TMZ Sports - Page 50

Camille Kostek is becoming a bikini force to be reckoned with ... Rob Gronkowski's GF hit the runway at Miami Swim Week in a super small bikini -- and the pics are awesome!!

Kostek and Haley Kalil were 2018 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition rookies -- and they hit Swim Week to coach the next batch of bikini models during the Sunday night show at the W South Beach.

Tons of women showed up for the casting call -- but show producers only selected 16 girls to walk the runway ... and, judging by the pics, they chose well.

As for Kostek, she was also hanging behind the scenes with Olivia Culpo -- who's dating Danny Amendola ... Gronk's former New England Patriots teammate.

Enough reading ... starting clicking.

Shaquille O'Neal got an ENTIRE nightclub to chant "Barkley Sucks" during a DJ gig in D.C. -- and the trolling didn't stop there!

Shaq was performing at Echostage as DJ Diesel -- when he decided to clown his "Inside the NBA" co-host with a giant projection on the back wall that read, "Barkley Has NO Ring!"

Shaq clapped along gleefully as the place went crazy!

Of course, Shaq and Chuck are really tight in real life -- so, it's all in good fun.

Now, it's on Barkley to get even ...

Of course, it's not the first time Shaq went off on an NBA star in a nightclub -- back in the day, he freestyled the infamous "Kobe, tell me how my ass tastes" verse during his rift with his Lakers teammate.

Both Shaq and Kobe have said they've made up and they're on good terms now.

Vladimir Putin presented Donald Trump with a soccer ball from the World Cup in Russia ... and then dropped the following eye-rolling metaphor ...

"Mr. President, I'll give this ball to you ... and now the ball is in your court."

Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

It all went down at a massive media event in Helsinki, where the two world leaders had a private meeting for several hours where they discussed everything from election interference to NATO.

Trump was fired up about the meeting -- and the soccer ball, throwing it to Melania (who was sitting in the front row) and announcing that he would be giving it to his son, Barron.

Here's Bobby Bonilla ... with a big ol' smile on his face -- because he just got his annual $1 MILLION check from the NY Mets!

You've probably heard of "Bobby Bonilla Day" -- every July 1, Bobby gets $1.19 million stemming from a contract he signed back in his playing days.

Instead of paying Bobby the $5.9 million they owed him back in 2000 ... his agent negotiated a deferred payment deal with the Mets in which they send him an annual $1.19 mil check until 2035!!!!

So, when we saw Bobby at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C. over the weekend ... we had to ask how he celebrated.

But, the 55-year-old -- who hasn't played since 2001 -- was more interested in giving credit to his agent, Dennis Gilbert ... a "special man."

NBA star John Wall is one of the most incredible, talented athletes on planet Earth -- but, when it comes to baseball, he stinks.

Remember ... the Washington Wizards star threw arguably the worst first pitch in MLB history about seven years ago ... and, unfortunately, he's not much better with a bat in his hands.

Wall was at Nationals Park warming up for the MLB celebrity softball game Sunday night ... when he took some BP.

If you're counting at home ... that was three fouls, a complete whiff, and maybe a base hit -- all from a dude throwing lobs from about eight feet away!!

Wall's confidence wasn't shaken ... he was somehow able to hit a single and score a run when the bright lights actually came on -- but, still.

Nick Young thinks Patrick Beverley must've been on the sauce when he declared the Clippers to be the best team in the NBA ... asking TMZ Sports, "He was drunk that night or something?"

Remember, earlier this month, Beverley proudly told us he REALLY believes his new Clip squad is better than the Lakers and the Warriors ... and are real contenders to win the NBA title.

So, when we saw Swaggy -- who plays for the Warriors -- leaving Craig's in West Hollywood Sunday night ... we had to ask for his thoughts. His reaction says it all.

Here's Cristiano Ronaldo looking like Ivan Drago in "Rocky IV" -- hooked up to all sorts of machines as he takes his official medical exam for that massive Juventus deal.

CR7 arrived to the Juventus medical facility near Turin, Italy on Monday ... ready to work.

Sporting a mesh shirt and massive diamond earrings, the soccer superstar hit the treadmill as part of the exam ... which will ensure that Ronaldo is in the world-class shape Juve expects him to be.

Cristiano didn't seem worried -- cracking a smirk as he began to exercise.

It's a big day for Juventus -- which paid a $117 million transfer fee to get Ronaldo from Real Madrid. Plus, the team is reportedly paying him around $35 MIL per year.

Nice moment between LeBron and his former Cleveland Cavs coach, Tyronn Lue, at the NBA Summer League in Vegas ... where the two embraced and bro'd out.

It appears to be the first time they've seen each other since LeBron bolted The Land and signed a new $154 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Our friends Bryan Salmond and Sharp and Shapiro from "The Vegas Take" radio show were next to the two at the Thomas & Mack Center as the Cavs took on the Raptors ... and watched Bron and Ty chat it up.

LeBron -- wearing his L.A. Lakers shorts -- got a standing ovation from the crowd.

Robert Griffin III says his wife wears the (track) pants in their relationship ... 'cause Grete Šadeiko is not only making a run at the 2020 Olympics -- she blows him away in races!!

We got the adorable couple -- and their cute 1-year-old baby, Gloria -- out in Bev Hills when RGIII made the revelation to TMZ Sports.

"Track is her realm," he says. "She owns the track."

Big-time praise for sure ... considering the NFL star once ran a 4.38 40-yard dash and did do some track events at Baylor.

But Grete's legit on the turf ... she crushed the heptathlon at Florida State -- once running 13.92 in the 100-meter hurdles -- and is making a serious run to compete for Estonia in the 2020 Games.

Here's some real talk featuring Hollywood super heavyweight Aaron Sorkin ... a die-hard Yankee fan who's doing the unthinkable ... questioning the legitimacy of the career of BABE RUTH.

Yeah, he did it.

We got Sorkin out at Craig's and asked him if the current Yankees home run hitting tear should come with an asterisk ... because the new Yankee stadium has short fences in places.

That's when it happened.

"If there's no asterisk next to Babe Ruth for only facing white pitchers, then there can't be any asterisk on the Yankees."

It's a point that's been raised before, basically stating that segregation meant that Babe Ruth never faced the VERY best competition, because some of that competition was black.

Hulk Hogan is back in the WWE's good graces three years after he was caught on tape using the n-word ... reclaiming his place in the wrestling organization's Hall of Fame.

WWE issued a statement Sunday, saying that after a 3-year suspension ... Hulk was being reinstated in their HOF. They go on to say that this second chance follows multiple apologies and volunteer work from Hulk ... this in the wake of his angry rant using the n-word, which was caught on his sex tape and leaked in 2015.

We broke the story ... Hulk has been in talks with WWE honchos to be brought back into the fold, though the wrestling legend wanted it done the right way.

Like the league notes, Hulk has, in fact, apologized many times over insisting the vile language does not reflect who he is as a person. He even referenced the scandal while being inducted into the Boys & Girls Club Hall of Fame earlier this year.

WWE mentioned the recent induction in their press release, saying he is helping young people learn from his mistake.

Conor McGregor got to sit in on the World Cup final in person this weekend, showing up as a guest of none other than Vladimir Putin.

The UFC star posted a photo of himself Sunday alongside Russia's president, posing like a tough guy with someone he calls "one of the greatest leaders of our time."

Conor's caption read ... "Today I was invited to the World Cup final as a guest of Russian President Vladimir Putin. This man is one of the greatest leaders of our time and I was honored to attend such a landmark event alongside him. Today was an honor for me Mr. Putin. Thank you and congratulations on an amazing World Cup."

He ended with "Go Russia" ... written in Russian. Hopefully they're both aware Russia got knocked out in the quarter finals, but that's beside the point. What's important (and weird) is that Conor is super chummy with Putin ... who's known as kind of a bad dude, depending on who you talk to.

Former NHL goalie Ray Emery died this weekend from an apparent drowning.

Emery was reportedly swimming Sunday at the Royal Hamilton Yacht Club in Ontario, where police say his body was discovered after an early morning swim near the docks. They say he failed to emerge after diving in with a friend ... and resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful.

The NHL Alumni Association tweeted about Emery's death shortly after the news broke, offering condolences to his friends and family.

Emery played in the NHL from 2003 to 2015, serving as a goaltender for the Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, Anaheim Ducks and the Chicago Blackhawks. He brought the Senators to the Stanley Cup finals in '07 and eventually won the title with the Blackhawks in 2013.

He was arrested last year for allegedly attacking his ex-girlfriend with a weapon in 2016. The alleged victim, BET host Keshia Chante, claimed he'd abused her several times that year.

Same last name ... but NO love between Logan Paul and "Breaking Bad" star Aaron Paul -- with Logan telling TMZ Sports he would beat Aaron's ass if they ever came face-to-face.

Their beef goes back a few months ... when Aaron trashed Logan for his video stunt gone wrong in the suicide forest in Japan. Aaron told Logan to "go rot in hell."

Now, Logan is firing back ... calling Aaron an "Internet bully" -- and warning the actor that if he REALLY wants a piece, he'll end up getting hurt.

LaVar Ball says the pathway for LiAngelo Ball to get to the Lakers is a clear one ... and it runs through the new hoops league he created -- THE JBA!!

L.A. -- along with the other 29 teams in the NBA -- passed on Gelo in the draft last month ... so now the most famous Ball has a new plan to fix that -- put him in a JBA jersey with LaMelo.

"It's not even a yellow brick road," LaVar tells TMZ Sports. "It's a road that he has to take. It's nothing wrong with this."

So far ... so good for Gelo -- who dropped 53 points, 10 boards and 10 assists in his debut Thursday night ... playing in front of Lakers stars Lonzo Ball and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

LaVar seems to concede it's probably not the most ideal route for Gelo to end up in the association ... but he says it's better than "running hills and just shooting on the machine by yourself."

Kevin "Baby Slice" Ferguson says "Black Panther" star Winston Duke playing his legendary dad, Kimbo, is knockout casting ... telling TMZ Sports Duke has already proven he can play the role.

Duke played M'Baku in "Black Panther" and a lot people who saw the movie felt like he stole every scene he was in.

It was recently announced Winston would be playing Kimbo in a biopic ... and, when we talked to Baby Slice about it, he said he was 100% behind Duke's casting.

"I watched 'Black Panther' before they did anything, said anything about the movie, and I think he played the role, that character, he played it very well, you know."

"He was serious but funny, you know. He made people laugh and that was my pops all day. He was a serious person but at the same time, he could make you laugh and he was very cool. But that big, that figure, it's like perfect."

Kevin said he hasn't talked with Winson yet, but definitely plans to be a part of the production of the movie ... even though he didn't want to play his iconic pops.