TMZ Sports - Page 50

The wife of ESPN legend Chris Berman was killed in a bad crash in Connecticut on Tuesday ... when her car slammed into another vehicle, killing both drivers.

According to the police report obtained by TMZ Sports, 67-year-old Katherine Berman was driving her 2003 Lexus around 2:15 PM when she slammed into the back of a Ford Escape.

Officials say Katherine's car veered off the roadway and overturned into a small body of water, as seen in a photo from the scene, obtained by NBC Connecticut.

The other car collided with a utility pole and landed on its roof.

The driver of the other car -- an 87-year-old man -- was transported to a nearby hospital but did not survive.

In a photo of the crash scene obtained by WTNH, you can see the other driver's car (behind the red Ford) was completely totaled.

Chris and Katherine have been married since 1983 and have 2 kids together.

Chris was reportedly at the Giants vs. Mets game at Citi Field when he was notified of the crash by NYPD officers.

ESPN President John Skipper issued a statement saying, "This is a devastating tragedy and difficult to comprehend."

"Chris is beloved by all his ESPN colleagues and for good reason: he has a huge heart and has given so much to so many over the years. We know how much his family means to him and all we can do at a moment like this is give him the love and support he will surely need at this hour."

"Our thoughts and prayers are with Chris, Meredith, Doug and the entire family."

Floyd Mayweather's days of trashing his dad are LONG OVER -- in fact, TBE tells TMZ Sports why he owes his entire boxing empire to his pops!

Of course, Floyd Jr. and Floyd Sr. have a very famous, very nasty feud that left them estranged for years. At one point, Sr. offered to train fighters to BEAT his own son.

Oh, and don't forget that other time Sr. said he used Floyd as a human shield to keep Jr.'s maternal uncle from shooting him with a shotgun!!! Seriously!!

But all that's water under the bridge ... Floyd Jr. says he owes "all the thanks to my dad."

He also says Sr. gave him the single most important piece of advice he ever got about his career ... and he never forgot it.

Floyd also wants everyone to remember he ain't no bitch -- and used to be known as a "knockout artist" before his body broke down.

He ain't lyin ...

It's hard for some people to understand how pro athletes like Isaiah Thomas compete after the death of a loved one ... but L.A. Clippers player Raymond Felton summed it up pretty perfectly.

Felton lost his grandmother earlier this year and tells TMZ Sports he can completely relate to Thomas -- whose sister died in a tragic car crash last month.

"I understand the grief. I understand what he's feeling, what he's going through."

Oscar De La Hoya says he's a got a REAL offer for Floyd Mayweather -- forget fighting Conor McGregor and take on the winner of Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin!!!

The head of Golden Boy Promotions joined the guys on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs Tuesday night on FS1) and explained why Floyd shouldn't be wasting his time fighting a guy who's got a 0-0 boxing record.

Oscar says he's dead serious about negotiating a real deal to get everyone paid.

Clearly, Floyd is down to fight again -- he's said so himself -- and Dana White keeps telling everyone that a potential deal to fight Conor is a loooong way from happening.

So, why not make a fortune BEFORE making another fortune???

UFC star Yair Rodriguez says he's so busy preparing for his fight with Frankie Edgar, he doesn't have time for friends or a girlfriend ... telling TMZ Sports "the only thing I do is training for fighting."

We spoke with El Pantera about his upcoming fight with Edgar at UFC 211 ... and he feels disrespected by Edgar's claims that the fight is a 'win-win' situation for Rodriguez thanks to Edgar's popularity.

"I was thinking like, 'who the f*** does he think he is?'" Rodriguez says. "I don't care. Like, I'm not looking for his fame, you know? Like, I want my own s**t. I want my own stuff."

As for his focus leading up to the fight, Rodriguez says it's all about fighting 24/7.

Pacman Jones went off on the 911 operator he called for help after his car crash in Ohio early Tuesday morning ... and was especially upset when she questioned if he REALLY drove a Rolls-Royce.

In Pacman's defense, the operator jumped on him for not being more descriptive about the location of the car wreck and raised her voice at him. He didn't like that.

Pacman fired back, "Can you stop f**king yelling on the phone!?"

"I just got into a wreck. I'm kinda shook up. I'm trying to find where the f*ck I'm at. Good God Almighty."

Oh, and stay tuned at the end of the call when Pacman turns to someone -- who may be the other driver -- and screams out, "What the f*ck were you looking at?!"

Fortunately, no one was injured in the crash. Pacman says he plans on selling the car.

Serena Williams' ex-boyfriend, Common, has NO DOUBT she'll return to tennis and dominate again after her baby is born ... calling Serena the greatest tennis player of all time!

Aaron Hernandez's attorney, Jose Baez, says his legal team is in talks with the NFL player's former agents to see how the abatement of his murder conviction will affect his contract with the Patriots.

There are theories that with the murder conviction erased, the New England Patriots will be on the hook to pay out the remainder of his contract to Aaron's estate ... a number reportedly around $6 million.

Baez says Aaron's family and legal team are still grieving over Aaron's death and while they're exploring their options, they're not rushing to action.

As for prosecutors suggesting that Hernandez planned to kill himself in a plot to exploit the abatement doctrine to force the Patriots to pay out his family ... Baez says it's a long shot theory and "I don't give it any shred of credibility at this point."

9:05 AM PT -- The Bristol County D.A.'s Office just said they plan to appeal the judge's decision.

Aaron Hernandez's conviction for the murder of Odin Lloyd has officially been dismissed by a judge.

The case went before the court in Massachusetts early Tuesday morning where Hernandez's team argued that the conviction cannot stand because he had not exhausted all of his appeals before his death. The doctrine is called abatement ab initio.

Prosecutors argued against it -- claiming Hernandez knew about the rule and used it as a loophole in a diabolical plot to get millions of dollars from the Patriots for his family.

The evidence, prosecutors claim, was spelled out in his suicide note to his fiancee, Shayanna Jenkins ... in which he told her, "You're rich!"

Prosecutors say Hernandez knew if his conviction was erased the Patriots would have to pay out the remainder of his NFL contract ... estimated to be worth around $6 million.

Prosecutors claimed he shouldn't be rewarded for cutting his own appeal short by committing suicide -- but ultimately the judge didn't see it their way ... and cleared the conviction.

Odin Lloyd's family was in the courtroom when the judge announced her decision. They were visibly upset and left the courtroom in a rush.

NFL lineman Michael Oher -- the inspiration for the movie "The Blind Side" -- turned himself in to police on Monday to be booked for allegedly roughing up an Uber driver. He looked pissed.

1:25 PM PT -- We spoke with Jones' agent who tells us the NFL star was very shaken up but "showed great restraint."

He says Jones insists he was t-boned by a guy who blew a stop sign because he was texting while driving.

Pacman Jones WENT OFF after someone hit his Rolls-Royce in Ohio early Tuesday -- saying if it wasn't for his anger management classes he would "smack the sh*t out of a n**ga."

The Cincinnati Bengals star claims he was driving in Amelia, Ohio -- near Cincinnati -- when another car "ran straight into me" ... wrecking the side of Pacman's very expensive whip.

After the wreck, Pacman unleashed an n-word and expletive-laden tirade -- saying, "This n**ga done pulled out and hit me!"

"They talk about anger management at work ... normally I'd smack the shit outta a n**ga who do the sh*t like that. Stupid motherf**ker."

Pacman entered anger management after video surfaced of the NFL star berating and wishing death on a police officer during an arrest at a Cinci hotel earlier this year.

We spoke with police about the car crash -- officials say it was a "minor accident" and Pacman did not get physical with the other driver.

Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett are finally opening up about their icy relationship with Ray Allen ... with both superstars admitting they aren't on speaking terms with their former Big 3 partner.

Pierce, Rajon Rondo, Kendrick Perkins and Glen "Big Baby" Davis joined K.G.'s "Area 21" segment to discuss their 2008 Celtics reunion vacation this summer ... and why Allen isn't a part of it.

The Truth says he was hurt by the way Allen left for Miami without discussing the decision with him first ... and admits he hasn't talked to the sharpshooter in years.

"I thought we formed a brotherhood here in Boston," Pierce says.

"I just felt like we should've had that conversation and it would've settled over a bit more. I don't think we would've been as salty."

K.G. calls it's a "sensitive" topic, but says, "I think that when we all talked about doing this reunion tour, we was talking about guys that we considered loyal and part of this group."

"Speaking out as my 2 cents, when Ray decided to go to the Heat, I felt like he moved on."

There's a lot of great input from the other guys as well -- except Rondo, who decides not to talk about it -- and their message was clearly heard ... 'cause Allen threw shade with a response of his own Tuesday morning.

UFC superstar Joanna Jedrzejczyk is telling us once and for all the CORRECT way to pronounce her last name ... and says you better remember it because she plans on being champ for a while!!!

We also played a little name game with the fighting Pride of Poland and asked her if she could correctly pronounce Mike Krzyzewski's name on the first try.

Don't worry, we also talked some MMA (JJ is fighting at UFC 211 in Dallas this weekend) ... and Joanna told us straight-up why rising star Rose Namajunas hasn't earned the right to fight her next.

Pittsburgh Pirates superstar Andrew McCutchen says his experience in Boston was simply different than Adam Jones -- telling TMZ Sports he was NOT showered with racial taunts.

In fact, Andrew -- one of the 62 black players in the MLB -- says the fans at Fenway Park were actually really cool with him when the Pirates went to Beantown earlier this season.

Some huge basketball stars say they'll happily rock Lonzo Ball's new shoe ... and are willing to pay the special price of free 99 ... 'cause the whole $500 dollar thing ain't happening, ever.

We were out at LAX and ran into Mo Bamba & Kris Wilkes ... two 5-star basketball recruits according to Rivals, and asked them if they'd play in Lonzo's shoe.

It's an especially good question for Wilkes, he's actually headed to UCLA next year, where he'll be hooping alongside one of the younger Ball brothers ... LiAngelo.

Good news and bad news for LaVar ... both kids said they'd play in the shoe, but NEITHER said they'd be willing to pay the insane $500 price tag.

They were enemies in the Octagon, but Eddie Alvarez just delivered a pretty awesome compliment to Conor McGregor ... explaining why the UFC superstar is going to be a great dad.

"If he puts 10% of the effort into his child as he does fighting, I think he's gonna do dang good. So, I wish him the best of luck."

Conor and Eddie faced off at UFC 205 back in November -- but Eddie clearly doesn't hold a grudge.

In fact the father of 4 explains why being a dad is the best thing in the world for Conor.

By the way, Eddie is gearing up for a big fight against Dustin Poirier at UFC 211 in Dallas this weekend ... and says he's already coming up with a plan to piss off his haters.