TMZ Sports - Page 50

Ivan Drago -- the Russian murderer who beat Apollo Creed to death -- is now training his son to a be a human killing machine, too ... and he's getting the boy in shape on Rocky's home turf.

Dolph Lundgren was spotted out at the famous Rocky statue Thursday in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art ... shooting a scene with Florian "Big Nasty" Munteanu -- the boxer who's playing his son in the sequel.

Of course, the museum steps and statue are part of the Rocky legend -- it's where Balboa proved to himself that he had the heart, the will and the EYE OF THE TIGER in multiple 'Rocky' movies.

Drago famously trained in a high-tech Russian lab (while doping his face off) before he got his clock cleaned in "Rocky IV" -- but now it seems he's using Rocky's methods to train up his kid.

Why? Maybe the Russians took the loss harder than we thought and kicked his ass outta there.

R.I.P. Creed.

Josh Norman is already getting behind his new QB -- telling TMZ Sports he feels Alex Smith is "underrated" for everything he's done in his career.

We spotted the Washington Redskins star cornerback in Atlanta and asked how he felt about the big quarterback moves in the NFL ... including his old QB Kirk Cousins getting an $84 million deal with the Vikings.

Norman looked a little bummed out (why not? he's a good quarterback) but explained, "It's business. Everything is business."'

He also explained why Cousins is worth every single penny.

Floyd Mayweather's protege is gunnin' for the Octagon, too -- and if he gets the chance to cross over, he says he'll beat ANY UFC FIGHTER in his division.

Boxing star Gervonta "Tank" Davis -- the co-headliner for Mayweather vs. McGregor -- has been going back-and-forth with a bunch of UFC guys on social media ... after hinting he'd be down for an MMA fight like his mentor.

We caught up with Tank to see if he's really down -- and he let us know what's up.

"If the opportunity's up for grabs then I'm definitely willing to fight any one of them guys near my weight class," Davis told TMZ Sports. "Dana White, I'm waiting on your call, baby."

FYI, Gervonta fights at 130 pounds -- around the same weight as killers like Demetrious Johnson, Cody Garbrandt and T.J. Dillashaw.

As for Floyd -- Tank told us why he thinks a Conor rematch could be in the cards ...

The owners might be scared ... but virtually all the players in the NFL support Colin Kaepernick and want him back in the league ... this according to Denver Broncos LB Brandon Marshall.

Marshall has been tight with Kaep since college and told the guys on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs tonight on FS1) that he's 100% confident C.K. is ready to compete with the best in the world.

But Marshall doesn't think Kaep's job status has anything to do with his skill -- it's the owners who are too afraid to stand up for the QB.

Billionaire businessman Tom Benson -- who owned the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans -- has died, his family has confirmed.

The 90-year-old passed away peacefully Thursday at Ochsner Medical Center in Louisiana with his wife, Gayle Marie Benson, at his side after falling ill with the flu.

Benson started out as a bookkeeper at a Chevy dealership in New Orleans -- but went on to become a dealership owner and expanded the business into a billion-dollar empire.

Benson bought the Saints in 1985 -- when they weren't exactly winners (remember the Aints?). The team posted their first winning record in 1987 and made the playoffs that year. Of course, they got better and won the Super Bowl in 2010.

In 2012, Benson bought the New Orleans Hornets and changed the name to the Pelicans.

Colin Kaepernick wants everyone to know he's still NFL ready ... and he's showing off his rocket arm during a training session in Houston.

Kaepernick hit the field with Josh Hidalgo -- Head of Sports Performance at William Paterson University -- and threw some darts with a team of pass catchers.

Hidalgo says he's been training Kaep every single day since January 2017 -- adding, "We haven't stopped throwing, training and preparing."

"To say he's dedicated is an understatement ... Even when we’re traveling we put in that work."

Kaepernick hasn't taken a snap in the NFL since 2016 -- before he parted ways with the San Francisco 49ers.

Kaep has said he wants to get back in the league and compete for a starting job again -- and now he wants the world to see he's still got the talent that took him to the Super Bowl.

Ezekiel Elliott's been spotted in the wild for the first time this offseason ... but don't worry, Cowboys fans -- he's out coppin' shoes, not booze.

We got Zeke in Beverly Grove right after the superstar RB and his BFF, Alvarez Jackson, went absolutely HAM at high-end sneaker joint SoleStage.

Elliott wasn't feeling chatty -- but we're guessing he was in a pretty good mood based on his battalion of shopping bags.

FYI, SoleStage's average kicks will run you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars ... so Zeke was raining stacks, no question.

But, again -- good to see the guy doing chiller activities like this ... especially considering he was PARTYING HIS FACE OFF at this time last year.

Happy almost St. Paddy's Day!!!

The woman who was brutalized by baseball player Danry Vasquez says she regrets not pressing charges against him ... and prays that he's a changed man for the sake of his new wife.

Fabiana Perez spoke with Univision and confirms the two did not break up until months after the 2016 attack. Vasquez got engaged to a new woman in Nov. 2017 and they're now married.

Perez says the two had been together for 6 years and were engaged at the time of the incident.

As we previously reported, Perez was not cooperative with prosecutors and lobbied the district attorney to let Vasquez slide.

Now, Perez says she regrets her actions ... and had this message about Vasquez:

"May God forgive him. He knows what he did. He wronged me, and at the time I forgave him, but if I had the knowledge I have now, I would have made a different decision."

As for people who criticized her for staying with Vasquez after the attack, Perez had this to say:

"It’s true what they say: you need to walk a mile in someone’s shoes to know how you’d feel in their situation. People don’t know the stuff that I lived, people don’t know the fear that I suffered."

Talk about swift justice ... boxer Vinny Paz already had his day in court after being arrested for domestic violence Thursday morning ... and he got off relatively easy -- avoiding any jail time.

Paz was arrested this morning in Rhode Island after cops say V.P. refused to exit his house after allegedly beating up his GF ... forcing cops to bust down his garage door.

Less than 10 hours after being charged with 2 misdemeanor domestic violence counts -- Paz appeared in front of a judge and immediately copped a plea ... pleading no contest to domestic violence simple assault.

The other charge was dismissed.

Paz won't spend time behind bars ... but he ain't free and clear. The judge ordered him to take domestic abuse and substance abuse counseling, participate in a mental health program, and give up his guns.

Drake broke the Internet this week by hopping on a computer game with its most popular player -- but the virtual appearance wasn't a planned plug ... Papi's just a big fan.

Sources over at Fortnite -- the battle-royale type combat game that's super popular on the streaming platform, Twitch -- tell TMZ that Drizzy's Wednesday night sesh with Ninja was not a sponsored event or a pre-planned gimmick ... on the contrary, it happened organically.

We're told Drake personally reached out to Ninja last week on Instagram to set up a mutual time to nerd out and blow stuff up on Fortnite. Apparently, he's a big fan of the game ... following its accounts on social media and even having his own profile -- TheBoyDuddus.

Our sources say Drake and Ninja did not signal they'd be online together Wednesday, and that the pairing came as a complete surprise. But, the love didn't go unnoticed (or unappreciated) ... we're told Fortnite's sending Drake a bunch of swag as a thank-you.

Fortnite's also in the process of setting a celebrity NBA-style "Party Royale" gaming event in mid-June with around 50 celebs and 50 pro gamers. We imagine Drake will get an invite -- Travis Scott and Steelers player Juju Smith, too ... who also played with D&N last night.

Eagles star Brent Celek is taking a line from "Terminator" in his heartfelt farewell to Philly -- telling fans not to be sad about him getting released 'cause, "I'll be back."

Brent -- who missed only 1 regular-season game in 11 SEASONS with the team -- says he's not 100% on continuing his playing career ... but no matter if it's on the field or off, he's gonna fly with the Super Bowl LII champs in the future.

"One day I'll be back with the Eagles in some capacity," Celek told TMZ Sports.

"When -- who knows? But, I love that organization ... I owe it to 'em."

Brent's also got nothing but love for Philly and its hardcore fans -- saying they've been great to him since he got drafted by the team in 2007.

Case in point -- the standing O they gave him at the 76ers game on Tuesday ... just hours after he was released.

Brent described everything it meant to him ... and you're gonna need some tissues.

The man who shot and killed ex-NFL RB Joe McKnight could be spending the rest of his life in a prison cell.

Ronald Gasser, 56, was just sentenced to 30 years behind bars ... less than 2 months after he was found guilty of manslaughter in a Louisiana courtroom. The maximum sentence he faced was 40 years.

Gasser was originally charged with 2nd-degree murder, but the jury elected for the lesser charge of manslaughter after more than 7 hours of deliberation back on Jan. 26.

McKnight -- who played for the Jets and Chiefs from 2010-2014 -- was gunned down by Gasser during a road-rage incident on Dec. 1, 2016, which ended when Gasser shot McKnight 3 times through his passenger side window.

Joe was only 28.

McKnight's mother, Jennifer, gave a victim impact statement before the sentencing, saying -- "That day, you didn't have to do that. That didn't have to happen. It hurts. It's going to hurt a long time."

Michelle Quick, the mother of Joe's 8-year-old son, also addressed Gasser before leaving the courtroom in tears.

"It will be my life's mission to make sure my son, Jaiden, doesn't grow up with hate for you. Not because you don't deserve it, but because he should not have hate in his heart."

FYI, Gasser's lawyer's filed a motion for a new trial before the sentencing -- claiming he was clearly acting in self-defense -- but the judge rejected their proposal.

Justin Verlander is going OFF on woman-beating baseball player Danry Vasquez -- essentially saying he's a piece of trash who doesn't deserve to play baseball ever again.

"(Middle finger emoji) you man," Verlander posted on Twitter ... "I hope the rest of your life without baseball is horrible. You deserve all that is coming your way!"

There's a connection here ... Verlander currently plays for the Astros and Vasquez was a member of the Houston farm system at the time of the 2016 attack.

As we previously reported, Vasquez repeatedly brutalized his girlfriend in the stairwell at Whataburger Stadium in Texas while a member of the Corpus Christi Hooks ... Houston's AA minor league team.

The 'Stros organization released Vasquez right after the arrest. But he was picked up by another team in Pennsylvania which JUST fired him this week when the beating video went public.

Vasquez only got a slap on the wrist from prosecutors -- he was only ordered to complete anger management (which he did) and his case has since been dismissed.

But Verlander isn't the only Astros star who's pissed about the Vasquez situation -- Houston pitcher Lance McCullers says the guy should have been thrown behind bars.

Clyde "The Glide" Drexler is the NEW man in charge of Ice Cube's BIG3 basketball league -- replacing Roger Mason Jr. ... who got the ax earlier this week.

As we previously reported, Mason and BIG3 are in the middle of a legal war -- so BIG3 removed him from the top spot and had Ice Cube fill in while they searched for a new Commish.

But, the search is over ... BIG3 tells TMZ Sports the 10-time NBA All-Star has signed a 3-year deal to be the new Commish.

"As Commissioner he will help lead the BIG3’s basketball operations as well as executing the league’s long-term strategy on all fronts," the league said in a statement.

55-year-old Drexler was the coach of Team Power during the 2017 season -- so he's familiar with how the league runs.

"Clyde is a consummate professional, revered businessman, and indisputably one of the greatest players to ever play the game of basketball," said league Co-Founders and Co-CEOs Jeff Kwatinetz and Ice Cube.

John Skipper is finally opening up about his shocking exit from ESPN -- and admitting the "substance addiction" that led to his resignation was with cocaine.

"I did get some therapy. I did go through treatment," Skipper told The Hollywood Reporter.

"I thought the best thing to do was to take the time to check myself into a facility, and I was able to understand a bit more about substance use and to think about how it intersected with my life."

Skipper is adamant he never had a problem with alcohol, heroin or opioids -- it was strictly cocaine.

"At ESPN I did not use at work, nor with anyone at work, or with anyone I did business with. I never allowed it to interfere with my work, other than a missed plane and a few canceled morning appointments."

But, Skipper says he knew he had to come clean about his coke habit in December when someone he bought cocaine from tried to extort him.

The dealer is described in the article as a "strange source."

Skipper also claims rumors of alleged sexual misconduct contributing to his resignation are false.

Former boxing champ Vinny Paz was arrested for domestic violence in Rhode Island early Thursday morning after cops say he beat up his girlfriend and then tried to hide inside of his home.

The Warwick Police Dept. says it had to use force to break down Paz's garage and enter the home to apprehend the 55-year-old at around 3 AM.

Cops initially received a call from a member of Paz's GF's family who said Paz got violent. The woman reportedly suffered injuries to her face.

When cops arrived, the woman was taken from the scene in a stretcher.

Paz refused to answer the door, answer his phone and had turned off all the lights -- so cops decided they had to make a move "out of an abundance of caution" ... and entered the house to get Paz.

He was eventually taken into custody around 4 AM and hauled to a nearby station where he's being booked for domestic violence charges.