TMZ Sports - Page 43

Calvin Johnson says it's no surprise to him that Roman Reigns has become one of the most legendary WWE Superstars of all time ... telling TMZ Sports the dude was a total "badass" at Georgia Tech.

Believe it or not, the guys were actually teammates for the Yellow Jackets' football team in the mid-2000s ... and Johnson says he knew right away that Reigns had mega-star potential.

"He was just always like a badass," the Hall of Fame wide receiver explained. "He didn't say much, but when he did say something, you listened."

Reigns went by his real name, Joe Anoa'i, when he was playing defensive line at the time ... and he performed so well alongside Johnson, many believed he had a bright future in the NFL.

His battle with cancer derailed those aspirations, however -- but Johnson said that all clearly ended up being "a blessing in disguise" for him ... as he's now poised to break numerous records in the squared circle.

"My man is killing it out here," Johnson said.

Ryan Clark is weighing into all the discourse that's gone on since Jonathan Owens said he was a catch for Simone Biles -- not the other way around -- by saying ... ease up, folks.

The ex-Steelers safety recorded a video addressing the backlash Owens is facing in the wake of an interview he did on RC's pod last week ... in which he described how he first met Simone, how they got together, and who he thought was the lucky one in the relationship.

It came off a little ineloquent at the time, but essentially ... he said he thought he was a catch for Simone -- and that he didn't necessarily "pull" her, but rather ... she pulled him.

JO also confessed he didn't know who Simone was when they matched on an app -- apparently, he wasn't tuned in to her Olympic run -- and says she made the first move.

BTW, as Owens was saying this to Clark and his podcast cohosts -- SB herself was in the room, and she didn't even flinch. The Internet, on the other hand, was up in arms over his comments ... as they felt he was being disrespectful for suggesting he was the prize here.

Simone and Jonathan have each addressed the heat he's catching ... and they both seem to be over it, and not nearly as mad as Twitter was when they first caught wind of this.

Now, Ryan himself is speaking up ... and he's got words for the collectively outraged.

There's a race in Spain where thousands of people gather each year to run a few miles dressed like Old Saint Nick -- and 2023 was no different ... but it was wild to see.

The 11th annual Carrera de Papá Noel in Madrid went down Sunday, with upwards of 7,500 attendees getting set at the starting line near the Plaza de Colon ... and were off to the races when the gun went off. And yes, just about everyone's dressed like a freaking Santa Claus.

While there were mostly red and white suits out there, you can find some variety if you look hard enough ... including some elf costumes and even some other random ones (dinosaur.)

Some walked, others jogged ... and a handful sprinted. The whole thing's for charity anyway -- it benefits the Spanish Red Cross -- so there's no real competition at the end of the day.

Now, that's not to say there aren't prizes for those who finish first -- because there are. The first three males and females get a little something ... and so do the first 3 kids under age 12. They go for about 3 miles, and the route takes 'em along Paseo de la Castellana.

The money raised this year, specifically, is going toward training up young people in the Red Cross program ... and to develop jobs for them as well. Never too early to start giving back!

Shohei Ohtani is not only rich, he's strategically brilliant, because he figured out an instant way of ingratiating himself with his new teammates, and it involves a Porsche!

The Dodgers star gifted an awesome Porsche to the wife of teammate Joe Kelly. Why, you ask? Turns out she mounted a full-on campaign to get Ohtani to sign with her hubby's team.

Check out the video ... Ashley Kelly is stunned as she peers out her front door and Joe tells her the car parked on the curb next to their house ... well, the car is now hers!!!

Ashley was on a relentless campaign to snag Ohtani, telling her Insta followers she changed the name of her 7-month-old child from Kai to ShoKai. Not true, but funny -- and effective. She did a ton more, including offering up her husband's number as an incentive. An offer Ohtani took her up on!

In turn, Shohei showed his appreciation for the number swap with the brand-new whip.

Shohei can certainly afford it ... he signed a 10-year contract worth $700 million earlier this month, although he's deferring almost all of it for years. It's the biggest contract in the history of sports.

Pro sports analyst Mark Rycroft may want to start checking what's in his cup before taking a sip ... 'cuz he accidentally guzzled tobacco and spit!

The gross – yet funny – moment was captured on video while Altitude TV's Avalanche team with host Vic Lombardi was broadcasting a recent sports event in Colorado.

In the clip, Rycroft is seated next to play-by-play announcer Marc Moser, who is standing in the booth with a coffee cup on a desk in between them.

Rycroft seems preoccupied with work when he reaches over and grabs the cup, raising it to his lips and taking a big swig from the opening in the top.

Based on his putrid reaction, the flavor didn't appeal to him one bit. In fact, Rycroft scrambles to spit out all the tobacco and saliva. Nasty indeed!!

But, it looks like everyone got a laugh out of it in the end. Lombardi posted the video to X, making light of the whole situation.

Peyton Manning got to experience the "classic Philly welcome" as Santa Claus ... 'cause after he put on the red suit, he was hilariously pelted with snowballs from Ricky Watters -- and Matt Millen!

The Hall of Fame QB became the sitting duck for the holiday episode of "Peyton's Places" show on ESPN, where he's riding a firetruck inside the Lincoln Financial Field ahead of the Eagles' Christmas game.

Watters -- who played running back for Philly for two seasons -- and Millen, a former linebacker and executive in the NFL, are in the stands booing Manning ... and start hitting him with snowballs.

"Boo!! You're a lousy Santa Claus!" Millen yelled while throwing bombers at Peyton.

Of course, this is a remake of the 1968 Vikings vs. Eagles game on Christmas ... where the Philly fans started throwing snowballs at Santa Claus during the halftime show due to their team's poor performance and season.

The guy who dressed up as Santa, then 20-year-old Frank Olivo, says he was hit with more than 100 snowballs during his appearance.

Mind you, Olivo was picked out from the stands to play the role by the Eagles entertainer director, since a snowstorm the previous night kept the original Santa actor from getting to the game.

Move over Santa Claus, it's all about Santa Carr -- 'cause New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr showed his receivers some major love for the holidays ... by gifting them Rolex watches and diamond chains!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... the four-time Pro Bowler wanted to do something super special for his wideouts this season as a sign of appreciation, so he hit up Al the Jeweler of Labelle Jewelry in Totowa, NJ to make some custom pieces.

We're told Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed received the iced-out time pieces ... and others in the crew received chains.

Carr didn't forget about his guy Michael Thomas ... we're told he'll have a present, too -- as soon as the two get in touch.

Carr is a loyal customer of Al's -- as we previously reported, the quarterback also went to him to make custom number pendants for Maxx Crosby and Davante Adams before he left the Raiders earlier this year.

Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen's family dog died, and they're both post remembrances of the pooch -- who their kids seemed to absolutely adore.

The exes posted respective tributes to their pit bull mix, Lua, on Saturday ... announcing their longtime pet had passed on. Tom threw up a photo of his two children with Gisele -- Benjamin and Vivian -- hovering over their doggy, which had its eyes closed.

He wrote, "We love you Lua RIP." He posted another photo of Lulu, and added ... "Forever in our hearts." In yet another IG Story slide, he uploaded a boomerang of his daughter playing with Lulu.

Gisele, likewise, threw up a bunch of shots of the canine in a sprawling IG post ... and she had a sweet shout-out to Lulu that touched on just how much she meant to the family.

She wrote, "Our little Lulu, our guardian angel is gone to heaven. She will forever live in our hearts. We already miss her sooooo much! #unconditionallove RIPLua." Her caption was also translated to Portuguese ... and she included a ton of awesome photos of their doggo.

Unclear when exactly they got Lua, but we know they adopted the pit bull at some point in their marriage ... and that their kids grew up with it too. They have another dog too, Fluffy.

All dogs go to heaven.

Mookie Betts is on the move, but he ain't leaving the Dodgers ... TMZ Sports has learned he's now got a giant new house to live in!!

Real estate sources tell us ... the MLB superstar just copped a $15 million pad this month in Encino -- just a few miles away from Dodger Stadium.

We're told the place is sweet ... featuring super sleek and modern lines.

Unclear of how many beds, baths and bells and whistles it all officially comes with -- though it sits on 2 acres ... so there's plenty of room for Mookie to work on his base-running skills if he wants.

Of course, Mookie's been living in L.A. for a while now -- he was traded to the City of Angels prior to the 2020 season -- though after having his second child earlier this year ... seems he was in need of an upgrade.

We're told Craig Knizek and Scott Gorelick of The Agency repped the seller ... while Morgan Trent of AKG | Christie's International Real Estate repped the baseball player in the sale.

Carolina Panthers fans need to take a deep breath and relax ... because despite the rough rookie season for Bryce Young, Warren Moon tells TMZ Sports he's not ready to call the QB a bust just yet.

In fact, the Hall of Famer said earlier this week he still believes the former Heisman Trophy winner is "going to be a really good quarterback in this league."

"I'm still optimistic," the ex-signal-caller said.

Moon, though, did say Young's future will almost certainly hinge on whether or not Carolina's front office can improve the talent around him.

"They do not have a really good offense," Moon said. "He doesn't have a lot of weapons to work with on the outside, his offensive line is very average, and he's a smaller guy so he needs a little bit more protection."

Through his first 13 games, Young has thrown nine interceptions to just nine touchdowns. His quarterback rating, meanwhile, is a mere 72.2.

Still, Moon tells us "as long as he hasn't lost his confidence, I think he'll be fine going into next year" if the Panthers' roster improves.

Both Kid Capri and Sway Calloway agree Ice Cube is a national treasure to the sports world, and his Big3 success poses no threat to the NBA's!!!

TMZ Hip Hop linked up with Kid Capri and his artists The Hoodies on a mild winter NYC day, and the legendary DJ flat out tells us the NBA should be ashamed of itself for allegedly screwing with Cube's operations.

TMZ Sports broke the story a couple months ago ... the U.S. Department of Justice launched an investigation over allegations the NBA was blocking players, owners, even referees from participating in Cube's league over concerns Big3's popularity interfered with the NBA.

While we were getting KC's opinion on the subject, Sway hilariously crashed the party and doubled down on the community's support for Cube.

The Big3 teams play in cities like Chicago, Dallas, and Brooklyn ... which Sway points out brings more jobs to those markets -- and no one's complaining besides NBA bigwigs, allegedly.

Otto Wallin intends to be the 6'5", 230 lb. wrench that screws up Anthony Joshua's (very lucrative) plan to fight Deontay Wilder in March ... flat-out saying the scrap ain't happening!

Walling and Joshua are fighting Saturday in Saudi Arabia ... a stacked card that also includes Wilder vs. Joseph Parker. So, what's Otto's beef?

Well, Anthony and Deontay seem to be assuming they'll not only win this weekend, but also skate through relatively unscathed ... 'cause the heavyweight boxing superstars have agreed to fight each other in March.

TMZ Sports talked to 33-year-old Wallin, who has only 1 career loss, which came against Tyson Fury ... a very competitive fight that was nearly stopped after the Gypsy King suffered a gruesome cut above his eye.

We asked Otto about AJ's decision to sign the Wilder contract.

"I just think it's crazy that they think that fight is gonna happen on March 9th. What is it, 2 and a half months? There is no way that fight's gonna happen, I'll tell you that now. There's no way that fight's gonna happen. Maybe in the future."

Wallin continued ... "I'm gonna beat Joshua. Wilder-Parker, that's not an easy fight. he could get beat, too. Even if both guys could win, they have to come out with no injuries. The time's just too short, it's not gonna happen."

We also talked to Otto about the fight with AJ.

We also talked to Anthony ... who as you might've guessed, sees things a bit differently than Otto. Among the topics we discussed ... were the Wallin fight, the news of the Wilder bout leaking, and the recent success of the UK UFC fighters.

Like AJ, Wilder has his hands full, too, with 6'4" Parker, who is 33-3 (23 KOs) as a pro. Deontay, 43-2-1 (42 KOs), last fought in October 2022 when he dispatched of Robert Helenius inside 1 round.

Wilder and Joshua is a fight that fans have wanted for years ... and Wallin, a normally friendly guy, is in this case looking to spoil the party!

No Shave November has come and gone, but don't fret because 'Decembeard' is here and we're taking a look at some of your top celebs ... and with that comes one hairy question: Are these famous faces better off with a buzz or a little fuzz?

On the field Travis Kelce may look tough and buff, but do you prefer him smooth shavin' or sportin' some scruff?

Up next is John Legend whose facial hair has definitely grown on his fans, but does "All Of Me You" prefer him buzzed or fuzzed?

And, of course we gotta ask about this handsome fella ... Ricky Martin who either comes with a full beard OR he's "Shavin La Vida Loca!" He's always got the moves but which facial hair trend are you gettin' down with?

Patrick Mahomes says Travis Kelce's boo, Taylor Swift, is seeing a lot of love from the Kansas City Chiefs... 'cause according to him, she's basically a teammate!

The Chiefs' QB had glowing things to say about the singer during a chat on "CBS Mornings," admitting the guys kinda kept their distance from the romance when it first started ... but they all quickly opened up to her.

Patrick says a few jokes about Travis' new relationship just came with the territory -- but adds the entire gang has since welcomed her with open arms, claiming she's an honorary member to them.

PM gave TS a rave review, too ... saying she's "top tier" and is even part of Chiefs Kingdom.

He also says he's loving how well Taylor's been getting along with his wife, Brittany Mahomes -- they've been like white on rice from the get go.

Larry Merchant, one of the most iconic boxing broadcasters of all time, was rushed to a hospital Thursday night and is in the critical care unit of a L.A. area hospital ... sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ.

We're told an ambulance came to Larry's building at around 6 PM Thursday and rushed him to a nearby hospital. We're told he's in a critical care unit.

We do not know what triggered the emergency or his prognosis.

Larry has been a longtime HBO boxing commentator, working with Jim Lampley, George Foreman, Roy Jones Jr., Harold Lederman and many others. He's been called "The greatest television boxing analyst of all time."

The 92-year-old also has acting chops, appearing in "I Spy," "The Fighter,' and "Rocky Balboa."

Larry retired from HBO in 2012, but he cast a long shadow and is still remembered for his broadcasting skills.

We're seeing more of why Taylor Swift is attracted to Travis Kelce ... courtesy of a couple pics he snapped a few years back.

Travis, now 34, shot a video back in 2017 while he enjoyed a day at the spa. We knew the dude was fit, but it's better than we thought!

It's some sort of bubble massage, which Travis clearly enjoyed. He stands up and voices his approval over the treatment, and in the process gives people a look at what's under the jersey.

You see him flex a bit and then disentangles his hair as he peers into the camera.

Now to the present ... Taylor was at a recording studio Thursday night in NYC, but she's heading to Kansas City to spend time with her BF and hit up the Chiefs game on Christmas Day.

The relationship, we're told, is already super serious and there are rumblings of a ring in the not-too-distant future. We will see, but it feels like that's the trajectory.