NCAA

The James Madison Univ. softball team will not play another game this season ... the school announced it's canceled all of its remaining contests in the wake of Lauren Bernett's tragic death.

"This was an extremely difficult decision and one that was not made lightly," JMU head coach Loren LaPorte said in a statement Monday morning.

"We are so grateful for the support of our fans all season and for the love from the softball community during the past week. We will use this time to continue healing and to honor Lauren's memory while finishing the academic semester strong."

JMU had four games remaining on its schedule ... one against Virginia on Tuesday and three against Elon slated for this weekend. The school had previously canceled games against Longwood and Delaware after learning of Bernett's death.

"We're thinking about our graduating seniors whose careers have come to an abrupt conclusion," LaPorte said. "We will make sure that they are honored for the commitment and dedication they have made as student-athletes at James Madison University."

As we reported, Bernett -- who had just won Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Week honors for her roles in games in mid-April -- died by suicide last week. She was just 20 years old.

History was made in the Tennessee vs. Auburn college baseball game on Sunday ... a pitcher threw a ball that was clocked at a staggering 105.5 MPH!!!

The ridiculous heater was thrown by Ben Joyce in the seventh inning of the Vols' tilt with the Tigers in Knoxville ... and check out video of the pitch -- the ball was an absolute blur as it reached home plate!

According to baseball historians, it's the fastest a pitch has ever traveled in a college game.

Of course, the throw shouldn't surprise too many ... Joyce has been lighting up radar guns all year -- constantly hitting 103 and 104 MPH.

But, still, you can hear in the broadcast footage of the pitch -- fans in the stands let out audible gasps as the 105.5 flashed on the stadium's radar gun.

Joyce, a redshirt junior, used the crazy fastball to throw four innings of 1-hit ball on Sunday ... securing the win for the Vols while striking out six Tigers batters.

The hours leading up to Sam Bruce's death were frantic and tragic ... because a 911 call, obtained by TMZ Sports on Friday, revealed the former Miami Hurricane was trapped inside of a crashed car while having a seizure.

In the audio, a caller can be heard telling dispatch that Bruce -- a Florida high school football legend -- had just suffered a seizure at around 8:23 PM on Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale, FL, and crashed his car into a pole as a result.

"They can't get him out," the woman on the call said. "And, the car is still in gear."

"People are trying to assist him," she added. "But, the car is still in gear. You can see it because the tires are spinning. Can't nobody seem to get in."

The woman said Bruce, a former wide receiver, appeared to be convulsing as he was locked inside of the car ... telling dispatch, "Every time the seizure hits, the tire spins."

"Nobody seems to be able to get inside the vehicle to assist him."

Cops and medical personnel eventually arrived on the scene ... and a Fort Lauderdale Police Dept. spokesperson tells us they performed CPR on Bruce and ultimately transported him to a nearby hospital.

Sadly, Bruce passed away at the hospital hours later on Thursday morning.

The spokesperson tells us "the circumstances surrounding this incident are not suspicious and foul play is not suspected." A rep for the Broward County Medical Examiner said Friday that a cause and manner of death are still pending.

Bruce was a superstar on the gridiron during his high school football days at St. Thomas Aquinas -- blowing by defenders so often, he earned the nickname "The Samborghini."

Bruce signed to play receiver for the Miami Hurricanes in 2016 ... but he was dismissed from the school just months into his freshman year. He went to attend Mississippi Gulf Coast C.C. and Southeastern University ... and he later played for the Indoor Football League.

Florida high school football legend Sam Bruce -- who played briefly for the Miami Hurricanes -- has tragically died at 24 years old ... his former H.S. announced on Thursday.

In a post on the St. Thomas Aquinas football team's Facebook page, officials wrote, "R.I.P. Sam Bruce ! We Will Miss You and We Love You !"

Bruce's former 7-on-7 team, the South Florida Express, also confirmed the tragedy on Thursday ... writing in a tweet, "We are saddened to hear about the loss of one of the greatest players to ever come through SFE."

"Your infectious energy, and the ability to make anybody laugh will forever live in our hearts. We spoke with Sam's family, they just ask you to pray for their family during this time."

Further details surrounding Bruce's death have not yet been revealed.

Bruce was a superstar on the gridiron for Florida powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas ... lighting up fields so often, he got the nickname, "The Samborghini."

Bruce eventually earned a four-star rating and received dozens of scholarship offers ... before he eventually signed with the Miami Hurricanes in 2016.

Bruce did not play in a game for the 'Canes, however, as he was dismissed for violations of team rules just months into his freshman season.

Bruce went on to attend Mississippi Gulf Coast C.C. and Southeastern University ... and later played for the Indoor Football League. He said in 2021 that he had been involved in the making of the Kurt Warner biopic, "American Underdog."

Bruce's former teammates and others in the football world have been mourning his death on social media Thursday ... with Chad Johnson even posting a heartbroken emoji on his Twitter page.

Officials looking into the tragic death of James Madison Univ. softball star Lauren Bernett suspect she died by suicide ... TMZ Sports has confirmed.

Rockingham County Sheriff Bryan Hutcheson tells us ... "We are in the process of conducting a death investigation into the incident and it is currently classified as an apparent suicide."

Hutcheson declined to release further details of the probe on Wednesday ... saying an official report from the Medical Examiner's Office is still pending.

"Out of respect for her family and friends," Hutcheson said, "there is no other information to release at this time."

As we previously reported, JMU officials announced on Tuesday that Bernett -- a sophomore catcher for the Dukes -- had died at the age of 20. She had just earned Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Week honors on Monday for her performances in games earlier this month.

"College athletics is great because of the people with whom we get to interact every day," JMU officials said in announcing the tragedy on Tuesday. "We are a tight family. We are grateful that Lauren has been part of our JMU Athletics community and will always consider her to be a Duke. We will miss her dearly."

"Our thoughts are with her family; her coaches, teammates and friends; the rest of our department staff and student-athletes; and the entire JMU community. JMU Nation is a close community, and we grieve together."

JMU canceled its softball doubleheader on Wednesday against Longwood following the news ... and later canceled its weekend series with Delaware as well.

Tragic news ... James Madison University softball star Lauren Bernett -- who was just named Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Week on Monday -- has died, the school announced.

She was just 20 years old.

In a statement announcing the sad news Tuesday morning, JMU officials did not reveal a cause of death ... but said the tragedy was "devastating."

"Our hearts are aching, hearing the news of the loss of one of our student-athletes," officials said ... "We are a tight family. We are grateful that Lauren has been part of our JMU Athletics community and will always consider her to be a Duke. We will miss her dearly."

Bernett, a sophomore, was a star catcher for the Dukes ... and had just had arguably her best week ever on the diamond for JMU.

In a game against College of Charleston on April 16, she recorded three hits and seven RBIs -- a JMU record. Just days later, in a series against Drexel on April 23, she logged hits in seven of her nine at-bats.

On Monday, the CAA handed her its Player of the Week award for her performances.

Bernett -- who was batting .336 this season with nine home runs -- was also a key contributor to the James Madison squad that made a deep run in the 2021 Women's College World Series.

"We love you, Lauren," the JMU softball team said in a tweet on Tuesday.

The team has canceled its Wednesday doubleheader against Longwood in wake of Bernett's death.

South Carolina Gamecocks superfan Darius Rucker gave "Wagon Wheel" an R-rated upgrade during a concert this week ... getting the whole crowd to chant "f*** Tennessee" in the middle of it -- and it's incredible.

The Hootie and the Blowfish frontman was part of the South Carolina women's basketball championship party on Sunday night ... and naturally, he had to put his passion for the 'Cocks on full display.

In fact, when it came time to do his hit song, Rucker switched up the lyrics that go "But he's a-headin' west from the Cumberland Gap To Johnson City, Tennessee" ... and instead, had the whole arena scream "f*** Tennessee at the top of their lungs to show hate for the Volunteers.

The moment is awesome ... and is quite the proper way to celebrate South Carolina's epic win over UConn earlier this month.

Nelly was also present for the free concert ... so the night was truly one to remember.

Of course, we've seen stuff like this happen in the past ... with Justin Bieber trolling fans in Montreal over his allegiance to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Amazing news from Aaliyah Gayles' father ... the USC hoops recruit's dad tells TMZ Sports she will return to the basketball court and play for the Trojans -- despite being shot multiple times last weekend.

As we previously reported, four people -- including 18-year-old Gayles -- were shot when someone opened fire at a North Las Vegas house party on April 16.

Gayles' dad, Dwight, tells us his daughter went to the party to accompany a friend and stayed for only 30 minutes or so before she decided to leave -- and that's when the shooting happened.

Dwight says the 5-foot-9 guard was hit a total of 10 times in "both arms and both legs" and had her third surgery this week.

Thankfully, Dwight says Aaliyah is expected to make a full recovery -- and is still planning to play for the USC women's basketball team.

"She will be able to play ball again," Dwight tells us. "It's God's plan."

"She is still a USC Trojan."

Trojans head coach Lindsay Gottlieb said in a statement shortly after the shooting that Gayles is "one of the strongest, most resilient young people I have ever known" and she will continue to support her and her family.

Gayles is a 5-star recruit and the #8 overall ranked player in ESPN's 2022 class. At Spring Valley High School last season, she averaged 13.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.5 steals and 3.3 assists per game.

She led the Grizzlies to the Class 5A state tournament and was named a McDonald's All-American -- the first Las Vegas player to earn the honor since 2010.

Wow.

Hall of Famer and Villanova Wildcats head coach Jay Wright is expected to step down from his position after 21 years with the team ... this according to multiple reports.

Wright -- who's 60 years old -- is "seriously contemplating retiring" before the 2023 season ... and will make his decision after talking things over with his family, Shams Charania says.

Wright has a 642–282 overall record as a head coach ... including 4 Final Four appearances and national championships in 2016 and 2018.

Jay is known for his incredible fashion sense over the years -- as we previously reported, the guy spent thousands on his custom suits ... and won several awards for his looks.

Wright was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021.

He was the head coach of Hofstra University from 1994-2001 before joining 'Nova ... and was previously an assistant for Rochester, Drexel, Villanova and UNLV.

The move is pretty shocking ... and now Laker fans are going to start speculating about whether he will be their next coach.

Story developing ...

A college baseball pitcher looked more like an NFL linebacker on Wednesday ... absolutely pummeling his opponent during the guy's home run trot -- and the wild scene was all captured on video.

It went down just hours ago during the sixth inning of the North Central Texas College game against Weatherford in Weatherford, Texas ... when NCTC first baseman Josh Phillips hit a go-ahead homer off Owen Woodward.

It's unclear if Phillips said anything to Woodward as he rounded the bases -- but just after the slugger touched third, Woodward charged at him and leveled him to the grass.

You can see in the clip, the blow was brutal -- it flattened Phillips, causing his helmet to fly yards away from his body.

Phillips' teammates raced to the scene to pile onto Woodward -- and, somehow, Phillips was able to get up and touch home plate to give NCTC the lead.

Woodward was taken away from the area by his teammates ... and then he was, presumably, ejected from the contest.

A spokesperson for the Weatherford Campus Police tells TMZ Sports ... Woodward was not arrested, but they are investigating the incident.

As for Phillips, the spokesperson said he has "no life-threatening" injuries.

We've reached out to both schools for comment, but so far, no word back yet.

Dwayne Haskins' body was hit by two vehicles in the accident that took his life earlier this month ... a crash report, obtained by TMZ Sports, reveals.

In the Florida Highway Patrol documents, investigators say after Haskins was struck by a dump truck in the middle of a Broward County highway in the early morning hours of April 9 -- a Subaru Outback also "partially" hit Haskins' body.

Officials released a diagram of the crash -- showing what they believe were the two points in which the vehicles struck the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback (labeled as NM01 in the image).

In the docs, investigators say a witness told them a third vehicle may have been involved as well.

Officials say Haskins succumbed to his injuries on the scene and was pronounced dead just minutes after being struck.

Investigators say both drivers came to a stop shortly after hitting the football player. They also noted in the docs neither driver was tested for alcohol nor drugs.

Officials in the documents did not reveal why they believed Haskins was walking along the busy highway before being hit -- a final Traffic Homicide Investigation is still pending.

As we reported, Kalabrya Haskins said in a 911 call that Dwayne had said he was on foot in search of gas after his car had stranded him. She said in the frantic call, "I just want somebody to go in the area and see if his car is there and if he's OK and if anything happened to him."

Revolve Festival was a nightmare for a ton of influencers ... and social media star Olivia "Livvy" Dunne was no exception -- the LSU gymnast says someone made off with her phone!!

Of course, the complaints piled in about the super-exclusive bash during Weekend 1 of Coachella ... with folks claiming they were stranded in the heat at shuttle stops without water or any other way to make it to the venue.

Dunne says her experience wasn't all gravy, either ... sharing a pic in a pink outfit while breaking the bad news.

"To the person who pick-pocketed my phone, thanks I needed an upgrade anyways:) #revolvefestival," Dunne said on Instagram.

The awful turn of events didn't completely ruin Dunne's time, though ... as she posted a TikTok from 'Chella in front of the iconic Ferris wheel.

Dunne is one of the best gymnasts in the country ... and was a Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association All-American in 2021.

On top of being an incredible athlete, Dunne also has a massive social media audience ... with 5.2 million followers on TikTok and another 1.7 million on Instagram.

The presence has helped her rake in a ton of dough ... as Dunne has earned more than $1 million in name, image and likeness deals.

Brian Wallace, a former lineman at the University of Arkansas, has died at the age of 26, the school announced on Friday.

The Razorbacks organization confirmed the sad news in a statement, saying, "Our hearts are broken."

The team added, "Brian will always be a Razorback."

"Our thoughts and love are with Brian's family and friends."

Wallace was reportedly struggling to breathe while at work, so he went outside to sit in his car to gather himself. When Wallace returned, the 26-year-old collapsed after he suffered a heart attack, according to FOX 16.

Medical personnel tried to restore Wallace's breathing on scene -- and they were successful -- but when Brian arrived at the hospital, he suffered another heart attack.

His father, Brian Sr., said Wallace was in the Intensive Care Unit of a St. Louis hospital because the heart attacks left him in a coma and with apparent brain damage, according to the outlet.

Wallace was a standout with the Razorbacks after redshirting his first season with the program ... and was a fan favorite after choosing Arkansas over Iowa.

In his senior year, Wallace started all 12 games for the Razorbacks at right tackle allowing only three sacks in 411 pass-blocking snaps, per the team's official website.

Wallace finished his career as a Razorback playing 1,998 total snaps on the O-line ... allowing 10 total sacks during his four-year career.

Mike Krzyzewski may not be coaching the Duke hoops team anymore ... but the team is making sure he keeps at it -- with this new puppy!

The adorable moment happened during the Blue Devils' annual banquet and award ceremony at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Thursday to celebrate their Final Four run.

Jon Scheyer -- Coach K's replacement as head coach -- was at the podium with the basketball team, Krzyzewski and his wife, Mickie, when JS introduced their "new family member."

"We can't repay you for what you done for all of us but we're gonna try," Scheyer said.

"Since you have a lot more time now coach, we felt you needed something to train."

That's when a player handed Coach K an 8-week-old Silver Lab -- and he LOVED it!

Coach K even kissed his new pup and the sweet dog gave him one right back -- a true Kodak moment.

FYI ... Coach K planned on getting a puppy after the season following the death of his dog Blue. But, his team beat him to it.

Besides the furry gift, Krzyzewski thanked the team for an "unbelievable season" despite the loss to their rivals, the UNC Tarheels in the Final Four.

"You guys were winners," Coach K said at the event. "For me, you made my final season one of the happiest that I've ever had."

GREAT NEWS for Dick Vitale ... the legendary college hoops announcer is officially cancer-free (again) after completing 6 months of chemotherapy treatment.

82-year-old Vitale shared the announcement on Twitter ... posting a video of him ringing a bell at Sarasota Memorial Hospital in Florida where he received his treatment.

"It was RING THE BELL TIME!" Vitale wrote. "Yes it was a tough 7 months but it was super hearing Dr Brown @SMHCS say that I have zero cancer currently."

"I was inspired daily by the famous words of my late buddy Jimmy V 'Don't Give up DON'T EVER GIVE UP!'"

Last fall, Vitale revealed he'd been diagnosed with cancer for a second time, but said he still planned to call games during his treatment for lymphoma.

"They're going to try to plan the chemo so I can be free to do some games," Vitale said. "Which I've got to do -- that's my best medicine of all."

Dickie V made his return to the broadcast booth -- with his partner Dave O'Brien -- for the Gonzaga and UCLA game ... and was visibly emotional as he detailed his difficult journey back.

Unfortunately for the Hall of Fame broadcaster, Vitale's return was short-lived ... as he was instructed to undergo "4 weeks of total rest" following his vocal cord surgery.

But, after successful surgery and learning that his cat scans came back clean, Vitale can finally rejoice ... 'cause he no longer has cancer.

Kentucky's Rhyne Howard went no. 1 overall in the 2022 WNBA Draft ... and after she was selected, she paid tribute to the late Terrence Clarke -- who she calls her "little brother."

The shooting guard walked the New York stage Monday night wearing a white pantsuit set with sparkles ... but what stood out most was her honorary pin for Clarke, a former Wildcats guard who died almost a year ago.

"That was like my little brother," Howard said about her tribute.

Clarke and Howard met on campus in 2020 ... when TC was a freshman and Howard was in her 2nd year. They both played for the Wildcats hoops teams.

"As soon as he stepped on campus, we instantly clicked and ever since then, we were inseparable."

"Just us coming in and me being able to help him and just get him through his college years."

Sadly, Clarke was tragically killed in a Los Angeles car crash on April 22, 2021 -- a few months before he was set to be drafted by an NBA team.

Rhyne is definitely making TC proud ... she averaged 20.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game during her four seasons in Lexington, and became the highest player drafted in Kentucky women's basketball history.