TMZ Sports - Page 50

MMA meets T&A!!

Here's UFC star Paige VanZant and her MMA fighter husband, Austin Vanderford, making the best out of quarantine ... by getting naked and climbing on each other!!

Hey, ya got it? Flaunt it, right?!

Both Paige and Austin have been training their asses off at their Oregon home during the COVID-19 pandemic ... and they've clearly decided the best way to deal with the stress, is to undress!

So, they've basically become nudists in their own home -- they cook naked, the clean naked, the work out naked, they garden naked ... and now they're climbing on each other naked!

Of course, both Paige and Austin are itching for a fight -- Paige recently had her cast removed after suffering a broken arm. She hasn't fought since defeating Rachael Ostovich back in January 2019.

Austin is 9-0 as a pro after locking up another W at Bellator 234 back in November.

A 3-time Ironman world champion lost a virtual reality race over the weekend ... and it's all because she says her husband tripped over the power cord that tied her to the event!!

"What an idiot," the losing athlete, Mirinda Carfrae, said.

Here's the deal ... with the world under lockdown -- world-class triathletes took part in a VR Ironman race on Saturday.

The event was pretty cool ... the women performed from their living rooms, with their movements being broadcast through avatars on a screen. It's like a video game powered by actual athletes.

The problem? Carfrae's hubby, world champion triathlete Timothy O'Donnell, entered the room to show off some trophies as inspiration for the camera -- when he accidentally unplugged his wife from the race!!

"He decided to bring my trophies in here for motivation and when he walked around the back, he kicked out the plug!" the 39-year-old said. "What an idiot!"

Carfrae -- who was immediately disqualified due to the disconnect -- took her husband's gaffe in stride, writing after the race, "Really enjoyed taking part in the @ironman VR1 this weekend."

"Might take a few more days to forgive @tointri for the colossal stuff up 🤦🏼‍♀️😂. Of all the things that could have gone wrong, TO kicking out the cord was definitely not on our radar."

No guests? No problem!

Jameis Winston tied the knot to his longtime girlfriend, Breion, in a VERY private ceremony at their home ... despite the chaos from the coronavirus pandemic.

The two were supposed to have a massive, lavish ceremony with a TON of guests from all around the country.

But, with the stay-at-home orders in place, the NFL quarterback and his bride-to-be were faced with a choice ... postpone or improvise.

They chose door #2 ... and on March 27, they decided to move forward with the ceremony with the help of an officiant and a well-decorated back yard!

"A week when nothing was going as planned," Breion said.

"Our initial wedding had just been postponed and I was in a funk. But [Jameis] came through and put together a beautiful intimate ceremony in the privacy of our own home."

"And it seemed it was meant to be this way all along... #MrAndMrsWinston."

The two have known each other since high school and have been dating for years. The former Tampa Bay Bucs star popped the question back in 2018, just a few months before they had their first child together.

Congrats!

Colorado Rockies legend Todd Helton was sentenced to 2 days in jail over a 2019 incident ... this after the 46-year-old pleaded guilty to DUI in court last month.

Todd was busted in Knoxville, Tenn. on March 18, 2019 after cops say the former MLB first baseman lost control of his truck and crashed it into a telephone pole.

Officers say when they arrived on scene ... Helton was being taken care of by emergency medical personnel -- and had admitted to taking Ambien before getting behind the wheel.

But, in the police report, cops say they found a plastic cup that reeked of booze inside his ride ... and eventually, they issued a misdemeanor DUI citation to the ex-baseball player.

Helton entered a treatment program immediately after the crash after expressing remorse for his actions, but the case dragged on in court for nearly a year before he finally cut a plea deal with prosecutors on March 10.

A spokesperson for the Knox County district attorney's office tells TMZ Sports that in exchange for pleading guilty-as-charged to DUI ... he received a sentence of 48 hours in custody.

Helton also received 11 months and 29 days on unsupervised probation, a $350 fine and got his license suspended for 1 year. Helton was also ordered to attend a Victim Impact Panel.

We reached out to Helton's attorney for comment, but so far, no word back yet.

Of course, this was not Todd's first run-in with DUI trouble ... he pleaded guilty to driving while ability impaired back in 2013 in Colorado.

Tom Dempsey, a legendary NFL kicker who is best known for a spectacular game-winning field goal, died Saturday from complications from the coronavirus.

Dempsey, who was born without toes on his right foot and without fingers on his right hand, was able to excel as an NFL kicker with the help of specially-designed shoes.

As for the legendary kick, it went down in 1970.  Dempsey was the kicker for the New Orleans Saints when they played the Detroit Lions, and he shattered the field goal record by 7 yards, propelling it 63 yards. The record has since been matched by 5 kickers and it was shattered -- actually more like broken -- by Denver Bronco kicker Matt Prater in 2013, when he scored a field goal from 64 yards.

Dempsey also played for the Eagles, the Rams, the Oilers and the Bills during his 11-year career.

The Saints said, "The New Orleans Saints family is deeply saddened and heartbroken at this most difficult time. Tom's life spoke directly to the power of the human spirit and exemplified his resolute determination to not allow setbacks to impede following his dreams and aspirations." He exemplified the same fight and fortitude in recent years as he battled valiantly against illnesses but never wavered and kept his trademark sense of humor."

As for how Dempsey contracted the virus ... he was living in a New Orleans retirement home where 15 patients have died from the disease. Louisiana has really gone through it ... more than 12,400 confirmed cases. New Orleans, where many contracted the virus during Mardi Gras, has had 153 deaths so far.

Dempsey grew up in CA and played football at Palomar College in SoCal. After calling it quits with the Saints, he became an oilfield salesman, and later became a high school football coach and a car dealership manager.

Dempsey had been battling dementia for years.

He's survived by his wife and 3 kids.

Dempsey was 73.

Cris Cyborg is a living, breathing MMA legend who paved the way for women in mixed martial arts ... but her next fight, well it ain't gonna be in the cage, 'cause she wants to box!!

TMZ Sports talked to the 34-year-old Bellator featherweight champ -- the only fighter in history to hold titles in 4 major MMA promotions (UFC, Bellator, Strikeforce & Invicta FC) -- and when we asked Justino who she planned to beat up next, her answer was surprising.

"I'm training a lot in boxing now. I was thinking about maybe I do my next fight in boxing," Cyborg tells us.

Over her 15-year professional fighting career, Justino has NEVER competed in a boxing match ... but that doesn't mean she's looking for an easy opponent.

"Me and Cecilia Braekhus always talk back and forth. But, you know, I'm training," Cyborg says.

"I think everyone is gonna be a very good match for me. It's gonna be a great fight. I like to challenge myself. I never look for the easy way. I like to train hard, and make the best fight for my career, for my fans."

Braekhus is a BEAST!! She's 36-0 and is hands down one of the scariest women in the world ... but Cyborg isn't intimidated.

"I always compete in everything, jiu-jitsu, wrestling, MMA, jiu-jitsu, grappling. But, I never got the opportunity [to fight] Muay Thai, I never got the opportunity to fight box. For me, it's gonna be an honor to fight her."

For the record, Cyborg says Bellator boss Scott Coker is cool with her move to pugilism ... and Cris says this move doesn't mean she's done fighting MMA.

But, before anyone beats each other up, the world has to beat coronavirus ... and Cyborg's doing her part to keep people healthy and fit by leading online workout classes during the quarantine.

Lose weight AND learn to beat somebody's ass ... all from the comfort of your living room.

Matt Patricia, listen up ... Cliff Avril says if you want to keep your job as Detroit Lions coach -- PASS ON TUA TAGOVAILOA!!

Don't get it twisted ... the ex-Lions star tells TMZ Sports he thinks Tua's got a bright future -- but he says because of the Bama QB's hip injury, he won't be able to help Detroit this season.

And, considering Patricia NEEDS wins in 2020 to extend his tenure in the Motor City ... Avril's advising him to stick with Matt Stafford and draft someone who can help right away.

"If we don't start winning some ball games, do I want to go off a young player who is coming out of college that has been injured or do I keep the veteran player that I have, and surround him with other great players?" Avril says.

"I would do that personally. I would leave Stafford there and surround him with some good players."

Of course, Cliff says Stafford -- who he played with early in his career -- can still sling it ... so the choice between the two shouldn't be a terribly difficult one for Patricia when the Lions are on the clock at No. 3 overall next month.

"I've played against him, I've been on his team, I've broken down film -- the man can throw the ball," Avril says of Stafford. "He can still put it out there. He can still play some football."

Fantasy baseball nerds, get your rankings out ... Oakland A's legend Dave Stewart tells TMZ Sports rookie Jesus Luzardo is going to have such a huge year, he's a Cy Young dark horse!!

"Luzardo, I think coming into this season obviously is the odds-on favorite to win the Rookie Of the Year," Stewart says. "And, I don't hesitate to take it a little bit further -- I wouldn't be surprised to see him as a Cy Young candidate."

If you haven't heard of Luzardo yet ... you probably should have, because the 22-year-old is arguably the top pitching prospect in baseball and appears poised for a monster first full season in the MLB.

In fact, in just 8.1 innings of spring training ball last month, before the MLB suspended play due to coronavirus ... Luzardo struck out 13 while walking 1 and only giving up 1 earned run.

When we asked Stewart about the kid ... he couldn't have loved the prospect's game more -- but says another rookie on the A's staff is going to impress as well!

"What's a shame is you've got also A.J. Puk," Stewart says. "So, you've got Puk and Luzardo, and they're going to be competing with each other for that Rookie of the Year."

Leave it to Jeff Lowe to let the cats out of the bag -- there's a bonus episode of 'Tiger King' coming to Netflix.

Joe Exotic's ex-business partner spilled the tea -- yet again -- during a cameo video message for Dodgers star Justin Turner. Jeff and his wife, Lauren, say they heard Justin was a big fan of the docuseries. They gave him a good ribbing about that, and then dropped the bombshell.

Jeff says Netflix producers will be shooting at his home on Sunday, and the footage will be used for a new episode dropping next week.

Makes sense Netflix would strike while the iron's piping hot. The series is Netflix's #1 show right now, and there are endless loose ends to address.

For instance, Jeff was raided by the feds last year ... something mentioned at the end of 'Tiger King,' but with no further detail. Only makes sense, the guy who snitched on Joe Exotic had to be the one to blab about the new episode.

Astros ace Justin Verlander is about to be donating a boatload of money for the next couple months to coronavirus charities -- and a lot of people have radically differing thoughts on it.

The pitcher and his wife, Kate Upton, took to IG Saturday to announce ... in light of the MLB continuing to pay its players for at least the next couple months -- per Justin himself -- he says he and Kate have decided to donate those funds toward COVID-19 relief efforts.

They say they'll choose different charities each week for each check, and announce them on their pages. There are tons to choose from these days, so no shortage of good orgs.

Now, time for some math ... 'cause Justin's donations are going to be staggering based on the numbers of his most recent contract with the 'Stros. He got signed to a 2-year, $66 million extension recently (good through the '20 and '21 seasons) and if you break that down -- it's about $634k a week. If he donates for two months ... $5 mil, more or less.

Probably more.

As for how folks received this very gesture ... a truly mixed bag, with lots of people responding drastically different depending on whose feed you check. If you hop on over to Justin's IG page, it seems to be nothing but love in his comments. Not so on Twitter ...

Vanessa Bryant just told the world how proud she is of Kobe, who has been honored as the next Basketball Hall of Fame inductee.

Vanessa sat with daughter Natalia as she fought back tears, saying how proud she was of Kobe's posthumous accomplishment.

Kobe will be inducted as part of the class of 2020, and Vanessa says it's the pinnacle of her late husband's storied NBA career, that spanned 20 years with the Lakers.

Vanessa says, "It's an incredible accomplishment and honor, and we're extremely proud of him. Obviously, we wish he was here with us to celebrate, but it's definitely the peak of his NBA career and every accomplishment that he had as an athlete was a stepping stone to be here."