL air the NBA's Eastern Conference Finals matchup between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Toronto Raptors.

Washington Redskins safety Montae Nicholson is off the hook in his assault case -- prosecutors have dropped the criminal charges against him ... despite video showing the NFL player KOing a guy.

As we previously reported, Nicholson was arrested in Virginia back in December for assault and battery, and public drunkenness after video showed the 23-year-old beating the hell out of a guy in the middle of the street around 2 AM.

You can see Nicholson throw a solid left which connects -- and the other man goes limp as he collapses to the ground.

But Tuesday, Nicholson appeared in court -- where prosecutors dropped the assault charge, according to court records.

Nicholson's attorney told the Washington Post prosecutors had "insufficient evidence."

Unclear why they would reach that conclusion with the evidence at hand -- it's possible he reached a settlement with the victim, who then refused to cooperate with prosecutors. We just don't know yet.

How is Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder celebrating after drafting his new franchise quarterback?

IT'S YACHT TIME, BABY!!!

The 54-year-old billionaire set sail on his mega-ship, the "Lady S." -- a $180 million yacht with the world's first floating IMAX theater.

(It was originally reported that the yacht is only worth $100 mil, but we're told it's actually valued at $180 mil).

Snyder was spotted aboard the boat in Portofino, Italy ... where he was sipping on beer and checking out his awesome pool and hot tub.

Oh, and he was still repping Washington all the way down to his toes ... check out the Redskins socks.

There's more on the ship ... he's got a helipad, 4 VIP suites and an incredible dining area, where Synder was already entertaining friends.

Snyder is having one heck of an off-season -- most experts think he got a STEAL by drafting Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins with the 15th pick.

After he was selected, Haskins warned the league that he's got a HUGE chip on his shoulder and plans to take it out on all the teams that passed on him.

If he makes good on his promise, maybe he'll make it to the yacht!

Dallas Cowboys linebacker Tyrone Crawford is being prosecuted for that crazy bar fight at the Coyote Ugly Saloon -- but shockingly, he's not being charged with assault.

Remember, we posted footage showing the Cowboys defensive team captain WRECKING several bouncers at the Panama City Beach, FL bar on March 15. We also know Crawford shoved TWO police officers while they were in the process of making an arrest later that night.

But, despite the footage, court records show Crawford was only charged with the single misdemeanor count of unlawful assembly, which a maximum sentence of up to 60 days in jail.

It does not appear as if Crawford was ever formally arrested -- but we know he's already entered a not guilty plea and is currently fighting the charge. He's due back in court next month.

We know the Panama City Beach Police Dept. conducted an investigation -- and spoke with multiple Coyote Ugly staffers.

One staffer told police Crawford's party had been bothering a female bartender at an inside area earlier that evening and they had been told to stay outside for the rest of the night or leave the premises.

25 minutes later, a fight broke out and several bouncers tried like hell to restrain Crawford and his brother -- and judging by the video, it didn't go very well.

The issue for Crawford and the Cowboys ... the NFL can discipline Tyrone for his conduct if they feel he violated the league's personal conduct policy ... even if he ultimately beats the criminal charge.

Ex-WCW president Eric Bischoff says he was devastated by the death of pro wrestler Silver King -- telling TMZ Sports the guy was a legit trailblazer who never got the credit he deserved.

Silver King wrestled under the WCW banner back in the late '90s -- and Bischoff says the guy was a KEY reason for the success of the "WCW Monday Nitro" brand.

"The luchadores, that whole crew that came out of Mexico and were such a vital, important part of 'Nitro' ... they never really got the credit," Bischoff says.

Bischoff says Silver King and his crew "were really way more responsible for the success of 'Nitro' and giving 'Nitro' the ability to outperform [WWE] than they were ever given credit for ... including by me."

Silver King -- real name Cesar Barron -- died in the ring on Saturday during a luchador match in London. He was only 51.

Bischoff says he'll always remember Silver King for being one of the nicest guys in the business ... and also for helping to turn the luchador style of wrestling into the pop culture phenomenon it is today.

RIP

Tiger Woods allowed his restaurant to overserve booze to a staffer who struggled with alcoholism, which led to his drunk driving death ... this according to a new lawsuit obtained by TMZ Sports.

The parents of Nicholas Immesberger have filed the lawsuit -- claiming Nicholas had worked as a bartender at Tiger's The Woods restaurant in Jupiter, Florida ... and knew Tiger personally.

In fact, Immesberger's parents say he was recruited to the restaurant by general manager Erica Herman, who is also Tiger's girlfriend.

According to the suit, Immesberger finished a shift on Dec. 10, 2018 -- but stayed at the restaurant for hours where he was served alcohol to the point of "severe intoxication" before he was sent out to his car to drive home.

Immesberger crashed on his drive home and died in the accident. His blood alcohol level was a .256, more than 3 times the legal limit.

Now, his family is pointing the finger at Tiger, Erica and the restaurant ... claiming both Tiger and Erica KNEW Immesberger had a habitual problem with alcohol and allowed him to be served anyway.

The family claims Tiger is being sued individually because he "was directly responsible for ensuring that his employees and management ... were not over serving its employees/customers."

They also claim Tiger and Erica had been drinking with Immesberger just days before the fatal crash and "reasonably should have known" he was a "habitual drunkard."

According to the suit, filed in Palm Beach County by attorneys Craig Goldenfarb and Spencer Kuvin, the family is demanding Tiger, Erica and The Woods should be on the hook for everything from medical and funeral expenses to other "appropriate damages."

This is amazing!!

Deontay Wilder has a massive fight this weekend ... but that didn't stop the heavyweight champ from hittin' up an NYC elementary school and delivering a rousing pump-up speech to the kids.

It all went down Monday afternoon at P.S. 288 -- a school for Pre-K to 8th graders -- in Brooklyn ... and the message was inspirational and heartfelt.

"I'm here to say I was just like you young guys, just in a different state, in a different city, different environment. Every time I woke, there was negativity," Wilder told the kids at the event put on by the "Game of Life" program, which focuses on helping children stay out of trouble.

"But, with you guys, you guys are powerful. Your words are powerful. The things you speak, the things you think. Your surroundings that you surround yourself around every day is powerful. And, I want you guys to know that."

Deontay continued ... "It took me 11 years to get here. Many people died near me. Many people labeled me as statistics to society ... 'You ain't gonna do nothing, you're bad.'"

The message is clear ... believe in yourself, follow your dreams ... and don't stop until you get where you wanna go.

Wilder ended the epic speech with a chant -- "Believe it, speak it!"

UFC star Johnny Walker says his shoulder surgery was a massive success and he wants to get back in the Octagon the next 2 months ... with the hopes of fighting Jon Jones by the end of the year.

Walker jacked up his left shoulder back in March while doing The Worm dance to celebrate a violent 34-second victory over Misha Cirkunov at UFC 235.

The 26-year-old underwent surgery right after the fight -- and tells us he's back in L.A. for a checkup with the doctor who performed the surgery.

The good news ... Walker -- who's on a 9-fight win streak -- says he feels great but doesn't want to rush his return, he wants to "heal properly" so he can fight at 100%.

Walker says he's still hoping to book 1 or 2 fights before he gets his dream match with Jon Jones ... who previously told us he's interested in fighting Walker too.

As for Jones, he's scheduled to take on Thiago Santos at UFC 239 in July ... and while Walker says he always supports his fellow Brazilians, he's conflicted this time because he wants to be the guy to give Jones his first loss.

"I want to beat Jon Jones," Walker says ... "I have to make history by myself."

Oh, and if you're wondering if Walker is ready to retire his "worm" celebration after the injury ... he ain't.

The "Game of Thrones" gods odds have spoken, and they got your boy, Bran Stark, sitting on the Iron Throne for the series finale ... but betting on him won't make you a bunch of cash.

WARNING ... MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

The good folks over at SportsBetting.ag have set their new online betting odds for this coming Sunday's final episode ever, and the virtual bookies have Bran as the top pick for Ruler of Westeros. His ratio ain't all that good though for anybody -- just 1/1.

That means for every dollar you bet on Bran winning, you'll get exactly that amount back if it comes true ... not a huge payout. The house loses dough, so he's not ideal for anyone ... betting-wise, that is. We're sure he'd make a fine king on TV.

Now that we know neither Arya, Jamie or even Daenerys got around to killing Cersei themselves -- turns out, it was a bunch of rubble that got it done -- there are new bets on how the final episode will play out. Here's who gamblers have dying and surviving.

Jon Snow is the odds-on favorite to survive the whole thing at 2/5. Arya's survival rate is pegged at 1/1 ... and folks are betting on Dany to die by sword/dagger at 1/2.

Seeing how she just torched all of King's Landing -- killing thousands upon thousands of innocents -- A LOT of people are predicting her death ... so yeah, we don't see her living.

Some other fun bets being taken right now:

-- Will Ghost make one last appearance after that tragic no-pet goodbye? A 1/3 chance of yes, and a 2/1 chance at no. Ya gotta hope he does, that send-off was trash.

-- Will Tyrion perish after betraying Dany (again) and letting Jaime go free to be with Cersei? This one could go either way, but they seem to think he'll survive ... 1/1 odds for yes, and 2/3 odds for no.

The Patriots win ... again, and this time it's their owner, Robert Kraft, who gets to spike the football -- the judge says police video of him inside the Orchids of Asia spa can't be used in the case.

According to docs, obtained by TMZ Sports, the judge had big problems with the search warrant that was issued, allowing police to plant cameras and secretly record Kraft and others inside the spa. The judge said police didn't minimize their recordings -- meaning they didn't do enough to protect people who were inside the spa getting perfectly legal massages.

The judge also said the police didn't do enough to minimize the impact of recording female customers inside the spa.

Detectives who testified in recent weeks said their only direction while monitoring the cameras was to "look for illegal activity." The judge said that's not nearly specific enough ... they needed to have written guidelines as to when to turn the cameras on and off.

In his ruling, the judge said, "The fact that some totally innocent women and men had their entire lawful time spent in a massage room fully recorded and viewed intermittently by a detective-monitor is unacceptable."

The bottom line for Kraft is ... the video can't be used as evidence in his prostitution case. Also, the traffic stop police made as Kraft left the spa has also been tossed from the case.

Alyssa Milano's protest of Georgia's anti-abortion law is exactly the kinda political pressure that's needed ... according to Presidential candidate and Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who's fully in her corner.

Rep. Gabbard was on "TMZ Live" Monday, and rallied behind Alyssa's call for a sex strike in the wake of Georgia's governor signing a bill that would ban abortions if a fetal heartbeat can be detected. It's now the 6th state to enact such a law.

While Alyssa's sex protest is drawing some backlash, Gabbard told us the actress is shedding light on a critical debate -- something she believes more people like Alyssa should be doing.

We also dug into a couple of the congresswoman's passions -- the environment AND surfing!

Hailing from the great state of Hawaii, Tulsi's all about catching waves -- has been since she was a toddler -- and doesn't even mind sharing 'em with sharks.

A soccer fan claims he was beaten within an inch of his life at a Chivas vs. America soccer game in Lodi, CA -- losing his eye and suffering brain damage in a brutal attack captured on video.

The fan is Hilario Cruz -- a huge fan of Club America, a pro team based in Mexico City.

Cruz says he brought his family to Lodi to watch past greats from Club America take on past greats from rival Chivas at the Grape Bowl back in June 2018.

The history between the two teams is well documented ... think Yankees vs. Red Sox on steroids.

Cruz -- dressed in his yellow Club America jersey -- claims his family was trying to safely enter the stadium but got rerouted by a security guard who inadvertently directed them into a group of Chivas fans.

In his suit, Cruz claims the fans were armed with metal pipes -- and began beating him mercilessly just because he supported Club America.

Cruz claims he suffered serious injuries in the attack including the complete loss of his left eye, brain damage, multiple skull fractures and permanent disfigurement.

We spoke with Cruz's attorney, Bill Daniels, who sent us video of the attack -- in which you can hear concerned bystanders shouting at the attackers to stop.

The violence expanded -- with Lodi police saying a full-scale brawl broke out with more than 100 people involved.

Now, Cruz is suing the promoters of the game and the City of Lodi for unspecified damages -- claiming organizers failed to provide adequate security ... especially since they promoted the game as a family-friendly event.

Ex-World Series MVP John Wetteland is denying allegations he repeatedly sexually assaulted a little boy in his family ... with his attorney telling the media, "He is innocent."

Wetteland has been accused of forcing the family member (now an adult) to give him oral sex on three separate occasions between 2004 and 2006 when the boy was under the age of 14.

A grand jury indicted the former All-Star pitcher on 3 felony charges of child sexual assault in March ... and at his first court appearance Monday, his attorney strongly denied the allegations.

"What they've accused him of, the only thing worse is murder," Derek Adame told the Dallas Morning News ... "He was completely shocked [by the allegations]."

Adame said Wetteland intended to enter a not guilty plea ... and is planning on fighting the charges vehemently.

"We look forward to the opportunity to prove our innocence, which is what Mr. Wetteland is," Adame said ... "He is innocent and is looking forward to his day in court."

Wetteland is due back in court for another hearing in July.