TMZ Sports - Page 50

The estate of Bernie Casey no longer has a legal cloud hanging over its head ... it's settled a lawsuit from a woman alleging he attacked her the week before he died.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ ... the former NFL-star-turned-actor's estate has settled with Cheryl Castillo for a cool $250k. Cheryl had previously claimed she and Bernie were husband and wife but has since filed docs clarifying they were never married and only lived together.

In docs, the estate agrees to pony up the dough once it sells off Bernie's house. The settlement also allows Cheryl to live in the house until it's sold.

TMZ broke the story ... Cheryl sued the "Revenge of the Nerds" star back in June 2018 claiming Bernie violently tackled her to the ground just 1 week before his death in September 2017.

Cheryl alleged she got into an argument with Casey over their cars when he suddenly grabbed her by the arm and tackled her to the ground "as though [she] was a football player."

Casey -- who was U.N. Jefferson, the Tri Lambdas' leader, in 'Nerds' -- was a Pro-Bowl wide receiver for the L.A. Rams in the '60s.

Cam Newton's days as an NFL superstar are NOT over ... so says his Panthers teammate, Greg Olsen, who tells TMZ Sports he's got all the confidence in the world Cam will be back.

"Don't bet against Cam," Olsen says.

Newton has had a rough last few seasons battling injuries and poor play ... and the Panthers have actually been BETTER without him this season, going 3-0 in the games that he's missed.

So, when we saw Greg out in NYC this week ... we had to ask, is it over for the Carolina QB???

That's when Olsen told us no way, saying, "Don't bet against Cam. Once he gets himself right, he'll be ready to go."

As for the foot injury that's sidelined Newton for the past month ... Olsen says from everything he's seen, Cam is progressing just fine.

"I think he's feeling good," Olsen says. "I think he's feeling better."

Michael Bisping was already up and throwing knee strikes just hours after his replacement surgery on Thursday ... testing out the new merchandise in his hospital gown!!!

The UFC superstar got the work done after he had been dealing with intense pain in his knee since he tore his PCL in 2005, with the discomfort getting unbearable over the past 6 months.

Now, the Count has a brand-spankin' new knee after a 3.5-hour procedure at St. Joseph Hospital of Orange ... and by the looks of it, Bisping isn't gonna miss a step!!!

The 40-year-old Hall of Famer hopped off his hospital bed and started showin' off his jab and knee strikes ... and almost exposed his whole ass in the process.

"Here’s to a new chapter in life. New Knee, New Me!!!!!," Bisping said. "Still got it!"

BTW -- if you REALLLLLLY wanna see what Bisping's knee looked like, he gave us the pleasure of posting the absolutely disgusting images on his Instagram.

Swipe at your own risk.

Sacramento Kings star Harrison Barnes has stepped up and will pay for the funeral of Atatiana Jefferson, the woman who was shot and killed by a police officer while she was in her own home.

Jefferson's story has made national news -- a neighbor had called police early Saturday morning to check on Jefferson after he saw a door was open at her home in Fort Worth, Texas.

When the officer, Aaron Dean, arrived at the home ... he saw a person inside, and before ever announcing he was a police officer, he opened fire and shot Jefferson, killing the 28-year-old.

Dean has been charged with murder. He's currently out on $200,000 bail.

Jefferson had been peacefully, innocently watching her 8-year-old nephew at the home.

Now, Barnes -- who played for the Dallas Mavericks for 3 years before being traded to the Kings -- has offered to help out the family and foot the bill for the funeral, which is scheduled for Saturday in Dallas.

Barnes has made a lot of money in his NBA career -- he recently signed a 4-year, $85 million extension. He has earned a reputation for being extremely generous with his money and often giving back to the community.

Boxing? Check. WWE? Check. MMA?!? Tyson Fury says HELL YEAH ... 'cause he's telling TMZ Sports he wants to dominate ALL combat sports!!!

The Gypsy King -- who's taking on WWE Superstar Braun Strowman in Saudi Arabia in a few weeks -- was out at Pier 17 in New York on Thursday ... when we had to ask what his next move is.

Of course, the 6'9", 260-pounder knows his way around the squared circle -- he's also prepping for his highly anticipated rematch with Deontay Wilder -- and how he's looking for another challenge.

"I'm taking over all combat sports," Fury tells us. "So, whatever combat sport you're in, BEWARE. 'Cause the Gypsy King is coming!"

"I'm coming to your sport, whatever sport it is. I'll be there. MMA takeover!!!"

Not sure if Fury was just talkin' to talk or if he REALLY wants to get in the cage. But, if he's serious, his pals at WWE definitely know how to get in touch with Dana White!!!

Fury's definitely tough enough for MMA ... remember he battled through that insane GASH over his eye when fighting Otto Wallin last month.

And, good news, Fury says the wound is healing nicely and should be ready for action by the time he fights Deontay Wilder in February!!!

Ex-NFL head coach Dick Vermeil has seen some cracks in Patrick Mahomes' game recently ... and he's sending the QB a message -- keep that ego in check -- OR ELSE!!!

"I do think quarterbacks can become too confident, I really do," Vermeil says. "Sometimes they have to be humbled."

Mahomes hasn't been nearly as electric the last couple weeks as he's been for the majority of his career ... and Vermeil tells TMZ Sports he thinks the Chiefs star might be feeling himself a little too much.

"Right now he's the No. 1 quarterback in the NFL," Vermeil says ... "My only worry about him is he gets overconfident and takes for granted some of those guys on defense."

Vermeil says Patrick's main problem is his O-line isn't holding up very well ... but he thinks Mahomes also might be trying to do a little too much with the football because of what he's been able to do in the past.

Vermeil tells us he's seen it before with supreme talents like Patrick ... and says sometimes a really rough game can be the wakeup call guys need.

Joanna Jedrzejczyk ain't gonna like this ...

Weili Zhang -- the reigning UFC strawweight champ -- says Joanna is washed up and does NOT deserve a shot at her belt, despite beating Michelle Waterson this past weekend.

Remember, Zhang won the title by DESTROYING Jéssica Andrade in 42 seconds when they fought back in August ... and now she's ready to defend her belt.

Joanna told TMZ Sports she deserves a title shot -- but Zhang adamantly disagrees, saying the Polish superstar's best days are behind her.

"I don't think shes the fighter that she used to be," Zhang says ... "She's not in the condition she used to be. I'm not very interested."

Joanna went on an impressive 14-0 run to start her MMA career -- but lost 3 out of her last 5 ... twice to Rose Namajunas and once to Valentina Shevchenko.

In fact, Zhang says she's WAY more interested in moving up a weight class and fighting Shevchenko for the Flyweight belt than taking on Joanna.

"I want to fight the best," Zhang says ... "Right now I think Valentina is one of the best."

Zhang says she'd also consider a fight against Rose ... but she hasn't made up her mind yet.

There's more ...

Zhang also weighed in on the political drama between her home country, China, and the United States ... saying she hopes she can help repair relations through sports.

Speaking through a translator, the 30-year-old said ... "Hopefully I can be the bridge between all countries and the U.S."

Dear Jesus ... PLEASE SAVE PATRICK MAHOMES' ANKLE!!

That's the message going down in a Kansas City church, where the K.C. faithful are begging the Lord up above to heal up their franchise quarterback after 2 straight losses.

Seriously ... the Asbury United Methodist Church is planning a "healing service" on Sunday morning for Patrick's left ankle -- which he injured in Week 1 and reaggravated this past weekend against the Texans.

"With the last two games, we kind of thought that they may need some type of help," a rep for the Church told FOX4KC ... "We knew that his ankle was injured so we decided to possibly have a healing service to help him heal that ankle quicker."

They're even advertising the prayer service on the sign outside the building -- hoping to recruit some extra parishioners to help out!

There's a bit of a timing issue though ... the Chiefs play the Denver Broncos TONIGHT -- so, hopefully, they're putting in some prayer work TODAY too!

NBA commissioner Adam Silver wants to make it clear he did NOT apologize to the Chinese government for Daryl Morey's pro-Hong Kong tweet ... but he still wants to save the NBA's relationship with the foreign power.

"I'd hate to see this relationship end over this incident," Silver told TMZ Sports in New York.

When asked specifically if he would be open to going back to China to play more NBA exhibition games next year, Silver told us, "Nothing is off the table."

"We do need to reset with the Chinese government and everybody has to establish what the rules of the road are going to be going forward."

Silver touched on a variety of China-related topics during our conversation ... here are some of the hit points:

-- Silver says he's spoken with Daryl Morey several times since the initial "Stand with Hong Kong" tweet to make sure he's "getting through this okay."

-- Silver says Morey has been getting "pressure" from hundreds of millions of Chinese people but he's also happy Daryl is getting support from people in the U.S.

-- Silver says he has NOT spoken about the issue with Donald Trump but has had conversations with people in Trump's administration.

-- Silver has consulted with NBA player Enes Kanter about the situation. Kanter, who's from Turkey, has caught hell back home for speaking out against the Turkish government and he ripped LeBron James for the comments he made condemning Daryl Morey.

-- Silver also says he consulted former NBA commish David Stern about the issue since Stern is still an adviser to the league.

-- Silver also admitted he was "bothered" that the league's initial statement about the Morey tweet was interpreted by many to be an apology to the Chinese government.

The initial statement read, "We recognize that the views expressed by Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey have deeply offended many of our friends and fans in China, which is regrettable."

"While Daryl has made it clear that his tweet does not represent the Rockets or the NBA, the values of the league support individuals’ educating themselves and sharing their views on matters important to them."

Silver explained to TMZ Sports ... "It bothered me that in saying we regretted upsetting hundreds of millions of Chinese fans while at the same time supporting Daryl Morey’s speech, it bothered me, I’d say, that it was interpreted as an apology to the Chinese government."

"We certainly didn’t apologize to the Chinese government."

"We supported Daryl from the get-go in terms of his ability to tweet. We also made clear that there were consequences from that speech. And, I think that was no doubt frustrating to a lot of people in the NBA community because it was incredibly disruptive. But, you know, we accepted that. Daryl knew we accepted that. There was not much we could do about that. But, I think it bothered me that somehow even though we – I felt were holding the line in a way that many companies haven’t been able to in China, meaning there was no discipline of our employee, there was never a suggestion that we weren’t supporting him."

John Smoltz's incredible Georgia estate -- complete with a baseball field, basketball court, football field, golf course AND a pool -- is hitting the market ... and it's listed at a whoppin' $5.2 MILLION!!!

Not only is the 19-acre property a sports fan's paradise ... it's also got a HUGE mansion with 10 bedrooms and 10 bathrooms!!!

The crib, listed by Harry Norman Realtors agent Alex McGraw, comes with several master suites, a chef's kitchen, multiple bars and an office.

There's also a room in the house called the "Gentlemen's Study" -- which we think is a super fancy way of saying "Man Cave."

And, if privacy is your thing, this place is locked up tighter than a drum -- double gates to keep out the riffraff and a gated parking court so nobody scuffs your Bentley.

Seriously, check out the pics. The place is awesome.

The Hall of Famer had the home built in 2002 -- and has put it on the market in the past -- but we're told he's more motivated than ever to sell!!!

According to the listing agent, the estate was appraised earlier this year ... and the asking price is way LESS than its appraisal value. So yeah, you're getting a steal!!!

Of course, Smoltz is an Atlanta legend and spent the majority of his career with the Braves, and reportedly made more than $135 MILLION during his 21-year MLB career.

Matt Ryan has pissed off one of his biggest ATL Falcons fans -- Quavo from The Migos -- who tells TMZ Sports the team needs to bench Matty already ... and start HIM!!!

"Put Matty on Ice, put Quavo in tonight!"

Quavo's not only from Georgia, he's also a HUGE football fan who used to be a STUD quarterback himself back in his high school days.

In fact, Quavo was Gwinnett County, Georgia's all-time single-game completions leader ... and posted a sick highlight video showing him breaking tackles, juking pass-rushers and finding his WRs with the deep ball!

So, when we spotted Quavo leaving Avra in Beverly Hills we asked how his beloved Falcons can get things back on track.

"Matt Ryan is making me mad right now," Quavo said ... "If the Falcons start me, I'll play and I'll throw to Julio Jones every play!"

Hey, it's not a bad plan ...

The Falcons are coming to L.A. to play the Rams this weekend -- and Quavo also has a friendly warning for his pal Jalen Ramsey ... JULIO JONES IS GONNA BUST YOUR ASS!

Here's MLB legend Jeff Bagwell happy as hell he's not on the Yankees right now ... 'cause he tells TMZ Sports the way Gerrit Cole is currently pitching is straight-up scary!!

"He's the closest thing I've seen to Randy Johnson," the Astros legend says ... "He's tough. He's a monster out there."

Cole has been mowing down lineups all season ... and nothing's changed so far in the playoffs -- especially in Houston's HUGE Game 3 win over the Yanks on Tuesday.

Bagwell -- one of the greatest power hitters ever -- says it's truly impressive what the flamethrower has been able to do over the last few months.

"He's just a different animal," Bagwell says ... "There's something out there when he's on the mound where it just looks like he feels like he's just better than you."

In fact, Bagwell is so impressed by GC ... he says it actually reminds him of when Randy Johnson was shoving for the 'Stros back in 1998!!

Ex-Dallas Cowboys star Marion Barber III was arrested in Texas on Wednesday ... and officials say it all stems from a "criminal mischief" incident from July 2018.

So far, the specific allegations against the 36-year-old are unclear -- all we know is that he was arrested by the Prosper Police Dept. and transported to a Denton County jail.

Barber was booked on at least one count of misdemeanor criminal mischief -- and he's still in custody as of this post.

FYI, misdemeanor criminal mischief carries a maximum punishment of 1 year in jail and a fine of up to $4,000.

Barber was stud running back for the Cowboys from 2005 to 2010 -- he even made the Pro Bowl in 2007.

Before the NFL, Barber was a standout at the University of Minnesota where he led the Golden Gophers to the Music City Bowl in 2004 and was named the game's MVP.

He was selected in the 4th round of the 2005 NFL Draft.

LeBron James got the "South Park" treatment on Wednesday -- mocking the NBA superstar for the comments he made about Daryl Morey ... and it's pretty hilarious.

Remember, South Park has been at war with China this month too -- the country blackballed the show over an episode in which they used Winnie the Pooh to mock President Xi.

"South Park" doubled down the following week, with multiple characters on the show saying, "F*ck the Chinese government!"

Fast forward to Wednesday night ... and they're still not done -- this time using LeBron's actual quotes from his anti-Morey comments as fodder.

In the ep, titled "Let Them Eat Goo," Cartman gets pissed after the school wants to switch out the usual lunches for healthier options.

At one point, Cartman confronts the protesters and says ... "Yes, we do have freedom of speech, but at times there are ramifications for the negative that can happen when you are not thinking about others and only thinking about yourself!"

Sound familiar?

There's more ... Cartman says, "They're trying to change people's lunch! They don't realize it harms people financially, physically, emotionally and spiritually!"

Hilarious moment on the links Wednesday ... Tony Romo was scared crapless by a fake snake -- and it was all because of a prank played on him by ex-NBA star Deron Williams!

Romo -- a near-scratch golfer when he's not broadcasting NFL games -- was out at Maridoe Golf Club in Texas with Williams when Deron decided to have some fun.

The former Utah Jazz superstar laid down a rubber snake by Romo's golf cart ... and fired up his phone's camera.

What happened next was hilarious ... Romo initially walked by it without seeing it, but when he got out of his cart and finally noticed it -- HE ALMOST JUMPED OUT HIS SHOES!!

Once the QB realized he'd been pranked, he smirked and said, "That son of a bitch!" -- while Williams laughed his ass off!!!

"I’m sorry @tony.romo I had to do it!!!" Williams said of the joke. "All this proves is if they put u back there for a few snaps u could shake off them ankle tackles."

Williams plays this trick all the time while he's out on the golf course ... and it's laugh out loud hilarious EVERY TIME!!!

Is LeBron James using fashion to make a political statement? Maybe ...

After LeBron dropped 18 points in the Lakers preseason win over Golden State on Wednesday, he took his wife out for a date while wearing a Nike shirt that says, "No Clout."

A lot of Bron critics would probably agree with the shirt after the way LeBron's been handling the China situation ... so you gotta wonder if Bron picked out the shirt as a way of acknowledging and addressing the backlash.

Or, maybe he just liked the shirt.

We tried to ask Bron about the China situation on his way out of the Highlight Room Rooftop Lounge in L.A., where he had a date night with Savannah ... but it was clear Bron wouldn't go there.

Instead, he engaged with fans, complimented some young girls as "Queens" and got into his car ... he was very nice to everyone.

Seems Bron is looking to get his life back to normal amid the China drama -- he balled out during the preseason game and everyone's talking about this insane no-look, over the shoulder assist.

Are people ready to move on already? We'll see ...