TMZ Sports - Page 50

Rashard Mendenhall, a former NFL player turned Hollywood writer, is selling his lavish estate ... which just happens to be the iconic former home of comedy legend Richard Pryor.

Rashard, who played 6 seasons as a running back with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals, just put the 6-bedroom property on the market for $4,236,000.

Richard lived there for several years after purchasing the home way back in 1976 ... and it's where he once hosted Barbara Walters for a famous sit-down interview.

It's also where Pryor infamously doused himself in rum and lit himself on fire while freebasing cocaine. Pryor suffered severe burns on more than 50% of his body and referenced the incident in his comedy special "Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip."

The property is tucked away in the exclusive Sherwood Forest neighborhood in Northridge -- outside L.A. in the Valley -- with 9,000 square feet of living space on a 2.2-acre plot of land.

The main residence includes 4 bedrooms, a formal dining room, a gourmet kitchen and a library ... plus game and billiard rooms.

There's a separate guest house and a separate pool house ... each with its own kitchen ... as well as a professional dance studio/gym space that can be turned into a recording or production studio.

In addition, the sprawling property features an office, children's playhouse, 3-car garage and a kennel. The estate is also a legal horse property, for those who are so inclined.

Among the resort-style amenities ... a 65-foot pool and spa with a cascading waterfall, tennis court, putting green, sauna, wine closet and a barbeque pavilion.

The meticulously maintained grounds include a citrus grove and a vegetable garden ... and the property sits behind a wall and a gate.

Rashard bought the place back in 2017 for $2.5 million ... a couple years after he retired from the NFL and started writing "Ballers" episodes for HBO.

There's meaning behind the $4,236,000 asking price, for Rashard, at least -- his career NFL rushing total stands at 4,236 yards. We'll see if potential buyers are inclined to stick to his sentimental pricing.

It ain't Malik Nabers, Rome Odunze or Brian Thomas Jr. ... no, according to Chad Johnson, Marvin Harrison Jr. -- the son of Colts legend Marvin Harrison Sr. -- is the best wideout available in this year's loaded NFL draft class.

The former Bengals wideout didn't mince words when we got him on the topic out in NYC this week ... saying the Ohio State star is straight up "the best receiver in the draft right now."

Of course, after the combine performances that Odunze and Thomas Jr. had in Indianapolis last week ... there are plenty who would argue otherwise.

Thomas Jr. ran a blazing 4.33 40-yard dash, while Odunze clocked a 4.45. Both guys then went on to show flashes of brilliance in on-field drills. And, while Nabers opted out of the event, his game tape alone had pundits wondering if he were the top guy over Harrison Jr.

But, Ochocinco made it clear he's got Harrison on top of the heap ... telling us, "No disrespect to any of the other young fellas that are in there -- Malik Nabers and the rest of the draft class -- but Marvin Harrison Jr. is the best receiver in the draft class this year."

As for if it could be the top wideout class ever -- after all, some experts think SEVEN total guys could go in the first round -- check out the clip ... Chad ain't exactly sold on that.

We're almost at the finish line in the week, but things are just heating up on our TV shows!

Starting out on "TMZ Live," Charles and Courtney got into the explosive allegations of grooming that Lala Kent hurled at Tom Sandoval on this week's episode of "Vanderpump Rules" ... this in defense of Rachel Leviss, who was caught in the middle of Scandoval.

Lala got in Tom's face during the show ... and there were strong reactions on our end too.

Next up, we got "TMZ on TV" ... where we were yet again discussing Dakota Johnson continuing to trash her superhero movie "Madame Web" -- this after a brutal press run.

Dakota says she'll never do another film like it again ... and the feeling's probably mutual from the studio here.

Lastly, we arrive on "TMZ Sports" ... with the guys discussing Ryan Garcia's tumultuous week.

Check your local listings for when TMZ is on in your area or catch up on past episodes!

Rick Ross says he had no ill intent when he documented Tyreek Hill's house fire earlier this year ... claiming he was actually a good guy in the situation.

Cheetah unloaded on the rapper this week ... saying it was pretty messed up of him to post footage of the emergency for his 19.4 million followers to see.

Rozay got wind of Hill's gripe ... and he thinks it's all a misunderstanding.

"Tyreek Hill, I wasn't picking on you homie," Ross said on Instagram. "I wasn't picking on you at all."

RR pointed out he did not share any footage of Hill's loved ones at the scene ... and news coverage of the incident was already underway by the time he started recording -- so what's it matter if he makes his own content??

"And, let's not act like I'm the one that premiered the fire to the world," he said. "It was five helicopters circling over your crib and my crib. We stay across the street from each other."

"I didn't post you and your girl outside, I didn't post mom, none of that. But the s*** was everywhere, homie."

On a side note, Rozay also knocked the fire department ... saying he thought they did a bad job at attacking the flames on Jan. 3.

As for his conversation with a fireman that Hill mentioned, RR also had a defense for that ... claiming he was only interacting with the responder to see if he could help Hill's mom take a seat.

Derrick Henry is proving once more he's superhuman ... showing off a pair of biceps on Wednesday that'd make even the biggest pro bodybuilder envious.

It was apparently arm day for the NFL superstar on Wednesday ... and in a video of his sweat sesh posted by his trainer, you can see the running back had a whole lot of bis and tris to work out once he got in the gym.

Henry -- sans shirt -- got a pump in through various different exercises ... including a bunch of curls with heavy weights -- and some pushups with a plate on his back.

Of course, seeing Henry toss around iron is nothing new ... the 6-foot-3, 247-pound tailback has been putting his freakish ability on display since high school -- but given his current situation, this feels just a little more significant.

If you weren't aware, the former Heisman Trophy winner is slated to be a free agent when the new league year kicks off next week. And, normally, that'd mean good things for him, as he'd be in line for a huge payday.

But, with 2,030 carries on his resume already ... some have wondered just how much is left in the tank for the 29-year-old.

Shannon Sharpe made himself a meme this week by simply walking into a business -- but Donnell Rawlings thinks we should cut him some slack, even though he's here to roast too.

We caught up with the funnyman in NYC on Wednesday -- and he had his own 2 cents to add to the viral conversation ... including a staunch defense that's layered in comedy. Check it out ... Donnell explains why Shannon strutted the way he did, and it's all about athletics.

Of course, he couldn't help but do his own impersonation of the ex-NFL'er, and it's great.

ICYMI ... Shannon was promoting his cognac in New Jersey last weekend and sluggishly stepped out of an SUV in a snug-fitting all-green ensemble, coupled with an orange bag slung around his chest ... and as you can imagine, it instantly got tackled with jokes online.

Like we said, Donnell did his best Shannon Sharpe -- both speaking and walking -- and we gotta say ... it's pretty freaking good. He has his voice and cadence down to a tee here.

He even joked about Mike Epps not wanting the 'Shay Shay' problems after their short-lived spat ... but it's all in good fun, we swear! You can tell Donnell's got love for Shannon -- even though he's been hosting some guests lately who are going after his comedy buddies.

Even though Shannon's blowing up these days over his wildly successful "Club Shay Shay" podcast, Donnell reminds everyone Shannon is also a HOF football stud and his banged-up body might be why his walk is getting made fun of ... something DR thinks is kinda unfair.

Referees from a New Jersey high school playoff basketball contest are admitting they messed up big time ... saying they wrongfully called off a buzzer-beating bucket at the end of a game -- but they can't do anything about it.

The controversy happened at the New Jersey Sports Interscholastic Athletic Association Group 2 semifinal game between the Camden Panthers and the Manasquan Warriors on Tuesday ... a matchup that came down to the wire.

The Panthers were up by 1 with just under 6 seconds left ... and after Warriors hooper Rey Weinseimer missed a 3-pointer, his teammate Griffin Linstra was positioned perfectly and nailed a put-back right before the clock hit zeros.

Warriors win, right?! That's what everyone in the gym thought ... but after a quick meeting, referees waived off the shot -- reversing the outcome.

The call was shocking, considering footage clearly shows time on the clock (.4 seconds) when the ball left Linstra's hand ... and the officials' mistake robbed the Warriors of advancing to the championship game.

The NJSIAA confirmed the refs were wrong ... but rejected Manasquan's appeal regardless, claiming they could not change the final score.

"So while the officiating crews' reports indicate that a post-game review of footage of the play in question convinced them that the basket should have counted, the results could not then and cannot now be changed," NJSIAA said.

"These are the rules of the game that all schools agree to follow, and which have been upheld on appeal. We apologize to the Manasquan team for the error."

The organization explained because the refs left the "visual confines of the playing court," the outcome was set in stone.

As you can imagine, Manasquan head coach Andrew Bilodeau was furious ... not only for his players -- but the Panthers as well.

"My heart for our kids but it also hurts for Camden. I hate to see their win be tarnished with any controversy. No kids deserve that."

Damon Dash recently took a break from bashing Jay-Z to focus on his post-Roc-A-Fella Records days when he wanted to lead the next generation of rap stars into independence ... but claims they abandoned him for the major label machine.

Those stars grew up to become Wiz Khalifa, Curren$y and Stalley --  who all got a scolding from DD in a recent podcast with Math Hoffa ... where he came off like a disappointed dad in the aftermath of all three of them signing to Atlantic Records, which Dame claims happened behind his back.

TMZ Hip Hop actually caught up with Stalley, who tells us Dame's recollection of events is without merit ... saying they never signed any legally binding paperwork. He even had to pay his own way to be part of the music video shoots.

Stalley appeared on several tracks for Dame's DD172 label -- including his self-titled "S.T.A.L.L.E.Y." track -- and tells us he can't understand why Dame can't pronounce his name correctly. Dame does kinda butcher it a bit in the vid.

Dame framed Stalley as "grumpy" -- and cited a run-in at the airport years ago where he says Stalley expressed regret for taking the Atlantic deal.

Stalley denies telling Dame he regretted anything at the airport ... and says there was frustration more than anything, but is certain that he and Dame had the least interactions of everyone present.

Ryan Garcia is promising to put an end to his bizarre social media activity ... claiming he's no longer going to talk about any topics outside of boxing -- 'cause he's laser-focused on his fight with Devin Haney.

TMZ Sports obtained another video statement from King Ryan on Wednesday ... and this time around, he says he's regained access to his Instagram account, but will hold off on posting any content outside of "boxing, sports and my fight."

The clip comes shortly after Garcia made concerning comments on X ... in which he claimed to expose numerous secrets about society, among other controversial topics.

Garcia acknowledges he's shared "some pretty intense things" on his pages, and while he understands the true meaning behind it all ... he will strictly talk about his career -- at least, it seems, until after the fight.

"That's the only thing I'm gonna be talking about and I'm training for this fight," he added.

Garcia added he has "many warriors" -- including entrepreneur and podcast host Patrick Bet-David -- helping him out during camp ... and he'll be ready to go April 20.

Tim Tebow spent Wednesday morning fighting for victims of child sex abuse ... taking on the global epidemic while delivering an impassioned and emotional speech in front of the House Judiciary Subcommittee.

The 36-year-old Heisman Trophy winner, who heads the Tim Tebow Foundation, was part of a larger panel at the “Voice for the Voiceless” hearing ... and opened up his statement with a quick description of his organization, followed by an ice-breaking joke about his sports career.

"[The Tim Tebow Foundation] exists to bring faith, hope and love to those needing a brighter day in their darkest hour of need. To sum it up, we strive to fight for people who can't fight for themselves," Tim told the subcommittee members.

"Some of you may know me from sports. but honestly, more of you probably know me from getting cut from a bunch of sports teams," Tebow joked.

But, things quickly got serious as the 2x National Championship-winning quarterback passionately spoke about the global epidemic -- the tens of thousands of unidentified children who are the victims of sexual abuse -- while calling on lawmakers to pass a bill intended to put together a rescue team for the kids.

"This bill really has one goal. To build a rescue team, because there's so many front-line warriors and heroes, but there's just not enough. And we need to support them, and we need more of them, to get to these 50,000 boys and girls."

Tebow continued, explaining the goal of the bill is to build a "rescue team" that is of adequate size as far as manpower, as well as the training and technology to help.

The most emotional part of the speech came when Tim read a letter written by a young girl while she was being held captive, raped nearly nightly for 7 years, where she begged for help.

As you'd expect, Tebow had trouble keeping it together while reading the excerpt.

TT was eager to provide his testimony ... as he explained Wednesday morning shortly after reaching Capitol Hill.

"So grateful for the chance to testify this morning before the House Judiciary Committee, meet, and talk with representatives on both sides of the aisle on behalf of some of the most vulnerable people — children who are victims of sexual abuse and exploitation," the signal caller wrote on X.

Vanessa Hudgens has an optimistic outlook regarding her breakup with Austin Butler ... 'cause she says it led her to her husband, so she's happy things ended with him.

The actress got candid about how prior failed relationships made her reevaluate things on Wednesday's episode of the "She Pivots" podcast. As Vanessa explained ... her splitting from AB in 2020 led her to Cole Tucker, whom she calls the "right person."

Vanessa -- who married Cole in December in a lavish wedding in Mexico -- made it clear she couldn't be more grateful for her MLB player spouse in the wake of the Butler split.

She says, "He's just the most supportive, real understanding human being that I've ever met."

Despite VH and AB's frosty reunion at the 2023 Oscars -- where Vanessa infamously walked by Austin at the Vanity Fair Oscars after-party without saying a word -- it seems there's no bad blood between the exes ... but then again, her words here do kinda sound like a dig.

Austin recently emphasized the love and care he says he still has for Vanessa in an interview from February ... this after catching flak for labeling her as nothing more than a friend, even though they dated for nearly 10 years.

As we reported ... Austin referred to his ex of almost a decade as just a friend when detailing how his iconic role in Baz Luhrmann's "Elvis" came to be. Yet ... during a chat with Esquire last month -- he defended that he didn't mean to downplay their love story -- he just wanted to protect her from having to comment on their past relationship.

It's clear that everyone has happily moved on these days -- with Austin now dating Kaia Gerber. Of course, Vanessa is now a married woman herself ... and looks smitten with Cole.

Closure all around ... or so it seems!

Travis Kelce is going back overseas to see Taylor Swift perform in concert again -- only this time, he's flying to Asia to catch her ... and it looks like his personal team is tagging along.

The Chiefs tight end is all set to head to Singapore to see her perform while she's still in town -- her shows run from Thursday through the weekend. After that, she's got a nice long break before the "Eras" tour kicks up again in May ... at which point, she'll be hitting up Europe.

For now ... Travis will join her where she's been for about a week now -- as confirmed by TK's manager, André Eanes, who's apparently also going to Singapore to see Taylor too.

A coach named Eric Flannery posted a photo of himself hobnobbing with Travis' manager at the Cavs game, and wrote ... "Great catching up with @dreeanes at the Cavs game tonight. Former @SEHS_BASKETBALL player and now the Kelce’s manager, doing a great job!! Heading out to Taylor Swift concert tomorrow in Singapore-safe travels!!"

So, yeah ... sounds like Travis will be en route to Singapore here in a bit -- but it remains to be seen when exactly he'll arrive ... and if he and Taylor will have any time to themselves.

Like we said, she's got a show scheduled for Thursday night ... so if he's flying today, he might be cutting it close. In any case, he'll likely catch one of her upcoming shows.

The last time Travis was with Taylor was a couple weeks ago when he was in Sydney for a brief visit -- where they hit up the zoo together on a romantic date ... not to mention him crashing one of her concerts as well, which ended with a nice public smooch post-show.

Travis was only there for a couple days or so before he jetted on back to Vegas to continue partying with his Chiefs teammates to celebrate their Super Bowl Victory ... yes, again.

After that, Trav was here in L.A. for a bit playing some golf and hanging with friends -- and before long ... he was out in Philadelphia to help his brother, Jason, ring in some big news.

As we reported ... JK announced he was retiring from the NFL, and it proved to be an emotional moment -- with Jason tearing up at the podium, and even Travis himself crying.

Following, Jason's retirement presser ... the two Kelce brothers hit up their hometown of Cleveland for a Cavaliers game -- and they had the red carpet rolled out for them there too.

Now, Travis is reuniting with his girlfriend ... safe to say, he's a busy man these days -- perhaps even more so than he was during the season. Makes sense ... with him dating Taylor, he's arguably more popular than ever -- and he's obviously very much so in demand.

Soon, we'll have some new visuals of him and Tay Tay ... and yeah, we all need our fix. It's been a minute!

Travis Kelce apparently had a helluva time down undah last month ... saying this week he loved his trip to Australia to see Taylor Swift -- praising the Sydney zoo ... and the crowd that showed out for her "Eras" tour performance.

The Kansas City Chiefs star gushed about his Feb. 22 visit to see his girlfriend on the latest episode of his "New Heights" podcast ... talking about it all with his brother, Jason Kelce, for around 15 minutes.

He spoke about the huge amount of media attention he received -- noting that cameras surrounded him the second he touched down at the airport.

"You're like the Beatles," Jason joked on pod.

Then Travis got into breaking down his zoo date with Swift ... explaining in great detail about all the fun he had checking out the animals with his boo.

Travis said he got to pet several creatures -- including a red panda -- and fed some, too. He did say, though, that photogs circled over their heads the entire time.

"They helicoptered us," Travis said. "Well, not us -- Taylor. This all because Taylor is the biggest and best thing possible."

Travis also had a ton of kind words for the fans at Taylor's show -- explaining that he thought the Sydney crowd was louder than the one he experienced in Argentina ... something he didn't seem to believe could be possible.

"Taylor's very fond of performing in Australia," Travis added.

The guys also talked about a whole lot more on the pod -- including Jason's retirement from the Eagles ... which the elder Kelce said ultimately came down to he wasn't sure if his body would hold up to the rigors of the NFL season any longer.

At one point, though, when reflecting on the end of Jason's career, Travis began to cry.

Cam Newton is officially a father of 8 ... his girlfriend, comedian Jasmin Brown, recently had a baby, revealing the amazing news in a funny video on Instagram!!!

It's unclear exactly when Brown -- famously known as 'Watch Jazzy' -- gave birth to their bundle of joy ... but the baby's here now, and mom had a question for her fellow mothers.

"How long we gotta wear these diapers for?" Brown asked. "The s*** is annoying! I wanna wear a thong!"

That's when you see 34-year-old Brown talking to her baby as the child makes noises off-camera.

"You want me to wear a diaper 'cause you have on a diaper?!" Brown said. "Okay, we'll be diaper twins"

"You don't want mommy in a thong, I get it. My baby don't want me to wear no thong!

The video comes just weeks after Newton and Brown's glamorous baby shower ... where they partied with family and friends to celebrate her first pregnancy.

"What excites me the most about motherhood is the fact that I get to go hard for a person that I’ll love with all my life," Brown said.

"I’m excited to pour all this love I have into my child. I think becoming a mom will honestly complete me. I am truly overjoyed."

Newton -- who last played for the Carolina Panthers in 2021 -- has seven other kids, including two stepchildren.

Cam also has children with ex-fiancee Kia Proctor and ex-GF LaReina Shaw.

New police video shows Haywood Highsmith was visibly shaken up after being involved in a gruesome car crash last month ... appearing to be on the verge of tears in the minutes after the wreck.

The footage was captured on a Miami-Dade Police Dept. officer's body camera at around 11:20 PM on Feb. 6 ... shortly after Highsmith had played in the Heat's game against the Magic at the nearby Kaseya Center.

In the clip, you can see as a cop was questioning Highsmith about how he ran into a 21-year-old who was helping a stranded motorist in the middle of the roadway, causing serious injuries, the basketball player was emotional.

Highsmith, who at one point needed to be consoled by a woman at the scene, told the officer the car he slammed into had been stopped with no lights on. Other witnesses in the area can be heard in the footage saying similar things.

"It didn't have emergency lights on," one said, "at all."

"It was just abandoned in the middle," another added, "blacked out."

Police documents state Haywood was driving 45 MPH in a 40 MPH zone when he hit Alekxei Pino and another car from behind. The docs say Pino sustained a partial amputation on his right leg, as well as a compound fracture to his left leg.

Cops say they believe drugs and alcohol were not involved -- but Highsmith was still issued a citation for careless driving. He didn't play in Miami's game the following night on Feb. 7 -- although he's logged minutes in multiple Heat games since.

Pino, meanwhile, has filed a lawsuit against Highsmith, claiming the hooper's careless actions on the roadway caused him to suffer life-altering injuries that will require "a very long road of rehabilitation."

The Kelce Bros. weren't the only superstar athletes at the Cavs game Tuesday night -- the world's best eater, Joey Chestnut, rolled through Cleveland as well ... putting his unbelievable abilities on display for everyone in attendance!!

Jaws returned to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse for the Wine and Gold's home matchup against the Boston Celtics ... but the real contest went down at halftime, when the hot dog champ faced off against three normies in a pierogi challenge.

Chestnut -- who's by far the most famous figure in professional eating -- completely wrecked the field ... finishing 39 dumplings in two minutes, while everyone else combined for 23.

Joey looked pretty stuffed after the final buzzer -- his eyes got super wide as he was handed a championship belt.

It's not the first time Chestnut has taken on a trio of Cavs fans -- he previously crushed 47 back in 2022.

Joey was eating fast, but the Kelces were drinking just as quickly ... 'cause Jason and Travis gulped on some beers in the blink of an eye while at the big game.