NCAA

Sue Bird -- a 4-time WNBA champion and star guard for the Seattle Storm -- says she's retiring ... announcing Thursday she's hanging up her sneakers for good at the end of this season.

"I’ve decided this will be my final year," said Bird, who shared a photo of her hoopin' as a youngster.

"I have loved every single minute, and still do, so gonna play my last year, just like this little girl played her first."

The 41-year-old, who was a 2-time NCAA champion at UConn, was picked #1 overall back in 2002 ... and has played every year since for the Storm.

In her 19 years in Seattle, she piled up 12 All-Star selections ... and became the WNBA's all-time assists leader as well as the league's all-time leader in starts.

Her retirement will mark truly the end of one of the greatest basketball careers ever -- as Bird is one of only six players ever to win an NCAA championship, a WNBA championship, and an Olympic gold medal.

Jason McElwain -- the former basketball manager who went viral in 2006 after suiting up and scoring 20 points in a high school game -- broke nine ribs in a serious bicycle accident Monday afternoon ... but luckily, he was wearing a helmet, and is expected to make a full recovery.

According to USA Today, police in Greece, New York responded to a call of "a bicyclist who made contact with a motor vehicle."

The 34-year-old was transported to an area hospital ... where he was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

A spokeswoman for Strong Memorial Hospital confirmed Jason is listed in guarded condition at the facility ... meaning his status is extremely serious with an uncertain outcome.

Jason's brother, Josh, said he suffered 9 broken ribs, a broken scapula, and a punctured lung ... but he did not sustain injuries to his head or back, fortunately.

Josh said he's thankful Jason was wearing his helmet at the time of the accident ... fearing things could have been much worse for his brother.

Jason, who is autistic and now works as a motivational speaker, had one of the most memorable games ever as a senior at Greece Athena High School in 2006.

The teen scored 20 points in the team's final home game -- hitting 7 of 13 shots and channeling his inner Ray Allen, hitting 6 threes, earning him an ESPY award that year for best sports moment.

JaMarcus Russell is opening up about his codeine use in college and the NFL ... saying he would drink lean to cope with injuries instead of taking painkillers.

Of course, the troubled history of Russell is well-known ... from his short venture with the Oakland Raiders (2007-2009) to being arrested in 2010 for possession of codeine syrup.

The 36-year-old says he first drank lean when he was just 14 -- when he accidentally grabbed it (thinking it was soda) from a cooler while hanging out with friends at a park in Mobile, Alabama.

"That was my first time drinking syrup," Russell said in the Players' Tribune. "Wasn’t the last time."

He added ... "Some syrup, for us, that’s like you might drink some wine or something. I’m not glorifying it, but back then, that was the cheapest way for them boys to sip on something. You grow up in poverty, you’re going to figure out a way to cope with it, you feel me?"

Russell says he eventually used codeine to deal with his pain in college ... days after injuring his shoulder in the 2005 SEC Championship Game.

"I was in so much pain that one morning I just said f*** it and took some drank with me to class," Russell said.

"Looked just like a soda from the cafeteria. I don’t know how the hell the teacher even found out, but somebody in class snitched on me."

Russell says LSU coaches found out about it and suspended him for the 2005 Peach Bowl.

"I ain’t no saint, but come on, man," he added. "They shoot your ass up with the strongest painkillers on earth just to get you out on the field. But, you’re drinking some cough syrup and now you’re a criminal?"

Russell says his drinking continued in the NFL ... claiming the team would hand out painkillers "like Skittles" ... but he preferred to do things on his own terms.

"Was I perfect? As a player? As a person? Hell no," Russell said. "I shouldn’t have been sippin’ like that, in the NFL. I should’ve stayed in better shape. I should’ve been more of a student of the game. I got to live with my mistakes. I’d do it 10 times differently today, if I was coming up in a different era."

George Thompson, one of the greatest players in the history of Marquette basketball, has died at 74 years old, the school announced on Wednesday night.

The university shared the sad news in a tweet ... saying Thompson passed away due to complications from diabetes.

"George made a tremendous impact, not only on the program, but the entire Milwaukee community after his arrival on campus," school officials said. "RIP Brute Force."

The Brooklyn native was a standout at Marquette from 1966 to 1969, playing under legendary coach Al McGuire. In 87 career games at the school, spanning three seasons, he averaged 20.4 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists.

He went on to be selected by the Boston Celtics in the 5th round of the 1969 NBA Draft ... but chose to start his pro career with the Pittsburgh Pipers of the American Basketball Association.

George spent 5 total seasons in the ABA -- playing for the Condors/Memphis Tams for 2 years -- before taking his talents to the NBA to play for the Milwaukee Bucks.

The 3-time ABA All-Star only played one season with the Bucks, but his iconic #24 jersey hangs in the rafters at Fiserv Forum thanks to his storied career at Marquette.

Thompson -- a member of Marquette's Hall of Fame -- was inducted into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001.

One of the most recognizable fight songs in all of college sports is getting a makeover ... Notre Dame just announced its changing lines in its famous tune to recognize the university's "daughters."

The school just made the change official ... revealing Friday morning instead of singing "While her loyal sons are marching/Onward to victory" in the song, the line will now be sung as, "While her loyal sons and daughters/March on to victory."

Notre Dame officials say they made the change to the song -- which is played and sung continuously at Fighting Irish sports events -- in part to honor the 50th anniversary of the university's decision to admit female undergraduate students.

Nancy Hogshead-Makar, 3x Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer and civil rights attorney, wholeheartedly disagrees with Lia Thomas ... insisting trans athletes have a significant advantage over biological women.

Hogshead joined "TMZ Live" on Tuesday ... and addressed statements Thomas made earlier in the day when she joined Good Morning America for her first interview, telling Juju Chang ... "Trans women are not a threat to women's sport."

But, Nancy, who also runs a female advocacy organization called Champion Women, told Harvey and Charles that Lia is just wrong.

"After somebody has been through male puberty, you cannot roll that back. So, it isn't fair," the former Olympian said, citing several experts.

"We're hoping that we can get sports governing bodies and legislatures and others to care more about fairness than any other conclusion."

It's not that Nancy isn't supportive of Lia Thomas -- she says she is -- everywhere except the swimming pool.

"I affirm who [Lia] wants to be for all of her life. Whether it's employment, the classroom, or anyplace else. But when it comes to sports, sports is not based on identity. It is based on biology. That is why we have the women's sports category."

FYI, the UPenn swimmer, an NCAA champ in the 500m freestyle event, is done with college athletics after recently graduating. However, Lia isn't done competing ... she's made it clear she wishes to compete in the Summer Olympics in 2024.

And, Hogshead believes the future of women's sports is literally on the line.

"If sport is not based on sex segregation, and if gender identity equals sex discrimination, we might lose the right as woman athletes to be able to have separate sex sports."

That's something Nancy is intent on preventing from happening.

"I am not going to allow this generation of women to have to be gracious losers to somebody that has a biological advantage that you can't train for, you can't eat better, you can't find better coaching," Hogshead said.

Transgender NCAA swimming champion Lia Thomas is firing back at those claiming her dominance is unfair to biological women ... saying trans athletes will not destroy women's sports.

The University of Penn athlete broke her silence on "Good Morning America" on Tuesday ... saying she knew she'd face backlash once she started competing against women, but no amount of scrutiny would stop her.

"I was prepared for that, but I don't need anyone's permission to be myself and do the sport that I love," she said.

Many have denounced Thomas' participation in women's sports after she finished first in the women's 500-yard freestyle back in March ... with everyone from Caitlyn Jenner to Florida governor Ron DeSantis to Joe Rogan, who called it "an assault on women's sports."

But, Thomas argues that shouldn't be the case ... saying, "Transitioning to get an advantage is not something that ever factors into our decisions."

"Trans women are not a threat to women's sport."

Thomas added, "Trans people don't transition for athletics. We transition to be happy and authentic and our true selves."

Despite the outrage, Thomas -- who started hormone therapy in 2019 -- still plans to compete in the Olympics in the future.

John Calipari is mourning the loss of college hoops legend Reggie Warford -- the first Black basketball player to graduate from the University of Kentucky -- after he died on Thursday morning.

Cal called the former hooper his "brother" in an emotional tweet ... and added, "I know how much Reggie meant to Kentucky & how he inspired others."

"Reggie and I worked together at Pitt in the 80s and have remained friends," the Wildcats head coach said. "I'm going to miss my brother, may God bless you Reggie."

No cause of death has been revealed ... though the Kentucky icon battled various health issues in the waning years of his life -- requiring several transplants.

He was 67 years old.

Warford played at Kentucky from 1972-1976 and was the program's second-ever Black player. Tom Payne, who signed with the Wildcats in 1969, was the first.

Over the course of his four-year career, Warford played in 50 total games -- scoring 206 points.

Warford went on to graduate from UK with a degree in arts and sciences ... making him, at the time, the first Black four-year player to accomplish the feat.

Kentucky officials remembered the college standout on Thursday while emphasizing the "important role" he played in the landscape of Wildcat sports history.

"It is with great sadness we share the passing of Reggie Warford," the school said in a statement. "Our deepest sympathies go out to his family, friends and teammates."

"Warford was an NIT Champion and the first Black men's basketball player to graduate from the University of Kentucky."

Reggie is survived by his wife, Marisa, and sons, Grant and Tyler.

The longstanding, famous tradition of releasing red balloons at Nebraska Cornhuskers home football games will be no more ... and it's all 'cause of a global helium shortage.

Univ. athletic director Trev Alberts made the announcement on Monday -- explaining that due to the scarcity of helium worldwide, school officials will no longer supply fans with red balloons at Memorial Stadium for the time being.

"While we're still concerned about the environmental impact of the balloons," Alberts said on the Huskers' "Sports Nightly" radio show, "the reality is acquiring helium in today's day and age given some of the challenge and some of the production of it is really challenged and it's been hard to get."

"And so," he added, "we are this year not going to be providing the red balloons for the first time at Memorial Stadium."

The releasing of the balloons following the school's first points of home games started in the 1960s, and it soon became one of college football's most famous traditions.

But, a number of factors, including Ukraine's war with Russia (one of the world's top helium providers), have now limited the supply of helium.

Alberts explained the university would rather the helium they receive be used for medical purposes at the University of Nebraska Medical Center -- a facility in Omaha -- going forward.

Calvin Magee, former Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end and coach at Jacksonville State University, has died ... the school announced on Friday.

He was 59.

"Our hearts are broken with the loss of our beloved friend Calvin Magee," Rich Rodriguez, head coach for the JSU Gamecocks said in a statement. "Calvin was a great husband, great father, and grandfather, great coach, great friend and great man."

"He impacted my life and the lives of so many others in such a positive way. Our thoughts and prayers are with his beautiful family - wife Rose, daughters Jade and Jasmine, son Bryson, his grandchildren, and all his friends and relatives. Our world is less, but heaven got better."

"I miss him dearly already. I love you, my brother," Rich added.

Magee, whose coaching career began in the early '90s at Tampa Catholic High School in Florida, joined Rodriguez's staff after leaving Duke University this past December.

During his more than two decades of coaching experience, Magee made stops at South Florida, West Virginia, Michigan, Pittsburgh, Arizona, New Mexico, and Ole Miss.

In 2007, Magee was named the AFCA's Assistant Coach of the Year after he helped lead WVU to an 11-2 record, a Big East Championship, and a Fiesta Bowl victory over Oklahoma.

Magee spent 4 seasons in the NFL after being drafted out of Southern college, where he played in 56 games for the Bucs org.

In those games, Magee started in 34 and recorded 114 receptions, 1379 yards, and 11 touchdowns.

Magee is survived by his wife Rose, and their children, Jade, Jasmine, and Bryson.

Jimbo Fisher just annihilated Nick Saban over the Alabama coach's claims that Texas A&M "bought" all of its recruits ... calling him a narcissist and saying their relationship is now over.

The TAMU head man didn't hold a thing back at a press conference on Thursday morning, firing away at Saban for several minutes during the meeting with the media.

"It's despicable that a reputable head coach can come out and say this when he doesn't get his way or things don't go his way," Fisher said, just hours after the Tide coach made the dig Wednesday night.

"The narcissist in him doesn't allow those things to happen and it's ridiculous when he's not on top."

Fisher continued, "Some people think they're God. Go dig into how God did his deal. You may find out about a guy, a lot of things you don't want to know. You make him the czar of college football. Go dig into his past."

Fisher said Saban tried to reach out to him following the comments ... but he refused to take the call.

"We're done," Fisher said of his relationship with Nick. "He showed you who he is. He's the greatest ever, huh?"

Fisher reiterated over and over again that TAMU did NOT do anything illegal or unethical to obtain its top-ranked recruiting class this season.

Jimbo is now the second high-profile coach to be pissed at Saban following his remarks ... Deion Sanders -- Jackson State's head man -- called the 70-year-old a "liar" after the comments as well.

Saban has yet to respond to the backlash ... but when he eventually does, it's clear, he's got some serious fences to mend.

Deion Sanders is going after Nick Saban ... calling the Alabama coach a liar for claiming Jackson State University -- where Prime is the head coach -- paid one of its top players $1 million to sign with their program ... then bragged about it!

Sanders was pissed after a clip made rounds on social media, where Saban accused the up-and-coming program of signing good players by paying them off ... and then boasting about it to the media.

"You best believe I will address that LIE Coach SABAN told tomorrow," Sanders wrote on Twitter. "I was & awakened by my son @ShedeurSanders that sent me the article stating that WE PAYED @TravisHunterJr a Million to play at @GoJSUTigersFB!"

"We as a PEOPLE don’t have to pay our PEOPLE to play with our PEOPLE," he added.

Of course, coach Prime is referring to Saban's claim that JSU signed one of its marquee players, Travis Hunter, by giving him $1 million to commit to the HBCU.

"We have a rule right now that says you cannot use name, image, and likeness to entice a player to come to your school," Saban said. "Hell, read about it in the paper."

"I mean Jackson State paid a guy a million dollars last year that was a really good Division 1 player to come to school -- it was in the paper, and then bragged about it. Nobody did anything about it."

Saban didn't stop at JSU, though ... the legendary coach also went after Texas A&M University, accusing the school of "buying every player on their team," thanks to NIL deals.

"I mean, we were second in recruiting last year," Saban told an audience at an Alabama booster event. "A&M was first. A&M bought every player on their team -- made a deal for name, image, likeness. We didn't buy one player, all right?"

Michigan State fans are honoring Adreian Payne in a very Spartan way -- painting a tribute to the former hoops star on the famous boulder in the middle of the school's campus.

MSU supporters inked "RIP AP #5" on "The Rock" -- a monument on the university's campus since 1873 -- just two days after Payne was shot and killed following a dispute outside of a Florida home on Monday.

The fans also painted a message on the rock referencing Payne's touching friendship with 8-year-old cancer patient Lacey Holsworth.

"Adreian + Lacey ❤ together again," the note read.

There were also several bouquets of flowers left near the monument, too.

Payne played at MSU from 2010 to 2014 -- and helped lead the team to an Elite Eight appearance in his senior season.

Spartans head coach Tom Izzo -- along with many others in the basketball community -- mourned Payne's death on Monday, saying in a statement, "Adreian was loved by his teammates and coaches, who respected his development as a player and a person."

Former Michigan State men's basketball star Adreian Payne has died ... his former teammate announced on Monday. He was just 31 years old.

Details surrounding the death have not yet been revealed ... but Jared Sullinger -- the former Ohio State Buckeyes star who played with Payne at some point in their basketball careers -- announced the sad news via his Twitter page.

"Hate the news i received this morning…." Sullinger said in a tweet. "Rest Easy to my brother/Teammate @Adreian_Payne."

Payne became a massive star for the Spartans after arriving on the East Lansing campus in 2010 ... recording 16.4 points per game and 7.3 rebounds in his senior season in 2013. That year, Payne helped lead MSU to an Elite Eight appearance.

Adreian went on to be taken by the Atlanta Hawks with the #15 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. He bounced around the Association for several years after that, before eventually moving overseas to play professionally.

Payne last played for Juventus Utena in Lithuania in the 2021-22 season.

Off the basketball court, Payne was perhaps best known for his relationship with 8-year-old cancer patient Lacey Holsworth. Adreian befriended her while at MSU, and the two grew so close, they referred to each other as brother and sister.

In fact, Holsworth -- who later passed away in 2014 -- joined Payne on his senior night at Michigan State.

Famed college basketball head coach Archie Miller mourned Payne's death on Twitter on Monday ... writing, "Sad to hear the passing of Adreian Payne this morning."

"Started watching him while he was in 10th grade, remember his grandmother on his visit. Loved seeing him develop at Michigan St. and become an NBA player. [Prayers] for his loved ones, Spartans, and Dayton, OH. #RipAP"

RIP.

Tragic news ... former NFL defensive lineman Du'Vonta Lampkin has died after he was shot on Thursday.

He was just 25 years old.

According to the Dallas Police Department, Lampkin was found "lying on his back with a single gunshot wound" by officers at a rented residence at around 10:10 PM in Dallas.

Cops say they had been called to the scene after a witness said Lampkin had stopped answering phone calls.

Police say medical personnel arrived a short time after officers discovered Lampkin ... but said the ex-football player couldn't be saved and died on the scene.

No further details regarding the shooting were released ... cops say an investigation is underway. They're asking anyone with information on the case to call 214-671-3994.

The Univ. of Oklahoma -- where Lampkin played college football from 2015 to 2017 -- released a statement on the tragedy, saying the school is "deeply saddened" by Lampkin's passing.

"Du'Vonta was full of life and spirit, was a supportive teammate and a joy to be around. Our sincerest thoughts, prayers and sympathies are with his family and loved ones."

Du'Vonta played in 15 games for the Sooners in his three years on campus, logging 27 total tackles and a sack. He left the school early with intentions to play in the NFL, but went unselected in the 2018 draft.

Lampkin would eventually sign with the Tennessee Titans just before the 2018 season, but he was cut prior to their first game. He went on to play indoor football in 2019.

Armando Bacot is entering the world of the Pogues and Kooks -- the North Carolina hoops star just landed a role with the super-popular Netflix show "Outer Banks" ... and he's been on set hanging with John B. himself, Chase Stokes!!

The breakout Tar Heels center will appear in several episodes of Season 3 of the series ... playing the fittingly-named character, "Mando," according to Inside Carolina.

The 22-year-old posted vid of his time on set ... bro'ing down with Stokes and Rudy Pankow, who plays JJ Maybank on the thriller series.

Now, Bacot taking an acting role might sound super random, but it actually makes a lot of sense ... especially considering two of the show's creators -- Josh and Jonas Pate -- are North Carolina natives.

On top of that, Josh and the other creator, Shannon Burke, are UNC alums ... so that Tar Heel network definitely had to help the 6'10", 240-lb. baller land the gig.

The big question -- is Bacot a Pogue or a Kook in the NC-based show?? We'll have to wait until the season drops ... and that might be quite a bit away.