TMZ Sports - Page 50

Barry Sanders got jokes!!

The NFL Hall of Famer was out in NYC Thursday when we asked why he never broke out any TD dances when he hit paydirt back in the day.

Barry's response is great ... turns out his wit is as quick as his feet.

We also brought up Tecmo Bowl -- and the infamous debate between who was the better T.B. running back ... Barry or Bo Jackson?

Even Bo knows ... Sanders was a BEAST in 8 bit.

He's only 10 months old, but Torrey Smith's son has already DOMINATED his first modeling contest -- winning a $5,000 prize in a national Gerber Baby competition.

The Baltimore Ravens wide receiver and his wife Chanel entered Torrey Jr. into Gerber's "Be Our Baby Photo Search" back in November -- competing for a $50,000 grand prize.

As adorable as TJ is, he didn't win the grand prize -- but he did win in his "milestone" category ... receiving more votes than anyone else in the "Crawlers" division.

The prize -- a $5,000 check from Gerber.

Chanel has previously said that she planned to split up any prize money between TJ's college fund and a children's charity.

The "National Costume" round of the Miss Universe pageant went down last night -- where contestants basically dressed up as stereotypes from their home countries.

Miss France wore a beret. Miss Great Britain dressed up like the Queen's Guard.

And Miss Canada ... hockey sticks for wings, hockey net around the crotch, hockey shoulder pads, hockey skates, working hockey scoreboard attached to her back ... and Stanley Cup headpiece.

Apparently, the costume shop was all out of the other classic Canadian outfit -- jeans with jean shirt with jean jacket.

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick says he "had no knowledge" of the deflate-gate scandal until Monday morning ... and has "no explanation" for why the team's balls were under-inflated.

Belichick says the team has complied with the NFL investigation into the AFC Championship game -- in which the Pats were using under-inflated balls, which some say are easier to throw and catch.

Bill told the media, "I have no explanation for what happened."

Belichick explained that giving his team an advantage by tampering with the footballs has "never been a priority for me."

In fact, Bill says ... for years he has made his team practice with crappy footballs -- "the balls we practice with are as bad as they can be" -- and has never even thought about deflating the footballs to make it easier for his team.

"I've told you all I know about the subject from my perspective ... I don't have an explanation."

Seems T.I. has taken himself out of the running to buy the Atlanta Hawks -- telling us NBA owners have no real power and the whole thing seems like a waste of money.

T.I. was leaving Ricardo Steakhouse in NYC Wednesday night -- when he told us he's "excited" about how well the Hawks are doing this season ... but says he's flat out "not interested" in ownership.

"The thing about me owning a NBA franchise ... you never get bigger than the NBA," T.I. says.

"So, whatever it is that you do, it'll be controlled by a bunch of people who probably have more money than you. And who have been involved with the organization for longer than you. So you won't be able to do a lot of the things that you want to do. So, I'm not interested."

It's time for "Giant Man Story Time" with NFL star D.J. Fluker ... who is about to tell TMZ Sports the true story of a guy who ate 65 Chick-fil-A nuggets only to lose a contest to a man WHO ATE 80.

Fluker -- 6'5 and 339-lbs for you scoring at home -- was out in L.A. when our camera guy asked him about the most fast food he's ever eaten in one sitting.

That's when "Giant Man Story Time" began -- with Fluker telling us he once bravely entered a chicken nugget eatin' contest and downed 65 mini-birds, but it wasn't enough to win.

Bonus -- He also tells us who the biggest eater in the NFL is.

The star of "Hardcore Pawn" is gunning for the famous game-winning football from the Seahawks vs. Packers game ... and he tells TMZ Sports he'll CRUSH the $20K offer that's already on the table.

Les Gold tells us ... the pigskin that Seattle WR Jermaine Kearse launched into the stands after catching the winning touchdown is an instant collectors item -- and he's dead set on getting it.

The man who caught the ball, Scott Shelton, has already received a $20,000 offer from a sports memorabilia dealership -- but Gold says he's ready and willing to smash that number.

"Whatever the highest offer, I'll offer a thousand more," Les tells us, "Offer 25K, and I'll offer 26K. That ball will be in my shop."

So, why's he so set on getting the ball? Les says it's an iconic piece that could double in value over the next few years.

Hope Solo has been suspended by the U.S. Women's soccer team ... just days after she got into it with police while her husband was being arrested for DUI.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Solo and ex-NFL player Jerramy Stevens were "acting belligerent" when Stevens was stopped by cops in Manhattan Beach, CA early Monday morning ... with law enforcement sources telling us both Stevens and Solo were "a major pain."

Now, U.S Soccer has issued a statement saying ... "During our current national team camp, Hope made a poor decision that has resulted in a negative impact on U.S. Soccer and her teammates. We feel at this time it is best for her to step away from the team."

Hope addressed the suspension on her Facebook page ... writing, "I accept and respect the Federation's decision, and more importantly, I apologize for disappointing my teammates, coaches and the Federation who have always supported me."

She added, "I think it's best for me to take a break, decompress from the stress of the last several months, and come back mentally and physically ready to positively contribute to the team."

Big announcement from Manny Pacquiao -- the boxing champ says his singing career is OVER ... telling us, "I love music, but I don't think music loves me."

Manny appeared on "TMZ Hollywood Sports" on Reelz (Mon-Fri 6PM ET, 3PM PT) and broke heartbreaking news ... telling us there won't be a follow-up to his two wildly successful albums.

"I stopped singing," Manny says ... "I like singing. I love music ... but I don't think music loves me."

Manny -- who's promoting his new documentary "Manny" -- says he's still very proud of his musical accomplishments ... saying, "My first album was platinum in the Philippines, so that's good enough."

Hopefully, he'll change his mind ...

Middleweight boxing champ Jermain Taylor saved Arkansas cops the trip -- turning himself in today for his SECOND gun-related arrest in just 3 days.

The 36-year-old Taylor was arrested Monday for felony assault after allegedly firing 2 shots during an altercation at an MLK Day parade. That bust violated the terms of his jail release for ANOTHER case ... where he is accused of shooting his cousin.

Cops say Taylor flagged down a Little Rock patrol car ... told cops his situation, and then he was hauled off to jail. Again.

Former UFC star David Herman was hit with three felony charges Wednesday afternoon following his arrest in Indiana early Thursday morning ... including a battery charge for allegedly kicking an officer.

Herman was charged with resisting law enforcement, battery against a law enforcement officer and neglect of dependent (because he was speeding with young son in the car) ... all felonies. He also got hit with a misdemeanor resisting law enforcement charge, just for good measure.

During the arrest, Herman allegedly kicked one of the officers in the shin after another officer tased him.

As TMZ Sports previously reported, cops say Herman led them on a three-mile chase and tased him only after he approached them "in an aggressive manner."

Herman's wife, who was in the car at the time, claims he is the real victim in this incident and wants the officers charged with assault.

Super Bowl XLIX isn't just the Seahawks vs. the Patriots ... it's Captain America vs Star-Lord ... because Chris Evans and Chris Pratt just laid down an EPIC bet on the big game in Arizona.

It all started Monday, the day after Evans' Patriots clinched a spot in the Super Bowl by deflating the Colts 45-7. He took to twitter to remind his fellow Marvel Super Hero that for the next two weeks they ain't buds.

"Well, well, well @prattprattpratt, looks like our teams are going into battle. For the next 2 weeks, you are not my friend, you are my enemy."

That's when Pratt -- a huge Seahawks fan -- laid down the gauntlet, proposing a bet whereby if the the Seahawks win, Evans has to fly to Seattle and visit a local children's hospital in full Captain America regalia, waving the 12th Man flag.

Well, Captain America never backs down from a fight ... and fired back, saying that if the Patriots win Star-Lord has to show up at his non-profit housing venture "Christopher's Haven," in a Tom Brady jersey.

C'mon ... this is pretty awesome.

Under-inflated footballs had NOTHING to do with the outcome of the Pats vs. Colts game ... so says Indy linebacker Erik Walden who tells TMZ Sports they got outplayed ... period.

"I don't think it made any difference," Walden says of the flatter pigskins ... "They whooped us. We got our asses whooped."

"It doesn't matter what was wrong with the balls ... they beat us by such a large margin."

Walden also says he doesn't think it's worth the NFL's time to punish the Pats -- saying, "You just got to give them credit for how they played."

"Hats off to [The Patriots]. They were the better team."

Sports mega-agent Drew Rosenhaus is pulling the trigger on his marriage -- just days after cops were called to his home to break up an epic blowout argument with his wife ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Rosenhaus filed divorce docs in Miami yesterday -- seeking to end his 13-month marriage to real estate agent Lisa Thomson.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ Sports, Rosenhaus says he has claim to their Miami home -- and wants her out of the house, ASAP.

Rosenhaus also says Lisa signed a prenup before the marriage -- and wants the judge to honor it. The terms of the prenup were not disclosed in the divorce docs.

We broke the story ... Thomson called police Sunday evening and told them she was verbally attacked by Drew and his brother at their Miami home.

Cops eventually calmed everyone down -- no one was arrested ... but we're told Drew gave Lisa five trash bags and told her to get her stuff out of the house.

Rosenhaus and Thomson tied the knot in 2013 -- they have no kids together.

As we previously reported, Thomson recently partied on a boat with Hollywood playboy Dan Bilzerian (pictured below) -- and sources tell us the situation may have contributed to the split.

We spoke to Rosenhaus who had no comment on the story.

11:49 AM PT -- Great news!!! A rep for Victoria's Secret tells us the company's official Super Bowl spot will be jam packed with scantily clad attractive people. This ad was just a teaser spot.

The final SB spot will be released Monday ... and as one person puts it ... "Trust me there is lingerie and more models in it."

And all is right with the world again.

See if you can figure out why this commercial for Victoria's Secret -- a company that specializes in lingerie and half-naked women -- is terrible.

As one person in the office puts it ... "You don't even get to see their hands."

Manny Pacquiao took over the famous TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood Tuesday night for the premiere of his new documentary "Manny" ... with some help from big stars and hot models.

Jeremy Piven (who's featured in the movie) hit the red carpet to support the boxer ... along with Christina Milian, Chuck Liddell and Sugar Ray Leonard.

But the eye candy was also in full effect ... thanks to models like Abigail Ratchford, Chantel Zales and Arianny Celeste.