TMZ Sports - Page 32

Maryland men's basketball assistant coach Bruce Shingler has been suspended ... after he was arrested in October for allegedly soliciting a prostitute.

The University announced the punishment this week ... hitting the 40-year-old with a 30-day ban. In a statement, the school said Shingler had been barred "for a violation of his employment agreement."

The suspension comes just three months after Shingler was arrested in Prince George's County ... where cops say he tried to pay an undercover officer $80 in exchange for sex.

In court documents, obtained by TMZ Sports, cops say Shingler responded to a "women seeking men" ad posted by an undercover cop on a website police say is known to be used for prostitution.

Cops say Shingler eventually agreed to meet up at a local hotel and tried to exchange the cash for sex. Authorities say in the docs that once he handed over the money, he was arrested.

Court records show Shingler has since been hit with two charges of soliciting a prostitute.

Maryland interim head coach Danny Manning did not want to comment on the situation beyond the school's statement following the team's win over Northwestern earlier this week.

"Our athletic department will handle everything from there," Manning said.

Scary moment for professional skier George McQuinn who was knocked unconscious after a brutal crash during the FIS Freestyle World Cup event in Deer Valley Utah on Thursday.

But thankfully, he's okay.

The terrifying incident was caught on video ... showing the Team USA skier taking a nasty spill on the last jump of the course, smacking the back of his head as he took off.

McQuinn is immediately knocked out cold from the blow to his head, and you see his body go limp, as he then slides down the mountain, face first.

Medical professionals quickly jumped into action and removed McQuinn on a backboard from the course. Thankfully, officials announced shortly after the crash that he'd regained consciousness.

Later that night, McQuinn let his fans know that he was okay after the "gnarly crash" -- posting video of the incident on his IG and a photo of his facial injuries with a thumbs up.

Tennis superstar Naomi Osaka is gushing over her boyfriend Cordae's new album ... praising the rapper for all the hard work he put into it in a mushy message of support.

24-year-old Cordae's sophomore project, "From a Birds Eye View," officially dropped with an album release party featuring Dave Chappelle on Thursday ... and the #14 player in the world made sure to show love on his big day.

"Getting closer to someone and seeing how much love and dedication they put into their craft is truly inspiring," Osaka said on Instagram.

"Makes you feel like some people are born to do certain things, @cordae you're a star and a light, quite literally brighten up every room you walk in (or maybe it's your hair lol)."

"Congratulations on your 2nd album, proud of you ❤️"

NO and Cordae have been dating since early 2019 ... and the Maryland MC has made several appearances cheering on his girl at tournaments over the years.

As for Cordae's album, it's getting a lot of positive reviews already ... which is pretty much expected, as he's one of the most promising talents in the industry.

Novak Djokovic's participation in this year's Australian Open is in jeopardy once again ... officials have canceled his visa for a second time, and he's now facing deportation.

Australian Immigration Minister Alex Hawke made the ruling early Friday morning ... revoking the 34-year-old's visa just days after a judge had allowed the tennis star to go free in the country.

In announcing his decision, Hawke explained pulling Djokovic was in the best for "public interest" ... due to the athlete's COVID-19 vaccination status and controversial claims to a vaccine exemption.

"In making this decision, I carefully considered information provided to me by the Department of Home Affairs, the Australian Border Force and Mr. Djokovic," Hawke said.

"The Morrison Government is firmly committed to protecting Australia's borders, particularly in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic."

Djokovic has already started the process of an appeal -- and it's possible he could play in the opening round of the Australian Open on Monday while the arguments play out in court.

Australia's Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, meanwhile, backed Hawke's decision Friday ... writing in a statement, "Australians have made many sacrifices during this pandemic, and they rightly expect the result of those sacrifices to be protected."

"This is what the Minister is doing in taking this action today."

If ultimately deported, Djokovic could face a 3-year ban from the country.

Make sure you take your seats early when Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane step in the Octagon on January 22 ... 'cause The Predator tells TMZ Sports he's putting the undefeated UFC fighter down inside 2 rounds!!

We recently talked to the 35-year-old heavyweight champ before his title unification bout with 31-year-old Gane ... and Francis made it clear he doesn't see the fight lasting very long.

"The knockout doesn't come when I search it, so I won't be searching for the knockout, but I don't see how we will end this fight without me knocking him out, maybe under 2 rounds," Ngannou says.

If you haven't seen Gane fight ... he's only been training for a few years. He's 10-0 ... and is the best moving heavyweight in the UFC.

To make the matchup even more interesting, Francis and Ciryl briefly (less than 10 times, per FN) trained together in France, but ain't exactly best friends these days.

It's not that Francis doesn't respect Ciryl ... 'cause he does. But, he believes his power will be too much for the smaller fighter to endure.

"Once again, this is the fighting business. This is not karate s**t, it's all about fighting and how to knock somebody out or take somebody out," Francis says.

Despite the bold prediction from the champ, Gane -- coming off wins over Derrick Lewis and Alexander Volkov -- is actually the slight favorite at most sportsbooks.

Olivia Culpo had to throw on her BF Christian McCaffrey's hoodie before her flight to Cabo ... and it wasn't due to cold weather -- it's because the airline told the 2012 Miss Universe she was showing too much skin.

OC's sister, Aurora, documented the whole debacle on Thursday ... showing Olivia in an all-black outfit with biker shorts, a crop top and a long cardigan.

Aurora says OC was called up to the front desk at their gate before boarding ... and one of the American Airlines workers told her she needed a blouse in order to get on the flight.

What's interesting -- the Culpo sisters point out another passenger who was also wearing a crop top, yet that lady wasn't told to cover up.

Luckily for Olivia, she didn't have to run to a nearby souvenir shop to fix the situation -- her NFL superstar boo offered up his comfy hoodie ... which led to a pretty cold and uncomfortable ride for him up in the air.

To make the whole situation even more inconvenient, the group's flight was delayed a bit ... but eventually, they made it up in the sky.

Antonio Brown seems to be calling B.S. on the report that he hooked up with an OnlyFans model prior to the Jets game earlier this month.

Brown was doing a recent sitdown interview with Fashion Nova ... when he seemed to shoot down the rumor that he had sex with Ava Louise in his hotel room the night before his meltdown at MetLife Stadium.

During a questionnaire with the former Buccaneers star, the reporter asked, "What's the craziest rumor you've heard about yourself?"

AB didn't take too long to find an answer, saying, "Yeah, I heard something like some OnlyFans girl said, like, she got down with me."

"I'm just saying, like, that was crazy."

If you're unfamiliar, Louise -- a social media star with hundreds of thousands of followers -- said last week that Brown snuck her into Tampa Bay's team hotel in New Jersey the day before the Bucs played the Jets.

Louise said the two had sex, claiming at one point during the interaction, Brown asked her to film it.

Louise said she did not spend the night, and claims she went public with the story because she thinks it all could have played a part in the Brown blowup that happened the following day.

Brown didn't specifically name Louise in his Fashion Nova interview, but he appeared to be talking about the model in his answer nonetheless ... saying, "She ain't got no video, my G. No video."

As we reported, Brown was booted from the Bucs roster after his shirtless exit from MetLife Stadium. He's since said he's regretted at least part of his tantrum, telling paps this week it wasn't professional.

Rob Gronkowski ain't just worried about the Eagles this week ... he's got dogs on his mind too -- 'cause his adorable pup, Ralphie, is sick.

The Buccaneers tight end and his girlfriend, Camille Kostek, shared the news on social media Wednesday -- just days before Tampa's playoff game against Philadelphia -- explaining poor Ralphie has some kind of lung infection that's been keeping him up at night.

Kostek revealed she and Gronk took the fur baby to the vet this week ... after the dog had been breathing abnormally, not sleeping and not eating.

"He was waking up pretty much every hour on the hour, having some kind of wheezing fits," Kostek said. "His regular breathing is off. He's been super uncomfortable."

Thankfully, Kostek said the issue does not appear to be too serious -- with the vet prescribing some meds after discovering a lung issue.

Kostek said she's hoping Ralphie is better in a few days.

She and Gronk, meanwhile, have been firing up the steam room for their dog with the hope that it helps the animal breathe better too.

Wowzers.

Logan Paul just found out that his unopened set of first edition Pokémon cards -- which he shelled out $3.5 MILLION to get -- is a big, fat phony ... revealing the box was full of useless G.I. Joe cards.

Rumors had been swirling about LP's purchase for weeks ... with experts skeptical about the authenticity of the cards inside the box.

26-year-old Paul and his friend/famous card collector Bolillo Lajan San met with the Baseball Card Exchange in Chicago in hopes of proving once and for all that his purchase was a good investment ... but instead, he got some REALLY bad news.

While the outside packaging appeared to be legit, it was once the box was opened that Paul and the gang realized that they'd been scammed.

"Oh my God, bro," Paul yelled as the first box was opened. "G.I. JOE?? G.I. JOE?!?! It could have been anything else."

One of the authenticators said it best ... adding, "This is the biggest fraud in the entire history of Pokémon."

It's a beyond heartbreaking loss for Paul -- had the cards been real, he could have made a fortune on what was inside the box.

"I'm a super positive person, bro," Logan said. "And, I'll always be the one to look at the bright side, and I am trying, but this is very hard."

On the bright side, Paul still has a first edition "Shadowless" Charizard card -- which he claims is now worth more than a million -- as well as 5 other packs of first edition Pokémon cards.

"It's sad for the Pokémon community, like, how many fraudulent things are out there?" he added. "I'm grateful for the things that I have that are real now. Like, I'm picturing my Charizard in my head like, "Oh my god, holy s***, something real, something worth a lot of money that is real!"

Ex-NFL linebacker D.J. Williams is opening up about his time with the Denver Broncos and Josh McDaniels ... saying the only reason they were successful is because they were cheating.

Williams made the controversial statement during an interview on the "I AM ATHLETE" podcast with former NFL players Brandon Marshall, Chad Ochocinco, and LeSean McCoy ... saying the Broncos' hot start in 2009 wasn't as dominant as it looked on paper.

In the clip, Williams says he was never more prepared for a football game than during the time he played for McDaniels ... and as he continued talking, he alluded to the main reason why they were so on-point.

"Josh would lay out keys to victory on how we win the game," Williams said. "Every time we did exactly what he said, we won."

Williams said the team executed McDaniels' "strategies" to a T -- and they worked, as the Broncos started off 6-0 that season.

But, the wins weren't piling up because of McDaniels' predictive game-planning ... as Williams claims, there was some constant rule-breaking going on.

"We did that for six weeks. We get to San Francisco and we end up losing. We was supposed to beat San Francisco."

"Our film guy got caught because we had to share a stadium [in London]. Our film guy got caught filming their practice."

McDaniels was later fined $50,000 for failing to report the violation to the league ... and was eventually fired the next season after a poor start.

Of course, McDaniels is no stranger to controversy -- the current Patriots offensive coordinator was in the same role on Bill Belichick's staff when the org. got busted for "Spygate" in 2007.

D.J. firmly believes that the Broncos were only winning games thanks to what he calls "Junior Spygate" ... citing that after their camera guy got fired, they lost 6 of their last 8 games.

"We was having breakfast, like, 'Damn, we not that good.'"

"We was cheating!!!"

More trouble for Tammy Sytch -- aka WWE Hall of Famer, Sunny -- who was arrested this morning in New Jersey for allegedly unlawfully possessing a weapon and making terroristic threats, TMZ Sports has learned.

Court records show 49-year-old Sytch was arrested in Keansburg, NJ and taken into custody at the Monmouth County jail at 11 AM.

The exact nature of the alleged crimes are unclear, but records indicate the wrestling legend was hit with 3 charges -- 2 for illegally possessing a weapon (it doesn't appear the alleged weapon was a firearm) and 1 charge for terroristic threats.

The NJ statute reads ... "A person is guilty of a crime of the third degree if he threatens to commit any crime of violence with the purpose to terrorize another or to cause evacuation of a building, place of assembly, or facility of public transportation, or otherwise to cause serious public inconvenience, or in reckless disregard of the risk of causing such terror or inconvenience."

The nature of the alleged threats are not currently known.

FYI, New Jersey doesn't have felonies and misdemeanors. They have degrees. The lower the degree the more potential jail or prison time a defendant faces.

The weapons charges are classified as third degree, while the threats charge is 4th degree. If convicted, the weapons charges each carry a possible 3-5 year prison term. The threats charge carries up to a 1-year sentence.

Unfortunately, Sytch has had many issues with the law over the years. Back in February 2019, Tammy was busted for DUI ... the 6th time she was arrested for the charge.

She also spent significant time behind bars ... doing about 8 months in jail in 2018.

After her release, Sytch went to rehab and vowed to stay clean.

Kodak Black isn't in any sort of legal trouble over his NHL game grind sesh ... cops tell TMZ Sports there's no investigation into the matter because "they were not having sex."

The rapper was spotted at the Florida Panthers game on Tuesday enjoying a lapful of butt from his lady friend in a box suite ... and many thought the two were actually getting it on.

Video shot from across the arena showed the couple grinding on each other ... though a more zoomed-in angle of the action seemed to show they were only dancing.

A spokesperson for the Sunrise Police Dept. tells us officers were present in the suite at the time of the action ... and insist the two were not having sex.

"They were just dancing very provocatively," the spokesperson said.

We're told cops asked Kodak and his partner to stop shortly after they began ... and the rapper complied with no issues whatsoever.

Antonio Brown is livin' it up in Los Angeles -- hanging with Floyd Mayweather, Kanye West, Julia Fox and Madonna -- all while Tom Brady and the rest of his former teammates prepare for the NFL playoffs.

TMZ Sports is told 33-year-old AB met up with Floyd at the legendary Tengoose boxing gym in Los Angeles Wednesday night. The friends chopped it up ... and Mayweather offered Brown help rehabbing his injured ankle.

After they left the gym, the undefeated fighter and AB -- who was cut by the Bucs last week after walking off the field during a game -- linked up with Madonna, Ye, and Julia Fox at Hollywood hotspot, Delilah.

Ye and Fox have been inseparable since meeting at a New Year's Eve party in South Florida.

While at Delilah, we're told the group had a blast ... listening to music, talking about Ye's next album, "Donda 2," and Floyd's upcoming exhibition fight in Dubai.

Once they left Delilah, they headed to the Hollywood Unlocked studio.

During the night, Kanye also let Floyd model some of his new Yeezy hoodies.

It's not the first time Ye and AB have hung out. The guys went to another L.A. hotspot, Craig's, earlier this week ... where they grabbed dinner.

A publicist is suing LaMelo Ball ... claiming the NBA star owes her MILLIONS after he signed a lucrative contract with Puma but never gave her her cut of the deal.

Amber Johnson spelled out the allegations in a new lawsuit, obtained by TMZ Sports, claiming Ball hired her back in 2019 to score business deals, but he screwed her over a short time later.

Johnson says she worked with Ball to get him on a video game streaming show -- and things went so well, Ball and his reps asked her to work with them going forward.

In her suit, Johnson claims as part of their working relationship, Ball and his camp agreed to give her a 10 percent cut of any deal she found for the hooper. She also says they agreed to reimburse her for any out-of-pocket expenses that she incurred while working on projects for Melo.

Johnson claims a short time later, she helped Ball sign a contract with streaming service "Caffeine."

Following that deal in 2019, Johnson says she began talking to Puma about working with Ball as well.

In her suit, Johnson says she helped facilitate communication between Melo and the giant shoe company ... which she says ultimately resulted in a $100 million contract for Ball.

But, Johnson says she never got her cut of the deals she delivered to the star. She also says she was never reimbursed for $4,800 in expenses from helping Ball on various other projects.

She's asking for damages in excess of $10 MILLION.

Russell Westbrook can't catch a break -- the Lakers star was hilariously mocked by the Sacramento Kings' in-house DJ on Wednesday ... who played the song "Cold As Ice" every time he missed a shot.

It's no secret -- Russ hasn't necessarily been lights-out from the field recently ... and the shooting slump continued against the Kings in Sacramento.

Check out the clip -- you can hear the DJ drop a snippet of Foreigner's "Cold As Ice" track every time Westbrook missed a shot.

BTW, Russ finished the game with just 8 points -- going 2-14 from the field -- so the song was played quite a bit.

But, that wasn't the only troll job of the night -- in the waning moments of the game, the Kings put up a graphic on the scoreboard ... calling Westbrook the "Ice Cold Player Of The Game."

This isn't the first time we've seen the former MVP struggle to shoot the rock. In fact, here are some of Russ' most recent shooting woes.

7-of-19 vs. MIN

7-of-19 vs. SAC

4-of-14 vs. ATL

2-of-12 vs. MEM

2-of-14 vs. SAC

Westbrook brushed it all off after the game ... telling reporters "That's funny. I hope they played that the last 14 years, too. It's funny they play it now. That's cute."

To Russ' credit, he did take personal responsibility for his shooting struggles ... saying, "Man, who you telling. I can't f**king hit a shot, boy."

Ex-NFL star Bart Scott has some WILD advice on how Josh Allen can handle the freezing weather during Saturday's home playoff matchup ... saying the Bills QB needs to pop some Viagra before the game!!

The 11-year vet just gave the tip during his segment on ESPN's "Get Up" (how fitting) on Thursday ... explaining how Allen -- who's struggled while playing in the cold -- can beat the single-digit temps by popping the blue pill.

So ... why?! Let's hear him out.

"Take some Viagra before the game, baby," Scott said minutes ago. "That'll get that circulation going right."

Naturally, things got hella awkward after Scott's tidbit ... with fellow analyst Damien Woody cracking up in the middle of the segment.

But, Scott is dead serious ... explaining a ton of players during his time used it to help during cold games.

"Viagra was first a heart medicine, right?," Scott explained. "So, it builds up circulation, which makes sure it gets circulation to the feet."

"I swear, I'm not trying to be funny."

Co-star Dianna Russini says Allen will probably just elect for a space heater on the sidelines in order to keep warm ... but heck, maybe it's worth a shot??