TMZ Sports - Page 50

Leave it to Jeff Lowe to let the cats out of the bag -- there's a bonus episode of 'Tiger King' coming to Netflix.

Joe Exotic's ex-business partner spilled the tea -- yet again -- during a cameo video message for Dodgers star Justin Turner. Jeff and his wife, Lauren, say they heard Justin was a big fan of the docuseries. They gave him a good ribbing about that, and then dropped the bombshell.

Jeff says Netflix producers will be shooting at his home on Sunday, and the footage will be used for a new episode dropping next week.

Makes sense Netflix would strike while the iron's piping hot. The series is Netflix's #1 show right now, and there are endless loose ends to address.

For instance, Jeff was raided by the feds last year ... something mentioned at the end of 'Tiger King,' but with no further detail. Only makes sense, the guy who snitched on Joe Exotic had to be the one to blab about the new episode.

Astros ace Justin Verlander is about to be donating a boatload of money for the next couple months to coronavirus charities -- and a lot of people have radically differing thoughts on it.

The pitcher and his wife, Kate Upton, took to IG Saturday to announce ... in light of the MLB continuing to pay its players for at least the next couple months -- per Justin himself -- he says he and Kate have decided to donate those funds toward COVID-19 relief efforts.

They say they'll choose different charities each week for each check, and announce them on their pages. There are tons to choose from these days, so no shortage of good orgs.

Now, time for some math ... 'cause Justin's donations are going to be staggering based on the numbers of his most recent contract with the 'Stros. He got signed to a 2-year, $66 million extension recently (good through the '20 and '21 seasons) and if you break that down -- it's about $634k a week. If he donates for two months ... $5 mil, more or less.

Probably more.

As for how folks received this very gesture ... a truly mixed bag, with lots of people responding drastically different depending on whose feed you check. If you hop on over to Justin's IG page, it seems to be nothing but love in his comments. Not so on Twitter ...

Vanessa Bryant just told the world how proud she is of Kobe, who has been honored as the next Basketball Hall of Fame inductee.

Vanessa sat with daughter Natalia as she fought back tears, saying how proud she was of Kobe's posthumous accomplishment.

Kobe will be inducted as part of the class of 2020, and Vanessa says it's the pinnacle of her late husband's storied NBA career, that spanned 20 years with the Lakers.

Vanessa says, "It's an incredible accomplishment and honor, and we're extremely proud of him. Obviously, we wish he was here with us to celebrate, but it's definitely the peak of his NBA career and every accomplishment that he had as an athlete was a stepping stone to be here."

WWE legend Mark Henry believes WrestleMania 36 will be the most-watched U.S. sporting event EVER ... telling TMZ Sports the 2-night show could get 200 MILLION VIEWERS!!!

"What can WrestleMania do, two days?! Livestreaming and watching a network?! That could be 200 MILLION people watching," Henry says.

Let that sink in.

To compare, the most-watched Super Bowl is XLIX, which reportedly attracted 114 million. The only other U.S. TV event to beat that was the moon landing with an estimated 125-150 million tuning in.

Of course, there have been major changes to this year's WrestleMania due to the coronavirus pandemic ... with Vince McMahon's org. electing to keep fans home and splitting the Rob Gronkowski-hosted event into 2 nights.

We spoke with Henry about the different approach this year ... and he thinks this could be a monumental moment in sports history.

"I think 20 years from now, we'll talk about this moment in history and it will be like 'hey man, the only thing that was on television during that time was pro wrestling,'" Henry tells us.

Henry points out the massively successful IG Live DJ set by D-Nice that helped people from Drake to Michelle Obama to Rihanna pass the time in quarantine ... and thinks WrestleMania can fill a similar void for people in desperate need of sports content.

FYI -- the most-watched WrestleMania is 33 ... which was reportedly seen by 1.95 million people. So yeah, Henry thinks this will SHATTER that record.

Remember, he says this year could get 200 MILLION.

Warren Moon tells TMZ Sports he can't figure out how in the hell the Texans sent DeAndre Hopkins packing last month ... saying, "You just don't trade away your best players like that."

"I was really shocked," Moon said of the Cardinals-Texans swap. "Because you just don't trade one of the best receivers in football."

If you missed it ... Bill O'Brien committed an all-time blunder jettisoning Hopkins and a 4th-round pick to Arizona for David Johnson, a 2nd-rounder and future 4th a couple weeks ago.

The move was universally panned on social media ... and when we spoke with Moon on Wednesday -- he says he's with the majority of the football world on this one.

"A guy who's been a perennial All-Pro the last three or four years," Moon says. "Still productive. He still has two or three years left on his contract. So, I'm tryna figure out why?"

In fact, Warren says he believes the trade was so one-sided ... even O'Brien's own quarterback, superstar Deshaun Watson, has to be pissed over the move!

"I'm sure behind-the-scenes, he's very disappointed that he had a weapon like that taken away from him," Moon says.

Terrell Davis says he's hyped that his former team, the Denver Broncos, signed Melvin Gordon ... telling TMZ Sports Gordon is a talented running back -- and BIG!

The L.A. Chargers clearly didn't think so ... they let the 215-pound RB go after 5 seasons -- giving the Broncos the opportunity to sign the 26-year-old to a 2-year deal worth $16 MIL last month.

"When you can get a guy as talented as Melvin, ya know you always would like to add that to your backfield," the former Broncos champ says.

And, the Broncos already have a pretty decent running core with Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman ... but Davis tells us they were still lacking a dominant guy.

"They got three real good running backs and Melvin's big," Davis tells us. "I think he provides that big physical back that the Broncos didn't have and as well, he can catch."

"They seem like they're gonna be an offense that's gonna use the backs a lot more in the passing game."

Davis says there's a bonus to signing Gordon as well ... it will take the pressure off their young QB, Drew Lock.

"Well, what you would ask somebody like Melvin is to be able to take some of the load off the quarterback, so it's not just every down. It can't be predicted," Davis says.

Jim Hill -- the ex-NFL player turned L.A. sports broadcasting legend -- has been hit with a restraining order after his girlfriend accused him of domestic violence.

It's all spelled out in court papers obtained by TMZ Sports ... in which Lori Lee -- who describes herself as Hill's "domestic partner" -- claims Hill got violent with her during a March 14 incident at their L.A. home.

In the docs, Lee claims she confronted Hill about a luggage tag on his golf bag from the Bellagio Hotel in Vegas. Lee claims Hill had told her he had been visiting his sister in Texas -- but it seems he was caught in a lie.

Lee claims 73-year-old Hill began to act erratically and at one point, he grabbed his driver and "raised it into the air in a baseball stance" and yelled, "don't touch my f**cking golf bag!"

Lee claims she crouched into the fetal position in fear she was going to be hit -- but Jim never swung at her.

Instead, she got up and claims Hill used the club to pin her against the wall by her neck.

In the docs, Lee also claims Hill told her had thought he had COVID-19 after attending a recent Lakers game ... and during their argument, he stuck his tongue out and licked her face in an aggressive manner.

Lee claims she called the police and filed a report.

In the docs, Lee claims there is a history of violent behavior from Hill dating back to Spring 2019.

A judge granted a restraining order against Hill -- requiring him to move out of their home and stay at least 100 yards from Lee and her nephew, who also lives at the house.

A court date has been set for April 22 -- when Hill will be able to tell his side of the story in front of the judge.

Hill is a broadcasting legend in L.A. -- with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In fact, May 9 is "Jim Hill Day" in Los Angeles.

Back in the day, Hill was a stud football player -- who was a 1st-round pick in the 1968 NFL Draft. He went on to play cornerback for the Chargers, Packers and Browns before retiring following the 1975 season.

We reached out to Hill's station, CBS 2 in L.A. and we were told there is no comment at this time.

Kobe Bryant will be inducted into the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2020 -- alongside Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan.

Players become eligible 4 seasons after their last game -- and with Kobe retiring in 2016, this was his first opportunity to get in.

The ceremony (which will be formally announced on Saturday) will take place at The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA in August, according to Shams Charania.

It's a no-brainer -- Kobe is widely considered one of the greatest players of all time ... during his 20-year run with the Lakers, Kobe won 5 NBA titles and made the All-Star team 18 times!

Need more stats? He was also a 2-time NBA Finals MVP, the 2008 NBA MVP, 2-time NBA scoring champ, 9-time NBA All-Defensive Team and he won the Dunk Contest in '97!

Of course, Kobe passed away on Jan. 26 in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, CA. He was only 41.

Many of Kobe's friends and family members have talked about how important it was for Kobe to get in the HOF. Shaquille O'Neal even spoke about it on "Inside the NBA" in the days after Kobe's death.

"The fact that we're not gonna be able to joke at his Hall of Fame ceremony, we're not gonna be able to say, 'Haha, I got 5 (championships), you got 4,' the fact that we're not gonna be able to say, 'If we would've stayed together, we could've got 10' ... those were the things you can't get back."

WWE superstar Becky Lynch really is "The Man" -- because when she found out an 11-year-old superfan with autism was bummed about not being able to go to WrestleMania, she made a special video just for him!

Yeah, might wanna get that tissue box ...

Here's the backstory ... WWE legend Mick Foley met 11-year-old Branden a few months ago at a barbershop in Florida and they bonded over their love of pro wrestling.

In fact, Branden was all set to attend WrestleMania 36 in Tampa to watch his favorite wrestler, Becky Lynch ... but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, fans are no longer allowed at the event.

Mick tells TMZ Sports ... he was trying to think of ways to lift Branden's spirits -- so he reached out to Becky to see if she would send him an uplifting video message.

AND, BOY, DID SHE DELIVER!!!

"Hi Branden it is ‘The Man’ Becky Lynch," she said ... "I hear that you’re a huge fan and I want to thank you for all of your support!"

Ya gotta watch the video -- not only does Becky say she's dedicating the match to him, but she adds, "I'll make you proud!"

We also got video of Branden's reaction when his parents played him the video -- amazing stuff!

Of course, gotta give a HUUUUGE shout out to Mick Foley for making it happen -- the WWE Hall of Famer has been on a mission to spread joy and cheer ever since the pandemic began.

Foley says his goal is to make 1,000 FREE videos to send out to fans all around the world because he knows it will make people smile.

Rob Gronkowski and his SI Swimsuit cover model GF Camille Kostek have taken things to the next level -- they're music video superstars!!

It's all for Kygo's new video, "I'll Wait" ... and it'll make you feel all warm inside.

Gronk and Camille offered up never before seen footage of their romantic vacations, shirtless breakfasts for the video ... it even features footage shot right after the Patriots tight end won the Super Bowl.

In true Gromille fashion ... there's a TON of dancing because as Camille says ... they're never not dancing.

As for the song, it's pretty serious stuff with lyrics like "I'll wait forever, that's what we said. 16th of September, lying in my bed. I'll wait forever, it's never too late, couple thousand miles is just a little space."

After watching the vid, it's no wonder Gronk likes retirement.