NCAA

Limas Sweed -- a former University of Texas football star -- says he's suffering from serious brain disorders as a result of hits from his college football career ... and now he's suing the NCAA.

Sweed was a STUD wide receiver for the Longhorns from 2003 to 2007 -- when he and Vince Young led the team to some epic victories, including that legendary 2005 Rose Bowl win over USC.

After his college career, Sweed was selected by the Steelers in the 2nd round of the '08 NFL Draft -- but his pro career never panned out.

Now, the 34-year-old says he's suffering from all sorts of brain-related disorders and he's pointing the finger at the NCAA for not doing enough to protect the players.

In his suit, Sweed says ... "While playing at Texas, [Sweed] suffered from numerous concussions, as well as countless sub-concussive hits as part of routine practice and gameplay."

Sweed says when he took a large blow to the head, he would be sent back into the game (or practice) after an "inadequate amount of time."

As a result of repeated damage he took, Sweed now claims he suffers from depression, headaches, memory loss, mood swings, emotional instability, motor impairment and more.

Sweed claims his pain is a "direct and proximate result of [the NCAA's] negligence."

He's suing for more than $5 MILLION ... citing fraud, negligence and breach of contract.

Sweed was a monster at UT ... he put up 1,915 receiving yards and 20 receiving TDs in his 4 years there -- all while helping Vince Young and the Longhorns win the 2005 National Championship.

Gigantic college basketball star Tacko Fall just got a huge mentor (literally) ... because ex-NBA great Shawn Bradley says he wants to talk to the 7'6" youngster to help him get ready for the league.

Bradley knows what it's like to be the big man on campus ... he's 7'6" himself and was a superstar in college at BYU before going on to have a 12-year NBA career.

Fall's UCF squad ALMOST beat Duke in the tourney this past weekend, and in doing so the enormous senior made a lot of people believe he has a real shot at being a 1st-round draft pick.

We got Bradley out at LAX and he told our guy that while he hasn't been able to see too much of Fall's game, he'd love to help him fill in any gaps.

"Tell him to call me if you see him. I'll give him some advice."

Might wanna call him, Tacko ... Bradley made close to $50 million during his NBA career, and that was 20 years ago, before the contracts got as stupid silly as they are now.

Shawn did share with us one piece of advice he'd share with Fall.

"Don't try to become something that they're trying to make you."

Think Zion and Duke will coast all the way to the title game without a hitch??? Here's Shaq to make you second-guess your bracket picks ... 'cause he says LSU CAN beat the Blue Devils -- despite the Will Wade scandal.

The Tigers head coach was suspended indefinitely before the Big Dance ... after Yahoo Sports recently reported that wiretapped conversations revealed Wade discussed making a "strong-ass" offer to a recruit.

Shaq clearly ain't sweating the investigation possibly making an impact on LSU's run at a title ... simply saying, "Not a distraction."

The Big Aristotle is probably right ... 'cause the Tigers looked pretty good against Yale on Thursday ... and all they have to do is win 1 more game to match up with the Devils (assuming Duke handles their opponents, of course).

But, with guys like Williamson, RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish -- 3 projected lottery picks in the NBA Draft in June -- LSU's going to have their hands full ... scandal or no scandal.

Cal football coach Justin Wilcox is throwing his full support behind a school investigation into claims that members of his team "ruthlessly" sexually harassed a student intern.

"We take these allegations extremely seriously," the coach told reporters Friday ... "It's not something that we would tolerate at our university or in our football program and it's something that is really tough to hear."

Paige Cornelius -- a former student at Cal -- claims she was "endlessly" and "ruthlessly" sexually harassed by members of the Golden Bears' squad during her time as a team intern.

She even accuses one coach of sexually assaulting her, saying he forcibly touched and kissed her during an after-hours office visit.

It's all in a lengthy social media post penned by the ex-Cal student ... in which she claims Wilcox and athletic director Jim Knowlton did nothing even after she reached out with the allegations.

"Your mental and physical health do not matter when a revenue sport is involved. Shoutout to Jim Knowlton, Justin Wilcox, the Cal Athletics Administrative office for teaching me this lesson."

In her claims ... Cornelius says coaches and players would constantly make her feel uncomfortable on the field -- and in one incident, a coach told her during practice, "I will get you fired if you do not have sex with me.”

She also says one coach followed her home after a practice and told her at her front door she "would look amazing in a bikini."

Cornelius says as a result of her time with the team, she's now dealing with post-traumatic stress syndrome and anxiety and has medically withdrawn from the school.

It appears Paige is preparing to file a lawsuit against the program ... writing in a separate social media post, "If you have been sexually harassed by any cal athletics coach or player ... dm me."

"My legal team wants to have the best case possible."

Who likes watching mediocre college basketball?? Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan!!!!

Judge Kagan was front and center at McDonough Arena at Georgetown University on Wednesday to watch her alma mater Harvard take on the Hoyas in the NIT basketball tournament.

Kagan's Crimson were the underdogs going into the game with a #6 seed -- facing a #3 seed in Georgetown, which also happens to feature college basketball star Mac McClung.

Oh, and the head coach at Georgetown is NBA legend Patrick Ewing. G.U. was a 6.5 point favorite going into the game.

So, why would Kagan choose a game where her team was facing almost certain destruction?

Because Harvard WON -- shocking the world to overcome the Hoyas in a 71-68 victory!! Maybe it was Kagan's Crimson blazer that inspired the team!

Harvard now moves on to face North Carolina State in the next round of the NIT tournament on Sunday in Raleigh.

The problem for Harvard now ... NC State is really good and JUST missed out on making the NCAA tournament, which people actually care about.

Kwame Brown is callin' BS on the NBA's one-and-done rule ... telling TMZ Sports, "To tell a young man he can go shoot a gun but he can't go earn a living, that, to me, doesn't make any sense."

Of course, the infamous NBA rule is back making headlines this year after Zion Williamson made it emphatically clear in just a few weeks at Duke he was ready for the pros.

But, the league still has its draft rule in place -- saying players need to spend a year in college before they can play for one of its 30 teams -- and thus, Zion remains a Blue Devil.

Enter 37-year-old Brown -- who went straight from high school to being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft when he was selected by the Washington Wizards.

Brown thinks the 1-and-done rule is just ridiculous -- telling us there's simply no place for it in today's society.

"Free enterprise," Kwame says ... "Go and get that money."

As for Brown ... we had to ask if he regrets not going to college straight outta high school given his NBA career didn't flourish the way he expected it to -- and his answer was a big, fat HELL NO!!!

"Factor out the numbers, I know economics," Kwame tells us ... "I own four companies!"

12:46 PM PT -- The Carolina Panthers have released a statement about Taylor Hearn, saying ... "We are aware of the video, and have been in contact with Taylor and the league about the incident. We will have no further comment at this time."

Carolina Panthers guard Taylor Hearn had a rough night in Augusta, Georgia ... getting knocked out cold in a brutal street fight captured on video.

Here's the deal … Hearn -- 6’4”, 315 lbs. -- was outside of a bar Thursday night when he got into it with a couple of guys on the street.

Clearly, the massive Hearn thought he’d be able to bully these guys around, due to his giant size and NFL strength, but he learned very quickly he was wrong. After some verbal insults and tussling, one of the guys on the street cracked Hearn with a straight right to the face that dropped the lineman like a sack of potatoes.

Hearn eventually gets up and appears to be okay ... even starting to fight again. Witnesses tell TMZ Sports cops arrived at the scene a short time later ... but Hearn was not arrested. In fact, we’re told no one was arrested.

Hearn -- who’s 23 years old -- was a lineman at Clemson and won the 2016 National Championship at the university (he started all 15 games that season) before signing with the Panthers in 2018. Hearn played in 4 games ... protecting Cam Newton.

We reached out to Hearn’s rep ... so far, no word back.

10:40 AM PT -- We just got Jay Leno out in NYC and asked him about the scandal ... Leno certainly didn't hold back, calling the whole thing "the definition of white privilege."

The 50 people who were indicted for allegedly paying bribe money to get their kids into college may just be the tip of the iceberg, and scores of very nervous and very rich parents are calling around L.A. trying to get recon.

Sources familiar with the case tell TMZ, FBI agents have seized numerous cell phones and other evidence they believe will lead them to other parents, college employees and others who might have participated in admissions bribery.

We know a number of wealthy parents from some of the most exclusive private schools in L.A. were calling around Tuesday, asking if Rick Singer, the ringleader who just copped a plea, kept lists of clients. As one source put it, "These parents are sweating bullets."

On a different front, sources at USC familiar with the scandal tell us the University has known about the investigation for around 2 months, but they did not investigate ... because they didn't want to undermine the feds. Our sources say they've dealt with the U.S. Attorney's Office before, and they know if they conducted a simultaneous investigation it could tip off witnesses and targets, and result in the destruction of evidence.

As for what USC will do with the students whose parents got them into the school via bribery, well-connected sources tell us the students will not all be evaluated the same way. We're told if the students knew they were admitted because of bribes, they will be expelled. If they were in the dark, the University will evaluate all of the circumstances and the decisions will be student-specific.

And, one final thing, as for USC ... we know officials are furious at the parents who engaged in bribery. They say it has tarnished the school, the students and the athletic programs.

Shawn Oakman is wasting no time proving he's serious about the NFL ... putting in some serious work in the gym just days after proclaiming his dream of playing in the league.

Oakman was found NOT GUILTY in his rape case last month ... and has since vowed to work his ass off and show teams he deserves a shot to play in the NFL.

Of course, Oakman was a projected 1st-round draft pick while playing at Baylor, but went untouched in the 2016 NFL Draft after he was arrested and charged with raping a woman at his apartment.

The 6'9" defensive end posted a recent sweat sesh for his followers over the weekend ... and it's clear he's trying to let people know he's serious about getting to the league.

"I want to play football at the highest level and just really finally get my chance,” Oakman told KWTX last week.

"I think God will set the right path for me but I don't feel like I have to beg for anything, it's not a begging matter. I don't want anybody to hand me anything. I want to earn it and everything I get."

Cops now say Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim WAS speeding before he struck and killed a man on a NY highway last month ... but believe his speed was not a factor in the fatal crash.

According to officials ... Boeheim was going 66 mph in a 55 mph zone just 5 seconds before he hit Jorge Jimenez in Syracuse, NY around 11 PM on Feb. 20.

Jorge was taken to the hospital and later died from the injuries he suffered.

Investigators say 74-year-old Boeheim attempted to hit the brakes before slamming into Jimenez -- but couldn't avoid the collision ... only slowing to 54 mph at the moment of impact.

But, even if Boeheim was driving the speed limit, he wouldn't have been able to avoid Jimenez, cops say ... citing 2 main factors for the crash, including poor decision-making by the victim.

1) Jimenez was in a previous crash and his unlit Dodge Charger was blocking 2 lanes of traffic on a night with poor visibility due to extreme darkness.

2) Jimenez was walking on the highway after his crash in dark clothing for a prolonged period of time after being aware of oncoming vehicles on the road.

Prosecutors say they COULD have hit Boeheim with a speeding charge -- but decided not to move forward because, ultimately, this was a "tragic accident."

Boeheim has coached in every Syracuse game since the accident ... but the team has gone just 1-3 in that time frame.

Shawn Oakman is hoping NFL teams were paying attention when he was found NOT GUILTY in his rape case ... because the ex-college football star hopes to get a real shot to play pro football.

Oakman was a projected 1st-round draft pick while playing at Baylor -- where he set the school record for career sacks. But, no team wanted to touch him in the 2016 NFL Draft after he was arrested and charged with raping a woman at his apartment.

The 6'9", 265-pounder has been keeping himself in shape and playing semi-pro ball while his case was active ... but now that he was found not guilty last week, he's hoping he can make the jump to the NFL.

"I want to play football at the highest level and just really finally get my chance,” Oakman told KWTX.

"I think God will set the right path for me but I don't feel like I have to beg for anything, it's not a begging matter. I don't want anybody to hand me anything. I want to earn it and everything I get."

Oakman says he's grateful for the support he's received since the trial ... and plans to return to his old stomping grounds.

Clemson superstar QB Trevor Lawrence says he never should've put his hands on a student in an intramural hoops scuffle last month ... saying he now understands what it's like to be in the spotlight.

Lawrence -- who led the Tigers in the national title game over Bama in January -- got into a physical altercation with a fellow student at a rec hoops game ... shoving the player twice after trying to set a pick about 80 feet from the basket.

The incident was caught on video and went viral almost instantly.

At the time, Lawrence justified his actions by saying the other player was running his mouth the whole time, while also admitting the shoves were "still probably unnecessary."

Now that the QB has had some time to reflect, he's taking more accountability -- saying he understands why people freaked out over the incident.

"I think everything is just a learning experience," Lawrence told the media after practice on Monday. "You could say you wished you handled something differently, and I do, but ... everyone's watching, and I should be smarter than that."

Lawrence says he made up with the guy after the game and moved on ... even if the media didn't.

"At the end of the day, we're playing a game, and it gets competitive. Me and him shook hands at the end of the game. It gets blown out of proportion, but I gotta know, just because it's me, it's going to get put out everywhere and made a big deal of."

Donald Trump treated ANOTHER college football team to a fast food spread at the White House on Monday -- with the North Dakota State squad getting Chick-fil-A and McDonald's on a silver platter!

The NDSU Bison football team was invited to Trump's White House to celebrate winning the FCS Championship with a 38-24 win over Eastern Washington back in January.

The team reportedly wasn't expecting ANY food during the trip -- but after the success Trump had with the Clemson football team back in January, he decided to break out the fast food again!

You can see in the photo ... the spread was loaded with Big Macs and chicken sandwiches.

Remember when Clemson visited, Trump served up McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King AND pizza to celebrate their national championship win over Alabama.

At the time, Trump explained the menu by saying, "I would think that's their favorite food."

The food was a hit -- with Clemson's star QB Trevor Lawrence telling TMZ Sports, "It was awesome. We had McDonald's and everything. It was good."

The NDSU Bison have won the FCS Championship 7 times in the last 8 years -- but this is the first time they've gone to the White House.

Before the trip, head coach Matt Entz told the Grand Forks Herald ... "This isn’t a political trip, this is a Bison trip and, personally, I sold it as two things: It’s one more opportunity for the 2018 team to be together, but also in my mind the start of the 2019 season and the things we’re going to do together."

The big question ... how did the food go over with the players?

Shareef O'Neal is ALMOST ready to hit the hardwood again ... the UCLA star tells TMZ Sports he's just a month and a half away from a return to the court!!!

"I feel great," he says.

Shareef underwent heart surgery to correct an irregularity back in December ... and his post-op pictures showed just how serious the procedure really was.

But, when we got the 19-year-old leaving Staples Center on Wednesday night ... he was in good spirits -- and tells us his first workouts since the operation are just DAYS away.

In fact, Shareef says Shaq will play a BIG role in his gameplan for a return to the Bruins when he's cleared, telling us his pops, "knows basketball."

Ya think?!

Shareef was an elite prospect coming out of Crossroads H.S. in Santa Monica ... and he famously flipped his commitment from Arizona to UCLA late in his recruiting process.

The power forward was expected to be a key piece of the Bruins this season ... but his heart surgery sidelined him for his entire freshman season.

Colin Kaepernick's ex-teammate, Brandon Marshall, says he views CK's settlement with the NFL as a victory for the QB ... explaining, "It showed that he had some good evidence."

Remember, Brandon -- who played college football with Kap at Nevada -- was one of the first players to take a knee and join in Colin's protest to put a spotlight on police violence against minorities.

While the terms of Kap's settlement with the NFL have not been made public, there are reports he got somewhere in the neighborhood of $80 mil ... and Marshall says that makes him "extremely happy."

"The fact that [the NFL] settled showed that [Kaepernick] had some good evidence. Whatever the outcome, I feel like Kap came out on top, so I'm happy for him."

Marshall says he knows Kaepernick still wants to play in the NFL -- and hopes teams can "let bygones be bygones and let him play quarterback."

Brandon says Kap is one of the hardest working guys he's ever met -- and he's confident he can still play at a high-level for a bunch of NFL teams.

Giannis Antetokounmpo says if he was in Zion Williamson's shoes ... he would NOT sit out the rest of the NCAA season -- telling TMZ Sports, "I love basketball too much."

Don't get it twisted ... 24-year-old Giannis isn't throwing shade and says he respects whatever decision Zion makes -- but said he knows what path he would choose.

Zion -- the obvious No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft -- scared the hell out of everyone when he suffered a knee injury during the Duke vs. North Carolina game earlier this month.

He hasn't been back on the court since, and many are wondering if he'll ever suit up for the Blue Devils again ... considering he's got MILLIONS of dollars waiting for him in the NBA.

Giannis says Zion has to do what's best for him.

There's more ... since Giannis was on the court during Ja Rule's doomed halftime performance at the Bucks vs. Timberwolves game on Saturday, we had to ask about the new JA RULE CURSE!!!

Remember, the T-Wolves clowned the disgraced Fyre Festival honcho after his performance was marred by technical issues ... so Ja cursed the team for 30 YEARS!!!

But, Giannis actually has Ja's back -- saying it wasn't the rapper's fault things went south that night, and telling TMZ Sports he still loves the artist.

There's more ... we also asked Giannis if he's paying attention to all the talk about him being in the running for MVP this season -- and of course, the guy couldn't have been more humble.

Giannis is having a monster season -- averaging 27 points a game with 12.6 rebounds and 5.9 assists. BEAST!!!