TMZ Sports - Page 50

Bodybuilding superstar Dallas McCarver -- aka "Big Country" -- has died after apparently choking on food at his Florida home, TMZ Sports has learned.

We spoke with McCarver's girlfriend, WWE superstar Dana Brooke, who says the 26-year-old was found unconscious just after midnight Tuesday morning by a friend at his home shortly after they spoke on the phone.

McCarver was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. Law enforcement sources tell TMZ Sports there appears to be no signs of foul play.

Brooke says McCarver told her he was about to make dinner and the last thing he said to her was, "I love you. Goodbye."

Brooke says the cause of death is believed to be choking on food ... and it does not appear McCarver was trying to harm himself.

McCarver had worked out earlier in the day on Monday and seemed to be doing just fine ... no signs of a medical problem while hitting a chest press with 160 lbs dumbbells.

McCarver burst on to the bodybuilding circuit when he was 21 and immediately began winning big competitions. He was a 6'1", 300-lb beast who was crazy strong in the weight room.

Just last year, McCarver placed 8th in the 2016 Mr. Olympia competition.

McCarver had a health scare back in March when he collapsed onstage at the 2017 Arnold Classic Australia ... but he appeared to be doing much better recently.

Brooke tells us the message to McCarver's fans is to stay strong -- that's what he would want.

R.I.P.

Rev. Jesse Jackson is making a public plea to NFL owners -- do the right thing and sign Colin Kaepernick already!!

Jackson addressed the NFL's handling of the controversial free agent quarterback in an interview with BSO's Robert Littal ... and says Kaep is being wrongfully ignored by the league and its owners.

Jackson thinks the NFL is being hypocritical and treating players with criminal records better than Kaep ... but says it's not too late to make things right.

"Kaepernick should be playing football this fall of 2017 for somebody. Some owner should have the courage to do the right thing ... and get a good ball player at the same time."

Demi Lovato has signed on to sing the national anthem at the Mayweather vs. McGregor fight on August 26 ... Showtime has confirmed.

Lovato is a HUUUUGE fight fan. She's not only a regular at UFC fights, but also trains MMA at Jay Glazer's gym in Los Angeles.

She also just released her new single, "Sorry Not Sorry," last month -- so the timing is great for her.

Also, Diddy and Mark Wahlberg are making a $200k bet on the fight (doubling down on their Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight bet).

Diddy has Floyd. Mark has Conor. Mark lost the first bet and paid the money to charity. Guessing it's the same plan for this fight.

How do Houston Rockets players feel about Beyonce possibly buying the team?

Trevor Ariza says he's all about it.

Cleveland Browns tight end Seth DeValve -- the first white NFL player to kneel during the national anthem -- says he demonstrated on Monday night to support his African American teammates.

12 Browns players in total knelt in a circle before Cleveland took on the NY Giants -- the players included stars like Jabrill Peppers, Calvin Pryor, Isaiah Crowell, Kenny Britt and Duke Johnson.

But DeValve made the biggest splash ... just days after Michael Bennett said a white player kneeling would make the protest more effective.

DeValve -- who's married to a black woman -- heard Bennett loud and clear and heeded the call.

After the game, the Browns protesters explained their demonstration -- saying they wanted to come together as men to combat all the hate and injustice in the world.

LaDainian Tomlinson loves him some Odell Beckham -- loves -- but tells fantasy football owners he's got some real concerns about the WR after that scary-looking injury Monday night.

LT was leaving Craig's in West Hollywood when we asked for his 3 MUST-HAVES on his FF team.

After busting out 3 top names who weren't NY Giants, the Hall of Famer explained why the ankle injury is raising some red flags.

For the record, Beckham was optimistic about the injury after the game and seemed to be in good spirits.

There's more ... LT also reacts to news articles comparing his HOF speech to Obama (he's blown away) and tells us what he's been doing with that brand new gold jacket (it's cute).

Kristen Stewart and Stella Maxwell have lawyered up, demanding that several websites take down nude photos of them that were illegally hacked.

Kristen's lawyer, Scott Whitehead, fired off a letter challenging the websites that have plastered pics of Kristen and Stella, along with pics of Tiger Woods, Lindsey Vonn, Miley Cyrus, and Katharine McPhee.

The pics in question show Stella in the bathroom, taking a selfie with Kristen posing naked behind her.

Whitehead claims posting the pics is a flagrant violation of copyright laws ... i.e., Kristen and Stella own their images and no one can use them without permission.

The letter follows a similar demand by Tiger Woods' lawyer. As we reported, the hacker got hold of nude selfies of Lindsey Vonn and in the set there was a naked pic of Tiger that he sent while he was dating her.

Conor McGregor is literally puffing his chest at Floyd Mayweather -- showing off the crazy physique he's been training for ... with just days left until the biggest fight of his life.

The Irish superstar posed down at the UFC Performance Institute in Vegas -- saying, "The final rev of the engine on the Conor McGregor Fast conditioning program tonight! What a camp it has been!"

He then got into his green Lamborghini to cool off.

Lindsey Vonn is furious at whoever hacked her phone and leaked private nude photos online -- calling the actions "despicable" and vowing legal revenge against the scumbag who did it.

As we previously reported, the hacker not only found personal pics of Vonn, but also leaked an old private pic of her ex-boyfriend, Tiger Woods. He has also lawyered up and is going after all parties involved.

"It is an outrageous and despicable invasion of privacy for anyone to steal and illegally publish private intimate photos," a rep for Vonn told The Big Lead.

"Lindsey will take all necessary and appropriate legal action to protect and enforce her rights and interests."

"She believes the individuals responsible for hacking her private photos as well as the websites that encourage this detestable conduct should be prosecuted to the fullest extent under the law."

Miley Cyrus, Kristen Stewart and Stella Maxwell were also victimized by the hacker.

Ezekiel Elliott ain't letting his off the field issues keep him from having a good time -- the embattled running back partied on a Texas lake the day after the Cowboys' 2nd preseason game.

Jordan Clarkson is having a hell of an off-season -- as demonstrated in this video of the L.A. Lakers player in a heated game of beach volleyball ... with a bunch of hot chicks in thong bikinis.

Clarkson and his Oklahoma City Thunder pal, Andre Roberson, hit up the nets at Hermosa Beach, CA this past weekend -- went shirts off -- and got into a bit of a 2-on-3 situation in the sand.

The chicks sucked at volleyball ... but who cares?!

Tiger Woods and Katharine McPhee have been hacked -- private nude photos have surfaced -- and their lawyers are vowing to destroy anyone who posts them.

A website has posted graphic selfies of various naked stars, including Tiger, Lindsey Vonn, Miley Cyrus, Kristen Stewart and Stella Maxwell.

We've learned Woods has already unleashed attorney Michael Holtz, who's threatening to sue the site if it doesn't remove the Woods photo STAT.

Sources tell TMZ ... it wasn't Tiger's phone that was hacked, it was Vonn's. We're told Tiger had sent Vonn the naked pic while they were dating.

McPhee has also lawyered up and fired off a similar threatening letter. We're guessing the rest of the stars will follow suit.

Victoria Azarenka has picked her baby over the US Open -- officially pulling out of the upcoming tennis tournament because she refuses to his leave the state without her 8-month-old son.

As we previously reported, Azarenka is in the middle of a nasty custody war with her baby daddy, Billy McKeague -- who hit her with court docs in L.A. The judge has ruled Azarenka can not take her kid out of the state until the trial is over -- which ain't gonna happen for a while.

The US Open begins next week in New York -- and rather than leave the baby's side for 2 weeks, the former #1 womens player has withdrawn completely.

"I am sadly unable to compete in this year's US Open due to my ongoing family situation that I am working through," Azarenka says.

Kevin Durant's getting Hall of Fame support on his decision to turn down an invitation to Trump's White House -- with NBA legend, Gary Payton, telling TMZ Sports he wouldn't go either.

Just last week, Durant said he wouldn't go to 1600 Penn. with his Golden State Warriors teammates if Trump extended the invite ... telling us he doesn't "f*ck with" POTUS.

So, when we saw "The Glove" leaving Craig's in West Hollywood -- we asked what he would do in the same situation. Trump ain't gonna like his answer.

If your Odey senses were tingling at a trampoline park in NJ this weekend ... it's because #13 was there in a full Spider-Man costume -- and the story is pretty great!

The NY Giants superstar caught wind that his teammate, Jonathan Casillas, was throwing a party for his 6-year-old daughter, Jade, who happens to be a big Odell Beckham fan.

We're told Odell wanted to surprise Jade -- so he got a black Spider-Man costume (with a full mask covering his face) and kicked it with the kids ... who had no idea Spidey was really a huge NFL star.

Odell eventually unmasked himself and the video is awesome. We're told Jade (and her mom) loved the surprise ... they had no idea!

As for the costume ... we debated if it was actually a Venom suit but ultimately decided it was more like the black Spidey suit from "Spider-Man 3."

Venom doesn't typically have webs on the suit.

Yeah, we're dorks. Whatever.

Memphis Grizzlies small forward Chandler Parsons' new Bel-Air crib has a pool, 6 bedrooms, 5.5 baths and an outdoor fire pit but it doesn't look like he'll be getting any practice shots in at home.

Parsons, who's been linked to Hailey Baldwin and Bella Thorne, just dropped $11 million on a beautiful, open air Bel-Air home. He kinda made off with a deal on the place ... the original asking price was $13.3 million.

While it doesn't have a hoop ... he'll still get a workout in just walking around the place ... it's 9,100 square feet! It also has a full service bar which will require a different kind of stamina.