TMZ Sports - Page 50

Terrell Davis is issuing a stern warning to Saquon Barkley ... saying if the injured running back returns too early from his ACL injury, it could have DIRE consequences.

The Hall of Famer explained it all to TMZ Sports ... with Davis telling us when he rushed back early from a knee injury following the 1999 season -- it cost him A LOT.

"For me, I tell players coming back from an injury is sometimes you have to protect yourself from yourself," Davis says. "And, what I mean by that is we're very competitive and we want to come back and beat the timeframe."

"So, if the doctor says it's a six-week or six-month recovery -- whatever it is -- our minds is, 'I'm coming back in half that time. I'm coming back in three weeks or three months.'"

Davis continued, "I remember coming back and I thought I was ready to play and I was really trying to get back on the field but I think long term it hurt me."

Davis says if he had just taken the extra time to ensure he was 100 percent, the ending of his career could have gone MUCH differently.

"I always tell players," Davis says, "'Listen, I understand you feel like you're ready to come back, make sure you're sure. Make sure that you're ready to come back because you can do more damage if you come back prematurely than if you wait.'"

Barkley tore up his knee back on Sept. 20, 2020 ... and he's been rehabbing and training like a mad man to get back on the field ASAP.

In fact, the 24-year-old just posted video of some of his workout sessions last month ... showing he's already jumping off his injured leg.

It's all a great indicator that Barkley should be ready for the Giants' season opener in September ... but Davis is making it clear, Saquon NEEDS to listen to his body fully before he straps on the pads again.

KISS THE BABY!!

Ex-NFL superstar Chad Ochocinco has signed a deal to fight in an exhibition boxing match on the Floyd Mayweather vs. Logan Paul undercard  -- the very first fight of his career.

In other words, Chad is making his boxing debut at 43 YEARS OLD!

The former Cincinnati Bengals WR has been training his ass off in boxing gyms for years -- but never really expressed serious interest in taking a fight.

But, Chad says he was approached by Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe recently ... and offered a spot on the undercard for the big June 6 event at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

Chad says he immediately asked his family for their thoughts -- and when they gave their blessing, Ochocinco told Ellerbe he would do it!

Ochocinco -- formally known as Chad Johnson -- broke the news on the "I AM ATHLETE" podcast.

So far, no opponent has been locked in -- but we're hearing promoters are looking to match Chad up against another former non-boxing athlete.

The obvious choice would be ex-NFL wideout Brandon Marshall, who's been putting in serious work in the boxing gym for years ... and has openly talked about wanting a big-time fight.

In fact, Brandon spent some time training with Evander Holyfield who compared Marshall to heavyweight knockout artist Deontay Wilder.

As for Chad, he's already got a new nickname -- calling himself, "Sweet Feet Johnson!"

The uniform Wilt Chamberlain rocked during his DOMINANT '59-'60 rookie season is about to hit a sports memorabilia stock market ... but don't stress if ya ain't rich, 'cause you don't need a milli in the bank to own a piece of the threads.

It's a new way for people to own a piece of history without breaking the bank -- with the same kinds of risks and rewards as buying stock.

Here's the deal ... the person who currently owns the Chamberlain uniform is David Kohler, who runs the wildly successful SCP Auctions company, which specializes in high-value collectibles.

Kohler tells TMZ Sports ... Wilt rocked the items for every home game during his rookie season with the Philadelphia Warriors.

The items have been authenticated by the widely respected MEARS evaluation company and photo matched by the folks at MeiGray Authentication, Kohler says.

Kohler has owned the piece for years and has decided the time is right to sell -- so he teamed with the app Collectable to make it happen.

The Chamberlain uniform will hit the market on Tuesday -- with an Initial Public Offering (IPO) backed by the Security and Exchange Commission.

We're told there will be 95,620 shares available for purchase at $10 a pop -- and from there, you can monitor the value like you would a typical stock.

Kohler says he's retaining 25% of the jersey -- which would bring the value of the item to $1.275 mil.

Collectors can buy as many shares as they want ... and resell them (hopefully for a profit) on the Collectable app.

Chamberlain -- who won Rookie of the Year -- averaged nearly 38 points and 27 rebounds per game. No, not a typo ... the man averaged 38 and 27 as a ROOKIE ... in what's likely the greatest 1st season in hoops history.

Blocked shots weren't calculated at that time ... but you can bet Wilt's blocked shots per night would've been absurd, too.

Kohler tells us he believes the Chamberlain uniform is one of the most coveted in sports history.

"This is one of the finest game-worn uniforms known to exist in the basketball memorabilia industry. His rookie uniform, supported by photo documentation that is unprecedented for its era, ranks not only as the finest basketball uniform in the world, but one of the finest uniforms from any sport, period."

Wilt went on to have an absolutely remarkable career ... making 13 All-Star teams and winning 4 league MVP's before being inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2006.

Forget champagne and fancy steak dinners ... Ohio State star Jonathon Cooper found a much better way to celebrate his NFL draft selection -- by being mobbed by neighborhood kids!!

The linebacker was picked Saturday in the 7th round of the annual selection show by the Denver Broncos -- and it didn't take long for a block party to ensue.

Once word got out that Cooper was headed to the Mile High City ... a bunch of neighborhood kids showed up at his house in Columbus, Ohio on Sunday to congratulate him -- and video from the scene is adorable.

There were hugs, high fives and cheers ... and the party didn't stop there -- 'cause they all ended up sitting around later and grubbin' on some food!!

And then, of course, they got in some good ol' fashion football in the backyard!!!

23-year-old Cooper was a beast at OSU -- he logged 77 total tackles and 10 sacks in his 5-year career ... and he played a key role in this past season's journey to the National Championship game.

And, even though he's moving on to Denver now ... it's clear there will always be a neighborhood in Columbus watching him closely going forward!!

Caitlyn Jenner's take on banning trans girls from competing in girls' sports is unfounded and unjust ... so says Dr. Veronica Ivy whose view is the polar opposite.

Veronica, a trans activist, athlete and associate professor of philosophy at the College of Charleston, appeared Monday on "TMZ Live" and said there's no evidence trans girls perform better in sports than cisgender girls.

Dr. Ivy says the whole thing about biologically-born boys having a competitive advantage over biologically-born girls has been disproven ... she says there is no evidence normal testosterone levels have any impact on performance.

The Doc does say there is undeniably a difference in performance between biologically-born boys and girls in the world of sports, but she says the reason is unknown ... it's either biological, sociological or a combination of both. She goes on to say the data that's available actually doesn't show trans girls have any real advantage over cisgender girls, but until there's proof to the contrary the default should be inclusion rather than exclusion.

Dr. Ivy points out, Caitlyn had a different take last year ... when she told the Outsports podcast "The Trans Sporter Room," "I think every trans person, if they’re into athletics, should have an opportunity to compete and to improve themselves."

Madonna's just like any regular soccer mom ... attending a game to cheer on her son, accompanied by her boyfriend, who's a lot closer in age to the players on the field than he is to Madge.

The Material Girl and her family hit up the pitch Sunday in Hidden Hills, CA to support her 15-year-old son, David Banda ... and her 27-year-old beau, Ahlamalik Williams, appeared to revel in the role of soccer "parent."

It was a pretty rare public outing for Madonna, but she arrived in style with a black-and-white getup complete with a cowboy hat with a whale on it ... and it looks like they all had a whale of a good time.

At one point David came over to the sideline and shared a hug with Ahlamalik, so it's pretty clear they're cool too.

If ya didn't know ... Madonna began dating the professional dancer -- 35 years her junior -- about 2 years ago, and hasn't been shy about expressing her affection for him.

Just a week ago for his 27th bday, Madonna wrote ... "Happy Birthday My Love...... Thank you for opening my eyes. How can I explain how I feel? Let's get Unconscious........" referring to lyrics in her 1994 hit "Bedtime Story."

An Asian teenage basketball player was socked in the face during a game this weekend after allegedly being called a racial slur -- and video of the violence was all captured on video.

The altercation went down on Saturday in Oakland, Calif. during an AAU game between the South Bay Snipers and the San Francisco Generals.

At one point during the action, Snipers player Evan dove to the floor to try to take a loose ball from one of the Generals' players, but that's when things turned ugly.

Evan was pushed by the Generals' player on the ground, and then he was shoved to the floor by another Generals' player.

That Generals' player then took a swing at Evan, barely missing ... before he threw a second haymaker just seconds later that landed flush on Evan's jaw.

You can see in the clip, Evan was visibly wobbled ... and to make matters even more disturbing, Evan's parents allege that just before the melee, Generals players had called him and his teammate's anti-Asian slurs.

"They did use the 'C' word -- c***k word," Evan's mom, Lennie, told KPIX -- not revealing their last name out of fear of retaliation.

"Two-thirds of the team are Asian," Evan's dad, Eduardo, added.

The parents say Evan sustained a concussion from the punch.

Tournament officials banned the attacker from the Generals' game on Sunday, but Evan's father said, "The worst part is no one apologized."

Evan's parents say they are planning to go to police over the incident.

Bobby Unser -- who won the Indianapolis 500 race THREE TIMES during his illustrious career -- died Sunday at his home in New Mexico.

He was 87.

Officials at Indianapolis Motor Speedway say Unser died of natural causes -- but did not get into specifics.

Unser -- brother of fellow Indy 500 champ Al Unser -- is survived by his wife, Lisa, along with 2 sons Bobby Jr. and Robby and 2 daughters Cindy and Jeri.

Bobby Unser was a titan of the sport -- winning The Greatest Spectacle in Racing in 3 consecutive decades ... first in 1968, again in 1975 and finally in 1981.

Unser retired from racing in 1983 but went on to become a pretty successful TV analyst -- working for NBC, ABC, ESPN and more.

In fact, Unser was part of the broadcast team that won a Sports Award Emmy in 1989 and 1990 for coverage of the Indy 500.

In 1990, Unser was inducted into both the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame and the International Motorsports HOF.

Unser was a proud military veteran who served 2 years in the U.S. Air Force in the 1950s.

The 2021 Indy 500 is set for May 30 -- and you can bet your ass there will be a massive tribute to Unser at the event.

Blake Snell lost his mind after seeing his video game rating in this year's version of "MLB The Show" -- straight-up calling his ranking "crap" ... and the hilarious rant was all caught on video!!

The San Diego Padres star pitcher was breaking into the baseball game on a live Twitch stream ... when he found his rating was nothing more than an 82 gold.

You can see in the footage ... the former Cy Young winner was NOT happy about it -- immediately asking his followers, "How the heck am I 82 gold?!"

"What kind of crap is that?!" Snell continued. "82 gold?! Bro, the disrespect!"

The 28-year-old kind of has a point ... he went 4-2 last year for the Rays with a 3.24 ERA -- and he's been good in his first season with the Padres so far this year.

But, Snell still asked his followers if he deserved better ... and when one troll said no, that's when Blake's rant got even better!

"I appreciate your opinion," Snell said. "But, that's a weak-ass opinion!"

We're sure Snell's card will get an upgrade soon ... but in the meantime, maybe best to just stick with Yu Darvish on the Padres' virtual mound.

Robert Kraft riding Space Mountain is gonna draw a lot of attention -- which is why a lot of folks at Disney World noticed his mission to help a mournful little girl and her mother smile over the weekend.

Sources inside the Magic Kingdom tell us the Patriots owner and his GF, Dana Blumberg, were all over the park with a woman and her 8-year-old daughter -- the four of them were seen taking snapshots ... one of which caught the attention of a Patriots great.

Hall of Fame linebacker Andre Tippett actually posted one of the group's pics Sunday, saying how proud he was of Kraft and the Patriots organization -- and now we know why.

Our sources at the park tell us the woman they were with is a frontline worker from Long Island whose husband -- himself an essential worker -- caught COVID and died in recent months. The little girl had been struggling with the loss, and we're told Dana and Robert wanted to do something special for her.

From what we're told, they succeeded ... as the group spent 2 days at Disney World and they all stayed at the Grand Floridian -- all on Kraft's dime, we're assuming.

We hear the group got the full VIP treatment ... Fast Passing it on about 20 different rides. We've reached out to Kraft's camp, but haven't heard back.

Robert Griffin III is gunning for a job with the 49ers -- telling his old pal Kyle Shanahan there is NOBODY better suited to mentor the team's new dual-threat QB Trey Lance than him!

"To be honest, I don’t think they have a guy on the roster that would be better situated than myself to come in and mentor the kid," 31-year-old Griffin said on the Bleacher Report "Draft Night" show.

FYI, the 49ers' current depth chart at QB looks like this -- Jimmy Garoppolo, Trey Lance, Nate Sudfeld and Josh Rosen.

The 49ers selected 20-year-old Lance with the 3rd overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft -- after an impressive career at North Dakota State where he passed for more than 2,700 yards and rushed for 1,100 in 2019.

The team clearly believes Lance is their QB of the future while they figure out what to do with Jimmy G.

During his appearance on the BR show, RG3 noted he's familiar with the entire Shanahan family from his days in Washington -- where Kyle was the offensive coordinator and his dad Mike Shanahan was the head coach.

Now that Kyle is the head man in San Fran, Robert -- who's a free agent after 3 seasons in Baltimore -- believes his experience makes him the perfect guy to help Kyle mold Lance into the team's franchise QB.

In fact, Robert told a story about how he was able to meet the Shanahan family's lofty expectations when he first got drafted back in 2012.

"I remember one time Mike sat me down and had a 20-word play ready for me in the FIRST PRACTICE! And they just sat there and wanted to see if I could spit put every single one of those words and then actually go run the play against a defense led by London Fletcher, one of the best linebackers ever."

Forget the web gems ON the field ... a Phillies fan made such an incredible 1-handed catch on a foul ball in the stands Sunday night, Alex Rodriguez even praised the dude!!!

The insane stab all went down in the 7th inning of the Phils' loss to the New York Mets ... when Michael Conforto sent a pitch screaming down the left-field line.

You can see in video of the play, the ball was a blur as it headed for the seats ... but one dude stuck out one paw and made the grab!!

And, get this ... the guy didn't even spill a drop of the ice cream he had in his other hand!!!

The play was so remarkable, A-Rod -- who was broadcasting the game for ESPN -- said, "Get that fan a contract!"

Rodriguez later added after seeing the replay, "I mean, come on!"

What's even more amazing about the play ... statcast experts say the ball had an exit velocity of 97 MPH off Conforto's bat!!!

The guy then made the biggest pro move of all -- he gave the baseball to his date, and it sure as hell seemed like she was impressed.

Pro boxer Felix Verdejo -- who competed in the 2012 Olympics -- has been hit with multiple criminal charges connected to the killing of a 27-year-old pregnant woman and her unborn child.

Verdejo surrendered to authorities in Puerto Rico on Sunday evening -- roughly 24 hours after the body of Keishla Rodriguez was found in a lagoon.

Officials say her body was in such bad shape, they needed to use her dental records to verify her identity.

The allegations of her killing are extremely disturbing ...

Officials say the FBI has been working with a witness who claims to have "firsthand, personal knowledge” of the incident -- because the boxer had "requested his help to terminate the pregnancy."

The witness says he and Verdejo abducted Rodriguez on Thursday evening in a black SUV -- where the boxer proceeded to punch her in the face and inject her with a "syringe filled with substances."

After that, Verdejo allegedly bound the woman's hands and feet, tied a heavy block to her body and threw her off the Teodoro Moscoso Bridge, into the San Jose Lagoon.

That's not all ... the witness told officials Verdejo then pulled out a gun and began firing at her in what appears to be a final horrific effort to ensure her death.

Authorities say cell phone data appears to sync up with the witness account -- confirming the locations where Rodriguez had been traveling before her death.

Also, officials say they have surveillance video showing a dark SUV -- similar to the one Verdejo had been spotted with -- on the Teodoro Moscoso Bridge.

Verdejo is now facing multiple criminal charges including kidnapping resulting in death, carjacking resulting in death and killing an unborn child.

If convicted on all counts, Verdejo could face the death penalty.

Verdejo is 27-2 as a pro boxer and famously fought for Puerto Rico in the 2012 Olympic Games.

He had been signed with Top Rank Boxing which issued a statement on the situation on a Saturday.

"The thoughts and prayers of Top Rank are with the family and friends of Keishla Marlen Rodríguez Ortiz, and with the people of Puerto Rico in this moment of mourning."

"We are profoundly disturbed by the news and will continue to monitor the evolution of the case as it progresses."

LeBron James HATES the idea of the NBA's new postseason play-in tournament ... saying straight-up Sunday night, "Whoever came with that s*** needs to be fired."

It's shocking that LBJ and the Lakers are even in a position to possibly need the extra games to lock in a playoff spot -- but after losing 6 of their last 7, it's becoming very real now.

And, James is clearly NOT happy about it.

LBJ went off on the league's new postseason rule after L.A. fell 121-114 to the Raptors ... explaining he believes teams who finish the regular season in the top 8 should advance, no play-in games required.

FYI -- the NBA implemented the new rule this year where the 7 through 10 seeds will have to battle it out to be the official 7 and 8 seeds of the playoff bracket.

The games will start on May 18 ... a couple days before the real postseason tips off.

The Lakers -- who got off to a roaring 21-6 start but have since seen their record fall to 36-28 as they've battled a ton of injuries -- are the current 6th seed in the West ... but they're just one loss away from the dreaded 7 spot.

And, with LeBron -- who's missed most of the last two months with a sore ankle -- still ailing ... it's possible he won't even play in Monday night's crucial game against the Nuggets.

But, LBJ said he won't compromise his health to make sure the Lake Show avoids the play-in games ... explaining, "It doesn't matter at the end of the day if I'm not 100% or close to 100%. It don't matter where we land."

The Lakers have just 8 games left before the potential play-in tournament begins.

NFL free agent Mark Walton argued with Pizza Hut employees, yelled at cops, got violent with his cousin, and then peed on himself before being arrested last January ... and the entire, wild scene was all caught on police video obtained by TMZ Sports.

It all went down back on Jan. 31 ... when around 11:24 PM, the 24-year-old running back got into a tiff with workers at a Miami Pizza Hut shop.

In the police footage, you can see officers rolled up to Walton while he was in a heated dispute at the pizza joint's ordering counter.

In the clip, Walton says he was pissed at employees because after they canceled one of his orders ... he claims one of them called him a "f*** n***a."

Walton says he personally came to the store to confront them over it ... and that's when all the drama began.

Cops say Pizza Hut employees claimed Walton was "banging on the windows" prior to their arrival ... and you can see in video, Walton was yelling at the employees when the officers showed up.

Mark continued to bicker with the Pizza Hut staffers while cops were present ... and eventually, he became combative toward the officers themselves.

At one point, as the cops tried to get him to calm down and leave the area, Walton screamed at an officer, "You don't know who I am! I don't care! I'm about money!"

Walton eventually walked away from the scene with his cousin -- though the two didn't get very far, because they ended up in a physical altercation at the back of the Pizza Hut.

You can see in footage, when cops turned the corner to check in on the two ... Walton was standing over his cousin, who appeared to be knocked out while bleeding profusely from his forehead area.

Cops ordered Walton to the ground at taser-point ... and while they put him in handcuffs, the NFL player told them his cousin had fallen after grabbing him during their dispute.

While detained, Walton argued with officers more ... and then asked them if he could "pee on myself." When cops said yes, Walton let it go.

Eventually, Walton admitted to an officer on video that he had been drinking earlier in the day.

Walton was ultimately hit with 2 charges over the incident, misdemeanor trespassing and misdemeanor disorderly conduct.

But, court records show he reached a deal with prosecutors last month to have the case closed ... though we're working on the specifics of that agreement.

Walton was a Cincinnati Bengals fourth-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft ... but he was eventually cut by the team in 2019 following multiple arrests.

Walton eventually signed on with the Dolphins in '19 ... but they too cut him after he ran into more trouble with the law.

The S.I. Swimsuit issue is looking to break barriers with its FIRST EVER male model finalist ... and cover model Camille Kostek tells TMZ Sports she couldn't be more excited for the move!!

21-year-old Lewis Freese is one of 15 finalists in the "SI Swim Search" ... an international competition to bring newcomers to the magazine.

Kostek -- who won the same contest in 2018 -- raved about Freese's chances at making history ... applauding the publication for its continuous efforts towards inclusion.

"Lewis is the best," Camille told us at LAX this week. "I've been watching through his whole swimsuit journey. It is, like, unbelievable."

"I had a feeling with just everything that's evolving and things that are changing. I mean, all walks of life are meant to be celebrated. I had a feeling this was going to happen and I'm so happy it's Lewis that's gonna break the mold."

Camille also has a message for any haters against bringing change to the iconic swim issue ... saying it's time they learned to be with the times.

"If you're not with it, you're gonna get left behind because everyone's got one life to live. Live your authentic self, live your best self."

"Those people that are the first that are brave enough to do that, I can't applaud those enough going for it."

The newest swimsuit issue hits stands in July ... and will feature huge names like Kostek, Olivia Culpo, Kate Bock and more.

Camille says she'll be alongside Freese for his debut photoshoot with SI ... and has a bit of advice for the newbie -- even though she says he doesn't need any.

"Own it, baby." she said. "I saw your video. I've been watching you, I've been listening to you and I can't wait to hug you in person."