TMZ Sports - Page 50

It was a great night to be a "Drake" on Thursday ... 'cause Drake London got picked in the top 10 of the NFL Draft -- and Drake the rapper made a boatload of cash because of it!!!

Here's the deal ... a few months before Roger Goodell officially put the Jacksonville Jaguars on the clock in Las Vegas -- Drake decided to bet some cash on USC wideout and top prospect Drake London.

The "Toosie Slide" rapper threw down $100K -- saying "Drake betting on Drake just feels right" -- believing London would be the first wide receiver off the board. It was a bold bet, considering most had Garrett Wilson as the favorite for that honor.

Turns out, though, London was the top wideout picked -- going #8 overall to the Atlanta Falcons -- and according to Drake's betting slip, that earned him $225k!

London knew about Drake's bet ahead of the draft ... and told the Falcons' official team website that he and his buddies actually got a kick out of it before the event began.

"My friends were hitting my phone saying Champagne Papi bet on me," London said. "So, I thought that was funny."

Of course, placing -- and winning -- big bets is nothing new for Drake ... in fact, the 35-year-old recently got a huge payday for winning at an online roulette table.

But, he doesn't win 'em all ... remember, he famously lost $275k when he thought Jorge Masvidal would beat Colby Covington at UFC 272.

As for London, all bets side, he said he was thrilled to be picked by the Falcons on Thursday.

"I cannot wait to go out there and put on that jersey and just be a Dirty Bird at the end of the day."

Sean McVay couldn't help but chuckle after the New England Patriots drafted Cole Strange with the 29th overall pick ... admitting he thought the Chattanooga center would be available MUCH later in the draft!!

The L.A. Rams coach and GM, Les Snead, chopped it up with reporters after Thursday's first round ... and the two were in really great spirits as they answered questions.

The duo cracked jokes for 5 straight minutes -- after all, with zero picks until the third round, they didn't have too much to worry about.

But, the funniest part of the media sesh came when McVay and Snead found out about the Pats drafting Strange late in the first round ... which came as a shock to them both.

"Wow, Strange just went!" McVay said. "How 'bout that?! And, we wasted our time watching him, thinking he'd be at 104, baby."

Here's the thing -- some people are taking the reaction as shade at Bill Belichick and the Pats, with the interpretation being McVay thinks they reached for the center.

But, as Snead points out, Strange is an incredible talent ... and one of the quickest linemen in the draft.

So, chances are, the guys were laughing at how off they were on the possibility of landing prospect ... but either way, the reaction is hilarious.

Cops say Jacksonville Jaguars top pick Travon Walker "lost control" of his ride before he hit two parked cars in a pre-NFL Draft crash ... but they also noted he was wearing a seatbelt and suffered no apparent injuries.

TMZ Sports has obtained the crash report from the April 16 incident in Athens, GA ... and it shows that despite apparently running his 2021 Dodge Durango into two vehicles, he escaped without issue.

In the docs, officials say Walker was driving at around 11 PM "when he lost control of the vehicle and hit 2 parked cars." They noted the posted speed limit in the area was 35 MPH.

The officials in the docs say Walker was "not drinking" -- and was properly wearing a seatbelt. They also said he was not tested for drugs or booze at the scene ... and was uninjured.

Officials released a diagram of the wreck, showing the front of Walker's SUV hit the fronts of the two parked rides in the wreck.

Cops said Walker's car was towed after it suffered "disabling damage."

The 21-year-old spoke about the crash after he was taken with the #1 overall pick ... and he explained to a reporter that it was truly no big deal.

"Just a little fender bender," Walker said. "Nothing crazy. No one was hurt."

Rob Gronkowski tells TMZ Sports he's no closer to making a decision on his football future ... but he did admit he's "staying in shape a little bit" just in case.

Tom Brady's all-time favorite target broke it down with Mojo and Babcock on the TMZ Sports show this week -- just days before he's set to throw his "Gronk Beach" bash in Las Vegas.

The tight end says, for now, he's still relaxing and enjoying his offseason -- and is completely up in the air about his gridiron future.

Gronk, though, did say he hasn't completely let himself go -- leaving the door open for a reunion with Brady in Tampa Bay in 2022.

"We'll see," Gronk said. "I'm staying in shape a little bit. So, we'll see if I don't get too out of shape either. That won't be good for me."

Gronkowski joked this weekend could be the one that ultimately kickstarts his prep for an NFL comeback ... saying he might catch some footballs at his Vegas party and get the itch to play again.

Gronk added that he's sure the fiesta will be a workout of its own, too.

"Gronk Beach may be the party that gets me back to football," Rob said with a smile. "Someone's going to throw me a pass on stage, I'll probably catch it, and be like, 'Man, I miss football.'"

Party goes down at Encore Beach Club on Friday ... could a decision follow soon after???

It's official ... with the #1 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Jacksonville Jaguars have selected Travon Walker!!!

Roger Goodell just announced the selection on a stage built near the strip in Las Vegas ... officially making the Georgia defensive end the newest Jag.

Of course, the pick is not a total surprise ... most experts' mock drafts in recent weeks have had Walker projected to go #1 overall.

The selection of Walker marks the second time in two years that the Jaguars have picked at the top of the draft -- remember, Jacksonville took Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence #1 in 2021.

Walker, meanwhile, is expected to be getting after quarterbacks right away in Duval. The guy was a star for the Bulldogs in his three seasons in Athens, recording 61 total tackles, 9.5 sacks, 1 interception and 1 forced fumble in his career.

He also helped UGA beat Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide in January's National Championship ... registering three total tackles and one sack in the game.

Doug Pederson and Jaguars fans everywhere are certainly hoping that kind of production continues in Florida in 2022.

Florida high school football legend Sam Bruce -- who played briefly for the Miami Hurricanes -- has tragically died at 24 years old ... his former H.S. announced on Thursday.

In a post on the St. Thomas Aquinas football team's Facebook page, officials wrote, "R.I.P. Sam Bruce ! We Will Miss You and We Love You !"

Bruce's former 7-on-7 team, the South Florida Express, also confirmed the tragedy on Thursday ... writing in a tweet, "We are saddened to hear about the loss of one of the greatest players to ever come through SFE."

"Your infectious energy, and the ability to make anybody laugh will forever live in our hearts. We spoke with Sam's family, they just ask you to pray for their family during this time."

Further details surrounding Bruce's death have not yet been revealed.

Bruce was a superstar on the gridiron for Florida powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas ... lighting up fields so often, he got the nickname, "The Samborghini."

Bruce eventually earned a four-star rating and received dozens of scholarship offers ... before he eventually signed with the Miami Hurricanes in 2016.

Bruce did not play in a game for the 'Canes, however, as he was dismissed for violations of team rules just months into his freshman season.

Bruce went on to attend Mississippi Gulf Coast C.C. and Southeastern University ... and later played for the Indoor Football League. He said in 2021 that he had been involved in the making of the Kurt Warner biopic, "American Underdog."

Bruce's former teammates and others in the football world have been mourning his death on social media Thursday ... with Chad Johnson even posting a heartbroken emoji on his Twitter page.

WOWWW!!!

WWE Superstar Bobby Lashley fell over the ring and landed on his head after the rope collapsed during his match with Drew McIntyre ... and the video is insane.

The frightening moment went down during WWE's Thursday night live event in England ... when Bobby and Drew were going at it in the middle of the ring -- and then disaster struck.

McIntyre reversed a power slam that Bobby was attempting ... then pushed Lashley into the ropes as a part of his counter move.

Lashley then bounced off the ropes and tried to clothesline Drew, but the savvy veteran avoided it ... sending Lashley flying to the other side of the ring, where he fell over the rope.

As the momentum of Bobby's weight hits the top rope, it suddenly collapsed ... sending the 273-pound athlete flying.

At one point, Lashley's body appeared to fold up as if he was an accordion ... with the former WWE champ presumably landing on his head and neck.

No doubt a scary sight for McIntyre, who was in disbelief at what happened ... as was much of the WWE universe in attendance at the show.

Of course, this isn't the first time we've seen a wrestler take a bad fall in his match. Big E -- whose real name is Ettore Owen -- suffered a broken neck after Ridge Holland botched a belly-to-belly suplex on him outside the ring.

Fortunately for E, his recovery is going well ... and the big guy is in good spirits.

The NFL Draft is here -- and since the big event is in Vegas this year, the draftees had to make sure their fashion game was on point ... and they certainly didn't disappoint!!

Aside from the picks and wild moves, the most talked about part of the night is always the swaggy 'fits these future superstars decide to wear when their names are called ... and lucky for you, we got the best looks all in one place.

Getting things started off is Cincinnati DB Ahmad Gardner who lived up to his nickname by rockin' a baby blue suit, white shirt and some bling that says "SAUCE" in all caps.

Utah Utes linebacker, Devin Lloyd, is photoshoot fresh with a black shirt and custom burgundy suit -- which appears to have different pictures of his career and personal highlights.

21-year-old Kayvon Thibodeaux hit the red carpet to chat with Hall of Famer Michael Irvin and Melissa Stark ... wearing a Dolce & Gabbana suit and shoes from Italy.

Alabama wide receiver Jameson Williams is wearing a red suit with a white shirt ... and as for the feets, he's sportin' some red and white Louis Vuitton trainers.

FYI, on the G.O.A.T. app, the kicks Williams has on his feet cost about $5K.

Jermaine Johnson II, a defensive end for Florida State, pulled up to draft donning a smooth gold and black blazer with black pants and black loafers.

Alabama offensive tackle Evan Neal has his hometown of Okeechobee in Florida literally woth him for his big moment ... with the city's name designed on the inside of his blazer.

USC star wideout Drake London has a flashy chain with his initials "DL" on it ... as he's wearing a burgundy suit with a white shirt and handkerchief

Maybe LeBron James is cool with the Lakers missing the playoffs after all -- the King just took his closest friends on a jaw-dropping getaway to the Maldives ... and the vacation looked insane.

Okay, let's be real -- the 4-time champ definitely wishes he was making another run at an NBA title right now ... but hitting up a private island instead definitely doesn't suck.

Bron posted a ton of footage from the trip ... which included bike rides, soaking in the beach waters, riding on boats and enjoying all the food and drink the group could handle.

The group included James' wife, Savannah, longtime trusted friend Ernie Ramos and his wife, Klutch Sports COO Fara Leff, DJ Bamboozle and more.

It was a trip that most people can only dream of ... and we're assuming the whole thing cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Sneakerheads brace yourselves ... Odell Beckham just put his Ohio crib on the market for $3.3 million -- and the walk-in closet looks just like Footlocker!

Take a look (the awesome video was shot by EZ Media) ... the 13,800-square-foot pad sits on 2.13 acres in Columbia Station -- 20 miles west of Cleveland -- and comes with 4 bedrooms, 7 baths, a huge kitchen and 3 car garage.

The two-story home comes has a whole bunch of entertainment with the club-like bar, movie theatre, golf simulator, game room that's big enough for a hockey rink, pool and Ping-Pong table plus a private one for live-stream gaming.

There's also a swimming pool with a slide and gym with a basketball hoop for outdoor fun.

But, what stood out the most was this insane custom-made walk-in closet that looks like a sneaker boutique with the outrageous amount of room for probably 100 pairs of kicks!

Well, OBJ is considered one of the best-dressed players in the game right now so it makes sense why he had this Footlocker-looking closet made.

This cool pad was listed this week by Megan Pettine of Keller Williams ... and has a $3.3 million price tag.

Of course, OBJ is officially giving O-H the deuces after the 3x Pro Bowler was released by the Cleveland Browns last November.

Beckham ended up signing a one-year deal worth up to $4.25 million with the Rams and won his first Super Bowl this year. He's currently a free agent.

Jake Paul's bet with Eddie Hearn for this weekend's matchup between Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor will NOT involve any tattoos -- just a million freakin' dollars!!

It all went down during the final presser for the huge fight going down this Saturday at Madison Square Garden ... with Hearn igniting the wager after he asked Paul about his fighter.

"You're fully confident that your charge will be victorious and become undisputed lightweight world champion?" Hearn asked Paul on Friday.

Of course, JP doubled down on his belief Serrano will come out on top -- and that's when the 25-year-old boxer placed his bet.

"I got a bet for you Eddie," Paul said. "I bet you all the jewelry that I'm wearing right now that Amanda wins the fight."

Hearn hit him back with a couple of jokes ... saying "10 grand is not a lot" -- but Paul insists his diamond chain is worth $500k!

"Maybe we can talk a million," Hearn replied ... and the two shook hands.

Of course, Paul is known for making bets when it comes to the boxing ring -- remember, Tyron Woodley had to get an "I Love You Jake Paul" tattoo after he lost to the 5-0 boxer last August.

The $1 million bet ain't the only big-money deals being made this week ... the two female boxers' purse will be more than that, Paul previously said.

"This is just historic for the sport in general."

You're not going to BEE-lieve this!!

Rudy Gobert's nose is all messed up after getting stung by a bee this week ... and his face is still pretty swollen just hours before the Jazz's must-win playoff game against the Mavs!!

The 7'1" center showed off the damage via Instagram minutes ago ... and you could tell by his face -- the bee got 'em really good.

As it turns out, the All-Star owns a hive at his house ... and joked about how one of the insects attacked him.

"It bee your own bees sometimes," Rudy captioned a pic of his swollen face. Gobert also joked when he showed up to media availability -- "It was seven guys. But I'm the only one who came out the room."

Rudy told reporters the sting happened two days ago while he was changing the Queen out.

Gobert says he's basically used to getting stung at this point -- this is the third time it's happened.

The Salt Lake Bees -- a Minor League Baseball Triple-A affiliate for the Angels -- decided to poke fun at the 3-time Defensive Player of the Year over the incident ... saying, "The Salt Lake Bees deny any involvement in this terrible act and wish @rudygobert27 a speedy recovery and a wonderful game 6 #gojazz."

As of right now, Gobert hasn't been ruled out of Thursday's pivotal Game 6 against Luka Doncic and the Mavs ... which is a promising sign for Jazz fans.

Law enforcement officials have determined no one affiliated with the Bethany College and Kansas Wesleyan University baseball teams was responsible for allegedly dumping paint thinner into a water cooler during a game this week, TMZ Sports has learned.

The Lindsborg Police Department says it conducted more than 60 interviews, collected multiple pieces of evidence, photographed the scene, and followed various leads in its investigation.

A spokesperson for LPD says the dept. ruled that no one associated with either school -- Bethany College or KWU -- was responsible for tampering with the water cooler.

Police say they have, however, identified two male juveniles as being involved in the incident, but are still actively investigating the situation.

As we previously reported, KWU filed a police report with LPD on April 24 ... after they found an unknown substance in their men's baseball team's water cooler.

In the report, Kansas Wesleyan is named as a victim several times ... with offenses listed such as: criminal threat; contaminated food/water sources, battery; knowing/recklessly causing bodily harm, criminal damage to property.

No suspects were named in the initial report.

An alleged picture of the water cooler made rounds on social media ... showing a foreign substance floating inside the liquid.

According to the statement, Bethany College also filed a report with LPD that same night in reference to KWU's water cooler being possibly tampered with.

Jorge Masvidal has just been ordered by a judge to stay away from Colby Covington ... TMZ Sports has confirmed.

The Miami-Dade County judge just issued the order at a hearing on Thursday morning, according to a court spokesperson.

Masvidal's attorneys, Bradford Cohen and Mauricio Padilla, tell us the UFC fighter appeared at the hearing over Zoom. They said Covington was on the call as well.

The two attorneys say as part of the order, Masvidal has now been barred from going within 25 feet of Colby.

We're told Cohen, Padilla and Masvidal had no objections to the order ... with the attorneys telling us they "understand [Colby] is scared of Masvidal."

At the hearing, Masvidal also formally pled not guilty to charges that he attacked Covington outside of a restaurant in Miami on March 21.

As we reported, Masvidal has been hit with one count of felony aggravated battery and one count of felony criminal mischief after Covington alleged Jorge punched him multiple times in the attack.

Covington has yet to publicly comment on the incident.

Derek Stingley Jr. has clearly upgraded his drip ahead of the biggest day of his life ... the top NFL draft prospect is now rockin' a brand new, massive "STING" chain!!

The former LSU superstar -- who's expected to be selected with one of the first 10 picks Thursday night -- showed off the ice to TMZ Sports out at Splash lounge (owned by Jizzy Mack, Floyd Mayweather's TMT bodyguard) in Las Vegas on Wednesday night ... and it's awesome.

The pendant is huge -- almost the size of one of his pecs ... and the chain it's clasped to is covered in diamonds as well.

Stingley Jr. apparently got it in the last couple weeks as he prepped for the big NFL draft night ... because as recently as January, he was wearin' a much smaller version.

No word on what it cost Stingley Jr. to upgrade ... but the dude is about to be a multi-millionaire, so he can certainly afford it.

As for how he's feeling just hours before becoming an NFL player ... watch the clip, the cornerback obviously ain't nervous about much before his life changes forever.

Tom Brady can pick defenses apart and memorize every play in the book, but the G.O.A.T.'s kryptonite appears to be a movie script -- 'cause the NFL superstar joked about fumbling his lines while on set of his new flick, "80 for Brady."

TB12 was all smiles alongside his costars -- Rita Moreno, Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda and Sally Field -- in a pic posted to Instagram on Thursday ... saying he's "so grateful for these legendary women and the entire team that’s working to bring this story to life."

As previously reported, "80 for Brady" -- made by Paramount and Endeavor -- follows a group of 4 friends who attend Super Bowl LI ... and it ends up being an unforgettable trip.

Brady is producing and acting in the project ... and according to the Buccaneers QB himself, it ain't going too great so far.

"How many times do you think I had to call for my lines?"

Of course, we're sure the 7-time champ is just messing around ... after all, he was incredible in "Ted 2."