TMZ Sports - Page 50

Hope Solo says she's desperately trying to change for the better -- and says she's seeing a therapist for the first time in her life to deal with "all of the pain and anger that was inside of me."

The Team USA soccer star opened up about her personal issues on her blog -- saying she spent her 30-day suspension seeking help from multiple doctors.

As we previously reported, Solo's suspension followed an incident where Hope dropped the "Do you know who I am?" card when her husband was being arrested for DUI while driving a team van.

"I’d been a mess emotionally and mentally, and spent most nights crying with my roommate away from the team," Hope said.

Solo says she fired off an email to teammates to let them know what she had been doing with her time off -- saying:

"I told them that for the first time in my life, I’d been seeing a therapist and dealing with a lot of my issues, and finally addressing all the pain and anger that was inside of me."

"Twice a week, I also worked with an Eastern medicine healer in Seattle who had incredible experience helping some of the greatest athletes perform at the highest levels. He really helped me see things in a different light."

"I wanted them to know that I hadn’t just taken 30 days off. Ultimately, I wanted to be a better person and teammate, and that’s what I’d been focused on."

Mitt Romney wants NO PIECE of Barack Obama -- telling TMZ Sports he'd rather get in the ring with Evander Holyfield ... because he won't pick a fight he knows he can't win!

Romney and the "Real Deal" are all set to face off in a charity boxing match on May 15th in Utah to raise money for a charity that helps poverty-stricken people get blindness-reversing surgeries.

But when we asked if he'd go toe-to-toe with his presidential rival from 2012 -- Romney backed down ... saying, "I tried that. I didn't win. You may not have noticed."

If you're gonna be in Vegas for the big fight ... and you're not at an MGM property ... you may be S.O.L. -- because MGM honchos are blocking competitors from showing Mayweather vs. Pacquiao ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Here's what we know ... MGM has an exclusivity deal which blocks rival hotels on the Vegas Strip from showing the fight -- and that includes in-room, in bars, in the casino ... anywhere.

Of course, the fight is happening at the MGM Grand on May 2nd -- and clearly, the company is looking to completely corner the local market.

We contacted several non-MGM properties which confirmed the blockage -- and a rep for a major rival hotel told us, "We aren't able to air the fight, that's true. And our guests won't be able to have it in-room either. It's a contract the MGM has. Unfortunately, it blacks out non-MGM properties."

Vegas is expecting hundreds of thousands of people to come in to town for the fight -- and now it seems they'll all have to fight for space at one of the MGM's 14 Vegas properties.

Good luck.

One of Wilt Chamberlain's former teammates is calling out the NBA legend -- telling TMZ Sports there's NO WAY he took down 20,000 women ... because he was too busy taking down McDonalds.

We spoke with Tom Hawkins -- who played 2 seasons with Wilt on the Lakers back in the '60s -- and he's adamant that Wilt "The Stilt" must have inflated his numbers in his tell-all book.

"I played with him for 2 years ... I doubt his numbers are correct."

And why is Tommy (who played 10 solid years in the NBA) so steadfast in his belief?

"Because too many nights I saw him going back to the hotel with nothing but a bag of McDonalds."

The Stanley Cup will never make it rain -- ever -- because the most famous trophy in pro sports is NOT ALLOWED inside strip clubs anymore ... this according to the Cup's official NHL guardian.

TMZ Sports spoke with Mike Bolt -- who was appointed to be official "Keeper of the Cup" back in 2000 -- and the guy says Stanley's days of chillin' with adult entertainers ended in 1994.

So why the rule? According to legend ... the NHL put its foot down after Mark Messier brought it to Scores in NYC after winning the Cup ... and exposed it to some naughty behavior.

"Those days are over," Bolt told us when asked specifically about the policy regarding strip clubs.

And while Bolt didn't exactly confirm or deny the rumors surrounding Messier -- he notes that the '94 Rangers were the last team to celebrate without the "every player gets a day with the cup" policy.

Great news for the Still family -- Cincinnati Bengals lineman Devon Still just announced his 4-year-old daughter Leah is WINNING her battle against cancer .... because it's officially in remission!!!

You know the back story ... Leah was diagnosed with Stage 4 neuroblastoma back in June and doctors said she had a 50/50 chance to live.

Despite the fact he wasn't supposed to make the team, the Bengals signed Devon to a contract so he would continue to get health insurance to cover Leah's medical bills.

Leah's been fighting like hell ever since ... and Wednesday, Devon announced the tide has turned in her favor.

"Today we received news from Leah's oncologist that her cancer, stage four neuroblastoma, is officially in REMISSION! After 296 days of daydreaming about what it would feel like to hear the doctors say my daughter is in remission, I finally know the feeling."

"When I look at my daughter all I can do is smile and hug her."

"I'm so proud and blessed to call her my daughter. She has made an impact on me and on the world, at the age of four, that I can only wish to make in a lifetime."

Thank you to my family and friends for the support through all those tough days. Thank you to everyone who has sent a letter to give Leah and our family motivation to keep fighting, a toy that helped Leah get through her days in the hospital, and more importantly a prayer that helped God hear our cries for healing."

He added, "Thank you to the Bengals for taking on my situation and standing by me and my family and for helping to raise money to fight pediatric cancer."

Several NFL Hall of Famers tell TMZ Sports ... they are united AGAINST the possibility of Darren Sharper joining their elite group ... with one star putting it bluntly, "He isn't getting in."

As we previously reported, Sharper is still eligible to make the HOF -- despite the fact he's a convicted rapist -- because voters are instructed to IGNORE the players' off-the-field lives.

But multiple former NFL stars who are currently enshrined in Canton tell us they don't like the fact that Sharper could join them one day. Here are some of the strongest quotes:

John Randle (inducted 2010) -- "My gut says he'll never get in. At the end of the day, it looks bad upon the Hall if someone in prison for rape receives that honor. It taints the group."

Willie Roaf ( inducted 2012) -- "If Sharper was inducted, it would shine a bad light on the Hall. He would have to do a complete image makeover. I don't know if that's possible."

Dan Hampton (inducted 2002) -- "Darren Sharper has no business being considered for induction into this exclusive fraternity. The systematic commission of these heinous crimes that [he] has committed should preclude him from any HOF consideration. Simple as that."

found a nice quiet place to curl up with her book Tuesday night ... the NY Rangers game ... where the actress took in several pages without anyone bothering her.

While the Rangers fell to the Kings 4-2, SJP was burying her nose in a book called "Astonish Me" by Maggie Shipstead.

The book is about a Soviet ballet star who defects to the United States in 1975 ... and clearly Parker found it more riveting than watching a bunch of Slovakian hockey stars slapping pucks at each other for 60 minutes.

Beyonce might wanna watch her back, cause Serena Williams is channeling her inner Queen Bey -- and doing a pretty damn good job at it in a brand new video.

Serena -- the cover girl for April's issue of Vogue -- teamed up with the mag to take over the BallenIsles Country Club in Palm Beach for her own version of Beyonce's "7/11" music video.

We gotta say ... the results ain't half bad. Serena plays a little tennis, has a little fun, and even does a little twerking.

The blood is still VERY BAD between Bill Goldberg and Vince McMahon ... with the wrestling legend telling TMZ Sports there's NO WAY IN HELL he'd ever let his kid work for the WWE.

Goldberg was out in L.A. promoting Glory kickboxing ... when we asked if his 8-year-old son, Gage -- an aspiring Muay Thai fighter -- would ever follow his bone-crushing footsteps into the WWE.

"One thing's for sure ... I'll buy a company and have him work for ME before he went into the WWE."

Of course, Goldberg left the WWE on bad terms in 2004 -- and trashed Vince on his way out.

In fact, he gave an interview in 2011 saying, "I can't really say anything positive about the man. I'ts like working for a carny who's driven only by his ego."

Evelyn Lozada is getting back into the reality TV game -- starring in a brand new series with her MLB superstar fiance Carl Crawford ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Lozada spent 5 seasons on "Basketball Wives" before taking a hiatus from reality ... but now she's hooked up with Oprah Winfrey's OWN Network as star and exec producer of "Evelyn" (working title).

Sources connected to the show tell us the series will focus on Evelyn's relationship -- and raising their 1-year-old son ... while already being a parent to a smokin' hot 21-year-old daughter, Shaniece.

So far, no word if any of Crawford's L.A. Dodgers teammates are scheduled to appear on the show ... but with attention-loving stars like Yasiel Puig on the Blue Crew ... we wouldn't rule it out.

If there's anyone who knows what it takes to bounce back after being humiliated on a national scale, it's NY Congressman Charlie Rangel ... who has some advice for A-Rod on how to weather the storm.

TMZ Sports spoke with Rangel out in D.C. -- and asked how Alex Rodriguez could get back into the good graces of Yankees fans ... following his second PED scandal.

Rangel knows a thing or two about image rehab -- he was infamously found guilty of multiple House ethics violations in 2010 (including failing to pay taxes) and was forced to beg for mercy on the House floor.

So, what advice does he have for the disgraced MLB star? Rangel didn't hold back.

The only thing UFC badass Conor McGregor might hate more than Jose Aldo ... is Lucky Charms ... telling TMZ Sports it's not only NOT popular in his home country ... but it's TOTAL CRAP!!!

McGregor -- who's fighting Aldo at UFC 189 in Vegas in July -- was out in L.A when we asked about the cereal trends back in Ireland ... and Conor told us the "magically delicious" cereal couldn't be further from an authentic Irish breakfast (shocking, we know).

Plus, Conor says ... "I don't eat those sugar filled pieces of garbage."

French Montana serenaded a bunch of 13-year-olds with a song celebrating cocaine ... at a very fancy schmancy Bar Mitzvah!

It was all in good fun, as the youngest son of Minnesota Vikings owner Mark Wilf transitioned into manhood Saturday at the ridiculously expensive Cipriani restaurant in NYC.

French got the kids turnt up with 'I'm in Love with the CoCo.' Andrew the Bar Mitzvah boy made his entrance in a hamster ball with exploding confetti.

And famed electric violinist Irene Fong did her thing in front of the crowd.

We have no idea how much Wilf dropped on the shindig, but we know French's going rate is $100k for private functions.

This might be a record ... but former NBA star Larry Johnson has been accused of being a deadbeat dad ... BY FOUR WOMEN AT THE SAME TIME ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Johnson wasn't just a stud on the court ... but the 46-year-old apparently lived up to his last name in the bedroom as well, siring 5 kids with 4 different women over the years.

It gets worse ... Johnson, the #1 overall pick in the 1991 NBA Draft, filed for bankruptcy in California earlier this month ... claiming he's racked up more than $300k in debts.

A chunk of those debts, according to the docs, are owed to the 4 baby mamas -- who claim LJ owes more than $120k in unpaid child support payments.

So, where'd all that Grandmama money go? We reached out to LJ for comment -- so far, no word back.

You ever see a fashion item that you just NEEDED TO HAVE???

NBA star Richard Jefferson did -- a Vans cheetah-print snapback baseball hat ... and he paid $700 to buy it off some random dude's head!!!

RJ was at Hi Fi Kitchen & Cocktails in Scottsdale, AZ Saturday night -- when a dude named Andrew walked in with the cheetah cap.

Andrew tells TMZ Sports ... the Dallas Mavs star beelined it over his way with cash in hand ... and started making offers for the dome piece. Andrew declined at first ... but ultimately gave in for a handful of $100 bills -- 7 in total.

So, why was Jefferson so obsessed with the hat? Andrew says RJ actually purchased the lid for teammate Chandler Parsons ... who was also eyeing the cap that night.

The best part of the story -- Andrew says he originally bought the hat for $25.

Not a bad return on investment.