TMZ Sports - Page 50

Here's Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Jasmine Sanders helping us ring in Thanksgiving ... with her butt.

GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!

The 28-year-old model was actually born in Germany, but she was raised in South Carolina and therefore has a deep, deep appreciation for Turkey Day.

So, to celebrate, Jasmine posted this video taking a shower at some rock formation somewhere in a thong bikini ... with the caption, "What’s on your Thanksgiving menu?"

And, THAT is the Thanksgiving connection here.

Oh, you want a sports connection, too? How about this ...

Sanders was recently connected to Phoenix Suns star Kelly Oubre Jr. -- they were holding hands on the way out of Bootsy Bellows nightclub in L.A. back in August.

Kelly said the two never developed into a full-fledged relationship ... which is absolutely RIDICULOUS ... but whatever bro, it's your life. Do you.

As for Jasmine -- the 2019 S.I. Swimsuit Edition Rookie of the Year -- thanks for the yams.

Canelo Alvarez thinks the Floyd Mayweather comeback is HILARIOUS -- saying there's no way Floyd would ever consider a rematch because he's too focused on MMA guys.

The boxing superstar was leaving Matsuhisa sushi in Hollywood in great spirits when we asked how he felt about 42-year-old Floyd wanting TWO fights in 2020.

"He's not gonna fight with me," a smirking Canelo told us ... "He's gonna take on MMA fighters!"

CA's entourage added a little more commentary -- with a female friend saying Floyd "couldn't handle" a fight with Canelo.

His male pal was blunter, saying, "Canelo will kill him!"

For his part, Floyd is still working on nailing down his two opponents -- a boxer and an MMA fighter -- and we're told he's got his sites set on Manny Pacquiao.

Meanwhile, Canelo's coming off a violent knockout victory over Sergey Kovalev as he fights his way through his 11 fight, 5-year, $365 MILLION contract.

Unclear what's next for Canelo -- but he's said in the past he would LOVE a rematch with Floyd, who has the ONLY victory over Alvarez in his pro boxing career.

The two fought back in 2013 -- when Canelo was only 23 -- and he lost by majority decision. After the fight, Canelo said he simply couldn't catch Mayweather.

New England Patriots stud Ben Watson just bodied PETA in the war over Georgia's dog mascot ... straight-up telling the org to "kick rocks" for criticizing the school's use of the sideline pup!

"He IS at home with a loving family," Watson said Tuesday, "Kick rocks @peta."

If you missed it ... PETA started an epic war with UGA this week after footage of the school's dog mascot looking sad during Saturday's rain-soaked game surfaced on social media.

The organization demanded the program retire the mascot ASAP ... saying the British bulldog looked "MISERABLE!" and needs to be moved to a new home.

PETA added, "No dog deserves to be packed up, carted from state to state, and paraded in front of a stadium full of screaming fans."

But, Watson -- who played at Georgia from '01 to '03 -- raced to his alma mater's defense Tuesday ... saying in a tweet Uga X is doing just fine at Georgia and DEFINITELY has a loving home.

Of course, this ain't the first time PETA has gone after Uga ... earlier this year it demanded his removal from the school after he and the University of Texas' Longhorn mascot got into it on the sideline.

For its part, Georgia doesn't seem to be in any hurry to bend the knee to the organization ... with no imminent plans to ditch the mascot anytime soon.

Ex-MLB star Aubrey Huff believes Bernie Sanders is a threat to America -- and he's teaching his kids to shoot guns in case Bernie beats Donald Trump in the 2020 election.

"Getting my boys trained up on how to use a gun in the unlikely event @BernieSanders  beats @realDonaldTrump in 2020," the former SF Giants slugger said.

"In which case knowing how to effectively use a gun under socialism will be a must."

Of course, 42-year-old Huff -- who won TWO World Series rings with the Giants -- is an outspoken Trump supporter who doesn't shy away from controversy. And, when asked WHO he was training to shoot, Huff offered up this explanation.

"Ummmm crazy people rioting and trying to break into my house for food or shelter. And yes that includes Americans. And they aren’t fellow Americans if they are breaking into my house and trying to harm my family dumbass."

Huff isn't the first person with an MLB connection to talk about guns and Trump ... just last month, MLB umpire Rob Drake got himself in hot water for similar comments.

"I will be buying an AR-15 tomorrow, because if you impeach MY PRESIDENT this way, YOU WILL HAVE ANOTHER CIVAL WAR," Drake said.

MLB is investigating pitcher Sam Dyson over allegations he got violent with his ex-girlfriend ... AND their cat.

Dyson's ex, Alexis Blackburn, is accusing the former Minnesota Twins pitcher of flying into a rage and smashing up their cat's play box while the cat was still inside.

Blackburn posted a message on social media -- written in the voice of her cat -- saying, "Someone I trusted with my safety, protection, and love did the unthinkable while I was inside the box."

Blackburn says she moved the cat out of their home -- and says (in her cat's voice), "I don’t have to worry about getting hurt because of anger or control."

"I don’t have to be scared of yelling and things being hurled at mom and me. I don’t have to be scared anymore."

In ANOTHER cryptic post -- using her own voice -- Blackburn alludes to an abusive situation with an unnamed person ... and says, "I am broken."

"I’ve allowed my physical health, my emotional health, and my mental health to diminish to nothing."

A source close to the situation confirmed to The Athletic ... both social media posts were written about Dyson.

An MLB spokesperson tells TMZ Sports, "We are aware of the matter and looking into it."

The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal says MLB is calling the matter a "domestic violence investigation."

So far, no comment from Dyson's camp.

31-year-old Dyson is currently a free agent after spending last season with the San Francisco Giants and Minnesota Twins.

Freeclimbing legend Alex Honnold -- the star of "Free Solo" -- is being hailed as a real-life hero after rescuing a fellow climber Sunday who fell off a famous rock formation in Yosemite.

Honnold was at El Capitan -- the epic 3,200-foot formation he impressively climbed WITHOUT ROPES in his documentary -- when something went terribly wrong.

33-year-old Emily Harrington -- a 5-time sport climbing champ -- lost her grip and fell from the formation while attached to her climbing rope ... suffering injuries in the process.

"I took a bad fall and pinballed a bit then somehow hit the rope w my neck," Harrington explained.

That's when Honnold and his pals sprung into action ... getting to Harrington quickly and stabilizing her while emergency personnel arrived.

90 minutes later, Harrington was transported to a nearby hospital where she was treated and is now recovering.

Harrington's boyfriend, Adrian Ballinger, has since thanked Honnold for "calmly maintaining spinal immobilization on the wall, getting things ready for an evac, and telling stories and keeping her talking throughout.”

Ballinger says Harrington is in good spirits, praising her "warrior mentality" and expects her to resume her climbing career ASAP.

Sorry, Wayne Gretzky ... seems the grandkid's got the golf genes and not the hockey ones -- 'CAUSE LOOK AT THE SWING ON DUSTIN JOHNSON AND PAULINA'S SON!!!

DJ and Paulina had an impromptu range sesh with their 2-year-old outside their home Tuesday ... and thank God someone brought the camera -- 'cause the Great One's grandson can seriously hack it.

Watch the clip ... River Johnson has the classic DJ backswing and he keeps his head down throughout the whole stroke. Plus, he even takes a little bit of a divot!!!

The swing clearly impressed Mom ... 'cause Paulina said of the vid, "Watch out pga tour 2035."

Even Grandma loved seeing it, with Janet Gretzky saying, "Takes after his Grandma Honey!!! Go get it River !!"

Of course, the athletic feat shouldn't surprise a soul ... Dustin's one of the greatest golfers of all-time and Paulina is the daughter of the best hockey player ever.

But, don't worry too much about the Gretzkys not carrying on the hockey tradition ... River's pretty good with a stick too -- remember when he put pucks past grandpa earlier this year?!?!

The NHL has launched an investigation into claims Calgary Flames head coach Bill Peters called a black player the n-word while he was managing a minor league team 10 years ago.

While the Flames were playing the Penguins on Monday ... ex-NHL player Akim Aliu took to Twitter and accused Calgary's coach of hurling racial slurs at him during their time together in 2009.

30-year-old Aliu played for Peters in the 2009-10 season when the guy was coaching the Rockford Ice Hogs ... and Aliu says on multiple occasions, Peters called him the n-word.

"Dropped the N bomb several times towards me in the dressing room in my rookie year because he didn’t like my choice of music," Aliu said.

Aliu never mentioned Peters by name in the tweets ... but he made it clear he was talking about the 53-year-old coach when he called him Mike Babcock's "protege."

FYI, Babcock -- who was recently fired by the Toronto Maple Leafs -- coached Peters in college and is considered the guy's biggest hockey mentor.

For their part, the Flames immediately announced they were launching a probe into the allegations ... with general manager Brad Treliving telling reporters they take the claims seriously.

The NHL weighed in on the issue Tuesday as well ... saying it's launching a probe too, adding, "The behavior that has been alleged is repugnant and unacceptable."

Peters was not made available to the media after the Flames' game Monday night ... and he's yet to address the allegations himself.

Papa John's founder says his former pizza chain ain't the same without him -- but the way he got to that conclusion is a little troubling ... and kind of a heart attack waiting to happen.

John Schnatter sat down with WDRB in Kentucky to discuss how his life's changed since getting ousted from the company last year following his n-word controversy. The big takeaway -- he's pigging out on PJ pizza, and bitter as hell about his exit.

Schnatter says he's eaten more than 40 pies over the last 30 days to sample how the taste has changed since he's left. According to him, they simply don't have the same magic as when he was in charge.

He goes on to say he feels his coworkers were out to get him last year by allegedly releasing audio of him saying the n-word in a private conference call. He also vows for a day of reckoning -- but more importantly, he weighs in on Shaq being hired.

As we reported, the big man was tapped to join the Papa John Board of Directors this year. Despite Schnatter's firing for shamelessly using the n-word -- he says he's a fan of Shaq getting involved ... with a caveat.

Warning to Schnatter: If the bitterness in your heart doesn't kill ya, your clogged arteries might. Lay off the pizza, bruh. We get your point ...

It pays to be the champs ... and the Washington Nationals now know exactly how much they're getting for winning the World Series -- a whoppin' $382k per player!!

Major League Baseball just announced the total amounts that got divvied up to each postseason team ... and while it isn't record-breaking, it's still an insane number -- $80,861,145.74!!

BTW -- the total pool number is essentially made up of playoff stadium ticket sales and is divided by the 10 playoff teams based on how far they got.

Since the Nats took the title, they obvi got the biggest amount to share -- $29,110,012 to split between 61 players, totaling in $382,358!!

The Houston Astros lost, but they can wipe their tears with a sweet $256,030 each!!

Here's how much the rest of the playoff teams got ...

New York Yankees -- $114k per player

St. Louis Cardinals -- $144k per player

Atlanta Braves -- $33k per player

Los Angeles Dodgers -- $32k per player

Minnesota Twins -- $37k per player

Tampa Bay Rays -- $36k per player

The $80 million pot is the 3rd-highest of all time ... right behind the 2017 and 2018 postseasons.

"I am the hardest-hitting puncher in boxing history, period."

Deontay Wilder says his right hand is the most devastating weapon in the history of combat sports -- more dangerous than Mike Tyson, Muhammad Ali, you name it.

... And to everyone who disagrees, Wilder has a simple message -- "Let [the past] go!"

The Bronze Bomber is coming off a ferocious 7th round knockout of Luis Ortiz -- where he cracked LO with a right cross that knocked him into next week.

But, Wilder says it's not the hardest shot he's landed ... he thought he KILLED a guy in a 2016 fight.

"Man, I think the [Artur Szpilka] fight still tops it. Just the way that he landed and I really didn't see him breathing ... at all. I didn't see him start breathing until his GF came over and he finally woke up."

"It was like something in the movies and I actually had to witness it with my own eyes and it was amazing to see that. That one, I really felt it. Ortiz, I didn't feel the punch."

Next up for Wilder is the rematch with Tyson Fury, who just said he has the "Kryptonite" for Deontay's right hand.

"I mean, if him getting up off his back is the 'Kryptonite' than Lord have mercy! Have mercy upon him the 2nd time because he won't get up. Because I'm gonna get him again."

Wilder continued, "These fighters have to be perfect for me for 12 rounds and that's 36 minutes! 36 minutes you gotta be perfect!"

As for George Foreman, who told TMZ Sports he thinks Mike Tyson hits harder than Deontay ... Wilder says his critics need to stop living in the past!

Wilder also says he knows Iron Mike has been praising him in private, but he's ready for Mike to shower him with compliments in public!

"I had some people sitting by Mike (at my fight). Mike gave me some praises, which I wish he would have said in public. Behind closed doors is cute and s**t but out in public?! Just express yourself!"

"I don't know what the deal is with the old generation, new generation. Like, the old is the past, bro -- let it go!"

There's more ... Wilder also gave us the lowdown on his AMAZING ring-walk costume ... telling us it cost a fortune, but it was worth every penny!

"We wanted to go into a modern-day king, like knight ... It was like the outfit represented the old and the new. The old me turning into the new me. The past is the past, welcome to the future."

So, price?

"The outfit was like $16k ... but its a write-off."

Wilder says he's already working on his NEXT costume ... and he wants it to be even more impressive!

Here's Myles Garrett in the middle of a PR offensive ... 'cause just days after his indefinite NFL ban was upheld for being a violent monster -- he showed up to a charity event to prove he's actually a nice guy!

The Cleveland Browns superstar's reputation has been under fire ever since he attacked Mason Rudolph with a helmet -- but now, the image rehab process is clearly underway.

The 23-year-old showed up to a Cleveland Feed the Need event Tuesday and said all the right things to try to show he deserves a place again in the NFL next season.

"I love to be out here just helping," Garrett said ... "I just love giving back. That's it. There's nothing more to it."

It's a smart move by Myles, considering even dudes like Michael Vick think he bungled everything that's gone down since his violent incident in the Browns-Steelers game earlier this month.

Garrett was asked how he's dealing with the backlash from helmetgate ... to which he replied, "You have ups and downs in your life and right now, I'm giving back to people."

Two of reality TV's biggest factions came together in L.A. this week -- the Kardashian-Jenners are mixing with guys from "The Bachelorette" ... and they're all looking pretty chummy.

Kendall and some of her girlfriends -- including Stassie Karanikolaou -- all hit up the Rams game Monday night, and at one point ... a bunch of fellas who've been booted in "The Bachelorette" world showed up and joined down in their private, enclosed area.

Tyler Cameron, Peter Weber (the current 'Bachelor') and Dylan Barbour from 'BiP,' as well as some other dudes and other gals were all enjoying a front-row view to the blow-out.

Later on, it looks like at least a few of these pretty people stuck together and met up with Kylie to hit the town -- bouncing around to different clubs in WeHo, including The Nice Guy and Poppy.

We ended up getting Tyler and Stassie leaving the former together, and it all but confirms what we saw this weekend ... a very likely new couple. Paps tried peppering them with questions, but they stayed quiet and hopped into the backseat of a waiting car.

Eventually, the whole gang landed at Poppy to wrap-up the night -- where Tyler and Stassie were yet again seen hanging off each other's hip. Kylie was there too, and while waiting for their rides in the garage ... she got in (and lost) a few games of roshambo with a dude.

Jerry Jones says he will NOT ax Dallas Cowboys head coach, Jason Garrett, during the 2019 season ... but it's clear he ain't happy with the guy.

Jones appeared on 105.3 The Fan and was asked straight-up if he's considered removing Garrett after the Cowboys lost to the New England Patriots on Sunday, blowing several opportunities to win the game.

"The answer is no, period," Jones said.

Of course, Jones was highly critical of Garrett after Sunday's loss --  saying the Cowboys got outcoached by Bill Belichick and his crew.

Jerry essentially says he should bear some of the blame since he's the general manager and makes the personnel decisions.

"I look at every aspect of it since I put the coaches out there, since I put the players out there at the end of the day with a lot of help and with collaborated effort."

"But, at the end of the day, the buck stops with me and I am highly critical and I'm continually evaluating the performance of everybody involved with the game."

In other words, just because Garrett is safe for now doesn't mean he won't be gone after the season.

But, get this ... Jones DEFENDED Garrett's refusal to use in-game analytics when it comes to play-calling.

Jerry says analytics are "good to know" -- but the numbers don't take things like momentum and other immeasurable factors into consideration.

"I've had my biggest success when I'm sure analytics have said make the other decision the other way."

Here's Drake RUNNING HIS MOUTH LAST NIGHT -- talking smack to 76ers star Joel Embiid at the Raptors game ... while rocking his giant custom championship ring!

Of course, Drake is basically the official Raptors spokesperson and talked A LOT of trash to players during the '18-'19 championship run ... it was fun to watch.

But, with Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green both on other teams, we were wondering if Drake would keep that same energy this season. Answer -- YES.

Check out Drake chanting, "MVP," at Joel Embiid as he had his worst night of his career -- scoring ZERO points on 11 shots as the Raptors went on to win 101 to 96.

As for Drake's ring, the rapper went to famous jeweler Jason of Beverly Hills to get him a one-of-a-kind piece to commemorate his team's title run.

The piece is incredible -- it's got 30 carats of diamonds, which is more than any other championship ring in NBA history.

Jason told TMZ Sports ... "Drake had me fly to Turks and Caicos for an emergency design meeting."

"It's a championship that's dear to his heart and he wanted to create an over the top ring that not only paid homage to his city but made a statement above and beyond anything else in history."

Here's the most fighting the Rams did all night Monday ...

Jalen Ramsey had to be restrained by several L.A. Rams staffers after he and Marcus Peters nearly came to blows just minutes after the Ravens beat the hell out of JR's squad.

The game was wild ... the Rams couldn't stop Lamar Jackson at all in a 45-6 blowout -- and when Peters started ballin' out, he trash-talked Jalen like crazy.

Cameras caught the Ravens cornerback screaming across the sideline at Jalen ... and then they later filmed him mocking Ramsey's celebration after an interception.

It all spilled over into a near brawl at midfield after the final whistle ... when the two were in a heated screaming match.

Eventually, the guys were separated -- with Ramsey having to be essentially carried all the way to his locker room up the tunnel at the L.A. Coliseum.

At one point, Peters reportedly told Ramsey, "[We] kicked y’all ass out the playoffs."

Unclear why the two have such bad beef -- although it seems Peters is pretty pissed after the Rams traded him to Baltimore last month and then acquired Jalen only a few hours later.

Peters did NOT address the media after the incident ... and Ramsey refused to take questions from reporters over it all, saying, "I ain't going to answer no BS."

As for their team's standings ... Ramsey's Rams are pretty much dead after Monday's L -- while Peters' Ravens are now the Super Bowl favorites.