TMZ Sports - Page 50

A former MLB relief pitcher says the Houston Astros RUINED his career by cheating to get hits off him in 2017 ... and now, he's suing for a ton of cash.

The man behind the lawsuit is Mike Bolsinger, a former Toronto Blue Jays reliever, who says the 'Stros cost him a chance at an extended MLB career in a game in Houston on Aug. 4, 2017.

Bolsinger claims during the game, the Astros illegally stole signs off him and his catcher by filming them and relaying the pitches to batters via a "banging" sound from the dugout.

Bolsinger -- who gave up 4 hits, 3 walks and 4 earned runs in the .1 innings he pitched that game -- says as a result of his disastrous outing, the Jays cut him and no other MLB team wanted him.

The 32-year-old says he was forced to pitch in Japan the past two seasons ... calling the Aug. 4 appearance "the death knell" in his MLB career.

But now, that MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has found the Astros DID, in fact, cheat during the 2017 season ... Bolsinger is looking for justice.

In his lawsuit, Mike says he wants the Astros to pay for the damages he suffered as a result of the outing.

Bolsinger also wants the 'Stros to give up all of their 2017 World Series post-season bonuses -- which he says are valued at $31 MILLION -- to charity.

The L.A. Chargers are moving on without Philip Rivers ... the team just announced it's parting ways with the QB, saying it was time to "turn the page."

"As we talked through various scenarios," Bolts GM Tom Telesco said Monday, "It became apparent that it would be best for Philip and the Chargers to turn the page on what has truly been a remarkable run."

38-year-old Rivers -- who's been a Charger since 2004 -- is coming off arguably his worst season as a starter ... throwing 20 INTS to just 23 TDs.

And, with L.A. having a top 6 pick in this spring's NFL draft ... Telesco and the Bolts made it clear they won't be looking to re-sign the guy this offseason.

"We agreed that making this decision well before free agency would allow everyone to put themselves in the best position for success in 2020," Telesco said.

For his part, Rivers was classy about the exit -- saying in a statement, "We had a lot of great moments ... I wish my teammates and coaches nothing but the best moving forward."

As for Rivers' future ... it seems retirement could be an option, although Telesco said he believes Philip could still be a starter somewhere in the league.

Sean McVay says there WILL be a bronze bust of Eric Weddle in Canton someday ... telling TMZ Sports the safety is a no-brainer Hall of Famer!

"He's a special person -- one of the smartest players I've ever worked with," McVay says. "He's had a great career. He's a Hall of Famer."

Of course, Weddle just announced his retirement last week ... and debates over his HOF candidacy are already pouring in.

Some say the dude didn't do enough to earn a space in the Hall ... but when we got Weddle's old coach with the Rams out at Catch in L.A. over the weekend, he said Eric belongs.

As for Weddle's case ... he could easily prove McVay right -- the 35-year-old was a 6-time Pro Bowler in 13 NFL seasons and he racked up 29 career interceptions.

Russell Wilson is well on his way to becoming a hair icon in 2020 ... 'cause the Seahawks QB debuted a man bun hairstyle while out with Ciara ... and it's a look that would make Jason Momoa proud.

Wilson has been trying new 'dos as of late... and a lot of people have taken notice of the many changes to his appearance.

The newest look -- long, straightened, Uncle Jesse from "Full House" kinda hair -- made its debut at the Tom Ford fashion show over the weekend ... and it's got everyone talking.

TMZ Sports shot Wilson out in West Hollywood with his pregnant wifey on Saturday night ... and he showed off the man bun modification to his hair, proving the dude is serious about the flow lifestyle.

To solidify the look, Wilson also rocked the man bun at the Vanity Fair Oscar party on Sunday night ... doubling down on the statement.

Kenny Britt -- a former first-round pick of the Tennessee Titans -- was arrested Saturday after cops say they found weed in his car ... TMZ Sports has confirmed.

According to the Bayonne Police Dept. ... officers were conducting a routine traffic stop on Britt in Bayonne, N.J., when they "immediately detected a strong odor of raw marijuana" coming from his ride.

Cops say after they searched Britt's 2019 black-colored Rambler truck ... they found less than 50 grams of weed and arrested the former wide receiver.

Cops say Britt was charged with possession ... and was also hit with summonses for possession of a controlled dangerous substance in a motor vehicle and obstructing passage of other motor vehicles.

Britt was booked at the station and later released.

Britt -- who played in the NFL from 2009 to 2017 -- has had a ton of legal troubles in the past ... getting arrested several times in 2011 and 2012.

Nnamdi Asomugha has taken his talents to center stage ... 'cause the ex-NFL superstar is a real-deal Broadway actor now!!

The 38-year-old cornerback-turned-actor has hit a milestone in his second career ... starring in the Broadway play, "A Soldier's Play," alongside huge names like Jerry O'Connell, Blair Underwood and David Alan Grier.

Asomugha plays the role of Class Melvin Peterson, which was initially played by Denzel Washington when the play made its Broadway debut back in 1981.

Of course, the 2-time first-team All-Pro has taken a serious approach to acting since leaving the league in 2013 ... with roles in short films and other Off-Broadway gigs.

BTW -- Asomugha is married to "Scandal" star Kerry Washington ... so that's one powerful couple in the industry.

Asomugha ain't the only NFLer to make it to Broadway -- Eddie George made his debut in "Chicago" in 2016!!

Justin Bieber capped off a big weekend on the ice ... where he showed off a different set of skills for his fans.

Bieber rented out Wollman Rink in Central Park late Sunday night so he and his friends could unwind by playing some pick-up hockey, and JB's performance on skates is good ... but not quite as impressive as his return to "Saturday Night Live."

Justin stood out with his bleach blonde hair and white #5 jersey, so it was easy for the adoring crowd to keep an eye on him as he and a buddy went head-to-head in a skills challenge.

The friend wowed with his moves for sure, and Bieber got there too ... after a couple tries.

As we reported ... JB was the musical guest on 'SNL' and showcased his new stuff, including his single, "Yummy," and a collab with Quavo called "Intentions," for which their music vid's shining light on a good cause.

How did the XFL's St. Louis BattleHawks celebrate their first-ever win Sunday???

BY SHOTGUNNING HARD SELTZERS, BABY!!!

The postgame boozing all went down in Texas ... whereafter the Battlehawks beat the Dallas Renegades, 15-9, they hit the complimentary Bud Light Seltzers HARD.

Check out video from the locker room ... backup QBs Nick Fitzgerald and Taylor Heinicke grabbed the cans and went to work.

Fitzgerald went with the semi-traditional shotgun route ... biting into the can before pouring it down his throat. Meanwhile, Heinicke went straight-up Stone Cold Steve Austin style with his two cans!!!

Seriously, the footage is amazing.

As for the XFL's opening weekend as a whole ... seems most of the games went off without a hitch, which has gotta make Vince McMahon pretty happy.

Colin Kaepernick's salary demands to play quarterback in the XFL were "exorbitant" ... so says new league commissioner Oliver Luck.

"We spoke with his representative," Luck said of Kap. "And the salary requirements that were broached in that conversation were exorbitant and certainly out of our range."

Luck claims the conversations with Kap's camp all went down about a year ago ... but he says talks with the QB after initial interest on the XFL's side never got far at all.

"We have some pretty significant salary restrictions, you know," Luck said in an interview with NPR over the weekend. "We're a start-up league, so we want to make sure that we can be fiscally responsible and fiscally prudent."

"And the, you know, salary requirements that some folks, you know, shared with us were in our case exorbitant, so we, you know, couldn't go down that path."

Of course, Kaepernick made over $40 MILLION in his 6 NFL seasons. Reportedly, the average salary for XFL players is roughly $55,000.

"His game is as good as it's ever been."

That's Brett Favre saying he hasn't seen ANY decline in Tom Brady at 42 years old ... telling TMZ Sports TB12's teammates deserve most of the blame for his down year.

"I saw a quarterback still able to do what he normally does but the cast around him was not up to par," Favre says ...

"How many times did we see Tom frustrated this year because guys were not on the same page?"

Tom posted a near career-low 88.0 QB rating this past season ... and his Pats didn't make a deep postseason run for the first time in YEARS.

But, Favre tells us a TB12 decline wasn't the reason for that at all ... saying he believes Tom still consistently showed the same tools that made him the game's G.O.A.T.

"I didn't see any decline in his arm strength," Favre says.

Still, Favre acknowledges Brady might be moving on from the Pats after this season ... and as someone who famously left Green Bay toward the end of his career, he spoke with us about what Tom's mindset could be heading into this offseason.

Jeffrey Davies -- the guy who played Kelly Leak in the 2005 comedy "Bad News Bears" -- is taking his first steps ... nearly a year after a terrible motorcycle accident.

The teen star was admitted into the Orlando Health Brain Injury Rehabilitation Center last week and it's there where -- with help from an exoskeleton -- he started taking his first steps. It's monumental ... especially since he caught pneumonia over the holidays.

Jeffrey's first steps triggered a wave of emotions. You can hear his caregiver, recording the achievement, crying. The nurses helping Jeffrey are also very impressed he's shifting his weight all on his own. He's still got months of rehab ... but clearly off to a strong start.

TMZ broke the story ... Jeffrey was riding a motorcycle back in May when he lost control at the center of an intersection and was thrown from the bike. He was left nearly paralyzed and required round-the-clock care that included occupational therapy.

The family's had to deal with insurance coverage too ... forcing them to start a GoFundMe to help cover Jeffrey's mounting medical bills. The campaign gained some traction when we wrote about Jeffrey on New Year's Eve ... but the family could still use the public's help.

Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs are still celebrating their Super Bowl win ... damn near 7 days after beating the 49ers in Miami.

Patty, Travis Kelce and a bunch of the guys from the team were down in Sin City over the weekend -- where they kept the party going in at last two different clubs on the strip. On Friday, the Chiefs players were at JEWEL Nightclub at the ARIA resort and casino.

Looks like they were the center of attention, and were in good company too. Girls were doing shoulder rides and waving around Chiefs signs and flags. Some of the other players who came out ... Damien Williams, Mecole Hardman, Blake Bell, Cam Erving and Austin Reiter.

On Saturday, the boys in red bounced on over to OMNIA Nightclub at Caesars Palace, where a Steve Aoki concert was being held. We got some footage from inside ... looks like the fellas were vibing and feeling themselves.

Snoop Dogg says he was NOT threatening CBS anchor Gayle King over her Kobe Bryant interview -- but the record shows he did make a somewhat threatening comment.

The rapper took to IG Saturday to clarify a video he posted a few days ago criticizing Gayle for an interview she did with WNBA player Lisa Leslie. Snoop made what many perceived as threats against her, but now ... he claims he didn't and means her no harm.

Snoop says he's a non-violent person and was raised better than that. He insists he was only speaking on behalf of people who felt disrespected by Gayle's interview and was only going from the heart. Snoop says all he wanted to do was point out she was out of line.

What's interesting is that he claims he never threatened her -- and only told her Kobe's fans were "watching" her -- but his own words seem to contradict him here.

What Snoop said verbatim ... "Funky dog head bitch. How dare you try to tarnish my motherf***in' home boy's reputation, punk motherf***er. Respect the family and back off, bitch. Before we come get you." This came after a tirade against Gayle coming after black men, but not being as enthusiastic to grill people about Harvey Weinstein (in Snoop's eyes).

Maybe he was speaking figuratively, but the fact is ... "come get you" can be seen as a threat, even if it isn't meant seriously. Regardless, the criticism appears to have opened the floodgates for others who've allegedly made death threats against Gayle.

Gayle herself came out and said the clip was taken out of context from a much longer and wide-ranging interview, and that she felt CBS had screwed her by releasing a clip showing just that part where she pressed Lisa about the rape claim against Kobe.

While Gayle feels the clip was unfairly represented, it doesn't take away from the fact she did push Lisa about that topic -- and felt it was, in fact, appropriate to do so in the moment.

Evelyn Lozada is not done with "Basketball Wives" despite another castmember accusing her of being a bigot -- we've learned she's in talks to return to the reality show.

Sources close to Evelyn tell TMZ ... VH1 approached her about a comeback for season 9, but she's yet to reach a decision because she's weighing the pros and cons. We're told she's open to rejoining, but there are several factors making her hesitant to sign on the dotted line.

As you know ... Evelyn had major beef last year with Ogom "OG" Chijindu ... it got racial and there was even a lawsuit. EL filed for defamation when OG accused her of calling her castmates some horrible things.

As we reported, Evelyn said in the suit ... she lost tons of endorsement deals due to the racism allegations, and even had to hire security for her and her family.

So, there would be a huge elephant in the 'BBW' room if Evelyn returns.

We're told she's also slow to sign a deal because when she's left the show in the past ... she's had more time to focus on growing her jewelry and skin-care businesses.

Right now, our sources say Evelyn is trying to figure out if the 'Basketball Wives' paycheck is worth all the drama that will inevitably come with it.

"MARRY HER!!!"

Packers star pass rusher Za'Darius Smith is putting some serious heat on his OWN quarterback, telling TMZ Sports ... Aaron Rodgers needs to marry Danica Patrick ASAP!!!

"Look, 12, I know I'm on TMZ," Smith hilariously told us out at Super Bowl festivities in Miami on Wednesday ... "But, man, most definitely, you should marry that lady!"

Rodgers and Danica have been dating for over two years ... and things are definitely SERIOUS between the two.

They've publicly said "I love yous" ... she's rooted him on at Packers games, despite being a Bears fan ... and the two even just bought a $28 MILLION mansion together in Malibu.

But Rodgers has yet to bend the knee and pop the question ... and Za'Darius tells us his QB needs to change that.

"She's a lovely woman," Smith says. "I've met her."

In fact, Smith says he thinks Rodgers giving Danica a ring could elevate the QB's game ... telling us his own career really took off once he committed to his GF during his Baltimore Ravens days.

"She kept me locked in," Smith said.

Fred Taylor WILL be wearing a gold jacket sometime in the future ... so says the Jaguars legend himself, who tells TMZ Sports he has "no doubt" he'll get in soon.

"We're going to get it," Taylor said leaving Prime 112 in Miami recently. "I believe in the voters."

Fred has a pretty good case ... the former Jacksonville running back ranks 17th on the all-time rushing yards list with 11,695 -- and he did score 66 rushing TDs as well.

But, with his former team not listing him as its greatest-ever franchise player (the Jags famously put Tony Boselli ahead of him last year) ... some wonder if Fred truly will get in.

"Yeah, we'll get it," Fred told us confidently. "No doubt."

As for the current state of the Jags, Taylor had an interesting take on the current QB conundrum in Duval.

The Jags paid Nick Foles a TON of cash to be their starter this past offseason ... but he was outplayed by Gardner Minshew -- and Taylor tells us he thinks Gardner should probably be the guy going forward now.

"I think the locker room might have a little bit more faith and trust in Minshew," Taylor says.

The ex-RB made it clear, though ... don't sleep on Foles by any means in 2020.