TMZ Sports - Page 50

Danica Patrick loses again ... this time, GoDaddy.com is PULLING their Super Bowl ad featuring the NASCAR driver over OUTRAGE from animal lovers.

The commercial -- called "Lost Dog" -- shows a puppy that falls out of a truck ... and then overcomes all odds to find its way back home.

Problem is, when the little guy returns home ... he finds out the owner used GoDaddy to set up a website to sell the dog to a new owner.

Needless to say, people are PISSED -- with some animal rights groups saying the commercial supports puppy mills and other "inhumane breeding" practices. PETA went nuts over it ... saying, "anyone who sells a dog online is a callous jerk."

GoDaddy's CEO Blake Irving got the message loud and clear ... and tweeted, "What should have been a fun and funny ad clearly missed the mark and we will not air it."

GoDaddy says it will still use it's 30 second Super Bowl slot (after all, they paid $4 mil for it) ... though so far, it's unclear what will run in its place.

They say when God closes a door, he opens a window -- and for Josh Gordon, that door is being an NFL star receiver ... but the window is selling Fords in Randolph, Ohio.

Gordon is facing a possible one-year suspension for allegedly failing another drug and alcohol test.

But TMZ Sports has learned he's already got a plan B, if he wants it -- his old job hawking cars and SUVs for Sarchione Auto Group is once again available. If you remember, Gordon worked there in 2014 during his 10 game suspension ... and Senior Sales Associate Mike Sabatine says the dealership would love to have him back.

Despite Josh's repeated troubles with pot and booze -- Sabatine says he never saw Josh drink or smoke, and says the guy he knew busted his ass on the job "just like the rest of us."

Marshawn Lynch is being hammered with questions at Super Bowl media day.

His answer to all of them?

"I'm just here so I won't get fined."

Marshawn sat in front of the microphones sporting his sunglasses and a backpack -- and repeated over and over again, "Hey, I'm just here so I don't get fined."

He's said it at least 20 times already.

As you probably know, the NFL just fined Lynch $20k for grabbing his crotch during a TD celebration in the NFC championship game.

#Amazing.

Rob Gronkowski just read a passage from the erotic novel he inspired ... "A Gronking to Remember" ... and it's ... it's so Gronk.

The line -- "In front of the entire country, Gronk’s spike impacts right between my buttcheeks."

Definitely the best thing that happened at Super Bowl media day in Arizona Tuesday.

Of course, the novel (written by Lacey Noonan) made headlines when it was made available on Amazon.com.

And if you're still thirsty for more ... here's Gilbert Gottfried sharing a bit more. Enjoy.

Engaged WNBA stars Brittney Griner and Glory Johnson are 6'8" and 6'3" respectively, so when it came time to find a wedding gown ... they needed help from the folks at "Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta."

And it wasn't easy. According to our sources, it will actually be Johnson who will be wearing the dress ... while Griner will go with a suit.

During the taping of the episode, set to air Friday on TLC, we're told Glory had to try on a bunch of dresses to find one that fits right ... cause most brides didn't average 9.2 rebounds/game last season.

Boxing champ Jermain Taylor has been ordered to undergo a mental evaluation ... after a string of arrests and strange behavior that clearly raised some red flags with an Arkansas judge.

Taylor's own attorneys had asked the judge to move the 36-year-old to a state hospital for a full mental evaluation ... after he turned himself in for allegedly firing a gun during an altercation with a family at a Martin Luther King Day parade.

As we previously reported, Taylor kinda sorta acknowledged he fired the gun in a bizarre YouTube video ... in which he blamed his outburst on the fact that several kids at the parade did not have candy.

Taylor has been charged with aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of a minor for the incident. Prosecutors believe Taylor is a danger to himself and others.

The results of Taylor's mental evaluation are scheduled to be presented to the court in April.

"Everybody is saying this isn't the Jermain Taylor they know," Taylor's attorney told ArkansasOnline.com ... "We're trying to figure out who in the heck it is."

Talk about holding a grudge ... country music superstar Travis Tritt says he REFUSES to root for the Dallas Cowboys ever again -- all because of something that went down 26 years ago.

Tritt was leaving Mastro's Steakhouse in Beverly Hills Monday night when he told us he's still bitter at Jerry Jones for the way he axed legendary head coach Tom Landry back in 1989.

FYI -- Jones had JUST bought the team when he rushed in and blew out the entire Cowboys coaching staff ... a move Landry (and scores of Dallas fans) felt was completely disrespectful.

It's in the hole!!!

Just 8 days after Tiger Woods was spotted in Italy with a missing tooth, the golf superstar surfaced in Phoenix today with a FULL SET of chompers.

Tiger was flashing all of his pearly whites at the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale ... with no weird skull mask thing to cover his face.

And get this ... Woods doubled down on his previous story that the front tooth was knocked out by a photographer at his GF's World Cup alpine race in Italy ... saying:

"The photographer changed positions and I got hit. It was an accident. ... And yes there was blood everywhere. All good now."

While most of the East Coast was hunkering down in the blizzard, NY Yankees legend Derek Jeter wasn't even rockin' a coat -- strollin' around Bev Hills in a pair of ripped jeans like it was '86 all over again.

Jeter's out in L.A. (we're told he's taking meetings with some Hollywood people) -- and Monday night we ran into #2 on his way out of Mastro's Steakhouse.

FYI -- apparently, distressed jeans are "in" ... at least according to GQ and Women's Wear Daily, which recently published an article saying:

"After a few years of dark denim dominance, it's only natural that distressed denim would reenter the game with rips and tears galore."

Def Leppard is so happy right now ...

It's not the fact it costs $4 MILLION for 30 seconds, "Shark Tank" star Kevin O'Leary tells TMZ Sports there's another big problem when it comes to Super Bowl advertising.

Mr. Wonderful hit up Craig's in L.A. for dinner Monday -- when he explained why spending the money could be a great investment for the right company ... just not for him.

Eli Manning claims he doesn't give a crap about the pressure in his footballs -- and says the fact that Tom Brady obsesses over it seems incredibly strange to him ... and TMZ Sports has the footage.

The 2-time Super Bowl champ was a guest speaker at a private function at the New York Athletic Club last week when he was asked for his opinion on Deflate-Gate.

"I never worried really much about the inflation," Manning said ... "I thought it was kind of strange that [Tom] Brady knew he liked his ball at 12.5 pounds of pressure in the ball."

"That's the minimum number you can have ... seems kind of strange to me."

But get this, Manning says he's not convinced the pressure in the ball "is that big of a deal" ... and claims the Brady scandal is the first he's ever heard of an issue with inflation.

Manning -- who seems to be the bane of New England's existence when it comes to Super Bowls -- also told the crowd what he thinks could be the key to another Seattle victory.

Do you like mystery novels? Do you like mystery novels that have secret jail messages from Aaron Hernandez to other inmates hidden inside them? Then you might be in luck ...

We broke the story ... Hernandez was investigated for trying to sneak notes to other inmates at Bristol County Jail in 2013 by allegedly penning messages inside jail library books ... which the other inmates would then check out. It's pretty Shawshankian stuff.

Now, one of the books that Aaron allegedly used to pass the notes has hit eBay -- asking price? $2,000. The seller is keeping the contents of the note secret as part of the sales appeal.

The seller, who wishes to remain anonymous, tells TMZ Sports he got the book from a guy who managed to sneak it out of the clink. More Shawshankian stuff.

And get this ... the book is "Bad Boy Brawly Brown" by Walter Mosley ... a crime novel about the fictional Easy Rawlins ... a man who faced murder charges in a previous Mosley story.

In the books (spoiler alert), Rawlins was able to prove his innocence and beat the rap.

Wonder if Hernandez chose this particular book hoping life imitates art ... or if it just happened to be the only writing he could grab.

Young, rich, single NFL players better get chicks to sign contracts before taking them out on dates ... at least that's how former Steelers superstar Hines Ward sees it.

The ex Super Bowl champ went on Meredith Vieira's talk show and said single NFL players are being targeted by conniving women. Ward's point seemed to be that these women are falsely accusing players in domestic violence cases.

Pretty bold statement -- and Ward even went on to suggest single players get something in writing with their dates.

The NFL has zeroed in on a New England Patriots locker room attendant who might be the cuplrit behind the deflated football scandal ... this according to a new report.

According to Jay Glazer and FOX Sports, surveillance video allegedly shows the attendant taking footballs from the official's locker room and going into another room at Gillette Stadium before bringing them to the field.

The attendant in question has already been interviewed by the league, according to Glazer. The NFL is trying to determine if any wrongdoing occurred.

Dennis Rodman says he's constantly the target of vicious death threats ... all because of his trip to North Korea ... and it's clearly taking one hell of an emotional toll on the NBA legend.

The Worm nearly broke down during an interview scene in the new documentary "Dennis Rodman’s Big Bang In Pyongyang" ... in which he tries to explain why he was so passionate about going to N. Korea in the first place.

"I get death threats a lot," Rodman said ... "People ask, why are you doing this Dennis? I'm just trying to keep everything together."

Rodman also calls out Jay-Z and Beyonce -- claiming the couple is way more famous than he is, but aren't willing to risk what he risks in order to make the world a better place.