TMZ Sports - Page 50

"In quarantine and in health..."

NBA star Zach LaVine decided there was no time like quarantine to pop the question to his longtime GF, Hunter Mar ... asking her to marry him in his backyard.... and she said YES!!!

The Chicago Bulls star pulled off the move by pretending to do an impromptu photo shoot with their adorable dog, Grizzly, on Wednesday ... when he whipped out a MASSIVE rock and got on one knee.

Seriously ... look at that thing. Zach definitely had to put that $78 million contract to good use.

Mar -- who has been dating LaVine since they were high school sweethearts -- was clearly shocked ... but obviously, said yes.

"My everything❤️ I love you with all of me," LaVine said on Instagram. "It’s been a long time coming, been together since I was 17 !!! My first love and my FOREVER love."

"U with me forever 🥰🥰"

Worth noting ... it's hilarious to see how unimpressed Grizzly is while mom and dad have a monumental moment. Gotta love dogs.

Congrats to the couple!! But, remember, no parties till we're all safe!!

Tragic news ... Karl-Anthony Towns' mother, Jacqueline Towns, has died after a lengthy battle with coronavirus.

The Minnesota Timberwolves star announced last month his mom contracted the disease in mid-March ... and was put in a medically induced coma shortly after because of complications.

But, the T-Wolves said Monday she succumbed to the virus.

"The Towns family is heartbroken by the untimely passing of Jacqueline Towns, due to complications as a result of COVID-19," the team said in a statement.

"Jackie, as she was affectionately known among family and friends, has been battling the virus for more than a month when she succumbed on April 13th."

The statement continued, "Jackie was many things to many people - a wife, mother, daughter, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend. The matriarch of the Towns family, she was an incredible source of strength; a fiery, caring, and extremely loving person, who touched everyone she met. Her passion was palpable and her energy will never be replaced."

Towns' father, Karl Towns Sr., had also been infected by the virus ... but made a full recovery.

"The Towns family is extremely grateful for the outpouring of love and support they have received during this very difficult time," the T-Wolves said. "They would like to thank the medical warriors at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and JFK Medical Center, who fought for Jackie day in and day out, and helped Karl Sr. recover from the same virus that took Jackie's life."

Move over, Ezekiel Elliott, there's a new highest-paid RB in the NFL -- it's Christian McCaffrey ... and he's making a whopping $16 MILLION a year!!!

Of course, Zeke took the title in September 2019 after a brief holdout ... securing a 6-year deal worth $90 million ($15 mil. a year).

But, the 23-year-old Carolina Panthers superstar just edged out Elliott with an extension announced Monday ... locking in a 4-year, $64 million deal ($16 MILLION a year).

The guy had been playing outta his mind the past 2 seasons ... and had more than 1,000 rushing yards AND 1,000 receiving yards in 2019.

CMC was previously on a 4-year rookie deal worth $17 million with a $10 million signing bonus ... so it's a big upgrade.

It's a lot of dough for a young kid ... and we're expecting his beautiful Miss Universe girlfriend, Olivia Culpo, will be treated to a nice dinner on the town once the coronavirus pandemic is over.

Vanessa Bryant is reflecting on one of the most special days of Kobe's career ... wishing she had more time with the NBA legend on the 4-year anniversary of his retirement.

After 20 seasons in the NBA, Kobe finally hung it up on April 13, 2016 -- Mamba Day -- and went out in true Bryant fashion by dropping 60 points on the Utah Jazz.

Vanessa went to social media Monday to explain why the special day was more about family than basketball.

"My husband worked his ass off for 20 years," Bryant said on Instagram. "Gave it his all. All he wanted was to spend time with our girls and me to make up for lost time."

"He wanted to be there for every single milestone and special moment in our girls lives."

Vanessa goes on to list how many accomplishments Kobe had in the 3 years and 9 months they shared of his time away from basketball.

"We had 2 more daughters, he won an Oscar, he opened Granity studios, he became a 5x best selling author and coached Gianna’s basketball team in that time."

Kobe and Gianna -- along with 7 others -- were killed in a helicopter accident back in January ... and Vanessa wishes she could change what happened that fateful day.

"I wish I could back to that morning, every day. I wish they had a normal local game on 1/26. Life truly isn’t fair. This is just senseless."

Since his passing, Kobe has been voted into the Basketball Hall of Fame and will be formally inducted later this year.

THIS IS SAVAGE!!!!

Alex Bregman's fiancee decided to spice up quarantine time with a neck-cracking prank on the MLB star ... and it's gnarly and hilarious all at the same time!!

The gag began with the Astros third baseman's soon-to-be wifey placing a piece of dry pasta in her mouth and calling Alex over to help her "crack her neck."

Bregman -- who, by the way, didn't want to come because he was working on a puzzle -- showed up and pressed on the side of her head.

That's when Reagan chomped down on the pasta -- making a sick cracking noise -- AND IT SCARED THE HELL OUT OF ALEX!!!

Watch the clip ... the 26-year-old 2019 AL MVP candidate jumped back several feet with a look of sheer terror on his face!!!

Reagan quickly showed him it was all part of a TikTok video ... and Alex couldn't have been more displeased, calling it "stupid!"

Don't worry ... we're sure Alex got over it -- because, well, how could you stay mad at this?!?!

NASCAR driver Kyle Larson has big problems -- the 27-year-old dropped an n-bomb during a virtual race on Easter Sunday ... with the hard R and all.

Larson -- who drives the #42 car during the NASCAR Cup Series -- was competing in an iRacing event, streamed live to thousands of people on Twitch.

After crashing during Lap 6, Larson apparently had a difficult time communicating with other drivers and that's when things got bad.

"You can't hear me? Hey, n****," Larson said casually.

WHAT?!?!

The comment was immediately met with shock from other drivers, who commented (vocally) on the live stream,

Anthony Alfredo: “Kyle, you’re talking to everyone, bud.”

Aaron MacEachern: “Yup, we heard that.”

Conor Daly: “Yikes!”

Justin Botelho: “Oh, damn! He did not just say that.”

Yeah, BAD.

By the way, Larson is half Japanese and has talked about how the NASCAR "Driver for Diversity" program helped him get to the big show.

He is the only active NASCAR driver of Japanese descent.

FYI, the race itself was called Monza Madness -- at the famous Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Italy -- and featured top drivers from NASCAR, IndyCar, NHRA and the eSports world.

If you've ever had the dream of buying a tainted World Series ring, now's your shot ... 'cause a 2017 Houston Astros ring is hitting the auction block ... and it ain't gonna come cheat cheap!!!

Goldin Auctions says the 10k ring belonged to team scout David Brito ... who's the first person to present a 2017 Astros ring for auction.

No word on if the decision to part ways is a conscience thing ... considering the championship was at the heart of the sign-stealing scandal that's left manager A.J. Hinch, then-bench coach Alex Cora and player Carlos Beltran out of the job.

Speaking of ... not only is the ring decked out in orange and blue sapphires ... it also features one of the most ironic phrases for this particular ring, "Earned History."

The L.A. Dodgers might have an issue with the word "earned," there.

We're told this ring -- despite all the surrounding drama -- could fetch anywhere from $20k-$60k.

So ... the next question is -- who's gonna buy it?? A die-hard fan? A pissed off baseball nut who wants to destroy it? A Dodgers player who thinks they deserve it?

Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson trolled their daughter, True, for her 2nd birthday ... no, really, it was a 'Trolls'-themed birthday bash!!!

Khloe and Tristan surprised True Sunday morning as soon as she woke up with tons of presents all over Khloe's crib. Not to mention balloons and not one but TWO birthday cakes. After all, True was turning 2 and it was Easter Sunday.

Mom and dad aren't quarantining together -- Tristan just pops in for visits -- but they were in sync for True's day, taking turns blowing out her candles.

Tristan dedicated a couple of posts to True on Instagram and captioned it, "Happy Birthday to my sweet baby True. You have no idea how much daddy loves you. I can't believe how fast time has flown by. You will always be daddy's little girl. I love you soo much Tutu. Happy birthday day #DaddysTwin."

Khloe's bday shout-out, "You are all of my unforgettable memories of the past few years, the precious magical moments of the present and the promise of a happy future. You are literally my entire world!"

True's gifts included 'Trolls' toys and a pretty badass ice cream stand. The rest of the Kardashians may not have been there but they sure chimed in virtually and through social media.

Tarvaris Jackson -- who famously backed up Russell Wilson in Super Bowl XLVIII -- has died in a car crash.

He was only 36.

We're told Jackson was involved in a wreck late Sunday night in Alabama, where he grew up.

Russell Wilson tweeted about his former teammate early Monday morning -- saying, "TJack... you will be missed. Praying for your family...Love you man."

Recently, he had been working as a quarterback coach for the Tennessee State football team.

"My heart is so heavy with hurt hearing of the passing of Coach Jackson,” said TSU's athletic director, Teresa Phillips. “We were blessed with him for a short time but he did make an impact with our young men in this one season at TSU."

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to his young family and all who knew and loved him."

Added TSU head coach Rod Reed, "We are devastated. He was an awesome young man and he will be missed by our players, our staff and the TSU family."

Jackson was a stud football player in high school -- and later played at Arkansas before transferring to Alabama State, where he balled out for 3 seasons.

The Minnesota Vikings selected Jackson in the 2nd round of the 2006 NFL Draft, with head coach Brad Childress calling the QB a "diamond in the rough."

Jackson spent 4 years in Minnesota before signing with the Seahawks, Bills ... and then a 2nd stint with the Seahawks, where he served as Wilson's backup until 2015.

We spoke with Jackson's former Vikings teammate, Bryant McKinnie -- who spent 5 seasons with TJ -- about the passing of his longtime friend.

Jerry "The King" Lawler is on his way to Orlando, Florida for Monday's episode of 'Raw' ... despite having serious health issues in the past.

The 70-year-old legend is a staple on 'Raw' -- but considering his age and the fact he had a heart attack on the air in 2012, you wouldn't think he'd be game for shooting a live ep during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But, alas, Lawler packed his stuff and got on the plane Monday morning -- and even cracked jokes about being the only traveler at the airport.

"Not many people flying today," Lawler tweeted ... "I called the airline and said, "What time does your flight to Orlando leave?" They said, 'What time can you be here?'"

WWE says they are taking all sorts of precautions to keep everyone safe -- including medical screenings for everyone who enters the WWE Performance Center in Orlando.

As we previously reported, a WWE on-air talent tested positive for coronavirus after WrestleMania 36 but the org. says they believe the person caught it from frontline medical workers AFTER the taping.

Rudy Gobert says there was "no fight" with his Jazz teammate, Donovan Mitchell, over their coronavirus diagnoses ... and says the 2 spoke over the weekend to try to iron things out.

"It is true that we didn't speak for a while after this, but we did speak a few days ago," Gobert said Sunday on Instagram Live. "We're both ready to go out there and try to win a championship for this team."

"There's no fight," Gobert added according to ESPN ... "It's all about thousands of people are dying every day, and it's all about what we can do to help, what we can do to bring some positive. That's what my focus is on now."

If you missed it, Mitchell was reportedly so upset at Gobert over the way he didn't take COVID-19 safety precautions seriously before their positive diagnoses ... his friendship with the big man is "unsalvageable."

Gobert admitted on IG Live things haven't exactly been smooth since March ... but says he's working on burying the hatchet.

"You know, everyone has got different relationships -- it's never perfect," Gobert said during an Instagram Live interview Sunday. "People that are married, it's never perfect."

"So, you know, me and my teammate, no, it's far from perfect. But, at the end of the day, we both want the same thing -- and it's winning."

As for Mitchell, he hasn't spoken publicly about his relationship with Rudy since just days after his positive COVID-19 test in March ... saying to "Good Morning America," "to be honest with you, it took a while for me to kind of cool off."

LaVar Ball says he wants both NBA AND NFL players under the BBB umbrella going forward ... and he says he's got a plan that could make them $40 MILLION on their 1st contract with the company!

The Big Baller tells TMZ Sports he wants to sign big-name football and basketball draft prospects starting next year ... and he says his deals with them will be VERY different than what Nike and Adidas are offering.

LaVar tells us his vision for BBB athletes is to have an ownership stake in their products ... and rather than getting fixed money upfront -- they'll get a percentage of ALL their sales going forward!!

"The guys that I want to be involved with, I want them to believe in themselves," LaVar says. "So, I would give them 40 percent of the profit of what they make."

Ball continued, "I'm not going to give them the 5-year, $10 million deal. Because everybody's like, 'Oh, he's passing up $10 million!' Like, nah, if you really believe in yourself and you're going to be the head of a franchise, you'd rather have ownership."

LaVar says the math is pretty simple ... if a guy sells a million shirts worldwide at $100 apiece, and gets 40 percent of the profit, he can make $40 MIL on his first deal no problem!!