TMZ Sports - Page 50

LeBron James is now a resident on one of the most upscale and notorious streets in L.A. ... and he plunked down a fortune to make it happen.

TMZ has confirmed a company matching one owned by LeBron bought a colonial-style mansion on Rockingham in the Brentwood area of L.A., just blocks away from the home O.J. Simpson owned when his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman were found killed.

According to Variety and Real Estalker, which broke the story, LeBron paid around $21 mil for the 9,000 square foot home.

At least one of Derek Jeter's many MANY famous ex-girlfriends is thrilled for him now that he's engaged to Hannah Davis ... telling TMZ Sports, "He's living his dream."

We spoke with model Vida Guerra -- who dated Jeter way before Jessica Biel and Jessica Alba -- who tells us she's genuinely happy #2 found his #1.

"He said once he retired he wanted to get married .... so he's living his dream. Congratulations to him."

Question is ... is Vida jealous that Hannah got the rock and not her???

We asked. She answered. Check out the clip.

Oh, and also check out Vida's hot modeling pics to see what Derek's missing out on. Damn.

The NFL Player's Association is NOT backing down from its decision to go to bat for Greg Hardy -- claiming the PA has a "duty" to fight for his rights as a player ... despite public outrage.

The P.A. has been under fire for appealing Hardy's original 10 game suspension -- even though it reportedly saw the photos of the damage he allegedly inflicted on his then girlfriend.

Several high profile people -- including Bill Cowher -- lashed out at the P.A. for the move ... essentially saying it should NOT have fought for Hardy because the act was so reprehensible.

The issue at hand is that the Hardy incident went down BEFORE the NFL's personal conduct policy was beefed up -- so the P.A. appealed, arguing that he should have been disciplined in line with the old, weaker guidelines.

Hardy won his appeal, thanks to the NFLPA, and his suspension was reduced to 4 games.

Despite the criticism, Carl Francis -- Director of Communications for the NFLPA -- tells TMZ Sports, "We stand by our decision to appeal his suspension."

So, how does a supermodel feel when she finds out the new hot guy she's dating knocked up his famous ex-girlfriend?

Well, for Gisele ... she claims she seriously thought about running away from Tom Brady when that exact situation happened in 2006 ... claiming it was a "challenging thing" ... but ultimately decided to give him a chance.

Ex-NBA player Glen Rice Jr. crutched into an Atlanta courtroom Tuesday -- still reeling from the gunshot he took to the leg during a violent altercation 2 weeks ago ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Rice Jr. is facing felony marijuana possession and a misdemeanor gun charge stemming from the October 25th incident ... in which he was arrested following a shooting at a restaurant owned by rapper T.I.

As we previously reported, Rice Jr. was busted as he tried to leave the scene -- cops say he had 240 grams of weed, a bunch of cash ... and was bleeding out of his left leg.

Rice was not required to attend the hearing today -- but showed up anyway, probably to try to curry favor with the judge.

Glen didn't say much during the hearing, captured on video by WAGA Fox 5, but did attempt to stand up.

If convicted, Rice Jr. faces up to 11 years in prison.

Scottie Pippen's wife definitely tried to step up her fashion game for a shopping trip with Kim Kardashian yesterday -- revealing some serious butt cheek in a pair of tiny Daisy Dukes.

Larsa Pippen went buns out in Bev Hills with Kim and Jonathan Cheban ... and while she definitely looked hot, some people are saying she pushed it too far, considering her 8-year-old daughter was in tow.

Michael Phelps says he was "in a really dark place" and didn't want to be alive anymore after his 2014 DUI arrest ... but says he's cleaned himself up and insists he's swimming better than ever.

The Olympic legend -- as well as his close friends and family members -- opened up to Sports Illustrated ... and painted a picture of a man who had a serious alcohol problem.

"Honestly, I thought, the way he was going, he was going to kill himself," Phelps' longtime coach Bob Bowman said ... "Not take his own life, but something like the DUI, but worse."

Eventually, Phelps was convinced to enter rehab in Arizona -- where he spent 45 days -- and believes he's changed.

In fact, Phelps says he's sworn off booze until at least after the 2016 Olympics in Rio -- after enduring years of working out with a hangover.

"Haven’t had a single sip and will not have a sip. My body fat has dropped significantly, and I’m leaner than I’ve ever been."

Here it is ... video of the moment NBA star Iman Shumpert took over the mic at his GF's baby shower ... got down on one knee ... and got himself a fiancee!

As we previously reported, Shumpert popped the question to Teyana Taylor at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Cleveland ... using a pretty sizable ruby engagement ring.

The video cuts off right as he's about to utter those famous 4 words, "Will you marry me?" ... but you get the gist.

BTW, she obviously said yes ... as proved by this next video -- where she's flaunting the rock.

Congrats!

Steve Austin isn't taking too kindly to Goldberg's suggestion that his famous beer chug wrestling celebration was a sham -- telling TMZ Sports straight up, "[Goldberg] is full of s**t."

Goldberg seemed pretty serious when he called shenanigans on Austin last week -- telling us he's 100% certain Stone Cold wouldn't really consume the brew.

But Austin says that's a load of horse crap -- mostly.

Steve admits he didn't drink ALL of the beer ... but he took down about 50% of every can -- and he's got a pretty good explanation.

Long story short ... Austin says Goldberg is his boy, but they're gonna have some words.

Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett pled guilty to operating a vehicle under the influence -- stemming from a Halloween arrest for driving while intoxicated ... and apologized for his behavior in court.

20-year-old Barrett was arrested on October 31st at a police checkpoint near the OSU campus -- cops say his B.A.C. was .099 ... well above the .02 limit for people under the legal drinking age.

But Barrett struck a plea deal with prosecutors -- in which he pled guilty to the OVI charge, and in exchange a related charge (backing without safety) was dismissed.

As for his punishment, Barrett will NOT spend any time behind bars -- instead, his driver's license was suspended for 180 days and he must pay roughly $500 in fines and court costs.

During today's hearing, Barrett told the judge ... "I just wanted to apologize to my family for this embarrassment and also to the Ohio State football program and also Buckeye Nation."

He added, "I never wanted to hurt Ohio State for what it's done for me as a player and also as a person and I'm truly sorry for that."

Barrett was suspended from last week's game -- but will be back on the field when the Buckeyes take on Illinois on Saturday.

Ray Rice and his wife say the public doesn't treat them like the poster couple for domestic violence anymore, and it's time the NFL did the same ... by giving Ray a "second chance" to play football.

Russell Wilson and Ciara tempted fate to the max on their Mexican holiday, because we've learned the celibate couple stayed in a house built on sex.

Colorado Rockies superstar José Reyes was busted for domestic violence after he allegedly attacked his wife during a vacation in Hawaii.

The incident went down on Halloween, according to cops in Maui, but is just now coming out. Reyes and his wife Katherine were staying at the Four Seasons Wailea ... when he allegedly grabbed her by the throat and shoved her into a sliding glass door.

Security at the resort called police, who took Reyes -- a former Mets, Marlins, and Blue Jays player -- into custody. KHNL in Honolulu first reported the arrest, and says Reyes and his wife were heard arguing before things got physical.

Katherine was taken to a hospital to treat injuries to her thigh, neck and wrist. Reyes was released on bail.

Caitlyn Jenner and Hope Solo both had a HELLUVA YEAR ... both nabbed hardware at Glamour Magazine's "Women Of The Year" awards in NYC -- but they took way different paths getting there.

While Caitlyn's been hailed as a hero for the way she handled her transition in the public eye -- Hope's grabbed publicity for almost all the wrong reasons: allegedly beating up her nephew and berating cops ... along with winning the Women's World Cup.

Clearly, Hope's solo efforts didn't carry as much weight as her team achievements.

Three brothers took the Cowboys and Eagles game way too seriously, and ended up hospitalized and arrested for beating the crap out of each other in the stands at AT&T Stadium.

The video of their brawl went viral hours after the game -- most people thought they were just opposing fans, but TMZ Sports has learned they were blood. Arlington cops tell us they'll all be charged with different degrees of assault. Meet the bros:

- Jorge Castillo punched his brother, Ignacio ... and got arrested for misdemeanor assault with bodily injury.

- Jose Castillo was arrested for simple assault with provocative contact and failure to obey a police officer.

- Ignacio Castillo was not arrested, yet ... and only because he's laid up in a hospital. Cops say he'll be charged with felony assault on an officer for allegedly spitting blood on a cop trying to stop the fight.

Fun fact: Cops tell us there were 2 other fights that ended with arrests -- and both of those also involved relatives!

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