TMZ Sports - Page 50

Warren Sapp let it all hang out for his special day ... stripping down to a skimpy mankini and showing off his birthday bod!!

The Hall of Fame defensive tackle turned 49 years old on Sunday ... and kickstarted his next trip around the sun with as minimal clothing as possible.

"49 never felt so Good since I wore it at Apopka!," Sapp said on Instagram ... referencing his old high school number. "#HappyBirthdayFatBoy"

Warren wasn't only wearing the banana hammock -- he made sure to have a diamond chain on as well.

Of course, Sapp was one of the greatest players of his time -- he is a Super Bowl champ, 4-time first-team All-Pro, 7-time Pro Bowler, and was named to the league's All-Decade teams in the 1990s and 2000s ... so he's definitely got a lot to celebrate.

Lawrence Taylor is fighting back in his sex offender case ... the NFL legend has pled not guilty to two felony charges, TMZ Sports has learned.

Court records show Taylor, through his attorney, submitted the pleas on Monday afternoon.

"Lawrence has pled not guilty and we will be working with the prosecutors on the case for a full dismissal," one of Taylor's lawyers, Arthur Aidala, tells us.

"There was some confusion as to Lawrence’s home address that has since been rectified."

As we previously reported, LT -- arguably the greatest New York Giant ever -- was arrested on Dec. 16 in Florida ... and ultimately charged with two felony counts of failure to register as a sexual offender.

Further details surrounding the case and the arrest have yet to be revealed, but Aidala said the day after Taylor was booked that it was all a big misunderstanding.

"Mr. Taylor was constantly a resident of the marital home where he was registered, but on advice of local law enforcement he was sleeping outside the home," Aidala said.

"We are confident that this will be dismissed at the first court hearing."

Amari Bailey might be son of the year -- 'cause the high school hoops star just copped his mom a brand new Porsche for the holidays!!

The Sierra Canyon combo guard revealed the amazing gift on Monday ... saying, "This year I wanted to kick off the holiday season a lil different and got my mom a car."

"Thank you for all of the sacrifices to even make this dream of mine come true. I love you ❤️. Thought I’d beat you to getting the whip for you tho."

His mama, Johanna Leia -- who you might also recognize as Drake's one-time girlfriend -- was left speechless ... posting a heartwarming thank you note to her 17-year-old son.

The whip appears to be a 2022 Porsche Cayenne ... which comes with a starting price tag of nearly $70,000.

So, how does a high school kid pay for that?? We're guessing he took advantage of the NCAA's new NIL rules.

"I wasn’t gonna post anything because I’m an extremely private person. However, I am still shocked by what this truly represents," Leia said on IG.

"Amari, this truly speaks to your heart, your mind, your work ethic, and all of our long hours in the gym, and long talks in the car. All I’ve ever wanted is to see a smile on your face and no holes in your heart."

The sacrifice has paid off so far ... Bailey is one of the top high school basketball players out of the 2022 class and the 5-star recruit signed with the UCLA Bruins in November.

"My dream is to see you live yours and to help you in any way that I can," Leia said.

"But truly this is unbelievable that at 17 this is how you choose to say thank you and make me smile. Keep living your life Pooks."

Amari is also helping out two single mothers in Chicago this holiday season ... saying, "It feels good to know that I’ve worked hard enough to give back to my community."

Junior dos Santos is trading the Octagon for a triangle ... 'cause we've learned the former UFC champ has inked a deal with Triad Combat -- and will fight early next year!

And, 37-year-old dos Santos' opponent?? Kubrat Pulev ... the 40-year-old boxer who's faced the likes of Anthony Joshua.

Pulev lost to the British star ... but he's got a 28-2 professional boxing record and just dominated MMA star Frank Mir in a Triad fight last month -- leaving him knocked out on his feet.

We're told the exact date isn't yet set in stone ... but the fight -- a mix of boxing/dirty boxing in a triangular-shaped ring -- will go down in late February.

Dos Santos was released by the UFC earlier this year after facing a murderers row of opponents ... including Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane.

Junior has always been known for his hands ... and clearly believes he ain't done.

JDS and Pulev aren't the only notable fighters on the card ... MMA legend 44-year-old Vitor Belfort, who recently beat Evander Holyfield, is fighting former light heavyweight boxing champ, 39-year-old Chad Dawson.

Chris Godwin is completely devastated after suffering a season-ending knee injury Sunday -- with his wife, Mariah, saying in a statement the Bucs star is hurting badly over the news.

"To be honest," Mariah said Monday, "it makes me wanna throw up and cry and smash a window all at once."

Godwin tore his ACL during the Bucs' 9-0 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday ... when defensive back P.J. Williams hit him directly on the knee cap.

The 25-year-old needed to be helped off the field ... and tests revealed his knee injury was so severe, he'd be done for the rest of Tampa's 2021 season.

Mariah says he's heartbroken over it all ... writing in a statement, "If you know Chris at all you know why this is just gut wrenching."

"This man loves his team and loves what he does and f***ing LOVES working to be the greatest he can possibly be."

Mariah -- who married the Pro Bowler in May 2021 -- says his suffering has made her sick ... adding that even their pet dog, Piggy, "does not like seeing Chris like this."

But, Mariah -- who made soup for the injured star on Monday night to make sure he gets proper nutrients to kick off his road to recovery -- promised Chris would make every effort to be back better than ever in 2022.

"You're only down if you stay down and it's no staying down around here," Mariah said of Chris, who's slated to be a free agent after the season ends.

Eric Decker choked back tears as he remembered his friend and former teammate Demaryius Thomas on Monday ... giving a powerful speech at the former NFL star's celebration of life.

Past and present members of the Denver Broncos flew to Atlanta to pay tribute to Thomas ... with John Elway, Champ Bailey, Courtland Sutton, T.J. Ward and more attending the service.

Georgia Tech's McCamish Pavilion was filled with mementos of Thomas' career -- including game balls, jerseys, and a large #88 hanging behind the stage.

Decker and Bailey -- who both played with Thomas on the Broncos -- spoke to the crowd ... and it's pretty emotional.

"He was the brother I always wanted," Decker said, fighting tears.

Bailey added ... "I just hope that D.T. understands that I have tremendous love for him. And I hope he felt it, because I definitely felt the love he had for me. I was one of those people that he stopped and paid attention to."

"I don't know why he came into my life, but I'm sure glad he did. I'm going to miss him so dearly."

John Daly says after watching Tiger Woods' return to the course this weekend ... he's as confident as ever that the legend will break Jack Nicklaus' records after all.

The Big Cat has been hunting Jack's mark of 18 major victories for years ... but after his February car crash, most believed Woods wouldn't get the four more wins he needs to hold the title.

But, Daly says Woods' effort at the PNC Championship just 10 months after mangling his leg in a car wreck showed the dude will still likely get the victories required for the coveted record.

"Tiger's going to be fine," Daly said on "Fox & Friends" two days after he and his son held off Tiger and Charlie Woods for the PNC title.

"He looked good. He looked a little tired, but he still looked great. And, he'll be back. I can see it in his eyes. He's probably going to beat Jack Nicklaus' records and be the greatest of all time."

Daly and Tiger are pals ... but JD ain't blowing smoke -- Tiger did look outstanding in his golf comeback.

Even though he needed a cart to finish all 36 holes of the tourney, he and Charlie tore up the course, finishing the event in second place, just two strokes behind the Dalys.

It's unclear what Tiger's next tourney will be -- but at least participating in a major event in 2022 doesn't seem out of the question.

The NHL will pause its season on Wednesday ... as the league scrambles to figure out ways to manage the COVID outbreak it's currently experiencing.

The NHL released a joint statement with the NHLPA on Monday explaining the decision ... postponing games this week to try to get the surge in coronavirus cases to slow down through the holidays.

"Under the revised schedule," the league announced, "Dec. 22, Dec. 23, Dec. 24, and Dec. 25 (Christmas Day) shall be off days for all purposes -- including travel."

Of course, this announcement has been brewing for a few days ... as COVID cases continue to spike, not just in the hockey league but in the NFL and NBA as well.

As of this week, 11 NHL teams have suspended operations and 49 total games have been postponed, including the games affected by the pause starting Wednesday, according to a report by ESPN.

There's more -- the NHL also reintroduced stricter protocols this week for players ... which means more rigorous testing (daily, instead of once every three days), social distancing measures, and restrictions on where players can go when they're not playing.

"Players will report back to their Clubs on Dec. 26, which shall be used for testing, practice and/or travel only," the league's statement said.

"Upon return from the Holiday Break to team facilities, no individual in the team’s Traveling Party shall enter the facility (other than for testing purposes) until they have a negative test result. "

The 'Island Boys' -- the Florida twins behind that viral TikTok song -- are struggling to understand why haters are coming at 'em so hard ... after their hairy showdown with hecklers at the Jake Paul fight.

Flyysoulja and Kodiyakredd tell TMZ ... they expected a love fest this weekend when they strolled into Tampa's Amalie Arena, but instead quickly discovered some folks were pissed to see them in ringside seats.

The 'Island Boys' say they were there just there to watch the fight ... and they want to clear up any misconceptions about them picking fights to get clicks or clout chase.

The twins say they just want to be positive role models because a lot of kids watch their TikTok videos, and they don't want to be involved in fights ... they admit they're not perfect, but still don't get why grown folks are hating on them in public.

As we reported ... the 'Island Boys' were greeted with boos before Jake knocked out Tyron Woodley, and video showed at least one full beer being thrown in their direction.

Interestingly, they admit the beer tossing actually started on their end with one of their friends -- but the twins say they tried to shut it down immediately.

Despite how several videos made it seem, they say it wasn't everyone hating on them ... they just think the folks who had a problem drowned out the love some people showed.

The boys tell us they're just a couple of 20-year-olds going through life, trying to make it from nothing -- and whether ya love 'em or hate 'em, ya gotta admit they're on the pop culture map.

Frodo -- the final surviving dog from the infamous Michael Vick dogfighting ring -- has died ... officials at the BADRAP animal rescue org. confirmed on Monday.

The pup was estimated to be 15 years old.

According to BADRAP, Frodo was one of 48 dogs that were saved after Vick's dogfighting ring was broken up by law enforcement back in 2007.

The org. says Frodo found a new home following the former NFL star's arrest, and spent the last 14 years "being pampered like a prince with his new family."

But, sadly, the org. says he died on Saturday ... though they did note the dog had one final steak before he passed away.

Officials at the org. say two other known surviving dogs from the Vick case died recently as well.

As we previously reported, Vick was released from the Atlanta Falcons and also spent time behind bars over his role in the case.

The ex-quarterback did apologize for it all ... and he later went on to start for the Philadelphia Eagles following his release from prison.

He's since fought tirelessly against animal abuse ... even advocating at the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 2015 to pass a bill to allow cops to rescue pets from hot cars.

The feds say a New Jersey man copped to impersonating a New England Patriots player as part of an elaborate scheme to obtain and sell Super Bowl rings engraved with Tom Brady's name.

Federal prosecutors say the man behind the scheme is 24-year-old Scott Spina ... and he's struck a deal with the authorities, pleading guilty to 5 felony charges.

The feds say Spina started cooking up the scheme way back in 2017, when he bought a Super Bowl 51 ring off a Patriots player with at least one bad check, then sold the ring for $63,000 to a California broker specializing in championship rings.

Prosecutors say Spina not only got the ring off the player but also received other information allowing him to pose as the player, allowing him to purchase similar (but slightly smaller) rings designated for players' families from the company who made the SB rings.

Posing as the former Patriots player -- identified only as J.T. in court docs -- prosecutors say Spina started ordering 3 "family and friend" Super Bowl LI rings with the name "Brady" engraved on each one, which he falsely claimed were gifts for TB12's baby.

The feds say the real Tom never authorized the rings ... and Spina plotted to flip them for a fat payday.

According to prosecutors, Spina hammered out a deal with the Cali ring broker to sell him the 3 engraved Brady rings for $81,500 ... but the broker got cold feet and backed out the same day Spina got the rings in hand, with the buyer questioning the story Spina was spinning.

The feds say Spina pivoted and sold the engraved Brady rings to an auction house for $100k ... and months later one of those rings sold at auction for $337,219.

Prosecutors say Spina admitted to defrauding the ring broker by telling him the rings "were ordered for Tom Brady directly ... for select family members" and copped to posing as the former Pats player to buy the engraved rings.

The feds say Spina agreed to plead guilty to the 5 felony charges against him -- 3 counts of wire fraud, and 1 count each of mail fraud and aggravated identity theft -- and he's facing up to 92 years in federal prison.

Kurt Warner was looking like he was ready to go into orbit during the Cleveland Browns vs. Las Vegas Raiders game on Monday ... and naturally, Twitter couldn't get enough of it.

The Hall of Fame QB was looking extra warm in the booth for NFL Network -- rocking a metallic silver puffer coat while calling the game ... and as soon as he showed up on TV, viewers flocked to social media to get their jokes off.

"Kurt Warner looks like he’s about to land on the moon," one user wrote ... while another compared him to "a baked potato wrapped in tinfoil."

"Kurt Warner paying homage to Missy Elliott," another Twitter user said Monday. "I respect it."

There's more -- "Kurt Warner dressed like Puff Daddy lol"

NFLN even got in on the fun ... comparing their guy to a Hershey's Kiss.

Warner addressed the roasting on social media ... saying, "We have to get you all a better game in 2nd half. WAY TOO MUCH TALK ABOUT MY JACKET!!! Haha… #ThanksForWatching."

As for the game ... it's a low-scoring battle. But everyone saw that one coming, especially with Baker Mayfield and a ton of Browns players out with COVID-19.

Dennis Rodman's a member of the new mile high club -- the one composed of people who allegedly refuse to wear a face mask on commercial flights -- and cops were waiting for him when he landed.

Rodman flew from L.A. to Ft. Lauderdale Monday morning, and was allegedly told several times to put his mask back on by JetBlue staffers. Law enforcement sources tell us Rodman would first oblige, but then pull the mask down, citing he was having trouble breathing.

That's a big no-no -- especially since there's still a federal mask mandate in effect which all airports and airlines have to abide by. Not to mention ... Omicron's on the rise.

Deputies from the Broward Co. Sheriff's Office spoke to Rodman upon landing, we're told he was cooperative and, in the end, they cut him loose, letting him leave on his own without citing him.

An eyewitness on the flight says Rodman was in first-class ... and was asked 4 different times to keep his face covering over his mouth and nose. We're told he constantly lowered it to his chin, and wouldn't immediately put it back on when asked.

Horrible news ... Raiders linebacker Will Compton says his mom tragically died just hours before Las Vegas' game against the Browns.

"I am heart broken to let you know my mom suddenly passed away last night," Compton said in a statement on his social media page just before the Cleveland-Raiders kickoff on Monday. "I am headed home to be with family."

He continued, "It has been a brutal last 16 hours."

Compton -- who's been in the NFL since 2013 -- had just signed with the Raiders earlier this month ... and had just posted Sunday about how excited he was to play for the team.

The Raiders announced early Monday morning that the 32-year-old would miss the Cleveland game.

"Please love on your moms and keep my family in your thoughts and prayers," Compton said. "Our mom was everything to us."

Several NFL players have already reached out to support Compton on social media, with Bobby Wagner and Quandre Diggs offering thoughts and prayers.

NASCAR driver Brandon Brown is finally opening up about the NSFW anti-Joe Biden chant that went viral after his post-race interview ... expressing that all the attention he's been receiving made him feel uncomfortable.

Back in November, Brown was being interviewed after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Talladega ... when fans could be heard chanting the profane remarks in the background.

The NBC Sports reporter, Kelli Stavast, at the time (incorrectly) told the audience during the televised broadcast that the fans were chanting "Let's Go, Brandon," ... and ever since, it has become a rallying cry for those who oppose #46, with people chanting "F*** Joe Biden."

Brandon released an op-ed over it all ... detailing how since that infamous moment, his name has been chanted all over the country in places ranging from stadiums to bars -- even the halls of Congress.

The 28-year-old said that despite getting numerous press requests since the interview ... he was advised to stay quiet, out of fear of how his sponsors would react.

"All the advice I got from those around my racing career was to stay quiet after that now-famous interview," Brandon wrote. "No one knew how my sponsors would react and, in my world, there is no car to drive without the sponsors."

Brown goes on to say that politics never really interested him, but he does have the impression that politicians do cause more problems than they actually solve, according to the op-ed.

"I have no interest in leading some political fight," Brandon said. "I race cars. I am not going to endorse anyone, and I am certainly not going to tell anyone how to vote."

Brown had a message for Americans who feel like representatives in Washington aren't hearing them ... saying, "I understand that millions of people are struggling right now and are frustrated."

"Struggling to get by and struggling to build a solid life for themselves and their families, and wondering why their government only seems to make it worse. People have a right to frustration – even anger."

He added, "I hear them, even if Washington does not." Brown is committing himself to spotlight issues that are important to him and the "problems we all share as Americans."

Shaquille O'Neal came through with the gifts -- and the jokes -- this holiday season ... giving back in a huge way for more than 500 kids in Atlanta ... and roasting Charles Barkley in the process!!

The Big Aristotle joined Charles and Babcock on "TMZ Live" to talk about his 20th annual Shaq-A-Claus event that went down on Monday ... which included hooking students up with backpacks, Walmart gift cards, toys, clothes, haircuts and more.

On top of that, the extravaganza came with BBQ, DJ music and games.

The Hall of Famer says he first started the yearly holiday bash back in 1992 when his mom asked him to help kids at the local Boys & Girls Club ... so, he went to the nearest Toys "R" Us and bought out the store.

O'Neal loved helping out so much, he decided to do it every year.

"This is all about making the kids happy," Shaq said. "But, more importantly, it's all about making my mother happy ... for her to see her baby boy doing good things like she taught him to do, that right there is one of the best feelings."

"Today is a special day," he added. "I saw a lot of happy kids."

Now, considering Christmas is a time when people tend to put on some holiday weight, we also had to ask how Shaq keeps off the extra pounds -- and naturally, he had to make fun of his "Inside The NBA" co-host.

"I always said to myself, I don't want to have the C.B.O.T.B.B. -- that's the Charles Barkley Over The Belt Belly," Shaq joked. "I never wanna have that, so I just try to eat right and try to stay slim."