TMZ Sports - Page 50

Taylor Swift just gave a pro snowboarder a heart attack we're guessing ... 'cause all Greg Bretz wanted for his birthday was for Taylor to show him some love -- and it just happened.

T Swizzle recorded a shout out to Greg -- posted by a mutual friend of theirs -- telling him, "Happy birthday, Greg. Amazing!"

Bretz turned 24 Friday -- and earlier this week he was crushing hard on Taylor. First, he posted videos of himself doing snowmobile tricks ... using "Blank Space" as the soundtrack.

He even came on TMZ Hollywood Sports to talk about how Taylor inspires him when he's on the mountain.

In the video, Taylor mentions something about Greg scoring -- could be a sports reference, or y'know ... ;)

If Ray McDonald is pissed off about getting cut from the San Francisco 49ers -- he did a bang up job of hiding it outside his attorney's office.

The defensive lineman let out a massive yawn as he strolled to his car after meeting his lawyer in San Jose Friday -- 2 days after he was named a suspect in an alleged rape investigation ... and subsequently 86'd by the Niners.

Ray's pretty chill -- especially for a guy facing his second criminal investigation in 6 months, and suddenly out of work.

Watch ... Ray's got a friend with him who says new information will be "coming out soon." Unclear if he's talking about Ray's future in the NFL ... or the alleged rape case.

Michael Vick is winning -- not with the Jets, but in business -- because his already super popular brush line just got an adorable celebrity endorser ... Dwight Howard's seven-year-old son Braylon.

Dwight's baby's mama Royce Reed took to Instagram to show off Bray using the Wavemasterz brush ... along with a glowing review on how the product makes the little tyke's hair all ocean like.

Listen up, President Obama ... Joe Flacco wants to make sure you know he's never been in "127 Hours" or "Spring Breakers" ... and he's definitely not the co-star of "The Interview."

POTUS made a huge flub during his news conference Friday -- mashing up James Franco's name with Joe's -- and the Ravens QB quickly responded.

The prez was talking about the Sony cyber attack and "The Interview" ... saying, "a satirical movie starring Seth Rogen and James FLACCO. I love Seth ... I love James."

Flacco razzed the president by tweeting, "@barackobama: It's James Franco, not James Flacco ;)" He also shouted out James ... welcoming him to the fam.

Still ... imagine Franco putting on the pads to take on J.J. Watt and the Texans this weekend. THAT would be awesome.

The 1980s are long over and Milwaukee Bucks forward Jared Dudley says NBA players have evolved ... and now they shave their armpits.

Jared apparently solved a life-long mystery for our photog when he left 1Oak Thursday night ... because our guy was just DYING to know if the NBA made players shave ... or if it was a choice.

Dudley said that shaving was the thing to do these days ... unlike the Patrick Ewing days of yore.

Floyd Mayweather is giving Santa Claus a run for his money -- he dropped more than $250,000 in New York City this week on platinum, gold, and diamond encrusted gifts for his family and friends.

TMZ Sports spoke with AVI, Ofir, and Richie -- the guys at Pristine Jewelers and Leon Diamond in NYC -- who tell us Floyd came in after hours Wednesday night ... right after his infamous Saks Fifth Avenue bathroom incident.

Among the gifts: a diamond tennis necklace with 70 carats of diamonds and a matching tennis bracelet, a diamond encrusted watch with over 40 carats of diamonds, and a diamond pendant -- just to name a few.

We're told each piece Floyd picked out ran between $5,000-$10,000.

Merry freakin' Christmas.

10:50 AM PT -- Phelps must abstain from booze, and can't abusively use drugs. He'll have to submit to drug and alcohol testing ...at the discretion of his probation officer ... and attend self-help group meetings.

He will be allowed to travel out of state for training sessions.

Michael Phelps showed up to a Baltimore court Friday morning where he pled guilty to driving under the influence.

Phelps was given a one-year suspended sentence and 18 months probation ... meaning if he screws up in the next 18 months, he goes behind bars for a year.

The Olympic hero arrived with his mom, sister and girlfriend -- Miss California 2010 Nicole Johnson.

We broke the story... Phelps was busted on September 30 at 1:40 AM for DUI. His B.A.C. was nearly twice the legal limit.

He checked himself into rehab following the arrest.

Major League Baseball's about to be just like kick-ass cigars and Ricky Ricardo -- as in super Cuban ... at least that's what former pitcher John Rocker is predicting.

The ex-closer tells TMZ Sports ... the new warm and friendly relations between the U.S. and Cuba will open up the majors to throngs of badass ball players from the island.

As Rocker puts it ... it's just a matter of time until baseball is full of Yasiel Puigs -- which, c'mon ... would be awesome!

Two bonuses in this clip: 1. Rocker talks "Eastbound & Down" (he's the rumored inspiration for Kenny Powers) and 2. Rocker's smoke show GF Julie McGee ... who he met on "Survivor."

Former NBA All-Star Kenny Anderson says Sony Pictures absolutely did the right thing by pulling "The Interview" out of theaters ... and adds he can't figure out why they made it in the first place.

Kenny actually met Kim Jong-un when he went to North Korea in January as part of Dennis Rodman's goodwill team of ex-NBA players. He tells TMZ Sports ... "I was trippin' when I saw the movie preview. Why would they want to ruffle their feathers? They already hate America."

Kenny says Kim Jong-un actually treated him very well while he was there -- but admits he was ignorant to the atrocities committed by Kim's regime ... until he got back stateside.

He says he's confused about the plan to greenlight 'Interview' .. but adds, "I think they might've been trying to make Americans aware of some of the stuff that happens over there."

Floyd Mayweather Jr. has won yet another fight … this time against a woman at Saks Fifth Avenue who tried to stop him from using the bathroom -- even though he's undefeated at department store pissers!

Yes, even when there's a private event going down.

Former New Orleans Saints star Darren Sharper now faces federal charges for distributing prescription meds -- on top of the slew of charges he's already been hit with in multiple states.

Sharper was indicted by a federal grand jury for conspiracy to distribute generic versions of Valium, Xanax, and Ambien ... with intent to commit rape between January 2010 and May 2014. He was also charged with 2 counts of actually distributing the drugs with intent to rape.

An Ex-sheriff's deputy in New Orleans, Brandon Licciardi, was hit with the same charges ... in addition to witness tampering and impeding an investigation.

CM Punk could choose ANY opponent for his UFC debut ... but it almost certainly won't be the Green Power Ranger -- not based on CM's reaction to the guy's name, anyway.

The former WWE champ was in NYC Thursday when he told our photog how training is going for his first bout in the Octagon. His new UFC contract was announced earlier this month.

CM wouldn't name names yet as far as his first opponent -- looks like he's enjoying the speculation. But you gotta see his reaction when we bring up Jason David Frank -- a former Power Ranger who's been calling out Punk. He's clearly not impressed.

Go go ... go to sleep.

Hey, Justin Verlander ... SUCK IT UP -- that's what Uber is telling the Detroit Tigers ace after he bitched to the world about holiday price surges -- and threatened to jump to the competition.

Verlander fired the first salvo with his Instagram post ... "@Uber I used to love you and now your ridiculous surge charges are causing me to take my talents elsewhere. #lyft."

Now, Uber is responding, telling Verlander ... "Surge pricing encourages drivers to get on the road when demand is high. As soon as things even out, pricing will lower." In other words: too bad, so sad.

They didn't even mention the fact JV is it he middle of a 7-year, $180 million contract -- and is probably the last person who should be complaining about a little extra coinage.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. only made his run to the restroom after other people in his crew did ... and Floyd believes he only got singled out because he is Floyd Mayweather Jr.

As TMZ first reported, Floyd got into it with a woman -- to the point where she called police -- after she tried to stop him from using a restroom Wednesday night at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York City. The woman claimed Floyd called her a bitch, but ultimately police did nothing.

According to our sources, Floyd didn't think it was a big deal when he used the restroom ... because he wasn't the first one to use it -- other people went in before him.

We're told Floyd believes the woman only gave him a hard time because he's famous ... and if anyone had a terrible attitude during their exchange ... it was her.

Our sources say Floyd was shocked that the woman called the cops over the whole thing, especially considering he walked out with about 10 bags worth of stuff.

Ray Rice is back in the good graces of many Baltimore Ravens fans ... who flocked to him last night during a Christmas charity event.

Ray and Janay Rice went to a Toys for Tots drive organized by his ex-teammate Torrey Smith -- and no one shied away from Ray as he walked around the event. In fact, he and Janay posed for several pictures with people during his first public appearance since his suspension was overturned.

Organizers say this is the 3rd consecutive year that Rice has pitched in with the charity.

He told a reporter for WJZ ... "I just made a horrible mistake in my life but you know, if they truly believe in second chances - they would forgive me "

We've said it before -- comebacks happen all the time.

NBA star Roy Hibbert possesses a specific set of skills -- beyond hooping, that is -- and pretty soon he might be unbeatable ... as long as he keeps playing in Indiana.

The Pacers stud was outside Craig's in West Hollywood when we asked ... what's a city kid like himself do for fun in the heartland? Roy doesn't hesitate -- telling us there's not much to do except get super sharp at a particular video game. As he puts it ... his game is "pretty nice!"

Roy also gets a little nostalgic in this clip about his ex-teammate Lance Stephenson -- who bolted for the Hornets.