TMZ Sports - Page 50

1 legendary Met is out, another is in ... 'cause Dwight "Doc" Gooden will referee the Bagel Guy vs. Dustin Diamond celebrity boxing match this weekend.

Promoter Damon Feldman tells TMZ Sports he struck a deal with Gooden ... who will be inside the ring reffing Saturday night at the Showboat Casino in Atlantic City.

Remember, the fight was originally supposed to be Bagel Guy Chris Morgan against NYM great Lenny Dykstra ... but Nails pulled out last minute.

We broke the story, Dykstra was replaced by "Saved By The Bell" star Dustin Diamond ... aka "Screech."

John Smoltz says a Zagnut bar cost him a no-hitter nearly three decades ago ... and the Hall of Fame pitcher says he straight-up hasn't eaten the candy since!!!

The story is hilarious ... Smoltz -- who was talking about Zack Greinke's possible no-hit bid on MLB Network Wednesday night -- says back in 1990, he had some magic stuff going on as well.

He was carrying a no-hitter into the ninth inning of a Braves game against the Phillies ... but he ran into a problem -- he was STARVING.

The former ace says he hadn't eaten anything all day ... and claims he was going to pass out before he took the mound in the 9th if he didn't chow down on something.

So, Smoltz says he reached for a Zagnut candy bar ... and claims that doomed him.

"I go up in the clubhouse and the first thing I saw was a Zagnut, so I crush it real quick," Smoltz says. "And, one out in the ninth, I give up a 2-0 base hit to Lenny Dykstra."

So, how did Smoltz react to the candy? "I haven’t had a Zagnut since."

That's right, no delicious peanut brittle/coconut delight for Smoltz in 29 YEARS!!!

Bryce Harper's wife says Nationals fans went WAY TOO FAR with their heckling Wednesday ... claiming they chirped him about his newborn son -- and called it all "classless."

Harper is Public Enemy No. 1 in Washington after he left the team last season to get a huge payday (13 years, $330 MILLION) with one of the Nats' biggest rivals, the Phillies.

He's heard constant heckling every time he's returned to Washington to play his ex-team ... but in their game Wednesday, he says fans just crossed the line with their smack talk.

"I mean, I get it everywhere I go," Harper told reporters. "It’s nothing new, but the last inning -- it’s just not right. It’s just not right."

Bryce's wife, Kayla Harper, took to Twitter to clarify what the fans said ... claiming Bryce was forced to hear trash talk about his son -- who was just born last month.

"When you bring his son or family into it, yes you’re crossing a line," Kayla wrote. "Stick to your overused overrated and Harper sucks chants if you’re really that loser that goes to a game to heckle someone."

"Phillies fans might boo him but they don’t bring his 4 week old son into it. Classless."

Harper truly does get chirped everywhere he goes ... remember, even in his own home ballpark in Philadelphia, he had to tell a heckler to "shut the f**k up" before hitting a giant home run.

Harper says it's all getting a little out of control ... saying it doesn't feel a whole lot different from NBA and NFL players who have also grown tired of hearing the fans trash talk.

"It's just not good and just not right," Bryce said. "Everybody has a platform now whether it's Twitter, Instagram or in the stands. They kind of say whatever they want and that’s just how it is."

Ex-Bellator fighter Katy Collins is dead at the age 32 ... after suffering a brain aneurysm last week, her coach announced.

Collins fought for Bellator, LFA, RFA and several other promotions over her 3-year career ... racking up a 7-5 professional record. She last fought in June 2018.

Collins also had 7 amateur fights ... going 3-4.

Katy's coach, JT Tilley, broke the news of Collins' death on social media.

A Ninja lost his mask on last night's episode of "The Masked Singer" ... and it was all after an Ice Cream-headed rendition of the biggest song of all-time.

Of course, the Ninja we're talking about is the ultra-famous professional gamer ... and he tried his hand last night at being the new Lil Nas X, performing "Old Town Road," and we're not professional judges, but the whole thing looked pretty awesome to us.

Good news for Ninja is that judges Jenny McCarthy, Nicole Scherzinger, Robin Thicke and Ken Jeong were rocking out to the over-the-top elaborate performance, and freaked out when he was unmasked (they're fans).

How did the Minnesota Twins celebrate their first AL Central title in nearly a decade on Wednesday night??

HIP GYRATING AND SHIRTLESS RUNNING, BABY!!!

The Twins beat the Tigers, 5-1, in Detroit ... and after the Indians fell to the White Sox -- Minnesota officially earned its first divisional championship since 2010.

Of course, the guys celebrated in the usual fashion ... Budweiser showers and booze -- but then things got a little freaky in the clubhouse.

First, 5'9", 225-pound utility man Willians Astudillo thrusted his hips in a fashion we NEVER knew he could.

Then, newly acquired reliever Sergio Romo decided to ditch his shirt and take a few laps around Comerica Park's field!!

Amazing.

The Twins have crushed it all year long and are a legitimate threat to take down the Yankees and the Astros in the American League's postseason next month.

Eli Manning ain't the Giants starting QB anymore ... but he's still one of the team's leaders, so says NYG WR Darius Slayton, who tells TMZ Sports the future HOFer is a critical member of the squad.

Slayton -- a rookie out of Auburn who was taken in the 5th round of this years NFL Draft -- played in his 1st NFL game Sunday ... catching 3 balls for 82 yards (he also made a critical block on Evan Engrams 75 yard TD reception).

We talked to Darius earlier this week ... and he told us even though it's Daniel Jones receiving the adulation, Eli's been a great teammate and a big presence in the locker room.

"I think he's been a real pro. Honestly, from the day they announced it until now, he's been the same guy. He's came in, I think he's really tried to help [Daniel Jones] get ready week in, week out because obviously you can't replace 16 years of experience," Slayton told us.

"There's no way we can learn everything he knows in a matter of months. He still plays a pivotal role in this team and it's a blessing to have a guy like that around."

Darius -- who's only been around the Giants organization for a few months -- says Eli might not be under center anymore on Sundays, but he's still a valuable piece of the NYG ... and someone whose contributions to New York will be remembered long after Manning hangs up his cleats.

"He's still a big leader around here. He's still Eli Manning now. He's got rings, he's all over the facility. It's really important for a guy like that to be involved and be part of the team. I don't think he'll be forgotten around here anytime soon."

Mario Williams' baby mama is going to bat for the ex-NFL star ... she says she wants his charges dropped -- this despite him allegedly breaking into her home and wildly yelling at her last month.

Mario -- the former No. 1 overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft -- was arrested back on Aug. 20 after cops say he made a copy of a garage door remote and illegally entered his baby mama Torie Porter's Texas home.

TMZ Sports obtained video of the standoff that happened when Porter confronted the 6-foot-7, 290-pound former pass rusher at her garage door ... and it's intense.

Williams accuses her of using their child's iPad to gain access to the contents of his iCloud ... and she fires back by constantly saying, "How did you get in here?"

Cops were at the scene and eventually calmed Williams down and arrested him without incident. He was later hit with a misdemeanor charge of criminal trespass.

As part of the conditions of his arrest ... Williams was forced to wear an ankle monitor and ordered to have absolutely no contact with Torie.

Melvin Gordon is BACK ... well, almost.

The L.A. Chargers superstar running back will end his holdout and return to the team on Thursday ... but will NOT play this weekend against the Dolphins.

Gordon has been holding out since July while he demanded the team either give him a new contract or to trade him to another team.

The holdout is officially coming to end 3 weeks into the season ... with Ian Rapoport reporting Gordon is rejoining his team.

We spoke with Chargers legend Antonio Gates on Tuesday about Gordon's status with the team ... and he said his old teammate deserves to be paid like Ezekiel Elliott, who just agreed to a $90 million extension with the Cowboys.

No word on whether that'll happen -- Gordon's in the final year of his rookie deal, making $5,605,000.

The woman accusing Auston Matthews of dropping his pants in front of her was LIVID over the whole situation ... saying of the NHL star, "What the f**k were you thinking?!"

It's all in new police video obtained by TMZ Sports ... in which the female security guard tells an officer all about a May 26 incident where she says Matthews and his friends played a VERY unfunny joke on her.

She claims she was working a night shift at Matthews' residence in Scottsdale, AZ, when the hockey player and 2 of his friends tried to open her locked car door at around 2 AM.

As a military veteran ... she says she was legitimately frightened by the actions -- and then outraged when 22-year-old Matthews and his friends told her it was all just a joke.

"The minute you try to invade my space, what the f**k were you thinking saying, 'We wanted to see how you'd react if we got into the back of your car'?" the woman says.

"Are you serious right now?!? And then, they thought, 'Oh, you're a veteran so you're packing?' None of this s**t is funny!"

The woman also told the officer all about the scene where Matthews pulled down his pants ... saying one of Auston's friends tried to make her laugh over the whole thing.

"He turns around and he's like, 'You see that s**t he's doing? He's been doing that up and down Scottsdale Road. I keep telling him that he can get arrested by cops. And, he's like he doesn't give a s**t.'"

The woman adds, "And, he's laughing because he thinks I would laugh at the fact that his pants are down."

The woman also says Matthews' father tried to accuse her of lying about the whole situation when the condo's manager brought it up with him ... but said they were able to show him video of it all.

Eventually, the woman tells the cop she wants to press charges against Matthews.

In more police footage obtained by TMZ Sports ... you can see an officer try to interview the Maple Leafs star at his condo -- but he doesn't respond to the knocks.

Matthews is now fighting a disorderly conduct charge in Scottsdale ... and he said of the whole incident to reporters on Wednesday, "I regret any of my actions that would ever put a distraction on the team or distress any individual."

He added, "I take a lot of pride in preparing myself for the season and representing the Toronto Maple Leafs as well as I can. Unfortunately, due to the situation, I’m afraid I can’t really make any other comments."

Troubled NFL player Aldon Smith says he's clean and thankful to have made it to 30 ... reflecting on his troubled past in a post on his birthday.

Smith -- who has been in and out of the league and struggled with drug and legal problems -- provided a rare update for his fans on Wednesday ... saying, "I’m thankful to have made it another year."

He added ... "Grateful to be Happy, Loved, Sober and Supported. #godisgood"

It's a big deal for Aldon if he's sober -- he's had several DUI arrests and has been suspended multiple times by the league.

Aldon checked himself into alcohol rehab in March 2018 -- after his former fiancee told us she feared for his life -- but was arrested for DUI this past June.

If you thought Taraji P. Henson's movie, "What Men Want," was a new take on "What Women Want," think again -- a screenwriter says it's really a rip-off of his script, and now he's suing Paramount.

Joe Carlini says he wrote a screenplay entitled "What the F Is He Thinking?" back in 2015, and shopped it around Hollywood -- but Joe admits he struck out. No one bit.

In his lawsuit, Joe says he had meetings with reps for big-time production companies, including Weinstein, Montage and Bloom. He even spoke to several actors about starring in his movie. Yes, he dropped some names in the docs ... James Franco, Chris Pratt, Nick Swardson and King Bach.

Still, it never took flight. Cut to 2 years later ... when, according to the docs, the film's producers get Taraji on board for their film. When it came out in 2019, Joe says it was painfully obvious, to him anyway, they'd jacked his script.

Among the similarities he saw: both main characters wish they could understand men better ... both fall and hit their heads after partying ... and both wake up in the hospital and discover they can hear men's thoughts.

Antonio Brown is NOT done with the NFL -- despite what he said on social media ... this according to his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, who says he's been in talks with multiple teams.

"I have had discussions with a few teams that are very interested in him and want to know about his future and what's going on with the NFL," Rosenhaus said on Warren Sapp's '99 Problems' podcast.

"Hopefully, when that is all resolved, Antonio will be able to continue his Hall of Fame career."

Rosenhaus did not mention any of the interested teams by name.

Of course, Brown swore off the NFL on Sunday morning ... just days after he was cut by the New England Patriots.

"Will not be playing in the @NFL anymore these owners can cancel deals do whatever they want at anytime we will see if the @NFLPA hold them accountable sad they can just void guarantees anytime going on 40m 2 months will see if they pay up!"

NFL sensation Gardner Minshew II is admitting his master plan to break his hand with a hammer in college was a "pretty dumb" idea ... and says he's grateful he didn't succeed.

Uhh... YA THINK!?!?

Of course, the Jacksonville Jaguars QB revealed the INSANE story of smashing his hand with a hammer on Barstool Sports' "Pardon My Take" last week ... saying he was trying to get a medical red shirt so he could play another year of ball during his first year at East Carolina University.

Minshew has clearly given some thought about his failed attempt at shattering his paw ... saying in hindsight, it probably wasn't the best way to go about things.

"It didn't work, I guess, fortunately. I mean... looking back, it was pretty dumb," Minshew told reporters on Wednesday. "Believe it or not, breaking your hand is pretty dumb."

"I always tell people [when they ask], 'what would you do to play more ball?' ... damn near anything."

Baker Mayfield is teeing off on Rex Ryan for calling him "overrated as hell" ... saying Rex's opinion doesn't matter -- and he's out of the NFL for a reason!!

The coach-turned-analyst took a shot at the Cleveland Browns QB on ESPN's "Get Up!" on Tuesday following the team's loss to the Rams ... saying Mayfield's not as good as people think.

"I bought into the dang hype," Ryan said. "What's he doing right? Here's a guy right now that's a one-read guy and then he's gonna improvise."

Ryan also bashed Baker for being slow and inaccurate down the field.

Mayfield was asked whether Rex's comments added "fuel to the fire" on Wednesday... and that's when he ripped into the coach for not having a football gig.

"It's whatever," Mayfield said. "In the wise words of Freddie Kitchens -- 'if you don't wear Orange and Brown, you don't matter.' Rex Ryan doesn't have any colors right now for a reason, so it's okay."

BOOM.

Baker has a history of going after media members who are critical of him -- just ask Colin Cowherd.

It'll be interesting to see how these comments shake out though -- considering Rex had a consistent career as a coach in the NFL from 1999 to 2016 ... and has a Super Bowl ring from his stint as a defensive line coach with the Baltimore Ravens.

As a head coach, Rex also took the NY Jets to the AFC title game in his first 2 seasons with the team. His career record as an NFL head coach is 65-68 with 4 playoff wins.

Baker has led his Browns to 8 wins in 16 games since being selected as the #1 overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft.

Pirates pitcher Felipe Vazquez will face a Pennsylvania judge Wednesday in his child sex case -- where he's expected to enter a plea to charges he sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl.

TMZ Sports has obtained Vazquez's new mug shot ahead of his court hearing ... and, as you can see, the Pirates' All-Star closer has definitely seen better days.

Vazquez is facing 3 felony charges in Pennsylvania -- statutory sexual assault, unlawful contact with minor and corruptions of minors.

He's also facing 1 misdemeanor charge -- assault of a person less than 16.

As we previously reported, Vazquez is accused of having sex with a 13-year-old girl in his Mustang in Pennsylvania back in 2017.

Officials say the 28-year-old also sent the girl graphic videos and photos -- and told her in text messages he was planning to have sex with her again.

The texts were discovered by the alleged victim's mother -- who alerted police. Investigators say the images depicted numerous "unique and distinguishable" tattoos on his body ... which they were able to match to Vazquez through public images on the Internet.

Cops claim Vazquez admitted to the crime during a Sept. 17 interrogation ... telling investigators he had "sex but not really" with the victim.

Meanwhile, in Florida -- where the alleged victim claims she received the lewd text messages -- he's facing 2 felony charges ... 1) giving obscene material to a minor and 2) soliciting a child for unlawful sexual conduct.

A hearing in Florida has not been scheduled -- we're told officials will closely monitor the case in Pennsylvania before making any major decisions.

Vazquez is a 2-time All-Star who was having a great season for the Pirates in 2019. He currently has a 1.65 ERA, 28 saves and 90 strikeouts. He signed a 4-year, $22.5 million contract in 2018.