Football

Ohio State quarterback Will Howard was blocked from joining his teammates on stage to celebrate their huge Rose Bowl win over Oregon ... with officials forcing the Buckeyes star to stay on the field amid the postgame festivities.

The clip made rounds on social media after the Scarlet and Gray easily handled the Ducks to get revenge on their loss earlier in the season ... with Howard -- who had a phenomenal game with 319 yards and three touchdowns -- leading the charge.

Despite the outing that propelled OSU to its 41-21 victory, Howard clearly didn't get any special treatment ... with staffers telling the signal-caller to stay off the platform as the Buckeyes were awarded the Rose Bowl Trophy.

New Orleans Saints star Cam Jordan is doing his part to help his community following the New Year's Day tragedy -- making a large financial contribution to the victims of the attack.

The 35-year-old defensive end shared his condolences shortly after the news broke Wednesday morning ... and hours later, he revealed he was teaming up with the Greater New Orleans Foundation and the city to help those affected.

Jordan wrote a $25,000 check to support the families who lost loved ones ... as well as the dozens who were severely injured in the attack.

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle was more like Santa Paws this holiday season ... 'cause he treated team WAGs Olivia Culpo and Kristin Juszczyk to some pet-centric gifts -- personalized portrait rugs of their beloved furry pets!!!

TMZ Sports has learned Kittle contacted designer Angel Arreola to make special pieces for the wives of his teammates, Christian McCaffrey and Kyle Juszczyk.

The theme was pretty obvious ... their four-legged friends.

Former college football standout Tiger Bech was killed in the New Orleans terrorist attack early Wednesday morning, his brother announced. He was just 27 years old.

Bech -- an all-conference kick returner for the Princeton Tigers -- was in New Orleans for the holiday when he was struck by the pickup truck that drove into a crowd on Bourbon Street around 3:15 AM local time.

He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was held on life support until his family arrived at the facility, according to local outlets.

The Sugar Bowl -- one of the most anticipated football games of the year -- has been postponed twenty-four hours after a horrific New Year's Day attack left scores dead in the city of New Orleans, the location of the big CFB quarterfinal tilt.

Jeff Hundley, CEO of the Sugar Bowl, announced Wednesday morning that the football game between 2-seeded University of Georgia and 7-seeded Notre Dame University would kick off Thursday night just before 8 PM local time, instead of Wednesday night as planned, after consulting with the teams, TV network, and others.

"All parties and all agree that it's in the best in the best interest of everybody and public safety that we postpone the game for 24 hours," Hundley said.

Matthew Stafford is pulling out all the stops to make sure he's not the next athlete targeted in the recent string of burglaries -- TMZ Sports is told the Rams quarterback invited police officers and NFL security to inspect his L.A. area home for any potential weak spots.

Law enforcement sources tell us league staffers and cops met at the Super Bowl champ's residence this month to scope out his current setup ... and provided tips and safety measures on what his family can do further to deter crooks from targeting his pad.

While Stafford himself was not present, we're told the NFL specifically asked the cops about the South American burglary crews believed to be behind all the hits ... as well as how they can work together to make it more difficult for the criminals to execute their operation.

Week 18 might be meaningless to the Eagles, but Chris Johnson tells TMZ Sports he'd still advise Saquon Barkley to suit up ... and go chase history!!

After a 167-yard performance against the Cowboys on Sunday, Barkley is now just 101 yards away from Eric Dickerson's all-time single-season rushing record of 2,105 ... but with nothing on the line for Philadelphia, many have wondered if the tailback will play.

Birds fans would love to see him rest up and be ready for the playoffs ... but Johnson -- a former Titans superstar who once rushed for 2,006 yards in 2009 -- said this week he'd advise Barkley to put on his helmet.

The NFL Pro Bowl fan voting period is officially over ... and which player got the most love?? None other than Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.

The league just shared the results of the voting process that ended Dec. 23 ... with Taylor Swift's boyfriend coming out on top with 252,200 total entries.

Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs was a close second with 250k ... and Washington Commanders rookie Jayden Daniels followed with 242K.

Tom Brady and his son sure ain't going into 2025 looking pasty -- the legendary quarterback and Jack decided to leave their shirts behind during their last golf outing of the year ... and the GOAT looks as good as ever.

The seven-time Super Bowl winner shared a snap of his time on the course on Tuesday ... essentially twinning with his 17-year-old as they both rocked short shorts and backward caps.

"Perfect way to end the year," the picture read as the Brady boys looked off in the distance.

Need one last feel-good moment heading into 2025?? Kirk Herbstreit's got ya covered ... 'cause the popular sports announcer shared footage of his 14-month-old dog, Peter, enjoying the beach for the first time -- and it'll warm your heart.

The adorable pup accompanied Kirk out to Los Angeles for the massive College Football Playoff matchup between Ohio State and Oregon going down at the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day ... and with more than 24 hours before kickoff, the two took a stroll at Manhattan Beach for the final sunrise of 2024.

Peter clearly loved running around the shore ... and while we don't know if he took a dip in the Pacific, it's much warmer than snowy Indiana!!

Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair's three-game suspension for his brutal hit on Trevor Lawrence is over ... and the the six-year NFL veteran revealed he met with commissioner Roger Goodell and other league higher-ups to own up to his actions and defend his character while serving his punishment.

The 27-year-old released a statement on X ahead of Houston's Week 18 matchup against the Tennessee Titans ... in which he stated his play on the former No. 1 overall pick and the fight that ensued "was an embarrassing and eye-opening moment for me."

"That was not the way I want to represent myself or my family and I will continue to learn and grow from that moment."

Janet Jackson's paying homage to one of her career milestones ... 'cause one of her dancers grabbed her chest from behind during her recent show -- and, it's pretty clearly a throwback to her 1993 album, "Janet."

The singer-songwriter took the stage at Resorts World in Vegas Monday ... and, while outfitted in a tight black leather bodysuit, a dancer came up and ran his hands over Jackson's chest ... while Ms. Jackson looked ready to get 'Nasty' with it.

The Vegas pose calls back to the cover of her 1993 album "Janet," which showed Jackson facing the camera with her arms up in the air, with two hands cupping her bare breasts from behind -- the wide release only showed her from the neck up, but the limited edition featured the full photo. The image was also on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine that year.

Dana Stubblefield is on his way to being a free man -- his rape conviction was overturned last week -- and according to the former NFL star's attorneys, his first order of business when he gets out will be a bunch of family time.

Kenneth Rosenfeld and Allen Sawyer sat down with TMZ Sports just days after a California appellate court vacated Stubblefield's prison sentence ... and they said he's "euphoric" over the decision -- and is now looking forward to hanging with his loved ones.

"He's going to be with his family," Sawyer said of Dana's immediate plans. "If there's one thing that Dana misses the most, it's being with his family."

Deion Sanders is fed up with reports regarding his sons, Shedeur and Shilo -- saying there are a bunch of morons running around spewing fake news on where he would like to see them land in the NFL.

The leader of the Colorado Buffaloes' sidelines teed off on social media on Monday ... amid a lot of chatter surrounding which team is at the top of his wish list ahead of April's draft.

There has been a ton of speculation on preferred destinations within the Sanders family ... especially with Shedeur expected to be a top-five talent -- and some not-so-respected franchises in position to pick high.

The FBI is warning pro athletes to be vigilant ... confirming Monday groups of organized thieves are targeting stars' homes in search of high-priced valuables.

The feds issued the alert just a couple days after NBA superstar Luka Doncic became the latest A-lister to have his place broken into ... explaining criminals are hitting residences belonging to big-time players while they're on the road or at games.

"These homes are targeted for burglary due to the perception they may have high-end goods like designer handbags, jewelry, watches, and cash," FBI officials said, according to ABC News.

The Minnesota Vikings' defense certainly had their heads in the game on Sunday ... and they proved that with how they celebrated a big turnover -- by doing a "High School Musical" dance!!

The guys broke out the jig during the first quarter of the Vikes' 27-25 victory over the Green Bay Packers ... when Jerry Tillery forced Josh Jacobs to cough up the ball, which Camryn Bynum recovered.

After the change of possession, the D gathered near the end zone and showed off their rehearsed choreography from the 2006 Disney movie's classic banger, "We're All In This Together."