TMZ Sports - Page 35

Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith -- who started three games for Seattle this season -- was arrested early Monday morning on suspicion of DUI in Washington ... TMZ Sports has confirmed.

A spokesperson for the Washington State Patrol tells us ... Smith was pulled over at around 2 AM in King County -- just hours after the Seahawks returned home from beating the Cardinals in Arizona on Sunday.

According to law enforcement, Smith was initially stopped for speeding ... and was booked into the King County Jail a short time later.

Records show he was released after about seven hours in custody.

Further details surrounding the arrest are unclear ... we're working on it.

Smith played in a total of four games this season while Russell Wilson was out with a finger injury. He recorded a 1-2 record and logged 702 passing yards and five TDs.

The former 2nd-round pick is slated to be a free agent this offseason.

Connecticut high school hockey player Teddy Balkind tragically died after a skate cut his neck during a game last week ... the Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner announced Monday.

Officials formally ruled Balkind's death as an "accident" ... revealing the cause as an "incised wound of neck."

Balkind was just a 16-year-old sophomore.

As we previously reported, the horrifying incident happened during St. Luke's game vs. Brunswick School in Greenwich last Thursday ... when authorities say Balkind fell to the ice and was accidentally crashed into by an opponent.

According to the Greenwich Police Department, Balkind was taken to the hospital ... but died there from his injuries.

The two schools expressed deep remorse following the tragedy ... with Balkind's St. Luke's school closing on Friday and reopening on Monday with a "special schedule."

NHL teams and players, meanwhile, honored Balkind at their games over the last few days ... with the L.A. Kings holding a moment of silence for Teddy on Saturday.

Senator Marco Rubio is still trying to wrap his head around the Miami Dolphins firing of (ex-) head coach Brian Flores ... telling TMZ Sports he was "just as surprised as anybody."

"I don't know what happened inside that building you know," Rubio said. "I was just as surprised as anybody. I don’t think anybody was expecting that today."

The U.S. Senator from Florida -- who was born in Miami -- told us he didn't want to speculate on what went wrong with the Dolphins ... but he believes something transpired that ultimately led to the demise of Flores.

"I'm not in that building, but something was going on inside there," Rubio said. "People not getting along -- whatever it was. I can't tell you."

Flores -- who was in his third year with the team -- got off to a shaky start this season ... losing 7 of the team's first 8 games. But, Miami rebounded -- winning 7 straight games, and 8 of their last 9.

Still, they canned him.

The silver lining for Flores ... Rubio tells us he doesn't expect he'll be out of work long, and speculates he could wind up with the New York Giants.

But, don't get your hopes up just yet Giants fans -- much-maligned GM, Dave Gettleman, retired ... but it appears head coach Joe Judge will be with the team for at least another season.

Finally, we asked Marco if Tom Brady has surpassed Marino as the greatest athlete to ever play in Florida ... and while Rubio wasn't ready to go that far, he did have high praise for the 7x Super Bowl champ.

Don Maynard -- one of the greatest wide receivers in NFL history -- died on Monday, the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced. He was 86 years old.

No cause of death was revealed.

"Our Pro Football Hall of Fame family mourns the passing of Don Maynard," Hall of Fame president Jim Porter said. "He was a resilient man on and off the field -- and someone that his teammates could always count on."

Maynard -- who was drafted by the New York Giants in 1957 and played for several pro teams in his football career -- is most known for his incredible run with the Jets' franchise.

In his 13 seasons with the team -- spanning from 1960-1972 -- Maynard logged over 11,000 receiving yards and 88 receiving touchdowns. He also helped the Jets win Super Bowl III -- the famous Big Game that Joe Namath guaranteed a win in.

Maynard meant so much to the Jets, the team eventually retired his number.

He was ultimately inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1987.

Ayesha Curry is putting an end to "ridiculous" rumors she's in an open relationship with her NBA superstar husband, Stephen Curry ... saying it's 100% not true.

Ayesha -- who married Steph in 2011 -- is breaking her silence weeks after gossip blogs reported (citing an anonymous tip) the adored couple wasn't monogamous ... denying the claims in a response to an Instagram troll.

"Don't believe everything you read," Curry said on Monday. "Do you know how ridiculous that is? Don't disrespect my marriage like that. Please and thank you."

Of course, the Currys first met as teens in Charlotte, N.C. ... but didn't start dating until years later.

The couple got hitched on July 30, 2011 ... and went on to have 3 kids together -- Riley (9), Ryan (6), and Canon (3).

The Currys have found success in both of their fields -- Steph is a 3-time champ and a perennial MVP candidate ... while Ayesha has her own cooking line and show.

Halsey is not letting Grizzlies player Desmond Bane get away with coming at the King ... ripping the guard for being rude to LeBron James and having a "big a** f***in' mouth."

23-year-old Bane was clearly chirping throughout the Lakers' home game against Memphis ... and it got so heated at one point, LBJ shoved the guy for continuously running his mouth.

The award-winning singer -- who's a die-hard Lakers fan -- was sitting courtside through it all ... and had some words for DB after the game.

"Courtside observations: Bane got an unnaturally loud and rude big a** f***in mouth," Halsey said via Twitter.

Grizzlies fans quickly replied with shots of their own ... but Halsey wasn't having it.

"Bruh shut the f*** up," Halsey replied, "This man LeBron almost had to give him a masterclass in decorum."

"Everyone s*** talks but word on the court was 'he’s a problem.'"

FYI, Bane -- who's in his second season with the Grizz -- replied to Halsey's analysis with a few laughing emojis and a thumbs down ... but he later deleted the tweet.

Is there anything Mookie Betts can't do?

The Dodgers star showed he's still both an elite baseball player AND bowler ... rolling yet another perfect game on Sunday.

The 29-year-old posted footage of the incredible feat over the weekend -- showing off video of the last one of his 12 strikes in a row.

Check out the clip, Mookie hit all of the pins with ease -- and he's such a good bowler, he hardly even celebrated the absurdly difficult accomplishment.

"Just call me Mr. 300," he said smoothly in the caption on the clip.

Of course, Mookie acted like had been there before because, well, he has ... back in 2017, while still a member of the Red Sox, he bowled a perfect 300 too.

Mookie has never been shy about showing off his skills in the alleys ... in 2019, he competed in Chris Paul's PBA Celebrity Invitational with his partner, professional bowler Tommy Jones, and beat Terrell Owens and Pete Weber for the tournament title.

The Philadelphia Eagles weren't the only ones getting whooped on Saturday ... a couple of their fans got the same treatment from Dallas Cowboys supporters in the stands at Lincoln Financial Field.

Video shot by bystanders caught all the action ... showing two men in 'Boys jerseys getting into a verbal altercation with a man in a Randall Cunningham Eagles uniform.

The argument quickly turned physical ... when one of the Dallas supporters -- who was decked out in a CeeDee Lamb jersey -- walked straight to the Eagles fan and started throwing punches.

You can see in the clip, the fan in the Lamb jersey got the better of the Eagles supporter quickly ... and then the Cowboys fans moved on to fighting another guy in the same row.

Security and others in the area eventually came to the scene to break it all up.

Of course, the melee was a microcosm of the Eagles' bad night ... 'cause on the field, the Cowboys blew Philly out, 51-26.

Buccaneers QB Tom Brady refused to come out of Sunday's game against the Panthers ... until his tight end and good friend, Rob Gronkowski, got the stats he needed to trigger two separate $500,000 bonuses in his contract.

Gronk entered Week 18 -- Tampa's regular season finale -- with 48 catches and 665 receiving yards. He needed 7 catches and 85 yards to trigger both bonuses.

Well, TB12 was gonna make sure he got 'em, 'cause with under 7 mins left to go in the game, the Bucs were up 31-17 in the fourth quarter ... and head coach Bruce Arians was preparing to pull his starters.

But, check out the video ... you see a defiant Brady appear to tell Tampa's coaching staff "he's not coming out of the game" as he grabs his helmet and heads back onto the field.

The reason?? Likely 'cause Gronk -- who already hit his yardage bonus earlier in the second half on a 42-yard reception -- was still one catch shy of hitting his receptions bonus.

So, the G.O.A.T completed a short pass to Rob in the flat ... giving him the numbers he needed to cash in.

Gronkowski ultimately finished the day with 7 catches for 137 yards.

Of course, Tom is no stranger to looking out for his teammates ... despite some of the comments Antonio Brown recently made about him.

Oh, and TB also set a new career-high in passing yards (5,316) -- eclipsing his previous career-high mark set back in 2011 ... as the Bucs defeated Carolina 41-17.

The New York Yankees are on the verge of making an incredibly historic move ... with the franchise reportedly set to hire Rachel Balkovec as the first female manager in Minor League Baseball history.

The 34-year-old former college softball catcher -- who first joined the Yanks in 2019 -- will be promoted as skipper of the Low A Tampa Tarpons, according to the AP.

Balkovec has been working in pro baseball since 2012, when she became the strength and conditioning coach in the St. Louis Cardinals' farm system.

She later joined the Houston Astros organization in 2016 ... eventually holding the same position for their Double-A Corpus Christi affiliate.

Balkovec is a trailblazer in the sport -- she already made history when she was hired as a minor league hitting coach for the Yanks 3 years ago, the first woman to be named to that position.

Balkovec also participated in last season's Futures Game as a coach, becoming the first woman to do so.

Novak Djokovic has just been set free Down Under -- a judge ruled in his favor in his visa appeal case, clearing the way for the tennis star to compete in the Australian Open next week.

Djokovic had been in a quarantine hotel in Melbourne the last few nights ... after Australian government officials canceled his visa shortly after his arrival in the country last Wednesday.

Authorities argued Djokovic did not meet the proper requirements to be formally granted an exemption to Australia's strict COVID-19 vaccination rules.

Djokovic, though, argued he did meet all the criteria ... saying he had been infected with COVID last month and therefore did not need to be vaccinated.

At a visa appeal hearing in an Australian courtroom on Monday -- a judge overturned the government's decision, pointing out that the 34-year-old had received vaccine exemption status from Tennis Australia and two medical panels prior to his arrival.

"The point I’m somewhat agitated about is what more could this man have done?" the judge said in the courtroom.

The judge's decision now paves the way for Djokovic to compete in The Open, which begins on Jan. 17.

"I'm pleased and grateful that the Judge overturned my visa cancellation," Djokovic said in a statement on Twitter following the decision. "Despite all that has happened, I want to stay and try to compete @AustralianOpen."

"I remain focused on that. I flew here to play at one of the most important events we have in front of the amazing fans."

There could still be more hurdles for Djokovic to leap ... Australian authorities have suggested they could still cancel his visa once again.

If that does happen, and Djokovic is deported, he could be faced with a 3-year ban from the country.

It remains unclear what the likelihood of a second cancellation is.

Sideline reporter Kristina Pink needed to be helped off the Crypto.com Arena floor on Sunday ... after she slipped on water and fell HARD following a postgame interview.

Pink had just finished up a post-win chat with L.A. shooting guard Amir Coffey, when she lost her balance and went crashing to the floor.

Pink horrifyingly landed on the court face-first ... and the thud of her fall could be heard loud and clear on broadcast microphones.

Somehow, though, Pink avoided serious injuries in the tumble ... writing on her social media page after the game that she's expected to be fine.

"For everyone asking, I’m ok," said Pink, who does games for NFL on Fox in addition to her role with the Clippers. "There was water on the court... Appreciate all the messages."

Bola Osundairo -- one of the brothers at the center of the Jussie Smollett scandal -- has a message for Jake Paul ... think you can fight?? Well, I'm coming for your ass!!

TMZ Sports talks to Abimbola -- aka Bola -- about his burgeoning boxing career ... when the conversation turned to The Problem Child.

"Kick rocks. More like the great white hype. And I want you Jake Paul, and I'm coming after you. And we're gonna wipe the hype."

Osundairo then had a message for Paul.

"Quit running. It's time for you to face a boxer. I'm not too advanced, you probably started before me. So we probably have the same amount of experience. What are you running from?"

He also took a shot at the opponents Jake's beaten.

"Stop going after old washed-up UFC fighters. They're not boxers. They don't want to box you. Leave them alone."

Of course, Bola and his brother became overnight celebs after admitting Smollett paid them to carry out the hoax attack in Chicago back in 2019.

That's about when Bola got into the sport of boxing ... and he's no joke in the ring.

Team USA Boxing ranks him the #1 86 kg (189 lbs.) fighter in their rankings. He also told us he recently fought 4 nights in a row, winning all the by unanimous decision.

But, the 24-year-old YouTuber turned undefeated boxer -- who just brutally KO'd Tyron Woodley -- isn't the only one on Bola's hit list. He's also got his eyes on a couple of other well-known fighters.

"We'll fight Tommy Fury. We'll fight Julio Cesar Chavez. Anderson Silva. See I'm naming real boxers, or people who actually do stuff in boxing. We'll fight any of them."

The artwork on Stefon Diggs' cleats knows no bounds, evidenced in his latest offering ... a tribute to the late Betty White.

The Buffalo Bills wide receiver honored the iconic actress Sunday with a pair of pregame footwear that featured BW's likeness, plus a famous song attributed to her as well. You can see a cartoon rendering of Betty throwing up the 'rock on' hand sign ... while smirking.

On the other cleat, the words "Thank You For Being a Friend" are emblazoned -- obviously a nod to the 'Golden Girls' theme song of the same name. The artwork was done by footwear designer Mache, who's famous for doing these mockups for athletes, especially Stefon.

No word if these babies made it on the gridiron or not -- SD usually flashes his custom cleats before kickoff, and then changes into what he'll actually wear for the game. But, it's not unheard of for him to rock tribute cleats on the field, like he did for Michael K. Williams.

Anyway, it's clear Betty left her mark on Stefon ... who proved himself to be a fan with a tweet he sent on the day she passed. He simply wrote, "Rip Betty White" ... and now, his love for her comes full circle.

We broke the story ... Betty died on New Year's Eve, not far from what would've been her 100th birthday this month.

An incredibly rare, autographed card from Tom Brady's 2000 rookie NFL season just hit the auction block ... and TMZ Sports has learned that it could sell for $2,000,000!!

The classic card features TB12's authentic signature on the front, with him in a Patriots away uniform ... and the back of the card has his stats from when he was a quarterback at Michigan.

The G.O.A.T.'s rookie autographed card is already one of the highest-valued cards in the industry ... making it one of the most coveted items a collector in the hobby could own.

Brady -- who was drafted by the Patriots org. with the 199th overall pick -- would go onto have one of the most decorated careers as a quarterback in NFL history ... winning a record-setting 7 Super Bowl championships and 3 MVP awards (and counting).

Tom also led New England to 16 division titles during his tenure with the team ... and he played in 13 AFC championship games -- winning 9 of them.

Atlanta Hawks hooper John Collins has high hopes for his clothing line ... telling TMZ Sports he wants his brand to reach iconic heights like Adidas and Supreme.

24-year-old Collins recently launched his very own line -- "The Baptist" -- which recently hit the shelves in places like Foot Locker and Champs.

The former Wake Forest star tells us he's just getting started ... and his dream is to make his business a household name among some of the biggest clothing brands in the industry.

"I wanna be looked at like Supreme," Collins tells us. "I wanna be looked at like Adidas ... I wanna be looked at in that sphere, so I just gotta keep working. Be consistent."

As for whether he's been speaking with any designers who have come before him, Collins says he's taken inspiration while also being true to himself.

You can tell the guy's seriously passionate about the brand -- Collins says he's as hands-on as they come ... making every choice from design down to the fabrics.

As for who he'd like to model his Baptist clothing line on the runway?!? He's got some huge names in mind.