TMZ Sports - Page 50

Terrell Owens says Blake Griffin was just JOKING when he claimed the ex-NFL star begged the Clippers for an NBA tryout over the summer ... because that's totally not something T.O. would do.

The drama began earlier this week ... when Griffin appeared on the Dan Patrick radio show and said, "Terrell Owens is always ... he was at our practice facility this summer, begging coaches for a 10-day contract.”

But T.O.'s rep tells us Blake was just kidding ... explaining, "Blake and Terrell are friends. Terrell never begged to become a Clipper."

The rep says Terrell WAS at the Clippers practice facility over the summer, but only because Jasen Powell -- T.O.'s good friend -- is the team's head trainer.

Still, the rep notes, "As everyone knows, [Terrell] can play a serious game of ball."

Kobe Bryant and his estranged wife Vanessa didn't appear too estranged last night ... strolling around NYC together last night arm in arm ... but sources tell TMZ, it's a different story behind the scenes.

Kobe and Vanessa looked as couply as a couple could look on their way out of the 12-12-12 concert at Madison Square Garden ... even sharing a ride home.

Of course, in public ... Kobe and Vanessa appear to be well along the road to reconciliation ever since she filed for divorce in 2011 -- kissing in public, lunching together and now going on concert dates.

But sources connected to the couple tell TMZ ... Kobe ain't outta the woods yet.

Phil Jackson says he doesn't want to return to the Lakers organization ... even if they ask him ... and to make things worse, Phil told TMZ he doesn't think the squad is championship material either.

Phil and his GF Jeanie Buss were out on a dinner date at Gjelina in Venice, CA last night ... when we asked the Zen Master if he would be open to rejoining the team if things didn't work out with the Lakers current head coach Mike D'Antoni.

Notre Dame and the University of Alabama are taking their beef to a new level -- TMZ has learned, the mayors of both college towns have made a friendly wager in honor of the BCS National Championship ... and a whole lot of BBQ goodness is at stake.

If the Fighting Irish win -- Tuscaloosa mayor Walt Maddox will send a heaping portion of coma-inducing grub from Dreamland Bar-B-Que to a rep for South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg.

Maddox has also agreed to donate money to South Bend Big Brothers Big Sisters.

But if 'Bama wins -- Buttigieg has agreed to send gourmet chocolates from the South Bend Chocolate Company ... and will donate to the Tuscaloosa Tornado Recovery Fund.

We're not suggesting either team would throw the BCS Championship on January 7 -- but BBQ and chocolate are awesome.

WWE Hall of Famer Tony Atlas loves women's feet so much ... he actually pays them to stomp him in the face -- and he's so proud of his masochistic fetish, he willingly shows off video footage of the face torture ... starring himself.

TMZ has obtained video of Atlas at an indie wrestling event in Maine last week -- and in the extremely bizarre clip, Atlas gleefully shares some face-stomping footage with a fellow wrestler ... footage Atlas commissioned himself.

We're told the original video was shot some time in 2005 -- just one year before Atlas (a pre-Hulk wrestling legend) was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame -- and it shows Atlas taking a giant Doc Marten to the dome.

The camera then pans out from the video monitor -- revealing Atlas sporting the world's smuggest grin on his face. You gotta see it to believe it.

And the best part -- we reached out to Atlas this week about the video, and he told TMZ he has absolutely no shame ... and proudly shows off the stomping tape any time he gets the chance. (FYI -- Atlas says he paid the big-booted woman $100 for her services)

Atlas tells us he's not just into terrifyingly large boots either, he loves all kinds of footwear ... especially Vans ... and his ideal woman MUST have oversized feet.

Atlas added, "I, Tony 'Mr. USA' Atlas, WWE Hall of Famer, am free to be me. And there is nothing greater on this Planet Earth than to get kicked and punched in the face by a big-footed girl."

Consider the world record for "largest humidor ever" broken -- Michael Jordan's $12.4 MILLION Jupiter, FL palace is juuust about ready to move in to ... and it features an insane cigar-friendly home theater.

His Airness -- rarely seen these days without a tightly-rolled Cuban between his teeth -- has been building the 28,000 square foot estate for the past three years, complete with a giant state-of-the-art home theater ... outfitted with special equipment made to handle mass amounts of cigar smoke.

The 3-acre, 11-bedroom compound is being built in the middle of an ultra-exclusive golf course community called the Jack Nicklaus' Bear Club ... where Tiger Woods also lives.

It's unclear where Jordan plans to display his 5 MVP trophies and 6 NBA Championship rings ... but between the main house, the pool house, the guest house, and the 2-story guard house ... he's got plenty of choices.

FYI -- There's also a ridiculous athletic facility ... complete with b-ball court, naturally.

Elin Nordegren -- the very rich ex-wife of Tiger Woods -- apparently has an acute case of Stockholm Syndrome -- because she can't shake her Swedish roots.

Take a gander at the 21,000 square foot mansion she's building in North Palm Beach, FL ... with a Swedish flag firmly planted atop one of the chimneys.

You may recall, Elin bought the home with the $100 mil she got in the divorce settlement. She paid $12.2 mil, then promptly knocked down the existing 17,000 square foot home and built a shiny new one.

Good news ... the pool, spa and koi ponds are now completed.

Hayden Panettiere and her football player boyfriend Scotty McKnight are officially broken up ... this according to sources close to the couple.

Sources tell us ... the two broke up a couple of weeks ago ... but it wasn't a nasty breakup. We're told the two are still "really good friends."

One source tells us, "They will probably be back together sometime down the road."

Scotty -- who played for the NY Jets -- is the 2nd pro athlete Hayden has dated -- she was with pro boxer Wladimir Klitschko for a year and a half starting in late 2010.

Meanwhile, Hayden's already showing signs of post-breakup hotness ... as demonstrated below in a screen grab from her show "Nashville."

Evelyn Lozada has TWO WORDS for outspoken "Basketball Wives" hater Kenyon Martin ... and those words are "THANK YOU."

Totally kidding. She said "F**k Him."

We broke the story ... Martin -- a 12-year NBA vet -- blasted "BB Wives" recently, saying the show was "toxic" and a total misrepresentation of the lives of married NBA players.

But at LAX last night, Evelyn seemed to take offense to Martin's criticism ... telling TMZ, "I don't think Kenyon knows what he's talking about."

"As far as saying it's toxic, that's fine ... don't f**kin' watch the show ... it's just as simple as that."

Sounds like the making of a good reality show storyline.

L.A. Dodgers pitcher Josh Beckett got the paddle from his smokin' hot bikini-clad wife in Maui this weekend.

With his wife Holly at the helm of a stand up paddle board, Josh sat back and enjoyed the ride.

Mitt Romney and wife Ann had a ringside seat to witness Juan Manuel Marquez knockout the great Manny Pacquiao last night in Las Vegas.

In a bit of foreshadowing someone in Manny's camp should have prevented, Romney actually met Pacquaio before the fight, reportedly saying to him, "Hello Manny. I ran for president. I lost."

That fight was more of a split decision than a knockout.

Former NBA star Allen Iverson isn't just gonna stand by and watch while his Atlanta mansion hits the foreclosure auction block -- TMZ has learned he's already filed legal docs to put a stop to the sale.

TMZ broke the story ... Iverson's $4.5 million mansion was scheduled to go up for auction on December 4th after he allegedly defaulted on a $1.2 million mortgage.

But before the sale took place, Iverson quickly filed a lawsuit against the lender that's trying to take the home, claiming he never consented to the loan.

Iverson claims his estranged wife -- with whom he's going through a nasty divorce -- signed for the mortgage in order to screw him ... by agreeing to financial terms he couldn't meet.

The lawsuit has since put a hold on the foreclosure proceedings ... buying Iverson some extra time.

Calls to Iverson's camp and the lender he's suing have not been returned.

After another devastating loss, Harvey Levin (5-6) is limping towards the finish line ... but he's still confident he can pick the winner of our Week 14 matchup -- Bears vs. Vikings!

Harvey just phoned in some pearls of football wisdom from his vacation ... Heeeeeeere we go!!

Harvey: "My feelings about the game are complicated ... on the one hand the Bears have a better record, but on the other, there's the whole Kristin Cavallari thing."

"On the one hand, I have beef with Jay Cutler for leaving Kristin at the alter when she was trying on wedding dresses. But on the other hand, I have beef with Adrian Peterson because he almost broke my hand when he shook it on "TMZ Live" (see video).

"So let's bottom line it ... I went to the University of Chicago law school and I still carry the school's book bag ... which is NOT a purse."

"I can't forget where I came from. Actually, I came from L.A., but that complicates it too much, so I'm going with the Bears."

Jerry Brown, a linebacker on the Dallas Cowboys practice squad, died early this morning in a single-car accident -- and his teammate, Josh Brent, was arrested on charges of intoxication manslaughter.

According to police, Brent (see above) was driving at a high rate of speed at around 2:20 AM when his car "hit the outside curb," flipped over and came to rest in the middle of the road.

When cops came to the scene, Brent was dragging Brown away from the vehicle ... which had come to rest upside down and was on fire. Brown was unresponsive and was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

Officers at the scene suspected alcohol to be a factor, so they gave Brent a field sobriety test, which he failed. His blood was later drawn at the hospital to determine his blood alcohol level. Those results are not yet known.

Brent was arrested by Irving PD and booked on a second degree felony charge at 4:14 AM and is being held without bail.

Brent pled guilty to a misdemeanor DUI charge while in college ... where he and Brown were teammates.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones released a statement today, saying, "We are deeply saddened by the news of this accident and the passing of Jerry Brown. At this time, our hearts and prayers and deepest sympathies are with the members of Jerry’s family and all of those who knew him and loved him."

Wanna see an awkward conversation with USC quarterback Matt Barkley about the highly controversial topic of his possibly deteriorating NFL Draft status? Great!

The college football star was leaving an event in Santa Monica last night when we asked if he thought he would still be a Top 10 pick when the draft rolls around in April.

Of course, before the season started Barkley was a favorite to the #1 overall pick ... but after a less than stellar season and an injury to his throwing shoulder, he may have fallen out of the first round entirely.

Barks didn't seem fazed when asked about it last night -- smiling and asking some people at the valet for their opinions ... including our camera guy (our guy still thinks he's a top 10 pick FYI).

The Kansas City Chiefs organization is paying for Jovan Belcher's funeral arrangements ... and has offered financial assistance to Kasandra Perkins' family as well ... TMZ has learned.

Sources directly involved with the situation tell us ... the Chiefs have made it clear they don't want either family to be stuck with the massive bills stemming from the funerals or memorial services.

We're told members of Belcher's family -- which now has custody of the couple's orphaned newborn baby -- graciously accepted the offer ... and the team will cover all of the costs of Belcher's memorial in KC and funeral in NY.

It's unclear if Perkins' family has accepted the offer as well.

When called for comment, a rep for the Chiefs told us, "We are assisting both families with arrangements ... We just prefer not to get into specifics of what we are doing or have done."