TMZ Sports - Page 50

David Beckham's good looks are truly goals!

Here is a 23-year-old version of the professional footballer showing off his fresh face during a Chelsea v. Manchester United match back in 1998 (left) ... was the same year Beckham received a red card for kicking Argentinian captain Diego Simeone, during the World Cup countdown.

And, 22 years later ... The father of four is spending this weekend celebrating his 45th birthday. He was last seen modeling his good looks for the cameras during a taping of 'The Tonight Show' earlier this year (right).

He won with these looks!

The question is ...

Secretariat pulled ahead of Citation in the final stretch of the Kentucky Derby Saturday -- and if you're wondering what year it is ... don't worry, it's still 2020.

This weekend would've marked the opening day of the 146th annual horse racing event down at Churchill Downs over in Louisville -- which was postponed for the first time ever since WWII -- and while they couldn't get real thoroughbreds on the track, the crafty minds working the event created a virtual simulation race instead with Triple Crown Winners past.

That included legendary horses like Secretariat, Citation, War Admiral, Seattle Slew, Affirmed, Assault, Sir Barton, Whirlaway, Omaha, Count Fleet and more recent racers like American Pharaoh and Justify. All spanning different decades dating back to the early 1900s.

The way it works is that programmers entered each horse's stats into a computer system -- which took into account their odds as well -- and then it spits out a random number to assign to each horse. So, while Secretariat was the 7-2 favorite to win ... it didn't necessarily mean he WAS going to, even though he actually did in the end. Go figure!

It was a fun experiment, but it also proved why the proverbial G.O.A.T. of horse-racing is the king. BTW, if you're wondering why lil' Seabiscuit (who defeated War Admiral once upon a time) wasn't included -- it's 'cause he never competed in any Triple Crown races.

The Mountain from "Game of Thrones" just broke an almighty weightlifting record that once belonged to his archrival ... and now, he wants to break the dude's face in the ring.

Hafthor Bjornsson -- who played The Hound's brother on the hit HBO series -- set a new world record Saturday by deadlifting 501 kilograms (about 1,104 lbs) and staying standing upon releasing the massive weight, while he was getting gassed up by his squad nearby.

It's an incredible feat, and before this ... his muscle-man foe, Eddie Hall, held the record at 500 kg from just a few years ago when he deadlifted at the World Deadlift Championships.

It should be noted that Eddie went down in utter exhaustion after his lift, BUT ... he did hold the bar up longer than Thor did. In any case, The Mountain's got him beat with this latest show of strength, but the feud's not over ... 'cause the guy wants to settle this once and for all in the ring -- as in boxing. He said as much in a post-interview, where he challenged Eddie to a fight in the ring, during which he says he wants to dole out a KO.

Welp, Eddie has already responded to the call ... saying he will "1,000 percent sign those papers" while going on to explain it's not for money or glory, but to teach The Mountain a lesson after he apparently called Eddie a cheat at a competition they were both in once upon a time.

EH also makes a point to say he was never naive enough to think no one would ever beat his record -- but it sounds like this bitter rivalry will, in fact, end up with gloves on.

Carmen Electra's appearance on "The Last Dance" left some fans wanting more of her, uh, content, this week ... which translated to some HUGE search numbers on one of the world's biggest XXX sites.

Of course, the former Baywatch bombshell and Playboy model popped up on the uber-popular ESPN doc to discuss her relationship with Dennis Rodman ... which included an infamous mid-season vacation to Vegas.

Oh, yeah ... and the time Michael freaking Jordan barged in on them in bed together. Good stuff.

Electra's appearance on the doc was pretty memorable for several reasons ... which inspired some eager viewers to do more "research" on the sex symbol.

Pornhub (SFW link) tells TMZ Sports ... demand for Electra was ENORMOUS this week ... with more than 1.7 MILLION searches for videos related to her.

To compare ... there were just 14,796 searches the day the show aired ... and then they shot up to 393,000 the day after.

But, the biggest day came on April 28, with more than 588,00 searches!!

Shout-out to Carmen Electra for still dominating the game at 48.

P.S. -- Remember to clear your browser history, folks.

WWE superstar Becky Lynch is blowing up outside the ring -- even scoring a role on "Billions" ... and tells TMZ Sports she's getting help in Hollywood from some wrestling pals who have been in her shoes!

Lynch's popularity has exploded over the years -- in fact, she's gotten so big, "Billions" creator Brian Koppelman rocked a Lynch t-shirt during a huge media event in 2019.

At the time, Koppelman said he was such a fan, he offered her a standing role on the show if she was interested.

In fact, Lynch says she's always been interested in an acting career -- she earned a degree in theater back in Ireland -- and believes WWE is the PERFECT launching pad!

Guess what?! She was right ... and when she followed up, he kept his word!

"You never know if people are gonna come through with these things, but he did and they did. I'm on the season premiere," Lynch tells TMZ Sports.

"When you're in WWE, everything is one take. You're live in front of the entire world and you don't really have the time to mess up and if you do mess up, you have to make the best of it."

"It's like this crazy amazing improv where you're also kinda the director, producer, actor, writer of your own character. So, I think it really just sets you up with a skill set that's unprecedented in any other field."

She's not wrong ... wrestlers like The Rock, John Cena, Dave Bautista and others have credited WWE with helping them blow up on the big screen and Lynch says they've gone out of their way to help her make the jump too!

"[The Rock has] actually he's been very helpful in guiding me," Lynch says.

"He's just being very giving and I think they all are because they've all been there and they're all ready to look after the next generation."

"Cena's also been so great to me and so generous with his time and his advice, checks up on me on what I'm doing now. I think everybody wants to see the next generation move to where they've been, ya know?!"

Lynch says she's got some huge projects in the pipeline -- some super-secret stuff -- but don't worry about her bolting from WWE any time soon.

Brett Favre is wrong ... Aaron Rodgers WILL spend the rest of his career in Green Bay -- so says Pack legend LeRoy Butler, who tells TMZ Sports the QB won't be bothered by Jordan Love at all!

"Aaron Rodgers ain't going anywhere," Butler says. "And, neither do I want him to go anywhere because as long as No. 12 is getting dressed, the Green Bay Packers have a chance at going to the Super Bowl."

Green Bay shocked the NFL world last week, TRADING UP to draft Love in the first round instead of getting Rodgers some much-needed offensive weapons.

A lot of people close to the 36-year-old QB have insinuated he's upset over the move ... with Favre saying straight up he believes A-Rodge will now look to finish his career in another city.

But, when we spoke to Butler -- who played for Green Bay from 1990-2001 -- about the whole situation ... he had a different take on it all, saying Rodgers will have no problem sharing a QB room with Love!

"If it was me, if I was Aaron Rodgers, one of my favorite rappers is French Montana," Butler says. "He has a song called, 'I Ain't Worried About Nothing.' I'd just play that all day!"

"I ain't worried about nothing! There's nothing to worry about! No. 12 is still the man! He will always be the man!"

As for Rodgers' relationship with Love ... Butler doesn't expect any drama there -- saying he believes Aaron will treat the rookie better than the way Favre did when he came to the Pack in 2005.

Welp, this is frightening ... 53-year-old Mike Tyson is back in boxing mode -- AND HE LOOKS LIKE A KILLER!!

A rep for Iron Mike confirms this footage was shot a few days ago as part of a promotional deal with Sony ... but damn, HE LOOKS TERRIFYING!

Just last year, Tyson told Joe Rogan he cut training out of his life completely because the adrenaline rush reminded him of the old, bad Mike Tyson ... the one he was trying to forget.

But recently, Tyson has been kicking around the idea of a comeback -- telling rapper T.I. he's interested in taking some exhibition fights to raise money for charities.

"I want to go to the gym and get in shape to be able to box 3 or 4 round exhibitions for some charities and stuff," Tyson said.

"Some charity exhibitions, make some money, help some homeless and drug-affected motherf**kers like me."

Well, he wasn't BSing ... Tyson really did strap on the gloves and he looks as explosive as ever.

WANNA GET FIRED UP TO SMASH CORONAVIRUS!?

Well, UFC ring announcer Bruce Buffer is here to help -- using that signature adrenaline-inducing voice to smack COVID-19 like the little bitch of a virus that it is!!!!

Buffer offered up his pipes -- and an awesome surprise pizza party -- to his pals at the Manhattan Beach PD ... to help keep morale up during these insane times.

Bruce tells us he wanted to show his support for the cops ... so he and his biz partner Kristen Greulach hit up Grimaldi's Pizzeria and had them whip up 10 pies, cannolis and cheesecake to thank the boys and girls in blue for everything they do.

But, the highlight is the ring call ... Bruce reached deep down in his soul for this one -- just like he was getting ready for a Conor vs. Khabib rematch ... and the cops loved every second of it!

Bashaud Breeland's arrest Tuesday nearly turned tragic ... terrifying video of the scene obtained by TMZ Sports shows the NFL player's face was within inches of a cop's drawn gun during the stop.

Breeland was detained at around 11 AM at a South Carolina gas station after a York County Sheriff's Office deputy says he saw the K.C. Chiefs player and 2 other men smoking weed.

The officer claims when he stopped Breeland for questioning ... the 28-year-old became combative -- and in new footage we obtained from the incident, you can see how the confrontation escalated in a hurry.

In the video, the officer attempted repeatedly to place the Chiefs cornerback in handcuffs ... but Breeland consistently refused.

At one point in the vid, you can see the cop pulled a taser on the 5'11", 195-pound defensive back ... ordering him to stop resisting.

"Put your hands behind your back or you will get tased," the officer said. "Turn around and face away from me! You'll get tased!"

Breeland, though, ignored the officers orders ... and when he wriggled away from the cop and got into his car -- things took a frightening turn.

The officer pulled his gun and put it inches from Breeland's face ... and screamed at the NFL player, "Let me see your hands! ... I'm not playing!"

Eventually, Breeland got out of the car, got on the ground and ultimately relented to the officer placing him in cuffs.

Breeland was taken to jail without further incident, police records show ... and he was booked on 4 charges, including resisting arrest and possession of marijuana.

For his part, Breeland said in a now-deleted post on his social media, "I really was at a gas pump got approach by two guys police pulled up they throw something my car as police pulled up which the cop saw."

"I was the one detained wit charges that really shouldn’t be charged."

Breeland's attorneys added in a statement Wednesday, "At the time of this encounter with law enforcement, Mr. Breeland was leaving a gas station store after making a lawful purchase."

"Moments after returning to his vehicle, a 2020 Range Rover with valid temporary paper tags, law enforcement officers approached Mr. Breeland and drew their weapons. We look forward to investigating why this level of force was necessary."

They added, "Bashaud Breeland is innocent unless proven guilty. We look forward to the truth coming forward."

LaVar Ball says he's definitely open to the idea of teaming with Puma for a Big Baller Brand shoe collab ... saying "the possibilities are unlimited" now that his boys signed with Roc Nation.

"If everything goes right, this thing can be explosive," Ball tells TMZ Sports about joining forces with Jay-Z.

As we previously reported, all 3 of LaVar's sons -- LaMelo, LiAngelo and Lonzo -- are signing with Roc Nation to handle "marketing opportunities" off the court ... which includes shoe deals.

And, with Jay-Z being the creative director for Puma Basketball -- there have been questions about if the boys will jump ship from Big Baller Brand and sign with Hov's company instead.

But, LaVar says it doesn't have to be one or the other -- when asked if there was a possibility of BBB and Puma collaborating on a shoe, he seemed very into the idea.

"That could be," LaVar said ... "See, that's a good thing about dealing with Roc Nation. The possibilities are unlimited."

"They said something I liked which is 'Lavar, we wanna change the game. We wanna do something special.' Now, that terminology right there means I'm supposed to be with you guys. Because my boys are special and like I said, I wanna change so it's all good."

LaVar also told us the decision to join Roc Nation was a FAMILY decision made after thoroughly vetting several agencies.

"I think you have to go through different agencies to see the one that you need that's going to have the same mindset as you. I feel that Roc Nation is trying to move in a direction that we moving in."

As for Jay-Z -- who famously supported LaVar's initial foray into the shoe business back in the day -- Ball says he's "cool" with Hov, but the decision to sign wasn't just about one man.

"All those folks is good man ... Roc Nation wants to do exactly what me and my boys want to do."

There's more ... LaVar is still having fun promoting the Big Baller Brand -- and he's even hosting an online pop-up shop where fans can Zoom with him as they cop BBB march.

"I got a great team around me where my newest guys always thinking of new ideas and things to do to make the brand grow."

Vanessa Bryant is paying tribute to her daughter, Gianna -- who would have turned 14 years old today ... saying, "You are part of MY SOUL forever."

"Happy 14th Birthday to my sweet baby girl, Gianna," Vanessa posted on social media.

"Mommy loves you more than I can ever show you. You are part of MY SOUL forever. I miss you so much everyday."

"I wish I could wake up and have you here with me. I miss your smile, your hugs and your giggles. I miss EVERYTHING about YOU, Gigi."

"I LOVE YOU so much!!!!!!!"

Gianna passed away on January 26 in a helicopter crash in Calabasas -- along with her father, Kobe Bryant, and 7 others.

In the days after the crash, Vanessa said, "My brain refuses to accept that both Kobe and Gigi are gone."

Gigi was an unbelievable basketball player with dreams of playing in the WNBA along with her Mamba Academy teammates, Alyssa Altobelli and Payton Chester.

In fact, all 3 of the girls were announced as the first three honorary picks of the 2020 WNBA Draft.

Vanessa said of the Draft ... "It would have been a dream come true for [Gianna]. She worked tirelessly every single day. She wanted to be one of the greatest athletes of all-time, just like her daddy. So thank you, thank you for honoring my little girl."

Saquon Barkley is stepping up in a huge way for a police officer badly injured in a car accident ... offering Giants tickets and sending a special personal message of support.

Port Authority police officer Peter Siano was hospitalized in critical condition Tuesday after he was hit by a car while securing a crash scene.

Siano -- along with 3 Jersey City PD officers -- were handling traffic control around the crash when a driver sped through warnings and smashed into a JCPD cruiser, which hit Siano.

Officials say Siano suffered "serious" injuries -- and the driver responsible for the collision has been arrested and charged with assault by auto.

When the NY Giants found out about the situation, a bunch of players decided to make get-well videos for Siano ... including Barkley, Sterling Shepard and Grant Haley.

And, get this ... Barkley is even offering Siano a VIP experience with the team once he recovers.

"Thinking about you guys and once everything gets better, I would like to invite you guys to a Giants game," Barkley said.

"And to the police department, appreciate everything you guys are doing for us during this time."

Outta the way, glowing dolphins -- surfers are getting in on the action to SoCal's rad, glowing blue waves!!!

Here's some awesome late night video of a wake surfer and his buds enjoying Mother Nature at its finest. The crew headed out Wednesday night, about a mile off shore from Redondo Beach and photographer Bo Bridges captured the neon action.

Bo says it's the best bioluminescence he's seen in about 15 years, and as soon as they headed out you could see why. The water was glowing all around them. The super cool visuals are caused by an annual algae bloom.

There is a bit of a fear factor, though. The surfer went down at one point, which means floating in the pitch dark ocean ... all alone. Well, except for the creatures swimming around that you can now suddenly see glowing.

Think neon "Jaws" -- and that might explain the surfer's reaction at the end of this video.

Tons of surfers -- human and otherwise -- have been riding the bioluminescent waves. Last week, a photog captured a pod of dolphins soaking up the glow.

BTW, Bo chalks up this year's vivid bioluminescence to good timing -- a warm swell of warm coinciding with the algae bloom. He says in the daylight the water actually looks brown and muddy.

This. Is. INSANE!!!

As if we needed more proof Myles Garrett's athleticism is not from this planet ... here's the Cleveland Browns superstar box jumping 60 INCHES -- from a standstill position!!!

The vert is CRAZY high -- most normies have trouble getting over just 24 inches -- and you can see in the footage, it didn't even take all that much effort for Myles to complete.

"It's nothing but vert, baby!" Garrett said afterward.

Of course, we should've seen this coming ... Garrett's been a monster in the weight room for YEARS -- remember when he deadlifted over 400 pounds for reps just a few weeks ago?!?!

As for his vert ... that's always been impressive -- he jumped 41 inches at the NFL Combine in 2017 -- but, clearly, his hops have improved further.