TMZ Sports - Page 50

Ex-Yankees skipper Joe Girardi fought like hell to choke back tears when talking about CC Sabathia ... and if you're a Bronx Bombers fan, or just someone with a heart, cue the waterworks.

Barring a miracle, Sabathia's career ended Thursday night ... when the 39-year-old star pitcher was forced to leave Game 4 of the Yankees-Astros ALCS game when his knee buckled on the mound. The Yanks are 1 game away from elimination ... and CC's retiring after this season.

So, when former longtime manager Joe Girardi -- who managed CC from 2009-2017 -- was asked to talk about the legendary hurler during his MLB Network TV gig, it got emotional.

"That was not the way I wanted to see it end for him."

"CC, you're a Hall of Fame pitcher that was as tough as any man I was ever around, what you went through on a daily basis to just be able to get on the mound."

"You were a great husband. You were a great father. You were probably the greatest teammate I've ever been around because of your ability to pull all 25, sometimes all 50 people together in the clubhouse."

Girardi continued, and this is where it really gets emotional ... "And, you were the guy I always wanted on the mound when we needed a win. And, it was a privilege for me to manage you for 9 years. I love you, man."

WE'RE NOT CRYING, YOU'RE CRYING!!!!

If this is it for the 251-game winning, 6x All-Star and 2007 AL Cy Young winner -- and it certainly looks like it's a wrap -- Sabathia's next stop is likely Cooperstown

Shaquille O'Neal is stepping up and doing an amazing thing for the family of a 12-year-old boy who was paralyzed in a random shooting ... paying for them to live in a handicap accessible home.

12-year-old Isaiah Payton was struck in the spine by a stray bullet when leaving a high school football game in Atlanta on August 17. He was paralyzed from the chest down.

Payton was hospitalized and eventually stabilized -- but doctors would not release him because his family's 1-bedroom apartment was not equipped to handle his special needs.

That's when Shaq stepped in ...

The NBA legend -- along with partners at Papa Johns -- found Payton's family a suitable home in the College Park area and have pledged to take care of the family's finances for a year.

"We’re going to give her some furniture, TVs and pay her rent off for a year and help her get on her feet," Shaq told WXIA-TV.

"I was watching the story and it’s just sad. It could have been any one of us. It could have been my son. It could’ve been your cousin."

Christian McCaffrey and Olivia Culpo's relationship is at "make breakfast for each other" level ... 'cause CMC snapped a pic of the former Miss Universe whippin' up egg sandwiches for him!!!

Things have been heating up between the Carolina Panthers stud and Maxim's "World's Sexiest Woman" lately -- they were pictured holding hands during a romantic trip to Cabo this past offseason.

Although the 27-year-old SI Swimsuit model has been spotted spending a lot of time in Charlotte throughout the season, the couple hasn't come right out and said, "WE'RE DATING."

Now that McCaffrey posted this pic, it seems like they're cool with the world knowing.

"Egg sammie's on a Thursday," the 23-year-old running back captioned the pic of the sandwich with OC in the background ... adding a heart emoji.

Of course, Culpo is coming off a wild breakup with 33-year-old NFL star Danny Amendola. Culpo and the Detroit Lions WR split earlier this year.

As for McCaffrey, he's in the middle of an MVP campaign, posting crazy numbers so far this season. Maybe she's his good luck charm.

And now, after this??? Just give him the trophy already.

Michael Strahan's not holding up his end of the child support deal he struck with his ex-wife, and it's going to take him more than half a mil to square up ... at least according to her.

Jean Muggli Strahan claims in legal docs ... the former NFL superstar's on the hook for some big-time equestrian expenses for their twin teenage daughters -- Sophia and Isabella -- along with owing hundreds of thousands in back child support.

Jean says a huge chunk of what Strahan owes her is to cover their daughters' horseback riding bills ... which she claims amount to $450,802 since 2017. According to the docs, Michael agreed to go halfsies with Jean but hasn't paid up ... so she's seeking more than $225k from him.

In docs he filed, Michael says he never agreed to such an arrangement.

On top of that, Jean claims Michael has underpaid child support since 2010 ... because the monthly amount he pays hasn't been adjusted for cost of living. The docs say she wants $321,654 in back support to make it right.

In his filing, Michael admits part of their agreement does call for cost-of-living adjustments -- but adds, the language about how to come up with that number is "vague and indefinite." Translation: We need to agree on a formula to come up with the correct number.

That being said, by Jean's current calculation ... she's looking to get more than $547k.

We broke the story ... the exes were in a Manhattan court last month to face off over their previous settlement.

Michael and Jean married in 1999 but split in 2006, and the judge eventually awarded Jean $15.3 million in their divorce and ordered him to pay $18k/month in child support.

However, that amount was decreased to just under $13k a month in 2009 ... according to the docs.

Jean claims his monthly income is way more now than it was in '09, due to his gigs on "FOX NFL Sunday" and "Good Morning America," among other projects ... so he can afford to increase his child support again. She wants him to pay $18,378 a month going forward.

Dennis Rodman has been charged with misdemeanor battery in Florida for allegedly slapping a man at his own birthday party back in May -- but The Worm is adamant he's innocent.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... cops say Rodman was at the Buddha Sky Bar in Delray Beach on May 17 when he "unprovokedly turned around and smacked" 30-year-old Jeff Soulouque.

Soulouque claims Rodman immediately began apologizing for the incident and invited him out to dinner the following night in an attempted peace offering.

But, Soulouque told TMZ Sports he was really hurt -- and went to the hospital where he was diagnosed with a left corneal abrasion. He went to cops the day after the incident and filed a report.

Cops launched an investigation and called up a witness named David Lee Roth -- who, shockingly, is NOT the Van Halen singer. Still, cops say DLR corroborated Soulouque's story.

"Roth stated he was about twenty feet away and he saw Rodman turn around and open hand smack Soulouque two times," the report states.

Prosecutors later charged Rodman with misdemeanor battery -- and on Thursday, DR's attorney appeared in court on his behalf and pled not guilty.

It's a big deal for Rodman -- the charge carries a maximum sentence of a year in jail, 12 months probation and a $1,000 fine.

And, with Dennis' criminal history, it's possible a judge could throw the book at the NBA legend if he's convicted.

The estate of Bernie Casey no longer has a legal cloud hanging over its head ... it's settled a lawsuit from a woman alleging he attacked her the week before he died.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ ... the former NFL-star-turned-actor's estate has settled with Cheryl Castillo for a cool $250k. Cheryl had previously claimed she and Bernie were husband and wife but has since filed docs clarifying they were never married and only lived together.

In docs, the estate agrees to pony up the dough once it sells off Bernie's house. The settlement also allows Cheryl to live in the house until it's sold.

TMZ broke the story ... Cheryl sued the "Revenge of the Nerds" star back in June 2018 claiming Bernie violently tackled her to the ground just 1 week before his death in September 2017.

Cheryl alleged she got into an argument with Casey over their cars when he suddenly grabbed her by the arm and tackled her to the ground "as though [she] was a football player."

Casey -- who was U.N. Jefferson, the Tri Lambdas' leader, in 'Nerds' -- was a Pro-Bowl wide receiver for the L.A. Rams in the '60s.

Cam Newton's days as an NFL superstar are NOT over ... so says his Panthers teammate, Greg Olsen, who tells TMZ Sports he's got all the confidence in the world Cam will be back.

"Don't bet against Cam," Olsen says.

Newton has had a rough last few seasons battling injuries and poor play ... and the Panthers have actually been BETTER without him this season, going 3-0 in the games that he's missed.

So, when we saw Greg out in NYC this week ... we had to ask, is it over for the Carolina QB???

That's when Olsen told us no way, saying, "Don't bet against Cam. Once he gets himself right, he'll be ready to go."

As for the foot injury that's sidelined Newton for the past month ... Olsen says from everything he's seen, Cam is progressing just fine.

"I think he's feeling good," Olsen says. "I think he's feeling better."

Michael Bisping was already up and throwing knee strikes just hours after his replacement surgery on Thursday ... testing out the new merchandise in his hospital gown!!!

The UFC superstar got the work done after he had been dealing with intense pain in his knee since he tore his PCL in 2005, with the discomfort getting unbearable over the past 6 months.

Now, the Count has a brand-spankin' new knee after a 3.5-hour procedure at St. Joseph Hospital of Orange ... and by the looks of it, Bisping isn't gonna miss a step!!!

The 40-year-old Hall of Famer hopped off his hospital bed and started showin' off his jab and knee strikes ... and almost exposed his whole ass in the process.

"Here’s to a new chapter in life. New Knee, New Me!!!!!," Bisping said. "Still got it!"

BTW -- if you REALLLLLLY wanna see what Bisping's knee looked like, he gave us the pleasure of posting the absolutely disgusting images on his Instagram.

Swipe at your own risk.

Sacramento Kings star Harrison Barnes has stepped up and will pay for the funeral of Atatiana Jefferson, the woman who was shot and killed by a police officer while she was in her own home.

Jefferson's story has made national news -- a neighbor had called police early Saturday morning to check on Jefferson after he saw a door was open at her home in Fort Worth, Texas.

When the officer, Aaron Dean, arrived at the home ... he saw a person inside, and before ever announcing he was a police officer, he opened fire and shot Jefferson, killing the 28-year-old.

Dean has been charged with murder. He's currently out on $200,000 bail.

Jefferson had been peacefully, innocently watching her 8-year-old nephew at the home.

Now, Barnes -- who played for the Dallas Mavericks for 3 years before being traded to the Kings -- has offered to help out the family and foot the bill for the funeral, which is scheduled for Saturday in Dallas.

Barnes has made a lot of money in his NBA career -- he recently signed a 4-year, $85 million extension. He has earned a reputation for being extremely generous with his money and often giving back to the community.

Boxing? Check. WWE? Check. MMA?!? Tyson Fury says HELL YEAH ... 'cause he's telling TMZ Sports he wants to dominate ALL combat sports!!!

The Gypsy King -- who's taking on WWE Superstar Braun Strowman in Saudi Arabia in a few weeks -- was out at Pier 17 in New York on Thursday ... when we had to ask what his next move is.

Of course, the 6'9", 260-pounder knows his way around the squared circle -- he's also prepping for his highly anticipated rematch with Deontay Wilder -- and how he's looking for another challenge.

"I'm taking over all combat sports," Fury tells us. "So, whatever combat sport you're in, BEWARE. 'Cause the Gypsy King is coming!"

"I'm coming to your sport, whatever sport it is. I'll be there. MMA takeover!!!"

Not sure if Fury was just talkin' to talk or if he REALLY wants to get in the cage. But, if he's serious, his pals at WWE definitely know how to get in touch with Dana White!!!

Fury's definitely tough enough for MMA ... remember he battled through that insane GASH over his eye when fighting Otto Wallin last month.

And, good news, Fury says the wound is healing nicely and should be ready for action by the time he fights Deontay Wilder in February!!!

Ex-NFL head coach Dick Vermeil has seen some cracks in Patrick Mahomes' game recently ... and he's sending the QB a message -- keep that ego in check -- OR ELSE!!!

"I do think quarterbacks can become too confident, I really do," Vermeil says. "Sometimes they have to be humbled."

Mahomes hasn't been nearly as electric the last couple weeks as he's been for the majority of his career ... and Vermeil tells TMZ Sports he thinks the Chiefs star might be feeling himself a little too much.

"Right now he's the No. 1 quarterback in the NFL," Vermeil says ... "My only worry about him is he gets overconfident and takes for granted some of those guys on defense."

Vermeil says Patrick's main problem is his O-line isn't holding up very well ... but he thinks Mahomes also might be trying to do a little too much with the football because of what he's been able to do in the past.

Vermeil tells us he's seen it before with supreme talents like Patrick ... and says sometimes a really rough game can be the wakeup call guys need.

Joanna Jedrzejczyk ain't gonna like this ...

Weili Zhang -- the reigning UFC strawweight champ -- says Joanna is washed up and does NOT deserve a shot at her belt, despite beating Michelle Waterson this past weekend.

Remember, Zhang won the title by DESTROYING Jéssica Andrade in 42 seconds when they fought back in August ... and now she's ready to defend her belt.

Joanna told TMZ Sports she deserves a title shot -- but Zhang adamantly disagrees, saying the Polish superstar's best days are behind her.

"I don't think shes the fighter that she used to be," Zhang says ... "She's not in the condition she used to be. I'm not very interested."

Joanna went on an impressive 14-0 run to start her MMA career -- but lost 3 out of her last 5 ... twice to Rose Namajunas and once to Valentina Shevchenko.

In fact, Zhang says she's WAY more interested in moving up a weight class and fighting Shevchenko for the Flyweight belt than taking on Joanna.

"I want to fight the best," Zhang says ... "Right now I think Valentina is one of the best."

Zhang says she'd also consider a fight against Rose ... but she hasn't made up her mind yet.

There's more ...

Zhang also weighed in on the political drama between her home country, China, and the United States ... saying she hopes she can help repair relations through sports.

Speaking through a translator, the 30-year-old said ... "Hopefully I can be the bridge between all countries and the U.S."

Dear Jesus ... PLEASE SAVE PATRICK MAHOMES' ANKLE!!

That's the message going down in a Kansas City church, where the K.C. faithful are begging the Lord up above to heal up their franchise quarterback after 2 straight losses.

Seriously ... the Asbury United Methodist Church is planning a "healing service" on Sunday morning for Patrick's left ankle -- which he injured in Week 1 and reaggravated this past weekend against the Texans.

"With the last two games, we kind of thought that they may need some type of help," a rep for the Church told FOX4KC ... "We knew that his ankle was injured so we decided to possibly have a healing service to help him heal that ankle quicker."

They're even advertising the prayer service on the sign outside the building -- hoping to recruit some extra parishioners to help out!

There's a bit of a timing issue though ... the Chiefs play the Denver Broncos TONIGHT -- so, hopefully, they're putting in some prayer work TODAY too!

NBA commissioner Adam Silver wants to make it clear he did NOT apologize to the Chinese government for Daryl Morey's pro-Hong Kong tweet ... but he still wants to save the NBA's relationship with the foreign power.

"I'd hate to see this relationship end over this incident," Silver told TMZ Sports in New York.

When asked specifically if he would be open to going back to China to play more NBA exhibition games next year, Silver told us, "Nothing is off the table."

"We do need to reset with the Chinese government and everybody has to establish what the rules of the road are going to be going forward."

Silver touched on a variety of China-related topics during our conversation ... here are some of the hit points:

-- Silver says he's spoken with Daryl Morey several times since the initial "Stand with Hong Kong" tweet to make sure he's "getting through this okay."

-- Silver says Morey has been getting "pressure" from hundreds of millions of Chinese people but he's also happy Daryl is getting support from people in the U.S.

-- Silver says he has NOT spoken about the issue with Donald Trump but has had conversations with people in Trump's administration.

-- Silver has consulted with NBA player Enes Kanter about the situation. Kanter, who's from Turkey, has caught hell back home for speaking out against the Turkish government and he ripped LeBron James for the comments he made condemning Daryl Morey.

-- Silver also says he consulted former NBA commish David Stern about the issue since Stern is still an adviser to the league.

-- Silver also admitted he was "bothered" that the league's initial statement about the Morey tweet was interpreted by many to be an apology to the Chinese government.

The initial statement read, "We recognize that the views expressed by Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey have deeply offended many of our friends and fans in China, which is regrettable."

"While Daryl has made it clear that his tweet does not represent the Rockets or the NBA, the values of the league support individuals’ educating themselves and sharing their views on matters important to them."

Silver explained to TMZ Sports ... "It bothered me that in saying we regretted upsetting hundreds of millions of Chinese fans while at the same time supporting Daryl Morey’s speech, it bothered me, I’d say, that it was interpreted as an apology to the Chinese government."

"We certainly didn’t apologize to the Chinese government."

"We supported Daryl from the get-go in terms of his ability to tweet. We also made clear that there were consequences from that speech. And, I think that was no doubt frustrating to a lot of people in the NBA community because it was incredibly disruptive. But, you know, we accepted that. Daryl knew we accepted that. There was not much we could do about that. But, I think it bothered me that somehow even though we – I felt were holding the line in a way that many companies haven’t been able to in China, meaning there was no discipline of our employee, there was never a suggestion that we weren’t supporting him."

John Smoltz's incredible Georgia estate -- complete with a baseball field, basketball court, football field, golf course AND a pool -- is hitting the market ... and it's listed at a whoppin' $5.2 MILLION!!!

Not only is the 19-acre property a sports fan's paradise ... it's also got a HUGE mansion with 10 bedrooms and 10 bathrooms!!!

The crib, listed by Harry Norman Realtors agent Alex McGraw, comes with several master suites, a chef's kitchen, multiple bars and an office.

There's also a room in the house called the "Gentlemen's Study" -- which we think is a super fancy way of saying "Man Cave."

And, if privacy is your thing, this place is locked up tighter than a drum -- double gates to keep out the riffraff and a gated parking court so nobody scuffs your Bentley.

Seriously, check out the pics. The place is awesome.

The Hall of Famer had the home built in 2002 -- and has put it on the market in the past -- but we're told he's more motivated than ever to sell!!!

According to the listing agent, the estate was appraised earlier this year ... and the asking price is way LESS than its appraisal value. So yeah, you're getting a steal!!!

Of course, Smoltz is an Atlanta legend and spent the majority of his career with the Braves, and reportedly made more than $135 MILLION during his 21-year MLB career.

Matt Ryan has pissed off one of his biggest ATL Falcons fans -- Quavo from The Migos -- who tells TMZ Sports the team needs to bench Matty already ... and start HIM!!!

"Put Matty on Ice, put Quavo in tonight!"

Quavo's not only from Georgia, he's also a HUGE football fan who used to be a STUD quarterback himself back in his high school days.

In fact, Quavo was Gwinnett County, Georgia's all-time single-game completions leader ... and posted a sick highlight video showing him breaking tackles, juking pass-rushers and finding his WRs with the deep ball!

So, when we spotted Quavo leaving Avra in Beverly Hills we asked how his beloved Falcons can get things back on track.

"Matt Ryan is making me mad right now," Quavo said ... "If the Falcons start me, I'll play and I'll throw to Julio Jones every play!"

Hey, it's not a bad plan ...

The Falcons are coming to L.A. to play the Rams this weekend -- and Quavo also has a friendly warning for his pal Jalen Ramsey ... JULIO JONES IS GONNA BUST YOUR ASS!