TMZ Sports - Page 50

Marvelous Marvin Hagler -- former middleweight champion and one of the greatest boxers who ever lived -- has died ... this according to his wife.

A post with the sad news went up Saturday on Hagler's official fan club page on Facebook, reading ... "I am sorry to make a very sad announcement. Today unfortunately my beloved husband Marvelous Marvin passed away unexpectedly at his home here in New Hampshire. Our family requests that you respect our privacy during this difficult time."

The note was signed by his wife, Kay. The exact circumstances of his death weren't released.

Hagler has gone down in history as a boxing great, and perhaps one of the best -- if not THE best -- middleweight fighters to step in the ring. He held the title as the undisputed middleweight champion of the world from 1980 to 1987 ... an incredible run.

He got his first title shot in '79 against Vito Antuofermo -- which got called a draw, despite many feeling Hagler had taken it. He got a 2nd shot at the title the following year ... this time against Alan Minter -- whom Hagler pounded into a 3rd round stoppage.

Year after year, Hagler successfully defended his title ... but one of the most brutal bouts to date ended up going down against Tommy Hearns in 1985, which got billed as "The War." It only went three rounds, but all of them were brutal ... especially that opening one, which is regarded as one of the most violent and action-packed to date.

Hagler's reign came to an end in 1987 against none other than boxing icon Sugar Ray Leonard, who came out of retirement for another shot at the title. They went all twelve rounds, and despite many saying Hagler got the better of SRL ... the latter was announced as the winner in a split decision. Granted, Leonard landed a higher percentage of punches.

Post-boxing, Hagler moved on to a career in movies ... in Italy no less. He notably starred in 'Indio' and 'Indio 2' as well as a few other action flicks. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1993.

Hagler is survived by his current wife and five children from a previous marriage. He was 66.

RIP

Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez say reports of their demise as a couple have been greatly exaggerated -- well, maybe just exaggerated -- because they say they are still fighting to stay together ... TMZ has learned.

Both J Lo and A-Rod tell TMZ, "All the reports are inaccurate. We are working through some things." We're also told what they're working through has nothing to do with a third party.

Sources connected to the couple made it clear to TMZ and other outlets Friday ... the couple had called off their engagement and broken up. We asked our sources with direct knowledge why we were all told they broke up, and we were told things were "bad" on Friday.

As of now, A-Rod's still in Miami and J Lo's in the Dominican Republic shooting a movie, and it's unclear when they'll be back together. FYI, it's a hop, skip and a jump from Miami to the D.R.

There's a lot at stake in their relationship. Aside from them, they both have kids that have effectively blended as a big family, so that's got to come into play as they navigate their relationship.

Dez Bryant tells TMZ Sports if he never plays another down in the NFL ... he's still a Hall of Famer FOR SURE!!!

The former Dallas Cowboys superstar didn't mince words when we asked him about his HOF candidacy in L.A. this week ... saying straight-up "of course" his resume is already good enough for the Hall right now.

"Nobody put up TDs the way I put up," the 32-year-old said. "Not as fast."

Dez -- who's a free agent now after returning from a 2-year hiatus to play for the Ravens last season -- is going to have an interesting case for Canton if his career is in fact over.

His numbers -- 7,506 career receiving yards and 77 total touchdowns -- aren't historically enough to lock him in ... but he is one of the freakiest players to ever play.

Dez tells us what he did in such a short time should be enough to get him in ... but he did admit he's probably not a first-ballot kind of guy at this point.

UFC star Leon Edwards says he's going to beat the snot out of Jorge Masvidal ON SIGHT -- whether it's in the Octagon or in the street.

... and he's not kidding.

That bad blood between the two fighters goes back to May 2019 -- when they clashed backstage at a UFC event, resulting in Masvidal socking Edwards in the face multiple times.

Or as Masvidal described it ... he hit 'em with a "3 piece and a soda."

29-year-old Edwards -- the #3 ranked UFC welterweight -- felt the attack was basically a flurry of unprovoked cheap shots ... and now he's hellbent on revenge.

"What happened with me and him, that's away from fighting. That's street stuff," Edwards tells TMZ Sports.

"So, if that's what he's about, we’ll do it that way."

Of course, Edwards would rather get PAID to fight Masvidal -- so, he's hoping the UFC puts that bout together. But, if not, they're still gonna scrap.

"You best get your ass in the Octagon 'cause it's either on the street or in the Octagon but you're gonna get it."

"Wherever you want it, you choose, in the Octagon or on the street, I'm good to go either way."

But, before that fight happens, Edwards -- who's on an 8-fight win streak -- is set to take on Belal Muhammad at UFC Fight Night 187 on Saturday.

Edwards is confident he'll run through Muhammad -- setting himself up for a shot at the welterweight title

What's interesting ... Edwards hasn't lost a fight since 2015 -- and the last man to beat him is the reigning welterweight champ Kamaru Usman.

We also talked to Edwards about Khamzat Chimaev -- who Leon was supposed to fight on multiple occasions.

But Khamzat -- one of the most exciting young fighters in the UFC -- has been battling COVID and there's a timetable set for his return.

"As far as Khamzat, I kinda put him behind me because he's only had 2 fights, 3 fights in UFC," Leon says.

"He got little health issues now so I wish him well, wish him full recovery, that's number one. If he works his way up the division then for sure, I intend to fight him."

Did the Dallas Cowboys overpay for Dak Prescott???

Perhaps ... but that's OK, according to Drew Pearson -- who tells TMZ Sports his former team should be happy with re-signing their star quarterback regardless!!

"Maybe he's not worth maybe 40 million dollars a season," the Dallas Cowboys legend said. "But, that's the market. That's the value."

Pearson added, "It's good for everybody."

27-year-old Dak ended a 2-year-long dispute with the Cowboys earlier this week by signing a 4-year contract worth up to $164 MILLION.

The deal pays him more than just about every single player in the NFL -- but Pearson insists that while the price tag is steep ... it's fine!

"It's a great deal for the Cowboys because they got the quarterback for the future that they want," Pearson said.

"And, it's a great deal for Dak because he got the years he wanted on the contract, he got the money he wanted on the contract and he's still remaining the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys. So it's all good all around."

Pearson understands the Cowboys will now have an issue signing free agents and other players because of Dak's salary cap number ... but he's confident his old squad will figure it all out.

As for Drew's offseason, he's been enjoying his about as much as Dak ... the ex-receiver FINALLY earned the call to be inducted into the Hall of Fame -- and it ain't hard to tell he's PUMPED about it.

"I've kind of been walking a little different with a little more pimp in my step and all that kind of stuff," Pearson said. "So, maybe that's how Hall of Famers are supposed to act but it's a tremendous feeling. A feeling of accomplishment."

Pearson added, "I reached the peak of success in my career by going into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. So, if they want to kick dirt on me now, go ahead and kick it on me! I'm good!"

This is disgusting.

A high school basketball announcer in Oklahoma called players "f***ing n*****s" for kneeling during the national anthem before a game this week ... and it was all caught on a hot mic.

It all went down before the Norman HS girls hoops team faced off against Midwest City during the Oklahoma 6A state basketball tournament Thursday night.

Every player from Norman elected to kneel for the duration of the anthem ... which led to the announcer's outburst on the National Federation of State High School Association Network's official live stream. Here's what we heard in the clip ...

"They're kneeling? F***ing n*****s. I hope Norman gets their ass kicked. F*** them. I  hope they lose. They're gonna kneel like that?"

The clip has since made rounds on social media .. with NFL stars like Kenny Stills -- who also kneels for the anthem -- and Gerald McCoy speaking out against the blatant racism.

"Amerikkka," Stills tweeted Friday morning ... while McCoy added, "See why we do it!?! They still think it’s about the flag."

Players from the Norman girls hoops team also spoke out against the announcer's comments ... saying, "This is why we kneel."

Norman superintendent Dr. Nick Migliorino ripped the "racist and hateful" comments in a scathing statement ... saying, "We condemn and will not tolerate the disgusting words and attitudes of these announcers."

"This type of hate speech has no place in our society and we are outraged that it would be directed at any human being, and particularly at our students."

He added ... "We fully support our students’ right to freedom of expression and our immediate focus is to support these girls and their coaches and families, particularly our Black students and coaching staff."

"It is tragic that the hard work and skill of this team is being overshadowed by the vile, malignant words of these individuals. We will do everything in our power to support and uplift our team and everyone affected by this incident."

Migliorino says Norman will use a different live streaming service for the remainder of the tournament ... "as we have full confidence in their proven ability to respectfully support our student athletes."

The NFHS Network also released a statement Friday morning ... saying it is "aggressively investigating" the incident and will cut ties with any individuals responsible.

"The NFHS Network firmly condemns racism, hate, and discrimination, and there is no room for this in high school sports or anywhere," the network said.

"We sincerely apologize to the students, their families and the entire community for having such ignorant comments expressed during the broadcast."

J-Rod is J-Done!!!

Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez are over -- they've called it quits after 4 years together, sources connected to the couple confirm to TMZ.

The superstars first got together in 2017 and Alex put a massive ring on it in 2019.

Unclear what caused the split. We're working on it. We're told they broke up Friday.

The two had started wedding planning before COVID hit in early 2020 -- but obviously, the pandemic threw a huge wrench in their plans.

A-Rod posted photos of himself on a yacht in Miami early Friday, saying, "Don't mind me, just taking a sailfie ... What are your plans for the weekend?" The last time he posted a photo with Jennifer was February 28.

She's in the Dominican Republic filming a movie, while he's staying put in Miami.

The split comes shortly after claims he got cozy with "Southern Charm" star Madison LeCroy. A-Rod's people said they never even met, but the story circulated.

Before that, they were exploring buying the NY Mets together -- and had rallied some of their very rich and famous friends to put together a competitive offer ... but it didn't pan out.

The last time we saw J-Rod in action was at President Biden's Inauguration when Jennifer performed ... and the two of them looked very much in love.

We broke the story ... the couple bought a $40M home together on Star Island in Miami last summer.

Page Six was the first to report the split.

NFL prospect Trey Lance has a ROCKET for an arm -- and he put it on full display at his NFL pro day Friday ... where he threw a PERFECT 50-yard laser right on target.

Check out the video ... it's BEAUTIFUL!!!

Yeah, we know ... no live NFL defense trying to take his head off -- but still, the arm strength and accuracy look GOOOOOOOD.

The 20-year-old QB out of North Dakota State is trying to show NFL teams why he should be a surefire 1st round draft pick ... and he's got a solid resume to make his case.

In 2019, Lance completed 67% of his passes, threw 28 touchdowns with ZERO interceptions, while rushing for 1,110 yards ... leading his team to an undefeated record and FCS national championship.

You may not have heard much about him in 2020 ... 'cause the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out all of NDSU's season.

30 of the 32 NFL teams sent reps to Lance's pro day on Friday -- and the dude didn't disappoint.

You can audibly hear the "ooohs" and "ahhhs" that came out after that 50-yard DIME -- easily his most impressive throw of the workout.

But, the rest of the session was solid, too -- Lance threw dart after dart while reps for teams like the Jets, Falcons, Panthers, Lions and the Washington Football Team watched from the sidelines.

Sebastian Telfair's sister just fessed up in court and admitted to threatening to kill the ex-NBA star's estranged wife -- and now, she's facing up to 5 years in prison over it all.

Octavia Telfair had been arrested in May 2019 after federal investigators said she spewed vile threats toward Samantha Telfair.

Prosecutors claimed after Samantha had testified against Sebastian in his gun case ... Octavia felt it was all treacherous, called Samantha repeatedly and left terrifying threats.

Samantha told investigators that Octavia had told her she would "kill my kids and cut my face." Investigators also said Octavia threatened to kill Samantha, her aunt and her siblings as well.

Octavia was initially charged with transmission of threats to injure ... and at a hearing Friday morning, TMZ Sports has confirmed she pleaded guilty to the charge.

"Yes, it was an argument with my sister-in-law, verbal argument," Octavia said on a video conference call with the court. "Yes, I admit it."

Octavia now faces up to 5 years in prison ... though the guilty plea will likely mean she'll spend far less time than that behind bars -- perhaps even no time at all depending on how the judge sees things.

Octavia is due back in court in July for a sentencing hearing.

Sebastian Telfair -- who famously appeared on Sports Illustrated's cover as a high schooler -- played for several teams in the NBA from 2004 to 2015.

He was a Trail Blazer's 1st-round pick in the '04 NBA Draft.

After his NBA career, Telfair was convicted of possessing an illegal firearm stemming from a June 2017 incident where he was caught with an arsenal of weapons during a traffic stop.

Officials say Telfair had 3 pistols, a semi-automatic rifle, a ton of ammo and a bulletproof vest ... as well as some weed.

He was sentenced to 3.5 years behind bars -- but was released in Sept. 2019 on $500,00 bail after only doing a few days in prison.

Rich people shaming other rich people NEVER GETS OLD!!

Case in point ... here's Daymond John outing one of his fellow "Shark Tank" stars whose credit card was DECLINED at a fancy dinner -- and all signs point to MARK CUBAN!!!!

"A card was declined and it was somebody that is the last person that I ever think a card would be declined," Daymond said on Rich Eisen's new "Just Getting Started" podcast.

"And there was obviously a reason ... but I was like, '[clears throat] I’m going to get this one, so that I can go down in history saying that I paid for your check!'"

Then Daymond dropped another clue ...

"And, if you knew how the Sharks talk, you can tell -- if you’re in sports -- he said 'Whatever, DJ,' you know who that is, of course."

IT'S DEFINITELY MARK CUBAN!!!

Of course, Cuban is currently worth around $4.4 BILLION, according to Forbes ... so the declined card was most likely a mistake (it's not like the dude doesn't have the funds)!

But still, Daymond loved EVERY SECOND OF IT -- and now he can brag that he picked up Cuban's check in the Dallas Mavericks owner's moment of need.

At the end of the interview, Eisen tells Daymond -- "You tell Cuban, pay his bills!"

Daymond smiles and replies, "You said it, not I. I didn’t say the name, you said it."

Tom Brady's battle with Father Time can now continue at least 2 more years ... he just agreed to an extension with the Bucs that locks him into Tampa through the 2022 season!

The G.O.A.T. just made the deal Friday morning, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported, agreeing to sign a new 4-year extension that will ultimately become a one-year extension due to voidable years on the contract.

Unclear the dollar amount Tom will get with the new deal ... but he signed a 2-year, $50 MILLION contract with the Bucs before the 2020 season began -- so safe to say it'll be somewhere in the ballpark of another $25 mil per season.

Of course, the new agreement means Tom is officially signed on to play until he's 45-years-old -- an age he's aspired to play to for a long time.

In fact, since things are going so well (you might have heard he won his SEVENTH Super Bowl ring last month) ... Tom said in February playing PAST that age is something he'll "consider."

Tom lit it up in his first year with Tampa ... throwing for 4,633 yards and 40 touchdowns.

He initially had just one year left on his contract before Friday's agreement to extend.

At this point, the conversation becomes ... WILL TOM PLAY UNTIL HE'S 50?!!?!

The Golden State Warriors benched rookie star James Wiseman for the first 3 quarters of Thursday night's game for blowing off a mandatory COVID test during the All-Star break.

The team has said 19-year-old Wiseman -- the #2 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft -- simply "forgot" to show up to the team facility for testing ... a big no-no in the COVID-conscious NBA.

Wiseman was forced to miss practice on Wednesday due to COVID protocols but was eligible to get back on the court Thursday for the team's first game after the All-Star break.

But, Wiseman rode the pine for the first 3 quarters as the Warriors took on the L.A. Clippers -- presumably as a punishment for missing his COVID test.

He finally entered the game in the 4th quarter and balled out -- dropping 14 points and 7 rebounds in 12 minutes ... making 6 out of his 7 shots. The Warriors ultimately lost 130 to 104.

After the game, Wiseman talked about the incident -- and took full responsibility.

"I made a huge mistake and I most definitely will not do that again. I made sure I apologized to Coach. I was mad, so I had to make sure I just went out there and played hard."

Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr said the rookie had to be more responsible, but he liked how Wiseman responded after being benched.

"You’ve got to take care of your business. Everything matters. He responded exactly as I had hoped he would. He competed with energy and that bodes well."

Warriors superstar Stephen Curry had some advice for the rookie after the game -- "There are learning curves for everybody in this league."

UVA is out of the ACC tourney thanks to COVID -- which could keep them out of the NCAA.

Sick of acronyms yet? Yeah, same.

Here's the deal ... someone in the University of Virginia basketball program tested positive for coronavirus, forcing the team to withdraw from Friday night's ACC tournament semifinal game against Georgia Tech.

GT will now move on to the ACC championship game to face the winner of North Carolina vs. Florida State.

So, where does that leave UVA? That's a mystery at the moment.

The Cavaliers were the ACC regular-season champions -- and ESPN projected them to be a #4 seed in the NCAA tourney.

But, the COVID situation could force UVA into a mandatory quarantine that could conflict with the 1st round of the NCAA tourney, which is set to tip-off on Thursday.

Will UVA be out of the COVID protocol by then? If not, will the NCAA postpone the game? So many questions to be answered.

Bottom line ... we're still waiting for more info from the school and the NCAA -- but this could mean another solid team is OUT of the tourney before it even begins!!

An NHL rink looked more like the UFC octagon Thursday night ... 'cause a Red Wings player was straight-up KNOCKED OUT by one punch in an on-ice fight.

The violent scrap all went down during the Lightning's game against the Red Wings in Detroit ... when things between Tampa Bay's Barclay Goodrow and Detroit's Adam Erne got chippy and escalated quickly.

Late in the 2nd period ... Goodrow checked Erne into the boards -- and Erne didn't take kindly to the shove, throwing his stick at Goodrow's legs.

Goodrow returned the favor by attempting to trip Erne ... and then the guys went at it!!

They dropped the gloves, started swinging ... and a few seconds later, Goodrow landed a haymaker right on Erne's jaw.

You can see in the clip, Erne appeared to be knocked out on his feet ... and in an awesome gesture from Goodrow, the Lightning player held up his opponent by his jersey so his head wouldn't crash down on the ice.

Both players were assessed penalties for fighting ... and Erne had to head to the locker room to get checked out by trainers.

Hockey, man.

Scary situation at the Qatar Open -- when pro tennis player Tim Puetz took a RACQUET TO THE EYE in a truly freak accident on the court.

The 33-year-old German pro was in a doubles match with his partner Freddie Nielsen on Wednesday when Puetz tried to stretch to return a serve.

As Puetz reached out his racquet ... he let go of the grip -- and the racquet went crashing to the ground.

But, it hit the surface at a funny angle and BOUNCED BACK at Puetz's face -- with the butt of the racquet bashing the tennis pro right in his eye.

Puetz began bleeding from his face -- and it was obvious he was in pain.

An official ran over with a bag of ice and medical personnel raced over to evaluate the situation.

"I cannot see very well," Puetz can be heard saying in the moments after the incident ... "Freddie I can see pretty well when I’m stationary. But if I look around, I can’t see very well."

Unfortunately for Puetz, the injury forced him to retire from the match. Afterward, his opponents -- Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah -- expressed concern for Tim's health.

"I feel very sorry for Tim," Farrah said in a post-game interview.

"It’s something none of us want, to get hit in the eye, and I really hope he recovers really well."

Cam Newton's time in New England ain't over yet ... the QB is finalizing a deal to return to the Patriots -- and the new contract could reportedly be worth nearly $14 MIL for 1 year!!

The surprising re-signing is expected to come later this month, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter ... with the dollar amount a staggering figure considering Cam's up-and-down 2020 season.

Newton joined the Pats last summer on a 1-year contract -- his base salary was just $1 million with millions in incentives, but unclear how much he ultimately pocketed from the deal.

And, despite a good opening stretch of games, the 31-year-old finished the season with just 8 TD passes and 10 interceptions.

The year was so rocky for Newton -- who battled a mid-season bout with COVID and ultimately went 7-8 as the team's starter -- most thought the Patriots would move on this offseason.

Clearly, though, the Pats saw enough from Cam to want him back ... and the big money suggests he'll be their starter in 2021.

Of course, the news has to be music to Newton's ears ... the former MVP has spoken VERY highly of his time in New England.

In fact, Cam recently called Bill Belichick "misunderstood" and "dope as s***" on a recent edition of the "I AM ATHLETE" podcast.

By the way, if you're wondering what kind of shape Cam is in this offseason ... it's pretty good -- check out the dude's moves at a roller rink in Atlanta last month.