TMZ Sports - Page 50

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay checked into a "highly-respected health care facility" ... one day after he was arrested for DUI and drug possession in Indiana.

A rep for the Colts tells TMZ Sports, "Yesterday, Jim Irsay took the first step toward regaining good health. He voluntarily checked into a highly-respected health care facility and is committed to undergoing the treatment and care necessary to help him meet his challenges head-on."

The Colts did not go into detail on the nature of the "challenges" Irsay faces ... but the 54-year-old has previously acknowledged his issues with substance abuse.

The Colts rep adds ... "Jim, the Irsay family, and the Colts organization are all deeply appreciative of the incredible outpouring of support and compassion from our fans and the Indiana community."

As we previously reported, Irsay was pulled over late Sunday night for traffic violations -- and during the stop, officers determined he was intoxicated ... though police have not said if he was drunk or high.

Cops did say Irsay was in possession of various prescription drugs -- but the pills didn't match the prescription bottles.

Lane Kiffin's loss is Vince Vaughn's gain ... because the "Wedding Crashers" star has been ID'd as the mystery buyer who paid $6.5 million for the Manhattan Beach pad Lane Kiffin sold when after he was fired from his gig at USC.

Don't feel bad for Lane ... he pocketed a cool $1 MILLION from the sale.

And don't feel bad for Vince either ... he gets to move in to one of the coolest mansions on the beach -- a 7,308-square foot palace with state-of-the-art everything and a kick ass backyard.

Everyone wins ... which wasn't happening when Lane was living IN the house.

Liz Dickson knew damn well her ass would be IN PLAY when she agreed to put a tee in her butt for a golf stunt at a Playboy event in 2012 ... and TMZ Sports has obtained audio that proves it.

We broke the story ... Liz filed a lawsuit against Playboy claiming she thought comedian Kevin Klein would only be POSING with his golf club for a photo op ... and was shocked when he took a whack.

But in audio recorded on the day of the stunt, Kevin makes his intention crystal clear -- saying to Liz, "Would you allow me to place a golf ball on a tee in your butt and attempt to tee off a shot right now down this first fairway?"

Liz initially responds, "Maybe" ... and then says, "What did I get myself into?"

Moments later, she lays down on her stomach and allows a member of Klein's team to place a tee in her butt ... and seems to be 100% in on the stunt.

At one point Klein asks, "How does the golf tee feel in the butt?"
Liz responds, "Ummm ... it's poking my butt."

Klein asks, "Do you enjoy it at all?"
Liz responds, "I love it."

Eventually, Klein takes a swing and smacks Liz in the cheek. When asked if it was painful, she says "it hurt" ... but never seems to object to Kevin taking a swing in the first place.

The Dodgers and Diamondbacks have touched down in Australia for their historic series Down Under ... but the most impressive thing -- how the locals erected the entire baseball diamond from scratch.

The teams will face off at the historic Sydney Cricket Grounds ... which is essentially a giant circular field of grass.

Officials rolled in the heavy machinery ... and built a regulation-size MLB field in a matter of weeks ... and TMZ Sports has the incredible timelapse video of the transformation.

Here's Phoenix Suns star Channing Frye with his Final Four champion pick ... but you should be warned, he's a little biased.

Frye was hitting the streets of NYC with his Suns teammate Miles Plumlee yesterday -- and while Channing was all about his pick for the NCAA tourney winner, Miles was suspiciously silent.

No confidence in Duke, Miles? Or just playing it close to the vest?

Oakland Raiders quarterback Terrelle Pryor tells TMZ Sports ... he's been training like a maniac this off-season -- waking up at 5AM every day in pursuit of a starting QB job in the NFL.

Pryor was in Downtown L.A. yesterday when we just happened the 6'6" football star -- and asked him about rumors he could be shipped out of Oakland.

"I can't really worry about the things I can't control," Terrelle said.

Still, the guy told us about his grueling training regimen -- busting his ass with legendary trainer Travelle Gaines and working out at USC ... where Tim Tebow's been spotted recently.

One more thing ... Pryor was a high school basketball stud -- and tells TMZ Sports he still hoops around with one of his celebrity friends.

Mike Evans' signing with Cash Money Sports could be a real game changer that gives Jay Z a run for his money. Will athletes hooking up with rappers be good for eveyrone's bottom line?

Plus, Mark Sanchez says he's still down to suit up for the J-E-T-S ... and it's pretty clear why he wants to stay. He's scored a ton with the ladies while in NYC ...

"Rowdy" Ronda Rousey is totally down to get in the ring with the WWE's finest at WrestleMania ... but she'll only appear with her posse.

Rousey and her roommate/UFC fighter Shayna Baszler posted a video of the two mixing it up in the ring last week -- the rumor mills went wild ... and we're told she'd be stoked to wrestle a legit match at WrestleMania.

Sources close to Ronda say she's busy with movies and real fighting ... but if WWE honchos wanted to make it happen they can get the ball rolling by hiring her crew -- the Four Horsewomen -- Baszler, Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke.

We're told the fighter is saying WrestleMania XXX in New Orleans next month would be out of the question ... but if the WWE is interested, she'd be down to make it happen at next year's event in SF.

CC Sabathia took the celebrity chef craze to a new level for his 33rd bday party -- because the whole thing was catered by Three 6 Mafia member (and Oscar winner) DJ Paul ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The party for the Yankees pitcher was insane -- it all went down at Phil Maloof's mansion in L.A. back in the Summer ... and we're told it was packed with superstars like Joba Chamberlain, Derek Jeter, Carl Crawford and Chris Brown.

But according to multiple sources, the best part was the food -- and the man responsible was DJ Paul ... who moonlights as a private chef for a TON of famous people when he's not in the studio.

"I'm good friends with the Maloofs," Paul tells TMZ Sports ... "A lot of times they'll pay me to come cook for their celebrity parties ... which, with them, is often."

Paul says he's rocked the kitchen for stars like Michael Phelps, the New England Patriots, the Yankees, Dodgers and more.

So, what was on the menu for CC's bash?

"I made spaghetti with a vodka marinara, barbeque chicken, sausage, ribs, carne asada," Paul said ... "Chris Brown went crazy over the spaghetti with the vodka sauce."

Paul says his celebrity friends are usually shocked when they notice him in the kitchen at the A-list parties he caters -- "The first thing people say is, 'Oh s**t, this is good! Did you really make this?'"

He adds, "I love cooking. I'm from Memphis, Tennessee. All we do is eat ... eat and get diabetes."

The Philadelphia Eagles made a huge upgrade this off-season in the fashion department -- their new safety Malcolm Jenkins has plans to dominate the rough and tumble world of bow ties.

The ex-Saints star tells TMZ Sports he's not abandoning the Rock Avenue Bow Ties biz he started last year in New Orleans -- and instead plans to expand in his new hometown.

Jenkins says, "I'm gonna go around the city and see about getting the bow ties into retail stores."

Jenkins started rocking the Pee Wee Herman look back in 2010 -- his 2nd NFL season -- and says he decided to launch his own company when he couldn't find enough variety in stores.

Malcolm joked he really needs a sales spike in Philly to pay off a lost bet with his wife -- ""I owe her a G Wagon."

Something tells us his 3-year, $16.5 million Eagles contract will take care of that.

Still, MJ's company got a nice boost last week when his ex-teammate Roman Harper wore a Rock Avenue t-shirt ... while getting baptized!

Former LSU football legend Cecil "the Diesel" Collins just scored a huge victory in court -- the man who once racked up 3,079 yards in a single high school season ... is not going back to prison on a probation violation ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Collins already served 13 and a half years behind bars in Florida for committing a super creepy Miami burglary back in 1999 -- cutting short a promising career with the Miami Dolphins in the process.

Collins admitted breaking into a woman's apartment, but here's the super creepy part ... he said he only did it to watch her sleep.

At the time of the Miami incident ... Collins was already on probation for committing 2 similar crimes in Louisiana -- he was accused of breaking into homes and fondling 2 women -- so prosecutors there wanted to nail him with up to 5 years in prison for violating probation.

Today a Baton Rouge judge let Collins off with 3 years probation and said he could move back to Florida. He will have to undergo random drug testing and check in regularly with a parole officer.

Atlanta Falcons lineman Kroy Biermann might not be ready to retire yet ... but his balls are -- 'cause the defensive end tells TMZ Sports his baby makin' days are officially over.

Kroy and his reality superstar wife Kim Zolciak were leaving LaGuardia Airport in NY this weekend without their 4-month old twins ... the 5th and 6th kids in the Biermann family.

Of course, we had to ask if the couple was planning on poppin' out a lucky #7 ... but Kroy made it crystal clear six is plenty enough.

M.I.A. says the NFL is overreacting big time in their legal war over the middle finger she flipped during the 2012 Super Bowl Halftime show ... and the proof is in Prince's giant penis guitar.

M.I.A. just filed new legal docs saying the NFL's demand for $16.6 MILLION in restitution and damages over the rapper's live 1-bird salute is completely baseless -- since the league already has a reputation for airing risque halftime performances.

Her proof -- M.I.A. says the reputation was built by Super Bowl legends like Michael Jackson who "repeatedly grabbed or fondled his genitalia" during his famous 1993 performance.

M.I.A. says the "genitalia adjustments" were a well-known part of his act at the time and the NFL reveled in the edginess.

There's more ... M.I.A. also points to Prince -- who, in 2007, stroked his guitar like it was "an erect oversized phallus" in what some people consider the gold standard of Super Bowl Halftime shows.

M.I.A. says the NFL knew Prince was planning to get all strokey before the show ... and green-lit the performance anyway.

M.I.A.'s ultimate point is that there is no harm in airing a middle finger -- it won't damage the league or prevent sponsors from paying top dollar for commercial spots.

So far, no comment from Prince or his giant penis guitar.

Ricky Williams tells TMZ Sports ... he thinks it's "amazing" that Texas A&M star Mike Evans signed with Cash Money Sports ... saying, "It's unfortunate it took 15 years for athletes signing with rappers to take off."

Of course, Ricky was the first big sports star to sign with a rap mogul back in 1999 -- when he signed with No Limit Sports ... headed by Master P.

Ricky -- and No Limit Sports -- came under some serious fire over the contract since it was light on guaranteed money and extremely heavy on incentives ... many of which required record-setting performances to unlock.

Widespread public scrutiny of the contract led to the ultimate demise of No Limit Sports ... and cast a bad shadow over rappers who were trying to branch out into the sports world.

But Ricky tells TMZ Sports ... he thought the contract was PERFECT -- saying, "My contract was a great contract. I wanted to EARN my money."

"It's a misconception that P came up with the terms ... it was my idea."

Ricky says P did not negotiate the contract personally either, he had an agent who negotiated the deal based on the terms Ricky wanted.

Still, Ricky is optimistic about the role of hip hop moguls in sports -- saying, "Cash Money has changed the way the hip hop business has been done and they can do the same for athletes."

Williams says he doesn't see people like Birdman and Jay Z (who runs the Roc Nation Sports agency) as rappers ... "I see them as businessmen."

Richard Sherman would've had "no chance" of stopping T.J. Houshmandzadeh when the receiver was in his prime ... so says T.J. himself.

The former Cincinnati Bengals receiver was outside Greystone this weekend when we asked if he thought Sherman could've shut him down ... like he shut down Michael Crabtree in the NFL playoffs.

But T.J. says his route-running abilities were just too strong for Sherman -- who T.J. also PRAISES as a helluva football player.

Mr. T pities anybody who isn't in the WWE Hall of Fame ... because after playing a pivotal role in launching WrestleMania 30 years ago -- the 80s star is finally getting his due.

Vince McMahon says ... T will be this year's celebrity inductee into the Hall of Fame, telling TMZ, "His WWE appearances were instrumental in helping to establish WrestleMania as the pop-culture phenomenon it is today."

Mr. T famously said he turned the WWE down for a H.O.F. spot in 2009 ... but now the two sides have buried the hatchet -- and the "A-Team" star will take his rightful place in the celebrity wing.

If you're too young to remember -- Hulk Hogan and T teamed up at the inaugural event ... he also took part in a special boxing match at WrestleMania II against Roddy Piper.

The Hall of Fame ceremony airs on April 5 ... and will air in its entirety on the WWE Network.

No word on who's inducting T.