TMZ Sports - Page 50

Arian Foster is SUING the woman pregnant with his child for defamation -- claiming she's been LYING about him in public in a diabolical scheme to shake him down for a fortune ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The Houston Texans running back filed the suit in Texas ... saying Brittany Norwood's claims that Arian and his brother tried to strong-arm her into aborting the child are nothing more than a "calculated scheme" to extort the NFL star.

In the suit, Arian says he has PROOF to back up his claims ... including text messages AND a legal recording of a conversation he had with Brittany in which she ADMITS her allegations are false.

During the recorded conversation, which was obtained by TMZ Sports, a woman Foster claims to be Norwood says, "I never once said that you told me to get an abortion" and "I was never in fear of my life around you."

Foster says in his lawsuit, "Norwood has engaged in a campaign to impugn the character and reputation of [Arian] with the intent to extort monies from him."

Foster is asking the judge for unspecified damages -- and he wants Brittany to pay his legal costs -- for dragging his reputation through the mud.

Kellen Winslow is now a comedy "target" ... and not just because he allegedly masturbated at one.

The NY Jets tight end was the butt of a Charles Barkley joke on last night's "Inside the NBA" -- and it all started when Sir Charles was admiring a shot by Golden State star Klay Thompson.

"That boy can really stroke it right there ... take him to Target."

That's when Shaq jumped in and piled on the Winslow-ribbing ... it was HILARIOUS.

As we previously reported, Winslow was accused of throwing a J in a car that was parked in a Target parking lot in NJ. When cops arrived to the scene, they found 2 tubes of vaseline in the center console.

For his part, Winslow denies the allegation -- and he was never charged with a masturbation-related crime.

Seattle Seahawks star Richard Sherman "set [black people] back 30 years" with his intense post-game screaming session ... so says BET star Damien Wayans.

Damien -- who stars on the BET reality show "Second Generation Wayans" -- was leaving Tru nightclub in Hollywood last night when he went off on the defensive back ... saying, "Why was he so angry? Hey Sherman, you WON."

Sure, Wayans was joking around in the street -- but there are a lot of people who actually believe Sherman's rant was actually hurtful to black people.

Michelle Obama teamed up with LeBron James for one of the the most historic video bombs of all time -- throwing down a MONSTER JAM in the White House ... with a post-dunk STARE DOWN.

It all went down while the Heat were hanging out at the President's house last week -- working with the First Lady to promote her "Let's Move!" campaign.

While a couple of the guys were talking to the camera about the importance of exercise, LeBron snuck behind the gang with a mini-hoop ... and Flotus delivers a one-handed slam!

The best part ... the way she stares down the camera after the dunk. Classic.

Marshawn Lynch may have blocked Matt Kemp from "Beast Mode" ... but Kemp tells TMZ Sports, he's got NO PROBLEMS with the running back -- in fact, he respects the guy.

Both Kemp and Lynch have been using the term "Beast Mode" for years -- referring to the super-human level they go to in big games.

But Lynch owns the trademark to the phrase -- not Kemp -- and when the Dodgers recently went to Marshawn and asked for permission to use "Beast Mode" on Kemp-related products, Lynch gave 'em the ol' thumbs down.

So, when we got Kemp out in L.A. yesterday we assumed he'd be upset about situation -- but Matt insists, that couldn't be further from the truth.

Super Bowl snacks will never taste this good again -- Ice Cube tells TMZ Sports, this year's big game is gearing up to be the STONER EVENT OF THE CENTURY ... but you better think twice before lighting up.

FYI, this year's Super Bowl teams -- the Seahawks and the Broncos -- hail from the only two states where smoking weed recreationally is legal.

So we asked Cube -- who was fundraising at Good Year headquarters in Gardena, CA today -- if he thinks the potheads from Washington and Colorado will be baking out NYC next Sunday.

It's a Super Bowl showdown!

Here's the Seattle Seahawks fearless mascot "Blitz" ruffling the fans feathers (left) -- and the Denver Broncos' mule mascot "Miles" horsin' around on the sidelines (right).

Floyd Mayweather got down with the locals during his trip to South Africa -- busting out an impromptu dance session to live African music ... and TMZ Sports has the footage.

"Money" -- who was recently crowned "the greatest athlete in the world" by the South African sports ministry -- is spending the week in country in the hopes of sparking national interest in boxing.

During the trip, Mayweather visited the exclusive Molori Safari Lodge ... where he danced, mingled and even went on a safari.

Kobe Bryant's old pimped out Chevy Impala just got ROCKED at a major car auction in Arizona ... selling for BARELY HALF of what the owners were hoping to pull in ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The car was originally a gift from Vanessa to Kobe back in 2006 ... and she had the thing customized for Bryant by the guys from the old MTV show "Pimp My Ride."

Kobe got rid of the car back in 2013 ... and the new owners have been spending the past several months trying to unload it for somewhere in the $100k range.

After it failed to sell on an Internet auction site, the owners decided to take it to the legendary Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, AZ ... and it finally hit the auction block this weekend.

Problem is, the owners didn't get the 6-figure payday they were expecting ... they got WAYYYY less -- we're talking $53,900 ... barely half of what they wanted.

It sorta makes sense ... since the competition at the BJ auction was fierce -- it was up against some of the best vehicles on the market ... including TWO BATMOBILES!!!

Hard to compete with Bruce Wayne's toys.

So, we got a tip that Peyton Manning was pulled over in Tennessee this weekend ... and it turned out to be TRUE -- but there was a huge twist ... Manning is an 18-year-old woman.

This "Peyton Manning" was popped for speeding in Dickson, TN -- roughly 3 hours from where Peyton (the football player) played his college football.

But, fortunately for Broncos fans ... Peyton (the male) was safe and sound during the time of the stop (which we later learned to be Sunday morning).

Don't worry, neither Peyton was arrested -- Manning (he) went on to defeat the Pats ... and Manning (she) went on to do whatever it is that she does.

Richard Sherman and Michael Crabtree should settle their beef in the ring ... AT WRESTLEMANIA ... so says wrestling icon Diamond Dallas Page.

DDP tells TMZ Sports he watched the Seahawk star's epic post-game rant Sunday night ... and says plain and simple -- "Richard Sherman is a bad ass."

"If I didn't know any better, I would think Sherman vs. Crabtree was going down at Wrestlemania."

In fact, Page says he thinks Sherman SHOULD brawl at the April 6 event ... and could probably become a WWE superstar when he decides to hang up his football cleats.

"Let me tell you something Sherman ... you need to absolutely think of the WWE as your career."

Hey, Lawrence Taylor did it ...

Dennis Rodman's alcohol-fueled meltdown was caused by North Korea ... so claim the people who got the former Hall of Famer into rehab.

Sources connected with Rodman -- the ones who convinced him he needed to check into rehab after his controversial trip -- tell TMZ, from the minute Rodman landed in North Korea he was plied with alcohol.

Rodman claims his bizarre -- arguably unpatriotic comments -- were the result of alcohol abuse and he says the pressure he felt before doing his disastrous interview is why he landed in rehab.

But people close to him say ... the mucky-mucks in the North Korean government were more than happy to supply Rodman with endless amounts of alcohol ... to the point his mind was poisoned.

He's not even a Patriots fan, but Michael Bolton DOESN'T TAKE KINDLY to people talking smack about Tom Brady.

The king of the U.S. adult contemporary chart hit up LAX after Denver beat up on New England Sunday ... and set our photog straight when asked if he took pleasure in watching Brady get knocked out of the NFL playoffs.

"I don't take pleasure in great players losing, I really don't," Bolton told us in his silky, transcendent voice.

Bolton went on to explain why he respects the guy -- and also revealed another player who blew his mind this weekend.

Check out the clip -- and then, kick back, relax and crank some Bolton.

C'mon ... It's not that bad.

Arian Foster is "NOT A MONSTER" and NEVER harassed his baby mama to get an abortion ... so says the baby mama herself and TMZ Sports has an audio recording of her confession.

We broke the story ... Brittany Norwood -- who's 18 weeks pregnant -- sued the Houston Texans running back claiming he tried to strong-arm her into aborting their unborn child.

But right after she filed the lawsuit, Norwood spoke with Arian and ADMITTED the claims in her lawsuit are BS ... saying bluntly, "I never once said that you told me to get an abortion."

During the conversation, Norwood seems to be throwing her lawyer under the bus ... saying she never signed off on some of the bombshell allegations in her suit and didn't want to pursue the restraining order she asked for in court docs.

"I'm not going to sit here and be like okay with -- those papers said, 'harassment,' like 'in fear.' I was never in fear of my life around you. Like, I didn't f*cking need a restraining order."

She continued, "You never harassed me. Like, I will tell him that verbatim. Like, as I have told him that, and that something in here needs to be f*cking changed because it's not fair, because -- and I said that. I was like Arian's not a monster."

"Like, I'm sorry that those papers ... because I was told that they weren't going to go anywhere. He said, you know, this is just to get the ball rolling, and then if we settle outside of court, we settle outside of court and it never goes public."

Brittany went on to praise Arian ... saying, "Like, I love you and you're still the father of my child ... You think I'm going to let anybody like desecrate your name, especially if my baby has Foster tagged to it? Come on."

We reached out to Brittany who told us she didn't remember the conversation and tells us, "I don't care what the world thinks of me, at the end of the day, I'm educated, I work hard to make a life for my son, be a role model, and [my son's] super woman."