TMZ Sports - Page 50

Chad Johnson just proved he's the best Twitter pal in the history of the freakin' world ... 'cause the former Pro Bowler just forked over $1,000 to one of his followers ... so she could have a good b-day.

We spoke to Heather Torregano -- @DaRealNette on Twitter -- and she tells TMZ Sports this all started when she tweeted a link to a GoFundMe account she started to try to raise some money for b-day plans.

"I work as a waitress and a bartender, plus I pay out of my pocket to go to school. I was just trying to have a good birthday, I haven't had one in a long time."

She said she was as surprised as anyone when she checked the account and saw a PHAT $1,000 donation from Johnson who she says has been following her on Twitter for a couple of years.

Torregano says ... when she saw Johnson accounted for nearly HALF of her goal of $1,600 in one fell swoop, she was overcome with emotion.

"I cried, honestly. I was expecting people to give maybe like $20 or $50 ... but a full $1,000? There is no way I could have expected that."

Former pro wrestling star Bill Goldberg says the accident that took the life of a Mexican wrestling star this past weekend was a freak occurrence ... telling TMZ Sports pro wrestling is as safe ever.

Goldberg was out in L.A. when we asked him about the tragic death of 35-year-old Mexican wrestling star El Hijo Del Perro Aguayo who passed away after his spine was snapped during a match last weekend.

Aquayo lay motionless on the ropes for nearly two minutes after the injury, with the other wrestlers apparently thinking it was all part of the show.

Goldberg, a former WCW champion, says despite the horrific nature of the injury wrestling is totally safe, noting that it's VERY rare that these types of accidents happen.

"Name the amount of people who've died in the ring over the past 50 years."

We also asked Bill if he thought the WWE should do any sort of tribute to the fallen star at this weekend's Wrestlemania, and Goldberg thought it was definitely the way to go.

"Millionaire Matchmaker" star Candace Smith made the perfect love connection on an L.A. beach Tuesday ... between her ass and the paparazzi.

Candace -- a former beauty queen -- hit the sand for some volleyball and a pigskin toss (looks like she has game) ... with her pal ex-Miss USA Susie Castillo.

Like all finely tuned athletes ... Candace knows nothing's more important than stretching. Well, that and a very small bikini.

Despite the fact he'll be locked up for the next 9 years, convicted rapist Darren Sharper is still eligible to be elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame -- and based on his numbers alone, there's a real possibility it could happen.

TMZ Sports spoke with Joe Horrigan -- Executive V.P. of the Selection Process for the Pro Football HOF -- who tells us there's nothing in the bylaws preventing a convicted criminal from being enshrined in Canton.

Horrigan says as long as the player has been out of the league for 5 years and has made at least 1 All-Pro team ... that person is eligible.

That being said ... the Exec. V.P. says it's POSSIBLE voters will take Sharper's crimes into account when voting for the former New Orleans Saints superstar -- but they're not supposed to.

FYI ... Sharper played 14 seasons in the league and was a 6-time All-Pro ... widely considered one of the best safeties of his era.

Sharper last played in 2010 ... so he would be eligible as early as 2016.

Hockey Hall of Famer Jeremy Roenick says he desperately wanted to be on "Dancing with the Stars" -- but was forced to turn down the gig because of a major political conflict.

Unclear when Roenick was approached by the ABC show -- but the ex-Philadelphia Flyers superstar says he woulda DOMINATED in the ball room ... telling TMZ Sports, "I woulda been awesome."

Roenick clearly LOVES to get down -- and famously busted out his moves on the ice during his playing days.

BTW -- there's more in the clip ... including an update on one of his most famous beefs. Check out the clip ... Roenick's one of the nicest guys around.

Justin Bieber has a HUGE fan in the PGA -- Masters champion Bubba Watson ... who tells TMZ Sports he thinks the two should hook up to form the ULTIMATE BOY BAND!!

Watson was rockin' his green jacket out in NYC today when we asked about "The Golf Boys" -- his pop group comprised of fellow gold studs Rickie Fowler, Ben Crane and Hunter Mahan.

Check this out ... the GBs have already released 2 music videos ... and their hit "Oh Oh Oh " has more than 7 MILLION views on YouTube!!!

So, how does Bieber come in to the picture? Check out the clip.

If you needed more proof that the Tampa Bay Bucs stud Mike Evans is an athletic freak, TMZ Sports has video of the 6'5" wideout dunking in a pick-up game and we gotta say ... the dude has bounce.

Evans, who tore up the NFL in his rookie season, was visiting his high school down in Galveston, TX when he decided to take time out to show the local kids what a world class athlete looks like.

Watch, admire, be afraid NFL cornerbacks.

There was a civil war in Mexico surrounding the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight -- TECATE VERSUS CORONA -- but now ... one beer has finally obtained the rights to be the official cerveza of the fight!

Here's the tale of the tape ... Tecate has been a long-time sponsor of Pacquiao -- while Corona has often backed Mayweather.

According to promoter Bob Arum, both companies were dead set on buying the rights ... which led to a good old fashioned BIDDING WAR!!

But when it comes to beer sponsors, there can only be uno ... and according to Arum, the winner was TECATE ... which bid $5.6 MILLION!!!!

"We've never seen anything like that on a beer sponsor," Arum told ESPN ... "Both companies were after it. It's a huge number."

Arum says Tecate's bid was $400k higher than Corona.

The pimp hand of justice just ruled in Blake Griffin's favor -- because officials have decided to DROP the battery case against the NBA star after they couldn't prove he actually slapped a guy in a Vegas nightclub.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Griffin was charged with battery stemming from an incident at Tao nightclub on October 19th ... when he allegedly put the 5 fingers to some dude's face for snapping a pic without Blake's permission. The man also claimed Blake grabbed his neck and squeezed.

Blake denied the allegations -- and now we're told the charge has been formally dropped after Griffin's attorney Richard Schonfeld provided prosecutors with multiple witness statements contradicting the accuser's story.

Tiki Barber is no Joe Giudice ... telling TMZ Sports he and his wife are NOT going to sign on for the next season of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" ... despite reports to the contrary.

The former NY Giants running back and his wife Traci Lynn Johnson were leaving The Palm in NYC when we asked about rumblings that Traci Lynn was in talks to replace Teresa Giudice ... since she's currently locked up.

But the couple shot down that rumor faster than Teresa could flip a table -- telling TMZ Sports, "Don't believe everything you read."

UFC honcho Dana White has a message for Laila Ali -- if you're serious about fighting Ronda Rousey ... CALL ME UP!!!!

White was leaving Mastro's Steakhouse in Beverly Hills -- when he made it very clear he's interested in setting up a fight between Muhammad Ali's daughter and the reigning UFC women's champ.

But whether they step into the ring to box ... or climb into the octagon for an MMA match ... White says one thing's for sure -- Rousey will beat the living crap out of Ali.

"[Ronda's] actually the best fighter in the world ... Laila Ali would be in big trouble against Ronda Rousey."

Ronda Rousey says she's VERY CONFIDENT she could beat Laila Ali in a boxing match -- telling TMZ Sports she just needs some time to learn the ropes.

It's no joke ... Ronda was out in NYC Monday when we asked how she felt about the undefeated former boxing champ's recent call-out ... when Laila told us no woman alive could take her in the ring.

But Ronda begs to differ ... saying she'd wreck Muhammad Ali's daughter -- even if the fight didn't go to the mat, where Ronda would clearly have the advantage (arm bar anyone?!).

Ronda also had some tough talk for Houston Texans cheerleader Antonieta Osuna -- a former boxer who recently told us she wants a piece of the UFC champ too.

Check out the clip -- Rousey says it's not just her insane athletic skills that would propel her to victory, it's her championship mentality.

Gilbert Arenas is being sued by his longtime girlfriend Laura Govan -- the mother of his 4 kids -- who claims Gilbert kicked her out of their L.A. mansion and then sold off her $1 million engagement ring.

TMZ Sports has obtained court docs filed by Govan ... in which she claims her and Gilbert are in the middle of a NASTY split.

In the docs, the "Basketball Wives LA" star claims she started dating Gilbert in 2002 ... before he made nearly $200 million in NBA contract money.

The two never had a formal wedding, but Laura claims they "lived together as husband and wife" and Gilbert promised that she would "share equally" in all of his earnings from 2003 on ... as if they were legally married.

Govan says the relationship fell apart around the end of 2014 ... when Gilbert "notified [Laura] to vacate the premises" of their home.

To make matters worse, Laura says Gilbert then "forcefully took" the $1 million engagement ring he gave to her in 2008 and sold it without her permission.

Now, Laura says she wants her cut of the Arenas fortune -- which she says includes profits from a number of marijuana clinics which she says Gilbert owns.

Michael Sam's performance at this weekend's NFL veteran's combine may have been the final nail in his NFL coffin -- with multiple GMs, agents and scouts saying he wasn't just bad ... but "flat out horrible."

After Sam posted unimpressive numbers, including a slower 40-yard dash time than he posted at the 2014 rookie combine ... multiple high powered NFL sources tell us they believe there's no chance Sam makes an NFL roster this season.

As one big time NFL agent put it ... "My real honest opinion is that he was flat out horrible. He did not belong out there."

An NFL scout who was at the combine tells TMZ Sports he looked stiff and slow ... but says Sam's attitude was even worse. "He thinks he's a superstar. It would be nice if he could do something on the field to back up the attitude."

As for the NFL general managers ... one person says, "The concern was that he didn't look focused on the game. He regressed."

Another high powered NFL agent, who represents multiple Pro Bowlers, tells TMZ Sports ... "Here was a chance to show his determination and dedication and the GMs didn't see that."

"I think there's a chance he could play in the Canadian Football League. He sells tickets. He attracts fans. And from there you never know."

Tom Brady likes his buns toasted ... Gisele Bundchen's that is.

Tom dropped back to his Costa Rican beachfront estate with Gisele and the fam for his annual off-season vacay.

Sure, Tom has a shiny new trophy that says otherwise -- but, from this angle, it's clear the real MVP in this family wears a bikini. A very small green bikini.

Yeah, we know what you're thinking ... #FML.

Darren Sharper will be sentenced to 20 years in Louisiana for raping 3 women, but he will only serve 9 of those years behind bars ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Media reports saying Sharper will serve 20 years for the Louisiana rapes are incorrect.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... Louisiana prosecutors have agreed in the plea deal, after serving 9 years Sharper will get credit for the remaining 11 while free on parole and probation.

We're told the Louisiana sentence will be served concurrently with sentences in California, Nevada and Arizona. All 4 states require Sharper behind bars for 9 years or less, so 9 is the operative number.