TMZ Sports - Page 50

A brutal injury to Ben Roethlisberger's throwing elbow will NOT end his career ... so says Plaxico Burress, who spoke with his ex-teammate and tells TMZ Sports, "He will be back next year."

Big Ben blew out his arm during the Steelers game against the Seahawks on Sunday ... and at 37 years old -- some are wondering if that's the last game we'll ever see the guy play.

But, Plaxico -- who was a Steeler with Roethlisberger in 2004 -- says he talked to Ben this week ... and came away from their conversation encouraged the QB will be back just fine.

"We share a special relationship," the ex-receiver says. "I know that this won't be his last hurrah. He's not built like that. He's going to come back healthy and ready to play."

As for Burress' message to Ben, he says he told the QB straight-up, "Stay strong."

We also spoke with Plaxico about the other QBs in Ben's famous 2004 NFL Draft class ... and you've gotta hear his thoughts on Philip Rivers.

HINT: Plaxico LOVES the Chargers star!!!

By the way, if you're wondering what Burress is up to these days -- he says he'll be competing with Michael Jordan soon ... in the tequila business!!!

Jake Paul wants to beat the living dog snot out of Soulja Boy ... but it's not out of hate -- it's because the YouTube superstar wants to make him relevant again!!!

TMZ Sports spoke with Paul about calling out Mr. "Pretty Boy Swag" for an epic celeb boxing match ... and he says it may not happen because Soulja Boy is SCARED of getting KO'd!!!

But, 22-year-old Paul tells us he's actually trying to HELP Soulja out ... 'cause he thinks the fight will give him major clout and give him a new audience.

"I grew up a Soulja Boy fan and, so after I knocked him out, I'd be like, 'yo, respect, let's do a song together, bro!'"

Jake beat up fellow YouTuber Deji via TKO last year ... and he's been itching to get back in the ring ever since -- calling out anyone from FaZe Banks to Dillon Danis.

As for Soulja, he's been flirting with stepping into the ring for years ... and even famously came close to fighting Chris Brown in 2017, before Breezy backed out.

Paul says the 29-year-old rapper has nothing to be embarrassed about if he loses ... 'cause he thinks Soulja would be the underdog.

36-year-old boxing legend Sergey Kovalev just answered a question the whole pugilistic world has been asking for a while ... spilling the beans on when EXACTLY he's hanging up the gloves.

Kovalev has a huge fight against Canelo Alvarez on Nov. 2 -- a fight he says holds a special place in the pantheon of his career.

"Now, I can say this is the biggest fight. I'm already 36 years old. I understand that this is like a fight for legacy."

It's a tall task, he's facing a fighter seven years younger, who hasn't lost since 2013 ... but when we spoke to Sergey he seemed confident.

He also seemed confident ... certain, actually ... of when he'd finally hang the gloves up for good, a question people have been asking him since a pair of losses to Andre Ward a couple years ago.

Kovalev has rebounded since then, but still has a time in mind and he told our guy.

As for Canelo, we spoke to him too and he told us exactly how he's eating to make up that two weight-class difference ... and you'd be surprised.

And, probably disappointed.

Deontay Wilder's rich, famous and a heavyweight champ ... something he's not: anywhere near done knockin' dudes out -- 'cause his fiancee tells TMZ Sports he plans to fight til he's 40!!!

We talked to Telli Swift earlier this week in L.A. ... and with Wilder's 34th birthday coming up next month, we asked how much longer the Bronze Bomber plans to fight.

"Deontay's gonna go until he wants to stop. He says 40, but who knows. If his body allows him to."

"At least [40]."

FYI, Wilder's widely regarded as the hardest puncher in the world ... and has a record of 41-0-1 with 40 knockouts.

Telli also cleared up her man's immediate fighting future.

Deontay's supposed to rematch Luis "King Kong" Ortiz later this year ... but the fight hasn't officially been announced, leading to speculation it ain't gonna happen.

Swift says they're wrong ... 'cause it's 100% goin' down.

"It's happening. It's happening in November."

The New England Patriots have just parted ways with Antonio Brown after a new NFL investigation into concerning text messages.

"Thank you for the opportunity @Patriots #GoWinIt," Brown posted on Twitter ... adding, "The marathon continues."

He also posted a photo with Tom Brady on Instagram, "Love ya champ. That was fun!"

Brown was only an official member of the Pats for 11 days.

The Patriots issued a statement saying, "The New England Patriots are releasing Antonio Brown. We appreciate the hard work of many people over the past 11 days, but we feel that it is best to move in a different direction at this time."

The writing was certainly on the wall ... Patriots head coach Bill Belichick shut down a press conference Friday morning because he was sick of answering questions about the WR.

As we previously reported, the Patriots signed Brown on Sept. 7 -- hours after he was cut by the Oakland Raiders following multiple issues with Raiders executives.

Brown didn't sign his contract with the Pats until Sept. 9. His deal was a 1-year contract worth up to $15 mil with a $9 million signing bonus.

Days after Brown signed his deal with the Pats, a woman named Britney Taylor filed a lawsuit against AB accusing him of forcible rape in 2018, along with 2 allegations of sexual assault in 2017.

Brown has denied all wrongdoing and vowed to explore his own legal options. Brown was not arrested or charged with a crime in that case. Taylor never went to police.

Earlier this week, Sports Illustrated published a report containing allegations from a 2nd woman who accused Brown of sexual misconduct.

Brown later sent that woman menacing text messages in which Brown directs associates to look into the accuser's family. He also sent a pic of the accuser's children.

The NFL was contacted by the woman's attorney and immediately launched an investigation.

Despite the investigation, Belichick suggested the team was planning on using Brown on Sunday when they take on the NY Jets.

Brown played 24 snaps for the Patriots in his debut with the team against the Dolphins last weekend. He saw 8 passes from Tom Brady, catching four of them for 56 yards and a TD. He also had one rushing attempt for 5 yards.

AB has been a superstar in his career on the field, he's logged at least 100 catches and 1,200 receiving yards in each of the last six seasons.

In his 10-year career, Brown's scored 75 receiving touchdowns ... putting him in a tie for 34th all-time in NFL history.

As for the Raiders, Oakland cut bait with Brown after a string of bizarre behavior including a weird injury in a cryotherapy chamber and issues with his helmet.

Brown also secretly recorded Raiders head coach Jon Gruden and posted the audio online.

The last straw seemed to be when Brown publicly called out Raiders general manager Mike Mayock after the team fined him for missing multiple team activities.

The question now ... will another team take a chance on Antonio Brown -- or is his NFL career finished?

Story developing ...

Jorge Masvidal tells TMZ Sports the UFC knows he wants a crack at Conor McGregor -- but he REFUSES to jump through hoops to get it ... saying Conor knows where to find him.

"I'm not in the business of bullying," Masvidal tells TMZ Sports ... "I like beating up bullies and stuff but, if the dude don't want it, I'm not gonna beg him for it."

Conor has been flirting with several opponents since his last fight in the UFC -- including Justin Gaethje, Cowboy Cerrone and a rematch with Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Jorge previously told us he's down too -- but Dana White hasn't exactly been chomping at the bit to make it happen.

But, things might be changing ... this week, Dana changed his tune -- saying he would consider booking Conor to fight the winner of Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal when they clash at UFC 244 in November.

And, when we saw Masvidal in NY on Thursday, he claims the REAL reason White hasn't already booked the fight is because Dana knows how it would end.

"Would I f**k him up and Dana White knows it??? Hell yeah, bro!!! There's a reason we're not allowed to play with each other."

In the meantime, Masvidal says he's laser-focused on Diaz and explains why it's an absolute HONOR to fight at Madison Square Garden.

Paris Hilton is saying goodbye to her grandpa, Barron Hilton ... the former Hilton Hotels chairman and founding owner of the Los Angeles Chargers has died.

Paris posted a heartfelt tribute to her late grandfather on social media Friday afternoon, saying she's deeply saddened by his death and calling Barron a visionary.

Barron, the son of patriarch Conrad Hilton, died Thursday from natural causes ... according to the Conrad Hilton Foundation. Paris says she spoke with her grandpa only days before he died, and she told him how much of an impact he made in her life.

Barron expanded the family's Hilton Hotels empire and helped start the American Football League as the Chargers' first owner, paving the way for the modern NFL.

After serving in the Navy and spending two decades as an entrepreneur, Barron joined the family biz as Hilton Hotels' vice president way back in 1954 and quickly rose through the ranks to become the chairman, president and CEO.

In 1959, Lamar Hunt approached Barron and several other wealthy businessmen, and they formed the AFL. Barron founded the Chargers, buying the franchise for $25,000. Under Barron, the Bolts became the first pro-football team to put players' last names on the backs of their jerseys, and he was instrumental in the design of the team's iconic lightning bolt logo.

Barron helped Lamar negotiate the AFL-NFL merger in 1965, and in '66 Hilton sold his controlling interest in the Chargers to take over Hilton Hotels.

Barron is survived by his 2 daughters, 6 sons, 15 grandkids and 4 great-grandchildren.

He was 91.

Kawhi Leonard is officially on the prowl for his new home ... checking out some of the best available cribs in Los Angeles ... starting with an incredible $10 million pad!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... the Clippers superstar has been lookin' for a place to hang his hat recently ... exploring all the nicest houses L.A. has to offer (and there's a lot).

Leonard was spotted visiting a spot on the Sunset Strip earlier this week ... and we gotta say, the dude has great taste.

The home -- listed by Dustin Nicholas of the Nicholas Property Group -- has HUGE windows, high ceilings, a chef's kitchen ... and, of course, a pool and sundeck.

The crib is listed at $9,995,000 ... but remember, the dude's in a 3-year, $103 million contract.

Ex-Cincinnati Bengals safety Chinedum Ndukwe is suing a woman and her attorney claiming they threatened to lie and go public with a false sexual assault claim unless he paid her $10 million.

But, the woman's attorney says the allegation against Ndukwe is 100% real ... and he was the one who tried to buy her off in the first place.

Here's the deal ... Ndukwe -- who played in the NFL from 2007 to 2011 -- filed a lawsuit against attorney James Walker and his client, Jane Doe claiming extortion and coercion.

In his suit, the 34-year-old -- who now runs a real estate and development firm -- says the woman and her attorney sent him a demand letter earlier this month seeking $10 million or else she would file a civil suit against him and pursue criminal charges.

In his suit, Ndukwe does not specify the accusations against him -- but insists the accuser is lying.

The accuser's attorney James Walker, however, is firing back in a big way ... telling Cincinnati.com the ex-NFL player is twisting the facts.

The accuser and her attorney have filed a lawsuit of their own. Here's what they are alleging ...

Jane Doe claims she was an intern at Ndukwe's real estate business over the summer -- and says Ndukwe sexually assaulted her.

She also claims Ndukwe slipped her an envelope with $1,000 in cash after the incident in the hopes of buying her silence.

Ndukwe has issued a statement saying he will "vigorously fight these false claims to prove my innocence."

Bill Belichick has reached his boiling point in the Antonio Brown saga ... abruptly ending a press conference after reporters peppered him with Qs about his controversial superstar WR.

The New England Patriots coach faced the media on Friday -- just hours after the NFL opened an investigation into alleged texts Brown sent to a woman accusing him of sexual misconduct in 2017.

Of course, the media wanted answers ... but Belichick told reporters right off the bat he wouldn't be answering any questions about AB. He opened saying, "We take all situations with our team very seriously."

"There's some things we're looking into. But, I'm not going to have any comment on any of the off the field situations or questions on that."

Bill also suggested Brown would be active and playing on Sunday when the Patriots take on the NY Jets.

When Belichick tried to move past the Brown questions, the media stayed focused on the bigger story ... and Bill. Got. Pissed.

"I think I've already addressed this ... we're gonna get ready for the Jets here. Happy to answer any football questions. But, the rest of it ... I'm done with the rest of it."

When a reporter followed that up with another AB question ... Bill got fed up, interrupted him and left the podium.

"That's it. Yep, I'm good. Thank you."

Meanwhile, the NFL is still investigating Brown -- but it's theoretically possible league officials could take action on new text message development before Sunday.

The Ravens might not beat the Chiefs this weekend on the field ... but they'd WHOOP THAT ASS on the dance floor -- 'cause Baltimore's stars just showed all their moves, and they're insane!!!

Mark Ingram filmed the whole locker room party ... and it's the best few minutes of video you'll see all day.

The rug cutting begins with safety Tony Jefferson showing off some fancy footwork ... and then linebacker Matthew Judon and D-lineman Brandon Williams hop in the mix.

There's a tremendous rendition of the "Chicken Noodle Soup" dance ... and when the DJ switches tunes, there's even more greatness.

Hollywood Brown drops it low ... and Jefferson, who at some point took off his shirt for the party, shows off even crazier moves!!!

Seriously, it's all amazing.

Gardner Minshew was a football LEGEND long before he took his first NFL snap ... admitting he once smashed his own hand with a hammer to try and extend his college football career.

The Jacksonville Jaguars QB said it all went down in 2016 during his first year at East Carolina University ... where he was the 3rd string QB and planned on redshirting the season.

But, the 2nd string QB was moved to running back and the 1st string QB suffered a concussion halfway through a game in Week 4, so he was forced to go in and play.

The problem ... once Minshew took the field, the redshirt option was out the window -- and Gardner was pissed he was going to blow an entire year of eligibility for 30 minutes of playing time.

And, what did Gardner do next? He realized the only way to get that year of eligibility back was to get a medical redshirt ... which means he needed to prove he suffered an injury that knocked him out for the season.

"So, you know, I get an idea," Minshew told the guys on Barstool Sports' "Pardon My Take" podcast (go to 31:20).

"I go home, I grab a bottle of Jack Daniels and I grab a hammer. And, I go back into my room, I take a pull of the Jack Daniels, I put my hand down on the table and BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! 1,2,3 ... I hit the hell out of my hand dude!"

Another problem ... Minshew says he knew right away he didn't actually break his hand -- so he continued to smash away another 2 times. But, he failed with each attempt!

"I couldn't break my own hand!"

Oh, and get this ... Minshew says the hand he was smashing was his THROWING HAND because he knew he would be pressured to play through the pain if he broke his non-throwing hand.

At the end of the day, Minshew says he gave up with the fake injury attempt and just told the coach he slammed his hand in a car door.

Behold ... Serena Williams' butt in all its glory!!

Just a few weeks after taking an L in the grand slam final at the U.S. Open, Serena is chillaxing on a beach somewhere ... arms up, cakes out. It's good stuff.

Serena is 37-years-old and continuing to impress in all facets of her life. She's still a beast on the court. Killing it in business. And, her body ... good god.

Despite all the great things, there are still a bunch of racist jerks looking to cause drama in Serena's life, including some moronic Romanian TV host who crawled out of the gutter to describe Williams as a "monkey" during a recent broadcast.

The actual quotes 49-year-old Radu Bancui uttered on TV are so offensive and disgusting, we're not going to publish them here ... but it's been reported he's been fined by the body that oversees content on Romanian television.

Quite frankly, the fine isn't big enough.

Seems Williams has to deal with this kind of crap all the time from various racist idiots all over the world -- including in her home country.

Both Serena and Venus have talked openly about being called the N-word at the 2001 BNP Paribas Open tournament in Indian Wells, California.

But, today, Serena's tuning it all out and basking in her success ... and we couldn't be happier about it.

The NFL is now investigating new troubling text messages Antonio Brown allegedly sent to a woman who accused him of sexual misconduct ... and the texts are damning.

The woman at the center of the investigation is the unnamed artist featured in a Sports Illustrated article published this week who said a naked AB inappropriately hit on her while she was painting a mural at his home in 2017.

The woman never went to authorities with her story ... but the description she gave to SI is a terrible look for the NFL star in the wake of a lawsuit filed another woman accusing him of rape.

The artist claims on Wednesday, Brown initiated a group text -- including her and some of his own associates -- trashing her for talking to SI and calling for his crew to begin digging into her background.

The most troubling text allegedly sent by Brown is this directive to his crew -- which was accompanied by a photo of her children.

"Those her kids and ig Eric she's awfully broke clearly."

Two other people included on the text chain respond, saying they will obey orders to gather info on the woman.

Clearly, the woman felt the texts were sent with the intention of scaring her -- so she went to the NFL to report the incident.

The NFL reportedly reached out to the woman on Thursday less than an hour after they were contacted. League investigators are reportedly scheduling a follow-up interview with the woman.

As for his NFL career, Brown is still active and expected to play for the New England Patriots on Sunday when they take on the NY Jets.

What do two fight legends talk about on the sidelines at an NFL game? FIGHTING!!

Check out Mike Tyson and UFC Hall of Famer "Sugar" Rashad Evans chopping it up right before the Jacksonville Jaguars took on the Tennessee Titans on Thursday ... clearly trading fight tips.

You can see Evans measuring Tyson -- and doing a half roll -- while asking Tyson to evaluate his moves.

Tyson coaches him up and gives him a few tips -- while playfully throwing some kicks in the mix, something he obviously couldn't do in the boxing ring.

40-year-old Evans was just inducted into the UFC HOF earlier this year -- but he's been hanging with Tyson a lot recently ... and you gotta wonder if there's another fight in his future.

What's interesting ... Tyson has said publicly he doesn't fight, train or lift weights any more because he's afraid of snapping back into that hyper-aggressive mindset that got him in trouble back in the day.

Instead, he smokes a ton of weed ... and honestly, he seems a lot more chill these days.

Nate Diaz says anyone who has a problem with the UFC creating a special "Baddest Mother F*cker" belt for his fight with Jorge Masvidal is a "bitch" and needs to "shut the f*ck up."

Nate essentially created the belt after his impressive victory over Anthony Pettis last month after a 3-year hiatus from fighting ... saying he and Jorge are the baddest in the game and should fight for a "BMF" title.

The UFC obliged and booked the fight -- they're even creating a special "BMF" belt just for Nov. 2 fight at UFC 244.

Some MMA fans and reporters have taken issue with the belt saying the UFC is making a mockery of the sport by creating meaningless WWE-style fake belts.

We asked Nate about those funless prudes and and clapped back with some savagery.

"If there's any hate or negativity towards it and if there's anybody who's hating on it, like some of these journalists in here, it's like 'cause none of you guys are no fighters, you're bitches, so shut the f*ck up."

Diaz added, "Tell me I ain't the best motherf*cker in the game and watch me fight the whole game."

Diaz also talked about Conor McGregor and the chances of a 3rd fight -- telling TMZ Sports it's probably gonna happen because they fight in the same bracket.

"Whatever is gonna happen is gonna happen. Time will tell."