TMZ Sports - Page 50

Hero Cat -- the feline who fought off a ferocious dog to protect a child -- is gettin' called up to the minors ... and will THROW OUT the first pitch at a minor league baseball game next week ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The Bakersfield Blaze -- the Class A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds -- has reached out to the cat's people hoping to get Tara (that's her name) to make the ceremonial first pitch at a game next week.

A rep for the team tells us ... the owner of the cat ACCEPTED THE OFFER ... and Tara (along with the boy she saved) will take the mound to throw out the first pitch on May 20th.

Unclear who will actually throw the ball (hopefully the cat!!) ... but we'll be sure to post the footage as soon as it goes down.

Congrats!

Michael Sam is doing himself a HUGE disservice by getting into bed with Oprah ... so says former NFL QB Shaun King who thinks Sam's reality show will seriously hurt his chances of making the Rams.

As we previously reported, Sam is doing a docu-drama for the OWN Network about his journey to the NFL -- and cameras have been rolling since before the NFL Draft.

Now, King -- who played in the league from 1999 to 2006 -- tells TMZ Sports he personally supports Michael Sam and is proud of the guy ... but believes teams will view the show as a distraction.

"After what happened with Tebow, the last thing an NFL team wants is a media circus. They just want to go about their business and focus on winning."

King says he believes teams may have gotten wind of the show before the draft and it could have been one of the reasons he fell to the 7th round.

"I had him pegged as a 5th round guy. I think the reason he dropped is because teams are afraid [of things like the reality show]."

Here it is ... surveillance footage showing Jameis Winston STEALING CRAB LEGS ... and it shows, dude is the most casual shellfish bandit of all time.

The footage, shot April 29th, shows the Heisman Trophy winner nonchalantly walking up to the seafood counter at Publix grocery store in Tallahassee ... grabbing $32.17 worth of crab legs and crawfish ... and walking out of the store without paying for it.

Note -- you can see Winston follows a security guard out of the store .... and hung an immediate right the second he left the building in what seems like an obvious attempt at a clean getaway.

Winston later admitted to jacking the food -- and was ordered to serve several hours of community service ... which he completed at a local YMCA.

Former NFL wide receiver Reche Caldwell had nearly 5 POUNDS of the drug MDMA in his possession when he was arrested this week ... law enforcement sources tell TMZ Sports

8:40 AM PT -- Officials say they HAVE the murder weapon ... a .38 caliber revolver ... which they believe Hernandez used to kill the two men.

Officials also believe Hernandez didn't know the victims before a "chance encounter" inside Cure nightclub hours before the shooting.

After an incident inside the club, Hernandez followed them out ... and trailed them inside his SUV. When the victim's car stopped at a red light, Hernandez opened fire. Killing 2 men and injuring a 3rd. Two other people inside the car fled from the scene on foot.

Officials say the men were "two young innocent victims" who had NO gang connections whatsoever.

Aaron Hernandez has been indicted on charges he MURDERED two people in a 2012 drive-by shooting ... in addition to the murder of Odin Lloyd.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. was on the hunt for diamonds this week ... hittin' 3 different NYC jewelry stores in 2 days ... and dropping more than $500k at one of the shops ... TMZ Sports has learned.
It all started on Tuesday ... when Floyd stopped by Rafaello & Co to check out some of the merch. We're told Floyd fell in love with some of the items but wanted time to figure out what he wanted to buy.

He left and went to another jewelry shop ... where he continued to browse ... though it's unclear if he made any purchases there.

The next day, Floyd was in the mood to SPEND -- going BACK to Rafaello, where he bought one ring, multiple watches and a pimped out bracelet. We're told he dropped around $500k.

Floyd also met with Jacob the Jeweler on Wednesday where he checked out two more watches -- though it's unclear if he pulled the trigger.

It's not like Floyd can't afford it -- dude raked in more than $32 million from his last fight.

"Attention Costco shoppers ... right now, we're having a great deal on a 24 gallon bucket of toothpaste ... and OH MY GOD IT'S COLIN KAEPERNICK!!!!!!"

For the first time since he was listed as a "suspect" in a sexual assault investigation, the 49ers QB made a public appearance yesterday ... signing autographs at a S.F. area Costco.

The appearance was a promotion for MusclePharm -- the supplement company that vowed to stick by Colin's side throughout the investigation.

Unclear if Colin addressed the investigation during the appearance, but he definitely signed a ton of autographs for fans ... many of whom tweeted about the situation ... in between stocking up on ungodly amounts of shampoo and band-aids.

Michael Sam is getting the Lindsay Lohan treatment ... as in, the openly gay football player is getting his own reality show on Oprah's TV network ... reps at OWN confirm.

The show -- produced by the same people who did Lindsay's show -- will chronicle Sam's journey into the NFL ... and we're told Sam has already been taping the show for weeks.

In fact, we're told Oprah's crew was in the room when Sam learned he had been drafted by the St. Louis Rams ... and clearly knew his big celebratory kiss with his BF would make for great reality television.

Oprah issued a statement saying, "We are honored that Michael is trusting us with his private journey in this moment that has not only made history but will shape it forever."

Carolina Panthers star Greg Hardy told a 911 operator his girlfriend attacked him with a high-heeled shoe early Tuesday morning ... making him bleed ... and says he thinks she may have been on cocaine at the time.

TMZ Sports obtained a copy of the 911 call -- in which Hardy sounds panicked and says his girlfriend refuses to leave his North Carolina apartment.

Hardy says his GF kicked him and scratched him -- striking him twice in the face -- and drawing blood.

"I think she's on coke or something," Hardy says ... noting she may also have been drinking.

Cops arrived to the scene a short time later and HARDY -- not his GF -- was arrested for domestic violence.

Snoop Dogg is FIRED UP about the NFL Rookie Class of 2014 -- because 3 of the players are alumni of the youth football league he started back in 2005 ... TMZ Sports has learned.

De'Anthony Thomas (RB, KC Chiefs), Kam Jackson (CB, Colts) and Greg Ducre (CB, Chargers) all played for the L.A.-based "Snoop Youth Football League" back when they were kids ... and Snoop tells us he couldn't be prouder.

Former NFL wide receiver Reche Caldwell -- who spent 6 seasons in the league -- was arrested in Florida yesterday for allegedly trying to sell Ecstasy ... officials say.

The 35-year-old -- played for the Chargers, Patriots and Redskins -- was busted at an apartment in Tampa around noon ... after cops say he was trying to slang some E pills.

Caldwell was booked for possession of a controlled substance. Bail was set at $2K.

Dwyane Wade's wedding guests better pack flip flops -- TMZ Sports has learned, his upcoming nuptials to fiancee Gabrielle Union will take place on the surface of the sun ... aka Miami in August ... and we have the Save the Date.

The wedding is scheduled for August 30th -- and the Save the Dates just went out.

Dwyane's kids even make a cameo in the heart-shaped reminders, holding up signs that say, "Nickie, will you marry us?" (Nickie is Gabrielle's nickname ... her middle name is Monique.)

If all goes well, Dwyane will get more than one ring this year.

The Houston Texans will rue the day they passed on Johnny Manziel ... so will the Raiders and the Cowboys -- because he's going to be a KILLER pro quarterback ... so says Billy Bob Thornton.

The "Friday Night Lights" star -- who's a huge sports fan -- was leaving Tavern in Los Angeles last night when he told us he thinks a lot of people have seriously underestimated the explosive Heisman Trophy winner.

"I wasn't so big on the Johnny Manziel thing when he was in college," Billy Bob says ... "But I think in the pros ... I think he's gonna do better than they think."

Browns fans better hope he's right. Meantime, watch the video (below) and try not to cry.

The plot thickens -- the nightclub Lamar Odom got denied from insists the rejection was NOT a reality show set-up ... Lamar was turned away because the club was afraid he'd start a Chris Brown-level brawl with French Montana.

As we reported, Odom was spurned from Penthouse in West Hollywood while his ex Khloe Kardashian and her new man French Montana partied inside.

An E! camera crew was conveniently posted up outside the club to capture the rejection -- so obviously there was speculation that Lamar's rejection was a set-up for "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" -- but a rep for Penthouse tells TMZ, not so.

The rep says the decision to deny Lamar was the club's decision alone. We're told the nightclub wanted to avoid another bottle-throwing Chris Brown-Drake situation, so bouncers refused to let him in.

Sources close to the Kardashians tell us the same story -- Khloe didn't even know Lamar planned to show up.

You'll recall, Brown and Drake were involved in a massive brawl at W.i.P. nightclub in NYC back in 2012. The brawl resulted in a bunch of lawsuits ... and the club even lost its liquor license for a while. So it's no wonder Penthouse was playing it safe.

9:44 A.M. PDT -- Khloe just tweeted this: "Still hurts... Maybe it always will"

Carolina Panthers star Greg Hardy is about to be released from jail after a domestic violence arrest -- under the condition he stays the hell away from his GF.

As we previously reported, Hardy -- aka "Da Kraken" -- was arrested Tuesday morning after allegedly getting into a physical altercation with his girlfriend at his apartment in North Carolina.

Hardy appeared in an N.C. courtroom Wednesday morning in an orange jumpsuit and handcuffs.

The judge set his bond (a grand total of $17k) and ordered Hardy to have NO contact with his girlfriend for the time being.

He was also ordered to attend 3 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings per week.