TMZ Sports - Page 50

F. Lee Bailey, one of the most famous lawyers in American history, has died.

Bailey represented some of the most notorious defendants in jurisprudence. He repped, among others, Boston Strangler Albert DeSalvo, Patty Hearst, Sam Sheppard and, of course, O.J. Simpson.

Bailey actually made a name for himself early in his career, but not as a lawyer. He was the host of a television show, "Good Company," in 1967, in which he interviewed celebs in their homes. In 1983, he had another show ... "Lie Detector," where he would question guests and submit their answers to a polygrapher.

You likely remember him most from O.J. Simpson's criminal trial, where he partnered with Johnnie Cochran, Robert Shapiro, Robert Kardashian and others. One of the most dramatic parts of the trial was when Bailey cross-examined former LAPD Detective Mark Fuhrman and made it clear to the jury the former cop had used the n-word. Many of those who covered the trial felt that was the moment the jury would decide to find Simpson not guilty.

Bailey had big problems after the Simpson trial. He was disbarred in 2001 for transferring assets from a client into his own, personal bank account.

An interesting twist in his life ... he was arrested in 1982 for drunk driving in California and beat the rap with his lawyer -- none other than Robert Shapiro.

In 2009 Bailey took and passed the bar exam in Maine but was forbidden to practice because the bar felt he did not possess "the honesty and integrity" to practice law.

Simpson posted a video after hearing about Bailey's death, and said his former lawyer had recently completed a book about O.J.'s criminal trial.

Bailey was married 4 times and had 3 children.

He was 87.

The FaZe Clan continues to make HUGE moves -- this time, the global Esports organization is adding Call of Duty badass Kalei Renay as its newest member!!

FaZe made the official announcement Thursday ... saying 21-year-old Kalei's work ethic, competitiveness and unapologetic personality made it an easy choice to add to its growing roster of gamers.

FYI -- Kalei streams up to 12 hours a day for her 353,000 Twitch followers ... and is known for her insane sniper skills on the sticks.

Kalei -- who will now go by "FaZe Kalei" -- spoke about the news ... saying, "It’s really a dream come true to join FaZe."

"For me, this is a moment to say ‘F*** You’ to all the people who didn’t believe in me or thought my personality was an obstacle."

"FaZe encourages me to be myself and believes I can achieve success without watering down my weirdness. That means the world to me."

FaZe CEO Lee Trink also spoke about the addition ... saying, "We are thrilled to have Kalei join the FaZe family."

"Kalei has true FaZe style star power and we support her resolve to remain true to her authentic self without conforming to a particular idea of what a female gamer should look or act like."

Joining FaZe is no cakewalk -- each new member has to go through the FaZe Academy, which teaches about the org.'s history, code of conduct, media training and more.

Turns out Johnny Manziel really WAS raking in 5 figures signing autographs after his Heisman season ... 'cause the ex-college superstar is admitting to making at least $33k off his signature before suiting up for Texas A&M in 2013.

Remember, the NCAA launched a massive investigation into claims Manziel was making dough signing memorabilia (a no-no for college athletes) while in Miami for the 2013 BCS National Championship game ... but found zero evidence of the QB getting paid.

Johnny Football is now coming clean about the whole ordeal ... breaking down the entire thing with Barstool Sports' "Bussin' With The Boys" podcast.

"This guy comes up behind me, he's like, 'Yo, how would you wanna make 3 grand?'" Johnny said. "I turn around, I'm like, f*** yeah, bro!'"

Manziel said he had about $65 in his bank account at the time and wanted some extra cash ... so he followed the guy to his condo to sign "probably 10,000 pieces."

But, it didn't stop there -- Johnny says another dude approached him and said he was getting royally ripped off (which, uh, yeah, he definitely was) ... and offered him a sweeter deal -- $30k!!!

"So, this guy's pretty much, 'All right, go to this room at the Fontainebleau. All this stuff will be in there laid out. When you're done, just send me a picture of all of it. I'll give you the code to the safe, the money will be in there,'" Johnny says.

Pretty sketchy, right?? But, Johnny says he didn't care ... 'cause he was finally making some money ... and has no regrets over the serious NCAA violations.

In fact, he says he went back several more times over the next few months to get some more coin.

"We went 9-4 the next year, so if the NCAA wants to take my f***ing 9-4 season away, my Chick-Fil-A Bowl against Duke, f***ing blow me," Manziel said.

So ... does this mean Manziel's Heisman could get taken away like Reggie Bush's?? Johnny's adamant he didn't break any rules until AFTER he won the trophy.

"I never took a dollar until after I won the Heisman, and I think my statute of limitations are up. So, you can blow me again!"

We all know Canelo Alvarez can dance in the boxing ring ... but did you know he's also got the moves outside of it?!?

It's true ... the champ just posted a clip of him shakin' his tailfeather on a boat trip with his new wife -- and his moves ain't half bad!!

The newlyweds were enjoying the married life Thursday off the shores of Croatia -- when Canelo began breaking it down for his love, Fernanda Gomez.

There was some kickin', some swayin', some hip movements -- and it was HILARIOUS!!

Of course, Alvarez has all the reasons to be livin' it up ... he whooped Billy Joe Saunders in May, and a few days after the KO win, he married Gomez.

Mike Posner really knows how to soak in a sunrise ... he's now enjoyed one from the top of Mount Everest!!!

The EDM star just completed another amazing trek, summiting our planet's highest mountain, and ya gotta see the view from 29,000 feet above sea level. Even Mike would have to say this beats a pill in Ibiza ... hands down.

Mike says his climb up Mount Everest was extremely hard and more exhausting than his 6-month walk from New Jersey to California back in 2019 ... but it looks like the juice was definitely worth the squeeze.

Now, Mike's descending back to base camp after raising $229,000 and counting for the Detroit Justice Center with his climb. He says he's excited to get back to his home state of Michigan after spending about 2 months in the Himalayas prepping for the trek of a lifetime.

Remember, Mike walked across America 2 years ago and he says when he was crossing the Rocky Mountains he decided what he wanted to accomplish next ... climbing Everest.

WWE superstar Alexa Bliss is still mourning the death of her beloved pet pig -- but will honor his memory by making sure no other animal suffers the way he did.

As we previously reported, Alexa's pig, Larry-Steve, suffered a medical emergency last week -- but she could not find a veterinarian in her area who would treat the animal.

Due to the lack of medical care, Larry-Steve died ... one day before his 4th birthday.

Alexa tells TMZ Sports she's still very shaken up by the whole situation -- but now feels motivated to save other animals in similar situations.

"We just know that, unfortunately, there's not enough vets that are able to treat pigs or any tools to be able to help larger animals," Bliss told us at LAX.

Bliss says she's been contacted by a bunch of animal owners who experienced similar issues with their larger non-traditional pets and she feels compelled to help.

So far, Bliss says she's raised more than $16,000 for a pig rescue in Florida and will name it after her late pet.

"They're building an insulated pig house for the winter and it's gonna be called The House Larry-Steve Built."

Alexa says she's not sure if she'll get another pet pig -- she's still in a lot of emotional pain -- but will stay deeply involved in the animal community.

"I would love to keep rescuing animals and pigs specifically because they are so emotionally smart. They have the learning capability and understanding of a 3-year-old child. They can feel grief and they can cry real tears."

Who's ready for some more football!?!?!?

The United States Football League -- which had an unforgettable run from 1983-85 -- is coming back to life after 37 years ... with plans to return to action in 2022!!

Of course, there were several big names to come through the USFL during its brief stint -- from future NFL stars like Herschel Walker and Jim Kelly to President Donald Trump, who was an owner of the New Jersey Generals.

This time around, the league will be teaming up with Fox Sports ... which will be the official broadcasting partner when games kick off in the spring of 2022.

"The relaunch of the USFL is a landmark day for football fans and Fox Sports," CEO Eric Shanks said in a statement.

"Football is in our DNA and the return of this innovative and iconic league is a fantastic addition to our robust slate of football programming."

The league plans to have at least 8 franchises and still holds on to the original team names -- which include the Los Angeles Express, Chicago Blitz, Tampa Bay Bandits, Houston Gamblers and more.

The USFL famously crumbled when it tried to become direct competition for the NFL in 1986 ... but that won't be happening with the reboot.

The league DOES face some competition from The Rock and the XFL, which also plans to launch in 2022.

Canadiens player Jake Evans was forced to leave the ice on a stretcher Wednesday after a violent hit ... and his teammates are now calling the play both "dirty" and "disgusting."

The incident all went down late in the third period of Game 1 of Montreal's playoff series with Winnipeg ... when Evans scored a wraparound, empty-net goal.

Immediately after the puck crossed the red line, though, he was demolished by Jets player Mark Scheifele ... and Evans hit the ice HARD.

You can see in footage of the play, Evans landed face first ... and laid motionless on the ice while Canadiens players raced in to defend him.

While Montreal coach Dominique Ducharme said Evans did NOT need a trip to the hospital, Ducharme did say Evans still needed to undergo further evaluation after the Canadians' 5-3 win.

And, Evans' teammates were NOT happy about any of it ... even though Scheifele was hit with a penalty and ejected.

Forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi told reporters after the game the hit was "disgusting" ... while defenseman Joel Edmundson called it a "dirty" move.

"If he gets back in the series," Edmundson said of Scheifele, "we're going to make his life miserable."

Vanessa Bryant says Nike shoes she designed to honor Kobe and Gianna have been leaked ... and she's outraged over it, claiming they should have NEVER been made.

VB explained the situation early Thursday morning ... saying during recent talks with Nike, she helped create a version of the Kobe 6 Protro that was meant to honor her two loved ones who tragically died in a 2020 helicopter crash.

Vanessa says the shoes featured a black and white colorway, Gianna's #2, and other specific marks like a butterfly, wings and a halo.

The problem? Vanessa says after her split with Nike this spring, approval for the shoes to be made was NOT given -- but she claims they've somehow been leaked anyway and posted a photo of someone holding the shoe in their hand!

"Nike has NOT sent any of these pairs to me and my girls," Vanessa said in a statement.

"I do not know how someone else has their hands on shoes I designed in honor of my daughter, Gigi, and we don't. I hope these shoes did not get sold."

Vanessa added she wanted the shoes to be sold "to honor my daughter with ALL of the proceeds benefitting our @mambamambacitasports foundation."

Vanessa then asked her followers to track down the shoes ... writing on social media, "If someone can share how they have these shoes in their possession, that would be great because my daughters and I don’t have any of Gigi’s MAMBACITA shoes."

An Instagram user, brandon1an, who originally posted professional photos of the "Mambacita" shoes nearly 3 weeks ago, claims Nike is the one responsible for the shoe leak.

"I just want to make it clear that I don't own a pair of those Mambacita Kobes," the IG user said in a statement Thursday morning.

"The pictures I posted are official product pictures from a Nike authorized retailer."

The user continued, "Unfortunately for [Vanessa Bryant], Nike clearly sent pairs to this retailer (as well as others) with the intent of selling pairs."

Another major blow for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics ... nearly 10,000 volunteers have QUIT over COVID fears just 50 days before the Games are set to begin.

The number of people who just opted out represents 1/8th of the 80,000 unpaid volunteers who signed up to work the event, which is still set to kick off on July 23.

As we previously reported, there is serious backlash in Japan about hosting the Olympics -- considering only about 2 to 3% of the population is vaccinated ... and the country reported a surge in cases in May.

In fact, officials extended a State of Emergency in Japan to June 20 because hospitals and other medical care facilities in major cities are being pushed to the brink.

There have been protests in the streets of Tokyo recently from people concerned the Games will serve as a superspreader event.

There are also reports out of Japan showing 80% of Japanese citizens are AGAINST the Olympics beginning on July 23, as currently scheduled.

Still, Olympics officials have reiterated the Games WILL go on as planned.

Tyron Woodley isn't planning on being a 1-hit wonder in the boxing ring ... telling TMZ Sports he's serious about taking MULTIPLE fights after KO'ing Jake Paul.

"I want to fight twice this year," the ex-UFC champ says ... "I fight [Jake Paul] on August 28 and I think around November, I'll be ready to box again."

Tyron says MONEY is a huge driving factor -- explaining he's making a fortune to face the 24-year-old YouTube star ... and believes a dominant victory will keep the cash flowing in for a while.

"The best thing that's happened in the last 24 hours is I'm smiling that my market value is where it's at," Tyron says ... "you won't put me in the clearance rack."

Tyron also responded to Jake Paul's fight prediction of a 2nd-round knockout over Woodley.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA," Woodley said before paraphrasing a famous Muhammad Ali quote.

"If you ever dream of knocking me out, wake up and apologize."

Tyron also explained why the Jake Paul fight will be the "easiest" of his career ... saying, "It's not because HE'S an easy fight, but because I'm gonna train my ass off and I'm gonna make it an easy fight."

Grizzlies star Ja Morant's mom will NOT be in Utah to watch Memphis take on the Jazz on Wednesday ... after fans made disgusting and racist remarks towards their family earlier in the playoff series.

3 Jazz fans were banned indefinitely for comments made to Morant's parents during Game 2 on May 26 ... with Ja's dad, Tee, telling ESPN the harassment was "straight up disrespectful."

Jazz owner Ryan Smith apologized to the Morants and offered courtside seats, transportation and a hotel to Game 5 for family and friends ... but Tee says Ja's mother, Jamie, will not be in attendance due to their recent experience at Vivint Arena.

"She said her anxiety couldn't take it," Tee told the outlet ... while adding it was a "nice gesture" for the Jazz to offer their services for Wednesday's game.

Tee also spoke about the harassment experienced during Game 2 ... saying, "It was unfortunate. It was just a few fans -- most of them were great and cheering right alongside with us."

Ja denounced the Jazz fans' actions on Twitter last week, saying, "my family should be able cheer for me & my teammates without getting inappropriate s*** said to them."

Smith added ... "Memphis Grizzlies and Morant family... we are embarrassed and sorry. The @utahjazz have zero tolerance for offensive behavior. We are committed to creating a respectful, competitive environment."

It's the end of an era ... legendary college basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski is retiring after this upcoming NCAA season, completing 42 seasons at Duke.

WHOA.

The news was confirmed by college basketball insider Jeff Goodman, who says an official announcement is expected soon.

Goodman also says 74-year-old Coach K is expected to be replaced by Jon Scheyer, a former Duke player who's currently an asst. coach with the Blue Devils.

Scheyer will have MASSIVE shoes to fill -- Coach K has coached 5 national championship teams and has led the Blue Devils to 12 Final Four appearances.

Coach K became the first Div. I men's coach to reach 1,000 victories ... and he currently has 1,170 total.

Krzyzewski became Duke's head coach in May 1980 ... after serving as Army's head coach for five seasons.

Coach K is widely considered one of the best coaches EVER ... and has the most career NCAA tournament victories (97).

Over the past 41 seasons, Krzyzewski has coached 9 national players of the year and 28 NBA lottery picks ... including guys like Jason Williams, J.J. Redick, Grant Hill, Christian Laettner, Jabari Parker and more.

Coach K has also led the bench for the national team ... winning 6 gold medals with Team USA.

Isi Etute -- a freshman linebacker on the Virginia Tech football team -- has been charged with murder ... and the school says it's now suspended him from the program immediately.

The Blacksburg Police Department said Wednesday that Etute was involved in the killing of a 40-year-old man on Tuesday.

Details surrounding the alleged incident are unclear ... but cops say they found a man dead after they responded to a call in Blacksburg, Va. at around 10:30 PM Tuesday.

Cops say they zeroed in on Etute, who they say was an "acquaintance" of the victim, after conducting their investigation.

Etute has since been charged with 2nd-degree murder, court records show ... and cops say he's currently being held without bond in jail.

Cops added the investigation is both "complex" and "ongoing."

Etute -- a 6-foot-2, 200-pound outside LB -- signed with Va. Tech after committing to the school in July 2020 ... and had participated in the team's 2021 spring practices.

Tech officials say in addition to him being suspended immediately from the football team, he's also been placed on suspension from the university.

Etute was majoring in human development, school officials say.

The results are in ... again ... confirming Medina Spirit did have a BANNED SUBSTANCE in his system when he won the Kentucky Derby.

Remember, Medina Spirit tested positive in the days following the May 1 event -- but trainer Bob Baffert had called for people to chillax until the 2nd sample (known as a split sample) came back from the labs.

Well, now the split sample has been analyzed at the University of California, Davis and it DID come back positive for betamethasone, a banned substance in horseracing ... this according to Bob Baffert's lawyer.

"In response to the inquiries, this will acknowledge that the Medina Spirit split sample confirmed the findings of betamethasone at 25 picograms," attorney Craig Robertson said in a statement.

FYI, betamethasone is a corticosteroid that can be used to numb joint pain in horses, which (in theory) can help them race better.

"There is other testing that is being conducted, including DNA testing. We expect this additional testing to confirm that the presence of the betamethasone was from the topical ointment, Otomax, and not an injection."

Baffert -- the most famous trainer in racing history -- has denied intentional wrongdoing ... saying he believes Medina Spirit tested positive for betamethasone after innocently taking a medication prescribed by a respected veterinarian.

"At the end of the day, we anticipate this case to be about the treatment of Medina Spirit's skin rash with Otomax. We will have nothing further to say until the additional testing is complete," Robertson added.

Now, it's very possible Medina Spirit will be formally disqualified from the Kentucky Derby, nullifying his victory.

Kyrie Irving was the target of another idiot fan Sunday night who almost beaned the b-baller in the head with a water bottle ... and this time the culprit was arrested.

The incident went down in Boston at TD Gardens ... as Kyrie was walking out, you see the bottle come within a hair's breadth of his head. His teammates were outraged, and Tyler Johnson scoped out the crowd and ID'd the culprit.

A fan threw a water bottle at Kyrie Iriving as he was leaving the court, he was then arrested.

Cops say the fan in question is 21-year-old Cole Buckley, who is now charged with one count of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Yeah, a water bottle in the wrong hands is a dangerous weapon.

An eyewitness says he saw Buckley throw a Desani water bottle in Irving's direction. Buckley was wearing a Kevin Garnett jersey as he was taken into custody and removed from the arena.

Irving said after the incident ... "You're seeing a lot of old ways come up... just underlying racism and treating people like they're in a human zoo. Throwing stuff at people, saying things. There is a certain point where it gets to be too much."

Kevin Durant also chimed in ... “Have some respect for the human beings and have some respect for yourself. Your mother wouldn’t be proud of you throwing water bottles at basketball players or spitting on players or tossing popcorn,” Durant said. “So grow the f**k up and enjoy the game. It's bigger than you."

Just days earlier ... a fan dumped popcorn on Russell Westbrook during the NBA playoffs as he walked off the court injured. Afterward, Westbrook said players need protection from out-of-control fans.