TMZ Sports - Page 50

Well, that was quick ... TMZ has learned Jason Collins has officially been asked to lead Boston's pride parade this summer, hours after the NBA star announced that he's gay.

A rep for parade tells TMZ, “Boston Pride is formally inviting Jason Collins to be a Marshal in the 2013 Boston Pride Parade ... Boston Pride is proud that our annual celebration helped to inspire Jason Collins to make his groundbreaking decision to come out."

You'll recall ... Collins told Sports Illustrated that the Boston Pride Parade was one of the main reasons he came out, claiming he always wanted to participate ... but couldn't because he was scared of public scrutiny.

Collins said he planned to march this year on June 8th -- but now he could be getting the VIP treatment instead ... which may or may not involve a bunch of half-naked men dancing in briefs.

... Miami Dolphins wide receiver Mike Wallace!!

Just HOURS after NBA player Jason Collins announced he's gay, 26-year-old Wallace took right to Twitter to provide the first ignorant comment.

“All these beautiful women in the world and guys wanna mess with other guys SMH (shakin' my head) …”

30 minutes later, Wallace deleted his tweet and replaced it with a half-assed explanation:

"Never said anything was right or wrong I just said I don't understand!! Deeply sorry for anyone that I offended."

There are a lot of things Louisville Cardinals guard Kevin Ware can't do since suffering one of the more gruesome injuries in sports history ... but he told our photog yesterday in DC ... he can still get down with the ladies.

And really ... that's all that matters, right?

Washington Wizards center Jason Collins -- who's been playing in the NBA since 2001 -- has revealed he's gay ... making him the first major active American male pro athlete to come out of the closet .

Collins revealed the news in an article for Sports Illustrated ... saying, "I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay."

He continued, "I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I'm happy to start the conversation."

Collins -- and his twin brother Jarron -- have been high profile athletes since high school ... when they were two of the highest rated prep players in the country.

They both went on to become standouts at Stanford ... and were each drafted into the NBA in 2001.

Jason says he didn't come out to his twin until last summer. "I'm glad I can stop hiding and refocus on my 13th NBA season."

NBA stars Kobe Bryant and Tony Parker are rallying behind Collins, tweeting messages of support. Kobe wrote, "Proud of @jasoncollins34. Don't suffocate who u r because of the ignorance of others." Tony added, "Really hope people will RESPECT Jason Collins for his decision to come out. Just glad he can now relax and not be afraid to be who he is."

Meanwhile, NFL player Mike Wallace made a homophobic comment.

Moments after tying the knot in a lavish wedding to his new hot wife Yvette Prieto, Michael Jordan was spotted making a quiet exit in a classy white Rolls-Royce in Palm Beach, FL this weekend.

Tony Parker feels really, REALLY bad for leading his San Antonio Spurs in a 4-game massacre of the Los Angeles Lakers ... and now he's even apologizing for it.

Parker and his hot french girlfriend, Axelle, hit up Katsuya in Hollywood on Friday night ... after destroying the Lakers in Game 3 of the 1st round of the NBA Playoffs.

Our photog -- huuuge Lakers fan -- thanked Parker for the ass kicking ... to which the 30-year-old actually APOLOGIZED.

Brad Lesley -- who played a few years of Major League Baseball before appearing in a slew of '90s sports movies -- passed away this weekend. He was 54.

Lesley's ex-wife, Chiho Svimonoff, tells TMZ ... Lesley had been suffering from kidney problems and had been living in a nursing home for the past seven months, where he was receiving dialysis.

Svimonoff says Lesley was rushed to a hospital in Marina Del Rey on Saturday night and ultimately died from kidney failure.

Lesley played for the Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers from 1982 to 1985 before switching to acting. In the '90s, he appeared in "Mr. Baseball," "Space Jam" ... and, of course, he played that angry pitcher with the goatee in "Little Big League."

R.I.P.

Our quarterback, which art in New York ... Tim Tebow be thy name ... YOU'RE FIRED!!!

Tebow will no longer have the opportunity to deliver the New York Jets from evil, 'cause the team cut his ass ... just days after drafting another QB with a more fluid throwing motion (Geno Smith).

Jets coach Rex Ryan said in a release today, "We have a great deal of respect for Tim Tebow. Unfortunately, things did not work out the way we all had hoped. Tim is an extremely hard worker, evident by the shape he came back in this offseason. We wish him the best moving forward."

The Jets acquired Tebow last year in a trade, but he threw only eight passes this past season. The move cost the Jets over $4 million.

You may be seated.

On a day meant to celebrate love, commitment, honesty and faithfulness ... Michael Jordan chose to invite the man who has come to symbolize the OPPOSITE of all that, Tiger Woods, to his wedding.

L.A. Lakers star Steve Nash thinks he has a good reason NOT to pay child support -- if he does, he thinks his ex-wife will spoil the kids with limos and other luxuries.

Nash is locked in a legal war with Alejandra Nash over their 3 kids. She currently lives in Arizona, where a judge handled their divorce and ruled she was not entitled to child support. She's appealing the ruling and we now know what they're arguing over.

Steve convinced the divorce judge -- Alejandra doesn't need child support because he made her a millionaire 5 times over in the divorce settlement. On top of that, she pulls in more than $30k a month.

For her part, Alejandra says Steve makes a million bucks more than her every month, and it's unfair he's not forced to use some of it for the benefit of their kids.

Steve is saying he's paying plenty -- 90% of medical, school and extracurricular activities, and 82% of the nanny's $2k a month salary. He says he's worried if he pays more, she's an excessive spender who will spoil and damage the kids with crazy luxuries.

But there's more going on here. As we previously reported ... Alejandra wants to move to L.A. but Steve is objecting. It's really weird, because the b-baller has said he chose to go to the Lakers rather than the Knicks so he could be closer to his kids.

Samuel L. Jackson knows his way around a golf course -- which is why he didn't hesitate when we asked him to finger the BEST famous linksman. You won't believe your ears ... on a couple of levels.

Vantris Patterson is dead wrong ... the UFC does NOT transform athletes like Phil Davis into violent people outside of the octagon ... this according to UFC honcho Dana White.

White just called in to "TMZ Live" to take on the allegations Davis' baby mama made in her nasty custody battle with the UFC fighter -- that the sport has turned him into a monster.

"Phil Davis ... we've never had problems with this guy EVER," White said ... "He's one of the nicest guys I've ever met."

White says he has hundreds of guys who fight under the UFC banner -- and barely ANY of them have issues with violence after the bell rings.

His explanation -- "When you train, every day all day ... the last thing you wanna do is fight outside the octagon."

Danica Patrick is officially SINGLE ... kinda ... 'cause a judge has finally signed off on her divorce from Paul Hospenthal ... freeing her up to marry her new NASCAR boyfriend (no pressure, pal).

A judge stamped the papers last week in Arizona, officially ending the marriage that began in 2005 -- the same year Patrick burst onto the scene as the fourth woman to compete in the Indy 500.

The 31-year-old Go Daddy babe announced the split from Hospenthal back in November. The couple had no children ... but they did have a prenup, according to court docs ... and she footed the bill for court costs.

In recent months, Patrick has been open about dating Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. ... one of her competitors on NASCAR's Sprint Cup series.

Wonder who gets to drive home from the track.

D.J. Fluker -- the 11th overall pick in the NFL Draft -- is 6'6" and 340 pounds ... which is why it's pretty damn shocking that he was forced to sleep in a TWIN SIZE BED during his college career!!

We shot the 22-year-old offensive lineman on his way into the draft in NYC last night -- right before he was selected by the S.D. Chargers -- when Fluker told us that giants like him were treated just like everyone else when it came to dorm living at the University of Alabama.

For the record, a standard twin mattress is 75 inches long ... Fluker is 78 inches long.

D.J. won't have any bed problems any more ... he'll become a multi-millionaire when he officially signs his contract -- he can buy any bed he wants.

10:05 AM PT -- We just spoke to Phil's coach, who told us ... "This is a nasty custody battle, and people are gonna say things that are completely not true ... He's one of the nicest people ... he's a Christian and he's a role model. In fact, he just got back from the Dominican Republic building churches and schools."

And here's a weird one ... Vantris just posted on Facebook that it's all a lie ... saying "Those pictures are not even me ... ." Never mind that she's SAID she filed the same photos ... in court documents.

UFC star Phil Davis has a huge fight Saturday night in New Jersey, but the bigger fight may be May 7 in San Diego, where his baby mama will accuse him of crazy brutality, including violent sex ... and she blames it on martial arts.

According to legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- Vantris Patterson claims Davis body slammed her on a couch with such force ... when the couch slid into the wall paint came off. She took pictures (below) which she claims show the injuries.

And Patterson says, Davis -- aka Mr. Wonderful -- would often choke her during intercourse, and when she'd plead with him to stop he'd respond, "Shut the f*** up, bitch."

She says Davis has threatened to kill her numerous times if she ever slept with another man.

Now here's the hook -- Patterson claims Davis' alleged propensity for violence has escalated because of his involvement in the UFC. She says, "I am afraid that the numerous fights have negatively impacted his mental stability," and she can't defend herself because of his "increased strength and attacking ability."

Davis makes his own claims ... that Patterson is the violent one who put a pic of a Glock up on Facebook and wrote, "... His day will come." He also says she texted him, "I can't wait until the day you die so I can spit in ur face [painful and slow]."

As for his MMA training, Davis says he's never used his skills outside the Octagon.

When they're in court on May 7, they're both asking for permanent restraining orders and each wants full custody.

Kendra Wilkinson was in surprisingly good spirits today in L.A. ... smiling and laughing just days after she totaled her car in a nasty car accident.

As we reported, Kendra was hospitalized following the accident over the weekend -- when her tricked-out Audi collided head-on with another vehicle.

Kendra was bruised and battered after the accident, but thankfully, doctors didn't find any broken bones.

Now she's back on her feet -- venturing outside with her husband Hank Baskett -- and told us, the whole nightmare actually has a silver lining ... watch the video to find out.