Football

Najee Harris seemingly had too much on his plate this Thanksgiving ... claiming the upset stomach he experienced during Sunday's game was the result of a delicious dish his teammate's girlfriend put together for dinner.

The Pittsburgh Steelers running back explained why he was sidelined early in the team's matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals ... and needless to say, he might have to reconsider his Turkey Day strategy moving forward.

James Van Der Beek is clearly learning firsthand how out-of-control medical costs can sink a family.

As we reported, the "Dawson's Creek" star is being treated for colorectal cancer. He's pitching something to his Instagram ... followers can help pay his medical expenses and the expenses of others in a similar situation.

James is enticing his followers to buy a football jersey from his flick, "Varsity Blues," and guarantees he'll have it personally signed and delivered by XMAS.

The 2024 Bengals are struggling to find wins ... but Chad Johnson is warning the team to not fire Zac Taylor -- telling TMZ Sports "Changing the coach is not going to change s***."

We caught up with the former Cincinnati superstar out at LAX earlier this month ... and just had to get his thoughts on the 4-7, underachieving Bengals.

Johnson made it clear it's been a disappointing year for sure ... but he's not ready to call for mass changes yet.

A University of Arizona defensive assistant is going to wake up with a splitting headache Sunday ... 'cause he headbutted a player wearing a helmet out of excitement -- and cut his forehead wide-open.

Chuck Cecil -- a senior defensive assistant with the Wildcats -- was hyping up one of his guys pregame ... grabbing cornerback Owen Goss' helmet and slamming his head hard into the player's.

Goss was wearing a helmet ... but Cecil wasn't -- and, after smashing his head into the player's three times, he was clearly bleeding.

The Ohio State vs. Michigan football game ended in a brawl Saturday ... all because Michigan wanted to play conquering hero on OSU's field.

Here's the deal ... Michigan -- an unranked 6-5 team -- defeated their hated rival, ranked #2 in the country, in a dramatic 13-10 victory.

At the game's end, several Michigan players took a flag emblazoned with the yellow Michigan "M" and attempted to plant it in the center of the big crimson "O" at the 50-yard line ... a controversial gesture to say the least.

Josh Allen's ex-girlfriend says her Instagram was hacked after screenshots floated around X of her allegedly taking a serious jab the NFL star ... amid his engagement news.

Here's the hut, hut, hike ... Josh announced Friday that he's engaged to singer and actress Hailee Steinfeld ... and his ex Brittany Williams allegedly took a shot at him in her own comments.

On one of her IG posts ... someone commented a few days ago ... "found the next pro athlete yet?" -- to which she allegedly clapped back, post-engagement news, "Luckily my boyfriend owns a team and doesn't play for one. 🙏 don't have to be with another brain dead CTE athlete."

Hailee Steinfeld and Josh Allen are engaged ... announcing the news in a romantic Instagram post on Friday.

The actress and the Buffalo Bills QB posted a photo of Allen down on one knee asking Steinfeld to marry him with a beautiful sunset coloring the scene, framed by a gorgeous flower arch.

Hailee leans down and plants a kiss on Josh's mouth in the snap ... with the caption reading "♾️ 11•22•24 ♾️" -- indicating he popped the question one week ago.

Alabama A&M football linebacker Medrick Burnett Jr. has passed away at 20 years old after suffering a severe head injury during a game last month.

According to local officials, he died at 5:43 PM Wednesday evening at UAB Hospital.

Burnett Jr. was involved in the collision during A&M's matchup with Alabama State on Oct. 26 -- one day before his birthday. He received treatment in the ICU ... and according to his sister, had several brain bleeds and swelling.

Taylor Swift's skipping deal hunting for football on Black Friday ... hitting up the Kansas City Chiefs game against the Las Vegas Raiders with Travis Kelce's fam.

The singer-songwriter arrived at Arrowhead Stadium just minutes ago ... with Travis' mom Donna walking alongside her down the tunnel and into the stadium.

Taylor's in her comfy, cozy K.C.-fan era ... red quarter-zip top and black pants on -- bracing the elements out in Missouri. It's currently 35 degrees in KC -- so, certainly not shorts and t-shirt weather.

The Matt Eberflus era is over in Chicago -- the Bears just fired the guy in his third year with the team ... marking the first in-season head coaching move in franchise history.

The news broke on Friday ... less than 24 hours after the Bears' sixth-straight loss at the hands of the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day -- a result that was met with heavy criticism.

With the ball and down 23-20 in the final minute of the game, Eberflus elected not to use a timeout to stop the clock ... and Chicago's late push came up short.

Former Green Bay Packers linebacker Brady Poppinga is suing a Southern California hospital and several of its doctors -- claiming they contributed to his teenage son's tragic death last year.

The ex-NFLer filed the suit in Los Angeles this week ... alleging multiple physicians at Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center did not properly care for Julius Poppinga after the family had admitted the 17-year-old into the facility's ICU.

In the suit, Brady and his wife, Brooke, say they brought in their boy on Aug. 27, 2023 with chest pains and breathing issues ... but despite 'round-the-clock attention from docs, he didn't get better.

Shaboozey might be at a bar gettin' tipsy ... but, his halftime show performance was full of just clean, family fun -- at least, that's what some on the internet say.

Here's the deal ... the singer-songwriter performed during halftime of the Detroit Lions game against the Chicago Bears -- playing several of his hit songs including "Tipsy (A Bar Song)," "Last of My Kind" and others.

The 6-minute performance was well-received both in the building and online ... with many on X applauding the show for being fun and family-friendly.

It wouldn't surprise Brett Favre if Deion Sanders is the next head coach of the Dallas Cowboys ... the Hall of Famer tells TMZ Sports he thinks the move is certainly possible.

America's Team, of course, is currently managed by Mike McCarthy ... but with the squad floundering at 4-7 and his contract slated to end following the season, there's been a whole lot of speculation Jerry Jones could be looking for a new sideline guy in 2025.

And, with Sanders' ties to Dallas and his impressive résumés at both Colorado and Jackson State -- Favre says he could see a situation where Jones taps Prime Time to be that man.

Alabama A&M football player Medrick Burnett Jr. is still alive and remains hospitalized with a head injury he sustained in a game last month ... this after the university announced he had passed away at 20 years old.

Alabama A&M tells TMZ Sports ... "We retract the news of the passing of Medrick Burnette Jr, that was originally advised by an immediate family member on Tuesday evening. Our staff acted accordingly to the wishes of the family member to inform the A&M community and beyond of this unfortunate occurrence."

"Upon hearing from a representative from UAB hospital this afternoon, we learned that he remains alive. We express our immediate regret for disseminating false information however, we hold complete joy in knowing that Medrick remains in stable condition."

Travis Kelce's ex-girlfriend is still struggling with the fallout of their relationship ... with Kayla Nicole breaking down in tears as she talked about their split on a new TV show.

It's all included in a trailer for Fox's upcoming season of "Special Forces" ... with the social media influencer deeply emotional as she weighed in on how "overwhelming" it's been to deal with a breakup in the public eye.

The clip -- first shared with Us Weekly -- shows Kayla wiping away tears as she opened up on her experience ... and later on, she whispers to a fellow contestant her ex is the Kansas City Chiefs superstar.

Daniel Jones is going to be a Minnesota Viking.

The NFL quarterback lasted just a few days without an NFL home ... agreeing to a one-year deal with the NFC North squad after the New York Giants released him last week.

DJ will serve as backup to Sam Darnold ... who has led the Vikes to a 9-2 record so far in the 2024-25 season.