Football

Le'Veon Bell is so confident in his newfound skills in the boxing ring ... he's ready for a fight with Oleksandr Usyk -- and he tells TMZ Sports he's sure he can beat the heavyweight champ!

Bell called out the 37-year-old just after his impressive win over Tyson Fury on Saturday night -- explaining to us that he truly thinks he can take the belt away from the Ukrainian pugilist.

"If I ever get the opportunity to share the ring with him," the former All-Pro running back said, "that'd be that time where preparation meets opportunity and I'd get to show everybody what the hell I've been working on, bro."

Aaron Rodgers just revealed he has a new girlfriend!!!

The New York Jets star dropped the bombshell minutes ago on "The Pat McAfee Show" ... telling Pat McAfee, A.J. Hawk and the rest of the guys he's now dating a woman named Brittani.

No word on who she is or how they met -- but Rodgers certainly appears to be really into her ... as he said on the show he got her a Christmas gift -- and he didn't push back when McAfee ribbed him about being "in love."

Houston Texans wide receiver Tank Dell won't play again this season -- and he might miss 2025 too -- as his coach just revealed he sustained a dislocated knee and a torn ACL during Saturday's game against the Chiefs.

DeMeco Ryans just announced the news to media members ... explaining Dell also damaged "some other things" in his knee after he collided with his teammate following a touchdown catch in the loss at Arrowhead Stadium.

Ryans said Dell will have surgery soon -- and while there's been no timeline for a return just yet, the injury usually takes a full year to come back from.

Joe Burrow is finally revealing why he bought his offensive linemen swords for Christmas ... explaining it was a bit of a compromise -- as his teammates initially said they wanted firearms.

The Cincinnati quarterback went into detail about the unique presents following the Bengals' 24-6 win over the Browns ... telling media members he didn't want to get his pals guns, so he opted for a little safer weapon.

"I was like, 'I don't know about guns, guys,'" he said with a smile. "And, so, I was in the weapon mindset, and I was like, 'What's a cool weapon?' And Samurai swords, I think, are pretty dang cool."

Travis Hunter -- the Heisman Trophy winner and arguably the most known player in college football -- has deactivated his Instagram ... as online criticism of his fiancée continues.

Leanna Lenee -- Hunter's often-ridiculed partner -- found herself in the crosshairs of trolls once more over the weekend ... as a video appearing to show her dancing on a man resurfaced on the internet.

While it's believed to be a clip taken from several years ago -- before she and Hunter got together -- haters nonetheless raced to their keyboards to take aim yet again at Hunter's boo.

If Darren Rizzi ditches his interim head coach tag for a full-time one in New Orleans ... you won't hear Demario Davis complaining -- the Saints star tells TMZ Sports he LOVES the guy.

Rizzi, of course, took over for Dennis Allen last month after the Saints' sideline manager got canned following an abysmal 2-7 start ... and the former special teams coordinator has since led the squad to an admirable 3-2 record.

Davis told us while out at Raising Cane's bike giveaway event this week that Rizzi deserves a ton of credit for the turnaround ... explaining he's done "a phenomenal job."

The Ohio State Buckeyes ran the Tennessee Volunteers off the field during the College Football Playoff on Saturday night ... and one ESPN commentator had an interesting take on the game.

ESPN offered an alternate broadcast of the playoff game, hosted on ESPN 2, starring the cast of "The Pat McAfee Show." McAfee and his crew are one of the most popular draws to "The Worldwide Leader," known for their humorous takes on sports topics, and at times, controversial comments.

Well, the latter was on full display in the second quarter, when McAfee turned to one of his main honchos, Boston Connor, to see how Tennessee fans were reacting after being down 21-0.

Armani Latimer -- the Cowboys cheerleader who danced without a wig earlier this month -- tells TMZ Sports she's thrilled with the way her performance has brought awareness to alopecia.

Latimer explained to us this week that the national conversation she kicked up by cheering on the Cowboys against the Bengals on Dec. 9 at AT&T Stadium while bald has warmed her heart.

She says the responses she's seen have all been mostly positive ... and some people have even approached her to tell her about how it helped them learn more about the autoimmune disorder that causes hair loss.

Three-time NBA champion Danny Green is fired up for his alma mater's football team ... telling TMZ Sports he really thinks Bill Belichick can turn UNC around.

The former New England Patriots head man stunned the sports world this month when he took the Tar Heels coaching job ... and while some are skeptical he can effectively make the turn from the pros to college, Green made it clear to us out at LAX he's not in that camp.

"I'm on board," said the 37-year-old -- who attended UNC from 2005 through 2009. "I'm all about it. I think it's great."

Travis Hunter can only blame himself for his relationship being a hot topic -- at least that's what Nate Burleson is saying ... 'cause he tells TMZ Sports the Heisman winner could've avoided all the criticism if he just kept quiet about his private life.

The Colorado superstar and his fiancée, Leanna, have been forced to defend themselves from the haters recently ... following months of piling on from folks on the internet.

Burleson weighed in on the drama out in NYC this week ... and he politely pointed out the engaged couple brought it on themselves.

Texans wide receiver Tank Dell had to be carted off the field Saturday ... after suffering a bad injury while catching a touchdown pass.

The Houston standout was playing in Arrowhead Stadium against the Kansas City Chiefs ... running a deep route into the endzone early in the second half of the game.

Quarterback C.J. Stroud threw a perfect pass to Dell, falling right into his arms ... but, his teammate Jared Wayne was right next to him and dove for the ball -- his body slamming full force into Dell's leg.

Nina Thomas -- the estranged wife of Earl Thomas -- was hit with multiple criminal charges this week ... after prosecutors say she swindled the ex-Seattle Seahawks star out of millions of dollars.

Court documents, obtained by TMZ Sports, show feds allege Nina began her scheme to illegally take cash from her former lover in Sept. 2021 -- a short time after she filed for divorce from him in 2020.

Officials accuse Nina and another person -- whose name is redacted in the docs -- of taking money and property from Earl without his knowledge ... and transferring it into bank accounts under their control.

Taylor Swift is feeling the holiday spirit ... dressing up in a bright red furry coat while arriving at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City to support her man.

The singer-songwriter pulled up to the Chiefs game against the Houston Texans just a little while ago ... stepping out of the customary golf cart looking like Mrs. Claus in the coat and black bucket hat.

She looks real warm in her ensemble ... good news since it's currently just 33 degrees in Kansas City -- and expected to get even chillier as the day goes on.

James Conner -- an Arizona Cardinals superstar who's beaten cancer -- is offering up advice to Randy Moss as he faces his own battle with the disease ... telling TMZ Sports the Hall of Famer should make it a priority to lean on his loved ones.

Conner was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma back in 2015 when he was a college running back at the University of Pittsburgh ... but he ended up beating it, and he's since gone on to have a hell of an NFL career.

This week -- while he was out at a Raising Cane's bike giveaway charity event -- he told us he was praying for Moss ... while encouraging the ex-Minnesota Vikings receiver to stay positive.

Even though Daniel Jones and the New York Giants broke up, he still has love for his old linemen -- as the team's former first-round draft pick still provided some holiday cheer to the big guys up front!!

ESPN's Jordan Raanan reported the current Vikings backup quarterback sent his former O-line limited-edition bottles of Clase Azul Tequila -- a super-nice gesture, especially considering he was essentially kicked to the curb in the Big Apple.

While it's unknown how much the 27-year-old dropped in total ... these spirits don't come cheap -- as some bottles have quite the hefty price tags. But the team did owe him $35.5 million this year, so it probably didn't affect the wallet too much!

Bow Wow learned a valuable lesson in social media on Thursday ... 'cause the rapper fell for a fake Instagram comment involving Travis Hunter's fiancée -- prompting him to give a passionate plea to the Heisman Trophy winner.

For those who don't live on the internet, there's a popular parody X account -- @TheNBACentel -- which pretends to give up-to-date information on all things hoop ... and usually, it's pretty funny stuff masked as actual news.

Several notable figures have fallen victim to the hi-jinks ... and Shad Moss was the latest to get duped after the infamous profile shared an edited snap of Hunter's partner, Leanna, putting a money emoji under Timberwolves superstar Anthony Edwards' picture -- a reference to the gold digger claims she's faced (and denied) in recent months.