TMZ Sports - Page 50

Rip Hamilton spent 9 years ballin' out in Detroit -- so what's his advice for the newest Pistons star Blake Griffin?

Bundle up.

The ex-NBA star was kinda laughing at the fact that Griffin went from sunny California to the frozen tundra of Detroit ... and said Blake's got no choice but to make it work 'cause he signed up for 5 seasons!

"Make sure he get a heavy coat out there 'cause trust me, it gets cold!"

Dwyane Wade personally greeted the students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Wednesday as they returned to the school for the first full day of classes since the shooting.

Wade posed for photos and hung out with the kids as they tried to resume their education. It's the first time the school has had a full day of classes since the Valentine's Day shooting.

Wade also gave a speech and told the kids he's proud to live in Florida and praised them for the strength they've shown after the incident.

"I just wanted to come here today, hopefully for a moment, for a second ... bring a little excitement, bring a little joy," Wade says.

"What you guys have been going through, and I was hearing you guys have been amazing from afar, and I just wanted to come and say I'm inspired by all of you."

Wade tweeted about the visit, saying "I just had a great conversation with some of the students at Stoneman Douglas High School about some important/impactful things that they have planned."

"I’m looking forward to being more involved in the change that they WILL create."

UFC star Paige VanZant and her fiance spent their Tuesday punching each other in the face -- but don't worry, it was consensual.

Paige is engaged to undefeated welterweight MMA fighter Austin Vanderford -- and the two train together at a gym in Portland.

Tuesday was boxing day -- so they paired up, strapped on the gloves and let each other have it!

Paige was able to land a few shots -- so was Austin -- but when it was all said and done, there was no bad blood. In fact, PVZ suggests the workout helps them bond.

"Find someone who shares your passion and grow together ❤️ (we both signed waivers, were allowed to do this 😝)."

Here's another episode of "Reading Between the Lines," starring Andre Berto ... who's basically calling BS on Canelo Alvarez for blaming his failed steroids test on contaminated cow meat.

Look, Berto gets it -- beef from Mexico has a history of making athletes piss hot. The boxing star tells TMZ Sports he was even warned about the juicy cows south of the border before competing in the '04 Olympics.

That said, there's 1 reason Berto ain't buying it -- "[Canelo's] been living in Mexico all his life. He's been tested plenty of times and this has never happened."

A South African triathlete found himself in a scene outta 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' on Tuesday -- escaping a trio of attackers who tried to CUT BOTH HIS LEGS OFF.

Mhlengi Gwala was out biking in Durban when he came across the 3 lunatics. Gwala thought the men were coming to rob him so he offered them his bike and everything else of value he had.

But instead of taking his stuff -- "They dragged him to the side of the road to some bushes, took a saw and started cutting his legs," his training partner told BBC.

Amazingly, Gwala was able to get loose and drag himself to safety ... and he's expected to walk again 'cause the chainsaw they used to hack him up was too blunt to buzz through his bones.

No word on a potential motive ... but local cops say they're investigating this as attempted murder.

This never-before-seen video is the smoking gun in the upcoming FOX special, 'The Lost Confession?' ... and it provides the reason O.J. Simpson went to Nicole Brown Simpson's house the night she was murdered.

Simpson is interviewed by book publisher Judith Regan, who collaborated with O.J. on the book, 'If I Did It.' The premise is O.J. Simpson's "hypothetical" on how Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman were slaughtered on June 12, 1994.

O.J. begins by saying how "difficult" it is for him to talk in the hypothetical ... weird and somewhat incriminating.

Then he talks about the murderer's friend -- "Charlie" -- and suddenly Simpson goes from talking in the hypothetical to first person ... I, I, I. In other words, it sounds like he's talking about what HE did.

And then the bombshell ... he says "Charlie" told him he wouldn't believe what was going on at Nicole's house. Simpson doesn't say what he was told was going down, but added, "It's gotta stop" ... and that was the impetus for the drive over to Nicole's.

As we reported, Simpson says in the show "Charlie" was the accomplice and went with the killer in the Bronco over to Nicole's Brentwood condo. He says the killer saw candles in Nicole's window, looking like a man was coming over and suddenly Ron Goldman appeared. Simpson says the killer started screaming, Nicole came to the front door, the killer blacked out and when he came to he was covered in blood.

The special airs Sunday at 8 PM on FOX.

Serena Williams, Lisa Leslie and Wanda Sykes in a celebrity dance battle?

Oh, yes ... and they're move of choice? The Electric Slide!

Serena (sans baby) and friends were on the court at the Desert Smash charity event in La Quinta, CA -- facing off against stars like Victoria Azarenka, Omar Miller, Boris Kodjoe and Jim Courier.

So, who won? Lisa Leslie killed it.

But, the MC mocked -- Serena claiming she didn't know how to properly "slide."

In the end, the event raised money for the Yetunde Price Resource Center (named after Serena's late sister).

Peyton Manning has officially sold off his stake in 31 Denver-area Papa John's stores -- and he completed the move just days before Papa and NFL broke up.

As we previously reported, Manning first acquired 21 locations back in 2012 -- and they CRUSHED IT in the first year. Employees called the sales boom the "Peyton Factor."

He acquired 10 more locations over the years -- but just last month, Manning decided to hang up his apron and leave Papa's pizza biz.

A rep for the company confirmed the move and described Manning's run with Papa's as "six successful and rewarding years."

So, who bought Peyton's Papa's? Those stores went to another franchisee who already has a bunch of stores.

"The franchisee that purchased the market is excited about the future of our business and assumed ownership of all Papa John’s locations in the Denver, Co. market on Feb. 26, 2018."

The move came just days before the NFL and Papa John's made a "mutual decision" to end their sponsorship deal as the official pizza of the league.

No word on what Manning plans to do with his pizza money next.

He's got one helluva story ... and if Adam Rippon ever gets the "I, Tonya" movie treatment, he wants Meryl Streep to play him on screen!

"She's the most accomplished and ready for the role," Rippon told us on the way out of 'Watch What Happens Live' in New York.

The only problem ... can Meryl hit a triple axel?!

The Olympic figure skater (who's openly gay) says he's been living it up ever since he came back from South Korea -- where he won bronze in the team figure skating event.

Can't come out of retirement if you never officially retired, right? That's what NASCAR legend Jeff Gordon's telling TMZ Sports.

Gordon hasn't competed in NASCAR since 2016 season -- but there have been rumors of a comeback ... so when we got him out at LAX we had to know if there was any truth to the chatter.

"Anything's possible," Gordon told us ... "I'm not retired. I'm just doing something different."

That "something different" includes running a racing team and broadcasting duties for FOX -- but Gordon definitely hasn't ruled out a return to the track.

Kendall Jenner stepped up to the plate and took a few big swings at family softball practice ... and it looks like she made some solid contact. Kourtney, too.

Kendall doesn't exactly look like Roy Hobbs out on the field, but she does look like she had a blast taking BP and fielding grounders while playing around with her sisters at a ballpark in Canoga Park.

Cameras were rolling on Jenner and the Kardashian gals, so there's a good chance we'll get to see just how much power Kendall's got. We're guessing at least out-of-the-infield.

No sign of Kendall's rumored BF Blake Griffin, but the 2 have been seen a lot less together since he was traded to Detroit at the end of January ... and since his baby mama sued him.

Julio Jones is going to bat for Le'Veon Bell -- saying the Pittsburgh Steelers should sign the man to the HUGE contract he wants ... instead of slapping him with the franchise tag again.

FYI, franchise tagged players are essentially locked to their team in a 1-year deal. In Bell's case, the Steelers must pay him 120% of his previous salary because it's the 2nd year in a row he's been tagged.

Bell got $12.1 mil in 2017 -- so, he'll be making around $14.5 in 2018. Not bad ... but Bell has previously told TMZ Sports he's looking for a $100 million contract and hopes to stay in Pittsburgh for the rest of his career.

Enter Jones, who says Bell is a stud player and tells us, "I wish they could do away with the franchise tag."

Break out your overalls and your floppy country hat ... 'cause Hillbilly Jim is going to the WWE Hall of Fame -- and the wrestling legend tells TMZ Sports he could hardly believe it!

"I wasn't expecting it! It hit me from the clear blue," Jim says ... "It's like the cherry on top of the ice cream sundae. It's as good as I could ever hope for."

Jim primarily appeared on the WWE (it was WWF back then) from 1984 to 1991 -- famously teaming up with his good buddy, Hulk Hogan, and other stars like Randy Savage.

Hillbilly says he's truly honored to be joining wrestling gods -- and friends of his -- like Andre the Giant, Captain Lou Albano, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, "Classy" Freddie Blassie, The Fabulous Moolah and Roddy Piper.

He also walks us through the moment he got the call from WWE -- it's pretty emotional stuff!

Kobe Bryant's Oscar win has gotten mixed reviews amid the #MeToo movement, but Matt Barnes is 100% behind his ex-NBA rival -- giving Bryant mad props for paving the way for sports stars.

"I think it's dope. He's breaking down barriers, still being great," Barnes told TMZ Sports out at Poppy in Hollywood.

Want proof? Matt says things are really coming together for a Huey Newton/Black Panthers biopic he's producing ... and he can't wait to tell "the whole truth" behind the real BP (sorry, Marvel).

2:20 PM PT -- Aldon Smith was released from jail after posting $30K bail.

1:55 PM PT -- San Francisco PD has released Aldon Smith's mug shot.

Aldon Smith has been taken into custody in connection to his domestic violence case ... TMZ Sports has learned.

We've confirmed the ex-Oakland Raiders player surrendered himself to police Tuesday and is currently being held at San Francisco County Jail. Bail has been set at $30K.

As we previously reported, officials had issued a warrant for Smith's arrest for domestic violence, assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury, false imprisonment and vandalism.

Smith allegedly attacked his fiancee during an altercation at a residence on Saturday night.

He later contacted the victim's father who helped Smith check in to a rehab facility where he was treated for alcohol abuse.

Smith -- who's currently suspended by the NFL stemming from a DUI arrest -- was cut by the Raiders on Monday after they learned about the domestic violence incident.

Jake Plummer says NFL teams are too "scared" and "uneducated" to sign Colin Kaepernick -- and suggested some of the organizations are even run by "bigoted people."

The former Denver Broncos QB was speaking with Broncos reporter Nicki Jhabvala about the future of Kaep's career ... and the Snake didn't hold back.

"I think that they're all scared and that they're uneducated on him as a person and what he wants to do."

"I don't know if he wants to play for organizations run by scared, kind of bigoted people that don't understand what it's like to be in the shoes of someone like him and to see the things he's seen and relate to the people that go through the atrocities of what everyday people deal with."

"I don't know. I hope someone does [sign him]. I would really love it because I love watching him play. I would love to see him come here [to Denver] but I'm not sure if they would do that."

As for Denver's GM John Elway, he previously told us Kaep was NOT being blackballed but didn't make it sound like Kaep was on his watchlist.