TMZ Sports - Page 50

The biggest stars in the world -- from all walks of life -- are mourning the death of Kobe Bryant ... from Mark Wahlberg to Jay-Z, The Game, Lil' Kim and more.

Of course, everyone happened to be in L.A. for the Grammys ... but Kobe was clearly on everyone's mind.

Some of the stars remembered Kobe as a hero. Others focused on the tragedy that caused his death.

Ex-NBA player Al Harrington -- who was friends with Kobe -- couldn't believe the helicopter crashed so close to Al's Calabasas home. Al says he's still trying to process everything.

Swae Lee, French Montana, Offset and Michael Blackson also talked about Bryant and his daughter, GiGi.

Conor McGregor -- who was also in town for the Grammys -- admitted he never met Kobe, but clearly drew inspiration from the NBA star and talked about the huge impact Bryant had in Ireland, despite the fact nobody over there really cares about basketball.

Hillary Clinton reacted to the horrible news of Kobe Bryant's death the same way as everyone else -- she was stunned, momentarily speechless ... then heartbroken.

The former Secretary of State was at Sundance in Park City, UT Sunday following the premiere of her new docuseries, "Hillary" ... and we broke the tragic news to her.

Hillary came back around later and touched on the passing of the NBA legend, saying she couldn't believe it until she checked her phone ... and felt anguished that it was real.

She called Kobe's death an "incredible loss ... in every way," echoing the sentiments of millions still reeling from the sad news.

We broke the story ... Bryant died in a helicopter crash Sunday morning, along with his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna and 7 other people -- later identified as John Altobelli (56), Keri Altobelli, Alyssa Altobelli, Sarah Chester, Payton Chester (13), Christina Mauser and the pilot, Ara Zobayan.

Kobe Bryant loomed large in the minds of all the musicians at the Grammy Awards -- which was evident in Alicia Keys' touching opening tribute to the late NBA legend.

This year's host started Sunday night's show with some solemn words for the crowd, acknowledging Kobe's death right off the bat by saying that everyone there was feeling "crazy sadness" ... adding that L.A., the U.S. and the world had lost a great one.

She went on to say, "We're literally standing here heartbroken in the house that Kobe Bryant built." The Grammys are being held at the STAPLES Center ... so she's correct there. The building even lit up his two jerseys in the rafters as AK spoke.

Alicia asked the audience to hold Kobe, Gianna and all the other victims in the helicopter crash in their thoughts, prayers and spirits as their families mourned. Then came a huge moment ... she brought out Boyz II Men and sang "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye."

Just outside, fans were paying their respects to their hometown hero ... but some weren't so happy the Grammys were continuing at all. You can hear several people shouting, "F**k the Grammys!" in what appeared to be a spontaneous protest of sorts.

Lamar Odom and his fiancee say people are reading too much into her deleting some IG pics -- including one of her engagement rock -- 'cause there's a simple reason for the vanishing act.

We got Lamar and Sabrina Parr outside the Whiskey Mistress bar in ATL, and the fact they showed up together shoulda been our first clue on their relationship status -- as they both pointed out to our photog. We did press Sabrina -- who's a personal trainer -- about deleting the pics, and she chalked it up to a "health and fitness" related cleansing.

Mostly, anyway. She also copped to a bit of vanity. The best sign here for LO fans ... Sabrina was wearing her ring.

Bottom line ... they're still going just as strong as they were when we spoke to the couple in November and LO praised the hell outta his "star."

BTW ... we also asked Sabrina how the wedding dress search is going. The short answer ... not even close. Especially because she's shopping for several of them!!!

Floyd Mayweather and Canelo Alvarez's billion-dollar rematch ain't happening -- not now, not ever -- so says the Mexican superstars' promoter, Oscar De La Hoya.

Remember, the boxing legends fought back in 2013 ... and Canelo -- who was only 22 years old at the time -- was easily handled by Floyd, losing by majority decision.

The two have been talking trash to each other publicly ever since -- Canelo's mocked Floyd for fighting Conor McGregor. Floyd went after Canelo for his positive PED test in 2018. For a second, it started to feel like they were seriously building toward a rematch.

In fact, just last year De La Hoya told us the rematch would be the biggest event in boxing history -- easily a $1.5 BILLION event.

But, things have changed and now, Oscar seems to be slamming the door on getting the superstars back in the same ring.

CM Punk is finally responding to Logan Paul's big MMA call out ... and bad news -- it's a big, fat THUMBS DOWN!

Of course, Paul is looking to continue his combat sports career after that big boxing match with KSI back in November -- and the two names he's thrown out are Antonio Brown and CM Punk.

With AB's troubling legal issues, that fight seems like a long shot now ... so what about Punk?

Remember, 41-year-old Punk has two UFC fights under his belt -- and even though he lost 'em both, we're told he's a maniac in the gym ... and a lot of people would like to see him get another shot.

Paul is one of the people ... telling TMZ Sports he'd LOVE to throw down with the WWE legend and bragging, "I think I would destroy CM Punk if I'm being honest."

So, when we saw CM out in L.A. the other night -- we had to ask if he had any interest.

The Super Bowl isn't just a huge weekend for football, it's a massive weekend for strippers who come from all over the world to get in on that Super Bowl cash!!

But it's not just female strippers who hit the jackpot ... male strippers can clean up too.

We've learned that several male reviews have been holding auditions to make sure they're only trotting out the best of the best for customers looking to spend.

In fact, we got one of the auctions from LaBare, where a bunch of ripped ass dudes stripped off to their g-strings and twerked their asses off in hopes of getting a coveted spot on the stage this week.

"We're getting tons of men who want to join the cast for Super Bowl weekend from all over the world," LaBare's marketing manager, Jessica Jones, tella us, "Texas is the most popular."

Cooper Kupp is going to bat for his quarterback ... saying there's NOTHING wrong with Jared Goff -- and promising TMZ Sports JG is going to be just fine next season!!

"We have all the faith in the world in Jared," the Rams superstar receiver says. "Absolutely love him."

Of course, a lot of L.A. fans ain't exactly feeling the same way ... Goff saw his QB rating dip nearly 15 points to 86.5 this season, his touchdown passes fall from 32 to 22 and his interceptions rise from 12 to 16.

But, when we got Kupp out at LAX this week ... he told us there's ZERO panic in the Rams' locker room over their signal-caller.

"We're going to be just fine," the receiver says.

The Rams have already taken some steps to try to get Goff back to his 2018 form ... Sean McVay hired Kevin O'Connell to be the team's new OC, and Goff's already said he's stoked for that addition.

These celebrity football fans are kickin' grass and taking names!

As the NFL season is rushing into the final week before Super Bowl LIV, stars are showing off their support on the sidelines. The National Football Conference and American Football Conference face off for the Pro Bowl today, but throughout the season famous fanatics like Taylor Hill, Vanessa Hudgens, and Kevin Hart have been facing off with the camera to snap the perfect pics!

Get your head in the game and blitz your way through this green gallery of famous NFL fans having a field day!

'Bachelor' stars Jade Roper Tolbert and her hubby costar, Tanner Tolbert, just lost out on a million bucks from an online betting competition -- and it seems things weren't on the up-and-up ... according to DraftKings.

DraftKings released a statement Saturday saying that -- after a multi-week investigation on claims of cheating and rigging the standings -- they have updated their leader board on the Wild Card competition they held back in early January.

The company stops short of calling Jade and Tanner cheaters or any other such accusation, but it's pretty clear ... they found something fishy in the way they won the top prize.

They say rather ambiguously, "All customers affected by the updated standings will be notified directly. It is our general policy not to comment further on such matters." You'll recall ... Jade and Tanner were accused of being in cahoots to win the million bucks.

They flat-out denied it at the time, telling us in essence ... they're just lucky. But, per those hawkish online gambling wizzes, the 'Bachelor' pair appeared to coordinate their max-out 150 lineups to increase their chances of winning. That's a clear violation of the rules.

Vin Diesel caught Super Bowl fever early ... the guy's already in the Sunshine State and raging with none other than the great Steve Aoki. Any guesses on what they did on stage???

The "Fast & Furious" star was partying Friday night at Miami mogul David Grutman's STORY nightclub, where SA was booked to perform. Well, sure enough ... Vin got in on the festivities without hesitation. He was dancing his face off from behind the DJ booth.

Trust us though ... that doesn't quite take the cake.

VIN actually took the cake from Steve ... who's known for his birthday cake toss into the crowd. Naturally, VD was down to give a throw himself. Looks like he's done this before.

The crowd at Super Bowl 54 might look like a Grammy Awards after-party, because it's going to include some of the biggest names in music ... TMZ has learned.

Our SB sources tell us ... stars like Cardi B, Lady Gaga and DJ Khaled are expected to be at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami next Sunday to watch the Kansas City Chiefs take on the San Francisco 49ers in the big game.

That's not all, though ... we're told Beyonce's likely to be there -- makes sense with Jay-Z's partnership with the NFL -- and it's quite possible Sir Paul McCartney will be in attendance as well.

Both have headlined the Super Bowl Halftime Show in the past ... so they'll surely be interested to see how this year's performers -- Jennifer Lopez and Shakira -- fare during their set.

Speaking of J Lo, our sources say her fiance, A-Rod, will also be at the game. He was in tow when she was shooting a Super Bowl commercial earlier this month, too.

Famous pro gamer Ninja is also going to be there.

Retired MLB star Jim Edmonds is logging some quality one-on-one time with the woman who allegedly banged him and his estranged wife at the same time.

Check out these pics of the St. Louis Cardinals legend and Kortnie O'Connor relaxing poolside in Cabo San Lucas. She's the woman Jim's reality star ex, Meghan King Edmonds, claims had a threesome with them when they were newlyweds.

Our sources tell us Jim and Kortnie spent last weekend shacking up at the Montage Resort ... and the quickie trip was part of a birthday celebration for Angels slugger Albert Pujols.

Seems the getaway was a success for Jim and Kortnie ... because a few days later they were sitting outside at R + D Kitchen in Newport Beach, where folks tell us they were laughing and having a great time. They're clearly not shy.

As you know ... Jim and Meghan are divorcing after 5 years of marriage, and she says Jim is dating Kortnie -- a claim he denies.

Troubled NFL star Aldon Smith isn't giving up his dream of getting back on the football field ... 'cause he's training like crazy in hopes of making a return to the league.

30-year-old Smith hasn't played a down in the NFL since 2015 due to a variety of issues including substance abuse, a hit-and-run and domestic violence allegations.

Before the off-the-field issues, Smith was one of the most dominant players in the league -- he was a 1st Team All-Pro in 2012 when he recorded 19.5 sacks ... setting the San Francisco 49ers single-season franchise record.

Shannon Sharpe ain't so sure Eli Manning is getting into the Hall of Fame ... the Broncos legend tells TMZ Sports the debate over the QB's candidacy will be "contentious."

We got the FS1 star out at LAX just minutes after Eli had his retirement news conference Friday ... and we asked him straight-up, is the Giants legend Hall of Fame worthy?

"I thought I knew what a Hall of Famer was," Sharpe told us. "But, many years ago. I don't know anymore."

The "Undisputed" co-host seems to think Eli will ultimately get a bronze bust someday ... but he makes it clear, it's probably because of the QB's 2 title rings.

"It's going to be hard to keep him out because he has two Super Bowl MVPs," Sharpe said. "He's one of five players to have multiple Super Bowl MVPs."

But, Sharpe points out the fact that the talk is already so polarizing means it could be an uphill climb to Canton for Eli when he's eligible in 5 years regardless.

"The mere fact the guy's retired for an hour and that's a debate lets you know how contentious his selection is going to be."

Lance Armstrong is going on a trip to Spain ... and he's lookin' for some friends to go with him -- as long as they got an extra $30k lying around.

Here's the deal ... the disgraced cycling superstar is putting on a trip called "The Move Mallorca 2020" ... where he and 12 lucky (and rich) guests will ride through the island together for almost a week.

So, what does the hefty price tag come with??? According to the tour company's website, "accommodations, meals, bikes and more” for the 6 day/5 night trip.

Despite the bad taste Armstrong might leave in cycling enthusiasts' mouths, we're told the company has has “been inundated” with inquiries since it was announced on January 20.

By the way, Lance's ex-teammate (and fellow drug cheater) George Hincapie will also be part of the ride.