Sports Illustrated

Cheryl Tiegs has a strange way of defending her comments about plus size models, in general ... and Ashley Graham, specifically.

We got the OG supermodel Thursday at LAX, and she told us the media misinterpreted her words when she said this year's S.I. Swimsuit cover girl Ashley's look was ... not healthy in the long run.

So, check out the video -- Cheryl breaks down exactly what she really meant, and in the process says she prefers "the normal, fit athletic, Sports Illustrated girl."

There's more, including her true feelings about Ashley's beauty ... though we're not sure how Ashley will take this.

#Covergirlwars

May is a good month in Beverly Hills ... at least if you're a fan of bikini weather.

Check out Sports Illustrated swimsuit models Samantha Hoopes, Kara del Toro and Tanya Mityushina doing their super hot model thing at a Beach Bunny photo shoot in Bev Hills over the weekend.

So ... best gym session ever??

Sports Illustrated model Jessica White says she had a full orgasm during a recent training session in the gym -- when a squat workout shook her to the core.

White was talking to Bikini.com when she was asked about her training regimen and said:

"I was doing these squats one time, and I was like, 'Oh my God, this is orgasmic,' and maybe I was squeezing and doing my kegels. I don’t know what it was, but I had to go to the bathroom."

When it comes to landing a gig ... S.I. Swimsuit model Samantha Hoopes puts on an absolute clinic.

We got the audition tape she submitted to Carl's Jr. for the now classic 'Most American Thickburger' spot she did last year, and let's just say producers did NOT take long to snatch her up.

After seeing this video it's obvious why they just brought Hoopes back for a sequel.

Sports Illustrated model Kelly Rohrbach does just as much justice to a one-piece as a bikini.

Leo DiCaprio's ex showed off the new "Baywatch" reds while shooting the flick Friday afternoon in Miami ... and it looks like they've added a golden touch to the suit Pam Anderson made famous.

S.I. swimsuit model Tanya Mityushina knows she's fighting an uphill battle against plus sized model Ashley Graham ... and it could cost her the coveted "Rookie of the Year" title.

We got Tanya in Bev Hills and she talked about the fact Ashley's already one of S.I.'s cover girls, which could give her an unfair advantage in the rookie voting.

But Tanya's not giving up just yet. She gave us her best pitch for why she should top Ashley this time around. Hard to argue with this logic.

Nina Agdal is the latest model to head into a ring with a trainer, proving hot babes are to boxing what football players are to dabbin'... they're all doing it.

The S.I. 2014 cover girl hit the ring at the world famous 5th St. gym in Miami with owner Dino Spencer.

Dino says Nina's a regular who comes in and trains everyday when she's in town.

Her workout is no joke ... 3 minutes of heavy hitting followed by a minute of lunges, burpees and planks ... done 15 times.

Normally, seeing Nina with so much clothing would be a bummer, but check out her killer reflexes!

She a TKO.

When Samantha Hoopes is on the move people pay attention -- mostly because she always looks like this when she's doing it.

Hoopes stepped out in Miami to do ... whatever smoking hot models do when they're not posing or partying, and thankfully she was wearing the least amount of clothing the law will allow.

The Sports Illustrated swimsuit model proves what we already suspected -- absolutely everything is hotter on South Beach ... even errands.

Truth be told ... SW's west coast outings are pretty damn hot too.

Okay, she officially needs a nickname -- Ashley "Dammmn" Graham ... one of the new S.I. Swimsuit Issue cover girls slayed 'em in white during a Miami event.

For maximum enjoyment, sing the following while perusing the pics:
I'm hooked and I can't stop staring
Oh, baby I wanna get with ya
And take your picture

Leonardo DiCaprio's exes Kelly Rohrbach and Erin Heatherton were super tight -- in a serious hip-lock -- at the S.I. Swimsuit bash in NYC.

The leggy, smoking hot blondes seem to be doing just fine in their post-Leo lives. Look for more of Kelly in the new "Baywatch" movie -- she's playing Pam Anderson's character, C.J. Parker -- and look for more of Erin ... in your dreams.

We'd say Leo's ears were ringing Tuesday night, but it was probably a different body part.

Gigi Hadid's outfit at the S.I. Swimsuit Issue party left little to the imagination, except this -- we can't imagine where the hell her butt went!

Put out an A.P.B. because Gigi's much beloved ass was definitely missing at the NYC event. We're gonna chalk this up to really, really bad camera angles ... even though the profile shot isn't all that cheeky either.

Let's just remember better days -- Gigi's ass at last year's Tommy Hilfiger show ...

If Tiger Woods wasn't kickin' himself before ...

Here's Olympic skiiing legend Lindsey Vonn getting in a quick workout while on the set of her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition body paint shoot ... and it's awesome.

Not only is she basically naked -- and beasting out with a set of full grown-ass woman pull-ups -- but she's also doing it while sporting a pair of high heels.

If you ever wanted to watch SI swimsuit model Nina Agdal jump around in a tight dress and high heels you're in luck ... because TMZ Sports has video of Nina playing ping pong!!

Agdal is in full promotion mode for the upcoming SI Swimsuit issue and during an appearance on "The Dan Patrick Show" she decided to play a little ping pong with one of Dan's staffers.

Bad news? She lost. Good news? She looked unbelievably good doing it ... and we all get to watch.

BTW ... we threw in a clip of Nina succeeding at hoops ... strictly so you respect her as an athlete.

Ronda Rousey slapped on a new coat of paint -- a very thin one -- for a new S.I. swimsuit photo shoot in the Bahamas.

The ex-champ's clearly getting used to being naked, essentially, in front of strangers -- and, truth be told, we're getting used to it too.

This is round 2 for Ronda in body paint. TMZ Sports got the first shots of her spread 3 weeks ago on Petite Martinique.

Ronda Rousey's swimsuit was painted on for her Sports Illustrated photo shoot, but that didn't stop sales of the actual one-piece it's based on from selling out almost instantly.

Ronda's paint job was a replica of a one-piece made by Australian swimwear brand, We Are Handsome. The company's a fave with celebs ... Beyonce even sported one of their jaguar suits over the summer.

We Are Handsome tells us Ronda's plug made website sales for the suit surge 300% ... so good luck getting it.

But in case you're feeling lucky, it's called The Fighter ... perfect fit for Ronda, even if she never really wore it.

Ronda Rousey wore a real body suit Friday as she was out and about in L.A.

Ronda gave BF Travis Browne a big smooch, looking like her old self.

She's gotta love the reaction she got from the pics we posted from the S.I. modeling shoot, where her swimsuit was literally painted on.