TMZ Sports - Page 50

Shaquille O'Neal says he's still so emotional about the death of Kobe Bryant, he will NOT watch the 2020 Hall of Fame ceremony because it will simply make him too sad.

Kobe is set to be formally inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in August -- the ultimate honor for one of the greatest players of all time.

But, Shaq admits he can't muster up the strength to watch -- mostly because he can't handle another bout of soul-crushing sadness after Kobe passed away in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26.

"Still miss him. Still think about him every day," O'Neal said on "The Big Podcast with Shaq."

Shaq says on the "scale of sadness" with 10 being the worst, he's finally at a "2" right now ... and watching the HOF ceremony "would bring me back to a 7, 8, 9 and I can't right now."

O'Neal continued, "It would be great if his wife gave a speech or his mom or dad give a speech but I'll see that afterwards. I'm not gonna watch the ceremony."

He also floated the idea of having a Kobe hologram at the ceremony -- saying it would be "nice" to have a Kobe-gram "sitting next to everyone else."

Kobe's Hall of Fame class is pretty stacked -- he'll be inducted along with Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan.

Howard Finkel -- one of the most famous announcers in the history of pro wrestling -- has died, WWE confirms. He was 69.

Details surrounding his death are unclear at the moment.

The Fink (as he was lovingly called) had been ring announcing since 1977 -- when he was hired by Vince McMahon, Sr. for the WWE's predecessor, WWWF.

He became a full-time staffer in 1979 and went on to become WWE's longest-serving employee.

Besides that famous voice, Fink was involved in a bunch of WWE storylines over the years involving superstars like Mr. Perfect, The Million Dollar Man, CM Punk and more.

He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009.

"WWE extends its condolences to Finkel's family, friends and fans," the org. said in a statement.

Stephanie McMahon also weighed in -- saying, "In what has already been a tough week for our @WWE family, today we lost our 1st ever employee and WWE Hall of Famer, @howardfinkel."

"Howard’s voice is iconic & recognized by generations of fans. He will be missed. #RIPHowardFinkel Thank you for everything."

RIP, Fink.

Imagine having twins ... TWICE!!!

That's the reality for WWE superstar Roman Reigns who just revealed his wife Galina is pregnant with twins -- for the second time!

Roman and Galina already have 3 kids -- including a set of twin boys who were born in 2016.

But during an interview with Muscle & Fitness, Roman dropped the big news ... their fam is growing again in a big way!

"You have 3 kids?" the interviewer asked.

"3 with 2 in the oven," Roman answered ... "So, I'm looking to be a Papa Bear of 5! Breaking news! We haven't shared that."

First, CONGRATS!!!

Second, HOLY MOLY THAT'S A LOT OF KIDS!!!

By the way, the odds of having twins naturally is reportedly 1 in every 250 births -- so, in a way, they kinda hit the jackpot twice!

On the other hand, that's a LOT of poopy diapers.

No word on when the kids are due.

Worth noting ... Reigns notably pulled out of WrestleMania 36 just weeks before the April 4 event -- and even though it seemed the decision was based on his health due to prior bouts with leukemia, it now seems the pregnancy may have also played a role.

"You don't know the whole story," Reigns said in a video posted on March 30 ... "All you know is what you think, 'Oh well his health' and this and that, but you don't know what else is going on in my life."

"One of the topics covered in a Major League Baseball course at Arizona State is this player who broke the color barrier in 1947."

COME ON -- EVERYONE KNOWS THE ANSWER ... right?

Wrong.

Because when Xiaoke Ying buzz'd in on "Jeopardy!" on Wednesday night -- she replied, "Babe Ruth!"

WHAT?! NOOO!!!!

It's Jackie Robinson. Obviously.

We thought everyone knew that ... but Xiaoke (from USC) blew it on an episode that coincidentally aired on "Jackie Robinson Day."

Whoops.

Some facts. Babe Ruth did not break the color barrier. He was white. Like super white. German ancestry white.

Jackie Robinson (who went to Xiaoke's rival school UCLA) famously broke the color barrier while a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947.

Robinson made such an impact in the sports world and on society as a whole, there have been countless movies, documentaries and books written about him.

Also, his jersey #42 has been retired across MLB to honor the legend.

Hockey fan?! Ridiculously rich?! Listen up if you wanna own a piece of sports history, 'cause a 170-year-old hockey stick -- estimated to be worth MILLIONS -- just hit the auction block.

The stick -- one of the first-ever made -- is believed to be from the time period between 1850 and 1870 ... as the game of hockey was being invented.

Here's the deal ... in 1980, a couple -- Gary and Germaine Morse -- discovered the one-of-a-kind stick sitting in the closet of a Vermont home they recently purchased.

The Morse's had no idea what the stick was worth ... so they had it assessed.

The value, according to the expert fine art appraiser?

3.5 MILLION DOLLARS!!

Shockingly, they held on to the stick for 40 years -- until recently deciding to cash out -- going to Goldin Auctions and asking them to unload the piece.

We know, sounds like a helluva lot of money for a very old piece of wood ... but 100+-year-old sticks have a track record of selling for a fortune.

The "Rutherford Stick" -- also believed to be from the 1850s -- reportedly sold for $2.2 million in the mid-2000s.

Question is, what will a similarly old and rare stick go for at auction?

We'll know soon ... bidding kicks off on Friday.

Wanna help fight the coronavirus and take a step toward becoming the most swagged-out person on the planet at the same time?!?!

Ray Lewis can help with that ... 'cause the Unvi. of Miami legend is offering up an original turnover chain PLUS a VIP experience in exchange for COVID-19 charity!!

The NFL Hall of Famer just announced he's accepting Michael Rubin's All In challenge by offering up a huge package of Hurricanes-related gifts ... and it's pretty sweet.

Ray says the winner of his charity auction will be flown to Miami for its Nov. 7 game against Florida State ... and will be put up in the famous Fontainebleau hotel for the weekend.

Ray says the winner -- who can be joined by as many as 3 other friends -- will also get steak dinners and a once in a lifetime meet and greet before the big game.

"You're going to be able to run out of the tunnel!" Ray says. "Come out of the smoke! One of the most iconic memories of all-time!"

As for that chain ... it's unclear how drippy the replica ice will be -- but we're guessing Ray ain't sparing no expenses here!!

Scottie Pippen says he got FIRED from his role with the Chicago Bulls ... but don't feel bad for the guy, 'cause he's pretty glad to be away from that mess!!

The 6-time champ revealed the move on the Thuzio Live & Unfiltered podcast (which was recorded during All-Star Weekend but released Wednesday) ... explaining he couldn't come to an agreement with the Bulls front office prior to the 2019 season, so they canned him.

"I got fired this year. I didn't really want it to be in the public, but I'm no longer employed by the Bulls," Pippen said in the interview.

Here's what went down ... the Bulls reportedly met with Pippen before the season and asked him to make several commitments that would mess up his gig with ESPN's "The Jump" ... but wouldn't budge on compensation, so they let him go.

So ... how is Pippen taking it?? Let's say pretty well.

"It's probably a good thing, right? ... I like to associate myself with winning."

Ouch.

Of course, the Bulls are not great right now -- they're 22-43 and don't really have any star players outside of Zach LaVine.

Chicago DID, however, just hire ex-Nuggets GM Arturas Karnisovas to replace John Paxson ... so at least they're heading in the right direction.

Brandon Marshall, Stefon Diggs, Jerry Jeudy and Jason Pierre-Paul have teamed up in a big way -- and it's to help the heroes battling the COVID-19 pandemic.

Marshall -- who's been coordinating the charity work through his House of Athlete company -- got the guys together to hit up hospitals down in Fla. on Wednesday ... and the gesture is pretty amazing.

Marshall tells TMZ Sports he's super grateful for what nurses, doctors and other medical personnel have done these few weeks to stop COVID-19 ... so he's giving back in a big way.

With the help of Raw Juce ... Marshall is donating thousands of meals, juices, acai bowls and smoothies to health staff -- and Diggs, Jeudy and JPP have all come along for the ride.

"It's important that our healthcare workers recover," Marshall says ... "We need them to be mentally and physically and emotionally strong for the rest of this fight."

Brandon tells us he believes a healthy diet -- similar to what NFL players eat to recover after tough games -- can help provide that ... so he and the guys are going to multiple hospitals this month to give back.

"Now more than ever," Marshall says, "they need to recover like athletes."

Pro Football Hall of Famer and 5-time champion Willie Davis has passed away at age 85, the Hall announced Wednesday.

Davis -- who won Super Bowls I and II under legendary coach Vince Lombardi -- quickly blossomed into one of the best defensive ends in the league after the Cleveland Browns traded him to the Packers in 1960.

“It is with great sadness the entire Pro Football Hall of Fame family mourns the passing of Willie Davis," Hall CEO David Baker said in a statement.

"Willie’s extraordinary athleticism was an undeniable factor in Green Bay’s winning tradition of the 1960s under Coach Lombardi. He helped the Packers through an unprecedented championship run and to two Super Bowl victories."

Davis racked up 5 First Team All-Pro selections, made the Pro Bowl 5 times, and was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1981.