TMZ Sports - Page 50

Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson says his attack on Rangers players earlier this week was completely justified ... insisting all he was trying to do was defend his goalie.

The 27-year-old explained the situation in his first meeting with media members since Monday night's drama ... saying New York players started it all when they messed with Caps goaltender Vitek Vanecek.

"Their guy goes to our net and kicks at our goalie and goes in there with his stick," Wilson said.

"At a young age in hockey, you’re taught to stand up for your goalie, so that’s what I was doing."

Wilson then explained he violently took down Rangers star Artemi Panarin because he claims the dude just straight up jumped on his back in an aggressive way.

"I think anybody’s first reaction would try to be just to throw them off you and wrestle them down to the ice," Wilson said. "And, that’s what I thought about it at the time."

Wilson added he believed it all to be a "fairly routine hockey scrum."

Seemed the NHL agreed, 'cause Wilson was NOT suspended and was only hit with a $5,000 fine ... which enraged the Rangers, who called the punishment complete B.S.

In fact, they were so upset with it ... when the two teams met again on Wednesday night, NY players could not stop going after the Capitals -- inciting brawls seconds after the puck dropped.

The two teams fought so much, Wilson was ultimately forced out of the game due to injury.

Wilson -- who appeared to be contrite about the whole situation at his news conference Friday -- did say he personally reached out to Panarin after the incident, and is glad he's doing better.

The Rangers, meanwhile, paid a $250,000 fine for blasting the NHL's head of player safety, George Parros, in a scathing statement after Wilson's punishment was announced.

Legendary NFL coach Mike Holmgren says the Aaron Rodgers drama in Green Bay is all the Packers' fault ... and he says if he were running the show there, it would've never gotten to this point.

The 72-year-old -- who coached the Pack from 1992-1998 -- broke it all down on the "Carmen and Jurko" show on ESPN Chicago ... saying straight-up the Packers blew their marriage with the QB.

"I can't imagine a relationship between the coach, or management, or whoever is making the decisions and a star quarterback like that getting to this point," Holmgren says.

"I just can't imagine it. I wouldn't allow it. It wouldn't happen."

Holmgren says the team should have looped in Rodgers before it drafted Jordan Love in 2020 ... adding Green Bay should've done everything in its power to keep the future Hall of Famer happy.

"With a franchise quarterback and a guy as good as Aaron -- you don't treat all the players the same," Holmgren said. "You have a line that no one crosses, but I would call him in and say, 'Look, we're going to do this. This is how it's going to affect you.'"

"'We've got to get ready for when you retire. We've got to kind of think of the franchise. But, nothing's going to happen now. You're the man. You're the guy.'"

Holmgren says he believes that would have resolved issues ... and even if it didn't, he says he would've found other ways to fix it.

Of course, Mike acknowledges back in his day he never really had to have conversations like these -- saying when he was with San Francisco, they never told Joe Montana about bringing in Steve Young.

Holmgren, though, explained, "It's a different world now. It's a different world."

Hall of Famer David Ortiz thinks Albert Pujols was done dirty by the Angels ... saying the legendary slugger should have been able to walk away from baseball on his own terms -- and calling his release "devastating."

The 3-time MVP was given his walking papers after 9 seasons with the L.A. Angels on Thursday ... with baseball fans wondering if they've seen the last of 41-year-old Pujols on a baseball diamond.

If that's the case, Ortiz -- who grew up with Pujols in the Dominican Republic -- is PISSED ... saying the future first-ballot Hall of Famer earned the right to decide when he's done.

"Brother @albertpujols, all the way with you incredible career one of the most beloved player of all time on and off the field l do not agree on the move that just happen," Ortiz said in an Instagram post on Friday.

"That was devastating for fans and player l know this is a business but l was expecting someone like you to walk away like you deserve."

Of course, there were rumblings Pujols was considering retirement after the 2021 season anyway, but Ortiz says a man who has done so much for the sport deserves more respect.

There will be no Aaron Rodgers/Jordan Love-like drama in Tampa ... 'cause new Bucs rookie QB Kyle Trask says Tom Brady's already offering to be his mentor!!

The former Univ. of Florida signal-caller -- who was drafted in the 2nd-round by Tampa Bay last week -- says Brady is already looking to meet him, throw with him and take him under his wing.

“He actually did reach out to me a couple of days after the draft," Trask said of Brady to NFL Network.

"Just checking in on when I was going to get into town so that we can get together and maybe do some throwing and things like that. That meant a lot to me."

Trask says others in the org. have been equally as welcoming ... telling the Network, "You can definitely tell that they have a great culture and a great group of people just in this building and I can’t wait to get started."

Of course, things aren't always this way in the NFL ... Rodgers and his drama with the Packers after they drafted Love in 2020 certainly highlights that.

But, Brady's always made an effort to get along with his backups/potential replacements ... in fact, Jimmy Garoppolo just said this week TB12 really helped him after the Patriots brought him into New England in 2014.

Wayne Gretzky is not only The Great One on the ice ... but clearly off of it too -- 'cause the NHL legend made a fan's life by re-autographing a baby shoe, and the story is awesome.

Back in 1986, a little boy and his mother ran into Gretzky -- but they had one problem ... they had no hockey memorabilia for Wayne to sign.

So, Mom thought quickly on her feet, handed over her little boy's Nike shoe ... and Gretzky gladly slapped his John Hancock on it.

The piece actually came out pretty cool ... it's a baby shoe with Wayne Gretzky's signature on it!!

But, after 30-plus years ... the signature faded, and the boy who had kept it all that time was heartbroken.

So much so, he says he tried EVERYTHING he could to get in touch with Gretzky to have him re-sign the shoe.

Fortunately, after years of reaching out, he posted his story on a Facebook group's page ... and the guys at Upper Deck eventually caught wind of it and decided to lend a helping hand.

They were able to ultimately get the shoe back in front of Gretzky ... and, after explaining to him the story of it all -- the hockey legend gladly signed it again!!

The piece is now truly incredible ... Gretzky wrote "1/1" on it alongside his signature -- and Upper Deck authenticated it and sent it back to the fan, who couldn't have been more grateful.

"I can't thank everyone enough that helped get this done," the fan said. "This shoe will remain in my Family forever. If I thought it was priceless before, it has now become even more priceless if that’s possible."

Sam Ehlinger's younger brother -- Univ. of Texas linebacker Jake Ehlinger -- was found dead near campus on Thursday ... TMZ Sports has confirmed.

A spokesperson for the Austin Police Department tells us cops received a call at around 12:18 PM, and a short time later, found Jake's body just blocks away from the university.

The spokesperson did not reveal a cause of death or any other details surrounding the tragedy ... but did note the department is considering it all "non-suspicious."

Jake walked onto the Longhorns' team in 2019 -- joining up with his older brother, Sam, who was a STAR quarterback for UT for the previous few seasons.

Jake did not log a snap in his first two years on the team.

Sam and Jake were very close ... in fact when Sam was picked by the Indianapolis Colts in the 6th round of the NFL Draft last week -- the two brothers shared a long embrace with other family members.

Jake was just 20 years old.

RIP

Tristan Thompson has his legal guns putting the heat back on the Instagram model claiming she has salacious texts from him ... telling Sydney Chase to put up or shut up.

The Celtics star -- who's with Khloe Kardashian -- had his attorney, Marty Singer, fire off a legal threat to Chase ... who claims she had sex with Tristan after he got back with Khloe.

In the letter, obtained by TMZ, Singer says Chase is refusing to prove the existence of the alleged texts and it can only lead to one "inescapable conclusion ... that they do not exist."

As we reported ... Tristan's legal team previously fired off a cease and desist to Chase, claiming they never had a relationship and he never sent her any texts ... and she initially denied receiving the threat.

Chase has since changed her tune, acknowledging she received the cease and desist after it was sent to another email address ... and now Tristan's legal team says she keeps "changing the purported 'facts' to fit [her] story."

Logan Paul insists the dust-up between his brother and Floyd Mayweather was NOT a scripted stunt ... telling TMZ Sports, "I f**king wish that wasn't real."

"I wish it was staged," Logan added ... "That s**t is not funny. It's not fun for anyone."

As we previously reported, Jake Paul took over the media event at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Thursday and got right into Floyd's face ... stealing his baseball cap and touching off a violent altercation.

Floyd was PISSED -- chasing after Jake while screaming that he was going to "kill" the YouTube superstar.

We spoke with Logan after the incident and he told us the whole situation is giving him even MORE motivation to flatten Mayweather when they step in the ring on June 6.

"That s**t just got personal by default. It was supposed to be like a cute little press conference ...come together, get people excited for the fight. Not people talking about killing people! What the f**k!?"

We asked Logan if he had a message to Floyd ... and of course, Logan delivered.

"This is gonna be the craziest f**king evening to ever take place in the history of combat sports."

"My message to Floyd is this ... we're gonna get you that hat back, Floyd."

By the way, the Floyd incident was the talk of Hollywood on Thursday -- just ask rapper Rich the Kid, who weighed in on the incident when we spotted him in Beverly Hills.

Conor McGregor says Floyd Mayweather should be "embarrassed" by his run-in with Jake Paul on Thursday ... saying the fact he's feuding with YouTubers is just "sad."

The UFC superstar dropped some strong criticism about his old opponent after things went sideways at Thursday's media event at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami ... calling out Mayweather CEO Leonard Ellerbe for allowing Floyd to get involved with such a circus.

"Hey [Leonard Ellerbe], what the f**k is Floyd at?" Conor posted on IG.

"The kid [Jake Paul] curled up, didn’t fight back once, and Floyd is still running around acting the tough guy."

"The kid actually just pulled this shambles of a situation Floyd is in out of the drain for him. He should thank him. It’s embarrassing!"

Conor's point is Floyd is too accomplished and too big of a draw to be fighting unaccomplished non-professionals like Logan Paul and Jake.

"Pro to pro it’s embarrassing," Conor continued.

McGregor predicts the June 6 PPV event will ultimately be a failure -- saying Floyd "will not scratch $10 million for this fight and he knows it."

"It was cancelled once already. The world is watching this on Twitter. He’d fight a half decent pro and command 20m upwards, yet its this s**t."

"Whatever way you spin this, it’s sad. Fight someone for real, on your record, or f**k off mate. Slap head!"

Kim Zolciak's time on another reality show has come to an end ... "Don't Be Tardy" is getting the ax after a long run on the air.

Production sources tell TMZ ... the TV show -- which follows the daily lives of Kim, her husband, Kroy Biermann, her daughters, Brielle and Ariana and the rest of the family -- is not returning for a 9th season on Bravo.

We're told the network decided not to move forward with another season of 'Tardy' because Bravo felt the show had simply run its course after 8 years documenting the famous fam.

The reality show debuted way back in 2012 when it was known as "Don't Be Tardy For the Wedding" ... and the first season follows Kim and Kroy as they prepare to say "I do."

'Tardy' was the first spin-off from "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" ... and Kim famously left 'RHOA' to do her own show.

Canelo Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders are fighting in front of a MASSIVE crowd Saturday night, but promoter Eddie Hearn says you should NOT worry about Covid ... 'cause there are precautions in place to keep fans safe.

The fight's going down May 8 at AT&T Stadium in Texas -- where there are no restrictions -- and will likely be the most attended event in America since the pandemic struck early last year.

"We're gonna be just under 70,000. So it's gonna be incredible," Hearn says ... "I think I remember seeing Canelo box Liam Smith and it was about 40,000 people there and the atmosphere was just absolutely insane. This is gonna be a very, very special atmosphere."

Some people have said packing the building with fans is a bad idea ... so we asked Eddie to address the situation.

"We're not the first in terms of big numbers returning to Texas. All sports now have been bringing crowds back. You've seen no spikes because of that," Hearn says.

"There will be masks worn, mandatory, on Saturday night. I've noticed, to be honest with you, as a Brit coming into states that have opened up like Texas and Florida, people aren't going out there care-free and just ignoring rules."

"People are actually being sensible and they will be Saturday night, and everyone will have a safe night."

This should be good ...

Logan Paul and Floyd Mayweather are going to stand face-to-face in Miami on Thursday in an event to promote their upcoming boxing match ... and you KNOW it's gonna be a spectacle.

It's all going down at 12 PM PT -- and we'll live stream the whole thing here.

Logan has been extremely confident he'll be able to bang with one of the greatest pugilists of all time. Expect to hear a lot from him.

Floyd -- who's 50-0 as a pro fighter -- is also a master trash talker who famously verbally sparred with Conor McGregor for months leading up to their big fight in 2017.

So, when Floyd and Logan -- two masters of promotion -- get together, you know it's gonna get crazy.

The two are set to throw down at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on June 6. Ex-NFL star Chad Ochocinco has agreed to fight on the undercard, though his opponent has not been confirmed yet.

Chad is also expected to be at the media event on Thursday -- so plan to hear from him as well.

Logan is 0-1 as a pro boxer -- losing his first sanctioned bout to YouTube star KSI in a controversial decision.

His younger brother, Jake Paul, on the other hand, is 3-0 as a pro ... coming off an impressive knockout victory over UFC fighter Ben Askren.

One of the best baseball players of this century is now team-less -- the L.A. Angels have cut Albert Pujols ... and it now begs the question, is this the end of the MLB legend's career??

The Angels announced the parting of ways with the slugger on Thursday morning ... saying they've designated the future Hall of Famer for assignment.

"The Angels organization proudly signed Albert Pujols in 2011 and are honored that he has worn an Angels jersey for nearly half of his Hall-of-Fame career," owner Arte Moreno said.

"Albert Pujols' historical accomplishments, both on and off the field, serve as an inspiration to athletes everywhere, and his actions define what it means to be a true superstar."

Pujols inked a massive, 10-year, $210 million with the Angels in '11 after a brilliant career with the STL Cardinals ... but his legendary bat has slowed tremendously over the years.

In fact, the start to this season was one of his worst EVER ... he was hitting just .198 in 24 games before his release Thursday.

Pujols will have the opportunity to catch on with another team ... but at 41 years old, this might be it for the MLB star -- who reportedly had been mulling retirement after this season anyway.

Ya had to see this one coming -- the New York Rangers have just been slapped with a MASSIVE fine by the NHL ... after the team went scorched earth on a league exec. earlier this week.

Remember, the Rangers were FURIOUS with the league after Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson was handed a measly $5,000 fine for his violent altercation with N.Y. star Artemi Panarin.

The team released a lengthy statement slamming the NHL's head of player safety, George Parros, saying he was "unfit" to serve the position ... and Wilson should have been suspended indefinitely.

Of course, the NHL didn't take kindly to the statement ... handing down a severe $250,000 fine to the organization on Thursday.

Commish Gary Bettman spoke about the punishment minutes ago ... saying, "Public comments of the nature issued by the Rangers that were personal in nature and demeaning of a League executive will not be tolerated."

"While we don’t expect our Clubs to agree with every decision rendered by the Department of Player Safety, the extent to which the Rangers expressed their disagreement was unacceptable.

He added ... "It is terribly unfair to question George Parros' professionalism and dedication to his role and the Department of Player Safety."

Both teams are still dealing with the chaotic fallout from Monday's incident -- the Caps vs. Rangers game on Wednesday started off with a line brawl ... and there were at least 6 total fights in the 1st period alone.

Barack Obama had nothing but beautiful things to say about Willie Mays on the MLB legend's birthday ... even saying the ex-SF Giant helped pave the way for his presidency.

Obama posted the cool happy birthday note to the former slugger on his Twitter page Thursday ... saying, "Happy 90th birthday to Willie Mays!"

"If it wasn't for folks like Willie and Jackie Robinson, I might never have made it to the White House."

Obama continued, "The spirit he played with and the way he carried himself changed the game and people’s attitudes. I’m glad he’s still going strong."

Obama and Mays have had a friendship that dates back years ... Mays famously rode on Air Force 1 with Obama in 2009 when the two were on the way to the '09 MLB All-Star Game in St. Louis.

Obama later went on to joke about that trip ... saying, "Very rarely when I'm on Air Force 1 am I the second-most important guy on there. Everybody was just passing me by, 'Can I get you something, Mr. Mays?"

In 2015, Obama awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Mays as well.

Mays is to this day still one of the best baseball players that's ever lived ... he was a 2-time MVP, 24-time All-Star and a 12-time Gold Glove winner.

A diehard Orioles fan who's in the hospital battling COVID cried tears of joy watching John Means' no-hitter Wednesday ... and video from the ICU room will hit ya right in the feels.

Sports-talk host Josh Graham shared the emotional footage from his father on Wednesday evening ... saying, "There’s no sports team my dad loves more than the Orioles."

"While he fights COVID in a Raleigh ICU, he just watched John Means toss the O’s first no-hitter since 1969. He just sent me this and now I’m an emotional wreck."

The video is awesome, Josh's dad filmed himself in tears while watching Means celebrate his incredible game.

In the clip, Josh's dad continuously praised Means for the effort ... saying several times out loud, "He did it!" and "Thank God!"

Means was RIDICULOUS against the Mariners on Wednesday ... he struck out 12 batters in the complete-game shutout -- logging the first no-no for the Orioles in 52 years.

And, the game clearly inspired Josh's father ... 'cause Josh said it brightened up the guy's day and recovery process for sure.

"After Means’ no-no, he’s been talking trash with his doctor, a Yankee fan, and showing off his Orioles mask this morning," Josh said Thursday.

"He’s been overwhelmed by the amount of reaction and support he’s seen on social media. Thank you to everyone who’s reached out to check in."