TMZ Sports - Page 50

A New York radio host is getting dragged for asking the freshly-minted Jets QB about his "hot mom."

WFAN host Craig Carton scored an interview with Zach Wilson, the #2 draft pick, and asked about his mother -- who got lots of attention during the draft. Zach's mom is undeniably attractive and lots of folks commented, but raising it with her son is a whole other Oprah.

Carton said, “Your mom has become the lead story, and I say that respectfully because people are like, ‘the star of the first round of the draft is Mrs. Wilson because she’s a very attractive woman.’"

He went on ... “And, I’m just wondering how awkward that is for you, that you just got picked second overall in the NFL draft, and the focus is, wow, his mom is really hot."

The 21-year-old QB from Utah responded, “Yeah, it’s not my favorite for sure. I like to keep her out of the spotlight. She’s an awesome lady and I love having her support.”

Carton drew some heavy fire but stood his ground, saying, "Appreciate how sensitive u r but b sure 2 listen 2 what I said versus what u assume I said. I asked him how awkward it was that the Post wrote story about his moms looks, also the #1 trending topic online all day. I didnt ask him bout her looks or 2comment on them Big difference."

In case you're wondering, Zach's mom is Lisa Wilson. She calls herself a "fitness fanatic" and posts lots of pics highlighting healthy cooking and her fam. She's been married for 24 years.

Wrestling legends Shawn Michaels and Kevin Nash (Diesel) were WWF Tag Team champs in the mid-'90s ... but initially got linked up together 'cause Nash's WCW character reminded the "Heartbreak Kid" of ... Andrew Dice Clay!!

Yes, Michaels was a HUGE fan of the "Diceman" ... and that's why he tells TMZ Sports that's what instantly attracted him to Nash's "Vinnie Vegas" character -- and ultimately gave birth to "Two Dudes with Attitudes."

"I had seen him on WCW as Vinnie Vegas. I can remember at that time coming off believing that Andrew Dice Clay was the funniest, and he sorta had an aspect of that in Vinnie Vegas," Michaels' says.

"Seeing it, and then, of course, quite some time later talking to Rick Steiner about it, and him mentioning [Kevin] and wanting to have a bodyguard for me."

Shawn was down, so Nash's "Diesel" character became his bodyguard. Together, they were 2x WWF Tag Team champions ... in addition to having a ton of success individually.

Michaels was a 2x Intercontinental champ ... while Diesel was Heavyweight champ and Intercontinental champ.

"There certainly were times we brought out the best in one another from an in the ring standpoint, and taking ourselves to a new level," Shawn says ... "Maybe less so personally. We were kinda troublemakers. But, to look back on it now, I'm very fond."

It's been decades since the men teamed up in the squared circle ... but the duo will be featured in an upcoming doc called "WWE Untold: Dudes With Attitudes" -- airing May 2 on Peacock.

"I needed to make a change because I was tired of the way I was living."

That's 31-year-old former heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz opening up about depression that literally brought him to his knees ... after losing his belts to Anthony Joshua.

TMZ Sports talked to Ruiz days before he makes his return to the squared circle on May 1 ... where "The Destroyer" will take on Chris Arreola.

When Ruiz starts letting his hands fly ... he'll look a little bit different than the last time we saw him in the ring with Joshua -- 'cause the 6'2" boxing star has lost nearly 60 pounds!!

"I think the weight loss is gonna be good and gonna be an advantage for me," Ruiz tells us.

"I think I'm gonna be a little faster, I'm gonna be able to slip more punches, bob and weave and things that we've been practicing in the gym and you know, I'm still not where I wanna be at but I'm still way better than I was before."

Of course, Ruiz SHOCKED the world and KO'd AJ in June 2019 ... one of the biggest upsets in heavyweight boxing history.

But, the December 2019 rematch didn't go nearly as well for Ruiz ... who stepped into the ring weighing 284 pounds, and looking out of shape in a unanimous decision loss.

After the fight, Andy says he was depressed and knew he had to change his life ... and that started with the drastic weight loss.

"There was just this one day that I was just depressed with myself and I was weighting 310 lbs. I thought losing weight would be the big issue and learning discipline, because I lacked discipline in my whole professional career," Ruiz says.

Andy continued ... "Like I said, I was depressed, I had got on my knees, I started praying and started telling God for a new change, a new mentality, and the next day I woke up and I woke up like a brand new man and that's when I messaged Canelo and told him if he could open the doors for me, and here we are now."

If the new, improved Ruiz beats Arreola (and he's a massive favorite) ... Andy could potentially face Deontay Wilder, Tyson Fury, Dillian Whyte or even Joshua for a third time.

Tim Tebow's NFL comeback CAN work out well for the former QB ... so says Marcedes Lewis, who tells TMZ Sports he's confident Tim can revive his football career as a TE successfully.

"He gets it," Marcedes said of the former Heisman Trophy winner in L.A. this week. "With the right coach, in the right system, he's athletic, and, if he's willing, he'll be able to get it done."

Tim made the decision to drop baseball for football recently ... telling the Jacksonville Jaguars he's now willing to switch from signal-caller to tight end.

And, the Jags are apparently interested, 'cause multiple reports say after he got a workout in with Jacksonville's TE coach ... the team is now considering signing him to a contract.

Lewis says he doesn't necessarily see Tim being able to play the traditional TE role ... but he believes there's still a spot for Tebow in the NFL regardless.

"I mean, it's definitely a tough position," said Marcedes, who's been playing tight end in the league since 2006.

"I'm pretty sure if he does come back it would probably be in an F tight end role, kind of an adjuster where he's able to run routes and stuff like that. I don't see him inline blocking, so he may be able to pick it up."

As for Marcedes' advice on Tebow's transition to tight end ... Lewis tells us the guy just has to know what everybody is doing on every play at all times.

Chris Weidman's shattered leg will NOT stop the former UFC champion from returning to the Octagon ... so says "The All-American's" training partner, friend, and family member, Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson.

TMZ Sports talked to Wonderboy -- who was in Chris' corner when his leg snapped during his fight with Uriah Hall -- and we asked whether the 36-year-old fighter will ever fight again in the UFC.

Stephen -- whose brother is married to Chris' sister -- didn't hesitate when he answered.

"I know for a fact he will come back," Thompson says.

"[Chris'] style of fighting, if that ever happened to me it would be different because I rely a lot on my kicking. He could never throw a kick again and still dominate in the UFC in his division."

Wonderboy continued ... "He’s not known for his kicking, he’s known for his striking, his wrestling, so that’s the thing that makes this not very worrisome. Yeah, it’s terrible that it happened, and I pray that he heals up fast, and I know he will, but he doesn’t ever have to throw a kick again and still win fights."

Before he can fight again, Weidman -- who had a titanium rod surgically put into his tibia -- has 6 to 12 months of rehab before he can even start training ... so we asked Stephen how Chris was dealing with the traumatic injury.

"Well, to be honest with you, he’s in good spirits. He keeps a very small circle around him of family and friends, and they’re being positive, and to be honest with you he’s great. He’s great."

Awesome news!

Logan Paul has exactly ZERO chance of beating Floyd Mayweather when they clash on June 6, so says Max Kellerman ... but he still thinks the event could be GREAT for boxing.

Kellerman is one of the top experts in the world when it comes to the sweet science -- he's like a walking encyclopedia. And, while some people are crapping on the fight as a mockery to the sport, Max says there's a silver lining.

"It's a good introduction for a lot of people to combat sports," the ESPN star explains ... saying it reminds him of when the UFC burst onto the scene.

"A lot of boxing industry [people] felt threatened by UFC back in the day. I always felt, not only did I like the UFC, but that boxing should also welcome it, not feel threatened by it because they were exposing a new generation of fans to combat sports."

"So, you say, 'Hey, you like combat sports? Come over here and check us out' and Logan Paul is doing the same thing with Floyd Mayweather now."

As for his fight prediction -- "No, Logan Paul doesn't have a chance to beat Floyd Mayweather in a boxing ring but he's gonna try. Good for him."

The King is BACK!!!

LeBron James is slated to make his highly-anticipated return to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday ... after missing more than a month due to injury.

Bron -- who suffered a high ankle sprain against the Atlanta Hawks on March 20 -- is expected to play in the Lake Show's matchup against the Sacramento Kings as long as warmups go according to plan, Shams Charania reports.

The injury was tough on James -- he was having an MVP-caliber season with 25 points and nearly 8 rebounds and 8 assists before going down with the injury.

LeBron's absence during the 2021 season marks the longest of his career.

The Lakers have certainly missed his presence ... going 8-12 and falling to 5th in the Western Conference during his time away from the court.

Of course, Anthony Davis also missed several games this season with a calf strain and Achilles tendinosis ... so the Purple & Gold have got to be excited to have the gang back together.

Did Julian Edelman think about joining Tom Brady with the Bucs before retirement???

Tom's at least joking about it ... saying Thursday, "We know Julian didn't retire. Let's be honest. He's just too scared to tell Bill [Belichick] he wanted to come to Tampa!"

Brady was laughing the entire time he said it -- so it's tough to say if that's actually what went down ... but Thursday's interaction between the two pals and other celebs was hilarious nonetheless!!

The former Patriots teammates joined up with Kevin Hart, Michael Strahan, Mark Wahlberg, Deion Sanders and Kay Adams for a roundtable Zoom call during the NFL draft -- and their entire interaction together was pretty damn funny.

Everyone was ribbin' each other ... but it was Brady's joke that raised eyebrows.

You can see in the clip, after Brady made the comment ... others on the call kind of lost their minds!!

Of course, 34-year-old Edelman said just a few weeks ago Tom and Tampa had NOTHING to do with his retirement ... explaining his injuries just wouldn't allow him to play football any longer.

But, when Hart asked Edelman if he was SERIOUSLY done with football -- Julian didn't exactly give a convincing "no" ... with the receiver winking several times while saying, "I am done."

Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar -- one of the greatest second basemen of all time -- has been banned from Major League Baseball ... after an investigation into sexual misconduct claims from 2014.

Commissioner Robert Manfred announced the move on Friday ... saying 53-year-old Alomar has been terminated from his gig as a league consultant and placed on the "Ineligible List."

The ban, Manfred says, comes after MLB hired a law firm to investigate claims of sexual misconduct made by a "baseball industry employee," who came forward earlier this year about the alleged incident that happened in 2014.

After the investigation, it was determined Alomar violated MLB's policies ... resulting in severe punishment.

"We are grateful for the courage of the individual who came forward," Manfred said Friday. "MLB will continue to strive to create environments in which people feel comfortable speaking up without fear of recrimination, retaliation, or exclusion."

The Toronto Blue Jays followed suit by severing ties with Alomar, who was serving as a special assistant to the team ... and going one step further by scrubbing him from the team's "Level of Excellence."

Of course, Alomar was a star in the '90s -- he made 12 All-Star teams, won 10 Gold Gloves and won 2 World Series championships ... and was inducted into Cooperstown in 2011.

The Jays are also taking down Alomar's banner at the stadium, which honored his retired number #12 with the organization.

Alomar addressed the punishment minutes ago ... saying, "I am disappointed, surprised, and upset with today's news."

"With the current social climate, I understand why Major League Baseball has taken the position they have."

Disgusting moment during a video game sesh for T-Pain this month ... a group of players hurled the n-word and other racist insults at the singer -- and it was all captured on video that's hard to watch.

It went down when the 35-year-old hopped on a Call Of Duty Twitch stream ... when, before a match started, a group of racist scumbags verbally attacked.

In the footage, you can hear players repeatedly call T-Pain the n-word ... and, at one point, some of the players even said to the singer, "F*** Black Lives Matter."

T-Pain was clearly bothered by it all ... he let out a sigh and said, "Jesus Christ."

"I mean, I don't know at this point," he added. "Randoms."

T-Pain shook it all off, though, and stayed in the game ... and tried to make some light of a horrible situation.

The "Bartender" singer -- who's a HUGE video game nut -- ended up dominating the match, helping his team win 200-152, and then he rubbed some salt in his racist opponents' wounds.

"Ladies and gentlemen, looks like the n******s win," T-Pain said after letting out a long dance. "Stupid idiots!"

He later added, "Looks like the n*****s took it home. F***ed up. Stupid idiots. F***ing a**holes."

We've reached out to reps for Call of Duty for comment, but so far, no word back yet.

Do better, people.

Before Najee Harris’ life changed with his big NFL moment Thursday night, the rookie revisited a homeless shelter he and his family lived in years ago ... and hosted a draft party!!

But, the 23-year-old star running back out of Alabama wasn’t just there to say hello -- Harris decided to give back in a big way by providing food for all the current residents!!

Harris transformed the Greater Richmond Interfaith Program (GRIP) homeless shelter in Richmond, CA into an awesome party scene ... decking the place out in football decor and bringing positive vibes to all in attendance.

The Pittsburgh Steelers draftee explained his decision to return to his roots on a monumental day ... telling reporters, "There was a time I needed a helping hand. They gave us an opportunity to get back on our feet. So it is my job to give back."

FYI -- GRIP housed Najee, his sister and his parents for years while the future 24th pick was in middle school.

Eventually, the family would move to Antioch, Calif., where Harris burst onto the high school football scene ... catching the national spotlight and keen eye of Nick Saban. Harris committed to the Crimson Tide in 2015, and the rest is history.

Harris caught up with reporter Kylen Mills outside of GRIP before the draft, and he told her just how special the return meant for him and his family.

"It was really emotional for my mom. Almost as if she was crying, in a way, because we have a lot of memories here. That was a time in my life when it was really low."

The pick is in ... and the Jacksonville Jaguars have officially taken Clemson superstar QB Trevor Lawrence first overall in the 2021 NFL Draft!!

The selection should surprise literally no one -- the 21-year-old has been at the top of the draft boards ever since he declared for the draft in January.

Lawrence -- who decided to spend his big moment with his fam in South Carolina -- was visibly pleased to hear his name called Thursday night ... hugging his new wife, Marissa Mowry as Roger Goodell announced the pick.

Lawrence was as good as it gets for the Tigers -- winning a national title as a true freshman in 2018.

He also led Clemson to the championship game in 2020, but fell to Joe Burrow and the LSU Tigers ... marking his first collegiate loss. In fact, dating back to his high school football days, Lawrence has yet to lose a regular-season game.

Lawrence finished his college career with an insane 34-2 record -- the most wins in school history.

Unfortunately, that winning streak is most likely coming to an end during his rookie season -- the Jags were pretty bad in 2020 with a 1-15 record.

But, now, JAX has college football coaching legend Urban Meyer on board ... and he's teaming up with the Heisman finalist to change the culture within the organization.

Now that the first domino has fallen, the next question is -- where the heck are the rest of the QBs in the draft going??

Danica Patrick has found new love after ending things with Aaron Rodgers ... the former racecar driver says she has a new BF -- and she couldn't be happier with him!!

The 39-year-old -- who split with Rodgers last summer after the two had dated for two years -- confirmed to ExtraTV this week she's in a new relationship with Carter Comstock.

And, in an interview where Danica gushed over her new man, she revealed Comstock is already fulfilling one of her "grand visions" for a relationship.

"We both love to travel and we're both super open-minded," Patrick said. "And, like, I had this sort of grand vision for finding someone that I could just sit on the couch with and, like, have a glass of wine and literally come up with any topic at all, simple or complicated, and just go, 'Let's talk about a tree.'"

"And, just go for two hours on like the nature of a tree. I just always imagined how great it would be to like find someone that you just sit on the couch and talk to for hours and that's just what we do."

It's unclear how and when Patrick and Comstock -- who's reportedly a cofounder of the meal prep service company, Freshly -- first linked up ... but she did post a photo of the two on a beach vacay earlier this month, saying, "Beach workouts are fun for one, but better with you."

As for her ex-flame... Rodgers got engaged to actress Shailene Woodley shortly after the Patrick breakup, and has said he's very happy now too.

NFL rookie Jamin Davis had TWO dreams come true this week -- not only did the Kentucky star get drafted to the Washington Football Team ... but his childhood idol, Jimmie Johnson, invited him to a NASCAR race!!

The awesome moment went down on Twitter early Friday morning ... when the 7-time NASCAR Cup champ noticed one of Davis' fun tidbits from Thursday's draft broadcast.

The slide read, "Wanted to race in NASCAR as a child, hoping to meet Jimmie Johnson one day."

And, guess what, Davis -- your wish is about to come true ... 'cause JJ responded by personally inviting the linebacker to a race in the future!!

"I want to wish you the best of luck chasing your dream @jamindavis25 and let’s get you to a race ASAP," Johnson tweeted.

So cool!!!

It doesn't get much better for the 22-year-old, whose name was called with the 19th overall pick Thursday night.

Davis has yet to respond to the racing legend's offer ... but we're sure he'll hit him back with a resounding "HELL YES" soon.

Like it or not, it seems Aaron Rodgers will HAVE to play for the Packers this season ... 'cause the team's GM said Thursday night Green Bay has zero plans to trade the QB.

Brian Gutekunst, who took over GM duties for the Pack back in 2018, acknowledged there is a bit of a rift with their star signal-caller at the moment ... though he insisted the issues won't be resolved with a trade.

"We're not going to trade Aaron Rodgers," Gutekunst said after the 2021 NFL Draft's first round wrapped up.

"The value that he adds to our football is really immeasurable, you know what I mean?" Gutekunst added. "He brings so much to the table not only as a player but as a leader."

Of course, Rodgers has reportedly reached his breaking point with the team ... with multiple reports saying Thursday Aaron wants out BADLY.

Rodgers has been upset with his contract ... and he's made it clear he hasn't loved some of the team's personnel moves -- including when the Packers drafted a quarterback (Jordan Love) in the 2020 NFL Draft's 1st round instead of a wideout.

But, Gutekunst seemed confident both sides will work things out for the 2021 season ... telling reporters, "I do think he'll play for us again."

"We're going to work towards that and we've been working towards that on a number of different fronts."

In fact, the Packers have already rebuked trade offers from at least one team ... 49ers GM John Lynch told reporters Thursday he inquired about the QB before the draft -- but added, "It wasn't happening."