TMZ Sports - Page 50

The criminal investigation into Cristiano Ronaldo's rape allegation is still active, the Las Vegas Metro Police Dept. says.

Kathryn Mayorga, the woman behind the allegations, had dropped her civil case filed in state court in Nevada earlier this month -- making some people wonder if the two sides had reached a settlement.

But, Mayorga's attorney, Larissa Drohobyczer, says Kathryn is NOT backing down -- they're simply moving the lawsuit from state court to federal court, where it's easier to sue someone who lives abroad.

"We basically just switched venues but the claims and lawsuit still remains," Drohobyczer tells TMZ Sports.

In other words, Mayorga's team was having trouble serving Ronaldo with the court papers -- but the laws in federal court are more favorable for a person suing someone who lives out of the country.

Per Drohobyczer, they are still waiting for confirmation from the Italian government that Ronaldo has been served with the lawsuit.

As we previously reported, Mayorga claims Ronaldo raped her in a Las Vegas hotel room back in 2009.

She had initially filed a police report describing the alleged crime -- but didn't identify Ronaldo by name.

In her original lawsuit, Mayorga says she later accepted a $375,000 payment in exchange for her silence -- but now, she wants that agreement voided.

WWE superstar Kofi Kingston is back from Ghana ... and he LOVED IT!!!!!

You gotta watch this clip ... Kofi says returning to his home country after winning the WWE championship was one of the greatest experiences of his life -- and you can feel his energy through the clip.

Remember, Kingston hadn't been back to Ghana since 1994 (when he moved to the U.S.) -- but he was greeted like a ROCK STAR when he touched down last week at Kotoka International Airport.

Kingston says he met with the President, got to talk with kids, help out women in need and visit his Ghanaian fans -- and it was more incredible than he ever could have imagined.

After the trip, Kofi says he's more motivated than ever to use his celebrity platform to help people and spread good will all over the world.

And, get this ... Kofi says he was blown away by the popularity of WWE in Ghana -- and says he didn't fully understand the global reach of pro wrestling until he landed in Africa.

Pretty great stuff!

No, this is not a shot from "Dirty Dancing" ... it's NBA star D'Angelo Russell lifting his new soccer friend, Riqui Puig, up for his first slam dunk ever!!!

DLo -- a huge FC Barcelona fan -- visited the team facility in Spain for a VIP tour ... and got to hang out with the 5'7" midfielder to shoot and kick some balls around.

Puig shows off his J, but admits he's too vertically challenged to ever graze the rim on his own ... so the 6'5" hooper gave him a hand for his first-ever dunk!!

DLo gets major props for his footwork during some keep-ups ... and even lands a goal in the back of the net when they tested his skills on the pitch.

MLB hitters now have something interesting to look at while Mike Clevinger is pumping fastballs their way -- a sick tat of Jimi Hendrix's face on the stud pitcher's finger!

The Cleveland Indians superstar just got Hendrix's mug inked on his left hand's pointer finger Tuesday ... and the art is pretty awesome.

It's an image of Hendrix's stoic face ... and it's placed so strategically -- it pops out of Mike's glove when he's on the mound!!

Clevinger has yet to say why he got the piece done, but he did post Hendrix's famous "If 6 Was 9" lyrics with photos of the ink, saying, "let me live my life the way I want to."

Of course, batters will have to wait a few more weeks to get an up-close look at the tat ... Clevinger's still a month or so away from returning from a back injury.

Republicans and Democrats have just reached across the aisle to agree on one thing ... STOP STEALING NICKNAMES, TOM BRADY!!!!!

TB12 reportedly filed for a trademark a few days ago for the name, "Tom Terrific" -- the same nickname Tom Seaver made famous back when he was pitching for the Mets in the '60s and '70s.

A bunch of people have blasted the Patriots legend for the move ... and now, both Republican AND Democrat congressmen are ripping the guy too!!!

We got New York reps Peter King [R] and Tom Suozzi [D] out at Reagan Airport this week and they both dumped all over Brady ...

"I feel like Tom Brady, it's bad enough he's deflating footballs, now he's deflating his reputation," King says ... "There's only one 'Tom Terrific' and that's Tom Seaver."

"Brady should stay up in New England."

Added Suozzi, "He's a Republican. I'm a Democrat. And, we both agree there will always only be one 'Tom Terrific' -- Tom Seaver is the man."

Logan Paul's asking nicely -- please don't show up to his house unannounced ... UNLESS you're there to get the hell beat out of you, because that's great for YouTube views.

We got LP outside Beauty & Essex restaurant in Hollywood Tuesday night, shortly after we broke the story ... a man showed up at his Encino home uninvited 2 days in a row, forcing Logan to call the cops and file a trespassing report.

Logan tells us it's not an unusual occurrence, but he'd like it to stop ... because, believe it or not, he actually values his privacy.

HOWEVER, Logan concedes that sometimes dudes showing up at his pad is totally cool ... if they have a gimmick and are down to get in the ring with him and get knocked out.

Case in point -- last week when fellow YouTuber ViktorCrazy camped out outside his gate dressed as Ivan Drago and demanded a boxing bout ... he got promptly whooped. Logan says that video was the best vlog he's had in a while.

So, there ya go clout chasers ... if you really want to walk the line of trespassing to take a chance at meeting Logan at his home, just have a game plan and be ready to get your ass kicked.

Warren Sapp has officially jumped headfirst into the Hall of Fame fishin' wars -- catching a HUGE permit in the Atlantic Ocean on Wednesday ... and calling out Deion Sanders and Randy Moss!!

Prime and Randy kicked things off last week after a trip on the water ... showing off their catches and calling out ANYONE who wanted to challenge them to a fishing tournament.

Enter Sapp -- who just made Deion and Moss' fish look like guppies with what he caught ... posing with one of the several permits he was able to snag on Tuesday.

"hey fellas @randygmoss and @deionsanders your Move!!" Sapp says ... officially accepting their challenge to a good ol' fashioned fish-off.

"The best way to describe Joe DiMaggio is ... he was a penis with a man hanging from it."

That's Pete Rose talking about his encounter with a real-life one-eyed monster ... Joltin' Joe's tremendous dong.

Rose was on 'Mike's On' with Mike Francesa when he was asked about his friendship with the Yankees legend ... and that's when Rose talked about the time he saw Joe's shlong.

Basically, Pete says he and Joe went to Vietnam to visit U.S. military personnel back in the day and they were based in a part of the jungle where there was no real plumbing.

So, when Joe decided he needed a rinse, he needed Pete to load up a fresh bucket of water into a makeshift mobile shower to help Joe get the job done.

That's when Pete says he saw it ... a wiener so big, he still remembers it to this day.

In fact, Pete says Joe's baby-maker was so massive, the guy needed THREE shower shoes -- 2 for his feet and one to keep his man junk from touching the floor.

The reason Khabib Nurmagomedov agreed to fight Dustin Poirier in Sept. instead of a rematch with Conor McGregor is simple ... "McGregor didn't beg enough."

... this according to Khabib's manager, Ali Abdelaziz.

Of course, the REAL reason is that Khabib vs. Dustin is for the unified UFC lightweight title -- which was a huge priority to Dana White -- but hey, who doesn't love a little smack talk?!

So, when will the Khabib vs. Conor fight actually happen? Maybe never.

Ali says he doesn't believe McGregor ever wants to fight again -- saying Conor's more concerned with being an "Instagram model" these days than fighting for a UFC title.

Ali also says the UFC is stacked with talent -- from Khabib to Tony Ferguson to Poirier -- and they don't need Conor anymore.

So, if Conor really does want a second crack at Khabib, what needs to happen?

"Get maybe 2 or 3 wins," Ali says ... "Then get on his knees and beg!"

Andy Ruiz says he's ready to do something Anthony Joshua wouldn't do -- actually make a fight with Deontay Wilder ... telling TMZ Sports, "That's what we're aiming for!"

Oh, and Ruiz also says THE DRAKE CURSE IS REAL!!!!

The heavyweight boxing champ was leaving "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on Tuesday when we asked about a potential fight with The Bronze Bomber ... and Ruiz told us he's all the way down!!

"But, first things first," Ruiz said ... "I gotta get Joshua."

Ruiz is referring to the rematch clause which was included in his original fight contract with Anthony Joshua. AJ has already triggered the clause and the rematch is expected to go down later this year.

But, after that, Ruiz says he's all about Deontay -- the reigning WBC heavyweight champ.

FYI, Wilder praised Ruiz after upsetting Joshua over the weekend -- saying, "You’ve been blessed to come out of the struggle and to become the 1st Mexican Heavyweight Champion Ever!"

"P.S It’s all up to you in what you do with this huge opportunity."

As for Drake, Joshua famously posed with the rapper before the Ruiz fight -- and then lost -- reinforcing the belief that Drake curses athletes!

So, when we asked Ruiz about it, he told us bluntly, "Don't even bring Drake around me!"

HA!

There's more ... Ruiz also talked about his diet, workout routine and that epic post-victory meal after the Joshua fight -- which sounds AWESOME!!

Congrats to the champ!!!

"There's finally a talent where they can say they're better than me at."

DAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGG!!!!

Aaron Rodgers shaded the HELL out of his NFC North counterparts Tuesday ... congratulating them on being better beer chuggers than him -- by ripping their hearts out and eating it.

If ya missed it ... Rodgers couldn't slug down a beer at a Milwaukee Bucks game a few weeks ago -- and the Internet went crazy ripping the guy.

Some of those involved in the Rodgers trolling? Bears QB Mitch Trubisky and Lions QB Matt Stafford -- who both posted vids of them destroying some suds in response.

Well, Rodgers saw that ... and clapped right back at the QBs during his news conference this week, saying, "As far as those other guys, for some of them, there's finally a talent where they can say they're better than me at."

Of course, Rodgers has demolished both the Bears and the Lions in his career ... so no coming back for Stafford and Trubisky from here.

If ya think Eli Manning's dad is pissed the Giants drafted his son's replacement ... think again -- 'cause Archie Manning tells TMZ Sports, Daniel Jones is a GOOD pick for the G-men.

"They drafted a really good, young man," Archie says ... "A really good, young player."

Of course, the Giants just picked up the Duke QB with the No. 6 overall selection in April's NFL Draft ... and that means Eli's days are officially numbered in NY.

But, Archie says he ain't mad Eli's team drafted a guy to replace him ... and, in fact, Papa Manning says he actually saw it coming.

"I knew they were probably going to draft a QB," Archie says.

As for how Eli is handling the situation, Archie tells us the 38-year-old isn't ready to give up the starting QB reins just yet ... saying, "he's working hard, ready to go."

Errol Spence Jr. is arguably the lb.-for-lb. BADDEST dude in boxing ... but Shawn Porter ain't scared, telling TMZ Sports he's gonna beat Errol up and take his belt!!!

Porter -- the WBC welterweight champion -- joined the guys on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (weeknights on FS1) ... and called out Spence -- the undefeated IBF welterweight champ.

"We can talk about Errol Spence being the boogeyman. I don't mind. We can talk about Errol Spence being the most dangerous man in the division. I don't mind."

"He can have all those titles. He can have the IBF title. I'm the WBC champion. And, all it is is a matter of time before I take that title from him."

The 2 champs have been going at it for months ... after Porter beat Danny Garcia in September 2018, Spence confronted SP and declared himself the best 147-pounder in the world.

Fast-forward to March ... Shawn and Errol got into it live on television.

Bottom line, these guys have been teasin' this fight forever ... and Shawn says he's done with the talking.

"Everything is lined up. Everything is ready. We've been presented some contracts. We put our signatures on those contracts, and now we're waiting to hear from his side."

Ric Flair's wife is helping him recover from his recent medical emergency ... by throwing on a bikini and hitting the beach!!!

The Nature Boy showed love for his better half, Wendy Barlow, with a pic of her chillin' in the sand on Tuesday ... saying "If For Nothing Else, I Have This To Live For....What A Healing Process!"

Flair -- who says it's a miracle he's alive -- credits his wife for being by his side while he was hospitalized for a week earlier this month ... and said he's never gonna slow down because "I got a wife that wants a 35-year-old man every day of her life."

Barlow -- who posted a mirror selfie of her own -- thanked her daughter in law, Charlotte, for putting her on a meal plan and WWE legend Torrie Wilson's workouts for keeping her in amazing shape.

Mick Foley says he'll come to your door and watch wrestling with you IN PERSON ... saying all it'll take for him to do that is a donation to Ashley Massaro's daughter's educational fund.

The wrestling legend appeared on "TMZ Live" on Tuesday and told the guys for a $5,000 check, he's willing to travel ANYWHERE in the United States or Canada to hang out with fans.

And, for a $10,000 donation, he says he'll even fly overseas!!!

"You get three hours of my time," Mick says ... "We can do whatever you want. I can do your yard work if you'd like."

Massaro tragically died last month in an apparent suicide ... and Foley has been one of the ring leaders of a charity project aimed at helping her daughter, Alexa, save up for college.

So far, their GoFundMe page has raised over $45,000 ... and Mick says the ultimate goal is $100K.

"Ashley was a really good friend and somebody I thought the world of," Mick says ... "And, I wish I had been there a little bit more for her when she was having trouble."

Pete Rose is NOT the best player missing from baseball's Hall of Fame ... so says The Hit King himself, who tells TMZ Sports a Chicago White Sox legend is!!

"Joe Jackson," Rose says.

Pete made the revelation to us out in NYC on Tuesday morning -- surprisingly not saying his own name. So, we had to ask ... why?

"Well," Rose responded ... "Do you know who he is?!"

For those unfamiliar, Shoeless was a stud outfielder back in the early 1900s ... batting a career .356 while helping the Sox win the 1917 World Series.

Of course, Jackson famously was involved in the Black Sox Scandal -- where Chicago players allegedly accepted money to throw the 1919 World Series -- and he's been banned from the Hall ever since.