TMZ Sports - Page 50

Colin Kaepernick to Odell Beckham?!

Yeah, it happened during a private workout session back in July ... and it's all on video.

Colin and Odell connected at UCLA for some QB, WR work --  they ran routes, Colin worked on throwing on the run and flexed his arm strength.

And, get this ... Odell showed up to the workout wearing a Colin Kaepernick #7 jersey.

Kap has been trying to showcase his skills recently in the hopes an NFL team will give him a workout. So far it hasn't happened, but he's still trying.

Just this week, Houston Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins vouched for Kaepernick during an interview with GQ magazine -- claiming the guy is clearly good enough to help an NFL team win.

Hopkins says he was upset when the Texans passed over Kap when they needed a QB in 2017 following an injury to Deshaun Watson.

The promotional tour for the massive Andy Ruiz vs. Anthony Joshua rematch is officially underway -- the fighters faced off in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday ... guaranteeing another slugfest.

The reality is ... this was no trash-talking, expletive-filled, racist, ugly sideshow (a la Mayweather vs. McGregor), these guys showed nothing but class and respect for each other.

Of course, Ruiz upset Joshua at Madison Square Garden to win all of his championship belts when they faced off in June -- and Andy says he's motivated to show the world it was no fluke.

Ruiz essentially said he doesn't want to be known as a 1-hit wonder -- he wants to solidify a legacy as one of the greatest heavyweight fighters of all time!!!

Of course, Joshua says he's determined to get his belts back ... and warns Ruiz he won't get the benefit of home country advantage this time around.

So, how will the fight go? Ruiz put it best ... "Two big heavyweights punching each other in the face."

The "Fastest Woman on Four Wheels" was traveling at a breathtakingly incredible speed for well over a minute -- with no signs of trouble -- just before her fatal jet-car crashed.

This video of Jessi Combs' final ride -- obtained by TMZ -- shows the professional racer absolutely flying across the Alvord Desert in Oregon last week as she attempted to break the land-speed record she'd previously set in 2016.

Shortly after this footage ends, the vehicle started to come apart. As we reported, Combs' jet-powered car crashed and killed her. Photos of the wreckage show the 56-foot-long jet-car -- called the North American Eagle -- was destroyed with only a few parts even recognizable after the horrific accident.

According to the Harney County Sheriff's Office ... the cause of the crash is still unknown and under investigation.

Along with setting land-speed records that earned Jessi her moniker -- she was a TV personality with notable appearances on "MythBusters" and "Overhaulin'."

Spanish Olympic skier Blanca Fernandez Ochoa was found dead in the Guadarrama Mountains outside Madrid on Wednesday ... nearly 2 weeks after going missing. She was 56 years old.

The 1992 bronze medalist was last seen on August 23 and was reported missing by her daughter ... sparking a massive search operation with drones, helicopters and volunteers to find the world-class athlete.

There's a lot of questions about her death that have just not been answered yet -- including why she left home without her cell phone and credit cards ... and how she ended up at that location. We'll post more information as it becomes available.

Fernandez Ochoa's abandoned Mercedes vehicle was found on Sunday ... and an off-duty officer found her body early Wednesday morning.

Fernandez Ochoa competed in 4 Winter Olympics in the '80s and '90s ... becoming the first Spanish woman to take home a medal in the 1992 winter games in France when she won the bronze in the slalom.

WARNING: If you hear a chopper outside covering a massive bike race near your house, TAKE THE WEED PLANTS OFF THE ROOF!!!

That's the lesson some poor marijuana enthusiast in Spain learned the hard way ... when his rooftop weed farm was exposed on live TV.

It all went down during the Vuelta a Espana race on Saturday ... when a TV crew helicopter was following the cyclists as they raced through Barcelona.

At one point, you can see a rooftop with a BUNCH of green plants ... and someone decided to snitch to the cops that it looks like pot.

Police say they acted on the tips, raided the building and ultimately seized 40 PLANTS!!!

Despite the score, cops say they have not made any arrests but they're investigating.

In Spain, it's legal to have weed for personal use -- but it's been outlawed for commercial purposes.

Dramatic twist of events in Chris Jericho's famous stolen belt case ... cops say they found the wrestling legend's hardware -- but then quickly backtracked, and said they didn't!!!

As we previously reported, after winning the AEW championship on Saturday ... Jericho filed a police report with the Tallahassee PD in Florida on Sunday, claiming his belt was jacked.

The story is confusing ... but according to police docs, Jericho says there was some kind of mix-up involving his limo driver at the airport that led to his belt's disappearance.

Fast-forward to Wednesday morning ... when cops heroically announced on social media they found the belt, with a picture of what appears to be a TPD officer holding the hardware!!!

But, when TMZ Sports called to confirm the news ... they would not say if the belt had been indeed found, saying only, "It's still an open and active investigation."

Then, the department deleted the social media post AND the picture of the found belt ... which has us all wondering, WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!?!

Either way, doesn't seem Jericho's all that concerned about it ... dude just posted a vid of him sipping champagne in a hot tub!!!

Cops say they'll make an announcement about the belt later Wednesday ... so stay tuned.

Antonio Brown is calling out his own team -- claiming the Raiders are "hating" on him by fining him nearly $54,000 for missing practices and workouts.

The Oakland Raiders WR posted a photo of the disciplinary letter he got from Raiders GM Mike Mayock, explaining why he was docked $13,950 for missing a walk through on August 22 and $40,000 for missing training camp on August 18.

Brown was MIA on both of those dates due to issues with his helmet -- it's been well-documented and was a main story line on "Hard Knocks."

Brown has since returned to practice and has a helmet he likes -- but clearly, he didn't expect to get hit with fines ... especially with head coach Jon Gruden defending him publicly.

"When your own team want to hate but there's no stopping me now," Brown said on social media.

"Devil is a lie. Everyone got to pay this year so we clear," he added.

FYI, August 18 is the day Mayock called out Brown to the media -- saying he either needs to be "all in or all out."

August 22 was a preseason game and, while AB was in attendance, the Raiders claim he blew off the pregame walk through.

The NFL regular season kicks off this week -- the Raiders play the Broncos on Monday Night Football -- and ya gotta wonder how this new drama will affect him on the field.

Here's a transcript of the letter Maytock sent to Brown informing him of the fines.

"As you know, you did not participate in the Raiders' walk through on August 22. Your absence from practice was unexcused. Accordingly, you are hereby fined $13,950 pursuant to Article 42, Section 1 (a)(viii) of the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement and the Raiders' Club Discipline Schedule. 

You were previously fined $40,000 for missing Raiders' preseason training camp on August 18. Please be advised that should you continue to miss mandatory team activities including practices and g ames, the Raiders reserve the right to impose additional remedies available under the Club's Discipline Schedule, the CBS and your NFL Player Contract, including but not limited to, additional fines and discipline for engaging in Conduct Detriminetal to the Club. 

Ever seen a black mamba go backwards????

Now ya have ... 'cause Kobe Bryant just backpedaled completely on his stance that he would've won a ton of rings if Shaq wasn't so damn lazy, saying, "I kinda said that tongue-in-cheek!"

Of course, Kobe poked fun at Shaq in an interview with Patrick Bet-David last month, saying he would've had 12 championships if the big man had worked harder ... and doubled down by claiming he tells that to Shaq all the time!

Shaq quickly fired back on social media, saying Kobe would've had those rings if he had just passed more!!!

The two squashed the beef publicly minutes later ... and when Kobe went on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' this week, he explained it's because he was actually PRAISING Shaq with the comments!

"Here's the thing, it was really a compliment," Kobe said. "People missed the whole first half of that in which I said he was the most dominant player I've ever seen and I felt like he could've been the greatest of all time."

"So, people kind of missed that part of it -- they caught onto the lazy part. But, that was like, I kinda said that tongue-in-cheek! We weren't going to win 12 rings!"

Kobe said he actually had to text the Big Diesel after the comments went viral, saying, "No hard feelings, I still got love for you!"

Bryant says he even followed that text up by buttering up to Shaq -- saying he can't wait to watch Shareef O'Neal ball at UCLA this year.

A gigantic bull pulled a Ron Artest at an event in Spain -- leaping into the stands to go after the fans in an attempt to save his own life.

It all went down during a festival in Caparroso, Spain -- when the bull entered the ring and seemed to know its own fate ... ultimately deciding it was better to make a break for it.

We should say ... it's unclear if the event was a proper bullfight or a rodeo-style thing (without the matador and the stabbing), but what we do know is these things don't typically end well for the bull.

The bull lept over a wall and into the crowd before charging out of the stadium and onto the streets -- where spectators began running for their lives (oh, how the tables turned!).

The local mayor says the bull was eventually captured -- though its fate is unknown.

As we previously reported, a different bull went after a matador during a bullfight in Spain last month -- goring the dude in the groin before he was eventually killed.

Serena Williams absolutely destroyed her opponent at the U.S. Open on Tuesday ... and NO ONE was happier for her than Tiger Woods ... who was losing his mind in the stands!!

The golf legend has been a spectator at the major tournament with his GF, Erica Herman, and his 10-year-old son, Charlie, this week ... even geeking out over meeting Rafael Nadal after his match on Monday.

Serena's 44-minute-long quarterfinal match against Wang Qiang was no different ... with Woods front and center for Williams' 6-1, 6-0 dominant performance ... and giving his classic fist pump celebration during the match!!

There were other huge names in the crowd to watch Serena ball out ... from her bestie, Priyanka Chopra, to NBA commish Adam Silver to Martha Stewart and singer James Blake.

As for Serena, next up is #5 ranked Elina Svitolina in the semifinals ... and if it's anything like what we saw on Tuesday, that woman's in trouble.

We spoke briefly with Serena in NYC on Wednesday morning -- and she told us if she wins the event this year, racking up her 24th grand slam ... she'll be back next year to try and claim #25!

Our guy also wished Serena's daughter a belated happy birthday -- and Serena politely reminded us that she's a Jehovah's Witness and therefore, they don't celebrate birthdays.

BJ Penn says he tried to WALK AWAY from the man he fought outside of a bar in Hawaii last month -- but claims the other guy snapped and attacked, leaving BJ to defend himself.

The UFC Hall of Famer is finally speaking out about that crazy incident outside of the Lava Shack on the Big Island where footage published by TMZ Sports showed Penn in a fist fight with another man. Penn was knocked down in the fight but eventually got up and smothered the man.

So, what happened? Penn told his side of the story to TSN ...

"I’m at a concert going to meet a friend that I’ve known since we were really young kids and I’m over there and an acquaintance of mine, he gets mad about something, you know something was said or it was an old past thing and then he wants to fight about it," Penn says.

"I was like, 'No, no, I don’t want to fight, we’re friends, everything is cool.' He even walks outside and I’m thinking, this is silly I’m going to go get him, calm him down and get him to come back inside and enjoy the concert, we’ve got some other friends there."

"I walk outside to go give the guy a hug and then he hits me twice and I’m like, 'No, calm down!'  I try to give him another hug and he hits me a couple more times and he hits me again."

"Finally my adrenaline picked up because he was hitting me so much so I said, 'Go ahead and hit me again.'"

Penn continues ... "I thought the guy would eventually just say forget it BJ, whatever, walk away, but he hit me -- and he hit me good and knocked me down -- and then when I got back up he tried it again and I just had to defend myself and that’s what you see in the second video."

Penn claims the videos were "edited" to cut out moments where Penn was trying to hug the other man. TMZ Sports did not cut a single frame out of the clips. We posted what we were able to obtain in its entirety.

During the TSN interview, Penn also touched on the OTHER recent bar fight he got into outside of a strip club on Oahu in June, another incident captured on video.

"There was another video on TMZ of me holding somebody on the ground ... I’m in the middle of a custody case right now and from that last one I already got a lot of flak from the custody evaluator, from their lawyer of course, from my lawyer."

"The last thing I want to do is get into any type of trouble, my custody case, me seeing my kids depends on all this stuff and it’s just really strange how things just happen and you never see this kind of stuff, but here I am in a custody case and this happened twice."

Ezekiel Elliott just got PAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIDDDDDDDDDDD!!!

The Dallas Cowboys superstar ended his holdout Wednesday by inking the most lucrative running back deal EVER -- signing a new 6-year, $90 MILLION extension to stay with the 'Boys!!!

Zeke had been away from Dallas camp all summer ... protesting the final two years of his rookie contract that were set to pay him just $3.85 million this year and $9 million in 2020.

But, Jerry Jones tore up that old deal and gave his star RB a fat new extension with $50 MILLION GUARANTEED ... which puts Zeke on track to play this weekend for the Giants.

In other words, Zeke will make $103 million over 8 years -- and according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, he's the 1st Cowboy to break the $100 million mark in total value, and is the richest RB contract.

That's right, fantasy owners -- BREATHE!!

As for Jerry and the 'Boys, seems this deal was a no-brainer ... everyone from Terrell Owens to Michael Irvin told TMZ Sports over the past few weeks Dallas HAS TO HAVE Elliott to win a Super Bowl this season.

Of course, there is some worry of rust ... Elliott hasn't taken a hit from an NFL player since he suited up for the Cowboys in their playoff game against the Rams last winter.

And, when we spoke to ex-NFL superstar Chris Johnson, he told us that concern is legitimate.

But, Dallas sure seems set to let him shake off all that dust this weekend ... Jason Garrett told reporters earlier this week the guy didn't need much practice to suit up against the Giants on Sunday.

As for what's next for the Cowboys ... Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper still need to be paid.

Keep that checkbook nearby, Jerry!

Meek Mill and Meghan Trainor will make a crucial visit to kids in Chicago to set the tone -- a $400k tone -- for the NFL and Roc Nation's nationwide social outreach.

Sources connected to the league tell us its Inspire Change program is donating $400,000 to 2 Chicago groups which give at-risk kids alternatives to gang and gun violence. Meek and Meghan -- as well as Vic Mensa and Rapsody -- will visit both programs this week.

We're told the groups were hand-selected and vetted by Roc Nation, which started working with the NFL when Jay-Z launched his new partnership with the league.

One of the groups is BBF (Better Boys Foundation) Family Services -- which, we're told, Vic and Rapsody will visit Wednesday. Founded in the 1960s ... BBF says it provides education, employment and youth services, as well as family health programs to more than 400 families.

The other group, Crushers Club, says its mission is to help Chicago kids "restore their lives and improve their neighborhoods." Meghan and Meek will be at Crusher's on Thursday ... ahead of their NFL Kickoff concert.

As we reported, Meek and Meghan came on board, not just to perform the NFL Kickoff concert, but as advocates for Inspire Change -- the league's arm to support player and team efforts to focus on education, police and community relation and criminal justice reform.

Marcellus Wiley says Colin Kaepernick should've never knelt in the first place ... because taking a knee was too divisive and not a good strategy to make change.

Wiley -- one of Kap's loudest critics -- sat down with Van Lathan on "The Red Pill Podcast" and when asked if Colin Kaepernick did the right thing by kneeling Wiley was clear.

"No. If I had to vote whether Kaepernick did right or did wrong I would vote wrong, because I'm into resources. I'm into materializing. I'm into monetizing."

The "Speak For Yourself" host went on to compare Kaepernick's fundraising to J.J. Watt's Hurricane Harvey fundraising, saying that Watt was able to raise more money because he was more inclusive.

"I watch J.J. Watt, different cause, different reason. Instead of being adversarial. In alliance, he raised $41.6 million on record. $2 million on record, $41.6 million on record.'

Lathan points out that Kap's protest and Watt's fundraising are two totally different causes, but Wiley then turned to the fact that Colin's silence is part of the reason he thinks his protest fell flat.

"I'm not going to stand up with that responsibility, and connect with the voiceless and powerless and then go silent on them."

We should say, Colin Kaepernick hasn't gone silent, he's reached out to kids through his Know Your Rights Camps, and has been an active lightning rod for social justice since he first started to protest, but it's obvious Wiley thinks he hasn't done enough.

Link to the full Red Pill Pod cast is below.

Antonio Brown is firing back at the celebrity chef who claims the receiver stiffed him out of $38,000 ... calling the cook a fraud who's only suing AB to try to get famous.

Stefano Tedeschi alleged in a lawsuit earlier this summer that Brown agreed to pay him $38,521.20 at the 2018 Pro Bowl in Florida for three days worth of cooking.

But, Tedeschi says things went haywire after he put a fish head in Brown's fridge, intending to make soup with it the next day.

He claims Brown flipped out when he saw it in the freezer, kicking him out ... and never paying him a dime after that.

In court docs just filed by Brown ... the receiver went scorched-earth on the guy, calling him a liar -- and accusing the chef of using him to pump up his brand.

"[Tedeschi's] complaint is nothing more than a fledgling action to promote the career of a chef who will use any attempt or frivolous claim to seek fame and/or fortune," Brown said in the lawsuit.

"It is plainly obvious that [Tedeschi] ... is simply wishing to force himself into the public eye through the filing of baseless claims against a notable celebrity."

In the docs -- filed in Florida by Brown's attorney, Darren Heitner -- Brown is asking a judge to throw out the case completely.

AB claims the alleged oral agreement is totally unenforceable ... and he doesn't owe the guy a single penny.

It appears Chris Jericho's AEW World Championship belt got SNATCHED ... 'cause the wrestling superstar claims his shiny new hardware was stolen over the weekend.

The 48-year-old filed a police report with Tallahassee PD in Florida on Sunday ... saying he landed at the airport and headed over to Longhorn Steakhouse for some food ... and somehow along the way the belt went missing.

It's confusing ... here's what the police doc says.

"The limo driver shuttled the victim to Longhorn for dinner. The victim remained at Longhorn while the limo driver returned to the airport. The victim had taken the wrong luggage from the airport and the driver took it back to the terminal. When the driver picked up the victim from the restaurant, the belt was missing."

It's unclear if the stolen (or lost) belt was the new AEW belt Jericho won on Saturday ... but it's likely it was.

According to the report, responding officers searched the limo and airport for the belt ... but couldn't come up with it.

In the report ... the victim is listed as Christopher “Jericho” Irvine, W/M, 11/9/70″

We've reached out to Jericho for comment ... so far, no word back.