TMZ Sports - Page 50

Retired baseball superstar Roy Halladay died in a fatal plane crash Tuesday in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Pasco County Sheriff's Dept. in Florida is holding a news conference to reveal details of the crash. They confirm Roy was the only person aboard the ICON A5 light-sport aircraft when it went down 10 miles west of St. Petersburg.

The Sheriff's Dept. says Roy did not make a mayday call before he went down, and they've already recovered his body.

40-year-old Halladay proudly purchased an ICON A5 just last month ... the first one of the production line. He posted a video in which his wife expressed concern about the aircraft, but also said she felt more comfortable after flying in it.

Roy was an 8-time All-Star pitcher for the Phillies and the Blue Jays, and a two-time Cy Young Award winner. He's one of only 2 players in MLB history to throw a no-hitter in the playoffs. He also pitched a perfect game for the Phillies in 2010.

The Phillies issued a statement -- "We are numb over the very tragic news about Roy's untimely death. There are no words to describe the sadness that the entire Phillies family is feeling over the loss of one of the most respected human beings to ever play the game."

He's expected to be a first ballot Hall of Famer when he becomes eligible in 2019.

LiAngelo Ball -- along with 2 of his UCLA basketball teammates -- were arrested for shoplifting during a team trip to China, according to ESPN.

The UCLA basketball team was out in Hangzhou before their game with Georgia Tech on Friday.

Ball and his teammates allegedly jacked merchandise from a Louis Vuitton store next to the team hotel. According to ESPN's Jeff Goodman, players Cody Riley and Jalen Hill have also been arrested.

UCLA issued a statement to TMZ Sports saying, "We are aware of a situation involving UCLA student-athletes in Hangzhou, China. The University is cooperating fully with local authorities on this matter, and we have no further comment at this time."

LiAngelo Ball is the middle son in the ball family. His younger brother LaMelo Ball is expected to play at UCLA when he becomes college eligible. His older brother Lonzo currently plays for the Lakers.

For all that trash she talked before the fight, Joanna Jedrzejczyk was humble in defeat ... privately congratulating Rose Namajunas after losing at UFC 217.

"She came up and congratulated me afterwards and said, 'All the best,'" Rose tells TMZ Sports.

Before the fight, the former undefeated strawweight champ told Namajunas she was gonna snatch her soul from her body. Seriously. It was frightening.

But Rose says Joanna was a total pro backstage ... "just humbled and respectful."

So, what's next for "Thug" Rose? Don't expect an immediate rematch ... Namajunas says Joanna might still need some time to "process" everything after that brutal beatdown.

Diddy tapped out on his "Brother Love" shtick QUICK ... but the original Brother Love -- pro wrestling legend Bruce Prichard -- says he still wants to kick his ass!!

Here's the deal -- Puff announced his latest name change over the weekend ... not realizing it was already taken by The Undertaker's famous ex-manager.

After wrestling fans DESTROYED the hip-hop mogul on social media -- Diddy decided to give it back.

But Prichard ain't taking Diddy's attempted nickname robbery sitting down -- issuing a challenge to meet mano-a-mano inside the ring.

"I would do anything to wrestle with Diddy -- anytime, any place," Bruce told TMZ Sports.

"You stay in your world and I'll stay in mine, because I don't wanna have to get you inside of a solid steel cage and open up my own can of whoop-ass on you!"

Scottie Pippen LOVES Novak Djokovic -- and wasn't afraid to show it yesterday at lunch.

We got Pippen leaving il Pastaio in the Beverly Hills ... that is, until the NBA legend spotted Novak at an outside table.

Scottie made a hard cut over to the tennis superstar -- giving him daps, busting out his cellphone for a pic and just generally fanboying out.

Pip didn't wanna talk about him and Larsa getting back together ... but his bromance with Djoker's on lock.

Bonus: Scottie just shared his shot with the "tennis GOAT" -- and it's dope.

Big day for Pittsburgh Steelers WR JuJu Smith-Schuster ... the 20-year-old is FINALLY licensed to drive a car.

For some reason, the NFL rookie never got around to getting his license when he was 16 ... and had been using a bike (which was recently stolen) to get back and forth to the Steelers training facility.

UNTIL NOW!!

JuJu hooked up with the Rogers School of Driving in Pittsburgh -- and trained up to get behind the wheel. He tweeted, "Your boy finally did it ... just got my license!"

Just make sure you get a car with an alarm system ... okay JuJu??

Oakland Raiders stud lineman Donald Penn says allegations that the offensive line plotted to injure QB Derek Carr over his stance on taking a knee are total and utter bullcrap.

Penn is firing back at Miko Grimes -- wife of Bucs star Brent Grimes -- who went on "The Breakfast Club" and claimed there was an internal dispute during Week 3 ... and the line let Carr have it in Week 4.

"The reason Derek Carr got injured is because the Raiders offensive line allowed him to get injured because he was against them protesting. They had a fight in the locker room before that Monday night game with the Redskins," Miko said.

She continued -- "That's the only all-black offensive line in the NFL is the Raiders. ... When the whole offensive line said they were going to kneel, he was like, 'No, you're not kneeling. This is America, you're going to stand for the flag' ... so when they came out to play, they basically had a plan."

Enter Penn -- the leader of Oakland's O-line -- who shot Grimes down hard.

"It’s crazy how people will make up lies and tell a story so false and untrue 2 get them some attention," Penn tweeted. "I hope it was worth it. All lies."

Football seems to be the last thing on Johnny Manziel's mind -- he's chillaxing in Hawaii with his insanely hot fiancee Bre Tiesi ... and appears to be lovin' life.

Just 3 months after a workout with a team in the Canadian Football League, the 24-year-old QB surfaced in Maui ... soaking in the sun after a friend's wedding.

Manziel has previously said he's determined to play football again -- and even though he doesn't look NFL ready at the moment, we know he's been training.

By the way, last time we spoke with Johnny he told us he's sober and focused on playing again ... and credited Bre with being a tremendously positive influence in his life.

She's also really, really good lookin'. Enjoy the pics.

Colin Kaepernick to the Houston Texans is basically a done deal -- so says Shawne Merriman, who personally knows coach Bill O'Brien from their University of Maryland days.

We got Merriman leaving Poppy in L.A. -- and the ex-NFL star seemed convinced that his old buddy Bill (an ex-Terrapins asst.) is gonna pull the trigger on Kaepernick with Deshaun Watson sidelined.

"I know he's about that life. He'll do it," Merriman told TMZ Sports. "If he's still the same person ... 85-90 percent Colin will be in Houston."

While Chad Ochocino has officially slammed the door on an NFL comeback, Terrell Owens tells TMZ Sports he's still DEAD SERIOUS about playing in the league.

"I can help anybody," T.O. tells TMZ Sports ... saying his tweet to the NY Giants about filling in as a WR was no joke.

Owens had been competing on "Dancing with the Stars" for the past few months -- but says he would have left the show immediately if an NFL offer had come in.

BTW, did you watch T.O. on that show? Still looks pretty good ...

There's some truth to the rumors ... with UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber saying he'd consider coming out of retirement to fight T.J. Dillashaw -- but there are some serious caveats.

"First off, the fight for T.J. is Cody [Garbrandt]," Faber tells TMZ Sports ... insisting he doesn't want to "jump the line" and block his good friend from getting a chance to avenge his loss from UFC 217.

But if situation was right ... and the money was right ... 38-year-old Faber says he's all the way down.

And if that fight doesn't happen ... Faber says he'd considering getting back in the Octagon to fight someone else -- but it can't be a nobody.

If there's a strip club record book, Dwayne Bowe is headin' for it ... 'cause the ex-NFL star dropped an insane $25k on strippers in just 20 MINUTES this weekend ... and TMZ Sports has the video.

Bowe -- who led the league in receiving TDs in 2010 -- hit up VLive in Dallas with a couple friends on Saturday night ... and our sources say he made it rain for a brief, yet efficient, 20 minutes.

We're told 33-year-old Bowe and his crew hung around for a few hours and enjoyed themselves ... and even did some dancing of their own, while putting several women through nursing school.

Fun Fact -- Bowe made $9 million with the Browns in 2015, which translates to $1.8 million per catch that season.

He also reportedly made $54 MILLION during his NFL career.

Chad Johnson is sticking a fork in his NFL comeback ... telling TMZ Sports IT AIN'T HAPPENIN' ... 'cause he says his body's "too f**ked up" to play anymore.

The 39-year-old tweeted the N.Y. Giants for a tryout earlier this season after Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall went down with season-ending injuries.

And after the way he balled out with legit NFL superstars during off-season training sessions, it seemed Ocho was serious about one last hurrah with the pros.

So, when we saw Chad on his way out of the Apple Store in L.A., we asked him straight-up how the comeback was coming along.

Spoiler: It's not.

But Chad explains why he needed to finance his new, expensive iPhone X and it's pretty hilarious.

Move over, Lonzo Ball -- Nick Young's not only down to star in his own reality show -- he says he's already gotten a bunch of offers to put the life of Swaggy P on TV!!

Swaggy dropped the news at Warriors practice today -- looking happy as hell telling reporters about his future plans for Hollywood domination.

But there's a catch -- "I gotta get the best offers ... gotta take my talents to the best place."

His asking price -- "Kardashian prices."

Nick lives the life reality producers gush over -- dates celebs (Iggy Azalea), has famous friends (Gilbert Arenas) and has all sorts of real life drama (D'Angelo Russell).

Kinda doubt Swaggy's worth $150 mil ... but hey -- shooters gonna shoot.

Riff Raff is giving props to fellow H-Town MC Paul Wall for droppin' bank on custom grillz for the Astros -- but he's got 1 minor issue with them ...

THEY'RE TOO BALLER!!

Here's the deal ... Wall promised to make all the World Series champs personal mouth bling in 18-karat gold, which Riff says is dope (and expensive).

But when it comes to grillz, RR told TMZ Sports he rocks with 14 karat 'cause 18s and 24s don't hit the right shade of yellow.

The rapper's more of a shark-teeth-and-diamonds kinda guy ... as you can tell from the glow-in-the-dark joint he had on at In-N-Out.

T.J. Dillashaw says there's NO WAY Cody Garbrandt gets an immediate rematch after their war at UFC 217 -- saying "No Love" has to get in line ... behind Demetrious Johnson!

The UFC bantamweight champ joined the guys on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs tonight on FS1) -- and told us there's already movement to make a super-fight with Mighty Mouse.

"Dana (White) loves it," Dillashaw said.