TMZ Sports - Page 50

Cleveland fans looking to honor the team's history will be able to get their hands on old merchandise AND help out a good cause at the same time -- 'cause TMZ Sports has learned the Guardians will continue to roll out Indians merch ... with proceeds going to charity.

Cleveland played its last game as the Indians on Sunday ... with the organization officially rolling out its new branding as the "Guardians" at the conclusion of the 2021 season.

We're told the Indians brand will not vanish forever, however -- fans will be able to get as many t-shirts, jerseys and other memorabilia sporting the old nickname as they please ... and our sources tell us the team plans to donate those items' proceeds to charity.

FYI -- Cleveland elected to do this in the past after retiring "Chief Wahoo" in 2018 ... by keeping items with the mascot on shelves and writing a check to Native American organizations.

Our sources say the team is hoping to help a similar cause this time around with Indians gear ... but nothing is set in stone just yet.

As for the Guardians, the team introduced the new look with a video narrated by Tom Hanks back in July ... showing off new jerseys, logos and font stylization.

Rob Gronkowski ain't down in the dumps at all after busting up his ribs ... in fact, his "spirits are high" and he WILL be back this season better than ever -- so says his best pal Mojo Muhtadi.

The former WWE star and co-host of the "TMZ Sports" TV show on FS1 (airs nightly) said Monday he's been in talks with Gronk constantly since the Bucs TE was injured against the Rams on Sept. 26 -- and he raved over how the Bucs star is handling everything.

"His spirits are high," Rawley said. "If anything, he's probably a little bit more bored this week not being able to turn up and go full tilt."

"But, man, I'll tell you what, I don't care if he would have punctured both lungs, broke every rib in his body -- you can only keep that man down for only so long."

Rawley -- just like Tampa Bay themselves -- isn't sure when the 32-year-old will make his return to the field ... but he did make it clear, the injury is no threat whatsoever to ending Rob's career.

"It's going to take a lot more than that to stop Robbie G!" Mojo said.

That's got to be great news for Tom Brady ... 'cause in the first game without Gronk on Sunday against the Pats -- the star QB threw for just 269 yards and no TDs on 43 pass attempts.

"I'd say this is probably the sixth, or the ninth-most severe injury I've seen from Rob," Rawley said with a smile. "So, yeah, we're good. Don't worry about it."

Allen Iverson has crossed over into the weed game -- the NBA legend has teamed up with Al Harrington to introduce his very own cannabis line ... and was honored by his new biz partner with a pretty powerful speech.

"The Answer" hosted a bunch of his celebrity fans for the official launch of his Indica-dominant flower -- dubbed "96" to reference the year he was drafted -- with Harrington's Viola Brands in L.A. this weekend ... and there was plenty of music, drinks, a basketball court and oh yeah, WEED.

The man of the hour took center court with Harrington to celebrate the huge accomplishment ... with Harrington grabbing the mic to share some special words about Iverson.

"Obviously, we here because we celebrating my brother, Bubba Chuck, AKA Allen Iverson," Harrison said in front of the packed crowd.

"Not too many people get to do collabs with icons. You know what I'm saying. And, we all know Allen Iverson is an icon," AH added.

Harrington explained the decision to link up ... saying he wants icons like AI to help take over an industry that lacks black representation.

Harrington even gave AI a customized bottle of Dom Pérignon as a sign of his appreciation ... and it was so pretty, Iverson had to give it a smooch!

We also talked to AI about why he wanted to start a weed brand ... and he's got a pretty great reason.

The NBA Hall of Famer had one final message for everybody as he embarks on this next chapter -- "Live your life. You only live once."

Bubba Wallace had to fight back tears Monday after he won his first-ever NASCAR Cup Series race ... getting emotional thinking about how he's the first Black driver to accomplish the feat since 1963.

The 27-year-old took home the victory after rain forced the YellaWood 500 to end early at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama ... and it didn't take long for Wallace to realize how big the moment was for him.

Wallace went crazy with his team seconds after NASCAR called it -- hugging friends and letting out loud yells of joy.

Eventually, Wallace was interviewed on the scene ... and he nearly cried after he was asked about being the first Black driver to win since Hall of Famer Wendell Scott did it in 1963.

"Yeah, I never think about those things and when you say it like that, it obviously brings a lot of emotion, a lot of joy to my family, fans, friends," Wallace said. "It's pretty damn cool. Just proud to be a winner in the Cup Series."

The historical win (which is also Michael Jordan's first win as co-owner of 23XI Racing), comes 16 months after Wallace's team believed they found a noose in their garage at the same racetrack.

Wallace spoke about the significance of that ... saying, "This is to all those kids that want to have an opportunity in whatever they want to achieve and be the best at what they want to do."

"You're going to go through a lot of bulls*** but you always got to stay true to your path and not let the nonsense get to you."

Wallace added, "Stay strong, stay humble, stay hungry. There's been plenty of times where I wanted to give up. And, you surround yourself with the right people and it's moments like this that you appreciate."

Dozens of L.A. Galaxy and LAFC supporters were involved in a wild melee following the two teams' rivalry game Sunday ... and the entire, violent incident was caught on video.

A bystander captured the chaos at Dignity Health Sports Park in Los Angeles following the Galaxy's 1-1 draw with LAFC ... and you can see in the footage, multiple people threw and landed huge punches and kicks.

It's unclear what set off the altercation ... but even with security guards and what appears to be police officers present -- fans still tried to beat the hell out of each other.

In the two-minute clip, you can see several people were punched in the face, while others were kicked hard on the ground.

According to witnesses, multiple people suffered injuries in the fracas. Meanwhile, it's unclear if any arrests were made -- we've reached out to law enforcement, but so far, no word back yet.

We've also reached out to Galaxy for a comment, but no word back there yet either.

Story developing ...

An Idaho man collapsed and died during a marathon on Saturday ... just minutes from reaching the finish line.

He was just 22 years old.

Hayden Holman, from Sugar City, Idaho, was running with family members in the 26-mile St. George Marathon in Utah ... when tragedy suddenly struck near the end of the race.

Holman, according to officials, collapsed and stopped breathing -- but was revived by emergency personnel, who rushed him to a nearby hospital.

Unfortunately, he later died there.

Holman's stepmother, Karin Holman, told the East Idaho News that Hayden had spoken with loved ones just before he went down.

"He called (family members) when he was two minutes from the finish line to make sure someone was there to take a picture," Karin said. "But, he never showed up."

"Hayden was one of the most outgoing and nicest people," Karin added. "He loved everyone and wore his heart on his sleeve. He will be missed for a long time.”

A cause of death has not yet been revealed.

Holman -- who was a student at Brigham Young University-Idaho -- had just gotten married earlier this year. A GoFundme has been set up to help his wife, Charlotte, with funeral costs.

Shaq's no stranger to taking the stage, but audience members at his inaugural charity event got a never-before-seen performance when the NBA legend collabed with Snoop Dogg on a hip-hop classic.

The Shaquille O'Neal Foundation held their first-ever "'The Event' Presented by Pepsi Stronger Together" Saturday night in Vegas. Jimmy Kimmel took over hosting duties, but Justin Bieber, Kelly Clarkson and Snoop were among the performers to grab the mic.

At one point during Snoop's set, Shaq jumped on stage to perform "Nuthin' But A G Thang" ... and as expected, the crowd went wild.

The event raised $2.7 million to benefit The Boys and Girls Club and Communities in Schools throughout Las Vegas and Atlanta ... including ticket sales and a live auction.

Speaking of the auction, Shaq wowed the crowd when he bid $90k of his own cash for a walk-on role in an upcoming Adam Sandler movie.

Tragic news ... MMA fighter, Justin Thornton, has died at 38 years old, just weeks after he was violently knocked out in an August fight.

Thornton was seriously hurt after Dillon Cleckler KO'ed him during a Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship event on Aug. 20.

The scene in the ring was very scary ... after taking multiple punches to the face, Thornton crashed headfirst into the mat and didn't move for several minutes.

BKFC officials confirmed Monday that Thornton -- who had reportedly been battling serious injuries from the fight -- has died.

It's unclear, however, if the KO had anything to do with the passing, as a cause of death has yet to be revealed.

"This morning we were very saddened to be notified of the passing of one of our fighters, Justin Thornton, who competed at BKFC 20 on August 20, 2021," BKFC president Dave Feldman said in a statement.

"We join the rest of the combat sports community in sending our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones."

Thornton had been professionally fighting for over a decade ... compiling a 6-18 record.

Ben Simmons just can't catch a break.

The NBA star is now the butt of another joke ... with the guy who famously caught an alligator in his trash can taking a major shot at him on local news, saying he's way more clutch under pressure!!

Remember -- 26-year-old Eugene Bozzi out of Florida went viral when he captured an alligator with an open trash container. It was equally scary and super badass.

CBS Philly caught up with Bozzi -- who is originally from Philadelphia -- to ask him about how the whole ordeal went down ... and his recounter started off totally tame, before getting savage.

"Imma be honest, I didn’t think," Bozzi said. "My father instincts kicked in."

"I just jumped into action and I said, 'You know what? I’m not gon' be Ben Simmons, Imma go capture this basket.'"

HAAAAAAAAAAAA.

Of course, Bozzi is referencing the infamous play in the Eastern Conference semifinals, where Simmons opted to pass up a wide open layup against the Atlanta Hawks ... and while guard Trae Young was in the picture, no one actually thinks he would have made a difference.

Who says Kevin Holland can't wrestle?!

The MMA star thwarted an alleged carjacking Monday morning -- just 2 days after the wild ending at UFC Fight Night -- tracking down the accused thief in his car, and holding him down until police in Saginaw, TX arrived on the scene.

TMZ Sports talked to the 28-year-old fighter ... and he gave us a play-by-play of the crazy scene.

Holland details how he immediately sprang into action after being flagged down by the guy whose car was allegedly taken, and found himself in the middle of a wild chase.

It's a crazy story made even crazier by the timing ... Holland was just involved in a controversial fight Saturday night against Kyle Daukaus.

Less than 3 minutes into the fight, Holland and Daukaus accidentally clashed heads, briefly knocking Kevin out.

He quickly regained consciousness, but the brief moment Kevin was out allowed Kyle to get his neck, ultimately choking KH out, forcing him to tap.

Referee Dan Miragliotta consulted with fellow ref Herb Dean, the Nevada Athletic Commission, and UFC officials before deciding to declare the fight a no contest.

Despite the wild past few days, Holland is in good spirits, and gives a hysterical breakdown of the situation.

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Cole Beasley has a bone to pick with Bills Mafia ... calling out the diehard fan base for jeering at him during Sunday's home game for not getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

"Only place I get boo'd is at our home stadium," Beasley tweeted Monday. "Then some of the same people want me to take pictures and sign autographs. I thought bills fans were the best in the world? Where'd they go?"

FYI -- Highmark Stadium currently requires fans to have at least one shot of the COVID-19 vax in order to attend games.

The 32-year-old wideout has not gotten vaccinated against COVID-19 ... and seems to believe that he is being booed by the vaxxed fans at home as a result.

"If the vaccine works then why do vaxxed people need to be protected from unvaxxed? #letemin," Beasley added.

CB has been openly passionate about his decision to not get vaccinated, saying "I may die of COVID, but I'd rather die actually living."

A beat reporter for the Bills played devil's advocate and asked Beasley if the fans were actually chanting "Beaseeeeeeee?" ... to which Cole replied, "Some are. Then I got some right behind the bench yelling at me to get vaccinated and talking s***."

Bills fans have certainly had a lot to cheer about recently ... winning 3 straight games after dropping their Week 1 opener to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

It doesn’t seem like this drama is going anywhere anytime soon ... that is, unless Beasley decides to get vaccinated.

But, the chances of that happening appear to be VERY slim.

Adam Thielen paid homage to the late Norm MacDonald in a big way Sunday ... by rockin' a pair of amazing "Turd Ferguson" tribute cleats during the Vikings vs. Browns game.

The NFL star got the custom spikes made by celeb shoe artist Mache -- and they're awesome, with one featuring an image of MacDonald from his famous "Celebrity Jeopardy!" skits on "Saturday Night Live."

The yellow and white shoes also had the quote, "Yeah that's right. It's a funny name" written next to a script "Turd Ferguson."

On the other shoe, Mache painted on, "Norm MacDonald 1959-2021."

Thielen is clearly a big fan of MacDonald's work ... but Mache tells TMZ Sports the NFL star is also hoping the cleats help encourage people to get tested for cancer.

Mache says Thielen is trying to help people catch the disease early, so they have a better chance of getting treatment and recovering.

Of course, Thielen and Mache made a similar gesture last season ... when they honored Alex Trebek with some tribute cleats following the former "Jeopardy!" host's death from pancreatic cancer.

Urban Meyer says he's sorry for the "distraction" he caused his team after video surfaced of him dancing with a woman -- who wasn't his wife -- surfaced over the weekend.

A video of the former Ohio State head coach turned Jacksonville Jaguars play caller went viral Saturday ... showing a young, blonde woman grinding on Meyer at an Ohio bar. Meyer has been married to his wife, Shelley, since 1986.

Speaking to media Monday, Urban said he had apologized to his team, calling the incident a distraction and saying it was "stupid."

Urban's Jaguars were in Cincinnati Thursday where they lost to the Bengals 24-21, and he said he stayed in town to see his grandkids and grab dinner while the Jaguars have the next 10 days off.

Another photo from that night showed Urban with another blonde woman who seemingly jokingly captioned it, "Who is this he keeps flirting with me."

Prior to the dancing video going viral, Shelley Meyer had commented on another photo of the coach out with friends, sharing that she had stayed home to babysit the couple's grandkids with the hashtag "BuddyDeservedANightOut."

Andrew Wiggins just made a nearly $15 million decision -- the Warriors forward has officially put his COVID-19 standoff to rest and is vaccinated, Steve Kerr confirmed Sunday.

The 26-year-old was previously hellbent against getting the jab ... saying he had nothing against other folks being vaccinated, but it was his personal decision to elect against it.

Considering the San Francisco Dept. of Public Health currently requires anyone 12 or older to be fully vaccinated to attend indoor events, Wiggins would have missed every Warriors home game this season -- and the paycheck that comes with it.

But, Kerr says the saga is over ... telling reporters the star decided to cave in and get the vaccine.

"Andrew got vaccinated," Kerr said. "He just told me today that he was fine with us acknowledging it and that will be the end of it. I'm not going to answer any questions beyond that."

As we reported before, Wiggins had applied for a religious exemption with the NBA ... which was denied.

Now that Andrew is vaccinated, the Warriors can put their focus on the upcoming season as they look to some noise in the Western Conference this season.

Enes Kanter is making it clear, he's pissed over LeBron James' COVID vaccine stance ... saying this weekend he thinks the Lakers star should be urging everyone to get the shots.

"When I heard it," Kanter said during a television interview with CNN, "I was very disappointed, and it’s ridiculous."

James told reporters last week he would NOT try to convince anyone to get the vax -- despite receiving it himself -- saying, "That's not my job."

Kanter, who started 35 games for the Portland Trailblazers last season, disagreed -- explaining he thinks it's obviously Bron's duty.

"LeBron James, he's one of the faces of the league," Kanter said, "and he should be the first one to go out there and say, 'Listen, everyone. I got the vaccine, and I'm encouraging everyone, my community, everyone, basketball fans, non-basketball fans and sports fans are just going out there and get this vaccine, so we can save other lives.'"

Kanter added, "When I heard that, I just couldn't believe it. But, I hope he can educate himself about this vaccination and inspire and encourage other people around him."

For his part, LeBron said he felt uncomfortable urging others to get the jab because he felt he shouldn't "get involved in what other people should do for their bodies and their livelihoods."

Tom Brady and Robert Kraft clearly have no bad blood ... 'cause the Bucs quarterback and Patriots owner just shared a moment in the bowels of Gillette Stadium, hugging it out before the team's battle on Sunday Night Football.

TB12 will play his old team -- in New England -- for the first time since bolting for Tampa Bay before the start of last season.

Many football fans wondered what the interaction between Brady and Kraft and Bill Belichick would be like... would there be hard feelings or a warm reaction?

A few hours before kickoff, Tom and Robert met up in a back hallway, spoke briefly, and embraced each other before going their separate ways.

Of course, the Bucs won the Super Bowl last season -- Brady's 7th -- while his old squad struggled without him, going 7-9 with Cam Newton at the helm.

During the week leading up to tonight's game, Belichick -- who reportedly had tension with Brady during his last years in NE -- was extremely complimentary of the G.O.A.T.

Despite the reported beef, Brady seems happy to be back, posting about returning to Foxborough on social media earlier Sunday, saying ... "Good to be back"

Kraft previously said the Pats plan to honor Brady before what's become the most anticipated game of the 2021 NFL season.

Brady -- a 6th round draft pick of NE in 2000 -- played 20 seasons with the Patriots ... winning 3 NFL MVPs and 6 Super Bowls with Belichick and Kraft.