TMZ Sports - Page 50

Chad Johnson insists he's no wife beater ... and entered a "not guilty" plea to misdemeanor battery this morning for the alleged attack on his wife Evelyn Lozada last month.

TMZ broke the story, Chad was charged with domestic battery yesterday following his arrest in Florida on August 11th.

According to Chad's wife, the former NFL player headbutted her during a massive argument that erupted after Evelyn found a condom receipt in Chad's car. If convicted, Johnson faces up to a year in jail.

Evelyn has since filed for divorce.

Jesse Ventura is throwing his support behind the ex-Navy SEAL who wrote the tell-all book about the killing of Osama bin Laden ... telling TMZ, "We deserve to know."

Ventura -- a former Navy SEAL and Gov. of Minnesota -- was out in NYC yesterday when we asked him about U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta threatening to punish "Mark Owen" over his book "No Easy Day."

"I don't have a problem with it " Ventura says ... "It's over. We deserve to know ... our tax dollars pay for this ... we have every right to know what we pay taxes on."

He continued, "Once the operation is over, you're not compromising anything then."

It's one thing if Aaron Rodgers refuses to pay up after losing his wager with Boyz II Men -- but blaming TMZ for his loss? Dude. Anybody smell chicken on the grill?

Chad Johnson has officially been charged with misdemeanor battery after allegedly headbutting his wife Evelyn Lozada during a nuclear argument last month, this according to the State Attorney for Broward County, Florida.

If convicted, Chad faces up to a year in jail.

As we reported, Chad was arrested for domestic violence in Florida on August 11th after a fight over a condom receipt allegedly turned violent. Evelyn told police Chad headbutted her.

At the time of the fight, Evelyn and Chad had barely been married a month. Evelyn has since filed for divorce, claiming their marriage had become "irretrievably broken."

Chad is refusing to sign any divorce papers, insisting he's still in love with her.

Jerry "The King" Lawler is making tremendous progress after suffering a heart attack earlier this week ... and is now awake, alert and responsive ... this according to Lawler's son.

TMZ spoke with Kevin Lawler ... who tells us, "[Jerry] is hooked up to tubes and is still not able to speak … but he's writing stuff on a notepad to talk to people."

"Not just brief notes, but detailed stories which show he knows where he is and what is going on.”

Kevin says the family was concerned about brain damage because Jerry wasn't breathing for several minutes after suffering the heart attack ... but doctors say so far, it appears Lawler's brain is fine.

Kris Humphries has been adamant ... he never dated Myla Sinanaj. Myla swore during her deposition in the Kim Kardashian divorce case ... she and Kris were just friends. Well guess which friends apparently spent the night together this week?

TMZ shot video of Kris and Myla leaving her house in Rutherford, New Jersey Tuesday. He was inside the house for several hours. And we're told ... Kris' car was parked outside the entire night Monday.

The question -- have Kris and Myla been hooking up all along, and did she tell the truth during her depo?

New York Knicks star Jason Kidd does NOT believe his drunk driving case in New York will have any affect on his performance in the upcoming NBA season ... at least that's what he told us on the way into court this morning.

A well-dressed Kidd -- along with his legal team -- rolled in to the Southampton Town Justice Court to handle business related to his July 15 arrest ... when cops say he drunkenly slammed his 2010 Cadillac Escalade into a telephone poll around 2 AM.

Kidd had already entered a not guilty plea in the case.

Olympic gold medalist Tyler Clary -- the guy who smashed Ryan Lochte's backstroke record -- turned down an invite to chill with President Obama at the White House ... all so he can race stock cars instead.

But sources tell TMZ ... the swimmer has dreams of being a pro race car driver after his swimming career ends ... he's opting to be in Fontana, CA instead to test drive cars for a few days and then hit up the MAVTV 500 IndyCar event on September 15.

We're told Clary is serious about his future racing career ... he's already been courted by several IndyCar and NASCAR teams and sponsors since returning from London.

Hulk Hogan's son Nick Hogan is incredibly relieved that Jerry "The King" Lawler has stabilized since his heart attack Monday night -- but tells TMZ, it might be time Lawler considered retirement.

Nick tells us, wrestling "takes a toll" on your body -- and as a result, "most guys retire around 50ish." Lawler is 62.

According to Nick, people in the wrestling business have varied career lengths -- but when injuries come into play, it's hard to ignore the obvious ... it's time to slow down.

Nick uses his own dad as an example -- saying even his 59-year-old father has cut back drastically on wrestling because of serious back injuries.

Aaron Rodgers doesn't seem to understand the way bets work -- because even though he LOST a wager to Boyz II Men ... he's now trying to weasel his way out of paying up ... by throwing TMZ under the bus.

We broke the story ... the Green Bay Packers star agreed to a friendly bet with the guys from Boyz II Men -- if he lost to the 49ers, he had to wear an Alex Smith jersey the following week.

Well, the Pack lost ... and Boyz II Men told us they were confident the NFL star would hold up his end of the bargain.

But earlier today, Rodgers addressed the media -- and when he was asked about the wager, he sounded like a man trying to get out of donning his rival's jersey.

"There's nothing to that," Rodgers said ... adding, "That got blown way out of proportion."

Still, Rodgers DID acknowledge a bet was made ... saying, "It was at best a joke between friends, and, unfortunately, the great reporting of TMZ blew another one."

What did we blow? You made a bet ... you lost ... now you're not living up to it.

In fact, check out the tweet Boyz II Men posted in the final minutes of Sunday's game ... which reads, "Pressing the jersey now!"

Famed rivals the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox will set aside their differences tonight before kicking off a 3-game series -- honoring the victims of 9/11 with an emotional tribute before Game 1 at Fenway.

A rep for the Red Sox tells TMZ, the home team has planned a special 9/11 remembrance ceremony that will occur before the game, including a moment of silence.

The rep says families who lost loved ones on 9/11 will be on the field for the ceremony.

The Boston Fire Department will act as color guard for the National Anthem -- performed by the Boston Fire Acapella Quartet (badass) -- and the flag will be presented by reps from the Boston PD, the Boston FD, and the Boston EMT.

Meanwhile, New York's other team (the Mets, in case you forgot) will be wearing special commemorative hats at tonight's game against the Nationals -- honoring the NYPD, FDNY, EMTs, and Port Authority Police Department.

Jerry 'The King' Lawler's vital signs are stable ... and he seems to be making progress in his recovery after suffering a heart attack on live TV during a WWE event Monday night.

A rep for the WWE tells TMZ ... "As of this morning, Jerry 'The King' Lawler is in a cardiac care unit and all his vital signs are stable."

The org. notes, "WWE will provide additional information as it becomes available. We continue to wish Jerry all the best for a full recovery.”

Lawler's ex-wife Stacy Carter has been providing updates on the wrestler's condition on Twitter -- saying he underwent surgery last night and had a "stint & a balloon put in."

Carter says Jerry is still heavily sedated.

Tom Brady suffered a gigantic blow to his prettiness Sunday when he busted his nose on the field ... but teammate Wes Welker thinks he'll be fine 'cause Tom is "the toughest metrosexual I've ever come across."

In case you missed it, Tom may have broken his perfect honker when Tennessee Titans behemoth Kamerion Wimbley smashed him in the face during the Patriots' 34-13 victory.

After the game, Welker told the Boston Herald, "[Tom is] such a good-looking guy ... obviously, he gets banged up, and he's probably the toughest metrosexual I've ever come across."

10:42 PM PT -- A rep for the WWE tells TMZ .., "Jerry 'The King' Lawler suffered a heart attack while commentating during Monday night's broadcast of 'Monday Night Raw' in Montreal."

The rep adds, "We are hopeful Jerry makes a full recovery and returns to WWE in the near future. Our thoughts are with Jerry and his family."

Wrestling legend Jerry "The King" Lawler was rushed to the ER tonight after collapsing at a WWE event in Montreal, Quebec ... but is now breathing on his own.

62-year-old Lawler -- who famously battled Andy Kaufman back in the '80s -- was sitting ringside to commentate on a match when he suddenly collapsed.

An emergency response crew rushed to his side and performed CPR on Lawler.

He was rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment. The WWE says Lawler is now breathing on his own.

Lawler had wrestled inside the ring roughly 30 minutes before he collapsed.

David Beckham doesn't really live in the monstrosity of a mansion featured on the "NFL on Fox" pregame show this weekend -- Dave's house is WAYYY bigger ... TMZ has learned.

Beckham appeared in a comedy sketch with the new "NFL on Fox" comedy guy Rob Riggle ... and in the sketch, Rob joked that he broke into "some football player's home" to throw a raging party. Enter the punchline when Dave said the house was his. Funny stuff.

The home was gigantic ... and SOOO gaudy ... with a massive pool .. a fancy dining room decked out in gold ... and a tacky master bedroom.

But sources close to Beckham tell us ... the footage was NOT shot in Dave's real-life Beverly Hills mansion ... but rather a rented out Bel Air home made to look like Casa de Becks.

Dave's actual Bev Hills home DWARFS the fake pad ... measuring 13,000 square feet with 6 bedrooms, 9 bathrooms and a HUGE backyard complete with palm trees and views of the ocean.

Not bad for some football player.

Aaron Rodgers has a date with a 49ers jersey after losing a bet with the guys from Boyz II Men ... but the singers tell TMZ, they're willing to give him some time to prepare himself to pay up.

Singer Nathan Morris tells us, “Green Bay has another huge game [against the Bears] in 3 days so ... we understand where his head is, so I know he's focusing on that game.”

According to Nathan, Aaron promised to post the pic of himself wearing a 49ers jersey on his Twitter account if he lost against San Francisco ... which he did yesterday ... 30-22.

Nathan -- the biggest 49ers fan in the group -- is confident Aaron will hold up his end of the bargain, telling us, "Aaron might be one of the classiest guys we know.”