TMZ Sports - Page 50

Donald Sterling threatened to MURDER Shelly Sterling's attorney, Pierce O'Donnell, during a phone call earlier this month ... this according to Shelly who will try to smack Donald with a restraining order later today ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Despite the fact she was with Ben Savage to throw out the first pitch, "Girl Meets World" star Danielle Fishel says she MISSED Clayton Kershaw's historical no-hitter ... BECAUSE SHE LEFT EARLY!!!!

There were rumors that Danielle and Ben peace'd out in the 4th -- but D.F. says it's not true ... she left WAYYY before that.

He was doused with Powerade ... bubbles ... and when he got to the L.A. Dodgers locker room, Clayton Kershaw got sprayed down with champagne, too!!!

Kershaw's teammates were almost as fired up as he was after C.K. tossed a no-hitter in Dodger's Stadium last night -- the 2nd no-hitter for the Blue Crew this season (Josh Beckett hurled one last month).

Kershaw's teammates went crazy on the field -- dancing, chanting, Powerade showering ... and the celebration turnt up in the locker room with a bunch of the guys.

BEWARE TEAM MEXICO ... so says Akon ... who tells TMZ Sports the mean green machine is lookin' so strong, he's picking Memo Ochoa's squad to make it all the way to the World Cup finals!

FYI -- Akon's a HUGE soccer fan ... and even performed one of the official 2010 World Cup songs.

But while he's clearly impressed with the Mexican team, Akon tells us we shouldn't count out Team USA either.

In fact, Akon thinks the Red, White and Blue has a shot to go further in this year's tourney than any U.S. soccer team has ever gone before.

Today was the day L.A. Kings star Jake Muzzin was SUPPOSED to kill his playoff beard ... but things changed at the last minute when he decided ... he didn't "feel right" letting it go.

Muzzin -- along with teammates Trevor Lewis and Drew Doughty -- were scheduled to have their beards shaved off completely during an event at Floyd's Barber Shop in L.A. on Wednesday.

But things didn't go as planned ... Drew bailed completely ... and Trevor and Jake decided to trim their face-warmers down instead of shaving them off completely.

And why? According to Jake ... "I woke up this morning and it didn't feel right getting rid of it."

Emotionally attached? "Maybe."

They say you're not supposed to give KNIVES as a wedding gift ... it's bad juju ... which could be a problem for A.J. McCarron and Katherine Webb who just registered for THIRTY ONE blades!!!

Don't take our word for it ... take MARTHA STEWART'S WEDDING TEAM -- who stated the following to CNN last year:

"According to folklore, a knife signifies a broken relationship and is bad luck to give as a wedding gift."

Boom.

But, Stewart's people say there IS a loophole ... for those who can afford it:

"If knives are on your registry, just give the gift giver a penny. That way it's a purchase, not a gift."

Boom again.

U.S. Olympic legend Amy Van Dyken has just released the X-ray images taken moments after her spinal cord was severed in an ATV accident ... which shows just how bad her injury was.

Van Dyken just spoke to the media at an Arizona hospital and said the injuries to her spine were so severe, doctors instructed Amy and her husband to "say our goodbyes" before emergency back surgery.

"He told Tom and I to say our goodbyes ... There was a good chance I wasn't going to make it out of surgery. It was one of those things where I looked at my husband and basically said, 'I love you, goodbye, please continue on with your life.'"

She also told her husband Tom -- a former Denver Broncos kicker -- that if she didn't make it out of the surgery, she wanted him to try to date other women ... when he was ready.

Amy said that last part was especially hard for her to say ... but "to do that and then to be here now and to be with him is the most amazing thing."

Van Dyken still can't move her legs -- but she's hopeful she'll be able to walk again one day.

As far as her recovery goes, Amy says ... "Yes, this injury sucks and yes things hurt. But I'm alive and I'm so thankful to be alive. That's why I can be positive about it. It helps get me through the day."

Practice makes perfect ... even in drug smuggling ... so says Terry Bradshaw who just blasted the moron in Michigan who got busted trying to throw a drug-stuffed football into a prison yard!!!

Two big victories for golfer Rory McIlroy this morning:

1) He's been reunited with his missing golf clubs just in time for the Irish Open!!
2) The airline actually APOLOGIZED and took responsibility for misplacing them in the first place!

Rory raised the issue with United Airlines this week ... when he got off his plane in Ireland and couldn't find his golf bag. So, naturally, he tweeted ...

"Hey @united landed in Dublin yesterday morning from Newark and still no golf clubs... Sort of need them this week... Can someone help!?"

Well, United sprung into action -- and early Wednesday morning, Rory got his bag.

A rep for United told us, "What happened was that we failed to load Mr. McIlroy’s clubs on his flight. We reached out to him to apologize for our mistake."

McIlroy seemed to accept the apology ... tweeting a pic with a thumbs up and an airline pun -- "Re-@united with my clubs!"

Scottie Pippen made a triumphant return to the world of sports last night -- racing a goldfish at a bar in Kentucky ... and TMZ Sports has learned he did pretty well ... for a rookie.

The Chicago Bulls legend walked into Two Keys Tavern in Lexington on Tuesday (the only night of the week the bar holds goldfish races) ... and asked if he could get in on the action.

The GM of the bar tells us ... Scottie selected a fish, which he named "Pippen Champion" -- and entered it into the NCAA-style tournament.

We're told Scottie's fish actually WON it's first race -- and he advanced to Round 2 ... but "Pippen Champion" couldn't hang with the advanced group and got dominated in it's second race.

The GM tells us Scottie couldn't have been nicer -- and took tons of pics with fans. He was also with music honcho World Wide Wes.

As for the winner -- we're told the fish that was crowned champion last night was named, "Slippery When Wet" ... and it's owner took home a $50 gift card for Two Keys Tavern swag.

Congrats!

6/18/14 -- 8:24 AM -- Jones says the hit man allegations are complete B.S. -- and insists he's got a great relationship with his agent.

The former NFL star just issued a statement saying the accuser -- a distant relative -- "has filed a false police report" ... and that he "absolutely denies" all allegations.

Jones says he plans on taking legal action of his own against Theodore -- and says the guy has "recently been attempting to extort money" from him and his family.

As far as the allegation that he tried to hire a hit man to take out his agent, Jones says the two have a "wonderful relationship" and the notion that he wants him dead is completely false.

A former Dallas Cowboys linebacker has been named the primary suspect in a police investigation in Cleveland after allegedly trying to hire a hit man to take out his agent ... this according to a police report obtained by TMZ Sports.

The man at the center of the case is Robert Jones -- a 1st round pick in the '92 NFL Draft who went on to become a Pro Bowler who won 3 Super Bowls with the Cowboys.

According to the document, a 47-year-old man named Theodore told police that Jones approached him and tried to hire Theo to take out Jones' agent.

Theo told cops he refused -- and Jones (who's also 47-years-old) -- responded by saying he is a "gangster" and he would make Theodore "disappear."

Theodore told cops he's afraid and fears for his personal safety because he believes Jones will make good on his threat.

So far, Jones has NOT been arrested or charged with a crime. We reached out to Jones several times for comment -- so far, no word back.

Only one person can save Team Portugal from World Cup humiliation -- Irina Shayk ... so says male supermodel Tyson Beckford who says the power lies squarely ... in her crotch.

Beckford -- a huge Portugal fan -- was out watching futbol at Serafina restaurant in NYC yesterday when he tried to explain why Cristiano Ronaldo crapped the bed during Game 1 against Germany.

"It's either the World Cup jitters ... or he's just too sexy to be playing!"

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has announced it will be CANCELLING six federal trademark registrations for the name "Washington Redskins" ... after ruling the name is disparaging to Native Americans.

FYI -- trademark law prevents people from registering trademarks that "may disparage" individuals or groups.

But don't go printing and selling your bootleg Redskins merch just yet -- the team will probably appeal ... and will maintain exclusive rights to the trademark until a federal court makes a ruling.

So ... Memo Ochoa?? Team Mexico's brick wall of a goalie? Yeah, hombre's got a hot GF.