TMZ Sports - Page 50

Ex-MLB pitcher Matt Mantei was convicted of domestic violence after roughing up his wife, but he ain't gonna spend a minute behind bars ... TMZ Sports has learned.

We broke the story ... Mantei -- who was known for his 100 MPH heater during his 10-year career in the big leagues -- was arrested April 17 in Michigan after his wife told cops Mantei got physical with her while arguing over a cell phone.

She claimed the closer grabbed her, threw her to the floor, and held her down ... before letting her up and shoving her -- causing minor injuries.

Mantei appeared before a judge in Berrien County last Friday ... and pled no contest to 1 count of misdemeanor domestic violence. But, we're told the judge reviewed the evidence and found that Mantei committed the offense of domestic violence, according to prosecutor Michael Sepic.

With the conviction, comes punishment ... but no jail and no probation.

Ex-UFC star Tim Kennedy said the reason he decided to get waterboarded was to show the world, "We're not a bunch of spineless cowards" ... and insists it didn't even hurt.

Kennedy -- a U.S. Army Special Forces sniper -- let his friends waterboard him for about 45 minutes over the weekend ... and live streamed it to show the world why it shouldn't be considered torture.

"It feels like you're drowning. It feels like it, but you're not," Kennedy tells TMZ Sports.

"Because the water is going down in the back of your eyes, up your nose, it's pooling in the back of your throat. You’re trying to hold your breath, but all that water is pounding at the back of your throat, so you can't hold your breath."

"It's uncomfortable. It doesn’t feel good. It's not like, 'Let's go get a spa treatment.' A little face massage. It's an uncomfortable thing. But, it's a very effective thing."

Kennedy is adamant waterboarding should NOT be considered torture -- and explained his point in graphic detail.

NFL rookie Christian Kirk was showing signs of cocaine use when he was arrested at a golf tournament in Arizona back in February ... this according to the police report obtained by TMZ Sports.

Kirk -- a 2nd round draft pick by the AZ Cardinals -- was arrested for criminal damage to a car on Feb. 3 after cops say he was throwing rocks at cars in a parking lot outside of the Phoenix Open.

Event security had contacted police and said the suspects were "high."

When the Scottsdale PD arrived to the scene, one of the officers "immediately noticed Kirk's demeanor. He had a blank stare."

The officer placed Kirk under arrest and handcuffed him -- and then suggested he may have been on cocaine.

"I further noticed the grinding movement of his jaw and continued blank stare. These are common signs of an individual high on stimulants, such as cocaine."

Both Kirk and another man were transported to a nearby police station where they were booked and later released.

Was Diddy successful in his bid to buy the Carolina Panthers? Uh uh, uh uh.

Despite teaming up with Philadelphia 76ers owner Michael Rubin, Diddy's ownership group was NOT selected to purchase the NFL team ... instead, the new owner will be hedge fund manager David Tepper.

Remember, Diddy publicly said he wanted to be the first black owner in the NFL -- and hoped the move would inspire and empower black America.

He even got support from New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft who said, "I'm a big fan of his."

But it was all for naught ... with Tepper reportedly sealing the purchase for more than $2 BILLION from Jerry Richardson, who paid $206 million for the rights to start the team in 1993.

As for Tepper, he's not exactly an outsider ... he was already a minority owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

San Antonio Spurs player Dejounte Murray got stopped at the door at Mastro's Steakhouse in Beverly Hills this weekend ... because his girlfriend's racy outfit violated the restaurant's dress code.

For real.

Mastro's is one of the hottest restaurants in town ... and they're pretty serious about rejecting guests that don't respect the "classy" rules when it comes to attire.

Remember, they turned away Pittsburgh Steelers WR JuJu Smith-Schuster because he was wearing sweatpants.

This time, we're told the door staff felt Jilly Anais' super-tight, super-short skirt was a little too revealing ... and our cameras were rolling as they refused to let her inside.

Don't worry ... this story has a happy ending.

21-year-old Murray -- a former 1st round NBA draft pick -- spoke with a manager who ultimately made an exception and let Jilly inside.

Seems there were no hard feelings ... the couple was in a good mood after dinner and raved about the restaurant on the way out.

9:58 AM PT -- A rep for Sports Trinity -- which represents the Qatari investors -- tells TMZ Sports, "Sport Trinity never made an offer of this nature to Jerome Williams."

"His statements to TMZ are completely false and illogical, particularly as Sport Trinity is the largest investor in the BIG3 Basketball league."

Ex-NBA player Jerome Williams -- aka the Junk Yard Dog -- says he was offered $25 MILLION to start a rival 3-on-3 basketball league last year ... while he was still playing for the BIG3 league.

But the craziest part ... Williams claims the people behind the offer were the same Qatari investors who already owned a piece of the BIG3.

Of course, the BIG3 is suing the Qataris for more than $1 BILLION -- claiming they never made good on their $5 million investment ... and then threatened a league owner when asked for the money.

Now, Williams tells TMZ Sports he believes the Qataris were essentially trying to sabotage the BIG3 by wooing players like himself to ditch Ice Cube and Jeff Kwatinetz and join a rival venture.

"I'm JYD! It's not the first time I've turned down $25 million."

Williams says the Qataris flew key people associated with the BIG3 to St. Tropez and let them drive fancy cars ... but ultimately, the plan failed.

There's more ...

Jerome also has a message for his "good friend" Roger Mason -- former BIG 3 commissioner -- who's also suing the BIG3 and has a friendship with the Qataris.

"I would run fast and far away from these guys."

We reached out to Sports Trinity -- which represents the Qatari investors -- but were unable to get a comment.

UFC fighter Ray Borg says tough genes run in the family ... with his newborn son fighting like a champ after undergoing his 2nd major brain surgery

Ray's son, Anthony, was diagnosed with hydrocephalus -- excess fluid in the brain -- after a premature birth at the end of March.

Anthony underwent two major brain surgeries -- and unfortunately suffered seizures -- but the good news ... Ray says things have taken a turn for the better and he's getting healthier every day.

Still, the medical costs are adding up so Ray started a GoFundMe page ... and his MMA pal Cody Garbrandt stepped up in a big way, donating $1,000.

Pretty cool right?!

Don't get it twisted, Ray says this experience has been one of the hardest things he's ever had to go through in his life ... but he's hopeful he'll get to take his son home soon.

4:48 PM PT -- A rep for Ajayi tells TMZ Sports the lawsuit is bogus ... adamantly denying Jay ever physically pushed the owner of the home.

They also deny Jay damaged the property in any way ... or hosted any parties.

Instead they claim the owner tried to get Jay and his friend to pay him cash directly -- bypassing the Airbnb website -- so they say they left the house several days early ... but still paid the full rate.

Ajayi's people also say the group filed a complaint against the home owner with Airbnb.

NFL star Jay Ajayi shoved the owner of a fancy L.A. mansion who charged the Eagles running back $25k in damages for trashing the place ... this according to a new lawsuit obtained by TMZ Sports.

The 24-year-old is being sued by the owner of a swanky 6,000 square foot pad located above the famous Sunset Strip ... where the RB and a friend stayed back in February for 5 days after Ajayi won the Super Bowl.

According to the suit, Ajayi and his buddy threw at least 3 parties at the house despite the fact they were specifically told -- NO PARTIES!

In fact, the owner claims he charged a $5,000 fee for each party at the home ... which Ajayi never paid.

Additionally, the owner claims Ajayi broke a table, scratched some floors and violated the no smoking rule.

In total, Ajayi racked up $25,000 in penalty fees -- but when the owner confronted Jay on Feb. 18, he claims Ajayi "pushed [him] on [his] chest in a menacing and threatening manner."

The owner describes the incident as battery -- and said he had to call local security to remove the NFL star from the property.

UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber is PRAISING Raquel Pennington's corner for talking her out of quitting after the 4th round at UFC 224 ... saying Raquel would live to regret it if she did.

Pennington was getting pummeled by Amanda Nunes during the championship fight Saturday night -- and told her corner, "I'm done. I want to be done."

Her coaches talked her out of quitting and they've been catching hell ever since ... with many critics saying they failed in their duty to protect Pennington's health since she lost in the 5th round anyway.

But, Faber is not one of those critics ... saying the corner did exactly what they were supposed to do -- motivated her to take advantage of her championship opportunity.

Plus, Faber points out ... "If she really wanted out of the fight, she could have told the ref."

Urijah says he would hope his corner would do the same exact thing if he was in Raquel's position -- because quitting on the stool is a decision fighters regret for the rest of their lives.

Sorry, John Cena ... your pouring-your-heart-out move on the "Today" show to win back Nikki Bella didn't work.

In fact, the WWE star looked downright unimpressed when "Extra" asked her about Cena's emotional segment with Hoda and Kathie Lee ... when he admitted he desperately wants her back.

“Wow," Bella said enthusiastically ... "I'm speechless. That's crazy."

Not exactly the reaction Cena was hoping for when he professed his undying love for Bella on national TV and talked about how sad his life has become without her.

Still, Nikki kinda left the door open for a reconciliation ...

"I have hope ... I’m at a point in my life where I feel like I kind of lost me and I want to find me and work on me."

She also said the TV cameras from their reality show put major pressure on her and she needed a break.

"I just want John and I both to live happily ever after whether it's together or separate and I just don't want us to go down the road in life and have regrets of like 'I did this for you' or 'you did this for me,' so I think it's okay in relationships to take that moment."

John said he's also changed his mind and would consider having kids with Nikki if it would save their relationship ... but she didn't comment on that.

File under: "When the rich get richer ..."

Floyd Mayweather decided to try his luck at a high stakes video poker machine Sunday night ... and hit a $100,000 jackpot.

For real.

Floyd started off with $20,000 in a "Ten Play Draw Poker" machine -- playing $25 per hand.

Then, as fate would have it ... he hit a Royal Flush on one of his 10 hands ... which paid off a cool $100,000.

He also hit some winners on the other hands he was playing at the time, which paid out an additional $1,250 ... for a grand total of $101,250.

Rob Gronkowski turns 29 today -- only 40 more years until his favorite number -- and he's celebrating with an insane trip to Jamaica with his bikini model girlfriend.

Gronk and Camille Kostek have been living it up at some super fancy resort -- eating fruit, hiking to waterfalls and busting out some sexy bikini dances (thanks for that, btw).

Gronk seems to be in a good place -- as you can see at the end of the dancing video.

The two have been connected for years -- they were serious, then took some time apart ... but now they seem to be in full swing.

No word if a ring is in Camille's future ... but it sure seems to be headed in that direction.

John Cena says his life's been a wreck ever since his fiancee, Nikki Bella, dumped him before their wedding ... and says he'll do whatever it takes to get her back -- including having children.

"I had my heart broken out of nowhere," Cena said to Kathie Lee and Hoda on the "Today" show ... "I still love Nicole."

Cena says he was blindsided by the breakup -- and blames it on an "unfortunate set of circumstances" ... though he wouldn't elaborate on the specifics.

Cena says he's been depressed -- and he's been reflecting a lot ... and has decided to change his stance on fundamental things in order to make the relationship work.

"I love her. I want to be with her. I want to make her my wife. I want to be the father of her children. I just want us to work."

Cena has been pretty vocal about the fact he didn't want kids -- but says he's a changed man now.

Master P says he's the perfect man to take the reins up in the north, now that Dwane Casey's been fired ... and he's stating his case to TMZ Sports.

Before you even start wondering ... P's serious ... he's been angling for an NBA coaching job for some time now, citing his on-court experience and knack for developing players.

The Raptors punted Casey last week, and when we got P in L.A. ... he broke down what Casey did wrong in the playoffs, and how he would've handled things differently if he was running things up there.

BTW ... Toronto is one of the teams P played with during his attempt at an NBA career, so it's not like he doesn't know the lay of the land up there.

SUPER BTW ... remember, P goes WAY back with Raptors star DeMar DeRozan, having coached him during his high school years in Los Angeles.

Ex-UFC star Tim Kennedy -- a U.S. Army Special Forces sniper -- doesn't believe waterboarding should be considered torture ... and to prove his point, he turned the hose on himself.

Yep, Kennedy and his pals waterboarded each other for roughly 45 minutes on Friday ... and barely even flinched.

So ... why???

Kennedy says the move was to show support for Gina Haspel, Trump's pick to lead the CIA. Haspel has been criticized for using waterboarding and other interrogation methods at black sites during her CIA career.

"It’s not torture!!!!" Kennedy wrote ... "Hell we had elk tacos and wine afterwards. Wake up people. #waterboarding."

Kennedy also described -- in detail -- the waterboarding technique -- "They wouldn’t tell me when they were going to put the towel on they would just smash it on my face and start pouring. You can’t hold your breath while they do it because the water runs down your sinuses. The water run through your eyes, down your nose, and pools at the back of your throat."

Still, seems Haspel could have an uphill battle -- with people like John McCain arguing against her nomination due to her connection to questionable interrogation methods.