TMZ Sports - Page 50

Hockey fan?! Ridiculously rich?! Listen up if you wanna own a piece of sports history, 'cause a 170-year-old hockey stick -- estimated to be worth MILLIONS -- just hit the auction block.

The stick -- one of the first-ever made -- is believed to be from the time period between 1850 and 1870 ... as the game of hockey was being invented.

Here's the deal ... in 1980, a couple -- Gary and Germaine Morse -- discovered the one-of-a-kind stick sitting in the closet of a Vermont home they recently purchased.

The Morse's had no idea what the stick was worth ... so they had it assessed.

The value, according to the expert fine art appraiser?

3.5 MILLION DOLLARS!!

Shockingly, they held on to the stick for 40 years -- until recently deciding to cash out -- going to Goldin Auctions and asking them to unload the piece.

We know, sounds like a helluva lot of money for a very old piece of wood ... but 100+-year-old sticks have a track record of selling for a fortune.

The "Rutherford Stick" -- also believed to be from the 1850s -- reportedly sold for $2.2 million in the mid-2000s.

Question is, what will a similarly old and rare stick go for at auction?

We'll know soon ... bidding kicks off on Friday.

Wanna help fight the coronavirus and take a step toward becoming the most swagged-out person on the planet at the same time?!?!

Ray Lewis can help with that ... 'cause the Unvi. of Miami legend is offering up an original turnover chain PLUS a VIP experience in exchange for COVID-19 charity!!

The NFL Hall of Famer just announced he's accepting Michael Rubin's All In challenge by offering up a huge package of Hurricanes-related gifts ... and it's pretty sweet.

Ray says the winner of his charity auction will be flown to Miami for its Nov. 7 game against Florida State ... and will be put up in the famous Fontainebleau hotel for the weekend.

Ray says the winner -- who can be joined by as many as 3 other friends -- will also get steak dinners and a once in a lifetime meet and greet before the big game.

"You're going to be able to run out of the tunnel!" Ray says. "Come out of the smoke! One of the most iconic memories of all-time!"

As for that chain ... it's unclear how drippy the replica ice will be -- but we're guessing Ray ain't sparing no expenses here!!

Scottie Pippen says he got FIRED from his role with the Chicago Bulls ... but don't feel bad for the guy, 'cause he's pretty glad to be away from that mess!!

The 6-time champ revealed the move on the Thuzio Live & Unfiltered podcast (which was recorded during All-Star Weekend but released Wednesday) ... explaining he couldn't come to an agreement with the Bulls front office prior to the 2019 season, so they canned him.

"I got fired this year. I didn't really want it to be in the public, but I'm no longer employed by the Bulls," Pippen said in the interview.

Here's what went down ... the Bulls reportedly met with Pippen before the season and asked him to make several commitments that would mess up his gig with ESPN's "The Jump" ... but wouldn't budge on compensation, so they let him go.

So ... how is Pippen taking it?? Let's say pretty well.

"It's probably a good thing, right? ... I like to associate myself with winning."

Ouch.

Of course, the Bulls are not great right now -- they're 22-43 and don't really have any star players outside of Zach LaVine.

Chicago DID, however, just hire ex-Nuggets GM Arturas Karnisovas to replace John Paxson ... so at least they're heading in the right direction.

Brandon Marshall, Stefon Diggs, Jerry Jeudy and Jason Pierre-Paul have teamed up in a big way -- and it's to help the heroes battling the COVID-19 pandemic.

Marshall -- who's been coordinating the charity work through his House of Athlete company -- got the guys together to hit up hospitals down in Fla. on Wednesday ... and the gesture is pretty amazing.

Marshall tells TMZ Sports he's super grateful for what nurses, doctors and other medical personnel have done these few weeks to stop COVID-19 ... so he's giving back in a big way.

With the help of Raw Juce ... Marshall is donating thousands of meals, juices, acai bowls and smoothies to health staff -- and Diggs, Jeudy and JPP have all come along for the ride.

"It's important that our healthcare workers recover," Marshall says ... "We need them to be mentally and physically and emotionally strong for the rest of this fight."

Brandon tells us he believes a healthy diet -- similar to what NFL players eat to recover after tough games -- can help provide that ... so he and the guys are going to multiple hospitals this month to give back.

"Now more than ever," Marshall says, "they need to recover like athletes."

Pro Football Hall of Famer and 5-time champion Willie Davis has passed away at age 85, the Hall announced Wednesday.

Davis -- who won Super Bowls I and II under legendary coach Vince Lombardi -- quickly blossomed into one of the best defensive ends in the league after the Cleveland Browns traded him to the Packers in 1960.

“It is with great sadness the entire Pro Football Hall of Fame family mourns the passing of Willie Davis," Hall CEO David Baker said in a statement.

"Willie’s extraordinary athleticism was an undeniable factor in Green Bay’s winning tradition of the 1960s under Coach Lombardi. He helped the Packers through an unprecedented championship run and to two Super Bowl victories."

Davis racked up 5 First Team All-Pro selections, made the Pro Bowl 5 times, and was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1981.

Odell Beckham Jr. didn't win much during the Browns' year ... but he's CRUSHING the offseason -- getting touchy-feely with his smokin' hot GF while hitting awesome trick shots!!

The Cleveland wideout and his model girlfriend, Lauren Wood, headed out to a sick backyard court this week ... and she played the best center we've ever seen during Odell's throwing sessions.

Check out the video ... her three-point stance is incredible -- and OBJ clearly had no problem taking some snaps from her!!!

As for the trickery part of the clip ... Odell nailed a full-length pass straight into a basketball hoop -- and he went crazy afterward.

But, let's be honest, the star of the show was Lauren ... who even made a great cheerleader for Beckham!!

The couple has been officially together since November ... but they were a rumored fling long before that -- and seem awfully cozy during these quarantine times.

Which begs the question ... could she get a ring from Odell before he gets one with the Browns?!?!

"He was the basketball version of me, and I was the rap version of him, and that’s facts!"

That's Kanye West ... explaining why he and Kobe Bryant were one and the same -- LEGENDARY -- and in typical Kanye style, he's not holding back.

It's spelled out in a candid (just released) interview with GQ that went down back in February, less than a month after his good pal Kobe died in a helicopter crash very close to Kanye's Calabasas-area home.

As part of the interview, Kanye agreed to take photos on a basketball court -- and admitted, it was therapeutic.

"One thing I thought was really amazing is that we were able to find a groove with the photographs today even as out of it as I was with the loss of Kobe," Kanye said.

"We were able to just go to the court and play ball."

Kanye says he often drives on a street near the spot of the helicopter crash ... and it makes him motivated to dominate in life like his friend Kobe did.

"There’s no way for me not to be as determined as Kobe every time I drive down that street. It’s game time. There’s no move that we can’t make, or that we’ll wait to make."

Of course, Kanye and Kobe were close friends for years -- they trained together, starred in Nike commercials together ... and Kanye was even courtside for Kobe's last game.

Now, Kanye says he continues to draw motivation from Kobe -- attacking challenges in life and business with that trademark Mamba Mentality.

"Everyone in our life is now a member of the Lakers on one of Kobe’s championship teams. The way that Kobe would say that we all have to come together and win this championship is the way I look at life now."

Ayesha Curry is being sued for more than $10 MILLION by a celebrity branding company which claims they built her into a household name ... only to get stiffed when the money came rolling in!

It's all in legal docs obtained by TMZ Sports ... Robert Flutie -- who runs Flutie Entertainment -- claims he was introduced to Ayesha in late 2014, when her only real foray into entertainment was a cooking blog called "Little Lights of Mine."

In his suit, Flutie claims Ayesha -- who's married to NBA star Steph Curry -- expressed dreams of building herself into a global brand and they signed an agreement to work together in Nov. 2014, 5 years after Steph was drafted by the Golden State Warriors.

Since then, Flutie says his company helped Ayesha realize her vision of becoming "a current and modern-day version of Martha Stewart or Rachael Ray" ... with cookbooks, TV shows and a line of consumer products.

Everything seemed to be going well until May 2019 -- when Ayesha fired Flutie and allegedly tried to cut them out of all profits and ownership equity of things she created during her time as a Flutie client.

Now, Flutie is demanding at least $10 million -- plus a 50% interest in Ayesha's Yardie Girl production company, which handles Ayesha's TV projects.

Flutie also wants his stake in Ayesha's Homemade brand, which includes a website and e-commerce business.

Multiple attempts to reach Curry for comment were unsuccessful.

Booker T is putting Ronda Rousey on blast for her "fake" WWE comments ... saying the remarks were a "slap in the face" to everybody in the org. -- and he wants her to say sorry, ASAP.

"It really is a slap in the face," the wrestling legend said on his 'Hall Of Fame' podcast this week. "And, I just think Ronda, she needs to apologize first and foremost."

If you missed it ... Rousey went scorched earth last week reflecting on her time in the WWE -- blasting her fans as "ungrateful" and calling her wrestling matches "fake fights."

When asked about Ronda's words this week, Booker T was downright appalled ... saying he couldn't believe the former UFC star would say that after everything the wrestling company gave her.

"To slap all those ladies in the face that made her look so good after receiving that check from this 'fake' business," Booker T said, "a check that, like I said, being put in a position where she was the women’s champion, she was in the main event at WrestleMania, that speaks volumes."

Booker's biggest gripe with Rousey is that her colleagues fought tooth-and-nail to make her look good in her first year in the biz ... even though they were more deserving of the praise.

"There are so many ladies in that locker room that really work really, really hard, work their asses off to actually get to that spot, like a Nia Jax, that never had got that kind of praise since she’s been there," Booker T said.

"And, then someone walk from outside, inside to this world and get it. It really is a slap in the face."