TMZ Sports - Page 50

Officials are crediting the heroic actions of the pilots on Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s private jet for evacuating the NASCAR legend and his family from his burning plane during the crash, this according to new documents.

After the plane crash landed in Elizabethton, Tennessee on August 15 ... it caught fire and began to burn.

But, while the flames raged, "the flight crew [which only consisted of the pilot and co-pilot] secured the engines and assisted the passengers with the evacuation," according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

The NTSB has been investigating the crash and while they have not specifically released the cause ... they do note that the landing gear on the plane collapsed at some point during the crash landing.

Officials say everything about the flight appeared to be routine until the landing ... when, for some reason, the plane bounced twice on the runway ... before crashing with only 1,000 feet of runway left.

The plane ultimately settled on the edge of a nearby highway where the flight crew evacuated Dale Jr., his wife, their 1-year-old daughter and the family dog.

Dale says he suffered back injuries in the wreck but expects to be fine. The rest of the family and the two pilots are all reportedly doing fine.

MLB superstar Mookie Betts is paying homage to his old teammate when he hits the diamond for Players Weekend ... rockin' Big Papi cleats that have their own gold chains!!

The Red Sox MVP decided to do a sick tribute to David Ortiz on his cleats for the special weekend (when players can wear custom kicks and fun nicknames on their jerseys).

The finished personalized Jordan 13s are DOPE -- with images of Papi, his signature, the classic Fenway Park Green Monster and his trademark gold chains!!

Mookie designed the cleats himself ... and it's obviously a sick tribute to the Red Sox legend who was nearly killed in a shooting the Dominican Republic back in June.

David has been recovering in Boston ever since ... and is doing well, recently saying, "Big Papi will be back soon."

Sacramento Kings head coach Luke Walton will NOT be punished by the NBA ... after the league investigated claims he sexually assaulted a female reporter.

Walton was accused of forcing himself on former L.A. Lakers reporter Kelli Tennant in a Santa Monica hotel room back in 2014.

5 years later, Tennant filed a lawsuit against the head coach ... which sparked an NBA and Kings investigation.

The Kings and the NBA released a joint statement on Friday, announcing there was insufficient evidence to support the allegations.

"On April 22, 2019, Ms. Tennant filed a civil lawsuit against Coach Walton and, on April 23, held a press conference in which she described claims of sexual assault, verbal and physical harassment, and unwanted physical contact over a three-year period. Two days later, the Kings and the NBA commenced an investigation."

"The investigatory team was led by Sue Ann Van Dermyden, from the Sacramento law firm Van Dermyden Maddux, and Elizabeth Maringer, Senior Vice President and Assistant General Counsel of the NBA."

The statement continues ..."During the investigation, more than twenty individuals were interviewed, including Coach Walton, and numerous documents and other relevant materials were reviewed."

"The investigators made repeated attempts to interview Ms. Tennant, but, through her counsel, she declined the opportunity to participate. The investigation is considered closed unless new evidence becomes available."

The civil suit is still active ... and is set to go to trial late next year.

Luke Walton -- who was never arrested or charged with a crime -- has adamantly denied any wrongdoing.

Ex-Patriots TE Jermaine Wiggins says it's PAINFULLY OBVIOUS Eric Reid's late hit on Ben Watson on Thursday was dirty as hell ... and warns Reid that payback's a bitch!

Reid blasted Watson in the head during the 1st quarter of the Carolina vs. New England preseason game on Thursday after Watson was already down by contact.

The hit came days after Watson had criticized Reid on Twitter for ripping the NFL's Players Coalition over the NFL's deal with Jay-Z ... and some people think Reid was gunning to hurt the guy.

After the game, Reid DENIED intentionally targeting Watson and claimed he didn't even know about Watson's tweets ... insisting the hit was the result of an overzealous play.

When we spoke with Wiggins -- who won a Super Bowl with New England in 2001 -- he told us the play was obviously dirty.

"There was definitely a little extra BBQ sauce on that rib that he was trying to go after!"

Wiggins says he can't be sure Reid was looking to hurt Watson, but tells us the defensive back is LUCKY the teams don't play during the regular season.

"Carolina, luckily for them they don't have New England on their schedule because there might be a little bit of payback coming his way."

Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, move over ... Rafael Nadal says he's down for an even more epic battle of the sexes match -- telling TMZ Sports he'd take on Naomi Osaka!!!

"Why not?!" Rafa says.

Of course, 33-year-old Nadal is one of the best men's tennis players ever ... and 21-year-old Naomi is currently the women's No. 1 ranked player -- so when we got Nadal leaving Milos in NYC on Thursday, we had to ask if they'd ever battle on the court.

Ya gotta see Nadal's answer ... the guy seems all kinds of down for it!!!

If the two somehow make it happen ... it'd be the second time tennis titans of the opposite sex go at it this year -- remember, Roger Federer beat Serena Williams in a doubles match in January.

As for why Nadal thinks he, Roger and Novak Djokovic have been dominating the sport for so long, he tells us, "We love what we do, my friend!"

One of the biggest power couples in sports is taking things to the next level ... Lindsey Vonn is engaged to NHL star P.K. Subban.

The two went public with their relationship back in June 2018 -- when they hit the CMT Music Awards in Nashville together. They've been practically inseparable ever since.

34-year-old Vonn is widely considered one of the greatest U.S. skiers of all time. 30-year-old Subban is one of the Top 10 defensive players in the NHL. He's currently in a 8-year, $72 MILLION contract!

This will be Lindsey's 2nd marriage -- she was previously married to U.S. Ski teammate Thomas Vonn, but they divorced in 2013.

After the split, Lindsey dated Tiger Woods and then moved on to NFL wide receivers coach Kenan Smith. When that ended, she moved on to Subban and it's been a fairy tale ever since!

Congrats!!!

Washington Capitals star Evgeny Kuznetsov -- one of the biggest stars in hockey -- has been suspended from international play after testing positive for booger sugar.

... and after a video surfaced showing Evgeny in a hotel room with lines of white powder chopped up on a table, it's really no surprise to anyone.

Here's the deal ... back in May, the footage surfaced on social media showing Evgeny in a room with a woman with white lines on a table next to a rolled up dollar bill.

27-year-old Evgeny addressed the video at the time and insisted he had NEVER taken illegal drugs -- and neither the NHL nor the Washington Capitals took action.

But, the International Ice Hockey Federation -- which oversees everything from the Olympics to the World Championships -- does things a bit differently and on Friday they slapped Evgeny with a 4-YEAR SUSPENSION after the positive coke test.

In other words, he can't represent his home country, Russia, in international tournaments until 2023.

So, how will this affect his NHL career? It won't.

The NHL put out a statement saying, "Unlike the IIHF, cocaine is not considered a performance enhancing drug and is therefore not a Prohibited Substance under the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program."

"Instead, it is considered a drug of abuse that is tested for and for which intervention, evaluation and mandatory treatment can occur in appropriate cases."

"Here, we understand that Mr. Kuznetsov has voluntarily sought help through the education and counseling program provided for in the NHL and NHLPA collective bargaining agreement and has agreed to a regular testing protocol relating to his involvement with that program."

Turns out, this was a THROWBACK twerk sesh from Kiké ... not actually moments after he broke Toronto's heart.

Kiké Hernandez was straight-up GETTING IT after his walk-off hit Thursday night ... giving his locker room chair ALL of his ass in a twerk session that would make strippers jealous.

Seriously. It's incredible.

Hernandez really came through for Dodgers against the Blue Jays ... in the bottom of the ninth, after his teammates had tied the game at 2 ... he hit a bloop single to plate the winning run.

It was an epic moment for the second baseman ... because it was also his bobblehead night!!!

So, how'd the guy celebrate? Watch the clip, the dude gyrated his glutes in a way we didn't know he could!!!

#STEAMY

Seems his teammates loved the show ... L.A. star Justin Turner was the one who filmed all the action and wrote, "Current mood in the clubhouse #walkoff"

Kiké's been no stranger to hilarious baseball antics this season ... remember when he clapped back at some Rockies hecklers after a moonshot home run earlier this summer??

But, this twerk sesh takes the cake ... "Dancing with the Stars" producers, you watching?!

Larry Bird's clean-cut, non-tatted image is back ... sorta ... because the artist behind his inked-out mural in Indiana has removed the NBA legends face tats after Larry complained.

Remember, artist Jules Muck (aka Muck Rock) has created a modernized version of Bird's iconic 1977 Sports Illustrated shoot ... complete with tattoos in his face, chest and arms.

The image caught Bird's attention -- and he tapped his attorney to reach out and ask Jules to change it because he's not a "tattooed guy" and felt the mural could hurt his brand image.

We spoke with Jules, who tells us the two sides agreed to a compromise -- she would remove all of the tats ... EXCEPT ONE ... the "Indiana" ink on Bird's forearm.

So, on Thursday, Jules grabbed some spray paint and went to work ... doing her version of laser tattoo removal -- and the end result is still pretty cool.

WWE superstars Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch are both officially off the market ... the wrestlers just got engaged!!!

Seth and Becky announced the big news Thursday over social media ... with Becky calling Seth's beachfront proposal the happiest day of her life.

The super cute couple is definitely moving fast ... they started seeing each other earlier this year, and in May they finally went public with their relationship. Seth and Becky were friends for a while before things turned romantic.

These are some kickass couple ... Seth is the WWE Universal Champion and the WWE RAW Tag Team Champion, while Becky is the WWE RAW Women's Champion.

Looks like Becky is in it for the long haul ... she says they're going to be together for the rest of her life. Seth's been engaged before, but he never tied the knot, and this will be Becky's first marriage.

Congrats!!!

Mike Tyson says Conor McGregor is a "wonderful person" who's earned a shot at redemption with the public ... telling TMZ Sports, "He's a really kind man."

The boxing legend was leaving Cipriani in NYC on Thursday -- around the same time Conor was finally addressing his pub attack on ESPN ... when Iron Mike explained why Conor should be able to bounce back from his latest scandal.

"He's a wonderful person. He's a really kind man and he's gonna get good karma for that," Tyson said ... "I believe that."

Tyson also told us he thinks Conor has "earned" a 2nd chance for his actions.

Iron Mike and the Notorious aren't just friends -- they smoked weed together in late 2018 ... with Conor praising Mike on social media.

"I will always have the height of respect for you," Conor said after they kicked it together in Ireland ... "I love you Mike! Iron Mike Tyson!"

Of course, Conor essentially begged for forgiveness from his fans during an interview with ESPN's Ariel Helwani ... claiming he's trying to change for the better after several violent incidents.

He even owned up to acting like a jerk in an Ireland bar back in April -- admitting he was in the wrong for punching a 50-year-old man in the face.

As for Tyson, we also asked about the DOUBTERS who say Mike's claim about smoking $40k in weed per month is wrong. Tyson had a comment for them too ...

"They don't know how to dream," Tyson said before noting ... "Yeah, [the number] is a reality!"

NBA star Enes Kanter says he's still about 2 years away from becoming a U.S. citizen ... but when it DOES happen, he tells TMZ Sports he might have a new name too!!!

Of course, the 27-year-old Celtics hooper has been labeled a terrorist in his home country of Turkey after publicly criticizing president Recep Tayyip Erdogan ... calling him "the Hitler of our generation."

Considering Kanter can get locked up in prison if he ever goes back home, he's kick-started the process of becoming a U.S. citizen ... and is thinking of making even more changes to go along with it.

"I'm actually becoming a U.S. citizen in 2 years," Kanter said ... "I'm actually thinking about adding an American name. I'm still thinking about it. I don't know yet."

We also talked with Kanter about the work he's put into helping bring awareness to the human rights issues in Turkey and what he's doing to fix the problem.

Georgia-born Ron Simmons is best known as the championship-winning, All-American heavyweight wrestler in the World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in the early '90s and was one half of the tag-team duo Doom and went on to be a part of the Nation of Domination in the WWF.

Before his fame in the wrestling ring, Simmons was famous on the football field ... Ron got into the gridiron games as a nose guard at Florida State University with coach Bobby Bowden and went on to play in the National Football League with the Cleveland Browns for two seasons.

Simmons was inducted into the WWE Wrestling Hall of Fame back in 2012.

Dallas Cowboys team captain Tyrone Crawford ain't apologizing for his role in a bar brawl last March ... telling reporters Thursday, "I handled the situation to the best of my abilities."

We broke the story, TC shoved, pushed and threw punches at bar security on March 15 in Panama City Beach, FL ... and in a video we obtained, you can see him straight-up mauling people.

In fact, we're told Crawford also got physical with AT LEAST two police officers as they tried to break up the scene.

But, Crawford -- who spoke with media for the first time since the incident after Cowboys practice Thursday -- didn't seem sorry for his actions, saying, "I did what I had to do as best I could."

According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Crawford allegedly got into the whole fracas to help his brother at the bar ... and he's hoping when he eventually tells his side of the story to NFL investigators, they'll understand.

"I am going to let God take it," Crawford said. "I can’t speak on it too much. I am going to let God take it and handle everything, however it works out, it works out. Hopefully, they see my side."

Crawford was hit with a misdemeanor charge of affrays for the altercation ... but he reached a deal with prosecutors last month to close out the criminal case ahead of training camp.

We're told in exchange for completing an anger management assessment and keeping his nose clean for the next six months ... he'll have the charge dropped.

Adam Lambert, Usher, 'Real Housewives' star Dorit Kemsley and former football star Shaun Phillips are the latest celebs to be hit by burglars ... but this one has a twist.

Beverly Hills realtor Jason Emil Yaselli and an alleged accomplice, Benjamin Ackerman, are accused of various crimes between December 2016 and August 2018, including first-degree residential burglary, identity theft, conspiracy to commit burglary and money laundering ... including an allegation that they took more than $500,000 through fraud and embezzlement.

Here's the twist ... some of the crimes were allegedly committed during open houses in the Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Hollywood Hills and West Hollywood area. Presumably, during the open houses, the defendants allegedly pilfered stuff.

The complaint says the realtor would encourage his accomplice to steal luxury items from 14 homes, sell them and use the proceeds to make payments on the realtor's credit card.

The realtor was arrested Wednesday. The accomplice pled not guilty and his bail was set at $1.2 million. Prosecutors say they will recommend bail of $1.73 mil for the realtor.

If convicted, the 2 men face a max of 31 years in prison.

Conor McGregor is finally apologizing for sucker punching a man in the head at a pub in Ireland ... saying, "I was in the wrong."

The UFC superstar is speaking out 1 week after TMZ Sports posted video of the incident ... telling ESPN's Ariel Helwani that there was no excuse for his behavior.

"I mean, in reality, it doesn't matter what happened there. I was in the wrong. That man deserved to enjoy his time in the pub without having it to end the way it did."

McGregor says that he made amends with the man shortly after the April bar attack -- which happened to be a dispute over his Proper 12 whiskey.

While at the pub, Conor poured shots for patrons at the Marble Arch in Dublin ... and threw a punch at the victim when he turned down the offer.

"And, although five months ago it was, and I tried to make amends, and I made amends, back then, it does not even matter. I was in the wrong."

McGregor continues ... "I have to realize that's not the attitude or the behavior of a leader, of a martial artist, of a champion. So, I must get my head screwed on and just get back in the game and fight for redemption, retribution, respect."

Conor clearly wants to move on from the incident ... but Ireland cops tell TMZ Sports they are still investigating the attack and could bring criminal charges.

As for the victim, he told the Irish Daily Star that Conor is a "bully with money" ... and claimed he wanted to drink his Guinness in peace.

Conor also addressed his fighting future, saying he's NOT retired and when asked if he'll fight before the end of 2019, he says that's the goal.