TMZ Sports - Page 50

Tyga deserves an award for best-timed rebound ever, 'cause he's hooking up with UFC Octagon hottie Arianny Celeste ... fresh off Kylie Jenner's pregnancy news.

Tyga and Arianny were at Universal Studios Saturday night for Halloween Horror Nights. Witnesses tell us they were showing major PDA -- he wrapped his arms around her waist and she was holding onto him walking through the mazes.

We're told they're hanging out but are not exclusive. Maybe he needs a refresher on Arianny's vacay mode pics ... to lock down this relationship.

Perfect way to get over your ex getting knocked up, we're guessing.

Seems MLB legend Dave Winfield wants to see MORE baseball players following Bruce Maxwell's lead when it comes to national anthem protests.

FYI, Maxwell became MLB's first kneeler this weekend -- with the Oakland A's catcher demonstrating during the national anthem in the wake of Donald Trump's "son of a bitch" comments.

So, when we saw Winfield at LAX, we asked for his thoughts.

"It's a new era -- new causes, new objections to the way things are ... it's a protest we should listen to," Winfield told TMZ Sports.

Winfield added this message for the kneelers -- "Nothing changes overnight. Keep doing what you're doing."

Marshawn Lynch went full Beast Mode on a TMZ Photog this weekend -- GROWLING at our guy ... and it was hilarious!!

It all went down on Saturday in D.C. -- when our camera guy saw the Oakland Raiders RB and asked him about Donald Trump slamming players like him who have demonstrated during the national anthem.

Lynch decided (correctly) that it would be funny to mess with our photog ... and menacingly stomped toward him ... snarling loudly as he got close.

Our guy was so scared, he shut down the camera and almost fell backwards -- Marshawn burst into laughter!!!

The whole thing is pretty funny. Especially after the last time he messed with us.

Beast Mode, 2. TMZ, 0.

Eric Decker did NOT want to be a part of the Tennessee Titans' national anthem demonstration on Sunday -- the team made a decision "without him knowing" ... so says his wife, Jessie James Decker.

The Titans players issued a statement after they played the Seahawks saying the team decided not to go out on the field for the anthem because they "wanted to be unified in our actions today."

"The players jointly decided this was the best course of action. Our commitment to the military and our community is resolute and the absence of our team for the national anthem shouldn't be misconstrued as unpatriotic."

But Jessie James Decker is calling BS on the situation ... saying, "My husband was not made aware it was time to go out for the game. Unfortunately a decision was made for him without him knowing."

Jessie also posted a long message on Instagram explaining why she loves the national anthem -- and Eric commented, "Preach baby."

Not all NASCAR people are siding with Trump -- with Dale Earnhardt Jr. throwing his support behind NFL protesters ... despite several NASCAR owners bashing them.

After POTUS said NFL owners should fire any "son of a bitch" who takes a knee, two of the most powerful men in NASCAR gave major stamps of approval.

Richard Petty said, "Anybody that don’t stand up for that ought to be out of the country. Period."

Team owner Richard Childress was asked what he would do if any of his staffers protested the anthem -- "Get you a ride on a Greyhound bus when the national anthem is over."

But Earnhardt -- hands down the most popular NASCAR driver of the last 10 years -- sees things differently ... and weighed in Monday morning with a quote from John F. Kennedy.

"All Americans R granted rights 2 peaceful protests," Dale Jr. tweeted.

"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable."

As for Trump, POTUS praised the NASCAR community early Monday morning.

Tom Brady is speaking out against his good friend, Donald Trump -- saying his comments blasting NFL players who protest are "just divisive" and he disagrees with everything POTUS said.

The Patriots QB appeared on WEEI's "Kirk & Callahan" on Monday and was asked to weigh in on Trump, considering he once had a "Make America Great Again" hat in his locker.

"Yeah, I mean, I certainly disagree with what he said and, you know, thought it was just divisive," Brady said.

He's clearly referring to comments Trump made on Friday night where Trump encouraged NFL owners to fire any "son of a bitch" player who takes a knee.

Brady locked arms in solidarity with his teammates before the Pats vs. Texans game on Sunday -- and explained, "I just want to support my teammates and -- I always thought, I'm never one that says 'Oh, that's wrong,' or 'that's right,' ... but I do believe in what I believe in, and I believe in bringing people together and respect and love and trust, and those are the values that my parents instilled in me."

"I've been blessed to be in a locker room with guys from all over the United States over the course of my career ... I mean, I think one thing about football is it brings so many guys together."

"Guys that you would never have the opportunity to be around. Whether it was in college, and all the way into the pros. And we're all different. And we're all unique. And you know, that's what makes us all so special."

George Lopez is all about NFL players taking a knee to protest -- but he thinks the locking arms thing is stupid.

The comedian was leaving TAO in L.A. on Sunday when he was asked if it was out of line for players to take a knee after President Donald Trump condemned the action.

"Not at all," Lopez said ... "That's part of the Constitution. That's part of freedom of expression."

Lopez continued ... "Now, locking hands? That's different. That's more Rockettes. Taking a knee is [good]."

George also referenced Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan -- who locked arms with players before the Ravens game on Sunday -- and called the action "invalid" since he reportedly donated $1 mil to the Trump campaign.

Lonzo Ball's rap career just got real 'cause DJ Mustard, one of the greatest rap producers on planet Earth, just told TMZ Sports he's down to work with the Big Baller prince, for a big baller price.

If you don't know who Mustard is (you don't listen to music), he's made beats for peeps like YG, Rihanna, 2 Chainz, Travis Scott, Nicki Minaj, T.I., Big Sean, and Fergie.

He told us he'd be down to add Lonzo -- who just kicked off his rap career -- to that list when we got him out in Beverly Hills (shutting down Balenciaga), as long as the price is right.

Get your checkbook, LaVar.

The mother of NY Giants cornerback Eli Apple is locked in a bitter war with the husband she JUST divorced -- cops are involved ... and Eli's college championship rings are caught in the middle.

You know Eli's mom -- her big, outgoing personality earned her a gig on ESPN right around the time he was drafted in 2016.

TMZ Sports has learned ... Annie Apple and Tim Apple (the man who raised Eli) split and their divorce was finalized back in June. They were married for 16 years and Eli even took Tim's last name in 2012.

But things have gotten bad and the family is divided.

Eli's brother, Dane Blackson, tells us ... Annie arrived to the family home in NJ on Wednesday with a police officer in tow looking to take back a bunch of Eli's football memorabilia.

Some of the items she wanted include the 2014 Big Ten and National Championship rings Eli won at Ohio State.

But Dane says he refused to hand over the rings, claiming Eli gifted them to Tim as a thank-you for helping him get a scholarship to OSU in the first place.

Things got contentious ... but police tell TMZ Sports no one was arrested and Annie eventually left without incident.

So, what will happen with the rings? Both sides believe they have a valid claim to them. Sounds like Eli will have to personally get involved to help work things out.

We reached out to Eli and Annie for comment -- so far, no word back.

Donald Trump is no master of subtlety ... 'cause it DEFINITELY looks like he just gave New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft the finger on national television.

A reporter asked Trump Sunday what he made of his friend, Kraft, releasing a statement that was -- in no shortage of words -- clearly anti-Trump, at least in this case. Trump said he thinks Kraft's ideas are disrespectful to the country ... then wiped his brow with his middle finger.

Kraft released a statement Sunday saying he was "deeply disappointed" by the tone of Trump's comments earlier this week -- ya know, how owners should fire the "sons of bitches" who kneel in protest, and that fans should boycott the NFL if players keep doing it.

Trump also said he hadn't been tuning in to the actual games Sunday ... even though he was tweeting about NFL-National Anthem related matters all day.

Tom Brady seems to be on the fence about showing respect for his country but also being united with his teammates against Trump -- so he's doing both ... and the Prez is down.

Tom was seen locking arms with a teammate Sunday during the National Anthem before his game against the Texans ... but he also had his right hand over his heart.

The dynamic is interesting -- lots of NFL teams reacted during their Sunday games to Trump's comments about players kneeling and how owners and coaches should fire anyone doing it ... some knelt, some dodged, others linked up in solidarity. Tom chose the latter.

Here's the kicker ... Trump just commented on the arm locking, and he seems to prefer it as opposed to kneeling. The question -- did he do it just because Tom got involved?

The Patriots' fans, on the other hand, didn't take too kindly to the perceived protest of the National Anthem.

1:00 PM PT -- The Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans have followed the Steelers' lead ... and have both announced they will not be on the sidelines for the National Anthem prior to their game.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin just announced his team won't be on the field for the National Anthem before their game against the Bears ... saying "we're not gonna be divided by anything said by anyone."

While he doesn't mention Donald Trump specifically, it's clear Tomlin is firing back at the president's call to fire the "sons of bitches" who kneel during the anthem.

The decision to stay in the locker rooms is "not to be disrespectful to the anthem, but to remove ourselves from this circumstance," Tomlin says.

Around 20 Baltimore Ravens and Jacksonville Jaguars players took a knee prior to their game in London earlier today ... with many other teams sharing plans to show signs of solidarity.

Around 20 NFL players kneeled in the most intense protest yet ... a protest clearly triggered by Donald Trump.

Players from both the Ravens and the Jaguars took a knee before their game in London as the National Anthem played. Ray Lewis cried as he took a knee.

What's especially interesting ... Jaguars owner Shad Khan, who donated $1 million to Trump's campaign, locked arms with 2 players.

Dakota Gonzalez definitely has a type as far as hot male bods go -- she's even got a top 3 when it comes to pro athletes in the game right now.

We got one half of the Gonzalez Twins -- the former star college basketball duo -- in Vegas Saturday for the first game of Master P's coed basketball league, and asked who she thought had the best bod in male sports.

Listen up Aaron Gordon, Paul George and Cristiano Ronaldo ... 'cause Dakota's calling you out by name. As for everyone else ... start working on getting cut and bulking up your arms -- that's kinda her thing.

Dakota also says P's league is off to an interesting start regarding the locker room situation. Sounds like it's sticking to the coed aspect in there too.

Stevie Wonder joined the solidarity movement which now targets Donald Trump ... by taking a knee at a NYC festival.

Stevie performed at the 2017 Global Citizen Festival in Central Park Saturday night. Stevie was onstage with his son Kwame Morris when he made his move ... unsteadily but purposefully.

Stevie doubled down and took 2 knees, clearly in response to Trump's tirade Friday night when he called for NFL owners to fire those "son's of bitches" who dare to take a knee during the National Anthem.

Trump has clearly fueled the fires of protest.

2:42 PM PT -- Wonder isn't the only musician taking a knee ... John Legend just posted a pic from his Darkness and Light tour ... showing support during a performance of his song "Glory."

Prince Harry joined Melania Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Saturday to celebrate the Invictus Games.

They joined forces in Toronto for the event -- featuring sporting events for men and women who served in the military and suffered debilitating injuries.

Harry, who created the event back in 2014, took the stage and addressed the crowd ...which cheered him wildly.