TMZ Sports - Page 50

Didn't take long for the L.A. Dodgers to shake off the sting of defeat after finally losing a game in Philly yesterday ... 'cause hours later, the biggest stars on the team flew into Miami AND WENT CLUBBIN' with LeBron James, TMZ has learned.

Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp and Carl Crawford all rolled into LIV Nightclub in Miami around 1AM Monday morning ... where they were greeted by LBJ ... and proceeded to party their faces off.

Sources inside the club tell TMZ ... the 4-some dropped more than $20,000 on Ciroc, Moet, Patron, Belvedere, and fancy champagne.

FYI -- The Dodgers (which had won 10 games in a row before losing to the Phillies) are in Miami to play the Marlins.

We're told Kemp was partying particularly hard ... but it's not like he's gotta work today anyway (injury) so, good for him.

It's good to be a pro athlete.

MMA legend Tito Ortiz is no stranger to bad breakups ... and tells TMZ he's moved on from the UFC because he knows Dana White ain't lookin' to bury the hatchet anytime soon.

Dana and Tito famously trashed each other following Tito's last UFC fight back in 2012 ... and Ortiz has since struck a deal with Bellator, a rival MMA organization.

In fact, Ortiz is set to fight fellow UFC-defector Rampage Jackson under the Bellator banner in November.

But, when we asked Tito if there was any chance at patching things up with his former boss and returning to the UFC ... Tito simply explained, "Nah, Dana holds grudges."

It ain't the first time Tito and Dana have gone after each other -- they also tore each other apart back in 2008 ... and Tito left the UFC ... only to return one year later.

WWE legend Shawn Michaels is not impressed with the hoopla triggered by the coming out of the WWE superstar Darren Young this week … Michaels says for wrestling it’s very eighties.

As if the world wasn't bad enough ... smokin' hot Paulina Gretzky has dashed the hopes and dreams of men worldwide ... by getting ENGAGED to pro-golfer Dustin Johnson.

Paulina announced the terrible news on Instagram Saturday -- posting a pic of the giant diamond rock on her ring finger, captioned "Never been happier."

The couple has only been dating since early 2013 -- but, really, who wouldn't lock that down?

Now, a final farewell, to Paulina's almost-hitched assets ...

LeBron James is too damn famous to sit in traffic like a regular person ... so he used a police escort to get him where he needed to go -- which happened to be a Jay Z / Justin Timberlake concert.

The Miami Heat star posted a video of the detour on Instagram Friday night. As it plays you can see LeBron following a cop car with blinking lights down the wrong side of a street in Miami ... successfully bypassing the massive traffic jam to his right.

He added the caption "They treat us so well. Needed it cause traffic was nuts!!"

You saw the injury ... you saw the tears ... but Cincinnati Bengals lineman Larry Black tells TMZ he is DETERMINED to get back into the NFL after mangling his leg in a freak accident captured on "Hard Knocks."

Millions watched as Black's promising rookie campaign came to a heart wrenching end last week when he suffered a dislocated ankle and broken fibula during a routine practice drill.

The big man's tearful phone call to his parents to pick him up from the hospital was... gulp, tissue... was the most poignant scene in the gritty behind the scenes show's history.

"The outpouring of support has been crazy ... thousands of tweets and letters coming from all over the world."

Black says doctors estimate his recovery will take between 6 and 12 months ... but he's confident, the injury won't stop him from pursuing his NFL dreams.

"If for some reason I don’t make it back – I've got a degree in Sports Management from Indiana and I’ll try to get a job with either a college or pro team helping to work with the athletes."

"But honestly I’m not even thinking about that right now. I’m just focused on getting back as quickly as possible. I’ll definitely be back."

There's a silver lining for the big man, who was an undrafted free agent ... because the injury was sustained on the field, he'll still get paid for the season -- and will pull in a figure just north of $200k ... in addition to his medical care.

In the meantime, Black says he's still rooting hard for the orange and black -- telling us he expects nothing less than a Super Bowl season.

NBA star Ryan Anderson is going through HELL right now following the suicide of GF Gia Allemand ... so says his ex-teammate Greivis Vasquez, telling our camera guy, Ryan needs his team more than ever right now.

The Sacramento Kings star knows Ryan from their days on the New Orleans Hornets (now Pelicans) -- and knew Gia very well from the 2 years she and Ryan dated. Of her death he says, "It's really tough. There are no words."

Vasquez says the toll it's taking on Ryan (who found her body) is painful to see. He explains, "It's just hard. I know he's feeling guilty." Adding, "We gotta support him. We gotta be there for him." He goes on.

Justin Bieber ditched Lil Za and Lil Twist for NBA stars Kevin Durant and Tyson Chandler ... who both mysteriously popped by his house for a sit down.

Must've been one helluva get together -- 'cause JB's shirt went missing ... again!

Let's have some fun with math -- if Kevin Hart is 5'4" ... without heels ... how tall is LeBron James when he's slouching?

For some perspective: here's a short list of other celebs who are 5'4" ... Britney Spears, Björk, Tina Turner, Drew Barrymore, Winona Ryder, Pink, Fergie, Shania Twain, and Harvey Levin (standing on a box).

Justin Bieber has some big friends ... we're talkin' 7-footers ... and they've got JB's back no matter what, so says NBA superstar (and full on Belieber) Tyson Chandler.

Earlier this week, Bieber tweeted a photo of himself (sans shirt, of course) hanging out with Chandler and Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Kevin Durant.

Everyone sorta wondered how they all know each other ... and what they were all doing at Bieber's mansion.

Well, last night, we found 7'1" Chandler leaving a party in Beverly Hills and he told us everything ... except why Bieber has so much trouble keeping his shirt on.

The mystery continues ...

WWE superstar Darren Young was in the grip of a force more powerful than John Cena when he decided to come out of the closet ... and that force is love.

WWE sources tell TMZ ... Young told the wrestling org. he is "deeply in love" with his boyfriend of 2 years ... a man named Nick (pictured above with Young). We're told Young -- whose real name is Fred Rosser -- has been living with Nick for some time now in Florida.

Our WWE sources say Young told them Nick was actually the driving force in his decision to come out.

As you know ... Young dropped the bombshell on a TMZ photog at LAX earlier this week. Since then ... he's received a ton of support, from wrestling superstars including John Cena himself. He also got a call of support from fellow gay professional athlete Jason Collins.

If you were considered the #1 villain in America ... a dog fighting, law breaking bad guy ... would you pay $111K for an image makeover? Michael Vick sure did ... and it was the best money he ever spent.

TMZ has obtained court documents from Vick's bankruptcy case which show the NFL star paid top dollar for an elite crisis management team in the wake of his dog fighting scandal in 2007 ... and the documents read like a playbook on how to resurrect a shattered image.

Here's how Sitrick & Company executed the greatest image makeover in NFL history:

Step 1 -- "Develop media list and identify friendly media sources."
Translation: Who can we most easily manipulate?

And the media outlets they chose to communicate with -- the "Today" show, "60 Minutes," People Magazine, Newsweek and "Larry King Live."

Step 2 -- Put Vick through intense media training "aimed at regaining initiative in PR war."

Step 3 -- "Prepare list of sympathetic parties in media and community" ... hey, ya gotta know who's on your side.

Step 4 -- Knowing when to shut up. On July 31, 2007 Sitrick advised Vick's legal team on "need to avoid further interviews ahead of planned PR offensive."

Step 5 -- Execute. Vick appeared on "60 Minutes" on August 16. He then faced the media in a news conference on August 27 ... and hit it out of the park, accepting blame, accepting punishment and vowing to learn from the experience.

He appeared on "Larry King Live" later that day.

When Vick emerged from his 19 months in prison, his image had been repaired enough that the Philadelphia Eagles gave him a shot with the team. Two years after that, Vick signed a contract worth up to $100 MILLION.

In the end, Sitrick's services ran Vick a cool $111,317.13.

Best money he ever spent.

WWE superstar Darren Young just dropped a bombshell, telling TMZ, he's gay ... and no, this isn't part of the act.

Darren was at LAX Wednesday when we asked whether a gay wrestler could succeed in WWE, and Darren laughed, saying, "Absolutely. Look at me. I'm a WWE superstar and to be honest with you, I'll tell you right now, I'm gay. And I'm happy. I'm very happy."

For the record, Darren is now the first openly gay wrestler ever at WWE ... and the first headlining wrestler ever to come out while still signed to a major promotion.

Other pro wrestlers have been rumored to be gay, but that's it ... just rumors.

Of course, wrestling is a little different, particularly because of how physical it is, and how little clothing is involved -- but Darren is completely unfazed. Watch the video to hear why.

Current WWE Champ John Cena is already weighing in on Darren coming out. Check out his reaction here.

Young is also receiving full support from the WWE ... which says it's "proud of Darren Young for being open about his sexuality."

A rep for the organization adds, "We will continue to support him as a WWE Superstar. Today, in fact, Darren will be participating in one of our Be A Star anti-bullying rallies in Los Angeles to teach children how to create positive environments for everyone regardless of age, race, religion or sexual orientation."

John Cena just learned that Darren Young came out as the first openly gay WWE superstar ... and Cena tells TMZ he couldn't be happier for the guy.

"Oh wonderful," Cena said ... "I know Darren personally. Darren's a great guy. That's a very bold move for him. And congratulations for him for actually finally doing it."

Cena says he's proud of his friend ... especially because he has a brother who is gay and he knows how tough it can be to come out.

As for the WWE, Cena says he doesn't think the organization will care one way or the other -- and that's a good thing.

Sporting some traditional red & blue bowling kicks, khaki shorts and a facial expression that says, "Errr mah gerd" ... Eli Manning hit up a NY bowling alley with his teammates Tuesday night and TMZ has the pics.

Eli, along with wideout Victor Cruz and the entire NY Giants squad, snuck into Frames in midtown Tuesday night -- with a police escort -- for a top secret bowling session.

According to Frames, the event was 100% alcohol-free ... since the team is in the middle of some hardcore pre-season training. Nothing but juice and water.

Despite looking goofy on lanes, Eli actually put up some pretty decent numbers that night -- bowling a 154.

Cruz wasn't too far behind, posting a respectable 134. Coach Tom Coughlin scored a 113.