TMZ Sports - Page 50

TMZ Sports has just obtained the mug shot that Nate Hobbs took after his DUI arrest earlier this week ... and you can see in the photo, the Raiders player clearly wasn't happy to be in custody.

We broke the story ... Hobbs was arrested early Monday morning in Las Vegas after cops say he was found passed out behind the wheel of his car in the exit lanes of a parking garage at The Cromwell.

In new police docs, cops say when they made contact with the Las Vegas cornerback -- who had just played in the team's win over the Colts on Sunday afternoon -- he smelled like booze and had "glassy watery eyes."

Officers also said in the docs that Hobbs had mumbled speech.

Hobbs, though, according to the cops, said he was not drunk ... and instead told them he had fallen asleep in his 2019 Mercedes because "he was just tired."

But police say when they put him through a set of field sobriety tests, he "failed said tests" and was ultimately arrested.

Hobbs was booked on a misdemeanor DUI charge ... and he posed for a mug shot photo looking stern in a pink T-shirt. He's now due in court for a hearing on the matter in May.

Hobbs' attorneys told us following the arrest they have "serious concerns" that Hobbs' situation "does not qualify as a DUI under Nevada law."

Baker Mayfield's list of enemies is growing -- this time, the Browns quarterback is taking aim at Cleveland media ... saying it's filled with "drama stirring reporters."

The 26-year-old signal-caller unleashed on Twitter just minutes ago ... after a report from cleveland.com claimed he could request a trade out of town if changes weren't made during the offseason.

But, according to #6, that's apparently not true ... and he's accusing the reporter of spicing up the story to get clicks.

"Clickbait," Bake said Thursday. "You and many other Cleveland local media continue to be drama stirring reporters with no sources or facts."

"Don’t put words in my mouth so you can put food on your table. I’m not your puppet."

The clapback comes on the heels of the Browns' recent elimination from playoff contention ... which capped off a disappointing season.

The 2021 campaign was filled with drama -- Baker recently called out head coach Kevin Stefanski over his play-calling ... and has reportedly taken issue with how the offense isn't utilizing his strengths.

On top of that, Odell Beckham's dad publicly campaigned for the receiver's trade out of Cleveland due to missed targets back in November ... which worked, as OBJ was released shortly after.

Just a few weeks later, Jarvis Landry spoke out about his role with the team ... saying he had no idea why he wasn't getting the ball.

Baker's been known to speak his mind with folks in sports media -- he's had a popular beef with Colin Cowherd in the past ... but the FS1 star told us back in 2019 he "loves" the guy.

A mega-fight between the best heavyweight boxer alive, Tyson Fury, and the best heavyweight MMA fighter alive, Francis Ngannou, might actually go down ... 'cause both guys say they're all the way down to fight!

It all started last month when the UFC star told TMZ Sports he wants to step in the boxing ring with either Fury or Deontay Wilder.

"I would like to test myself to that level," Ngannou told us at the time, "It's not the same sport, although I'm the champion, I'm in the top in this division."

"At the end of the day, it's just about like trained hands, trained punches, having a good delivery system to produce bombs and I'm sure that if I deliver my own punch, it's pretty good, I can make some damage."

Well, Fury must've watched the interview ... 'cause he posted a fighting promo on his Twitter Thursday, featuring him and the 16-3 (12 KOs) MMA fighter.

"Who would like to see me fight this beast boxing rules UFC gloves?" Fury said.

Ngannou replied to the 31-0-1 heavyweight boxer ... saying the rules should be MMA style but would settle for boxing gloves as a favor to him -- but Fury wasn't having it.

"You want to come into my world calling me and Wilder out to a boxing match," Fury said.

"What I can guarantee you would be knocked out & also paid your highest purse to be so! So, have a think."

Ngannou didn't back down and vowed to go toe-to-toe anywhere and any style after his matchup with UFC interim HW champ Ciryl Gane at UFC 270.

"After I handle business on Jan. 22 I'll fight you," Ngannou said, "Under any special ruleset you want. In a ring, an Octagon or a phone booth."

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have formally released Antonio Brown ... and in announcing the news, the team called its former star a liar.

The Bucs said in a statement after officially cutting the wideout that he never indicated to their medical personnel that his ankle was too hurt to play in Sunday's game against the Jets.

Brown, of course, said the opposite in a lengthy statement Wednesday night ... claiming he did tell the team he was too injured -- and that head coach Bruce Arians still wanted him in the game nonetheless.

"While Antonio did receive treatment on his ankle and was listed on the injury report the week leading up to last Sunday's game, he was cleared to play by our medical team prior to the start of the game," the Bucs said Thursday.

"And at no point during the game did he indicate to our medical personnel that he could not play."

The Bucs went on to say that they've asked Antonio several times this week to be evaluated by "an outside orthopedic specialist" ... but say Antonio "has not complied."

"Maintaining the health and wellness of our players is of the utmost importance to our organization," the Bucs said.

As we previously reported, Brown melted down on the sidelines of the Bucs' game against the Jets at MetLife Stadium, stripping off his pads and shirt before running into the locker room.

After the blowup, Arians suggested that Brown had quit on the team ... telling Jay Glazer that he tried to get the wideout to go into the game multiple times, but AB refused and then left.

Brown, though, said Wednesday that's not the way things went down ... writing in a statement, "I took a seat on the sideline and my coach came up to me, very upset, and shouted, 'What's wrong with you? What's wrong with you?' I told him, 'It's my ankle.' But he knew that."

"He didn't call for medical attention," Brown added. "Instead, he shouted at me, 'YOU'RE DONE!' while he ran his finger across his throat. Coach was telling me that if I didn't play hurt, then I was done with the Bucs."

Arians previously said this week that Brown did not indicate to him at the time that he was hurt.

"I didn't quit," Brown insisted in his statement. "I was cut. I didn't walk away from my brothers. I was thrown out."

Brown says on Monday he saw a specialist, who told him that his ankle injury was so bad, it'll require season-ending surgery.

"What they did know until now is that on Monday morning I had an urgent MRI on my ankle," Brown said. "It shows broken fragments stuck in my ankle, the ligament torn from the bone, and cartilage loss, which are beyond painful. You can see the bone bulging from the outside."

Brown is now a free agent ... and he said Wednesday night he has no plans to retire.

"Once my surgery is complete, I'll be back to 100% and looking forward to next season. Business gonna be BOOMIN!"

Scary moment for Raheem Mostert -- the NFL running back's 3-year-old son was rushed to the hospital after suffering a high fever and other severe COVID-19 symptoms this week ... but thankfully, he's recovering back home.

The 49ers star's wife, Devon, shared the terrifying news on Wednesday ... posting a photo of their son, Gunnar, in an ambulance.

"If you think COVID is a joke, this is our sweet G man in an ambulance today after I called 911 because he was lethargic, skin was gray, lips were purple, and had a 103.5 temperature," Devon said.

"I'm crying even typing this ... this is all SO SCARY."

The good news is Gunnar is back home with his family ... but Mostert -- who is currently on the Niners' injured reserved list -- made it clear people should not be taking this virus lightly.

"I could say a lot, but I'm going to keep this short because my family gets 100% of my time right now," the 29-year-old said.

"Take COVID seriously! It's not a joke!!"

Raheem and Devon got married in 2017 and have 2 kids -- Gunnar and 1-year old Neeko. The couple also just announced they're expecting a third baby on the way last week.

Roman Reigns is back ... the Universal champion is officially free of COVID and is returning to Smackdown Friday night -- where he's expected to confront the newly crowned WWE champion Brock Lesnar -- TMZ Sports has learned.

Of course, Reigns and Lesnar were supposed to clash at WWE's 'Day 1' pay-per-view on New Year's Day in Atlanta ... but that didn't happen after Reigns tested positive for COVID-19, forcing the company to go in a different direction.

Lesnar ended up winning the title that night in a Fatal 5-way match ... defeating WWE superstars Seth Rollins, Bobby Lashley, Kevin Owens, and Big E -- the reigning champion at the time.

On a recent Monday Night Raw, Brock -- flanked by manager Paul Heyman -- had some pretty strong words for the Samoan superstar.

"Before we get this party started tonight," Lesnar said, "I'd like to give a big shoutout to my good buddy, Roman Reigns, who's probably sitting at home more than likely, tuned into Monday Night Raw, tuned into the new WWE heavyweight champion. The real champion. Brock Lesnar."

"Get well soon, buddy," Lesnar sarcastically added."

Reigns and Lesnar have been feuding for years ... fighting a total of 7 times in their storied careers. They've had 4 singles matches, 2 triple threats, and 1 fatal 4-way match ... with each guy winning 3 matches apiece.

Tennessee politician Jeremy Faison was booted from a high school basketball game earlier this week ... after he tried to pull a referee's pants down in a sideline temper tantrum.

Seriously.

Faison, a top Tennessee House Republican lawmaker, was in attendance to watch his son play in Lakeway Christian Academy's game against Providence Academy in Johnson City on Tuesday ... when he exploded over a call on the floor.

Video from the gym showed Faison was so irate with a ref over the whistle, he got in the man's face, screamed at him, and then attempted to pull his pants down.

According to the Nashville Tennessean, the ref wanted to immediately call the cops on Faison -- but fortunately for the House Republican Caucus chairman, law enforcement never arrived.

Instead, Faison was ejected from the venue.

Afterward, the politician issued a mea culpa, apologizing for his actions and calling himself a "fool."

"For years I thought how wrong it is when a parent loses their temper at a sporting event. It’s not Christian and it’s not mature and it’s embarrassing to the child have always been my thoughts," the 45-year-old said.

"Unfortunately, I acted the fool tonight and lost my temper on a ref. I was wanting him to fight me. Totally lost my junk and got booted from the gym."

Faison continued, "I’ve never really lost my temper for all to see, but I did tonight and it was completely stupid of me. Emotions getting in the way of rational thoughts are never good. I hope to be able to find the ref and ask for his forgiveness. I was bad wrong."

Faison is no stranger to sports controversy -- in 2017, he was famously part of a movement to stop the Univ. of Tennessee from hiring Greg Schiano as its football coach.

The Super Bowl halftime show promises to be one of the most spectacular yet, thanks to Dr. Dre, but the stakes are high because if COVID somehow kills the show, Dre could lose millions.

As we reported, the show will be filled with huge stars, including Eminem, Snoop, Kendrick Lamar, and Mary J. Blige. Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ, Dre is fronting most of the money necessary to pull off the event, and we're told it's in the millions of dollars.

Our sources say ... Dre has Event Cancellation Insurance to cover any calamity that might derail the halftime show. Problem is ... we're told there's an exclusion for COVID.

We've learned the pesky provision is called a Communicable Disease Exemption, and it's been around for years ... ever since SARS. But COVID is part of the Communicable Disease Exemption, which means the insurance policy will not cover Dre's losses if the show is 86'd.

The high, high likelihood is the show will go on as planned. There's cautious optimism Omicron will peak later this month ... and the Super Bowl is set for February 13th.

Even if there's an explosion of cases and the crowds are either scaled back or even eliminated, the game will go on ... similar to how it went down last year in the throes of the pandemic. The other possibility, the NFL has made it clear it wants fans in the stands, and if that can't happen at L.A.'s SoFi Stadium, the game could be moved to say, Dallas.

Antonio Brown is finally addressing the bizarre incident that ended his Bucs career ... claiming the team gave him a "powerful and sometimes dangerous painkiller" and forced him to play despite knowing he had a serious ankle injury -- all leading to the moment he says head coach Bruce Arians told him "you're done!"

That's when 33-year-old AB says he removed his jersey and pads ... and walked off the Met Life football field.

"Because of my commitment to the game, I relented to pressure directly from my coach to play injured. Despite the pain, I suited up, the staff injected me with what I now know was a powerful and sometimes dangerous painkiller that the NFLPA has warned against using, and I gave it my all for the team," Brown said in a statement released by his attorney.

The 7x Pro Bowler continued, saying he balled until the pain got to a point where he could no longer endure it.

"I played until it was clear that I could not use my ankle to safely perform my playing responsibilities. On top of that, the pain was extreme. I took a seat on the sideline and my coach came up to me, very upset, and shouted, 'What's wrong with you? What's wrong with you?' I told him, 'It's my ankle.' But he knew that."

Unfortunately for AB, he says Arians didn't care, and demanded he go back in the game.

Brown says he responded ... '"Coach, I can't.' He didn't call for medical attention. Instead, he shouted at me, "YOU'RE DONE!" while he ran his finger across his throat. Coach was telling me that if I didn't play hurt, then I was done with the Bucs."

Bottom line, Brown says ... "I didn't quit. I was cut. I didn't walk away from my brothers. I was thrown out."

As for the Bucs, Arians claimed he never discussed an ankle injury with Antonio.

Clearly, AB and the team have two different views as to what transpired on the field ... in what was one of the strangest and surreal moments in NFL history.

If you missed the incident ... the defending Super Bowl champion Buccaneers were trailing the lowly NY Jets in New Jersey Sunday afternoon.

Brown -- who'd caught 3 balls for 26 yards -- was seen engaged in a very animated conversation on the sideline with star WR Mike Evans.

Then, AB, standing only feet from his teammates, removed his jersey, pads, and t-shirt until he was bare-chested. Brown threw his shirt into the stands ... and ultimately walked through the tunnel into the locker room.

Antonio was seen calling an Uber from the front of the stadium in East Rutherford, NJ ... before taking a car to NYC.

While in Manhattan, Brown says he saw several top doctors ... and was diagnosed with a significant ankle injury.

“What they did know until now is that on Monday morning I had an urgent MRI on my ankle. It shows broken fragments stuck in my ankle, the ligament torn from the bone, and cartilage loss, which are beyond painful. You can see the bone bulging from the outside.”

Antonio says the damage can be fixed ... but will require surgery, which he intends to have done.

As for his football future ... #81 says he plans to play again next year.

“Once my surgery is complete, I’ll be back to 100% and looking forward to next season. Business gonna be BOOMIN!"

Question is ... will there be any takers?

Sterling Shepard is saying goodbye to his man cave ... at least while his divorce from Victoria's Secret model Chanel Iman is being hashed out in court ... we've learned she'll be staying put in the family home, and he's moving his stuff out.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ ... Chanel gets sole use of their pad in New Jersey as the divorce winds its way through the court, and he had to remove his personal items from the home, which will now occupy his bachelor pad.

Get a load of the items the New York Giants star had to pack up and ship out ... in addition to his wardrobe and bling, the haul includes his gaming systems, ping pong table, sauna, red light therapy system, all framed and loose football jerseys, plus a projection TV and couch from the basement, a computer and his KAWS dolls.

The docs say Sterling also moved out a bunch of weightlifting and other exercise equipment, but it sounds like Chanel will still be able to keep her model figure ... the Peloton treadmill and bike are staying put.

As we reported ... Sterling filed for divorce back in June after more than 3 years of marriage and 2 kids.

The docs say Sterling and Chanel want joint legal custody of their kids during the divorce proceedings ... and when Sterling plays football on the road on Sundays and can't get back to the family home by 8 PM that night, he'll pick up the kids the next morning.

While Sterling's not living at the North Caldwell marital home during the split, the docs say he will continue footing the bill for her monthly living expenses.

And, the docs say Sterling and Chanel agreed to not have any romantic third parties spend the night when they're parenting.

Forget plaques and record books ... Derrick Henry has found a new way to show off his legendary football resume -- an insane iced-out diamond chain!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... the Tennessee Titans star RB wanted to turn all of his pigskin accomplishments -- starting from high school -- into some bling for his 28th birthday this week.

So, he hit up celebrity jeweler Ali The Ice Champ in Dallas ... and the dude delivered the amazing piece in time for Henry's cake day this week.

The bling is awesome -- it features a huge 6.5-inch "Y" pendant that represents Henry's days at Yulee High School in Florida. The pendant also features a little VS1 diamond-infused Heisman Trophy to immortalize the award that Henry won back in 2015.

On the chain, Ali tied together logos of the Yulee Hornets, Alabama Crimson Tide and Tennessee Titans ... and then he added several beads to represent some of Henry's historical football moments.

We're told some of those feature a diamond 12K bead for his 12,124 rushing yards in high school that set a national record as well as a diamond 2K bead for his 2,000 rushing yards in the Titans' 2020 season.

Ali -- whose clients range from Ezekiel Elliott to Post Malone -- tells us that Henry's one-of-a-kind necklace carries 100 carats of VS1 E-F color diamonds and has over half a kilo of gold.

No word on what it all cost the King ... but Henry's made over $30 million in his NFL career, so he's certainly got the cash to spoil himself.

Kyrie Irving is finally back with the Brooklyn Nets -- the star guard just made his first on-court appearance of the season Wednesday night ... and his presence was met with a mixed reaction from the crowd.

Uncle Drew was introduced over the PA just minutes before tip-off against the Indiana Pacers ... and while some fans showed support for the point guard, others voiced their frustrations.

Of course, Irving's return is such a big deal -- he hasn't played a single game with the Nets this season as he remained sidelined for his refusal to get vaccinated.

The Nets initially played hardball with KI ... telling him to stay home if he refused to get the jab and be forced to sit out home games and select away games due to vaccine mandates.

But after several players on the roster went down with COVID-19, the Nets made an exception for Kyrie to bring him back for whatever games he can get into.

Despite a 23-12 team record, Brooklyn has dropped its last three games ... so Kyrie's return comes at a good time for a struggling Nets team.

Novak Djokovic isn't in the clear to play in the Australian Open just yet -- Prime Minister Scott Morrison is now demanding the tennis star show proof of his COVID vax medical exemption when he lands Down Under, or he'll be "on the next plane home."

Morrison made the announcement at a news conference on Wednesday ... saying government officials will not treat Djokovic differently than any other person entering the country -- even if the tennis player has already said he has received a valid exemption to the COVID rules.

"We await his presentation and what evidence he provides us to support that," Morrison said to reporters. "If that evidence is insufficient, then he won't be treated any different to anyone else and he'll be on the next plane home."

Morrison continued, "There should be no special rules for Novak Djokovic at all. None whatsoever."

As we previously reported, Aussie Open officials granted Djokovic -- the No. 1-ranked men's tennis player in the world -- a medical exemption earlier this month ... and Djokovic was pumped for the news.

The Serbian star wrote on his social media page on Tuesday that he was now headed to Australia to defend his tournament title ... showing a photo of him at an airport.

Morrison, though, said the dude better come with the proper paperwork, adding, "The issue is whether he has sufficient evidence to support that he would qualify for that exemption."

Australian Open officials said earlier this week that Djokovic's application "was granted following a rigorous review process" ... insisting he received no special treatment.

The tournament is slated to begin in less than two weeks on Jan. 17.

Aaron Rodgers just unloaded on a reporter who said the QB does not deserve the MVP award this year ... calling the journalist "an absolute bum."

The Packers superstar ripped Chicago media member Hub Arkush for nearly two minutes on a conference call Wednesday -- just 24 hours after the reporter said Rodgers isn't his 2021 MVP because he's a "jerk."

"I think he’s a bum," Rodgers said of Arkush. "I think he’s an absolute bum."

"He doesn’t know me. I don't know who he is. No one knew who he was probably until yesterday’s comments."

If you missed it, Arkush said Rodgers wouldn't get his MVP vote this year because of the quarterback's COVID vaccine drama and his offseason gripe with Packers brass.

"I don’t think you can be the biggest jerk in the league and punish your team, and your organization and your fan base the way he did and be the Most Valuable Player," Arkush said on Chicago's 670 The Score.

Rodgers clearly wasn't happy to hear the comments ... saying, "His problem isn't with me being a bad guy or the biggest jerk in the league 'cause he doesn't know me."

"His problem is I'm not vaccinated."

FYI, the NFL's MVP is selected by 50 voters, including Arkush -- and it's supposed to be based solely on players' performances during the regular season. Rodgers is favorite to win it this year, despite Arkush's opinion.

For his part, Arkush actually apologized for his comments earlier Wednesday -- but not for blasting Rodgers. He said he's sorry for simply disclosing his voting plans.

A youth basketball player's father has been charged with felony assault ... after video captured him barreling over a ref during his son's game last month.

Prosecutors in King County, WA. tell TMZ Sports ... 31-year-old Mark McLaughlin has been hit with one count of assault in the second degree after they say he violently knocked over a referee in a Dec. 16 altercation, causing serious injuries to the official.

According to court documents, authorities say McLaughlin became so enraged after refs touched his son following an on-court incident at a middle school basketball game ... he ran onto the floor and forcefully shoved one of the officials to the ground.

Video of the alleged incident, filmed by a fan in the stands, showed how the scene played out ... and it's disturbing.

The footage allegedly shows McLaughlin, who prosecutors say is 6 feet 6, 215 pounds, racing in from the bleachers and walloping one of the refs.

In the video, you can see the ref hit the floor hard -- and needed help getting up while the suspect stormed out of the venue.

In the court docs, officials say it took nearly an hour and a half for the ref's face to stop bleeding ... and say he was ultimately diagnosed with a broken nose and a broken cheekbone after he was checked out at the hospital.

McLaughlin was booked into jail on Dec. 17 and posted bail on Dec. 18, according to prosecutors. He pled not guilty to the charge at a court hearing on Monday morning.

Raiders rookie Nate Hobbs will likely return to the football field against the Chargers on Sunday ... less than a week after he was arrested for DUI.

Las Vegas interim head coach Rich Bisaccia updated the media on Hobbs' status Wednesday ... saying based on what the team knows at this time, the 22-year-old will not be punished prior to the Week 18 matchup.

"We take [the arrest] extremely serious, organizationally and certainly within our team," the coach said. "Based on what we've learned at this time, we expect Nate to play."

"It's a legal matter, and other than that I really have nothing else. We'll leave it at that."

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Hobbs was arrested after cops say he was found passed out behind the wheel of his car parked in the exit ramp of a Vegas hotel early Monday morning.

Hobbs' attorneys, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, addressed the arrest ... saying, "The facts and circumstances related by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department to the news media leave serious concerns that this does not qualify as a DUI under Nevada law."

It's a surprising move by the team, especially when Hobbs' former teammate, Henry Ruggs, was charged with 2 counts of felony DUI after he was accused of driving drunk and crashing his Corvette into the vehicle of 23-year-old Tina Tintor, who burned to death after her Rav4 caught fire, according to officials.