Cleveland Browns

Apparently, LeBron and Drake didn't campaign hard enough ... because Johnny Manziel will NOT start for the Cleveland Browns this weekend ... so says Jay Glazer.

The "NFL on Fox" star says, "The Manziel Era is NOT beginning in Cleveland yet as Brian Hoyer has been informed he will start this weekend vs Indy."

LeBron had told the media his friend Manziel was "ready" to take over if called upon. And after his eyebrow-raising performance last week, it seemed Johnny time was gonna get the nod -- including Drake who flashed the money sign to support his BFF.

Guess he'll just have to wait.

Glazer adds, "Hoyer had widespread support inside the locker room. No brainer according to players in there."

Drake wants Johnny Manziel to start in Cleveland this weekend.

How do we know? He told us ... with his hands.

The rapper was leaving Hakkasan restaurant in Beverly Hills Monday when we asked about the QB controversy in Cleveland -- Manziel or Hoyer?

Drake flashed the money sign. Duh.

Of course, Cleveland Browns head coach Mike Pettine says he won't announce the starters until later this week ... but it feels like Manziel's got the edge ... especially with LeBron telling the media he's "ready to go."

The man who claims he was attacked by Johnny Manziel and his "entourage" last week says he's still in pain from the alleged hotel beatdown ... and says he's got pics to prove it.

TMZ Sports spoke with Chris Gonos ... who claims his left elbow was jacked up by Johnny's crew during a fight at The 9 hotel in Cleveland late Friday night.

Gonos says the picture shows severe swelling and a nasty bruise -- but claims he also suffered a swollen lip and and injuries to his eye.

Gonos says he's not sure who hit him -- but he's confident the assailant was part of Johnny's crew.

Police are investigating the incident ... but so far, no arrests have been made.

As for Johnny, he tells a very different story ... saying he was "accosted by a very aggressive man and his associates" at the hotel that night.

Johnny Manziel is painting a completely different picture of the alleged fight that he was involved in over the weekend ... instead claiming he was the victim of an aggressive fan.

Manziel who is being accused of taking part in the beatdown of a fan who claims he was just trying to shake his hand -- said through his agent on Monday that there was no "entourage" with Manziel on the night in question.

Instead, Manziel -- through his agent, Erik Burkhardt -- claims he and his roommate were returning from dinner with Johnny's mom when they were "accosted by a very aggressive man and his associates."

Manziel claims he let Browns management know about the incident "immediately."

The accuser, Chris Gonos, previously told TMZ Sports he was simply trying to shake Manziel's hand when Johnny Football's entourage jumped him.

Cleveland Browns superstar Joe Haden is such a huge sneakerhead -- HE JUST BOUGHT AN ENTIRE STORE ... and TMZ Sports has learned he's having a massive grand opening party on Black Friday!

Here's what we know ... Haden has been wanting to get into the shoe biz for a while -- and bought out an existing sneaker shop in downtown Cleveland, which he renamed "The Restock."

We spoke to Joe's business partner David Damier, who tells us ... "It's a consignment-based store. We specialize in offering shoes that you can no longer find in stores. Rare shoes are our specialty."

Doors open on Black Friday -- and David says Joe will definitely be on hand to celebrate ... even though the Browns have a game in Atlanta that weekend.

"They don't fly out until Saturday, so Joe will definitely be there. There will be a bunch of athletes there."

No word if Haden will be selling anything from his personal collection -- which is stocked with some of the most sought-after sneakers ever made ... including Air Yeezys, South Beach LeBrons, Corks, and some ultra-rare Air Jordan VIIs.

Josh Gordon's 10-week stint at an Ohio car dealership was NO JOKE ... the guy worked his ass off and was a big part in several car sales ... multiple employees tell TMZ Sports.

The Cleveland Browns wide receiver has been reinstated -- and is officially back with the team -- which means he will no longer be working with the sales team at Sarchione Auto Group in Ohio.

It seemed like the gig was a joke at first ... but we're told Gordon took the job seriously and treated the whole thing like a very serious apprenticeship.

"He was totally into it," one employee tells us ... "He was very patient with customers. He answered their questions. Josh knows a lot about cars."

We're told Josh often shadowed one of the owners -- spending most of his time at the Chevrolet dealership -- and showed real potential when it came to working in the car biz.

"He was working a full schedule. 8AM to 8PM Mondays and Thursdays ... 8AM to 6PM on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. He also worked 8-3 on Saturdays."

We're told several of Gordon's teammates visited the WR on the lot -- unclear if any of them actually bought a car.

But get this ... Cleveland Cavs player Mike Miller leased a car from the dealership ... and we're told Gordon had a lot to do with the sale.

Johnny Manziel's career might be in idle ... but his super hot GF is crushing it -- scoring a modeling gig with a clothing company ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Colleen Crowley just inked a deal with a brand called No Rulez NY -- which makes hats, shirts, sweaters, etc. -- and she's already knocked out a photo sesh featuring some of the items.

The man behind the company is 19-year-old Brian Wolfe -- who says he met Crowley through a mutual friend earlier this year and thought she'd be a perfect fit for the brand.

So far, the decision to sign Crowley is already paying off ... with not only Manziel sporting the gear, but Browns teammate Donte Whitner has also been seen rockin' the clothing out in public.

Wolfe says he does not have a deal with Manziel but hopes he can work out a deal with 35 in the future -- "I’m such a fan. He’s such a motivator for kids to make it and become successful. It would be an honor if he’d endorse it."

****** WARNING: EXPLICIT LANGUAGE ******

Johnny Manziel went on a cursing rant on an NBA referee during LeBron James' homecoming game in Cleveland last night ... and his rage was captured on video.

Johnny Football was pissed off after what he clearly felt was a BAD call, and repeatedly yelled -- from his courtside seat -- "Bulls**t" and "F**k" ... for a solid minute.

Cleveland Browns superstar Josh Gordon plead guilty to driving while impaired in North Carolina this morning ... and if he stays out of trouble for 12 months, he'll stay out of jail.

As we previously reported, the WR was pulled over on July 5 in Raleigh after cops say he was speeding -- and during the stop, officers noticed he was boozed up (blew a .09).

Gordon was sentenced to a 60-day suspended sentence -- with 12 months unsupervised probation ... which means if he does anything stupid during the next year, like break the law, he'll have to serve the 60 days.

Former Cleveland Browns QB Bernie Kosar was arrested for drunk driving in Ohio this morning, and his mug shot reveals ... a lot of scalp.

A rep for the Solon PD says ... officers pulled Bernie over at 2:52 this morning and detected a strong odor of alcohol coming from his car when they approached it.

After a series of field sobriety tests -- police hauled Kosar off to a nearby station for operating a vehicle impaired ... where he was booked and released on a $500 bond.

Burned by "The Drive" again ... allegedly.

Blake Griffin had it bad for his baby mama Brynn Cameron's brother ... and the NBA star even filmed a video to prove it.

A little background: Brynn's bro Jordan Cameron was a standout tight end for USC football back in 2011, and for some reason, Blake really really wanted to make sure Jordan got drafted by an NFL team.

So ... Blake filmed a hype video (and homage to Mars Blackmon) for Jordan -- co-starring Jordan -- before the draft.

Guess it worked ... the Browns picked Jordan -- mazel tov -- but did Blake only agree to shoot the hype video because he was banging Jordan's sister at the time? We can't say for sure (probably).

Trent Richardson's back on the trading block, or at least his jerseys are -- the Cleveland Browns are running a free exchange program for pissed off fans ... TMZ has learned.

Ever since the Browns shocked the NFL by trading their star running back to the Colts ... Cleveland fans have been almost as heated as they were when some guy named LeBron left town.

Now the Browns team shop is throwing the Dawg Pound a bone. A rep tells us fans can exchange T-Rich jerseys purchased within the last 30 days -- or get a full refund.

The team's going even further to make good -- we're told ANY jersey purchased in the last 30 days can be exchanged ... but only for another Browns jersey.

No offense to Cleveland, but Trent Richardson is in a better place now ... and the Browns probably did him a huge favor when they unloaded their star player -- this according to another former first round draft pick, Eddie George.

Eddie says the Browns' decision to trade away Richardson -- their first round pick from a year ago -- was "shocking to me. They went up and got him, and now they're reneging on the draft pick."

But Eddie adds ... Trent should be excited 'cause, well ... he's playing with a winner now.

"They might have done him a favor actually. Sending him with Andrew Luck ... I think he's in a good situation there."

The NFL's regular referees returned to the gridiron tonight to a thundering applause from the crowd -- and even got a personal welcome-back hug from the scariest man in football ... Ray Lewis.

As you know by now ... the NFL reached a deal yesterday with the real refs -- ending the Reign of Error ... courtesy of the infamous replacement refs.

As the entered the field for tonight's Ravens-Browns match up, the refs each tipped their caps in a show of appreciation for fans' support.

The REAL NFL refs will return to the field for tonight's Ravens vs. Browns match-up in Baltimore ... but some of the players are still concerned ... telling TMZ, "They’re comin' off cold turkey, so it’s going to be very interesting."

TMZ spoke with a member of the Cleveland Browns who reminded us, "The refs usually have a pre-season."

Overall, the players are fired up about the end of the replacement ref era.

We spoke with Ravens player Bryant McKinnie who says he's "very glad" they're back ... adding, "The real refs have better control of the games."

A member of the Browns, who wished to remain anonymous, tells us, "People will be so happy to see the refs. They will be the highlight of the game … at least for the first quarter."

Cleveland Browns lineman Shaun Rogers was arrested today after he allegedly took a loaded gun into an Ohio airport ... cops tell TMZ.

Our sources say it went down at 12:20 PM at the Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.

We're told a security officer working an X-ray machine saw the .45-caliber handgun in Rogers' carry-on bag and immediately called police.

Rogers was immediately taken into custody for carrying a concealed weapon -- a felony of the 3rd degree.